An hour later, my netherstone safely in my pocket, we reconvened in the brotherhood castle.

“So, you spoke truly,” Kartara began without preamble.

The huntmistress, her three advisors, and I were sitting around the large ornate table in the library. The four congregated at the head of the table while I’d been relegated to the bottom end. The table had been designed to seat more than twenty and the space between us yawned wide—which was no accident, I thought.

“I did,” I said simply.

She leaned forward. “But you failed to mention a few things.”

“Oh?”

“Like the fact that the harbinger is accompanied by a few thousand lesser serpents,” Cait replied.

“And seventy elites we know nothing about!” Duskar added with a growl.

I arched one eyebrow. So… the brotherhood had not come across the nagas previously either. That was interesting. The four had been close-mouthed during our time in the nether, communicating with each other primarily by farspeaker link, so these were my first insights into what they thought about the stygian army.

“I have information about the nagas,” I said evenly.

Kartara’s eyes narrowed. “You do?”

Retrieving a scale from my backpack, I slid it across the table.

“What’s this?” Senzo asked, trapping the thing under his hand before it could skitter past.

“A naga scale,” I replied laconically. “We’ve killed a few already.”

Duskar looked torn between mocking my claim and demanding to know how. Letting the orc stew, I turned back to Kartara. But the huntmistress’ head was already bent downward, examining the scale Senzo had handed to her.

“What is this stuff?” she murmured, more to herself than anyone else, I thought.

I responded, nevertheless. “I have it on good authority it’s a void crystal composite.”

Kartara inhaled sharply, Senzo’s eyes widened, Cait’s head whipped around to stare at the scale in the huntmistress’ hand, and even Duskar looked stunned.

“I take it from your reactions that you all understand the significance of that?” I asked, breaking the sudden quiet.

Not deigning to answer, the huntmistress handed the scale to the nether witch who examined it minutely.

“He’s right,” she pronounced once she was done.

Leaning back in her chair, the huntmistress stared across the table at me. “You appear to have more resources at your disposal than you’ve led us to believe.”

I tilted my head to the side. “How’s that?”

“There are only a handful of people outside the brotherhood who could identify the scale’s composition,” she replied. “Who is your expert?”

“An ally,” I replied vaguely. “One of many.”

“And will your ‘allies’ be joining us on this expedition?” Duskar growled.

“Definitely,” I said, hiding a smile. The question itself was a tacit admission that the brotherhood had been intrigued enough by what they’d learned to consider my offer.

Kartara threw the voidknight a warning look. “Our own participation is yet to be decided.”

I shrugged. “That is why we are here, after all. Isn’t it?”

Instead of answering directly, Kartara fielded my question with one of her own. “How did you find that sector?”

“Excuse me?”

She gestured toward the Nethersphere map still spread out across the center of the table. “The brotherhood has never heard of it before. We have no record of any rift forming between sector 30,199 and Nexus, or to any other sector for that matter.”

“That comes as no surprise,” I replied evenly. “I am the first player to set foot in sector 30,199.”

Stark silence followed my response.

My gaze fixed on the huntmistress, I let it build. I could almost see the calculations running behind her eyes as she put things together.

“Where is the young void tree Kesh mentioned?” she asked finally.

“On the other side of the rift.”

Kartara nodded. She had already worked out that much for herself, I realized. “And the four overlords?”

“Also on the other side.”

Again, my response did not seem to surprise the huntmistress. “And what sector is that?”

I shook my head. “That you do not need to know.”

Understandably, a chorus of protests followed in the wake of my words.

“Unacceptable!” Duskar declared, slamming a mailed fist down on the table.

“Ridiculous,” Cait snapped.

“You cannot expect us to launch an assault with such crucial information lacking,” Senzo said, shaking his head.

Only Kartara said nothing. Raising her hand, she silenced the others. “Then you mean for us to be decoys.” It was not a question.

“Decoys?” Senzo wondered aloud. “Us?”

“What in blazes does that mean?” Duskar demanded, whipping around to pin his huntmistress with a hard stare.

“It means,” Kartara explained, her eyes never leaving mine, “that ‘Havick’ and his allies intend on assaulting the void tree and the overlords on the other side of the rift while we stop the nagas and the harbinger from interfering.” She tilted her head. “I’ve got that right, haven’t I?”

I nodded expressionlessly. “You have.”

