As they approached the sea, the trees began to move.

They saw the pillars being grasped and torn to shreds by the roots of the trees. One moment you would see a pillar standing tall and strong, and then you would look away. When you looked up, there would be a cracking noise, and the pillar was broken under the roots. All around them, they heard groaning and the grumbling of ancient stone. Then just as suddenly, everything went silent. It was eerie.

And it was a relief.

But William felt his powers returning to him. For the first time, the sun above seemed to give real light. The colors and meaning of the world had returned. His spirit lifted. However, Arraxia's tail flicked in irritation.

"How I wish those pillars were still up," said Arraxia. "I had forgotten how much I hated the sun."

"Why would you hate the sun?" asked William.

"Why not?" That was all Arraxia would say. Then she walked faster.

William and Felix began to trade stories with each other. Felix had been dodging the Iron Kingdom's soldiers this entire time. He and Massacre did it so well that the Iron King came to look for him.

This made William impressed beyond words. He'd always known Felix was good; he never knew he was this good. Tanith obviously thought it very impressive too.

"He wasn't like the others," said Felix. "He zoomed right in on me. No matter how far we ran, he was always behind. Wherever we hid, he found us. Eventually, I ambushed him. I had Massacre cause a distraction and come at him breathing fire and roaring.

"While she was doing that, I tried to get him in the back. But he knocked me flat without even glancing at me. If he wanted us dead, he could have killed us easily."

"So why did he let you live?" asked William.

"I think I amused him," said Felix. "He seemed to regard chasing us as entertaining. He was actually quite complimentary. Very polite."

They suddenly came from the trees to a bare hill where no grass grew. The trees seemed to recoil away from the mountain, and the ground was blackened. Arraxia led them around the hill and to a set of double doors built into the side of a rock. Two statues were on either side of it, radiating an aura of coldness, which was almost painful. They were carved images of soldiers clutching great swords in their hands. The land around the door was somehow shrunken and weak. Trees seemed to lean away from it. The grass did not grow by the door.

"Here we are," said Arraxia.

"I was expecting it to be hidden," admitted William.

"It doesn't need to be hidden," said Arraxia.

"Of course, it doesn't," said Tanith before setting a hand on the door. She let out a cry and stepped backward her hand red.

Arraxia laughed. "I told you. The door is warded by the will of the Iron King. And until now, all my efforts to get inside have been in vain."

"Then how do you know it leads to the palace?" asked Tanith.

"I stole the floor plans," said Arraxia. "It was a very complicated affair and not very interesting. That was years ago when the place was stronger, and there would have been guards here.

"Now, William, would you kindly wield your harp, and I will assist. With the power-" She eyed William, and her eyes fixed on his harp. "Where is the Goldenwood Harp?"

"I gave it back to Alchara," said William.

"You..." Arraxia stammered, "You gave it back?! Why?!"

"To save Kiyora from an unwanted marriage," said William. "Though truth be told, I wanted to stop using it in the first place. I felt that it was keeping me from truly mastering my power."

"Well, the second one, I might understand, but the first?!" said Arraxia. "What... I mean... giving up power?! You're an idiot!"

"What do you want me to do?" asked William.

"I wanted you to try and break the seal," said Arraxia.

"What were you planning to do if the trees hadn't gone berserk and destroyed all the pillars?" asked Felix. "William didn't have his powers until that happened."

"I..." Arraxia paused, "well, obviously, the trees going berserk was my doing. Clearly, I would not have made so obvious an oversight. Whatever the case, without the Goldenwood Harp, it will be far more difficult. I'll have to invest some of my power into it."

"Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say," said William.

He drew out his harp and began to play, sending forth his will against the doors. Instantly he was repulsed, and he felt the spells reaching forward to grip him. He couldn't breathe. Playing faster, he worked to loosen the grip and drew a few short breaths. Soon the grip of the spell had been thrown off.

