‘I’m closed. Didn’t you see the sign?’

Unlike the other citizens of Hybrassil whom I have seen thus far, the potion maker would not stand out in Nekis: middle-aged; short, dark-brown hair; dark eyes; thick eyebrows; fleshy features.

‘You are mistaken in your objection; we have come to offer you protection.’

Coming in after me, Lisandra explains that the Merchants’ Guild directed us to him.

Damien Firestone straightens, putting down his scalpel and a lump of what might have been ginger. ‘You are adventurers? What levels and classes?’

Lisandra crisply enumerates our strength and the potion maker looks satisfied. Again we have to explain that we are new to Shadow and have no experience of traveling to the Otherworld.

‘If you do exactly as I say, you will be fine. I don’t intend to visit any particularly dangerous areas.’

‘And if we don’t?’ asks Belle.

‘You’ll either get eaten by a monster or be enslaved to the Sídhe while believing yourself to be a princess.’

‘And if we want to visit Prince Eleron for the Epico Draco Missio?’ Yuliaka asks the question and I am glad. I appreciate how she always focuses on our quest.

‘Oh, I see. Well, you’ll want to read these first.’ The potion maker slides back a curtain revealing tall shelves filled with old books. There are hundreds of them. ‘And these.’ Is there a hint of a smile on his face as he pushes open a door behind the counter. My limited view of the room beyond shows it to be full of books. Hundreds more books.

‘Only one book have I read before today, the story of a rogue called Jay.’

After raising those thick eyebrows high, Damien Firestone resumes his tall seat at his worktable, picks up a monocle that he places over his left eye and using a pair of tweezers plucks what seem to be seeds out of a small box. These he places in a glass flask. Without moving his eyes from his task, he says, ‘Prince Eleron has an agreement with the realm of Shadow. His palace is, subject to the usual caveats, fairly safe for humans. As it happens, I could usefully go there. So how about this agreement: you guard me while I forage and I will take you to Prince Eleron’s palace by way of payment.’

‘That sounds reasonable,’ says Yuliaka cautiously. ‘So long as you don’t intend to be more than a few days foraging.’

Finished with his task, Damien Firestone removes his monocle and looks at the elementalist. ‘Spoken with the caution one must always use with the Sídhe. I will be no more than three days, hopefully two. Not that I am a Sídhe. Speaking of which, you’ll need to bring enough food with you for a week.’

‘I’m not sure we have that much,’ says Lisandra.

‘Well, purchase some. You must not eat their food or drink their wine.’

Lisandra pulls an unhappy face. ‘We only have six copper coins.’

‘Were you robbed?’

‘By the captain of The Dream of Thorns, who took every silver we have to bring us to Hybrassil.’ The bitterness in our sorceress’s voice seems to amuse the potion maker.

‘Do you have a mule?’

‘A horse called Pericles,’ answers Belle.

‘Named after the Arkine general of the last cycle? Or the philosopher of the early days of this one?’

Everyone looks to me. Why did I call him Pericles? A brave, black stallion; the first of the Cantreth horses willing to come to me. Perhaps somewhere I had heard of an Arkine hero of that name, though I cannot recall when.

‘Pericles is both brave and wise, the name suits him in either guise.’

‘Interesting. And tell me, why do you speak in rhymes?’

‘Without rhyme my thoughts fly away, no matter the words I wish to say.’

‘Bring Pericles here in the morning and don’t burden him too much. I will provide a sack of grain and a sack of dried peas for your consumption while we are in the Otherworld.’

‘Thank you,’ says Lisandra above a murmur of thanks from the rest of us.

‘I’ll keep you alive in the Otherworld. Do the same for me.’

***

During the night, I wake to an alert that my Knowledge (Shadow) has risen to 2. I open my eyes to stars whose constellations and stories are known to me by their lore from this realm now. Again, I can almost hear the voice of Master Cathaldus speaking to me about Shadow. His imaginary sermon is disturbing, for I now know that the people here worship a god they never name for fear of being cursed, a cruel and vindictive god, whose servants, lamassu, can be named and summoned, though they never are because they bring with them terrible plagues.

My imaginary tuition by Master Cathaldus has also taught me the basics of Shadow society. The Queen of Shadow has a complicated court system with layer after layer of hierarchy, mostly centred on how much access you had to her palace, the Tower of Tears. The queen is a Level 9 sorceress and has a renowned Library, allowing her to research a wide range of arcane symbols. While their army is weak, the citizens of Shadow consider themselves safe from attack thanks to the power of their magic.

What my new knowledge does not inform me about is the Otherworld. Yet it is clear I need to understand the dangers that everyone believes we will face even to travel to the court of the Sídhe where the challenge will take place. Checking my Knowledge options, I see that I can select Knowledge (Otherworld). Before today, I had never even noticed it among the dozens of Knowledge skills. Much as it pains me to spend a precious skill point, I believe I should make this my afk levelling skill. With a sigh that I hope doesn’t disturb Belle, who is lying beside me, I go ahead and select it.

Immediately, I understand something important about the journey ahead of me. Everything in the Otherworld is alive. Even the rocks and the wind. It is a place that feels magical to visitors but to the denizens, especially the Sídhe, magic is simply conversation. If you know the character of the wind that is blowing and its history and especially its alliances, then you might be able to persuade it respond to a request. And this is true of every little pebble or vast mountain.

How fascinating.

I fall back to sleep, not sure if I am dreaming or learning as I try to find the right words to cause a large, black boulder to roll aside and let me enter the cave beyond.

I am unable to sleep beyond dawn, because the raucous seabirds start the day with a screeching that fills the still air. What a disputatious and troublesome community they are, especially the herring gulls. Soon everyone is up and dressed for our journey to come. Our early departure suits the sailors from Greyland, for they are anxious to be away from Hybrassil as soon as the tide turns. And I am anxious to be away too, made so by the sombre beat of a heavy drum from a ship that must have been at anchor outside the port, waiting for daylight. For coming between the arms of two sturdy breakwaters is a bireme flying a white owl against a purple background: the flag of the Arkine Empire.

As I walk up the cobbled main street that rises steeply from the harbour and away from that ship of a hostile realm, I am struck once again by the sorry condition of the poor, many of whom have slept in shop doorways under thin blankets whose colour has long faded into a miserable grey. Even the alert that I have obtained another skill up in Knowledge (Otherworld) does not lift my spirits.

Ready for us outside his shop, Damien Firestone holds the reins of a mule which has four large baskets strapped to it, two on each side of a saddle. There is a similarity between the potion maker and his mule, in that Damien Firestone has a leather hauberk with many pockets both front and back, containing small glass vials. Assuming these are potions, he has brought about twenty.

Against the shop lean two sacks of coarse fibre, towards which Damien Firestone gestures.

‘That’s for your food. Now pay attention as I don’t want to repeat myself. When we are in the Otherworld, do as I ask, even if it seems to make no sense to you. Never eat any food from there. Nor drink their wine. If you do, you’ll crave only their food and wine for the rest of your days. No matter how alluring a Sídhe might be, do not fall for one, or you will be heartsick for the rest of your days. Do not accept any gifts from anyone in the Otherworld, or you will be indebted for the rest of your days. There are plenty of people in this city who failed to observe these rules and now live as though soulless. Clear?’

Everyone responds positively, although Aarax says, ‘You make me anxious.’

‘Good.’

Once we have the sacks secured across Pericles’s saddle, we set off through the city, walking northwards along a street in which shops gradually become less common than houses. Again, the lack of interest in the eyes of the poor as we pass them is disturbing and I ask Damien Firestone why there is such despondency in the people of Hybrassil.

‘They have been to the Otherworld, succumbed to the Sídhe, and have lost all interest in their former lives.’

This explanation is also a warning. I do not want to lose my passion for life. Nor do I want to see any of my friends in this broken state.

Passing through a tall gate in the even taller pale walls, we turn west along a cart track for several hours, the sun rising until it is almost overhead. Then comes a climb along a single-file dirt path up a steep rocky hill to its grassy crown on which is a strange stone monument. Two giant, rough, but near-rectangular stones lie on their sides like fallen dominos, with a huge triangular stone on top of them, making a dark interior. For a moment I think the potion maker means to lead us inside, despite the fact that his mule would be too tall, and that this is a portal, but instead he stops and takes several sticks and some ivy from his baskets.

‘Wear a crown of ivy, each of you, and carry a switch of birch in your right hand.’

Damien Firestone demonstrates, tying the ivy around his forehead.

‘Is it all right to drop the switch if I need to draw a weapon?’ asks Lady Horsta.

‘Yes, just pick it up again after. Being honest with you, they only deter the weaker spirits.’

When everyone is ready, he leads us anticlockwise around the mossy stone structure. Once, twice, and before the third circle is complete we are in the Otherworld

Although the landscape appears identical, there are fewer clouds in the sky here and the sun is much warmer, despite being a pale blue disc. My breath draws in air that fills me with energy and courage. The hairs on my arms have all risen and a shiver runs down my back. In the way that I now feel enveloped by the world around me, the feeling of entering the Otherworld is somewhat like entering a warm sea, except that there is no resistance to my movement.

I’m dizzy too and stand still, as do my friends. Alert for danger, I sniff the air. What is that alarming feline sharpness that accompanies the fragrances of heather, roses, and fern? A tiger perhaps? I’ve never scented a tiger, what makes me think of one now? A furtive and ominous motion in the dappled forest to the west perhaps?

I notice there is something strange about the blue-tinged shadows around me. Everywhere, they are in motion. Even the shadows of the big stones. Even my own shadow: it is very strange that mine seems to be dancing with that of a horned man, though there is no such being in view.

‘Ready?’ asks Damien Firestone, who is clearly more accustomed to this transition than we are.

‘Ready,’ says Yuliaka.

We walk downhill to a stream near the edge of the wood. Not far from us a trail leads to an old wooden bridge so ruinous that I am not sure Pericles can cross it safely. Brambles have grown thick across the path on either side. Mould has crept up the foundation poles.

Before we reach the bridge, Damien Firestone kneels down to whisper to a large, moss-covered rock.

‘By the friendship that your father, Cadair Idris, bears me. Wilt thou aid me?’

— I will. I hear the answer in my mind, the rock speaks in a ponderous and slow voice.

‘What danger lurks down yonder path?’

— None for me. For you, a Liaeth spider.

‘Thank you.’

‘Bridge or stepping stones?’ asks the potion maker, looking at Lady Horsta.

‘Bridge?’

‘No. Quite apart from the danger that some troll or flesh-eating spirit might have made the bridge its home, the bridge itself is hostile to travellers. It was conjured into existence from the nearby sycamores – never a helpful tree at the best of times – and because it has remained neglected for decades it has become bitter. That bridge is sunk in such a dark humour that it means harm to any who come within its domain.’

‘Why can’t we just walk through the water? It’s shallow enough,’ asks Gerard.

‘The horse and the mule can. The stream is a naiad and touching her means that she is free to touch you back. Something I don’t recommend.’

Thanks to my newly acquired knowledge of the Otherworld, I can sense that the bridge is indeed scowling. I can also sense, too, the playful naiad who is peeking up at us from her stream bed with every intention of teasing us as we cross. A teasing that might well inadvertently lead to a drowning.

Damien Firestone understands this also, for he asks us to each gather a leaf. There are plenty, strewn on the grass from the woods ahead, and I choose a large, yellow maple leaf.

‘On the count of three, throw your leaf into the stream and whichever passes that white stone first is the winner.’

We play. And we play again. And we play the game once more.

‘I know we aren’t supposed to question you…’ begins Gerard, but a shake of Damien Firestone’s head silences him.

I can see that the naiad is enjoying our game and before the next round, I say to the potion maker, loud enough for her to hear. ‘Let us bet on who will be first past the finishing place; six copper pieces to the swiftest leaf in the race.’

‘Accepted,’ he replies with a long, calculating stare at me.

As I lean over the stream, I show my orange leaf to the naiad and I wink at her, pleased when a gurgling laugh is her response.

When game starts and we all throw our leaves into the stream, everyone is astonished.

‘How are you doing that?’ asks Lisandra.

My orange leaf is swirling downstream faster than the water flows, whereas theirs are stuck, pushed aside and back to the low bank.

‘Cross! Cross now!’ urges Damien Firestone and leads by example, running over dry stones that must have been deliberately placed, his mule trotting after him, unharmed as it kicks through the water.

While my friends hastily cross also, I smile at the naiad and blow her a kiss. Another bubblesome flow of water expresses her giggle and then a plume of water rises in an attempt to kiss my lips. A fatal kiss. Having no desire to tumble into her watery arms, I leap back. Laughing and bowing low to her, I say, ‘Another time, for a kiss of mine.’

The naiad lets me cross the stones unmolested and pretends to be heartbroken as I leave her.

Gathered at the point where a friendly path (one that is eager to serve) enters the wood, Damien Firestone says to me. ‘You don’t look like you had a Sídhe parent. You’re too small.’

‘My parents I never knew; it is possible that I do.’

‘No. It’s something else. You’ve studied the Otherworld, haven’t you? You’ve actually bothered to prepare yourself for this challenge. I’m impressed.’

‘I have learned a little of what to do, when dealing with spirits and Sídhe too.’

‘Well, that could be useful. But don’t take any risks.’

‘Just one more thing, if I may? Six copper pieces to me should you pay.’

‘Wasn’t that just a ruse?’

‘A ruse indeed and yet in this place, there might be consequences for losing the race.’

‘Very wise, young man, very wise. We don’t know who is listening.’ And loudly, after finding the coins he adds, ‘I pay you the winnings of your bet.’

Poor Pericles. What he finds alarming, I find intriguing. There is a sense of the uncanny about this city. It seems as though someone with a secret message for me that will make my fortune has been waiting here for me for a year and a day. But just before I arrived, this fateful person decided to wait no longer, turned the corner and walked out of sight forever. I am on the cusp of realising my dreams, yet not quite able to obtain them.

Elusive are the streets of Hybrassil. Prophecy is everywhere: in the patterns of spilled grains as the wind swirls them around the cobbles; in the path chosen by a yellow-eyed cat; in the sighs of the waves; and, above all, in the flight of birds. Large herring seagulls, compact shearwaters, and delicate oystercatchers, whether in the air, floating on the sea, or walking on the shore seem portentous. Their movements conform to such deep and subtle patterns of fate that if I could only understand them a little better I could see the future as clearly as I can see the bright towers of the city. It is all very tantalising.

‘I’m with Pericles,’ says Gerard, ‘this place gives me the creeps.’

‘I can’t quite…’ Uncharacteristically, Lady Horsta’s words fail her and she shakes her head as though to remove spider webs that she has walked through.

‘Now what?’ asks Lisandra. Standing beside the pile of our bags and blankets, she holds a pouch in her hand. ‘We have just six copper coins. That won’t get us a place to stay.’

‘We must hire ourselves out for work,’ proposes Yuliaka. ‘At least until we are ready to take the dragon tooth challenge.’

‘Or I find a place for us to board in return for dancing?’ Belle is looking past the food stalls along the quays to where the main road goes uphill towards the heart of city.

Lady Horsta takes a deep breath. ‘Both might be possible. But look, there is a ship from Greyland. Let’s go talk to them and get their advice.’

Despite Hybrassil having an elaborate network of tall breakwaters with plenty of berths, there are only two ships in the harbour that are not from Shadow, both wide merchant ships. One displays a flag with a white circle of entwined braid on a green background: Miya’s flag, the goddess of Greyland, which I had seen at their embassy in Dūr-Abihâr. The other flies an orange flag with a black smith’s hammer: Grimlar.

While Gerard and Aarax take Pericles off the quays to wait for us near a pump that provides fresh water, the rest of us find the walkway that leads to the Greyland ship. Disappointingly, the captain is absent but when the sailors learn that Lady Horsta is a paladin who seeks their help, they rouse out a woman called Alice, who after a delay of several minutes appears on deck: long, brown hair tied back in a ponytail; the plain, well-worn clothes of a sailor, not an officer.

‘Greetings in the name of the fallen god Daspartar. I am Lady Horsta, a paladin from Trolland and a stranger to Shadow. We need advice about this city.’

Alice looks at us from the rail of the ship, more than a little suspicious.

Gerard bows low. ‘We bring greetings from the high priestess of what was the embassy of Miya in Dūr-Abihâr, before the inferni burned it.’

‘Well, not greetings,’ says Lady Horsta quickly, ‘but we were her guests while in Dūr-Abihâr.’

Near the gangway is a bucket with some pale sticks and – as I can hear as Alice rummages – metal discs.

‘Take a branch of the rowan tree in your right hand,’ she offers a stick to Lady Horsta, ‘and take a cold, iron disc in your left.’

Our paladin does as she is told.

‘Now tell me again who you are.’

‘I am Lady Horsta, a paladin of Trolland.’

Visibly relaxing, Alice takes back the stick and iron disc and drops them in the bucket. ‘I did believe you, but it’s best to be sure. The Sídhe have no difficulty impersonating even our loved ones to lure us into the Otherworld. How can I help?’

‘We are here to take the dragon tooth challenge,’ says Belle. ‘We don’t have any money, though. So we need to find work and a place to stay.’

‘I see.’ Alice leans on the ship’s rail, slightly above the level of my eyes. ‘Well, it’s not adventurers’ work but if you don’t mind shifting heavy barrels I need to move the old stores to the font and stow the new tightly by the stern. In return, I’m sure the captain won’t mind you sleeping on deck, being a paladin and a paladin’s friends and all. For one night at least. We’ll be sailing on the morning tide though.’

‘Thank you,’ says Lady Horsta, ‘that’s very generous but after that? What do you advise?’

‘I suggest your two wizards and the young rogue hurry on up to the main square while it is still busy. There’s several guilds have their buildings there, including a merchants’ guild who often need to hire guards.’

‘What about dancing and music,’ says Belle, ‘my Dance skill is four. Can I perform at an inn or a noble’s house?’

With a shake of her head reinforced by the sway of her ponytail Alice says, ‘That’s not sufficient for Shadow. Here they have seen the Sídhe dance and heard Sídhe music. Nothing we do compares to that.’

‘Have you seen the Sídhe dance? Are their skills really that high?’ wonders Belle.

‘Not I. I never leave the ship. Not in this port. And it’s not so much their skill but magic that affects the viewer. The enchantment kind.’

Lady Horsta walks up the gangway and offers her hand. ‘We’ll be glad to help you restow your cargo in return for a place to sleep.’

‘Water and stores mostly, not cargo, but I’m glad to hear it.’

As they shake hands, Belle calls up, ‘I was hoping to go into town with Crow.’

‘Is that fair still if she does?’ asks Lady Horsta of Alice. ‘You’ll have me, Gerard, and Aarax here. Good hard workers.’

‘Still fair.’

Delighted, Belle takes my arm. ‘Come on then. Let’s explore.’

As we leave the quays and set foot on the cobbled road that goes uphill towards palaces with tall, thin towers, Lisandra’s face changes between a range of expressions, all of which are pained, as though she had a stone in her shoe and was wincing with every step.

‘Why the furrowed brow? What troubles you now?’ I ask.

‘The prices. Look, two copper for an onion. Just one onion! And over there, he wants a silver for a knife that wouldn’t get you four coppers in Nekis.’

To show that I have heard and understood, I mirror Lisandra’s expression of dismay but really I am not so aggrieved. We have no money in any case, so what matters is our wits and the opportunities to find a means to live in this city. Alice seemed to think that guards were in demand and that is encouraging.

As we walk up the main street, I realise that I am becoming uneasy and I soon understand why. Every city I’ve been to has a clear difference between the wealthy and the poor, and in every other city I have seen, especially my own, the poor are watchful. Opportunist. Smart. Dangerous. Here though, they seem to be simply destitute and soulless. No cunning do I see in the eyes of a woman in rags who sits with her back against a doorway. No appraisal of us; no attempt to beg, let alone steal. Barefoot have I been in Nekis, for want of the coin for some shoes. Barefoot, like two children who are standing on the cobbles, staring at their dirty feet. Or the man hauling a handcart partly filled with horse manure, head down. I may have been barefoot but I was never so despondent that I failed to observe the world around me. I was never uninterested in the arrival of strangers.

At least there are no soldiers driving the poor away from the shops and the wealthy citizens. From the confidence of the walk of the men in fine waistcoats and women in embroidered dresses, there is no fear of robbery or assault here. Perhaps there are districts where the poor are more lively. My knowledge of Shadow tells me nothing on this point.

As for the shops, they are impressive, large-windowed affairs with elaborately painted signs hanging outside and golden letters spelling out words that invite us to pause, such as Geoffrey’s Magical Emporium.

‘Are those really mana potions?’ exclaims Lisandra, pausing to look. ‘There’s so many.’

Beyond the window is a set of shelves holding dozens of small vials. There is a whole row of bottles that contain a light blue liquid and a folded over piece of card in the middle of them has, ‘mana potions’ written on it.

‘We have to ask their price,’ says Yuliaka. And turning to Belle and I she adds, ‘can you imagine how much more powerful Lisandra and I would be if we could instantly replenish our mana?’

‘Mana I use for my magical skills too; let’s go inside and their prices view.’

Beyond a heavy door, the shop is even more alluring, despite the fact that my Trapsense flares up with multiple warnings. There are more potions, Healing, of course, but also exotic ones like the mind reading potion I stole from the Arkine army. There are magical daggers, laid out on cloth of navy velvet. There are music instruments, the handwritten cards beside them indicating impressive powers: Flute of Rat Charming; Chime of Unlocking, Lyre of Persuasion; Drums of Bravery. There are items of clothing: Gloves of Mending; Waistcoat of Useful Items; Cap of Stealth… My eyes return to the cap. Oh, how I would wear it so jauntily. I’m almost dizzy with the thought that if these goods really were as described, there might be more magic in this one shop than all of Nekis. How many more magical items are there in this city?

Every item here, however, is far, far too expensive for me to even daydream about owning. A potion of Mana Restoration is 50 gold pieces. I’ve never seen more than five gold coins together and only saw that many when I looked inside Lisandra’s bag shortly after we left Nekis.

I am not the only one who does not wish to torture myself with the nearby presence of magic items I cannot afford. Grim-faced, Lisandra is already leaving and the others close behind her. I pause though, wondering what would be the consequence of my snatching the cap and running away? There is a guard here as well as a servant behind a desk. They would be unable to stop me. The traps, however, that I have sensed, are another matter and liable to be dangerous. They are mostly magical and entirely concerned with stopping and harming thieves. Moreover, although we have yet to see soldiers, I could hardly escape with the cap leaving my friends to be punished for my deed.

No, we must find work here. And perhaps then, opportunity will present itself to obtain gold for magic items.

Hurrying past many other shops that offer magic items, including an entire shop devoted to scrolls, we come to a wide square at the foot of a very large tower. Tall are the buildings around the square and ornate too, with balconies from which flower-covered vines fall, with pillars embellished with sculptures of sprites and nymphs, and with rich mosaic patterns on the tiles before their doors of polished teak.

‘Over there,’ Yuliaka leads us to a three-storey edifice with innumerable dark windows that reminds me of a whited sepulchre. Imposing carriage archways attach to the building on either side. On the wall to the left of immense double doors is a golden plaque: Merchants Guild of Hybrassil.

Since one of the doors is slightly ajar, I enter to see a hallway and a pale, wide staircase.

‘Hello? My name is Crow.’

There is no answer, so with a shrug to Belle, who is right behind me, I skip up the stairs and enter the first door I come to on the landing above.

A woman with white hair and violet eyes is seated behind a desk. She gives me a long, cool look. ‘It is customary to knock in civilised realms. So I take it you are from Ferrok?’

‘Hello,’ catching her breath, Belle joins me. Further back, I can hear Lisandra plodding up the stairs. ‘We’re actually a troop of adventurers from Trolland and we are here to hire out our services.’

