“Ouch,” Seena said. “Fair. But, ouch.”

“He’ll have us now too,” Wule said. “Nivian is pretty good at keeping all the trouble looking at him. Don’t worry.”

“You telling me not to worry makes me worry more,” Nat said.

“I give up,” Wule said. “Your sisters are clearly too smart – and aware of your recklessness.”

“Thanks for trying,” Hiral grumbled. “Really, though, Nat. I’ll have three B-Rank parties with me. Just like you two will probably find two more D-Rank parties to join up with.”

“Wait…” Milly said, holding up her spoon. “We get our own raid group too?”

Hiral looked from Seena to Nivian. “That would make sense, wouldn’t it? Won’t there be raid groups at all Ranks, if we have enough people?”

“I don’t know if anybody’s talked about it,” Seena said. “Everybody has been pretty focused on the hardest challenges in the raid zone. Assuming the rest would be doing other things? Yan, didn’t they have a name for it?”

“Side quests,” Yanily said. “That’s what they’re calling them. Nobody is sure if they’ll affect the goal of the raid zone.”

“That’s no good,” Hiral said. “We should probably go find Dad, and maybe Grandmother and Burs. Set up raid groups for all Ranks. Better to have that organized before the zone opens up. How many people do we have here so far?”

Since he’d been gone for the hour with Seena, then rushed back to where Yanily and his sisters were, he hadn’t really looked around. Now that he turned his attention to the crowd, it had continued to grow in his absence. The cave-like area in front of the raid interface was easily over half full, with more people streaming both through the entrance and the crevice leading to the Discs of Passage.

“Burs isn’t here yet, I don’t think,” Nivian said. “But, Makers and Growers have been arriving at a pretty steady pace since that initial rush. I’d guess just over two-hundred people so far.”

“Maybe two-fifty,” Wule said. “Still a few hours for more to arrive too.”

“Hey Romin?” Seena said over the party chat.

A second, and the Bonder replied. “Yes? Need something?”

“Just wondering if you’ve heard anything about Burs arriving. We need to talk to him about something,” Seena said.

“He should get here with the next group,” Romin said. “Within the next hour. Assuming they didn’t run into any trouble.”

“Has anybody run into trouble yet?” Hiral asked.

“A few close calls with the rain picking up, and some packs of roaming monsters,” Romin said. “Nothing the groups couldn’t handle as long as they were careful. The route here is as safe as we could ask for, really. And we’ve got a B-Rank group running escort duty. I heard they thought it would be annoying, but turned out as good experience.”

“Great,” Seena said. “If you see Burs before we do, could you send him our way?”

“Of course,” Romin said. “Should I come as well?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Seena said.

“Nat, Milly,” Hiral said, turning his attention back to his sisters. “It sounds like there’s going to be something for everybody to do in this raid zone. Not just us. Aaaand,” he stretched out that word to make sure they were paying attention. “It’s all going to be dangerous. Just because you’ve done well in a few dungeons, don’t let yourselves get overconfident.

“We… let ourselves do that after we’d completed our second dungeon,” Hiral said, and the Grower faces around the cookpot all turned serious. They all remembered what had happened after they’d left The Mire dungeon. How things had gone very bad, very quickly. “Then we lost some friends. I don’t want you to go through that.

“And, even more, I don’t want to lose you. No matter what you see inside this raid zone, no matter how easy it seems or you think it might be, don’t ever stop being careful. Don’t ever stop expecting danger around the very next corner.”

“Hiral’s right about this,” Seena said. “You’re smart girls – I’ve seen it – but it’s easy to get cocky. Especially in D-Rank. Your bodies are stronger than they’ve ever been. You’ve got more abilities, and they feel so powerful.”

“Except,” Yanily added. “The monsters are stronger than anything you’ve faced in E-Rank. They get smarter, start using abilities of their own, and that’s not even talking about Elites.”

“We used to lose more D-Rank Growers on surface jumps than any other Rank,” Nivian said. “More, by a lot. Because of what they’re talking about.”

“At D-Rank, you feel invincible,” Wule said. “You’re not. And there’s only so much your healer can do when you make a stupid mistake.”

“I’m the healer,” Milly said. “And we won’t make a stupid mistake.”

“Then a tired one,” Wule said. “Or a careless one. Look, take it from me – one healer to the next – mistakes happen. You can’t stop that. The goal isn’t to completely remove them, just reduce them as much as possible. And, at D-Rank, accepting you can still make them is a big first step.”

“Please,” Hiral said. “Listen to what we’re saying.”

“You went through this?” Nat asked.

“Kind of,” Hiral said. “For me, it was finally having a class.”

