Rory had been right. He had been unable to secure himself a proper night of sleep, and when daybreak arrived and it was time for the Homeworlders to depart, he felt more tired than ever. Unfortunately, there was no time to catch up on missing sleep. True rest was only reserved for the dead, and Rory had no intention of joining the departed just yet.

“How are you going to get back to Mirrorend?” Rory asked Sylvia and her companions. “You aren’t going to walk all the way back there, are you?”

“We’ll figure something out,” she said. There was that shiftiness about her that he had noticed yesterday when she had spoken about the preparation of Mirrorend. “But don’t worry, we’ll be fine, now that you’ve helped us. We’re very grateful for it.”

“That we are,” Shen said, bowing his head.

“You sure you don’t want to join us?” Linus asked.

“We’re sure,” Rory said.

“Maybe you guys just need some time to properly consider it. Weigh all the cons against the pros. See all that you have to gain. Maybe—”

“We’ve made our decision.” Viv said firmly. “Weren’t you all leaving?”

Rory laughed a little. “Before you go, I thought you could take one more thing to help establish the trading deal faster.”

“Oh yeah?” Sylvia raised her eyebrows at Rory after glaring at Linus. “What’s that?”

Rory stepped away from the others. He needed to figure out a proper Sigil for them, which he hadn’t yet. All he knew was that he wanted them to take a Sigil that they normally wouldn’t be able to obtain by themselves. That meant Weaving something different, specifically focusing on a property that wasn’t normally expected.

Eventually, Rory found himself next to the ashes of the ones they had cremated. He hesitated for only a moment. This was nothing more than ash. There was no reason to entertain second thoughts.

The lines of Rory’s Weaving landed on the grey powder. He focused on the idea of bodies burning away, their only leavings the ash. They all dissolved into more light, every bit of it returning and coalescing on Rory’s outstretched palm. Soon enough, he had a silver Sigil in his hand. The image on it showed fiery black sparks flying everywhere.

New Sigil!

You’ve obtained a Sigil of Dead Ash. Summon the remains of the departed and relive the glory of their lives. Respect the dead.

[Cerulean VII] allows creation, manipulation, and imbuing of element in a 17-meter radius. Dead Ash has necromantic properties.

Stats

Type: Element

Rarity: Exceptional

Tier: Cerulean VII [0%]

Efficiency: High [62%]

Rory handed the new Sigil to Sylvia, who, along with her companions, was watching him with wide eyes. He simply smiled at their awe.

“Wow,” Sylvia said when she had finally read the Sigil’s description. “Can you basically make a Sigil from anything?”

Rory figured there was no point in hiding things since he was revealing everything in the letter. Well, every salient point regarding his capabilities, at least. “Yes, almost. I can Weave most things into Sigils, and as you can see, I can often obtain very surprising results.”

“You sure can,” Shen said after taking a look at the new Sigil too. “Who would have guessed that you could obtain a Sigil like this from cremated ashes.”

Viv smiled proudly at Rory. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

The Homeworlders thanked Rory and Viv one last time, before finally turning to leave.

New Achievement!

Friend In Need! You have successfully assisted others at the cost of potentially harming your future goals. Your generosity is exemplary.

Rewards

All allied party members will receive same boons as permanent party members

Rory watched them walk past the ruins of the gate and dwindle along the driveway. Ned and Allen had been standing at guard on either side of the gate’s columns. Rory nodded at them both. They nodded back.

Ned waited for a minute or two, then summoned his Burnwing appendages. As he flew off, making as little noise as possible, Rory peered at him with slight concern. He could see the spots where the Hooktongue’s scales were growing over Ned’s skin around his shoulders and neck. There were likely more places hidden beneath his clothes. Even worse, his eyes had sharpened to vertical slits.

Rory wished he’d been mistaken when he’d spotted the changes, but he didn’t doubt himself. Ned himself had reported the transformations, after all. It was concerning that his Sigil of the Hooktongue was transforming him in ways beyond his direct control.

For now, Rory focused on the present. Allen had slipped away as well. While Ned stayed out of sight by taking to the air, Allen was using the trees to conceal his presence. Despite their positive experience with the Homeworlders, Rory and the others were still making sure they actually left the palace’s premises. He just wanted to be wholly certain. Maybe it was a little bit paranoid, but one couldn’t be too careful.

“Want to bet that at least one of them wants to stay behind?” Viv asked with a little grin.

“Those are terrible betting terms.” Rory smiled back. “We can’t prove however many of them might want to stay behind. I’d want to stay behind if I were them. We’re awesome here.”

Viv laughed. “Fair point. But fine, let’s change it up then. One of them will try to stay behind, thinking they can hide away somewhere we won’t spot them.”

“In the palace grounds?”

“In the palace grounds.”

“Bold claims, my lady. What are you willing to wager?”

“What are your terms?”

Rory rubbed his chin. “Hmm, I’m thinking they might stay behind somewhere nearby and keep watch from a distance.”

“Well, we’re going to find out soon. I wager one meal preparation.”

“Aren’t you playing low. Fine, I accept your terms. If they—”

There was a sudden shout from down the driveway. They both turned, Rory’s heart pitter-pattering in his chest as he watched Ned zip back towards them. He didn’t care that his rocket-ended wings were making an enormous racket as he shot towards them.

“There are monsters outside,” he shouted before he got close enough so that he could lower his voice to a normal volume. “They’re attacking the Homeworlders.”

That was all it took to get them going. Rory shouted at anyone nearby to accompany him, but there was no time to check who joined up. Viv was already running after Ned, who had flown away, and Rory followed as best as he could on his old legs. Trish and some of the others passed him by, but he didn’t mind, huffing and puffing as he did his best to catch up to them.

