I love stories about dungeons, or at least I imagine I would had I heard any. The idea of a lost underground labyrinth filled with monsters and treasure is exciting. Being in an actual dungeon, however, is equal parts boredom and terror, with a sprinkle of excitement should you overcome the odds. Perhaps this would be more fun if I was more powerful and not responsible for a host of familiars.

The Book of Lost Wisdom, Kalutu

Eighteenth of Learning 1142

Zephyr made her way silently through deserted corridors. She was invisible and undetectable to the vast majority of the dungeons denizens, or at least she hoped that was the case. She had been sent ahead to scout by Chari. She assumed this was some sort of test. Zephyr didn’t mind because Chari didn’t know her, didn’t know what she was capable of, and had no reason to trust her. On the other hand, she trusted both Chari and Kalutu, at least provisionally, because she could detect their intent. They were protective of each other and the familiars, but beyond that, they had no ill intentions toward her.

Chari had been worried that Zephyr might have trouble finding her way back to them if they had to move. Zephyr had assured her that finding them would not be a problem. After all, she had managed to locate them from much further away without even knowing they would be there. But aside from following the signs that were always present, Zephyr had tagged both Chari and Kalutu.

Tags were tiny bits of her own life force that stayed with someone else, thus she remained at least temporarily connected with them. It wasn’t a permanent or deep connection, and it gave her no agency over them. It was simply a marker she could use to keep track of where they were. She didn’t mention it because she had assumed that both of them would balk at having a kindred attach something to their minds, even if it was harmless.

At her current level of skill, Zephyr could only maintain a couple of tags, or she’d have tagged Sam as well. Most likely the other familiars would be with Kalutu. She had never heard of a familiar having even a single familiar, much less a team of them, but she didn’t have enough experience or knowledge to understand how unusual that was.

Most of the corridors were empty, or had already been cleared by some other team, but she was careful and thorough as she made her way forward. She had never been in a dungeon before but had spent some time learning about them. Lady Fury’s teaching style might have seemed erratic, but it hadn’t been random. As she had explained to Zephyr, on more than one occasion, she had no idea what Zephyr would eventually face, so she had to prepare her with as much varied information as she could.

Zephyr had learned about combat, magic, gods, classes, geography, dungeons, customs, religions and how people outside the kindred act. Outside the kindred, everyone was an individual. They may see themselves as part of something larger, such as a kingdom, religious group or family, but they weren’t actually conscious of the connections between them. The kindred were a different story. The kindred felt the connections between themselves and others, and so never felt alone.

Even now, so far away from her people, Zephyr could still feel them, not as individual minds but as a single entity. And she could call on that entity for help, gleaning information that another member of her extended family was privy to. She couldn’t imagine how lonely it must feel to be cut off from such a source of information and support, even though she herself had touched the way only three years ago. Had she felt alone before that? She wasn’t sure. It was almost like she hadn’t been born until she had been called home to the way.

Voices up ahead drew her reverie to a halt. She approached slowly, controlling her breathing, straining her senses. There were three of them. Level 6 and 7. Not good. One of them was a Scout, one was a Ruffian and the last was, it wasn’t a class in the traditional sense, but she could feel the power coming from it. And then she knew. Demon Sworn.

She did not approach further, not knowing what powers the demon might have provided to the man she was scanning. Instead she retreated, making her way back to Chari and the rest of the team. They had called themselves Lost Wisdom, a pretentious name to be sure, but then, they were an extremely unusual team. She was beginning to suspect that Chari and Kalutu were entitled to be a little pretentious.

*

They were on the road again, Eldiss and Aisha on the cart’s bench. Dahr kept looking at them. On first glance it seemed impossible that she could be small and thin enough to fit on the same seat with him, but through some unnatural law, they both managed to stay seated, even though the cart lurched and bumped throughout the mad flight into the night.

Dahr had no idea who was coming, or the cause of his captor’s fears, but he considered it a good sign. It meant that people at the palace were aware of what had happened and were taking steps to deal with it. That was all that mattered right now. He wondered who followed them. He wondered what they were thinking. He wondered if the horses drawing the cart were like their hosts. That, at least, was a question he could have answered.

“Hey, are those horses undead?”

Eldiss growled. “No. They’re reborn.”

“Oh right,” said Dahr. “Sorry, but they don’t call him the Reborn King. It takes a bit of getting used to. Where did you say he was?”

“I didn’t.”

“Where are we going?” asked Eric.

“North,” said Eldiss.

“To meet up with Striker,” said Dahr.

Eldiss turned his head to look at Dahr. “I don’t suppose you’d mind telling me how you know that.”

