The wall that Themis had thrown up to cover their escape shook violently. Dalys looked over her shoulder at it. Her allies, the other hex knights, were in that room. Charlie saw something flicker across her face for just a moment.

But whether it was doubt, regret, or something else entirely, he wasn’t sure.

Merlin groaned. “Look, if we stick around, we’re all going to get crushed to death by a crumbling dungeon. No one wins in that case. Besides, your friends are fighting for their lives. Don’t you think you should help them?” he asked.

Dalys laughed. “If there was anyone besides Brandt in that room, I might be worried. But if you think that bone snake is going to kill him, you’re an idiot.” She tested the broken blade in her hand, waving it up and down. She swung it, and then nodded. “Good enough,” she said, before leaping forward.

Orb flew upward until he hit the ceiling, Boop followed him. Geby turned her body sideways to attack. Merlin realized he would be in the way of that attack. He covered Charlie with his arms and dove to the ground, just as Geby’s powerful tail swung around. Dalys kicked off a wall and shot over Geby’s tail. She landed on the other side of them and rolled to her feet. She hadn’t been after them. Dalys was making a play for Themis. The still unconscious man lay helplessly at her feet. She knelt next to him and held her blade to his head. “If you don’t want your friend to die. Surrender.”

Geby roared but didn’t move. She understood the stakes. Charlie wondered if he was fast enough to strike Dalys before she could make good on her threat, but he hesitated. She was fast. If he made a move now, it could cost Themis his life. He tightened a baby fist. “I should’ve protected him better. I didn’t think that—”

“What’s it going to be? Surrender or watch your friend die?” she asked.

Merlin rose to his feet, and then, to Charlie’s surprise, he started laughing. Charlie whipped his head to look up at Merlin. “What are you laughing at?” Charlie asked.

Merlin looked back at him. “I think Themis is going to be just fine.” He winked.

Charlie turned to look at Dalys and saw what had given Merlin his confidence.

In the tunnel behind Dalys stood the silhouette of a woman. Dalys noticed Charlie looking past her and turned to look herself.

But Vetica was already moving. The silhouette lit up as the dagger in her hands turned a bright blue. She sped toward Dalys, each powerful stride flinging her forward faster as she gained momentum. Dalys spun to defend herself but was too slow. Vetica shot past the knight and skidded to a stop. She smiled at Charlie, flicking her dripping dagger to get the blood off of it.

Dalys looked down at the slash across her chest. Vetica had penetrated her armor. The knight didn’t move for a moment and then fell forward into the dirt.

Orb sunk in the air and looked at Dalys. “Is she dead?” he asked.

“No. But there is some pretty potent poison running through her veins. I didn’t want to give her a chance to use her hex again,” Vetica said.

Merlin threw a hand up. “Poison? Is that what you went to get?”

Vetica seemed caught off guard by his question. “Uh, well…”

Another quake shook the tunnel. A series of explosions followed it from the sealed off room. A large crack formed in the wall Themis had created. “We should get going. We’ll play catch up when we aren’t in the middle of a collapsing dungeon!” Orb said.

“Fine. Let’s go!” Merlin said. Geby picked Themis back up, and they hurried past Dalys and down the hallway. They needed to get to Canano as soon as possible.

Charlie looked over Merlin’s shoulder. “Wait…what about her?” he asked.

Merlin came to a stop. “The knight? She was trying to kill us literally moments ago. I’m sure the others will find her. We can’t worry about her now.”

“But what if they don’t? She’ll die if we leave her here?” Charlie frowned.

Geby swatted her tail into the ground, and her metallic angry noise filled the tunnel.

Orb buzzed from side to side in the air. “We don’t have time for this. Charlie isn’t going to let this go, so just grab her and let’s move on!” Orb said.

Vetica groaned and ran back. She lifted Dalys up and walked up to Geby. She draped the knight over Geby’s neck. “Is this okay?” she asked the caldurra.

Geby shot a look at Charlie but didn’t complain. They kept moving.

When they reached the intersection of the hallway. Vetica pointed to the left. “We can take the elevator out. The birds are there still. They should be able to…” She paused, looking at Geby. “Well, actually, I’m not sure they could take her up. Maybe if we take turns or something?”

Merlin shook his head. “No. We have to get Marvin, and Canano went to find Bleedy. If we find him, he can help us figure the way out.”

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Orb floated next to Geby and stared at Themis hanging from her mouth. “That’s weird,” he said.

Charlie leaned forward to look as well. Themis was holding onto something despite the fact he was unconscious. “Is that Lusafeen’s journal?” Charlie asked.

“Yup. Seems like it. I don’t know how he’s holding it while passed out, though. Speaking of, why exactly did he pass out?”

Merlin stroked his chin. “Well, he may have hit his head when he fell in the lab. After we escaped, the adrenaline must have faded.” Merlin stepped forward to inspect the scientist. “We should keep moving.”

“Lusafeen,” Themis said.

Merlin blinked. “Uh, are you awake, Themis?”