Cait bowed her head. “Foolishness,” she muttered under her breath.

Duskar was more unrestrained in his commentary. “Taking on a young void tree? And without the brotherhood’s help? That’s the most damnably stupid thing I’ve ever heard of!”

Once more the huntmistress reined in her subordinates. “What makes you think you and your allies can defeat a young void tree?” she asked when they subsided.

I sat back, deliberating how much to say. “I’m a psionic,” I said eventually.

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Senzo shook his head. “That won’t help you against the tree nearly as much as you think. It’s defenses are—”

“I know,” I interjected. “But my own psi defenses are strong enough to resist the tree’s mental assault. I will be able to approach it unimpeded.”

Duskar grunted. “That may be. But you will still have to contend with the mists. The nether toxicity around the tree will be over—”

Kartara cut him off. “Havick has the nether absorption skill.”

Cait raised her head. “He does?”

The huntmistress nodded.

Senzo put it together quicker than the others. “He is the one Kesh sold our skillbook to?”

Kartara nodded again.

“Well, damn,” the spymaster said, sitting back.

The huntmistress turned back to me. “I grant you its plausible that you might get close enough to the tree to launch a physical attack, but you still haven’t accounted for the overlord and the no doubt thousands of lesser stygians protecting the tree. How will you deal with them?”

I hesitated. I didn’t know how the brotherhood would react to what I said next, but it was crucial I gained their input. “This is where I need your expertise.”

“I knew it!” Duskar exclaimed.

Ignoring the orc, I went on. “There is a river.”

A frown flickered across Kartara’s face. “A river?”

“Yes. It borders the void tree on three sides. My people are fairly certain they can flood the valley the nest sits in.” I paused, then added reluctantly, “The only thing we don’t know for certain is what effect the water will have on the stygians.”

The huntmistress’ expression didn’t change. “Tell him, Cait.”

The elf turned my way. “You should know by now that the void’s creatures, especially the lesser stygians, are not truly solid.”

I nodded. The stygians’ bodies were formed of a shadowy ichor that ordinary physical weapons passed through harmlessly. “Go on.”

Cait shrugged. “It’s simple really. Immerse a stygian in enough water and it will disrupt the internal bonds formed between the nether residue and plasma constituting the creature’s body, reducing its cohesiveness.”

I drummed my fingers on the table. “And what does that mean? Practically speaking.”

Duskar laughed. “Practically speaking? It means water will weaken a stygian’s attacks and defenses but will not otherwise hurt the creature.”

I looked at Cait for confirmation.

She nodded. “That’s another way of putting it.”

I frowned. “I see.”

“That is not all, though,” the nether witch said.

I glanced at her questioningly.

“The water will not only disrupt the internal integrity of a stygian, it will remain in place, replacing many of the creature’s internal nether bonds with water ones.”

I threw her a blank stare.

Grimacing, the witch added, “In effect, a stygian drenched in water will be abnormally vulnerable to water-based attacks and spells.”

I smiled. “Now, that is information I can use,” I murmured.

“Then, you believe you and your allies are capable of destroying the nest on the other side of the rift?” Kartara asked, rejoining the conversation.

I nodded. “I do.”

She pursed her lips, but didn’t voice the skepticism I could see in her gaze.

“What else have you not told us?” she asked.

“The mature tree in sector 30,199 is a five-hour journey south of the rift.” I paused. “It is guarded by three other harbingers and thousands of other chimeras.”

“Chimeras?” Cait demanded. “What sort of chimeras?”

“Failed experiments,” I told her. “Mismatched creatures that should prove no threat. I only mention them—” I glanced at Kartara—“because of our previous conversation.”

The huntmistress nodded slowly. “You’ve found one, then.”

“Found one?” I echoed.

“A stygian creche.”

“I must see it,” Cait breathed.

Kartara shook her head. “It is too far.”

“But—”

“No,” the huntmistress pronounced, ending the discussion. She turned back to me. “What else?”

“There is nothing left to tell,” I said. “Now you know everything I do about the threat we’re facing.”

The huntmistress did not challenge my statement. “And what do you require from us—specifically?”

I shrugged. “All I need from the brotherhood is for you to stop the harbinger and nagas from entering the rift. How you go about that, we can discuss, but I will not dictate your strategy.”

“For how long do you need us to hold the stygians at bay?” Senzo asked.