“Because you’re heading directly toward her.” He stood up in the cart, swaying precariously, holding on to one of the boxes for balance. “She’s that way,” he pointed, following the thread that led from each of the people in the cart toward her.

“You’re really beginning to get on my nerves,” said Eldiss.

“Sorry. You could just let me off here if I’m too much of a problem.”

To Dahr’s surprise, Aisha laughed. “I like him. I think we should adopt him.”

Eldiss looked at her, and growled.

“It’s okay,” she said. “This is what he acts like when he likes you.”

“I’d hate to see how he treats the people he doesn’t,” said Eric.

No one spoke after that, and Dahr started playing with the threads again. Calling them out, dismissing them, trying to figure out a pattern to the colors. He wondered again why Kalutu’s had become multicolored. He tried following the thread as far as he could. It was hard with the cart’s movement, but he thought the practice would be good for him.

As he followed the line, he realized another ran parallel to it… the thread that linked Eric to Chari. It was dimmer somehow. It hadn’t actually changed color, but the intensity was less. He wondered what it meant. He tried to maintain his focus on the line, noticing that Kalutu and Chari’s line practically ran into each other. He assumed that meant they were together.

He managed to follow the line all the way to the palace, and then down into the storerooms beneath, where it vanished completely. He felt like it was there, but he couldn’t follow it anymore. What could that possibly mean?

“I hope Chari is all right,” said Eric, as if he knew what Dahr was doing.

“She’s with Kalutu,” said Dahr.

“Yeah, that’s what I figure too.”

Dahr positioned himself so he was closer to Eric, and lowered his voice. “No, I mean they’re together. But I’m not sure they’re in the palace anymore.”

“What do you mean?” asked Eric.

“I wish I knew. I’ll tell you when I figure out more. Let me focus on this.”

Eric nodded but didn’t say anything else, content to watch Dahr, even though he didn’t understand what Dahr was doing.

The combination of the cart’s motion and the lack of anything useful to do eventually put Eric to sleep.

*

Eighteenth of Learning 1142 - October 5, 2023

He awoke in a bed, but it wasn’t his bed. After a moment of disorientation, he knew he had transitioned back to that other world. Earth, Suzanna had called it. A very simple name for a place that was, in Eric’s mind, infinitely complex. He sat up and tried to look around, but it was dark, except for a small glow coming from the floor. He tried to get a better look at it, but something was shielding it from view.

“Danny?” said a familiar voice.

“Guess again.”

Light suddenly filled the room, as if Suzanna had cast a spell, but she had said that this world didn’t have magic.

“Well, at least my hallucinations are consistent,” she said.

Eric chuckled, still blinking from the sudden brightness. “That makes two of us. Where is that thing you were showing me?”

“The tablet? It’s right here.”

She picked it up from the dresser and handed it to him. “All you need to do is press this button, it will call up the browser. That’s how you look for things on the Internet. The first page that comes up is google, which is what we call a search engine. It allows you to search the Internet for information you want. You don’t even have to type it. If you hit this button here, you can just speak. Say ‘look up’ and the thing you want to look up.”

“What was that glow when I first woke up.”

“It’s called a night light.”

Eric pressed the button she had indicated. “Look up night light.”

“A night light is a device that provides a small amount of illumination in the dark, often used by children who are scared of the dark.”

“Is Danny scared of the dark?” asked Eric.

“We don’t know. But allowing him to see should he wake up during the night makes sense, so he doesn’t hurt himself trying to get around.”

“If he’s sleeping, why are you here?”

“I was waiting for you to get back. I have so many questions.”

“That makes two of us. I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Here, give that to me.”

Eric handed the tablet back to Suzanna, who clicked a few things and gave it back to him.

“This is a map of the world. You’ve seen maps before?”

“I have, but nothing this detailed. This is amazing.”

“Maybe. I guess I take it for granted. We’re here,” she said pointing. The country is called the United States of America, or USA. It’s broken into fifty states. It’s one of the larger nations.”

“Who rules it?” asked Eric.

“No one. It’s a democracy. The people vote for the people that make the laws. There’s a president thats elected every four years.”

“That sounds crazy,” said Eric. “People decide who rules them?”

“Yes.”

“I mean, are most people educated enough to understand the ramifications of that?”

“I used to think they were, but then I’ve seen some of the people we’ve voted into office and begin to wonder. Still, what is the alternative?”

Eric shrugged. “In Thysandrika, countries are usually run by Kings and Queens.”

“You said you’re a prince, right?”

“I am.”

“So I guess the system would work pretty well for you.”

Eric nodded. “It does. But that doesn’t mean I can’t see the flaws in it. My father is an honorable man. He worships Sheba, who is the goddess of honor. But not every king is as honorable, and in the past, some of them have been horrible people. It makes life hard for most of the commoners for sure. Maybe there isn’t such a thing as a perfect system.”

