They pulled into the Imperial Capital in a morning downpour. It colored the town in blue and gray with rust red wet stone. Corvayne could see a few early risers in their windows, looking out at the weather and clearly deciding if they wanted to be out. A pair of young lovers or siblings laughed as they raced between awnings then leaned on each other. A grumbling Merchant marched past their bikes, wet clothes held over his wares. Off the side of the road, a few children dressed in roughspun robes splashed in a puddle. They pointed at the bikes and waved, obviously looking for adventurers to throw some candy, and while Corvayne waved and forced a smile, they were a reminder that behind them was a lumbering monster able to level the town.

Princess Bell pulled ahead, clearly struggling to not just fly overhead to the palace. Hylal was asleep on her back, tied to her back with a spare sweater Corvayne had from when he was trying to be fashionable. He could not only see her frustration with being forced to stick to the ground, but feel it through [[Unity]]. She had been upset since Corvayne had figured the titanic monster's path, and had forced them to watch and make sure that the creature was on a line for the Capital.

So after getting away from the collapsing dungeon and watching Diamond tore her way up from the ground, they moved to a vantage point up in the hills behind the Adventurer's guild. Corvayne spent about an hour alternating between watching the town empty out onto boats and watching the light show as Diamond got blasted into shards then came flickering back together no worse for the wear. The only time they moved back was when a beam came close to town, blasting a line across the other side of the mountain, but otherwise the creature mostly fired at the ground near it until it finally got out of whatever area Bearer had marked.

Then it started almost gingerly plodding in a perfect line, over about an hour walking up a moon-lit mountain and then down into the water up to her neck, glowing enough that he could see her form vanishing into the glassy black sea. No more beams flew out – she seemed to completely ignore everything else, just slowly stumbling it's way towards the capital.

Corvayne and Spears and Lady Blood Claw had a quick discussion and estimated it was moving at about seven miles per hour. The days were longer on the world then Cascadia, so he guessed they had about three full days before the monster would be in sight of the Capital.

While they didn't want to waste time, they didn't want Bell's dad to fry them if they flew right to the palace. So they were cruising the streets again. He felt a pang of homesickness mixed with frustration and helplessness, and he wasn't sure if it was him or his liquid girlfriend riding on his back, or maybe Bell. Not Lady Blood Claw, who had shown impressive skill at keeping her feelings bottled up. Or at least, to [[Unity]] she was a black body. Her skin was made up of blotchy white and blue square patterns that flicked across her skin, and her faced made him think she was focusing really hard on keeping walls up.

Nyx was the first to break the silence. “You know, now's about the time to move on. This isn't our fight.”

Bell turned on him, temper flaring as she spoke in more fluent Cascadian then Corvayne had expected. “How can you say that? You would let it crush my home? The homes of everyone?”

He waved a hand. “Some day you'll see where we come from, this is pretty but hardly impressive, save that it used to fire lasers.”

Bell's voice lowered to a growl. “As it will again.”

Hylal snored extra loud just then, making bird song noises when she exhaled. Corvayne was pretty sure she was awake and just doing it to try to stop a fight, but Nyxion was clearly not having it.

“Fine. You will bear a new emperor, who's loins are the real super cannon, and you'll blast the enemies no doubt waiting for your father to die, and a thousand years of prosperity to your house. I HATE to the voice of reason here, but we got nothing that can fight that thing. Stop pissing and moaning about your town. It's just rock.”

“It stands for more.” She twitched. Nyxion sensed blood and raised his head.

“You saying you couldn't just build it all over again even if you lost it all?”

Corvayne had enough. “Peace Nyxion. Bell... I don't know if we can fight Diamond. Or I should say, I know we can't fight her.”

She slumped a little on her bike. “The army will try. Father will too.”

Lady Blood Claw shook her head. “He should pick a successor then. If he's wise, he'll get out of the way and hope it stays content to just march in a line.”

