So... Cathy is the new Lady of Fate... That's... unexpected. Nesha thought as the guards brought her for something that resembled a trial. After finally getting to Gelkmaros, she spent several days in a cell, while the Asmodians were restoring order, cleaning the fortress and securing living conditions for both daevas and humans. Also dealing with prisoners. Some of the Elyos or Lepharist residents of the fortress were executed by Lady Triniel herself, but most of them were left in the dungeon. And now they finally remembered she was also there and decided to do something about it. Or Veille kept bothering them enough, Nesha didn't have doubts about that.

The room the guards led her to was the main hall of the fortress. Lady Triniel was standing on an elevated platform, looking cold and detached. On her right side was Cathy, she looked better than when Nesha last saw her, but still afraid. The third person on the platform, who showed signs of endured physical torture, was Richelle, former Lord Marchutan's Wing and commander of the fortress. Did she become Cathy's Wing now?

Under the platform were only a few guards and several relevant people, Veille, Ylrian and Engor on one side and Darrand, Seritha and Lonewolf on the other.

"Soldier Nesha, formerly from Miragent legion and Lightshade assassination squad," Lady Triniel spoke. "Your actions in the war were far beyond the line of an ordinary soldier following orders. Which, if we follow precedents with Veille and Ylrian here, wouldn't be held against you, should you express a genuine desire to help. However, the recklessness of your recent actions and withholding information from us endangered the Shelter and cost us four lives. There are strong voices calling for your execution. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"I brought you Cathy," Nesha pointed at the young daeva. "You wouldn't have your new Lady of Fate without me."

"But we would have the barrier," Darrand spat. "Now we have to defend against two enemies instead of one."

Cathy visibly slouched.

"From the long term, you're right," Seritha said. "Having the Lady of Fate is better than the barrier. But that means we have to survive for long enough to actually get to the long term."

"Look, I don't expect you to like me. Or whatever. But I can help you. I know you want to beat Israphel and return things to normal. I want the same thing. So I'll help you with that, if you let me."

"Things will never return to normal," Richelle muttered. "Even if we beat Israphel and gain back our lands, too many Asmodians have died. They will never return."

"As terrifying as it sounds, it's also true," Engor said. "We will have to get used to a new normal. It would be better, if that new normal was without our friends being held as slaves or test subjects. If Nesha is willing to help us with that goal, we should give her a chance."

"She is a risk," Darrand insisted. "We can't trust her. She can disable the obelisk and kill us in our sleep when we least expect it."

"That can be said about pretty much anyone in this room," Ylrian pointed out. "Including you."

"What did you say?"

"Nah, not you. You can't disable the obelisk."

"That's enough," Lady Triniel said quietly and both daevas immediately shut up. "Lady Cathy, what is your view on this?"

"I... I don't... I don't think we should kill her," Cathy said. "She... Miss Nesha... we can allow her to help us."

"Commander Richelle?"

"On this matter, I disagree with Lady Cathy," the commander spoke. "We can't trust this assassin."

"I agree trust doesn't fit in this case," the Lady of Death nodded. "But we aren't in a situation where we could be picky about our allies. Soldier Nesha, you will be released on two conditions: you will not leave the fortress unless directly ordered by me and you won't hold any weapons, unless you go on a mission or this fortress is attacked. Should you do anything suspicious, you will return to the cell immediately. And should we find you betraying us, you will be sentenced to permanent death. Do you agree or do you wish to return to your cell now?"

"I agree, Lady Triniel."

~ o ~

The teleporter operators in the ruins of Beluslan fortress were professionals, but even they couldn't hide their surprise, when the Empyrean Lord of Illusions and a few members of the Wisplight legion stepped out of the device. Kaisinel glanced over the area and headed directly towards the hidden chamber.

"Uhm, my Lord..." a guard immediately stepped in his way and bowed. "It's an honor to... have you here. Do you wish to call the... uhm, commander?"

"No need. Take me to the special prisoner."

"Uhm, I... this post is just for observation of the Abyss gate, we don't..."

"Was my order unclear? Take me to the special prisoner. Immediately."

"Ah... eh... yes, of course, my Lord, this way," the guard opened the door.

Kaisinel nodded at his soldiers and they got into positions near the teleporter, only two of them went inside with him. Within a few moments, a servant appeared.

