The tunnel had opened up to a far better reinforced area held up by a line of arched columns that ran down the length of the tunnel. This far larger part of the tunnel allowed for the refugee convoy to move much faster.

It also allowed Frances, Timur, Aloudin, Olgakaren and Epomonia to meet with Elizabeth, Martin, Ayax and Ginger via mirror. They had occupied an alcove that had been long dug into the smoothened wall, which they now all sat in as the convoy rolled past.

“I don’t mean to dismiss this idea, Your Highness, but the idea that King Thorgoth is a reincarnated person sounds ludicrous.” The captain paused and grimaced. “Still, I can’t say that what you told me doesn’t fit into what we know.”

Timur nodded. “I completely understand, Captain. To be honest, I’m not sure myself, but I think there’s a good enough possibility that I need to bring it up. There’s just too many things that this could explain.”

Hundreds of miles away, sitting next to Elizabeth on their shared bedroll, Ayax shook her head. “It does, but there’s no evidence for it. Just because it’s a good explanation doesn’t mean it’s the right one.”

“You’re right, dear,” Elizabeth added. “However, I do think it's worth exploring this theory. We Otherworlders were summoned by the Summoner System after all. It is not so impossible to believe that the Summoner System could be used or malfunction in different ways, especially given what we now know about the Third Great War.”

“It probably shouldn’t be our first priority, however. We have a more pressing matter,” said Martin. The knight grimaced. “Frances, we’ve been looking into finding a place where you can take the refugees and we can’t find one. In addition, we just got news that Erlenberg has had to put refugees outside of its walls as it can’t build enough housing fast enough.”

Shock and dismay spread through the group in Alavaria as they stared at Frances’s mirror.

“But, then where can we go?” Timur stammered.

“Continue heading to Kwent. You should be able to stay there for some time,” said Elizabeth.

“Can’t we just stay with the Lighting Battalion for some time?” Frances asked.

Ginger shook her head. “Children in an army camp is a recipe for disaster and well, we have enough children here already.”

“We will find somewhere for you all. Just focus on getting through the Greenway safely alright?” Martin said, his tone firm and solemn.

Frances nodded. She trusted her friends, and she knew they’d do their best.

Frances has expectations on what the Greenway would look like and she was not let down.

They were deep underground. So deep that the air around them was warm from how well-insulated they were from the cold. Yet, as they approached the Greenway, the air cooled and soon Frances saw why.

It was exactly as Timur had described to her. A high vaulted ceiling that soared above her. It reminded her of a cathedral she’d seen during a school trip long ago. She couldn’t see the peak of the vault, but small ventilation holes in the ceiling let in shafts of light that lit parts of the wall. Clustering around these shafts of lights were tapestries of green. Moss, lichens and even the occasional clump of cave ferns sprawled down the walls of the Greenway. It wasn’t completely green, but unlike the warm damp of the caves, there was a cool freshness.

She was so stunned that she barely noticed that the convoy was spilling out into the Greenway, which was more than wide enough for the refugees to spread out and stare.

“It’s beautiful,” Epomonia whispered.

Olgakaren and every harpy in the group leapt into the air laughing as they soared into space. They looped and twirled gleefully, stretching their wings. Children and youths all broke free of their parents and raced across the breadth of the massive road, even wider than that of the Great Southern Road.

Nobody stopped them. The mood was infectious. After being crammed in the tight tunnels for so long, people leapt at the opportunity to just run, stretch, or just sit down on the cool stones. There were even a few couples who started to dance, whirling and twirling themselves across the flagstones that paved the Greenway.

As if on cue, Frances and Timur glanced at one another shyly. They didn’t have to speak. The young Otherworlder mage placed her hands in the Alavari prince’s and they began to slowly sashay across the stones.

“Timur, you did it,” Frances said.

Timur arched an eyebrow. “Did what?”

“You brought us to the Greenway. We’re safe.”

“Well, not entirely, Frances.” Timur glanced at Dwynalina and Anriel were were sprawled out against the wall. “We would have gotten lost if not for Dwynalina and Anriel. There were so many tunnels back there! And we still got a ways to go.”

Frances giggled. “Yes, but the hard part’s over.”

Maybe it was her giggle, but Timur’s cautious smile widened into a grin. Leaning in he rubbed her nose against hers. “Yes it is.”

