Ten minutes later, I was back in the river.

Ghost and the others remained in the gully—the pyre wolf practicing her nether manipulation and the six nagians laboriously scrying the surroundings. While the nagian mages’ magical sight was no more acute than their physical ones, scrying allowed them to remotely—and safely—map the terrain.

“I’m drawing close to the shore,” I informed Ghost.

“Have the stygians spotted you?” she asked.

“Not yet.” And I didn’t expect them to, not until I was back on solid ground, anyway.

In keeping with the nether’s aversion to water, a clear stretch of ground at least twenty yards in width separated the edge of the nest and the fogbank from the shoreline. And while I could not see the spores, I expected that they, too, were maintaining their distance from the river.

My feet brushed against the muddy ground beneath the water, and I halted my slow careful swim to take stock.

None of the stygians in the nest had stirred. Nor had any Game messages dropped into my mind. I remained invisible and unseen. Perfect. I was now certain that if it became necessary, I could cross the river without being spotted.

That’s another test completed.

Reversing course, I backed away until I was treading water again and scanned the shoreline anew.

Thanks to the ubiquitous mist, the reeds and other foliage that had once graced the river’s banks were long gone—leaving my sight unimpeded. From where I floated, I could easily see the rift, overlords, void tree, and nagas. The lesser stygians—smaller in size—were hidden by the riverbanks. But that was alright. It was not them I was interested in right now.

“I’m about to begin my attack,” I reported to Ghost.

“I’ve informed the nagians,” the pyre wolf replied after a noticeable delay. “They’re ready.”

Drawing on my mana, I cast—or rather, let my void armor do so.

You have cast furious storm.

Between one breath and the next, the sky darkened, and bolts of lightning flashed down, striking the void tree and the nagas wrapped around its trunk. I didn’t wait to behold the results. Delving into the ring on my right hand, I drew forth the spell stored within.

Mage’s surprise activated. Spellhold casting released.

You have trigger-cast furious storm.

A second black cloud materialized, adding its fury to the first. I was still not done, though. Drawing more mana, I let the spell weaves of a third instance of Safyre’s spell take shape under the direction of my mana. While it did, I took the time to observe the results of my opening salvo.

The stygians had been caught completely off guard. None of the nagas had their defenses up, and bolt after bolt mercilessly pounded into them.

A lightning bolt has critically hit and stunned a level 241 stygian naga.

A lightning bolt has critically hit and stunned a level 245 stygian naga.

A lightning bolt has…

…

Unfortunately, the void tree weathered the assault much better.

A level 340 young void tree has partially resisted your attack. Minor damage sustained.

The storm’s lackluster performance against the void tree did not deter me though. Killing it—or the nagas for that matter—was not the point of the exercise. Gauging the stygians’ reaction was. More damage messages poured through my mind, but I ignored them in favor of observing the nest.

Serpents rustled and hydras hissed. The entire nest was rousing.

The question, though, was which way would they go?

A second later, I had my answer as I spotted a pack of stygian mindglows heading east—toward the foothills. I smiled. It was the final confirmation I needed. The stygians had no idea where I was.

Finally, some good news, I thought.

My third spell reached completion, and without hesitation, I unleashed it over the void tree.

You have cast furious storm.

A lightning bolt has critically hit and stunned a level 244 stygian naga.

A lightning bolt has critically hit and stunned a level 240 stygian naga.

…

Once more, I drew mana. I had no intention of stopping, not until the stygians found me—or I ran out of mana.

The nagas had begun dispersing, and fully half of them were already out of the area impacted by the triple storms. A few of the quicker-thinking ones even had their shields up. Nonetheless, there were more than enough vulnerable—or stunned—targets for my lightning bolts to strike.

Better yet, when I analyzed some of the nagas who had the misfortune to have been struck multiple times, I realized there was a good chance of me scoring some kills after all.

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

A level 241 stygian naga is stunned and badly injured.

A level 244 stygian naga is severely injured.

Giving myself over fully to my spellweaving, I concentrated on chain- casting Safyre’s stolen spell.

You have cast furious storm.

You have cast furious storm.

…

Ideally, I would’ve preferred using the noxious vapors spell against the nagas. It was the more powerful spell. Unfortunately, Adriel’s spell lacked the range I required, and worse yet, it was a directionally cast spell. Which meant that if the stygians followed the black smoke back to its source, they’d find me readily enough.

You have cast furious storm.

You have cast furious storm.

Warning. Your reserves of mana have dropped below 25%. Void armor charge remaining: 24%.

Panting for breath—spellcasting was more arduous than I’d thought—I stopped my wanton expenditure of mana and turned my gaze upon the distant tree. My efforts had not been in vain, I saw.

4 stygian nagas have died.

You and Ghost have reached level 258!

“Prime, what’s going on? Did you kill something?”

I smiled wearily. “I did. Four nagas to be precise.”

“Four!” she exclaimed in jubilation.