"Lord Kaisinel," she bowed as she led them to the luxurious part of the complex. "We weren't expecting any visits today, the Lady isn't ready..."

"Then prepare her," he looked around the lounge. "Dress her in something decent and bring her here."

"Decent? I... I'm afraid it will be very difficult, if not..."

"Then get creative with what you have."

"Ah, yes, of course, my Lord. Do you have any other wish?"

"I want fruits, small pieces, and warm sweetened tea."

"Yes, my Lord, it will be done right away," the servant bowed again and left.

"Wait outside," Kaisinel said to the guard with plate armor and shield. "Don't let anyone in, unless it's an order from me."

"Yes, my Lord," the guard bowed her head and left the room.

The other guard, a cleric, positioned herself near the door. Kaisinel sat into a comfortable armchair and focused on the details in this room. Vaizel definitely didn't spare any expenses on it, which was already disturbing. As if nothing else had interested him. Indeed, the Lord of Freedom behaved extremely selfishly and impulsively, but this place and the purpose of this place far exceeded Kaisinel's imagination. He was grateful for the report from Vaizel's Wing about what was going on, at least he was able to partially manage the things in Elysea and gain Perento's trust to learn about this place.

Another servant entered the room and brought a silver tray with a bowl of fruit pieces and a kettle of tea with two cups. After she left, the cleric poured the tea and weaved aether around the cup for a few seconds. She nodded affirmatively, poured the other cup and returned to her spot near the door. After a few minutes the first servant came in through the other door, leading the prisoner behind her. Lumiel was dressed in a simple piece of a dark red fabric with a sash around her waist. It looked like it could be hastily made of a curtain or a blanket. And of course there were the aether-cuffs on her wrists and neck.

"This way... careful... here she is, my Lord," the servant bowed again. Kaisinel pointed at the sofa. "Yes, of course. Please, sit here, Lady. Do you wish for anything else?"

"No. Leave us."

"Yes, my Lord, of course."

After the servant left, Kaisinel spent several seconds watching the face of the person sitting in front of him. She was smiling, but it was an artificial smile. Behind that her expression was blank. The intellect and cunning he expected from the Lady of Wisdom wasn't there.

"This is disgraceful, Lumiel," he shook his head and got up.

"What do you wish of me, master?"

"Sit and don't move."

He put his hand on her forehead, drew on the surrounding aether, closed his eyes and cast the spell. Immediately his consciousness was pulled into her mind. And there was nothing. He hovered in a grey empty space unable to see anything around. He willed himself to move forward and almost bumped into a broken structure suddenly appearing from the mist. It was a remnant of a bookshelf. Several pieces of pages or empty covers laid on the shelf in front of him. A blurred outline of another broken rack was nearby, and as he moved from one to another, he realized it was a circular room. That didn't help him at all. He needed to find where Lumiel's self was hiding.

"Lumiel, show yourself!" he supported his command with aether.

A lightning shot from below, barely missing him. He floated down to its source. It was a multi-coloured sphere of aether and memories. Behind all the flashes was a female silhouette.

"Is this what you want to do with yourself, Lumiel?"

The colours shifted. Kaisinel took a deep breath and entered the sphere. Immediately he was flooded by memories.

Primum explosion.

Exhausted Lumiel falling into a Lepharist trap.

Lumiel waking up in this place, bound by the aether-cuffs.

Vaizel's first visit and his attempts to persuade her with just words. Lumiel's disgust.

Vaizel killing an Asmodian human servant and threatening to kill more, if she's not compliant. Lumiel's despair.

Vaizel bringing a drenium circlet with red stones. Lumiel's humiliation, as her mind was taken over by the device.

Other men visiting her.

Beatings.

Injuries.

And finally, nothing.

"This has to stop," he tapped into the surrounding aether and unraveled its structure. Soon it collapsed. Exploded. Lumiel shrieked.

"My Lord! Lord Kaisinel! Are you alright?" he woke up on the floor with his cleric kneeling next to him. She helped him get up and sit into the chair.

"I'll recover. Treat her, it's more urgent," he breathed heavily and reached for the tea and fruits to replenish sugar.

"As you wish," the cleric sat next to Lumiel, who was now crouched on the sofa, crying hysterically and digging her claws into her upper arms. The cleric produced a blanket from her cube and wrapped it around her, casting a calming spell.

