Callan gaped at the woman. He’d already half suspected, but seeing her again here so soon...

Shaking his head, he glowered at Alyssa. “What are you doing here? Where’s Veritas?”

“Sorry, Callan, but I’m not qualified to answer that. Oh dear, missed.” Alyssa shrugged, and there was a sound of crashing stone behind. Turning, Callan saw Kivi lowering her arms, a frustrated look on her face. Higarth was nowhere to be seen.

“He managed to slip through the crowd,” Kivi said to Callan’s unanswered question. “By the time I noticed, he was near the edge of the square. I tried to catch him with Rock Sling, but the distance—”

“It’s okay, High Priestess. I know where he’s going anyway,” Callan said.

“You do?” she asked, at the same moment Xeph rumbled, How can you possibly know, mortal?

“Because there’s only one place to go,” he said to both their questions. Turning, Callan eyed Alyssa critically. She hadn’t even tried to break free. “Veritas know we have their priests. They’ll be breaking them out even as we speak. The question is, how? How did the god know, Alyssa? We had only captured them a short time before your arrival.”

“Is that really what you should be concerned with right now, Callan?” The yeth woman gave him a coy look. “Shouldn’t you be more concerned with how Veritas is going to retaliate for this insult? Why, if I were them, I’d be seeking to break what little hold you have left in this town.”

She grinned at Callan but said nothing further.

“Shit.” That could mean any number of possibilities. At the very least, the cult almost certainly had Paeral in their grasp, and Callan would be damned if he allowed another priest to die under his watch.

Callan looked to the mayor. “We need to try and stop Veritas before he can cause any more trouble. Otherwise, it might not just be a few buildings that end up destroyed.”

“I agree. The hour for subtleties is past.” Turning, Belinda raised her hands. “Attention, everyone! It is time to bring the god Veritas and their followers to task! Unless you wish to see more blood spilled in our streets like with poor Rictee, we need to move quickly and keep them from any mischief. Follow me!”

The mayor strode through the crowd, and even made it a dozen steps before she realized no one was following. Callan tensed. He’d been afraid of this for a while. And now it was happening at the worst possible time.

A figure stepped forward that he recognized. The creepy bun-bun owner, Torveld. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight, Mayor. You’re asking us—peaceful, civilized folk that we are—to follow you into battle? To assist with this grudge match that you’ve got going on with the god Veritas?”

“It isn’t a grudge match, you insipient fool!” The mayor ground her teeth so loud Callan could hear it on the opposite side of the gathering. “They are threatening the safety of our entire town! If we don’t aid Avatar Callan and their god—”

Torveld glanced around. “Seems to me the only thing they’re threatening right now is you, Mayor. Care to explain to all of us why we should involve ourselves in a matter like that? Why should we turn to violence on your behalf?”

There were nods and grumbles of agreement from the gathered crowd. A few cast suspicious looks back at Callan.

The mayor continued to rage, but Callan ignored her. They were running out of time.

Mortal! Xeph said, his tone urgent. You must say something! Now is the moment when you serve your ultimate purpose as the head of my congregation. Use those skills I know you possess and unite these people together against our common enemy. I know you have the power within you!

Did he? Callan considered that for a moment, wasting precious seconds as Belinda and Torveld argued. Honestly, it seemed like a lost cause. Veritas had slowly but surely poisoned the town against them, and a few carefully chosen words weren’t going to suddenly change people’s minds once they were entrenched. He’d seen that at home often enough to know it was true. Even now, the mayor was making the situation worse with every word, shouting demands and orders at her citizens. Despite the fact she should have realized by now that what they wanted most was...

Ah. And just like that, he knew what to say.

“Listen!” he raised his hands, cutting off Belinda mid-rant. “You all know what Veritas wants of you, and what he intends to do to this town. So does your mayor. And while she might not be going about it the right way, she does have your town’s best interests at heart.”

A pleasantly surprised expression came over Belinda’s face. Callan almost winced, knowing what he was about to say next. He bulled onwards anyway. “Unfortunately, you are all absolutely right to resist her. Both she and I have gone about this whole mess entirely the wrong way. Instead of treating you all like children, we should have involved you from the outset. Maybe if there hadn’t been so much secrecy, the situation wouldn’t have become this dire.”

