I volunteered to go first. Of the five of us, only Suti was more resistant to malign magic than I was, and doors tended to be easier to open when you weighed more than the door.

Despite the rest of the room, I was surprised to discover that the door was not solid stone like it appeared. Instead, it had a thin stone-like facade made of plaster, and the rest of it was ordinary oak. Solid, but manageably light. With one last glance to make sure that everyone was ready, I turned the handle and pushed my way into the next room, going into a full crouch as I did so that Azul had a clear shot with his spellcraft.

This turned out to be a good idea, because no sooner had I opened the door than a Fragment came barreling back the other way. On instinct, I slammed my shoulder into it as I went low. A moment later, a snarling jet of light flew into its face as Azul's first spell hit.

As the creature stumbled back into its room, I finally got a look at what was behind it. Three other Fragments were running towards the door, but had not been close enough to strike when it opened. The walls inside were likewise stone, and I was fairly sure I saw at least one other exit. That was all I could glimpse as I stepped in to fight, leaving room for Wist and Suti to guard my flanks, and slammed my battle gauntlet into the first Fragment before it could recover. There was a flare of energy from its enchantment and the creature collapsed, its main body crackling with electricity, and its limbs writhing, despite not having been electrified themselves.

"First Emperor!" Wist called out to my left, and I heard the ping of a coin hitting the floor behind my target. A moment later, a wave of pressure passed over my face, and with it came a powerful wave of magical calm.

The effect on the remaining fragments was instantaneous. Their disconnected limbs and bodies collapsed to the floor in a heap, still twitching but somehow severed of whatever invisible force kept them in their original shapes. It was a trick we had used often when facing swarms of the distasteful creatures, and Wist and I quickly moved to the heaps while they were trying to reassemble themselves, electrifying them with gauntlet and breath. The whole fight had taken about fifteen seconds in the end. I noticed that Azul had another magelance ready to fire, flying a slow orbit around his upraised hand. Dav, for his part, looked only mildly interested. He had drawn his crossbow, and it was loaded and cranked, but he didn't seem to have raised it at any point in the fight, and he was now examining the room, confident that the fragments we had already struck would stay down.

Which I guess it was my job to make sure was true. I dragged the torsos and limbs over, arranging them into an approximation of their original shapes. The creatures lacked heads, having been created solely as minions by a more powerful Fragmented One. They seemed to have been some type of deer originally, based on the shapes of their legs, except for the lead one, the one I had gut-punched. That one had been humanoid once. I whispered a short prayer for their sake, hoping that the Blind Saint would be able to reattach their soul, still.

Then I drew my own implement of magic from my pack. It was censor, and I had long ago had it blessed so that the incense never ran out. Opening it, I lit it with a small flint sparker, which Dav had purchased for me after I nearly burned down our tent using my normal fire starter. I blew on it gently, coaxing the endless incense to life, and in a few seconds I had a constant stream of smoke emerging from the end of it.

Standing up, I began to wave the censor back and forth across the bodies by its chain. Heavy scented smoke drifted down and flooded between the unconscious creatures, filling the spaces between their limbs and torsos until they looked like moulds in a cast made of smoke. As I dispersed the smoke, I recited a short prayer to the Goddess Daiya, the Blind Saint. "By She who was reborn, by She who sees without sight, I return to you your forms. Go now in peace to the Unformed Beyond. Go now in peace, and know that you are forgiven." As always, I felt a pressure flow up the chain, seeming to fill my nose and mouth with the scent of the incense. It should have been uncomfortable, like diving into deep water. Instead, it felt natural, like I was meant to walk in a cloud of the bitter smoke. I held my breath, letting the pressure build up until I felt it in my lungs as well. When it reached its peak, I let it all out in one long breath, blowing more smoke onto the bodies.

