Forfend nodded quickly.

"You did crafting," Howell restated, gesturing at Forfend. "What about the rest of you guys? Also, who's this one?"

He cocked his head at Vesper, eyeing the purple tiefling and his basket of what was clearly Howell's giant arrows.

Vesper's tail straightened and fluffed up as his whole back went briefly rigid. He seemed to put effort into schooling himself back into a more relaxed position.

The whole display happened with such speed Forfend wondered if anyone else had seen it.

Vesper stared awkwardly at Howell for a moment, then looked to Forfend.

"This is Vesper," Forfend took the hint and introduced the anxious man. "He is a new ally of ours."

"Vesper," Howell tested out the name.

He strode straight to Vesper and stared up into his face, scrutinizing. "What can you do?"

"Well," Vesper almost mumbled. He cleared his throat and spoke with more confidence, "There is the casting of magic. There is the speaking with the dead. And there is the... carrying these." He shuffled the bundle of arrows, causing them to clank against each other.

Speaking with the dead. That was certainly an interesting talent. Befitting of an undertaker, but concerning just the same.

Forfend hoped Vesper wasn't a necromancer.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Vesper finished.

"Those mine?" Howell asked despite obviously knowing the answer.

"Yes. You want them back?"

Howell drew in a deep breath. He seemed to assess Vesper's posture again. "I can always make more. Besides, you could use them to stab someone with."

"That is a possibility." Vesper reconsidered the arrows in his arms and nodded to himself.

Howell turned to Melzaryn. He gestured over Vesper, but also to Forfend and Kagoshi. "You trust them?"

Melzaryn hummed to himself for a moment before deciding to nod.

"That's good enough for me," Howell said. "I've gone ahead and hired some mercenaries who should be able to turn the tide of battle for us. They're from the Valley of Glass, so they're adept in arcane arts as well as martial combat. They should be able to make do. They're already waiting inside the Teleportation Hub." He folded his arms. "So what's the plan? How are we getting back?"

Forfend looked immediately to Melzaryn.

Melzaryn spread his hands. "I intend to provide some means of magical teleportation. There are a few options and I'm not sure which one we'll need to take yet. One is almost risk free. Another is probably only dangerous to me. The last one could endanger all of us. We'll see."

"How many could each one transport?" Howell asked.

"Depends." Melzaryn smiled his unhelpful, inscrutable smile.

"What exactly are the options?" Howell pressed.

"My mother is searching for a magic item that would be able to get us all there. It would only work once, but it's pretty much a guaranteed safe bet. I could also request the college's help, but I'd have to pay them back somehow. That's the risky part. And the last option is to get help from my sister." Melzaryn grinned again, but he looked decidedly nervous this time.

"Your sister?" Howell schooled his tone firmly into neutral but his expression betrayed his own apprehension even through the wealth of cloth over his face.

"Yeah, I'm sure that she can build something," Melzaryn said. He shrugged. "It just might explode."

"It explodes... or we explode?"

"Now that's the question, isn't it?" Melzaryn giggled, but everyone else took an unsettled half-step back.

"That's also not really an answer," Howell grumbled.

"I'll give you a proper answer just as soon as I have one."

"Great," Howell deadpanned.

"I mean, this one hasn't exploded." Melzaryn gestured to a mechanical snake curled across his shoulders.

The constructed creature moved and acted with all the grace and watchfulness of the flesh and bone animal it was modeled after. Frankly, Forfend was impressed. The machinated rarely emulated the natural so fluidly.

It was curious how Moli could both be so skilled and apparently so dangerous. Maybe she was like Fletch and sometimes let her eccentricity take her further than she should.

Howell watched the metal serpent for a moment. He scratched at the back of his neck. "Have you heard back from anybody yet?"

"Not yet, no," Melzaryn shook his head. "Of course, I also haven't asked Moli yet. That's a bit of a last resort. I'm more or less expecting my mother to contact me when she's ready."

The mechanical snake's head suddenly swiveled toward Melzaryn. Its jaw dropped open.

"Hey, uh, Mel?" Moli asked in a tinny voice that seemed to originate from somewhere within the snake's mouth. "I think Mom wants to talk to you? Here, hold on." Her voice grew more muffled. "Here, Mom, just speak into this."

"Is this working?" someone, presumably Melzaryn's mother, nearly yelled. The tinny, buzzing voice screeched sharply when the volume grew too loud for the speaker. "Hello? Mel? Is this working?"

"It is working," Moli promised. "Just speak into the--"

"Hello?" the speaker squealed painfully loudly as Melzaryn's mother raised her voice even further.

"You don't have to yell!" Moli sounded exasperated. "Just speak into it. You got it."

"Hello, Mel." This time the volume was finally at a level the speaker could properly process.

Apparently unfazed by the uncoordinated back-and-forth, Melzaryn simply replied, "Excellent timing. We were just wondering when and how this would happen."

"Of course, darling," Melzaryn's mother hummed. "I was able to procure a magic item for you from one of the deeper vaults. It's a spell scroll of Teleport, or, well, moreso Teleportation Circle. It should let you Teleport everyone in your group to a location of your choosing."

Melzaryn glanced around the group and mentally counted out everyone who would be returning. "It'll definitely take everyone?"

"It's something of an experimental spell. Very high level. It's almost a mix between the two spells, taking aspects from both. According to the description I've got here, you simply draw the magic circle on the ground using the spell scroll and anyone who'd like to be transported needs to walk through it within six seconds. You need to have your intended location in mind when you draw the circle and you need to be familiar with it. You wouldn't want to appear in the middle of the aether." She giggled. "I'm sure you'll be able to handle it, son."

"Utterly fascinating," Melzaryn nodded once.

"I did have to pull some strings in order to procure it," she said, "but this will do for your use, correct?"

Melzaryn glanced at Howell, a sly smile on his face.

"If it's a circle, it should fit all of us," Howell figured. "Well, the big one may have some trouble." He tilted his head toward Forfend. "But I think it should still work."

Forfend hummed quietly to itself.

"Excellent," Melzaryn nodded again. "That sounds perfect."

"Splendid!" his mother announced. "Absolutely Splendid!" Her voice grew very quiet, distant. "Moli, do you have a way of transporting this to your brother?"

"Yeah, of course. I've got it, Mom," Moli answered. "I'll send another bird. I'll have to make another bird... It'll be fine! Don't worry about it."

"Thank you. Melzaryn, be safe and do arrive home again relatively soon. But most importantly, don't get stabbed. Or, if you do get stabbed, let me know."

Melzaryn sighed. "Trust me, I'm not looking for a third stab wound," he grumbled bitterly.

"Please do be careful," his mother begged.

"I'll do my best," Melzaryn promised.

"Thank you." Her voice grew quiet again. "Moli, how do I turn this off?"

"Don't touch--" Moli cut herself off with a gasp. "Here, just let me, uh--"

The speaker made a loud boop and the snake snapped its mouth closed.

"So does that mean we're just waiting for something?" Howell asked.

"Well, the last time anything bird-related showed up, it was a bit weird," Melzaryn offered. "It bumped into a window, I let it in, and it gave me things. I assume we're waiting for that."

Right on cue, a mechanical bird tumbled to the ground at Melzaryn's feet. It rolled twice, bounced back upright, spread its wings, and shook itself off.

"And that right there is the reason Moli had to rebuild it," Melzaryn noted.

He crouched down and held his hand out.

The bird's head popped forward and craned upward on thin metal scaffolds that ejected from the neck. Once it was eye-level with Melzaryn, its beak dropped open.

"Hello. This is for you," it said in a voice too deep and too monotonous.

Forfend hoped it wasn't that disconcerting when it spoke.

"Caw," the bird added after a moment of thought.

The creature spread its wings again and a panel on its back popped open. A metal grasper thrust from within the compartment beneath, a spell scroll in its clenched metal prongs.

The second Melzaryn's fingers brushed the scroll, the grasper released it.

"Thank you," he told the bird. He turned around to address the group. "Alright, so–"

"On a scale of one to ten," the bird suddenly piped up again, "how would you rate my performance?"

"Right, um..." Melzaryn looked the little creature over.

"That landing was definitely a three," Kagoshi commented.

Melzaryn touched the scuffed, dented stone floor where the bird had landed and nodded his agreement.

"I'm going to have to give you an eight for this one," he decided.

"Understood." The mechanical beast seemed slightly disappointed not to have gotten a perfect score. "Self-destructing."

"Whoa, okay!" Melzaryn rapidly scrambled backwards.

Something inside the mechanical bird exploded, bloating the metal with the barely-contained force. The creature fell into a thousand tiny broken pieces.

Vesper raised an eyebrow at the scene. He plucked a card from the ever-shuffling deck in his hands, frowned at it, and tucked it away again.

Forfend knelt down to inspect the shattered metal. "Why destroy the creature and the material like this?"

It didn't get an answer.

Melzaryn was already busy unrolling the spell scroll and realizing it was much larger than it first appeared. "Oh, this is a big one."

"Why is it a carpet?" Kagoshi grumbled.

"Big writing?" Melzaryn guessed. "I don't want to open it fully up until we're ready to use it."

"Well, now's the time, isn't it?" Howell prodded. "We're on a pretty tight time constraint, aren't we? We're in a hurry. We need to move as fast as we can."

Melzaryn nodded. "That's true."

"Then what are we waiting for?" As soon as the words left Howell's mouth, he straightened up and looked toward the Teleportation Hub.

"Probably the rest of that group you mentioned," Melzaryn teased.

"Right." Howell sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Let me go get my guys."

With that, he left.

A few minutes later, he returned with a trio of mercenaries dressed very similar to himself. All of them were covered in fabric that would blend easily with the desert sands.

One stark difference, though, was that none of them obscured their faces the way Howell chose to.

Some of them wore bits and pieces of armor sporting metal that was such sharply polished silver that it resembled glass more than anything else.

The mercenaries sized up Forfend and its allies.

Kagoshi returned the sentiment, watching them all with a vaguely hostile air.

Forfend knelt and nodded politely to them.

"So you're the ones that hired us to help kill a despot king, yes?" one of them said, stepping forward slightly. "A bit of regicide?"

"Yes," Kagoshi growled. "Preferably with my bare hands."

The mercenary's eyes lit up. "Ooh, this'll be fun!"

Another mercenary swatted him on the back of the head. "Hey! We're being professional here!"

"Ah, let me have a bit of fun. Anyway, I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"I like this one," Kagoshi said.

The first mercenary grinned uncannily.

"Don't encourage him," the second sighed.

"Why not?" Kagoshi questioned.

"He killed a cat yesterday."

Forfend startled. It looked to Howell, who grimaced, and then to the third mercenary, who maintained the same flat silence he'd held this entire time.

Forfend hissed steam deep and slow.

It seemed they had a quiet mercenary, a serious one, and a crazy one. What a combination.

"Reprehensible," Forfend finally found its voice.

Vesper glared at the unhinged mercenary, his tail swishing swiftly beneath his cloak.

Melzaryn found himself an interesting ceiling tile to observe.

"Alright, well, fuck this guy," Kagoshi changed his mind.

"Like I said: don't encourage him," the serious mercenary reiterated.

"Aw, come on, it was just one little creature," the crazy one complained. "It was stealing our food."

"I gave it that food!" the serious one snapped.

"Semantics!"

Vesper narrowed his eyes. "You know, you are a little creature compared to some and I'm sure you will bleed the same."

"I guarantee it," the crazy one hissed, reveling in the idea. "Can't wait."

Forfend shuddered, humming its disapproval in a low tone.

"Please don't encourage him," the serious one begged.

"That's some serious sadomasochism," Melzaryn noted.

"You have no idea."

Vesper shared a glance with the quiet mercenary and subtly shook his head. He paused a moment and tilted his head. He tilted further, further, until he threatened to knock himself off balance. He stumbled, straightened, and awkwardly cleared his throat.

Forfend cocked its own head at the odd behavior and the quiet mercenary seemed to share its confusion.

Vesper pointedly looked at no one, his ears tilted down and burning red.

"Are you alright?" it asked.

Vesper gestured vaguely at the quiet mercenary. "The... The kit-- The cat."

"What cat?" Kagoshi asked.

Vesper's tail slowed and disappeared beneath his cloak. "Nevermind."

"Alright." Kagoshi shrugged. "You're being weird, but alright."

"No weirder than you."

"That is true," Forfend nodded.

Kagoshi huffed. "What did I do?! I haven't done anything yet!"

"The key word is yet," Howell mumbled.

"The plan is to kill a disgraced king! I plan to do that!" Kagoshi seemed to be trying to get them back on track in his own strange way.

"It will be a fun hobby to pick up," Vesper added.

"Oh yes, regicide!" the unhinged mercenary shouted with almost lustful glee.

"Shut up!" the serious one yelled.

Kagoshi jabbed a finger into the crazy mercenary's chest. "You shut the fuck up before you're next on the list."

The man raised his chin and grinned. "Oh, come on now, we're all on the same side for the moment, aren't we?"

"No," Vesper said immediately.

"Only until Falco's dead," Kagoshi contradicted.

Melzaryn looked over everyone and folded his arms neatly behind his back. "Well, it's going to be a battlefield. A lot will go down and a lot will go unseen. Watch your own backs."

The quiet mercenary looked pointedly at the crazy one and stared daggers.

Forfend wondered if all Howell's mercenaries would be making it back from this, or if one of them would intentionally allow the unhinged one to disappear.

"We're wasting daylight," Howell interjected. "What are we doing? Are we leaving?" He paused and glanced over his little band of mercenaries before looking apologetically back to Melzaryn. "Also, if you're wondering why I got these guys, it's because they're the only ones who'd do this job for only a favor in return. I don't have any money on me right now. It was pretty much all taken."

Melzaryn chuckled. "They'll manage. Probably. Is everyone prepared?"

"As prepared as we are going to be," Forfend hummed. "Unless we would like to discuss a plan first."

"Do any of you guys have one?" Howell asked. "Because I'm going to be completely frank, I have no idea how to fight what we're going to fight."

"Well, in my experience, it's just attack and don't let Falco touch you. Unless you have a way to turn off magic items, that's about all we've got," Melzaryn said.

Howell nodded. "Before we try to come up with anything solid, we should scout the place out first. Try to get the lay of the land."

"Luckily, I don't intend to drop us into the middle of the fight," Melzaryn shared. "So we should be good there."

"Where are you dropping us?"

"There's a resistance outside Cragwall and my staff was imbued with magic there. I should be able to use that as a focus to get us back there." Melzaryn trailed his fingers along the staff and fiddled with its odd spinning chamber.

"Alright. Ready and waiting," Howell reported. He glanced over at his band of mercenaries.

The crazy one nodded eagerly. The quiet one continued to glare at him. The serious one simply nodded.

"Everybody group up close together then," Melzaryn ordered. "I'm not sure exactly how big this thing will be or if it'll activate immediately."

Everyone huddled tightly against each other.

Melzaryn unfurled the scroll in one smooth motion. He crouched down over the enormous thing and read the runes adorning the elaborate magic circle.

"Great." Melzaryn straightened. "Everyone, get into place around the scroll. When I tap my staff to the center, it'll activate and we'll all need to go through it as quickly as we can."

Everyone spread out.

Melzaryn reached out to touch his staff to the circle, but paused. He looked pointedly at the unhinged mercenary who nearly vibrated with anticipation. "A reminder: no stabbing until we tell you to."

The mercenary deflated, pouting. "Okay, fine."

"Most of the Envema members are victims," Forfend added. "Actually, I believe they all are, save Despot Falco himself."

"I wasn't worried about Envema. I'm worried about the genasi we're about to meet," Melzaryn griped.

"I am worried about everyone around this man. He has already murdered a cat.”

"It was stealing food," the man in question whined.

"I gave it to him!" the serious mercenary yelled.

Melzaryn stepped into the circle and touched his staff to it before the argument could progress any further.

Immediately, a beam of pearlescent white magic consumed him.

Kagoshi stepped through right on Melzaryn's heels, his form dissipating as he passed through the magic.

Howell and his band went next.

Forfend turned to Vesper, but he was watching it.

It nodded and stepped into the circle.

White filled its vision like a blanket of snow and a sense of weightlessness whisked it off its feet.

A moment later, all of its considerable bulk came back to it. Uneven ground slipped from beneath its overlarge feet. It fell with a resounding thud.

Ko'Dan rose, pulling himself together out from beneath the group's intruding feet.

"Apologies," Melzaryn yelped as he deftly leapt off Ko'Dan.

Kagoshi managed his own graceful landing.

The quiet mercenary gasped and tumbled onto his rear much like Forfend had.

Howell and the rest of the mercenaries managed to stagger off the rising tower of emerald and stone and vine.

Vesper slipped and scrambled on all fours like a startled animal to flee the huge elemental.

Ko'Dan, startled by their sudden appearance, clasped his fists together and bore down on the first thing he saw.

Unfortunately, that was Forfend.

It didn't flinch. This was their fault for landing on him.

Luckily, Ko'Dan recognized it and halted just short of striking it.

"I am sorry," Forfend hummed, ducking its head.

Ko'Dan stepped back, a rockfall tumbling as he spoke his language. He eyed the lot of them with his featureless gem-and-vine face.

Forfend rose slowly to its feet and dusted itself off. "Again, I apologize. We have returned to help."

The sound of ice cracking and wind howling escaped Ko'Dan as he cocked his head to inspect the gaggle of new additions: Kagoshi, Howell, Vesper, and the three mercenaries.

Vesper's tail bristled, the fur standing like hackles. He looked outwardly calm, but he stood as far from Ko'Dan as he could. He was scared. Terrified, even.

Forfend found itself wondering why. Vesper hadn't responded so severely to meeting it and Ko'Dan was larger, more regal, more imposing than it was, but not by some immeasurable margin.

He only demanded a little more respect and reverence, and it was surely owed to him. He was not a person to be feared by an ally of the genasi.

Ko'Dan made a sound like dust settling after a sandstorm. He looked out over the group of staring genasi and raised one enormous hand as he voiced the clamor of a torrential downpour.

The genasi startled, backing away.

Forfend grimly noted how many of them were injured.

A genasi with rose quartz hair and beach white skin recognized Forfend and Melzaryn. He cautiously approached.

"Oh, the saviors are here!" he said.

Forfend's chest lit up reddish-orange. It wasn't wholly certain how it felt about such a title. There was so much more work to be done before anyone could be considered saved.

"Who are the newcomers?" the genasi questioned. "Are you alright?"

The man's arm was immobilized in a sling, but he was worried for them after they'd only suffered an embarrassing entrance.

"Are you?" it asked, healing magic warming its fingertips. It held back the urge to expend the magic now. The injury was far from fatal and Forfend would need every last drop of divine energy to stop Despot Falco.

"Yes," he nodded. "Though a number of us were injured defending the people, but now you're here to help!"

"To the best of our ability," it hummed.

The genasi looked past Forfend to Ko'dan. "I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Our protector, Ko'dan, was wondering whether or not the new ones here could be trusted."

"Yes," Forfend answered immediately.

"Understood," the genasi smiled.

Forfend suddenly thought better of its statement.

"Well, keep an eye on him." It pointed out the unhinged mercenary.

"Why?" the crazy mercenary whined.

"He killed a cat," Kagoshi supplied.

The genasi man grimaced. He translated to Ko'Dan in the rustle of dry fall leaves.

Ko'Dan visibly recoiled. He stared harshly down at the unstable mercenary.

Howell sighed and dragged a heavy hand down his cloth-covered face. "They were the only ones who'd work for only the promise of a favor."

Ko'Dan rattled like branches in a hurricane and pointed toward the exit.

"He says River and the others are at the entrance to the lair," the genasi translated. "They're keeping an eye out, but as far as we can tell, Envema doesn't know the location of this place."

Forfend nodded once. "Good."

"Time may change that," Kagoshi said, unnecessarily ominous.

"Let us hope not," Forfend hummed.

Ko'Dan rumbled and thundered in much the same way as a volcano.

"Ko'Dan thanks you," the genasi said. "We were able to retrieve Ry'Ha'Dach, though he's slumbering due to his injuries."

Forfend's chest lit up briefly orange. It was glad to know Ry'Ha'Dach was safe, even if he was too wounded to fight. He would see another day. The genasi hadn't lost him.

"Who is that again?" Kagoshi asked.

Forfend hissed a heavy bout of steam. "The dragon. The emerald dragon."

"That the guy that tried to fight King Fuckwit?"

"He did fight Despot Falco, yes." Forfend stared down at Kagoshi, both irritated and concerned by his flippant regard of their draconic friend.

"He didn't exactly win though, did he?" Kagoshi growled.

"Did you?" Vesper snapped.

"Definitively, we did not," Forfend answered.

Kagoshi scoffed, closing in on himself and letting his deep-set rage burrow even further beneath his skin. "No, but I get a second round," he hissed murderously.

Ko'Dan grumbled and rushed and cracked like a tidal wave sweeping through a forest, his broad shoulders squaring as he loomed over Kagoshi.

"I think Ry'Ha'Dach has been through quite enough," Forfend said.

Slowly, Ko'Dan ceased his disastrous-sounding speech and settled back down. He didn't take his baleful gaze off Kagoshi.

Forfend apologized to Ko'Dan for Kagoshi's behavior and turned from the conversation. "I am going to speak with the people who have been fighting out in the city. They will be able to tell us what has been happening."

Ko'Dan nodded. He rumbled as he descended back into a pile of rocks, vines, and gemstones.

Forfend picked out people who held themselves like warriors, who were still trying to keep morale up and the people organized.

Just by the looks of them though, Forfend was quite certain the battle had gone poorly.

Forfend moved through the crowd and offered up the weapons and armor it had made to anyone still abled enough to use them.

Whether the genasi would be fighting again soon or not didn't matter. They needed their damaged gear replaced either way.

It spoke to several of the more seasoned fighters as it made its rounds, until it had a decent understanding of what had occurred in its absence.

Kiyori had valiantly defended the Teleportation Hub, but she'd had to leave her post to retrieve Ry'Ha'Dach. In that interval, many genasi had been severely wounded.

River was among them.

Jewel and Flint were also too wounded to fight.

Despite its inquiries, no one seemed to be certain how Kiyori fared.

Forfend worried for her. She was exceptionally powerful, but still as mortal as itself. It hoped she hadn't been hurt.

Melzaryn popped up at Forfend's side. "We're going to have to speak to the leaders about what happens after all this."

Forfend nodded, humming low in its center. "The whole of the government will need to be restructured. King Maggard Stormrike may take this as a strike upon his kingdom. It may all get worse before it gets better."

Melzaryn smiled his inscrutable smile and made for the exit.

Kagoshi and Vesper were already making their way out with the mercenaries right on their heels.

Forfend decided to follow Melzaryn before they all left it behind.

As they made their way through the caves, trailing a ways behind Vesper and Kagoshi, Forfend noticed there were more and more people crowding every open cavern.

These people were almost all human, with smatterings of elves, gnomes, halflings, and dwarves amongst them. There were almost no genasi here. And there had been only genasi in the last chamber. They were separating themselves from one another.

Despite all being trapped beneath the thumb of the same wretched despot, despite suffering the exact same situation, they held onto their petty prejudices.

Forfend found itself disappointed in Cragwall.

Kagoshi, Vesper, and the mercenaries disappeared through the illusion covering the cave entrance ahead of them.

Melzaryn idled along. He didn't seem to be in any special hurry to catch up with the others.

Forfend felt a touch more rushed and worried, but it tried to maintain the calm it would need in the coming battle.

The world shimmered around it as they finally passed through the illusion themselves.

Melzaryn continued on, unfazed by the oddity of the magics.

Forfend paused to catch its bearings.

It spotted Kiyori kneeling on a tree stump, her sword embedded in the earth by her side and her eyes fixated firmly on the route to Cragwall. She stood sentinel, ever ready.

The best Forfend could tell, she was unharmed.

It hummed to announce its presence.

Kiyori cocked her head slightly in acknowledgement and continued her dead set staring.

Melzaryn eyed her blade as he passed by the unsheathed weapon. He nodded to himself and looked up at Kiyori. "A lot of things are about to start happening very, very quickly," he started. "I think it's best the leading parties speak with each other sooner rather than later about what follows Falco's fall. Who do I need to see?"

Kiyori's gaze never wavered from the woods in front of her. She ripped her blade from the ground, gestured to the cabin with it, and returned it to its place buried in the dirt.

"Understood." Melzaryn turned on his heel and strode into the hideout.

Vesper and Kagoshi already stood outside, but neither of them seemed inclined to enter.

Forfend nodded to them both as it followed Melzaryn.

Immediately, Jewel startled awake and thrust a blade at them. She gasped when she recognized them. Her shortsword quickly rediscovered its sheath as she settled back into her chair by the door.

"Oh, it's you," she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hello," Forfend greeted.

Jewel was heavily bandaged and clearly fighting exhaustion. She needed rest. A lot of it.

"The other two are at the back," she mumbled, sleep already coaxing her eyes closed again.

She shook her head and shot up from her chair. "I'll walk you," she said suddenly.

Forfend nodded. It offered her an arm to hold if she needed assistance.

Jewel frowned at it, but only a few steps down the hallway, she decided to brace her hand against its shoulder after all.

As they rounded the corner at the back of the hideout, Forfend caught sight of River and gasped in a sharp hiss of steam.

He sat in a chair leaned back against the wall and heaved for every breath. His right arm was gone, completely gone. Blood filled the thick bandages around the stub of his shoulder and occasionally dripped onto the floor.

"Oh, good, you've returned," he panted.

Forfend fought the urge to heal him now. He was strong. He'd survive until after Despot Falco had been dealt with.

Forfend was going to need every last resource it had available to defeat the rampaging demigod. It couldn't heal River and the rest of the genasi yet. It would, it promised itself, but not yet.

"We have brought allies," it hummed.

"They are outside?"

Forfend nodded.

"Good." River groaned as he tried to sit up straighter. He grasped at his side just beneath his wound and slumped back down.

Flint knelt at River's side, grimacing at his grievous wound.

Out of all of them, he looked the least injured, but he was not unharmed.

The onyx crystals atop his head were cracked and the side of his face was bandaged. His eyes seemed to struggle to focus. He looked unsteady on his feet, dizzy, nauseous.

"What can you tell us about what has happened in Cragwall?" Forfend hummed. "What happened after we left?"

"The battle was hard fought," River answered. "Once you and the refugees escaped, he had to hold down the Teleportation Hub for as long as we could. Kiyori proved invaluable in that. She essentially held off the entirety of Despot Falco's army all by her lonesome, using the Hub's entrance as a choke point."

River made another attempt to sit up straight and managed it this time, though he had to grit his teeth against his pain.

"Then she charged out into the fray completely alone to retrieve Ry'Ha'Dach. She fought valiantly through the tide of Envema," he continued. "She succeeded, but we took heavy losses while she was away. I lost my arm saving another." He gestured to his blatant injury. "The Envema members seemed to notice my adept arcane practice and targeted me accordingly to cripple it. That proved to be a major blow to our endeavor here."

Flint dropped into his own seat and leaned in to hear the story, despite having lived the details.

River cast him a glance Forfend couldn't read and carried on with his tale, "The Abjurist, Sonya Caddel, and the Hawk Knight, Kendrick Arvad, also proved themselves invaluable. Sonya created countless barriers while Kendrick guarded any gap Kiyori couldn't. It was only due to their combined efforts that we escaped the city alive with as many as we did." River sighed heavily, sinking once again into his chair. "I don't know where they've gone now though."

He shook his head. "As far as I'm aware, the Despot himself is still residing inside his castle preparing gods only know what. I wish we had Ry'Ha'Dach to assist us, but he transformed into a human so Kiyori could carry him and he seems unable to turn back. He's still healing."

Jewel set down a map of Cragwall without being asked.

Immediately, River pointed out key points around the city.

"The entire place is overrun. I can't recommend a full-frontal assault," River said. "If anything, I'd think the best bet would be to sneak into the Mountain Quarter. What you do from there will be up to you."

Forfend hummed long and low and slow.

"The best we can tell, they don't know our whereabouts in the forest. Kiyori, though, she's worried they'll find us. She's been fighting from before you left until only a short while ago. Even now, she's out there standing guard."

Forfend nodded and shared a glance with Melzaryn. The wizard looked mildly impressed, if anything.

It, however, was concerned.

"That is all I know," River concluded.

"We know for certain that Despot Falco's intention is immortality," Forfend offered.

River considered this briefly. "I don't know how he plans to do it, but whatever he's going to try will take place within his castle. That's where he'll be safest and most secure. No interruptions."

"Oh, there's going to be an interruption," Melzaryn spoke with unexpected ferocity.

Despite himself, River almost smiled.

Flint snorted.

Jewel let a ghost of a smirk cross her tired face.

"According to the scouts I've sent out, Falco's children have returned to Cragwall," River shared.

Forfend and Melzaryn both took a moment to ponder this information.

"Concerning," Melzaryn matter-of-factly decided.

"That cannot be good," Forfend seconded. "If they are not on his side willingly, then he has certainly got them under his mind control."

"What is your plan?" River asked, his fingers steepled. "How do we proceed here?"

Forfend looked to Melzaryn.

Melzaryn chewed his lip.

"I'm not sure most of us will be of much use here. But with four demigods, you can surely accomplish something." River glanced toward the hallway. "Are Kagoshi and Kairi outside? I don't recall seeing Kairi with you when you left."

Forfend hissed steam, its core sinking low in its chest. "Kagoshi is outside. Kairi... Kairi did not survive Despot Falco's attack."

River's lips pressed tightly together. He rubbed his face. He looked to them with deep sympathy in his eyes, the sorrow of every loss laying heavy on him. "I see. I'm sorry. May she rest in peace."

Forfend hummed. It muttered a prayer for the departed in celestial.

"Still, the three of you survived and proved yourselves mighty," River offered some hope. "You could alter the course of a nation if you truly wanted to."

That was, Forfend assumed, more or less their intention at this point.

"What's the plan?" River asked again.

"Truthfully, the plan is to sneak in and fight Falco," Melzaryn shrugged. "We don't have enough information to plan beyond that. There is no more strategic-minded idea besides just winging it."

He drew in a deep breath and scratched at the back of his neck. "I think it's going to be more important to talk about what happens after. Once this is all over, things are going to happen very, very fast. I took the liberty of speaking to a sovereign from Harmonia about some potential solutions for everyone. You're about to lose a king. I'd like to cut down on the chaos where I can because the world is... not friendly."

"I understand," River responded grimly.

Melzaryn nodded. "I spoke to my mother about it. Being the son of one of the heads of the Collymore family, I've got some sway. She's willing to help us with these matters."

River paused, the gears in his mind turning as he looked over Melzaryn anew. He swallowed thickly. The gravity of who Melzaryn was settled onto him.

"Oh," he finally said.

"She suggested three possible solutions we can take after Falco's death," Melzaryn carried on as though River, Flint, and Jewel were not all still thoroughly stunned. "Of course, I have my preference and opinion on what's likely to be the best one, however, they're all viable options."

Melzaryn placed his hands on the table, leaning forward to draw all attention to himself. "I think the thing you're probably most worried about is King Maggard taking this as an attack and deciding to oust all of you from his vassal state."

All three genasi nodded.

"Well, the best solution to that is to use the rules and precedents already put into place by the Celestial Summit," Melzaryn explained. "One of the options this affords us is simply to declare war and fight it out with the Howling Plains using the Kuumedian Desert as an ally, but I'm not a huge fan of this one. It's not ideal for you or the Desert. We'll almost certainly win, but there will be a lot of loss and Tyrwedia will end up owing the Kuumedian Desert for our services."

River glanced to Jewel.

Jewel wiped her tired eyes and looked to Flint.

Flint folded his arms on the table to bury his face in them.

They all looked exhausted and well out of their depth.

Forfend also felt like it had only the vaguest notion of what Melzaryn's plan was. The genasi weren't title holders in Tyrwedia. Their power in the Land had been rather effectively stripped from them.

Melzaryn seemed to have a very clear idea on how he intended to seize that power back the second Despot Falco was dead, even if Forfend couldn't parse it.

"Another option could be for a demigod to simply assign themselves as leader of this region." For some reason, Melzaryn was watching Forfend from the corner of his eye. "That would allow them to claim the territory right out from under King Maggard and give the nation autonomy.”

The genasi also each cast a quick peek at Forfend as they considered the option.

It turned away. It may be the only local demigod they had, but it was incredibly far from the leader they needed. Everyone here knew as much, but other demigod options were effectively non-existent.

"The third option is the one I think is best," Melzaryn said. "We can form a council."

River perked up.

"As a member of a high-ranking family from another country, I'll be able to take the role of foreign emissary,” Melzaryn offered. "I won't have any more power or sway than any other member on the council, but I can provide insight and advice. You could also place Forfend on the council, since it seems he has very strong morals. Ideally, he'll play the role of tiebreaker when necessary, instead of having total control over the decisions that get made. He can bring the staying power we'll need, as the local demigod. I'd prefer my own demigod status not be disclosed, but Forfend's probably should be to give us the most possible credibility."

River rubbed his chin, his head tilting. "Maybe. If there's anyone we'd consider to be sovereign, it's Ry'Ha'Dach."

Forfend nodded its agreement. Ry'Ha'Dach was certainly more of a dependable, experienced leader than Forfend. Tiebreaking for a council didn't sound as difficult or terrifying as controlling a nation on its own, but it still wasn't sure it liked the idea of wielding that much power.

That said, the colonizers of Tyrwedia would never accept Ry'Ha'Dach as their ruler. Forfend may have an easier time in that regard.

Melzaryn opened his mouth to continue the discussion, but Forfend felt dizzied by the whole situation.

It politely ducked its head. "I will leave you to discuss while I check on our allies," it excused itself.

Forfend left as quickly as it could without drawing more attention to itself.

Outside, it found Vesper standing by the door.

"May I ask a question?"

Vesper nodded affirmatively. "You certainly may ask."

"Do you have any ideas for a plan? No one else seems to, I certainly do not, and I am concerned."

Vesper cocked his head. "Step one: place Howell at a distance because that's how he fights best. Step two: place someone in between him and Falco. I'll volunteer. I have a skill that sometimes causes people to flee from me. You should be between me and Falco. Step three: place Melzaryn opposite Howell and just as far away from Falco. Kagoshi will stay between them. Step four: cast Silence and Hold Person on Falco at any cost to prevent him from using his demigod ability. Step five: magically buff Kagoshi as much as possible."

Forfend's chest lit up. "That is brilliant, Vesper. Thank you."

"We should also try to get Falco's equipment off if we can. He'll be much less effective without it," Vesper added.

Forfend hummed thoughtfully.

Howell nodded. "Got it."

"I will tell Melzaryn," Forfend said. It pulled its Sending Stone from its belt rather than risking getting pulled back into the delicate political conversation. It was out of its depth and nervous about the role it may need to play. It had enough on its mind at the moment as it was.

"Melzaryn," it called into the Stone.

"Yes?" came the immediate reply.

It relayed Vesper's plan almost verbatim.

"That is a worthy plan of engagement with the Despot himself," River's voice sprang through the magic connection. "Getting to him will be another matter. You may be able to sneak into the Mountain Quarter, but all the tunnels into Castle Ledrian have been collapsed. There will be no sneaking inside the castle itself. The only real method left is entering directly through the front gate."

Forfend hummed anxiously.

"I'm sure that will be fine," Vesper said.

Kagoshi grunted from somewhere behind Forfend.

"If you do make it into the Mountain Quarter though," River continued, "the defenses were designed to work both ways. You can use that to your advantage. It's difficult to get in, but it's also difficult to get out. They won't be able to mobilize effectively to rally reinforcements. Once you're inside, you should be safe from that threat, though I can't say what others you may face."

Vesper chewed his lip and wandered away from the conversation.

"So what exactly is the fucking plan?” Kagoshi gruffed. It seemed he hadn't been listening.

Forfend actually wasn't certain where he'd milled off to or when he'd come back.

"The outside of the Mountain Quarter is heavily guarded," River informed them. "They're using their sheer numbers as a threat to keep us away, and I must say that it's working. We couldn't possibly handle a deluge of forces like that. Stealth will be paramount in getting past them. The tunnels beneath have all been collapsed, but perhaps you could find another option."

"I might have some suggestions," Melzaryn's voice wafted through the Stone.

"Something I've observed that might be helpful is that most of Falco's puppets are of unsound minds. There are some that seem to possess more free will and more intelligence to go along with it," River continued, "but the more control Falco has, the less functional his puppets seem to be. He has to make things simple for them or they fail to find their way. Hence, the open main gate into the Mountain Quarter, but the closed gate into the castle itself. His most intelligent personnel are being kept close at hand."

"So if we collapse the Mountain Quarter gate, the fodder will be too stupid to find a way into the castle to provide reinforcements," Melzaryn stated. "We won't have to hurt them or worry about them causing problems. We'll only have to deal with whoever's already inside."

"Noted," Forfend hummed. It considered the possibility.

Between the enchantment it had added to its mace, Kagoshi's raw strength, and Melzaryn's propensity for targeted destruction, bringing down the gate should prove fairly easy.

A few minutes passed and Melzaryn exited the hideout. "They showed me a map they made of the destruction in the city. Hell of a maze, but I've memorized us a really good route that should make stealth easy for us. Let's go."

Forfend nodded. It fell into step behind Melzaryn.

Kagoshi followed.

Vesper looked up from conversing with his odd wooden box. "We're leaving?"

He jogged to catch up.

"Seems so," Forfend answered.

Howell and his mercenaries also rushed to join the march to Cragwall.

"Do we have a plan?" Howell asked.

"More or less," Melzaryn shrugged.