‘I see. Mercenaries. You must have arrived on The Dream of Thorns?’

Belle folds her arms. ‘We prefer the term adventurers.’

‘Levels and classes?’

While Belle provides a truthful answer, Lisandra, looking a little flushed, and Yuliaka, as indifferent as ever, join us before the desk.

‘Have you any experience of the Otherworld?’

Belle continues to speak for us. ‘We have not.’

A disapproving look.

‘There are opportunities for troops like yours on expeditions to the Otherworld, but knowledge and experience are everything there. None of our established members will hire you. Newcomers are more likely to bring about disaster than protect a merchant in the Otherworld.’

The woman lets disappointment fill the room and inhales it with satisfaction, before continuing, ‘The dwarves want two guards for their ships, paying a silver a night. And there’s an associate guild member, a potion maker, who wants to gather ingredients in the Otherworld. He might be willing to pay for your full troop and since he will not be going far, you might survive and garner valuable experience.’

‘All right,’ says Belle. ‘Where can we find him?’

‘Damien Firestone. His apothecary is in Dandelion Court, which you will find by turning left as you leave here and taking the first street to your left and walking for about four hundred metres.’

And that’s the limit of the woman’s attention as far as we are concerned. Looking down at her desk, she seems to notice something she is unhappy with about a quill, which she holds up to study closely.

‘Bye then,’ says Belle.

Of course the woman doesn’t answer.

With my own omelette finished, I find my mouth still salivating from the scent of baking arising from the galley nearby and I very much hope that before long a cake will be produced.

‘I would like to see Nekis,’ says Captain Íte, after Lisandra has told her a little about our journey. ‘Is it true that you become undead when you die? Do the undead walk the streets alongside the living? Isn’t the smell of decay unbearable?’

We answer her questions – only some become undead and none while Lord Scrithax is so weak; not the streets, usually, but in the fields and quarries; the smell of zombies is indeed unpleasant, another reason why they usually work outside the city – and then Belle takes the opportunity to ask one of our questions.

‘Tell me, captain, why is it I sometimes feel weather that I can’t see? Like today, when I closed my eyes I was sure we were sailing through rain. It covered my face. Yet when I opened my eyes again, I saw blue skies.’

‘Very well, I will tell you. Albeit that coming to Shadow so ill-prepared in your quest as to not know the answer to this means you are certain to fail.’ Captain Íte is so matter-of-fact in tone that her point strikes me as very valid. We know nothing about Shadow and that is dangerous. Without understanding there can be no strategy, no planning. Precious though the skill point is, I decide to unlock Knowledge (Shadow) and seeing as Appraise Foe is a respectable 7, even though I haven’t reached my planned 10, I swap my afk levelling skill in order to learn more about Shadow.

I have three skill points remaining, two of which I intend to use on Spiderclimbing and Transformation (Lizard Person) when the situation calls for them, or when my other urgent priorities have been met.

‘As you know, there are other worlds beyond that of the Twenty-Five Kingdoms.’ Captain Íte leans back in her chair, pushing her plate away with its uneaten omelette. ‘Being from Nekis you’ll be familiar with the plane of demons, for example.’

‘Demons and undead are very different,’ mutters Gerard.

Ignoring that remark, the captain continues, ‘The Otherworld is a plane of uncaring, heartless beauty which mortals desire to visit but from which they rarely return. And if they do, they are changed so that this world not longer no longer provides sufficient pleasure to make life worthwhile. No matter what the recipe, food here is bland in comparison to just one grape from the other realm; music here is dull and repetitive compared to just one note of a lyre in that other realm. And I must not speak of love, other than to say that whoever falls in love with a Sídhe can no longer love a mortal with feelings stronger than those one might have for a pet animal.

‘Yes,’ Captain Íte leans forward, eyes blazing, ‘The Otherworld of the Sídhe. A dangerous yet glorious realm that haunts whoever has been there. Our realm overlaps with theirs. When we sail the world sea, we also sail in the Otherworld. We build our ships to take advantage of their winds if ours are less favourable. That rain you felt was rain falling in the Otherworld.’

With Master Cathaldus’s voice in my thoughts, my new knowledge of Shadow confirms what the captain is saying, albeit less passionately. Shadow interfaces with a magical realm home to the Sídhe, a race of tall, elven sorcerers, whose every child knows how to speak to rocks, trees, rivers, and even mountains, and command them. This proximity between Shadow and the Otherworld is both a blessing and a curse, for while it leads to the possibility of obtaining powerful magic items and a more rapid increase in level for the human sorcerers of Shadow, the Sídhe think nothing of gathering humans for work or entertainment. Many an adventurer has been lost there.

‘There is an account that my master once read to me, that tells me something of the Sídhe,’ I say and while the captain looks at me curiously, in stumbling words I inform my companions of a giant stone monument that appeared in the north of the Arkine Empire about ten years ago. This was a cave fronted by a marble lion with an open mouth so wide that you could enter it without having to bow your head. Although many townspeople of nearby Cordapon climbed the hill to visit the sight, none dared enter the cave through the lion’s mouth, until a voice came from within, purporting to be their goddess Asa, saying that those who entered and spent the night in the cave would be healed.

A blind woman braved the lion and emerged the next day, crying at the beauty of the dawn. A rush followed: the lame, the diseased, the tooth-sore and even just the curious. For a month, all were healed and none remembered anything of their stay in the cave but the sweetness of pure sleep. After a month of miracles, however, everything changed. Now, whoever went into the cave did not return. In a short time, the residents of Cordapon learned to shun the hillside and they gave fair warning to pilgrims. To no avail. Word of the healing cave had travelled far and men and women from as distant places as Rockguard and Peyan made the journey in hope of relief from their ailments.

Only after a hundred or more people had disappeared into the lion’s maw did the emperor act. On the advice of his augurs, the Arkine emperor had iron bars inserted across the lion’s mouth, then built a brick wall to seal in the lion and the cave. Into the mortar was mixed the juice of rowan berries. That cave remains sealed thus to this day.

What happened to the disappeared? Recently, when the Shadow Queen made a treaty with the Sídhe prince Eleron, those people were released to her. All that they could recall was having hauled heavy black stones to make a mighty castle and it seemed to them that less than a day had passed since entering the cave.

When I finish the story, my friends look impressed and I am already pleased with my expenditure of a skill point for some information about Shadow.

The captain, however, shrugs. ‘There are many such examples.’

‘What can you tell us about the dragon tooth quest?’ asks Lady Horsta.

‘I pity you. For you must travel to the palace of Prince Eleron and satisfy his challenge, about which I know nothing.’

Aarax looks sharply at the captain. ‘We have to go to the Otherworld? That doesn’t sound fair.’

Before our host can answer, we are interrupted by the arrival of a sailor with silver tray on which there are small plates and a dozen slices of a sugary bread covered in cinnamon. A delicious scent fills the cabin.

After placing the sweet bread on the table, the sailor picks up the dinner plates and stacks them on his tray, I reach out and before it can be taken away pick up the captain’s mostly uneaten meal, causing the sailor to look at me shocked.

‘No need to waste this food; forgive my manners if this seems crude.’

Ignoring disapproving looks from Gerard and Lady Horsta, I enjoy the leftovers and listen to the captain explain that the Shadow challenge for the Epico quest is indeed unfair. Even powerful sorcerers from Shadow struggle to travel safely through the Otherworld, where every rock has a spirit, some of them deeply malevolent.

Seeing that we are intent on attempting our quest despite her warnings, the captain relents from her grim portrayal of the difficulties ahead of us and says we will need to hire a guide and that will not be cheap.

‘You took all our money for this passage,’ Lisandra points out.

At this remark, Captain Íte smiles for the first time, seemingly pleased to have drawn a tone of annoyance from our sorceress.

‘Can one summon elementals when in Otherworld?’ asks Yuliaka.

‘One can. Whether one should though, is another matter.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘In the Otherworld, elementals have other loyalties than to the summoner. Centuries old pacts between the Sídhe and the spirits of air, earth, fire and water mean that you will have no certainty that your summoned elemental will obey you.’

‘Captain on deck!’ comes a voice from above.

‘That will be Hybrassil.’ Our host stands. ‘Excuse me. Help yourself to the sweetbread. I must guide us into the port.’

‘We will accompany you, if we may,’ says Lady Horsta. ‘I have heard it is a remarkable city to view from the sea.’

‘You can view it from the prow. Please stand to port.’

Two islands of calm exist in a room of creaking chairs, busy limbs, figures ducking under the lintel of a low door. These islands are called Crow and Aarax. When we are left alone, we have no need to talk, a shared look is communication enough and we divide up the sweetbread, four each. Crunchy is the caramelised sugar on the surface of the bread; soft and delicious is the cinnamon-covered interior. Two do I devour before opening a pouch for... No, they are too inviting while warm. Three are gone already. Then, the last in hand, I suggest we join our companions on deck.

The mumble that comes from Aarax, accompanied by a rubbing motion across his mouth sounds affirmative so I leave the cabin. Long before I reach the prow, the fourth has gone the same way as the others.

Is there suspicion in the eyes of Belle as I tardily join her at the rail?

Looking past her at the white city that has come into view after the last headland I say, ‘How beautiful those high-built walls; how elegant those towers so tall.’

It helps turn her attention from my sugared lips that Hybrassil really is an extraordinary city. My body is responding to the view by swaying to the waves in a fashion that allows my head to remain steady, my gaze focused, I am breathing more deeply and am fully aware that I am witness beauty.

As though a pale sun emerging from the waves, the white city seems to conform to a plan whereby it fits inside of an imaginary semi-circle. Tall, impossibly slender towers in the centre of the city reach the highest point. Less tall buildings fall away to either side, of diminishing size, until the eye finds the pale, crenelated walls that define the boundary of Hybrassil. The roofs of the towers, at least the tall ones clustered in the centre, are pointed, steeply curved, and with a variety of cream-coloured flags streaming from them. If this city were a person, she would be a princess in a white ballgown decorated with pearls.

Perhaps the ominous remarks of the captain are influencing me, because instead of my heart soaring with delight at the delicate beauty of the architecture, I find the approaching city sinister. Still, it is a city and there is a rogue on The Dream of Thorns who is perfectly at home in city streets.

Of course the seagull is scornful and quick to show what the more powerful beak can do, threatening crow with shrieks and a flurry of wings. Unconcerned, crow skips aside, job done. For his sister has the string of fish gut.

‘What are you grinning at?’ asks Belle.

‘I would rather a crow than a seagull be, if you were to give the choice to me.’

‘Well of course. Crows are smart. Seagulls are just big bullies.’

My look towards Belle is no doubt full of affection. She has a perfect grasp of the nature of these birds.

We are beside the landward end of one of two long piers that stretch towards a breakwater where some expert builder has fashioned a long, protective wall to join the natural defence of a grey, rocky headland. Near to shore the fishing fleet of Rillou occupies the berths of the piers and inadvertently feed a vast colony of seagulls as they gut their catch and smoke the fish dry in one of several warehouses nearby. Four columns of dark smoke rise into a sky above me that would otherwise be blue and even a lively sea breeze cannot disperse the somewhat unpleasant scents of fish blood and smoke.

It is the large ships at the ends of the piers that interest me most. One of Northway’s great warships is present: high platforms fore and aft for bodies of archers to gather on in naval battles; one large, central mast from which a narrow crimson pennant with gold chevrons streams away ; two smaller masts, the aft one having a sail on a slanted beam, that presumably can swing about to assist the rudder in turning the ship. Also here are four deep-sea merchant ships, much wider than the warship and with two or three masts that look stubby in comparison to the fighting ship. Two of these ships are from the dwarven port of Hammerfist: there is a regular exchange of iron-ore from dwarven mines for fish and grain from Northway. One is from the Arkine Empire: a two-master that also has a row of small holes near the deck for banks of oars. The fourth merchant is from Shadow and on this ship rests our hopes of a relatively swift journey to that realm.

Aboard that ship are Lady Horsta and Lisandra, negotiating for our passage. Whereas every other ship in the port has been designed for a particular purpose (war or trade), the ship from Shadow seems to be have designed merely to impress the viewer. Three tall masts look as though they are trees that have grown from the deck of the ships, because their beams are not at right angles to the mast, instead they rise like branches. And this forest imagery is reinforced by the canvass sails, which rather than having the square edges of every other sail I have seen have sinuous curves, making each sail look like an enormous leaf. They even have the veins of leaves painted in yellow on the brown cloth.

At the prow, also, looks seem have taken priority over functionality. For as well as a soaring dragon’s head, there are a pair of wings protruding from either side of the ship where the curve of the prow meets the deck. This impractical design means only two-thirds of the ship can properly be tied up against the bollards of the pier, the front third has to stick out. At the balls that Belle has taken me to, I have not been impressed by those who have arrived in such stiff finery that they cannot enjoy dancing. This ship has that kind of quality: of wanting to impress the viewer, rather than perform well.

While I am studying the ship from Shadow, I see Lisandra come into view, then Lady Horsta, then a woman in a red blouse and dark trousers. At the board which slopes down from the side of the ship to the pier, the woman shakes hands with my friends. Which must surely mean an agreement has been reached?

I make this observation to Belle.

‘I hope so. Nothing against Rillou, but I feel every day matters and I hate waiting.’

When Lisandra sees us waiting for her, she comes over with an unreadable expression whose ambivalence becomes clearer when she says, ‘We have passage but it cost every coin we have. I just couldn’t barter down their captain.’

‘She was very stubborn,’ adds Lady Horsta, coming up behind the sorceress. ‘Nevertheless, we are leaving tomorrow, on the afternoon turn of the tide.’

‘I don’t suppose you can earn some coin tonight from your music and dancing?’ muses Lisandra, nodding immediately when Belle says no, it is too short notice.

‘I could find a place where they gamble with cards; for me to win is not too hard.’

With a chuckle, Lisandra reminds me that the last time I did that, I started a civil war.

‘We have just enough silver for our passage,’ says Lady Hosta firmly, ‘we can’t risk you losing any and falling short tomorrow.’

With that agreed, we leave, walking along the quayside to the road that turns into town. On my way, I stealthily help myself to a couple of fresh fish from a container so large they will not be missed. Since we have no coin to spare, we are best obtaining our own dinner tonight. While the others talk about the arrangements for the voyage – we have two cabins between the seven of us – I once more look over my skills.

The night before we arrived at the Northway capital, my Evade reached 10, which was the goal I’d set myself. Perhaps it would prove to be too low, but it seemed to me that if the wizard Denigizch, who was Level 6, was throwing Fireballs that inflicted 30 damage, I ought now to be safe from even a Level 8 or 9 caster’s area of effect spells. And that was allowing for failure on my evasion check.

My next priority for afk levelling had, as ever, been difficult to decide. In the end I’d chosen Appraise Foe, which was currently at 6. That skill had proven crucial in the dracarl fight, alerting me to the breath weapon attack. And I also believe that if I ever encounter Bazule again, I will want the advantage that knowledge of his level and abilities gives me. I am happy with this choice and will stick to it until I reach 10, even though so many other skills were calling out for improvement: all my combat skills, of course, needed to be higher; I wasn’t content that the very useful Listen was only at 2 (what could I hear if it were capped at 25?); Spot Hidden was 9 if I put on the Lenses of Perception but since I used it daily, I could definitely benefit from pushing it even higher; less urgent but still important were Pick Lock (4), Pick Pockets (1), and Set Traps (4). And even the incredible figure of 20 for Stealth could usefully be raised to the cap, to help with situations where I faced severe penalties to attempting to move without being noticed.

Powerful as I had become compared to the Level One rogue who had left Nekis five months ago, I knew I had to become a lot more powerful still.

***

The Dream of Thorns is the name of our ship and she is most peculiar. It is late afternoon, and I am standing by the rail to the port side of the dragon prow, near where the wing protrudes. Despite the sunshine, I feel cold because of the wind at my back, which is gusty. What’s strange though is that a mist of raindrops moves over my face, soft raindrops. When I look over the side, I see a small amount of spray as waves lift the stern and hurry past us, lowering the ship again with a plunge that does send up a modest plume of seawater. Not enough to reach me though.

Then there is the crew. To manage a complex ship like this, day and night, they have two shifts of fifteen people. Humans. And yet not quite. There is an astonishing variation of eye colour among these sailors, with purple, violet, teal, and turquoise more common than brown. Their hair colours, too, which Spot Hidden tells me are the result of dye, are more varied than I’ve encountered before now: all the shades of green, blue, purple as well as metallic colours like silver and bronze. As for their manners, these sailors could be princes and I could be slave. If that were the case, it would explain their rudeness towards me. I’ve learned to hop out of the path of crew members, who will otherwise barge into me as they move across the deck. They never answer a greeting, nor respond to a friendly look with anything but contempt.

Only once did I receive any acknowledgement of my presence from the crew, which was late in the evening of our second night at sea. I was tuning my barbat and playing it from a sheltered niche behind the dragon prow. From there, I could see the whole deck beneath the large leaf-patterned sails. The sun had already descended behind the great Snowpeak mountain range on my right, leaving the sky a heart-soothing indigo colour (making me wish, not for the first time, that I could fly into the beauty of the world and, even better, be a member of a murmuration). After playing several dances – a gavotte, a saltarello, and a waltz – I turned my attention to a composition of my own that I had been developing. A ballad to accompany the legend of Lord Scrithax and the demon Argax. In a dreamy state, I was strumming foreboding chords and trying to find the words for the demon’s prophecy.

The first kingdom will be one of light.

And desert will spread like a blight.

The second kingdom will see all realms beaten.

The flesh of every human eaten.

An angel with a fiery sword in each hand.

Brings slavery to the third in every land.

Yours is the fourth, a kingdom of dread.

One where the living must honour the dead.

When I looked up, I was surprised to see every sailor was stationary and watching me with intense interest. Pleased, I started on Crow’s Song. And that too, commanded their full attention; such vivid eyes, all turned to mine. But when I finished that piece and began a polka, whatever spell I cast was broken and without even a glance my way, the sailors hurried about their tasks.

I am musing on this incident when Belle approaches, careful to keep one hand always on a rope or rail, since the sway of the ship is often strong. I describe to her the unexpected reaction of the crew to my music.

‘The sailors are hard to understand, aren’t they?’ Belle has to lean in close to talk to me over the sound of the ship pushing through the waves and I enjoy holding by the waist to steady her. ‘Is it that they have an interest in original music? They wouldn’t have heard your songs before.’

‘It certainly could be that they responded to the new. But I have had another thought too. It’s a mystery how those lyrics came to be; I felt as though magic was being channelled through me.’

‘Oh, you think they were responding to that? The touch of the gods that all art needs?’

I shrug. ‘I’m only guessing at what caused them to stare, otherwise their behaviour has been quite unfair.’

‘That’s true. They always give me the impression that wherever I stand, I’m in the way. And in fact, that I shouldn’t be on the ship at all.’

‘There! Did you feel the rain? That happened to me earlier and now I feel it again.’

‘That was sea spray, surely?’ Belle’s long, black hair streams in the wind, some of it touching my cheek like a gentle caress. ‘Oh, I see what you mean. That’s different. It came from above.’ She runs a fingertip across a moist eyelash and licks it. ‘Nor is it salt water.’

‘It makes me uneasy to be this far out at sea, in a ship that is a mystery.’

‘Well, I came to tell you, the captain has invited us to dinner in her cabin. I’ll ask her about the music and the rain.’

‘We’ve seen that before,’ says Belle, coming to a stop. ‘When we met the Arkine army.’

‘It’s a large group of people on the move. Another army?’ wonders Aarax.

‘This time let’s not wait and see; we should not risk captivity.’

When the others catch up, everyone agrees we will abandon the road and take cover beyond a rocky rise about half a kilometre away. Shape-changing into an elf, far from being the slowest of the party, Lisandra is the quickest, nimbly skipping over rocks. It is Pericles who slows us up, as the ground is uncertain. Still, we are safely out of sight by the time a dozen riders in chainmail armour canter along the road, hooves loud, sending ravens and magpies hopping away to either side of them.

‘Northway,’ says Yuliaka.

After another hour the tramping of infantry can be heard. That steady tread of hundreds of boots landing on hard ground at almost the same time is unmistakable. When they come into view, I count over a two hundred footsoldiers, archers using a longbow, their banners at the fore show the golden chevron on crimson of Northway. Behind them are more cavalry, at least forty knights with full chainmail hauberks, lances and shields. After them come another two-hundred or so footsoldiers, carrying axes and with shields on their backs.

‘Northway must be making a strike for Dūr-Abihâr,’ says Lady Horsta. ‘And if that’s the case, we should warn them about the pit trap.’

‘What’s your thinking?’ asks Lisandra.

‘They might lose some brave knights.’

‘No, I mean, why do you want Northway to succeed in eliminating the Underworld and removing Asārte from the game?’

Lady Horsta looks surprised at the question. ‘Well, the inferni tried to kill us and cheat Crow.’

‘Go on.’

‘Also, since the inferni are allied with the Arkine Empire, any blow to them is a blow against my enemies. My entire being yearns to see the Arkine Empire humbled. And even if the Apili lose control of the Underworld now Queen Rasārte is dead, the new inferni ruler will probably be even worse. The alliance of the Ferrok orcs and the realms of Peyan and Kazatk is a growing threat. Add the Underworld to them and the entire north will be soon theirs. Don’t you think so Yuliaka?’

The elementalist considers this before answering. ‘That might be an exaggeration but I would like to see Northway knock the inferni out of the game. That would allow Zatu a more secure eastern flank.’

‘What do you think Crow?’ asks Lisandra.

‘Leave them to battle and continue our quest; avoid the soldiers and risk of arrest.’

For the first time in a long time, Lady Horsta and I disagree. She is shaking her head, light hair swaying as though to emphasise her seriousness. ‘It’s not a large army but they might succeed. After all, when the inferni look to their queen to give commands, they will find she’s gone and Dūr-Abihâr will be in a state of confusion. King Richard’s general won’t harm us. If anything, they will reward us for the news Queen Rasārte is dead.’

‘I actually don’t want Northway to rule the Underworld,’ says Belle, ‘for a selfish reason. The inferni have made it nearly impossible to get their dragon’s tooth, Crow and Yuliaka have it. Under Northway, the quest might get easier, allowing others to get through this challenge who wouldn’t be able to otherwise.’

‘That’s not as important,’ replies Yuliaka promptly.

The paladin frowns. ‘Why don’t I talk to them on my own?’

‘If we go, we go as a band. In a crisis I want to be close at hand.’

‘Well then, shall we?’

I can see Lady Horsta’s point of view. And I would rather Northway succeeded in this dramatic move than fail. All the same, I am deeply uneasy even as I say, ‘All right, so; let’s go.’

I can’t do a lot to change my appearance but my new cloak allows me to conceal my swords and with a length of gnarled wood as an improvised staff and my Disguise of 10, I attempt to present myself as a mage rather than a rogue. If the parlay goes amiss, this deception might be used to advantage. Also, I’m aware that without a disguise, some of these troops might recognise me from the battle in the Rillou arena and want to kill or imprison me, since I have the dragon tooth of Northway.

We are spotted as soon as we start to walk downslope towards the road. Although the army continues to tramp in step northwards along the road to the Underworld, there are ripples of motion within that large body of soldiers which resolve into a dozen knights riding to intercept us. They draw up in a line ahead of us and we stop walking.

‘Who are you and what do you want?’

‘I am Lady Horsta of Trolland and these are my companions. We have just come from Dūr-Abihâr and have important information for your general.’

‘What information?’

‘I’d like to speak to your general.’

‘Just you. Take your horse and ride with us.’

‘All of us.’

‘We are not halting the army. Be on your way.’

The officer turns his horse.

‘Your general will really want to hear what we have to say. It will help you a lot.’

‘Then tell me.’

‘I’ll tell you this much, a pit trap has been set on the road just before it descends into the Underworld. You need to warn your scouts.’