They parked their bikes just inside the grand hall. Members of court were already up, taking breakfast as servants moved throughout the huge atrium. Having more time to view everything, Corvayne had to admit the palace was inspiring in it's scope, showing off both tremendous labor and hints of magical assistance to hold it together. That it was given over as a sort of public space felt forward thinking. Bell lead them across the path to a large open door where guards were posted, leading to something like a large bank lobby split in two by a stairway. Petitioners were already lined up waiting for clerks setting things up behind an ornate partition, something like the worlds fanciest cage. Bell just kept walking up the steps, briefly drawing the guards eyes then just as quickly shedding attention.

Corvayne wondered if Bell had cleared them as with her before, or she just rolled up to the palace with random adventurers before on a weekly basis. The next chamber was clearly more exclusive then the previous two, being a high domed hall that connected what looked like a chamber for holding council on one side, and a wing where people wearing actual robes with stars stitched on were entering and exiting. The faint smell of chemicals and that some of the robes had burns in them suggested alchemy.

Mosh or Wick probably would have gotten a kick out of it, but Corvayne just glanced and followed Bell forward to a guard who took a step in front of her with a hand held up.

She stuck her chin up and glared at the man. “I've come to report to Father directly about a threat to the Capital. Step aside.”

“You can go, but unless someone vouches for them-”

“I do.” Corvayne spun to see Undine striding up. The older woman was limping slightly but using a solid brass staff to help her walk.

“What happened?” He asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Not all of us can walk off diving too deep into a dungeon. I was going to report to my old drinking buddy exactly how important locking down places like the source will be.”

Corvayne looked over and saw Bell was hesitating, looking a little lost, and Hylal on her back was making puppy dog eyes at him. He looked over at Undine.

“Trying to get ahead of every town having it's own magic endless economy?”

“And stopping outworlders from just waltzing in. A dozen Ravens... they'd be fighting over the last village to pillage in a year. What's got you and her so upset? I said it before, learn to control your damn magic!”

She lifted the staff as it to hit him on the head, and Corvayne rushed to help keep her up when she put too much weight on her injured side.

“Bah, I hate that about you. Too soft, it's why Hari's been having trouble.”

Corvayne tried to rise above the bait as the guards let them in but blocked his friends. He was about to turn and say something but he saw LBC snap her fingers and point sternly forward. Even Brines was nodding.

“What's got you and princess all upset? Wait, is she carrying her kid? When did she stop being a deadbeat?”

Corvayne helped her up another small flight of stairs to the top of the palace, a grand throne room. Seating with enough room to fit thousands was arrayed to face a dias. Red, orange, white, and gold stones in the bricks depicted historical figures, solemly standing before a ring made of absurdly dark rock the gleamed as light started to creep through tall windows. Corvayne's attention moved from the scenery to the dias. It was half filled with doctors, priests, and alchemists giving a gaunt man sitting in the twenty foot tall throne his fill of medicine. Bulky machines that looked to Corvayne like artificial lungs huffed and wheezed. On one side a doctor was poking the figure waiting on the throne's arm, drawing blood. On the other side, a woman was painting his skin a peach color, crushing a bright crimson pigment.

It was a halo of activity around the man who must be the Emperor. His withered form was covered in light robes trimmed with gold and a circlet instead of a crown. While he looked tired, he was not asleep. His eyes moved, watching everything around him as if he was about to start belting out orders. Corvayne could almost see the strength of the will in those eyes latching onto him, contrasting the body that was in the process of failing him. Corvayne felt a certain instinctive fear as they met each other's gaze. Not because he wasn't confident in fighting everyone in the room all at once... he was. No, it's because there was a weight to the man's attention, a little slight arch of the eyebrow while staring that constantly asked the question 'Well? What of it?'

Or perhaps he was looking at Undine, or at Bell.

Even from far away, he could hear in the quite din of men working the man sigh, and as if they understood exactly what that meant, everyone made a path for them to step up to the guards standing at the base of the throne.

The Emperor rested his elbow on the side of his throne to support his chin, then motioned with a bony hand for them to come closer. He waited for everyone to line up, with Bell between Corvayne and Undine.

“Daughter, somehow you've managed to surprise me three times in a row. First I hear of you crushing the north with almost no forces to note. Then you decide to go after your pariah daughter, and what's more is you come back alive with my wayward sage in tow. And supposedly, the Wanderer himself.”

