“Zullie!” Arkk barked as the tower rocked again under fire from the Eternal Empire airship. “You told me we would have defenses.”

“All things in time, Arkk. All things in time…”

“Don’t exactly have time,” Arkk snapped back.

Brickwork, reinforced by the tower’s magic, cracked and fractured under the sustained bombardment. Small cracks of daylight made it inside before the lesser servants could repair the walls. The Eternal Empire’s continued cannon firing was getting stronger, each volley shaved away more layers of the tower than the last, like the bricks had been designed to ablate rather than be the nigh-invulnerable material that the walls were supposed to be. Part of it was those eggs. Anywhere the eggs touched the tower crumbled away far easier than any other section, like they had permanently damaged the reinforcement magic.

Arkk wanted to send out the lesser servants to dismantle and rebuild whole sections of the tower entirely, but with the bombardment, they wouldn’t last more than a second.

If they could get rid of the spell holding them in place, he would have rotated the tower just to give the one side a break.

Once the servant got the daylight sealed away, reforming the brickwork from inside the tower, the heavy thumping and explosions on the outside of the tower came to a stop.

It wasn’t a reprieve. The only times when the cannons stopped were when the whale ships were about to begin another round of their bombardment.

Several walls slid aside with a thought, moving to open periodic vents around the base of the tower. Agnete, seated in the middle of the otherwise empty chamber, tilted her head up. The embers in her eyes ignited into plumes of flame that billowed out around her. Fire flooded the chamber, exploding out the vents where it swept up the exterior of the tower. Just in time to incinerate the first of the eggs crashing into the walls.

Something about the avatar’s latest golden ray left behind golden residue on the tower, dripping and leaking. The eggs weren’t able to find purchase on it, either bouncing off or sliding down it depending on the angle they came in on. Neither could Agnete’s fire reach above it. It didn’t seem to harm the tower as much as it was an obstacle in defending it. It somewhat reminded him of those golden statues, except it was affecting his tower instead of people.

The encroaching, dripping gold had slowed its spread since the initial attack. Arkk hoped Lexa would finish her task before the avatar felt up to a repeat performance.

Arkk teleported outside to several preconstructed ledges, using his own fire spells to fry off eggs above the gold where Agnete’s flames failed. As he did so, he teleported Agnete out of the tower to another ledge. The brief pause in the bombardment made it safe to go outside, temporarily.

The armored soldiers of the Eternal Empire surrounded the base of the tower. Their armor wasn’t as good as that golden knight, but it was enough to resist Agnete’s flames. They had already tried to sweep the fire through their forces and, while it did cause some damage, the soldiers weren’t the priority.

She lifted her hand, sweeping the fire around her arm and up to a point. A thin beam of concentrated flame rushed upward. It wasn’t fast. Faster than most fire should move naturally, but quite a bit slower than a magical fireball and far, far slower than the near-instant golden rays the Heart of Gold’s avatar could produce. The airships overhead, both whale and regular, ceased their attacks as they drifted to the sides, separating to avoid the flames.

Arkk dropped a black marble onto the bombardment team’s docket.

The defensive array had shattered. The feedback from taking the brunt of the golden beam had almost killed Kassa. The rest of the rituals were still intact. Lelith didn’t waste time.

One of the whale ships drifted in the opposite direction as the primary ship. The primary ship was the one defending them from all Arkk’s efforts to bring them down. Separated, they were vulnerable.

A black void opened above the separated ship. One of Zullie’s spells, the same one he had used at Elmshadow’s recapture. Hurled out from the void, orbs of tiny stars warped the world around them, bending sight as they drifted toward the whale ship.

The metal shell encasing the organic interiors twisted and bent, ripped away and pulled into oblivion as the orb skimmed the ship’s surface. Exposed red flesh, meaty and bloody, began dripping in large, chunky slews. Some were pulled into the starry orbs, the rest fell atop the army below.

