You have entered sector 18,240 of the Forever Kingdom.

The nether toxicity at your current location is at tier 4.

Safyre has cast purifying dome. Duration: 30 minutes.

You have entered a purifying field. All environmental ill-effects have been nullified.

I stepped out of the portal, but not into the nether’s familiar coils. Instead, I entered a space blessedly free of the void’s mists and still bearing the electric tang of the spell used to clear it.

“That was fast,” I remarked, studying the purified span of space a hundred yards in diameter around the portal.

Safyre threw me a quick smile over her shoulder. “I had the spell prepped and ready to go.”

“Is the area clear?” Adriel asked, all business.

“Yes,” I replied, having already checked the surroundings. “There are no stygians around for miles.”

“I’ll get started then,” the lich replied. Not waiting for my reply, she closed her eyes and began casting.

I watched intently. Adriel was opening a portal—or rather, she was trying to.

She and Safyre had ranked the potential dungeons they’d come up with from most to least favorable, and first on the list, was a location that had only been known to high-ranking members of House Death. Assuming the dungeon and the sector leading to it hadn’t been rediscovered since, Nyra and the twins would have a long-abandoned dungeon all to themselves. An ideal scenario.

Alas, it was not to be.

The lich opened her eyes. “The portal refuses to open,” she said tightly. Which meant the sector in question had been rediscovered, claimed, and was now shielded from unauthorized access.

I sighed. I guess it was too much to hope for. I swung to face Safyre. “Let’s move on to option two.”

Wordlessly, the aetherist began casting, but only a moment later, she too stopped. “No go. The sector is shielded.”

I forbore comment. Option two had been nearly as perfect as number one. Unfortunately, the alternatives were, for one reason or the other, significantly less so. Still, everything on the list fulfilled the basic criteria we’d established and were all far outside the zones of control of the Game’s most powerful factions.

“Run through the rest of the list until you find all those that work,” I instructed grimly. Turning to the others, I added. “Best make yourselves comfortable. This may take a while.”

✵ ✵ ✵

Ghost has taken the form of a level 236 stygian pyre wolf.

While I waited patiently for Adriel and Safyre to finish their investigations, the rest of my companions—Ghost, Nyra, Anriq, and the twins—made their way to the edge of the purifying dome to gaze upon the nether mist beyond. For two of them at least, this was their first opportunity to study the nether at leisure.

“Can I go past the dome?” Ghost asked.

I glanced at her. “You plan on trying your new skill?”

She bobbed her head.

“Go on,” I said, smiling indulgently, “but don’t stray too far.”

Bounding forward, the pyre wolf slipped beyond the edges of Safyre’s spell and into the mists.

Immediately, damage messages began scrolling across my vision. Ignoring them, I kept my gaze focused on my familiar as she wove mana.

Ghost has cast mist-thin, reducing the nether toxicity of the nether around her in a 10 yard radius to tier 3. Duration: infinite. The debuff will remain in effect as long as your familiar continues channeling the spell.

“It works!” the pyre wolf exclaimed.

I chuckled. “Of course it does.” Narrowing my eyes, I studied the yellowish haze around Ghost as she raced along the outside of the purifying dome. The change was nearly imperceptible, but the mist around my familiar was definitely thinner.

Ghost’s nether manipulation has increased to level 2.

Ghost’s nether manipulation has increased to level 3.

…

“Keep at it,” I murmured. “You’re doing well.”

“Where’s Ghost gone to?” Adriel asked.

Swinging around, I found the lich and Safyre looking at me expectantly. Neither could see the pyre wolf in the mist, of course. “Training her nether manipulation,” I replied.

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I’d told the pair about Ghost’s new skill on the way over. Surprisingly, neither had heard of it before nor of anything similar. Still, they’d both agreed with my assessment. Selecting it had been the right decision.

Safyre arched one eyebrow. “She’s not wasting time, is she?”

“Time, I fear, is the one commodity we’re always going to be short of,” I replied.

Adriel laughed. “True enough.”

My gaze darted from one to the other. “I take it you found an accessible dungeon?”

“We have,” Adriel said.

I waited.

“Only number five and eight on the list are open for portal entry,” Safyre said.

“Five and eight,” I echoed, mentally running through what the pair had told me of the sectors in question.

Neither was ideal. Worse yet, number eight was controlled by a Light faction. A minor one to be sure, but one not averse to selling dungeon access to ‘neutral’ players—which was the only reason it was on the list in the first place.

“I guess it has to be five then,” I said heavily.

Both women nodded solemnly.

I looked at Safyre. Number five was one of her contributions to the list. “Did you manage to glean anything of the sector’s current conditions?”

She shook her head. “No, I let the spell unravel before the portal could fully form.”

It was a justifiable precaution, and one I couldn’t fault. I sighed. “Let’s go tell the others the good news, then.”

✵ ✵ ✵

“We’ve found an accessible dungeon,” I said, when the rest of the party rejoined us at the portal.