Corvayne glanced over at Bell to see if there was a reaction. She didn't note it, stepping forward. “Father, while our mission was successful, we encountered a threat to the Capital. A monster the size of a mountain is-”

His voice was lead as he interrupted. “I know.”

He reached over to a tiny pearl. “The wizards at Kton isle told me. Guildmaster Corky beat you by teleporting back here. I got the story out of him.”

He cleared his throat. “He tells me that the monster came out of the ruins after you were barreling away from it.” Corvayne could see the steel in him. “You had me, Daughter. For a moment there, I thought we had hope. That you'd get your shit together and give us an empress ready to usher in a new era. One of war, but also perhaps one of glory. Instead, you've awoken some sort of weapon that's marching directly to our home.”

“We did not waken it, it was a-”

He waved his hand. “Waste of time.”

“We must evacuate!” Bell stood straight. “In the beast is the spirit of a warrior my general once knew. It is armed with light weapons as well.”

The Emperor closed his eyes and sat back, taking a deep breath. “You have failed, Bell. Not me, as I don't expect to make the end of the Month no matter how far we go.”

“Father, they have a technique that might fix it, the goddess Lythandies...”

“I know what this creature is, Daughter. The avatar of our pact. When we formed this empire, it was to protect the ring of black under us. To keep it sealed, and to never let anything in, nor anything out. Our duty that we failed, hundreds of years before you were born.”

Bell gasped a little, and a few of the people working to tend to the Emperor also stopped stunned for a moment before being prodded by their fellows to ignore the conversation and keep pumping blood or air or whatever.

“The records say this fortress was never breached!” She insisted.

“Yes. But we were soundly thrashed when something decided to come OUT of the portal.” He paused to drink an offered cup of something that smelled strongly of Aloe.

Undine folded her arms around her staff. “Well, before you croak you old bastard, tell me what it was?” Corvayne wondered with the way she spoke to him if she and the emperor were an item at one point.

The Emperor leaned back and smiled. “You want to know?”

Bell leaned forward, voice enough loud enough that it woke Hylal back up with a squawk. “Father, if we could find the person who breached the portal... it might be possible to restore the pact! What is broken may be mended!”

The Emperor's smile grew. “What do you mean, dear daughter. Find?!” He sat up, putting a hand over his eyes searching high and low.

“We search for the thing that entered our world. Do you know what it is? Do the records say?”

Corvayne saw the Emperor's eyes dart his way a moment. Is he really worried about state secrets? His capital was on the chopping block, and it looked and sounded like the man should be in a bed as it was. Heck, he had been thinking of offering the Emperor mending to see if it worked.

“You accuse me of wasting my time, in this crisis you jest Father!”

“You may have found HEART daughter but you just barely can rule yourself!” He snapped back. “Do not presume to tell me time is of the essence. I've been trying fix our dying empire for years. Don't get testy just because you nor your bird are the answer.”

Bell had her teeth grit. “Tell me.”

“I would never spoil a moment of watching one of my children pinching a few grains of wisdom into their otherwise empty head.”

Undine seemed to get the joke, as Corvayne felt shock pass and faint amusement pass through her link in [[Unity]].

Bell was getting angrier, and Corvayne reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath, and reset herself.

“Father. One last chance. Let me seek this interloper. If we can find him in three days and force them into the portal, there's a chance we'll mend the pact and can call off or fight off the beast bearing down on us.”

“Her name is Diamonds-in-Passing, she used to boss me around.”

Spears poked his back and he wiggled a little bit.

The man on the throne ignored Corvayne. “You really need three days? Hah. Amusing.”

He held up a finger, waved it in a circle, then pointed at Corvayne. “The man who doomed our empire was none other then The Wanderer.”

Corvayne felt intense stress as suddenly all the helpers and all the guards in earshot turned their attention on him. The old man on the throne's face was grim but his eyes shone with amusement. He could see Bell looking at him horrified. He could feel Spears laughing on his back, and while he was sweating he tried to come up with something he could say. To Bell, especially, who's miserable past he was now in some way responsible for.

“Oh. Oops.”