Lyra had said that they were vulnerable from the inside. That was well and good. Currently, Abbess Hannah and Sylvara were conversing with the avatar of the Holy Light to allegedly learn some spell that would ignore the whale ship’s armor, overseen by Savren. It would be great if it worked, especially because there was at least one more intact whale ship that had yet to join in on the fight. But just because the avatar said it would work didn’t mean Arkk wasn’t about to give up trying his way.

He couldn’t trust the avatar any further than he could throw the Holy Light’s statue.

At the same time, Agnete wasn’t finished. Sweeping her arm downward pulled the beam of fire, drawing it back toward the ground as if it were a massive, tower-long whip. The prime airship, in the process of maneuvering back toward the separated whale ship, had to abort and dive to avoid the flames. The second whale got away with a scorching of its metal, but nothing more.

The flame whip crashed into the ground. The Eternal Empire’s soldiers, caught in its direct path, did not look like they survived. The following explosion as the compressed flames spread outward and upward threw several of the armored knights into the air and over the heads of their comrades.

As the cannons on the underside of the prime ship began glowing once again, Arkk teleported both Agnete and himself back inside. Just in time to avoid the renewed bombardment.

At least the first wave struck the ground where Agnete had been standing rather than the tower. That gave the lesser servants clinging to its exterior precious few extra seconds to conduct their repairs.

“Report!” Arkk shouted the moment he was back in the command center.

“Some kind of… wind came from the prime ship,” Camilla said, peering into the crystal ball. “It disturbed the void spell enough to destroy it.”

“Damage to the whale? How severe is it?”

“It looks bad,” Harvey said. “Wouldn’t want the wound on myself. But the ship is still in the air. Doesn’t look like we hit it hard enough to knock it out of the sky.”

Arkk scowled as a flash of anger stirred inside. He did not want to have to rely on Lyra. “We hurt it. We do that a few more times and we can take it down.”

“If we can,” Agnete said, taking a deep breath. Heat haze clung to her bare shoulders, wafting off in waves that distorted the air. The light in her eyes was as bright as Arkk’s, if a bit more yellow-orange than red. “I doubt they’ll be foolish enough to split apart like that again.”

“We’ll just have to make them split apart.”

“E-Egg report:” Luthor said, looking like he wasn’t sure he wanted to interrupt. “All lower tower eggs were incinerated before they could form proper tendrils. The ones you dealt with, A-Arkk, weren’t removed as… uh… swiftly.” His face contorted like the report was causing physical pain. “Faster than last time though!”

“Thank you, Luthor,” Arkk said. That wasn’t anything he hadn’t expected. He wasn’t Agnete. He wasn’t an avatar. Frankly, it was lucky he knew a flame spell good enough to get rid of them.

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Those things were made to take out towers like his. The way they drained magic and weakened the reinforced walls would have seen his tower crumbling around him if Priscilla hadn’t given him that inferno spell. Even with it, they were still being worn down.

The situation needed to change. Fast.

“Your mechanical forces are almost fully assembled down below,” Arkk said, looking to Agnete. “Do you think the voltcoil wyrms can damage any of the airships?”

Agnete hummed, pursing her lips. She strode toward where the window used to be, peering slightly upward as if she could see the ships through the opaque bricks. “Now that I’ve seen them in person, I doubt it. They may be able to cause some damage to the prime ship, seeing as it is made from wood, but not the whales.”

“A distraction might suffice. Enough for you or our bombardment to get a good hit in.”

“True. If the airship is focused on them rather than me—”

“Sir,” Camilla shouted. The fairy looked up with wide yellow eyes. “The army is moving again. Back towards the tower.”

“In addition, I’ve s-spotted at least a portion of the Eternal Empire’s other soldiers. Estimated one thousand are heading to reinforce Evestani.”

Rekk’ar, leaning over the large map table, curled his lips in a scowl that showed off his tusks. “The King’s army is still engaged with Evestani’s soldiers. They got in a good hit against Evestani spellcasters and siege weapons. Hmm… Maybe we just let them get torn apart?” he said, scowl changing to thoughtful reflection.

