It took them just under an hour to reach the room where Marvin the horse and Merlin’s wagon were waiting. It was an odd room. There were piles of lumber and stone lying around. Several racks filled with an assortment of tools hung on the walls. A copious pile of hay rested in the room’s corner, much to Marvin’s delight. The room looked unaffected by the damage that had been inflicted upon the rest of the dungeon.

“Well, well, well, Mr. Marvin has just been hanging out here while the rest of us fight for our lives. I had my suspicions, but now I finally know he’s no ride or die,” Orb said.

Merlin rolled his eyes. “Charlie fought for our lives. You were with the rest of us watching from the sidelines. How is that any different?”

Orb spun toward Merlin. “How dare you! I’ll have you know the way I watch is much more supportive than the rest of you. Tell them, Charlie!”

Charlie made a face. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, come on!” Orb said.

Merlin leaned forward and stared at the wagon. “What is it?” Charlie asked from Vetica’s arms.

“My wagon…there’s something off about it.” Merlin perked up. “Wait, Canano did you—” Merlin strode across the room and hurried to inspect his most prized possession.

Charlie didn’t see what was wrong with it. It looked the same as always. He looked up at Vetica. She shrugged in response.

Canano laughed in the breathy manner he usually did. “I had some time, so I finished those modifications we discussed. I think you’ll be happy with them.”

Vetica and Charlie hurried over. Merlin was playing around with some kind of sliding panel on the inside edge of the wagon. “This is amazing! I’m going to hide so much cool stuff in here! Think of all the smuggling…I mean, hero supplies we can carry!”

Orb scoffed in their minds. “Hero supplies? Seriously?”

Merlin took off a shoe and threw it at Orb. It caught him perfectly and sent him flying away. “Hah!”

Charlie smiled. It was nice to see his friends goofing off after the serious conversation they’d had on the way here. The talking had died down after Themis revealed the cult was close to resurrecting Cendra. They’d walked mostly in silence the rest of the way. Orb had tried to stir up conversation a few times, but it never took. Charlie was happy everyone seemed to be brightening up. Or at least trying to.

“Will we all fit?” Charlie asked, looking around. Geby, of course, would have to wait in his dungeon. But with one of them sitting up front to drive, there should be plenty of room for the rest of them to fit in the back. The sleeping arrangement might be hard to manage, but he was sure they could figure it out.

Canano slowly looked at Themis. It looked like he was waiting for his research partner to say something. By the sad look on Canano’s face, Charlie didn’t think it was going to be something he was happy to hear. He looked at Themis as well. “What is it? What’s wrong?” Charlie asked. He dreaded Themis’ response.

“Charlie, I never intended to leave this place with you. Truth be told, I didn’t think anyone but you and Canano would make it out of here once the knights arrived. I had plans to—”

Vetica held a hand up. “That doesn’t matter anymore. Tell Charlie what you have to tell him.”

Themis looked at her in surprise. “You knew?” he asked, not letting it go.

“I had a feeling. It wasn’t confirmed until just now, but I suspected something was off,” Vetica said. “Let’s not focus on that anymore. If you have something to say, you should say it.”

Charlie looked between the two of them. He had no idea what they were talking about. But before he could ask, Themis nodded and continued.

“I can’t come with you, Charlie. Things are different now; I admit that much. The path before us is clear. But I can’t leave Arcadeya. There are things I have to do, things only I can do.”

Canano had clearly suspected some kind of news. But apparently, this wasn’t it. “Themis? What do you mean?” he asked. Charlie didn’t understand either. Why couldn’t Themis come with them?

Merlin hopped off the wagon and walked up to listen. Orb floated up, still covered by the shoe.

“I think I’m stuck,” he said.

Themis ignored him. “This dungeon and my dungeon cores have kept beasts from wandering too close to Arcadeya for years now. The people here have enjoyed relative safety because of it. But because of me, they witnessed beast and hex knights fighting in their streets. The citizens of Arcadeya are undoubtedly terrified. If I just escape into the night, then they’ll never overcome their terror. Someone has to take responsibility for this. If the knights capture me, the people of this town will be able to sleep at night again. They won’t worry that something like this will happen in the future,” Themis said.