"We are sneaking in," Vesper provided. He flipped through his deck of cards over and over again. Forfend thought at first the fiddling was perhaps a nervous habit, but then it sensed the magic in the air.

Occasionally, he nodded or muttered a question as he watched the empty air by his side. He was holding a conversation with someone or something.

Forfend wasn't certain what Vesper was doing, but it hoped the ritual would prove useful for them.

"Do any of you partake in any forms of stealth?" Howell looked doubtfully at Forfend and Kagoshi, suspiciously at Melzaryn, and uncertainly at Vesper.

"I'm very good at going unnoticed," Vesper answered flatly.

Kagoshi cracked his knuckles. "Can't get caught if there's no witnesses."

Howell shook his head, but dropped the subject.

The group made their way through Cragwall's east gate.

The city lay in ruins and all was silent save for the crackling fires. Most of the living denizens escaped with the genasi, and any still remaining kept well hidden.

All of Falco's forces were deeper in the city, protecting him as he prepared his murderous ritual.

Vesper hugged his carved wooden box and watched the unshifting rubble around them with a detached sort of wariness.

Howell ruffled his heavy cloak. He sighed.

A thick, dark mist rolled out from beneath his hood and engulfed the party.

It dissipated as quickly as it came, but it left all their movements muffled into silence. There was no longer a chorus of footsteps on stone. Even Forfend's creaking body stopped announcing its presence.

"Since none of you are any good at stealth, I figured I'd do this to keep us hidden," Howell said, his voice barely a whisper beneath the muffling magic. "It's Pass Without Trace."

Forfend nodded. Kairi had used the same spell for the same reason only a day ago.

Howell's magic had a distinctly different feel in the air than Kairi's had.

Where her arcana had felt bubbly and soft, his felt coarse and sun-warmed.

Howell's magic didn't hold a negative sensation, but the stark difference made Forfend miss their feisty, soft-hearted druid companion.

The group slipped soundlessly through the dead and dying city.

Forfend took stock of the immense damage.

Eamon's house lay in ruins alongside the majority of his neighborhood.

Forfend could only hope he and the other inhabitants had survived and escaped.

Kagoshi paused to stare at a section of road not far from the center of the city.

A space nearly a hundred feet in diameter had been steamrolled flat and every inch was covered in deep red blood.

Forfend recoiled, rocks tumbling in its chest.

Kagoshi only squinted. "I remember leaving corpses."

"You did this?!" Forfend couldn't help the whetstone shing that passed through its chest or the sharp sinking of its core into its midsection. The strong mix of emotions nearly threatened to knock it off its feet.

It knew Kagoshi had rampaged in the aftermath of Kairi's murder, but what sort of excessive, hellish violence was this?!

Kagoshi didn't respond to it.

"Either you mashed them into paste or someone cleaned up your mess," the serious mercenary interjected.

Kagoshi growled.

Forfend clenched its fist. Angry and indignant as it was, there was no time to have this conversation now.

The quiet mercenary grabbed Forfend's shoulder and tugged it down behind a pile of rubble.

Howell motioned for everyone to hush.

A patrol of Envema members marched past.

Two of them were the enormous amalgamations of flesh and metal.

Vesper stared, the fur of his tail standing on end as he watched them pass. He swallowed thickly, but said nothing.

The unhinged mercenary also watched the hulking beasts, though his expression was one of concerning giddiness.

Howell motioned for the group to get moving again.

Melzaryn resumed his place in the lead.

With him navigating, they very soon found themselves sneaking past the horde of Envema outside the Mountain Quarter.

"Good luck," Vesper whispered to Melzaryn the second they crossed through the gate, Guidance magic lacing his words.

He ducked into hiding with Howell and the other mercenaries.

Melzaryn hopped on his broom. "Kagoshi, smash that pillar and, Forfend, you've got the other." He zipped up into the air.

Kagoshi and Forfend both nodded.

They were spotted as they took their places, but it was much too late for that to matter now.

Melzaryn cast Shatter at the top of the arch above the open gate. A large section of stone exploded into dust as the unsupported stone began to collapse downward.

Forfend used what Byr had taught it in all his masonry lessons. It smashed its mace into the weakest spot it could determine.

The destructive magic imbued within Gilthur's Inspiration reverberated through the wall. Cracks shocked like lightning up the pillar.

Kagoshi slammed his fist through the wall of the pillar on the opposite side.

Both shivered, then shook, and suddenly crumbled before the Envema members could scramble through the gate.

The earth shook as all of the rubble tumbled to the ground, piling on top of itself into an impassable wall.

Dust whipped out from beneath the destruction.

Kagoshi was swept off his feet by the buffeting wind.

Forfend braced itself as sharp gravel bounced harmlessly off its stone body, but the rushing air wasn't strong enough to move its weighty body.

The Envema members hollered from the far side of the rubble, but there was nothing they could do to get over the dangerously shifting pile.

Forfend turned. It, Melzaryn, and Kagoshi all rejoined the group.

Kagoshi swore under his breath as he dusted off his dirtied jacket.

Howell whistled. "It wasn't stealthy, but I'll give you that it was kind of impressive."

They left the scene of the collapse and made their way toward Castle Ledrian.

Vesper stopped dead in his tracks in the center of the pathway. He spoke to someone who wasn't there.

"Hello, do you know where King Falco is?"

He stood in silence, his tail swishing thoughtfully.

Forfend assumed he must be conversing with a ghost.

Everyone paused, hovering awkwardly nearby as they observed what looked to be a one-sided conversation.

"What do you know of the renovations?" Vesper questioned.

Further silence.

Vesper tilted his head. "What sort of things would those be?"

No audible response.

"Thank you for your time."

Vesper paused for only a moment, then spoke again, "You are dead."

There was another beat of quiet. Vesper blinked as though surprised.

He shrugged off whatever oddity he'd encountered and looked up at everyone in turn. "My work here is done."

Forfend nodded slowly, though it wasn't sure what had happened.

"He is at the top of the castle," Vesper relayed as they all began moving onward again.

"You got some intuition on that or something?" Kagoshi asked, ever dense.

"No. I know for certain he is at the top."

"Oh." Kagoshi rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever you say, Fluffy."

"I do believe he has... reinforcements of sorts up there."

"Yeah, I'd imagine so," Kagoshi gruffed.

"It is likely the very big, scary ones though, so take precaution," Vesper said. "You know. Grrah," he growled, poorly mimicking the hulking flesh-and-metal monsters. "The icky ones we have seen strutting about. The flesh monstrosities."

"I'm sure those guys are easy to take care of," Kagoshi decided.

"I disagree," Forfend hummed.

"You only say that because you wouldn't be able to just throw one of them." Kagoshi clenched his fists and flexed his thick muscles.

Forfend shook its broad head.

As they neared the castle gates, they encountered a small caravan of upturned wagons still smoldering as they belched pitch black smoke into the fire-stained sky.

"Wagon," Melzaryn noted, craning his head to see what may lie beyond them.

"Wagon," Forfend concurred.

Vesper cocked his head at them. "Why are you repeating the same word? It's just a bunch of wagons."

"Yeah, why are you guys doing that?" Howell asked.

"It is strange. Seems very repetitive," Vesper noted.

"Thank you!" Kagoshi shouted, throwing his hands into the air. "Somebody gets it!"

"Why does it even matter?" Vesper shook his head in confusion.

No one answered.

Melzaryn huffed, a bit sad his game had ended so soon.

Forfend found itself missing Kairi all over again.

The mercenaries moved forward, taking cover behind the wagons.

Forfend, Melzaryn, and Vesper followed their lead.

Kagoshi, however, didn't seem concerned in the slightest about staying out of sight.

Forfend peered around the edge of the wreckage, hoping the smoke and flames would obscure its form.

A small group of Envema members stood watch.

A cluster of them guarded the gate while another pair manned the barrels of boiling oil stationed along the ramparts above.

This was a very, very small group to be guarding such a critical point.

Pebbles clattered in Forfend's chest as it fretted over the situation. This was too simple, too easy. A trap. It had to be.

Something hazy entered the edge of Forfend's field of vision.

It focused its gaze and stiffened sharply.

Kairi, ghostly pale and translucent, waved to them from off to the side.

Forfend couldn't tell if she was a true spirit or a dark trick, but it couldn't tear its gaze off its fallen friend.

Kairi's glittering wings spread and whisked her around a stack of abandoned supplies tucked close to the wall. She disappeared from view.

Forfend shook its head, uncertain if what it had seen had even been real.

It locked gazes with Melzaryn who simply frowned, his eyes narrowed.

Forfend hummed softly. It seemed he'd seen it.

They silently agreed not to chase the startling entity.

Kagoshi finally ducked behind cover before the Envema guards spotted him.

Forfend motioned to him in an attempt to catch his attention, but he was staring too intently at the space Kairi had ducked into.

"Don't do it," Melzaryn whispered an almost idle warning, as though he was joking or teasing Kagoshi instead of truly trying to ward him off.

Kagoshi paid him no mind. He darted out from hiding and dove behind the huge supply pile Kairi had disappeared behind.

"Wh-- Hey, what the fuck?" Howell whisper-yelled as his cloaking magic fell away from Kagoshi.

Luckily, Kagoshi had been quick and silent enough that the guards hadn't seen him, but Forfend feared what he may be about to encounter.

"Well, he's dead," Melzaryn shrugged. "At least he'll probably soften them up for us."

"What the hell?!" Howell threw his hands up.

The crazy mercenary snickered, but the other two just stared.

Vesper chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Why would he do that?"

Forfend shook its head. It couldn't so much as pretend it understood Kagoshi.

There was silence from Kagoshi's hidden corner for a few seconds too long.

Forfend shuffled as it considered trying to follow Kagoshi.

Vesper stilled it with a hand on its side and a subtle shake of his head.

A chorus of a dozen bloodcurdling screeches ripped through the air.

The Envema members startled, snatching up their weapons and whirling around to face the hidden corner.

"How dare..." came a broken, raspy, struggling cacophony of voices. "How dare you. Should not have let... such fine flesh as this... go to waste. Wasn't she your dear... friend?"

The voices laughed mockingly, wheezing with every strained breath.

"Should not have left... the body behind. How... cruel," the voices admonished and cackled all over again. "Now you can't even give her... a proper burial. Who's fault... is that?"

Forfend squeezed its mace tight in its grip.

Whatever that creature had been, it wasn't Kairi and now it had Kagoshi.

The Envema members weren't prepared for it either. They were acting as though they hadn't known it was there.

They didn't approach. Nervously, they waited to see what would happen.

"You?" the voices asked. "Who found yourself wallowing in rage... and grief? Or me? Who saw... a simple use... for what you... discarded?"

The voices screamed their wailing laughter.

"I'll be sure to torture you before I kill you!" Kagoshi yelled back.

"I'm not sure." Kairi pat its arm. "Maybe."

"It certainly is not worth giving chase." Forfend shook its head. "We have no proof of wrongdoing and we are not authorities."

Kairi hummed her agreement.

Ahead of them, a group of knights stood stockstill at attention in front of the entrance.

Forfend nodded politely.

They regarded it and the rest of its party with mild disdain.

"State your business," one of them ordered.

"We are here to report to Roman Summerstead regarding the kruthik infestation," Forfend stated.

They glanced among themselves.

One of them pulled a Sending Stone from his belt and whispered into it, eyeing the party suspiciously.

The Sending Stone flickered at the knight's ear. After a moment, he nodded to the others.

They pushed open the gate.

"He'll be waiting for you in the meeting room," one of them said.

"Thank you," Forfend nodded politely as it passed them.

The building ahead was huge. Much larger than any house Forfend had ever seen.

It was opulent too, the grounds covered in perfect topiaries and the house adorned in the Summerstead crest. The oversized double doors sported an exquisite dark wood Forfend was sure had been imported. Golden knockers shaped like twin peacocks spread their wings in perpetual flight in the center of either door.

Forfend hesitantly touched one of their outward-curling tails and bumped it against the wood with just barely the force needed to be heard on the other side.

A butler, the same butler they'd seen the first time they visited Roman, opened the door and nodded to them. He turned and led them up a wide, fanciful staircase to the second floor.

Forfend felt steam breeze easily through its chest. No tight, twisting staircases this time.

It took a moment to assess its surroundings.

The inside of the house was far more ostentatious than the outside. Decorative armors lined the hallways. Expansive paintings of beautiful scenery or sneering relatives or winery-related agriculture lined the walls. Glass display cases filled to the brim with gracefully designed wine bottles also dotted the pathways periodically.

The butler led them what felt to be very deep into the house, but may have actually not been very far at all. Forfend was disoriented by the neverending network of halls and stairways and doors.

Finally, he stopped and quietly opened a door. "Your guests, Lord Summerstead," the butler introduced them as the party filed inside.

Forfend ducked carefully through the doorway. The meeting room itself was fortunately quite sizeable. Forfend stood upright with ease and did not feel it was crowding its companions.

Roman sat on the opposite side of an almost comically large mahogany table.

To his right sat a human woman with long plaited brown hair. She wore an elegant red dress and a placid expression.

To his left was a young half-elf woman. The structure of her face was slightly sharper than Roman's own, but otherwise resembled him quite closely. She, too, wore a red dress accented in gold, though she wore a bit more jewelry on her fingers than the other woman.

Forfend hummed quietly to itself. She was likely Roman's daughter and the other woman must be his wife. Those were the only people Forfend was currently certain lived in this house. Perhaps they had seen a thief.

Behind Roman, the arcanist Zoshaan quietly ruffled through the pages of a book. He looked up and shut it as softly as he could manage.

Roman gestured to four chairs neatly arranged in front of his desk. Well, more accurately, it was three chairs and one exceptionally large and apparently reinforced ottoman.

A slight glow emanated just beneath the cracks of Forfend's body. Accommodations just for it. How polite and inclusive!

Forfend took the ottoman while its other companions each slid into one of the offered chairs.

"I heard word you were here to report progress on the kruthik extermination," Roman prompted. "Is that correct?"

Forfend nodded. "The infestation is dealt with. There are no kruthiks left in Brightcrossing."

Roman drummed his fingers on the table. He didn't quite seem aware he was doing it. Perhaps, his wife or daughter disliked when he smoked in an enclosed space with them, so he wasn't sure what to do with his hands. "I heard from Knight Thomas Adri that your work was complete. For that, I would like to first offer you thanks. I would also like to interview you to acquire the exact details of what occurred."

Zoshaan subtly leaned forward, apparently interested as well.

"We will answer any questions you have." Forfend ignored the sensation of pebbles tumbling within its chest. It disliked lying, but it would have to omit every demon and Calamity Shard from its retelling of events as per Knight Thomas's orders. It was for the greater good. If the real tale got out, there could be mass panic. Still, Forfend couldn't help but feel guilty and nervous.

Luckily, it had no face to give away those feelings.

"Oh, um, Forfend." Kairi nudged it lightly.

"Ah, yes." Forfend nodded. "I feel we should mention that we saw someone jump your fence on our way in. They were leaving."

"Hm. Interesting." Roman did not look concerned. Instead, he was more flatly unamused. He waved to a knight standing against the wall.

The man nodded and left immediately, his armor clanging with every step.

Up until that moment, Forfend had genuinely thought that he and the three other knights in the room were just armor decorations like the others in the estate.

Now that it was watching, it saw them shift occasionally. Still, they remained so sharply at attention that they were almost motionless.

"We will see to it, do not worry," Roman assured. "We have other matters to discuss. I would like a full report on what happened. While I do trust Knight Thomas's experience and ability to produce accurate reports, I would still prefer to hear it firsthand."

Forfend hummed. "Of course."

Roman nodded seriously. "What happened down in those tunnels?"

Forfend glanced at its companions.

Melzaryn wore an easy smile. He kept his eyes straightforward and his shoulders pulled back.

Kairi looked up at Forfend, her wing softly brushing its back.

Kagoshi picked his teeth. He wasn't listening in the slightest.

It had been hoping one of them would be willing to speak, but apparently not.

Steam rushed as Forfend turned back to Roman. Nonetheless, it launched into the sanitized, demon-free version of the fiasco.

"Hm, I see," Roman muttered mostly to himself. "I suppose that leaves the hive lord firmly marked in the unusual category. I have no explanation for what caused it to migrate here."

Zoshaan stepped forward far enough to make eye contact with Roman. "It is strange, my lord. Given the report, it does not sound as though anyone planted them here. We could perhaps surmise this was something of a fluke. The Adamantine Mountains are not too far away in the grand scheme of things. This could've been an unnatural migration due to a number of things: natural disaster, outcompeted by another hive, predators, civilization destroying their local habitat. Anything really."

"You're sure of this? There was no sabotage?" Roman narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Kruthiks are fickle, unpredictable creatures. Herding and manipulating them is exceptionally difficult. If it's possible at all, it would likely be more trouble than it's worth. Every point on the path from A to Z would have to unfold perfectly or the kruthiks would escape and probably cause grievous harm to their would-be captors in the process," Zoshaan placated.

Roman nodded and relaxed. "I see." He turned back to the party. "Well then, it appears you were very much successful in your endeavors. Congratulations on a job well done. As per our contract, you will be provided a lawyer to assist with your court date in Cragwall. You may meet him outside the courthouse on the day of your trial, or you could meet with him early at the Summerstead Estate within Cragwall."

Roman sat forward, his fingers steepling. He glanced over at his wife. "And due to your extraordinary expediency, we would like to offer you an additional reward."

"Oh?" Forfend straightened and nodded politely. "Thank you for your kindness."

"What do you seek?" Roman spread his hands out to encompass the party as a whole.

Forfend looked from one side to the other at its companions. It, personally, wasn't seeking anything. It had no requests.

Everything was quiet for a moment.

"I could, perhaps, commission Gilthur on your behalf. Kagoshi." He tilted his chin up, trying to keep his brows from twitching at the idly distracted man.

"Hm?" Kagoshi only just bothered to make eye contact with Roman.

"You aren't currently carrying a weapon, but your stature suggests you could easily use something heavy. Perhaps two-handed?" Roman looked down his nose at Kagoshi. "Would you accept such a humble reward?"

Kagoshi leaned back his chair, wobbling dangerously as he considered the possibility. "Yeah. Yeah, I could use a weapon."

"Alright," Roman nodded. "What would you like? A great sword? A spear? A hammer?"

"Do you happen to know what a kanabo is?" Kagoshi grinned wickedly.

Roman's brow knit. He turned to look up at Zoshaan.

Zoshaan opened his spellbook, flipped through the pages, and whispered something into them. He snapped and a flash of magic briefly lit the page.

"It is a club-like weapon of Fulgar Isle design," Zoshaan read.

"I see." Roman glanced back at Kagoshi, his expression denoting that the weapon choice was unsurprising. "Gilthur should understand how to make you something such as that. It will be done."

Roman turned to Forfend and the rest of its companions. "Despite your expediency, you have been delayed a day in your travels. As such, Zoshaan has already alerted the Tyrwedian Grand Court that your delay was due to your assistance here. It will not be held against you."

Steam hissed as Forfend let itself relax slightly. "Thank you."

"I do not suggest you delay further," Roman warned.

"Of course not," Forfend agreed.

"I believe that will conclude this meeting and all associated addendums. Is there anything further you wish to request of me or discuss regarding the matters of our contract?" Roman asked in a tone that suggested he'd prefer if they did not.

Everyone shook their heads.

"If not, then I must kindly ask you to leave." Roman placed a stack of papers on his desk. "I have work to do."

"Have a nice day," Forfend said as it stood.

"Same to you," Roman replied. "Forfend," he added after a moment.

As they filed back out of the room, Zoshaan followed them.

He twirled his hand and a paper flipped itself into his grip. Magic raced across the white sheet. He handed it over to Kagoshi.

"If you give that to the blacksmith, Gilthur, it will accommodate everything," he instructed.

Kagoshi nodded.

"I wish you luck on your journey," Zoshaan said politely. "And with your trial."

"Hm," Kagoshi barely vocalized.

"Thank you," Forfend spoke up in his stead.

The party were escorted back outside and off the grounds.

"Gilthur is exceptionally talented," Forfend shared with Kagoshi as they made their way to the smithy. "He will forge you an excellent weapon."

"Yeah? Good," Kagoshi huffed.

As they approached, the ringing sound of Gilthur striking metal grew louder.

Kagoshi opened the door to the shop and headed straight in.

Kairi followed him.

Forfend sat down outside. It had already said its goodbyes to Gilthur. It would leave him to his business.

Melzaryn leaned up against its shoulder.

Forfend heard Kagoshi yell from inside and inwardly cringed. Kagoshi was purchasing a service from a highly skilled craftsman. Where was his respect?

A few minutes later, Kagoshi and Kairi exited the shop.

"He already had something similar in the works, so we'll only have to wait four hours," Kagoshi informed them.

Forfend nodded. "While we are waiting, we will talk outside town about what happened during that fight."

Kagoshi grimaced. "After I get my weapon."

Forfend shook its head. "We have the time to talk right now. We will not put this off. It is too important."

"Kagoshi, we really should talk about it," Kairi nudged. "I'm worried."

"Fine," Kagoshi ground out. He jabbed his finger into the metal brace of Forfend's chest. "You've got four hours."

"That will be plenty enough." Forfend led the group outside the city.

They found a spot down a short incline off the main road, tucked into the shadow of the Brightcrossing wall. No carts going past would spot them, no guard patrols were stationed in such an empty spot, and no one could get close enough to eavesdrop without being spotted. They could have a confidential conversation without worry here.

Forfend crossed its arms as it looked down at its deeply scowling companion.

Kagoshi glared up at it, his own arms folded defiantly over his chest.

Kairi scooped up a little lump of dirt. Green light shown through gaps in the soil as a cluster of lavender sprouted up. The calming scent filled the air around the tense party.

Forfend let steam hiss for a long moment. "Does anyone else understand Abyssal, aside from myself and Kagoshi?"

Kagoshi flinched and grit his teeth, though his eyes didn't waver from Forfend's face.

Kairi shook her head.

"Not currently," Melzaryn shrugged. "And not during the fight either."

Forfend hummed. "The greater demon said in no uncertain terms that Kagoshi is, in fact, a demigod of Atrox. I have had my suspicions since shortly after we met, but now I know for certain."

Kagoshi ground his teeth and looked away from Forfend for the first time since their pseudo-standoff had started. "Yeah," he growled.

"Kagoshi, did you know?" Forfend asked with deadly seriousness.

"No, I didn't know." Kagoshi looked... Maybe uncertain wasn't the word, but it was as close as Forfend could get to naming the complicated emotions flitting behind Kagoshi's eyes and getting buried before they could make it onto his face. He was uncertain of himself, likely for the first time in a long time.

"As Callan explained, I know that some demigods take a long time to discover their patrons. Some never do. I believe you are being honest with me." Forfend hummed to itself, tapping its fingers against its metal chest. "Still, it is troubling. We do not know if there are others out there. It is good to know that you want to fight against demons, Kagoshi, but others like you may not."

Kagoshi huffed. "I don't know if there could be others like me."

Forfend tilted its head, but Kagoshi pointedly didn't elaborate.

"When did your power first manifest?" it tried a different avenue of questioning. "And what did your family do?"

"I can answer that first question," Kagoshi offered. "About ten months ago, give or take."

Forfend straightened. Ten months? From the way Callan talked, most demigods manifested their powers in their childhood. Kagoshi was easily in his twenties. Perhaps older.

"That is very late," Forfend finally said aloud. "What occurred ten months ago that triggered your abilities?"

Kagoshi evaded its gaze and stood silently.

"There is nothing interesting?" it said disbelievingly. "Nothing of note happened? What were you doing at the time? Were you in a fight?"

Kagoshi was quiet for another moment. Forfend was beginning to think he would refuse to answer when he finally looked up. "I did wake up after a fight."

"Elaborate?" Forfend requested.

Kagoshi was silent once again. He looked as though he was gathering his thoughts. And also deciding what he was willing to share. Forfend had never met anyone so closed off.

After a long moment, Kagoshi finally unfolded his arms and spoke. "There's a reason I know so little about the current era."

Forfend knelt to bring itself closer to Kagoshi's face. "Are you saying you are like me?"

"Yes and no," Kagoshi shrugged. "I'm not from the Sundering. It was later than that."

"But you were from a previous era and awoke here in this age." Forfend tilted its head curiously. "How long ago did you awaken?"

"About ten months," Kagoshi gruffed.

"And that is when your powers began manifesting. What was happening before that? Do you remember?" Forfend couldn't remember what had been happening before it had suddenly woken up in the present. Not really. It was all so fragmented.

Kagoshi shook his head. "When I try to remember, I mostly get fuzz. A blur."

"That is... common, apparently," Forfend hummed.

"The last thing I remember vividly is watching my entire kingdom burn." Kagoshi took a deep breath to steady himself.

He looked more vulnerable in this moment than he had ever let himself look before.

Forfend bowed its head respectfully. "I am sorry for your loss."

"Hm," Kagoshi acknowledged.

Forfend took in Kagoshi's visage with a new perspective. He'd seen tragedy. That's likely why he was so standoffish. It was a sensible reason, though hardly an excuse for his rudeness.

Forfend found itself wondering as well how someone who hadn't been a demigod before, had suddenly woken up from a tragedy in the distant future with a patron so heinous as Atrox.

It placed a hand tentatively on Kagoshi's shoulder.

Kagoshi glared at its arm as though he was offended it dare exist at all.

Forfend removed its hand and straightened its back, a deep metallic hum resonating in its center. "It is clear to me that you are at least trying to get a handle on your newfound abilities and your circumstances are not your fate. If you want to do good with them despite their terrible origin then I will support you. Kairi, myself, and Melzaryn, if he would like, could help you on that path."

Kagoshi growled, staring towards the Brightcrossing wall.

"Is that the path you want to take?" Forfend prompted.

"I am a warrior. And I will fight whatever I must," Kagoshi answered cryptically. "If that includes my own self, then so be it."

"What are you fighting for?" Forfend asked. Everything was always a battle with Kagoshi.

"I fight for the things I care about."

"And what do you care about?"

"Strength," Kagoshi growled, his gaze meeting Forfend's with sharp determination. "Real strength. Not given strength."

Earned strength. That's what he wanted. Maybe all he wanted. If that's the case, the abilities dropped on him must be difficult to reconcile with.

And it begged another question regarding demons and unwanted power.

"Kagoshi, what do you remember about the fight with the demon after you went down?" Forfend rolled its shoulders as it recalled the dawning horror of Callan's limp weight being lifted from its back.

"Everything," Kagoshi breathed, angry and world weary.

"Could you explain to me what happened? Because, frankly, it was terrifying. And I know that thing was not you because I have never seen you not swing to kill. That monster was toying with us." Forfend shuddered.

"Well, you got me on that one. I don't play." Kagoshi cracked his knuckles and stared down at his hands. "My body wouldn't respond to me. It didn't do what I wanted. I was just trapped in my own mind. Watching."

"Could it happen again?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"I dislike that we have no idea what caused it. Was it the presence of the demon? Or was there something else at work? Was it the shard in your spine?"

Kagoshi shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever's causing it, I plan on conquering it."

"Noble," Forfend nodded approvingly. "Easier said than done."

"Yeah," Kagoshi agreed grimly. "But I'll do it."

Forfend angled its face and leaned slightly forward in hopes of giving an intent, curious impression. "What do you think of Atrox? Of what you know of it?"

"I've always heard him described more as a demon than a god."

It nodded. "It is effectively both a demon and a god. Though, that did not truly answer my question."

Kagoshi rolled his eyes. "Ask what you meant to ask."

Forfend let a rush of steam release from its center. "Can we trust you?"

"Well, that's a good question." Kagoshi let a smirk twitch at one corner of his lips. "Do you trust a random stranger?"

"We have been traveling together and encountered enough dangerous happenings that I would no longer call us strangers."

"We ain't exactly friends either," Kagoshi countered.

Forfend looked Kagoshi over and shook its head. "No, I wouldn't say so." It hummed softly. "Perhaps a better question: do you trust yourself?"

"I trust my own strength. If it fails me, I'll fail everyone else." Kagoshi glanced at Kairi. "I can't let that happen."

"Knowing that you are a demigod of Atrox, cultists and demons may offer you power. Or money. Anything they think you'll want." Forfend had seen demons promise the world and more before. It had seen good people fall for it. "Would you accept it?"

Kagoshi shook his head firmly. "I'd fight them. I'll always fight them. I'll kill every one. I don't want my strength handed to me."

Forfend nodded. That was enough of an answer for it. At least for now. "Well, that is reassuring. If you will have me, I will help you on your journey. There is a bold sense of justice in fighting Atrox's demons alongside one of its demigods."

"You do what you want," Kagoshi huffed. "I won't stop you either way."

Kairi smiled and bumped her wing against Forfend's shoulder. It took that to mean Kagoshi's response was about as positively receptive as he was capable of being.

"We will help you learn to control your rage," Forfend assured.

"I just have to try harder," Kagoshi muttered partially to himself.

"Do not hesitate to fall back on us when you need us," Forfend pushed. "Especially Kairi. She has been your friend the longest."

"I've traveled with her the longest. That's all." Kagoshi shrugged noncommittally.

Forfend glanced at Kairi, concerned.

Kairi grinned smugly. "Uh-huh. Sure."

Kagoshi pointedly looked up into the air and away from all of them to hide his face.

Forfend shook its head at his stubbornness.

"Any more interrogation questions you want to ask me about my life?" Kagoshi griped.

Forfend tapped the side of its stone head thoughtfully. "I do not think so. You know, you could always ask me questions about mine, if you were ever curious."

Forfend hummed low in its chest. "For the record, I believe that all of us were brought together for a reason. I have heard from Fornax for the first time in two years, not just once but twice. I have a new shield and a new mace. I think something very big is happening here and that is why we stumbled across an Atroxian cultist. There is more work for us to do."

Kagoshi scoffed, but Kairi and Melzaryn both looked to at least be considering it.

"Well, if you're done asking questions, I'm going back into town to wait for Gilthur to finish my weapon." Kagoshi tromped off immediately.

Forfend and the others followed him.

"Perhaps I should ask if Knight Thomas is alright," Forfend suggested. "Surely, he is home by now."

"Yeah, you do that." Kagoshi waved dismissively. "I don't think he likes me all that much."

"I would imagine not. You scared him quite significantly and threatened his life," Forfend chastised.

"Oh, c'mon! That was a joke!" Kagoshi argued.

"It did not sound like a joke!" Forfend scolded more harshly.

"Fine! My apologies for always looking angry!" He huffed, then muttered, "Not like I can turn that off."

"The least you could do is simply not threaten people." It gazed down at Kagoshi as they walked. "If you looked angry but said nothing, people would think you were averagely grouchy. As opposed to homicidally grouchy."

"I will punch you in the face," Kagoshi casually threatened.

"Technically, I do not have a face to punch," it countered.

"You've got a rune. Maybe I'll just break that. Fuck it, I don't know." Kagoshi stood up on his toes and eyed Forfend's blank face. "What would happen if I broke it?"

"I do not know and I would prefer not to find out," Forfend answered honestly. "It has never been damaged. I would like to keep it that way."

Kagoshi hummed to himself.

"I imagine it would not be dissimilar to caving in a person's skull," Forfend elaborated.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Kagoshi grinned. "Speaking of which, I need my kanabo. Pick up the pace."

Forfend completely disregarded Kagoshi and paused to speak to a pair of guards.

Both of them tensed sharply and looked at each other. One turned to stare straight forward as though ignoring Forfend would make it go away. The other craned his neck up to take in Forfend's full height and swallowed hard.

"H-hey, man," he muttered, "you're really tall. What the fuck?"

Forfend chuckled softly. "I thought we had moved past this." It didn't recognize these particular guards, but surely word of its presence and unusual appearance had gotten around.

"I've never seen you before," the guard squeaked.

"Do you work under Knight Thomas?" it asked simply.

"Yeah?"

Forfend crouched to make itself less intimidating. "Have you seen him recently? Is he off duty? Did he make it home alright?"

"I'm pretty sure he's off duty," the guard managed. "He's taking a nap, probably. Something about a late night?"

"Very late, yes," Forfend agreed.

"Alright. Um, can I help you?"

Forfend shook its head. "I think not. Thank you for your time."

"That thing was so big," one guard whispered nervously to the other as Forfend walked away. "What the fuck was it?"

Kagoshi rolled his eyes at the pair. "He's friendly."

"Really?" the second guard sounded unconvinced.

"I do my very best," Forfend called back to them.

"Oh shit, it heard us," they panicked.

"He's a lot more friendly than I am," Kagoshi grumbled.

"Oh, that's good! That's nice! You seem nice," one of the guards nodded.

"Me?" Kagoshi balked.

"Sure," the other guard shrugged. "You're talking to us, aren't you? Most people would just walk on past."

Kagoshi huffed irritably. "I can't wait to get my damn kanabo." He turned and stalked away.

The rest of the party followed him to Gilthur's smithy. They waited patiently outside until the four hours was up.

Kagoshi rushed inside as soon as the fourth hour mark hit. Kairi followed him.

A moment later, Kagoshi was back and swinging his massive studded club.

Forfend took a short step back, but assessed the weapon with admiration. Gilthur had once again done a brilliant job.

"Alright, let's get going!" Kairi fluttered her wings. She had a new rapier at her side, apparently freshly purchased from Gilthur as well.

Forfend nodded and the party set off for Cragwall once again.

The first day of the journey was blissfully quiet and uneventful. At dusk, they made camp by a stream.

Forfend took the opportunity to tidy up its stone body. Demon blood and bug innards and golden ichor gathered in every crack of its body. It felt uncomfortable and disgusted. It also stank.

The cool water of the river washed away all of its filth and most of its worries, leaving it relaxed and eager.

Rest was easy.

The next day was similarly quiet and the weather was beautiful. And the next day as well. Travel was smooth, easy, enjoyable, and free of hiccups or hitches. Finally, they were making steady progress.

Forfend's spirits were lifted. Confidence and optimism filled its form as Cragwall's massive outline came into view on the horizon.

The path turned abruptly from dirt to cobblestone beneath their feet. A refreshing breeze drifted off a wide, deep river flanking the slow slope Cragwall was built upon. Beyond the expanse of water, the Howling Plains of Begstrom were living up to their name.

A towering, swirling storm framed Castle Ledrian, which sat imposingly at the very top of Cragwall's incline.

Even from a distance, the sprawling stronghold looked intimidating. Like one could spend their whole life living inside those walls and never find their way into every room.

The next district below the castle on the mountainous outcrop was similarly excessive. Forfend assumed the line of mansions would each belong to the major nobles of the realm. One of them must be the Summerstead Estate. Another could belong to the Gallofords. Though, that left at least three noble families that Forfend knew nothing about. It hoped that wouldn't be important.

The base of the hill was filled up with what was by far Cragwall's largest district. That was the area where the common folk lived and worked. The very air bustled with all the lively happenings of everyday routine. Forfend had never seen so many people in one place.

A handful of particularly large buildings stuck out. One of those was a wide, circular building with a domed roof made up of red glass. The sunlight glinted brilliantly off it.

Not far from it, a grand cathedral rose up towards the heavens as though the building itself was beseeching the gods. Forfend hoped it was truly filled with all the holy energy it looked to encapsulate.

Other domed buildings and large dwellings surely marked myriads of libraries and shops.

Along the sides of Cragwall's outcropping ran aqueducts, poised as both water infrastructure and railings for the steep drops on either side of the raised city. They collected the rain that fell around Castle Ledrian and the noble district whenever a storm might cross the river from the Howling Plains and carried it all the way out into the farmlands Forfend and its companions were now passing through.

Of everything, Forfend was most interested in this area outside the soaring stone walls. These people were farmers and likely the poorest people in Cragwall. Their ramshackle homes clustered beneath the shadow of the city and spread outward from there.

The earthy scent of farmland permeated the air, adding a familiar undertone to the river breeze. This area was nearly like home, though even it alone would dwarf Foumedo.

Many people worked the fields without so much as glancing up. Others were out hanging laundry to dry or tending to playing children. Fewer people stopped to stare here than Brightcrossing. Those that did looked awestruck or nervous or curious.

Forfend waved to them.

As always, the children were most delighted by this. Some of the adults hazarded a smile and wave of their own.

The road itself was crowded with people coming into or out of the city. Occasionally, a street vendor called out to Forfend and its companions, or approached them pitching all manner of supplies and tools and luxury goods.

Forfend shook its head politely before Kagoshi could cause a fuss.

Melzaryn looked perfectly comfortable in this bustling atmosphere as he led them into the line at the gates.

Kairi had slipped into the back of the party, massaging her temples. Forfend worried for her. She had mentioned that crowds of people overwhelmed her with their collective emotions. She couldn't turn her demigod ability off. She would have no choice but to endure.

Forfend raised itself to its full height and looked out over the line ahead of them.

The gates were heavily guarded. Two knights on horseback stood watch on either side of the road. More knights and guards handled the paperwork of those entering, asking various questions before allowing passage. Yet more guards crowded the ramparts above, staring down at the throngs of people.

All of it looked far more rigorous than what they'd gone through in Brightcrossing. Forfend touched the bag of Calamity Shards at its side. Hopefully, they wouldn't search it.

Forfend fretted silently as the line slowly inched forward.

Melzaryn nudged it gently and cast a relaxed smile.

Forfend nodded.

"Next," a guard called the party forward without looking up from his list.

An arcanist is deep green robes sat nearby. He perked up at the sight of Forfend.

"What is the purpose of your visit?" the guard asked.

"We are reporting for court," Forfend hummed.

"Ah, alright," the guard nodded, pencil pressed to the paper. "Names please."

"Forfend."