“Careful,” Arkk hissed, throwing a glance around as if the demon might have heard. At the moment, the demon was presumably clashing with Evestani. He didn’t want to do anything that would change that. “I have my undead goblins in place, ready to support Mags. Three hundred isn’t much, but their very nature will make them a perfect distraction to let them get the upper hand. Especially if they remind Evestani of their previous encounter with undeath.”

In a single battle that resulted in no losses for Arkk, he had cut down nearly one-fifth of the Evestani army. They would be hard-pressed to not remember that.

Lexa was out there as well. A quick check showed her skirting around the edges of an ongoing battle. Presumably to get closer to the avatar.

She needed to pick up the pace.

Arkk muttered a small prayer that the effigy would work. He had never been much for religion. He participated in the Suun lectures more because they were something to do in his little village and less because he was an actual believer. Ironically, he felt he believed less now. Not that the gods didn’t exist—they empirically did—just that they cared. Even still, a whisper to the Eternal Silence or Xel’atriss, Lock and Key, or anyone who might listen felt appropriate. That effigy had to work.

If it didn’t, he had likely sent Lexa to her death.

If it didn’t and the avatar used another golden ray, he might have consigned everyone present to their deaths. Unless Zullie could get her impenetrable barrier working. Speaking of… “Zullie—”

“Sir,” Camilla interrupted before he could start, “soldiers at the base of the tower are reorganizing. I believe they’re prepared to renew their assault.”

Arkk let out a small breath. Finally some good news. “Zullie, the Maze of Infinite Paths?”

“Ready to go. Just drop me off in the containment room.”

“Good. Make it happen.” Command given, Arkk sent her off. It would delay the barrier, but it would hopefully solve one issue.

“Sir?” Camilla asked. “Maze?”

“Nothing you need to worry about. In fact, avoid scrying into the tower legs for the time being.” Arkk stumbled slightly as another volley struck the tower. The maze wouldn’t take long to activate, but they really needed to get their defenses operational again. Lesser servants were in the process of repairing the ritual room, but even once it was repaired, Lelith would still have to scrawl out the protective ritual.

With daylight peaking through parts of the tower walls again, they might not have that kind of time.

“Shall I hear out what the other avatar has to say?” Agnete asked, apparently reading his mind.

Arkk pursed his lips into a heavy frown. “Not knowing what she wants from you, I’m wary. She wanted me to return you to her, which is how someone speaks of property, not people. I would prefer if we heard second-hand through Abbess Hannah and Sylvara. But I’m also not going to stop you if that is what you wish.”

“I don’t know if we have the option of waiting,” Agnete said, watching the lesser servant form a fresh layer of bricks in the command center’s walls. “Barring mind-altering elements in the avatar’s speech, I don’t see harm in hearing her out.”

That was one of the reasons why Savren was in the room as well. It hurt taking him off the research projects that Arkk needed done as soon as possible, but he was the expert in mind magics. If Lyra Zann did have some way of controlling other’s thoughts, he would hopefully notice before they could take effect.

The other main reason was that he also was loyal to Arkk, which meant that if Lyra put forth some ideas that Sylvara or Hannah should betray him, Savren would be able to warn Arkk well in advance, before Hannah even tried to break her link with him, hopefully. He was well aware that Sylvara’s motivations were a lot like those of Lexa—both wanted the Heart of Gold’s avatar wiped off the face of the realm—but without the fallback of gold and general comradery to ensure she wouldn’t turn on him. He didn’t think she would do that. Sylvara was pragmatic more than dogmatic, but he well knew she would likely leave his services once the war ended.

Whether her inquisitorial nature meant she would be forced against him or not was another matter entirely. It would be good if he could reach some kind of agreement with Lyra, keep the Abbey off his back through her, but with her repeated insistence on wanting Agnete returned and his repeated denial, he wasn’t sure that was possible.