They came to a stop just inside the Safe Zone’s shimmering boundary. When Rory was finally near enough to see what was going on, he jerked to a hard stop. The sight ahead left him a little flabbergasted.

The Homeworlders were indeed being attacked by monsters. Many, many monsters. But they weren’t in any immediate danger. Rory and his group were now audience to the sheer extent of the Homeworlders’ true powers.

Sylvia had summoned a plethora of weapons. There was an ethereal crossbow strapped to her right forearm, accompanied by a longsword in the hand of the same limb. Her other hand swung around a mace with vicious spikes around its spherical head. A strange, dark lightning flickered all over her body too.

None of the monsters that were attacking came close to landing even the slightest blow on her. Her mace smashed into an Emberteeth to turn it into bloody, crushed, and flaming pulp. When a Rockback tried to attack from the rear, Sylvia’s sudden whirl with her longsword chopped the creature in half. A Dreadraptor tried to dive-bomb her, but a quick, perfectly-placed crossbow bolt took care of that.

Rory’s eyes widened when the bolt exploded into a net of dark lightning upon immediate contact with the large bird-monster. That was the exact kind of bow he wanted for Ned.

The other Homeworlders were no less shabby. Shen was covered in what looked like rocky armour, doubling his mass and size as he battled a group of Emberteeth. Nearby, Linus had glowing balls of green fire blasting furious flaming streams at serpentine creatures Rory recalled seeing once when Trish and Allen had dragged it into the palace grounds.

“They don’t look like they need our help,” Trish said. “False call, Ned.”

“No.” Ned shook his head emphatically. “You all just can’t see it from the ground. These are only the preliminary monsters. There’s a much larger group headed this way, and I think they’re all here to destroy the Homeworlders.”

“How large are we talking about?”

“Too many. Way too many. I can’t count them all, but the group they’re fighting is only about a tenth of the size of the real one.”

Trish cursed, and Rory felt like emulating her. Good as the Homeworlders were, no one was strong enough to take on so many Otherworlders at the same time in such small numbers. Even worse, none of them could just go out and provide reinforcements. The Homeworlders were out of the bunds of the palace grounds. Rory’s group couldn’t assist without looking like they were affecting the war itself, something they were keen not to do.

Rory pressed his lips together. This was almost starting to look like some kind of twisted test. If they really intended to remain neutral, they’d return and let the Homeworlders meet whatever fate awaited them.

But even aside the fact that watching fellow humans get annihilated like that was reprehensible, these Homeworlders carried the all-important missive to Mirrorend. Rory couldn’t let that fail or fall into the wrong hands. There might not be any sign of elves, dwarves, or any of the Otherworlder Coalition who formed the other side of the war, but they might be watching.

“This has to be the worst conundrum possible,” Viv said.

Trish summoned her axe. “Screw it. Can’t we just go and help them?”

She was raring to take the step forward. A part of Rory was too. But interfering wasn’t a good possibility. Their whole idea was based around not interfering in the war.

Then again, maybe there was a way.

“Call them in,” Rory said. “Ned, go fly to them and tell them they have to retreat before the main monster group reaches them. Remind them that the palace is always open to friends.”

Ned started flying off, but then came to a sudden halt. Rory could see why. The main, larger army of monsters were nearly upon the Homeworlders. There was no time to waste.

“Ned!” he shouted. “Get going.”

“What are you waiting for?” Allen asked. “The monsters are here!”

“It’s not the monsters,” Ned said, still not moving. “I don’t think I have to move.”

Rory frowned. “What?”

“There are other people here. And they’re… killing the monsters?”

Rory didn’t understand why he sounded confused. Killing monsters wasn’t a variable. Either they were dying, or they weren’t.

But then, the source of Ned’s confusion became clear.

“Those aren’t Homeworlders killing the other monsters,” Viv said, sounding both confused and a little afraid. “They’re… Otherworlders?”

The terminology was a little confusing. Rory had to remind himself that Otherworlders technically referred to any creatures that weren’t native to his world. But there was a significant difference between the monsters filling up Hillhard and the team of elves, dwarves, giants, and kobolds who formed the faction going to war against humans. That group was generally called Otherworlders.

And it was that very faction attacking the monsters. They were helping the Homeworlders. They were saving their enemy.

Rory tried to see if there was something he hadn’t considered yet. The party attacking the monstrous army from the back consisted of a large number of elves in mech suits, some dwarves firing strange weapons from a distance, and even a giant in ragged clothes tromping through the monsters. They’d caught the other creatures by surprise, throwing the entire line of monsters into disarray and wreaking massive annihilation in their ranks.

After dealing with their smaller group, the Homeworlders joined in on the effort to destroy the larger one. Rory could hardly believe his eyes. It took only a few more minutes before the entire army of monsters, a gathering that he and his entire group would have been hard-pressed to fend off altogether, was gone.

The monsters were dead.

“What’s going on?” Trish asked. “Why were they helping?”

“Maybe they’re not affiliated with the Otherworlders who want to kill the Homeworlders,” Diane suggested.

“Or maybe this was an elaborate test conducted by both parties to determine just how neutral we really were,” Miles said

Several of the others stared at him.

“That’s too devious to be true,” Viv said. But she grinned at him. “I like your way of thinking, though.”

Rory had no answer either. All he could determine was that there was a short talk between the Homeworlders and the Otherworlders after the battle was over. Surrounded by monstrous corpses on every side, the Homeworlders seemed to come to some sort of deal with the Otherworlders. Then they finally left.

It seemed the incident was coming to a close, but the Otherworlders didn’t leave. Instead, they started approaching the palace. Not good.

Rory sighed. “Everyone, stay alert. I have no idea how this will go.”

The others tensed as they noticed their latest guests coming towards the palace. It was time to greet the other side they needed to contend with.