Silvan saw the nightmares before she found the new camp. They hung in the air like evil kites, watching their targets below.

The new camp was on a rocky hilltop. Eris set up her watch post and the Cryptoglyph there. Below it were the tents and communications equipment saved from the old camp. Everything was more scattered and sheltered this time. Their back was protected by a sharp drop-off to the plain a mile below, and their flanks were protected by sheer cliffs. It was a much better position.

Silvan drove into camp and parked her sparrow for Bramble to store. Slinging Xenophage onto her back, she lingered on the outskirts of the activity, looking for her team. "Madrid?" she called over their channel.

"Over here, Silvan," he replied.

She found Madrid standing sentinel beside a makeshift field hospital under the shadow of the hill. Multiple Guardians were stretched out on a tarp, and Jayesh had stabbed a wedge of Light into the ground, opening a Well of Radiance. Healing light bathed the injured, outlining them in white and blue. Jayesh, himself, moved from person to person, kneeling beside them to check their wounds, asking their Ghosts questions. Jin was among the wounded, lying oddly still in the healing Light.

"This looks serious," Silvan murmured to Madrid.

"It is," he replied in a low voice. "Lots of Guardians died multiple times to that sword of Zulmak's. It drained their Light each time. None of them are healing right, and their Ghosts are tired."

"Are you all right?" Silvan asked.

Madrid smiled. "My death count stands at eight and hasn't changed."

She slapped him on the back. "You distracted Zulmak from killing me, so, thanks."

"You're welcome," Madrid said.

Silvan stepped into the Well of Radiance and added her own healing rift, stacking Light on Light. Then she went to Jin and knelt beside him.

The Exo's purple eyes and mouth light were extinguished, and he didn't move as she approached. He looked dead. A huge slash had cut through the armor across his torso, exposing his mechanical innards. Silvan averted her eyes. It was nearly as awful as human guts.

"Jin?" she said softly, touching his metal forehead.

The purple eyes flickered on and focused on her. "Hey," he said weakly. "Healing magic's not working on mechanical stuff. Wonder why."

"Don't die," Silvan said. "Looks like there's Hive corruption at work."

"Don't plan on it," Jin said, closing his eyes again. "I've got revenge to plan."

Even though she didn't want to, Silvan inspected the cut in his belly. Bits of black rot clung to the metal and soft plastics inside him. She'd have to reach in there to clean it out, and she didn't know if she could.

At that moment Jayesh walked up and knelt beside them. "Hey there, Jin, Silvan. Wow, this looks bad."

"Feels bad, too," said Jin.

Silvan indicated the black junk. "Wormrot."

"Yeah, everybody has it," Jayesh said. He held out a hand, and his Ghost transmatted a pack of medicated wipes into his palm. "Nothing for it but to clean it off and hose it down with antiseptic." He fearlessly reached inside Jin and began cleaning the filth out, as if he did it every day. Silvan had to turn away. Her admiration for Jayesh deepened.

"How are you so brave?" she asked him, sitting in the healing Light. "I couldn't do that."

"I've been training as a field medic," Jayesh replied. "Guardians laugh at first aid, but you'd be surprised how useful it is. I've had to clean wounds that were way worse than this."

"No Guardians are laughing now," said Jin, gesturing at the others in the rift. Two more Guardians limped in and sank down into the Light, too. "This could be a second Disaster, here."

"Not while we're here," Jayesh said, lifting his head and meeting Silvan's eyes. "We're warlocks. Nobody dies a final death today. Right?" He held out a fist.

Silvan bumped her fist into his with a thrill. "Not while we have Light."

"Hey," said Jin weakly, looking up at Jayesh. "Just wanted to say. Guess I misjudged you."

"You did?" said Jayesh, discarding a soiled wipe and selecting a fresh one.

"Kind of embarrassing to have you cleaning my guts," Jin groaned. "And I thought you were some nutcase warlock. You know. The deal with the Traveler."

Jayesh smiled ruefully and kept working. "I get that a lot."

"Yeah, so," Jin said, closing his eyes, "just wanted to apologize."

"Don't worry about it," said Jayesh. He turned to Silvan. "Let me show you how to work precision healing."

