William had been led with his hands bound along another road. Four soldiers of the Iron Kingdom guarded him. The air was tense, as though awaiting change. He sensed the liveliness that had seeped into the trees before had been beaten back. Yet it was still there, waiting below the surface and waiting to explode outward.

His guards dragged him along none too gently. Some of them eyed his weapons and equipment as they were carried. The looks made him suspect they had no intention of letting him live. He did not see much reason why they would know to fear Duke Vanion Gabriel. Though they surely would if they knew how powerful Father was.

But they did not. Which meant William had to free himself or die here. He writhed his hands in their bindings as they made their way along. He could feel them straining.

"We're far enough now, aren't we?" said a soldier.

"No. Not yet. Some of the villagers might find him," said another. "Let's go a little way on." Stay calm. Keep stretching the restraints. They were yielding.

"The armor is nice, isn't it?" asked one.

"I want the sword," said another.

"Both of you shut up," said the leader. "These weapons and armor are going to the Iron Council. They'll decide what to do with it." He paused and looked to a mournful stump. "That's far enough. Force him to kneel by that stump."

"I was led to believe your orders were to take me captive," said William, stalling as he strained his bindings. It wouldn't do him any good to fight them. But he might escape. He'd lose his armor and sword, but those could be replaced.

"That was only for the benefit of the villagers," said the soldier. "Raka can't have us be seen killing their savior. So we'll cut your head off here and leave your body for the wolves in the woods. No one will be the wiser.

"The Iron Council gave orders that you be killed if found."

"May I ask why?" asked William.

How the hell should I know?" asked the soldier. "Grab him!"

And then the man stiffened. William saw someone standing, hidden by the leader's form, but an elegant blade was visible. Then the leader's head fell from his shoulders, and his body collapsed, spewing blood.

"Kill him!" cried one of the soldiers. "I'll guard the prisoner!"

Two of them rushed forward, but their blades were parried, and their throats were cut. Blood spewed over the attacker. The one guarding him backed away toward William. William broke his restraints and wrapped the rope around the man's throat as he did. The man struggled, and then a blade passed through his stomach and another through his heart.

The swords were an inch from William's torso. He threw down the body and stepped back. He would need to find a weapon and- Tanith?

Tanith was standing in front of him with a cheerful expression. A huge grin was on her face, and her eyes were bright. She was also drenched in blood and gore from the men she had just butchered. "Hey, Will!"

"Tanith, what are you doing here?" asked William. "You're supposed to be escorting the Axe of Fortenex!"

"Well, you know what they say about best-laid plans," said Tanith, wiping her blade off the grass. "Not that I'm complaining. I haven't had a chance to kill anything in months. Do you want to get your armor on, or do you need my help?"

"Hang on," said William.

As he donned his armor with her help, he reflected on how grateful he was to have a friend in her. Not many people would come out here. When he was finished, he looked up at Tanith. "Do you think someone will come looking for them?"

"I doubt it," admitted Tanith. "The Iron Kingdom is short-staffed. Frankly, they are dead in the water at this point."

"Where are Felix and Massacre?" asked William. "And Hrungeld?"

"As I said, it's a long story. Let's talk about it a bit further on," said Tanith. "I like blood, but it can get old."

William finished donning his armor and sword and retrieved his personal effects. Then they walked on. Tanith kept them going at a hard pace and found he could hardly keep up with her. When they were children, she always ran ahead and even walked; she did it quickly. Finally, he stopped.

"This is far enough," said William. She stopped. "Now, Tanith, I need you to tell me everything. And I do mean everything. Tell it to me like you were making a mission report to my father."

"Why?" asked Tanith. "Oh, right, the scrying runes. Alright, I'll tell you everything I know."

"First, let's start a fire," said William. "It is getting cold."

They gathered sticks and dried leaves and lit the fire, though it took several tries. Felix would have had it done easily. Then Tanith told him just what she had been up to. Tanith and Hrungeld had been taken captive by the Iron Kingdom, which was horrible. Fortunately, Kiyora had freed them and wakened the trees. That much was good news. But even that came with its troubling news.

"So Kiyora has fallen under Arraxia's sway," said William.

"She didn't seem all that beat up about it," admitted Tanith.

"That is Arraxia's way," said William. "When she takes control, you don't notice. Everything seems natural to you, as though obeying her were breathing."

"Creepy," said Tanith, sounding more interested by the second.

"You don't know the half of it," said William.

"So when she had you under her control, did you two do anything?" asked Tanith curiously.

"What?" said William.

"Just curious. I mean, from how you talk about her-" began Tanith.

"No!" said William, horrified at the implication. "I would never!"

"Fine, you don't need to get so touchy," said Tanith. "Well, I've told you my story. What about you?"

William told her his tale. She listened carefully to the story of Lucius and the Withering King. She paid particular attention to the description of the corpses throughout the tunnels. When he came to the Einheroth he had freed, she laughed outright.

"You felt sorry for an undead?" she asked.

"Yes," said William.