"Forfend," the guard repeated and looked up for the first time. His next words caught in his throat. He glanced at the arcanist.

"Excuse me," the arcanist said, "but where is your owner, good sir?"

Forfend hissed steam and shook its head. "I own myself."

The arcanist gasped. "A sentient construct!" He paused and blinked curiously up at Forfend. "Is that correct?"

"Effectively, though not precisely," Forfend answered.

"You said your name was Forfend?"

"I did. Forfend Smith."

"Fascinating! And where do you come from?" the arcanist pulled out a journal and began taking notes.

"Foumedo," it said proudly.

"Foumedo?!" the arcanist exclaimed. "Perhaps they have more down that way than I thought. Perhaps I should visit."

"It a very small and beautiful town," Forfend agreed.

"And what are the rest of your names?" the guard prompted Forfend's companions.

"Kagoshi," came the first flat answer.

"Kairi Camilla," came the next in a singsong tone only a bit more muted than usual.

"Melzaryn. Collymore," the third chimed smartly after.

The guard's eyes widened slightly, but he tried to keep his surprise concealed.

"Thank you," he said as he wrote all their names down. He took them through the very same set of questions Knight Thomas had originally asked.

Now familiar with the proceedings, it was a quick process for Forfend and its companions.

The guard nodded. "Everything seems to be in order here." He passed the papers to the arcanist.

Copies of the papers faded into existence as the arcanist accepted them. He held them up and they all burnt away in a flash of magic. "There we go," he smiled. "Enjoy your visit and pose no trouble. And welcome to Cragwall." He gestured through the archway into the massive commons area.

Forfend strode into the city and stared up at the absolutely sprawling space. It had looked huge from a distance, but from within it was overwhelming.

Just ahead was a statue of a knight on a horse stoically keeping vigil over the marketplace beneath him. The monument was so collosal Forfend nearly expected the knight's aloft sword to brush the clouds drifting over. He wore a crown upon his head, his armor lacking key defensive platings in favor of fashionable flair.

This was meant to depict King Falco then. Forfend huffed steam at the bold narcissistic display and pulled its gaze back down to street level.

The marketplace at the horse's hooves was overrun with merchant stalls and rushing shoppers. A cacophony of shouted pitches and prices and products slashed the otherwise busily peaceful atmosphere.

Forfend found itself drawn in towards the noise.

No one here so much as paused to give it a second look. All of them were buzzing about their own business.

"Where are we going?" Kairi asked meekly.

"I do not know," Forfend hummed, stunned by its new surroundings.

"Oi!" a rough voice cut through the noise. "You bunch newcomers here?"

"Yes," Forfend replied as it looked for who had spoken.

"Ah, well, welcome to Cragwall!" The voice's owner stepped forward into the circle the lively crowd was making around the stalled group.

He was a halfling man whose head was only just level with Forfend's midriff. He wore a duster jacket over mussed, baggy clothes. His boots were spattered with dried mud and so worn down they looked steps away from falling apart.

He brushed dirty fingers through his messy hair in an effort to tidy himself. "You look a bit lost. Can I help?"

Forfend knelt. "Perhaps you can."

The man tugged his jacket and grinned proudly. "If you're lost in Cragwall, I can certainly help you find your way. For a fee of course."

Forfend tilted its head. "What is the fee?"

He looked over the party and tapped his chin. "Let's call it a good four gold. I charge per person. How's that sound?"

"Four gold? Per person? For directions?" A chuckle rumbled in Forfend's chest.

"Big city," the halfling reasoned. "I've got some insider secrets too, if you catch my drift. I'm Cragwall born and bred! I know this city inside and out."

"Ah, I see." Forfend let a soft hiss of steam cover the last grindstone chuckles in its core. "Could you lead us to the Summerstead Family Estate?"

"Yeah, it's in the mountain quarter! There's a lotta noble homes up that way," he nodded sagely. "I could tell you a bit about all of them. Whatever you need, wherever you need to go, I'll be here to help you out." He paused, then added. "If you pay my fee."

Forfend felt its chest begin to glow faintly. It could get directions from anyone and probably rather easily too. There was no need to pay this stranger.

But Forfend liked his moxie, his brazen audacity. It was charmingly reminded of Fletch's insistent positive attitude.

The halfling also looked as though he may need the money much more than Forfend did anyway.

It pulled the four gold from its pouch and its companions each did the same.

The halfling almost looked startled. He shook himself out of it and accepted the payment. "Thank you! Alright, on with your tour then! C'mon, c'mon, I'll show you the way!"

Forfend followed him intently.

"By the way, my name is Erzor Littlefoot," he introduced himself.

"Forfend."

"Nice to meet you, Forfend! You're a big one, ain't you?" Erzor teased. "What's it like being made of stone?"

Forfend's thought process was momentarily stymied by that question. It hummed deep in its core. "I... imagine it is quite different from being made up of flesh, but I have never been anything other than stone. I have no comparison."

"You know what? That's fair," Erzor nodded appreciatively. "Carrying on, I'll let you in on the destinations of interest here in Cragwall."

He pointed out three buildings clustered near one another far off to their left. "That first one there with the domed roof is the Tyrwedian Grand Library. That's where the greatest minds and scholars in Tyrwedia come to learn."

He tossed his head at the next stately building. "That one's the Tyrwedian Grand Court. You only go there if you really fuck up some shit. Most legal business is dealt with in the town or city it happened in, but if somebody fucks up real bad they get sent there."

"That is our destination," Forfend sighed in a weary rush of steam.

"Really?" Erzor blinked in surprise.

"It is a long and complicated story," Forfend lamented.

"No, no, I'm just your guide for the afternoon. Your business is yours. You'll get no judgment from me." He nodded kindly and pointed to the third building. "That one is one of our resident artisans. A woodcarver's place. The dwarf there does a fine job with his craft. I bought something there recently myself. A gorgeous chair. Real comfortable."

"I will certainly make it a point to visit before I leave Cragwall," Forfend said.

"You should!" Erzor encouraged. "Over yonder is the statue of King Ledrian on his mighty steed. Of course, I've never actually seen the steed. Or the king, for that matter!"

He laughed, but Forfend heard the steel across whetstone noise slice through its chest. A king, or any leader, should be present for their people. It was not a good sign that a citizen of the capitol had never seen his king.

"Off to our right there is the general military installation. That's where the guards and barracks and all are at. Jail's part of it too." Erzor gestured toward thick stone walls surrounding a heavily fortified brutalist structure. Everything about the place was designed to project strength and authority.

"Not far from there is the Tyrwedian Grand Cathedral. It's got a spot for every deity in the pantheon." Erzor whistled appreciatively. "Ain't she gorgeous?"

Forfend took a long moment to appreciate the grandiose church. It whistled like a kettle. It didn't have the time right now, but it would have to visit this place before it left Cragwall.

Erzor pat its arm and pointed off towards the building with the red glass dome. "That's the Teleportation Hub. It can take you to almost any other capitol city in Rozdarta. Not Ashea though. They're very isolationist."

Forfend tilted its head at the crowd forming there. The place had been busy before, but now droves of people filled the surrounding plaza. Most of them were earth genasi. They were shouting, chanting. Some of them brandished signs.

"What is going on there?" it asked Erzor.

Erzor grimaced. "I don't really get much into politics. The earth genasi are protesting something. I don't know much about it."

Forfend hummed and edged closer to the crowd.

Erzor followed hesitantly.

Melzaryn pointed up at the glimmering ruby dome. "The glass is designed as an arcane focus. It channels sunlight to power the magic circle and everything else in the building."

Forfend nodded, but it was more focused on trying to catch the jumbled yells of the protestors.

Kagoshi dropped back from the shuffling throng to check on Kairi. She had her hands pressed to her temples and her eyes squeezed shut.

"They are talking about stolen land," Forfend shared over the din. "I wonder what happened."

Half-elves, humans, dwarves, and halflings interspersed the crowd occasionally, but almost every protestor was earth genasi.

Forfend could not recall ever seeing so many genasi of any element in one place like this. They were livid.

"They're all so upset," Kairi mumbled, pain scrunching her face. "They just want their homeland returned."

Forfend nodded, gazing over the crowd to the building they surrounded. It paused as an oddity caught its attention.

There were several hooded people around the base of the Teleportation Hub. They appeared to be doing maintenance, but then why were they wearing such dark clothing?

"What are they doing?" Forfend stood taller, watching them suspiciously.

"What's going on?" Erzor wondered aloud.

"Can you see?" Forfend asked the much, much shorter man.

"Not really," he answered predictably.

"Would you like assistance with that?"

"Um, sure." Erzor squinted at Forfend.

Forfend knelt down, carefully lifted the man up onto its shoulders, and stood back up.

"Oh, oh wow, this is really tall!" Erzor blinked owlishly at his new vantage point.

Forfend pointed out the strange workers. "Them. What are they doing?"

"Oh, those are the maint--" he abruptly cut himself off. "Wait, who the fuck are they?"

The mysterious figures stepped away from their handiwork. They'd stationed large barrels all around the front entrance.

Forfend glanced at Erzor, then at its friends.

Melzaryn's brow was creased with a rare show of concern.

"Kagoshi, look at this," it beckoned urgently.

One of the hooded workers pulled a scroll from his side pouch and whispered into it just as Kagoshi turned.

Every barrel ignited in violent, surging flame. A shockwave crashed through the city. People screamed, glass shattered, blood splattered, stone cracked.

The crumbling building cascaded forward, bearing down upon the protestors.

Kagoshi dashed in immediately, shoving panicking people out of his way as he doubled in size. He slammed his oversized hands into the tumbling wall. His knees nearly buckled, but he held strong.

Erzor half-fell half-jumped from Forfend's shoulders.

Forfend ran, but it wouldn't reach the next section before it collapsed onto the protestors. It was too far.

"Mel!" it yelled frantically.

Melzaryn responded immediately. Magic warped around Forfend.

In an instant, it was deposited beneath the shadow of the massive falling slabs of stone. It threw its arms up and felt the heavy burden nearly crush it. It grunted, cracks arcing across its straining shoulders.

Somewhere above it, the remaining pieces of the glass dome began splintering. The red light of the magic bathed the scrambling streets like an omen of blood yet to spill.

Forfend spared a look to its left and saw more crumbling rubble coming down.

Magic whirled in its core and burst free, smoke belching from its back. Its body seared so suddenly and so strongly with heat it thought it may truly melt.

The golden magic coalesced into a large adamantine support beam with a broad, flat top. The sound of a hammer striking metal reverberated through the plaza as the form solidified.

The weight of the rubble buried the support's stake through the cobblestone and into the ground, locking it in place.

A perilous creak emanated. The support began to bend.

Too thin! Forfend cursed and fumbled for the magic coursing through its shield.

The Orison Aegis responded. A new stream of golden magic met Forfend's and thickened the adamantine device.

The creaking stopped. No more stone or shrapnel fell. For the moment, the collapse was stalled.

Forfend let its head hang and focused on not letting its feet slip or its knees buckle beneath the unbelievable crushing weight on its back.

People scrambled out from beneath the imminent, looming shadow. They dragged their injured comrades with them.

They would make it. All of them not fatally caught in the initial blast would survive.

Forfend felt its body shaking. It wouldn't quit. It managed a glance at Kagoshi.

He'd transformed. Normally, that made him a violent threat, but right now he didn't look like an Atroxian demon. His giant form was wholly changed.

Instead of onyx skin with glowing scars and burgundy flames, he was ashy gray with burning orange hair. His scars lit up like flickering firelight.

He looked far more like a fire giant than a demon.

Forfend almost wasn't certain if this new creature was Kagoshi until he caught its gaze. He grit his teeth, a snarl on his face.

"Go, move!" he shouted at the fleeing protestors in a deep growling voice.

That was surely Kagoshi. He wasn't a demonic monster this time, but he was still characteristically angry.

Forfend nodded gratefully to him.

Kagoshi huffed irritably. He looked away to focus on his work.

Long, agonizing seconds crawled by as the last of the crowd finally escaped the collapse.

Forfend could feel more cracks shooting across its shoulders and chipping pieces off its back.

It was nearly at its limit.

"On three," Kagoshi strained.

Forfend nodded.

"One. Two." Kagoshi tensed, preparing himself. "Three!" he shouted.

Forfend released the crumbling building and staggered backwards.

Kagoshi dropped his section as well and dove as the mountain of debris finally crashed to the pavement.

Forfend's support melted into golden slag and dissipated as the final section fell with rattling clatter.

Kagoshi doubled over, panting heavily as he shrank back to his original size. "Shit," he wheezed.

Forfend knelt, one hand on the ground to steady itself. "Shit," it concurred. It wiped at the ichor pouring down its runic face.

A warbling electric crackle whipped through the plaza.

Forfend looked up, locking onto a spinning sphere resting near the top of the rubble. Lightning flashed off it, stinging the air with the sharp scent of ozone and uncontrolled arcana. It spun faster and faster and faster as it pulled in unfettered energy.

Suddenly, it exploded.

A violent blast of magic energy careened deafeningly through Cragwall. Forfend and everyone else in the crowd was flung backwards, slamming into similarly tossed market stalls or rolling across the pavement.

Forfend skidded to a halt and flattened itself further as glass and other shrapnel launched over its head.

An alarm rang out. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of guards flooded from the military complex. Immediately, they swarmed the swaths of downed citizens, yelling orders to one another and providing aid however they could.

Forfend hauled itself upright.

Kagoshi was by its side a second later.

Melzaryn and Kairi rushed to them, coughing at the dust in the air.

The smoke cleared enough for them to see through to the ruined foundation of the Teleportation Hub.

Those same cloaked men were already picking through the rubble. One of them pushed debris off a survivor in the wreckage and stabbed her where she lay, wounded and helpless.

The others appeared to be following suit, finishing off anyone who'd dared survive their assault.

The emotions that coursed through Forfend were too strong for words. More than grief, more than horror, more than rage.

He leveled his staff at her as though it was a crossbow. The strange mechanism whirred. Melzaryn fired it.

Swirling black magic wrapped around her and dragged her into its depths. She disappeared with a distinct vwoop.

Melzaryn immediately aimed his staff toward the open air far to his left. He fired a second shot.

The black magic burst into being over fifty feet from the ledge. Sonya dropped out of it and began falling. She screamed.

A second later, thunder crashed and she reappeared back where she started. She gripped her chest and panted, solid white eyes wide with shock.

Whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't Melzaryn.

Melzaryn opened his spellbook and chanted in encrypted Elvish. The book took on the form of a silvery rattlesnake. It wiggled excitedly, saluted with its tail, and zipped overhead across the room. It stationed itself well away from the fight, but well within range to cast.

"Coward!" Kagoshi bellowed as one of Howell's arrows struck his side.

The arrow glowed green and burst.

Kagoshi scoffed. Whatever effect had been intended, he'd easily brushed it off.

Hawk Knight Kendrick Arvad tensed. Stormy winds rushed around his body. He leapt up into the air and crashed down right in front of Forfend.

Forfend brought the Orison Aegis up.

Kendrick slammed his halberd down with such violent force that it didn't matter. He smashed Forfend's shield aside and buried the blade deep into its shoulder.

Lightning coursed through the weapon.

Forfend felt its body stiffen and its core judder as electricity tore through it.

Kendrick took the opportunity to wrench his halberd sideways, dragging Forfend several feet to its left before the blade finally dislodged from its stone form.

He readied himself for his next attack.

Forfend braced for impact as it tried to take in what its allies and other opponents were doing at half a glance.

Sonya had placed a protection ward on herself. Melzaryn squared up to face her anyway.

Kagoshi was suffering under a flurry of blindingly fast blows from Kento. Blood sprayed from Kagoshi's myriad of wounds. Kento burned in the heat of Kagoshi's fire giant form, but that seemed to spur him on rather than deter him.

Howell had ducked out of Forfend's sight. That was certain to cause a great deal of trouble very soon.

Kairi and Wisteria were caught somewhere between Melzaryn's fight with Sonya and Forfend's fight with Kendrick.

Magic sparked at Kairi's fingertips. She drew back her bow as her roguish pastel cloak shimmered into existence.

Kendrick lashed out with his halberd, catching her leg as she leapt backwards.

Unfazed, she released her glowing pink arrow.

The magic struck Kendrick's armor, but didn't pierce it.

Kairi followed up with a bright purple Guiding Bolt. This attack sank straight through a gap in his armor and lit up the wound with fizzling stars.

Kendrick didn't so much as grunt.

Wisteria backed up and charged forward, horn lowered to skewer Kendrick.

Kendrick braced himself. He grabbed Wisteria's horn and slammed it down into the hardwood floor.

Wisteria nearly flipped over itself. Its wings opened and fluttered desperately to catch it. It chittered and thrashed, backing away from the frightening man that had stopped its charge cold.

Forfend focused its gaze on the mountain of metal armor Kendrick wore. Magic surged from it as it casted Heat Metal.

The air around the armor began to waver as the temperature of the metal rose. Kendrick had to be sweating and burning within. He didn't show it. He was stoic as a statue.

Behind him, Kagoshi snatched Kento by the face. Kento slashed ineffectually at Kagoshi's arm as he was unceremoniously dragged across the makeshift battlefield of Despot Falco's destroyed bedroom.

Kagoshi slammed Kento into the floor and immediately snatched him back up again, this time by his ankle.

Sonya noticed just in the nick of time what was about to happen. She ducked as Kagoshi slung Kento's flailing body right where her head had just been.

Kento twisted and dug his blade into the floor. He skidded to a stop, but he couldn't yank his leg away from Kagoshi's unnaturally strong grip.

"Don't struggle," Kagoshi snarled. "You'll only die tired."

Melzaryn jumped over a smashed table and ducked behind it to get out of Sonya's sight. His staff whirred and clicked.

Fire blasted from the tip of it and spiraled across the room, sailing right between Forfend's and Kendrick's clash. It struck Howell directly in the chest despite how he'd taken partial shelter behind his own tipped table.

Howell fell with a grunt. His voluminous cloak caught alight. He jumped up, frantically patting out flames.

With the fire, though not the burns, quelled, he nocked an arrow. Rather than aim it at one of his opponents, he pointed straight up and released.

The same runic circle that had appeared over the Brass Buffalo sketched itself into the air. This one wasn't quite so large, but Forfend understood well how formidable it would be. They had only moments before the first arrow multiplied and hailed down upon them in a deadly barrage.

Howell ducked behind the upturned table he was using for shelter and disappeared from sight.

Kendrick forcefully drew Forfend's full attention back to him by jabbing his halberd into Forfend's chest. Lightning coursed through the blade.

Forfend gripped the halberd, ripped it free, and shoved it away.

Kendrick whipped around to bash Wisteria instead.

Wisteria squealed. It backpedaled away as lightning arced into its body.

Kendrick turned straight back around to Forfend and lashed out at it again.

Lightning crackled through the air.

Forfend blocked the first strike, but lightning coursed into it anyway.

Stormy gales of electrically charged wind seemed to swirl all around Kendrick and buffet anyone near him. Forfend couldn't escape the static making its hands twitch.

Kendrick's second strike caught a gap in the stone of Forfend's leg. He twisted the halberd before he jerked it free.

Forfend staggered, but refused to fall.

Kendrick's armor wavered with heat that had to be searing into his flesh, but he just kept swinging.

Sonya called out an incantation.

A dome of what almost looked like glass slammed into existence over Kagoshi.

Kagoshi released Kento as they both scrambled away from the dropping dome walls.

Magic wavered in the air around the dome as Kagoshi roared his rage and slammed his fists into the trap.

"Our duel was cut short," Kento lamented. He pat the dome and turned his back on Kagoshi.

"Don't you fucking mock me!" Kagoshi screamed.

"What are you going to do about it?" Kento deadpanned.

Kagoshi slammed his fist into the floor, splintering the wood.

Kento locked onto Forfend's precarious situation battling the relentless Hawk Knight. He dashed across the field and slid into place behind Forfend.

It didn't dare take its eyes off Kendrick to watch Kento.

Kento's blade flashed in the edge of Forfend's peripheral vision. Three slashes carved across Forfend's stone back. None of them pierced its body.

Kento's eyes widened as he realized he was going to have to reassess his strategy. A thousand quick cuts couldn't bring Forfend down if they never even scratched its marble exterior.

Forfend was certain Kento would find its weak points though. He was skilled and clearly intelligent in battle. It was caught in a horrible predicament standing between him and Kendrick.

Kairi's glittering wings unfolded, taking on their full glory. "Keep fighting," she yelled to Forfend, her words laced with healing magic.

Immediately, the lightning-singed gaps dribbling ichor from its body closed themselves off.

Forfend slammed its mace into its shield.

The resounding clang rattled the room. Fire burst from beneath Forfend's feet and surged into the bodies of its opponents.

Kento yelped as he jolted away from the scorching flames just a bit too slowly.

Kendrick stood within the fire, watching Forfend coldly. He wasn't unaffected. Forfend could see the sweltering pain in the tenseness of his body. But he refused to acknowledge it as anything more than an inconvenience.

Forfend stood within the center of the burning ring and touched the medallion on its chest.

"Shit," it swore as it tried to figure any way out of their current predicament.

Magic surged through the word instinctively. Healing auras surrounded Forfend and all of its allies.

Kagoshi grinned murderously as the helpful magic surrounded him. Reinvigorated, he crashed his fist straight through the floor and let himself fall.

The floor rumbled ominously as Kagoshi stormed across the rafters beneath.

Kagoshi's massive hand punched through the wood beneath Sonya's feet and ripped her through the floor.

Sonya screamed. The magical dome she'd created disappeared with a pop.

There was a flash of black. Sonya's panicked screaming intensified.

Melzaryn swore somewhere off to Forfend's left.

It caught a glimpse of him through the flickering flames. He was staring up at Howell's enormous rune over their heads. The spell was seconds away from completing.

Melzaryn jumped on his flying broom and zipped as far out from beneath the circle as he could.

Forfend braced the Orison Aegis over its head.

Sonya's panicked screeching suddenly turned to pain.

A second later, hundreds of oversized arrows materialized in the air and launched downward.

They pelted into Forfend's shield with impossible force, knocking it aside and piercing Forfend's stone body. Pain spiked through it as more and more arrows burrowed themselves between the gaps in its stone form.

Its vision darkened. It fell to its knees.

It could hear arrows raining down all around it, though it was rapidly losing awareness of those striking its own body.

Hazy though he was, it could see Kendrick trying not to show pain as he, too, was littered full of the protruding projectiles.

Behind Forfend, Kento swore in a thin voice and thudded to the ground.

Forfend followed suit, the flames of its spell dying out as darkness overtook it.

"Wake up," Forfend heard Kairi call from somewhere distant.

The magic in her voice closed its wounds.

Its rune lit. It jolted upright.

"Ah, fuck!" Howell shouted as Forfend's head connected with his chin. "It's me, it's me, I'm here!"

Forfend took stock of the world around it as the blurs of color began to make sense of themselves again.

Howell was indeed here. He was himself again.

"Sorry," it apologized. "You are here. Is everyone else here?"

The details swarmed back to it. Forfend hauled itself to its feet despite the weight of dozens of enormous arrows trying to drag it back down. "Is anyone dead?"

"I don't fucking know! I just woke up!" Howell shouted.

"No one is dead," Kairi assured Forfend.

A very nervous Wisteria stamped its feet beside her. Howell's arrows littered the beetle's adamantine shell.

"I think he's unconscious," Howell said, pointing to Kento Nobutoshi who Forfend was only now realizing lay just behind it.

Kento was riddled with a couple arrows of his own. Blood oozed slowly from beneath him and dribbled from his mouth, but he was still breathing.

His straw hat was tilted over his face, obscuring his eyes.

Forfend nudged the hat backwards and carefully lifted one of his eyelids. The ghostly white was gone. His unfocused pupil stared forward.

It should be safe to awaken him then.

Forfend pulled the arrows from his body and passed its hand over the open wounds.

Magic, soft and warm, trailed from its palm into the injuries and closed the worst of them.

Kento inhaled. The sound was raspy at first but cleared easily with a cough. He sat up.

He pushed his hat up out of his eyes and took a look around. "Not the worst place I've woken up in." He tilted his head ever so slightly at Forfend. "Interesting-looking golem to greet me," he said more about Forfend than to it. "Where the hell am I and who are all of you?" That question was directed more toward Howell and Kairi.

Forfend started to speak, but was interrupted by the sound of a thud behind it.

"Victory for Kagoshi," came Kagoshi's normal voice, rather than his augmented giant voice. "Fucking wizards."

Kendrick flew into the room on a rush of salty wind. The gale dropped him roughly just over the edge of the rubble. He scrambled to his feet. "Fuck you!" he screamed at Melzaryn. "Fuck all of you!" He lifted his halberd, lightning crackling across it.

Wisteria slammed her enormous horn over the top of his head.

The clang rang out so strongly Kendrick's entire suit of armor vibrated. He collapsed in a heap.

Kagoshi, back in his standard form, dragged Sonya over to the rest of the group. He crouched over her and tapped her face.

Sonya opened her eyes slowly. Her head lolled. It took her several seconds to focus and sit up. Befuddlement knit her brows.

Kairi shook Kendrick awake.

Much like Forfend, he shot straight upright and immediately tried to get his bearings.

"Hey!" Howell called. "Pretty sure I know who you all are, but I'm not worried about that right now. The important thing is that we all just woke up. We were brainwashed. These people saved us. Be fucking grateful. They could've killed us instead because that's what we were trying to do to them."

He turned to Melzaryn. "Now, what the fuck happened?"

"King Falco's running Envema," Kagoshi responded first.

Forfend turned its gaze to the battle happening outside. At some point through the course of the fight, Despot Falco and Ry'Ha'Dach had careened down into the streets.

Despite all the chaos still happening, however, Forfend realized things were quieter than they had been. Quieter than they should be.

It couldn't spot Ry'Ha'Dach. From such a distance, Despot Falco would be little more than a green dot. He would be easy to miss. But Ry'Ha'Dach should've been a glaring emerald beacon. Where was he?

"Gods-fucking-dammit!" Howell swore. "This is why we don't fucking have monarchies!" He tossed his arm at Melzaryn. "You know what I'm talking about."

Melzaryn nodded. He kicked through some of the rubble around his feet and found his way to Despot Falco's smashed dresser. He pulled out a drawer that immediately fell into three pieces in his hands. Nonplussed, he simply pulled out the two books Despot Falco had tucked away beneath the clothes and shoved them into his belt pockets.

"I want to apologize again for shooting at all of you," Howell said. "Again." He glanced up and around. "Also, do we need to leave?"

"You all probably should," Kagoshi informed the warriors.

"Yeah, Despot Fucko out there is a demigod," Kairi piped up.

"I'm getting out of here," Melzaryn decided. "I've got no magic left, I've been stabbed by a dragon sword, and this is all way further over my head than I meant for it to be."

Forfend shook its head. "We need to find Ry'Ha'Dach and we need to find Despot Falco."

"You're looking for me?" Despot Falco called. "I'm right here!"

He rose up into view, his cape billowing behind him. He wore a violent grin. Blood dripped from his cheek and his armor was scuffed, but it wasn't the kind of damage he should've sustained fighting a dragon. He should've been far more wounded.

Ry'Ha'Dach was nowhere to be seen.

Panic rose in Forfend's chest and tumbled a rockfall through its center.

"Fuck," Melzaryn swore.

Despot Falco surveyed the battlefield. He sighed, irritation dragging his lip into a snarl. "Oh, you broke out," he complained at the warriors. "It was such a pain in the ass to get your strong minds under control in the first place." He shrugged. "Well, whatever. I'll just do it again. Come here."

He started floating forward, making a show of the dramatic, ominous approach.

Melzaryn stepped in front of Howell, arms spread.

"We leaving?" Howell asked. He tugged on his cloak and placed a hand on Melzaryn's shoulder.

"Leaving is good," Melzaryn replied. "Rattle him," he yelled at his projected snake.

The little manifestation fired off a series of scorching orbs that all slammed into Despot Falco. Or, they should've. Instead, they struck a psychic shield.

Despot Falco laughed.

Howell tossed his cloak over Melzaryn. Both of them disappeared with a swirling rush of fabric and a pop. The snake promptly disappeared as well.

Kendrick backed up. He was severely wounded and exhausted. Oversized arrows protruded from his armor. He looked to Sonya.

Sonya nodded. She pulled a scroll from her bag and opened it.

In a flash of magic, she and Kendrick were both gone as well.

Not to be deterred, Kagoshi dashed forward.

Kairi jumped on Wisteria and flew right at his side as he doubled in size once again.

This time, Kagoshi transformed into the gray-blue of a cloud giant. He leapt at Despot Falco.

"Alright, let's fucking go," Kento shrugged. He flipped his grip on his blade and joined the charge.

Kento leapt up onto Kagoshi's back and used him as a springboard to launch himself that much faster.

Forfend cast Guiding Bolt. Orange magic arced toward the approaching demigod.

Kento flipped in the air and sliced at Despot Falco's back just as Kagoshi aimed a thunderous punch at his face.

Both strikes connected instead with Despot Falco's psychic barrier.

Just the same, Forfend's Guiding Bolt fizzled out in the wake of the draconic magic.

Despot Falco snatched Kento out of the air and dragged him through the barrier.

Kento struggled and kicked, but Despot Falco held him by his sword arm. There was nothing he could do.

"Petulant manchild," the despot spat at Kagoshi.

A single swing of his sword sent Kagoshi careening backwards. He slammed into the floor of Despot Falco's room and rolled until he slammed into the last remnants of the collapsed wall on the far side of it.

Kairi and Wisteria bore down on Despot Falco despite the effortless display of power.

The despot tossed Kento carelessly down into the room and turned to face the next incoming attack. His eyes widened in rage as he recognized his attacker.

"You!" he shouted.

His barrier dropped. He lunged forward and seized Kairi by the throat, ripping her off Wisteria.

Wisteria whirled around in the air, but it was too slow to reach Kairi before the barrier reformed.

It slammed its horn repeatedly into the unrelenting psychic force.

Despot Falco squeezed Kairi's throat as she clawed at his hand. "If only you didn't exist, this wouldn't have happened," he snarled. "However your ridiculous emotion power works, you caused this! You did it! Now live with the consequences and die for my future!"

His blade plunged through her center.

"No!" Kagoshi screamed. He scrambled to his feet, but there was nothing he could do. There was nothing any of them could do.

Kairi's legs stopped kicking, but her hands still clawed at Despot Falco's crushing grip.

Blood poured from her. She slowed. Her arms fell limp. She slumped, limp and lifeless on the end of Despot Falco's ill-gotten blade.

The despot pointed the sword out over the city.

Forfend took a step forward. What was he doing? Was he going to drop Kairi far from where it could heal her? It needed to get to her quickly.

Psychic energy pulsed around the hilt of the rapier and built. When it reached its peak, an earsplitting ring ripped through the air. Kairi's limp form blasted violently off the tip of the blade and fell impossibly fast.

Wisteria zipped after her as quickly as its wings could carry it, but there was absolutely nothing it could do to catch up.

Despot Falco turned his self-satisfied grin back to Forfend, Kagoshi, and Kento. "What, you're still here? I figured you would've run by now."

Kento stood, his blade at the ready. He glanced at Forfend and Kagoshi.

Kagoshi stepped forward, his chest heaving as panic sent his eyes into a darting flurry. He had no idea what to do. His fists clenched.

Forfend felt just the same. It grasped for the magic in its chest, but it had no idea what it should use it to do.

Kento dashed forward. He slammed into Despot Falco's psychic barrier again, his blade cutting blindly at the energy protecting his target.

Despot Falco grabbed Kento by his face. "Give unto me everything you have," he growled low in his throat.

Kento immediately went slack. His sword fell from his grip. Strangely, his wounds healed, but he didn't stir.

Despot Falco dropped him.

Kagoshi swore. He sprinted forward, snatching a fallen chunk of stone off the floor and throwing it at Despot Falco.

The stone shattered against the psychic barrier and sprayed dust into the air.

Kagoshi took the momentary cover to launch himself past Despot Falco and over the city. He fell, guiding himself after Kairi.

Wisteria caught him, both of them flying after Kairi as fast as they possibly could. It wasn't going to be enough. Forfend already knew.

Despot Falco touched down at the edge of the rubble and stepped over Kento's limp form.

Forfend tensed. All its allies were gone. It had been abandoned alone. It couldn't fight. It was wounded, exhausted, and very nearly out of magic. Even if that weren't the case, it still couldn't touch the wretched despot while he wielded his sickening emerald weaponry.

"Well, he left," Despot Falco said idly of Kagoshi. "Now what to do with you?"

Prioritize.

Forfend fell back on old Sundering habits. It was in a bad spot. There was no good way out. What was the path of least resistance and least additional harm?

Prioritize.

It couldn't reach Kento. It would have to leave him to his fate and hope he survived for it to free him at a later date.

Ry'Ha'Dach was the most important. Moreso, even, than Kairi. He was a symbol to the genasi and the only one they could speak to with knowledge of Despot Falco.

But was he still alive? And if not, could Forfend bring him back?

Kairi was dead. Forfend was certain. It wouldn't possibly reach her before time ran out to revive her. It hadn't even seen where she'd landed.

The case may be the same for Ry'Ha'Dach, but the great emerald dragon would be far easier to spot and, if his wounds hadn't killed him instantly, Forfend may not yet be out of time.

It stepped off the edge of the gaping hole Kagoshi had made in the floor.

Despot Falco laughed maniacally and derisively as it fell. "Go ahead, run! I'll be seeing you again soon!"

Forfend crashed through support beams and several floors.

It braced itself for each and every impact, doing its best to slow itself down before it struck the bottom.

Forfend drew the Orison Aegis in close against its body and tucked itself as small as its bulk would allow. "Fornax, I pray this blessed shield holds."

It slammed into the jagged stone rubble at the bottom of the tower. Its shield absorbed the brunt of the impact and stopped it from landing directly on sharp, uneven debris, but the pain still rattled through its body.

At first, it couldn't move. Its body refused to respond. Too slowly, its mind reconnected with the rest of it.

Forfend dragged itself out of the rubble and hauled itself to its feet. It found the nearest exit in the form of a crumbling wall and dashed out into the chaotic streets of Cragwall.

Fires engulfed the city, burning the skies bloody red. Citizens panicked and screamed and ran for their lives everywhere it looked.

Where had Ry'Ha'Dach last been fighting before it had lost track of him? Near the town square, it guessed.

Envema members swarmed across its path, scrabbling at it and everyone else in reach.

Desperate guards battled the wild insurgents, but there were far more Envema than they could possibly hope to contain.

Forfend shouldered off the Envema trying to attack it. It knocked them away with its shield or clocked them over the head with its mace. It tried to pull its swings. Violent and terrifying though they were, they were also only victims of a mad demigod. This battle was not their choice.

Eventually, it reached the town square.

Kagoshi lay in a crater near the shattered statue, back in his original form and heaving with a horrid combination of rage, pain, and fearful desperation. "Kairi," he wheezed.

Clearly, he wanted to be on his feet and chasing her again, but he was struggling to force himself to move.

Melzaryn, Kendrick, Sonya, and Howell were disappearing into the tunnel that had been hidden beneath the statue.

"We need to get to safety. Maybe we can secure the underground. Come on," Howell called to them.

"No." Melzaryn popped his head back out of the tunnel. "I'm grabbing something and then I'm out of here. We can't save this city anymore. Teleportation Hub in twenty minutes. I'm leaving behind anyone not there on time. We can't afford to wait."

Forfend nodded, though it didn't know yet if it intended to go with him.

It turned to Kagoshi.

"Where is Kairi?" It asked him.

She was dead, but they could at least recover a body. If she had family, they would need to know.

Kagoshi lifted himself upright with great effort. "I don't know," he ground out. He pointed with a shaky hand as he forced himself to his feet. "Somewhere that way?"

"Where is Ry'Ha'Dach?" it asked anyone near enough to answer.

It received no response.

Kagoshi stumbled forward, picking up steam as he moved. He had to be running purely on adrenaline.

Forfend didn't follow him. It turned and rushed off in the direction it thought Ry'Ha'Dach and Despot Falco's fight might've been listing towards before it lost track of them.

It moved just as quickly as its feet could carry it.

A murderous roar shook Cragwall. Every soaring flame suddenly turned demonic red. Stone and burning debris were launched into the air from the direction Kagoshi had run in.

He'd found Kairi. And she'd been as far past saving as Forfend feared.

It could only hope that Kagoshi would regain control of himself before Melzaryn's deadline and before he leveled the city. It wasn't certain he could do it with the heavy weight of grief turned revenge scorching through his chest, but it hoped nonetheless.

Innocent Envema members brought here by mind control were dying beneath Kagoshi's brutal fists.

They were dying all around Forfend in a thousand isolated fights with Cragwall's guards and citizens that made up one mass conglomerate of a battlefield.

Of course, Envema weren't just dying. They were also killing. Indiscriminately and with prejudice.

Despot Falco's prejudice.

Forfend couldn't save them or their victims. It didn't have the resources. It didn't have the power.

Prioritize.

Ry'Ha'Dach first.

One thing at a time.

It cast Locate Creature, envisioning Ry'Ha'Dach in its mind.

Luckily, it was close enough for the magic to catch his whereabouts. A guiding arc of golden light zipped through the scrambling streets.

Forfend chased it.

It grew steadily closer. It could feel the magic closing in. Ry'Ha'Dach was near.

A horrible monster met Forfend as it rounded a corner.

The beast was deathly pale. Sickly purple veins pulsed beneath its grotesque flesh. Metal jutted from it seemingly at random, as though someone had been trying to modify it to be stronger but had given up in favor of mutilating it in a fit of rage.