Or maybe Veritas and his cult would have just slaughtered you all in your sleep, Xeph noted in a grumbling tone.

Callan had several arguments against that theory, but now wasn’t the time. He continued speaking to the crowd. “We can’t undo the damage that’s already done, but we can be better going forward. And to that note, I’ll offer you all a choice, right now: either stay and fight, if you truly believe your mayor’s cause a worthy one, or return to your homes and wait there until it’s all over.”

The assembled yeth glanced at each other in confusion, a few hushed whispers discussing Callan’s offer. After a moment, Torveld spoke up. “And what of Veritas?”

“You were correct when you said this grudge was between them and the mayor. Neither Veritas nor their cult will harm you, of that I’m certain. And neither will Xeph or his followers,” he added. No point leaving an implied threat hanging in the air.

The crowd was silent. Inside his head, Xeph let out a grunt. That was... not exactly the rousing speech I had in mind.

“But it’s the one they needed to hear,” Callan noted quietly. “Look at them. These people have had enough. They deserve the right to make their own choices. Even if they’re the wrong ones for us.”

He watched and waited. Torveld glanced around him at the villagers whispering back and forth. He screwed up his face, then turned towards Callan. “Avatar, I think I speak for everyone when I say—”

“I’m going home.” All eyes turned towards another yeth standing slightly behind Torveld. It took Callan a moment to recognize him as Joshu, one of the first that they’d suspected of being a priest. “The bridge committee may not exactly see eye to eye with Veritas, but we share more common goals than opposed ones. I’ll not involve myself in this fight.”

Turning, he marched away. Within moments, he was followed by first one, then another, then the remaining crowd streaming away. A few looked back with almost embarrassed or apologetic expressions, but they left all the same.

Out of the departing crowd stepped a familiar figure. Callan looked over and felt a small nugget of victory swell in his chest. Dosoti gave him a casual smile and slapped him on the shoulder.

“When you’re dead, can I have those boots? They look nice.”

“What?” Callan glanced down at his sneakers, then back up. “Uh, sure?”

“Great. Best of luck to you, then.” And with that, the grizzled farmhand stalked off.

Callan stared after him for a moment, while any elation he had felt a moment before crumbled to ash. His head-mate chuckled. Did you seriously think that one would come to our aid?

“Maybe? No. Shut up.” He turned back and found Torveld waiting. The yeth man cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry, Avatar. We yeth are honorable people, but we are not fighters. Such base activities are better left to the lower races. I do hope you’ll understand.”

When Callan didn’t respond, the man gave a quick bob of his head, then retreated.

“Well, you certainly know how to make a situation worse, don’t you, boy?” The mayor let out a sigh. Callan glanced at her for a moment. At last he shrugged.

“It is what it is. Besides, isn’t this the whole reason you hired us? At the end of the day, this is my and Xeph’s mess to deal with.”

“Mine as well,” Kivi said, stepping forward. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and Callan smiled down at her. Then his expression hardened.

There were still a fair number of people gathered around them. Radavan, his wife and children, and the trading post owner, Millica. Counting himself and Kivi, that left a total of eleven—ten if he excluded Lisson. Hardly an army.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

But it would have to do.

“Time for plan B,” he said to Kivi. “I doubt we have more than a few minutes until Veritas arrives. You ready?”

“I hope so, Avatar, but can we really do this without Paeral?” The lud girl looked worried.

“I think so. I’m more worried about what’s happening to him right now.” He didn’t think that Veritas would hurt or kill Paeral outright, but what if the cult tried to use him as a hostage again? Callan wasn’t entirely sure what he would do in that situation.

He shook his head. No, they couldn’t afford to waste time on what-ifs. There were more immediate matters to consider. He turned to Kivi.

How are your powers right now?”

“Everything but Rock Sling is at full capacity.” Kivi frowned. “Unfortunately, I only have the one shot remaining.”

Callan nodded. He took quick mental stock of his own reserves. While his apotheosis had come down a bit during the chaos following Alyssa’s reveal, he was still at just over ten percent thanks to the minor debt penalty. He really needed to get rid of that, and soon.

Speaking of Alyssa. He glanced over, and saw she was still pinned where he’d left her. She tugged at her foot again as he watched, then noticing his attention smirked at him. “Don’t you have somewhere more important to be?”