“And clearing two dungeons,” Seena said. “Something that’d never happened before. Sure, they weren’t easy, but we got through them. Nothing could stop us.”

“Until the Enemy came,” Yanily said.

“There’s not supposed to be any Enemies in the raid zone,” Milly said, but it sounded like a weak argument. And, by the look on Milly’s face, she knew it. She blew out a breath. “There will be other things, though, won’t there?”

“Yes,” Hiral said. “You’ve heard about the Chimeras? We think those are what’s in there. They are very dangerous. Look, all I’m asking is that you’re careful. That you think about things before rushing in, if you can.”

“You know we will,” Nat said.

“I know you think you will,” Hiral said. “Sometimes circumstances don’t work out like that. Ugh, I hear myself. Think about things, but you won’t have time to think. There’s no perfect advice, other than the very vague be careful.”

“I’ve got some advice you can’t go wrong with,” Seena said.

“What’s that?” Hiral asked.

“When something strange pops up, ask yourself – What would Hiral do?”

Hiral’s eyes widened, and a small heat started rising in his neck. Did she really think that highly of…?”

“Then do the opposite,” Seena finished, her words like a knife straight into his heart. The glare that followed twisted said knife more than any ability ever could.

“We already do that,” Milly said, and Hiral’s wounded heart practically shattered.

“You too?” he asked weakly.

“You’re not known for your common sense,” Nat consoled him.

“Or your naming sense,” Milly added flatly.

“Definitely not that,” Gauto spoke up for the first time, his stew bowl miraculously empty.

“You know what, I take it all back,” Hiral said. “Go get eaten by something. Maybe the Chimeric versions of you will be nicer to me.”

“You don’t mean that,” Seena said, squeezing his hand while she chuckled.

“No, no I don’t,” he admitted.

“We’ll be careful,” Nat promised. “Thank you for telling us a bit about what happened to you before.”

“Of course,” Hiral said.

“On the topic of Chimeras,” Gauto started.

“Here we go,” Yanily whispered.

“I’ve heard things about these monsters,” Gauto said. “And I need to know more. Do they really come in different forms? Different species? Are they all related?”

“This is the first time you’ve seen me since I left the island again,” Hiral said. “And this is what you want to talk about?”

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“What else would I want to discuss?” Gauto said plainly. “You’re holding hands with the hot, fiery girl – so that’s obviously going well – and you’re cracking jokes with your sisters. I heard about what happened with your mom, and I wish I could’ve been there to support you for it – and see the look on her face when you shut her down – but I can’t go back and change the past. I also know you well enough that the hour you spent off hiding somewhere was so you could make sure you didn’t explode at somebody who didn’t deserve it, just like you always did before when she came up.

“If you want to talk about your mom, we can, but that would be out of character for you. We’re all going to find out about the raid zone together in a few hours, so, not much to talk about there. That leaves what’s happened to you since last we met, with these Chimeras being the most interesting topic I can think of.”

Hiral couldn’t do much more than pause after Gauto finished speaking. None of what the man said was wrong, which almost made Hiral want to laugh. His friend had known he wouldn’t really want to talk about the run-in with his mother, which meant some kind of puzzle had to be their topic. And, honestly, Hiral would like to see what Gauto and his Academic friends made of the Chimeras.

“All good points,” he finally said. “But! Instead of answering, I’ll let you figure it out for yourself after we get into the raid zone. Not sure if you heard, but we suspect there’ll be more Chimeras inside.”

“I was listening while you talked to your sisters,” Gauto said flatly. “But, the ones you fought were B-Rank, weren’t they? Ah, but since this is a raid zone for all ages – and Ranks – you think there are going to be some E- and D-Rank Chimeras as well?”

“Among other things, most likely,” Hiral said. “Really, while we expect there to be plenty to fight – why else would we need raid groups? – I’m also thinking there are going to be plenty of opportunities for learning as well. We believe this raid zone to have been created by one of the Progenitors.”

“One who really likes building things,” Seena added. “We just finished a dungeon modeled after another one of her facilities, and it was filled with all kinds of machines she’d created. Actually, maybe this will interest you…”

Seena trailed off and pulled her new book – the Machinis Liber – out of the satchel at her waist. Another few seconds, along with a pulse of solar energy – and a Brass Cannon stepped out of a small portal. She hadn’t been summoning many of them – and why would she, they couldn’t keep up with the party – and they’d left the first one back in the Ascender’s Tower. At worst, it would be a good test to see if it was still there when they went back. At best, it was one more protector for the tower, as she’d been able to leave it with basic instructions like ‘protect this place’. She’d even been able to mark Bonders as ‘safe’ to the cannon, so it wouldn’t attack.