The researcher didn’t respond. “He’s talking in his sleep,” Vetica said.

Themis

The day his research was forbidden.

He’d thought the king would embrace the work that they’d done. It was groundbreaking research that could revolutionize the way people thought about dungeons. If the kingdom could control vessels of its own, the mortality rates of knights and adventurers would plummet. Vessels were extremely powerful. To create one that was loyal would be a remarkable feat.

But that dream would die now. Not only had the king refused to aid in the research, he’d also outright forbidden it. He hadn’t expected it to go that poorly. Lusafeen wasn’t handling it well either. He shouldn’t have blown up at her. Her suggestion to take their research to the cult was her frustration talking. She would never do something like that.

Right?

He walked through the streets of the capital city of Karze. The citizens around him looked happy. Content with their lives. They shopped, strolled, and dined. They were enjoying the many benefits of living in such a city.

Yet here he was, stewing in his own failure. A hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Say nothing, just follow. There’s something I want to talk about. It involves your research.” The voice was deep. Themis tilted his head. It was familiar.

The hooded man let go of his shoulder and walked ahead. He cut through an alleyway and Themis lost sight of him. Themis swallowed. Was this a trap? The king had forbidden him from continuing his work, but was he not convinced that Themis would comply? Could this man be an assassin preying on his hopes and dreams? Luring him into a dark alley where no witnesses were around.

Maybe. But maybe he wasn’t. Right now, Themis was feeling anything but optimistic, but he wanted to believe there was still hope in the world. And so, he followed.

He looked around one last time and then turned down the alley. The hooded man leaned against a wall further in. Themis took one reluctant step after another until he reached the man. “Well, what is it?” he asked, hoping he wouldn’t get a dagger to the stomach or find himself on the receiving end of a hex.

The man reached into his pocket and pulled something out. Themis had read about them in books but had never seen them in person. Caladosian rings. As far as he knew, only one man had a need for them in the capital.

“You’re the hero from anot—”

The man held a finger up to his lips. “Do you really believe what you said? Do you think you can create and control a vessel? One strong enough to defend Aysela.”

It had only been an hour since Themis and Lusafeen had their audience with the king. But even that experience dwelled compared to meeting the hero that had saved Aysela. No, he had saved the world. “I believe so, yes. Vessels are extremely powerful. If we bonded a dungeon core to a creature that could move freely, it could easily conquer other dungeons for us. We could save hundreds, no, thousands of human lives. We could—”

Before Themis could get too far into his passionate response, the hero asked another question. “Do you think a vessel like that could defeat Cendra?”

Themis blinked. He shook his head. “I don’t understand. You’ve already defeated Cendra. You stopped him. Why would it matter if a vessel could do the same?”

The hero sighed and turned to look back the way they’d come. “I need to know what you think. Answer the question.”

“I’d need more data to make a statement like that conclusively. But Cendra is…it would be a monumental undertaking. Still, even if a vessel under our control couldn’t finish the job, it could certainly help. I imagine you might’ve had an easier time in the battle if you’d had a friendly vessel at your side.”

“The vessel would need to be human, though. Would it not? How could you control it otherwise? There are cases of hex beast being friendly toward humans. But how could you trust one enough to artificially enhance its power with a dungeon core? How could you guarantee its loyalty?”

Themis crossed his arms and stared at the ground. “My assistant had a theory about that, actually. I think it has merit. The skeletane. I believe they are the answer.”

“Necromancy?” The hero seemed genuinely surprised at that.

He knew this was controversial. If the king hadn’t shut down their proposal so quickly, he knew this was the part that would be the hardest to get by. After all, what kind of king would entrust the fate of his kingdom to an undead creature? Themis nodded. “A dungeon core can’t take a human vessel. But what if a human was brought back to life? It would be the closest thing we have to a mixture between hex beast and human.”

The hero nodded. He held the caladosian rings out toward Themis. “I’d like you to continue your research.”

Themis hesitated. “But the king said I was forbidden to—”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m giving you permission. But I may not hold as much sway over the next king. So, I want you to relocate. Find somewhere new and create a lab where you can work in peace. I’ve placed my interface inside these rings, and I’m going to designate you as its new master.” The hero pressed the rings to Themis’ chest.

Themis took them and looked down. “You’re sure? Wait, I can’t do that. Without funding, it’d be impossible to just start over. If the king learns I’m looking for investors, he’ll order my execution.”

The hero pulled a coin pouch from his waist. He tossed it to Themis.

The bag jingled as coins slid against one another. Themis barely caught it without dropping the interface rings. “All of this?” He looked back up.

The hero was walking away. “Do everything in your power to protect Aysela. This is my investment in this nation’s future.”

“Wait, where are you going?” Themis called after him.

The hero didn’t look back. “To make a few more investments. If you need anything else, seek the leader of the hex knights. I’ll let him know to look out for you.”

“Uh…wow, okay. Thank you. What’s his name? In case I ever need to find him.”

“Sir Richard.”