Kaisinel let her work and instead focused on his own recovery. He was bleeding from his nose and his head was pounding. The defiance of Lumiel's mind, when he finally unlocked it, expelled him with such a powerful force his own defenses weren't ready for. But that was also good news, the mind of the Lady of Wisdom was still strong.

"Why did you do it, Kaisinel?" Lumiel finally put together a coherent sentence. "Do you enjoy seeing me like this?"

"You and I have a lot of things to discuss. Your mind must be clear."

"No! Put my defenses back!" she gripped the armrest of the sofa. "I don't want to go through that again!"

"You won't. I'm taking you to Inggison."

"You're... NO! No, you can't do that," she huddled in the corner of the sofa, hugging her knees. "If I leave, he'll kill them..."

"This is not negotiable. As the Empyrean Lady of Wisdom you're bound by duty to Atreia. And Atreia needs you. Leaving you to rot here is just... a waste."

"I can't... he'll kill them…"

Kaisinel frowned. Based on Perento's description he expected some level of trauma, but not active resistance. There was no reason why she should want to stay here. And he didn't have much time, he had to get her to Inggison before the word of this gets to Vaizel.

"My Lord, may I?" the cleric asked. He nodded. "Lady Lumiel, we don't want to cause any harm to innocents. Who will be in danger if you leave?"

"The servants here. He... he keeps only mortal Asmodians here. I... I can't leave..."

"How many of them are here?"

"I... I don't know... not many... less than ten, I think."

"Fine, we'll take them with us. Is that acceptable?" Kaisinel reached for a small bell on the tray. When Lumiel nodded, he rang it.

Within half a minute a servant entered the room.

"Yes, my Lord, what is your wish?" she curtseyed.

"How many Asmodian servants are here?"

"There's six of us, my Lord."

"All of you, dress into something decent, pack whatever you have and wait in front of that door with the guard. You'll go with us. You have five minutes."

"Uhm... my Lord?"

"That's an order."

"Uh... yes, of course, my Lord," she bowed and ran from the room.

"Now, Lumiel, eat something and make sure you can walk without fainting."

~ o ~

"Hello? I think these might be edible," Aielyn walked into Gelkmaros fortress kitchen and raised her hand holding two large dionaes.

The head cook turned to her and examined the dead plants.

"You're right, these are the edible kind. Give them to..." the cook looked around. "Ebby, process these things, it will be a good change for the next meal."

"It's Eibie, boss," an Elyos woman sighed, stopped washing the dishes and walked over to Aielyn to take the plants. "Thank you, the porridge was getting quite boring." She sounded young, but due to her grey, almost silver, hair, her age wasn't easy to guess. And the broken and poorly fixed nose indicated some not good experiences.

"Yeah, that's what I remembered, when I killed them," the ranger smiled.

"You did that? You're allowed to carry weapons? I thought Elyos were not…"

"Yeah, that's... I don't really belong to the standard Elyos."

"You're one of the... them?"

"Them?"

"You joined Lady Triniel before she captured the fortress, right? I was transferred here just a few days before the attack, as a cook. And I'm just a simple human, so that's why I'm not in prison or dead, but..." she lowered her voice to almost whisper. "I'm afraid. They don't trust me and I don't know if I can trust them."

"Well..." Aielyn was taken aback a bit by the sudden tide of words. "I don't really know how to help you. But you can always talk to me, when I'm around?"

"Thank you, thank you very much, you're very kind. I'll better go and process these quickly, but we can talk later."

"Sure, later, then."

~ o ~

"Keep your shoulders straight," Darrand's voice carried over the training area of the Gelkmaros fortress. "Feet firmly on the ground, that's too close, you need to keep balance. Hold the staff firmly, but not too tight. Yes, like that. Now strike."

Cathy swung the training staff and hit the training dummy. The impact sent shivers all over her body.

"You tightened your muscles too much. You need to learn to move with the hit, if you don't want to hurt yourself. Like this," he took his own training staff and performed the basic hit slowly to show the nuances of the movement. "You hit with your entire body, not just your arms. Try it again."

Cathy tried to imitate the movements Darrand showed her. She wasn't sure if she did it well, but he didn't say anything, so she kept trying. After several swings the muscles on her arms and her back hurt.

"Now stop," he said. "You're getting the idea quite well for a complete beginner. This is the basic attack you will need to keep practicing. Now for the defense. You Ascended before your body could mature, that puts you at disadvantage in combat. Always remember that. It doesn't mean you can't become good, it means you have to adapt your fighting style. Understood?"

