“Is it really okay to return to campus,” Nox asked, eyes scanning the skyline beyond the square. The orange glows of distant fires filled the night. The screams and roars had ceased, but the ground continued to tremble.

“The dungeon breaches shall close on their own now that Niddhogg has returned to his lair,” Dean Myrina answered. “He’ll want his domain secured before things get ugly for him. The city has enough stone and earth shapers to fix the damage.”

“Or are you worried about walking back?” Dean Myrina raised a wispy ancient eyebrow. “Elif can fix broken bones but not cure fatigue and exhaustion. I imagine you’re spent.” She paused, studying him. “It doesn’t look like your body has adjusted to your new rank either. I’d suggest you take a few weeks off from combat and intense spell-casting.” Myrina turned to Perry. “I don’t have any other dogs trained as mounts. Can you give Nox a ride?”

“Doctor Who doesn’t take kindly to strangers riding on his back,” Perry replied. “Especially men. It's nothing personal. However, I can think of something better.”

The druid’s eyes narrowed as Perry played a quick tune. His fingers moved so fast they seemed to blur on the strings. Reality itself appeared to bend and twist around them, and a six-foot-tall sphere manifested before them. The distorted image of a spacious apartment with surfaces of warm, dark wood appeared within.

“Peregrin Kanooks! When did you visit my quarters?”

“I never—”

“I know you can only open portals to places you’ve been before.”

“Portals?” Nox glanced between the pair of them, mouth hanging agape. “You both have spatial magic?”

“Anyone who matters and can travel between realms can cast spatial magic in one form or another,” Perry answered, winking. “The best druids can shape dimensions. I can only travel within and between them. It's not much and a pain to accomplish during a firefight, but it certainly improves my quality of life.”

“Can you teach me how?” Joey asked. “Not travel between realms or shape dungeons, but travel within. My patron wants me to learn portal magic.”

“I wouldn’t mind learning what the pair of you just did either,” Nox commented. “There is far too little research on spatial magic over here.”

“My skills aren’t transferable or teachable.” Perry shot him a half-apologetic smile. He finished his tune, and the portal solidified. A final melody shrunk the giant owlbear down until he was no taller than his waist. The resized creature came up to his waist. “Pay your dues, and I’m sure Keeper will give you the literature you need.”

“Only other druids and descendants of Gaia can accomplish what I did,” Dean Woodson added. Her dogs approached her one by one and disappeared as soon as she touched them. Gold and emerald light leaked through her silk blouse. “As a warlock with a djinn companion, Joey might be able to recreate a lesser version of what I can do. Unfortunately—”

“It's beyond me.” Nox sighed. “I get it.”

Caitlin patted his shoulder as everyone else passed through the portal. “Don’t let it get it down,” she said. “You’ll get used to it. There’s far too much I can’t learn or don’t have the right to learn since I lack whatever it takes to become a druid.”

“I thought you didn’t want to become a druid.”

“I don’t. But it's annoying when power is dangled before you and kept just out of reach. What teenager doesn’t want to get their hands on their Grandmother’s extra special shaping?”

The pair followed the druid, mysterious planeswalker and Joey through the portal. Nox recognized the wood and stone construction straight away. They were inside Woodson University’s central building. In fact, Nox believed they were just behind the heavy doors connected to Dean Woodson’s office.

A dog made of vines, branches, and miscellaneous foliage followed them through the portal, carrying an unconscious April before the sphere closed in on itself. The dog carefully placed her on the floor but still wrapped in the woody extensions. Nox and Caitlin kneeled by the woman’s side and checked her vitals. The woman’s heartbeat was slow.

“Is she going to be okay?” He asked.

“Too early to tell,” Myrina Woodson replied. “I haven’t dealt with vampires in a while. But I studied Warmonger’s spell. Since April hasn’t killed anyone while under its effects, freeing her from the disgusting piece of magic shouldn’t be a problem. However, she has consumed blood since her turning. So, there is no escape from the vampirism.” All eyes shifted to Joey. He appeared sullen. Nox guessed he had already received the news. “However, between Diya and I, easing its effects shouldn’t be a challenge. Whether she can survive afterward without breaking our laws is up to her and Joey.”

