Adrian Wrynncurth arrived a week later.

Relma stood atop a plateau looking out over a hilltop to where the Black Dragon was swooping toward them. She could see Estela upon him, and also Jomas on what appeared to be another golem.

Raising a hand in relief, Relma waved. "Wrynncurth! Wrynncurth over here!"

Wrynncurth landed before them. "Relma, jolly nice to see you, old girl."

"Relma, are you alright? Did they hurt you?" asked Estela, dismounting quickly.

Relma thought she ought to ask Estela's same thing, but she didn't have cat ears or paws, so that was a good sign. "No, but I think I've been able to enlist Durag as an ally."

"What?" asked Estela. "How, I mean-

"Explain now."

"It's a bit complicated, but I think that we can use Durag to set up a dialogue between the factions," said Relma. "We can play them against one another to pressure them into peace."

"What about the Dragonfire Shield?" asked Estela.

"The what?" asked Relma.

"The Dragonfire Shield," said Estela. "The thing we came all the way out here to steal! The artifact you wanted to get for Vanessa!"

"Oh, right, that," said Relma.

"Yes, don't tell me you forgot!" said Estela.

Relma thought about the Dragonfire Shield and what it represented. Finally, she shrugged. "Eh, Vanessa was probably just trying to get us out of the way anyway. Maybe we could hand it over as an act of goodwill if we get it.

"We don't need it."

"What do you mean you don't need it?" asked Estela. "Vanessa won't even consider our requests without getting it. And the Conquista wants you to kill Durag to get it.

"How is allying with Durag a supplement?"

"Vanessa only gave us that quest because she thought it would be impossible," said Relma with a shrug. "Even if we completed it, she'd probably just lead us on a wild goose chase. I've actually got a much better idea to deal with the problem while bringing pressure on her.

"Did Ajax contact with you?"

"He said you sent him with a message," said Estela. "I sent a message to Father with it, and also got Gormath to send one to him as well. I vouched for the Conquista and also gave Father a report on their weaponry.

"I think that horses have real possibilities in the Calishan Wars."

"Well, that's a long way off," said Relma. "Do you think King Tyus will be willing to not invade?"

"Probably, yes," said Estela. "Father isn't the kind to make stupid risks. Still, he wants revenge for Otto."

"Right, well, in any case, I have a plan to fix that," said Relma. "Wrynncurth, I want to get a meeting with Prince Bryag of the Dragon Empire." Then Relma paused and looked to the entrance. "But first, Wrynncurth, could you come inside? Durag has been very interested in meeting with you for a great many centuries."

"Oh, is he?" asked Wrynncurth.

"Relma, stop, what is going on here?" asked Estela.

"I'm trying to set up a peaceful solution to these problems," said Relma. "Wrynncurth, Durag has some very... well, questionable experiments. I was hoping you could look at them and, perhaps, convince him to change them."

"Well, these experiments seem interesting," said Wrynncurth. "Very well, no harm in having a chat on the subject."

"Peaceful solution..." said Estela, looking around. "We're fighting a legion of undead commanded by a lich of unfathomable evil. And he's supported by a warrior culture who burns the souls of those they capture on eternal flame! I don't want a peaceful solution!"

"We should just smash them all," said Jomas, speaking for the first time.

"Alright, that might be valid," said Relma, not finding it easy to disagree with anything she said. "But the Dragon Empire isn't really that much better, and they're the main threat. If we can get the groups into a dialogue, we might be able to get them to stop doing bad things without violence.

"And if I'm wrong...

"We can just make an alliance against whichever faction is the absolute worst." Then Relma turned and walked to the door. "Come on."

"You are a jolly pragmatic negotiator. Especially for one pretending to be innocent," said Wryncurth.

"Hey, I'm not going to claim success until I've succeeded," said Relma. "I just want to see if we can fix all this without violence. But I'm waiting for the moment that all of this goes to hell."

Relma led her friends through the halls she'd been living in. She was careful to avoid the experimental rooms. Finally, she came to Durag's throneroom. The lich was sitting upon it, hands clasped together and looking down. His eyes were dull with thought and looked up suddenly as they entered.

Standing suddenly, he moved down toward them. "Ah, Adrian Wrynncurth, may I say that I have wished to speak with you for virtually my entire life."