Cathy hesitantly nodded.

"First thing to learn is, you'll never be able to simply stop a blow like this," he swung his staff at a training dummy. Several splinters flew away from the impact. "So if you can't evade it, you have to deflect it. Now hit me."

"But..."

"It's part of the training. You just learnt the basic attack. Use it on me."

Cathy took the fighting stance, breathed deeply and swung her staff at Darrand, instinctively closing her eyes. Something blocked her staff, swept her legs and she landed on her back.

"Never close your eyes in combat!" Darrand raised his voice. "That's the fastest way to get you killed. The only situation, when closing your eyes helps, is when someone is trying to blind you. Now get up and try again."

"I... I'm sorry..." she got up as quickly as possible and took the fighting stance again.

"Uh... uhm, Lady Cathy, sir Darrand?" a daeva waved at them from the side of the training area. "Lady Triniel requests your presence in the strategy room. Around now."

"This lesson is over, my Lady," Darrand bowed and took the training staff from her. "We'll continue tomorrow."

"Yes, of course, thank you," Cathy collected her cube and her new coat and headed to the strategy room. Darrand put the staves back to the weapon rack and walked right behind her. When she entered, the room was already full. Next to Lady Triniel was commander Richelle, who was Cathy's teacher in aether manipulation. Madam Veille and mister Ylrian were also present, as well as mister Engor and madam Seritha. Only on a second look she noticed the figure in the shadows, it was mister Gathre, silver-eyed master assassin, who gave mister Ylrian real trouble during the siege.

"Everyone's here. Good," Lady Triniel started. "The Gelkmaros fortress is up and running, which is remarkable, given how little time and resources we had. But our supplies are running low and without any help from outside, we need to feed ourselves. That means farms and hunting, for the start. We don't have enough people to secure all of Gelkmaros, so we'll have to do with just the surroundings of the fortress. Veille, work with commander Richelle to secure the inner gates."

"Yes, my Lady," Veille nodded.

"My Lady, our soldiers won't like taking orders from an Elyos," Richelle objected. "We need unity, not discord. She can't be trusted."

"Commander, I understand your concerns," Lady Triniel said. "But in our situation we need everyone, who can help, especially someone with Veille's level of power. I trust your judgment to put this power to use with the least risk possible."

"Yes, my Lady."

"Darrand, your main priority will be training of our soldiers, that includes Lady Cathy, and helping commander Richelle with the defense of this fortress."

"Yes, my Lady."

"Seritha, what's the current progress on aetheric cleansing of the fortress?"

"I went through the entire fortress and removed every bound portal seal and magic trap I could find."

"Well done. Engor, take a small battle group and clear the Southford farm from creatures, poisons and harmful magic. We need the farm running as soon as possible."

"Yes, my Lady."

"We also need allies. Gathre, how feasible is trade or even a friendly contact with the strigik or the Rhonnam village?"

"The strigik want to be left alone. I spent some time with them, but I was one person, it's highly probable they would become hostile towards a larger group. But they are inside the inner gates, we might convince them. The villagers in Rhonnam were refugees themselves, who started prospering, when Lord Marchutan's barrier removed the Balaur. They won't be happy about their return. But if we manage to convince them, we can get access to the Shugo trading network."

"Go to both of them, ask around and find out if and under what circumstances would they consider helping us. Discuss with commander Richelle what we need and what can we offer."

"As you wish, my Lady."

"Any questions?" the Lady of Death looked over the room.

"Yeah, why am I here? I didn't get any orders," Ylrian said.

Lady Triniel smiled at him, checked the others and said: "Good, dismissed. Ylrian, Seritha, you stay here, I have a mission for you."

~ o ~

Nesha picked up the bowl with her lunch and headed towards the nearest unoccupied corner. The living conditions in the fortress were an improvement over the Shelter, but food was still rationed and it would stay that way for some time. She sat at the edge of a bench and started eating the simple porridge with a few pieces of brax meat and vegetables. At least it was edible.

"Hello, may I sit here?" a woman asked and sat at the bench across the table from Nesha.

"Whatever," Nesha kept her eyes on her bowl, she didn't want any conversation.

"I'm Eibie, nice to meet you."

"Hm..."

