"So, you're saying I was possessed?" Davanos asked her again eagerly. "That's fascinating!"

Fay sighed. She was starting to have a feeling that she could tell the boy she'd had his grandmother drawn and quartered, and he'd simply reply the same way.

"Yes."

"By the Mother Goddess?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"I wish I could remember! And you said she warned you about the Broken God?"

"For the hundredth time, yes, but she didn't actually say anything useful."

"'War is coming'?"

"Yes, but I don't know what-"

There was a high, sudden whine from somewhere outside the massive library. Davanos cocked his head, curious.

"That sounds like-"

The walls shook, stones ringing down from the mosaic overhead. Fay gaped, startled. Davanos grabbed her arm and dragged her under a table.

"Get down!"

Alarms began to sound, deep inside the city. The walls shook again. The librarians were moving swiftly, gathering armfuls of books and ferrying them into the basements.

"Davanos?" The tall, bespectacled woman peered under their table, blinked at Fay. "Mistress? What are you still doing here? It's not safe here."

"What's going on?" Davanos asked her eagerly. "That noise, it sounded almost like a dwarven rocket, didn't it? I thought those were entirely theoretical, but it seems-"

"That hardly matters right now, does it? The city is under some sort of attack, and, more importantly, our books are in danger! Get out here and help us!"

"Ah." Davanos gave her an apologetic smile. "I'd love to, but I'm afraid I have to see the Mistress safely back to the palace."

"You?" the librarian asked him coolly. "No offense, my lady, but I think you'd be safer on your own. Trouble has a way of finding him."

"Lavina!" a clerk shouted, frantic. "Come quickly! The Eastern wing is on fire!"

The tall librarian swore, a string of hard, fierce syllables Fay was more than a little surprised to hear coming from such a respectable-looking woman. She hiked up her robe and scowled at the pair of them.

"Do what you want," she snapped. "I've got bigger problems."

"Come on." Davanos helped Fay out from under the table, clumsily courteous. "They'll be fine."

"But, your books-" Fay protested, following him as he ducked out the vast library doors.

He waved a hand, unconcerned.

"Lavina will take care of it. She always does." He stopped so short that she almost ran into him, gaping up at the sky. "Look at that!"

She followed the direction he was pointing. A pair of dwarven gyrocopters were looping across the city skyline, arrows bouncing harmlessly off their bronze flanks.

"Oh, damn," she murmured. "It's the Ruborians."

Davanos glanced at her, startled.

"Ruborians!?"

"We have to get back to the palace."

"I know a way."

He grabbed her hand and dragged her off into the burning streets. She followed him, too startled to protest.

"Quick, down here."

He pulled a grate aside with surprising strength. Fay wrinkled her nose at the stench.

"Through there?" she said, appalled.

Davanos shrugged.

"The sewers are the quickest way to get to the palace. It'll be safer than going above ground. Mostly."

"Mostly?"

The choppy whine of the dwarven gyrocopters was getting closer. Fay cursed.

"Fine. Lead the way."

He whispered something, a complex verse of twining charms in a language she didn't recognize. A witchlight kindled in the gloom, glowing a dull, hellish red. Fay stared at him, surprised.

"You can do magic?"

He put a finger to his lips and grinned at her, vanished into the sewers. She took a deep breath, steeling herself, and immediately regretted it. She splashed after him into the murk, closing the grate behind her with a screech of rusting metal.

"The Empire doesn't know, of course," Davanos said. "But when you spend all your time reading up about gods and magic...well, you pick up a thing or two."

Fay called up her own light, pale and flickering. The librarian stared, fascinated.

"Oh, that's incredible. I've seen a bit of Elvish magic, of course, but nothing quite like yours! It's been my experience that most elves seem to have kind of a green sort of magic...summoning the beasts of the air and fields and whatnot. I saw one woman call up giant thistles, and I saw a man summon falcons-"

"Where have you seen Elvish magic, Imperial?"

"Oh." Davanos gave her an awkward smile. "In the Arena, of course. Where else?"

"Of course," she said coldly.

She'd hoped he'd fall silent after that exchange, but, of course, her hopes had been in vain. He prattled on as they splashed through the sewers, as Fay did her best not to look too closely at what went floating past them.

"All sorts of nasty things end up down here," Davanos was saying. "Lots of magical waste from the palace, not that I'm supposed to talk about that, of course. Desperate people, with nowhere else to go. There used to be a whole band of escaped slaves down here, gangs of thieves and cut-throats. I wonder what happened to them?"