He ignored her. “Mayor, you’d best get everyone up into the tower. It’ll be safest for you. Kivi and I will do our best to stop Veritas before they enter town, but if we can’t, we’ll make our stand here.”

The mayor nodded and began hurrying her family up the tower steps. Putting them out of his mind, Callan started marching in the direction he knew Veritas would be coming from, Kivi hurrying along after him.

It was usually about a ten-minute walk from the farmstead where they’d left the prisoners to here, so they should still have some time, but...

Callan increased his walking pace, leaving Kivi to almost run to catch up.

When he reached the bunker at the edge of town, the fields outside were still quiet. The sun had begun to curve its way towards the horizon. Not anywhere near evening yet, but he didn’t doubt that it would be dark before they finished this.

Remind me once more what plan B is? Xeph said as they entered the bunker. Its window took up the entire wall facing out of town, though it was only barely wide enough to fire a stone through.

“It’s the honeypot plan.”

Ah, yes yes, of course. The honeypot... And what is that, again?

Callan sighed, but before he could answer, movement on the horizon caught his attention. A cloud of dust rose into the air, growing rapidly closer with every passing moment. Callan tensed.

“Remember, Avatar, leave the work to me unless absolutely necessary,” Kivi reminded him. “You need to conserve what power you have remaining.”

Yes, and don’t forget about the rules of engagement, Xeph purred in his ear. So long as you can’t identify Veritas amidst the combatants, we are free to strike as we wish—our dispensation would be the best choice for deterrent—but once the opposing avatar reveals themselves, you must face them and them alone.

“Still stupid you’re enforcing this ancient rule on us,” Callan muttered, too quiet for Kivi to hear. “You didn’t have a problem with breaking the Accords. So why this?”

Because this is different.

“...How?”

I don’t know exactly. The god shifted awkwardly about inside his mind. I only know that this rule must be obeyed. It is something encoded inside of us, but as to the why... that still remained compressed inside me, I suspect.

Callan nodded. The cloud had grown closer, and he could see now what was causing it: an enormous dvorak was racing towards them, several figures on its back. He braced himself for an attack.

However, the attack never came. Within moments, the riders resolved themselves into Paeral, with Barnum and Moas clutching tightly to the elder lud’s robes. A wave of relief passed through Callan as he watched them slide off the beast’s back.

“Paeral, you escaped!” He followed Kivi outside, who immediately clasped the priest’s hands as if afraid they might not really be there. The old lud grinned.

“It was a close thing, I admit. Luckily, Veritas did not seem interested in harming us, only in getting to their people. Once they knocked me aside and went downstairs, I gathered up the yeth here and fled.” He glanced behind him at the dvorak, which was pawing the dirt impatiently. “Also lucky that the cult’s mounts were outside. We took one and fled, but I doubt the cult will be far behind.”

“Yeah, that’s our assumption as well. Veritas isn’t going to be too happy we finally rooted out their priests.” Callan sighed, then turned to Barnum and Moas. “Go join the others in the storm tower. It’s the safest place for one of Xeph’s followers to be right now. Even if you won’t fight, it’s better than trying to hide out in a house somewhere.”

The yeth couple nodded before remounting the dvorak’s back. Callan watched as they rode away at a quick trot towards the village center. He shook his head. “Can’t believe how comfortable you all are around those things.”

They are large and intimidating, true, but they’re still domesticated animals, Xeph noted. Would you be afraid to ride a horse? Or a chulapp?

“Pretty sure we don’t have chulapp on Earth, Xeph.” Callan noticed another dust cloud approaching, larger and faster this time. “Looks like we’ve got incoming. Places, people!”

Soon enough, the cloud grew steadily closer, until Callan could make out a trio of dvorak charging the village, with several figures on each of their backs.

The rest of the cult had arrived.

“Steady... steady...” He raised a hand. “...Annnnnnnd now!”

Kivi and Paeral moved their hands in unison just as the dvorak reached the edge of town. The two thin slabs of stone also moved in unison, sliding apart in time for a pair of the beasts to stumble headfirst into them. High-pitched squeals filled the air as the dvorak flailed, their back ends sticking into the air and their riders unceremoniously ejected onto the surrounding soil.

A wave of relief rolled through Callan. Excavating those pits without attracting the attention of the village hadn’t been easy, but it was totally proving worth it. Even if the dvorak weren’t killed, or even seriously harmed, it at least took them out of commission in the short term.