A few days later in Erisdale…

Elizabeth was a very good rider, but Ayax was less so. This was why the troll mage was holding on for dear life as her girlfriend guided their two-horse chariot down Erisdale’s roads.

“Liz, can you not slow down a little, please?” Ayax whined.

The Otherworlder nodded and pulled the horses back just a bit, much to Ayax’s relief.

“Sorry dear, I was trying to make better time to the Temple of the Otherworlders.”

Ayax waved her off. “That’s fine. I understand why. We need to look into what Frances and Timur found and we ought to do it quickly. We need to get back to the Lightning Battalion after all,” said the troll.

“Indeed. I didn’t actually consider that actually,” said Elizabeth, smiling to herself.

Ayax blinked. “Huh? Then why are we trying to get to the Temple so quickly?”

The Otherworlder pursed her lips, her smile fading. “To be honest, the more I’ve thought about the theory we have, the less I believe it. There are signs that Thorgoth is the Grey Walker, but they’re not reliable or are inconclusive. And that, along with the brief history lesson Timur gave us… it has alarmed me a bit.”

Not liking the tone of her girlfriend’s voice, Ayax asked, “Wouldn’t Thorgoth being the Grey Walker be a greater threat to us, Liz?”

“I thought so too, but well.” Elizabeth grunted as she yanked on the reins. The chariot swerved, cutting around a corner at breakneck speed. Ayax yelped as she slid across the seat toward the other side, but managed to stay in the basket.

“Sorry!” Elizabeth hissed. “Where was I?”

“Thorgoth. Why is he not being the Grey Walker more of a threat?” Ayax asked.

“Right. Firstly, if he wasn’t the Grey Walker, then he’d just be Thorgoth, without the advantages bestowed on him if he was a reincarnated soul, and that is a horrifying possibility.”

“Why—Oh.” Ayax swallowed. “Oh damn.”

“Mm hmm. He’d just be an Alavari king who secured his position with sheer talent and ruthlessness,” said Elizabeth. She swallowed, trying to lick her lips, sucked dry by the dust on the road. Ayax quickly uncorked a water bottle and touched it to her love’s lips.

Elizabeth drank hungrily and quickly, for the road was swerving again. Swallowing, she murmured a quick thanks while the troll corked the flask.

“Liz, you were saying that that was only the first reason,” said Ayax. She frowned. “What was the other?”

Elizabeth exhaled. “That is what I hope to answer when we get to the Temple and speak to Kellyanne and Madame Spinera.”

A few days later, at the Temple of the Otherworlders…

“Have you been back here since you were summoned, Liz?” Ayax asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. She didn’t remember the temple at all aside from the whitewashed inside. There may have been some red flags and carpets, but Elizabeth wasn’t certain.

She definitely didn’t remember the fortifications around the Temple of the Otherworlders. A low, thick wall surrounded the complex. It looked very new and as the pair approached, Elizabeth realized that sections of it were still being under construction. Scaffolding was still leaning against the walls and she could see workers still moving stone blocks to cover the face of walls.

“That might be a problem,” said the Otherworlder. She flicked the reigns and guided the carriage toward the gate. “I wanted to come here personally because I was hoping we could examine the temple and the remains of the last battle.”

“Which the fortifications have covered up,” said Ayax, making a sour face.

“Yeah. I do suppose it’s better than us being raided by Darius or Thorgoth’s troops,” said Elizabeth.

They passed through the guarded gate without much fuss and were left to make their way to the temple itself. Despite the military presence, it was surprisingly quiet, and Elizabeth suspected it had to do with the temple itself.

To Elizabeth’s eye, the architecture of the temple didn’t make sense. She’d learnt a lot about fortifications since coming to Durannon and there were a number of things that seemed just off about the structure. For one, the Temple soared into the sky, and it had so many huge glass windows in its thin walls that it looked like a good breeze could blow it over. Moreover, unlike the European cathedrals she’d remembered from Earth, there were no flying buttresses on the outside to support the structure. The roof, which any engineer or architect would have made a high arch to spread the weight, was flat.

Elizabeth couldn’t deny the effect of the windows on the inside of the temple. The moment she and Ayax entered the temple, they found the red-carpeted inside saturated with the orange glow of the setting sun.

Two women stood near the doorway, discussing something in hushed tones.

“Master Kellyanne? Madame Spinera? I’m Elizabeth,” said the Otherworlder, extending a hand.

Both women smiled. Madame Spinera dipping her black hat, and Kellyanne shaking Elizabeth and Ayax’s hands.