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This time, the smoke's path was broken where the creature's missing body parts should have been. I briefly saw the outline of a pair of straight horns as the smoke outlined the missing head of one of the quadrupeds. As I blew the smoke over the bodies, they lost their colorless sheen, going from a glossy slate gray to natural tones of fur and flesh. Then, they began to dissolve, becoming smoke themselves that curled up towards the ceiling, away from my incense smoke, which settled deep onto the floor and seemed to melt away.

The rising smoke briefly took the form of three creatures alike to deer except with straight horns instead of antlers. The fourth form, the humanoid one, bowed in my general direction. Then, in a whirl, the smoke solidified into a single face, half my full height from chin to brow.

"Lady Daiya," I said reverently, kneeling in the room. I was vaguely aware that the others had been talking, which I noticed because at my words they all stopped at once. It was unlikely any of them would be able to see or hear this projection of Daiya, but they would be able to hear my side of whatever was about to happen.

"Sealer. You may face me." I turned my face up towards the smoke. Daiya's voice had a soothing timbre to it, but she spoke with little emotion. Sealers rarely communicated directly with their Gods or Goddesses, but I had heard from some of Daiya's hermit priests and priestesses that she always kept her tones neutral by choice. On more than one occasion, I had wondered who had been the first one brave enough to actually ask her about that. Or if she had simply volunteered the information one day. "What has happened to you? Your heartlight is so much clearer, yet simultaneously far more distant than when we last spoke."

I had last spoken to the avatar of my Goddess over ten years ago, when I had originally been ordained as a Sealer. I didn't mention the difference that had caused to the rest of me. I knew that she would be aware of my actions; every time I released a Fragment or, more rarely, if I got there soon enough to restore it, it was her power at work. She would know me. To her, that may count as communication, come to think of it. Words were far from the only language known to the gods.

"My Lady, I do not know what has happened to me. My allies and I have pooled our knowledge, and all we can say for certain is that this place is not our natural domain. We believe we have been transported to a Fragment Dungeon on another plane of being."

For several seconds, Daiya's avatar did not answer. I knelt there, watching the smoke twist and flow, as if trapped in a bottle shaped like the face of a Goddess. Alternately, that face was soft with age, then smooth with youth, flickering from one to the other without passing between them. In the former version, her eyes stared, unblinking. In the latter, she wore an elaborate blindfold. According to the stories about her life as a mortal, Daiya had been born blind, and learned to overcome those challenges. In her middle years, she was slain in combat, and her first sign of divinity had been her resurrection the following morning, reincarnated into a new life. That body had not been blind, but Daiya had chosen to remain blindfolded for the rest of her natural life. Some stories claimed it was a sacrifice, or a sign of humility. Others said that once she was given natural sight, the magics she had once worked to overcome her blindness no longer functioned. Daiya herself apparently refused to clarify.

After a couple of flickers, she spoke again reassuringly. "Yes. I believe it is another plane. Simultaneously purer of form and yet further from the domains of the gods. A curious contradiction. No mortal has tread such places since long before my own ascension."

I blinked at that. A glance in Azul's direction told me he had heard nothing of what Daiya had said. I fixed my gaze on the avatar. "I will discuss this revelation with my allies, My Lady. I thank you for the information."

"You are very welcome, Sealer. But that is not why I send this message. You should know. The Fragment is upon you like a cloak. On you and all your allies. Take this warning as my quest to you. If you do not Seal the Fragmented Master who marked you, you will begin to fray. My blessings will keep you together for now, but time is not on your side."

"My Lady, how is it that none of us can feel this contamination?" I didn't look around at my companions, but I knew they'd be alarmed by that comment. I heard a low chitter from Dav's direction, which supported my theory.

"It is something to do with where you find yourself, Sealer. More I cannot say, lest I cross lines laid by gods older than myself."

"I understand, My Lady." It was often such when dealing with the gods. Even gods who had been around since before mortals walked or flew would make such claims before their priests. "I thank you, for the warning."

"Once again, you are welcome, Sealer. And set your mind at ease. Your task is difficult, but not insurmountable."

With that, the cloud of smoke vanished, leaving me to relay the dire news to those whose worships led them to other temples. In other words, the rest of my team.