These words matter to the knights. There’s something less aggressive, less stern in their expressions and two or three look to their officer instead of staring at us.

‘All right. Wait here.’ And away the rider goes.

‘Have you got a joke for these fine knights Aarax?’ asks Gerard, looking over at the line of soldiers in front of us.

While Yuliaka and Lady Horsta turn to him, incredulous, Belle laughs, causing me to grin at the reminder of when we were in a similar situation, standing before a line of cavalry of the Arkine army. Catching my eye, Lisandra has merriment in hers too.

‘Why did the knight refuse to take the invisible sword?’ asks Aarax.

‘Oh,’ Gerard rubs his beard, ‘oh, I must know this.’ But after a moment he shakes his head. ‘No, why did the knight refuse the invisible sword?’

‘He couldn’t see the point.’

Immediately, Lisandra chortles, putting the back of her hand to her face as she bends, laughing. This sets Belle off and I too feel tremors of laughter in my body. Not so much because of the joke but because of the bewildered expressions on the soldiers in front of us.

‘Oh stop,’ says Lisandra, now covering her eyes where tears of laughter had been visible.

‘Do we really have to do this every time?’ Laughing hard now, Belle struggles to get her words out, a hand on her knee.

Pleased with the effect of his joke, Aarax has a wide smile and Gerard too seems delighted to have started this outburst of laughter.

‘Is everyone from Nekis so light minded?’ wonders Yuliaka aloud. ‘I had always imagined you to be a sombre people.’

Gradually, our laughter ceases and I feel the energy in my body subside, although it is still present as three riders come from the army: one holding a crimson banner; another – surprisingly – is an inferni with the blue dragon emblem of the Zeri; the third rider is wearing a full hauberk of chainmail, coif up over his head. Despite the severity of expression in all the faces of all the Northway soldiers, I am aware that laughter is not all that far away and there is a danger it could surge up again. Until, that is, I recognise the third rider from having stood next to him in the arena of Rillou: King Richard himself.

I turn, so that my face is fully in the shadow of the hood of my cloak, all laugher dissipated.

‘Who are you? And what do you want?’ asks the king.

There is always pride in her voice when Lady Horsta states her name, as she does now. ‘We have just come from Dūr-Abihâr and avoided a pit trap on the road ahead that I told your officer about. And I want to tell you something else that will help your conquest of the city.’

With a snort of derision, King Richard looks across at his inferni companion. ‘We are not here to conquer the city. I’m coming to avenge Sir Robert Fitzpendal. An Apili assassin murdered him when he was surrendering in the arena challenge. Our ally, Duke Gabbu-ana-Asārte of the Zeri, will be their next king and Queen Rasārte will be punished.’

‘Oh,’ says Lady Horsta.

‘You won’t be able to punish Queen Rasārte,’ says Belle.

‘Why is that? Has she obtained more troops from somewhere?’ the king’s voice is threatening.

‘Because she’s already dead. Killed by a demon she herself had summoned.’

There is a long moment where the only sound is the flapping of the Northway banner. Then King Richard says, ‘How do you know that?’

He looks to the inferni rider, who can only shrug.

‘I was there,’ replies Yuliaka, taking a step forward. ‘I was in the room when she miscalculated the loyalties of the demon. He did not care about the realm and the game of gods and hated being forced to serve mortals. When he got the chance to escape he took it and he tore Queen Rasārte apart.’

‘I know you,’ says the king. ‘You were in the arena when Sir Robert died.’

With a bow, Yuliaka says, ‘Yes, your majesty, I fought that day. I surrendered. And I would have honoured Sir Robert’s surrender.’

‘This changes nothing,’ says the inferni. ‘We still need to capture the ziggurat and perform the kingship ritual.’

King Richard looks at Lady Horsta. ‘Why did you want to tell me this?’

‘I have one goal in life. To bring down the Arkine Empire. For they betrayed Trolland and eliminated my god from the world. The Arkines are allied to the Apili, so any blow to the Apili is welcome and the heavier that blow is the better.’

‘Good,’ says the king. ‘Well said. You may join us and kill as many Apili as you want.’

For a moment, I wonder if Lady Horsta is tempted. I have become so used to her staunch support that I have been treating her as if she were one of my comrades from Nekis. Yet she has her own goal and perhaps thinks that King Richard’s offer is more practical than the remote one of helping me get the dragon army and using it against the Arkine Empire.

Then the paladin says, ‘Thank you sire, that would be a welcome offer, but I have given my word to aid another person and that takes me in the opposite direction.’

My faith in Lady Horsta is entirely restored. I shouldn’t have doubted her.

‘Then what do you want?’

‘Nothing. Only your success in this endeavour.’

‘I see. No doubt it would offend your honour to offer you coins. I thank you for your news.’ King Richard turns his horse away and, after giving us a long, cool look, so does the inferni rider. Then the knights who were screening their king depart, leaving us alone.

‘Let’s not get in the way of marching armies again,’ says Belle.

‘I agree,’ Aarax says earnestly. ‘I’ve run out of jokes.’

Resuming our journey, I drop back to Lisandra, because the tension I felt in that encounter reminded me that I would like to know what her new level means for her choice of spells. Do we have any new options?

‘It’s not very exciting, I’m sorry to say. I get an extra First Level and Second Level spell per day. As you remember, each morning I can choose from eight arcane symbols that I’ve memorized. Eight, because that’s my Spellcasting skill. So now I can learn four from Detect Magic, Sorcerer’s Defence, Flare, Read Magic and Protection from Snakes at first; and three from See Invisible; Blade Cloud and Shapechange – Humanoid at second. I don’t have to take one of each, today, for example, I’ve learned one Blade Cloud and two Shapechange.

‘No new spells have come your way? They will have wait for another day?’

‘I would have to find or buy a new arcane symbol to study. Such as the Fireball one you got me. Back in Nekis we have researched another six spells, but I didn’t think any of them were as useful as the eight I learned.’

I make the observation that unlike new spells, new skills are immediately available when I level up. And I wonder whether perhaps in Rillou Lisandra will be able to buy new arcane symbols so as to expand her spell options. She could put a couple of her new skill points into Spellcasting so as to increase her pool.

‘Oh, I’m certainly going to do that. I’m keeping at least two skill points unspent for when I get a new spell or can learn Fireball. As for buying an arcane symbol, most realms don’t allow their sorcerers and wizards to sell them and in the ones that do, spells are very expensive.’

I nod and she shrugs.

‘When King Richard said our honour would be insulted if he offered us coins, I very nearly said, “not mine!”.’

‘When it comes to getting more arcane symbols, I’ll find a way; after all, I hope to be able to cast spells myself one day.’

‘Gerard! To me. I’m casting Curseblade,’ Lisandra is fumbling for a scroll at her waist.

‘Remember the wasp queen fight,’ orders Lady Horsta, moving forward and brandishing her katana and raising her shield. ‘I’ll tank. Take your positions.’

‘Stop! This is not the same at all. Unless we move apart, then from its acid breath we will all fall.’

‘Acid breath?’ repeats Belle.

‘Retreat Lady Horsta, let the beast chase me; until the number of times it has breathed reaches three.’

Not since I had to get the apprentices of the butchers’ guild to chase me while my friends stole their mascot (the embalmed head of Carlos Carnifex, a famous butcher and gang leader) have I run towards a dangerous enemy, shouting and waving to get their attention. I do so now and with a swivel of its raised head, the dracarl expels a cloud of steaming, roiling acid that as it rushes towards me causes the grasses and bushes around me to hiss and wither.

‘Crow!’ cries Belle.

Taking a deep breath so I won’t burn my lungs I dive and roll and pray that I too won’t be dissolved into hiss and wither.

Thank Lord Scrithax, that breath attack is not so bad. At least from the crow’s eye perspective. Had twenty-four acid damage poured over my friends most of them would be dead. For me though, with my high natural evasion check, supplemented by the Cloak of Protection and my Evade skill, this is well within the range of damage I can cope with. For one awful moment as I rolled away from the blast, the thought had flashed in my mind about how I had wasted the opportunity to gain another point of Evade, squandering it on Cooking 2. This is a lesson. Never indulge. Keep to my priorities.

Leaping up completely unharmed, I wave a sword towards my party to reassure them, then laugh in the face of the giant lizard. ‘If you want to be a dragon, you’ll have to do better than that; why your acid blast wouldn’t hurt a crow, or even a rat.’

By running towards the checkpoint I’m turning the monster away from my friends and although the lizard is scrambling forward with a clumsy surge and partial lift from the frantic efforts of its stubby wings I reckon there is just enough room for me to avoid a bite attack and keep sprinting. Listening for the rasping inhalation of the monster as it fills its lungs for another acid breath, I swerve to align myself with the inferni official.

Too late, she screams at the dracarl behind me, ‘No! Turn back. Ignore…’

As a seething wave of sound of melting grass and bushes engulfs me, I dive and tumble.

Up on my feet again, I continue running towards the soldiers, hoping to repeat the same trick. Behind me the monster is pounding in pursuit and emitting furious growls.

‘You missed again, well might you roar,’ I call over my shoulder. ‘If you want me dead you should try once more.’

Not wishing to meet the same fate as their official, the soldiers scatter, dropping spears and running for their lives. They are only level one or zero and certain to die if inside that cloud of acid steam. Leaving the soldiers to their panic, I veer back to circle towards my friends and, as I hoped, when I am close to the lizard again, hear the inhalation that precedes the monster’s breath attack.

Ouch. I mistimed my tumble. I’ve learned that even with the Cloak of Protection +2 I am not guaranteed to succeed with my evasion checks. Still, despite this one hit point sting my morale is high. Thanks to my Appraise Foe skill I know the monster cannot use its breath weapon again today and that makes all the difference.

‘Incoming! A dracarl for you to slay. Lady Horsta I’m coming your way!’

While I have been running around attracting breath weapon attacks, the others have set up with the paladin at point; Gerard is brandishing his new spear, just behind and to the side of Lady Horsta. Beyond our tanks is Aarax, close enough to heal; still further back are Lisandra and Yuliaka. Belle must be hidden and hidden well enough that I can’t spot her while sprinting and making sure my feet find secure ground.

Despite Lady Horsta banging her katana hilt loudly on her shield and shouting, the monster continues past her, chasing me. I must have built up too much aggro with my taunting and repeated escape from the Acid Blast. Somehow we need to swap so that the dracarl is more eager to attack the paladin than me. With plate mail and shield, Lady Horsta will block most of the damage from the monster’s claw attack and it will need a good result on its bite to get past her defences. Against me, though, the giant lizard will slash and chew through my leather very quickly.

Does Shadow Step break aggro? Time to find out. Under a bright, mid-morning sun, the bushes and broken ground provide sufficient well-defined shadows for me skip to away from the chasing monster with four long Shadow Steps, so that I am out of sight behind a rise. Then I conceal myself with Stealth. Mana 17.

A roar of frustration from the beast and the abrupt cessation of the clanging from Lady Horsta tells me that I have indeed shaken off the dracarl’s attention. Forcing myself to take my time, even though my fast-beating heart is urging me to enter to the battle right away, I creep back to where I can view the fight. If the dracarl sees me before Lady Horsta has firmly established aggro, it could break away and chase me again.

It’s a vicious monster, striking with claws as long as my forearm, which gleam in the sunlight. And it lunges that the paladin with a powerful set of jaws, filled with cruel teeth. To face such a monster without giving ground you would have to be the kind of person who laughs when storms rage and lightning strikes nearby, who relishes the challenge of meeting claw with parry and bite with a shield slam. My admiration for Lady Horsta, already high, soars as I glimpse her clenched teeth and concentration under a barrage of savage attacks from a roaring monster.

We have a fire elemental on our side and that is a welcome sight, although I have hardly begun to appreciate how its flaming fists are effective in scorching the reptile’s skin when the monster pivots and slashes the elemental into fading lumps of lava. Too soon, Yuliaka. Lady Horsta hasn’t yet established firm command of the monster’s attention. I hope Belle learns from this and does not launch her flanking attacks yet.

Poised but hesitant, Gerard looks like he knows how to handle his new spear. Those five points he put into the skill are evident in the high position of the weapon and the shuffling of his feet as he adjusts his balance ready to strike. Is he waiting, like Lisandra, Belle, and myself, for the monster to be locked onto Lady Horsta? Or is he intimidated from placing himself within strike range of those fierce claws?

A dozen heartbeats, flashes of blade, tooth, claw. And then a cool, blue light. Aarax has healed our tank. He has one more left.

I decide that I must act, even though the monster shows few signs of being wounded. In comes the crow, swooping down on its prey. Two crows! For just before I arrive I add my doppelganger to the melee, on the opposite side of the dracarl of course, so as to create my flanking bonus without having to waste time aligning with Lady Horsta.

Before I can thrust and slash at the monster, I hear a scream louder even than the screech of teeth on metal. Is it fear? Panic? It is Gerard, charging in and stabbing the lizard firmly the chest with the terrible serrations of the wasp queen spear. When he pulls the blade out, pink blood spurts from the wound and continues to flow. I know that the wasp blade currently has the queen’s constitution-draining poison but this is something else. The bleed effect must be from the Curseblade scroll that Lisandra cast.

I can add Bleed to my attacks too, although my own slashes are not penetrating the monster’s thick hide. I have to punch my swords into the muscular leg before me and while it all helps, my small extra bleed damage seems only a small contribution compared to Gerard’s deep wound.

Fast and nimble, tumbling in and away, Belle has joined the battle, her magic dagger able to tear through the hide. And now we have another fire elemental, near enough to me that I can feel the heat from the flames that engulf it. With each heavy fist that hits the dracarl, the elemental creates dark rings of singed skin and the air is soon thick with the smell of burned meat.

Another scream and another successful strike by Gerard, near the monster’s throat.

A flash from a Flare cast by Lisandra dazzles me and no doubt the lizard more, since it hits high up at its head.

Another of Aarax’s heals is necessary to compensate for the battering that Lady Horsta is taking. Before I worry that without any more heals we might yet be in trouble, the monster suddenly begins to slow. No longer ferocious in bite and claw, its head is coming down, lower and lower. Each attack is accompanied not by an angry roar but a groaning sound.

No one on our side is faltering. More flanking thrusts by me and my twin; more two-handed gutting strikes from Belle; more burning punches from the fire elemental; and another deep stab from Gerard’s +3 spear. It is over and any of us could have delivered the final blow.

This crow is surrounded by celebrations: Lady Horsta’s being simply a tired smile as she squats down and unstraps her shield; Belle has run up the back of the dead monster and is posing with her arms high; Lisandra and Yuliaka are shaking hands; Aarax is slapping an astonished-looking Gerard on the back.

‘Well done! Well done Gerard!’ says the druid repeatedly.

‘You are a remarkably effective party against a boss mob,’ observes Yuliaka.

‘We are,’ shouts Belle, ‘we are! You are one of us.’

‘We are not bad,’ Lady Horsta is wiping her Katana before re-sheathing it. ‘Our DPS is first rate. But if we want to be victorious against truly dangerous opponents, we need to strengthen two areas: healing and aggro control. Either Aarax levels up fast or we get a cleric to join us for boss fights. And I need more skill at taunting. We just can’t afford all that wasted time at the start of difficult fights while I build aggro.’

These words are wise and a cause for a moment of sobriety. Only a moment though, for my jubilation at our victory returns when Belle calls out.

‘Speaking of skills, I gained a point in Wield Dagger!’

‘And I gained a level.’ Lisandra is beaming. ‘Level Four sorceress here. One away from Fireball.’

Planting the base of his monster-slaying spear in the ground, Gerard looks around at us all with evident pride. Then closes his eyes and tips his face to the sun. ‘Isn’t it a joy to be alive.’

Lady Horsta says, ‘There was a time when I honoured the Arkines as our allies. I had no idea how treacherous they were. But I learned their true nature after the attack on Callondum. So these letters don’t surprise me. We knew not to listen to Bazule and Ghosty and to watch our backs when they were around.’

‘You should take some satisfaction in how much you’ve annoyed the emperor by escaping him. It sounds like he’s already spent bags of silver tracking you down.’ There is a wide grin on Gerard’s face, almost a sneer.

‘And your story about King Richard and the magic teleporting device from Hailand confused them,’ adds Aarax. ‘That was a clever improvisation.’

‘They’ve worked it all out now though. They know too much.’ Belle is grim. Vengeance has settled upon her. ‘They understand that Crow is a danger. That we have a chance at completing the Epico Draco Missio. We need to kill them both before they spread the word about Crow or get an opportunity to kill us.’

There’s a silence after this fierce statement. Fierce but true.

‘All that matters,’ says Lisandra, ‘is that we get away from here and on to the next challenge. This isn’t the time or place to confront Bazule and Ghosty. Not while they have Arkine soldiers and a priestess to hand. If we go down there and fight, even with the advantage of surprise, I fear we’ll lose someone. And we need every one of us to complete the quest.

‘I also believe there’s a very good chance that if we get to Rillou and take ship to Shadow, we’ll be able to shake off their unwanted attention. And if they do catch up with us outside of the Underworld, they won’t have extra troops to help them.’

‘What do you think Crow?’ asks Belle. ‘Can you sneak back down and kill them tonight with a Backstab?’

This is a ruthless thought. It is one that had also occurred to me while reading the letters, but which I had pushed aside for practical reasons. What did I think about Belle’s suggestion? While I had no hesitation at all in meeting a foe in battle, like Aramis, and doing my very best to kill them, I would find it hard to convince myself it was necessary to murder someone in their sleep. Hard but not impossible. In this particular situation, I do not believe it would be safe to attempt to kill the spies in their sleep.

‘When I looked at Bazule with Appraise Foe, his level and class I did not know. Suppose him to be a Hunter Level Seven or Eight, then I think it best not to tempt Fate. It seems to me that with the queen dead, we should hurry south instead. There is a good chance that an ambush planned a week ago no longer is there; even if it is, they will not catch us unaware.’

Pressing the sides of his long nose with both hands, an image of Concentration, Gerard says, ‘I agree with Crow. Think about it. There weren’t many places for an ambush on that road. Maybe at one of the inns? If we’re careful we can skirt around them.’

‘I agree too,’ says Lady Horsta. ‘Crow is Level Five now, with powerful combat skills. I’m Level Six. Yuliaka will be with us. She’s Level Four. Then Lisandra Level Three and you three at Level Two. To defeat us, they either need some kind of large area magical trap or a weeks-long commitment of their high-level people to wait for us. Are the Apili really going to send their top-level people away from the city at this critical time? I don’t believe it. So long as we are cautious and alert, we can get away.’

Aarax is nodding.

Belle gives a shrug. ‘All right, let’s take to the road and go around the places where there might be a lot of concealed troops.’

As we look from one to another and reach agreement that this will be our plan, the spirits depart, all except Resolution. That is the common presence to everyone’s expression.

Before we have fully prepared for departure, there is a banging on the door at the bottom of the tower.

‘Ready in there?’

‘In a few minutes,’ Lady Horsta leans over the stairwell and shouts down. Then she looks over at me. ‘You’ll be all right?’

‘I’ll meet you when you are far outside the city gates; using Stealth I’ll get ahead of you and wait.’

The simple nod I receive from Lady Horsta is much less warm than the hug that Belle gives me.

‘Take care,’ she whispers.

With Lisandra helping Gerard strap on the remaining pieces of his armour, the only other person to bid me farewell is Aarax, who offers a wave before passing out the armbands with the Apili crimson bull on a gold background. I hope these still have value in giving safe passage to my friends.

Then I am away. Crow of the streets once more, climbing over the tower wall with a rope that Belle casts loose when I am on the church roof, so I can use it again to drop down outside the compound. Not only do I have sufficient Stealth in this dim light to move unobserved from doorway to doorway, but I have used Disguise (10) to reshape my lower face to that of an inferni. With the hood up of my new cloak, no one can see that my eyes are human.

Just in case the Arkines plan some trick on my comrades, I stay close to the embassy, listening (Bazule’s voice is clear, employing a variety of sometimes contradictory arguments urging Yuliaka not to travel back to Rillou with the others) and only moving ahead when the city gates are opened and out come my friends, including the stoic Pericles, who must be as eager as any of us to return to sunlight.

At the southern gates to the city, there are inferni soldiers but I am confident they are bored rather than on edge with the intensity of feeling that comes before battle. These Apili troops are complacent, they have no intention of ambushing my friends, nor do they have knowledge of the fact that their queen is dead.

Once on the road I hurry on until far enough from the city walls that a dip in the road conceals me from any soldiers who might be studying the progress of my friends. There is a dusty track that leaves the road here and I sit at the junction, watching as two carts rumble by towards the city. In the distance a gang of human and dwarven slaves have chains around their ankles and are working a field, moving to slowly for their inferni overseer, whose whip crack occasionally rings out loudly.

Anger has return to fill me. How I would hate to be an inferni slave. If ever the opportunity comes, I will free them all. And eliminate the inferni god Asārte from the game.

‘There you are!’ Belle gives a wave and comes running the last few metres to join me. Brushing off dust from my cloak, I stand and smile.

Soon, we are walking as we tend to do, with Aarax, Belle and me ahead, chatting, laughing, telling stories. At the back are Gerard and Lisandra, with Gerard holding the lead of Pericles. And in the middle, the taciturn Lady Horsta. Only there is now a difference to our usual travel formation, with Yuliaka having joined the group. She, whether by choice or accident, has fallen in step with the paladin and it seems to me they are well suited, for Yuliaka too tends to be happy to walk in silence. And when they do converse, I listen enough to appreciate that they share an interest in the politics of the realms they have travelled through. Good. Long journeys are made easier with companions who suit your disposition.

In my case, I tend not to speak all that often, not only because of the effort needed to wrestle my thoughts into words but because Aarax, despite a shy nature before strangers, is very chatty with his friends and funny too, with his observations about the peculiarities of the people we have met during our travels. Since Belle laughs easily and likes to urge Aarax on, we are the noisiest of our group, despite my contributions being limited to nods and the rare wry comment. Still, the other Belle and Aarax look often in my direction and therefore can see my smiles and pleasure in the conversation.

Whenever the route rises, I take the opportunity to look back for some time, carefully studying the road to see if we are being followed. It seems not. While Bazule could easily have the outdoor skills that would hide him from my gaze, I don’t believe Ghosty could avoid my Spot Hidden of 7. Mostly, the road travels between open fields, where there is clearly no ambush awaiting us. Occasionally, we come to an inn at a crossroads, or the road passes among trees. Then the laughter stops and I go ahead, scouting for a possible ambush or traps.

In this cautious fashion it takes us four days, rather than the three on our arrival, to approach the wide cave exit with its blue sky in the distance. Never during that time did I see a gathering of people strong enough to be a threat to us. Nor did Bazule appear to be following us. At least, not closely. During the first day’s walk I finally get Cooking to 2, which helps that evening with our meal, and by the time we reach the border checkpoint, Evade has risen to 5. I intend to get it to 10 before I swap my afk skill, so that I can walk – saunter with a grin on my face – through a 50 damage Fireball and similar spells unharmed.

As we reach the cave mouth and inhale the joy of a world that is witness to the sun and moon and stars, we all fall silent. There is only the checkpoint ahead and we are done with the inferni. Something has changed though in the weeks since we came this way. As well as the table and chair and the dozen sneering inferni spearmen, there is a new building: a shrouded hut, about three metres high and wide, and eight metres long. The covering is just dirty cloth, but whatever is inside, it smells unpleasant, like a latrine but one for an animal.

Coming to a halt, Pericles wants to turn away from the smell and snorting, drags Gerard from the road. Both Aarax and I hurry to help and as I try to reassure our horse, I wonder how reassured I am. Not very. Something large and probably dangerous is in that hut. Keeping well away from it, we continue on until past the line of the table.