It was strange, working alongside Jayesh as a healer. Silvan had taken extra healing training after having her leg chewed by a Hive worm and being unable to mend it. She knew how to place a healing rift and temper its Light in order to mend certain injuries faster. But Jayesh showed her how to integrate her Arc Light into her rift to stimulate nerves and muscles. His Solar Light added heat and regeneration. Silvan's power, in particular, healed Exos. There were four others, besides Jin, all of them with serious damage. Callie, the other warlock they had met in the World's Grave, offered a healing rift with Void Light. Together, the warlocks restored their fellow Guardians.

Madrid moved in and out, conferring with other Hunters. They were tracking Zulmak's movements and watching Hashladun. There was also a lot of activity around the Cryptoglyph. Eris Morn was busy with things Silvan couldn't make out. Hopefully, she was infusing armor with magic to silence nightmares.

Finally, the last Guardian left the healing rift, thanking them as she went. Silvan sat on a rock and rested, closing her eyes. It was sheer bliss to sit and do nothing, think of nothing. Somewhere, her stomach began to growl, but she pushed the thought of food away. She needed rest, not food. But still, a rations pack might not be so bad … maybe just an energy bar and some water.

"Hey."

Silvan looked up. Jin stood over her, holding out a knapsack. "I owe you," the Exo said, gesturing to his middle, where his armor had been fused back together by his Ghost. "I mean, I really, really owe you. Take whatever snacks you want." He glanced around, his purple eyes thoughtful. "Share some with that Jayesh guy. He probably saved my life."

"Thanks," said Silvan, taking the knapsack. It was so heavy, she nearly dropped it. "What's in this thing?"

"Good stuff," said Jin. "Rest up. We're planning a counter-attack up here." He walked off, winding toward the hilltop where several Guardians were talking and gesturing to the plain below.

"Bramble, call Jayesh," Silvan thought. "Tell him I have snacks, if he wants." She unzipped the pack and began digging through it. Besides piles of MREs in every flavor, there were instant coffee drinks, tiny packets of liquor, the good brands of energy bars with fruit in them, and sealed packets of nuts.

Jayesh arrived, carrying his helmet under one arm. He had dark shadows beneath his eyes, and his face seemed to sag with exhaustion. His black hair stood on end where he'd run his fingers through it. "Something wrong?"

"Jin gave me his whole stash of supplies," Silvan said. "He has crazy good stuff in here. Hungry?"

"I could choke something down," Jayesh said, eyeing the packages in the knapsack. "Invite Madrid down here, too."

"There's booze," Silvan said. "Want some?" She lifted a packet that held an ounce of brandy.

Jayesh looked at it for a moment. Then he took it with a nod. "Hand me a coffee. I could use a jolt to the system right now."

Madrid arrived and glanced at the pack. "Jin decided to share, did he?"

"Gratitude for saving him," Silvan said. "What do you want?"

Madrid silently selected an MRE, a coffee, and three different kinds of liquor. Silvan watched in awe as he poured all of them into his canteen, swirled it together, and drank it without flinching. Then he ate the MRE with lots of drinks from the canteen.

"How do you do that?" she finally asked.

Madrid lifted the canteen. "The stuff the Awoken shipped the Corsairs in the Dreaming City was a lot stronger than this."

Silvan drank only water. Jayesh noticed this as he put away two MREs, three ration bars, and multiple packs of nuts. "Not in the mood for alcohol?"

"I'm a featherweight," Silvan said with an embarrassed laugh. "One drink and I lose the ability to walk in a straight line. And it's not like I could sleep it off."

Madrid and Jayesh chuckled. Madrid said, "Most Exos can drink a guy under the table. But I knew this one Exo who only looked at a shot glass and got staggering drunk. Funniest thing I ever saw."

"I only drink during emergencies," Jayesh said, passing a hand over his eyes. "Not being allowed to sleep is an emergency, in my opinion. Especially when you still have to fight and heal and otherwise do your job. Helps take the edge off."

"Dad always worried about me," Silvan said. "He knew I couldn't handle a drink, and he always fretted that I'd get assigned to one of those party-hardy fireteams. You know, the ones who take a mission, then get drunk and shoot everything that moves?"

"I know some Guardians who can only face Taken while drunk," said Jayesh, very quietly. "Tempting."

Silvan looked at him, but he was gazing into the distance, giving no indication of what horrors might be playing through his mind.

Madrid said, "There at the end, I could only face the time loop if I could soak myself every night. Not a good way to live." His yellow eyes met Silvan's.