The wretched thing was caught painfully between being organic and inorganic. It was a mockery of a creature like Forfend, wounded and wailing and suffering as yet another in an endless line of Despot Falco's victims.

The monster reared back its fist and aimed a devastating blow at Forfend's rune.

There was a blur of motion and a flash of steel.

The beast's misshapen head fell from its body. The rest of it collapsed a heartbeat later.

Kiyori slid her blade back into the sheathe but kept her hand on the hilt. Her eyes darted everywhere, assessing every threat. "What the fuck happened?!"

There was no time to answer that question. "Where is Ry'Ha'Dach?" it said instead. "Have you seen him?"

"That way." She pointed. "Handle it."

Forfend nodded once. "Thank you."

Kiyori whipped her blade from its sheath again and began cutting down Envema members to cover Forfend's retreat.

Forfend ran as quickly as its marble limbs could carry it.

Finally, it spotted Ry'Ha'Dach.

He was partially buried in the rubble of the Brass Buffalo. He'd fallen onto the inn from a significant height, by the looks of things. Or, more frighteningly, he may have been thrown.

In front of the collapsed building, Ali swung two hammers with brutal deftness. She wore heavy armor, but it didn't seem to slow her in the slightest as Envema members collapsed at her feet.

She caught sight of Forfend and nodded at the dragon. "Can you fix this?"

Without awaiting an answer, she immediately moved to protect Forfend's path.

"What are you waiting for?! Big dragon! You can fix that, right?!"

"I can try," it responded.

Forfend scaled the debris to reach Ry'Ha'Dach. It pressed a hand to his broad side.

Awful, deep wounds marred his scales everywhere it looked, but he was still breathing.

"Ry'Ha'Dach," it called.

There was no response.

Forfend staggered through the unsteady rubble and grabbed Ry'Ha'Dach's face. His eyes were open. And dull. Empty.

He wasn't dead. But he wasn't aware. He was...

He was like Kento, Forfend realized.

It drew up the magic in its core and pressed its hand firmly between Ry'Ha'Dach's blank eyes. It hissed steam and focused. It needed to seize the demigod magic and remove it. All of it. In one fell swoop.

It allowed warm healing magic to surge into Ry'Ha'Dach. Immediately, Despot Falco's magic tangled into Forfend's and fought.

With great effort, Forfend crushed out the awful arcana.

Ry'Ha'Dach jolted. His eyes focused. He wheezed for breath and coughed up dust.

"Cursebreaker, you need to run," he gasped.

"We all do," it agreed.

Ry'Ha'Dach shook his head. "Leave me."

"No." Forfend looked the great dragon over. It couldn't move him. Could he move himself?

"The priority is the people," Ry'Ha'Dach argued. "It always was."

"They need you." Forfend was certain of that. He was their last dragon. He was a symbol of their community. He kept them together. He gave them hope.

"Not as much as they will need you." The look in Ry'Ha'Dach's eyes did not leave room for argument, but Forfend struggled to believe him.

It had no control over this situation. There was precious little it could do. It had lost. It had failed.

Again.

No, Ry'Ha'Dach was far more needed than it.

"Can you change form? I will carry you," it offered.

Ry'Ha'Dach closed his eyes. His body shivered. Magic wavered vaguely over his body and petered out.

He dropped his head to the ground and heaved for breath. "I cannot." His eyes locked onto Forfend's runic face. "He left me alive for a reason. He will come back. You've healed me for a time, but these people are in danger. They do not have a chance unless you save them."

Forfend felt a weight far too great for its shoulders settle onto it. What was it meant to do? And how?

"I will try," it promised.

"Go. Be the guardian I failed to be." Ry'Ha'Dach clenched his claws, his teeth bared in anguish.

Forfend nodded, though the crushing weight of this responsibility only grew. "I will try," it promised again.

Prioritize.

It slid down the pile of rubble and motioned for Ali to follow it. "Melzaryn is trying to get the Teleportation Hub functioning. We must meet him there quickly."

"Let's move then," Ali immediately agreed.

"To the Teleportation Hub," Forfend shouted to the throngs of screaming, panicking, battling citizens amid the swarm of murderous Envema members.

People followed behind it or latched onto it if they couldn't run. It scooped as many as it could up onto its shoulders and left the others clinging to it to their own devices. Their weight was no trouble, but it couldn't spare its hands to secure them. It still needed to be able to swing at encroaching Envema members.

"Get to the Teleportation Hub," Forfend yelled again and again, gathering as many citizens into its entourage as possible. "If you are able to fight, stay to the outside of the group. Protect the weakest. Do not fall behind."

Forfend and its survivors fought their way through the hoards of Envema.

Eventually, they reached the Teleportation Hub. Forfend thanked the gods they'd made it in time. Melzaryn hadn't yet activated the spell.

Earth genasi protected the entrance, keeping Envema back while calling Cragwall's citizens inside.

"File in!" River yelled to it.

Forfend did exactly that, setting down the people clinging to it and quickly moving back to the doorway to cover the others rushing in.

Outside, the Atroxian red of the fires suddenly flickered back to a more natural but no less devastating array of yellows and oranges.

A few moments later, Kagoshi stumbled in with Wisteria trudging along on his heels. He was covered head to toe in the blood of slaughtered Envema.

His eyes were distant. He loosely held a single purple feather in his hand. It shimmered with the last remaining shred of Kairi's magic.

He'd escaped his rage in time to reach the Hub, but he was devastated.

Forfend understood. The reality hadn't fully sunk in for it yet, but that was only a matter of time. The grief would surely come.

It guided Kagoshi inside.

Wisteria paused to nudge its head into Forfend. Upon its back was what little it had been able to recover from Kairi's body.

Whatever state she'd ended up in, it must've been gruesome if there was so little left.

All Wisteria carried was Kairi's sword, her bag, and shreds of bloodied fabric.

Forfend comforted the beetle by gently stroking its head and slowly walked it to the edge of the enormous runic circle Melzaryn and Sonya were frantically channeling magic into.

"We'll only have about six seconds," Melzaryn called.

"That's not enough time for everyone," River yelled, his voice echoing over the din of the panicked room. "Children and the most vulnerable first. Go, get ready! Quickly!"

People responded immediately, trying to arrange themselves the best that they could.

"I have to go," Melzaryn said. "I'll need to be an emissary for these people."

"I'm coming with," Howell decided. "I may be able to drum up some mercenary allies."

"Kendrick and I will stay behind to help," Sonya piped up.

Kendrick hummed affirmatively.

"We won't leave our home." River pressed his fist to his chest. "Not after the Thought Thief appears again. We have one chance to fight back now. We're going to take it. We trust you'll be able to come back with allies, yes?"

"That's the goal," Melzaryn answered.

River looked Forfend directly in its runic face. "I trust you." He scanned his gaze over the rest of the haphazard group. "I trust you all."

"I do not want to take a slot that could be used by another," Forfend shook its broad head. "I would rather remain behind."

"Forfend, respectfully, I think you should go with them." River touched one of the massive arrows protruding from Forfend. Ichor poured from wounds all over its body. "We don't know how far the Thought Thief's influence reaches. Those Envema monsters, the large ones? They are nothing of Tyrwedian origin."

Steam rushed through Forfend's chest. It lowered its head. "Alright." It forced itself to look River in the eyes again. "I freed Ry'Ha'Dach, but I could not move him."

"We will handle it," River swore. "We'll handle ourselves. We've done so before. We can do it now."

"Fuck this sappy debate," Ali interjected. "I'm going."

Kiyori turned away from her post by the door and grabbed Forfend by the metal brace in its chest. She pulled it down and herself up until she was staring sternly into its face. "Handle. It."

"Understood." Forfend nodded once.

"I'm going to buy you some time." Kiyori released it and headed outside.

"Here we go," Melzaryn hollered.

The magic circle lit up.

People charged into it as quickly as they could, passing children forward to the elderly and wounded. With the most vulnerable rescued, everyone else began to desperately flood in.

They disappeared by the dozens in bright white flashes.

Melzaryn stepped into the circle with Howell at his side.

Kagoshi sullenly led Wisteria into it.

Forfend waited, helping people scramble into the active arcana.

When the circle started to dim, it finally stepped through itself.

White light flooded its vision. The sensation of falling upwards disoriented it.

And suddenly it was back on solid ground.

The change in the air here was stark. A dryness permeated everything, outweighed only by the overbearing heat.

The smell of scorching sand and incense wafted about the room.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, halt!" shouted a baffled and frightened company of guards. They pulled scimitars from their sheathes and readied their shields.

A construct of brass and copper resembling a leopard sidled forward. It was towering, easily rivaling the size of Kagoshi's giant forms.

It opened its mouth, revealing a barrel that began charging with energy.

Melzaryn stepped forward out of the crowd. "Melzaryn Crona Collymore. I'm delivering refugees from Tyrwedia."

The construct cat immediately closed its jaw and assumed a playful stance, its body wiggling in excitement. It plucked Melzaryn off the ground with one huge paw and dropped him on its back.

Melzaryn pat it affectionately as it carried him away.

The guards watched in stunned silence. They seemed wholly uncertain what to do.

Forfend felt very similar. It hadn't expected Melzaryn to immediately depart, leaving it alone to handle this situation.

Prioritize, it reminded itself.

It was far too far away to help its family in Foumedo now, but they would still need a warning.

It envisioned Jessie and cast Sending.

"King Falco is violent despot," it projected. "Cragwall destroyed. Am gathering allies. Unsure if you are in danger. Protect Foumedo. Be prepared to flee. I love you."

It turned to the guards without awaiting Jessie's response.

It took only two steps toward them before kneeling to make itself less imposing.

This particular tunnel was tucked into a quiet, forgotten corner in a narrow alleyway that looked like a dead end from the road. There didn't appear to be any reason to walk into it, but venturing down it revealed the tight left turn into a more open space. Perhaps, there had once been a shop here that used this space as excess storage, but that was no longer the case.

Weather-damaged crates and trash littered the space.

At Kairi's request, Forfend and Kagoshi took a moment to stack some of the crates and throw a tarp over them.

"Alright, Wisty, just hide in here and take a little nap," Kairi instructed, holding the tarp open.

Wisteria shuffled into the makeshift shelter and settled down. It chittered.

"Thank you. We'll be back later." Kairi dropped the tarp corner and dusted off her hands. "That should keep her warm and hidden while we're gone."

Forfend nodded.

Melzaryn cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. He held open a hidden trapdoor.

Thankfully, this one was large enough to accommodate Forfend without too much trouble.

Melzaryn descended first, followed by Kairi, Kagoshi, and Forfend.

They walked through the silent, sullen tunnels for quite some time.

"You know, my best guess is that these tunnels run everywhere that they do because they were meant as noble escape routes," Melzaryn piped up. He was only whispering, but the echo amplified his voice disconcertingly. "They go to all the noble houses, every major location in the city, the docks, and the Teleportation Hub. That sounds like an emergency exit system to me. Of course, it could be an entry system too, but I think it was originally meant for escape. Why else would these have been built at the same time the city was? The only strange thing is that they don't go to the Grand Cathedral at all and there's only one small tunnel leading into Castle Ledrian. You'd think they'd want to be certain their king could escape."

Forfend hummed low in its chest. "Perhaps they were paranoid about having tunnels throughout the castle," it guessed. "Enemies could, and are, exploiting these passages."

Melzaryn nodded thoughtfully. "Can't shake the feeling that something doesn't add up here. I want to check out the tunnel to the castle."

"Let's do it," Kagoshi grumbled. "They dragged me into it when they fucked with my brain. I want to know what's up with that fucking place."

Melzaryn led them to what Forfend presumed was the entrance, but all of the tunnels looked very much the same.

"There's two of those big statue guard things that Farley killed," Melzaryn noted, pointing out where they stood nestled into alcoves in the wall. He held his staff out, channeling magic into it. His eyes sparked silver. "Looks like there's more of the frozen Envema members and wards similar to the Alarm spell. The tunnel leads into the courtyard inside the castle, under a statue that would have to be slid out of the way. I don't think there are any guards stationed around the courtyard."

"I wonder who the alarms go to," Kairi whispered.

"Someone in the high court, I'm sure," Melzaryn replied. "Otherwise, this wouldn't be so easy to access from the inside. There'd be guards patrolling the courtyard like there are in every other castle, but there's not. Whoever comes and goes from here isn't suspicious to the rest of the castle's inhabitants and they're trying to keep it that way so they're never seen accessing these tunnels."

"Prince Halt brought me down here to meet that Odolan guy. Maybe it's him," Kagoshi suggested.

"Maybe," Melzaryn hazarded. "For now, there's nothing much we can do about it. Let's check out the patriarchs we came down here for."

They left the castle tunnel and headed back toward the noble district.

There were Envema members in the walls here just like they'd seen the first time they'd come down into these passageways. All of them stared blankly straight ahead.

There was an effort now to free these people. Forfend wasn't sure how long it may take that effort to reach this depth in the tunnels, but it had to trust that they would. There was precious little it alone could do for so many victims.

Melzaryn paused a few times to inspect both the empty alcoves and the occupied ones.

"There's some kind of ward here and it's waiting for something," he mumbled to himself. "I'm not sure what it is or what effect it's dependent on, but it feels sinister. Every single indent has the exact same effect."

"Concerning," Forfend hummed.

They kept moving ahead. The sounds of their echoing footsteps changed as they reached a tunnel leading beneath one of the noble houses.

"This is the Sagemantle household," Melzaryn informed them. "There are tunnels leading into the house through the walls, but we'll need to be silent to get through them undetected.

Everyone looked to Forfend's bulky frame.

It hissed steam. It was not cut out for stealth. It never had been.

"Here, I have an idea." Kairi drew in a deep breath. She exhaled slowly. A sparkling white fog rushed from beneath her folded wings and engulfed the party.

The fog dissipated into them.

Forfend was immediately aware that it didn't creak when it moved anymore.

The sound of everyone's breathing had gone completely silent. No one's clothes ruffled. Their feet didn't scuff against the stone floor.

"Pass Without Trace," Kairi grinned mischievously, her voice nearly muted by the magic.

"Perfect," Melzaryn complimented.

They began their careful ascent into the narrow passages throughout the mansion's walls.

"There are magical traps here," Kairi breathed. She pointed out all the hidden triggers, maneuvering the entire group past them.

They made their way up and up into the Sagemantle's private archives.

Melzaryn peeked through a tiny hidden crack in the wall. "Mages doing late night studies," he whispered. "Keep extra quiet here."

Everyone nodded.

Forfend peeked into the room as well.

There were indeed high elves studying, but Forfend's attention was caught by the guard detail in the room. Animated armors populated the area, standing sentinel by every entrance. They were of the very same design as the ones that had been in Foumedo.

Suspicious.

It pulled away from the peephole and followed after the rest of the group.

Soon, the smell of food wafted into the tunnels. Despite how late it was, there were still some cooks hard at work in the kitchens. Likely, to feed the scholars in the archives.

Melzaryn didn't slow. He seemed to have somewhere very particular in mind he was trying to get to.

Eventually, he stopped them and peered through another thin crack in the wall.

"Odolan Sagemantle's study," he muttered.

Kairi peeked through the crack. "I can't see his emotions," she whispered. "I want to see what he's doing."

She Wildshaped, the Pass Without Trace spell completely muffling the sound of the transformation.

Kairi, now in the form of a tiny pink spider, slipped through the crack into the room.

Forfend and Kagoshi both chanced their own glances into the room.

Odolan was currently in there, scribbling rapidly into a book at his desk. He looked intensely focused.

He didn't glance up even once as Kairi descended on a thin web over his head and watched him write.

Over an hour later, Odolan finally set the book aside. He opened a drawer at his desk, dropped the book into it, shut it, locked it, and whispered something.

Forfend guessed it was a magical phrase of some sort.

Odolan finally got up and exited the study, locking that door behind him too.

He was paranoid. And rightfully so.

Kairi skittered back into the tunnel and returned to her proper form.

"What was in his book?" Melzaryn asked immediately.

"Theoretical arcane practices involving constructs," Kairi answered. "At least, that was the title on the first page he was writing in. It got really technical really fast and that's outside my expertise. I just know the gist was magical experiments on mindless, soulless things."

"Curious," Melzaryn hummed.

"I did catch the word he whispered when he locked the drawer though," Kairi shared. "I think it was Elvish."

She repeated the word.

Melzaryn nodded. "For those who seek," he translated it into Common.

Melzaryn touched a hidden lever.

Quiet mechanical whirs clicked in the walls as a thin panel slid aside.

Melzaryn let himself into the silent study and gestured for the others to follow.

Everyone filed into the room as silently as they could.

Forfend inspected the painting that had slid aside to allow them entry. It was a stern portrait of Odolan Sagemantle. He wore the sort of harsh expression that probably kept most eyes off the painting and, thus, off the hidden escape route.

"He's a scholar," Melzaryn said. "That means he definitely forgot something he'll realize he needs soon. We have to be quick."

Forfend turned to see Melzaryn carefully inspecting the massive desk that took up the majority of the center of the room.

The entire room was covered in gaudy deep green accents. Bookshelves filled with thick tomes lined the walls.

Decorative armors in stoic poses stood at attention in each corner, their swords pointed downward and their shields propped against their legs.

Over the desk, a dragon skull hung ominously and morbidly.

Forfend's core dropped into its center. If it could feel sick, it would have.

The skull had to belong to an emerald dragon. The bone had a greenish sheen to it when the light struck it just right.

The light, Forfend tore its gaze off the skull to notice, was a magical orb set up on a stand next to the desk.

It was the least of the magical things strewn about the rooms.

Alchemical tools and arcane texts littered the table. Forfend couldn't name even half the supplies and nearly none of the texts were in Common. It was thoroughly lost.

Melzaryn, however, seemed to be exactly in his element.

"Funny, all the work Odolan did to secure this place just for us to walk right past every single one of those wards," he said, pointing to the door.

Forfend glanced up to it.

Sure enough, the door was covered in locks and runes and magical chains that would prevent the door from being opened with the wrong key or broken down by force.

Yet, none of that had mattered. They'd bypassed everything and walked straight into the room. It was embarrassing, really.

Melzaryn spoke the Elvish password. The magical sheen glinted across the lock on the drawer.

"We still need the key though," Melzaryn mused. "Anybody have a lockpicking kit?"

"Nope," Kairi said.

Forfend shook its head.

"Kagoshi?" Melzaryn prompted.

"Why the fuck would I have one?" Kagoshi snapped.

"Why wouldn't you? That's the better question," Melzaryn retorted.

"Because I'd just punch it open."

Melzaryn rolled his eyes. "Forfend, could you please?"

Forfend touched its face. Heat rose in its core. It glowed, golden ichor spilling as it drew a lockpick from its rune. "This is what you wanted?"

"Thank you." Melzaryn accepted the pick and set to work on the lock. "I'll have to buy a set of these soon so we don't have to do this again."

Forfend nodded. It watched the ichor drip from its face and dissipate before it even hit the ground.

"I haven't done this in a long time," Melzaryn mentioned. "I'm rusty."

A soft chink sound emphasized his point.

Melzaryn swore.

Kairi leaned down to the broken lockpick in his hand. "I can fix it."

She cast Mending, melding the tool back together.

Melzaryn made a second attempt. This time, the lock clicked open.

He slid the drawer open, pulled out the thick book, and rifled through it. He chuckled at one of the spells written within, though Forfend had no idea how he was reading it. Between the highly technical arcana and the personalized shorthand, Forfend understood nothing on the page.

Melzaryn copied down a few things before setting the book aside. "That's all theory and experiments. Nothing sinister though."

He tilted his head at the drawer.

"Oh, that's interesting."

"What is it?" Kagoshi grumbled. He stood by the door, listening out for anyone coming up or down the hallway.

"This drawer isn't deep enough. It's got a false bottom." Melzaryn rubbed his hands together. "This is going to be fun."

He cast Detect Magic. Light flashed from beneath the drawer, highlighting a rune.

"Of course. He's a scholar of magics. If he hadn't trapped this, I would've been disappointed," Melzaryn said. "I can Dispel it easily enough, but that'll prove for certain we've been here and we might not want to do that. Or, hm. Here's another idea."

Melzaryn held his fingers over the false bottom of the drawer. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

The magic in the air changed.

Melzaryn slowly lowered his hand, palm flat, until it connected with the false panel. He slid it back and pulled out the book hidden beneath.

The ward pulsed softly and undisturbed on the true bottom of the drawer.

"I moved it," Melzaryn grinned. "I can keep it there for a few minutes, but it's going to snap back into place on the bottom of the fake panel eventually."

Melzaryn opened the book he'd found and tilted his head at it. He squinted.

"Mating Rituals of Bronzewing Falcons?" Kairi asked.

"That's his super secret book?" Kagoshi cocked an eyebrow. "Freak-ass."

"It's an illusion," Melzaryn said. "The real book is..."

His eyebrows shot up as he rapidly flipped through the pages.

"What is it?" Forfend asked.

"Wildly incriminating," Melzaryn answered.

He replaced the false panel, returned the first journal to its place, and closed the drawer. He dropped the secret book into one of the pouches on his belt.

"We're taking that with us," he said. "It's full of diagrams of the Envema runes, mind-wiping spells, unethical experiments, and it outright states Adhron Galloford is funding this little project."

"Oh." Forfend straightened its back. "That is certainly damning."

Melzaryn fiddled with the drawer's lock until he got it to latch again. He shoved the lockpick into his pocket and repeated the Elvish pass phrase. Magic glinted across the lock.

"There," Melzaryn nodded once. "No reason to think anyone was here. Everything is exactly where we found it, except this book. It's not something I think he should need to look at every day either, so we should have time before he realizes it's gone. He has no reason to think it's not right where he left it."

"Ready to go?" Kairi asked.

Everyone nodded.

She drew in a deep breath and exhaled. A new bout of silencing fog encircled the party and clung close to their bodies. "Let's go," she whispered.

The group carefully, quietly made their way back through the tunnel behind the painting.

Kagoshi pulled the lever to close the panel.

Mechanics in the walls clicked and chugged as the entrance closed itself off once again.

Nearly as soon as the sounds stopped, the door to Odolan's office opened.

Everyone froze in their tracks, despite the Pass Without Trace spell that should prevent Odolan from hearing them through the wall.

"Forgot my damn pen," Odolan muttered to himself.

He snatched it off the desk and promptly left again.

"Told you he forgot something," Melzaryn whispered. "Scholars always do."

"That was close," Forfend hummed. "A moment longer and we would have been caught."

"Let's get the fuck out of here," Kagoshi rumbled.

The group made the painstaking trek out of the walls of the Sagemantle mansion and back into the main tunnels beneath.

"I want to visit the Galloford house," Melzaryn decided.

"Why?" Kagoshi growled.

"Two reasons." Melzaryn held up his fingers for emphasis. "One, the Gallofords are throwing a formal ball tomorrow. It's been the talk of the town since you all left to visit Foumedo. I'm planning to go to it for more reconnaissance. Maybe I won't need to do that. Maybe I will. Better safe than sorry. And two, Odolan's book is very damning evidence but the information on Adhron is hearsay at best. We don't have any solid proof he actually did it. We just have a book where someone else claimed he did it. That's not the same. I want hard evidence against both of them."

Forfend nodded. "That is sound reasoning. I will accompany you."

"Me too," Kairi seconded.

"Draw me a map," Kagoshi demanded. "I want out of here. This sneaky shit's not for me. It's too damn quiet. Call me when someone needs punched."

"Fair enough. Meet us at the adamantine beetle in an hour or two," Melzaryn agreed.

He scribbled up a perfect map and passed it over.

Kagoshi swiped it, stared at it for all of two seconds, turned on his heel, and stalked off.

Melzaryn led the way toward the Galloford estate.

Forfend and Kairi followed him closely.

As they reached the tangle of tunnels beneath the mansion, traps began to crop up throughout.

Forfend took note that these traps were no less clever than those beneath the Sagemantle estate, but they were mundane rather than magical. The difference between magic and a craftsman's ingenuity was often negligible. Both types of traps were equally dangerous.

Between Melzaryn's magic and Kairi's sharp eyes, however, not a single one was tripped. They made their way up into the walls of the expansive house without much issue.

Melzaryn led them through the winding rooms until they finally happened past what looked to be Adhron's personal office.

A thin crack in the wall just barely afforded a look inside.

Melzaryn tugged a lever.

A section of the wall flipped around to face them, revealing a large statue. The panel slid aside out of their way.

The three of them filed into the room.

The panel slid back into place and flipped around again, returning the decorative statue to its rightful place in Adhron's office.

Forfend tilted its head at the ostentatious visage of a man who looked a great deal like a much younger Adhron Galloford. He struck a dramatic, powerful pose. His muscles bulged to an unrealistic degree. He wore a toga that left startlingly little to the imagination. In one hand, he wielded a pen and, in other other, a sword.

Forfend wasn't wholly certain if this depiction was meant to be Adhron himself or one of Adhron's ancestors.

Either way, it was an awfully pretentious thing to have stationed in an office. Perhaps in the same way that Odolan's stern portrait kept eyes off it, the awkwardly exaggerated statue was also meant to keep eyes away.

"That's a disgrace to art," Melzaryn commented dryly on the statue before beelining to rifle through Adhron's desk.

"Oh gods!" Kairi gasped. She slapped her hand over her mouth.

Forfend turned to see what had startled her.

In the corner of the room, stanced up as though about to charge, was a taxidermied adamantine beetle.

Kairi turned away from it, but it was hardly the only morbid thing in this overlarge room.

Overhead hung a pair of emerald dragon horns. Emerald scales were mounted in mosaics in several spaces around the room. Pelts from creatures Forfend couldn't name were scattered about the floor. The whole area reeked of violent disregard for others and the natural world.

Melzaryn pulled a strange wand from one of the pouches in his belt and held it aloft.

A ding sounded. The wand blinked brightly.

A sconce lit up and so did the enormous bookshelf in the back of the room.

"This reveals secrets," Melzaryn explained simply as he dropped the wand back into his bottomless pocket.

The light on the sconce and bookshelf faded.

Melzaryn pointed to the sconce. "That's going to be a lever. I distinctly recall getting poisoned last time I messed with a hidden trigger, so I'd appreciate it if you'd do it this time."

Forfend nodded. It grabbed the sconce and pulled downward.

A cloud of poison hissed out of the wall directly into Forfend's runic face.

"Ha, it was trapped," Melzaryn smirked.

"It was," Forfend hummed.

The poison hadn't done anything to it. It wasn't an organic creature after all. Most poisons couldn't do anything to it.

"Ah, the lever goes both ways," Forfend noticed. It pushed the sconce upward.

The bookcase pulled backwards and slid aside, unveiling a much more eccentric and esoteric study hidden behind.

Papers and maps littered the desk haphazardly. A book laying on top of the desk was wrapped in chains and locked shut. A box sat in the corner. The box looked ordinary enough, but something about it was off-putting in an unexplainable way.

Melzaryn immediately approached the desk. He rifled through the maps.

"These are maps of the tunnels under Cragwall. They're annotated."

Forfend and Kairi leaned over his shoulders to look.

Entry points, abduction sites, and placements for future Envema attacks were all marked.

"That's pretty damning evidence," Kairi said.

"Yeah, but I'm looking into that chained book too," Melzaryn decided.

Forfend tilted its head at the book. "It has no title. It may be a journal."

Melzaryn reached for the book. He paused, his ears twitching.

Kairi tensed.

Forfend couldn't hear what they were hearing, but a moment later they both relaxed. It assumed whatever had spooked them had moved on.

"If somebody comes down this hallway, Forfend, I want you to stand in front of the door," Melzaryn instructed. "Just stand in the way so they can't open it while Kairi and I get back into the tunnel. I'll teleport you in once we're settled."

"Certainly," it agreed.

Melzaryn turned, the chained book forgotten. "If we're going to need to get out of here quickly, I'm more interested in this box than the book." He crouched down and casted Identify.

A single sentence of information popped up in front of Melzaryn's face. He blinked at it. His brow furrowed.

"This box is completely mundane and unlocked. Why does it feel so creepy?"

Forfend and Kairi both shrugged.

"I want to open it up," Melzaryn immediately stated.

"That may not be our best idea," Forfend hummed nervously. "It could be dangerous."

"Well, if there was any magic affecting it at all, Identify would've shown it to me. Which means whatever's giving off that scary aura has to be the thing inside the box," Melzaryn argued. "Touching the box itself shouldn't do anything to me."

"Yes," Forfend said slowly, "but what if the contents of the box are the sort of scary thing that will jump out at you?"

"Hm." Melzaryn paused to consider this. "Alright, the book it is then."

He immediately returned to the desk and grabbed the book.

"Locked, but not magically locked," he observed.

He pulled Forfend's lockpick out and began fiddling with the padlock.

The lockpick snapped.

Melzaryn sighed. "I'm rustier than I thought."

Kairi grabbed the lockpick and cast Mending on it once again.

Melzaryn gave the lock another try. This time, it clicked open.

Melzaryn unwrapped the chains and flipped through the book.

As he was reading it, footsteps sounded in the hallway. The slow tromping grew closer and closer.

"Would you like me to be in front of the door now?" Forfend asked as quietly as it was able.

Melzaryn snapped the book closed. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea," he whispered.

Forfend nodded. It immediately strode to the door and stood directly in front of it.

There was a kerchunk as the door unlocked. The knob turned and the door just barely cracked open before audibly thudding into Forfend's back.

The person on the other side froze. "What the fuck?"

He tried to open the door a second time with the same result. He paused again, shut the door, and opened it back up. Again, it simply bumped Forfend's back and would open no further. He slammed it into Forfend several times.

Predictably, Forfend didn't budge.

In the meantime, Melzaryn and Kairi silently scrambled.

Kairi got the tunnel behind the statue reopened while Melzaryn stuffed the book and map into his belt pockets.

Melzaryn closed off the secret office again, watching to make certain the bookcase slid back into place before he ducked into the tunnel.

"What the fuck was that?" the voice behind Forfend whispered to himself as the quiet mechanical whirs of the secret doors filled the otherwise silent room.

He slammed the door into Forfend harder, though not hard enough to hurt it and far from hard enough to move it.

"What the fuck is wrong with this thing?" the man growled. "What are you stuck on?!"

Melzaryn closed off the statue tunnel.

Forfend heard the stranger back up, presumably to tackle the door. It braced itself for a slightly more significant impact.

The world fell out from beneath its feet.

In a fraction of a second, it contacted the ground again in the darkness of the tunnels. It could feel Melzaryn and Kairi standing at its side in the tight space.

In the office, the man charged the door and slammed into it with all his might.

Without a great weight blocking his path, he crashed straight through and tumbled into the office floor.

He groaned for a moment before forcing himself to jump to his feet and have a frantic look around.

Forfend watched him through the tiny crack in the wall.

He was a house guard. A thoroughly befuddled one.

"Gods, what the hells was that?" He paced the office, then checked the door.

He shut the door and immediately yanked it open again. He faced no resistance. He frowned.

"What the hells?" he said again. He fiddled with the door for several more minutes before giving up. He threw his hands into the air and left.

He made it only a few steps down the hallway before turning around to open the door one more time. He grumbled through grit teeth. He tensed up to slam the door, but seemed to remember he was in a mansion full of sleeping people. He sighed heavily, shut the door gently, and finally left.

Several silent seconds passed before Kairi started giggling. She covered her mouth to stifle the noise.

Melzaryn also looked to be holding in laughter. "He's going to have a vendetta against that door for the rest of his time working here," he wheezed.

Rumbling chuckles emanated from Forfend. "I suppose he will."

"Let's go, let's go," Melzaryn hustled, leading them back down into the proper tunnels as quickly as he quietly could.

Once they were clear of the estate and far from anyone who could hear them, Melzaryn pulled the stolen books from his bag.

"Adhron's book is full of documented transactions he's had with Odolan, probably for blackmail purposes. It also has a lot of information on the Calamity Crystals and the ways they theorized they could use them. It's got notes on experiments to remove the brains of creatures to use them as powerful, mindless pawns. And it discusses hiring the other warriors like Howell for a simple bodyguarding job. My best guess is that the plan is, or maybe was because they might've already done it, to kidnap them like they did him."

Melzaryn opened the books and started tearing a handful of specific pages out of each of them. He stuffed the loose pages into one pocket and the books back into another.

"I'm leaving as much of the evidence as I can, but I don't want these experiments to be complete enough to be repeatable," he explained.

Forfend nodded. It agreed fully. "I think we should take what we have found back to King Falco immediately. Before we are discovered and retaliated against."

"It's the middle of the night," Kairi pointed out.

"Yeah, but this is urgent and we have a letter stating we're on business for the king," Melzaryn said. "They'll let us in."

Forfend and Kairi both nodded.

With that, the group quickly made their way back to the entrance Wisteria and, hopefully, Kagoshi awaited them at.

When they arrived, they did indeed find Kagoshi dozing against the hidden beetle.

"Come on." Kairi shook him gently to wake him.

He grumbled and hauled himself up. "What?"

"We have what we need. We are going to speak with King Falco immediately," Forfend said.

"Sure. I love bothering people at fuck-all hours of the night." Kagoshi didn't hesitate to immediately start tromping toward the Mountain Quarter and Castle Ledrian.

Kairi nudged Wisteria awake and hopped up onto the beetle's back. They skittered after Kagoshi.

Forfend and Melzaryn rushed after them, both intentionally pulling ahead of Kagoshi.

They'd be running into guards shortly and neither of them wanted an incident. The last thing they needed was for Kagoshi to get arrested again. And they especially didn't need him arrested for threatening the king's guards.

"H-hey!" a nervous guard called as they approached the Mountain Quarter's outer gate. "You can't be here."

Forfend tilted its head. "We are on urgent business for the king and we need to speak with him as soon as possible."

Melzaryn pulled the letter from his pocket with a flurry of rumpling paper. The king's seal was unmistakable.

"Oh!" the guard exclaimed, barely skimming the letter. "Head right on in then."

"Lower the gate!" he yelled up to the guards stationed above him.

Loud cranks shattered the still air. A thud signaled the gate settling firmly into its place on the ground.

Forfend nodded politely to the guard.

It and its allies made their way into the Mountain Quarter.

Forfend found it strange to think they'd just been here, albeit well beneath the cobblestone streets.

Castle Ledrian loomed ahead of them. Dark skies framed the even darker outline of the imposing structure. The castle was massive.

Forfend wondered what was being done with all that space. Not much, if it had to guess. Nobles seemed to be wasteful like that. Forfend didn't understand it.

The group approached the castle gates.

They repeated the same interaction with this guard as they had with the last, though he insisted Wisteria wait outside.

Kairi begrudgingly slid off Wisteria's back and instructed her friend to wait.

The drawbridge came down slowly.

When it finally thunked into place, Forfend and its allies traversed it.

The drawbridge spanned a deep ravine. Enormous wooden spikes were embedded haphazardly all across the bottom of it. If the fall weren't deadly enough, the spikes would make certain no one survived.

The drawbridge clanked and clattered, beginning the rise back into place the second they stepped off of it. Within moments, they were closed inside.

An ancient mage looked up from his paperwork and frowned, dragging deep, furrowing lines down the sides of his mouth.

The mage was Odolan Sagemantle himself.

"Oh, hello." He dripped condescension and irritation. Whatever he'd been working on, he was making immensely clear he'd rather get back to it. They were bothering him.

"Who are you again?" Kagoshi growled.

Odolan arched his brows and set his jaw. "I am Highlord Odolan Sagemantle. I don't think I've had the pleasure to meet any of you."

Kagoshi nodded slowly and looked Odolan over. He seemed to be assessing the man for a fight.

"What is your business here?" Odolan demanded, getting up and circling the desk to stand before them. "It's the middle of the night."

"Just doing some work for the king. We're hired mercenaries. You know how it is." Melzaryn shrugged.

"Hm, of course. May I see the documentation regarding your hire?" Odolan held his hand out expectantly. "I'm certain King Falco wouldn't hire you without documentation and, as his advisor, I need to make certain nothing is amiss here."

"Certainly." Melzaryn pulled out the first letter King Falco had sent them, rather than the second.

The first barely stated they were working for King Falco, but there was a vague mention of a job to be done after their trip to Foumedo. The second was far more descriptive and mentioned Odolan as an Envema suspect by name.

Forfend hoped the first letter would be sufficient.

Odolan tugged a jewel-encrusted monocle from his breast pocket and held it to his eye. He inspected the letter thoroughly.

Forfend tilted its head. He hadn't been using a monocle at home in his study and he hadn't been using one when they entered to see him doing paperwork here either. Was the garish piece just for show?

"Careful, you'll break your wrist with the weight of that stupid thing," Kagoshi grumbled under his breath.

Odolan's eyes cut from the letter to his almost comically thick monocle, then briefly to Kagoshi before returning to the letter.

The monocle's rim had to be that large to accommodate the ostentatious jewels encircling it. If Forfend had to guess, the monocle was much heavier than any sight aid needed to be.

"What did you say?" Odolan played ignorant, the harsh edge in his voice offering Kagoshi one, and only one, chance to change what he'd said.

Ever stalwart in his rudeness, Kagoshi crossed his arms. "You heard me."

Odolan scowled.

"How old are you anyway?" Kagoshi cocked his head. He made a point of staring at the purple veins beneath the thin, pale skin of Odolan's hands.

"Old enough," Odolan answered through grit teeth.

"Yeah, I can tell," Kagoshi stifled a chuckle. "Your wrinkles have wrinkles. I can see the wax growing out of your droopy ears. Your skin looks thinner than paper."

