Deacon had a plan to get Sophie to explain how she got caught by the new monstrous Efimeo Cullep. Not only was he concerned about her mental state, but she hasn’t once mentioned returning to Iron Mountain Plateau. It’s been almost a week of travel and not one word about it. Shocking her with a visage of Efimeo might uncork her stifled emotions. Deacon wasn’t sure if that was the right path forward. It might do more harm than good. On the other hand he shouldn’t just drag her along with them. There was a new goblin threat and he didn’t have any real idea of what was waiting for them at the Shattered Sky. There have already been attempts on to steal the tapestry Typhus carries. Both from him and Daskus mentioned scroll cases going missing before they split up. Deacon fears that someone in the Deep Dweller power structure doesn’t want it delivered. All of this and that damn jester is still with them. Perhaps he’s not all bad but Deacon would rather pick the people that are close to him. That just brought thoughts to Deacon’s mind of Amanda and her Vendetta. He didn’t know how much time was left but she was starting to look twitchy. All these thoughts ran through his head until he saw Tantus enter the main room in a hurry.

“Deacon, the inn keeper would like to talk to you. Something about missing people who live outside of town,” he said.

“Alright, we’ll have to talk to him once we are done here. Did you make any headway on that bangle we got from Astrael?” Deacon asked.

“Yes, yes. The bangle itself is made of metal I can’t identify. My subclass allows me to create artifacts from levels of Arcanum greater than tier one, but I need the proper materials. At best I can make a trash grade item that is good for one use. I fear higher quality materials will be to expensive for me,” replied Tantus with a defeated look on his face.

“I’ll bank roll you. You know that. I’ll even make an account in your name with the Teller. That way you will always have funds to draw from. Does that sound fair?” Deacon asked putting his hand on Tantus’s shoulder to reassure him.

“That sounds great. Hey, where is everyone else?” Tantus asked.

“Oh, we created a training ground of sorts. They are facing off against Alfred’s improved sand golems,” Deacon responded.

“How did Ms. Sophie take the news?” Tantus asked curiosity in his eyes.

“Lukewarm. She’s down there right now working out some—frustrations. Alfred? I need you to grow a conference room table in an offshoot room. I’d like to be able to display images from my mind on the table for discussions. Can you do that?” Deacon asked after a burst of inspiration.

“If I can get young master Tantus’s help, I think I may be able to accommodate that request,” responded Alfred appearing from a nearby wall. Almost immediately a door appeared from the same location he walked from. Both he and Tantus walked into the room murmuring about magic theory.

“I know that look in your eye. You’re concocting some hairbrained scheme, aren’t you?” Typhus asked.

“No. It’s not hair brained, at least I don’t think it is,” Deacon answered.

“Well if she’s not convinced Alfred is a good investment now, how do you intend to change her mind?” Typhus asked with his eyebrows furrowed.

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“The same way I changed yours,” Deacon said.

Down in the training yard, Ralph finished dispatching his target with two quick swipes of his blade. He still marveled at the sharpness instilled in it by Tantus. He may not be a great mage, but he was a much better enchanter than when they first met. He looked over to see Amanda dodging her opponent and stabbing outward. Ralph doubted her poison abilities would affect the sandy simulacrum. The other two golems were reduced to piles of sand by Sophie who just opened up on them with multiple spells from her tattoos. In all the time he’d known the ink master he never really got to see her cut loose. It was terrifying. She reminded him of that time Deacon showed up to help him with the Sanguine Vessel in Desentes keep. There was a wild look in his eye that night as he butchered that monster. Ralph would never say it didn’t deserve it, but he needed to pull Deacon off it. He found out later that Deacon had just watched Armand die. That was one of the reasons he decided to party up with Deacon. Ralph wanted to make sure that rage remained in the bottle. Deacon’s powers have only grown stronger and more scary since then. If he was going to repay him for saving Amanda’s life and freeing him from the Hidden Circle, it would be to keep him sane. A shiver went down Ralph’s spine at the thought of a completely unhinged Deacon.

This was another reason Ralph accepted the class specialization quest from Mantarok the God of the Forge and War. He needed enough power to stand next to Deacon and reassure him that he would never be alone. The quest is supposed to grant Ralph a rare class specialization. He wouldn’t know what it is until he led one hundred soldiers to victory, so the quest says. That shouldn’t be a big problem for him since he already has Mantarok’s blessing. The fifty percent bonus to his health bar and plus five percent bonus to damage on the battlefield should help with that. The real kicker would be the Squad Command passive. A whole plus two percent per soldier. That would bring his health bar up to three hundred and fifty percent when he was in command. Ralph’s only problem was how to get that many soldiers to follow him. He was shaken from his inner thoughts when Sophie started just punching the piles of sand in front of her.

“Vice-Guild master, are you ok?” Ralph asked as tears were streaming down her face. Amanda rushed over leaving a solitary sand golem idle at the fifteen yard line.

“Go upstairs and get Deacon. I’ll handle this,” Amanda ordered. There wasn’t a hint of discussion in those words.

Ralph opened the double doors to the interior of the mansion to find Deacon and Typhus just on the other side. Words were quickly exchanged and the three of them headed down the stairs toward the ladies. Ralph asked Deacon to dispel the final sand golem. With a few quick words to Alfred the golem disassembled into a stream of sand that was quickly whisked away.

“What happened?” Deacon asked as they arrived on the field.

“It’s nothing. I’m going to take Sophie upstairs to rest in one of the rooms. Deacon, can you have Alfred draw a bath?” Amanda asked in a shocking display of empathy.

“Right away Ms. Siegfried,” came Alfred’s voice and an accompanying set of glowing arrows leading Amanda up the stairs.

“Ralph what the hell happened?” Deacon asked confusion plastered across his face.

“I think it all just finally caught up to her. I’m sure Amanda will take care of her. But since we are down here…” Ralph broke off pulling his sword and gesturing to the field. The concept must have intrigued Typhus who strolled onto the field confidently.

“Are you sure we should given—,” was all Deacon got out as Ralph flung a holy arc of energy at him from a sword slash. That was quickly followed by a dagger soaring through the air at Deacon’s head. He used Spectral Dash to evade the holy slash and slapped the dagger out of the air. Deacon fell into a fighting stance facing the two men. Then his aura started to glow around his body with a pale green light. His pupils shown like light reflecting off of purest jade as an outline began appearing on his left of something big. Deacon’s soul energy bar dropped by ten percent as he summoned an uncommon soul from within. A perfect copy of the Gilgerith from coliseum appeared and began stamping one of its rhinoceros-like forelegs. Its twin tails started whipping around above its head. The four horns on its head started bobbing up and down. The spikes along its back began to bristle. Deacon uttered one command.

“Get’m”