CHAPTER 14 – THE DECEPTION

Morning came too soon and proved Sir Donnan right. “Just a scouting army,” he confirmed, lowering the spyglass, and handing it to Erlandra.

Daos and the other generals stood just behind her on the ramparts surveying the field they’d been training in the previous day.

“That’s a scouting army?” Daos asked, his voice deadpan. “That’s the size of our entire fighting force.”

“Indeed,” Sir Donnan said, not sounding as defeated as Daos felt.

“They’ll all be locals, except the two generals leading them,” Erlandra said over her shoulder to him. “We have Outsiders. He’ll only have those who didn’t flee Lyr, or who chose to join him after the world message.”

“Have you forgotten how many Outsiders like to play the antagonist?” Daos asked.

“Perhaps. But I’ve watched them as their numbers increased here in Velli Machia. They go where the experience is, and the world message seemed to suggest that more of it was on our side of the fight.”

Fair point. Daos stifled a sigh. “What’s our next step, then? They’re all just standing there.”

“They’re waiting to see if we’ll meet them on the field of battle, or if we’ll cower behind our walls,” Sir Donnan answered.

“We need to meet them. The Outsiders want battle, so we give it to them. And I’d rather they not have any intel on the security of our walls and gates until they physically reach them,” Erlandra announced.

“Meisters Reichart and Oric, you two with the Mages. Send me one of your missives if your flagbearer falls. Chopper, Nadia, with the Warriors. Donnan with the Rogues. Daos, I’m going to send a local rogue with you to flank and gather what intel you can on the two generals. I can’t make out who they are from here.”

“All due respect, Rogue Leader,” Sir Donnan said, “but I’d like to send the young Rogue I’ve been training to lead in my stead. It is a scouting army we’re up against, after all, and he could use the experience.”

Daos would have grinned at the tailor’s smooth tactic if Erlandra hadn’t still been looking at him.

“Fine,” she said with a nod. “Everybody good? Then go!”

Daos gave Nadia’s hand a squeeze, then watched his friends split off to their respective posts. “And who is babysitting me as I flank?” Daos asked, smirking at Erlandra.

“Don’t act surprised, you’re still a noob. Her name is Lulu. She’s a local from southwest of here, a city called Shale. I saw her training yesterday. She’ll keep you safe.”

Daos opened his mouth to reply, but she interrupted.

“No. You die every time you attempt something, don’t deny it. What level are you?”

“Ten,” he admitted.

“See? A noob. Chopper’s already sixteen. Didn’t you arrive here at the same time?”

Daos bit his tongue. She knew what his deaths had accomplished. How they’d been necessary. She was just baiting him because that’s who she was. He could give her that, so he smiled at her instead.

“Got me. Where can I find Lulu, then?”

“Right here,” a voice called from the stairs behind him.

Daos turned to see a dark-skinned woman the same height as he. Her pitch-black hair was pulled tightly behind in a braided ponytail. She had a bow slung over one shoulder and a quiver of arrows hanging from the belt against her hip.

“Good to meet you, Lulu. Up to speed on our mission?” he asked.

“Yes. I am to watch you and ensure you do not kill yourself foolishly.”

Daos gave Erlandra a sideways glance but suppressed his grimace and looked back at Lulu with a smile instead. “Wonderful. I have a way of dying whenever I try to do anything useful. It’ll be nice to have you along. Shall we?”

He didn’t wait for her response, and instead stepped around her and descended the stairs, heading for the gate. He didn’t even turn around to see if she was following him.

Lulu proved to be the strong, silent type as they wound their way through the trees. Daos had decided on a curving path through the woods, a mile or so out of their way, on the chance that the opposing army had soldiers stationed in the tree line as well.

“Think we’ve come far enough that we’ll be at their rear if we head toward the field?” Daos turned to find Lulu about ten feet behind, observing his movements.

“I do not know. You are here to do your mission; I am here to do mine.”

Lots of help, this one…

“Then I’m going to assume we have, and start heading that way.”

The sounds of battle could be heard as they approached the edge of the forest. Daos was careful to avoid snapping any fallen branches as he walked. When they could finally see the fight, Daos stepped behind a tree trunk to peer around it and survey the field.

They’re holding, he observed silently, heartened to see a good chunk of empty land between the fight and the city walls. May only be a scouting army, but we seem to be doing well.

