They get out of The Gref's Rest, and start trudging through the snow towards a group of people - Owynna is an option, but not one Cera wants to consider unless there's nobody else.

They have to Awaken the soul of a person that's a soul descendent of a Dwarf from Durgan's Battery. Owynna fits the bill, but her soul ancestor tried to sneak out with a load of steel - so either he was trying to steal it or he was running away. Neither of which are good options, honestly.

There's got to be someone else from the Battery, right?

Eder spots a house up in the corner of the village, just past Renengild's, and says "Don't think we've tried there yet. I know Awakening someone isn't really a good fate, but…"

Cera says "If we can find anyone who's soul seems like it would turn out alright, well…" She closes her eyes for a minute, and says "I don't want to give anyone else my fate. Especially not with the Awakened memories being about something as bloody as the battle in Durgan's Battery. Owynna's soul ancestor was trying to escape from something. Something that terrified him beyond anything else. I don't think we know the full story of what happened to the Pargrunnen. I don't think they killed themselves." She shakes her head, then focuses on the house Eder pointed to. "There's someone in there. C'mon, let's go see who it is."

They get ten feet from the house, and Cera says "Her name's Taena. She used to work as the mine overseer until it collapsed."

Eder says "It is downright scary how much you know about a person before you even see them, you know that?"

"I get impressions, I can see other people's memories sometimes. Distracting at time, but useful at others - like when I suddenly know not to mention a particular topic to someone as it'll get them incredibly upset."

Aloth says "Fair enough. Let's go. Perhaps this woman will have a soul that won't result in a disastrous Awakening."

"Hopefully. We're running out of people to talk to."

Taena turns out to have a soul that can also tell them the Cantec they need - but she's also got some violent memories attached to her old name, Zenove. And at this point, they've basically run out of people to choose from - Taena or Owynna. Zenove was…very disciplined, the memories are of her making a group of doors defend a door from whatever was attacking them - it terrified them to no end, they wanted to head back down with the rest of the remaining dwarves.

Cera connects with Aloth's mind, and says Looks like there aren't any good options, Aloth. Any suggestions?

Can't you read her soul or something? Like you can with other people?

Yeah, but this thing is set for the era Durgan's Battery was destroyed - that was an awfully long time ago. I could have to wade through three lives as a Xaurip before finding it!

Aloth barely suppresses a bout of laughter, Cera might be exaggerating this just a little. Or maybe not.

After an hour of quiet debating - quiet so that the rest of the small town doesn't catch on that they have to Awaken the soul of one of two people - they finally decide to Awaken Zenove - because there aren't any good choices here, as hard as Cera was looking for one.

Cera sighs and rubs her forehead, saying "I'll go back inside. Kana, you've got a good memory - want to come with and write down the Cantec?"

"I'd love to! And perhaps I can ask a few questions of my own to!"

Twenty minutes later, the two come outside - Cera's got a relieved expression, Kana's got a rather disappointed one. Eder asks "Well?"

Kana says "We got the Cantec easily enough, keeping Zenove calm - more or less, she seemed a tense sort - but then someone had to go and make the ancient dwarven soul subside!"

"I had the chance to prevent something like my situation from happening to Taena, and I took it, Kana! Besides, it worked out well enough for Taena! She seems a lot more lively than before."

All four people let out relieved sighs, and Aloth can't help feeling slightly dizzy with relief - neither of them at all wanted to inflict an Awakened soul on someone, so this is as good an outcome as they could have hoped for. And Kana quickly jotted down the Cantec, so they have everything they need to find to get into Durgan's Battery.

Cera suddenly gets an idea, remembering the soul they found in the middle of the Russetwood - all they have to go by to find whatever book he hid from the person that killed him is a picture of a cluster of trees. Her description of the killer matched that of Ninagauth, one of the archmages in this generation - which means whatever the boy hid from the Archmage is likely important. She pulls out the map, and stares at it for a minute - then she breaks out into a massive grin and says "Whatever book the kid hid from Ninagauth, its right near the Battery! He drew the map while standing there, and it shouldn't take more than five minutes or so to find it!"

Kana asks "Your serious? A book prized by an archmage? I'd love to look through it!"

When they get to a cluster of trees, that vaguely resembles the low-quality drawing on the crumpled scrap of paper, Cera stops dead then breaks out in a sprint. In maybe a minute, she's over by the trees and takes the paper out to find where the 'X' is depicting. When she does, she starts digging around in the snow - and comes away with a thick book about the size of Aloth's Grimoire but many times thicker. "This has to be it!" She looks incredibly excited, like she's just found a holiday gift in hiding or something.

When Kana opens it, his expression turns to confusion and he flips through a few pages before saying "I can't make heads or tails of this!"

Cera looks at it, and immediately says "It's not in Engwithan. Sorry, can't help, Kana."

When Aloth takes a look, he's staring at incredibly complex spells. The diagrams alone would make most people either give up right then and there or cry from the sheer amount of work it would take to decipher them - it's an Archmage's grimoire, why would it be easy? "They're spells. Highly complex ones to. May I see it?"

Kana hands it over at once, and Aloth starts at the beginning. He knows most of the spells in the front, which look like they were put there decades ago if not centuries, and stops at about the fourth level of spell difficulty. There's one spell there he's never heard of, which is dubbed 'Ninagauth's Killing Ray.' It's supposed to deal damage only to those you want to harm, enough irresistible damage to kill the target. Aloth can feel his eyebrows rising higher and higher into his hairline as he continues reading, some of these spells are beyond anything he's ever seen before - he's so keeping this book.