“You had a long trip, don’t you want to get some rest?” Kellyanne asked.

“We don’t have much time. We need to get back to the Lightning Battalion as quickly as possible,” said Ayax. She winced her lips. “My apologies. We’d love to rest but its well, dire.”

“As it has been, Ayax. We do understand,” said Spinera meaningfully. She gestured to the altar. “Why don’t we show you the altar and what we’ve found?”

“Thank you, Madame Spinera,” said Elizabeth.

“We should be thanking you and your friends Elizabeth for taking in all those poor orphans,” said Kellyanne. She grimaced. “It’s a disgrace that Earl Forowena and King Jerome were not able to find anywhere for them.”

Elizabeth scratched the back of her head, unable to hide her sheepish smile. Ayax merely looked away, choosing to examine the temple.

“I wonder what my parents would have said if they could see this,” Ayax mused.

“They’d probably be quite astounded,” said Kellyanne. She led the girls through the foyer of the temple and into the main space. “As you probably can tell from the construction outside, our discoveries were limited, but there is something intriguing about the altar itself.”

Stopping in front of the marble altar, Elizabeth first noticed that unlike say the church she’d gone to as a child, the altar wasn’t raised on some dais. It was a just a very large black granite block set in the ground.

It was also strangely polished. It shone like it was polished, despite the coarseness of its edges. The Otherworlder raised her hand and reached out to touch the object, glancing at Kellyanne and Spinera.

“Go ahead. Nobody’s ever damaged it. The Grey Walker tried, and he failed, miserably,” said Spinera.

“We heard that he might have been trying to weaponize it from Prince Timur,” said Ayax in a cautious voice.

“I’ve read accounts of that too, and that’s what we wanted to show you.” Spinera used her staff to tap a point on the rock. “Touch that over here, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth did so.

The first thing she noticed was that the stone was ice-cold. The next was that it was thrumming under her touch.

Finally, she suddenly realized that the stone was just the teeniest bit marked. She could feel a hairline crack, no longer than her thumb and so slight she could barely get her fingernails in it.

“That’s what the Grey Walker did to the altar, Elizabeth. He tried to weaponize or destroy it and frankly all he could do was that,” said Spinera. “We know that from our documents of those that examined the altar after the attack. He did nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

Ayax and Elizabeth glanced at one another. That didn’t exclude Thorgoth from being the Grey Walker reincarnated, but it did confirm that whatever had killed the Grey Walker, it had been rather violent.

“Then what caused the earthquake Timur mentioned and why haven’t we heard anything about it?” Elizabeth asked.

“I’m not sure. Aside from examinations of the temple before the Third Great War, most of our records are pretty vague and with Salpheron under siege, and the capital in Earl Darius’s hands, my resources were limited. I do think we’ll find more records, but the sheer chaos of that age prevented much of the accounts from being properly filed and preserved,” said Spinera. Crossing her arms, the librarian-mage coughed officiously. “You must remember that the Kingdoms of Lapanteria, Roranoak and Erisdale arose from what essentially was anarchy. There wasn’t an interest or time to document what happened until those kingdoms had stabilised.”

“So there wasn’t an agenda against telling the story of humanity almost being defeated by Alavaria?” Ayax asked, arching an eyebrow.

Kellyanne frowned, but Spinera chuckled. “Oh no, there definitely was. I’m just pointing out that there are other factors. History can be quite complicated. Not all misconceptions about our past are malicious in nature.”

It was at this point that the librarian gestured with her staff toward the end of the temple. “However, while searching the temple for any clues, we came across something we think you ought to see.”

They small group marched on, past the altar to the very end of the temple, and that was when Elizabeth and Ayax saw it.

It was a ring handle, set into a small divot in the stone floor. Part of the carpet had been moved to reveal the stone door, but Elizabeth realized why nobody had saw this earlier. The door was set along the side of the temple’s walls. Nobody would have really been looking there.

“We tried to open it, and it’s not a problem with the door,” said Kellyanne. Taking a deep breath, she pointed at the door and cast a spell. Before their eyes, the door flashed, blinding them.

And then suddenly, it was a normal-looking stone door again.

“There’s an enchantment on it that we think only allows an Otherworlder to open it,” said Spinera. “Want to give it a try, Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth shrugged and walked forward. Taking a grip of the handle, she gave it a pull.

Only for nothing to happen.