"I'm not going to live in the Dreaming City," said Silvan, giving the Hunter a fierce look. "We found that pyramid fragment. Did you get it working in that rifle?"

"Almost," said Madrid. "It should work, in theory, but the Hive attacked before we could test it. Speaking of, how's that bug gun treating you?"

"We named it Xenophage," said Silvan, reaching up to touch the barrel that protruded above her shoulder. "It destroys Hive. I was blowing chunks out of Zulmak."

Faintly, in her head, Omar said, "Thank you! Thank you!"

Madrid leaned forward. "I mean, how is he treating you? None of us can hear what he's saying to you."

"He's very excited to be a gun," Silvan said. "And … he's sad. He mentioned his Ghost."

Jayesh and Madrid exchanged a look.

"Well," said Jayesh, "tell him to mind his manners. If he starts being a burden, we can take him off your hands."

Silvan looked from Madrid to Jayesh and back, and realized that they were actually concerned about her. For some reason, this shamed her, especially coming from Jayesh, her hero. "I'll keep him in line," she said. "I can only hear him when I'm nearby, anyway. If he misbehaves, I can lock him up."

"Good," said Madrid. "I don't care how tragic or useful he is. If he mistreats you, I'll break his amber."

"Oh, don't do that," Silvan exclaimed, raising a protective hand to the barrel of Xenophage. "He hasn't had enough revenge yet."

"Just saying." Madrid rose to his feet. "Jay, did you pick up the pieces of the Darkness gun?"

"All but the splinter," said Jayesh, standing up, too. "Had to carry that in a bag because Phoenix couldn't touch it." He opened an ammo pouch at his hip, dug out a cloth-wrapped object, and passed it to Madrid. Then he shook his fingers, as if the splinter's touch pained him.

"Hot?" Silvan asked.

"Cold," said Jayesh. "Burning cold."

Silvan watched Madrid take possession of the splinter with great care. Then he and Jayesh moved off toward an open space, where they spread out the tarp again and resumed work on weapon smithing.

Silvan finished her meal alone, gazing across the lunar landscape. At the edge of the horizon, the stark gray landscape turned dim and shadowed. The moon was changing phase as the sun crept lower.

Did a huge army of Hive await them under cover of that shadow? Or had Jin only spotted a few outliers? Surely the Hive hadn't overrun the entire moon.

Silvan rose to her feet, peering around at the other Guardians. She needed a single Hunter with a fast sparrow. Just a quick scouting run.

Several Hunters clustered together at the edge of the cliffs, gesturing and talking. Silvan hated to disturb them-they were probably discussing strategy and Hive movements. As she approached, one was saying, "But the location doesn't make sense, not at that velocity."

"I tell you, it's possible," said another. "I've seen it done."

"Excuse me," said Silvan.

The Hunters looked up, a collection of expressionless goggles and helmets.

"Can I borrow one of you for about twenty minutes?" Silvan said. "Whoever has the fastest sparrow."

"Me!" said one, striding forward. "None of these plebs can touch the mods on my bike. I'm Jarus Corbin."

"Silvan Nerisis," Silvan replied, shaking hands. "Come over here."

She guided the Hunter to the far end of the hill and pointed out the encroaching shadow. "I just need to know if there's Hive out there. How many, and where."

Jarus scrutinized her. "That's awfully good thinking for a warlock." A grin crept into his voice. "Brains and beauty, huh? What a combo."

Silvan rolled her eyes. "Should I ask somebody else?"

"Naw, I'll do it," said Jarus. "Be back in a few." He jumped off the clifftop, summoned his sparrow in midair, swung onto it, and cushioned the landing with a blast of the hover thrusters. He rocketed away toward the dim shadow in the distance.

Silvan watched him go with a sigh. "Why do all the men hit on me, Bramble?"

"Because you're not mean," her Ghost replied, phasing into sight beside her. "Or ugly. Lots of girls are one, or the other, or both."

"What do I do? Be mean to everyone?"

Bramble emoted a smile. "Show them Xenophage."

Silvan smiled and glanced at the barrel over her shoulder. She was growing accustomed to its weight, although the carrying strap dug into her shoulder.