The inferni official has to get up and come over to us. Behind her the spearmen respond and follow in two rows as though the official is creating a wake as she moves.

When she is close, the official says, ‘Visitors to the Underworld, return your armbands and tell me your names and levels.’

One by one my friends step over with their armbands and truthfully state their names and levels. Aarax has a spare one and gestures to me as he hands it back. When the official looks at me I say, ‘Jay is the name you should write; as a level five rogue I fight.’ I remember that on the way in the Appraise Foe skill of the official on duty that day caught out my lie that I was Level Three.

Seemingly satisfied, the official waves towards the sunlit road. ‘Travel on and remember the hospitality afforded you by the Apili.’

Once in the sunshine, Gerard stops, closes his eyes, tips his head upwards and throws out his arms. ‘Scrithax be praised, but that’s a good feeling.’

‘Hurry on, do not linger here. There’s something in that hut I fear.’

I’m not the only one looking at the inferni soldiers. Some of them are staring at us and grinning.

‘This might be the ambush,’ says Belle.

With snorts and pawing motions, Pericles is urging us on as well but I do not allow him to move faster than a walk. Has the road been tampered with? Are there enemies ahead and to the sides?

Trapsense! Indeed, the dirt surface of the road has been disturbed. Not recently, but within the last month. A large pit was dug here and then covered over with a thin layer of mud and stone that is not quite the same texture as the rest of the road.

‘Stop! This is a pit. Go left to avoid it.’

Although this means pushing through the spikes of several gorse bushes, there is enough room for us and by Aarax and Gerard leaning back against the thorns, we can create a passage for Pericles. Once clear and on the slope of a knoll I can see the checkpoint again.

The soldiers have been busy hauling at the cloth and I can see now the structure beneath is not a hut but a cage. A cage which contains a grey reptile that looks a lot like a small dragon but with only short, stubby wings. There is no doubt that the soldiers mean for it to attack us, for they are opening the gate and out comes that serpentine head, evil yellow eyes looking into mine.

Appraise Foe tells me that we are in danger.

‘In the name of the alliance between Queen Asārte and the Arkine Emperor, strike down these fools!’ The official points to us and when she sees me looking at her she cries, ‘You came in the belief you are champions; you will leave in the belly of a dracarl!’

Kadunskil

Gamelion 12

Your imperial majesty, may your bountiful wisdom be further blessed by Asa for the health and wellbeing of the mightiest realm of the Twenty-Five Kingdoms. As I compose these lines I imagine in my thoughts, without in the least part being presumptive, how pleased you will be to receive this letter for, not to delay you with long-winded, foot-and-a-half sentences, I have found evidence that Lady Horsta was in the capital of Grimlar and I am not far behind her.

Early in the year, our enemy stayed at The Gnarly Beech, proprietor Eccel Bloodstone. I spoke to the dwarf, carefully though, for as is typical of his people (the avaricious kind you are all too familiar with) he listened to me with a cunning gleam in his eye, no doubt hoping to earn some silver coins out of my needs, once he discerned what they were. Lady Horsta herself must have been short of funds while in this city, for she was here acting as a bodyguard for a dancer, an elven female going by the name of Belle of Nekis. I have a poster with the image of this woman, should it prove important.

Whether this means Lady Horsta is still assisting someone to gather the teeth of the dragon I cannot be certain but as you will read, I believe so.

Unfortunately, I have been saddled with a fool as a companion in this mission. I understand that for parity of esteem, it was necessary for a green to join this mission but Asa has not blessed the man that the greens have forced upon me. Torquato is undoubtedly loyal to you but he is as much use as a bucket full of holes. After I had spent some time subtly getting the dwarf to come around to the subject of recent visitors, Eccel himself brought up the name Lady Horsta. As soon as he did so, ‘Ghosty’, as Torquato likes to be called, gave me such a meaningful look that he may as well have marched through the city blowing a trumpet and shouting to the entire population that we are looking for Lady Horsta. Of course the dwarf became grasping then and it cost us several silver to find out that the paladin and the elven singer and other guards departed westwards with a certain young female dwarf as her guide.

Not without additional expense, I located the guide. On trying to speak to her, I found her deeply uneasy. More than was warranted by my gentle manners or even Ghosty’s intemperate ones. Her story was that the group – I could not, even with the offer of silver, obtain a clear response to who was in the group other than Belle of Nekis and Lady Horsta, whom I had to name before she would acknowledge them – were visitors to Glitterpeak, the famous mountain of Grimlar. After she had escorted them to the campsite at the foot of the mountain, she claimed that they departed westwards for Sartas. At this point the dwarf’s voice was a mere mumble; her eyes did not leave her boots. I am certain she was lying and that in fact she brought them to the caves where the Grimlar Epico challenge takes place.

I will leave the city soon after dawn, having purchased the necessary wool-lined jackets, trousers, hats and gloves for Torquato and myself and having hired a guide to take us to what are known as the Troll Caves. From there, with Asa’s blessing, I hope to complete my mission or find evidence that a troll has completed it for me. If I do find that Lady Horsta is already dead, I will do my best to arrange matters so that to the world that it was your might and strength that brought her down. I remember your exact words. “They all must tremble at the power of the Arkine Empire: no one escapes Noumera; no one defies me.”

Please forgive any errors in the coding of this letter, I am hurrying to get it a friendly ship before I depart for Glitterpeak.

Your loyal servant, Bazule.

‘So their mission is to kill our friend. And show that the Arkines brought about her end.’

‘Those two made me uneasy from the start,’ says Aarax. ‘Keep reading Crow, there’s more. You’ll find it interesting. You’re in the next one.’

Rillou

Miya 27

Your imperial majesty, may Asa’s realm, the most worthy of the Twenty-Five Kingdoms, prosper more than any other under your wise and just rule.

In your last letter, brought to me by the same birdperson I hired for my missive to you, you censure me for having lost the tracks of Lady Horsta in the tall, swaying, near-trackless grasses of Cantreth. I abase myself before you and our goddess and hope that by this letter I have more than earned your good favour once more.

For I anticipated that Lady Horsta might arrive in Rillou in time for the quarterly games that include the Epico challenge. And she did! What’s more, with judicious bribes to the entrance guards I was able to track her to a commoner’s inn called The Dancing Pony. There I discretely observed them all. Their party is quite formidable, even if they are all lower level than me. They have a sorceress, a large woman, unmistakable now that I have seen her. Three youths: I would guess a male druid; a female rogue; and someone I will describe at greater length shortly. The female, by the way, was mistaken by the bleary-eyed dwarves of Grimlar for an elf. She is slender of limb but certainly not an elf. Her home city, however, might well be Nekis for as I shall come to, the third youth has a level of necromancy. Lastly, and really the only one the group who looks at all threatening, they have a grey-bearded warrior with them, a plate armoured class.

All in all, not a group to be confronted directly. When I attempted to commission an assassination that would leave our prepared dagger in Lady Horsta’s body as a sign of the reach of the Arkine emperor, the rogue’s guild asked for ten times the remaining silver that I have. They would not listen to my promises that you would pay them double what they were asking if they performed the deed and sent for payment afterwards, insisting on half in advance. Thus Lady Horsta remains alive for now. Please do not, though, throw aside this letter in frustration. For I learned a great deal today at the challenge in the arena.

First, you had two questions for me that I can now answer.

Was Lady Horsta working for King Richard of Northway when she created the distraction at our victory games? I say no to this. If she were, she would not be staying in a cheap inn. And she would have contacted the king by now.

Did the sorceress aided by Lady Horsta use Hailand’s Farstep Compass for her escape? Again I say no. There was no sorceress. We were deceived by illusions, as I will now explain.

I followed Lady Horsta to the arena for the Epico challenge. There, she sat among her friends and they were among the very few cheering for a person who appeared to be an archer from Cantreth. Ghosty, who has no aptitude whatsoever for this kind of work and by hindering my movement through the countryside was largely to blame for the loss of the trail in Cantreth, started to speak to me about alliances between Trolland and Cantreth. Once I had shut him up and was able to concentrate, my intuition was that the archer was not what he seemed. Not least because he only released one arrow into the fray.

The fighting itself was incredible. So violent and fast, it was over in seconds, at least for Sir Robert Fitzpendal, the local favourite. Between an inferni assassin, a Hailand samurai, and an elementalist from Zatu, they not only defeated him but killed him, quite deliberately, before he could surrender. You can’t imagine how strangely silent the crowd went. It would be as though our hippodrome were filled with those cheering for the blues and the greens won every race.

Then the combatants turned on the archer, who was surely in a hopeless situation and should surrender while still alive? To my surprise, he disappeared. Probably by drinking a potion of Invisibility, for I later discerned several empty potion bottles on the sand. When he reappeared he no longer looked like an archer from Cantreth but more like a rogue, with two short swords and black leather armour. He was behind the elementalist and forced her out of the challenge, leaving him to face the inferni assassin and the samurai.

Two on one, and the two much higher level. It should not have been a close contest. Yet it was because the apparent rogue raised the body of Sir Robert as a zombie. Beside me, Ghosty became as excited as the rest of the crowd, thinking that Sir Robert had recovered but they soon learned otherwise from the slow and particular movements that all zombies exhibit.

Then the rogue – or as I will now call him – the illusionist, created a magical image of himself. Suddenly, so long as the contestants were foolish enough to believe the illusion, there were three against two and the three won.

Now, think back to when our dragon’s tooth was taken. What if the person running away from the plinth was an illusion? That would explain everything. They had no need of a Teleport spell. Nor the Farstep Compass. They abruptly disappeared, like your soldiers reported, because the spell ended. And meanwhile, perhaps with a potion of Invisibility, the real illusionist got away having first touched the dragon tooth.

My conclusion then is that the person whom Lady Horsta is aiding is an illusionist from Nekis, who is probably only about Level Three in illusions but who has taken one level in necromancy also. This person is not particularly dangerous but with the support of Lady Horsta and the illusionist’s other companions, he has probably succeeded in the quests of Nekis, Trolland, ours, Grimlar and now Northway. Not enough to be a concern, but sufficient that I will make sure he dies also before returning to Cassikos.

Perhaps they will go north next, to the Underworld, if so, I will have ample opportunity to complete my mission to your satisfaction.

Your loyal servant, Bazule.

I offer Aarax a grin. ‘Illusionist? He guessed and missed.’

‘Not for long, unfortunately,’ and our druid nods to the final sheets in my hand.

Dūr-Abihâr

Hekatombaia 14

Asa bless your imperial majesty and give you the strength and patience to weather adversity until such time as your fortunes and those of the realm prosper once more. Though the blade of your hand reaches unto the depths of the Underworld, it has not yet fallen on the neck of Lady Horsta. This is no fault of mine as you will read. The affairs of the Underworld are in turmoil and this has made a simple task very complex.

Once I confirmed that Lady Horsta left Rillou by the north road, I hurried after her with a cart bought with the last of our silver, stocked with fruit. Not only did I profit from the sale of these goods, but the role of merchant also provided a plausible cover story for us.

Before we could catch up with Lady Horsta, her party left the road for the untamed land that stretches for hundreds of kilometres above the underground civilisation. Now we had to slow down rather than hurry, and despite the fruit losing its freshness, pretend to have difficulties with the cart until at last, their diversion over, we met Lady Horsta on the road to Dūr-Abihâr. I was close enough to touch the enemy I have been pursuing all these months and, I must say, that thought made me somewhat giddy, though I mastered myself well enough to set a trap with the suggestion that they enter the city in disguise instead of openly as challengers for the Epico. Had they done this, as you know, Queen Rasārte could have executed them all without hesitation.

Since they refused to travel with us and since our cart was slow, we lost them for a while but caught up as they were resting at a roadside in. There I had an opportunity to speak to the youth who Lady Horsta is assisting. He is a most peculiar young man, difficult to read. At first I thought him somewhat dim-witted and narrow-minded in his horizons. He speaks in rhymes, which he claims was a curse put on him by a nymph. Given that every other sentence he uttered was a lie, I assume this story is a lie too and that he rhymes for another reason. The name he gave us was Jay, I found out later he truly known as Crow, though that might be a self-chosen moniker, like the risible ‘Ghosty’, since the youth does have something of a crow’s manner, especially in his caution around me.

Ghosty wanted to poison him at the inn but that was an idiotic plan. The youth was watching us like… well like a crow. Intensely. Any attempt to use poison would have been spotted. Not that Crow was eating and drinking at our table in any case. And even had we been successful, it would have been at the cost of alerting Lady Horsta to the threat we pose to her.

They set off ahead of us and of course when they reached Dūr-Abihâr took refuge in the embassy of Miya. When we arrived at our own embassy, I showed your orders to the priestess and she immediately offered to all she could to help me. The fact that she too is a blue helped in this regard, though Ghosty was somewhat sulky when he found out about her colour.

Now that I had access to plenty of funds, I had every hope that I could arrange for the assassination of Lady Horsta, when a sudden shift in the political landscape here put everything into turmoil. A riot of the united Eriba and Zeri factions (the Eriba being hostile to us, the Zeri neutral) saw Queen Rasārte lose control of the streets, having to concentrate her forces at the central ziggurat. All foreigners were a target for these rioters and first to feel the brunt of their wrath were those at Miya’s embassy, which had no guards. Unexpectedly, Lady Horsta arrived and was housed in the same hall as Ghosty and me.

Naturally, with the assistance of the priestess, we planned to kill the paladin when enough of us could isolate her. Yet at the same time, we needed Lady Horsta’s power to help defend the embassy from the mobs of rioting inferni who were sure to come. Please, before you judge me too harshly, think of the difficulty of this situation. I had to consider that if we were to kill Lady Horsta too soon (and it will be no easy task to kill a Level 6 paladin, unless we take her with overwhelming force and by surprise) we might all die in the ruins of the embassy. My course of action was to try to both protect the embassy and somehow contrive Lady Horsta’s death.

We all worked side by side to improve the defensive features of the church and several times I talked to our enemy as we did so.

When an orc troop from Ferrok arrived to support the Eriba, I thought our preparations would prove to be hopeless. With them was a powerful wizard, Denigizch, Level 6, a wizard armed with the ability to cast Fireball. The orcs marched to destroy our embassy and I prepared to flee. First though, I attempted to complete my mission and avoid war between our great realm and that of Ferrok. I stood on one of the church towers and proposed to Denigizch that we hand over Lady Horsta and her group to the orcs in return for peace.

For a wizard, but perhaps not so surprisingly for an orc, he displayed reckless stupidly by turning me down. When coming forward to play Fireball on our barricades, Denigizch was backstabbed and killed by Crow. We were saved. Although I must say that I was almost more disturbed by the power shown by that young man than I would have been by the sight of a Fireball destroying our defences.

Crow is a puzzle and would be a serious threat had not Queen Rasārte seen to him. He is not an illusionist. He’s a rogue who somehow has found a way to drive up his Backstab skill and also, through magic items or unfamiliar progression paths, has a certain amount of necromantic and illusion-making powers. I still think that his ability to make an illusion of himself explains what we saw that day in the hippodrome, only now I think it is a magic item that allows him to do so, not his class, which is probably rogue with one level in necromancy.

Fortunately, this is moot, because the otherwise disappointing Queen Rasārte found a way to avoid violating the rules around the Epico and yet making it certain Crow will die. Three days ago he was put into the maze that is the inferni’s dragon tooth challenge, but with no armour or weapons or magic items. Most importantly, he has no water. And from what I understand of the maze, it is impossible to complete unless with the aid of the inferni. Even if a challenger manages to avoid the traps and the monsters, they run out of water in the end.

With the death of Denigizch, the orcs lost heart and we managed to drive off the attack on the embassy. Allow me to name Sergeant Andreos in this letter for recommendation to a more senior post. Without his efforts, we would not have kept the assault from breaching the church, our last line of defence. It would be immodest of me to write here of my own brave efforts and certainly you won’t get the truth about them from Ghosty. But if you ask the priestess, I believe you will be pleased that I was ready to risk my life for the cause of our realm.

I don’t think our embassy is under threat any more as apparently the inferni affiliated to the Zeri have broken their alliance with the Eriba, mistrusting the arrival of orcs. This also has eased the pressure on Queen Rasārte, who has promised us twenty inferni soldiers with a Level 3 officer in order to ambush Lady Horsta once the paladin has left the city and there can be no question of their goddess Asārte being forced out of the game for breaking the rules around the Epico.

Hopefully, therefore, this is my last letter as in a few weeks I will be able to report to you in person that my mission has been accomplished. When I do see you, I will be bringing a wonderful gift from Queen Rasārte. So grateful was she to myself, the priestess, and the Arkine soldiers for destroying the threat posed by the orcs in alliance with the Eriba that she has given me a plus two cloak of protection to deliver to you.

I hope I have conveyed how extraordinary have been the recent events here and that also you appreciate how well I have navigated the difficulties of these last few days.

Your loyal servant, Bazule.

With a shake of my head, I let out a long sigh. What an important insight.

‘Isn’t it like having a blindfold removed?’ says Aarax.

‘Information is everything in this game with our lives; now that we know Bazule’s plans, we can hope to survive.’

Quietly then, I ease the door open a fraction. Under the large dome of their church, the Arkines are busy. Their priestess and a female assistant are cleaning a pale, female statue, set in an alcove of the north wall. On the nearest bench facing the statue, Bazule and Ghosty sit next to each other, heads almost touching as they lean together, perhaps looking at something in their hands. Near the east wall is a long trestle table, on which knives are being laid out and plates laid by two soldiers. Not too far away from me, beside the west wall, Sergeant Andreos is leaning with one arm raised at the entrance to an alcove where someone is conversing with him: I recognise the voice of Yuliaka. Is the Arkine officer attracted to her? He is smiling a lot and his eyes are shining.

While the lack of lanterns and the general dim light of the Underworld is not conducive to creating well defined shadows, the gloomy church interior is favourable for Stealth and the confusion of benches that have still not been restored to their ordered rows gives me cover to enter the church and move around unobserved by crawling alongside the high-backed wooden seats. Perhaps I would not take such a risk when my Stealth was 1 or 2. At Stealth 20, however, I am less visible than even a mouse. Certainly less visible than the two bats which have swooped inside through the open doors and fliting around the room unnoticed by anyone but me, seem to have trouble finding the doors again to exit.

With the guest lodgings destroyed, the Arkines have made the many alcoves around the great hall their bedding areas. These are of interest to me and perhaps I should improve our party funds by searching for coins in the unattended ones. That seems a little unnecessarily bold though, even for this confident crow, and so I creep through the church, focused on my reason for being here: I’m looking for the scarlet cloak that Queen Rasārte gave as a gift to the Arkine Emperor. A Cloak of Protection that would be much better used serving the cause of the Kingdom of Lost Souls than the Arkines.

It seems to me that this magical cloak will be kept either by the priestess in her chambers, or by Sergeant Andreos as a strong guardian for it, or by Bazule, who I knew was from Cassikos and was perhaps the most likely person to deliver the gift to the emperor.

A bell suddenly sounds from the church door. It is a soldier, not ringing the alarm, but, as I realise almost immediately, giving three sharp tugs on the bell’s rope to signal the time for their meal has arrived. Several soldiers enter the church even before the chimes have died away and so after Sergeant Andreos and Yuliaka cross close by me, unaware of the crow lying low behind a stack of benches. As I continue my crawl, I can hear lively conversation; the sound of water being poured; the unpleasant scrape of a knife on a plate. I can inhale the scent of roasted meat, which is being brought in on wicker platters.

Standing at the top of the table, the priestess rises and everyone stills, myself included.

‘May Asa bless her worshipers. Be we far from home, we still serve her to the best of our ability. Praise Asa.’

‘Praise Asa,’ comes a ragged response. And then they are busy eating and talking.

Now I resume my stealthy progress, looking into alcoves and the rooms on the north side that are used for church services, to judge from the stores of candles, brass hand-held candelabra, and priestly robes. Only one improvised bedroom on the ground floor is of interest to me and that is the one which is obviously being used by Bazule and Ghosty. While they are occupied with their meal and the opportunity is here, I decide to search through their belongings.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing of interest. Or at least, nothing I can tell. There was a skill for this situation, Appraise Value, which I had unlocked but not taken. Should I put a point in it now? No. Even if I missed something that might make us some money, it would not be worth a skill point. Not when I had yet to get Transformation (Lizard Person) and Spiderclimbing.

Clothes. Weapons. Am I done here? A final look with my enhanced Spot Hidden tells me no! I am not done. For my roguish heart is beating faster at the signs that one of the floorboards has been loosened. Could it be that they have stored something in secret beneath it? Gently raising the wood, I see there is something. Paper. Sheets of pale-yellow paper. Many blank, some with nonsensical rows of letters. Another language? No. A code. All the paper with writing on it I take, along with a metal disc that has letters around the outside and a wheel on the inside with letters that can be turned with a key to line them up with the outside ones.

Pleased to have discovered their messages (and perhaps have discovered too the means to read the ones they have stored here), I put everything into my backpack and leave the alcove.

Next, I hurry to steps that lead to an upper level, which has three rooms in each wall and a stone balcony running around the walls connecting them.

Everyone is below me as I make sure to move silently, checking into the rooms until I find a locked door. Good. Where there is a locked door, there is something a person values. As soon as the lock yields to my picks, my glimpse inside confirms this chamber belongs to the priestess. In I go and wish I had a Detect Magic spell. Still, two locked chests near the foot of the bed are obvious places to look, especially the one that my Trapsense warns me about. Poison gas from a vial will be released if I do not disarm the trap, which is trivial once I am aware of it. And here is the cloak! Neatly folded. Just as I remembered it from when Queen Rasārte presented to the priestess. I’m pleased that the colour is a dark red. In dim light at least, to wear this will not penalise my Stealth skill.

I put the cloak around my shoulders and fasten the broach,

Very good and definitely a magic item which is better worn on my shoulders than those of an Arkine champion.

Below the cloak is a pouch of silver coins, which I take with a feeling of happiness. Lisandra was only recently talking about the need the raise more funds and perhaps I’ve just earned our passage north by ship. The pouch I’ll store inside my cuirass, where I can cushion the coins from clinking. And, finally, I help myself to three scrolls, wrapped to bone staves, which I put in the bag I have for my tools. They stick out but I can keep them tightly bound together with the cord at the top of the bag.

Delighted with my raid, I feel like a young Crow who has succeeded in obtaining food for Mistress Withen and Master Cathaldus. Back I go towards the tower held by my friends, careful to be silent despite my new load of coins and my precious new cloak on my shoulders. Back down the staircase, listening to the conversation at the table (green chariot supporters outnumber blue ones here and they are mocking the blues over recent news that the greens triumphed at the Apogee Games), back through the hall, low down behind the cover of benches, back into the eastern tower, and now I can relax.

It is jaunty Crow who answers the questions of my friends by placing my stolen items before them: coins, scrolls, cloak, messages and coding device.

‘Oh Crow, you shouldn’t have taken the risk,’ says Lisandra. Her eyes, though, are not on mine to reinforce the reprimand, but on the bag of coins, which she lifts and looks into. ‘Mind you, this will help buy our passage to Shadow.’

‘What’s this?’ Aarax is pointing to the metal wheel with two rings of letters.

‘For when you want to write a letter and want only the recipient to be able to read it.’ Lady Horsta picks up the device and I lean forward to listen. I may not be good with words, but I do understand locks, tricks, and ruses. This is one such. ‘Let’s say you want every letter A to appear in your message as an L. You turn the inner ring until the A is below the L. Then you see that a B aligns with K, C with J and so on. Now what’s your name by this code?’ The paladin looks at our young druid expectantly and I realise that Lady Horsta is a good teacher. Her explanation makes sense and in my mind I fashion JUXP for Crow.

‘L, L, U, L, B?’