Daos swept his eyes over the melee, searching for two enemies who would somehow stand apart. At the back, he noticed two such men simply standing and watching the battle unfold.

Those would be the generals Erlandra was talking about. They’re too far away to make out any details, though. Why didn’t I grab Sir Donnan’s spyglass? Because I’m a mage. I can figure this out.

How can I make my vision into binoculars…?

Eagles! Don’t they toggle between normal vision, and zoomed-in vision? Plus, eagles have yellow eyes, and yellow is basically the most annoying color to humans. The one we can see from the furthest distance. Okay, yellow it is.

“Lulu, keep an eye here. I need to retreat back into the woods to hide the spell I’m about to cast, and then I’ll meet you back here.”

“You have your mission, I have mine.” The woman answered.

Fine, whatever. Daos retraced their route, until he was positive there was no line of sight to the battlefield.

Chromatic Orb – yellow!

The orb appeared, shining brightly. To be safe, Daos held up the right sleeve of his robe and bent awkwardly, angling himself so the orb and the yellow square of wool filled as much of his vision as possible.

Eagle Eye, me!

Daos’s stomach churned as his vision blurred, narrowed to a pinpoint, then telescoped out to eyesight more clear and long distance than he could ever have imagined.

He stumbled, turning back toward the edge of the woods, not sure how long the spell would last and not wanting to waste it. He tripped over an exposed root as he acclimated to the odd combination of monocular and binocular vision, unable to use only one or the other.

Pulling himself to his feet, he held down the breakfast that wanted to evacuate his stomach and forced himself to push on.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he neared the edge and looked out into the open field.

So much better with everything far away. Sweat moistened his brow as his eyes settled into binocular mode, zooming in on whoever he specifically looked at in the battle that raged before him.

He could see Chopper periodically as bodies shifted around him. His friend had grabbed the shield of a fallen ally and was currently beating it into the face of an enemy.

Daos shifted his eyes, nauseous at performing the motion so quickly, and focused in on the two generals who had hung back to observe their forces.

The larger man is in platemail, he’s gotta be a warrior. The other tougher to pinpoint. Leather, looks like some chain mail around the torso. Possibly a rogue but could be a fighter.

Clamping one arm around a tree for support he leaned forward to concentrate on the two men.

Both have blond hair steaming from their helmets, could almost be Viking brothers. Oh, he turned, the big warrior has a beard, that’ll help identify him.

A loud thunk reverberated next to his head as an arrow slammed into the trunk of the tree he was holding.

“You have been spotted! We must go,” Lulu said from behind him, grabbing and pulling him swiftly back into the woods.

His vision swam with the sudden jerk backwards. He clenched his stomach muscles, willing himself not to spew all over Lulu as he stumbled and turned, forcibly being dragged into a half-blind, staggered run.

It took another ten seconds for the Eagle Eye spell to wear off, and most of the run back for the nausea to settle.

I don’t ever want to do that again, wow. That is a spell for stable footing and no intent to move, definitely.

The battle was still raging when Daos and Lulu arrived back at Fyr’s outer walls.

“Should we join them?” he asked with a glance to Lulu.

“My job is to keep you alive, so I would advise against it,” she replied.

Daos struggled to remember the name of the country on the Outside that her accent reminded him of. He knew the continent was Africa, and that it involved the letter K, but try as he might the name eluded him. I can’t remember any of the countries in Africa, he realized with a start.

Shaking his head, he turned back to watch the battle. Focus. The Outside is gone to me, it may as well not exist anymore.

He turned his thoughts to the issues at hand when Erlandra and Sir Donnan broke free of the back line and stalked across the open field toward Daos.

They’re covered in blood, he observed as they approached.

“What did you learn?” Erlandra asked without ceremony when they were within speaking distance.

“One is a warrior for sure, he was clad in full platemail. The other could be a warrior or a rogue, I’m not sure. They both had blond hair, reminded me a of Vikings.”

Erlandra nodded. “The Sorenson brothers. Gunnar and Torbjorn. Gunnar is bigger, a warrior as you said. Torbjorn is a rogue. They’re twins.”

She looked neither displeased nor happy with the information.

“Is that good news, or bad?” Sir Donnan asked as he wiped a spatter of blood from his forehead with his sleeve.