“You’d let a vampire walk free?” Nox frowned. He felt Joey and Caitlin’s glares on himself but focused only on the druid. “What about her bloodthirst? Can it be quenched by dungeon beasts or using animal blood?”

“There is yet much we don’t know about this specific breed of vampires,” Perry stated. “Usually, they need blood of the same species. The more mana-rich the blood, the better. April might be different, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

“I can keep things under wraps and ensure she goes overlooked,” Dean Woodson said, patting Joey’s shoulder as she passed him. “That’s only as long as she limits her feasting to known criminals, cultists, and the like.”

“What about the rest of them?” Caitlin asked. “We captured quite a few besides Brianna.”

“All of them killed as a part of Warmonger, and the spell carved itself into their cores.” A table covered in a variety of crystal bottles slid across the floor to the armchairs she occupied. “I checked not even my most powerful Life Magic spells can reverse the effect. I see no other choice but to execute them.”

“I'm not sure that's the best idea,” Perry interrupted. “I cast quite a few divinations using one of the vampires that fled.” He tossed a charred silver graduate badge on the table between them. “They didn’t survive the process. Every member of Warmonger’s coven is in this city. All but a handful are within your custody. If we kill them all, the spell will be released. It will return to the Cabal's vault and they can just pass it on to someone else.”

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“Just like they wanted to make me the new owner of the Well of Pestilence,” Nox said.

“Precisely.” Perry nodded. “It's for the best if we capture and imprison them somewhere none can reach or infiltrate. Lock them up and throw away the key. Vampires don't die without air and sustenance. They go into hibernation.”

“And deny the Cabal one of their key members.” Dean Myrina Woodson poured herself a tall glass of red, and leaned back in her chair. She groaned as several joints clicked one after the other. “We have the means to arrange that. The most important question is whether everyone here is willing to put in the work to ensure April isn't locked away with the rest.”

“You already have my word,” Joey said. “I’ll do what is necessary to ensure April's thirst doesn’t get out of control and her strengths are put to good use.”

“Good.” The dean nodded. “See that she gets arcane training. Focusing on magical and martial improvement will give her something to focus on. Leaving an innate Mind Mage untrained is never a good idea either.”

Everyone found seats around her armchair and helped themselves to the beverages on offer. The adrenaline had long left Nox's system. Despite Life Magic and Perry's magical music, everything hurt. So, he had Otis retrieve a flask of Spirit Caller's Tea from his storage and poured himself a glass.

“Despite the loss and chaos, things couldn’t have gone better,” Perry said after a long period of silence. “The Daksinsthanis are turning the tides on Deathwalker to the south. Since his little floating island can’t escape the leylines, they have miles of artillery spells and the kind ready. I’ve sent agents to assist them. If we’re lucky, that’ll mark the end of another Cabal member. I suspect he’s the one protecting their vault. If it’s destroyed, the inheritance cycle will end.

“My spiders claim that Nihon and Han have temporarily put aside their differences too. They’ve got their eyes set on Famine. He’s a harder one to track and capture, though. But if they succeed, we’ll only have to worry about Calamity.”

“And I’m assuming you don’t have any information on her yet?”

“Well, that’s part of the reason why I’m here.” Perry also procured his own drink. Instead of helping himself to something off the table like Joey and Caitlin, he flicked his coat pocket. The flying snake flitted out of it and formed a circle, biting its own tail. Perry reached through the loop and pulled out a stained glass bottle of fragrant golden fluid. “Thank you, Carol.” He kept everyone waiting as he drained his first glass and poured his second. “Your late apprentice and the gentleman’s fallen mentor left several intelligence reports with Keeper and me. We tried to decode them but failed until meeting Nox and Joey. They were the key.

“There’s a reason Kris sought the pair of you out and recruited you,” Perry continued. “In fact, she had several other talented individuals listed. All of whom were to become part of a new organization. One dedicated to the destruction and failure of Sundarshahar.”

Everyone, including Dean Myrina, sat up straighter at the mention of Kris and the archon dungeon. The half-sized man smiled. Nox sensed he got a kick out, building up sense and teasing others. Nox had looked up Maka Dee following his meeting with the Keeper of Knowledge. There was no mention of the entity, but he found stray mentions of a trickster deity from Alkebulan that took on the shape of a spider. He wondered whether Perry and the spiders had any connection to the entity.