He was walking through the sewers with purpose, and seemed to have a clear idea of where he was going. Fay followed him warily.

"How do you know all this?" she asked him slowly.

He smiled back at her and shrugged.

"I'm a librarian," he said innocently. "It's my business to know things. The Library took me in as an apprentice when I was ten years old, after the Empire conquered my homeland. It's been my only home ever since. Librarian Victus- he's my mentor- he practically raised me. Gods, I put him through a lot, one time the other apprentices and I let a whole herd of sheep loose in the main wing, and..."

Fay tuned him out, annoyed, as he went on, talking to her as if he thought she'd care. Humans had such brief lives, she thought, and most of them wasted their time with sound and chatter. Perhaps they were all just trying to drown out the drone of their own pointless existence.

Perhaps she should ignore the task the Mother Goddess had given her. Maybe it was best if the elves faded away into the longest night, away from all the noise and bustle of Men. Maybe it was best if she followed them.

Davanos and his light vanished abruptly, startling her out of her dark thoughts. One second he was walking in front of her, chattering away like a sparrow. The next, he'd vanished beneath the viscous, murky water without so much as a sound or a ripple.

"Davanos?" Fay brightened her light. "Are you there?"

Silence answered her. She shivered and took a step forward.

"Davanos?"

A massive frog burst out of the filthy water. Fay stumbled back, reached for the seed of magic, deep within her soul-

Light crackled through her veins, arcing through her bones. Power leaped from her outstretched hands and struck the creature, ripping it apart in a hot, bright burst of wild magic.

She stared, astonished. Davanos broke the surface with a gasp.

"Mistress!" he cried. "Are you alright?"

"I..." Fay flexed her fingers, the white-hot power still shivering through her skin. "I...yes."

"What happened?"

"I'm...I'm not sure," she said.

The Goddess had taken something from her, she thought...and given her something in return.

Davanos winced, wringing reeking water from his grey robes.

"Well, let's not question it. Let's just get to the palace before anything else decides we'd make a tasty snack."

They made it through the sewers without incident. Davanos knew the way, Fay was certain of it. She frowned, watching him by the flickering light of magic.

"Here, Mistress."

He helped her up clumsily to a grate, onto dry land at last. She wrung her skirts out with a little shudder of distaste.

"Goddess, you humans are so filthy."

Davanos didn't answer her. For once, he was speechless, staring through the grate. She frowned, following his gaze.

Giants surrounded the palace, clad in bronze armor that gleamed and glittered in the waning daylight. They were big, much bigger than the Dark One, even larger than her trolls, held weapons that were taller than she was. They were arguing in rapid-fire Ruborian, tense and jittery, something having to do with strategy.

"We should wait for the Dwarves," a massive woman snapped.

An enormous man, like a mountain made flesh, shook his dark-braided head and spat.

"We were supposed to have more support," he growled. "What happened to the gyrocopters that were supposed to follow us through?"

"I'm not waiting around for the stumpies," she snarled back.

She strode forward, drawing a great broadsword from a sheath on her back. Someone moved on the parapets of the palace. As Fay watched, an archer drew back her bow and fired a burning arrow- aimed not at the giants, but at the ground below. The stones burst into flame as the arrow struck them, a blazing ring of fire spreading its arms around the palace. The giant staggered back, cursing.

"Oh, good," Davanos said brightly. "That should buy us some time. Come on!"

He pushed the grate open and dragged her out, racing towards the palace. She heard the archers shout, startled, and braced herself, gathering her magic, ready for their arrows to come raining down. Davanos waved and called up to them, cheerful, and to her surprise the archers lowered their bows as the palace doors swung open.

The hooded woman, Rose, was waiting for them, with her eerie Sentinels. She glanced at the giants as she ushered them in, her forehead creasing in a frown as the doors slammed shut.

"Those flames won't hold them for long," she snapped. "Shore up these doors, and secure the windows. I want everyone who can hold a spear armed, is that clear?"

A soldier saluted her and raced away, almost tripping over himself in his haste to get away from her. She turned her chilly green gaze on the pair of them.

"You're lucky you made it back before we'd barred the door," she said. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Sorry, your ladyship." Davanos bowed. "I wanted to make sure Mistress Fay made it back to the palace intact."

Fay met her eyes, icy.

"Where is the Master?" she asked her. "I would speak with him."

Rose looked taken aback for a moment.

"The mas- you mean, my son? I...I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"Something's happened. He's...er..." The woman raked a hand through her tangled red hair, exasperated, and for an instant, Fay could see her son in her. "He's, um, vanished."