"Durag, I presume?" asked Wrynncurth.

"Yes, you were a great inspiration to me," said Durag.

"Well, jolly good to be of service," said Wrynncurth, smiling slightly. "I wish your invitation has been somewhat less aggressive."

"Yes, well, fortunes of war and all that," said Durag. "Your association with the Dragon Queen meant the Sun Soul Empire was going to move against you. Making a condition of meeting you assured your safety.

"I'm hoping to move past that."

"Well, moving past something is all a matter of terrain and how well you want to work at it," mused Wrynncurth. "You've got some very remarkable necromantic weavings there."

"Oh yes, I've been working to improve them for some time," said Durag, looking at his arms. "The Hellfire Jewel shard I have has been of some help in this regard."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"He has a shard of the Hellfire Jewel?" asked Estela suddenly.

"It's not a problem, I assure you," said Durag. "I explained it to Relma some time ago. Diabolus is a dangerous entity, but can be predicted if you understand him. And once you can predict something you can control it.

"He's trying to play on my pride at the achievement right now."

"Why didn't you tell us this?" asked Jomas.

"I thought it was obvious," said Relma. "How else could he be opening portals to hell so regularly?"

"A touch simplistic, wouldn't you say?" asked Wrynncurth, ignoring the subject. "Solid, but no style."

"A matter of approach, I fear," said Durag. "My policy has always been to be practical and pragmatic. This body is more tool than art if you will."

"Yes, well, I prefer my status as an artist," said Wrynncurth, motioning to his golem that came forward. "Perhaps I might offer this specimen to you as a gift. Perhaps we can compare certain techniques."

"It is much appreciated," said Durag. "Hmm, the weavings in this are deserving of the title art. They are beautiful. Yet how did you form this?"

"It was made from the mud of a river," said Wrynncurth. "I had to purify the mud first, of course. Once done, I used the souls of a number of the walking dead to animate it. Once done, I place pieces of my hoard into it."

"Ah, yes," said Durag. "That reminds me. My chief lieutenant, Akar, destroyed two of your golems. I shall restore them, and the pieces of your hoard we found within."

"Oh, you may keep the bodies," said Wrynncurth. "Study them all you like. The coins, however, are much appreciated."

Durag nodded, and the two seemed to be getting on well. Finally, he smiled. "Would you care for some refreshments?"

"Of course," said Wrynncurth. "Estela, Relma, if you'll excuse us. I'm sure both of us have matters we jolly well ought to discuss in private. Durag old boy, I need to hear a bit about what you know of the various faction. In particular, how Bryag is doing."

Estela, Jomas, and Relma were led to a room and provided refreshments. As they did, Estela looked across her. "What now?"

"Now I need to contact Lucius Elcano and try to set up negotiations," said Relma with a sigh.

"Negotiations about what?" asked Estela. "What is the end goal here?"

"I have..." Relma stood and paused. "I have a vision, Estela. A vision of a place, I'm not sure where. A place where men from all nations can come and negotiate. All the nations can have a voice in this place.

"By having an easy way for negotiations to take place, we can prevent future wars. Different nations from thousands of miles away can spread information and culture. We can learn to understand one another, and all grow stronger from it."

"Right, and how do you intend to set this up?" asked Estela, eyeing her oddly.

"Well, I've already put together a number of powers," said Relma. "If we can bring in the nations here, that may help a lot. And as more nations join this place, others will want to as well. They will want to avoid having a coalition arranged against them."

"You don't really think you'll be able to create peace just like that?" asked Estela. "It'll collapse under its own weight. And even if you establish this coalition, neighboring lands will do the same. You can't please everyone."

"Ruling one country is hard," said Jomas. "How are you going to rule a hundred?"

"Of course I know that it'll be difficult," said Relma. "I'm not stupid.

"But I think this may do some good, and maybe it could be the start of something better. I need you to come with me to make a report to discuss matters with King Tyus and the others.

"Just uh... the communications will hurt a lot."

"I'm ready for anything," said Estela.

Relma then looked over to where Jomas was sitting, silently mulling something over. She realized she'd nearly gotten him in all this. "Jomas, how are you?"

"...I did not mean for you to be kidnapped," said Jomas finally.