Odolan was struggling to maintain a calm demeanor. The letter crinkled in his hand as his grip tightened. His lips drew into a taut line. The tips of his ears turned red. He sniffed once and upturned his nose.

Melzaryn sidled slightly in front of Kagoshi. "Sorry, I did say we were mercenaries, right?"

"That explains the vulgarity," Odolan spat.

Kairi ducked behind Forfend to hide her snickering with its broad back.

"Despite your churlish personalities, everything here seems to be in order," Odolan determined. He dropped the letter back into Melzaryn's hands. "I'll notify the king of your arrival."

He returned to his desk, grabbed his staff from where it leaned against the wall, and quietly cast a spell. Magic glowed dimly around him.

Odolan waved dismissively at them. "A guard will escort you up in a moment. And do show more respect to King Falco."

He turned his nose up, grabbed a stack of papers, and strode away.

A guard entered the enormous foyer and motioned for them. "Alright, I can take you up to King Falco now."

The group followed him through expansive hallways and enormous stairways.

The guard glanced over his shoulder a couple of times as they walked. He seemed to have something on his mind, but he wasn't sure if he should voice it.

Finally, he made his decision.

"Hey, uh, listen, not to be annoying or anything, but... are you guys the ones that helped at the Teleportation Hub? When it collapsed?"

"We are," Forfend hummed.

"Yeah, I thought so!" The guard pointed to Kagoshi. "You scared the shit out of me!"

"He does that," Forfend deadpanned.

The guard chuckled. "I heard you also helped out the Brass Buffalo."

"Yep," Kairi confirmed.

"I just wanted to say thank you." The guard ducked his head respectfully to all of them. "I don't know if you know this, but you saved my grandpa. He's there a lot."

Kagoshi and Melzaryn shared a glance. "Does he like cookies?" they both asked at the same time.

"He does like cookies," the guard confirmed. "I try to visit as much as I can, but I don't get down there too much, you know? Always busy with work."

"I believe I sat down and had a nice chat with him," Melzaryn smiled. "Kind man."

"Really?" The guard blinked. "Well, thank you for keeping him company."

Kagoshi cocked his head and thought for a moment. "He was the guy I picked up and carried outside because he wasn't going to be fast enough to get out on his own, I think."

"Thank you so much," the guard expressed sincerely.

"What's your name?" Kagoshi asked in a rare display of civility.

"Me? Carston."

"Carston," Kagoshi repeated. "Got it."

"Uhm, I don't know if you have enough people saying thank you, so I just want to say it again. Thank you," Carson said. "Your faces aren't being advertised in the newspapers or anything. But, uh, there's this rumor..."

He trailed off for a moment, but before anyone could ask what the rumor was, he suddenly blurted, "Are you guys demigods?"

Forfend's first instinct was to answer the question honestly, but it instead decided to say nothing at all. The rest of them could decide amongst themselves how to respond.

"How'd you hear that?" Kagoshi grumbled.

"Well, there's rumors everywhere," Carston replied. "I mean, the descriptions are really rough and all, but you guys sort of fit the bill."

"What are the descriptions you've heard?" Melzaryn asked.

"One was this really tall earth genasi, which I guess he could be mistaken for." Carston pointed at Forfend.

Forfend fought down the reddish glow in its chest. Earth genasi were a beautiful people and it couldn't help but to be flattered at the idea that it could be mistaken for one of them. Nonetheless, it tilted its head. "I am most often mistaken for a golem," it hummed. "Which is also incorrect."

"Then there's the pixie," Carston continued, motioning to Kairi. "She's got wings and she's very pink."

Kairi twirled, sparkles swirling off the hem of her dress. "I suppose I do look a little like a pixie, but aren't they supposed to be way smaller?"

"And, um," Carston looked Kagoshi over. "Well, you're not short, but they said, uh..." Kagoshi's perpetual scowl shut him up. He pointed to Melzaryn. " If he's the monochromatic elf, then, well..."

Carston rubbed at the back of his neck.

"The last one that leaves would be the angry dwarf, which is not an accurate description!" he rushed to finish his sentence. He held his hands out placatingly to Kagoshi. "But I have to guess that's you."

"A dwarf?" Kagoshi hissed, nostrils flaring.

"They're calling you a very angry dwarf, yeah," Carston sheepishly confirmed.

Kagoshi growled.

Kairi laughed.

"None of the descriptions are really accurate, but you're the only group I've seen that even vaguely resembles what people are claiming," Carston said.

Melzaryn nodded thoughtfully and shrugged. "An astute observation."

"Thanks." Carston looked the group over again. "I wanted to say thank you because none of your names are publicized, so I didn't know if people were telling you."

"We actually prefer that our names are not in the papers. That is ideal," Forfend hummed.

"Yeah, we like it like that," Kairi agreed.

"Whether or not we're demigods is just a rumor," Kagoshi added. "We keep it that way."

"Oh, okay." Carston nodded. "I won't mention it again then. Just, um, thank you again."

Kagoshi shrugged. "You're welcome."

"We're almost there," Carston informed them. "We're heading past Prince Halt's room now and then King Falco's will be just up those stairs."

"Oh, you call him that too?" Melzaryn grinned.

"Prince Halt?" Carston chuckled. "Yeah. King Falco started calling him that and it's really catching on. He hates it."

Kagoshi laughed.

"I believe it was Kagoshi that coined that phrase originally," Melzaryn shared.

"Really?" Carston asked. His eyes lit up. "Yeah, that's right! You were there when he yelled, 'Halt,' at all those people that weren't going anywhere! I saw that!"

Forfend nodded. "He yelled at us when no one was moving."

Carston laughed. "That's really biting him in the ass now."

He led them up the staircase and to the doorway at the end of the hall.

"I hope things go well for you in there," Carston said. He stood aside to let them pass, placing the butt of his spear on the ground and straightening his back. He was now perfectly at attention. "I'll be right here to take you back down when you're done talking."

"Thank you for your help," Forfend nodded politely to him, its chest lighting up orange.

"Yeah, no problem," Carston smiled. "Thank you for everything you've done for, well, Tyrwedia."

Melzaryn opened the door to King Falco's room and strode in first.

Forfend, Kairi, and Kagoshi followed right on his heels.

King Falco stood bleary-eyed and barely dressed in the middle of the room.

The bedroom itself lacked the general extravagance of the rest of the castle. The room was enormous, but not bejeweled or slathered in silk and gold. There were accents of green and gold about the room, but it wasn't the absurd garishness of the Galloford or Sagemantle houses.

There was also some notable clutter strewn about. Several of the clutter piles seemed to be from various hobbies. Knitting was the most recently attempted.

The top half of a sweater bearing the moniker "Prince Hal'' lay draped across a chair. Forfend assumed the king's rather rough attempt at the craft would eventually bear High Knight Erest Ledrian's new unofficial title in full.

Melzaryn lightly nudged Kagoshi and flicked his eyes toward the incomplete sweater. "We're coming back here in the winter," he whispered.

"Oh yeah," Kagoshi smirked.

Melzaryn clocked King Falco's study taking up one side of the room and nodded appreciatively. It wasn't particularly large, but it appeared to be well used.

A training dummy sat in another corner. It also looked like it had seen consistent wear and tear.

A mannequin stood at King Falco's bedside. His more fanciful, kingly attire rested heavily on its shoulders. It looked like it hadn't been touched in ages, though Forfend knew he'd had to wear it to the court hearing only two weeks ago.

Kairi looked up and around at the walls of the room. Her eyes stopped in a particular spot and Forfend caught itself following her gaze.

The walls were adorned with weapons and paintings. Most of the paintings were portraits of King Falco and his family. The particular one that had caught Kairi's attention was a large portrait of the whole royal family.

King Falco stood smiling next to a woman who must be the Queen, though Forfend had never seen her. Surrounding them was a gaggle of four children.

Though he'd been much younger when this had been painted, Forfend immediately recognized the only one of King Falco's children it had met. Teenage Erest stared sternly forward.

Forfend had never seen his face, but the perfectly upright stance and serious demeanor was in stark contrast with the rest of the more relaxed family. High Knight Erest was unmistakable.

King Falco coughed and cleared his throat, drawing all attention to himself. He wiped his sleepy eyes with one hand and fiddled with his haphazard clothing with the other.

"You guys are back already?" he yawned. "Wow, that was fast."

"We're efficient," Kagoshi said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah," King Falco agreed. "Here, let me get you some chairs."

He dragged one over from his study and two from his knitting project area. He paused to assess Forfend while the rest of the group took their seats.

He stepped over to his training area and dragged a sturdy bench out with considerable effort.

"I think this'll do," King Falco guessed.

Forfend took the offered seat, settling its weight down slowly to make certain the bench wouldn't break.

Slight creaking emanated from beneath it, but the bench held.

"Thank you," Forfend nodded.

King Falco pulled a table and one last chair from what appeared to be a storage corner. He set the table up in front of the party and sat down across from them.

"Okay, so what's the news?" he asked. He was starting to wake up a little more and he was now anxiously awaiting their input.

"Give me a moment," Melzaryn said. "This is a very sensitive matter and I'd like to case the area to make sure no one's listening in."

"Oh. Okay." King Falco nodded once and spread his hands.

Melzaryn concentrated on his staff. He muttered a spell under his breath and slowly scanned the room back and forth.

"Looks in order," he nodded.

Forfend tapped its fingers nervously against the table. "Melzaryn," it hummed and inclined its head toward King Falco himself. "Could you Identify him the way you did our other friend? He has a great deal of contact with our suspects, especially Highlord Odolan, and I am worried."

"Nothing showed up with Detect Magic, but I can," Melzaryn agreed. "Just to be safe."

"What do you mean? Is something wrong?" King Falco asked.

"It's just a precaution," Melzaryn assured. "Would you mind if I cast Identify on you?"

"Oh, okay. Go ahead, I guess," King Falco agreed.

Melzaryn held up his staff and peered through the pearl. Information popped up in front of him and scanned by absurdly fast.

"It's strange, but there's definitely Envema magic here," Melzaryn grimly informed them. "It's in flux, like something's fighting it."

"What?" King Falco looked horrified.

"It's different from what we've seen before, but it's definitely there," Melzaryn said.

"Can you get rid of it?!" King Falco panicked.

Forfend stepped forward. "I will try."

"Use caution." Melzaryn eyed King Falco over, his brows knit. "Something's weird here. Something's off. Try to target exclusively the Envema stuff. Something else might be underneath it."

Forfend nodded, but worry was beginning to tumble stones in its chest. "This was never an exact science."

Nonetheless, it placed a hand on King Falco's shoulder and searched out the Envema magic affecting him.

A flutter of green caught the edge of Forfend's vision. It glanced to the window.

Ry'Ha'Dach in his tiny green bird form sat on the window sill. He fluffed his feathers and scratched nervously at the stone.

Whatever he needed, Forfend would be sure to help, but it could only handle one problem at a time. It returned its focus to King Falco.

Forfend seized onto the Envema magic with its own divine magic. The Envema curse cracked and crumbled away.

Forfend pulled its hand away from King Falco and tilted its head at Melzaryn.

He'd said the magic was different, but that wasn't how the other Envema effects had felt when they dissipated.

"Did it go away?" King Falco asked. "Is everything okay?"

"That's subjective," Melzaryn answered unhelpfully.

"Well, what happened?" King Falco fretted.

"Is it gone?" Forfend asked Melzaryn. "I felt it break, but is it gone? Did the strangeness go away?"

Melzaryn nodded. "I'm pretty sure it's gone. I'm not Detecting any magic on him anymore."

His brow was still furrowed though.

Something about this didn't feel right to him or Forfend.

"This is some very weird magics," Melzaryn appended. His eyes darted over King Falco, but caught on Ry'Ha'Dach still twitching nervously on the window sill.

King Falco followed his gaze and tilted his head. "Huh. I've never seen a green bluejay before."

"We have," Melzaryn cryptically replied.

"Really? What is it?"

"Why's it so freaked out?" Kagoshi asked.

Forfend offered its hand out to Ry'Ha'Dach, but the disguised dragon didn't move. Whatever had him frightened was keeping him firmly in place. He didn't want to leave the window.

"What do you think?" Melzaryn asked Kairi.

Kairi's face was drawn into an uncharacteristically serious expression. She glanced between Ry'Ha'Dach and King Falco. Her eyes settled on the king.

"I still can't read his emotions."

"What?" King Falco shook his head, confused. "What do you mean? What does that mean?"

"It's not as important," Melzaryn dismissed. "We're trying to secure this room and odd things keep happening."

Forfend disagreed. It thought that observation was extremely important.

"Like the bird?" King Falco asked.

"Possibly. I think we know that bird," Melzaryn said.

"What?" King Falco was growing more perplexed by the second.

"We've been around. We've met a lot of things." Melzaryn waved off the concern.

"And birds," Forfend hummed.

"And birds," Melzaryn agreed. "Clearly."

"That doesn't make sense," King Falco sighed.

Melzaryn quickly pulled the two books and the map from his bottomless pockets. He handed them over.

"Oh." King Falco flipped through the books. His eyes widened. "Oh, wow. Well, this is certainly damning evidence. Great! I mean, awful what they're doing, but great for us that we've got evidence!"

He glanced back and forth suspiciously for a moment before striding over to a dresser. He stuffed the evidence beneath his clothes and shut the drawer.

"I'll get this to the courts first thing in the morning," he promised. "But, um, you all still seem very worried. What's been going on?"

"A certain amount of caution is called for, given that we just stole two very important books from two rather powerful people," Melzaryn answered.

Forfend shuffled uncertainly. "I would not be opposed to trying Identify again," it blurted.

Melzaryn shrugged. He held his hand toward King Falco.

"If you want to," the king permitted.

Melzaryn touched King Falco's shoulder and watched the information blip into being from his staff.

Melzaryn froze. "Godsdammit, I didn't see that the first time." He tapped a particular line of the encoded text and pulled up information on it specifically.

Forfend couldn't understand a word of what he was looking at, but it trusted Melzaryn to parse even the most opaque magical information.

"It's disguise magic. Magic to disguise other magic, specifically," Melzaryn shared. "Annoying."

"Can you get rid of it?" Kagoshi asked.

"I can," Forfend offered.

"Do you know what it's hiding?" Kairi asked.

Melzaryn shook his head. "It's making it look like there's no magic on him. Dispelling it will be tricky, but doable. You won't be able to sense what you're Dispelling."

"Ah, forget it," King Falco sighed. "You're too good. Fuck it."

No one had a second to process what he'd said.

He held out his hand.

An illusion dropped off of one of the spears mounted on the wall. A rapier with an emerald green hilt flashed into being instead and careened toward King Falco.

He caught it and immediately thrust forward.

Melzaryn didn't have time to move. The blade pierced his stomach.

King Falco hooked his arm around Melzaryn's neck and yanked him further onto the blade until it protruded from his back.

Kagoshi started forward, his scars already beginning to glow.

Kairi grabbed Kagoshi's arm as powerful pulsing magic coursed through the hilt of King Falco's blade.

Kagoshi grit his teeth, but didn't charge forward into whatever psychic aura the weapon was creating.

The psychic energy lifted Melzaryn off the blade and deposited the wizard's limp form onto the floor. Blood rapidly pooled beneath him.

Forfend dropped into a kneel and immediately placed both hands on the gushing wound. Healing magic coursed through it into Melzaryn's body as quickly as Forfend could channel it.

"I should've known it was only a matter of time," King Falco dramatically lamented.

He backed up, keeping careful guard from Kagoshi in particular.

"Two, no, three hundred years of planning only to be undone by four nitwits that decided to travel to this backwater nation," King Falco spat. "And on a whim, no less!"

He shrugged toward Forfend. "Except you, of course. You live here, but you were supposed to stay in your stupid little backwards village," he growled. "Well, whatever."

The illusion covering him dropped away.

King Falco's previously tousled hair was now molded into a sharply maintained, slicked back style. His steely gray eyes and the new vibrance to his skin gave off a distinctly demigod aura. He immediately looked stronger. Unnaturally so.

He was no longer barely dressed in clothes hastily thrown on for an impromptu midnight meeting. Instead, he wore a cloak of emerald dragon scales.

Forfend faltered. Recognition shot through it. Ry'Ha'Dach had mentioned this cloak. The wisest emerald dragon had been murdered to make it.

"I should've known something like this would happen," King Falco ranted. "But it's fine! Everything's handled. How many days until the celestial alignment? Two, at this point? My power will spread out all I need then. I just have to get rid of all of you."

Kagoshi snarled, starting to step forward again.

King Falco immediately leveled the blade at Kagoshi's chest.

"Don't," Kairi breathed. She tugged on Kagoshi's arm. She was shaking head to toe. "Look at him. He's too dangerous."

Kagoshi didn't look like he intended to heed that warning, but Kairi pulled him backwards with all her strength.

That was hardly enough to stop Kagoshi, but her raw terror gave him a pause he wouldn't normally have taken.

King Falco smirked. "Maybe it's time I make my proper introduction." He spread his arms and took as much of a mocking bow as he could without losing sight of Kagoshi. "Hello, my name is King Falco Ledrian, the Thought Thief. And you have all been a thorn in my side. I think it's time to remove that."

Telekinetic energy swarmed around the hilt of the blade. Trinkets and knickknacks were caught in the swirling magic and thrown. Books were scattered next, tumbling across the floor. The furniture began to rattle with the violent power of the weapon.

Ry'Ha'Dach flew into the room and transformed back into his draconic form as he tackled King Falco.

"YOU!" he roared at the top of his lungs, his voice rumbling through the very foundation of the castle.

His enormous bulk expanding in a space too small for him slammed aside decor, crushed furniture, and knocked paintings from the cracking walls.

King Falco roared right back at Ry'Ha'Dach.

The dragon lunged at him, jaws open wide. His teeth latched around a telekinetic shield rather than flesh.

Ry'Ha'Dach launched upward, crashing the roof off this castle tower and sending it tumbling far down below. He hauled King Falco into the sky.

King Falco's sword emitted a booming blast that threw Ry'Ha'Dach off of him.

The dragon caught himself in the air and whirled around to face his opponent.

King Falco wasn't falling. He levitated, his blade at the ready and a murderous snarl on his face.

"I should've known you'd survived, you fucking cockroach!" he shouted. "Fuck this, I guess it's happening early!"

King Falco snapped his fingers.

His weapon warbled. A massive pulse of telekinetic energy exploded outwards.

Ry'Ha'Dach braced himself against the wave, yet was still rocked so severely he dropped several feet.

Forfend braced itself over Melzaryn as Kagoshi braced himself in front of Kairi.

The blast careened over them and shattered what was left of the crumbling roof over their heads.

Mounds of stone crashed down around them and tumbled off the now fully open-air sides of King Falco's destroyed bedroom.

Far below, people screamed at the horrifying sight and falling debris.

"It was all so well planned, you know," King Falco griped at the growling dragon. "Just two more fucking days! You just needed to stay off my back for two more fucking days! It all would've been fine."

He shrugged. "Guess you can't have everything. But I think I'll take it anyway."

Alarm bells rang out all across the city. People fled from their homes. Panic filled the streets.

Towers and houses suddenly crumbled. The statue of King Falco in the main plaza cracked open. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of the Envema victims trapped beneath the city flooded up onto the streets.

"I couldn't bind myself to all of them to make myself immortal, but this'll do fine," King Falco grinned.

He threw his arm out toward Forfend and its allies. "You couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?! You just had to keep snooping! For that, I'm getting rid of all of you!"

"At least the last time I was stabbed there wasn't a speech," Melzaryn groaned, finally starting to come around. He pushed Forfend's hands away and forced himself to sit up.

"You just had to play hero!" King Falco continued shouting. "There's just one funny little thing about heroes. They have to win every. Single. Time. Villains though?" He jabbed a thumb at himself. "All we've got to do is win once."

He spread his arms wide. "Show me what you're made of." A glint sparked in his steely eyes. "Or, no. How about you deal with them?"

He flicked his rapier.

Four figures slammed down one after the other in front of the group.

The first was a wizard with golden blond hair shining in the moonlight. She held a staff topped with a floating blue gem. Abjuration magic flickered in and out of sight in the air around her.

The second was a towering man in a full suit of armor. Eagle motifs covered the silvery metal. A long blue cape fluttered in the night breeze. A massive halberd awaited use in his hands.

The third looked not unlike Kiyori by the tone of his skin and the style of his armor. He was likely of Fulgar Isles descent. He wore a wide-brimmed straw hat. A piece of straw hung from his lips. A weapon Forfend had heard described as the Swiftblade glinted in his hands.

Forfend didn't even need to look at the fourth to know it was Howell, trapped again beneath Envema's wretched curse. It had thought it had freed him. There must be more to King Falco's ability than it could know.

All four of the famed warriors currently traveling Tyrwedia stood before them. All of their faces were wholly expressionless. All of their eyes were solid white, almost as though blind.

"You can handle them, right?" King Falco jeered. "You handled Howell, didn't you? Take care of that while I handle this pest. It'll be fun."

He held his hand out and taunted Ry'Ha'Dach with a cocky come-at-me gesture. "Let's go."

"I will avenge my brethren!" Ry'Ha'Dach shook the very air with the force of his roar. "You have taken too much! I will take it all back!"

Ry'Ha'Dach dropped his jaw and unleashed his psychic breath weapon.

Forfend forced its gaze off the fight above to focus on the inevitable fight right in front of it.

It stood and helped Melzaryn to his feet.

Melzaryn clutched his wounded midsection, but he still held his staff in preparation to cast.

Kagoshi growled deep in his throat. "These motherfuckers are dead."

"They are victims of Despot Falco too," Forfend hummed. Nonetheless, it drew its mace and raised its shield.

As they moved beneath the Galloford estate again, muffled arguing cut through the floorboards.

Highlord Adhron's voice dripped condescension.

Others in the same room were chattering nervously about an earthquake.

The overlapping cacophony made it difficult to make out much more than the general gist of any given conversation.

Even Kairi shook her head.

They kept moving, not bothering to eavesdrop a second time.

The walk back was slow and winding, but eventually they did make it back to the entrance at the guard barracks.

They emerged onto the sparsely populated, nervous streets. Few were out so late, but the apparent earthquake Forfend and its allies caused had awoken a handful. The guards still around the barracks all seemed on edge.

Kagoshi and Kairi started to trudge back toward Eamon's home.

Forfend hesitated. It looked to the towering cathedral.

"Go with them," it hummed to Duncan.

Duncan nodded. He caught up to the other two.

Forfend hobbled alone to the Grand Cathedral.

No one was around the entrance. The doors were unlocked, but no longer propped open.

Forfend let itself inside.

The inside was similarly deserted.

Every step echoed with haunting melancholy.

The weight on Forfend's shoulders doubled here in this holy place. It felt nearly crushed by the weight of its fear, its sorrows. Its inadequacies.

The priest of Somnum squinted worriedly at Forfend as it passed. He leaned slightly forward on his cane.

He seemed to be the only clergy member still here and he was shepherding over one of the only areas in the temple that still had any people in it at all. There weren't many. Three, maybe four. All of them sleeping soundly.

The priest motioned to Forfend, a question clear on his face as he watched its ichor puddle.

Forfend politely shook its head. Resting would do it no good just yet. It had something it needed to do first.

The priest rested his head on the top of his cane and sighed sullenly.

Forfend kept walking until it reached Fornax's alcove. It stopped, staring up at the enormous statue.

This figure was far smaller than the genuine deity, but hardly less imposing in this moment.

Forfend took a step closer and lowered its gaze. It couldn't look the statue in the face. It carried too much shame in its core.

It covered its core with its broad hand.

No one else was in the forge right now. That was good.

Forfend was struggling to get its thoughts in order. It would struggle further to admit them aloud. At least there would be no further witnesses than itself and Fornax.

Steam hissed long and slow in Forfend's chest.

"I am sorry," it began haltingly. "I have failed. I know you called me to get back to work, but I do not think I am able. I cannot do it any longer. I cannot fight these demons as they arise. I am too far past my prime. Too old. ...Too wounded."

It paused, looking down at its mutilated body. The gushing chunk missing from its chest was hardly what it meant. That was a symptom, not the cause. Its fully missing layer of metal was the true culprit. An injury that hadn't healed in eight thousand years. An injury that wouldn't heal in eight thousand more.

Despite its worries, it knew it couldn't fully abandon Fornax's call.

"But I will still help," it promised. "Here." Another rush of steam passed through its chest. "If you will grant me the ability."

It was asking a lot in the face of its moment of faithlessness against the hound. Yet it had to ask. There was precious little it could do alone.

It lowered its gaze to Fornax's feet as it passed by him to enter the workstation proper.

It dropped gold into the offering plate and let itself into the material storage room.

Forfend wasn't certain what it wanted to make. It collected supplies almost at random, cycling them through its hands as it tried to determine a path to take.

Kagoshi could fight demons. Kagoshi was exceptionally good at fighting demons. He was able to hold them down and wound them with efficiency and brutality.

For all his flaws, he was the better answer to Fornax's call.

Forfend decided upon designing him a pair of gauntlets that would suit his barehanded fighting style.

It collected what it needed and returned to the workstations. It selected one at random and watched as the forge lit itself.

It zoned out as it grappled with the metal in its hands, venting all of its frustrations, all of its fears, all of its disappointment at itself into its craft.

It lacked the durability it used to have. It lacked the unwavering faith it used to have. It lacked the bravery it used to have.

A molten glow emanated from between the cracks in the stones of Forfend's hands.

If it couldn't fight, it would create weapons and armor to keep its allies safe. They didn't have to be fragile, doubting, and cowardly. They didn't have to be like it.

They weren't like it.

The least it could do was arm them.

Forfend became vaguely aware that its forge hammer was glowing with heat powerful enough to meld the metal without first inserting it into the forge.

It sank further into the trance state calling it down.

The world fell away, the thoughts in its head fleeing until it could focus properly on its work.

There was nothing but the task in front of it and the statue watching over its shoulder.

Forfend lost track of time. Everything fell into place exactly as it should, far more easily than Forfend expected.

The gauntlets took form in its hand.

When the palms were open, the metal covering the fingers was smooth. When the fists closed, it revealed jagged spikes designed to deal damage.

The wrists of the gauntlets were heavily reinforced to both withstand damage and provide support.

A magical sheen gleamed off the tips of the spikes.

Forfend observed its work, reasonably satisfied and feeling much less overwhelmed now that it had created something.

It nodded to itself.

It dropped the enchanted gauntlets into a large pouch at its side and began tidying up the workstation it had used.

It sighed a long rush of steam and shuffled out of the workstation.

Three distant strikes of a hammer on metal resounded at the very edge of Forfend's hearing.

It froze in its steps, almost uncertain if had heard anything at all.

It turned.

The flames burning in the forge in Fornax's belly were golden. Brilliantly, radiantly golden.

The fire quickly flickered back to its mundane oranges and yellows.

That wasn't an answer, but it was an acknowledgement.

Fornax had heard its anguish.

At the very least, it hadn't been abandoned for the blatant mistrust it had shown in the Mortal Bulwark. That was more grace than it felt it deserved, but it was glad to have it.

It wandered back to the priest of Somnum.

Without a word, the priest began arranging blankets and pillows in a configuration large enough to accommodate Forfend.

He stepped back and pointed at the gaping, gushing hole in Forfend's chest where its tired core sputtered in slow rotations.

Forfend touched the scraped stone at the edges of the wound.

Demon-inflicted wounds healed.

Acras-inflicted wounds didn't.

Wounds inflicted by a demon of Acras were in an area Forfend's spotty memory couldn't recall. It wasn't certain if the gash would heal or not. It feared finding out, lest it dislike the answer.

"I am not certain yet if it will heal at all," it hummed after a long moment. "Time will tell."

The priest nodded. He looked Forfend over and held up a finger.

Forfend cocked its head.

The priest left.

He returned shortly, struggling with a pile of rocks stacked so high he could only just tuck them under his upturned chin.

He set them down as gently as he was able.

Forfend knelt, running its fingers over the old stone.

Most of the rocks were marble. They looked like they'd fallen off the cathedral, either during its original construction or from years of wear. For one reason or another, they'd been kept.

And now they were laid out at Forfend's disposal.

It hummed anxiously, but it would have to try eventually. It was probably better to know now rather than later.

Hesitantly, it picked up a stone and placed it in the edge of its wound.

To its immense relief, the heat of its body took hold. The stone assimilated into it nearly instantly.

"Thank you," it said sincerely.

The priest only nodded. He returned to his post.

Forfend meticulously patched more stone into its form, taking great care around its core.

Eventually, its body was whole again. Or as whole as it could be given the damage it would carry with it to the end of its days.

It laid down on its stomach in the cushions and blankets.

Exhaustion brimmed in the edges of its vision.

Its rune blinked out as it finally entered its rest state.

It was so thoroughly tired, its beleaguered thoughts couldn't chase it. Hardly a coherent word passed through its mind as it rested.

Morning slipped into the sky with haste.

Forfend lit its rune and sat up.

The temple was already beginning to bustle.

It tilted its head at the priest. He was still standing in the place he had been when it had first laid down. He'd stood there all night.

Forfend hadn't seen him sleep.

It stood and stepped over. "Have you slept?" it asked.

The priest gave half a smile and looked up at Forfend through half-lidded eyes. "I'm always sleeping," he yawned.

Forfend paused. It nodded slowly as the realization sank in.

The priest was sleepwalking. He was always sleepwalking.

Forfend wondered if that was a natural progression of dedication to Somnum or something unique to this man.

Regardless, it showed extraordinary devotion to his deity and his work. Forfend couldn't help but be impressed.

"Thank you for your hospitality," it hummed.

The priest ducked his head politely.

Forfend made its way through the sleepy streets back to Eamon's home.

It quietly opened the door.

"Dammit!" came Melzaryn's muffled voice from the guest bedroom.

Forfend tilted its head, confused.

It wandered into the guest bedroom.

Howell leaned in the corner, not quite awake but not quite asleep.

Duncan lay sprawled out across his bed. He snored loudly.

Melzaryn rubbed at his face as he pulled himself out of bed.

Kairi wandered in from the living room with Kagoshi on her heels.

"Good morning," Forfend greeted.

Half-hearted grumbles chorused from the entire crew.

Duncan snorted and shook himself awake. He stared at the bedsheets and then turned to inspect the room. The confusion slowly left his features.

"Oh yeah, I'm... hi!"

"Good morning," Forfend hummed again.

"Hello," he repeated. He caught sight of Howell stretching in the corner.

He pulled his eyes away, but they kept sliding back.

Forfend understood. Howell hadn't been in control of his actions, but he had still hurt Duncan.

That wouldn't be something Duncan could easily forget.

Howell evaded eye contact with Duncan.

Forfend positioned itself almost in-between the two. "Do you think either of you can tell us... well, anything. Where are you from? How were you captured? What do you know, if you remember anything at all?"

"I can, uh, tell you a little bit," Duncan volunteered. "I'm from the Pass. You know, the Tyrwedian Pass that leads into the Viridescent Wilds? That's where I'm from."

Forfend hummed its acknowledgement.

"The last thing I remember was getting groceries and heading home." Duncan shrugged. "Then I was here, having the most massive, horrible migraine ever. And then I got kidnapped." He glanced at Howell. "Again, I guess."

"I am sorry," Forfend said sincerely. "We will do what we can to get you home."

It gently pat Duncan's head.

"How is your hand so hard, but patting so softly?" Duncan marveled.

"Practice," it answered easily.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense," Duncan nodded.

"I actually traveled here on purpose," Howell piped up. "Around two months ago, I heard word of a bunch of famed warriors heading here for one reason or another"

"Second time I have heard that," Forfend noted, recalling that Callan had said just the same.

"I was actually here to practice and train up. I wanted to seek out some duels with these warriors," Howell continued.

"Are they demigod warriors?" Forfend asked.

"Not that I know of," Howell shook his head. "If there is a demigod here, I'd love to take a crack at him. Though, I doubt I'd win."

Forfend glanced around the demigod-filled room and particularly at Melzaryn, who cast back a subtle but sly smirk. "Well, I think perhaps you are right. You would not."

"Yeah," Howell sighed. "They're built better than most of us."

Forfend touched the metal brace covering the chunk missing from its chest. "'Better' may be too strong a word."

"Not inaccurate though," Howell argued. "I actually came here to train for a little tradition back home."

Forfend nodded and started to ask what that tradition may be, though it already had a hunch it was the same one Callan was training for. Before it could speak up, however, it noticed the way Howell was repeatedly touching the place on his chest where he'd been murdered by the cultist's sickle.

"Are you alright?" it asked instead. "I know that being revived even very shortly after death can be extremely jarring."

"I'm not going to lie, it's kind of like the feeling of flying in the wind. But... not something I'd want to get used to." Howell forced his hand down to his side.

"Sorry to revive you in the midst of the fight like that. It was extraordinarily dangerous," Forfend hummed.

"Any situation where I was going to be woken up like that, I think I'd rather have died in battle," Howell admitted.

Forfend's core stuttered a moment in its chest. It lowered its head. "Sorry."

"Eh, it could've been worse," Howell shrugged.

Kagoshi scoffed, staring daggers at Howell.

"Does he have a problem with me?" Howell asked. "He's been glaring at me this whole time."

"There is hardly anyone Kagoshi truly likes," Forfend answered. "And you have been... Actually, let me start from the top."

Forfend explained everything Howell had put them through in the past two days.

Howell stared, wide-eyed. "Well... shit," he swore. "Okay, well, that does basically align with the story I have. I arrived here in Cragwall and started looking for mercenary work. Met up with a guy, did the job, and I got ambushed by a bunch of weirdos in cloaks and masks."

"Who did you meet with?" Forfend asked.

"Shit, uh, a local noble." Howell took a moment to wrack his brain. "Sagemantle, I think. Oh! Odolan. Odolan Sagemantle. I think he's a highlord or something."

"Curious," Forfend hummed. "We will have to look into him."

"He had me doing some very simple work. Apparently, some folks were trying to break into their archives and I was to act guard. Keep an eye out. Arrest some folk." Howell's one visible brow knit. "But during that, I apprehended this budding mage just trying to get some educational material. He was apparently a Sagemantle himself, but he wasn't allowed to go near the library. While I was sending him on his way because he was just a fucking kid, I got ambushed."

"That is extraordinarily suspicious," Forfend stated the obvious.

"I'd say so," Howell agreed.

There was a moment of silence as everyone in the room retreated into their thoughts.

"Shit, I'm hungry," Howell suddenly said. "Feels like I haven't eaten in months."

"You very likely have not. At least, not more than the barest essentials," Forfend shared.

"Godsdammit," Howell swore. "I'm going to go look for food."

"There is plenty here," it offered.

"Shit. Are we allowed to..?" Howell looked a bit uncertain at the prospect of eating someone else's food.

"Yes," Forfend assured.

If Eamon was upset, Forfend would simply buy him more groceries. It would likely do so anyway.

Forfend escorted him to the kitchen.

Howell rifled through the cabinets, grumbling under his breath about the ingredients and lack thereof available to him here.

"There's no fucking spices," he growled. "Fuck this shit." He sighed, resigned. "At least there's meat. Is there rice? Shit, they don't have rice. I guess I can make do with bread. Goddamn, what do the people here even eat?"

Forfend shook its head. Its grasp on food and cooking was fairly poor. It didn't eat. It wasn't familiar with the tools and supplies needed to accommodate that need.

"Fuck it, I'm making kebabs," Howell decided.

"If you would not mind, spare some for the owner of the house," Forfend requested.

"You're right. This isn't my place," Howell agreed.

He mumbled a bit more beneath his breath regarding the lack of spices in Tyrwedia.

"Hey, wizard!" he suddenly called.

"Melzaryn," Forfend supplied a name as the aforementioned wizard trotted into the room.

Kairi, Kagoshi, and Duncan were all on his heels.

Forfend introduced itself and each of them in turn.

Kairi waved.

Kagoshi scowled.

Duncan squeaked a hello.

"The owner of the house is Eamon," Forfend added.

Howell nodded. He turned back to Melzaryn. "Mel. Is it alright if I call you that? I don't want to be disrespectful."

"I don't mind." Melzaryn leaned on the table and awaited the request.

"Would you like to help me with the cooking?" Howell asked.

Melzaryn joined him immediately.

Forfend watched them work.

Both of them griped occasionally about the modifications they had to make to their recipe, but in the end they produced delicious-looking food that filled the kitchen with an astounding aroma.

Everyone except Forfend dug in with gusto.

It sat back, watching them all enjoy their breakfast.

Howell tugged his voluminous cloak aside only just enough to shovel food into his mouth.

"Make sure we save enough for Eamon," Kairi reminded.

Everyone nodded.

"Thanks for a taste of home," Melzaryn said as he finished his meal.

"Yeah, no problem. I know the feeling," Howell mumbled.

Kagoshi got up and started to skulk away.

Forfend hummed loud enough to get his attention. It pulled the gauntlets from its pouch and shoved them into his hands.

"What are these?" he huffed, inspecting them.

"Enchanted gauntlets. They will hit extremely hard."

Kagoshi nodded. "Hm."

He slipped the gauntlets on and flexed his fingers. They fit perfectly, the jagged spines revealing themselves with every motion.

His brows arched. He cocked his head appreciatively.

Melzaryn ambled back across the hall to the guest bedroom with Duncan close behind.

Kagoshi and Kairi left as well.

Howell meandered off to acquaint himself with the rest of the house.

Forfend considered all the things it had learned recently and everything it needed to do. It caught itself wondering if the gladiator had escaped safely.

It decided to reach out and ask.

Forfend touched the magnetic medallion on its chest and concentrated on visualizing the gladiator's form. "Are you safe? If you would like, we could meet in the courthouse square at noon today to discuss recent happenings," it mentally projected.