"Vanished?"

"I'm not quite sure what happened. There was a portal, he touched it, he was gone, that little peasant ran after him, she's gone-"

"Kelda, too?" Fay frowned- she'd been growing a bit fond of the pesky little creature, for all her ill-mannered ways, and she was a bit surprised to find herself more than a little worried. "What about Juno?"

Rose made a face.

"Off swanning about the gardens, sunning herself, last I saw."

Fay hid her disappointment with an effort. It was to much to hope that Juno, too, would have disappeared.

"Gnarl's working to find a way to bring him back," Rose assured her. "He'll find a way."

"He had better."

"Oh, believe me, he knows he'd better figure this out. Or else he knows I'll get...creative. I am very crafty."

Fay found herself unaccountably wondering what, exactly, an arts and crafts project with Rose would entail. The other woman smiled cruelly, and Fay suppressed a shiver, realizing that she didn't particularly want to find out.

"Gnarl," Davanos was musing, smiling to himself. "He's one of those little creatures, isn't he? Could I examine him, do you think?"

Rose glanced at him, annoyed.

"You can drop the act, Davanos."

He shrugged and grinned at her, rueful.

"With all due respect, my lady, it's not really an act. I'd just love to take a proper look at him."

"If he doesn't find my son, then, well, you're welcome to it. I'll help you, even."

"Mistress Fay seems to believe that our attackers are Ruborian."

Rose nodded.

"Yes, I thought so. The giants fit, of course. But the Dwarven flying machines-"

"The Dwarves and the Ruborians seem to be working together," Fay said. "I'm not sure why."

Rose stared at her, startled, looked at Davanos. He shrugged, apologetic.

"None of our operatives had heard anything about either the Dwarves, or Ruboria, until today. Sorry, my lady."

"How could we have known? We thought that they'd both been wiped out in the Cataclysm."

"There's something else, my lady." Davanos glanced at Fay. "Something calling itself the 'Broken God'. Even the major gods are getting involved. She says the Mother Goddess spoke to her."

Fay gave him a look, feeling a little betrayed. He shrugged at her.

"Sorry, Mistress. We Librarians all report to Lady Rose."

"Oh." Fay glanced between them, surprised. "The librarians are your spies, then?"

"Some of them." Rose smirked. "Really, do you think your ordinary Empire citizen has ever set foot in those libraries? And you'd be frankly astonished at how many would-be revolutionaries walk in and ask for things like 'The Compleat Idiot's Guide to Overthrowing an Empire'. Davanos and his sort have been quite useful, over the years."

"Thank you, my lady!"

"And now you can be of use again. Are the libraries secure?"

"There was a small fire earlier- collateral damage, I don't think the enemy was targeting us directly. Lavina has it well in hand."

"Good. I want you to return to the libraries as quickly as you can, and gather a small task force. Bring me everything you can find about portals...and...hmm, the Broken God. For my part, I'll draw back and defend the inner palace-"

The earth shook, staggering them. The Sentinels began to howl, clutching their heads as magic arced and warped through the palace. A vast, bony spire forced its way up through the marble floors, shattering the pillars, tearing into the vaulted ceiling, unfurling stony petals.

"Fay!"

Kelda was struggling in the portal's spiny embrace, tugging frantically on a limp, mailed hand.

"Help me!"

The Master was caught in the portal, bone wrapping him like brambles, black blood leaking from beneath dark armor. Rose ran to them, frantic. Fay reached for the power the Goddess had granted her again, hoping it wouldn't fail her.

"Get out of the way," she snapped.

Light arced from her hands, etching through the portal, shattering its hold on the Overlord. Kelda helped Rose drag him aside as he gasped, coughing, fell to his knees.

The bony tendrils flexed, scraping over the marble, reaching for him. Kelda swore and fumbled for the mage breaker. She twisted a dial until it snapped and flung the arcing, sparking thing into the portal. Something screamed, a mournful, horrible, unearthly sound that scraped her mind raw, and the portal vanished. The Sentinels fell, smoking and empty.

Rose hurried to her son. The peasant girl was already there, pulling his helmet away as she crouched over him protectively. Her eyes flashed as Rose and Fay came near, and she bared her teeth, feral.

"Let me help him!" Rose snapped.

The girl shook her head as though to clear it, the wild look leaving her face.

"Please," she begged her.

"Ah, gods below." The Overlord opened his eyes and winced. "What in the hells was that?"

"Witch boy! You're alright!"

"Of course I am." He sat up, pushing Rose aside with a grimace.