“Neither. They’re idiots, but they’re fiercely loyal and enjoy everything they’re ordered to do. Their stupidity could prove useful, or it could surprise us. Hard to say.”

“Should we carve a path through the fight and attack them?” Daos quickly held up his hands to stop Erlandra’s obvious retort about his low level. “Not me per se, but Sir Donnan and Nadia are powerful. The Meisters, too. Hell, I’m sure the guild masters are a force to be reckoned with, if there’s only the two generals? Right? No? Maybe?”

“The army would be more likely to sound the retreat if their back line were breached,” Sir Donnan said in agreement. “Their only purpose is to scout and test the waters, after all, not to break us.”

Erlandra considered the two of them for a moment, then nodded. “Daos, get word to Nadia to meet us in the center of the fray. Hasten us as we push through. I’ll grab some of the locals for a charge, but you’re to hold back. Lulu, you’re with him.”

Daos nodded.

Mental Missive – Nadia, hey, fight your way to the center if you can. Erlandra and Sir Donnan have a plan to force an enemy retreat. We’re on our way there now.

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Sir Donnan led the charge through their own army’s back line, shouting orders to make way, and locals shoved at their enemies to clear them a path.

Nadia was in the center when they arrived, pulling her sword out of the back of a fallen corpse. Her hair was wild, much of it having sprung free of the braid she’d fashioned that morning, enveloping her head like a storm cloud. She was breathing hard and her shirtsleeve was ripped, but otherwise she was okay.

Daos exhaled in relief at the sight of her.

Haste – Donnan!

Haste – Nadia!

He heard Chopper screaming a war cry somewhere to the left, raw excitement fueling his voice.

Something hard slammed against Daos’s shoulder, and pain sent a shockwave through his chest as he fell to one knee.  A boot kicked him, and he fell sideways onto his hip as he looked up to see a large warrior holding a club high, ready to smash it down on his face.

Arcane Shield!

A knife pierced through the front of the man’s throat from behind, then quickly withdrew. Blood spurted out as the warrior collapsed to his knees, then fell sideway onto the ground with a thud.

Daos looked up and saw Lulu holding the knife. He swallowed hard. “Thanks,” he said, wincing as he rose to his feet.

Wait, I didn’t see any damage notification, but that hurt a ton, what the hell?

“Not me,” the woman said as she tossed the dagger.

Erlandra caught it.

“You throw well,” Daos shouted as she turned to fight another enemy without acknowledging him.

“You do not,” Lulu said, her voice barely audible above the clatter of blades and shields around them.

Arcane Bolt!

Daos flung spells left and right as Lulu used her own knife to ward off every enemy that tried to close in on them.

Chopper ran past Daos with a holler, a manic look of glee on his face as he held the gauntleted arm of a fallen warrior.

Rage – Chopper!

And then his friend was gone, rampaging through the clashing confusion and mass of bodies surrounding them.

A horn sounded from the far side of the field, and the enemy fighters began kicking back their opponents, buying precious space for themselves to flee.

They did it! They’re sounding the retreat!

Lulu sheathed her knife and pulled out her bow, firing a few arrows into enemy backs as Daos rolled his shoulder. The pain was receding.

Chopper clapped him on the back, sending fresh pain coursing through his shoulder again and causing him to wince.

“Never had,” he said, heaving a breath every few words, “so damned… much… fun,” the Irishman finally finished before bending over, his hands on his knees, breathing hard.

Daos shuffled, spinning in place. Bodies, from both sides, lay everywhere on the ground both near and far, stretching off into the distance.

And this was just a scouting army. We are well and truly fucked, aren’t we?!

Sir Donnan and Nadia joined Erlandra as they approached.

“The generals?” he asked.

“We couldn’t take even one of them down,” Sir Donnan replied. “They got Meister Oric. Threw himself in front of Reichart, earning himself a sword through the chest. Didn’t stand a chance,” the tailor said, his voice flat.

“Reichart’s okay?”

The older man nodded.

“Oric will be back.” And hopefully in time. Didn’t Niccolo say they’d respawn slower than us?

“I’d forgotten that,” Sir Donnan said, perking up at the reminder. “No wonder he was so ready to throw himself in front of his colleague. Man’s a hero.”

“There are a lot of heroes here today,” Erlandra said softly, looking over the field of corpses.

“Aye,” Nadia said sadly. “Ones who will nae be returnin’ to us.”