“Kris believed that Calamity is somehow tied to Sundarshahar. It's possible she has something brewing within, much like how Pestilence did inside Terrastalia. One of her reports spoke of people suspected of serving Calamity frequently visiting the villages that border the dungeon. Kris sighted them heading toward or away from the dungeon.” Perry focused on Nox and Joey. “The pair of you were only the beginning.”

“You mean to say she orchestrated me finding Nar in the Smythe vault?” Joey asked, frowning. He shared a concerned glance with Caitlin. Nox believed the prospect of being manipulated, led on, or deceived by someone probably left him unsettled.

“Maybe not Nar specifically.” Dean Woodson appeared sympathetic as she spoke. “The Smythe vault carried several powerful arcane sources and relics. If not Nar, you could’ve uncovered a powerful spell or an artifact.” She paused, eyes wandering to the glass spearhead hovering over Joey’s left shoulder. “Knowing Kris, I wouldn’t be surprised if she sent you after the djinn container.”

“She sent me after the Embers of Creation.” He sighed. “Maybe she made a mistake regarding Nar’s container, or she expected him to reach out to me. I don’t know anymore.”

“That girl was always much too clever for her own good. She had far too many plots and plans going simultaneously. I often wonder whether she lost track of some of them.” Dean Woodson smiled. “I miss her.”

Nox couldn’t help but wonder whether Kris had any plans relating to him that she hadn’t disclosed. It was clear she always suspected Lillin of being more than she appeared. He planned on asking his mother about the woman the next time they met. “Are all the superpowers entangled with the spiders and Keepers?”

Perry shot Nox a mischievous smile. “The Imperium is not. They detest us. Our agents are extra careful when operating within their borders.”

“What about the Trade Empire? Does my mother know about you?” Given everything he had discovered about Lydya Mercer over the past couple of years, he believed it possible she was in on Kris’s plans. Both women enjoyed operating under veils of secrecy and deception. It was clear now that Queen Mercer wished to get her firstborn away from the Gedges. The woman probably always knew that Nox wouldn’t find happiness and freedom until she started on his quest to destroy Sundarshahar. “Has she ever worked with you? Or do you just have agents in her court?”

“You’ve not served the Keeper long enough to be privy to such information,” Perry answered. It frustrated Nox that the man didn’t elaborate.

The group discussed the Cabal further and delved into topics regarding how to safeguard the city and prevent future attacks. Nox brought up the topic of replacing all lights in public spaces with sun lamps. It would be expensive, but the investment would safeguard the city against any remaining vampires, undead, or entities from the Void. Better lighting alone would hamper crime in the city and make the jobs of its guardians easier. Dean Woodson liked the idea and promised to discuss it with the council. She promised to install them inside campus even if they refused and to talk to the populace independently. The City of Ygg’s general population believed in the Woodsons and trusted the druid. Dean Woodson believed they’d replace private outdoor lighting with sun lamps.

The city’s artificers and Dean Oleg would especially appreciate the idea. Jobs and trade following such disasters kept the population busy and helped revitalize the economy. Sapna would appreciate the new source of revenue, but Nox had already made up his mind. Selling the sun lamps as close to manufacturing costs as possible wouldn’t set the business back. However, it would win them the city and people’s favor.

Joey didn’t seem fond of the idea. He worried about how it would affect April but understood the importance of prioritizing the greater good. Nox and Caitlin promised to look into methods of helping her overcome such obstacles. If not alchemical salve that blocked the sun’s harmful rays, there was also always the possibility of using shadow magic the same way Hinata and Liesel utilized it. April would need to have an affinity for it, of course, but that was an entirely different matter.

As the conversation went on, fatigue caught up with everyone but Myrina Woodson and Peregrin Kanooks. The two older mages moved on to more casual topics and discussed old friends and their descendants. It was still enjoyable, and there was a lot to learn about a time long before he, his parents, or grandparents were born. They talked of a time when godfalls were a semi-regular occurrence, and the City of Ygg was in its early days. The pair also told the group the tale of when and how they first met. Focusing became a challenge, and Nox finally excused himself.

None of the information felt helpful in the current situation or for his future. There was no doubt that Aria and his family were worried sick about him. It was time he returned to them and got some much-needed rest.