"Ah shit!" came the gladiator's startled reply. "Forgot you could do that. Don't like the idea of courthouse. Where are you all at? Kind of hiding right now."

Forfend hummed. It started to cast the spell again, but a startled yelp from the other side of the house caught its attention instead.

"What the fuck is on my chest?!" Howell cried.

He'd apparently just discovered the runic carvings.

Forfend opened the kitchen door, saw that Melzaryn was already making his way to the living room to explain, and turned back to what it was doing.

It focused on Sending a second message.

"East end of town. Near the gate. Staying with our lawyer. If you come here, I will wait outside so you may find us easily," it offered.

"Alright, cool," the gladiator immediately responded. "Give me, like, thirty minutes? An hour? I don't know. I'm trying to be sneaky."

Forfend left the kitchen.

Melzaryn entered the hallway from the living room. "You leaving to?"

"Not exactly, no," it hummed.

Melzaryn shrugged. He walked past and Forfend followed him out the door.

It stopped on the porch while Melzaryn tromped on down the street.

An hour and a half later, the gladiator slowly snuck up.

Forfend immediately ushered him into the house. "Take your shoes off at the door please."

He did as he was instructed.

Eamon opened the door at the other end of the hallway, yawning and scratching at his belly. He looked disheveled. The clothes he wore weren't his usual prim and proper dress. They were old, simple, comfortable house wear.

He blinked down the hallway at Forfend and the gladiator. He groaned. "I'll make breakfast."

"Breakfast is already made," Forfend informed him.

"Really?" He shuffled into the kitchen.

Forfend followed, shepherding the gladiator along behind it.

Eamon gathered a plate. "Fuck, I'm so stressed," he sighed under his breath. He dug into the meal, jolting at the surprising twist of flavors.

"Eat," Forfend instructed the gladiator.

There was just enough food left for one more serving. It was sure the gladiator needed it.

The gladiator wasted no time jumping on the offer. He piled up a plate and sat down. "Damn, this sure beats stealing from people. Which, for the record, I didn't want to do. I just had to, alright?"

He shrank guiltily into his chair.

"Could you give us your name?" Forfend requested as it sat across from him.

He blinked, surprised. "Wow, it's been so long since anyone asked for my real name. I usually just go by my gladiator title. It's Farley."

"Farley," Forfend repeated. "What is your gladiator title?"

"Well, I use a shield and a spear, so they call me Hoplite," Farley answered.

It nodded. "Forfend."

"Nice to finally get introduced, Forfend."

"Do you know if the other Envema member we rescued with you is okay?" it asked.

"I don't know." Farley shook his head. "The guards were handling him. We got put in separate areas. I was released once they realized I was of sound mind. So I have no idea what's going on with him. I don't even know his name. Sorry."

Forfend hummed low in its chest, worried.

Farley took the opportunity in the lull of conversation to bury his face in his food.

"Holy shit," he swore through a mouthful of food. "This is great. Who made this?"

"Howell. Hawkeye Howell," Forfend replied.

Farley choked. "Hawkeye Howell?!"

Forfend tilted its head. "Yes. Do you know that name?"

"The famous mercenary, Hawkeye Howell?!" he all but shouted. "Him?!"

"He did say he came here for mercenary work," Forfend hummed. "I presume so."

"Holy shit!" Farley exclaimed. "He's, like, a legendary warrior, man! Well, he's known amongst the lot of them. He's a famous warrior, at least."

"Interesting." Forfend sat forward slightly.

"There's also the rogue, Hawk Knight. The Swiftblade. You know?"

Forfend shook its head. "I do not."

"There's Hawkeye Howell Adamos, who made fucking breakfast apparently," Farley said, bewildered. "There's Hawk Knight Kendrick Arvad. And also Swiftblade Kento Nobutoshi. I heard all of them were heading over this way, prepping for the... Well, I may be dueling them. I'll be real though, I'll likely lose. I'm not as good as them."

Forfend hummed. The difference between Farley and Howell was stark. If all of these other warriors were as skilled as Howell, Farley's assessment would certainly be accurate.

"It all started about two months ago. They even got an abjurist heading here," Farley continued.

A deep, reverberating hum echoed through Forfend's chest alongside a rush of steam. "I can't help feeling this may have been orchestrated."

"What do you mean?" Farley looked up from his meal.

"Well, you were captured by whoever is running Envema. As was Hawkeye Howell. And Duncan; he is here as well." Forfend paused a moment to consider its own thoughts. "Many Envema members are farmers and workmen like Duncan, but a few are warriors like yourself. I wonder if Envema's puppet master is intentionally luring powerful people here to overtake them."

"I didn't even know what happened," Farley mumbled. "I was just living my life and then I..."

"Woke up three months later," Forfend supplied grimly.

"Yeah. It's... not great," he sighed heavily.

Eamon watched the conversation as he munched on his breakfast, his eyes flicking curiously back and forth between them.

"Sorry to bring so many strangers into your home, Eamon," it apologized sincerely.

"It sounds like there's a conspiracy going on, so I guess it can't be helped," he huffed, resigned. "Don't worry about it."

"Did Melzaryn tell the guards about the people beneath the city?" Forfend asked.

"I'm... sorry?" Eamon frowned. "I turned in the report he gave, but I didn't read it for myself."

"Ah, I see." Forfend drew a long rush of steam and launched into a full explanation of what had happened.

Eamon and Farley both stared with wide eyes.

"Okay, that's... a lot." Eamon rubbed his face. "Well, if I know them, they should definitely be heading down there to get them. Especially given the fact that Garin was the one that was there at the Galloford estate. I'm sure they'll be working their way under the city by now."

Forfend tilted its head at the name.

"Garin is Prince Halt's second in command," Eamon explained. "To be completely honest, I think he would've been a better choice to be in the High Knight position."

"Unfortunately, nepotism," Forfend guessed.

"Yeah," Eamon agreed. "Garin's very respectful, so I'm not surprised he accepted Prince Halt's leadership anyway."

Forfend nodded.

It touched the medallion on its chest again. "I am going to try to contact the other former Envema member. I am worried for him."

Eamon and Farley both nodded.

Forfend envisioned the man's face and Sent forth a message. "Are you safe? If not, describe to me as concisely as possible where you are."

It was the very same message Forfend originally sent Farley.

Silence hung in the air, growing heavier as the minutes ticked by.

After ten minutes of total silence, Forfend hummed lowly. "No answer. That is worrying."

"What did you do?" Eamon asked.

"I attempted the Sending spell, just as I did to contact Farley here. He may simply be asleep, but he could also be... anything else," Forfend fretted.

"I see," Eamon nodded slowly, his brows creased.

Forfend sighed in a heavy rush of steam. It wasn't certain what it could do to find him, or even how worried it should be.

After all, it and its allies had no true contact with him the way they did with Duncan and Farley. He wouldn't have been a reliable pawn like the other two had proved to be.

Forfend wasn't even certain it recalled him well enough to cast Locate Person on him.

Maybe he was simply resting.

Forfend had found recently that it was rarely that lucky, but maybe this stranger was.

Eamon broke its messy stream of thoughts by sliding its Sending Stone across the table to it.

"I don't want to forget to give that back to you," he said.

Forfend nodded, slipping the stone into a pouch on its bandolier. "Thank you."

It sat in silence for a moment and pondered over the unbelievable stress it had been through since it left home.

It touched the medallion on its chest and ran its hand across its metal brace.

It brought forth a memory of Fletch. He wore an easy grin, his stance more friendly and open than anyone Forfend had ever seen.

It wanted to hear his voice. It felt itself reaching out to him with its magic.

It faltered.

Sending was hardly the least draining spell it knew. It was actually rather exhaustive and Forfend had already used it repeatedly.

It wasn't sure it should waste the energy.

Then again, it very desperately wanted to know how Fletch and Jessie were doing. How all of Foumedo was doing.

It let the arcana gather and projected it to Fletch. "I am alright," it began. "I hope to return soon, but I have been delayed. I need to hear a voice from home. How are you?"

"Oh hey, Forfend!" Fletch almost shouted. His excitement was palpable even across the considerable distance of the magical connection. "I'm doing real well! Jessie's doing alright too. All the guards left a couple hours ago. Well, some decided to stay. They--"

His voice cut out.

Forfend gave a rumbling chuckle.

Fletch knew how this spell worked. It had told him before.

Nonetheless, he'd likely end up talking to himself for quite some time before he remembered.

Forfend felt immediately lighter and more relaxed.

Kagoshi kicked open the kitchen door, startling everyone in the room.

The sharp shing of a blade across a whetstone sounded in Forfend's chest.

"I want you to turn the tail into a belt," Kagoshi gruffed.

Forfend pressed its annoyance down and nodded. "I believe I can do that."

"Great. Let's go." Kagoshi tromped back to his room and returned a moment later with the massive, blasphemous tail coiled around his shoulder.

"What the fuck is that?!" Eamon yelped.

"Soon to be a nice belt," Kagoshi answered.

"The demon's tail. I mentioned this to you," Forfend replied more helpfully.

"I'm really not sure how I feel about having a demon body part in my house," he squeaked.

"I have dealt with this very, very often," Forfend hummed. "Though they do not truly die, their parts are safe to use for crafting. It cannot hurt you."

"Are you sure?" Eamon worried.

"So long as you do not touch that poison tail tip, it can do you no harm," it assured.

Eamon made a strangled sound. "You know what? I'm just going to go get some reading done."

Eamon escorted himself from the kitchen as quickly as he possibly could.

Farley stared, slack-jawed. With some effort, he clamped his mouth closed again. He ducked his head and pointedly avoided asking about the demon tail.

"Let's fucking go already," Kagoshi said impatiently.

Forfend felt rocks grinding in its chest, but it nodded anyway and followed Kagoshi out of the house.

Forfend shifted into the lead and managed five steps to the temple before it thought better of that decision.

"I am not certain I want to take that into the temple," it hummed.

"Why not?" Kagoshi asked.

"Because it is a temple. And this is a demon," Forfend answered simply.

"But it doubles as a forge, right?"

"It does," Forfend allowed. "One small area of it, anyway."

"So why the fuck can't we use it?" Kagoshi argued.

Forfend hissed steam. "I would rather find a private forge."

"I guess," Kagoshi huffed. "What's the closest?"

Forfend turned, looking up and down the streets. "Erzor pointed one out to us during our tour. I don't imagine you were listening at the time, but he did tell us."

"I'm still not listening." Kagoshi might've been joking. It couldn't tell.

It shook its head. "That tracks."

"Are we going to forge this tail or not?" Kagoshi gruffed. "It's not going to make a belt out of itself."

Melzaryn trotted up the street towards them, a new belt around his waist. "If you're looking for the dedicated forge, it's that way."

Forfend followed where he pointed and nodded.

"Of course! I should've just asked you from the start." Kagoshi cast a side-eyed glare at Forfend and growled, "Why was I relying on you?"

Forfend lifted its head and looked away from him.

"Here, let me make this easy," Melzaryn offered. He held his hands out for the tail.

"No," Kagoshi snarled, keeping a tight hold on the mangy thing.

Melzaryn rolled his eyes. "I bought a new belt. The pockets can hold almost anything."

Melzaryn demonstrated by reaching into one and pulling several healing potions out of a pouch far, far too small to house them. He divvied them up evenly amongst the group.

"Thank you," Forfend said appreciatively.

"How'd you do that?" Kagoshi asked as he tucked his share of potions away.

"I told you. I got my belt modified to be more useful," Melzaryn answered. He flipped his broom into his hand and dunked it into the newly emptied pouch. Despite the clear size constraints, the broom disappeared entirely into the pocket.

Kagoshi huffed and grumbled, arguing with himself under his breath. "Fine."

He slammed the tail into Melzaryn's hands.

Melzaryn located one of his larger pockets and carefully threaded the entire enormous tail into it. "Now we won't draw attention on the way."

Kairi threw open Eamon's door and fluttered down the street to the rest of the group. "I want to go too."

Forfend hummed its agreement. It liked Kairi's company.

Melzaryn passed off her share of potions.

"Ooh, thank you," she said.

"Let's fucking go," Kagoshi growled.

The party finally got on their way at his inpatient urging.

They followed Melzaryn through the town plaza.

"Here ye, here ye!" some town criers shouted to the flowing crowds in the square.

Most of them seemed to be teenagers looking to make some spare coin by peddling newspapers.

They were calling out news regarding the recent terrorist attacks.

"The night a thousand lights appeared over Cragwall!" one shouted.

"Strange earthquakes beneath Brightcrossing!" came another.

"Earthquake in Cragwall's Mountain Quarter!" hollered yet another.

"Rising tensions with the Howling Plains!" a fourth crier yelled.

That one gave Forfend pause.

From everything it had learned recently, it should've expected as much. King Maggard Stormrike still wanted to take the Land for himself. It feared how soon he may make his move.

Forfend surveyed the busy plaza, looking for a particular friendly face.

Steam rushed in its chest. "I do not see Erzor today."

"Stop fucking looking for people," Kagoshi snapped.

"People are helpful," it responded evenly.

"Not when we're doing other shit!" Kagoshi argued.

"I only wanted to see how he is doing," it defended itself. "I sent him off with significant information recently and I am worried for him and his friends."

"I don't care," Kagoshi callously growled. "Do that after the tail."

"And I will," it vowed, irritation cracking stones in its chest.

Kairi motioned for them both to stop fighting and Melzaryn picked up his pace until they nearly had to jog to keep up with him.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the private forge.

The shop's exterior was smart and professional, giving off an air of expertise.

The sign proclaimed the place as Hammer Glamour, but not for much longer.

A woman set up and scaled a ladder with a bulky wooden sign in hand. She placed it over the old sign and began hammering it into place.

When she'd finished, she wiped her brow and climbed back down.

The new sign listed the place as Iron Designs.

Forfend hummed curiously.

The woman tucked the ladder beneath her arm and started back inside. She caught sight of them out of the corner of her eye.

She turned, looking the odd group over.

Forfend assessed her in turn.

She certainly had the build of a blacksmith. Bulky arms and calloused hands easily handled the weight of the ladder. She had short brown hair held back by a headband to keep it out of the way of her work. A heavy belt of tools hung from her waist. The hammer in her hand wasn't one meant for nails, though she'd used it as such anyway. It was a forge hammer.

"Hi, welcome to..." She glanced up at the sign overheard. "Iron Designs."

"Recent name change?" Forfend asked.

"Yeah. The person that used to own the place sold it to me recently," she explained. "I didn't have the chance to rename it until today. How can I help you all?"

Forfend stepped forward and spread its hands. "Well, this is a bit of a strange request."

"We'd like to use your forge," Kagoshi interjected.

"Hah?" She raised an eyebrow and set her jaw.

"We would like to use your forge," Forfend repeated with more deference. It ducked its head and touched the pouch on its belt. "We will pay for this."

"What do you need it for exactly?" the blacksmith asked.

"To make a fucking awesome belt," Kagoshi grinned.

Steam hissed in Forfend's chest. "We need to make a very particular item out of very particular material and I would rather not go to the temple to do so."

"Is it the tail?" she guessed.

Forfend's movement stuttered. "What?"

"I mean, I did just kind of drag it through town," Kagoshi admitted, a proud smirk on his face.

Forfend shook its broad head.

"You're not very subtle," the blacksmith pointed out.

"Alright, yeah, it is the tail," Kagoshi supplied. "And I'm going to make a kickass belt out of it."

"Well, I am," Forfend corrected.

"I'm getting a very nice belt out of it," Kagoshi amended.

"I'm a blacksmith, not a leatherworker," she said. "I do have--"

Kagoshi cut her off, "That's what the big man is for."

"Alright," she sighed under her breath, clearly irritated.

She placed her ladder down and leaned against it as she considered.

"We'll pay for your time," Kagoshi promised.

The blacksmith looked everyone in the group over again. This time, her eyes caught on Forfend's runic face. She stared for several seconds.

"Give me one minute," she decided.

She got up, snapped her ladder back under her arm, and disappeared into the forge.

"Is that a no?" Kagoshi jumped to conclusions.

Forfend shook its head. "Not yet."

A minute later, the blacksmith returned with an old book in hand. It was small and, very notably, it had a symbol of Fornax emblazoned on the back.

She held the book up, comparing an image in it to Forfend.

Forfend stood stockstill, though the curiosity rolling through it was palpable. After a moment, it tilted its head.

She tilted the book as well, glancing between the pages and Forfend.

"Alright," she said as she slammed the book closed.

"What is that?" Forfend asked.

"Book," she answered unhelpfully.

"May I see what you were looking?" it asked more directly.

"Are you a forge golem?" she didn't answer the question.

"No," it shook its head. "Fornaxian is the word I usually use."

She opened the book back up and turned it so Forfend could see what she'd been studying.

It drew its shoulders back, staring unabashedly.

The golem sketched across the pages looked remarkably similar to it in its prime. The creature didn't have a rune in its face, nor did it have the pipe cover Forfend used to sport, but the rest of it was strikingly similar.

"How did..? Where did..?" Forfend wasn't sure what it wanted to ask. "That looks like me."

"Yeah. There's a bunch..." She cocked her head. "This is, like, holy text, man."

Forfend nodded slowly. It ran extraordinarily gently fingers across the image.

Forge golems.

They'd been mentioned a few times since Forfend awakened, but it didn't recall them. It should. It knew it should. It didn't.

The blacksmith pressed the book into its hands. "Don't burn it and don't crush it."

"Of course," Forfend nodded.

It studied the image for a long moment. Its fingers followed the angles of the golem.

Rather than the myriad of stovepipes Forfend had on its back, the golems had only two, jutting like wings.

Forfend flipped the page, immensely curious.

"Ah-ah, no," the blacksmith chastised, lifting the book from its hands and slamming it closed. "You said you wanted to look at the picture. You looked. That's all. It's my stuff."

Forfend's hands twitched, desperately wanting to pour through pages. It needed to know.

"I am sorry." It ducked its head. "May I please? I have many, many questions."

"Now that's how you go about asking someone to read their book," she replied condescendingly. "Maybe you should do that first."

"I apologize," it said again.

"In terms of the borrowing-my-forge thing, I suppose I can allow it for..." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Let's see, a hundred and eighty-eight gold pieces?"

"Done!" Kagoshi nearly shouted.

He pulled the exact amount from his pouch and offered it up.

"Wow, okay," the blacksmith looked almost startled. Apparently, she hadn't expected them to accept.

She loaded the money into her pouch.

"May I please see the book again?" Forfend hummed.

She eyed it carefully. "One more gold piece," she requested.

Forfend offered up the coin without hesitation. Whatever information the book held would be immensely valuable to it.

"Okay." She handed over the book.

Forfend took it gingerly.

"And before you ask, since you're all so polite," she grumbled, "my name is Ali. Ali Salthammer. Thank you so much for asking my name before you tried to enlist my forge."

Forfend cringed. "My apologies. It has been a very long time since I have needed to introduce myself with such frequency as the last week or so has demanded."

"Eh," Kagoshi shrugged.

Melzaryn looked up, his staff poking halfway out of a pouch that looked as though it could barely hold a deck of cards. "Hm? Sorry, I was distracted."

Kairi slapped a hand to her face and shook her head.

"Forfend, Kagoshi, Melzaryn, Kairi," Forfend introduced each of them.

Ali nodded. She rolled her eyes and strolled back into her forge.

The group followed her.

Forfend carefully flipped through her book as it ducked inside.

Kagoshi stomped his foot in front of it. "Why is the person I need to forge reading?!"

"Give me a moment," it demanded. "This is important information and I am missing a great number of memories. I am quite desperate to know what I can."

"Do you have a chair I can sit in?" Kagoshi grumbled irritably. "This might take a while."

"Got a gold piece?" Ali shrewdly bargained.

"You know what? How many chairs do you have?" Kagoshi asked.

"Enough." She shrugged.

"Give me the exact. I'll pay for all of them."

Forfend hummed, surprised.

"I've got two barstools, three chairs. That's five gold," she answered.

"Five? Here's ten." Kagoshi dropped the money into her hand.

Ali appreciatively shuffled the money through her fingers as she dropped it into the bag. She dragged all the chairs into the front room for Kagoshi.

Kagoshi immediately began stacking them all atop one another. "I'm going to sit like a king."

"I swear to Fornax, if you break them," Ali didn't finish the sentence, but the threat was clear.

"I'll pay you double if I do," Kagoshi swore.

"He likes you," Forfend hummed aloud, tilting its head at Ali. "Usually, he is very stingy."

Ali smirked.

Forfend tucked itself further into the back of the forge until everything was quiet enough for it to concentrate on what it was reading.

The beginning regarded Fornax's initial creation. Forfend was well-versed in that tale.

It skipped further through the pages until a particular name caught its eye.

Hearthborn.

It devoured the pages regarding its Sundering family.

The book stated that in the last days of the Sundering, Fornax's Forge was attacked by the archdemon Acras and one of his demons. During the course of Fornax's fight against Acras, he created the Adamantine Mountains.

Forfend realized suddenly that the massive spires of adamantine it recalled Fornax impaling Acras with had become the Adamantine Mountains. It had seen the event. In fact, the attack had been done to rescue it.

That's where the Forge was.

Forfend hummed lowly. It couldn't fathom how it had ended up all the way in Tyrwedia. It should've been buried somewhere near the Adamantine Mountains, but it hadn't been found anywhere close.

It shook its head and continued reading.

The book went on to tell the tale of the Hearthborns successfully defending their home and Fornax's Forge against Acras and his greater demon by themselves.

Many of Fornax's creations were damaged or destroyed through the course of the battle, but the Hearthborns defended them until their dying breaths and managed to repel the wretched deity and his ilk.

Forfend touched the metal brace around its chest. It wondered if it was included simply under the list of destroyed creations.

It wasn't wholly surprised. In the grand scheme of the Sundering, its lifespan had been barely a blip.

At least the village had survived. They'd done exactly what Forfend had asked. They'd fought for themselves. They'd made each other stronger.

It missed them.

It shook the bittersweet thoughts from its head to continue reading.

The book proclaimed that Fornax wanted to reward the Hearthborns for their great deeds and, thus, offered them their choice of prize: a boon, wealth, experience, or knowledge.

The Hearthborns only asked to stay with Fornax longer.

Fornax granted this wish and blessed them all with great forging skill.

Millennia later, the Hearthborns have since spread all across Rozdarta. Three major tribes exist: the Dawnforge, considered the original Hearthborns who still dwell in the Adamantine Mountains; the Stonehearts, devout worshippers who made their home in the Godflame Mountains; and the Salthammers, known for their stalwart loyalty and skill who reside by the Great Azure Sea.

Forfend stared down at the pages. It took a moment to read a bit more in depth on the Salthammers. They were known for practicality, not pomp, in their work. They were reliable and apparently had a significant knack for designing ships.

It glanced up at Ali and back to the pages a couple of times.

"Salthammer," it read aloud.

"Yeah," Ali said.

"You are one of the Hearthborn." There was a quiver in its voice despite its usual monotony.

"Yeah, that's the ancient name. Why?"

It stood stockstill. It couldn't decide how it felt. Too many thoughts coursed through its head like a rushing river.

The Hearthborns often had names loosely derived from metals and tools.

Ali.

Aluminum.

She was a Hearthborn. Beyond any doubt. She was family.

Forfend started to speak twice before it finally found its words. It knelt. "I was hoping to find more on what happened to me here, but this day..." It pointed out the particular pages.

"Yeah?" Ali peered at the book, one brow cocked.

"This demon attack. I was there," it hummed.

"Oh really now?" Her tone denoted her total disbelief. She rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"I was," it said evenly. "Eight thousand years ago, and some change. I was horribly wounded and only reawakened two years ago. But the Hearthborns... I knew them personally. They were friends. They were family."

It paused, steam rattling in its chest.

She looked into Forfend's face with skepticism written into every feature.

"You do not have to believe me." It shook its head. "You have no reason to. But I know it to be true and it is important to me. It is very nice to meet a..." It trailed off, searching for the right word. "A godchild," it decided.

"Okay! That feels super weird to hear from a stranger I just met today." Ali tossed her hands up and put some distance between herself and Forfend. "Alright, buddy, sure."

She stepped back over just long enough to give Forfend a patronizing pat on the shoulder. "Nice to meet you too? I think?"

She shrugged. "I mean, if it's true then it's amazing, but I literally met you today."

"I was afraid the village died with me that day," Forfend hummed. "I am glad they did not."

"Well, maybe you should go meet the Dawnforge or whatever. They might recognize you better," Ali suggested.

"I will have to find a way to do that," it agreed.

"So are you using my forge or not? I do have work to do, you know?"

Forfend stood immediately. "Right, sorry."

It held its hands out to take the tail from Melzaryn.

Melzaryn spooled the wretched thing out of his pouch.

"Oh, it's grosser than I thought it was!" Ali yelled, grimacing.

"It did come from a dog," Kagoshi said.

"That is not a dog's tail! It's a scorpion's tail with fur!" Ali argued.

"Course, matted, mangy fur," Forfend added with distaste.

Ali grimaced even more deeply. She turned her attention away from the awful thing as Forfend set it up onto her workstation.

"How are you feeling up there?!" she hollered as Kagoshi settled himself on top of his precarious stack of chairs.

"Like a king!" Kagoshi shouted back.

"Want me to make you a crown?"

"How much?" Kagoshi asked warily.

"Fifty gold."

Kagoshi tossed the money down.

"Fuck yeah!" Ali gathered up the money and stepped behind the counter. "You can use the main one," she told Forfend. "I've got a smaller operation over here."

It hummed its acknowledgement. Its mind was beginning to sink away from it as it shifted into full, trance-like focus on its task.

It drained the poison from the barb and stripped the flesh away down to the bone. It sanded even that down until it was closer to the proper shape. It replaced cartilage with segmented metal links.

The deathly sharp tail tip was rounded off and the oversize barb used as a decorative buckle.

Forfend carved simply geometric designs into the bone and marked it with a stylized letter "F."

Fletch had been telling it for years to mark its work with a signature, but it never had.

An item like this, however, needed such a mark.

Incorrectly crafting with demon parts could have disastrous effects. It had been commonplace in the Sundering to mark such creations because knowing who the craftsman had been was imperative to avoid dangerous artifacts.

Forfend had seen this done, probably many more times than it could actually recall. Though, this was its first time doing the crafting personally. Everything looked to be in order. It hoped it was right.

The world faded back into light around it as it looked up from its work. As usual, it was uncertain how much time had passed.

Forfend figured it couldn't have been very much time because Ali seemed to have just finished up Kagoshi's bronze crown.

She banged it against the wall to show its sturdiness and tossed it up to him.

Kagoshi grinned as he turned it around in his hands. He placed it on his head.

Within seconds, his face fell. He took it off.

"What, is the king too mighty for his crown?" Ali teased.

"No, no, that's not it," he mumbled with uncharacteristic quietness. "It's just... You know what? We're done pretending."

He climbed down off the chairs and huffed sadly.

"May I see that?" it asked, holding its hand out for the crown.

"No." Kagoshi held the bronze piece protectively to his chest. "I'm going to keep it. I just don't want to wear it right now."

"I do not intend to take it from you," Forfend promised. "I only wish to inspect it for a moment."

Kagoshi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Alright," he said slowly as he handed it over, "but I'm watching you."

Forfend hissed steam and tilted its head to imitate the way it had seen people roll their eyes.

It inspected the crown, turning it over and over in its hand.

"Beautiful craftsmanship," it complimented. "You are very skilled."

"Thank you... uh... For-- Yeah, Forfend," she nodded, satisfied that she'd remembered its name correctly. "I see you appreciate my work." She side-eyed Kagoshi.

"I do," it nodded. "I have met a few very good blacksmiths recently and I am glad to know them."

"Hm." Ali considered the thought. "I guess I should be proud to be on the list of good craftsman to a holy construct such as yourself."

Forfend tilted its head back and forth, a little embarrassed by that thought. It considered itself a good blacksmith long before it considered itself a holy construct. It would rather have praise accepted from the former viewpoint than the latter.

It settled on simply nodding in response. "Thank you."

"Is there anything else you need to do or am I going to get my forge back?" Ali asked.

"It is all yours," Forfend assured.

"Great. I've got commissions I need to work on so if you could all shoo, that would be awesome." She ushered them out of her forge.

Forfend left easily enough. It ducked its head politely.

Ali shut the door behind them.

Kagoshi stared back at the door, an oddly frustrated look on his face.

Kairi placed her hand on Kagoshi's shoulder.

Melzaryn lounged on his broom next to them, doodling in his spellbook and giggling to himself.

"I think I would like to visit the guard barracks," Forfend hummed. "I would like to see if they still have that last former Envema member detained or if they know where he is."

"I can go with you if you want," Melzaryn offered. "My name seems to hold an unnecessary amount of weight around here."

"I have noticed as much," Forfend nodded.

"Since there's no real use trying to keep it a secret anymore, I may as well use it," Melzaryn decided.

"Yeah, that's great," Kagoshi grumbled. "I'll meet you guys later."

He wandered off in the direction of Eamon's home.

Kairi watched him go. She glanced between him and Forfend a couple of times.

Forfend thought she would go after him, but she didn't. She stayed by its side.

It pat her head and made its way toward the guard barracks with Melzaryn and Kairi both trailing behind it.

More news was being spouted in the town square.

"Galloford noble arrested!"

"King Falco sat in on local trial!"

"Demigods in Cragwall?!"

That last one garnered immediate attention. People's heads snapped up and they began approaching the teenage crier with questions and coin in hand to buy a paper.

The boy was getting a thousand questions shouted at him all at once, but he managed to raise his voice loud enough to shout the descriptions.

Forfend slowed to hear.

"One was a great big earth genasi! Another is rumored to be a pink fairy! There's a monochromatic elf man and a super grumpy beardless dwarf!" the boy hollered over the din.

Forfend straightened its back and looked to its companions.

"Well, they aren't right, which is good for us," Melzaryn said, "but Kagoshi will hate that description a lot."

"He really will," Kairi agreed. "I like mine though. I could be a fairy."

Forfend hummed its agreement.

It moved on, not wasting any more time reaching its goal.

The daunting guard barracks soon loomed over it and its allies.

The man near the front gate was again the very same one that had helped Forfend when they'd been arrested on their first day in Cragwall.

"Oh, hey, guys. You're back?" he greeted. "How can I help?"

"The Envema member that was detained with us… Not the gladiator. The other one. Is he still here?" Forfend asked.

"No, he got released at the same time the other guy did," the guard shook his head.

"Do you know anything about where he might have gone? The direction he left in? Anything?" Forfend was increasingly worried for the man.

"Well, he said he was going home," the guard replied.

It hummed deep in its chest. "I cannot contact him with a Sending spell and I fear he may have been kidnapped the way the others were."

"What's Sending?" the guard inquired.

"A spell that allows you to send short messages instantly to anyone anywhere on the same plane of existence, and receive a short response in turn," it explained.

"Sounds like a magic letter," the guard conflated.

"Yes."

"Ever seen people talk through rocks?" Melzaryn interjected.

"The bosses do, yeah," the guard nodded.

"Like that."

"Oh!" He nodded again. "Yeah, okay. Um, well, he could just be asleep. I don't know."

"I am worried for him," Forfend said.

"Yeah. I wouldn't know where he went though. I'm just a guard." He shrugged helplessly.

Forfend slowly hissed steam. It would make no progress here. It decided to shift to a different, but equally important, curiosity. "Did they go underground and rescue the people beneath the city?"

"Yeah!" The guard pointed to a crowd of people surrounding the wall of the barracks near where Melzaryn had discovered the underground passageways. "If you look over there, you'll see!"

Forfend watched the commotion.

Three guards and some makeshift fencing kept the crowd at bay. The wall behind the guards had been blasted open wider. Curious onlookers tried to get a peek into the labyrinthian tunnels.

"I think they're still exploring though," the guard in front of Forfend added. "Sorry I don't know more."

Melzaryn surreptitiously stepped aside and slipped over to the tunnel.

Forfend watched him for a moment, but soon turned to kneel in front of the guard. "Thank you for all of your help. You have been exceptionally handy to have around."

He grinned, his nose crinkling, and rubbed at the back of his neck. "It's no big deal. I mean, you guys are really nice. I might as well help."

"I appreciate you," Forfend said sincerely.

"Thank you!"

"What is your name?" It realized it had never asked. It needed to start doing that.

"Ryan," he answered.

"Forfend." It offered its hand to shake.

"That's a big old hand," Ryan whispered under his breath as he carefully placed his much smaller hand into it.

Forfend gently shook his hand.

A thud sounded and Forfend looked over just in time to see two of the wall guards staring at the collapsed third.

It hurried over and knelt next to the man.

"He's breathing... I think," said the wiry dragonborn guard.

Neither he nor the halfling guard next to him looked particularly concerned.

Forfend looked the fallen human over. He was indeed breathing, but he wasn't conscious. He coughed weakly.

It looked up to Melzaryn.

"He got poisoned by the door like I did," Melzaryn explained.

Forfend nodded. It pressed a hand to his chest.

Healing magic coursed from its center, down its arm, and into the man's chest. A soft orange glow emanated.

The guard jolted, gasping for breath.

"Oh, gods!" he wheezed. He hauled himself upright. "What the fuck happened? Fuck, hi!" he startled when he saw Forfend.

He glanced around, gathered his bearings, and straightened his back.

"Told you he'd be fine," the dragonborn snickered. "That's what happens when you fuck with the wall."

"Says the idiot who wants to climb in the hole," the halfling insulted.

"Nobody is going in the hole," the human chastised. "I shouldn't have touched the wall."

"Secret doors are enticing like that," Melzaryn nodded sagely.

"Yeah!" the human exclaimed. "And it was right outside our base this whole time! That's crazy!"

"That's why I want to go down there!" the dragonborn insisted. "I mean, it's our base. It's technically our property."

"No, it's not! You're guards! Act like it!" the human berated.

"It is a sprawling labyrinth you would undoubtedly get lost in," Forfend hummed.

"But isn't--" the dragonborn didn't get another word out before the human cut him off.

"Just stop it! No!"

The dragonborn sulked.

The halfling straightened up, looking much more like a trained soldier than he had before.

"If we're claiming ownership of things based on their location, this tunnel system is owned by the whole damn city. It goes everywhere," Melzaryn shared.

"Shit, so we can't do it?" the dragonborn whined.

"No, you may not!" the human roared.

"Goddammit, you're right," the dragonborn sighed.

The human nodded affirmatively. "Now get back to guarding. Focus up. I can't be managing you both all the time."

"Sorry," the halfling and dragonborn spoke at the same time.

They both put on more serious faces.

Melzaryn grinned at the display. He flipped the lid off his canteen and magically drew water up to float around his hand.

The water separated into three distinct blobs, then snapped into snowflake shapes and froze.

"Stay frosty," Melzaryn said as he passed each guard a snowflake.

"Thanks?" they chorused, bewildered.

Melzaryn hopped up on his broom and zipped away.

Forfend tilted its head. It took it a moment to understand what Melzaryn had done.

It turned back to the guards. "Now you will have cold water to drink," it hummed.

"Oh. Cool." the dragonborn chomped straight into his oversize snowflake.

Forfend ducked its head politely and took its leave.

Kairi kept close to its side.

"I did not see Erzor today," it thought aloud. "I need to hear from him. His situation is precarious."

"Can you use Sending again?" Kairi suggested.

Forfend hummed. "It is a rather draining spell, but I can."

"Maybe you should, if you're worried."

It nodded.

The excess magic in its center was waning, but not terribly so.

Forfend imagined Erzor's visage and touched the medallion on its chest as it formulated its message.

Since many people didn't know precisely how the spell worked, it decided to explain.

"You have twenty-five words and I will be unable to reply further. Is everything alright?"

"Shit," Erzor responded after a moment. "Does that count? Fuck. I've been waiting for a bit at your lawyer's house. Where are you? How many words do I have left?"

"We need to go immediately," Forfend said to Kairi. "He is already waiting for us."

"Is that good news or bad news?" Kairi asked, trotting quickly toward Eamon's home.

Forfend followed closely. "All I know is that it is news."

They hurried through the streets.

When they arrived, Erzor was pacing impatiently in front of Eamon's home.

Eamon stood in the doorway, palm to his face and shaking his head.

"Erzor!" Forfend called.

Erzor's head snapped up. "Oi! Where were you guys? I've been trying to get in contact with you!"

"We were out. It has been a long and horrible past couple of days," Forfend answered.

"Okay, okay, I'm really sorry, but I don't have time for your story right now." To his credit, Erzor did sound genuinely apologetic. "We need your help."

Forfend nodded.

"If what you said is true, we're in a lot of trouble," Erzor fretted. "I got permission to bring you to get the thing out." He glanced at the others standing around.

Forfend pointed to Melzaryn. "I will need him."

Melzaryn looked up from his spellbook with mild curiosity. He pointed at himself and shrugged. "Sure. Sounds interesting."

Erzor winced but nodded. "I can take the two of you then."

"Okay, great, so you guys have got this?" Eamon asked. "I'm just going to go."

He mumbled under his breath as he shut the door.

"Alright, let's go. Right now," Erzor insisted. He took two steps and looked back over his shoulder at Kairi. "I don't know if I can bring your third friend."

"Well, she has significant healing capabilities and she has not wasted magic today the way that I have," Forfend noted.

Kairi twirled her staff, sparkles flying off it.

Erzor withered, but nodded nonetheless.

He started walking.

Forfend, Melzaryn, and Kairi followed along.

"I am sorry to volunteer you for this, Melzaryn," Forfend apologized. "I assure you, it is very important."

Melzaryn grinned. "Whatever this is, it's interesting."