A small mishap had made her quickly add companions to that safe list.

Now, though, with the cannon making an appearance, it got all of Gauto’s attention. The man’s eyes practically expanded to the size of the stew bowl suddenly forgotten in his hands.

“And he’s gone,” Hiral said as he watched his friend scramble over and begin inspecting the metal cannon.

A few words from Seena – along with a pulse of solar energy – made sure the cannon wouldn’t counterattack the prodding, and they let him have his fun.

“Didn’t you promise us more dungeon stories?” Milly suddenly remembered. “Hopefully they’re more fun than all this.” The girl clearly didn’t care much about the marvel of mechanical ingenuity like Gauto did.

“Oh, they definitely are,” Seena said.

“I’m going to regret starting this topic, aren’t I?” Hiral asked, and all four Growers around the cookpot nodded. “Wonderful.”

And, he did, as they relived all his ‘greatest’ moments. By the time Romin mercifully announced Burs had arrived, Hiral was looking for the nearest hole he could crawl into and die. On the other hand, if he was being honest with himself, it was nice to see his sisters laughing like that. Before, it was like they were always on guard about being too happy around him.

They’d undersold their own achievements, like they were afraid they’d be rubbing it in while he struggled. He’d tried and tried to assure them it wasn’t necessary, but it never really stopped. Finally, they didn’t have to pretend. They could be happy without worrying about him.

How did he ever get so lucky to have two little sisters who’d do that for him?

“As much fun as this has been,” Seena said, while Li’l Ur gently dabbed at tears of laughter running down her cheeks. “We have some stuff to take care of. We’ll catch up again before everything starts.”

“Start putting out feelers for other D-Rank groups you could team up with,” Hiral suggested. “Maybe another Maker-slash-Grower party, and we’ll ask Romin if there’s a good Bonder party. Couldn’t hurt to get to know what they can do, and having the extra numbers from companions is a real bonus.”

Nat and Milly looked at each other.

“There’s a group we practice with a lot,” Nat said. “We know each other’s abilities, so they might be a good place to start.”

“Perfect,” Hiral said. “The more you already know each other, the less it takes for you to fight together.”

“Hey… Hiral?” Milly said.

“Yeah, Milly?” Hiral said, standing up with the others.

“Thanks for telling us to be careful,” Milly said. “A lot of what you said… feels true, after I had some time to think about it.” She looked down at her hand as she opened and closed her fingers. “We are stronger, but still not strong enough to do anything in a situation like back home. The one you stopped.”

“Not yet,” Hiral said. “Be careful and you’ll get there.”

“I know,” Milly said, then looked up to meet his eyes. “Just remember you have to be careful too. You didn’t see what it did to Mom and Dad when they thought you were dead.”

“Or us,” Nat added quietly.

Hiral walked over to crouch behind his sisters, then wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders, pulling their heads in to rest against his. “I’ll be careful. I won’t make you go through that again.”

“You better not,” Nat pouted.

He gave them both one more squeeze, then stood back up. A quick muss of their hair – mainly because it annoyed Milly, though she didn’t complain this time – and he said his goodbyes.

“You can stay and help yourself to more stew,” Nivian told them as they were leaving. By the looks on their faces, they’d never even considered that wasn’t an option.

Hiral just shook his head, and didn’t get more than half-a-dozen steps toward where Romin said Burs was waiting before two new, large shapes appeared in his path.

“Have a good talk with your sisters?” Loan asked, Ilrolik at his side. “We didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Thanks for that,” Hiral said. He’d noticed them loitering nearby in his sensory domain, but they’d respected his time with his family.

“They look better,” Loan continued, looking past Hiral at where the two girls sat beside each other. “They came to see me. While you were… gone. Wanted to know if I thought you could survive down on the surface.”

“What did you tell them?” Seena asked.

“The truth,” Loan said. “If anybody was stubborn enough to find a way back, it was Hiral.”

“Not sure if I’m happy stubbornness is my most redeeming quality,” Hiral grumbled.

“You should be,” Loan said. “It got you this far.”

“I guess it did,” Hiral said after a second. “Anyway, what did you need?”

“This lug,” Ilrolik said. “Came looking for that spar you promised. But, now it looks like you have places to be.”

“We do,” Hiral said. “Sorry, Loan.”

“It’s fine,” Loan said. “It can wait.”

“Thanks. You two might as well come with us,” Hiral continued as he started again in the direction of Burs and Romin. “We’re thinking we should get the lower Ranks set up as raid groups as well. In case it’s not just us who need to be in one.”