“You may be onto something there. I still can’t believe I’m talking to you. It’s so strange. I mean you’re obviously not Danny.”

“I wish I knew why I was here. I have to believe I’m here for a reason.”

“Might it have something to do with what’s going on in your world right now?”

“Maybe. It’s…complicated.”

“It always is.” Suzanna sat down on the bed next to him. “Tell me about it.”

Eric tried to figure out where to begin. When had this story really started? It wasn’t such an easy question to answer. Did it start with the prophecy? The Undead War. No. Before that. So…

“1142 years ago, the Undead King rose on the Plains of Xarinos. Xarinos was an inhospitable desert wasteland. No one can say where he came from, but from the moment he arose, the world changed. Changed so much that Mitra, that’s the goddess of lore, had her priests travel around the world, offering that event as the beginning of a brand new calendar.

“Actually I never really understood how she knew, or what it meant, but time as it’s reckoned on most of Thysandrika starts with the rising of the Undead King.”

“The rising, not the birth?” asked Suzanna.

Eric shrugged. “I’m not sure anyone knows. Most people assume he just appeared from somewhere. Some say he’s a god, or a demigod, but gods don’t usually have a permanent physical body and live somewhere in the world. No one knows for sure what he is. We do know that even before he got there, nothing that was buried on the Plains of Xarinos stayed dead. So everyone avoided the area.”

“But the Undead King didn’t cause that. You said it was already happening.”

“I think so. It started long before he arrived on the scene. Somehow, he took over, though. Those who rose served him. Again, not sure of the connection there, just telling you what I’ve heard. Any of it could be wrong.”

“Okay, so he appeared. Then what?”

“Nothing. Not for over a thousand years. He ruled a country of undead that was isolated from the rest of the world. No one was crazy enough to go into Xarinos, and the Undead King never really left. That changed about a hundred years ago, when one country, Lorelei, which shared a border with Xarinos, signed a treaty with the Undead King.”

“Really? What did they get out of it?”

“I have no idea. No one does as far as I know. I mean the Undead King won’t attack them, and they won’t participate in any wars against the Undead King. Most people don’t trust Lorelei, and there are all sorts of rumors, but no one knows.”

“Okay, so then what happened?”

“Well, about fifteen years ago, the Undead King suddenly attacked Death’s Doorstep, a city-state on its western border. Recently I’ve heard that Death’s Doorstep was raiding the borders of Xarinos first, but since I heard that from the undead, it’s hard to say if it’s true or not.”

“You heard it from the undead? You talk to them?”

“We’ll get to that, but yes, I’ve had a conversation with three of them now.”

“So The Undead King attacked Death’s Doorstep. What happened?”

“Attack is the wrong word, probably. He took it. In a matter of days, most of Death’s Doorstep was defeated and occupied by the Undead King’s army. And everyone in the world reacted… except Lorelei of course.”

“Right, because of the treaty.”

“I guess, yeah. But the army that rode against the Undead King was huge and over the next year and a half or so, they drove the Undead King back to Xarinos, but they were unable to follow. Problems with supply lines and our dead becoming his soldiers.”

“I can see how that would be a problem.”

“So then, for another fifteen years, nothing happened. I mean stuff happened, but it’s the stuff you’d expect. I should probably mention that my father had an affair with an innkeeper who lived in Death’s Doorstep during the war. He was injured at the time, and staying at the inn. She got pregnant and had a son. That’s Dahr, my half brother. He grew up in Death’s Doorstep.”

“Is that far from where you live?”

“I come from the city Rish in the Kingdom of Twyl and yes, it’s quite far. But when Dahr’s mother got sick, Dahr came to the palace, originally as a servant until my father finally acknowledged him. Now he’s a prince like me.”

“That must have been hard.”

“Why?

“Because you were the only child, the center of attention, and Dahr would have taken away from that.”

“Not really. There’s more you don’t know. Around the time I was born, an illness killed many children and caused many still births. There are few my age in the palace, and I didn’t have many friends. I befriended Dahr while he still worked in the kitchens, and that’s why he was made my servant. We were like brothers before I found out he actually was my brother.”

“Still, it couldn’t have been easy.”

“I don’t see why. It’s not like Dahr was a threat to my inheritance and honestly, I wouldn’t care if he was. He’s my best friend. Maybe he’ll even make a good king one day.”

“But you’re next in line?”

“I am. I’m not really sure I’m cut out for the job, though. Anyway, Dahr came to the palace, got acknowledged, we had our transitions…”

“Transitions?”