“We have their names,” came Meister Reichart’s voice as he limped up to the group. “They’ll be remembered. Their deeds immortalized in stone at the Academy, at the very least.”

Did this really all begin as a game? Daos felt hollow. He felt immense gratitude for the friends who were still with him, but emptiness pervaded at the thought of all the lives thrown away in the wake of one lich lord’s anger and hatred.

It’s not a game. It’s real. They’re real. I’m real. Nadia’s real.  And everything’s at stake.

**** **** ****

Daos and Nadia woke before dawn the next morning. He hadn’t slept well, and she confirmed the same. His head was still filled with thoughts of the coming mission.

Meister Oric was walking through the Academy entrance just as they reached the main hall.

“How long was I gone?” he asked the moment he saw them, huffing and puffing as he hurried to meet them halfway.

“’Tis but the next morn,” Nadia answered.

“I’m not too late, then?”

“You’re right on time, Meister. Sir Donnan proclaimed you a hero for saving Meister Reichart,” Daos added, patting the older man on the shoulder as he turned him around to exit the Academy.

“I don’t know about that,” the professor replied.

“You can do things others can’t now. Better get used to it.”

The three of them stepped into the city just as a hint of light on the horizon heralded the new day, as if oblivious to the war that would accompany it.

“Today, the three of us convince an evil, undead lord of time to meet us in a lava room where we will attempt to trap him in a fate of his own devising. Doesn’t sound likely when I say it out loud, does it?” Daos asked his companions.

“If we dinnae succeed, well, failin’ means yer playin’. We’ll do all we can, love.”

“Meister, I suggest you set out immediately. We’ll find Erlandra and see if she can send Lulu to watch your back, but you’ll need to make good time. Nadia and I will catch up as soon as we can.”

“I won’t be leaving your side until the boss says my job is done,” Lulu said, stepping out from the building’s shadow and surprising the three of them.

“Have you been watching me all night? Even after the battle?”

“You have your job, I have mine.”

“I’ll go with him, then,” Nadia said, placing a hand on Daos’s arm. “Keep him safe an’ await your arrival.

He didn’t like it but knew better than to argue. They were both significantly higher level than he and could take care of themselves.

“Be careful, then. Avoid Lyr entirely, DeathLag probably left some of his sentries in the city. Straight to the mountains.”

Nadia nodded and pulled him into a kiss, then led Meister Oric away.

“An Outsider and a local? I’ve not seen that before,” Lulu said.

Daos sighed. “I’m not really an Outsider. Not anymore.”

“Not really a local though, either.”

“No, I suppose not.”

They walked to the South Gate where guardsmen were rounding up the last of any able-bodied citizens they could find who could fight. Their army was amassing just outside the gate as they arrived.

Daos walked up the thin, narrow steps to the ramparts where he saw Erlandra studying the field.

“You can’t be serious,” he muttered when he saw the size of the enemy army at the far end of the field. It dwarfed the defenders of Fyr, potentially tenfold.

“I got my start here, in Fyr, you know,” Erlandra said without taking her eyes off the army.

“I think you mentioned that before.”

“Everything was new and exciting. A new world, new people. Adventure.”

She paused, and he remained silent as he waited for her to continue.

“They’re all going to die here. We might hold out today, but tomorrow? They’ll all wander the Dim in a matter of days.”

Daos shuddered, remembering the desolate gray.

“Probably,” he said, not wanting to sugarcoat the facts. “But there won’t even be a Dim if we fail.”

“Then what are you doing up here?”

Daos turned and descended the stairs. He couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye, or even wish her luck. It would take him four days to reach the mountain cave. This fight would be long over by then.

“How do we go on, knowing Fyr is going to fall? Knowing the world is going to end if we don’t succeed?” he asked Lulu as they trudged through the forest on their way to flank the enemy army and give him a clear line of sight to DeathLag.

Just when he thought she wasn’t going to reply, she spoke. “I have a mission. I will see it through to whatever end comes. You will do the same.”

To whatever end may come. “Mm,” he grunted as they reached the tree line.

Eagle Eye, me.

He was better prepared this time for the distortion of his vision as he scanned his eyes across the back row of enemy fighters.

That has to be him.