“That’s noble…but are you really willing to throw your life away over this? You said it yourself; the cult is more of a danger now than ever before. Shouldn’t you help put a stop to it?” Merlin asked.

Themis nodded. “That’s exactly what I plan to do. I’ve already witnessed Charlie grow tremendously over the last few days. Zephyr also shared a significant amount of information with Parent. The truth is, I have very little left to teach him. He learned faster than even I could have anticipated. But more importantly, the knights need to know what we know. I know the patterns of the beast that live in the surrounding areas. I can share that information with the knights who can pass it on to the civilians. They’ll need to protect themselves now and my knowledge can help with that. As for your question, the knights need to know about the cultists as well. I’ll certainly be branded a criminal, but Brandt will listen to me when I tell him about the threat the cult presents. I know that all of you will work to stop the cult, but war is a game of numbers. Even if you can’t work directly beside the knights, it will be good for them to dedicate their resources to putting the cult to an end as well. This is something only I can do. Brandt won’t listen to anyone else.”

Charlie frowned. Everything Themis said made sense, and yet he hated hearing it. He knew Themis was doing the right thing. He wanted to help the people of Arcadeya and the Kingdom of Aysela. But even then, Charlie wished they could travel together.

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“Fine! Then I’ll stay too! I’m not leaving you to take the fall for all of this on your own,” Canano growled.

Themis smiled. He walked up and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Canano, you have to go. Our work isn’t done. I still believe that you need to move forward with our work. Charlie is incredible, and I believe with all of my being that he will continue growing. But I yearn for a world where he doesn’t have to fight at all. Finish our work and create a vessel that can fight in his place. See this project through, so the next generation never has to fear Cendra as we did. I know you can do this. It was always my plan to turn my work over to you. There isn’t anyone more suited to it.”

Geby stomped over and butted her head into Themis’ side. A deep, grating noise emanated from her.

“Yes, you too, girl.” Themis carefully rubbed her head. “I need you to go with Canano and keep him safe. He doesn’t have Zephyr or the power of the dungeon cores like I did. Help him create a new lab and protect him. Can you do that for me?” he asked.

Geby’s eyelids closed tightly, and her head fell. She opened her eyes after a moment and trudged up to Canano. She gently wrapped her tail around him in a protective motion to show she would do as Themis had asked.

A tear rolled down Charlie’s cheek. He couldn’t help it. He was tired of leaving behind friends. “Can’t you just write them a note or something?” he asked, wiping his eyes.

Themis walked up to Charlie and Vetica and raised his sleeve. He tenderly wiped the tears from Charlie’s eyes. Charlie sniffled. “I have to do this, Charlie. Remember what we talked about? About training?” Themis asked.

Charlie nodded. “We do it now to protect the people we care about in the future,” he said.

“That’s right. This moment… this moment is what I’ve been training for. I didn’t train my body as much as you will have to. I’ve been training my mind. Now, I’m going to use that accumulated knowledge to help the people of this town, and to give the knights the knowledge that they need to bring down the cult once and for all. Our training might look different, but I’m still protecting the people I care about. You included,” Themis said. He cupped Charlie’s cheek with his hand. “Is that okay with you?” Themis asked him.

Charlie looked to the side. “Well, how can I say no after that? I understand. I’ll keep working hard, and one day, when you’re finished doing what you need to do, I’ll bust you out of prison, okay? Bleedy and Mousifer have experience with jail breaks. So, I know they’ll help me out!”

“Squeak!”

“Bleedy!”

Themis smiled. “I look forward to it. In the meantime, don’t forget to continue meditating. Work hard, and train often. Also, work with Parent to learn more about this world. He’s gained a lot of knowledge recently and can use that to help you on your journey.”

“I will!” Charlie said, wiping his nose against his onesie sleeve.

Themis smiled and turned away when another thought struck him. “Oh, I suppose I should clarify something quickly. So, neither of you forms the wrong idea.”

Themis looked between Charlie and his interface. Parent floated closer, realizing he was being addressed.