“The ceremony where we’re given classes and skills. It’s more complicated than that, but we can talk about that another time. I became a tank class, and Dahr…he got a class too. But then something else happened, far away in the Allied Kingdoms of Karmenon.”

“Oh?”

“A swindler who worshiped Tharin, the god of thieves, ended up ripping off the wrong group of adventurers, a guild team named The Misfits of Karmenon. They pursued him and caught up with him, but during that time he met a god who somehow changed his allegiance and class. He went from being a Swindler to a Priest and was given a prophecy. He was shown an image of a boy who would end the undead threat. He didn’t know it at the time, but he was being shown an image of Dahr.”

“So your younger half brother is going to end the undead threat?”

“Maybe. There’s a lot we still don’t know. What we do know is that the Undead King got wind of the prophecy and had us both kidnapped. You’re pretty current with where we are now.”

“So you’re a prisoner of the Undead King?”

“I’m with one of his soldiers right now. Apparently the plan is to take me and Dahr to Xarinos.”

“You poor thing. You must be terrified.”

Eric looked surprised. “Not so much. I’m more angry. I mean we expected it. Sheba had warned us that it was going to happen… not specifically, but she warned us of coming danger for me and Dahr.”

“Who is Sheba again?”

“The goddess of honor.”

“This is all so amazing. I wish I could use the search engine to find out more about your world. It sounds fascinating.”

Eric laughed and pressed the button. “Look up Prince Eric of Twyl.”

“Prince Eric is the son of King Terrence and Queen Treya of Twyl and heir to the Twylian Throne.”

Eric’s eyes grew wide. “What!”

Before he could react further, Suzanna snatched the tablet from him. He watched while she tapped away at its surface. He couldn’t imagine what she was doing but was loathe to interrupt, so he waited patiently.

“It’s a video game,” she said, amazed. “People play games in a fantasy world where things like magic and monsters and gods exist. Your world…it’s just a game in this world.”

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know. The game is called The Undead Wars.”

“Wars? There’s only ever been one Undead War.”

Suzanna tapped the screen a few more times.

“The first Undead War changed the world. Will the second one end it? That’s the tag line.”

“Tag line?”

“It’s a single line to advertise a game or a book. You said there’s only been one war?”

“I did.”

“This seems to be about the second.”

Eric looked thoughtful. “I think we need to play this game, don’t you?”

Suzanna’s mouth tightened. “I can’t ask Mrs. Bradsworth to put a computer in your room, but I can ask for one in mine, and you can come in when you’re here, and we can play together. Obviously, Danny can’t operate a computer.”

“He’s not alone,” said Eric, wryly.

“Right…I keep forgetting. So I’ll get set up, download the game and hopefully, by the next time you’re back, we can start. Do you really think there’ll be something in the game that will help you?”

Eric shrugged. “I’m here for a reason. It’s a clue, so it’s a start. Maybe it’s nothing. That said, facing the undead without the risks involved appeals to me at the moment.”

“I’ll bet. Have you really fought undead?”

Eric thought back to his experience in the Other Realm. “Yes.”

A single word. There was no way he could get her to understand the pain of what he’d gone through. She seemed to sense his reluctance to speak about it and changed the subject.

“Let’s move on then, since there’s nothing we can do about the game at the moment. Is there something else you’d like to know about?”

“Pretend I’m a child. What would you teach me?”

“How to count, the days of the week, the months of the year, what the major holidays are, that sort of thing.”

Eric nodded. “It’s as good a place to begin as any.”

Suzanna started right in, speaking slowly and clearly, explaining any time Eric had a question, but the longer he spent with her, the more he realized just how much work he had ahead of him.

*

Chari and Sam had been talking when Zephyr returned.

“Three men, ahead of us. Level 7 or so. A Scout, a Ruffian and a demon sworn.”

“Demon Sworn?” asked Chari.

“Rare,” said Sam. “You know how the gods give you levels and powers, right?”

“Sure,” said Chari.

“Well, demon sworn get their powers from other creatures that live in the Other Realm.”

“Namely demons,” said Zephyr.

“Not necessarily,” said Sam. “There are more creatures in the Other Realm than demons and gods. Some of them can grow quite powerful. Humans have a way of classifying anything they don’t understand as a demon, but that can be misleading. Some of them aren’t demonic or even particularly bad. Most of the gods and demons in the world are broken up into the forces of chaos and order. The demons are the creatures of the other realm that lean toward chaos. So do some gods. On the other hand, most of the respectable gods lean toward order.”

“How do you know so much about this?” asked Chari.

“Imagine what a familiar might learn during the life of their master. Now imagine I run an organization of familiars that have nothing left to do but tell stories about the days they used to adventure with their masters. You tend to learn a lot about a lot of things.”

“That makes sense. So tell me about demon sworn.”