"I saw you at the gate reconstruction, you worked so hard and yet they still called you names."

"That's expected," Nesha rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you're right, it's expected, given our situation, but it's still unfair."

Nesha raised her head. The woman was an Elyos, dressed in plain work clothes and an apron and her grey, almost silver, hair was weaved into two braids in a similar style as Aielyn had. Annoying. If the hair colour wasn't so out of place, the most distinctive feature of her face was her broken nose. There was something familiar about her, but Nesha couldn't place it.

"Well, life's not fair. Get used to it," the assassin grunted. "What do you want from me?"

"I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," the woman raised her hands in a defensive gesture. "I just wanted to tell you, that you're not alone and... you look like a strong daeva, but even strong deavas need help sometimes..."

"I'm fine. I don't need you. Go find someone else."

"Uh... I'm sorry," the woman moved to the other side of the three meters long table, disheartened.

Nesha moved her attention back to her bowl and continued eating. After a few seconds a shadow of another person fell over her.

"Hello, are you doing alright?" Engor asked.

"And why do you care?"

"I'm looking for a few competent people to help me clear the Southford farm. Are you interested?"

"Clear from what?"

"Wild creatures, aether mutations, possible spies..." the Asmodian cleric shrugged. "You'll get your weapons back, don't worry."

"I don't get why you trust me, but sure, I'm in."

"Good, be ready tomorrow morning at the south gate."

"I hate to ruin your recruiting, Engor," Ylrian walked to them and rested his elbow on Engor's shoulder. "But she's going with me."

"What makes you so sure?" Nesha grunted.

"My charming personality, of course," the gunslinger smiled. "And Lady Triniel's orders. And you get not only your dagger back, but also standard issue weapons and all equipment you'll need. Be ready in the command room at sunset."

"Fine."

"Come on, Ylrian, do you really need everyone that I could take for my task?" the cleric sighed.

"Sorry 'bout that. Yeah, I actually need them," Ylrian shrugged. "You would also have stuff to do, if you came with us."

"I can imagine. But I must stay here. Take care," Engor smiled at them, nodded goodbye and left the mess hall.

"If you have any trouble getting the weapons or any other equipment, talk to me or Seritha, we'll be somewhere in the fortress," Ylrian said. "Enjoy your meal."

~ o ~

Lonewolf was pacing back and forth in the command room, waiting for the others to gather for their new mission. Heiron. It wasn't Eltnen, but finding the ring on a market there didn't have to mean his wife was there too. Heiron was close enough. There could be some information about her. There had to be.

"Are you alright, Puppy?" Aielyn said from behind him. He didn't even notice her getting close. He stopped and slowly turned to look at her.

"You're getting better."

"Or you're getting distracted. Are you also on the mission to Heiron?"

"Yeah," he looked at the ring in his palm and put it safely into his pocket. "You know the land?"

"A bit? Maybe? No, not really, I think I was there like twice during my training, but then the war happened..." she shrugged. "But you avoided my question, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I won't get distracted during the mission."

"That's not why I asked, but if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. You can tell me later if you change your mind."

He shook his head and sighed.

"And you? I heard you were injured."

"Yes, I met a huge scorpion in the desert and I almost died from its poison. But don't worry, they healed me just fine. And I brought back its sting, so someone might do something useful with it," she smiled. "Oh, hey, Nesha, you're coming too?"

Lonewolf glanced at the newcomer and frowned. What was she doing here? The assassin nodded in response and without a word stopped a few steps away from them. She had new clothes and weapons. Someone was serious about her being on this mission. Soon after her, Ylrian, Seritha and one daeva, whom Lonewolf didn't know, showed up. He looked like a young boy in his lower teens, wore a simple chain armor under his coat and carried a staff. The staff and coat had symbols of the Fenris legion.

"Hey, you're kidding me, right? I get why this dimwit is coming," the new daeva pointed at Ylrian, "but what the fuck are these two other Elyos doing here?"

Nesha rolled her eyes. Aielyn looked like she wanted to reply something.

"Lyn's fine," Lonewolf said quickly. "But why's she here?" he pointed at Nesha. "Shouldn't she be forbidden to carry weapons? Couldn't we get Gathre instead?"

"Gathre has other priorities," Seritha replied. "There's not enough people here with her skill. We were lucky Aarten was still here in jail, when we captured the fortress, and not in some Lepharist lab."