‘Right. Now here’s where it becomes difficult, if not impossible. The people communicating with this tool agree that after every ten or so letters, they will move the inner ring by a certain amount. That way, we won’t spot a recurring pattern, like SEH again and again would be the world “the”.’

Reaching up and rubbing his dark curls, Aarax shakes his head. Then he picks up a piece of paper with writing on it. A block of letters. I pick up another. What were they writing about? And to who? It is such a shame that resolving the meaning of these letters is nearly impossible.

Meanwhile, Belle has opened the three scrolls and passed them to Lisandra, who shrugs.

Putting down the letter, I reach for a scroll, which the sorceress hands on to me. Not yet am I able to cast spells from scrolls, but with Read Magic Runes 1 I can at least tell them that these are cleric spells: Cure Poison, Cure Disease, and Lift Curse. Since the first two are also druid spells, Aarax can use those scrolls and although distracted by the puzzle of the coded letters, he does look up to thank me for them. The last spell I put in my backpack. There might come a day when I can use it.

Everyone insists that I also keep the magic cloak. Since it is made of fine wool, I’m pleased to own the cloak not only as a source of magical protection, but to wrap around me and feel warm. When the bugles sound in the distance to signal to the citizens of Dūr-Abihâr that it is time to rest, I feel tiredness surge up inside me like a fog rolling over the walls of Nekis. When in the maze I did not sleep well. With this soft cloak and my blanket and a section of carpet beneath me, I cannot resist the sweet darkness and have barely said to my friends to wake me for the final watch when I am dreaming.

Aware that this is a dream, I am nonetheless anxious that I am inside a castle, while my friends are in the garden outside. Between us is a large hall and in it is the giant from the arena at Rillou, intent on preventing anyone from leaving. He carries a spear and I know that my Stealth will not protect me from being impaled on the blade and lifted aloft like a wriggling fish. Frustratingly, I know that the giant is not my enemy and that if I could explain myself to him, he would let me past.

I’m not going to be able to get close enough, for Ghosty and Bazule are there beside the giant, talking. Talking. Talking. Endless tirades against the enemies of the Arkine Empire, somehow adjusted to suit the ears of a giant whose loyalty is to Northland. I’m stuck. I can’t get the giant to listen to me. Yet it would be a mistake to go further into the castle, that direction is towards the realm of death.

I’m woken by Aarax and I’m glad that leaving the dream gives me a way out after all.

‘Crow, I thought you’d want to read these.’

A blink or two does not clear the black spots from Aarax’s fingers, nor the one on his chin. Understanding comes with sight of Lisandra’s quill and ink set. Our druid has been scrawling and scratching, bent over the paper, and has therefore obtained marks on his own skin.

‘I’ve put them in order.’

I’m given a sheaf of letters.

‘Well done Aarax! You’ve untangled their letters, despite Lady Horsta saying their meaning would always be fettered.’

Looking down at his hands, Aarax speaks shyly, ‘It wasn’t too hard once I realised that they all ended with the same phrase, “Your loyal servant, Bazule.” They rotate the dial every three words. And they move it one, three, five and seven places, then one again.’

‘Well done Aarax, to solve this was very smart. On these letters then I’ll make a start.’

Punching into his own hand, Gerard says, ‘Now we can get away from this dismal city.’

Somewhat shyly, Aarax puts an arm around my shoulder and gives me a hug. ‘I’m so happy to see you.’

Even Lady Horsta is affectionate, clasping me tight.

Naturally, they all want to know what happened in the maze, but I am made to promise to save the story until Lisandra returns: she must make the most of her changed shape while she has it and purchase food for us all. I offer to keep watch on the tower with Belle, waiting to lower the rope on Lisandra’s return.

‘You know what I miss,’ Belle says, taking my hand.

‘Dancing at the necromancer’s hall? Being at your mother’s back and call?’

‘Certainly not that!’ She laughs then looks up at the dim grey light above us. ‘I miss the stars. When we were walking across the grasslands of Cantreth especially, and there were no city lights to affect the view, they filled the entire sky. I would lie at night looking at the stars, making patterns from them. Uncountable numbers of stars.’

‘As for me, I miss the sun, how it lights the world for everyone.’

‘The sun too, of course. Once we get out of the Underworld, I’m never coming back. I feel trapped here. It seemed to me that I was stuck here; forever wondering what had happened to you. In this limbo. This place between life and undeath.’

‘When in the maze I thought of you waiting here and wanted to hurry to allay your fear.’

‘Gerard said we should give you a month. Then go home. I said if that happened, they would be leaving me behind. I would rather go into the maze and look for you.’

Such powerful words make me feel a tightness in my throat and my eyes moisten. I squeeze her hand and Belle squeezes back. For a long time I sit shoulder to shoulder with Belle. A very contented crow.

‘Come on! There she is.’

We haul up a sack that Lisandra ties to the end of the rope, then Lisandra herself. Then the three of us return to the large room in the tower that my friends have made their home.

‘We’ve missed your cooking Crow,’ says Gerard and points to the fireplace where there’s a large pot. ‘Would you mind?’

I don’t mind. In fact I am eager for fresh food after days of Yuliaka’s salty, dried meat. Although Lisandra’s sack contains a lot of unrecognisable vegetables and mushrooms, we have butter, which I put into the pot and mix with a little oil to stop it from burning. Rubbing strange herbs between my fingers, I concentrate on my Cooking 1 to guess at the ones that will make the stew a tasty one and, stripping leaves from stalks, throw them into the pot. Perhaps as a gift to us all I should get one more point in my Cooking skill: it would not be a huge indulgence and would make our journey more bearable. It might even matter, should we be starving and need to recognise edible from inedible plants.

‘That smells good already!’ Gerard has come close to watch. By age but mostly by disposition, I am furthest from Gerard in the warmth of my feelings. A month is a reasonable time to wait if you don’t understand the nature of my boon. Yet I would not have left him. I’d have gone into the maze for him if necessary. Perhaps Gerard, who knows how to read a room, is here beside me because he can tell that I have been looking at him with less enthusiasm than I have the others.

I give him a knife and chopping board and, side-by-side, we prepare the stew, this shared act helping me feel Gerard’s presence like that of the comrade he is. Letting go my slight disappointment in our shadow knight, I fry the mushrooms in the butter. Giving some of the other vegetables and cubes of unidentifiable meat – more like beef than anything else – a stir in the melted butter I then pour in water, put the lid on the big pot, and stoke up the fire until the flames are reaching all around the already darkened metal.

While we are waiting on the stew to cook, I explain as best I can the nature of the maze. And how the inferni could cheat by using a secret door which led up to the demon’s room and the dragon tooth. There are several questions when I am talking about the traps and monsters of the maze. But when I reveal that Queen Rasārte is dead, killed by the demon she summoned, there is a long silence.

Which is broken by a banging from below and shouts.

‘You in there! You inside! We have someone who wants to talk to you.’

First on her feet, Lady Horsta goes down the stone steps that descend from a hole in the floor and curve around the inside of the wall of the tower. Curious, I get up also and look down to a room full of broken furniture, which has been used to block the door from being pushed inwards.

‘Who is it?’ the paladin demands.

‘Yuliaka the elementalist from Zatu. You know her. She’s back. She completed the challenge.’

‘All right, she can speak to us. Return in an hour and she can knock on the door, with no one else nearby.’

When Lady Horsta climbs the stairs, she says, ‘The scent of our dinner is making my mouth water. I want to eat before talking to anyone.’

Since our meal is now cooked, I serve it out, aromatic steam rising across my face. And soon everyone is eating the stew and I am receiving grateful compliments. My enjoyment of the scene (a reunited group of friends, a community with our shared meal) is increased when I receive a level up notice. Meditation is now 7 and once again the new skill point increases my mana pool by more than the one before. When I went from 5 to 6, I gained 7 mana. This time I get 9 more for a total pool of 29, which makes me feel swollen with magic. How cheerful I am. And perhaps because I’m filled with good humour, for my afk skill I choose Cooking. Indulgentcrow. Just for one more point. Just a day or so. Then, as I have promised myself, I will concentrate on Evade.

When our meal is finished, everyone puts on their armour and picks up their weapons. Our happy reunion is over. It is clear to me from their expressions that the enmity between my friends and the Arkine people has grown to dangerous levels. No one here trusts the Arkines. And with good reason.

‘Hello? It’s me, Yuliaka.’ There are bangs on the door.

‘Is it just you?’ asks Lady Horsta.

‘Yes.’

We work a heavy wardrobe away from its place in the barricade and move a couple of planks. Now the door can be pulled just wide enough to let one, thin, person in. Of course, I stay well out of sight when this is happening. Slipping through the gap, the elementalist starts to greet everyone, but Lady Horsta just grunts.

‘Time for that later, let’s get these back in place.’

Only after the wardrobe is returned to the space we got it from and the planks set against the door with one end grounded and heavy chests put on them do we go upstairs. There is enough stew left for Yuliaka to have some, so I step out of the shadows and offer her a bowl, which she takes gladly.

‘Thanks Crow. This smells good after all that jerky.’

My friends gather around and Belle says, ‘Crow told us how you helped him. And you shared your water. Thank you. Thank you so much.’

Other murmured thanks cause Yuliaka to shake her head. ‘Oh no. I’d still be stuck there trapped by the iron golem and unable to find the secret door if it wasn’t for Crow.’

Then she explains what the Arkines want from her, which is to persuade everyone to give up on their wait for Crow and to leave the embassy. She chuckles and her smile is met by several grins on our side.

‘They will give you back your horse, with a week’s provisions if you leave tomorrow.’

‘Excellent,’ says Lady Horsta.’

Yuliaka adds, ‘So far, it seems that no one knows Queen Rasārte is dead. I assume Crow told you?’

‘I wouldn’t want to be here when that news comes out,’ says Gerard fervently.

‘What about you?’ asks Belle. ‘Why don’t you come with us? We’re allies now. Friends too.’

‘Are we?’ Yuliaka looks at me and I nod, getting up to offer my hand.

She shakes it. ‘All right then. Allies. Even if you do believe in creating zombies from the dead, you’re not bad people. I’ve seen that with Crow. It was him, not me, who wanted to save the Jomsviking. And although that turned out to be a mistake, I admire his empathy for a stranger.’

‘We’re no better, but no worse than any realm,’ says Lisandra.

‘We’re basically good, though, right?’ Gerard looks around for agreement.

Belle shrugs. ‘I can think of plenty of terrible people in Nekis.’

When I turn my thoughts to people who would not have done well for our realm’s reputation, the high priest comes to mind. A man more concerned with his status than the survival of Nekis. Perhaps, though, I was being unfairly influenced by my recent dream in which the high priest was particularly self-interested.

‘Well, I’m sure it’s the same everywhere. I can think of plenty of evil people in Zatu. In any case, Crow has proved that you will make good allies and treat me fairly. So it makes sense to join you. These challenges are too difficult for just one person.’

After shaking hands with everyone, Yuliaka asks, ‘Which dragon tooth will do you hope to obtain next?’

‘We were intending to go north,’ says Aarax.

‘To Shadow?’ Yuliaka raises her eyebrows. ‘Well, I suppose it has to be done. The Eriba control the north road from Dūr-Abihâr though, which makes a direct march risky. And if we go south, assuming the Apili continue to allow foreigners to use their road, we would then have to turn back north and travel overland, through the wilds, with no roads. And there are a lot of high-level monsters and entire tribes of goblins and kobolds above us.’

‘What if we return to Rillou and take a ship to Hybrassil?’ Lady Horsta has been removing her armour and stacking the pieces. She looks up from this task. ‘I saw several great merchant ships from Shadow in port and one of their war triremes.’

‘That’s much the best idea. Only it will be expensive. Perhaps more than a gold for the seven of us.’

Naturally, several heads turn to Lisandra, now back to her familiar, and to my eyes, motherly, body. She shakes her head. ‘We have less than that. Not much more than half in fact.’

‘Still, I believe that’s the route we should take. Faster and safer than overland.’ Both greaves off and added to the pile of armour, Lady Horsta straightens. ‘And we can always earn more coin by responding to quests or by Belle and Crow performing in taverns.’

A delightful idea, to play my Barbat once more. The paladin has my vote. In fact, from the nods and smiles, it’s clear she has everyone’s agreement. No one relishes the wilds above the Underworld.

Yuliaka stands. ‘In that case, I’ll go and tell the Arkines how, after a long and difficult effort, against stubborn resistance, I persuaded you all that Crow had no hope and that you should take the offer. You’ll leave by the south road in the morning. I shall accompany you for my own safety. Crow you’ll have to stay hidden and follow us from a distance.’

I nod and then say, ‘Before you leave us, there’s just one more thing; do you prefer to have the magic lenses we got, or keep the Feather Fall ring?’

‘Oh, yes. Sorry, I meant to discuss that. Really, because you found them both, you should keep both of them.’

‘When we got those, I was allied with you; we should share them, one each between two.’

‘That’s generous Crow, thank you. Well, please decide, which do you want more?’

Having had several days to think about this, I know that I would prefer the lenses. True, Feather Fall might save my life. But enhanced vision while in dark places was an essential complement to my high Stealth strategy. Often did I have need to travel silently through the dark and were my vision to falter then lighting a torch would immediately give my location away. The Lenses of Perception would help me be a better sneak thief. And the +2 to Spot Hidden was a welcome bonus on top of having low light vision.

I explain this to Yuliaka and she responds that my choice makes sense. Once more we shake hands and the look I receive is a deeply respectful one. Then she goes down the stone stairs to the barricade. I, on the other hand, set off to the roof, saying, ‘I’m just collecting one more item of mine; I hope to be quick but it may take some time.’

The symbol of the snake, therefore, is not a sinister one to me. And when I see it now, painted red on a black sheet, fluttering above one of the church towers in the compound of the Arkine Embassy, I am delighted. That red paint (still showing the drips) has to be the work of my friends. Does the flag mean they have taken charge of this building? Evidently not, for when we reach the gate in the compound wall, it is locked and two of the Arkine embassy guards are present on the walkway above.

‘What do you want?’ one of them leans over. He does not see me, for I have been using Stealth to walk along the shadows of the street.

‘A bath mostly,’ says Yuliaka, ‘but some fresh food and a proper bed would be good too.’

‘You’re the elementalist from Zatu? I never thought I’d see you again. No one gets out of the maze.’

‘Well, I did. Will you open the gate?’

‘I’m not sure. We have no instructions about you.’

‘What’s going on?’

‘It’s gotten… complicated since you left. Let me send for Sergeant Andreos.’

While we wait, I think about what this could mean. There is a tower with the flag of Lord Scrithax. Since I can’t imagine the Arkine priestess, or Bazule, raising our flag, that must surely be the work of my friends. While it might be an Arkine ruse to lure me to that tower, they would have no reason to suppose I have escaped the maze and every reason to assume I am dead in there. My friends then. And what is their purpose in showing that flag? To tell me where to find them. Not only that. It seems to me that the Arkines would not willingly have the flag of another realm displayed on their church. So it is likely to also be a statement that they control the tower at least (surely not the entire church?) and are at odds with the Arkines.

Perhaps I should Blink until I am on the other side of the wall. Then go find out what is happening. Yet the patient crow is usually the more successful predator and I’m curious to see what Sergeant Andreos has to say to Yuliaka. Complicated. For some reason that word makes me smile.

‘Hello Yuliaka,’ after waiting for several minutes, the grey-bearded Sergeant Andreos leans over the wall, red horsehair plume from his helmet swaying towards the elementalist.

‘Hello Sergeant.’

He pauses for a long time. ‘You wish to request protection here once more.’

‘Well, I was thinking specifically about washing, eating, and sleeping. But yes. Only for one night. I’ll leave in the morning.’

‘Did you complete the quest?’ There is a note of doubt in the Arkine soldier’s voice.

‘Oh no,’ Yuliaka laughs and her lie is so natural that I’m surprised at her ability; I now wonder have I sometimes been misled by her also. ‘But my elementals found a way out and I took it because my water was getting low. I’ll come back when I’m higher level. There’s an iron golem in there that I couldn’t get past.’

‘We would like to honour our pact with Queen Rasārte.’ The plume of his helmet has been annoying the sergeant, because at this angle it keeps getting in the way of his view. So he straightens and unstraps the helmet, looking much less foreboding when he leans back towards Yuliaka. ‘There’s been trouble here with the others. Lady Horsta and those who worship Lord Scrithax. Tell me Yuliaka, where do your loyalties lie? You know them? Do you consider them your friends?’

‘Not in the slightest! They stole the wealth of my party. They left me with barely enough food to reach Kadunskil. My loyalty is to my god, Yashem, and him alone.’

A hand rubbing his beard, Sergeant Andreos studies her and nods.

‘What about that rogue? Crow.’

‘What about him?’

‘He’s dangerous. So Queen Rasārte let him attempt the maze challenge, only without any weapons or armour. Quite fair in my opinion, but you can imagine how furious they got, the other lot. They had to knock the girl unconscious. You didn’t see him in the maze?’

‘No. And he couldn’t have gotten far without weapons. There’s a lot of monsters in there.’

‘All right. You can come in. I wouldn’t mind hearing more about the maze if you’re willing. Our own champion will be attempting it soon enough.’

‘I’d tell you all the secrets of my realm for a warm bath and decent meal.’

Laughing, Sergeant Andreos moves away and soon the gates of the compound are opening.

If I try to slip in with Yuliaka the penalties to my Stealth will be so severe that I could get caught. Better to use some mana and Blink. Frustratingly, it is not until the fourth Blink that I find myself on the other side of the wall. I have no mana left. No fighting for this Crow until I’ve rested. Unless…

I swap from Trapsense to Meditate as my afk levelling skill. I might get lucky. And in any case, I have just learned that even 20 mana isn’t enough for certain situations.

Carrying one of Yuliaka’s bags for her, Sergeant Andreos is still laughing as they walk towards the church. With Listen I can hear their conversation and perhaps she is assuming that I am doing so, for Yuliaka asks exactly the question that I want answered.

‘Why is the flag of Nekis raised over your church?’

‘When we insisted they leave, instead Lady Horsta’s group barricaded themselves in that tower.’

‘Why?’

‘They believe their champion Crow is still alive and he’ll come looking for them here.’ The Arkine soldier shakes his head, ‘I appreciate loyalty to one’s comrades. But this is unreasonable. Until you did it, no one came out of that maze. Crow didn’t even have any water. He has to be dead by now. Perhaps you can persuade them to give up.’

‘Perhaps. After that meal you’ve promised me.’

In the corner of the compound, I sit down and find that I must blink back tears. That my friends believe in me so firmly is very touching. And poor Belle, I can imagine her, furious and determined to help me if she can. I hope with Aarax’s healing she has recovered quickly from her beating. With clenched jaw, I think again at how I pushed Queen Rasārte to her death in the demon’s pentacle and I am glad to have avenged Belle as well as myself. Our victory over the queens enemies here in this compound should have been rewarded with gratitude, not attempted murder and thuggery.

Barricaded. What an interesting word. It tells me not to try to enter the tower through the door on the ground floor. There will be heavy materials positioned behind the door to make that impossible. How then do my friends get food and water? Surely over the roof and either down another tower when it is not guarded or down a rope directly into the street. That’s how I shall rejoin them. How happy they will be to see me. Smiling I move to the church, using Stealth to ensure that the four soldiers I can see on the walls of the compound can’t see me.

To attempt to ascend this wall would be daunting, a failure on my Climb check and I might suffer a fatal fall. Were I wearing the magic ring of Feather Fall that I found in the stomach of the dead insect, I would try. Unfortunately, Yuliaka carries that still. As perhaps is fair, since I am wearing the Lenses of Perception. If we were to share the magic items of the maze one each, then I would rather have the lenses… except in situations like this.

Still, I should be able to get to the roof via one of the other towers, because the main door to the church is ajar. Quietly, carefully, I come to the opening and conscious that even a brief obstruction of the light as I slip inside might draw attention to me, I lie down and peer inside with my head almost touching the ground. A dozen people are present, all gathered at the far side, not far from the altar, listening to Yuliaka. I go in and with Stealth move immediately to my right and the arched entrance to the nearest tower. Up I go, silently, listening, and with a growing sense that no one else is in the tower.

Out on to the roof, crouching low to the wall, my growing excitement at the thought of rejoining my friends is quelled when I reach a door into the tower which flies the flag of Nekis from its highest level, some twenty metres above me. This door too is obstructed. I can pick the lock easily enough but I can’t move it. Whatever is blocking the door from opening is very solid. Since there are no guards on patrol nearby, I bang on the door with the hilt of my sword and keep banging until one of the patrolling guards comes too close.

Above me is an overhang of grey stone, as the top level is wider than the rest of the tower. Much as I’d be a very happy crow to be in that nest, I simply cannot climb in there. Very well, I can wait a while. Perhaps Yuliaka will get to speak to my friends. If they are smart and she can communicate privately they can agree to leave Dūr-Abihâr, knowing I am nearby and will follow them out.

After more than an hour, I hear the bugles from the ziggurat announce it is late and time to sleep. Whatever else is happening at the temple, the queen’s staff are keeping the regular schedule of those brass timekeepers.

Another hour.

And then a sound. Someone is moving up on top of the tower. A rope comes down close to me and I find that I am smiling. Which of my friends will it be? Perhaps Belle, as the most capable of climbing up and down a rope. To my surprise and dismay, it’s a female inferni who spins around as she – rather clumsily – works her way down the rope. When she lands and before she has gathered herself, I step up to her, swords raised.

‘Why are you leaving this tower? If you harmed anyone inside, this is your final hour.’

‘Lord Scrithax bless us! Crow! You’re alive. You’re here! Did you get the tooth?’

The voice is unmistakable, it is the warm, caring voice of Lisandra and I feel both immensely happy and immensely foolish as she hugs me tight. Of course, she uses her Shapechange spell to pose as an inferni and buy what she needs. I never thought that holding an inferni in my arms could feel so sweet.

And joy of joy, here comes Belle down the rope too, looking as lithe and healthy as she ever did.

‘Crow!’

Inferni Lisandra breaks away and stands back.

What do those shining, dark brown eyes say? They are likely to be a mirror of my own: happiness; relief; love. Belle and I take a step towards each other and as we clasp each other close, I close my eyes and breathe not air but the radiant energy of the sun.

‘Queen Rasārte,’ whispers Ekimnu and turns to face the door. Swiftly, silently, I conceal myself with Stealth against the wall close to where the inferni queen will arrive. Will the demon betray me to her? That he wishes to leave here might count in my favour.

Back swings the door. Not even a breath is released by the crow.

‘What’s this? What are you doing here?’ I cannot see Queen Rasārte but I can hear the anger that must also be visible on her face.

Yuliaka is looking past me. ‘Isn’t this where I’m supposed to be, as a challenger for the Epico Draco Missio? Isn’t this the final room of your challenge? And having mastered it, I demand the right to leave unharmed.’

If my thoughts had the power to force her to move, the inferni queen would be walking into the room so that I could use Backstab, but she remains just inside the frame of the door, very close to me. From her comes a scent similar to that used by the Arkine nobility: a mix of pine and honey.

‘You have no witnesses.’

‘Not this fine gentleman?’

With a laugh, Queen Rasārte says, ‘This is the demon Ekimnu and he is loyal to Asārte.’

The demon may be loyal to his god, but not to this queen. After all, he has not revealed my hiding place.

Taking a few steps backwards, Yuliaka replies, ‘My people will perform divinations to discover what happened to me. Why imperil Asārte’s place at the table? Just let me leave.’

‘What do you think Ekimnu? What would Asārte wish me to do?’

‘Who can know the mind of a god? Personally,’ and he gives a shrug, ‘I would let her go. She’s only Level Four and there is no possibility of her completing the dragon quest.’

‘Her blood can replenish your binding.’

‘Well, exactly. Another reason to let her leave. It is so tediously dull here.’

‘You are performing essential work allowing me to communicate with our god.’