"Don't worry about it," said Relma. "Jomas, I'm going to need you with us as well for this; they need to know we're all safe. Now come on, I'll lead you to the communication room."

Leading Estela and Jomas to the box, Relma explained the function. Estela listened to it, and Relma felt bad about only having this option. Yet she also felt relieved she wouldn't be doing the communications.

"Now, remember, this will hurt when you try to make contact," said Estela. "So, we need to work quickly."

Estela drove her hand into it and hissed in pain. "Ow!"

"Are you alright? I can speak for you if you-" began Relma.

"I am fine, it took me by surprise," said Estela.

And then King Tyus appeared before them. He was sitting in a seat, looking up in surprise. For a moment, he seemed to calculate. "You're communication is done through unexpected means, Estela."

"I apologize for taking so long, Father," said Estela. "The situation here is far more complex than we anticipated.

"The Dragon Empire is not so much a single Kingdom as a loose coalition of fiefs, ruled by dragons. It seems they support one another when they come under threat and jockey for position."

"Yes, this much was brought to me," said Tyus. "Do you believe an invasion is practical?"

"I believe I sent Ajax with a report on the subject," said Estela.

"You did; however, I wish to confirm your viewpoint to us," said Tyus. "I do not trust his word on its own."

"Ajax has proven himself to me, Father," said Estela.

"Perhaps, but he has not proven himself to me. Now explain," said Tyus.

"Relma has made contact with several different factions," said Estela. "I mean those described in the letter I wrote. We believe..." Estela hissed.

"Are you well?" asked Tyus.

"The spell I am using causes pain to use," said Estela. "We believe that it may be possible to force the Dragon Empire to cease its attacks without a war. Doing so will also allow Harlenor to gain access to something we've never had before.

"Horses."

"Horses?" asked Tyus. "Then, Gormath's letter was true."

"Yes, the Conquista of Anoa ride them and have other weapons," said Estela. "If they are brought to Harlenor, and we can learn to breed and ride them...

"Our armies could be unstoppable. No one would be able to stand against us."

Tyus nodded, pleased. "I see.

"And you are certain we cannot gain them with a war?"

"Yes, if we start a war, the Dragon Empire will stop it," said Estela. "They've prevented the Conquista from bringing them to Harlenor for years.

"Escor and Harlenor stand to benefit a great deal."

"A worthy consideration," said Tyus. "Still, it may not be an option. The satyrs the Heir of Kings brought to us are getting impatient. They desire to die in battle, and we are obligated to provide them with one. Even now, several of them are trying to convince others to launch raids.

"If I tell them that the war is off, we will have a different variety of war. One upon Escor's own territory." Relma realized she'd forgotten about Shren and his people. That had been a mistake.

"Have you spoken to Lucius about recalling them?" asked Estela.

"The man is very insistent that the ritual is irreversible," said Tyus. "Either he is unable, or unwilling to reverse it."

"...We could unleash them on the Sun Soul Empire," said Estela.

"What do you mean?" asked Relma.

"They are the odd man out here, Relma," said Estela. "Their alliance with Durag is one of a mutual enemy. They have no real friendship with any other faction, and they are in a weak position.

"If we did launch the satyrs against them, they'd be in no position to cause problems."

"And how would you get them across the Dragon Empire's territory, unharmed?" asked Tyus flatly.

"...We're in the Road of Ancient Stone right now, aren't we?" asked Estela. "Or a similar dimension. Perhaps, with a proper ritual, we could open a way."

"I am no sorcerer, daughter," said Tyus. "However, I know enough about magic to know such a policy would be difficult.

"You'd need a massive amount of power to create a pathway of that distance.

"There is a reason the Road of Ancient Stone is not used for transporting armies."

Relma knew she had to turn the conversation away from this subject and scanned over her options. Then Relma remembered something said in passing.

Something she could use to fix this. "...What about the Hellfire Jewel?"

"What do you mean?" asked Tyus.

"Durag has a fragment of the hellfire jewel," said Relma. "With it, he should be able to break holes in dimensions. Couldn't we use it to invade hell?"

"...The idea may be insane enough to serve our purposes," mused Tyus.

Relma had the solution; she just had to find it. And also avoid a full-scale war.