"Speaking of Lepharist labs, one of them is our target," Ylrian spoke. "Specifically the genetic lab in northern Heiron. Seritha will teleport us as close as possible, but we'll still have to walk for around half an hour. Maybe less if we're faster. Our main goal is inside the lab, so we'll need to get rid of any Lapharists we find. Ideally without killing, the obelisks in Heiron still work and that would alert everyone. That also means, don't get killed. Any questions?"

"What exactly are we looking for in that lab?" Lonewolf asked.

"Any relevant information about their experiments and any surviving test subjects."

Lonewolf's heart started beating faster. "Do you mean..."

"We don't know who is there," Seritha replied. "It's one of their most secure labs, so it must be someone or something important. But we don't have any details."

"I see. Let's go."

"We'll go from the teleporter," Seritha said. "I'll use it as an anchor and open the portal to the jungle south-west from the lab. Ylrian will be in charge. After we get into the lab, I will be in charge. If no one has any questions, move to the teleporter."

Lonewolf looked around. No one said anything, so he walked from the room and towards the teleporter. It was repaired already and new seals and inscriptions were placed and now only Seritha and one or two other people were able to use it. The rest of the group followed him. With the help of the device the sorceress created the portal with ease. Just as he was stepping through, he glimpsed a servant looking very intently at them. In the next moment his senses were overwhelmed by the sounds and smells and heat of the jungle. He immediately moved to a nearest bush to get cover and took a few slow breaths to acclimatize.

"Everyone's here," Seritha whispered.

"Good. Follow me and keep close to the group," Ylrian ordered and started walking. He changed the direction few times to keep them hidden from the main roads. The surrounding vegetation provided very good cover for them and the sounds they made dispersed in the noise made by numerous insects, birds, lizards and occasional manduris and hungry plants. In this jungle, there were possible dangers at every step. Lonewolf crouched down to take a good look at the small white blossoms hiding in the shadows of a bush. Nightbliss. These little, innocent-looking petals were poisonous, if the sap from them got into someone's blood, that person would fall asleep and slowly died without ever waking up again. Ironically, the only known antidote was made of Dawnbliss, a flower almost identical to this one, except its petals were dark blue and grew in Asmodae. He quickly but carefully cut the flowers, wrapped them in larger leaves of the bush and put them into his pocket. He caught up with the others without anyone noticing his delay. Soon after that Ylrian signaled them to stop.

"The lab is just behind this hill," the gunslinger said. "Nesha, check the patrols."

The assassin nodded and disappeared into the shadows. Several minutes later she appeared again.

"The main road has some guards, but we can go around them," she reported. "However, there are at least four two-person patrols in the area and the main building is partially inside the mountain and the only entrance is heavily guarded."

"As if I believed such place would have only one entrance," Aarten grunted. "Those assholes must have at least an escape exit or something."

"If they do, it wasn't in the vicinity of the area."

"Alright, let's avoid the main road and go in. Nesha, lead the way," Ylrian gestured towards the lab. Nesha nodded and led them through the forest to get into the restricted area from the west.

For Lonewolf it was easy to keep quiet while moving, but Seritha and Aarten didn't have his training and although they tried, they were increasing the chance the guards would spot them.

In the far corner, between a warehouse and the base of the mountain, they got rid of one patrol.

"Nesha, can you get rid of the other patrols quietly?" Ylrian asked.

"Yes. But those guys at the door will notice they're missing."

"We'll keep them occupied. You make sure the patrols don't run away to warn someone."

The assassin stepped into the shadows again. They gave her several seconds headstart, during which Ylrian charged his pistols with aether, Seritha and Aarten began carefully gathering aether of their own and Lonewolf and Aielyn loaded their bows. The gunslinger signaled for the attack and shot the guard closest to the door, immediately moving to his place to prevent others from running inside. The sorceress and the cleric threw blasts of aether, cold and lightning into the group. And the rangers shot everyone who tried to run. Within a minute the fight was over. After they made sure any survivors were subdued by sleep spells, the area was quiet again. No sign of guards or patrols. Or Nesha.

Lonewolf frowned. Did she betray them?

Something metallic clanked at the stone steps. Nesha's dagger.

"Well, what a lovely bunch of enemies do we have here?" an unknown irritated female voice sounded from above them. "And some traitors too."

"Oh, fuck," Ylrian looked up, his face was dejected.