Spinera spluttered. “Wait, what? Are you pulling hard enough?”

Elizabeth braced herself again and gave the door another yank. “Nope. It’s stuck.”

“Seriously? Damn. That was the only thing we could find,” said Kellyanne. Wringing her hands, the vice-headmistress examined the door again. “Who would it open to?”

“We were hoping you would know,” said Ayax. “How was the Temple of the Otherworlders created anyway?”

“Legend says that when Archon Nimlen, King Alan, Queen Yalisa and Queen Moragon all combined their magic to summon the Otherworlders, they used a stone, the altar as a focal point. As the first Otherworlders were summoned, the temple rose around them. It’s a very magically suffused structure. For one, the White Order’s guarded this for years and we’ve never had to do any maintenance on it,” said Kellyanne.

Ayax blinked. “Wait, King Alan, Yalisa and Moragan created the Temple of the Otherworlders?”

“You don’t know that?”

Ayax shook her head. “Our stories say they summoned the first ones. We never heard that they actually built the temple. Most of the tales I’ve heard say that the humans built it after the first Otherworlders were summoned.” The troll grimaced. “I can see why we wouldn’t want to talk about it, but that’s odd.”

“Hmm, to the topic of the door. I’m more confused as to why this door is here at all. Why would you build a door that won’t open except to a select few people? And for that matter, who of all people?” Elizabeth mused.

“Sorry, Liz, I lost you at “who of all people.” Why wouldn’t someone want to make a secret door?” Ayax asked.

“Sorry dear, I mean… what’s so important that you would need to invest so much magic to hide and protect it. For that matter, who is so important that you need only them and only them to have access to this door?” Elizabeth asked. Reaching down, she tried to pull the door again and found just as much success as she had on the first time. So, the Otherworlder straightened up and closed her eyes. “We might have one more option that doesn’t include destroying the door.”

“Oh? What option, Elizabeth?” Kellyanne asked.

“It’s just an idea, but…Well. Can doors in Durannon be coded to someone’s bloodline?” Elizabeth asked.

“Well, yes, but—Oh.” The vice-headmistress pinched her forehead. “You’d like Prince Timur to give it a try?”

“He’s descended from the line of Queen Moragon and King Alan. So, unless we have a member of Archon Nimlen’s bloodline, he’s our only hope,” said Elizabeth.

“We’ll have no chance of getting anybody from Archon Nimle’s descent. He never birthed or fathered any children.”

Elizabeth blinked. “Eh?”

“Archon Nimlen was born a woman, but transitioned,” said Kellyanne matter-of-factly. “Is that not common where you’re from Elizabeth?”

“Well, it’s um. It’s controversial,” Elizabeth stammered. “It’s common in Durannon? I’ve never seen it.”

“It’s fairly unremarked on in Erisdale and Lapanteria. It’s more remarked on in Roranoak and Alavaria,” said Spinera. She waved her hand. “Returning to the point. We need to get Timur here as soon as possible.”

“Well, he and Frances have gotten to the Greenway. We’ll let them know. In the meantime, can you show us the records you do have? Maybe we’ll find something you didn’t notice. We have about two days before we need to return,” said Elizabeth.

“Let’s make it count then,” said Kellyanne, cracking her fingers, including her extra sixth.

Two days later…

While this had all been happening, Martin and Ginger had just been sitting in the battalion’s command tent. Both of them were reviewing logistics and a number of requests from their company and regiment commanders.

It was tedious work, which was why the couple were bantering.

“Gwen?” Martin asked.

“Hmm, I prefer Gwendolyn,” said Ginger.

“Gawain?” Ginger asked.

Martin looked up from the letter he was reading. “Isn’t that a boy’s name?”

“It’s just usually a boy’s name. If we use it for enough girls, it’ll be a girl’s name,” Ginger countered.

“True, though I don’t know if I like it—” Martin frowned as the tent flap flew open and a harpy youth stumbled into the tent. Not even a breath later, two wide eyed scouts, a human and a goblin charged in.

“Sorry commander, but you need to hear her out,” gasped the human.

“Jessop? Why do—sorry.” Ginger got to her feet, hands on her hips. “Nevermind, Diane, what happened?”

“I saw—I saw—” The harpy shivered. “Humans. Leaving Salpheron. Heading after Elizabeth. Heading here.”

Martin’s communication pendant suddenly shook. Grabbing onto it, the knight squeezed it to activate it.