She turned to watch the other Hunters. They clustered together, working on something together. Then they stepped back. One Hunter remained, balancing an old tire on end. He rocked it back and forth, then pushed it off the cliff. The Hunters gathered on the edge and watched for a few seconds. Then they cheered and dealt high fives. One Hunter jumped down and returned a moment later with the tire held above her head.

"They're playing a game?" Silvan said in disbelief. "The Hive could be here any minute, and they're bowling?"

"Surely it's some new strategy," said Bramble. "Right?"

He was interrupted as the Hunters shouted, "More tires!" They scattered up and down the monorail line, hunting for abandoned vehicles.

Silvan sighed and shook her head. She climbed the hill to where Eris Morn was working with the Cryptoglyph. At least someone in this camp was taking their enemies seriously.

Jin stood nearby, gazing toward the Scarlet Keep in the distance with his helmet off. Eris had set his helmet in the basin beneath the Cryptoglyph, and was adjusting the dials, chanting under her breath. The sound made Silvan's skin crawl-it was the same words the Hive witches sang during their rituals. Her head began to ache with the memory of psychic damage, so she went to stand beside Jin.

"What's going on?" Silvan asked.

"Armor upgrades," the Titan replied. "Turns out, it's possible to grab a nightmare and drag essence out of it. Since I don't have any, we borrowed one of Eris's." He nodded at one of the red figures floating near Eris. It was more tattered-looking than the others.

Silvan glanced at her own nightmare. Dredgen Vale floated at a distance, but she always felt him lurking. He was a constant swirl of grief inside her.

"Eris is starting with magic on helmets," Jin went on. "Protect your mind and such. After that, she means to enchant breastplates, robes, chest armor, that stuff. To protect the heart."

"I'm pretty sure you don't think with your heart," said Silvan.

"No," said Jin. "But your emotions are integrated into your circulatory system. Protect the mind, protect the emotions. She thinks that should be enough."

Silvan assented that this made sense. She gazed at the Keep, too. "Are the Hive hunting us?"

"Zulmak and Hashladun retreated to the keep," Jin replied. "One Hunter reported that they're communing with the pyramid down there. I don't like it."

"They could get stronger," Silvan murmured. "Stronger than us, maybe."

Jin glanced at her, his purple eye lights dim. "You doubt the Light, then?"

"The Hive eat Light," Silvan replied. "Look what they did to Omar. What happens when the pyramid gives them outright Darkness powers? I don't doubt the Light. I fear how our enemies may use it against us."

"I trust the Light," said Jin quietly. "But I also trust the Darkness to try to snuff it out. I only hope Light is stronger."

"Hope is all we have, at this point," said Silvan.

Eris Morn lifted the helmet from the basin. For a moment, the metal shimmered with a green miasma, then it faded. "Try this on," Eris said, holding it out. "It should guard your mind from the influence of Darkness."

Jin took the helmet and put it on. He turned his head this way and that, peering through the visor. "I can't tell much difference, but I didn't have any nightmares to start with." He pulled it off and handed it to Silvan. "Give it a try. I know you have a floating red friend up there." He nodded at Dredgen Vale.

Silvan pulled the helmet on. It was a Titan's helmet, heavy and too big. It smelled of the slightly oily breath of an Exo. But as soon as it was on, the lingering despair from the Nightmare vanished. Her heart grew lighter, as if an oppressive weight had lifted from her shoulders. She glanced around to make sure it was still there, which it was. But she could no longer feel it pressing down on her. Her bruised mind relaxed for the first time.

"Bramble?" she thought. "Are you still there?"

"Loud and clear," her Ghost said in her head. "I don't think the enchantment could work against me. I'm part of you, more or less."

"So is the nightmare, more or less," Silvan replied. "Anyway, good. I hope this helmet can shield you, too. Or maybe Eris can enchant your shell?"

"Hive magic on my shell?" Bramble exclaimed. "No way. I'll take my chances without it."

Silvan pulled off the helmet and handed it back to Jin. "It works like a charm." As soon as the helmet slid off, the pressure of the nightmare flooded back in. Silvan glared at it. "Eris, how long until you can enchant my helmet?"

"I need more essence," said Eris. She gazed at Silvan's nightmare. "Yours is strong. Solid. Much essence to be found within. Lure it close, and I shall harvest it."

Silvan gazed at Shin's youthful face and its blank, alien expression. "Come here. Tell me about yourself."

