Chapter 32: Noblesse Oblige
Things are pretty bad alright. Samantha's brave rescue may have, well, created worse problems as almost everyone else said.
Elizabeth, as in Samantha's mom, who's in the hospital. Honestly, I do wonder why one of these creatures can't just come in and kill her. When I visited my dad in the hospital (many times, as he's been in the hospital a lot), the security was quite shitty. And this is in one of the most violent cities in the US, no less! (albeit one of the safer parts of said violent city) I doubt a hospital in New Orleans would be much better with its security.
Anyway, Thelwyne shows up and waves Sam out of the room. She takes Sam to Isolde's study, and makes the water show an image of her dad bound and gagged and being beaten by the river, while Draegor laughed and clapped, and kicked Sam's dad himself. The three Orci then got on their kallions and rode away.
“Shouldn’t we ask the others?” Thelwyne wondered.
“I don’t have time for council debate. By the time they decide on anything, he’ll be dead.”
Ten years old and already she understands the problem with government gridlock. She must be an American. ;) And a prescient one, too, as this book was written before the Republican stonewalling.
Thelwyne asks Sam if it's worth it if she might get lost or hurt, and Sam says of course, "Noblesse oblige and all that, right?", and then asks Thelwyne to tell Isolde she got sick so that Isolde would get off her case. Sam then leaves.
She reaches her dad, and kneels down beside him.
Her dad takes that time to clinch his Father of the Year Award:
What a dick.
Sam awakens in a gilded cage on a table, bound and gagged. Since she can teleport, I guess the bad guys aren't taking chances. And to further demonstrate the sheer pettiness of their villainy, they have her surrounded with a huge feast, an enormous band playing, jokers and jesters performing, acrobats swinging from the ceiling - basically there's a massive party going on, and Sam is bound and gagged in the middle of it.
Way to rub failure in her face, guys.
To add further insult to the insult already given to her injury, she sees Draegor lift his cup and toast Sam's dad. They clink glasses. Draegor rubs and pats Sam's dad's back, as he laughs and drinks.
That "warrior princess" joke was rather dated by the time this book came out. But hey.
“He offered me free access to Aerynon. Think of my research. My dreams.”
Yeah, sweetheart, can't you understand why your own dad had you bound and gagged in a cage? It's to help his research and help him prove that Aerynon exists. Because I'm sure the people of Aerynon (including the assholes who run it) would love to have an invading force of tourists gawking at everything - or worse, invaders trying to take over. Judging by how small the world appears to be from what we've seen of it, it wouldn't be too hard for a hostile country to take over.
But Sam already previously teleported without saying anything (that the book makes clear). It's happened earlier in the book. But assuming he's right, how long is he planning to keep Sam prisoner, and how? She has a Story-Breaker Power. Pull the gag off to feed her, and she teleports away. Killing her seems like literally the only way to stop her from stopping you at some point.
Anyway, the Old Order quickly shows up to rescue Sam. As they rush in and the fight begins, Malachi flies around and starts pecking at the bad guys, and Arstaefy and Thelwyne steal keys, unlock Sam's cage, untie her and remove her gag.
Sam is given a Kylanthian Cuff (that weapon that fires laser bullets), and onelines "This is for my mother."
Well, that and her fighting skill and her teleportation ability. But she's a Mary Sue, so she'll be fine.
Chapter 33: Incoming!
Drageor waves a torch threateningly in front of Sam's dad's face, as he cowers.
Sam fires a laser, knocking the torch out of Draegor's hand. Arstaef and Thelwyne start fighting Draegor, and Sam runs over to her dad.
Yeah, I'm sure the evil man who convinced you to kidnap your own daughter for him isn't a very nice guy. How'd you notice.
Yes, she wrapped a weapon that could have sliced through her dad's throat around his neck. I'd say she's not too happy about the dad who abandoned her when she was little.
Sam joins the fight, and soon finds herself up against Krell.
“Potentia movere!” Sam shouted, disappearing.
Krell looked around in front of him. He jerked his face left and right. But no Sam. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder and spun around.
Sam stood in front of him grinning. She waved and said, “Hello.” And, with her other hand, she smashed a vase over his head.
Told you Sam's ability to teleport gives her a huge advantage. Apparently it also grants her cartoon powers.
Sam sees that her side is losing and decides to rally them and raise their spirits. She jumps onto a table and shouts, “No more will we live like worms underground. The days of Draegor have passed. We fight on to victory or to death. For our elders and for our future. ANIMUS!”