"You are a sap, you know that," said Tanith, slapping him across the back.

"I am well aware," said William. "At any rate, after the creature abandoned me, I convinced some goblins that I was an Einheroth. They led me out by a side entrance, though it was a very near thing."

"Oh?" asked Tanith. "Did you feel sorry for them, too?"

"I was hoping that the Withering King would find out and have them all killed," said William. "They steal babies from cradles."

"Well, it looks like you have some aggression after all," said Tanith. "I'm proud of you."

"Don't patronize me, Tanith," snapped William.

"Fine, fine, what do we do now?" said Tanith, still smiling.

"Well, I suppose we should find Felix and Massacre and get out of here," said William. "However, Kiyora being imprisoned is a problem. If the Iron Kingdom manages to break her to their will, they will have power, Seathorius.

"I wish I knew how Father would react to all this. It would make my plans much easier to make."

"Well, if I were him," said Tanith, "I'd ally with the Viokin Minotaurs. Then launch a two-pronged invasion of the Iron Kingdom. Rape, pillage, burn, have a celebration, and bring colonists in to take the place of the people we killed off."

"I'm sure the Iron Kingdom would be hard put to it," said William. "But I don't think he would even need the minotaurs. All Father would have to do is bring a token force, and he could rally the locals to destroy this place on his behalf."

"You haven't seen the fortifications on the Iron City, Will," said Tanith. "They are no joke. I guess that they'll abandon the villages and hole up in there until the storm blows over. No one can attack them from the sea, either."

"Maybe not. But no city can hold out against a siege forever," mused William. "The Iron Kingdom is doomed."

"You sure?" asked Tanith.

"Absolutely," said William. "They have no gods to assist them. They have alienated all their neighbors. If you noticed their weakness, then so has Hrungeld. Sooner or later, the minotaurs will get it into their heads to take this land. When that happens, who will resist them?

"Their forces are spread thin. Their populace fears and despises them. They are facing overwhelming odds. Those odds will worsen if they suffer even a single major defeat." And worst of all, they probably don't even know it."

"What makes you say that?" asked Tanith.

"Think, Tanith. They knew who I was," said William. "Arraxia told them about me. I am the son of one of the most powerful people in Harlenor. They could have taken me as an honored guest. Then they could have politely asked me to go to father and get him to send help. Kiyora would have helped too.

"Instead, they have made me their enemy."

"I don't see them being doomed," said Tanith. "I mean, they could still hold out."

"History is filled with heroes who held out against overwhelming odds," said William. "But what they all had in common was motivation. No one I've met in this place is motivated. They regard atrocity and tragedy as daily facts of life.

"It would take a miracle for anyone to win a war on two fronts in this situation. And they've shut out the gods."

"So, what do you think will happen?" asked Tanith.

"Well, in a best-case scenario, Byran will stop the Einheroth cold," said William. "If he does that and draws back his hand, he could get some breathing room. He might consolidate his hold over the villagers by training them.

"At which point, he would only need to say the word, and he could make himself King. If he did that and passed some reforms, I could see them growing stronger. But they tried to steal the Axe of Fortenex. An artifact so deadly that King Andoa personally wrote to request it be sent to Antion. Antion has perfect reasons to declare war."

"They might not," said Tanith.

"Why wouldn't they?" asked William. "We could invade this place, conquer it, and colonize it with our people."

"Andoa II is pretty opposed to offensive wars," said Tanith. "He's gotten a bit weak in his old age."

"Even if he is, this is only if Byran stops the Einheroth," said William. "He might be cut down and destroyed. If that happens, they haven't a prayer.

"And even if Father doesn't invade, what of the minotaurs? Hrungeld has surely guessed as much as you. He knows the Iron Kingdom is weak. If they invade, it's over."

"What makes you so sure the Viokins will win?" asked Tanith.

"I spent a few days in a far-flung village of the Viokin Minotaurs. It was considered one of their smaller and more obscure places. The village I just left, in the heartland of the Iron Kingdom, was tiny in comparison." said William. "The average minotaur will crush the average human in a fight every time. The Viokins will have both strength and numbers.

"This is all guesswork, of course. And it could be completely wrong. I have only my own experiences to judge by, but they line up with yours. And it paints a grim picture of the future. It also doesn't answer the question. What do we do?"

"Well, we should probably Felix and Massacre first," said Tanith. "Once we have the Axe, we can think about getting it out of here before the fire starts."

"But that's just it. We can't," said William. "Even if I was willing to abandon every man, woman, and child in this kingdom to oblivion, I couldn't. I can't leave Kiyora in the Iron Kingdom's thrall."

"What can we do?" asked Tanith. "Look, I'm all for slaughtering my way through an entire army, I wish I could do it, but I've got limits. And we don't even know how we could free her. The pillars are doing it, but we don't have time to cast down every single one."

"It is thus fortunate that you have a being of my power and benevolence to assist you," said a voice.

Arraxia stepped out of the trees and into the light of the fire.

Tanith threw a dagger at her.