“They’re connected to creatures in the Other Realm that aren’t gods and sometimes they’re not demons either… but sometimes they are. Because these creatures aren’t gods, they have to choose who they give powers to very carefully. Most can only have one tether, as they’re called, in the same way that most masters can only tether one familiar.”

Sam looked at Kalutu when he said it, who was off to the side mentally communicating with his familiars.

“Anyway, the more powerful ones can maybe power two people and some of the extraordinary ones can power up to three.”

“What kind of skills can they offer?”

“The same kind that the gods can offer, but stronger, either because they’re focused on only one or two followers or because the gods have some sort of limitation to what they’re allowed to offer.”

“What they’re allowed to offer? They’re gods. Who’s going to stop them?”

“Other gods. If gods could do anything they want to mortals, there wouldn’t be any mortals left. Imagine the kind of power a god could provide. The gods have a pact amongst themselves that they honor because if they didn’t they’d be against the other gods who do. My understanding, limited as it is, is that the gods don’t break the pact because doing so would set them up for a conflict most of them couldn’t win. I suppose if they got permission or all the gods agreed, they could do something special, but demons have no such limitations, so a Level 7 demon sworn is probably more like Level 9 or 10.”

“So really not good,” said Chari. “Okay, so if we run into them, and they turn out to be hostile, we take out the scout first, then the ruffian.”

“The scout can’t do much damage, most likely,” said Zephyr.

“But if we have to run, he can track us,” said Chari. “And if we take him down fast, it’s one less guy we have to deal with. I suspect the other two are going to put up a bigger fight.”

“Maybe,” said Zephyr. “But I’m a stealth specialist and can avoid getting hit for a pretty long period of time. You might be wasting your time going after someone, particularly if they can make themselves invisible and sneak away.”

Chari looked thoughtful. “That’s a good point. Okay, we try to take down the Scout as fast as we can, and if we fail, we go for the Ruffian. Isolate the demon sworn, take him out after the others are handled.”

Sam and Zephyr both nodded. Chari called Kalutu over and paraphrased the conversation for him.

“Are we making preparations just in case, or are we going to attack them?” asked Kalutu.

“I intend to talk to them,” said Chari, “But if it becomes necessary to attack, at least we’re on the same page.”

“You’ll be giving up the element of surprise,” said Sam.

“If I start attacking sentient creatures for no reason, without at least seeing if they’re a threat, I’ll be giving up my humanity,” said Chari. “You yourself said not all demon sworn are necessarily bad.”

“I did say that but sort of wish I hadn’t.”

Chari placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes, the right thing to do isn’t the easy thing to do.”

Sam sighed. “Fine. But I’m going to ask them if they have beer.”

Chari was about to reply when a man brandishing two daggers leapt into the room. His worn leather armor indicated he’d seen battle. His reddish beard was wild and his thin mustache reached past the end of each cheek, where it curled ever so slightly upwards. His mouth was half open in a snarl, and a fringe of reddish brown hair peaked out from beneath a leather helm from which a chin strap dangled.

Zephyr was completely unprepared for the attack and reflexively turned invisible. Chari jumped backwards and drew her sword. Kalutu, who stood a bit further away, had time to draw his. Sam, caught by surprise, staggered backwards, but still managed to get his weapon out.

A second figure, probably the scout, materialized behind Kalutu, dressed in leather armor a shade lighter than his companion’s. His hair was also reddish brown, making the two look like brothers, though this man’s beard and mustache had been meticulously trimmed. Unlike the first attacker, he wore no helm. Instead of daggers, he was armed with a short sword, which he swung at Kalutu. The were-owl spun and moved to counter the blow, but it never landed.

“What the devil!” shouted the man.

Behind him, Bruce had appeared, fangs deeply embedded in his ankle. Suddenly every attack was aimed at the hapless scout, who was already beginning to feel the affects of Bruce’s poison. Kalutu, Chari and Sam all converged on him, not ignoring the others but prioritizing the scout as the target.

He was good, but not good enough to handle all of them.

The other familiars, having no room to attack the Scout, had engaged the Ruffian, who found himself fighting different opponents than the one he had chosen.

The first attack to hit him was Drake’s fire breath. He took a swipe at the lizard, but it was fast and ran up the wall, just out of his reach. That was when Gruff charged in and butted him in the backside. He pitched forward off balance, and Wingman dove at him, momentarily drawing his attention, while a small tan and black dog bit his ankle.

“Enough!” said a loud voice from the edge of the battle.

The voice was filled with such power that everyone froze, just long enough for the Ruffian to find his footing. He kicked at Flapper, but it was more an ineffective gesture than an actual attack. He swiped with one of his daggers at the bird in passing before changing targets and swinging directly at Gruff, but the goat had backed away, opening a space for Bear to attack.