‘Work,’ repeats the demon with evident distaste. ‘I am not a duke of hell so that I can work for a mortal.’

At last the queen has taken a fatal step into the room. With Backstab at 10, I could almost certainly kill her, even with these poor daggers. And I would have no qualms in doing so, except that I have a question I’d like her to answer first.

‘There’s another issue that you haven’t given due weight to Ekimnu,’ says Queen Rasārte.

‘Which is?’

‘If I let her go, she will tell other people the secret of the maze. And we will no longer ha…’

One of my daggers is at the queen’s throat, the other pressed so firmly into her ribcage that it has drawn blood through her velvet tunic.

‘Don’t move even the slightest bit. I have a guaranteed critical hit.’

‘Who are you?’

‘The rogue you stripped of all my gear, never thinking I could make it here.’

‘You? That’s not possible.’

On the far side of the room, Yuliaka is chanting and waving her hands.

‘Where is my magic and my swords. Tell me the room and if there are wards.’

When she does not respond, I press more firmly with the daggers, admiring her bravery when she only says, ‘Ekimnu, help me.’

The demon folds his arms and offers the queen a cold smile. ‘I recall you saying that you would never let me out of this pentacle.’

‘I didn’t envisage…’

Bright yellow and orange lights cause me to blink rapidly. A fire elemental has appeared in the room near Yuliaka and I can feel the heat of it.

‘Just in case,’ the elementalist calls over to me.

‘My dear rogue, I offer you a fact that you might take into consideration. If the person who casts a summoning dies, the demon they summoned returns to hell.’

‘Was it Queen Rasārte who summoned you?’ asks Yuliaka.

‘It was.’

‘Kill her Crow,’ Yuliaka’s expression is made all the more grim by the shadows that form and disperse in the flowing light of her fire elemental.

‘Yes, kill her,’ says Ekimnu.

‘Your swords,’ the inferni queen tries to turn her head to look at me but the pressure of my knife at her neck makes her stop. ‘Swear by your god not to harm me and I will tell you where they are.’

‘By Lord Scrithax I swear I will not harm thee, I will lower my daggers and let you go free.’

‘Everything of yours is in the armoury on the third floor. Everything but the potion of Healing, which is in the hands of Duke Aššur-reš-iši.’

Dropping my daggers, I step back, put a boot against the base of her spine and shove hard, sending Queen Rasārte staggering into the high-backed chair inside the pentacle. At once, Ekimnu leaps upon her, long, sharp claws growing from his fingers, savage teeth visible in a much enlarged jaw.

‘No! You cheated me. Stop. Our god. She would…’

With blades in her body and a fierce bite in her neck, Queen Rasārte’s words are cut off. A few seconds of frenzied attacks by the demon and he drops her lifeless body to the floor. There is now as much blood inside the circle as outside.

‘Ahhh. Free at last. Before I leave, let me reward you both with Ekimnu’s Favoured. It’s a title that means demons will see you as an ally.’

Elegance, I’m surprised to learn, can be achieved even when you are covered in blood. Having resumed his human form, Ekimnu adjusts the silk cravat at his neck and then looks up at me, smiling, offering his hand. Appearing all the more sinister when the room goes dark again – Yuliaka must have dismissed her elemental – I only laugh.

After a moment of pretending to look aggrieved, the demon laughs too. Then he is gone and I feel lightheaded. I have just seen a demon kill a queen. The thought makes me aware how far I am from home.

‘I think her death might not suit us.’ Yuliaka comes over and picks up her Tarot cards from the floor. ‘Not that you had much choice. But if the Eriba come to power, that’s going to make it harder for us to leave the Underworld. And it will mean Zatu will have enemies both east and west.’

‘She was intent on killing you; it seemed the right thing to do.’

‘Oh, I’m not arguing otherwise. She was Level Six I think and had several lethal spells. And I admire how you managed to get rid of her without breaking your oath.’

Before settling against the nearest wall, facing the plinth on which the dragon’s tooth should respawn, I go to the door, then pull it closed and move the bolt across.

‘When the poets write the saga of our adventure in the maze, they’ll leave out all the waiting,’ says Yuliaka, and she also sits on the floor, back to a wall. ‘Mind if I close my eyes? I can get some mana back.’

I nod and it doesn’t take long before the rhythm of her breathing suggests that Yuliaka is asleep. What strange dreams might she have in a room like this.

Something like four hours pass, without any sound from outside, when I experience a jolt of excitement at the appearance of a dragon’s tooth above the plinth. Relief, too, that our wait is over before anyone else comes to the room.

‘Yuliaka, time to get up once more, here’s the tooth we have been waiting for.’

As she stirs, blinking her eyes, I stand and reach out for my reward for having survived the maze of Dūr-Abihâr.

Opening my inventory, I regard the eight spinning teeth with considerable satisfaction.

Eagerness to tell my friends fills my limbs with energy. I am ready to leave this room, this ziggurat, this city, this realm. If I were on my own, I would be confident I could do so.

‘I believe it best if you wait here behind the bolted door. Let me roam the ziggurat and for a safe route out explore.’

‘Go ahead Crow, and good luck.’

As I leave with Stealth in mind, I hear the bolt slide shut behind me.

The corridor I am in is a secret one, with a sliding panel at the end that is covered by a tapestry in a private chamber with four comfortable chairs and a desk.

Now treads the crow, silent in the pathways of the mighty temple. Listening. Inhaling the scents of incense and charred meat and flowers and smoke. Fingertips feeling stone, tapestry, velvet furnishings, iron locks. No one knows they are observed from the shadows. Slaves bemoan their masters in careful whispers; priests decry their superiors in bitter voices; a pair of lovers rue the secrecy necessary for their tryst; guards complain to each other about their meals; scribes scorn the ignorance of the uneducated; the chamberlain shouts at his incompetent staff; the palace manager searches for the queen, arms full of scrolls; the cook bangs his ladle hard on the counter, demanding to know who left the pan on the stove; the general and his lieutenant calculate the necessary grain stores for a march on Zatu; a silent Asārte, shaped like a giantess with a snake’s head watches over a large hall.

Satisfied I understand the layout of the ziggurat and the likely movements of the people within it, I go to the armoury on the third level and pick the lock. Inside is a long room, well organised, shelves all around the walls. I am saved some time by the fact that when I find my gear, it is all in one alcove. As I put on my black leather armour I am reminded of Crumblin and how the people there stared at me with amazement when I first wore it. With this hard protective leather I was transformed from street urchin to dangerous rogue. When it comes to the boots though, I sacrifice the coherence of my look. My black boots are worn thin. Instead, the dark brown and skilfully engraved Jomskar boots are my preference.

Fitting the necromancer’s bracer once more, I am filled with a wave of pleasure and relief. It is such a good feeling to have it on me again. My first magic item and perhaps my most useful.

Putting down the Jomskar longsword and bow, I strap on Spiderbite and Mponpon and these two magic shortswords make me feel powerful. A crow with fierce talons. Lastly, I put my arrows of Frost, Flame, and Lightning in my quiver. I am Crow in full power once more.

Back at the queen’s secret corridor, I realise I did not agree a password with Yuliaka, I drum a beat on the door that is surely too quirky to be that of an inferni.

‘Crow?’ Her voice is muffled.

‘Yes, it’s Crow. Time to go.’

While we navigate the ziggurat and avoid its staff, I have the elementalist stay close to me. And I do not attempt to bring her past the well-guarded entrance. Instead, I bring her to a balcony on the first level and lower a rope I took from the armoury. Sliding down first, I call for her to follow and when she lands she lets out a long sigh.

‘I’m so glad to be out of there.’

Now we have every right to walk the streets. There is no alarm behind us and perhaps there will not be for some time. The fact that the queen is missing is already worrying some of her staff, but will they even want to declare that she cannot be found and risk a renewed civil war?

We are making for the Arkine embassy in the hope my friends are still there. And as we get closer to it I find that I am walking faster and faster, nearly a run, so anxious am I to be reunited with them.

I resolved that whatever turned up, I would accept it and use it guide the story. I have…

Read more

‘What’s happening Crow?’

‘The lock is turned but something holds the door; I must Blink past the wall to examine it more.’

I look over my shoulder and she nods.

Although I can’t control its direction, my first Blink lands me exactly where I want, in a new section of corridor with the door between me and Yuliaka. Here the maze feels different: the air feels fresher, smelling less of decay, mould and death. Now I can see the problem. A large bolt means that no matter how hard I’d have tried, I would not have been able to open the door from Yuliaka’s side.

Drawing the bolt wide and pushing open the door, I give a bow to Yuliaka, hoping for a smile but receiving a frown.

‘I knew the inferni would cheat.’

I must have looked quizzical.

‘If this is the way to the dragon’s tooth and not just a means for their people to come and reset the maze, then they can simply let their own champions through. Everyone else though, will die of a trap, a monster, or thirst.’

‘I agree, to some degree.’ When the necromancer gave me his bracer, so I could summon a zombie for the challenge for the Kingdom of Lost Souls, he was perhaps cheating also, although not to the same extent. And while this route is nearly impossible to find and access unless the door is opened for you, it is available. There might be other classes of adventurers with magic who could find the secret door and other ways of undoing the bolt. In any case, I felt less anger at the inferni than Yuliaka seemed to hold. I was enjoying a sense of achievement and triumph over their queen.

Yet I must not be complacent. If the dragon’s tooth were near, then there might be a dangerous guardian with it. Saying this to Yuliaka, who once more waits for me to scout ahead, I set off. Two turns of the corridor bring me to stairs. Upwards, out of the maze then. And upwards again. Towards the tooth? Or just to a means for the inferni to enter and exit the maze in secret? Upwards and upwards… This inner stairwell ascends the ziggurat.

Reporting back to Yuliaka, our new method for advancing is for both of us to climb, but with me to be two flights ahead of her. Enough to detect traps and move in silence. There are no traps, there are no monsters. Up and up. Fortunately, months of travel have made this crow able to hop on stair after stair without becoming tired. Nor does Yuliaka need a break. She used to run for hours every day after all. And we are both eager to see where this leads. Surely we are in the very heart of the ziggurat?

At last, a heavy, iron-bound door comes into view at the top of the stairs. It is not locked and since I sense no traps I open it to a large, hexagonal room and a terrible sight. Blood streaks are everywhere, all over the walls and floor, even the roof. Everywhere except for a perfect circle in the middle of the floor, about five metres across, with a large pentacle drawn in black whose points just touch the edge of the bloodied area. And inside that circle is a pedestal with a slowly turning dragon’s tooth and a large, high-backed chair facing away from me towards a second door. This door is bolted from our side.

‘Whoever you are, please come closer.’ The voice from the chair is deep, sonorous and commanding.

‘I’m going to stay here; this room fills me with fear.’

‘That’s very frank of you but I’m disappointed that I have to get up.’ A sigh and then a thin man steps from behind the back of the chair. His hair has the dark curls of a youth. His face the lines of an old man. And his eyes are red and ancient, more ancient, I feel, than those of any living creature. When it comes to clothing, I have not seen an ensemble like that of the sinister man. Black trousers yes, but not shoes that shine black. Nor a black jacket that is approximately the shape of that of a cavalry officer, but much longer, reaching well below the waist. He seems to be wearing a shiny black tunic under the jacket, buttoned at the front. Around his neck is a silk scarf with black, reds, and gold, depicting Asārte with a snake’s head.

‘I’ve never known anyone come in through that door. I suppose you’ve discovered the secret of the maze and have come to claim your prize. Well, go ahead.’ The man gestures to the dragon tooth and I am indeed eager to touch it and add it to my collection. Yet this man is dangerous and I have no intention of stepping any closer to him.

‘Who are you? And what do you do?’ I ask. Behind me, Yuliaka makes a scuffing sound as she takes a step upwards. Without turning my head I hold the rogues’ guild sign for “stop” behind my back. She probably does not know Thieves Signs but the meaning of my outstretched fan of fingers must be obvious in this circumstance.

‘My name is Ekimnu. Since you both – no need to lurk at the back there, do come in – are Asārte’s enemies, I shall not provide you with any information. Unless, that is, you provide as much to me as I do to you. Let us ask alternate questions and give full and honest answers.’

So he is aware of Yuliaka? With a quick glance over my shoulder and shake of my head, I discourage her from coming any closer.

‘I agree to your game, my question is the same.’

‘I am a demon, servant of the goddess Asārte. Queen Rasārte summoned me with a Divination spell so as to communicate with the goddess. And she sustains me here – against my will, I should say, since it is so dull – with regular sacrifice.’ He stares at me with his disconcerting red eyes. ‘I hope you’ll agree that was a thorough answer without any evasion. Now yours should be the same: how did you discover the secret of the maze?’

‘Whoever watches us with the Wizard Eye spell gave this route away; they moved it through the secret door earlier today.’

‘How idiotic of them. That must have been one of the two sorcerers in this palace, both of them are fools and capable of making such a mistake. I will inform the queen; they will be punished; and no other adventurers will find the route to this room. Your turn.’

‘Can I touch that dragon’s tooth safely?’

‘No.’ He chuckles. ‘I’ll kill you and drink your blood.’

I chuckle too. ‘If I had a silver coin each time I heard that threat, I would be the wealthiest rogue yet.’

‘Hah! Hah!’ Ekimnu’s laugh fills the room like that of a giant, an uncanny volume from such a frail-seeming man, suggestive of the demon’s real power. ‘I like you rogue. And for once I am not bored here. Now, answer me this, which god do you serve?’

‘I’m glad you are not bored, Scrithax is my lord.’

‘Scrithax!’ With a tip of his head Ekimnu signals respect. ‘Such a shame that your god is so weak these days. They were lovers, did you know? Asārte and Scrithax.’

‘If that’s a question then I will reply, so long as my own turn has not been passed by.’

‘Hah, you’re a clever one. Of course that’s not one of my questions,’ his voice is jovial. I seem to have pleased the demon with my responses and my god.

‘I’ll assume that you speak the truth. How do I safely take the dragon’s tooth?’

‘There are several ways. Only one of which I’ll tell you: by surrendering your soul to me.’ His grin (fangs on show) is accompanied by a look of enquiry, as though measuring how shocked I seem.

‘Now tell me, human rogue of Scrithax, what is your greatest wish?’

What indeed? To save my god? My people? To marry Belle? None of these did I want to talk about in front of this demon. Instead I say, ‘to be able to fly; to be at home in the sky.’

Walking up to the very edge of the unbloodied circle, Ekimnu holds my gaze and whispers. ‘Offer me your soul and I will give you a means to fly.’

‘I do not wish to lose my soul to gain my soul’s desire. I will find another way to become a flyer.’

And with that, the good humour of the demon has gone. He answers coldly. ‘Our game is over. Or at least the time for words has passed. Come and fight me for the tooth. I am its guardian after all.’

‘Are you though? It’s not that easy to fool a crow.’

The demon has already told me that he is here to allow Queen Rasārte to be in communication with her god. My sense of the situation is this is a trick of some sort. Surely no adventurer alive could fight a demon one-to-one? Without taking my eyes from Ekimnu, I call over to Yuliaka and explain that I’d like her to use her Detect Magic.

‘What about you, magician? What is your heart’s desire? Powerful spells? To rule a realm? To win the game for your god Yashem and make the world burn?’

Ignoring the demon’s response to her entry, Yuliaka casts her spell, then slowly turns around, arm outstretched. ‘The circle; the dragon tooth; something there.’ She is pointing towards the wall to our left.

Since there is no trap and since Ekimnu is looking thoroughly discontented, I walk in the direction Yuliaka is pointing and abruptly another plinth with a dragon’s tooth appears.

‘Oh,’ says Yuliaka, ‘where did you go? Are you there Crow?’

I step back and reassure her with a wave. From here I cannot see the plinth. Forward, it is present. Understanding fills me. I am stepping through an illusion as though through a painting. No doubt the plinth and tooth inside the demon’s circle is an illusion too, to lure adventurers into one final trap. This I explain to Yuliaka and I invite her to touch the real dragon’s tooth.

Standing together, looking at the slowly turning tooth I feel a considerable warmth towards my companion. Despite having been put into the maze with no weapons, magic, or armour, nor my lockpicks, nor even water, I have thwarted Queen Rasārte. And I have learned some new card games too.

Seeing my smile, Yuliaka smiles too. A relatively rare event for her. ‘Shall I?’ she asks.

‘This one is yours; I’ll get mine after a respawn pause.’ There is a risk being in this room. At some point the queen of the inferni will come to talk to the demon, or bring a sacrifice for it. Do the protective laws of the Epico Draco Missio allow us to be safe here? I think not. All the same, we each need to finish this challenge and so must wait here regardless.

‘Ahhh.’ Inhaling a deep breath of satisfaction Yuliaka has touched the tooth and it has gone into her inventory. Then she settles, back to the wall, rummaging in a bag for some jerky, which she shares with me.

‘Well, Ekimnu,’ she looks over to the demon, ‘I would like to learn more about the other challenges ahead of me on this quest. What do you know about them? And what can I offer in return?’

‘Your soul.’

‘Like my friend Crow, I do not think that a good bargain. What else can I offer you?’

‘Break the circle. So I can destroy those who dared summon me and confine me. I promise I will not harm you.’

Yuliaka leans back and puts her arms behind her head. ‘No thank you.’

‘What about games of cards with the tarot?’ I suggest, ‘There must be some you do not know.’

‘Tarot?’ The demon moves to the circle’s closest point to us. ‘I will not talk about the other challenges you will face on your quest for the dragon army but if you wish to know what your future holds, I will read your fortune.’

‘All right demon, but first, I will read yours.’

‘Can you?’

‘Let us see.’

A safe distance from the edge of circle, Yuliaka shuffles her tarot deck and closes her eyes. ‘Tell me when to stop.’

‘Now.’

‘Again.’

‘Now.’

‘Again.’

‘Now.’

When Yuliaka has nine cards she looks at Ekimnu and their expressions are both solemn. I, on the other hand, am amused and glad Yuliaka is distracting the demon while we wait on the respawn.

Placing the top card face down in front of her, Yuliaka turns the next face up and puts it above and to the left of the unturned card. The knight of pentacles.

‘One of your jailers,’ she says, ‘a powerful one.’

‘Duke Bel Nuri.’ Ekimnu is looking at the image.

Yuliaka turns the next card and puts it beside the knight, above the concealed card: the king of pentacles. She raises an eyebrow. ‘Another of your jailers, even stronger.’

Ekimnu is scowling. ‘The arrogant and scheming Duke Aššur-reš-iši.’

Placing a third card in what I now think will be a top row, Yuliaka turns over the seven of pentacles. Then she looks around the room and at the floor. ‘The person who made this jail for you.’

Next, she starts a new row, putting the ten of pentacles to the left of the hidden card. ‘Another involved in your confinement, perhaps the scholar who knew best how to manage this summoning.’

‘Humbê of Bit-Zualza,’ mutters the demon, his red eyes absolutely rivetted to the cards. ‘No fool but venal.’

Pausing, moistening her lips, Yuliaka turns the next card and shakes her head in astonishment. Another pentacle. This time the seven, which she places to the right of the hidden card. ‘A guard, who would rather be elsewhere.’

Saying nothing, Ekimnu watches attentively as Yuliaka turns a card, blinks, and puts down the nine of pentacles in the left position of the bottom row. ‘She helped search you out.’

‘Uhimâ,’ says the demon. His face is pale.

Two cards left.

Yuliaka has a shake in her hands as she turns over the queen of pentacles and places it below the central card.

‘Queen Rasārte.’ Now Ekimnu’s fists are clenched and he too is shaking.

Whatever powerful currents of fate are moving invisibly through Yuliaka’s hands, I no longer feel amused. This is not a trick, my Spot Hidden tells me the elementalist is not cheating. Yet this cannot be co-incidence. All pentacles? All so relevant to the binding of the demon. And the last card, the six of pentacles!

‘He bought the slaves that were sacrificed to bring you here.’

‘Haldi-naṣir.’

Focused on nothing but the central card, Ekimnu is straining at the very edge of the circle that confines him, leaning out to see what will be revealed when that hidden card is shown.

With a decisive movement, Yuliaka turns it. The two of cups, upside down.

‘Yes!’ Loud is the triumphant shout of the demon. And to my astonishment, a tear falls from his eye to run down his cheek.

‘I’ve never seen a message this clear,’ Yuliaka stands up to look down at the nine cards. ‘You will be free. And soon.’

Also useful to me, although I don’t yet have the skills to wield them effectively, are the dead Jomsviking’s longsword and longbow. I have the scabbarded longsword buckled to my waist, the longbow and quiver over my shoulder. Best of all, though, are the Lenses of Perception that she was wearing.

When I hold the magical lenses close to my eyes and blink, they slide into place and the world around me is transformed to an environment as bright as though it were daylight and I were outdoors. Now I know how the maze appears for the inferni I can see how easy the corridors and rooms are for them to navigate.

The other gear we decide to leave. If I were to wear Perikra’s chainmail armour, I would benefit from much reduced damage from successful attacks against me, but I would suffer significant penalties on all my rogue skills, which is far too big a price to pay for the protection. And the shield is no use either. My strategy has been to focus on swiftness and two-weapon fighting with flanking, not staying in place defensively.

After leaving the dead ranger near the body of the snake, Yuliaka and I are able to make steady progress. As cautious as ever, I nevertheless can move more swiftly with these lenses lighting up the maze ahead of me.

When, after reaching the southeast corner of the maze and finding only another false dragon’s tooth (and another pit trap), Yuliaka takes a rest, I use the opportunity to study my character sheet and examine the skills I have unlocked now that I have reached Level 6.

With five skill points I have regained my versatility, my ability to improvise when needed. To suddenly become capable with the longsword or longbow if required. Although I intend to keep some skill points in reserve, I am also eager to see what new possibilities are open to me. My new Level 6 options are: Dismissing Strike; Evade; Spiderclimbing; and Transformation (Lizard Person). Happy to see that they are all very good, I take my time to consider them properly.

I can see that in certain situations this skill could make all the difference to the outcome of difficult fight. If I was forced to battle an opponent with magical speed, or a spell that reflected my own damage back onto me (I have heard of such protections) then Dismissing Strike would be essential. The rule that I needed sufficient level in the skill to match the level of the spell being stripped from my enemy was a headache. Unless I took the skill – which I was very much tempted to do – I could not level it up in advance. So putting in a skill point to Dismissing Strike in an emergency would not be likely to transform any fight. To really make a difference in battle, I’d want to strip high level buffs from my opponent. I am tempted therefore to use a valuable reserve skill point and get this skill combat ready. But I will do so at a time when I can hope to concentrate on levelling the skill for a week.

Now this is a very crow-friendly skill. I feel so positive about Evade that upon seeing it I disturb the silence of the corridor with a quiet squawk of delight. If I raise this skill sufficiently, I will be able to walk through Fireballs and similar lethal spells. Having suffered near death from being within a Fireball, I really want this skill. I do not rush to select it though.

Another very useful skill unlocked. How I’d love to escape a chase by running upside down on a roof, looking down at the astonished faces of my enemies. My Climb skill is only 2, however, so to take this and then to make it effective over a meaningful distance, would require a week or so. It too can wait.

Again, this is a skill that could be essential in certain situations, perhaps those requiring me to swim, or perhaps when I undertake the challenge of the realm of Grrysthis, which is a realm of lizard people. Did they have natural weapon attacks with their strong jaws? I haven’t met anyone from Grrysthis, but this transformation might be more effective than the goblin one if I am unarmed and have to fight. Back when I become Level 3 and took the decision to become a magicalcrow in order to obtain Blinkstep, I had no idea that I would be on a path that led to such extraordinary and versatile skills. That is because no rogue in Nekis has bothered with Meditation and no book or history that I know about has recorded such a progression path either.