The nightmare was too happy to creep closer to her and whisper words of accusation to her sore mind, making her wish she could pass out, just to make it stop. It paid no attention when Eris Morn began to mutter, stripping wisps of black smoke out of it. The nightmare was not a person, only a phantom, and had no feelings. Silvan stood there and endured the nightmare's onslaught, watching as Eris caught smoke in her fingertips and guided it into the Cryptoglyph's basin. When it was full, Eris nodded. Silvan waved the nightmare off. "Shut up. That's enough."

The nightmare backed off a few feet, its insidious voice falling silent.

"Sorrow," Eris said, gazing into the basin with her three veiled eyes. "Powerful essence of sorrow mixed with guilt. I do not question their existence, Guardian. We all carry such things. Yet, my enchantment is only a placebo against the true problem. You must seek forgiveness and resolution to lay this nightmare to rest." She held out a hand. "Helmet."

Silvan passed it to her and sat on a rock to wait. As she did, she saw Jarus Corbin standing a short distance away, waiting. She beckoned to him.

"Nightmare surgery, huh?" Jarus said, his cloak billowing slowly around him in the low gravity. "Back from my scouting run, by the way."

"What'd you find?" Silvan asked, once more feeling weary.

Jarus pointed to the shadowy horizon. "Hive. Everywhere. They're organized into armies. Eighteen armies of thralls within ten miles. Each one has two ogres and three wizards. I counted five squads of knights with acolyte support teams. We're looking at about five thousand troops, all told. And that was just the few I spotted on my run. I'm sure there's more."

Silvan massaged her forehead. "Thanks, Jarus. Pass the word along, will you? The Vanguard needs to know what's coming."

Madrid approached, carrying a rifle that was held together with steel clamps. Jayesh trailed him at a safe distance. "Jarus! What's the news?"

The Hunters conferred, Madrid casually holding the trace rifle. Silvan watched as frost slowly crept along the barrel in feather patterns. As Jayesh moved up beside her, she asked, "Did you get it working?"

"Ish," the warlock replied. He never took his eyes off the gun. "I don't think it should freeze up like that. But if the Hive are preparing to invade, maybe we need an edge."

"Eris is fixing helmets so we don't hear the nightmares," Silvan said. "Have her harvest your nightmare for essence."

Jayesh turned his head a little, just enough to check his nightmare in his peripheral vision. The door floated in midair, unmoving. "I'll let her open it for me. I don't want to know what'll come out."

Silvan glanced at the nightmare that attended Jarus Corbin. She wouldn't have noticed it, except Jarus flipped it off as he walked away. As it trailed after him, Silvan realized that it was a male warlock with a robot arm.

"Jarus's nightmare is Asher Mir?" Silvan asked.

Madrid watched him go. "Asher had a fireteam of two Hunters and himself," he said in a low voice. "After Asher's accident, the team dissolved. Corbin told me he didn't know how to offer sympathy without being patronizing."

"And the other?" Silvan asked.

Madrid shook his head. "I don't know her name, but similar story. Poor Asher."

Silvan had worked with Asher Mir before. He was a fellow Gensym Scribe, and was studying the Vex in a frantic attempt to stop his body from being completely machinoformed. He was also cantankerous and abrasive, and Silvan couldn't stand him. But now, seeing one of his old teammates, she wondered if she had judged him too harshly.

Madrid walked down the hill to an open spot and gazed down the cliff. He raised the Darkness rifle, took careful aim, and fired. A beam of dark blue flashed out, vapor swirling around it. Madrid fired one short pulse, studied the effect, then fired again, longer this time.

After several such test fires, and the gun didn't explode, nor did Madrid suddenly shrivel into a corpse, Silvan and Jayesh picked their way to his side. He pointed out a spot on the plain a hundred feet below. A wall of ice crystals had sprang up from his target. He fired again, drawing the rifle's beam along the ground. Ice crystals sprang up wherever it touched, some as high as ten feet.

"Here," Madrid said, offering the gun to Jayesh. "You're sensitive to Light and Dark. What happens when you use it?"

Jayesh took the rifle carefully and examined the frost forming along the barrel. Then he fired it several times, continuing Madrid's growing wall of ice spikes. At last he lowered it and scraped the frost off the barrel. "I think it needs more insulation around the splinter. But I …" The warlock trailed off, gazing at the rifle. "Comforting," he said at last. "Natural. Good. Like invading in Gambit."