The demon sworn hadn’t done anything yet, but now he yelled again. “Cease fighting!”

Everyone stopped this time, his own people and Chari’s, as if his voice was imbued with power they couldn’t understand.

He was almost a head taller than both of his companions, and muscles bulged from beneath what looked to be a silk shirt and leather pants. He wore a fine pair of brown leather boots as well. He was clean shaven, with short dark blond hair that made Chari think of Eric. She dismissed the thought as soon as it formed. His eyes were intense, electric, powerful. He was the kind of man that people noticed the moment he entered a room.

“Why should we stop?” asked Chari. “You attacked us.”

“I did. I had assumed you were monsters, not adventurers. We are in a dungeon, and to my knowledge, the guild has yet to authorize any adventurer to enter this place—and you had been scouting us.”

Zephyr looked surprised. “You sensed me?”

“Of course I did. You’re not all that good to be honest.”

Zephyr had a retort ready, but Chari held up a hand forestalling her.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“What anyone wants, I suppose. I want to be rich, healthy and live forever.”

“I just want a beer,” said Sam.

Everyone turned to look at him. He shrugged. “Well, I think I have more of a chance to get what I want than this guy does.” He gestured to the demon sworn.

No one laughed.

“Tough crowd,” said Sam.

Chari motioned for him to be silent and returned her attention to their attackers. “You have a name? I can’t keep thinking of you as the demon sworn guy.”

“So you know that, do you? Impressive for a low level team. I’m Swag. Short for Swagger. And these are my companions Stag and Scag.”

“It’s cool that your names rhyme,” said Zephyr.

“It’s really not,” said Chari. “So Swag, this is what we’re going to do. You’re going to take your man over there before he dies, and you’re going to leave this part of the dungeon.”

“Why would we do that?”

“Because I’m asking you nicely. And I would prefer not to have to ask you twice.”

“You’re pretty mouthy for a Level 4 Warrior.”

“All this and observant too. I don’t like being attacked. I’m giving you the option to leave before we show you what Lost Wisdom can do.”

“Is that the name of your team? I only ask because pissing me off doesn’t seem very wise.”

“I’m on a holy quest for Sheba. If you get in my way, you’ll regret it.”

“She’s telling the truth,” said the Scout, wincing. He was doubled over in pain, but somehow managed to remain standing.

“I don’t care,” said Swag. “If there is one god that deserves to be thwarted, it’s Sheba. Honor is a construct invented to control you. Be a good little soldier. Do the right thing. Don’t step out of line. Never reach your full potential.”

“You’re about to find out exactly what my full potential is,” said Chari.

Swag laughed and spun his daggers in his hands. Then he feinted toward Kalutu, but whirled at the last moment and took a cut at Flapper, who fell backwards in surprise. Swagger kicked him, hard. The hapless beaver, in the process of trying to regain his footing, was completely unprepared for the second attack and took the full force of it in his stomach. The sound of the kick resounded throughout the room. Flapper rolled all the way to the wall.

“If this is the best you’ve got, you’ve got nothing,” said Swag.

Kalutu didn’t speak. He didn’t make a sound. He moved toward the demon sworn without thought to his own safety. But Chari knew Kalutu, good as he was for his experience, would be no match for the demon sworn.

“He’s mine!” she shouted and used Tremendous Leap to close the distance, reaching the man before Kalutu could get there, blocking whatever attack he might have launched.

The Ruffian attacked Kalutu from the side, and the were-owl only had a moment to adjust, blocking the attack but only barely. Before he could attack again, Bear was on the Ruffian from behind, swiping at him with a huge black paw. Stag would have normally been up to the task of redirecting his attack, but Wingman dove into his face, blocking his view and forcing him to protect his eyes. Bear’s giant paw swatted him hard, and he smashed into the wall. Scruff jumped in and started biting his legs, while Wingman kept up the assault on his face.

Chari, meanwhile, used her blade to ward off Swag’s powerful attacks. It only took her a short time to realize that he was better than she was, by an order of magnitude. She had thought she’d be up to the challenge of taking him on, or at least holding him at bay, but she had been wrong. He immediately had her on the defensive. Backing her up, laughing at her, sneering at her. She tried all of her attacks, but nothing penetrated his flawless defense.

“You didn’t really think you were a match for me, did you?”

Before she could answer, Bruce appeared and bit him, then vanished again. Quick as he was, he wasn’t fast enough to catch the spider. But it didn’t stop him from trying. That opening gave Gruff enough time to charge in and butt him on the thigh. He turned to strike, positive he could at least hit the goat, when a blur passed between them, completely throwing off his attack. At first he didn’t know what had happened. Then he saw her, moving faster than anyone he had ever seen. Zephyr spun around him, taunting, dodging, and that was when Chari struck.