However, that was only two. One of the great beasts remained, and its rider drove it forward, deftly maneuvering through its distressed comrades, making a beeline straight for the bunker.

“Stones, stones!” Callan cried. He raised his own hands as well, preparing to fire, before a sharp rebuke from Xeph cut him off.

Don’t waste your apotheosis! Focus on hinderance while you have the opportunity. Veritas will reveal themself soon enough.

Callan ground his teeth but held back his stone.

Meanwhile, Kivi and Paeral let their attacks fly. Paeral missed entirely, but Kivi’s stone struck the dvorak straight on the forehead. It let out a trumpeting scream and turned aside.

Its riders leapt from its back as the creature trundled off towards the plains. Two of them were the young girls from the basement—Leshi and Ianthe?—unmasked but once again wearing priest robes.

The third was wearing a wolf mask restored to its former glory.

Human! There they are! Ver—

“Hey, Xeph, remind me again what’s up with the dvorak,” Callan said, cutting the god off. Dropping his hands, he activated Shape Stone. Rock formed around Veritas’s feet. “Are they like cattle, or something?”

Alert: 6.25% Apotheosis used.

Total Apotheosis is at 14.86%

What? Don’t be ridiculous. I already told you, dvorak are mainly used for... The god trailed off, and Callan could practically feel his anger building. Human! I know what you are doing, and it won’t work.

“Haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about,” Callan said innocently. Leshi hurled a bar of metal at the bunker window, and Callan targeted her with Wane.

Dispensation: Wane

For every point of Conviction spent, a target of your choice loses access to a single one of its bounties for the next minute. Other avatars are unaffected by this.

Please select one or more of the following bounties:

1. Shape Metal

2. Velak Gaze

3. Sword Dance

That Sword Dance has to be how they’re always pulling knives out of thin air. Callan considered all of this in an instant. Still haven’t seen what Velak Gaze can do, but probably nothing that matters for this fight. That only leaves...

He targeted Shape Metal. Immediately, the bar that had been moving towards Kivi with preternatural accuracy dipped suddenly downward, crashing against the side of the bunker and destroying one of Callan’s decorative skulls. A tragedy, but better the bunker than Kivi.

Conviction remaining: 9/10

For good measure, Callan targeted Ianthe as well. He had plenty of conviction stored up, and a pocket full of memory shards besides. Better to waste a few and keep everyone safe while he could.

Speaking of which. “Time to fall back!”

The words were hardly out of his mouth before Kivi and Paeral were running for the door. Ianthe hit the outside of the building, arm outstretched through the window, but without her power nothing happened. A blade formed in her hand which she swiped at Callan ineffectually. He backed up, then ran after the others.

More cultists waited outside. A masked pair shot metal rods that seized Kivi by either wrist, but Callan shut them with two more Wanes.

Conviction remaining: 6/10

The metal dropped from Kivi’s wrists, and she ducked beneath the swing of a cultist as they summoned a blade. Paeral was already a good twenty feet ahead. He turned to look back.

“Keep going!” Callan shouted. He stepped forward, and the cultist raised his blade in a defensive stance.

Only to glance down as the blade puffed away to nothing.

Conviction remaining: 5/10

Callan grinned as the cultist looked up just in time for his stone-encrusted fist to slam into their mask, cracking it in two. The cultist dropped like a stone, mask falling away to revealing Pyle beneath, eyes rolling towards the back of his head.

One down, Callan thought as he leapt over him. The other cultist lunged forward, their own knife swinging towards him. Callan saved the conviction, simply knocking the weapon aside as he sank a fist into the cultist’s midsection. Then he was past and running.

Well done, mortal, Xeph noted. A knife flew from a doorway, but Callan deflected it. He fired off another use of Wane at the shadowed figure hovering inside and was rewarded with an angry curse. His head-mate continued as if nothing had happened, Just don’t expect that trick to work for much longer.

“Because... I’m almost... out of conviction?” Callan wheezed. He could see the village square ahead, and the tower with it.

Well, yes. But also because of that.

A figure leapt off a rooftop, slamming into the ground just a few feet ahead of Callan. He skidded to a halt as they rose to their feet. Rune-studded bracelets encircled their wrists, and angry eyes watched through their wolf-head mask.

Veritas. The real Veritas.