Silvan blinked. "You play Gambit?"

Jayesh ignored the question. "It's not quenching my Light, but the lure is there, Madrid. I hope Mara Sov is happy."

"Let me try," said Silvan. Jayesh handed her the rifle. Silvan promptly fired it three times, drawing a smiley face in ice on the rocks below. The rifle was heavy and cold, and seemed to grow heavier the longer she used it. Then she stood still and tried probing it with her psychic sense, just to see what would happen. The pyramid splinter seemed docile enough, but if it was like putting the Traveler in a gun, that could mean trouble-

In the flick of an eyelash, Silvan was standing before a great white tree, its leafless branches spiraling upward in a great globe.

She stood on a frozen lake and gazed at a black pyramid rising above the ice.

Black pyramids sliced across Jupiter

Across Saturn

Across Mars

Mercury

Last of all lay Earth, the Traveler in shattered pieces, as a fleet of pyramid ships closed in.

We come bearing gifts, little lightbearer.

Silvan drew breath to scream and rediscovered her body, still standing there, gripping the rifle. She shoved it at Madrid and backed away, rubbing her numbed hands.

"Silvan?" Jayesh said. "What happened?"

"Keep it away from me," Silvan whispered. "I saw the Darkness."

Jayesh stepped forward at once. "Give me your hands."

Trembling a little, Silvan placed her icy hands in his. Jayesh gazed into her eyes, brown with blue sparks versus glowing silver. The comforting warmth of Light flowed into her, as if he was channeling his entire healing rift through his hands. Beside her, Bramble appeared, spinning his shell in a worried sort of way. He played a healing beam up and down her body. Between the two healers, the piercing cold ebbed away. But nothing could ease the fear.

"They're coming," she said with conviction. "I saw them taking the solar system. Thousands of pyramid ships."

"You saw what it wanted you to see," Jayesh said gently. "Remember the first rule of Darkness."

"It always lies?"

"Yes."

Silvan drew deep, calming breaths, but her gaze kept wandering from Jayesh to the weapon in Madrid's hands. Madrid watched her, frowning in concern. He leaned the rifle against a rock and wiped his hands on his pants, as if trying to scrub away the touch of Darkness.

"You really must stop trying to talk to guns," Jayesh said with a smile. "It only leads to trouble."

Silvan nodded. "I guess I should be more careful. I should have known better. Just … keep it away from me. At least you guys can use it."

"We're not going to," said Madrid. "The whole point of this was to build a Darkness weapon for Mara Sov so as to buy your freedom. You traded yourself for me, remember? Without this rifle, you'll be locked in the Dreaming City time loop indefinitely."

Silvan nodded. "I'm sure she could handle it, too. I am glad we succeeded. I just … didn't realize how powerful the Darkness is."

"You saw the pyramid underground," Jayesh said. "It did the same thing to me. It called me to come closer. Said it offered gifts."

"That's what it said to me!" Silvan exclaimed. "It's like … it's trying to seduce us."

"Are you surprised?" Jayesh said. "Evil always passes itself off as freedom, when all it does is enslave and bind. In the end, there's only death."

"So," Silvan said, "what about the ice gun? Is ice evil?"

Jayesh and Madrid looked at the rifle for a moment. Jayesh released Silvan's hands and patted her shoulder, then walked over and picked up the rifle again. "What do you think?" he asked Madrid.

Madrid folded his arms. "Ice is neither good nor evil," he pointed out. "It's the lack of heat, just as darkness is the lack of light. I think it might be a gateway toward luring us deeper into Darkness, but only if we choose to wander that direction."

"Right," said Jayesh. "Like the lesson Dredgen Yor taught us. The tool can become an idol, and once it does, watch out."

"So … what do we do, now?" Silvan asked. "Leave the moon and deliver the ice gun? That doesn't fix the nightmares. I don't want them following me around the solar system."

"Doesn't stop the Hive, either," said Madrid, gazing toward the scarlet keep. "They're engineering new tech up here. If they can make Zulmak, they can make more of him. Imagine an army of giant Knights attacking the City. We barely beat him off. In fact, we didn't win. We had to run for it."

"We can put a stop to that," said Jayesh grimly. "I have some ideas. But first, let's have Eris enchant our armor."