"Thorn, wait, that was some terribly powerful magic, just let me-"

"I'm fine," he snapped.

Rose sighed and sat back, wiping her hands on her skirts. He was quite visibly not 'fine', she thought, but there wasn't much he'd let her do about it.

"Are you sure you don't want her to-" Kelda began.

He grinned at her.

"Hey. I'm durable, remember? You should know that." He turned to Rose. "What's been happening here?"

"Ah...well, it seems that Ruboria, of all places, is attacking us. I'm not really sure why."

"I think we might know," Kelda said slowly.

"Oh? Do enlighten me."

"Well, we met someone named Queen Jewel, and she seems to be awfully upset with you-"

"Queen Jewel?" Rose frowned. "So that's where that thieving little creature ended up. She's done well for herself, hasn't she?"

"I think we've managed to close her portal into my Empire, for now," her son said. "What are we up against?"

'My' empire, Rose thought, faintly amused. Well, that was certainly fast.

"From what my agents have been able to observe, it looks like the Ruborians have fielded at least two gyrocopters. We're presently working on targeting them with our ballistas outside the city, but they're proving to be quite maneuverable, and we're having a bit of trouble taking them down."

"Gyrocopters?"

"Flying machines," Kelda supplied.

"Armed with Dwarven rockets, yes."

"Oh, that's just fantastic," the Overlord snapped. "What else?"

"Well..." Rose sighed. "There's a squad of giants surrounding the palace-"

Something slammed against the outer doors, shaking the pillars. Rose frowned.

"I suppose that's them," she said coolly. "You'd think they'd be polite enough to knock. We should retreat back to the Netherworld. None of us expected to have to fight a gaggle of giants today, and I think that's something we can all do without for now, don't you think?"

"I'm not retreating," the Overlord growled.

"Thorn, listen to me, we don't have a choice. I don't like it either, but-"

"This is my city. I didn't go through hell and back to conquer it, just to give it up so easily!"

"We can't stand against their forces! The city is still in ruins, and we don't have the strength to mount a full-scale counter-attack. Our best chance is to fall back and regroup. We'll plan our strategy, and we'll-"

"Please." The Overlord grinned, savage. "I've taken down a giant or two before. It's not hard."

"No," Rose snapped, annoyed. "You've taken down trolls, and you've taken down gargantuans. Both are stupid, and slow. These are Ruborian giants. If they're anything like Khan, they're incredibly strong, as clever as any man, and very dangerous."

"I can handle it."

"Thorn, don't be stupid!" Rose said tersely. "You're going to stay here, with us, and retreat! It's the most sensible thing to do, and I won't let you-"

To her surprise, he actually snarled at her then, gold eyes flashing, knuckles whitening on the handle of his axe. Rose took a step back, suddenly frightened, realizing she'd made a mistake. She was used to being in control, she thought...but then, so was he.

Her son took a deep breath, and very deliberately, he lowered the great black blade, meeting her eyes, chilly.

"I am not retreating," he growled. "I am the Overlord. This is my city. I command it."

"I..." Rose swallowed. "At least let me..."

He shouldered past her without another word, snatched the helmet from Kelda. She gave him a dirty look as he stalked off to the portal, oblivious.

"I'll go after him," she said, annoyed. "I'll talk some sense into him. And if that fails, well, then I'll bloody knock it into 'im."

Fay hesitated.

"Let me talk to him instead," she said at last. "It's dangerous out there, and maybe you should go below-"

Kelda glared at her, annoyed.

"I'm pregnant, fairy, not bloody crippled. I'll be fine."

Rose stared at her, startled.

Surely, she thought, she hadn't heard that right. For the gods' sake, Thorn was little more than a child! And the girl, she thought, could hardly be much older...to say nothing of her complete and utter lack of anything resembling social graces! When all this was over, she thought, she was going to have to have a long, long talk with her son.

"But you'd be safer-" the elf began.

"He'll listen to me, Fay, if he knows what's good for him. I'm not about to let him get himself killed, especially not now."

She had a point, Fay thought. She'd never seen the Master quite like this- Rose seemed to set something off in him, something ugly and angry and stupid that she was afraid to confront. If anyone could get through to him now, it was the scruffy little peasant girl.

"Fine," she sighed. "But I'm coming with you."

"As am I," Rose said.

They both gave her rather dubious looks. She cleared her throat, defensive, suddenly wondering what they thought of her.

"He is my son, after all," she pointed out.

The peasant girl shrugged and turned on her heel, stalking off to the portal.

"Well, are we going to sit around and talk about it, or are we actually going to do something?"