“Four hours—tops,” I replied firmly.

Kartara nodded. “You don’t want to risk the second nest involving itself.” She pressed her palms together, thinking. “What are you offering in exchange?”

“What do you want?” I asked bluntly.

“The netherstone,” was her immediate reply.

My denial was just as swift. “No.”

Kartara opened her mouth, but I held up my hand forestalling her. “The netherstone is too valuable, I will not part with it. But there is a harbinger at the rift. Kill it, and an unmarked netherstone is yours for the taking.”

“That presumes we will have time to harvest the black stone,” Cait said.

I glanced at her. “Meaning?”

“Meaning, removing the stone intact is no small endeavor. It will take time, and more importantly, must be done with exacting care—something nearly impossible to do during a raging battle, or while fleeing a larger incoming force.”

Senzo nodded. “It’s why we ourselves have more netherstone fragments than we do actual stones. Invariably, we are forced to rush their harvesting.”

I frowned. I’d not observed Ceruvax extract the black stone he’d given me, but I saw no reason for the nether witch and spymaster to lie, and besides it would be easy enough to get Adriel to confirm the truth of their words.

“What about hiding the body?” I suggested.

Duskar’s brows crinkled. “How would that help?”

I held up my netherstone. “Once things have quietened down, you can go back to sector 30,199 with this and retrieve the harbinger’s corpse, then harvest it at your leisure.”

“That requires you to survive the battle,” he grumbled.

“No, it doesn’t,” I contradicted. “It only requires the brotherhood to survive.” I held up the black stone again. “For the duration of the battle, this will be in your keeping. If I die, the stone remains in your possession and the point about the harbinger becomes moot. If I live, I get my stone back after you recover the harbinger.”

Kartara cast me an appraising look. “You will trust the netherstone to our keeping?”

I grimaced, making no attempt to disguise my true feelings on the matter. “I have no choice but to. I will be on the other side of the rift for the duration of the battle.”

She nodded. “What else are you offering us?”

My brows rose in surprise. “Isn’t the harbinger’s netherstone enough?”

She shook her head. “There is no guarantee we will manage to kill it. They are damnably hard to slay, and the risk is high it will flee before we manage the feat.”

I pursed my lips. “Take the nagas, then. Their corpses are yours.”

She eyed me. “All of them?”

“All,” I confirmed, squelching the urge to negotiate further.

“That is generous of you,” she murmured.

A wry smile touched my lips. “Not entirely. I will need something else from you in exchange.”

Her brows drew down. “Like what?”

I ticked off points on my fingers. “Stygian weapons. Armor. And tier eight nether crystals or potions. Enough to equip a force of three thousand.” I glanced at the nether witch. “Something to grant my people clearsight wouldn’t go amiss either.”

Duskar roared uproariously. “He’s funny!”

“I’m not sure the corpses of seventy nagas will cover the cost of all that,” Kartara said carefully.

I smiled. “I rather think it will, especially once your people realize what they can do with the nagas’ remains.” I jerked my chin at the scale still resting on the far end of the table. “Keep that and show it to your crafters. I’m certain you’ll be convinced thereafter.”

Kartara inclined her head. “I’ll think on it.”

My lips turned down. The huntmistress was being more reticent than anticipated. “It’ll be an investment too,” I added.

She arched one eyebrow. “Oh?”

“If we succeed and close the rift, the brotherhood will have unfettered access to sector 30,199 for years to come. Imagine what you could do with that.”

“That’s a big if,” she pointed out.

“I won’t dispute that, but wasn’t it you who was bemoaning the rest of the Kingdom’s lack of interest in the stygian menace?” I spread my arms. “Well, here I am, trying to do what you said no player cared to—push back the void. And the best part? The risk to the brotherhood will be minimal. You will not be facing the void tree. You will not be taking on the overlords. My people will. And all I’m asking in return is that you arm us appropriately and stop the harbinger and the nagas from interfering.”

I leaned forward. “Now, will you do it?”

The huntmistress’ response was not the enthusiastic and immediate ‘yes’ I would have preferred. Instead, after scrutinizing me long enough to leave me doubting my impassioned plea, she glanced around the table, polling her advisors.

Cait nodded first.

Then Senzo.

Predictably, Duskar was the last to give his consent. “Hells, why not,” the orc muttered finally.

Kartara turned back to me. “It seems like we have a deal.”