She lunged forward impaling him on her blade.

Swag looked down at the sword stuck in his body. “You’re only Level 4.”

“Guess you missed the part where I told you I was on a holy quest.”

“Guess you missed the part where I said I wasn’t impressed.”

Swag spoke a word that Chari had never heard before and could never remember afterward. The air around them reverberated, and a giant sphere grew out of the demon sworn, which filled the room. Chari could feel the pressure on her soul. There was no other way to describe it. Then the sphere exploded, and the Scout climbed to his feet, grinning as if he had been waiting for that moment.

“What the hell!” shouted Chari.

Chari felt a premonition of doom, as if she knew in her heart of hearts that they would all perish in that room. She would die down here in the depths, and no one would ever know what had happened. She would be just another victim of a dungeon that had overestimated her ability. The fear of failure paralyzed her, until she thought of Eric and Dahr, out there somewhere with Striker. And she was on a holy quest. Sheba would not have chosen her if she wasn’t worthy. And she knew that the weight on her soul was somehow part of Swag’s special powers.

“It’s time to finish this,” said Swag.

“Run!” yelled Zephyr.

Chari fought through the effects of the soul attack and looked at the three dungeon runners, completely healed, glowing with power. It wasn’t like the flare you got from leveling, but more like they were beings of power themselves.

“No!” said Chari.

But the soul attack had affected the others, and they were already running. Only Chari and Zephyr seemed immune to its effects.

“I’m not leaving you!” shouted Chari.

“I said go! You have to trust me now.”

Realizing that the familiars needed her, Chari turned down the corridor and started running. Kalutu and the familiars were in full flight mode, and it took her time to catch them, even using Tremendous Leap to help close the distance. Fortunately, they ran straight down a long corridor rather than turning down a side passage, or she might never have found them. No one checked for traps in their panic. No one slowed or spoke. They ran like frightened animals. Chari understood. Whatever skill had been used on them was terrifying. But this sort of flight through a dungeon was dangerous.

“Enough. Stop!”

It took a few seconds for them to break whatever spell they were under, but they did and wandered back to her.

“We’re missing two,” said Sam. “Flapper and Zephyr.”

“We have to go back,” said Kalutu. His tone left no room for discussion. “We can’t leave them behind.”

“Zephyr told me to go. She asked me to trust her, so I will. That’s what being part of a team is all about.”

“Is she part of our team then?” asked Kalutu.

“After this? Of course she is. But for now, we’re going to put some distance between us and them. We obviously aren’t strong enough to take them on. As much as I don’t like it, that only leaves one option. We go on, and pray that Zephyr is as good as she thinks she is.”

“Flapper is still back there too. He’s still alive. I can feel him. He’s alone. Vulnerable. We can’t just abandon him.”

Chari nodded. “You’re right. We can’t. But we can’t sacrifice the entire team to get him. We’re not helping him by dying ourselves. Whatever power that demon sworn has is strong.”

Kalutu hung his head. “We ran. I ran. I had wanted to stay and fight, but fled like a coward instead.”

“It wasn’t you, Kalutu. He used a skill. Everyone fled,” said Sam.

“Chari didn’t.”

“I felt it too, but somehow, I fought it off. Perhaps my link to Sheba saved me.”

“Take some credit,” said Sam. “You have a strong will. But there’s no shame that others were affected. We’re fighting beings that are above our level. It was always a long shot that we’d beat them.”

“But what do we do now?” asked Chari. “Two of the team are still back there.”

I’ll go, said Bruce. I’ll scout the situation and return.

“Bruce will scout for us and inform us of the situation,” said Kalutu.

“Good,” said Chari. “Thank you, Bruce. But if it’s all the same, I think we should keep moving as well. I feel exposed out here.”

“It’s as good a plan as any,” said Sam.

They started moving again, quickly but without the reckless abandon that had gotten them to that place. Kalutu looked around again, then seemed to make a decision.

“Follow me,” he said.

He took off down a side corridor before Chari could protest, and his familiars followed immediately behind. Chari gritted her teeth, but brought up the rear with Sam. If she could trust Zephyr, she surely had to trust Kalutu, though she didn’t like him running off without warning.

He reached a door on the right wall of the corridor and waited for Chari to catch up.

“We’ve never been here before, right?”

“Right.”

“So I couldn’t know what was behind this door.”

“What are you getting at?” asked Chari.

“There’s a room here, with two exits, one on the left, one on the right, both of which lead to small rooms, both dead ends. The one on the left will be smaller.”

“Kalutu, how can you know that?”