My guildmates say there is an option for rogues to cast arcane spells upon reaching Level 7, but as no rogue in the Kingdom of Lost Souls was even Level 6, this was a rumour based guildmembers talking to inferni about their Level 7 rogue and perhaps too on speculation that some of the adventures of Tafurtina – a rogue children’s story character – were based on actual system rules. In the story Tafurtina and the Sultan of Zatu, the swashbuckling adventurer uses a Detect Magic to discover one of the sultan’s daughters is slipping out of the palace at night and leaving behind a simulacrum.

Level 6. Were I at home, I would be celebrated for such an achievement. All of the rogues of the city would suspend their rivalries to come to a banquet to honour me. Crow. Child of the streets of Crumblin. The highest level rogue in the Kingdom of Lost Souls. Crow whom some – many? – consider a fool, is now at Level 6. If I could let them know in a letter, even my adopted family would hardly believe it.

Preening done (I only have to remind myself of the urgency of my quest to dissipate the satisfaction my daydreams), I make my choice. I will obtain Evade now and as soon as Trapsense reaches 8 and I have a 10-metre range, I will swap to Evade as my afk skill. Evade could save my life and therefore the hopes of my people and my god. The other four skill points I save until a time of less danger allows me to bring both Dismissing Strike and Spiderclimbing up to effective levels.

During my watch, the Wizard Eye arrives and silently observes us. There is a pattern to the frequency of this. Even though it is hard to keep track of time without hearing the horns on the top of the ziggurat, my sense is that I am observed by this magic eye about once a day. Probably, there was an inferni sorcerer with this spell who was tasked with monitoring those in the maze. They would use their spell, find out what we were up to, and then relearn the spell after a sleep.

If not for having to guard Yuliaka while she gets much-needed sleep to regain her own spells, I would be tempted to discretely follow the eye. And that thought gives me an idea.

***

Another corner room. Another fake dragon tooth. Another trap (a volley of five poison darts). Having talked it over, Yuliaka agrees with me, we could map the entire maze and not find the real tooth. Delighting in cheating and betrayal, it would not surprise me if the inferni have designed this place to tricking rival adventurers while keeping their dragon tooth safe and available only for their own champions. Although I have an excellent Spot Hidden (now at 9 with the Viking’s magical lenses), the maze is too large for me to be able to scrutinise every wall, floor and ceiling for a secret panel behind which might be the dragon’s tooth we seek

When Yuliaka reckons it is time for her sleep, we put my idea into action. Usually we settle down in the middle of a long corridor. Now, though, she lies down near one of the typical maze rooms, while I stand around the corner, using my Stealth of 20 to merge with the wall as best I can. My sense of when the Wizard Eye will next come is right. Less than an hour passes and I can see the translucent sphere approaching. With the lenses I have a much more distinct awareness of the spherical distortion of the air as it travels and swivels, looking all around. I can almost sense the curiosity of the inferni sorcerer looking through the eye. Where is the other one? That rogue who we threw in here almost naked. Has he finally managed to get himself killed by one of the traps?

After a few minutes watching Yuliaka, the eye floats on past her and into the room beside me. Heart beating faster, I move silently as the eye rotates, so that by the time it is looking down the corridor I had been hiding in, I am behind it, grinning. When the eye chooses that corridor and starts to glide away, I wave to Yuliaka, who has been awake this whole time. A slight nod is all I get in reply.

Around the maze goes the eye, looking for a dead crow. Why is he not with the elementalist? Perhaps they fought? Perhaps they split up for other reason? Using Trapsense to avoid the wires and loose slabs that trigger traps I have not yet disarmed, I follow the Wizard Eye, keeping near junctions so that I can stay behind a wall should it reverse its course, which it does twice. After nearly an hour like this, with my mind keeping count of our course in groups of 7 numbers, the sphere halts for several minutes. Has it finished? No, good. Surely the sorcerer has to check on the real tooth? Just in case I found it.

Now the eye moves with purpose, no longer exploring all the dead ends. This is encouraging and even more so that we are back near the entrance to the maze. Abruptly, the turns and moves through a wall. Aha!

Repeating the route numbers as I return to Yuliaka, I feel a jaunty hope that makes me want to whistle. Why not? The notes to the Ballad of the Vampire Chef come to mind.

‘Is that you Crow?’ When I turn the corner, I see Yuliaka on her feet, hand outstretched as if ready to cast a spell.

‘Into a wall did the Wizard Eye turn. Let’s follow and see what we can learn.’

With three people sharing the water, even Yuliaka’s large skin is noticeably reduced by the time the Viking is nearly up to full hit points and prepared to fight the snake. My Trapsense has risen to 5, giving me a range of 7 metres.

‘I’ll pull the snake back to here. Have your strongest elemental waiting. And you, rogue, are you any good at hiding? If you are, stay about here.’ She walks up the corridor and taps the wall. ‘Then you’ll be behind it and we’ll both get a flanking bonus.’

‘My earth elemental has the most hit points. But it’s not good at holding aggro. As soon as you and Crow do any serious damage the snake is going to turn on you.’

‘What elemental is best for keeping aggro?’

‘Fire. But it dies fast.’

‘Hmmm. All the same. Let’s go with that. Fast and furious.’

‘Let me scout ahead and see the snake, we must be careful not to make a mistake.’

‘Good idea Crow.’

‘I’ll show you,’ says the Viking.

‘Please stay here, don’t move your ground; on my own I can make no sound.’

Our new companion doesn’t seem pleased. ‘Don’t get too close and pull it before we are ready.’

Stealth is my nature. Stealth. The near invisible rogue. Silently, I move until a room comes into view and there is indeed a giant snake coiled at its centre. No need to go any further. I can study the monster from here, leaning into my Spot Hidden as I do. Uncoiled, I estimate the snake will be about ten metres long, the thick body coming up to my hips in height. With flanking and good weapons, it is conceivable that the Viking’s plan would work. With just these daggers though? I doubt my ability to harm the snake fast enough, or even at all. The scales of the monster are thick and I might not even be able to penetrate them.

There is another consideration, though, that means we should not attempt to fight this snake: the venom that will flow down the two cruel fangs I am looking at. We have no resistance to poison, no means of curing poison. It would be foolish to come anywhere near those fangs.

I return and explain that conclusion to Yuliaka and Perikra. Looking relieved, the elementalist suggests we instead try to find a route to the northwest.

‘Elementals are immune to poison, aren’t they?’ The Viking has strung her bow. ‘Let me pull it with an arrow. Then we hit it so hard and fast, it dies before it poisons anyone.’

‘I told you; the fire elemental won’t last long. And Crow told you, he can’t be sure of harming it with my daggers. It would be different if he had his magical short swords.’

‘What then? Go northwest until stopped by some other monster? We are going to have to fight something eventually.’

‘If we bait the snake and make it rage, we can trap it in the cage.’

‘What are you thinking Crow?’ asks Yuliaka.

My idea is similar to the one that defeated the iron golem. Only in this case, dropping onto the snake the iron bars that had confined the Viking.

‘How are you going to get them to fall without being in the path of the snake?’ asks Yuliaka.

I have thought about that too, but it is easier to show them than try to explain. Diverting to collect the spear from the trap that brought down the golem, I tie two crossbows to the end of the haft with the wire. Then I pace the bolts gently on the slab that triggers the fall of the bars. Slightly raised at the haft end, I hold my foot over the spear near the blade.

‘See? When I stamp on the spear it presses down, then the iron bars fall to the ground.’

‘That might trap the snake, but it makes no sense. You’ll be in there too and we won’t be able to let you out without releasing the snake.’

‘Kill it with your arrows and Flares, the snake won’t be going anywhere.’

‘True. But what about you?’ The Viking suddenly grins. ‘ By the way, you’ve got a funny way of talking and it’s getting to me.’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll survive, you will get me out of here alive.’

‘In that case. Let’s try your plan. It’s a clever one.’

Both of us turn to Yuliaka to see what she thinks.

‘It’s your choice Crow,’ she says, ‘Perikra and I can stay well away from the snake, around the corner. You’re the one in danger.’

‘Let me check the trap will fall. We must know this works first of all.’

Having opened the reset panel and shown the Viking the levers to pull and the wheels to turn to raise the metal poles, I go back to the trap area and stamp on the spear, staying as close to the wall as I can. As I planned, the crossbow bolts at the end of the spear pressing on the trigger slab push down and the metal bars fall with a huge clanging sound that momentarily deafens me. I’m glad I performed this test because there is a slight delay from the trap being released and the bars dropping. I will have to factor this into the timing of my releasing the bars.

‘Come on then elementalist. Let’s bring that snake to its cage.’ Abruptly, the ranger walks southwards. With a shake of her head and a sigh, Yuliaka follows.

Just before turning out of sight, she turns to me, ‘Good luck Crow, I pray to Yashem for you.’

The Zatu god might not wish to help a street rogue of Lord Scrithax, but I value prayer and value even more the sentiment of concern from Yuliaka.

Leaning against the wall, I study the spear again, the shaft with its crossbow bolt weights over the trigger slab. Taking a deep breath, I am not alone in the dark for long. In the distance there are cries. The sounds of running feet. A faint reddish glow that is growing strong. And suddenly there are long dark shadows stretching towards me as Yuliaka and then Perikra come into view, the glow directly behind them. They sprint for the turn that will make them safe, with the flaming elemental gliding swiftly after them. And here is the giant snake.

Face lit up by the fire elemental the snake is pure malevolence. Mouth open; eyes – relatively small beside that vast, open gullet – radiating hunger and evil; a terrible hissing whose horror is reinforced by a flickering, blood red tongue; and, above all, those two glistening, wicked fangs. I have no time to be terrified though. With incredible swiftness, coils writhing urgently across the corridor, the snake is able to snap at the elemental as it rushes past me to the fake dragon-tooth room.

It is counter to logic to press the release now, before the snake is even in the cage, yet my intuition rather than panic says to do so, that the monster is moving so fast I cannot wait. In the awful pause between my stamping on the spear and the iron bars falling the snake is upon me and already moving past in pursuit of the elemental when perhaps Yashem did indeed take an interest in me. For when the bars slam down they not only trap the snake, they wound it deeply. To the north, the head of the monster is outside the bars, a bar just behind the skull preventing it turning around. To the south another bar has gone straight through the flesh near where the tail narrows.

Leaping back I have to be alert to the writhing anger of the snake, whose coils might buffet me badly. Only after they have subsided a little do I risk hauling the spear clear from under the body and working at the wires to remove the crossbow bolts.

‘Well done rogue! Well done!’ The Viking is walking up the corridor bow raised. ‘Stand clear.’

I need no second warning as a new bout of effort from the snake starts up with the impact of the arrow.

Yuliaka is near too, shouting orders to her elemental, which returns from where it was hovering in the far room to swing flaming fists into the snake’s face, searing the monster and filling the area with the smell of burned flesh.

My effort to join in by stabbing with the spear is thwarted by my lack of skill and the poor condition of the weapon. The cracking sound as the spear snaps is louder than the hisses of the monster. No matter, blood is pouring from the neck of the snake as it tears its own head half off in order to be able to retaliate against the elemental.

Even while the snake’s body is still writhing, I get a notification that causes me to close my eyes and take a deep, calming, satisfied breath.

‘Not bad,’ says Perikra and I open my eyes and smile at her.

A wave of her hand from Yuliaka is not a gesture of congratulations for me but to dismiss her elemental. She wants to conserve her mana. In the sudden dark, I’m conscious of my heart, still beating fast.

‘Are you all right Crow?’ asks Yuliaka.

‘There was no cost, not a hit point lost.’

‘I’m glad. That was brave. Let’s get you out of there and carry on.’

Strangely, as the elementalist goes to the panel with the reset mechanism, the Viking puts down her bow and draws her longsword. Then walks with purposeful stride towards Yuliaka whose back is turned.

‘Yuliaka! Danger! Watch the ranger!’

The elementalists spins, arm raised, fingers splayed ready to cast a spell.

Perikra laughs, then sheathes her sword. ‘You were right. Never turn your back on a Jomsviking. But no harm done. You and I can work together. Your elementals are useful.’

‘How dare you!’ Yuliaka’s arm is quivering. ‘We saved your life.’

‘Relax. Don’t make me kill you. You know you haven’t a chance. I’m on thirty-two hit points. What’s the most you can do with Flare? Six? See? If I really wanted to, I could cut you apart and take all the water for myself.’

‘What about Crow?’

The Viking turns her head to look at me with a big grin. ‘A rogue who has gotten himself locked up. Isn’t that funny.’ Then her expression becomes serious. ‘I’m not dying of thirst again. It’s an unbearable torment. You can’t imagine. We don’t need him hanging around drinking the water. He’s useless anyway, with no gear and those small daggers.’

A long silence. Then Yuliaka lowers her arm. ‘All right. We can leave him. It’s cruel though. You know more than anyone what he’ll experience there.’

Perikra shrugs.

‘I just…’ Yuliaka reaches into her bag, causing the Viking to put her hand on her sword hilt. The elementalist brings out her candle. ‘Need to find a ring I dropped.’

No sooner has Yuliaka lit the candle with her cantrip than Perikra kicks it out of her hand. ‘What kind of spell are you trying to cast on me anyway? There’s no ring.’

I must act. Clever of Yuliaka to try to form a shadow for me but I have Blink and must move because I can see the gleam of the bared longsword.

My first Blink takes me the wrong way, outside the bars on the far side. Still, that’s not entirely wasteful, I dip my two daggers in the moisture pooled at the base of the dead snake’s fangs. Blink. Run south. Blink. Run, Stealth.

‘You fool,’ Perikra is advancing on Yuliaka, blade pointing at her chest. The elementalist is walking backwards. ‘You should have taken my offer. Now I’ll probably lose a few hit points, but you are going to lose your life.’

‘You’re the one who is dead, the crow said.’ And triggering Backstab my daggers strike deep into the ranger’s neck before I pull them out. Collapsing on the floor, the ranger’s face is fixed in an expression of shock.

Prodding the body of the ranger with her foot, Yuliaka looks up at me solemnly. ‘You owe me a potion of Healing.’

This I report to Yuliaka and she comes up to see for herself.

‘The metal bars fell from the roof, behind her and in front of her,’ says the elementalist and I follow her eyes to the ceiling. She’s right. It isn’t exactly a cage, more a trap where heavy iron rods dropped to the ground to imprison the woman.

‘Hello!’ I call out, ‘my name is Crow!’

There is no response and I crouch by the bars and try again, more loudly. Nothing. The collapsed woman’s face is hard to see properly in this low light, but her eyes look so deeply shrunken and her lips so tight that had she risen from the ground as a zombie I would not have been surprised.

‘Is she dead?’

‘That’s what I fear, though I can’t tell from here.’

It takes me a few minutes to find a locked panel that has the reset mechanism. Two levers have to be pulled to release some kind of catch that was preventing the bars from being lifted; two large wheels with handles are the means of raising them. It takes some effort to do so, even with the pulley system that assists the user.

As soon as she can do so Yuliaka ducks under the bars and kneels over the woman. ‘She’s nearly dead from thirst but she is still breathing for now.’

I’m glad. Even if she is (as I can tell from the braids in her hair and the animal designs on the scabbard of her sword) a Jomskar Viking, I feel a sense of solidarity with her. Like me, she has braved this dark and lethal maze. Like me, she is a victim of the attempts of the inferni to prevent anyone but their own from obtaining a dragon’s tooth.

‘Shall we give her a sip? Put some water to her lips?’ It is not my water to offer, or I would have already tried to revive the Viking.

‘She’s too far gone. Water at this stage would kill her. Only magic can save her.’

Yuliaka looks up and there is something in the way that her gaze lingers on me that prompts my question.

‘Do you have a potion of Healing? Is that what you are concealing?’

With visible reluctance, the elementalist nods.

Even the time we spend looking at each other fills me with anxiety that the warrior on the ground might die before we act.

‘We’ve no reason to give her my potion of Healing. She’s not a friend. Aren’t the Jomskar besieging your home city? And we will need that potion if we have to fight. Also, she has gear we can use. That longsword for instance. Maybe some magic items. We should just let her die.’

Those thoughts I have had also and yet I have pushed them aside. Perhaps I am too soft-hearted but I feel empathy with this victim of the maze, breathing her last after suffering terribly from thirst. Empathy is not an argument that Yuliaka will be persuaded by. Nor pity.

I simply stick to the practical considerations, ‘Three might beat the maze, that’s the inferni’s view. They usually limit those here to two. And with this woman as tank, I will be able to flank.’

‘I suppose you’re right, yet my instinct tells me this is a mistake.’ All the same, Yuliaka rummages for a crystal bottle with green liquid inside, which has the scent of mint when she opens the stopper.

There is something wonderful about the transformation that takes place in the dying woman as Yuliaka carefully tips the potion into the woman’s mouth in small amounts. An almost imperceptible breathing motion becomes a clear rise and fall of her chest. As though a candle were brought close to her face, the shadows retreat from around her eyes and her cheeks change colour from grey to pink. She stirs, turning as a sleeper might move before waking, and her eyes open wide. Blue eyes. From the cold and ice of midwinter, spring has returned.

‘That iron isn’t good enough quality… Oh. Here I am again,’ the woman sits up, shaking her hair, plaids swaying, trying to clear it from whatever dream she was having. ‘Sorry… I lost track of everything. I’m Perikra.’ She seems to be trying to remember. ‘This is the inferni maze. And you must be challengers for the dragon’s tooth too?’

‘I’m Yuliaka, an elementalist. And this is Crow, a rogue.’

‘Ranger, fourth.’

Probably, she just is being cautious, wanting us to underestimate her should we be hostile. Her lie is disappointing though and suggests that our having saved her life is not sufficient to win her trust. Perhaps we have just wasted that potion.

‘I am Level Four, Yuliaka Level Three; together we can make an effective company.’

A quick look from Yuliaka comes my way, but she says nothing.

‘A company?’ Perikra looks sceptical. ‘The tooth is right there.’

‘It is an illusion, I am sure; the purpose being to act as a lure.’ Now that I’ve reset the trap, my Trapsense can identify the loose slab that triggers the fall of the iron bars.

Up stands the Viking, pulling on her backpack and picking up her shield and bow. With a roar she brandishes the metal disc high in the air. ‘It’s good to be alive!’ Then, to my surprise, Parikra walks over to the tooth without any caution and swings her bow at it.

‘Damn those inferni.’ Her bow sweeps right through the tooth. ‘Crowguy, you were right. Never mind, let’s go. My rule is to always follow the left-hand wall.’ The Viking rubs her eyes, draws her longsword and walks out of the room and out of sight, though it’s easy to hear her firm tread receding into the darkness of the maze.

Unexpectedly left to ourselves, I look at Yuliaka and shrug.

‘How did she even get this far?’ With a rare smile, Yuliaka rolls her eyes. Then she studies her map. ‘I suppose we could go that way and aim for the southeast corner.’

At our usual, careful pace, Yuliaka and I take the corridor down which Perikra recently travelled. We have not gone twenty metres when I can hear the Viking hurrying back.

‘There you are. Giant snake blocking our way. And I’m only on six hit points.’ As though seeing me for the first time, she says, ‘where’s your armour? And your boots? What happened?’

‘The inferni want me to die, but they can’t refuse me to the right to try. So they stripped me before I entered the maze, thinking I would only last a few days.’

‘That’s why you saved me? Because you can’t fight for yourselves? I’m surprised you got this far into the maze.’

There is something different about her eyes. No longer blue they have become purple and much more intense too, as though everywhere she looks she does so with an eagle’s unblinking stare.

‘l can get one Cure Light Wounds every dawn, whenever that might be in the world above.’ Taking off her shield and bag, Perikra settles down against the wall. ‘This might take a while.’

‘Do you know Escape Death? Thread the Needle? Or other games of cards?’ I sit across from the Viking. ‘If we play them, waiting is not so hard.’

Perikra chuckles, only to amend her expression when she sees the tarot deck that Yuliaka takes from her bag. ‘You are not joking. I can play Escape Death.’

With three players, Escape Death is a good game, although Yuliaka and I end up with the Death card far more often than we should. It must be that even in this very low light she is able to see the small scuff marks at the corner that make Death a marked card. Her purple eyes are surely helping her keep track of the fatal card. Of course, I could do the same by applying my Spot Hidden skill, but I choose not to. Rather than have the temporary satisfaction of surprising Perikra by calling a bluff, I shall continue to encourage her to underestimate me.

While we wait for the Viking to obtain a heal spell from her god, Vortan, I obtain a skill up in Trapsense, bringing my detection range to 4 metres. Still too little. I will swap it for another afk skill only after reaching 10 metres.

‘I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. I’m going to get some sleep.’ As she yawns, Perikra rubs at her eyes. They are blue again and her hands reach for a pouch before she arranges her backpack under her head. Never one to miss a glimpse of treasure, I make note of the pouch. It must contain magical lenses that at the very least let the ranger see better in the dim light.

‘Let us sleep also Crow. I’m tired, if you want to take the first watch.’

I nod.

‘And Crow, we have a saying in Zatu, “Never turn your back on a Jomsviking”. Even their merchants are liable to knock you on the head and carry you off as a slave.’

‘Not only in Zatu, we have that saying too.’

‘I’m still awake you know.’

‘No offense. But we don’t know you,’ says Yuliaka.

The Viking doesn’t open her eyes when she replies, ‘No offense taken. It’s a wise saying.’

During my watch, I receive another level up in Trapsense, which is welcome. Less welcome is the appearance of the inferni Wizard Eye, approaching from the south, the direction we intend to travel. I pretend not to notice the distortions of my vision around the edges of the otherwise invisible eye and after what feels like ten minutes, the Wizard Eye retreats. What will the inferni think now they see we have rescued the Viking? They will not be pleased. Nor will they be pleased that I am still alive. If the three of us can beat this maze, then their grip on the Epico Draco Missio is weakened.

When am very drowsy and I believe several hours have passed, I wake Yuliaka and in a whisper tell her about the Wizard Eye. Then I lie down and am soon asleep.

In my dream, I leave one of these maze rooms, to explore on my own. When the time comes to return, however, I can hardly move my feet, each step requiring a massive exertion. My friends are waiting for me. They know they can rely on me. They know I will not be late. And yet I will be late! I will cause them dismay and confusion. I’ve never put such an effort into moving my limbs, with so little progress. Sweating and breathless I finally manage to get back. A guard at the entrance to the room is unperturbed. So too are my friends, who have no idea of my struggle and were not at all upset at my absence. I was wrong, I was not due back for hours.

When I wake, I am no divinator but it seems to me that the dream is telling me that Belle, Lisandra and the others are not worried about the many days I’ve been in the maze now. That part of me which was suffering for their sake can relax. Better to complete the challenge safely even if that means a lot of waiting, than to rush at the risk of dying here.

Ahead of me Yuliaka has paused and her face displays amusement until I show her the ring. Then her expression changes to one of respect. Examining the silver in the faint light of the corridor, I can tell there is a design in the metal – confirmed by the pads of my fingers – but I cannot make it out. I put the ring on my left, index finger.

What joy! Why this is nearly like flying. With this magic I could leap from tall buildings to the ground safely. In Crumblin I would mock those who chased me into thinking they had me trapped, only to step off the roof with a wave.

‘What is it?’ Yuliaka must have sensed my delight for she comes back with a smile.

It is easiest to show her, so I slip the ring off and give it to her.

‘Oh very useful. I can see why that poor adventurer brought it here. There are plenty of pit traps.’

Mention of pit traps makes me quell my enthusiasm for the ring. ‘I urge you to wear the ring for now and I’m not just being kind; there are few pit traps that this crow cannot find.’

‘All right. Thank you.’ She holds up her dark, slender hand, with the silver band now at the base of her middle finger. ‘Speaking of traps, how do you want to proceed? Shall I summon an earth elemental and have him try the corridors or do you want to scout ahead of me?’