Cera's delighted laugh draws his attention though, as she says "Judging from your expression, I think you'll miss all of the Battery. You'll be too busy trying to learn as many of the spells in there as quickly as you can."

"This is an Archmage's Grimoire! I'm seeing spells in here that Ninagauth never released! Spells only he knows! Do you have any idea what-"

Cera says "We get it, Aloth! Your excited. Just like Sagani was excited about her new bow. Wait, there's…there's someone up there." She points north, where they can see the faint wisps of smoke traveling upwards. They all look at one another, and head over - five more minutes won't make a difference in the Battery.

Of course, as soon as they are in view, one armored individual shouts "More Giftbearers!" and they all spring into action.

Once all the mercenaries are dead, Cera asks "They thought we were Giftbearers?"

Pallegina picks up the greatsword the leader had, a marvelous weapon with only a finely-detailed feather pattern radiating from the hilt as decoration. When Pallegina grasps the sword hilt, there's a ripple of energy outward and then it's just gone. Pallegina looks at the sword curiously, then asks "Another of these weapons? If Aloth's is any indication, they certainly get stronger."

Kana asks "You'll keep it then?"

"I don't see that I have a choice, Amico. It appears to be bonded to me, much like Sagani's bound to her and Aloth's scepter bound to him."

Cera shrugs and says "They only get stronger, right? At least it looks sharp. And I heard two people in the Gref's Rest talking about this weird Estoc in Longwatch Falls, hidden behind a waterfall. Said it looked like no Estoc he'd ever seen before, thin and a shiny gray. Oh, and there were about five spirits guarding the waterfall."

Kana seems curious about it, and says "Well, after we head to Durgan's Battery, what say we make a stop at Longwatch Falls? I'm curious as to why spirits would be guarding an Estoc."

They get out of Durgan's Battery covered in soot, overheating from the White Forge, and Cera with a massively pounding head from freeing the souls of Durgan's Battery. The place alone was giving her some truly horrific visions apparently, long-lost battles and the terror and panic that the dead felt during them. If she wasn't already being slowly but surely driven insane each night from dreams from her ancient past, then she'd have started on that path inside the place.

They head to Longwatch Falls, and Aloth notices during the trip that she's not moving one arm much at all - and he only notices because it's the one closer to him. But its only apparent that she's actually hurt when they fight the spirits guarding the Estoc that's stuck in the ice and she uses one hand instead of two like she usually does.

Oh, and the Estoc is cursed - that'd be why it was in the ice apparently. Kana can't seem to let go of it, at least it's a better blade than the one he had. Wickedly sharp, and perfectly balanced as well. Kana looks at his hand, which is entirely unwilling to release the Estoc from its grip, and says "I suppose there are worse curses to have on a weapon - and I suppose there are worse weapons to be stuck with."

Eder says "True that. And what about the poem on the blade?"

Kana looks at it, then mutters "An agent of stone and whirling adra. Hm, I wonder what that could mean?"

Cera says "It might mean Cilant Lis. Where I was Awakened. 'Awaken your essence' - Cilant Lis fits the bill."

When they set up camp for the night, Aloth tries to take a look at her shoulder - she insists she's fine. "Cera, you can hardly move your shoulder by now. If it isn't wrenched, my hair will turn as bright as your clothes."

"I'm alright, Aloth. Besides, when we were at Hadret House, the Cipher I talked to shared all his knowledge of Cipher techniques - and one of them is for blocking pain. Its good practice." She gives a weak smile, and tries to prove her point by moving her arm some - she moves it about three inches before wincing and moving it back.

"Cera, you're a self-taught Cipher who mastered what techniques she could think of and what she heard from other Ciphers she met by chance."

"And this would be how I mastered those techniques. Same way a person learns how to cast spells or fight with a sword."

She's got a point - too good a point - but he says "Cera, don't tell me you got injured on purpose so you could practice."

"No, that last Forge Guardian caught me by surprise. Besides, you don't- I'm alright. I don't need to have everything just so."

Aloth sighs, Cera's unending desire to prove she's not like her parents or the people they keep trying to marry her off to is admirable at times and annoying at others. "No, but you do need to be able to use that crossbow of yours. Which typically requires both hands for accurate aim. And seeing as you couldn't move your arm much, that isn't really happening."

"I'll just sleep it off, Aloth. It's not a problem."

Another five minutes finally convinces her to let him bind her arm up - she gets to keep practicing trying to block the pain though, fair enough.

Aloth sometimes wonders if she realizes she's being as stubborn about things like this as she truly is - trying to prove she's not some spoiled royal like Gathbin, or some coward like the man her parents arrived with. Charming at times, frustrating at others. And right now he's not sure whether to be impressed by her determination to be better or aggravated by her sheer stubbornness and not saying anything when her arm is barely movable.

AN: Alright, we're finding some Soulbound Weapons now! Pallegina has St. Ydwen's Redeemer, and Sagani has Stormcaller. Kana just got the Grey Sleeper, and now Stalwart has access to the Battery. And Cera freed the souls in the Battery as opposed to binding them to the Forge itself or the cannons. Sorry I skipped through the Battery itself, but it'd have mainly been about a bunch of ghost-voices shouting about the battle that killed them and Cera getting endless visions of being slaughtered as the Pargrunen were. And those would have been some seriously graphic things, sorry. As it is, we can imagine Aloth getting excited about Ninaguath's Black Pages - official name of the book you find - and then Iselmyr nagging him about it. Enjoy! More chapters coming soon! Please review, comments and suggestions are always appreciated!