“Inform Lucius and the others that all is going well,” I instructed, not wanting the nagians to get worried.

A pause.

“Elise wants to know what is going on. She says it sounds as if the whole nest is on the move.”

“Not quite,” I murmured, smiling. “But the stygians do appear at a loss about what to do.”

The nagas were widely dispersed now, and nearly all of them had their shields up. Sadly, I would not be scoring any more quick kills. What’s more, the nagas’ had gone on the offensive and were unleashing voidball after voidball.

At the empty hills to the east.

If the need to remain hidden wasn’t so dire, I would’ve laughed. Even the void tree had joined in on the assault and was showering the selfsame hills with stygian thorns.

I did not kid myself, though. Sooner or later, the stygians would figure out the truth of the matter, and then they would begin searching the riverbanks in earnest. And with my mana reserves as low as they were, I didn’t want to be still hanging around when that happened. It was time to leave.

Kicking off, I swam for the river’s western shore.

✵ ✵ ✵

The trip back to the gully was uneventful. Inside, I found the five nagians waiting patiently for my arrival.

“Elise, I presume?” I said, greeting the newcomer first.

The golem bowed low. “It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Wolf,” Elise said.

Inclining my head in response, I reached out to inspect her.

The target is Elise, a level 170 nagian were-druid.

“You’re a werewolf?” I asked, startled.

Elise chuckled. “Not quite. I’m of Fox’s line.”

My brows furrowed. “That would make you… a werefox?”

“Exactly right.” Elise hesitated, then added, “In times gone by, Fox and Wolf were closely aligned. It gladdens me to see Wolf rising again.” She shook her head sadly. “If only you could bring about Fox’s return too.”

I cocked my head to the side. “My efforts are not only bent towards Wolf. I, and those allied with me, seek to resurrect all the ancient bloodlines. One day, who knows, a Fox Prime may walk the Kingdom again.”

Elise exhaled. “I eagerly await that day.”

Nodding in acknowledgment, I was about to turn away to address Lucius when something else occurred to me. “I’m curious… can you still shift?”

Elise pressed her hands together. “I couldn’t before,” she said softly. “According to Adriel that was because my spirit and possessed body were not completely melded.”

I waited for her to go on but when she didn’t, I prompted, “What about now?”

“It’s been so long… I’ve been afraid to try,” she confessed.

“Then perhaps the time to do so has come?” I held her gaze. “Not knowing is worse, I think.”

For a drawn-out moment, Elise said nothing. Finally, she gave a clipped nod. “As you wish, Wolf,” she said, sounding at one time both reluctant and eager.

Stepping back, I waited. The other nagians and Ghost said nothing, content to remain silent observers.

A moment later, Elise rippled. Her limbs contorted and her face dissolved.

“By the ancients,” Lucius breathed. “She’s doing it.”

“I can’t believe it!” another nagian exclaimed. “It’s actually working!”

Ignoring their commentary, I kept my gaze fixed on Elise. Her shift was occurring quicker than my own, and from the looks of it, less painfully. Surprisingly, though, no fur appeared. Nor did Elise’s skin change texture or color.

Finally, the were-druid’s shift ended, and a fox stood before us. But it was like no fox I’d ever seen before.

I glanced sideways at Lucius. “Is this what her fox form was like before?”

“No,” he replied succinctly.

I turned back to fox-Elise, studying her intently. Ghost was doing the same, circling the smaller creature. “What do you think?” I asked my familiar.

“She still smells like a nagian,” Ghost replied, wrinkling her nose.

And looks much like one too, I thought. While Elise’s shape had changed to resemble one of her House’s four-footed brethren, her skin had not. In fact, she was very much the nagian version of a fox.

“How do I look?” Elise asked, her mindvoice ringing excitedly in my head.

My brows rose. “How are you speaking to me mind to mind?” I was sure she hadn’t been able to do so before.

The fox tilted her head to the side. “You have the beast tongue trait yourself, don’t you?”

I nodded.

“Well, technically, I’m a beastkin—in this form, anyway.”

“Ah.”

Elise danced on her feet. “So… how do I look?” she asked for the second time.

“Like a nagian fox,” Ghost replied laconically, drawing closer to sniff at the were-druid.

Elise’s head whipped around in my direction. Her eyes were no longer orbless, I noted in passing. “Is that true, Wolf?”

“It is. It seems that even in fox form, you will retain your nagian traits.” I paused. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you!” Spinning about faster than even I could manage, Elise put herself nose-to-nose with Ghost—she had to stretch her neck to do it, though. “Come, Ghost, let’s run!”

The pyre wolf glanced at me for permission, and I smiled indulgently. “Go on, but stay in the gully.”

Without further delay, the pair dashed off, and I turned back to Lucius. “Will you and the others watch the perimeter? I need to regain my spent mana.”

The nagian tilted his head curiously. “Don’t you want to do that back in the cave? It will be safer there.”

“Oh, we’re not leaving yet,” I murmured. “There’s still much to be done before we can call it a day.”