Forfend couldn't argue with that.

"Where's your last friend?" Erzor questioned. "Medium, dark, and scary?"

"I do not know," Forfend answered honestly. "He will return later, I am sure."

"It's probably best he's not here," Erzor admitted.

He led them out of the east gate and a short way into the woods, just far enough to be out of sight from the road. He produced three large bags from his pockets.

"Put these on," he requested.

Familiar with the concept, Forfend immediately donned its bag.

"They are hiding out in a secret location," Forfend explained, tugging the bag into proper place over its broad head and tugging the drawstrings until the fabric was snug against it. "They do this to prevent outsiders from finding them. I have been through this once before. We will be unharmed."

"It's like being kidnapped then," Melzaryn nonchalantly conflated. "Got it."

"It definitely does feel like being kidnapped," Kairi echoed the sentiment.

Despite that, Forfend heard the ruffling of the bags being pulled over their heads.

Forfend reached out its hand.

Erzor took it.

Kairi fumbled for its other hand.

Forfend gently squeezed her fingers and let itself be pulled by Erzor's quick gait.

It hoped Melzaryn had Kairi's other hand, or perhaps Erzor's, but it wasn't sure.

They walked over rough terrain and through thick underbrush for a long while.

Erzor suddenly halted. "Shit," he swore under his breath. "Crouch down."

Forfend followed the command and it sounded as though its companions did as well.

"What the fuck are they doing?" Erzor wondered. "Oh. Oh no. Fuck. Shit! Take off your blindfolds right now! Stay quiet."

Forfend tugged the bag from its head and peered through the bushes.

There were three men ahead with weapons in their hands. They weren't looking toward Forfend and its companions. They were staring into a small clearing where a rhinoceros beetle the size of a horse lazily grazed.

One of them nocked an arrow into his bow and drew back, taking careful aim.

"They can't be hunting that thing," Erzor whispered. "What the fuck?"

"They are not supposed to be hunting here?" Forfend asked.

"No, they're not. This is not their place," the edge in Erzor's voice was livid. "That's an endangered species. They're sacred to the genasi!"

"Then we should stop them," it decided.

"They're not supposed to know we're here."

"They are not supposed to know you are here," Forfend corrected.

Erzor opened his mouth to argue, but paused. He nodded instead. "You have fun. I'm going to hide over here."

With that, he disappeared into the brush.

"I've got an idea," Melzaryn said before Forfend could stand.

It gestured for him to try.

The bowman suddenly unleashed his arrow.

It struck the huge beetle in the gap between its armored carapace and its head.

The bug chittered and squealed as it flailed wildly.

The other two hunters stood and began to move forward.

Melzaryn touched two fingers to the corners of his mouth. His eyes lit up in vibrant silver. He stood.

"You're in more danger than you know," he said, magic lacing his words. "You should run."

All three hunters startled. The two charging at the wailing insect faltered in their steps.

The one wielding two blades gasped, his eyes flashing silver for barely a fraction of a second.

"We should get out of here," the dual-wielder urgently insisted.

"What the fuck do you mean?!" snapped the hunter carrying a shield and spear. "We set this up!"

The beetle whipped around and locked onto the nearest hunter. It charged.

Forfend dashed from the brush and slid in front of the spear hunter just before the beetle barreled into him.

The creature's horn slammed into the stones of Forfend's body, sliding it backwards.

It dug its feet into the earth and leaned into the bug, gripping it's horn and forcing it to come to a sudden stop.

The hunter behind Forfend yelped as he was nearly bowled over despite its intervention.

The dual-weilder sheathed his swords. "I'm out!" he shouted to his friends. He took off running.

"Fuck!" the bow hunter swore.

He and the spear hunter both started repositioning to strike again.

"Do not attack!" Forfend shouted forcefully.

"Fuck you!" the spear hunter yelled.

Forfend locked its arms tight around the struggling bug's horn to keep it still. It turned its runic face to the hunter.

"Do! Not! Attack!" it demanded with every ounce of authority in its being.

The spear hunter grit his teeth, his expression suddenly uncertain. He took a step back.

"Fuck it, they already caught us! It's not worth it!" he called to his friend.

Both hunters bolted.

The beetle wrenched free of Forfend's grip and tossed its head, slamming its horn into Forfend's metal brace.

The sharp rattling ting vibrated through its body.

The creature backed up, lowering its horn for another charge.

Forfend backed up as well, raising its hands.

The beetle shuffled and shook itself. It stamped nervously.

Forfend hummed. "The danger is over," it said, lacing its words with magic.

Kagoshi strode from the woods, startling it. He yanked the arrow from the beast's neck just as Forfend's healing magic closed the wound.

"Kagoshi?" Forfend shook its head, surprised and confused.

Kagoshi frowned at the arrow. He backed away from the frightened insect at the same time it backed away from him.

He looked the bug over, snapped the arrow in half, dropped it on the ground, and walked away.

The beetle watched him disappear back into the woods. It turned its attention to those still in the clearing.

It hissed and chattered.

Kairi approached with her staff held loosely in one hand. "It's alright," she soothed. "We mean you no harm."

A different type of magic swirled through her words.

The insect immediately relaxed. It slowly settled down, lowering its body to the ground.

It hummed and clicked.

"Erzor," Forfend called.

"Is it over? Is it handled?" he asked, peeking through the brush.

"It is handled," Forfend assured.

"Thank the gods," Erzor mumbled as he left his hiding spot. "Shit, what were they doing in the forest? That's not good."

He watched the contented bug. "Thank you, guys."

The creature idly watched all of them, but it seemed completely at ease.

"So, uh, was that guy your fourth friend?" Erzor nodded at the broken arrow.

"Yes," Forfend answered. "I have no idea why he is out here or where he went."

Erzor rubbed at his face. "Well, he's going the wrong way. At least there's that."

Forfend nodded.

It slowly approached the beetle and crouched down right next to it.

Forfend lightly touched the insect's head.

To its surprise, the creature tilted its head aside for Forfend to better view the wound on its neck.

Forfend inspected the injury. Its first bout of magic had closed the puncture easily enough, but Forfend figured there was still damage beneath the surface.

It touched a gentle finger right beside the damaged flesh and let healing magic course into the wound.

The bug clicked and squealed as the injury all but totally disappeared.

It got up and nuzzled its head against Forfend before carefully nudging it aside to approach Kairi.

The insect stopped right in front of Kairi, its horn nearly touching her chest. It tilted its head, staring. Purring chitters reverberated through it.

Kairi tentatively touched its horn, giving it gentle pats.

"Hey, buddy," she spoke softly. "Do you need anything else?"

The beetle collapsed into the grass and tenderly pressed its horn into her belly.

"Oh, wow, you're adorable," Kairi giggled, stroking its angular head.

"Holy shit." Erzor blinked in surprise.

"What can you tell us about this animal?" Forfend asked.

"It's an adamantine beetle," Erzor explained. "It's unique to the Llardel Forest. It didn't used to be that way, but they've been hunted and had their habitats destroyed until this is the last place they've got left. They used to be everywhere."

He tilted his head at the creature's interaction with Kairi. "Holy shit," he whispered again.

"What is it?" Forfend asked.

"I, uh... I think it's imprinting on her," Erzor guessed.

Forfend cocked its head.

"Yeah, yeah, it is," Erzor said more certainly. "It's leaning into her touch. It considers her family."

Forfend hummed, listening intently.

"They usually only do that once in their lifetimes. They're usually in pairs. Holy shit," Erzor swore for the third time.

"Is it good or bad that it is imprinted?" Forfend asked.

"Good for you, I guess." He shrugged. "That thing considers her family and they live a really, really long time."

"Congratulations on your new friend, Kairi," Forfend commended.

"Or family member?" Melzaryn added.

The insect buzzed happily.

"Thank you," Kairi grinned, hugging her newfound pet.

"Interesting thing: they only imprint on family, extremely close companions, and mates," Erzor informed. "Used to be commonplace for people to use them as mounts. They'd imprint on their riders and then they were great for travel. Kind of like how people tame gryphons now."

"Ooh." Kairi had stars in her eyes.

"They're huge, but they can still fly," Erzor appended.

"That will be handy," Forfend hummed.

It approached the beetle again and knelt.

The creature seemed jumpy for a moment, but settled down in the presence of Kairi's relaxed demeanor.

"Look at its beautiful colors!" Kairi pointed out. "Goodness, you're so pretty!" she told it.

The bug chirruped and squealed.

With a closer look at its carapace, Forfend saw Kairi's point about the insect's beauty.

Rather than black like Forfend had thought at first glance, its shell gleamed a deep iridescent purple.

Forfend pet it and immediately realized this beetle took its name seriously. The carapace was adamantine. It didn't mimic adamantine; it was truly, genuinely adamantine.

A kettle-like whistle escaped Forfend.

"Wow, that sure was a thing," Erzor said, mildly awestruck. "But, uh, we should really get going."

Forfend pulled its blindfold from where it had unceremoniously stuffed it in its belt. "Do we need to put these back on?"

"Nah, we're deep enough in the forest that it won't really matter," Erzor figured. "You'll have to put them back on when we leave though."

Forfend nodded.

The adamantine beetle gave a vibrating purr and stood when Kairi moved.

"I think the genasi will be glad to see you've made friends with a sacred animal like that," Erzor mentioned.

Kairi ran her hands across the creature's back and slowly climbed up onto it, sitting just behind its head to keep its wings free to open.

The beetle did spread its wing covers. Clear, shimmering wings caught the evening sunlight and cast rainbows across the ground. It settled its wings back into place and shut its shell again.

It tromped along, following Erzor without needing to be told.

Forfend and Melzaryn walked to either side of the great creature, observing the way it moved.

Kairi giggled excitedly.

They didn't walk for much longer before they reached the carefully disguised hideout. Four individuals stood out front: Jewel, Flint, River, and Kiyori.

Forfend waved to them.

Jewel returned the gesture.

Flint grinned and clicked his tongue as he pointed at it.

River simply nodded.

Kiyori glared at it.

Forfend ducked its head politely. It had likely caused an argument by offering to help. The genasi were in desperate need, but Kiyori wanted them as far from demigods as they could get.

If they had argued, Kiyori had lost.

Forfend didn't want to anger her any further. It hoped to get this work done and leave her in peace as quickly as possible.

Jewel stared openly at the adamantine beetle. "Where did you..?" she started to ask Kairi, but changed her mind. "Good on you," she said instead.

"Thank you!" Kairi beamed.

"Was everything in that letter true?" River asked Forfend.

"To the best of my knowledge, it is," Forfend answered.

"Then we need to get moving." He pulled his spellbook from his belt and approached a thick oak tree.

He chanted beneath his breath. A burst of magic thoomed out from him and encompassed the group.

The soft green aura of the magic clung to them.

"Follow me," River ordered. He walked directly into the tree in front of him and melded straight through it.

"Neat!" Melzaryn followed right after him.

Kairi let her new companion carry her to disappear into the towering tree.

Forfend stepped up. It touched the bark.

The tree felt perfectly solid. It pressed a bit harder. It checked that it still had the green aura surrounding it. Forfend hummed, unsure of how much force this was supposed to take.

"You've got it, big guy," Flint said and nearly tackled its back just to have enough force to make it take a single step forward.

It pressed straight through the tree with a dizzying sensation.

Forfend's vision was momentarily nothing but brown bark. Everything shifted, rushing past.

It stepped out of the other side right in front of the yawning mouth of a cave. It shook itself and took several seconds to gather its bearings.

River led them into the cave, down deep into the depths of the earth. They kept descending further and further until they finally came across a cavern.

Forfend straightened its shoulders and stared. It whistled.

Not only was the cavern enormous, it was also filled with thousands of natural emerald formations across nearly every available surface.

Emeralds hung from the roof and clung to the wall and sprouted forth from the floor everywhere it looked. There was hardly anything in this cavern that wasn't sparkling green.

Forfend gazed up at the light source overhead.

A small hole let sunlight into the cavern. It struck a perfectly positioned emerald that scattered the light into every other emerald stalactite covering the ceiling until the entire area was bathed in ethereal green.

"Whatever you do, do not stare directly into the emeralds," River warned.

Forfend immediately ripped its gaze away to stare instead at the aquamarine crystals lining River's head. "Understood."

"Hm, okay," Melzaryn agreed absentmindedly.

"You can look at their sides. Do not stare directly into them," River specified.

"Got it," Kairi nodded.

River strode forward.

The rest of them followed immediately on his heels, warily keeping their eyes off the emeralds. None of them wanted to fall into whatever trap this may be.

"No!" Kagoshi suddenly snapped. "Fuck off!"

He redoubled his hold on the demon.

The cultist grit his teeth.

Kairi thrust her hand out. "You've got this!"

Glittering pink stars swirled around Kagoshi and began healing his litany of wounds. His flowers responded to the druidic magic, perking up despite their necrotic surroundings.

Red miasma continued to leak from the statues. It was no longer being pulled to the center. Instead, tendrils crept across the floor.

At the back of the room, the crimson fog swirled into a dense pocket. Out of it crawled a small, shambling mound of flesh with absurdly thick, stubby legs and overly thin arms. It bore claws and rotten teeth and sores that wept bloody pus.

Forfend recognized the lesser demon. They were similar in appearance to flesh golems, though much smaller. They also lacked any sort of meaningful intelligence.

They were excellent pawns.

Forfend feared how they'd be employed here.

It pressed its palm to the medallion on its chest and followed Kairi's lead. "Fight onward," it called, healing magic lacing its words and surrounding all of its allies in warm orange light.

Their wounds and its own knit themselves together.

It moved away from where Kagoshi wrestled the enraged hound. He needed the space and it needed to reach the bowman before he was past the point of its revival magic.

The hound drew in what would've sounded like a death rattle on any other creature and clamped its jaw closed. The sickly yellow glow beneath its ribs jostled. Noxious gas spewed from beneath the thin skin bridging between the stark bones.

Kagoshi turned his face away and snorted in irritation. Whatever the wretched fumes were meant to do, Kagoshi seemed wholly unaffected.

The demon barked its annoyance and writhed. Its mouth split open, cracked, and split even further. The skin lining its jaw peeled apart as it opened far wider than should be possible. It twisted its neck, throwing Kagoshi's hand off it and biting him in the side.

Rot spread into the wound, withering the plant life sounding Kagoshi and discoloring his skin.

Kagoshi punched the demon square in the head.

It released him with a yelp, but brought its twisting tail around in the same motion.

Kagoshi was faster. He snatched the beast's tail and squeezed it in his grip until the bones ground together.

The demon snarled.

Two fireballs suddenly slammed into the hellish beast.

Melzaryn's snake gave a haughty little salute. It was out of stored fireballs now, but apparently quite proud of its work.

The demon shrugged off the fire and continued trying to snap at Kagoshi's restraining hands.

Melzaryn darted in, ducking flailing limbs to get close.

Forfend couldn't see what he was doing, but it seemed to bolster Kagoshi's efforts.

The hound kicked at Kagoshi and tried to writhe out from beneath him. Despite its best efforts, it couldn't free its tail from his grasp. It strained to lift its head.

Kagoshi slammed its face back to the stone floor. "Down, dog!"

The hound barked and gnashed its teeth.

Kagoshi wrapped its tail around its throat and pulled until the beast's voice wheezed into silence.

"Now play dead," he commanded.

The cultist swore. He slit his hand open with his scimitar and fire burst from the wound. He threw it into the fray.

Deep red fire exploded, latching onto Kagoshi and Melzaryn. It burned burgundy and then black before it petered out, searing dark gray edges into the wounds left behind.

A murderous grin split the cultist's face. He turned and pointed to the tiny shambling demon behind him. "Move forward," he commanded in Abyssal.

The wretched creature toddled forward.

"Stay out of this," Kagoshi commanded the little monster, also in Abyssal.

It lumbered onward anyway.

"Stay safe!" Kairi shouted.

A rainbow of stars glimmered around Melzaryn's burns and soothed them.

Kairi's form glittered. Her roughish pastel cloak faded into being. Her staff curved into a longbow.

In the far right of the room, the culminating fog gathered tightly together. A second little flesh demon scrabbled free and hobbled its way toward Kagoshi and the thrashing hound.

It reached out with horrid little claws and dug them into Kagoshi's calf.

Kagoshi kicked the demon off him.

Forfend edged its way closer to the fallen bowman. It was running out of time to reach him, but it couldn't rush or it would lose sight of the battle and undoubtedly get caught off guard.

As it exited the vicinity of Kagoshi's and the hound's wrestling, it entered the sightline of the cultist.

Immediately, his attention snapped to Forfend.

Forfend straightened its back and slammed its mace against its shield.

The resounding clang was followed immediately by the formation of a glowing orange forge hammer right next to the cultist. The magical weapon flipped in the air and bashed the startled man over his head.

The cultist snarled, enraged at being caught unaware. He cracked his neck and glared at Forfend.

Unnerved though it was, Forfend offered him a gesture Kairi seemed to favor. It held out its fist, middle finger extended.

The cultist's nostrils flared and his lip curled. He pointed at Forfend.

Red fire shot forth and struck it square in the chest.

Forfend didn't so much as flinch as the necrotic energy clawed into the cracks of its body. The spell wasn't particularly effective. The pain was minimal and well worth drawing the cultist's ire off Kagoshi.

The cultist growled, stomping his foot almost like a child.

A rattling hack suddenly escaped the hound. It opened its mouth as though inhaling, but its tail wrapped like a noose around its neck prevented it from taking in any air.

Despite that, bubbling sounded from within the body as its sunken stomach bloated with gas.

Dingy red blotted out the sickly yellow-green glow of its chest and hissed out from between its ribs.

The gaseous maroon spread out in a wide circle around the beast, pushing back the tendrils of crimson mist rather than mingling with them.

Melzaryn stumbled out of the spreading miasma and summoned his broom into his hand. He jumped onto it and zipped past Forfend to the bowman's body. He leapt off, pointing his staff at the cultist.

Fire blasted from the tip and struck the cultist in the gut.

The cultist yelped. He swatted out the flames as quickly as he could.

Kagoshi stomped the demon hound's head into the floor and wrenched upward on its tail.

The monster wheezed breathlessly. It choked and scrabbled, but couldn't free itself.

The cultist startled at the sight. "No," he gasped, eyes wide.

He reversed his grip and stabbed his scimitar into the air. Red flames slashed open the very fabric of reality.

The rift split wider. Powerful wind unfelt by anyone else ripped at Kagoshi, pulling him toward it.

The plants entangled around him rooted themselves into the stone floor to hold him in place.

The rift flickered and sealed itself closed.

"Gah!" the cultist snarled. "Move forward! Attack!" he commanded the minor demons.

The first scabbed ball of flesh swatted at Kagoshi with its razor-sharp claws.

The second little horror lumbered forth to reach him, its hands already outstretched.

Kairi glided up behind Forfend on rainbow wings. She drew back her bow and launched a rose gold arrow into his chest.

The magic pierced straight through him, leaving radiant burns in its wake.

The cultist doubled over, clutching at the wound.

Kairi followed up immediately with a glittering Guiding Bolt before he could recover.

The magic struck him in the exact same spot as the mystic arrow.

The cultist collapsed to his knees, wheezing as all the air was knocked from his lungs.

He lifted a shaky hand and pointed at Kairi.

Fire burst from his finger.

With all his shaking, it only just glanced off her shoulder.

Kairi shook off the dark flames with ease.

Red fog gathered in a thick shroud right at Forfend's and Kairi's sides. Out of it clambered another disgusting little flesh demon. It stared at them with blank eyes, drool leaking from its mouth like the pus from its sores.

Kagoshi kicked one miniscule demon back off of him and swatted the second before it could reach.

"Fuck off!" he roared in Abyssal.

The hound beneath him snarled and wheezed and gurgled as it fought to stand.

Kagoshi growled right back. "You fuck off too!"

The demon's sickly miasma spread all the way out to lap at Forfend's feet.

It shook off the putrid maroon and stepped away.

Luckily, the fog seemed to finally reach the limit of its spreading circumference. It idled in a wide radius around the beast, but moved no further.

Forfend rushed to the fallen bowman.

Melzaryn already had out his magical healing ointment he'd discovered in the Brightcrossing kruthik caves. "If you can get him up, I can patch some of his wounds."

Forfend nodded. It pulled a diamond from a pouch on its belt.

Forfend channeled glowing orange magic from its core, down its arm, and into the diamond.

The gem filled with divine light until it cracked. Forfend crushed the diamond in its hand with impossible ease and knelt down. It pressed its glimmering dust-coated palm to the bowman's damaged chest.

The magic sank in. The golden diamond dust melted though his cloak into the bloody wound beneath.

The bowman had very little exposed skin. All Forfend could truly see of him was a single startled, lightless eye.

Color faded back into his face. His eye suddenly widened, the life returning to it all at once. He inhaled sharp and deep, jolting upright as he did.

Forfend leaned back.

He took several very deep breaths and stared at Forfend. "What the fuck?!"

"I am very sorry to reawaken you in the midst of this, but I feared if I waited much longer you would be beyond my capabilities," Forfend explained.

"Who are you?!" the bowman shouted. "Where am I?!"

Forfend glanced over its shoulder.

Kagoshi still had the hound firmly pinned. The cultist was still on his knees, reeling from the wound Kairi gave him. The dull little demons toddled in place, lost without instruction.

It had a moment to explain. And by the looks of its Spiritual Weapon winding up to strike the downed cultist, it would have a longer moment than it originally anticipated.

"I am Forfend. This is Melzaryn," Forfend said, gesturing.

Behind it, a loud crack sounded as the Weapon slammed into the cultist's head.

The cultist shrieked.

The bowman looked up at Melzaryn and flinched. "Fuck, I'm still..." He didn't finish his thought.

Instead, he struggled to his feet to take a look around.

"Shit!" he swore as he caught sight of the cultist. "What the fuck is that?!" he yelled when he saw the emaciated demon Kagoshi was choking out with its own tail.

"As I mentioned, our current predicament is less than ideal," Forfend hummed. "However, I could wait no longer without risking your permanent departure."

The bowman blinked at the situation. "Shit, where's my bow?!" he panicked, snatching the weapon off his back immediately.

"Melzaryn will help you. If you are able to help us, please do," Forfend requested.

It moved between Kairi and the dribbling flesh demon, keeping the horrid monster blocked off from its allies.

The hound thrashed violently, shaking the very ground beneath their feet.

Kagoshi punched it and repositioned his hold.

Not giving up, the demon swung the barbed tip of its tail. Despite the severely limited range, it arced much tighter than Forfend would've thought it could and buried its stinger in Kagoshi's wrist.

Kagoshi grunted through grit teeth. He ripped the stinger free and whapped the monster in the face with it.

The hound certainly attempted a growl, but only managed a breathless hiss.

It's body bloated with another round of maroon gas. The haze rushed from beneath its skin, thickening the miasma around it.

Kagoshi coughed. His breathing became noticably more labored. Still, he refused to let go.

Melzaryn eyed the sight, one analytical eyebrow quirked. He looked to the bowman. "Man, it took a lot to take you down. I basically have nothing left in me."

He demonstrated by letting magic spark and fizzle out between his fingers.

"Anyway, here, this ointment will magically heal you. You'll need it for this," Melzaryn said, dropping a significant glop of it into his hand and shoving the bowman's sleeve up to apply it.

The bowman tensed as though he was going to pull away, but he remained stockstill.

His skin was darker toned than was common in Tyrwedia.

Forfend wondered how far from home he was.

As the ointment sank in, the bowman visibly straightened. He still looked significantly wounded, but he was no longer on the edge of a second death.

"Alright," the bowman mumbled mainly to himself. He turned to the fight.

He nocked an arrow and drew back his absolutely enormous bow, taking careful aim at the demonic hound.

He glanced at the bow's grip and swore. He twisted the arrow and whispered a spell.

The released the drawstring.

The massive arrow spiraled forward at incredible speed and buried itself in the hound's side.

Ribs cracked. Sickly yellow light gleamed around the embedded arrow.

The hound couldn't make so much as a gasp with Kagoshi squeezing its tail around its neck. Nonetheless, its body spasmed and it kicked ever more wildly.

The arrow pulsed. It appeared to melt into the wound it created.

A muffled boom shook the monster from the inside out. Black blood spilled from its wound and its mouth in thick rivulets.

"Excellent work," Melzaryn complimented. "We should spread out. The cultist throws fireballs."

"Shit," the bowman swore. He took the advice, dashing away from the cluster of targets they'd inadvertently created here.

Kagoshi lifted his head up high and took a deep breath of the stale air above the miasma. He ducked back into the awful clouds and tightened the tail around the demon's neck until its bones audibly strained.

It opened its mouth in a silent cry.

More noxious gas spilled from between its wounded ribs.

"Come on, fido, just stay down," Kagoshi growled at it.

The hound's movements slowed. Panic entered its murderous eyes for the first time.

It suddenly stilled entirely. Its head grew in size, its jaw splitting open so widely its row of teeth extended down the sides of its neck.

Kagoshi was forced to release or be caught in its snapping jowls.

The demon's bottom jaw split in half and unzipped down its chest to its stomach. The entire beast opened itself into one massive maw. It lunged at Kagoshi, crushing him between its teeth.

It gulped so loudly the sound echoed through the Bulwark.

Kagoshi was gone.

The demonic hound jerkily folded back down to its proper size, its horrid jaws sealing themselves closed until they returned to the far more limited space they were supposed to occupy.

Forfend felt the world spinning beneath its feet. It hadn't been able to fight this monster before. It wouldn't be able to fight this monster now, sporting wounds that had never healed from the last encounter.

It didn't think they could do this without Kagoshi.

The hound stood, stance wide as it took in heaving breaths. Drool tainted by Kagoshi's red blood and the beast's own black blood spilled to the floor in veritable rivers. It looked up to survey its next victims.

"Hm, that's not good." Melzaryn backed up as far from the hound as he could. He launched a Firebolt at the cultist.

The cultist had only just staggered upright from the last round of strikes.

The fire caught him in that same wound on his midsection. He choked. The light in his eyes flickered. A red sheen passed over them.

Despite his grievous wounds, he hauled himself upright. The red fire flickering around his robes intensified.

Forfend felt panic sending rockfalls through its center. The cultist wouldn't stay down. The hound was already prowling toward them.

They were doomed.

"Who do I need to target?!" the bowman shouted.

"The dog!" Melzaryn answered.

"Hound, the hound!" Forfend echoed.

"Bad doggy!" Kairi added at the same time.

"Got it." The bowman nocked an arrow and drew back until his arm shook with the strength of the tension. "I'll keep it down."

He twisted the arrow.

Right in front of it appeared a much smaller version of the very same magic circle that had formed over the Brass Buffalo.

The bowman unleashed the drawstring.

As the arrow hit, it immediately scattered into dozens more identical arrows. Almost all of them barreled into the massive hound. A few strays embedded themselves into the little flesh demons at its side instead.

The small demons choked blood, collapsed, and melted away.

The hound howled, collapsing to the floor. Its horrid face split apart again, the impossible jaws tearing it open all the way down to its stomach.

Bile and blood ejected from the beast, followed by Kagoshi's limp form.

Kagoshi painstakingly picked himself up.

Forfend was shocked to see he was still alive. Disgustingly wet with unidentifiable viscous fluids, but alive.

The beast's maroon miasma dissipated as it lay wheezing. Its split body sealed itself closed again.

Kagoshi cracked his knuckles, his green eyes glowing with rage almost as severe as his demonic form's. "You know, I did just plan to strangle you with your fucking tail, but now I think I'll rip you in half," he growled.

"Rip its spine out!" Kairi cheered.

Kagoshi snatched the beast's lashing tail. He thrashed the entire monster side to side, repeatedly crashing it into the pillars on either side of it.

Kagoshi heaved upwards, flipping the hound over his head. At the apex of its arc, he wrapped the tail around his arm and yanked.

A resounding pop caused the demon to yelp. It crashed to the floor, squealing and snapping at its hindquarters. Its previously thrashing tail flopped limply.

Kagoshi grinned as the beast wailed.

He braced his foot against its hindquarters, wrapped the tail even tighter around his hand, and ripped backwards.

The hound screamed as the tail audibly cracked.

The skin split and spilled thick black blood. Muscle snapped. The bones separated, pulling out several vertebrae from higher up its spine.

The demon's hind legs collapsed as the tail came fully free and failed to move as the rest of its body scrambled.

Kagoshi cackled and whipped the severed tail around like a weapon.

The cultist covered his mouth as he stared at the state of his summoned beast, his eyes wide with awestruck horror.

He pulled a rusted tuning fork from beneath his robes and began casting a spell. A red and black aura hazed around him.

Forfend recognized the same spell he'd used to escape them the first time.

"It's not my time," the cultist panted. He knelt, holding the tuning fork up to his forehead.

He moved to slam the fork down.

Forfend's Spiritual Weapon got there first. It careened into the side of the cultist's face with such incredible force his bottom jaw dislodged from his skull and flipped across the room.

The cultist collapsed forward, eyes wild and blood pouring. The red sheen passed over his darkening gaze a second time. Even more sinister fire flared up around him.

His tuning fork struck the earth. The red and black aura engulfed him. In an instant, he was gone.

Forfend hummed.

He'd survived a fatal wound and escaped a second time.

A murderous bark caught its attention.

The hound had locked its eyes onto Forfend.

It pawed forward as quickly as it could, dragging its back end across the stone.

Forfend panicked, seeing nothing but that wretched maw.

It held its hand up to cast.

Sparks fizzled between its fingers.

Its Spiritual Weapon flickered out.

Kairi drew her blessed rapier from its scabbard and slashed at the ravenous demon.

Golden radiance encased the blade, cutting into the hound with ease.

It howled its agony. Radiance spilled from all its wounds, burning it with holy light.

The divine energy blinded the demon, glowing like molten steel behind its eyes.

It snapped wildly at Kairi and missed by a mile as she flit backwards.

She replaced her sword and drew her bow again.

She blew a raspberry at the struggling beast and fired.

The glimmering arrow pierced through its neck.

Black blood spilled like oil, blotting out the burning radiance.

The hound whirled around, desperate.

It caught Forfend's scent and bore down on it like an avalanche.

Forfend slammed its hand against the symbol on its chest, raw terror spinning its core until the whole thing dropped into its midsection.

Broken memories of these same teeth compounded its fear.

It could feel magic swirling in its center, but none came to its fingertips.

Jagged fangs sank into its chest, aiming for its metal core.

Rock crunched. Indescribable pain crashed over Forfend.

The beast shook Forfend and tore a massive chunk of marble free. It swallowed the stones whole.

Ichor spewed, gushing violently.

Stale air froze Forfend's now exposed core, stopping its rapid spinning. The brilliant golden glow of the perfect sphere dimmed.

Everything went black.

"Just wake up already!" Kagoshi's voice rang through the emptiness, followed by a spark of healing magic.

Pain shot through Forfend.

It bolted upright, nearly headbutting Kagoshi.

Its vision came back to it.

It touched its chest.

Waves of electric shock coursed through it as it directly contacted its exposed core.

The compressed molten sphere spun slowly. Golden light emanated from it in fluctuating patterns.

Ichor evaporated nearly as quickly as it spilled, surrounding Forfend in a puddle of steaming radiant liquid.

The horror it should've felt was shut down by a cold sense of understanding. It couldn't fight anymore.

These were the consequences of operating so far above its abilities.

Would these wounds heal? The last wounds inflicted by Acras and his ilk never had.

Forfend touched the edge of Fletch's metal brace. Thankfully, it was still there. Still intact. Still covering its core at least on the right side.

Forfend could go back to Foumedo, help Fletch repair it a second time, and retire permanently.

Fornax had called it to work again, but it lacked the ability.

It was too wounded.

It realized it was being watched by curious eyes.

It glanced at its allies and then at the melting hound.

Its snarling face was still unbelievably frightening despite its dead eyes and sagging features.

A scorching hole still burned in its forehead.

"You killed it?" Forfend asked, looking to Melzaryn.

Melzaryn shrugged. "That was quite the day. You guys want to go get some food?"

"Yes," Kagoshi agreed immediately.

He'd shrunk back to his proper size and had the massive severed tail looped several times around his shoulder.

Kairi leaned against Kagoshi, her wings drooping. "Food sounds good."

The bowman squinted at Forfend's exposed center, but he didn't voice whatever questions he had.

Instead he looked around at each of them in turn. "Who the fuck are all of you?"

"That's the same question we could ask you, archer," Kagoshi grumbled.

"Anybody up for falafels?" Melzaryn offered, paying zero attention to the conversation at hand.

"Oh shit, do they have them here?" the bowman asked. "Wait, where are we?"

"Underground," Kagoshi answered unhelpfully.

"Yeah, but where?" the bowman snapped.

"We are beneath Cragwall," Forfend hummed.

"Fuck," he swore. "There are no falafels here."

"Dammit," Melzaryn sulked.

"What kind of place doesn't fucking have falafels?" Kagoshi complained.

"Yeah, that's pretty lame," Kairi nodded.

"How do we get out of here?" the bowman pulled this nonsensical conversation back on track.

"There's a cliff out that way," Melzaryn pointed to the left-hand wall.

"Is there?" The bowman mumbled rhetorically.

He drew back on his bow. Energy pulsed through the weapon into the arrow.

He unleashed it.

The arrow exploded upon striking the wall, sending stone crumbling down.

The salty spray of fresh sea air immediately rushed into the Bulwark.

Forfend cupped its hand over its stuttering core to keep the wind off it.

The central sphere was meant to remain doused in magma. Even summer heat would've felt brisk. The cool fall air was painfully chilling.

"I'm leaving. Where can I find you all?" the bowman asked.

Forfend forced itself to its stumbling feet. "First, what is your name?"

"Howell. Hawkeye Howell."

Forfend nodded. "Forfend. That is an apt name for you, Hawkeye Howell. You have certainly been shooting the shit out of us these past few days."

"Did I?" Howell seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yeah! Fuck you for that by the way," Kagoshi growled.

"That's completely fair," Howell admitted. "I didn't know what I was doing."

He paused. "Speaking of which, what day is it?"

"It is the tenth day of the third month of autumn," Forfend informed.

"Shit, it's been two months?" Howell shook his head.

Melzaryn pulled out a scrap of paper and began furiously scribbling on it.

He passed a simplistic but highly detailed map to Forfend. "I'm also taking this way out, but that'll keep you from getting lost."

He hopped up onto his broom.

Forfend trudged forward. "We are staying with someone here in Cragwall for now. That will be the best place to meet us."

It gave directions to Eamon's home.

Howell nodded. "Understood."

"I'm going with you," Kagoshi decided, nodding at Melzaryn's floating broom.

"Anyone want to come with me?" Howell offered. "I can only take one."

"Shouldn't we get Duncan first?" Kairi mentioned.

"I will walk back with Duncan," Forfend immediately answered. It looked up and around, spotting Duncan playing gently with Melzaryn's ethereal snake.

Melzaryn tilted his head at the little reptile. "Shouldn't that have disappeared by now?"

The snake poofed.

"Oh, okay," Melzaryn nodded.

"Is it over?" Duncan called to them now that his little friend was gone.

"Yep!" Kairi hollered back.

"Gods, he's useless," Kagoshi grumbled under his breath.

"It is safe," Forfend assured.

Duncan made his way over to the rest of the group. He slowed down as he got closer, his eyes uncertain.

"Wait, but he's still here." His voice wavered as he gestured to Howell.

"He is a friend now," Forfend said. "Same as you."

"Okay," Duncan mumbled weakly.

"So who's coming with me?" Howell posed his question again.

Melzaryn shrugged. He zipped off on his broom without Kagoshi.

Kagoshi growled but didn't bother to comment.

"Do you want to go with him?" he asked Kairi.

Kairi shook her head. "Nah."

"Alright," Howell nodded once.

He pulled his cloak tighter around him. His form twisted up in the fabric of his cloak and popped out of existence.

Forfend looked to Duncan. "We have a very long walk ahead of us," it hummed. "Please stay close."

Duncan nodded.

"Let's get moving," Kagoshi huffed.

"I doubt it," Kagoshi scoffed.

Forfend didn't think now was the time for talking tough. They were at a severe disadvantage and in a great deal of danger.

That said, it also thought the bowman was lying. He didn't seem the type to do warning shots. He shot to kill every single time. He'd just missed due to distance and moving targets, whether he was willing to admit that or not.

Forfend hoped he'd miss a few more shots. Or all of them. All of them would be nice.

The group pressed themselves to the wall. There was another smaller alcove about sixty feet up. If they could get there, they'd be safe again for a moment. After that though, the stretch to reach the bowman was so lengthy Forfend couldn't see the end of it through the inky black shadows.

From what little it remembered about Mortal Bulwarks, it didn't think the hallway would have another alcove until they'd nearly reached the end. They were in for a long and dangerous dash.

"Don't you lose your temper with me," Kagoshi growled at himself.

Forfend glanced him over. He still seemed to be in control of himself.

He dashed out into the open before it could ask what was happening to him.

Kairi whipped around the corner and quickly surpassed Kagoshi.

An arrow crashed into the ground just a little way past the second alcoves.

Forfend hummed nervously. If the bowman wasn't aiming for them, what was he doing?

"Missed again!" Kagoshi heckled.

Melzaryn dashed out into the open and slid into the second right-hand alcove before the bowman got a chance to take aim.

Not to be left behind, Forfend made its way into the exposed hallway. It passed Kagoshi and ducked into the second alcove with Kairi.

Kagoshi growled as it moved past him. He was already flagging. He shouldn't be fighting. He was still well past exhausted.

Forfend touched the medallion on its chest. "Protect him," it requested.