He shrugged and pushed open the door. The room inside was empty, but as he said, it had two doors on opposite walls.

He walked to the left room and it opened into an empty dead end room. The same for the right room. Kalutu had accurately described what he would find behind each door.

“Okay, mister, start talking.”

“Don’t you recognize it?” asked Kalutu.

“No.”

“Look again.”

Chari did. There was nothing about the room that was familiar. Nothing, except…wait. She looked around again.

“It’s not possible,” she said finally.

“It is.”

“This is Dahr’s quarters.”

“It is. We’re in the palace, somehow. Well almost. It’s more of a reflection of the palace, but underground.”

“That makes no sense.

“It’s hard to see, because there are no furnishings. No wall hangings.”

Chari looked around the room again and noticed a mark on the ground, faint, but there. It was roughly rectangular, and extended from the wall, as if something had once rested there… the exact size and shape of the box of veresh that Dahr had stolen.

*

King Leonid stood on the balcony outside his bed chambers, looking down into the empty courtyard. Everyone was busy preparing. Behind him he could hear the sounds of trunks being packed up and locked. He didn’t turn around. Jerish would make sure everything went smoothly. Even as he thought it, his servant appeared at his side.

“That’s it then. I’ll get the servants sorted and start moving everything to the Adventurer’s Guild. I don’t mind telling you, I’m pretty nervous. I’ve never taken a chirkir portal before.”

“You’re not going, Jerish.”

“Sire?”

“I wish you to stay behind and keep an eye on the queen. I won’t be here to protect her.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Your Majesty?”

Very few people could talk to King Leonid that way, but Jerish was an exception. Leonid had overheard several people comment on his special treatment, and it was true. Jerish got away with far more than anyone else could. Leonid smiled, grimly. He couldn’t imagine what those same people would say had they known the truth.

“I am sure.”

“She may not want me to stay.”

“She doesn’t have a choice. My mind is made up.”

Jerish stared at the king for only a moment, then shrugged and bowed.

“I’ll get the other servants to start moving your things, then.”

“I’ll see you in Melar, when you get back.”

“Yes, Sire, of course. I’ll take good care of Queen Rhea.”

“See that you do.”

Then Jerish was gone, leaving the King of Melar alone with his thoughts. He looked back at the various trunks scattered around the room. It wasn’t the first time he’d been separated from his wife, though it was the first time the choice was out of his hands. The gods had told him to return to Melar. To prepare for war. He felt as if he had been dismissed, while King bloody Terrence was receiving all the attention.

It wasn’t all bad news, of course. King Terrence was an ally now, and even a relation. That was good for him, being in-laws with the high king. But his ally would be insufferable now. Having Sheba’s backing was one thing, but Sylinar’s? Mitra’s? Even Sarith had backed King Terrence as high king, while King Leonid had been sent packing, back to Melar.

They had found use for his wife. His daughter was off doing gods know what. But he was to be treated like a child being sent to his room, while the adults got to stay up and talk strategy. Was he so useless?

He walked inside, lowered himself slowly to the bed and hung his head. He hadn’t thought so. In Melar he was a power to be reckoned with. People were scared of him. But Terrence was a hero of the Undead War, whereas Leonid hadn’t participated at all. Is that why he was being punished? Iorana must know that he couldn’t have fought in that war without revealing what he was. Surely staying behind had been the right choice.

He had wanted to give his life to the study of magic. It was all he’d ever really cared about, well, that and his family. He’d only been a boy when he’d chosen Iorana, fascinated by magic of all kinds. He was drawn to it, like flies to a corpse. Magic was irresistible to him. Choosing Iorana had been the only choice he could have made. Only after the goddess of magic had accepted him into her embrace did he realize his shortcomings in the area.

Leonid had no actual talent with magic at all. Even simple spells eluded him. The theories and the formulas fascinated him. Every branch of magic held a place in his heart. He loved them all but was incapable of casting a single spell.

A lot of people think spells come from the goddess, but it isn’t the case. Iorana gives away nothing. The skills she provides her followers are tools that allow them to sense or study magic, but not actual spells. You are expected to learn and practice those on your own. And Leonid had tried. He ignored everything else, much to his parent’s dismay, while he read and studied and practiced. He could see the beauty, the poetry in each spell, but he had never found a way to cast one. Iorana didn’t seem to mind. He still leveled as he studied. Still received skills that would help him learn and understand. But he felt like a failure.

It was like he was starving to death while being trapped in a glass room surrounded by food. He needed to find a way to cast a spell.

And then one day when he’d least expected it, an event no one could have foreseen, perhaps not even Iorana herself, shattered his life, and what should have been his greatest triumph had become the greatest of his numerous failures.