“The System isn’t against you. Everything Zephyr said was true. But the System wasn’t seeking to harm you specifically or anything. It was simply enforcing its own interpretation of an order given to Zephyr by his previous master. It wasn’t out to get us; it was just forcing Zephyr to prioritize his duty to fulfill orders over his autonomy. The System doesn’t have feelings. It’s not going to be angry that you interfered. It’s obligation to attempt to enforce the order was met,” Themis said.

“Zephyr also said that the System was not necessarily a passive observer. Is that true as well? And if it wanted to enforce the order, couldn’t it have taken away Charlie’s powers? That would have ensured things went how it wanted,” Parent said.

“He said that about the System? Huh. To be honest, that’s not something I had heard before. But Zephyr would know better than most. As for your second question, no. As I said, its obligation was to attempt to enforce the order. Not to enforce it by all means. Furthermore, there is a hard rule about how magic works in this world. The System can bestow power, but it cannot reclaim it. Those born with magic, and those who receive it through unique circumstance are all the same. That power is a part of you now. A part of Charlie. My powers weren’t natural, and so of course I’ve lost them, but that will never happen to Charlie. It may not always behave how would you like, and of course you may encounter limitations, such as your dungeon integrity, but the power itself is yours.”

That was a relief. Charlie didn’t always like the fact that he wasn’t normal. But it was nice to know the System couldn’t just take his powers away whenever it wanted. Also, he didn’t know what a passive observer was, but it was interesting that Themis hadn’t heard Zephyr talk about it before. He’d assumed they’d shared all of their knowledge. Maybe that was part of why Parent was acting so weird and quiet now. He had to be pretty close to Zephyr if the other interface had told him things even Themis didn’t know.

“Well, I have to be off. All of you should get going as well. You should get as much of a head start on them as you can. There’s no telling how much time we’ve bought. But hopefully it will be enough. Good luck, Charlie, and to you as well, Vetica, Merlin.” He addressed each of them and waved. He clasped hands with Canano and patted Geby one last time before heading back the way they had come to turn himself in.

Merlin quickly went to work and got Marvin connected to the wagon. Charlie, Vetica, Mousifer, and Bleedy climbed in the back. Canano jumped on top of Geby’s back. They’d offered him a space in the wagon, but he’d insisted he needed to figure out how to ride the caldurra without impaling himself, anyway. Their progress through the tunnel went quickly, and eventually they reached its end. Geby smashed through a surprisingly thin wall and moonlight illuminated the world beyond.

When they exited the tunnel, Charlie realized they were outside of Arcadeya. The tunnel’s exit was in the side of a small cliff well beyond the city. From here, they could put distance between themselves, and the knights more rapidly. By the time the knights realized they’d left the dungeon completely, they would need to double back for their horses. It was an excellent opportunity for Charlie and company to throw the knights off their trail.

Vetica sat with Charlie on the back of the wagon. Geby and Canano turned to move in the opposite direction. Canano wasn’t sure exactly where they would go, but he had some ideas.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Charlie asked as they parted ways.

Canano waved. “We have work to do, but I’m sure we’ll cross paths again! Enjoy the wagon!” he called out.

Merlin jumped up on the bench at the wagon’s front and threw his hands up. “Thanks again!”

Before they lost sight of Geby behind a set of trees, she cried out loudly.

Charlie had never heard one before, but by now he knew it was a sound just like a ferry horn. He smiled.

Merlin looked down and realized something. “What the…I just realized I’m still missing a shoe. Orb, give it back!” he said.

Orb floated from atop the wagon’s canvas. The shoe was still attached to him. “Nope. It’s mine now. In fact, Boop wants the other shoe. It’s only fair, so hand it over.” He paused. “Foot it over? Either way, gimme!”

Charlie giggled as Orb and Merlin squabbled for a few more moments. “So, where do we go now?” Charlie asked.

Merlin paused. He was in the middle of trying to wrench Orb out of his shoe. He turned back to look at them. “I don’t know. I just realized this entire time we’ve been heading to Arcadeya. Now that we’re leaving, I don’t actually know where to go. I guess we could lie low for a bit. Maybe gather some information about the cult?”

Vetica nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.” There was a serious expression on her face. “…and I know just where to go.”

Charlie looked up. “You do? Where?”

She sighed. “To see some family of mine.”