Magic burst into being around Kagoshi and swarmed into a glowing symbol of Fornax over his chest.

An oversize arrow surged out of the darkness and slammed into the symbol on Kagoshi's chest.

The Shield of Faith held, but the raw force pushed Kagoshi back and knocked him to the floor.

The arrow clattered off across the stone floor.

"Fuck you," Kagoshi growled anyway.

"Are you okay?" Kairi called.

"Yeah, it's barely a scratch."

Kairi nodded and sprinted forward. She pressed her back to the far wall of the alcove and surreptitiously peeked from around it.

The javelin-sized arrow the bowman had placed above this alcove suddenly hummed. It burst from the ground, whipped itself in Kairi's direction, and fired.

Kairi pinned herself to the wall causing the arrow to narrowly miss her. It careened into the stone and disappeared in a breath of green magic.

"With the size of these things, I have to wonder what you're compensating for," Kairi yelled up the endless hallway.

Melzaryn darted from his own alcove into the expanse of unprotected space. Silvery blue magic rippled from his staff down around his feet, but didn't seem to have any effect on his speed or provide him any protection. The arcana just looked pent up, hanging on the verge of use.

Kagoshi hauled himself off the floor and ran full tilt forward. He chugged along much slower than normal, but he was bound and determined to keep moving.

He didn't duck into the alcove as Forfend and Kairi had done. He just kept running out in the exposed open.

Between the mystery of whatever Melzaryn was doing and Kagoshi's haggard form, the bowman's next target was a clear choice.

Forfend slid out in front of Kagoshi and planted its shield into the stone floor.

"Godsdammit!" Kagoshi screamed, plowing straight into Forfend's back. "Why?!"

"To protect you from your own mouth and the rest of your bad decisions," it answered.

"I'm going to shit talk this man forever!" Kagoshi argued.

"Then do it from behind a shield!" Forfend insisted.

"That's just as cowardly as his bitch ass!" he snapped, gesturing into the darkness of the path ahead.

"I do not think it is!"

A heavy thwip reverberated through the hall.

A massive arrow burst out of the shadows, gleaming murderously as it arced toward Melzaryn.

The magic around Melzaryn flared. He disappeared into a storm of silver wind just before the arrow hit and reappeared thirty feet up from where he'd started.

"Shit!" came the bowman's frustrated echo.

"Yeah, you missed because you're a bitch!" Kagoshi hollered.

"I've seen drunks with better accuracy than that, shithead!" Kairi followed suit.

"Fuck you!" the bowman roared.

Kairi snickered.

"Learn to hit the broad side of a barn!" Kagoshi yelled.

Kairi followed Melzaryn's lead and rushed into the open.

Kagoshi weaved out from behind Forfend to follow.

Melzaryn sparked his staff with a new round of magic and kept surging forward.

Forfend ripped its shield from the ground and trailed behind them. The other two would outpace it quickly, but Kagoshi was slow enough right now for it to keep up.

Four arrows whizzed from the darkness and scattered themselves across the middle of the hallway a hundred feet or more ahead of the group. Each one glowed an ominous incendiary orange.

Still, there was little choice but to keep moving forward anyway.

"I'm coming to beat your whole ass, motherfucker!" Kagoshi threatened. "And there's nothing you can do about it when I get close either because you're a ranged bitch!"

Melzaryn approached the field of glowing arrows. He tossed his hand out.

A tiny spectral snake of polished silver appeared curled up on the ground on the opposite side of the strange arrows. Its eyes lit up blue.

Melzaryn disappeared with a swirling pop and reappeared so far up the hallway Forfend lost track of him.

The little silver snake promptly followed suit.

The bowman roared, "Godsdammit!"

A hail of orange glowing arrows arced from the darkness and struck the ground ahead of them, seemingly at random.

"You got no bitches!" Kagoshi called out.

"No bitches, no boytoys, not even any friends!" Kairi joined in.

Forfend didn't waste time being confused by their statements. It just kept running.

Even more massive arrows littered the ground, all of them glimmering orange.

Melzaryn had made it past the growing field of arrows, but Forfend, Kairi, and Kagoshi were now in the thick of it.

"I think your aim is getting worse!" Kagoshi heckled, despite being nearly breathless with exertion. "Think you can hit anything before our scrawny little snake man kicks your whole ass?!"

"This is why your mother never loved you!" Kairi shouted.

"Where did he go?" the bowman's voice echoed much more quietly.

Melzaryn gave a sinister chuckle.

"I'll deal with the others first," the bowman said even more quietly, almost sounding unnerved.

A new arc of glowing arrows unveiled from the darkness in a perfect row and blocked the path ahead almost entirely.

Still, they had to keep moving forward. There was nowhere else to go.

They'd soon have no choice but to find out what the arrows would do if they got too close or bumped one.

"Shit!" the bowman suddenly yelled, followed by a bright flash at the end of the hall and an explosion that shook the entire structure.

Dust rained from the ceiling.

Melzaryn giggled, the sound reverberating hauntingly off the walls.

"Fuck him up!" Kairi screamed.

"Get him, kill him!" Kagoshi encouraged.

Forfend was certain Melzaryn could hold his own for a while, but it didn't want to leave him without allies for long. The bowman was not a common archer.

It noticed the far edge of the row of glowing arrows didn't quite meet the wall. There was enough space to skirt through without touching them.

Forfend pivoted to take that route.

"You scared to fire another shot?!" Kagoshi called as he continued straight toward the line of oversize arrows.

A new glowing arrow spun out of the darkness and struck one of the scattered arrows beyond the line.

Orange light flared and ricocheted to the next arrow at lightning speed, and the next after that, and the next, and all the way along the line of them, and then past it into the field of arrows on Forfend's side.

Light zipped until it had touched every single one.

All of the arrows lifted themselves from the ground, selected a target, and launched themselves.

Forfend pulled up its shield, but projectiles struck it from every direction.

Golden ichor trickled from beneath the embedded arrows.

Kagoshi roared.

Forfend lowered its shield to catch a glimpse of him and Kairi.

Kairi had a few arrows that had knicked or pierced her flesh.

Kagoshi, on the other hand, was a pincushion.

The majority of the arrows had aimed at him. Blood poured from head to toe, coating him in grisly red.

He shouldn't be standing. He shouldn't even be alive.

Kagoshi's hair burst into flames and so did every single arrow.

His muscles bulged until they threatened to burst through his suddenly ashen skin. The arrows were forced out of his flesh by the unbelievable growth.

Not-Kagoshi roared a second time, this one causing the very earth to tremble, and sprinted forward with murderous intent.

His heels scorched red, propelling him forward in a ball of crimson fire.

At the end of the hall, a small silvery flash shot cracks through the ceiling and briefly revealed the bowman beneath.

Thunderous rumbling sounded as the ceiling collapsed on top of him.

"Fuck!" the bowman yelled, diving off his pedestal.

Melzaryn's strange new snake assistant launched two consecutive balls of fire at the fallen man.

The bowman hollered out.

Forfend took in the absolute chaos happening around it and did the only thing it could do. It kept moving forward.

It was finally close enough to see the fight, though not quite close enough to get involved.

"There you are," the bowman's now haggard voice called. He drew back his bow and unleashed an arrow at Melzaryn.

Melzaryn ducked out of the way.

The bowman growled, "Fine!"

He tossed his bow onto his back and pulled two shortswords from scabbards somewhere beneath his voluminous brown robes.

He stalked toward Melzaryn and slashed wildly.

The blades tinged off Melzaryn's faint magical Shield.

Kairi's glimmering wings carried her into the air. Her eyes trailed pink as she soared onward despite her bleeding wounds.

Not-Kagoshi's bulky, thundering form dashed right into an obvious trap laid out just before the Bulwark's final opening.

Massive arrows had been lined up in a perfect pattern probably hours before they'd arrived.

Every single one lifted from the ground and spiraled toward Not-Kagoshi.

Not-Kagoshi tensed his body, lightning arcing across his taut muscles.

The static barrier somehow seemed to repel the arrows. They hovered, struggling in the air just shy of touching Not-Kagoshi's flesh. When they'd finally lost all their spinning momentum, they clattered to the floor.

Not-Kagoshi just kept running.

"Oh, shit," the bowman swore, backing away from Not-Kagoshi's rapid approach.

"Oh, hey, are you here to help me bury this guy and whatever that is?" Melzaryn casually asked, pointing at something Forfend couldn't see.

The bowman grabbed for his cloak.

Melzaryn gripped his arm, lightning coursing from his hand into the bowman's body.

Melzaryn's strange little snake launched two more fireballs.

The bowman jerked his twitching, electrified arm away from Melzaryn and tried to dodge away. He wasn't quite fast enough.

Fire whooshed as it struck him.

He cried out.

Not-Kagoshi barreled into the bowman and lifted him up by wrapping one massive hand around his head. He roared in the struggling man's face and launched him into the nearest pillar.

Blood dripped from beneath the billowing robes as he fell. The bowman's chest lit up so brightly orange it glowed beneath the fabric.

Forfend turned away before he could explode.

The blast didn't come.

The bowman's single visible eye was contorted in pain and concentration, apparently willing the runic light to dim until it finally petered out.

He forced himself upright and ran on faltering legs. He snagged his cloak again and started to call upon its magics.

A new figure swept from behind a pillar at the back of the room and gouged a scimitar straight through the bowman's chest.

Blood poured from the bowman's wound, staining his cloak deep red. He choked and groaned before collapsing to the ground.

Forfend's body went rigid. What had happened? Who was this new assailant? Could it get to the bowman in time to revive him?

Not-Kagoshi's cackling laughter reverberated through the Mortal Bulwark.

"You?!" he yelled.

"Yes, me," the murderer answered, stepping over the corpse. "Hello again."

He strode into the central circle of pillars and inspected a rune carved into the floor.

"After the last we met, some things have changed."

Forfend finally got a good look at the intruding stranger.

He bore dark, burnt robes and malovent eyes. He looked remarkably similar to the cultist beneath Brightcrossing.

No, Forfend realized, he was the cultist from beneath Brightcrossing.

His face was burnt nearly beyond recognition, but his rusty weapon and the murderous twist of his mouth were unmistakable.

The cultist flipped his bloody scimitar in his hand. "Do you know what you stand upon?"

He didn't wait for an answer before driving his blade into the ground.

The stone began to glow an ominous red.

Not-Kagoshi stalked slowly into the middle of the room as though he was guarding the glowing rune. He turned to watch Melzaryn.

Melzaryn warily eyed Not-Kagoshi, but the hulking monster didn't move.

Slowly, Melzaryn brought his staff up and pointed it toward something off in the far corner.

The distinct vwoop of Melzaryn's Vortex Warp sounded.

Duncan, tied and gagged and panicked, popped into existence right in front of Forfend.

"Duncan!" Forfend exclaimed, immediately kneeling to tend to him.

It untied him, pulled the gag from his mouth, and checked him over for injuries or newly bestowed spells.

Everything looked to be in order.

"W-what's going on?!" Duncan sputtered.

"I have you. You will be alright," Forfend promised. "What happened?"

"I was kidnapped! I don't know! I don't know what's happening! I just want to go home!" Duncan clung to Forfend.

"We will get you home. I promise." Forfend placed a gentle hand on Duncan's head. "Stay. Right. Here."

Duncan nodded. "I can do that."

Forfend nodded once and stood, carefully approaching the tense situation ahead.

"So, what's the deal here?" Melzaryn asked. "Who are you attacking? Him? Me?"

Not-Kagoshi didn't respond. He locked gazes with Forfend the second it got close.

"What is happening here?" Forfend haltingly questioned.

Something wasn't right.

Not-Kagoshi was wildly violent. He was cocky and loud. If he wasn't swinging fists, he was gloating or laughing or roaring.

But right now, he was dead silent. He stood like a sentinel.

"Give it a bit," the cultist droned. "It'll be quite the spectacle."

Forfend hummed uncomfortably. "I feel we have had enough spectacles for today."

"Oh, but trust me, this one will be quite fantastic."

Forfend's core spun in dizzying, anxious circles.

The cultist paced around the glowing rune, dragging his scimitar through the stone floor as easily as if it were sand.

Red smoke billowed out of the destroyed statue to the left.

"This, after all, is a Mortal Bulwark," he explained as he continued to trace out the engraved rune. "A gateway between realms, and yet, a barrier."

Red smoke burst from the statue to the right.

"It's meant to protect this realm, but what is it protecting us from?"

Kairi fluttered in and hovered close by, as uncertain as anyone else what to do.

Not-Kagoshi folded his arms and waited.

Melzaryn scooped stones up from the floor and imbued them with magic until they glowed a faint silvery blue.

Forfend stepped up in front of Not-Kagoshi.

It wasn't planning on dealing with him though.

It raised its hand and felt the angry, twisting magic surging from the rune.

Forfend closed its fist.

The magic stuttered.

The cultist snarled. A new blast of magic revitalized the spell as Forfend tried desperately to Dispel it.

They struggled against each other, the arcana stuttering as it was caught between.

The cultist's eyes flashed red.

Forfend's hand was forced open and pushed backwards. It lost its grip on the magic.

The spell continued.

Not-Kagoshi glared down at Forfend and uncrossed his arms. He cracked his knuckles.

"What do you think this Bulwark in particular was defending against?" the cultist asked as he continued tracing out the rune, his sickle gliding impossibly smoothly through stone. "There are many like it all across Rozdarta. All of them blessed by the gods."

He finished his rounds and pulled his sickle from the ground, swirling it in his hands. "After I entered into the Abyss, I saw things."

Red smoke hissed from the statue behind Forfend. The crimson mist was beginning to spread its seeking tendrils out across the ground.

"I saw the truth of the matter," the cultist continued. "Honestly, I'm surprised you don't recognize this place, Forfend, the first demigod of Fornax."

Forfend straightened as much as it was able.

It knew what this place was, but how much more was it supposed to recognize? Had it been here? It didn't know. It couldn't remember.

More blood-colored smoke began to spill from the destroyed statue the bowman had been using as a perch.

"This was made to imprison a particularly potent demon. One I'm surprised you don't recognize, nor sense." The cultist watched Forfend's blank face. "Tell me, Forfend, does this all look familiar?"

Forfend couldn't say that it did. It wasn't sure what the cultist could know that it didn't though. It simply didn't respond.

Kairi flew up into the air and pulled back her bow, unleashing a glittering Guiding Bolt.

The cultist roared as the radiant light struck him, but he still held tight to his ongoing spell.

"You," he spat. "I recognize you. You may try all you wish, Kairi Camilla, but you cannot stop what is coming. Let me ask you: are we all even supposed to be here?"

"You're just a bitch ass whore taking orders from a crazy bastard," Kairi swore. "Fuck off!"

"Vulgar words for a vulgar woman," the cultist sneered.

His eyes suddenly widened. He jerked his head to Kagoshi.

Kagoshi's form shuddered. The flames on his head crystallized and cracked as green strips of grass-like hair replaced them. Tangled branches replaced the crumbling flames wreathing Kagoshi's collar. His skin tone morphed from ashy black to clay brown. His eyes stopped glowing burgandy and dulled to a gentle green.

A familiar snarl replaced his previous impassive hostility. He turned to face the cultist.

"Excellent timing," Forfend praised him. "We are in a great deal of trouble."

The cultist growled. "Persistent and unwilling to see the truth, I see."

"I was always told I'm a stubborn bastard." Kagoshi flexed his hands.

"It is no matter. The question remains: are we all even supposed to be here? Are any of us supposed to be here?"

Forfend had no clue what the man could mean by that. Here as is this Mortal Bulwark? Here as in this plane of existence? Here as in alive?

"Who cares? I'm gonna rip your spine out," Kagoshi astutely answered.

The cultist growled. He tossed his hood back. His robes caught alight and dark magic coursed through his scimitar.

Forfend nudged its way past Kagoshi to get a better vantage point and touched the medallion on its chest.

The scimitar in the cultist's hand began to heat up until the metal was molten red.

The cultist hissed through his teeth at his blistering hands, but he refused to let go.

He brought the scimitar up and slammed it down into the earth.

A deep reverberating tone like the gong of a great bell cascaded through the Bulwark.

Forfend could feel magic, a sickening combination of malignant and misused divine, sweeping over it in waves.

Every wisp of red smoke rushed inward to the center of the circle.

Forfend nearly stumbled at the force of the wind.

The blood-colored smoke rushed headlong into the crack in the center of the runic circle until it was gone.

As the last tendril disappeared, a memory sharp as a knife embedded into Forfend's mind. Its vision flickered red.

It found itself back in the distant past, its body again metal and strong.

It stood on the edge of the village, splitting its attention between its mortal family hard at work and the distant battle clashing across the stormy red sky like lightning where Fornax undoubtedly fought for his life.

Red and black smoke obscured the Sunderer's form, but the horrid monster wasn't dark enough to hide the brilliant holy light of Cassis's spear or the pale moonlight of Decessus's crescent blade.

Light flashed with every desperate strike. It remembered hoping this would be the final battle, but it couldn't have been. Forfend hadn't survived to see the Sunderer's defeat.

Forfend lost track of time as it stood guard. It didn't know how long it watched the battle with rapt attention.

"Oh, aren't you curious? You're new," a voice startled Forfend from its concentration.

It turned to look down at the speaker.

What it found startled it a second time.

The young human standing before it was so severely emaciated Forfend couldn't understand how he was still standing.

Every single rib shown clearly through his skin. His hips jutted out from an impossibly narrow midsection. His limbs were barely more than skin stretched taut over bone. His face was so sunken the outline of his teeth pressed visibly against his cheeks.

All he wore was a loincloth that dangled from his hips.

He was by far the single most unwell mortal Forfend had ever seen.

It knelt but its words momentarily escaped it in its shock.

The man stepped forward, touching its smooth metal chest. "You're warm. And alive," he marveled.

Forfend found its voice and opened its arms. "You are starving. We have food in the village here. Food and shelter and healers. We will help you."

"You're too kind, Forfend," the stranger grinned. "Too, too kind."

Forfend cocked its head. It didn't know this stranger. How did he know its name?

"Honestly, I had a thought," the man said. "The only thing that satiated me was the flesh of a god. I wonder if yours would be similar."

Forfend hummed its concern, but it didn't want to leave this man. Delusions were common with illness and starvation. He needed help.

Pain suddenly wrenched through Forfend's chest.

It looked down to see the stranger's hand deep in its chest. It hadn't even seen him move.

His fingers tipped at Forfend's core, sending jolts of twisting lightning through its body.

He hadn't plunged quite deep enough or quite centered enough to wrap his hand around the core. Frustrated, he clenched his fist and ripped all the molten stone and metal free.

His jaw split open like a snake's. A rattling inhale pulled the debris of Forfend's body to his mouth, compacting it down with violent metallic grinding until it easily fit within his jaw. He crunched once and swallowed.

Forfend wavered and nearly toppled over. Its other knee hit the dirt and it caught itself on one hand. Golden ichor poured thickly from the gaping wound cut out of the side of its chest.

Fear seized it as the senseless reality of what had just happened tried and failed to sink in.

"Wow, that does taste good," the stranger mused.

He knelt down and cupped Forfend's runic face. "Oh, I know this will hurt," he pouted, false sympathy dripping from his voice.

Forfend wanted to stand, wanted to fight or run or anything.

It couldn't move.

"You're an odd one. Unique, bearing a soul," the stranger considered. "But you are still a Fornaxian and I hear they have fantastic crispy skin."

He dug his thin, bony figures into Forfend's face.

Metal screeched.

Blinding pain wracked through Forfend.

This man, this monster, peeled away its metal covering in one long strip. He devoured as he rended, his impossible jaw puncturing iron with ease.

Forfend felt as though it had been thrown in acid. Its entire body burned and screamed in abject agony.

It could see nothing but burning darkness.

"Delicious," the monster praised, announcing he'd finished. He smacked his lips together.

Forfend's vision came spinning back to it.

Its trembling hands were nothing but molten rock and dripping ichor. Its chest, its legs, its entire body were all just the same. Molten rock and dripping ichor. All its metal was gone.

Ichor pooled beneath its feet faster than it could evaporate away. Its magma musculature drooped, struggling to hold its form. The magic in its core surged in a desperate effort to keep it together.

Forfend stood so much as it was able and staggered backwards. It needed to get away from the village. If this monster could shred it with such ease, he could devour the town in minutes.

Acras.

The monster's name struck Forfend. It couldn't tell if it had known that then, or if it only knew in hindsight.

This was Accipo's brother. This was the god of hunger and rot and decay.

This was something far more powerful than Forfend could hope to handle. The best it could do was try to make certain the village survived.

It backed away, trying to bait Acras towards it.

"Oh, are you running?" Acras tutted and shook his head. He didn't move from where he crouched. "I don't want you to die tired. Look at you, you're bleeding everywhere."

Drool cascaded from his teeth and muddled with the pool of ichor at his feet. He swiped a hand through the golden substance and tasted it.

"Well, fine," Acras decided. If you want to leave, go ahead."

He pointed at his emaciated ribs.

The flesh knotted up and the ribs twisted out of the skin. They took the shape of a snarling hound. It gnashed its teeth.

"If I can't eat you now, I'll settle for them," Acras threatened. "Go!"

The beast developed clawing paws and hauled itself free of Acras's body with the sounds of splitting flesh and cracking bone.

"Satiate my hunger, however temporarily!" he ordered the demon.

The hound grew, its emaciated body bulging and popping until it was nearly twice Forfend's height.

Shaggy white fur sparsely coated its taut flesh. Spines jutted like rocks from its back. Its tail curved up high, the fur giving way to dry skin covered in sores that culminated jarringly into a scorpion's stinger.

Its eyes glowed murderous red.

Sickly yellow-green light emanated from its salivating jowls and through the thin, sunken skin clinging between its stark ribs.

"Come, Forfend, you know you can't run forever," Acras taunted. "You're bleeding."

Forfend lifted a shaky molten arm and channeled its magic.

Its core protested. Nearly every ounce of power it could access was already in use just to keep its body from turning to little more than slag.

Forfend drew on the magic anyway.

Its head dizzied as the world seemed to tilt.

A Wall of Fire burst from its palm and arced out to cut the hound off from the village.

Acras's jaw split. The flames twisted in the air and surged toward him instead. He devoured them effortlessly.

"Delicious!" Acras exclaimed. "Do more, please."

The massive beast bounded toward its family.

Forfend touched its melting hand to its melting chest just beside the gaping hole exposing its core.

Was there anything it could do?

It tugged at the magic dwelling within it.

Pain answered.

The battle at Forfend's back faltered.

A great flash split the horizon.

A silver gleam soared across the sky and crashed into the ground with earthquaking force.

Forfend nearly lost its footing as a shockwave blasted from the crater now at its side.

Acras perked up.

Fornax lifted himself from the earth. A massive dent caved in his chest piece. He looked much worse for wear.

"Now why'd you have to go and ruin the fun?" Acras growled.

Acras's mouth ripped open. He bit into his own flesh, his jaw inverting until it had consumed every piece of his human form.

Nothing but the gaping maw remained. Its fanged teeth crashed together.

A skeletal body sprouted forth, taking towering shape. Acras, now in his massive godly form, hissed.

He was more jaw than anything. His starving body looked and smelled like a rotting corpse. Mold and sores marred every peeling inch of flayed skin hanging off his bones.

"I wasn't done with my appetizer," Acras complained, his voice taking on a new sharp, wheezing undertone.

Fornax turned. He took in Acras's visage and the horrid hound demon dashing for the town. His eyes caught on Forfend.

He froze.

"No, Forfend!" His attention snapped to Acras, rage shaking his body. "What did you do?!"

Fornax slammed his hammer into the ground. Adamantine spikes rivaling the size of mountains lashed out of the earth and impaled Acras, lifting him high into the air.

Fornax roared.

He raised his hand. An adamantine spear formed in the air and dropped into Fornax's hand. He launched it.

The spear slashed through Acras's gaping maw.

Acras grunted. "Good!" he yelled despite his wounded mouth.

He chomped down on the spear and swallowed it.

"Forfend, go! I'll deal with this!" Fornax ordered.

Forfend ran without a second though. It had to catch the hound.

Puddles of lava were left in its wake from each strike of its exposed molten feet.

Its core spun, sparking painfully in its chest.

It wasn't sure if it could call on enough magic to cast a single spell, but it would have to try. It had to help the village.

The memory suddenly stuttered.

Forfend dropped so gracelessly back into its body that it staggered.

"One of many things that should be considered is why the gods perform such actions," the cultist was saying.

The crack in the earth where the smoke had disappeared split, creating an expanding rift.

"An example would be why they would betray creation. After all, the gods are embodiments of all things in reality. Which means that the truth of the matter is that we were never supposed to exist," the cultist asserted.

The rift grew to a fissure.

Two massive white paws snagged the crumbling edges and dragged up the emaciated form of the very same hound demon Forfend had just seen in its addled memory.

It took a short step back as it looked up at the snarling beast.

Its core dropped low in its center.

He looked up. "Glad you're here. Secret tunnel. Hidden switch."

"Where the hell is it?" Kagoshi gruffed, smacking randomly at the stone wall of the guard barracks.

Melzaryn stepped on a particular cobblestone and pushed a particular brick. Both shifted slightly.

A rune briefly glowed on the brick. A plume of green smoke hissed forth, straight into Melzaryn's face.

Melzaryn reeled back, coughing. He swore under his breath. "Yeah, that should've been expected."

The brick slid back into place. Nothing else happened.

"Alright, I've done my work. Somebody else figure this out," Melzaryn wheezed.

"And how do we do that?!" Kagoshi snapped.

Forfend knocked on the stone wall and cobblestone pathway where Melzaryn had been standing. A hollowness emanated.

"Smash a hole in it," it decided.

There was no time to worry about property damage or permissions. Duncan was in trouble.

"That I can do!" Kagoshi agreed, grinning wildly. "Melzaryn turn around."

Forfend stepped back as Kagoshi pounded fists into stone.

Melzaryn visibly winced at the destruction. He turned and shielded his eyes.

Kairi stared off into the distance, squinting back the way they'd came. "Did he run this whole way in that stuffy suit?"

Forfend started to ask what she meant, but her ethereal wings were already lifting her into the air.

Forfend watched her disappear into the dark of night.

She returned only a moment later, hauling Eamon along with labored wingbeats. She deposited him and flit down right at his side. "Why'd you run so far in your suit?"

Eamon wheezed and bent over with his hands on his knees. "It was... an emergency... I didn't have time to... change," he managed between gulping breaths.

He lifted his head up as much as he could manage. "Why are you breaking things?" he asked in thin, breathless panic.

"To find Duncan," Forfend said.

The thought very suddenly struck Forfend that Duncan may not be the only one in danger.

It tapped the medallion on its chest with three fingers and pulled the soft orange light up to the top of its rune.

"Former Envema gladiator," it hummed, projecting an image of the man's face into the magic.

It connected to the gladiator's mind and Sent a mental message across. "Are you safe? If not, describe to me as concisely as possible where you are."

The tenuous connection buzzed with the mechanical whir of Forfend's magic. It worried for a moment the gladiator couldn't answer.

There was a vague sense of stirrings from the other side before the gladiator's voice rang through clearly, "Uhhh, was kidnapped. Woke up. Um, fought back. Don't know where I am. Underground, somewhere? I need a weapon and--shit!"

The connection severed.

Forfend hummed anxiously.

The gladiator sounded breathless and scared. What had cut him off? Would he still be alive when it got to him?

Kagoshi's fist crunched through the ground with frightening ease. He headbutted the wall, sending it crumbling down as well.

The pathway was laid bare.

It was a deep, pitch dark tunnel leading rapidly down into the earth.

"The gladiator from our first day in Cragwall says he is trapped underground," Forfend relayed. "We should look for him down there on our way to Duncan. He is in just as much danger."

Kagoshi slapped Melzaryn's shoulder much harder than necessary. "Alright, tunnel man, you're up."

Melzaryn coughed. "Just because I happen to know the layout doesn't mean I should be the one to go first," he argued, his voice uncharacteristically strained. "I've already been poisoned once today."

"I can go," Forfend offered. Its stone form meant poisons were ineffective.

"Can you even fit?" Kagoshi asked.

Forfend tilted its head at the tunnel. "Yes. Not comfortably."

"You'll slow us down if you're in front," Kagoshi growled.

"Then go!" Forfend said more forcefully than it meant to.

People were in danger. Its patience was short.

"I'm going!" Kagoshi bounded straight into the tunnel.

Kairi followed right on his heels.

Forfend glanced at Melzaryn.

Melzaryn waved his hand and covered his mouth to stifle more body-wracking coughs.

Forfend hunched down into the tunnel.

"What's happening?" Eamon asked.

"Keep to the plan. Get the guards," Melzaryn didn't really answer as he trotted after Forfend.

Forfend reached out along the thread of magic that had connected him to Duncan before. The Detect Creature spell still held. The magic was still seeking out Duncan, but all it could do at the moment was course aimlessly in the direction Duncan had been in when he exited Forfend's range.

It had no idea where he actually was anymore.

That worried it immensely.

"Tunnels are sprawling," Melzaryn mumbled to himself. He looked all about, his glowing eyes seeing much more than the tight walls of the tunnel.

Melzaryn guided the party through the winding pathways, avoiding dead ends, false stairways, and strange traps.

They walked for much longer than Forfend would've guessed. And much longer than it would've liked.

Every second they wandered these tunnels was another second innocent people were in danger.

The group turned a corner and were immediately confronted with a heavily armed and armored man standing in the middle of the hallway.

He didn't startle or start to move.

Forfend got halfway through the thought that maybe something was wrong with him when Kagoshi lashed out with his fists.

"No!" Kairi yelled too late.

The man dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, his helmeted head clanging off the wall on the way down.

"Kagoshi!" Forfend fussed.

Kagoshi leaned down and cast Light on the man's helmet. "He's still breathing. He's alive."

Forfend shouldered its way forward and crouched down.

The man was an odd combination of limp and stiff. He seemed to be trying to hold his facedown position for some reason.

Forfend carefully worked the man's helmet off and shifted him so it could look into his eyes.

He stared blankly forward into nothing.

"Uh, can you hear me?" Kagoshi asked.

Forfend touched the man's face.

Like many of the other Envema members, he bore a farmer's tan and an average build that wouldn't look out of place among any of the commoners in Tyrwedia.

"If you can hear me, my bad," Kagoshi mumbled.

The man made no acknowledgement of having been spoken to. His eyes didn't even blink.

"Hm. Well, fuck you then," Kagoshi changed his mind.

Kagoshi stepped over the man and continued down the hallway.

"He's fine. He's breathing. Whatever's happening to him, I'm sure it'll resolve itself."

Forfend lifted the man up and tossed him over its shoulder. "I cannot leave him here."

"Godsdammit," Kagoshi complained.

"How worried about him are you?" Melzaryn asked.

"Extremely," Forfend answered.

"Not at all," Kagoshi said at the same time.

"At least a little bit," Kairi piped up.

"Give me one minute." Melzaryn sighed. He coughed into his elbow and propped his staff up in front of his face, beginning a spell.

"Hey, what do you think that is?" Kairi said.

Forfend looked to where she was pointing.

There was an indent carved into the wall roughly the size and shape of a human person.

"Forfend, this might be a weird question," Kairi started, "but will you see if he fits in this?"

Forfend hummed. "I am uncertain if that is wise."

"Just let me finished with my spell," Melzaryn huffed. He coughed again, louder this time.

Forfend was beginning to worry about the severity of the poison Melzaryn had inhaled.

"I like Kairi's idea," Kagoshi grinned maliciously.

"I'm just worried there's something we're not understanding about this whole..." Kairi trailed off.

"City?" Kagoshi suggested.

"Situation," Kairi opted instead.

"Definitely Envema," Melzaryn confirmed what Forfend had already assumed. "He's got the same enchantments."

Forfend hummed.

"I don't know what will happen if you put him in the wall. You can try it if you want," Melzaryn added.

The man started to struggle in Forfend's grasp. Though, not much. It seemed like he was trying to walk even though his feet weren't on the ground.

"Oh shit, he's awake," Kagoshi remarked.

"He has been awake the entire time," Forfend corrected.

The man still seemed to be staring off into the distance.

Forfend took the battle-axe from his waist and the shield from his arm.

He didn't fight for them. He just let them be slipped away.

Melzaryn glanced around. "I think he's meant as a sentry. I think they know we're coming."

"Can you tell Eamon this man is down here?" Forfend requested.

"I can," Melzaryn said slowly. "I could tell him there's a guy under the ground near the statue of King Falco, but I don't know how much that would help. There were a lot of twists and turns to get here."

"I do not want to leave him, but I do not want to carry him into danger either," Forfend fretted.

"So tie his ass up," Kagoshi suggested.

Forfend nodded. It pulled the man off its shoulder and held him in place.

He continued to attempt to stride forward.

"Kairi, could you get the rope from my belt and tie him?" Forfend asked.

"Sure."

Kairi tried to throw the rope around the man, but he started to struggle with more vigor.

To Forfend's surprise, the man still didn't grow violent.

He did, however, slip from Forfend's grasp, duck Kairi, skirt past Kagoshi, and tuck himself into the indent in the wall.

He refused to move even when touched or tugged.

Any motion that pulled him from the wall, he immediately undid. He was determined to stand stockstill in his strange alcove.

"We do not have time for this," Forfend hissed steam. "What do we do?"

"Just leave him," Melzaryn said. "We'll come back for him."

Forfend nodded, not liking the choice but not seeing a wealth of others.

A clatter of chains rattled and a hidden door opened in the wall.

A man strode out of it with a large rucksack thrown over his shoulder.

He walked straight toward Forfend and its allies, but he didn't seem to see them. His eyes were glazed and staring forward just like the man in the alcove.

The stranger with the bag paused right in front of the other man, pulled water and hardtack from his pack, fed it to the man in the alcove, and turned back around.

He walked down the hallway past where he'd exited the hidden doorway and kept going.

Kagoshi immediately started following the man with the bag.

Forfend reluctantly tailed him.

The man stopped every little while and fed another stockstill sentry.

Forfend was unnerved by the number of them trapped down here in these winding tunnels.

Some were dressed in the black robes of the Envema mage they'd fought. Others were dressed in armored gladiator attire. Most, however, were dressed in basic leather commoners' wear, like one would use for hunting.

A few were dressed in rags, with runes much larger and more intricate than those carved in the chests of the other Envema members.

Forfend guessed they were meant as nothing more than bombs. Its core spun with sickening anxiety.

It would do whatever it could to help them, but it simply lacked the magic to do it all alone. Especially right now. It could only handle so many crises at a time.

Eventually, the man with the rucksack turned around and returned to where he'd come from, leaving the group alone in the tunnel.

Forfend and its allies kept walking.

They passed more and more Envema members tucked into indents in the wall.

Kagoshi growled at something ahead. "That's probably not good."

Forfend stared as hard as it could.

In the middle of the next crossroad, one of the Envema members lay dead.

As they approached, Forfend saw the man's head had been caved in.

Melzaryn turned left, but Forfend stopped and gazed down the right hallway.

Another dead Envema member lay just a short ways down it. And another after that.

"Can you see where that goes?" Forfend asked.

Melzaryn glanced down the hallway. "Leads to a cylindrical room under the guard tower right next to Moli's shop. We should check it out."

Forfend nodded.

Kagoshi and Kairi tromped down the hallway.

Forfend and Melzaryn followed.

Bodies littered the hallway. Many of them were missing their weapons.

Many others had those missing weapons buried in their corpses.

"Were they fighting each other?" Kairi wandered.

Forfend hummed.

The gladiator had said he'd fought. Could he have done all this?

"Why didn't they explode?" Melzaryn questioned aloud.

"Anyone else thinking trap?" Kagoshi grumbled. "Because I'm thinking trap."

They turned the corner into the cylindrical room.

Two enormous humanoid figures, Forfend's size or larger, were dead in a heap on the far side of the room.

One of them had a splintered chunk of wood through its throat.

The other had its helmet ripped off and appeared to have been bludgeoned to death with it.

There were other huge humanoids tucked into their own special indents in the wall. Twelve total indents encircled the room. All but two of the indents were still occupied.

Between the two empty alcoves, the gladiator leaned against the wall.

He was covered in blood, his chest heaving.

Forfend pushed past Kagoshi and knelt at the gladiator's side.

"Thank the gods," it said as it pressed its stone hand to his chest.

"H-hey," the gladiator managed. "Gods, that hurts." He sputtered blood.

Forfend let magic course through its body.

A warm orange glow spread across the gladiator's chest, systematically closing his most severe wounds.

"That's great," the gladiator breathed. The tension in his body began to ease. "That's so much better. Thank you."

Melzaryn coughed loudly.

The gladiator dropped the splintered length of wood he'd been gripping like a lifeline.

Forfend pulled the mundane mace it still carried from its belt and placed it in the gladiator's hand.

"Oh, thank you." He glanced the weapon over and nodded approvingly.

"What happened?" it asked.

"You know the crowd at the courthouse? I was trying to leave. As soon as I escaped the crowd, someone grabbed me and pulled me into an alleyway. They tried to knock me unconscious." The gladiator rubbed at a bloody spot on his temple. "They didn't quite manage it, but I faked it anyway because I genuinely didn't think I could fight him. At least, not as I was. No weapons on me."

Forfend nodded, listening intently.

"They brought me down here, I guess? They tried to put me in the wall for some reason. I left and whatever these things are didn't take kindly to that." He paused, looking around the room. "Odd thing is, only some of them started moving. I don't know why. I took down as many as I could, but, well, you can see how that went."

The gladiator gestured to his wounded state.

Melzaryn suddenly had a lengthy coughing bout.