“However…”

Jake’s heart leaped into his throat. Was there still a chance?

A sly smile spread across Yana the Dragon’s lips. “I shall accompany you on a vacation. Goblins, trolls, and demons, you said? Tell me more.”

Diplomacy skill increased 1 → 2!

For again pushing a leader into action with disrespect, you are awarded the trait Ignoble Brinkmanship. Your Charisma, Bluff, and Bargaining bonuses are doubled when insulting those more powerful than you.

Jake blinked. Another trait, and one that was awfully specific. Was this Gok’s idea of a joke? Whatever. He had better things to do than to be sassed by a Virtual Intelligence. He checked out the Diplomacy perks again.

Grandiose (0/5): Increases skill in impressing, intimidating, or otherwise winning over others with displays of wealth or power.

Smooth Over (0/5): Increases skill in negating or working around diplomatic problems and incidents.

Social Graces (0/5): Increases skill and awareness in navigating social graces, especially with higher levels of society.

Charisma (0/5): Increases skill in charming others.

Bluff (0/5): Increases skill in bluffing others.

Bargaining (0/5): Increases skill in bargaining with others.

Yana alone might turn the tide, but the more of them he could convince to follow, the better. He put a point into Charisma and relayed what limited information he and Luther had gathered. No need to spice it up, it already promised a hellish battle. He topped it off by describing the storm cloud that had formed, its dark magic, and the creepy face that had stared out of it.

Yana clenched up, gripping her staff tight. “The eyes. What color were the eyes?”

“Purple.” Ice ran down Jake’s spine. What little warmth there was in the air vanished. “They glowed purple.”

The color drained from Yana’s face. “The Transcendent Destroyer.”

Every Battlemage in the room recoiled. Powerful warriors who couldn’t die, and it had them spooked?

Well. Fuck.

He swallowed. They’d deal with it, somehow. “What is the Transcendent Destroyer?”

Yana frowned at him. “I should not be surprised it has been forgotten. Even in my time, the Destroyer was not well known. It might be nothing. This might not be the Destroyer.”

Jake’s chest pulled tight. No way they’d be that lucky. “And if it is?”

She lifted her chin and stretched her lips out into what vaguely resembled a smile. “Then we shall have a battle worthy of any warrior. What do you know of the Zelnari?”

The murals in the Zelnari ruins sprung to mind. “Not a lot.”

“And what of their fall?”

Jake’s heartbeat pounded in his ears and his breathing quickened. It couldn’t be. “A little. A Zelnari caster opened a purple portal. A beast destroyed their cities.”

Yana raised an eyebrow and gave him an expectant look.

He swallowed. What was she implying? “Portals aren’t normally blue, not unless they’re telepathic. One of their mages unleashed a presence that took control and destroyed everything.”

“The Transcendent Destroyer.”

Just when he’d started to get a handle on the world, it kicked him in the nuts, yet again. “How did they defeat it?”

“They could not. They lured it into a trap and sealed it away, supposedly forever.”

Had the Zelnari themselves been the bait? Was that where they had all gone? A void clawed at his stomach. “And now it’s back.”

“That remains to be determined. You saw no physical form, correct?”

“Right.” Jake bit his lip. “You think it’s still sealed away?”

“Were the Destroyer at full strength, you would have been disintegrated instantaneously.”

That was… strangely reassuring. If all of the Zelnari had sacrificed themselves to stop it, what could he do against it? “We’ll have to hope it stays that way. So, how many of you are up for a little vacation?”

Twenty-four hooded battlemages stepped forward.

Jake smiled. The reinforcements were ready, now to take them back. “The battle’s nigh, so I’ll have to Teleport you to Valbort’s portal stone. Gather around me, please.”

Twenty-five orcs and him squishing into a ten-foot radius was easier than expected. Good thing they were wearing robes rather than bulky plate.

Was Gramok okay? His stomach quivered. Was Cara safe? No. He sighed. Of course she wasn’t safe. Alive, that was the best he could hope for.

“All ready?”