The power of Elranor clashed with the power of the Iron Kingdom. They contested one another, and William struggled to keep playing. The statues seemed to grow taller than the mountains and leer down at him. The door almost seemed to snarl in hatred as he pressed back toward the gate. He assailed it but could not reach it.

"This power..." gasped William, "I... I'm not sure I can break the spell."

"Do shut up and play," said Arraxia.

William sent his will against him again. Once again, he was thrown back. A third time he assaulted it and pressed his full power against it. The door shuddered beneath his attack. Yet it still held firm. William pushed and pushed, gritting his teeth at the pain.

Then Kiyora appeared. "Open," she said.

New power surged against the door. It cracked. Then it shattered and fell inwards. There was a feral sneering sound, and then the door's power was broken. William stood up and looked at Kiyora.

"Kiyora?" he asked.

"Hey," said Kiyora, raising a hand, "sorry, I'm late."

"Right, let's go," said William as he stood. "Come on, Felix, we'll head for the shore."

"What?" said Arraxia.

"What?" said Kiyora.

"I only came here to free Kiyora," said William with a shrug. "I have no intention of walking into combat with the Iron King. Not now that I've already achieved what I came here to do."

"You can't do that!" said Arraxia.

"On the contrary, I can, I will, and that is what I intend to do," said William. "I'm sure Raynald and Rusara can handle the Iron King."

"Felix, could you say something to him?" asked Kiyora.

"Why would I say something?" asked Felix.

"...Can we afford to leave the Axe of Fortenex in the Iron King's hands?" asked Tanith.

"He might just want it as a trophy," said William. "In any case, he defeated Massacre. I'm not going to face someone that powerful. Not for a few more years, at least. And anyway, even if we get the Axe of Fortenex, Arraxia will steal it, gloat, and runoff. And I know she'd use it."

"Bah," said Massacre in agreement.

"Come on!" said Tanith. "We've come all this way! Let's at least have a look at him!"

"Yes, and once we have had a look at him, we'll have to fight him," said William.

"I'm in complete agreement," said Felix. "Let's go."

"But, don't you want to overthrow him for his tyranny?" asked Arraxia.

"Sure, but only if there is someone to replace him," said William. "Killing him right now would probably just send the Kingdom into anarchy. Anarchy is never good,"

"Oh, come on, William!" said Tanith. "I haven't had a chance to kill anything for days."

"Well, we may be attacked by pirates on our way home," said William. "Or waylaid by brigands or something to that effect."

"We had a deal!" said Arraxia in an almost pleading voice.

"We had an alliance. You wanted to go after the Iron King," said William. "I wanted to rescue Kiyora. Our interests aligned. The situation has changed completely since then. Really we should go back home and regroup. Best to wait on vengeance and come back after everything has cooled down."

"We can't wait," said Kiyora.

William stopped and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"We can't wait," said Kiyora. "I met Laevian earlier. She told me that the Iron King had something planned. Something which will completely annihilate all life on the continent."

"Are you sure?" asked William, heart sinking.

"Yes," said Kiyora. "She seemed quite happy about it."

William closed his eyes and sighed. "...Damn, let's go."

William summoned a light, and they turned and ventured into the passage. Within was a smooth stone passage. There were no tiles on the floor, and the wall was perfectly smooth. Rather it seemed as if someone or something had burrowed their way into the stone. The air here was still, as though dead.

William didn't like it any better than he had the outside. He spoke to Kiyora about what she had been doing to distract himself. Kiyora explained things in her usual manner, seeming unconcerned as always.

"So you were the one who destroyed all the pillars." mused William.

"Yeah," said Kiyora. "Once I got the trees started, they couldn't be stopped. They've been going around wrecking pillars left and right. There may be a few left, but what can you do?"

"Aren't you afraid the Withering King will strike back?" asked Tanith.

"Not really," admitted Kiyora. "What is he going to do, deforest the whole nation?"

"Arraxia, where does this tunnel come out exactly?" asked Felix.

"In the palace," said Arraxia. "Now quiet. Someone might be waiting for us on the other end, and I don't want them to hear you talking."