But that would be a problem for the future. For now, “I’ll send you down there. Be forewarned that I may teleport you away at any moment once the whale ships begin another of their egg attacks. Or should an opportunity arise in the current situation.”

“I’ll keep myself running hot.”

With a nod of his head, Arkk sent her off.

A brief dizzying sensation hit him a moment later. Nothing to do with Agnete. It was Zullie activating her maze. It suddenly felt as if his arms were twisted into chaotic breaded pretzels. The stairs expanded, continually moving upwards and downwards. The tower legs split into a multitude, all slightly different yet all slightly the same, all occupying the same space. Corridors and chambers divided, splitting apart even as more and more grew to fill in the gaps. Both legs of the tower became a liminal space of conflicting passages. The kind, once one entered, they would never be able to find their way out from.

There was a sudden urge to look into the affected area, just to see what it looked like from an outside perspective. It wouldn’t kill him, but keeping his head on straight was too much of a priority in the current situation.

As soon as Zullie tugged on the link, he teleported her back up. Her research station had been relocated here so that she might inform him of any immediate changes to her progress faster than otherwise. Every second could count.

“That went well,” she said with a smile. “And it gave me an idea.”

“No,” Arkk said. “Defensive spell or something to destroy those ships. No more ideas. You’re the one who didn’t want to swap projects until you finished.”

“But that’s just the thing,” Zullie said, casually taking off her glasses. She pulled at the side of her robes and started cleaning off some bit of dust. “The maze project is already finished. Any further applications of it won’t take long to implement. Not like crafting new ideas from scratch.

“We’ll power it with the Heart—by the fortress itself—so no need to rely on glowstones at all! No personnel to get blasted apart if that golden boy hits us. Just a weak connection that will snap if it tries to drain too much at once. The perfect spell, utilizing the fortress to its fullest potential.”

Arkk let out a small sigh. This again. Zullie had the notion that the Heart could be used to power all rituals. It didn’t work like that in practice. Unlike the portal, rituals weren’t part of the fortress, but something overlaid on top of it. Small amounts of magic could go to rituals under certain circumstances, but that was closer to what happened to rituals in the Underworld. The abundance of ambient magic helped activate them.

“No, no. I know that look,” Zullie said, reseating her glasses on her nose. “It will work. Imagine a bottle with no end… it has no openings and no volume, yet can hold… No, imagine a torus which can’t… A ribbon with both sides…” The witch stopped, lips pressed together.

“Zullie…”

“It’s hard to explain,” she said. “But it will work. Our little maze downstairs is evidence. Look in at the ritual. No glowstones, right?”

Arkk blinked twice, doing as she asked. The containment room was one of several similar rooms that were completely sealed from outside access. Only teleportation could get in and out. There were some glowstones set to the side, meant to power rituals, but the predominant ritual circle in the center of the chamber didn’t have any. Its inscribed rings still glowed a faint, pulsing violet.

At the three points where glowstones or spellcasters would have been required, something was strange. The space there twisted, folding in on itself. It was as if, sweeping his eyes from left to right over the ritual circle, he suddenly started staring all over the place—up, down, inside-out, and all around—before his vision simply continued sweeping to the side. Staring too long, trying to figure out what happened there, was starting to give him a headache.

He pulled back, frowning at Zullie. “You experimented in a situation like this?”

“Naturally. It is in my nature to constantly seek improvement.”

“In less time than it would take to finish your other research.”

“Ten minutes. I’ll be reusing almost all principles in the Infinite Maze for this.”

That was better than her expected hour for her other idea.

“And you think this will get us protected again? Properly? No flickering out or failure.”

“For anything less than a golden ray? Yes,” Zullie said with a confident nod of her head. “In fact, I think I can do more than protect us.” A smile spread across her face. “Why waste all that energy just blocking attacks, Arkk? Let’s use their own weapons against them.”