Yana nodded, and he cast the spell. The Teleport effect linked up to the portal stone, which yanked control away from Jake. It pulled them across the world and down into the town below.

The world lurched. Jake stumbled into one of the battlemages, barely moving them at all. He looked around. No guards, no one to greet them. “Wait here.”

He walked out into the kill-zone room. No guards there either, no one manning the murder holes above. Questions gnawed at his stomach. Even with Luther’s trust, he’d expected some guards here.

The metal door was firmly shut, with no handle on this side. No worries. He cast a short-range Teleport. “Raka-fa!”

Nothing happened. He frowned. The runes blocked the Teleport effect. Footsteps clicked against the stone behind him.

Yana approached with a bemused smile. “They are aware that we are coming, Deputy Mage Jacob, son of Eric?”

Jake’s blood ran cold. His hands clenched into fists. “Where did you get that name from?”

The smile vanished. “That is your dwarven name. What would you prefer to be known as?”

“Jake.” He breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. “Jake is fine.”

“Very well, Jake. My question stands.”

The lump in his throat grew alongside the awkward silence. “About that…”

Boom! The entire room shook. The enemy was early. The battle had already begun, and they were stuck underground.

***

Cara finished going over her report for the third time and remembered to breathe. She leaned back, sucked in air, and waited for Elivala to demand she go over it yet again. Every detail might well be important, but, really? Three times!

Jeremy had that dark look on his face. At least this time, it wasn’t about her. “Rebirth, or some twisted form of it. It’s worse than we feared.”

Elivala nodded. “Indeed. And now our best scouting squad is without a Prowler.”

“It wasn’t his fault.” The words blurted out before Cara could stop them. “His plan sucked and he could have just followed orders, but without him, we’d have missed an opportunity.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Cara defending Phelan. A welcome first, for a change.”

She refused to meet his gaze. “He fought bravely. Not that he should ever have been made a Prowler.”

Elivala lifted her chin and focused on Cara, ignoring Jeremy’s pointed glares in her direction. “With all the new Lookouts, we require new Prowlers. Prowlers with proven combat experience.”

Jeremy turned back to Cara and smirked. He never smirked! What was going on? “Prowlers who have earned the respect of their squad.”

“Prowlers who can get the best out of those under their command.”

They couldn’t be suggesting—? Cara blinked rapidly and shook her head. “No, no, no, no, no! I can’t. What about Aidan? Aidan’s smart! He’s dependable! They trust him!”

“Aidan.” Elivala’s steely gaze burrowed into Cara. “Would Aidan have brought back this knowledge?”

Cara looked away. “He’d have brought everyone back in one piece.”

Elivala bowed her head. “Think on it, Cara. And get some rest, you look exhausted.”

“I… I will.” She pulled herself to her feet. Even for a wood elf, going this long without sleep was pushing it. “Keeper, Prowler.” She nodded her head to them both and set off for the mess hall. If Gramok wasn’t busy, he’d be there.

A warm bellow greeted her the moment she stepped inside the tree. “Cara!” Gramok grinned at her, reclined upon one of the benches, his back leaning against the table. Did he ever take that overly shiny armor off? “How was the mission?”

“Alright, mostly.” She grabbed a bowl of proper mushrooms and a plate of meat, and staggered over to sit beside him. “How’s the Forest treating you?”

“Not so bad. Spent a while drilling rangers on how to fight in melee. You’d think some of them had never seen a real sword before.” He paused and looked her up and down. “What’s on your mind?”

Was it really that obvious? “They…” She shrugged. It was insane. How could they think this was a good idea? “They’re desperate enough to make me a Prowler.”

“And you said yes, right? Right…?”

She glowered back at him. “Of course not.”

“Why not?”

“Why not?” She couldn’t help but laugh. “By the Great Tree, have you ever met me?”

For once, Gramok wasn’t laughing, not even grinning. “I have, and that’s why I ask, why not?”