“Martin, it’s Edana. Earl Darius is looking like he’s lifting the siege of Salpheron and coming after you. We’re going to try to delay him but he’s fortified his siege lines,” said Edana.

“Thanks for the heads up, Master! Talk to you later,” Martin snapped. He sprang to his feet and smiled grimly. “Diane, good job. I won’t even ask why you were accompanying the scouts in the first place.”

The harpy had the sense to look a little abashed.

“Hey, give her a break dear,” said Ginger. She bent down, smiling at the harpy. “You were just trying to be useful weren’t you?”

“How—Yeah,” said Diane softly.

“Thank you, but it’s also fine to stay safe too, Diane. Now go and get your friends together. We’ll have to move soon,” said Ginger. The harpy nodded and hurried off, and the ex-convict turned to the two scouts. “How many did she find?”

Bellaria, the goblin scout, spoke up. “It looks like a cavalry group of a five hundred are heading after Elizabeth and Ayax and an army of about nine thousand of Darius’s fifteen thousand are coming after us.”

Martin winced, whilst Ginger sighed heavily. Even after being reinforced and expanded, the Lightning Battalion only had about eight hundred cavalry, a thousand two-hundred infantry and five cannons. They were a potent force, and most of the infantry had horses, but they had no chance against nine thousand soldiers.

“Edana and the Salpheron garrison won’t be able to break through. At least not easily,” said Martin. He glanced at Ginger. “Right, we’re in command. We’re sending a hundred cavalry to Elizabeth and Ayax so they can get out of there. They should be at the Temple of the Otherworlders now and there’s a garrison there anyway.”

“Meanwhile, we’ll take the Lightning Battalion and get the hell out of here. Lead them away from the Temple and towards Leipmont and Kwent,” said Ginger.

Martin nodded and with a nod to the two scouts, he and Ginger stormed out of the tent. “Sounds good. Let’s get going!”

Meanwhile…

“You want to know everything we know about Thorgoth?” Anriel asked, arching an eyebrow.

Timur and Frances bobbed their heads from where they sat across the two elderly adventurers. It was dinnertime, or at least, people had found it hungry enough to sit down and break out dinner. On occasion, they found ventilation shafts dug long ago to let air into the tunnels, but it was nigh impossible to see the sky from these winding shafts.

“We’re wondering some things about my father,” said Timur.

Frances winced. As innocently as he tried to put it, her boyfriend did have a horrible poker face and his smile was just too forced.

Dwynalina put her bowl down. “Why us though?”

“Well, you’re the only people we know who actually lived through The Great Strife and survived,” said Timur.

The two women exchanged a glance that told an entire debate, before both sighing.

“What we know of Thorgoth isn’t something we like discussing,” said Anriel.

“Mostly because we very much liked him before we started to realize what kind of Alavari he was,” said Dwynalina.

Frances couldn’t stop a wan smile creeping onto her face. “That seems like a frighteningly common occurrence.”

That elicited a series of chuckles from all present, even Timur.

“What do you know about your father, Timur? I and Dwynalina don’t want to re-tread ground,” said Anriel.

The prince crossed his arms. “Well, I recently found out that Thorgoth fought in the Strife, where he probably killed his brother and sister and definitely killed my grandfather King Tagus. I don’t know very much about how he rose to power, though.”

“Hmm, well let me clear something up for you,” said Anriel. “We were just starting to make our mark on Alavaria as Thorgoth was growing up. So when The Great Strife happened during our later years. It was the last of our adventures.”

“And the war that made us stop adventuring,” said Dwynalina in a cool tone. “Before the Great Strife, when Queen Talya ruled, there was general peace across the realm. Oh we had bandits, rogue mages and the Great Dragon Invasion, but nothing like the Strife. It was the crucible that burned us so badly, we decided never to intervene in the affairs of the kingdom again.”

Dwynalina glanced as if expecting a response, but Anriel only gave her longtime partner a smile filled with melancholy.

“I wouldn’t put it that way, but you are right dear. We came into the Strife as heroines in our prime and left old women. As for Thorgoth, that crucible forged him into a weapon of hatred, directed squarely at the Human Kingdoms.”

“Wait, why? I thought the Strife was between the different families of Alavaria?” Frances asked.

The light from their lamps flickering off her violet eyes, Dwynalina fixed Frances with a stern gaze. “In many people’s eyes, the Great Strife was caused by the Otherworlder System.”