“That’s a good idea,” Ilrolik said. “The topic came up with some of us coming down, but the consensus had been to wait until we got into the raid zone.”

Hiral shook his head. “Don’t think we should wait that long.”

“Hiral’s right,” Yanily said. “No guide for this place. Go in ready, or don’t go in at all.”

Ilrolik nodded at that. “I can talk to Grandmother…”

“About what?” a new voice added, and nobody was surprised to see the aforementioned Grower walk up to join the group, Seeyela and Gran at her side.

“Getting lower Rank groups set up as raid groups,” Hiral repeated. “But, let’s have this conversation when we get to Burs? I’m already repeating myself.”

“Fine,” Grandmother said.

“Heard you talking over the party chat,” Seeyela said. “I was with Grandmother, so… hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Hiral said. “Saves us the trouble. There’s Burs and Romin too.”

As he said that, the two Bonders looked over and waved.

“Good to see you all again,” Burs said, then seemed to pause at the two massive Shapers. Beside him, his bear-companion even stood up on its hind legs like it was comparing heights. “I’d heard the stories, but seeing it with my own eyes. Two Makers, right in front of me.” He looked past them. “More than two. Never thought this day would come. I’m Burs, de-facto leader of the Bonders on this expedition.”

A step forward, and the Bonder extended a hand.

“Ilrolik,” the Shaper said, grasping Burs hand in her strong grip. “I guess you could say I’m in charge of the Makers’ fighting forces here. This is Loan, a member of my party.”

“Good to meet you,” Loan said, likewise shaking hands with Burs after Ilrolik let go. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about Bonders, but I’m eager to see you in action. To see what we can learn from you.”

“Loan was my trainer for most of my life,” Hiral filled in.

At the statement, Burs gave the big Shaper another assessing look. “Maybe it’s me who should be curious what I can learn from you then. Hiral and the others are responsible for us being here at all, in more ways than one.”

“I’ve heard bits and pieces of the story from Drahn,” Ilrolik said. “I wouldn’t mind hearing your version at some time.”

“Over drinks,” Burs said with a laugh. “Before that,” he turned his attention to Grandmother. “Your energy is familiar to me. Stronger than any who live in the Hanging Gardens, but you must be a Grower.”

“Everybody calls me Grandmother,” the woman said, extending her own small hand. It practically vanished within Burs’s hairy mitt of a hand, but he clearly held it gently. Not that he really needed to with her A-Rank power, but the thought clearly counted as she smiled up at the man.

“I think you know everybody else,” Hiral said, looking over at the rest of his party, along with Nivian and Wule.

“I do, I do,” Burs said. “Now, what was so urgent you wanted to talk to me about as soon as I arrived?”

“We’ve only got a few hours until the raid zone opens,” Hiral dove right into it. “We want to set up raid groups for all Ranks. For all parties, if we have enough people.”

“And you want my help coordinating the groups from the Hanging Gardens?” Burs asked. “Consider it done. Anything else?”

“One other thing. Besides us, your people have the most experience with the Chimeras. Since we’re expecting to fight them inside, we need to make sure everybody knows what they’re up against. Can you work with Loan – or have somebody you suggest do that? – to prepare a crash course on what people need to know?

“Maybe two hours before the raid opens, we should gather everybody up. Make sure the raid groups are organized, and we’ve shared all the information we have.”

“Doesn’t give us a lot of time, but it should be doable,” Burs said, hand stroking his scruffy beard. Beside him, his companion seemed to be mimicking the gesture as best it could with its large paw. Or, maybe it just had an itch.

“Grandmother? Ilrolik? Any problems with that?” Hiral asked.

“None,” Grandmother said. “I’ll make sure the Growers are ready.” She looked over at Burs. “My Growers at least. Though, I wouldn’t mind meeting some of my distant relatives.”

“I’ll arrange that too,” Burs said. “There is a lot of interest to reunite with your people.”

Grandmother nodded.

“The council may not be thrilled about you making decisions like this,” Ilrolik said to Hiral.

“I’m going to talk to Dad next,” Hiral said.

“Not him,” Ilrolik said. “The other ones.”

“I know,” Hiral said. “Think they’ll cause problems.”

“Of course I do,” Ilrolik said. “But, I’ll make sure the Makers are ready two hours before the zone opens. The fighters are mine anyway. Just expect some political drama.”

“Wonderful,” Hiral said.

“Not that I’m looking to cause any of that political drama,” Burs said. “But, has it been decided who the first ones to enter the raid zone will be?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Hiral said, pointing to Nivian, Seena, and Ilrolik. “That’ll be us.”