Chapter 96: Chapter 97: A New Friend Part 2

"How many can we expect?" I ask Princess Ariana.

"It is one of Perio's prouder moments - he has captured a human girl - so he will want to show off. It will probably be the entire Musko population..." she's thinking. "Perhaps fifty?"

"Shit!" Werzo mumbles.

"Any vulnerabilities?" I ask the princess. "Or advantages?"

"Surprise," she says. "No one knows where the Musko lair is. They will not expect an attack."

"But when they show up," Mae asks, "won't they know you told us?"

"Perio will know immediately. It does not matter."

"Why not?"

"He..." she flushes, "...he is still in love with me."

"Oh..." Mae whispers. "...Are - are you?"

"No," Princess Ariana is quick to clarify. "That is why we are no longer together. It is his radical view that Mybyncia is the most important of the Three Worlds. I understand the importance of loyalty to one's home, but I believe in the Way. We all are one people, one World. He never understood this."