In the center of what Daos assumed to be the generals, was a tall figure clad in a black robe, the hood pulled up and over the head. The robe was old, worn, and tattered. The figure stood deathly still. The only motion on his person was a ripple in the robe’s fabric afforded by the breeze.

Mental Missive – DeathLag, I hear you want Machiavelli, Daos began, ready to send the entire speech he’d prepared during their journey.

He faltered, though, when a voice responded immediately before he had finished casting the spell.

“Who is this?” The voice rasped in his mind, low and gravelly.

Someone who knows what you did in the lava cave, Daos thought, now improvising.

“Many know what I did. That was the point. Bother me no more, maggot.”

Someone who knows how to get you an audience with a god, then.

There was no response for some time as Daos kept his vision focused on the hooded form. A horn sounded, the generals shouted commands he couldn’t make out, and DeathLag’s army advanced toward Fyr.

Daos’s eyes widened as DeathLag’s head turned, the only movement he’d seen from the figure since setting focus on it.

A skull lay beneath the cowl, a purple glow illuminating its eyes. They stared directly at him, despite the distance between them, as though DeathLag could actually see Daos as clearly as Daos could see him.

I have your attention, then? He gulped, his mouth and throat dry.

There was no response, but the purple flames continued their stare from deep within the eye sockets.

In five days’ time, be at the Lava Cave. Come alone, and I give you Machiavelli. Don’t come alone, and I disappear, and so does my offer.

“And why would I care where a fly buzzes off to, so long as it stops annoying me?” The skull turned back to the battle as the army’s clashed.

Because this fly is your only ticket to the god. You want to go home, don’t you?

“Five days’ time. If you mock me, little fly – if you do not deliver, Daos, you will suffer a fate worse than the one I exacted on that pest in the cave.

Daos felt the connection between them sever. He shivered, suddenly feeling cold all over. He knows my name.

“Okay, Lulu. Let’s go. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

**** **** ****

Four days passed in a blur of fighting, running, walking, sleeping, then fighting again.

“I may not have made it here without you, Lulu. At the very least, not this swiftly,” Daos said, expressing his gratitude as they arrived at the mouth of the cave. “Erlandra knew what she was doing when she told assigned you my protection.”

“She told me what is at stake if you fail. I always see my missions through.” The woman replied simply.

“Thank you, regardless.”

They navigated the twisting turns of the tunnels per Erlandra’s directions. Daos had to step over multiple kobold corpses as they moved toward the lava room. Thankfully, there was nothing left to fight.

Nadia and Oric had a bit of work here, it seems.

He tried to keep from thinking of the others, and Fyr. Four days had passed since they’d left the battle. It was unlikely to still be ongoing.

“Knock, knock,” Daos shouted as they arrived at their destination.

“Look what the cat dragged in, then,” Nadia said as he walked into the room.  She gave him a smile.

Oric was over against the wall, studying the runes that Daos had cast voided slashes into.

“How are we looking, Meister?”

“Mm? Oh. Oh! Daos, you’re here, good, good.” The man looked out of sorts, having been so absorbed in his ruminations. “We’re going to need you first to reverse these lines you carved into the stone. You have that monocle that Erlandra made you, yes?”

“I do,” he responded, holding it out to the professor.

“Excellent, yes. This will do nicely. I will inscribe a rune on the glass. It should reflect the essence of the magic you absorb from the colors, and cause a reverse effect to your spell, then fill in the void rather than create a new one. It um, will however, shatter the glass after five uses. I’m sorry about that.”

Daos allowed himself a chuckle. “It’s just glass. I’ll find more. Do it.”

It took Oric a full hour to work the rune into the glass and fill it with mana. “Done”, he said at last, handing it back to Daos.

“Time for my part, then.”

Chromatic Orb – White

Daos raised the red tinted monocle to his left eye and equipped it. He looked at the first rune along the wall and raised up his cloak to fill most of the view of his right eye, leaving just enough space to see the rune.

The white glow of the orb helped to offset the orange tint from the lava that washed over everything in the room, and make the gray of his cloak easier to discern.

Eagle Eye, me.

Oh man, please work.

His vision tunneled out and then back in.

Left eye, monocular. Come on, focus. His vision cleared, and he was now able to see the rune on his monocle easily.

Right eye, binocular. Force it, just the right eye. Concentrate!