She swallowed. He was actually serious, wasn’t he? “I’m not cut out to lead! I can barely keep track of my own shit, let alone other people’s! Did I ever tell you how I left Jake behind in the Forest because I forgot he was following me?”

A warm smile spread across his face. “Yeah, Jake told me about that. Do you know what he said?”

Of course Jake had told him that story. Cara sighed and looked away. “What?”

“That it was his fault.”

Cara turned and stared at Gramok. That made no sense. “It was my fault! I’m the one who forgot.”

“And who didn’t say anything? Jake.”

She rolled her eyes. “What’s your point?”

“Leadership is about getting the best out of others. Jake’s… well, Jake, but your Lookouts are trained rangers. Let them help you, Cara.”

It wasn’t that easy. She scowled down at the food and shoved it in her mouth. Why did the world have to be so stupid? That Gramok was right only made it worse. At least there was proper food here.

They ate in silence. When Cara was done licking her fingers clean, she cleared away her plate and bowl. Why did they have to clatter so loudly?

On the way out, she paused and looked back. “Gramok? Thank you. For everything.”

“Anytime, anywhere.”

She hauled herself away and headed home. He was a knight and the son of a lord. He had to know something about leadership. But even if she could do it, she wasn’t ready.

Was anyone ever ready?

Home. She pushed open the door and walked inside the lifeless room. Everything was exactly as she’d left it, but nothing was the same. Her heart fluttered. How long before Jake came home?

Not that this was it. One day, if everything went right, he’d be gone for good.

She placed her pack on the bed and pulled out the little nest. “You’re not going to leave me, are you, my darling little girl?”

Squeak! Squeak! Nibbles raced up her arm and gnawed at her ear.

“You missed that, huh?”

Squeak! The gnawing stopped. Nibbles ran back down her arm and looked around. Her tiny little nose sniffed at the air, searching for the scent that should have been there but wasn’t. Squeak! Squeak!

The dull ache in her heart flared up again. “I miss him, too. He’ll be back as soon as he can.” He damned well better be.

She flopped down onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The tree-song faded, taking away its grief and leaving her alone with the void in her heart.

***

The stone pinched against Jake’s sides as he squeezed through the gap. Had the dwarves really needed to ward the room against teleportation and all forms of telepathy?

Kratgok the Hammer pushed from behind while Jake shoved against the top and bottom of the barricade. Pain pinched against his sides. Why couldn’t there have been a more dignified way through?

Because the dwarves who would have met them were presumably fighting for their lives. Jake took a deep breath and pushed again. They had to get through.

He broke through and tumbled to the floor. Finally. He picked himself up, walked around, and opened up the heavily runed metal door. “Welcome to Valbort.”

Problem one out of the way. Problem two: how to get them into the battle without freaking the crap out of the dwarves. Well, at least without it turning into a three-way brawl.

Yana wove purple perception magic in her hands and cast a spell. All of the battlemages transformed into heavily armored dwarf guards.

Jake scratched his head. The style on the armor was a bit wrong, but who’d notice in the heat of battle? “Nice. Let’s go.”

He led them up the narrow staircase to the heart of the keep, and a half dozen guards on high alert. They did a double-take and formed up for battle. The sergeant barked, “Halt! Who goes there?”

Twenty-five orc battlemages and the idiot who smuggled in them was probably the wrong answer here. “Deputy Mage Jacob, son of Eric.” The name was ash in his mouth, but now wasn’t the time for sentimentality. “I bring reinforcements for the front line.”

A pause. Technically, it was completely true. Would the dwarves buy it? Where did Deputy Mage rank in the hierarchy, anyway?

“Let them pass!” The spears pointed back up to the ceiling. “Get to your station, soldiers!”

Jake nodded and turned to his “soldiers.” “Move it, men!”

He led them outside, straining to keep it together. The sooner they found Luther, the sooner they could drop this ridiculous charade. Why did they have to make it so damned hard to save them?

The heart of the battle. That’s where they had to go, where they’d find Luther. But where was that?

Jake bit his lip and swallowed hard. An acrid taste filled his mouth. All they had to do was follow the smoke.