“Which one is it?” Teresa asked excitedly.

“Number five,” I replied. “Korg.”

Terence frowned. “Korg? But isn’t that the sector with a one-way portal?”

“It is,” I replied. The one-way dungeon portal was the primary reason sector 65,231—otherwise known as Korg—was as low down on the list as it was. The dungeon itself, Korg’s Deep, was an ideal fit for the trio, but unfortunately its exit portal was in a sector that neither Safyre nor Adriel had visited before.

That was the bad news. The good news was that both the entrance and exit nether portals from Korg’s Deep were located in the safe zone of their respective sectors. The dungeoneering trio would therefore only be at risk while they were in the Deep itself.

“You’ve been to Korg, Saf,” Teresa said. “What can you tell us about it?”

Safyre’s lips turned down. “Nothing more than what I’ve already shared, I’m afraid. I visited Korg exactly once, and briefly at that. Then Korg Minor—the sector you’ll be entering through—was owned by a small faction, I forget the name.”

“You didn’t enter the dungeon?” Terence asked.

Safyre shook her head. “I was in Korg for another reason. But I remember the dungeon’s description well. The Deep is designed for a party of tier two players and is seed with mostly non-magical creatures. It shouldn’t be especially hard for you three to run through.”

“But how will we get back when we’re done?” Nyra asked worriedly.

It was the question on everyone’s minds. “It should not be too complicated,” Safyre remarked. “Korg Major—the sector with the dungeon exit portal—sits adjacent to Korg Minor, after all. If for whatever reason you can’t teleport out directly from Korg Major you should return to sector 65,231 and leave from there.” She bit her lip. “Although, I’ll admit that may be easier said than done.”

I nodded. Much would depend on the current conditions in the respective sectors—of which we knew nothing. Nor would further speculation help. “We’ll figure it out once we’re in Korg,” I pronounced.

Teresa bounced on her feet. “So, we’re still going ahead?”

“We are.” I paused. “Assuming you three are comfortable with the risks, of course.”

“Yes!” the twins exclaimed in unison.

I glanced at Nyra who nodded firmly. “I am.”

“Good. I guess we are a go, then.” Removing the Cloak of the Reach, I handed it to Adriel who accepted it without comment. Kneeling, I ruffled the pyre wolf’s coat. “Take care, Ghost.”

“You, too, Prime.”

“I won’t be gone long,” I assured her. “Focus on your ash armor training with Sulan in the meantime, and perhaps Adriel will bring you back here sometimes so you can work on nether manipulation too.”

“I’d like that,” Ghost said.

I glanced at Adriel who nodded. “I’ll bring her,” she agreed.

“Thanks,” I said aloud as I rose to my feet. Turning to Anriq, I handed him the Sylvanain eye. “You remember what to search for?”

“I do,” he replied.

“Don’t go scouting in person,” I warned. “Use the eye.” I grimaced apologetically. “It’ll be tedious work, I know, but finding a—”

The werewolf waved aside my words. “Don’t worry. I understand the importance of the task you’ve set me. I’ll find what we need.”

I clasped his hand, glad that I could depend on him. Turning around, I faced Safyre who returned my look.

“No need for goodbyes,” she said with a smile. “We’ll see each other soon enough.”

Inclining my head in rueful agreement, I saw to my final preparations.

You have cast mimic, transforming your visage into that of Actus, a level 101 human brawler and concealing your Powerful Initiate Mark. Duration: 10 hours.

You have activated the simple mode enchantment of the belt of the chameleon. Your armor and weapons are now hidden.

Feeling out my new face—that of a player I’d run across in Nexus—I checked my clothing. Camouflaged by the chameleon belt, they were as non-descript as I expected. If anything, I wanted to attract even less attention than my younger companions. “Right, final check. Does everyone have their farspeaker bracelets equipped?”

Solemnly, the trio raised their arms, baring the gold bracelet on their wrists. I wore the last one. For this mission, we would be taking all four of Safyre’s farspeaker artifacts, they being essential for the four of us to communicate easily with each other in Korg.

I glanced at Adriel and Safyre. “I’ll head directly to the wolves’ valley after seeing our dungeon team settled,” I told them. “So, don’t expect me to return for at least a few days yet.”

“Give Saya my regards,” Safyre replied.

“And bring her back if you can,” Terence blurted.

Declining to reply, I nodded at Safyre. “Open it.”

Safyre has cast supreme portal, creating a protected ley line to sector 65,231.

“Protected ley line?” I asked, my gaze flitting between the aetherist and the curtain of light that had materialized before her.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like—a shielded portal,” she explained. “No one will be able to pass through without my permission.”

“Useful,” I murmured.

“You four better go,” Safyre instructed, waving me forward. “The longer the portal is open the more attention it will attract.”

I nodded in agreement. The time had come to put our plans in motion. Inhaling deeply, I ducked through the waiting gateway.

Transfer through portal commencing…

…

…

Passage completed!

Leaving sector 18,240 of the Forever Kingdom.