As the battle continues, Sam uses her teleportation ability for more cartoon action. She teleports above them, shouts "Incoming!" because why not, and swings towards Dain and Tasmin on an acrobat's swing with her blade extended striking both of them down. Meaning she cut them down? They bled? The book avoids explaining what exactly their fate was.
Sam rushes through the palace looking for Draegor and finds a massive safe. Inside the safe is lots of gold, silver, pearls, diamonds, emeralds, all kind of stuff, including paper money. Oh, and Draegor, shoving jewels in a case.
What is with Sam's wisdom and intelligent snark? She went from believably ten years old to a world-weary adult over the course of the story.
“Prepare to die,” Sam said as the two began their fight.
Just kill him already! You could have stabbed him when his back was turned or something. Try teleporting and hitting him from behind. Really.
Out in the bigger fight, Malachi starts looking for Samantha, with Donum following right behind.
Sam was enraged. She screeched, ran forward, and tried to run him through. “AHHHHHHHH!” she yelled.
Tried to run him through. Sam doesn't screw around. Wow.
Draegor dodges her attack and runs away. Sam teleports in front of him, making him curse, "Damn you". Draegor immediately retracts his sword and flips his wrist to use his cuff to try to shower Sam with laser bullets. Donum shows up just that moment, pushes Sam aside, and Donum gets hit with the laser bullets and dies.
Sam gives out the required "Nooo!" and Draegor laughs. She runs off, and Draegor chases her. Then she does the obvious thing and teleports above him in mid-air and lands on him, knocking him down. Draegor pins her, then Thelwyne and Arstaef rush by, pick up portraits of Draegor (the guy's got no shortage of them), and smash them over his head.
This still doesn't knock him out, though. Sam reaches for the Dagger of Balador and cuts the pouch containing the Light of Aerynon from Draegor's belt. She gives the pouch to Thelwyne and prepares to plunge the dagger straight at Draegor's heart, but he grabs her arm and slams it against the floor, smashing her head and shoulders against the floor as well, knocking her out.
Draegor steals the dagger as it slides across the floor, but rushes off, seeing Thelwyne and Arstaef standing near Sam.
Chapter 34: The Dagger
Samantha wakes up in a makeshift hospital, with lots of injured soldiers who'd helped in the battle.
Sam is briefed that Donum died and that the dagger was stolen by Draegor. However, Sam taking back the Light of Aerynon caused the Orci to lose their strength, and many fled to the woods, while others got killed.
Thelwyne gives the pouch containing the Light to Sam and tells her she still has one more task.
Captain Tithers and Malachi show up to congratulate Sam. She's given a baby willawog, those fuzzy will-o-wisp things, as a present. She names it Baby Bylo.
Later, Sam leaves the place and heads over to the lake where she originally met the mermaid from before, bringing the Light of Aerynon with her.
Oh, a Call-Back now, is it? Yes, this time Sam didn't fail Gwenyth the mermaid.
She gives the Light of Aerynon back.
“I know. I know,” Sam said. “Draegor can’t keep it. Tons of really bad stuff would happen. Doom. Gloom. Etcetera. Etcetera.” Sam made her voice deep and foreboding, mimicking Gwenyth, “We are like ying and yang. I am your balance, your counterpoint. Through me, you can expand your mind, your spirit. But through you… I can move on land. You must find the dagger. It is my quest. It is your quest.”
“I have heard human sarcasm described,” Gwenyth remarked. “This must be a specimen.”
“Just trying to lighten the moment.”
“There is no humor here, Samantha Stone,” Gwenyth warned. “You must find the emerald dagger before the next full moon.”
“How do you know when it’s a full moon down here in an underground cavern?” Sam asked looking up and behind her at the rough dirt walls. “And what’s the big deal about a full moon anyway?”
But when she looked back at Gwenyth, the mermaid had vanished beneath the surface of the water.
“I hate it when she does that,” Sam sighed as she and Baby Bylo turned and headed back to bed.
The End
There's our ending. Sam turns the tables with her Story-Breaker Power, and retrieves one MacGuffin but loses another for the purpose of a sequel that never came.
Then she basically mocks a whole "full moon" trope, pointing out how little sense it makes. And also sets up the sequel that never came. See, the next page says to expect a sequel, titled Samantha Stone and the Emerald Dagger. There is no such sequel, sadly.
Thoughts? The story's over, but I want to gather some general thoughts of my own for the next and final entry of this liveblog.
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