Soon they entered a wide-open chamber filled with many sarcophagi lying still in great rows. There were no rotting bodies here, but somehow this was nearly as bad as the other areas. It put William on edge to be in this tomb, and he felt as if something might rise up and attack him at any moment.

"Can we expect any guardians?" he asked.

"No," said Arraxia. "If by guardians you mean restless spirits of the dead. These are catacombs, not dormitories. Everything here is long dead."

They walked in that eerie place for some time. William needed to figure out how long it was. Then they passed beyond the catacombs and into another place. Here they saw statues. Thousands upon thousands of pale white statues of soldiers. They held spears, and their eyes were all closed.

Yet William felt a presence in the room. It was living, and he knew they should go. "Run," he said.

"What?" said Tanith.

"Run for the exit!" hissed William.

Arraxia sprang forward, and they ran after her. Yet the statues stretched around them as far as they could see in the darkness. And they began to move. Soon the figures were coming toward them from both sides.

A row of them closed the way ahead of them. The entrance could be seen just beyond. Spears were lowered toward them. "Who dares enter the domain of the Iron King without leave!" said a long, hollow voice. "You and your kind shall-"

"Oh, do shut up," Arraxia lashed out with her tail. The blade cut straight through the foremost statues. At once, the figures began to close in around them. Arraxia reached a door and kicked it from its hinges.

In she went, and William followed after her. Yet he couldn't see her anywhere as the others rushed in. Then she emerged from the ceiling and threw down a ladder from above. "Come on quickly! This way!"

"You first, Kiyora," said William. "Go."

Kiyora scaled up as William stood by the door. The statues crowd the door, but Tanith lashed out with a sword and broke the face of the leader. Another replaced it and fell as well. Tanith's blades moved in a whirlwind as William sent Felix up next. In moments, six of the statues had been cut down. They made no effort to defend themselves. They just pressed on without stopping, jabbing with spears.

It was the blades of the Nakmar. These statues would be impossible to cut with normal weapons. But Tanith's swords could cleave them. Certainly, Tanith looked to be enjoying herself as she hacked them down. But she couldn't hold them off indefinitely.

"Tanith come on!" said William. "I'll hold them!"

Tanith cleaved down three more before backing away, only to halt and cut down two more with a smile. Spinning her blades, she cut two spears and cleaved two skulls. Then she spun the blades round to sheath her swords. Turning in one smooth movement, she scaled up the ladder. The statues tried to pursue them, but they tripped over the bodies of their fallen. William went after Tanith as well. Soon she was up through the gap. William was nearly after her when he felt something grip his foot.

Looking down, he saw the statues filling the room. Unslinging his shield, he bashed away their spears but found more hands coming down to grip him. He'd fall!

"William!" cried Kiyora.

Then Arraxia's tail lashed out around him and hauled him through. He was flung against the side of a wall and tried to stand. He saw Arraxia shutting the hatch. Then gripping a great box, she drew it up and slammed it down.

William stood, healing his bruises. "That..." he said, "was far too close."

The room was utterly silent. Great boxes were piled high around them. For a moment, William looked around in silence. Utter silence. A silence deeper than anything he'd ever felt, but there was no purity to it. If this was the palace, shouldn't there have been sound?

"Where are we?" asked Tanith. Her voice seemed to echo.

"In a storehouse," said Arraxia. "One in the outer palace, as I said. Now come, let's get going."

"What makes you think we can even reach the inner palace?" asked William.

"Simple enough," said Arraxia, "the palace is empty at the best times. The Iron King needs no guards and does not care much for others' company. A long time ago, the palace was filled with all kinds of people.

"That was during my tutelage under Melchious alongside Rubia and Rioletta. We sometimes come here. We performed supernatural services for the Iron King when they were needed.

"But those days are long past. He prefers solitude now and comes and goes in secret. And only a few hundred servants live here with guards. And the palace could hold thousands."

"Well, this is poor security," said William. He walked to the door and opened it. "Come, let's go." He opened the door and saw a dozen corpses freshly made.