Daos felt like something in his head snapped as his eyes disconnected their combined vision and two images became distinct in his mind. The right eye zoomed to provide a clear, detailed view of the runes on the far wall.

“His nose be bleedin’!” he heard Nadia’s voice call out, but the Meister shushed her.

Daos barely noticed the wetness seeping down onto his upper lip. Focus now…

Carve Void.

Daos felt separated from the world as the rune in the monocle lens flared briefly, filling his left eye with light while his right one remained solely focused on the far rune, and the gray of his cloak.

He tasted copper as blood trickled over the edge of his lip and his tongue licked at it reflexively.

Then his eyes widened as the void he’d carved into the rune last time slowly refilled with stone.

Yes!

He looked to the next rune.

Carve Void.

Then the next one.

Carve Void.

His Eagle Eye spell ended just as the void of the third rune refilled, and he dropped to one knee.

“I’m okay,” he said, holding up a hand to ward off the others. “I’m okay. I just need a minute.”

“Take your time,” Meister Oric said softly. “Rest a bit. We have all night.”

“Unless he comes early,” Lulu stated plainly.

She’s right.

Daos took a slow, deep breath and stood again.

“Meister, get to work rebuilding those runes and channeling whatever you need into them.”

He turned toward the lava pool, looking at the last two runes on the wall beyond it.

Eagle Eye.

His vision swam.

Carve Void.

Blood dripped from the other nostril. He could feel it wind its way around his mouth, then drip from his chin and onto the stone floor.

He concentrated on the final rune.

Carve… Void.

His vision went black.

Daos opened his eyes to see Nadia staring down at him with an arched eyebrow. “Yer a bit of a fainter, then?”

“Actually, my trick is usually doing magic until I die from it. So, I’m making progress.”

The corner of her mouth quirked up in a lopsided smile, and she helped him to his feet.

“The runes are ready to go,” Meister Oric declared. “As soon as you give the command, I’ll channel the last of the required energy into them. It’s all about timing, at this point.”

Daos nodded.

“Little fly.”

The gravelly voice took them by surprise, and they turned, seeing the lich lord standing at the entrance of the cave room.

He’s early. No, no, no. Shit.

DeathLag walked in, the ends of his tattered black robe trailing behind. His cowl was lit by the purple flames of his eyes, which, when combined with the orange glow of the lava, revealed the yellowed skull housed within.

They separated, slowly stepping off to each side as the lich approached the lava pool.

“Tell me, Daos. Have you seen the pitiful little bug I left here, respawn? It really is quite something.”

Daos swallowed hard.

“Yes. Grotesque. You’re a fucking monster.”

“I’m going to do it to you, you know. All of you. Right here, falling and burning, falling and burning. Forever.”

Mental Missive – Chopper, he’s early! Get Nilchi, NOW!”

“You wanted Machiavelli.”

“Ah, yes. Yet I do not see him.”

“Give it a moment.” Daos said, closing his eyes and raising his hands, hoping it would look like he was trying to summon the god.

“Oh, little fly.” DeathLag sounded amused.

“Give me a minute!”

Strangely, the lich did.

When Daos opened his eyes, Nilchi was standing at the left side of the lava pool. Greatly relieved, trying not to collapse to the ground, he maintained his footing however and stared back at DeathLag.

“Here he is.”

“That is not Machiavelli.”

“Yes, it is.”

“That, you stupid twat, is an admin. Do you think me the fool, here to unveil my villainous plot and give you the time to –“

“NOW!” Daos shouted, rushing toward DeathLag.

He was flung back against the stone by an unseen force, all breath knocked out of his lungs. He watched as Nadia and Oric were sent flying in a similar matter.

Do it, Nilchi! Hurry!

A moment later DeathLag blinked out of existence, then reappeared above the lava, falling into it immediately.

Nilchi disappeared as well.

DeathLag’s robe went up in flames, disintegrating almost before the rest of his skeletal form hit the lava.

The skull’s mouth opened, and a scream erupted from its depths as flames engulfed it and he began to sink. The fire roared and his screams became laughter echoing throughout the cave as the bones crumbled and disappeared.

No one spoke as they clambered to their feet, their eyes locked on the now dying flames at the top of the lava pool.

Daos gulped. “Did that maybe seem too easy, to either of you?” he asked.

Nadia punched him in the arm, her eyes full of stunned amazement at what they’d apparently just pulled off.