‘Best if you wait here, while I sneak out of sight; save your mana for if we have to fight.’

‘Very well. Go north. East and west must be dead ends,’ she is looking at her map. ‘If you were constructing a maze to guard your dragon’s tooth, where would you put it?’

‘In a corner, far away? Make the adventurers prolong their stay.’

‘I agree. So let’s aim for the northeast corner.’

Before I leave her, I change my afk levelling skill back to Trapsense. I will work on Bleed another time. Since I want my hands free, I leave the crossbow with Yuliaka. I will rely on her daggers should I have to fight.

Over several careful hours, we pass eleven junctions, four of which are trapped (spear, collapsing floor, poisoned wire, and an illusionary floor over a spiked pit). Our overall progress towards the northeast corner is erratic since five of the junctions are in a section that leads only to dead ends. It is while heading east on a parallel section just below the dead end one that I come to another monster. Standing in the centre of one of the small rooms is a metal humanoid, not much bigger than me. Instead of hands, its arms end in long scythes.

Having retreated to Yuliaka and described what I’ve seen, she says, ‘Well the positive is that this is probably the right way to go. The negative is that this sounds like an iron golem, did you ever come across one before?’

I shake my head.

‘We studied them in mage school. Zatu’s senior sorcerer made one for the Sultan. An incorruptible bodyguard. I saw it when I was invited to the palace. We cannot fight it. Your daggers could hardly scratch it. Nor does it bleed. And because of its resistances, my elementals cannot harm it. Flare might do a little damage.’

‘How might an inferni pass the golem by? What technique do they have that we could try?’

‘Iron golems have better than human senses but still need at least the light of this maze to see by.’ Yuliaka looks at me expectantly but I’m not sure what conclusion I’m supposed to reach from her remark.

‘They created a darkness that was complete? Perhaps with a Silence spell or skill on their feet?”

‘Perhaps. Or perhaps their champion simply had a good Stealth skill.’

This makes me think of Amaris, who used to boast of his Stealth but it cannot have been more than 4. If a Stealth of 4 was sufficient to sneak around the golem without alerting it, then with my score of 20 I could hop through on one foot while composing new tunes for my barbat. Not that this was a solution for my partnership with Yuliaka.

As if having similar thoughts to mine, she says, ‘They are clever really. Using a golem. Even a powerful melee class would become stuck here. Or an elementalist like me. Supposing I had avoided the sliding wall trap. I would not be able to go further. You, however, should find it straightforward to do so.’

Was there a question in her comment?

‘I’m not leaving you. We do this not as one but two.’

‘Thank you Crow. Any suggestions?’

‘Your fire elemental does not have weight, not even a bit? So it could lure the golem to chase across the room with a pit.’

‘That might work. Only if the maze’s creators have failed to instruct the golem about the rooms that would be a danger to it, like the one with the illusory floor. And I don’t think that very likely, do you? What if it stops at the edge of the room?’

Again, her expectant look. It is a look that makes me anxious. What if I do not find the answer she assumes I have? Will she think less of me?

‘Then I shall have a trap ready, to trip the golem or make it unsteady.’

‘That’s a good idea. Is your skill sufficient do you think?’

With a sigh, I change my afk levelling skill to Set Traps. ‘Let us take a rest and think this through, it will take me some time to know what to do.’

One sleep and many games of cards pass before my Set Traps is at 4 and I feel that I can succeed in making the golem take a fatal step forward should it refuse to follow the fire elemental over the illusionary ground. My idea is based on the material available to me, which is mostly wire. There is enough wire – if I am careful not to touch the poison on it – to tie one end to the head of the spear, having reset that trap. Then stretch the wire along the corridor to the room with the illusory floor and over to the far side, the direction the golem will come from. I make a noose with it, as wide as possible at the pit edge, held in place by the weight of the crossbow.

When I explain my plan, she says nothing for a while. Certainly, there is no enthusiasm.

‘What’s wrong? Why is your face so long?’

‘Too much chance is involved. What if the golem is standing on the wire, not inside it? And even then, I can see the wire snapping before it pulls the golem’s leg forward.’

Fair points.

‘Then a shadow we must cast over the floor, for I can use shadows as though a door.’

A blink. Not much surprise though. ‘Remember in the arena at Rillou you escaped the samurai, just as he was about to cut you in half?’

I nod.

‘From that I knew you had some magical skill or item that lets you teleport.’

Avoiding any mention of how many skill points it took to unlock, I explain that rogues can get Shadow Step and when she understands my plan we set up her lantern on the far side of the illusory floor, with a crossbow bolt in front of it so that a distinct shadow stretches away to the corridor down which we hope to lure the golem. To be sure the darkness of our shadow is distinct enough, I take a practice Shadow Step and salute Yuliaka from fifteen metres away from where I left her.

She does not respond.

Still, I am a cheerful crow as I return (staying close to the walls, where the floor is real) to the lantern, where I hold the lasso of wire. My plan now is to drop the lasso over the golem’s head if that proves necessary. ‘Ready to go, sayest the crow.’

I may be barefoot. I may lack my armour, my magic items, and my own weapons. But I am not the helpless victim that Queen Rasārte imagines me to be. Not by a long way.

A gesture. An incantation. And a bright fire element appears above the false floor. Then Yuliaka gives her summoned monster its instructions. As it sails through the air, a dazzling yellow and orange creature of constantly burning fire, Yuliaka nods to me. ‘Good luck.’ Then she goes up the corridor to take up a position beneath the spear trap. Her duty is to trigger the spear, so that it flies across the room, pulling the wire after it.

When I hear loud thumping, I know the golem is on the move and I’m reminded of the faint version of the same noise that I could hear days ago when I was at the very beginning of the maze.

When the fire elemental appears again, it is floating more slowly, deliberately keeping just ahead of the golem that lumbers into view, walking with a stiff motion, blades held high ready to strike down. For a second, as the elemental flows over the illusion and the golem raises a leg, I anticipate our opponent putting that leg down into nothingness and toppling into the pit. As Yuliaka had predicted, though, the golem has been too well prepared and it pauses, leg still mid-air.

I must act at once, yet the elemental’s bright flames are spoiling my shadow.

‘Dispel your fire, I must travel with the wire!’ I shout up to Yuliaka and she understands for straight away the elemental disappears.

Now I Shadow Step behind the golem and drop the noose over a metal head that is uncannily turning a half circle to face me.

‘I’m here. Use the spear!’

A twang, a clatter of the spear hitting the far wall and the noose snaps tight on the golem’s neck, jerking it forward (backward?). As the golem falls, for good measure I put my bare foot on his metal back and give a great shove. It is surely my imagination that sees horror in the eyes of the golem. With a terrible clang, like the toll of a mighty bell, I hear the golem crash onto the spikes below. It is not until I lie down and lower my head below the illusion, however, that I can confirm what the system message has just told me. Buckled and broken, with one of the iron spikes protruding right through its torso, the golem is destroyed.

Wonderful. Not only have we cleared the way forward, but I’m within 500 EXP of Level 6.

Surely now Yuliaka will display more than her usual dispassionate expression? Ah yes, I receive a smile and it is a warm and wide one. The elementalist even goes so far as to bend down and look at me with her dark eyes close to mine and put a slender hand on my shoulder.

‘Crow. I’m impressed by your courage; by the fact that you don’t whine when faced with adversity; by your wide range of skills. Most of all though, I’m impressed by how smart you are. I don’t think even your friends understand just how ingenious your mind is.’

Suddenly, our relationship has swapped around. It is me who wants to shy away from this display of enthusiasm.

There seems to be no requirement for the hit to be with a melee weapon. Crossbow bolts inflict piercing damage. With a deep breath, I take the Bleed skill. And, just in case I get lucky, I swap my afk levelling skills from Trapsense to Bleed. The skill is a good one, so I don’t regret the loss of a point. In fact, it might prove extremely valuable in the longer term. Not many other adventurers would be able to work the Bleed skill up to 2 or 3, let alone the maximum of 5. I could do that in a few days.

‘Ready to try? To make the monster die.’

It is not often that I see an expression of surprise on Yuliaka’s face. It makes me feel mirthful that I do so now.

‘What do I do?’

‘As soon as my crossbow bolt is in flight, you close the door and fasten it tight.’

‘That’s all?’

I nod.

With Listen used first, I ease the door quietly open. Again the subtle change in the air, the uglysweet odour of decay. Nothing, just a dark corridor.

‘Hello,’ I say, ‘here’s Crow.’

Immediately, a scrabbling begins and light grows stronger and stronger at the end of the corridor until the monstrous insect powers around the corner, vicious claws snapping in anticipation of cutting through my neck. Bleed. I trigger my new skill, wait a second until I cannot miss, and pull the trigger of the crossbow.

Oh. I can miss. As Yuliaka pulls the door shut, I see my bolt striking the roof with a clang.

To the distressing sounds of the subterra scarabaeus clawing at the door, I feel my mirth ebb away and perhaps I look contrite when I say, ‘I missed and I’m very sorry to say, before I can try again, I must wait a day.’

I explain that my plan was to cause the monster to bleed, in the hope that it could not heal. But that my Bleed skill was on a twenty-four hour timer.

‘It’s a good plan. You’ve five more bolts. One should hit. Let’s move away from this noise and settle down to wait.’

One should hit? I’m not confident in that statement. In fact, without any skill in crossbow I think it is likely I’ll miss again and again. Heavy at heart to lose the flexibility and creativity that comes with having skill points to spare, I use my last one and obtain Wield Crossbow. And for good measure, I make that my afk skill. We must get past this monster and I must minimise the risk of using up all the bolts without success. In that event we would be trapped until we are so desperate from thirst we attempt to melee the creature. Many feathers would be cut from this crow were I to face into those snapping, serrated pincers.

When we are settled, sitting with our backs to the walls on opposite sides of the corridor, Yuliaka takes out some jerky, which she has no hesitation in sharing with me. And we both take a mouthful of water afterwards. Some people, like Lisandra and Belle, are easy to talk to. Travelling in their company is easy and our journeys never feel wearisome. Not so with Yuliaka. She says little and I, of course, say nothing. When the beetle gives up attacking the door and all is quiet again, however, Yuliaka produces a deck of tarot cards.

‘Let’s play some games to pass the time.’

This is a very good idea and I find my low spirits lifting. We discover that some card games are common to Zatu and the Kingdom of Lost Souls. Escape Death doesn’t really work with just two players, because once we know who has the death card, we can adjust our play accordingly. Seven Cups, on the other hand, is competitive and we play that for a while. Then Yuliaka introduces me to Thread the Needle. Thirteen cards each, you look at your hand and have to predict exactly how many tricks you will make. If you are right, you win the same number of points as you have predicted, or ten points if you said you would win none. Getting to fifty points wins you the game. If you are wrong in your prediction, you lose a point if you are one away, three points if you are two away and five points if you are three or more away. You have to follow the suit of the lead, but if you run out of those you can play a special card to win the trick: there is a hierarchy of special cards which is complex, such as Death beating nearly all others, except Love and the Devil. Love loses to the Fool and draws with the Sun and the Moon. The Devil loses to the High Priestess, and so on.

‘I warn you now, Crow, for the past ten years I’ve won every game I’ve played of Thread the Needle.’

What galvanising words. There’s nothing I enjoy more than a challenge like that. Thus it stings when I lose the first game. And the second. When I win the third, though, I feel a tremendous satisfaction.

Yuliaka frowns. ‘That was a big risk. You should have kept the Magician. You didn’t need to play him when you had the Tower.’

My smile probably widens.

I win the next game. And the next. And the next.

‘What are you up to Crow? How are you doing this? Playing cards that make no sense except if you know what I am holding?’

‘My Spot Hidden is high enough that I can tell when it’s a bluff.’

Her grunt is a mix of frustration and appreciation. ‘Well, turn it off will you? Let’s play fair.’

For a change of pace, I teach her a popular game from Crumblin, Catch the Mouse. It’s quick, fun, and almost entirely chance, although there’s a small bit of skill in guessing if your opponent has kept a sword or not at the end.

When she suggests we take turns sleeping, I realise that I am very tired. It probably is the equivalent to night time in the world above. The world of sweet, open skies. And sun and moon and stars. Of fresh breezes and delightful freedom. Despite the hard floor, I fall asleep easily, head on a bag, thinking about home and for some reason, Milo padding easily along the rooftops. Does he miss me? Not like Mistress Withen or Master Cathaldus but yes, I’m sure he does. The day I return to Nekis and meet Milo again will be a happy moment.

When I wake, I keep still to avoid having to turn my mind to Yuliaka and the maze, instead I take the time to remember my dream. The overall feel of it was neutral. There were some stressful elements – I recall Bazule standing in front of the door of a room I need to leave in order to get back to the temple in time for morning prayer – but there was also a rewarding encounter with the high priest of Nekis. I am in his office again but this time with Belle at my side, not Master Cathaldus. With a sneer and a shake of his bald head, the high priest turns over the card Death. My card, though, is Love, and the two people kissing are Belle and I. I play the card and he looks up at me, aghast. ‘Why you? Why you? Not me?’

During my sleep, Wield Crossbow rose to 2. I can feel the difference and am much more confident about using the weapon. All the same, I will keep going with Wield Crossbow as my afk levelling skill.

‘Yuliaka, this crow is awake, I’m ready for my watch to take.’

The mage yawns. ‘Good, I was drifting off there.’

She makes herself as comfortable as she can and soon I can tell by her breathing that she is asleep. Leaving me to my thoughts and to the silence. There is something intimate about a person trusting you enough to sleep beside you. I watch her chest gently rise and fall, see the calm of her relaxed face. Whatever rivalry has existed between Yuliaka and I up to now has transformed into comradeship.

Some hours into her sleep, I sense a change in the light from the south. A very subtle change. Spot Hidden tells me only that a circle of air, about a metre wide and ten metres away, is distorted, like a lens: when I look through the centre of it, all is sharp, but as I move my gaze to the edges, the walls and floor beyond it are blurred.

Sorry to wake her, I nevertheless shake Yuliaka and she is up.

‘There’s something nearby to the south, like an invisible open mouth.’

I stand and draw my daggers.

‘I can’t see anything.’ Rolling into a seated position, the mage calls out in a chant and manoeuvres her hands as though weaving with them. ‘It’s magic. Moving away from us now.’

I’m able to see that too, the distortion of the air gliding backwards until lost in the darkness.

‘Describe what you saw please Crow.’

I do my best and it is good enough. Yuliaka says, ‘That was a Wizard’s Eye. They were checking on us.’

My hopes that there are secret passages and spy-holes built around the maze is diminished. In my daydreams I had imagined myself using Blink to get into them and, skipping all the challenges of the maze proper, finding the dragon’s tooth by this cheat. Instead, it seems they use this spell to monitor the challengers in the maze.

‘There’s nothing we can do about them scrying on us. Let’s ignore it if it come back. Is your Bleed timer reset?’

‘Not yet, no. I feel there are still hours to go.’

‘Probably, it’s very hard to tell the passage of time here. I’ve had enough sleep to relearn all my spells. Let me do that and then we shall have breakfast.’

The word breakfast has long lost its usual distinction from other meals since I have been travelling. At the start of the day, I eat whatever is on hand, such as cold nettle soup. Today, breakfast is more jerky and two dried apricots. We also drink the last water from the canteen, which Yuliaka very carefully refills from a large skin.

While we wait, Yuliaka is more talkative than before. I learn about her teenage years, when she would run to mage school for two hours in the morning and run again for two hours to reach home at night, because her family is from a village fifteen kilometres from Idolobhelikhulu, the capital of Zatu. Tall and thin, I can imagine her, jogging at a steady pace along a dry cart path, practicing her cantrips as often as her mana allows. She has my admiration. No wonder the sultan of Zatu chose her among the party that set out to complete the Epico Draco Missio. Such determination and perseverance is rare.

Another skill up message pops up. With Wield Crossbow at 3, I feel confident I will not miss and I change my afk levelling skill to Bleed. It occurs to me that if the monstrous insect has regenerative powers, a bleed of 1 might be matched by it, while a bleed of 2 or, better, 3, would overcome even the self-healing rate of a troll.

Despite what feels like a long wait, I don’t get another skill increase before my Bleed timer is reset.

‘I’m ready to try once more, if you would kindly hold the door.’

‘Your skill has reset? Good.’

This time I am holding the crossbow properly, stock firmly against my left shoulder, left eye looking along the sight.

‘Come try to eat this crow, and receive a bolt from my bow!’

For such bulky monster, the luminous beetle is fast. All those legs powering it around the corner and towards me. In the face of those terrible pincers and the ferocity of the creature it is impossible not to feel a faster heart and an urge to flee. Nevertheless I breath in deeply, use Bleed, hold steady, and pull the trigger.

Beside me, Yuliaka pulls the door at once, catching my bow as she bundles me out of the way and turns the handle. Again the monster smashes violently at the door, if anything with greater fury than before.

‘Did you hit?’

‘Oh yes, right into its chest.’

‘It is bleeding and now we hope, that with that wound it cannot cope.’

Once more we settle down to wait. This time I am not able to enjoy our games of cards. I need to know, is the monster still bleeding? If not, I have still hope in this strategy, but we will have to wait another day or more to increase my Bleed skill. At last I can’t sit any longer.

‘Do not move so we make no sound; I must see if that monster we have downed.’

Yuliaka nods.

Silently, I approach the door. I Listen. Faint scratching sounds. Not close though. I ease the door open a fraction and there it is, in the middle of the corridor, facing away from me in a circle of faintly luminous blood, like someone had emptied a pot of paint on the floor. No longer fierce and monstrous, the claws of the creature are too heavy for it to raise, it’s legs too feeble to push it forward, the writhing motions of its limbs are pathetic. And the luminosity of the insect’s body is faded to almost nothing. Do I feel triumphant at my victory? A little. But strangely for a crow, I almost feel sorry for the dying insect.

I beckon to Yuliaka and she hurries to look.

‘By Yashem’s breath Crow, you did it!’ I sense a hug coming but in the end she holds off and simply pats me on the shoulder.

‘Use your Flare, then the EXP you will share.’

‘Oh no Crow. You deserve the kill. This was your idea and your skill. It was very smart.’

‘We are comrades now, me and you; everything we gain we share by two.’

‘You’re sure?’

I nod and look at her with my crowblack eyes.

‘All right, thank you Crow. You might want to close your eyes to keep your low-light vision.’

I do as the mage suggests, turning my head away. Even so, the Flare is a red pulse on my eyes.

This brings me to 13,656 from my next goal of 15,000. With the dragon’s tooth reward of 1,000 EXP I will be nearly Level 6, a hugely important goal for me now, not only for the increase in hit points and new skill options, but to once more regain a reserve of skill points.

I have paused at this chamber because my Trapsense has alerted me to a pit trap in the centre of room, large enough to confine me to an area of less than a metre beside the walls. There’s no need to play with this trap, I can skirt around it as Yuliaka must have done (by chance? Or can her elementals help her find such traps?) to the north side and another arrow. Midway along the next corridor, on my right, is a wooden door. The first I’ve come across in the maze. The arrow on the floor outside point onwards, not to the door. I’m curious though and as there are no traps on the door that my skill of 11 can sense I touch it and listen at it and inhale the air at the base of it. Slightly fetid? A tang of putrescence?

If I were designing a maze and wanted to lure my victims in the wrong direction, I would tempt them with a door. And Yuliaka has signalled to walk on. Still, I’m a curious crow and don’t see that opening it for a look could harm me. Unless a basilisk was on the other side, ready to turn me to stone? To open the door I must hold a metal ring and turn it, which obliges me to set down the crossbow. Very well. I twist the handle and ease the door into the space behind by just a few centimetres. Enough to see an empty corridor. I open the door a little more.

Click, scratch, click. Something too far away to see is making a noise. A pale glow appearing in the distance now shows me that this corridor is about twenty metres long and turns north. A brightening pale glow. A louder clicking and scratching. Many creatures? A metal device with many legs? My breath slows, I’m braced to slam the door shut. And there! Hurrying around the corner is a horrific sight. A giant, luminous insect, as big as a pony and a lot like a stag beetle, except that instead of its mouth having a giant pincer, two front claws are sharp, serrated pincers. It’s fast but I have the door shut instantly, my last image of the monster being the translucent body and the fact that it has the remains of a victim inside its stomach.

Banging and scraping at the door does the giant beetle no good. It doesn’t have a way of turning the handle: even if it understands the mechanism the pincers are too unwieldy.

My heartbeat gradually subsiding, I acknowledge that Yuliaka was right and continue northwards.

After one more junction room, clearly marked by Yuliaka to go north, I’m puzzled by the fact that the corridor becomes a dead end. Did I miss a secret door? But surely she would have marked the floor with another chalk arrow? Perhaps a trapdoor in the roof? I walk back slowly, studying the corridor with Spot Hidden until I have returned to the last arrow, unmistakably pointing back towards me.

To the dead end I go, this time with the intention of studying the wall blocking my way. Could it be an illusion? No, but there is something amiss. A line along the floor that other walls lack. Aha, and a line along the roof. This wall has slid across the corridor. Can I slide it back? Not by pushing, it is somehow fixed in position. There must be a release mechanism, to allow the inferni to reset the wall in its original position. And when I search for it, I find a panel in the left-hand wall at shoulder height. Although the panel is locked, I have no trouble fooling the three driver pins with my improvised wire hooks and, feeling an imaginary pat on the back from my old guildmaster, I turn the core. The panel opens. Inside is a small metal wheel, one that with some effort I can turn clockwise until I hear a click near the floor. Now will the wall slide back? It will! I push it all the way across, needing some effort at the end, as though I am pushing into a spring, until it latches.

Picking up my crossbow, I resume my stealthy walk. There is a new scent here: urine. There are also some sounds I have not heard before, quite loud too: a grunt, the rustle of cloth against cloth, the scraping of metal on stone. Before I reach the next corner and can see the source of these sounds my Trapsense tells me there is a false slab on the floor. Silently bending, and very gently putting down my crossbow, I lean towards the false stone and feel around it with my fingertips. I understand. I tread on this, a wire is released, and that sliding wall is pushed across the corridor to prevent me returning. Unable to access the far side of the wall, I would be trapped in here, with whatever is making those sounds. Unless, of course, I was a rogue with the magic skill of Blink.

My deduction from this information is that the sounds I can hear are being made Yuliaka. This is a dead end. She is trapped. And has been for some time, given the scent of urine. This would also explain the chalk arrow pointing nowhere. Before I go to test my assumption I retreat and using my Find Traps skill, wedge four crossbow bolts in the gaps between the sliding wall and the solid stone around it. If I’m wrong, I might be running away from an enemy who cleverly steps on the trap to block me. And while Blink would get me out eventually, the fact that the spell has a random direction would mean my risking appearing next to my opponent.

All set, crossbow raised, I silently reach the corner of the corridor and am indeed looking at Yuliaka, tall, dark-skinned, sat with her back to the wall, bags and items all around her.

‘Hello, my friend, did you reach a dead end?’

Did I expect delight? Dancing? Earnest expressions of relief? I’m not sure. But I did not expect a simple, cool glance.

‘Ah. There you are at last Crow.’ Yuliaka picks up her gear and begins packing it in her bags.

I walk up to her and she looks confused. ‘Where is your armour? Your swords?’

Putting down the crossbow I sit beside her and find the words to explain about the treachery of Queen Rasārte.

‘In the long run, being untrustworthy works against you. Unfortunately for us, her short-term goal of getting you killed is something of a problem because the path we have to take has a monstrous insect that makes quick work of my elementals, I was hoping you could kill it.’

‘We must travel beyond the door? There’s no other route, of that you are sure?’

As if prepared for my question Yuliaka shows me a piece of parchment, it has markings on them but the light is too dim to see them clearly.

‘A moment.’ She picks up a somewhat melted candle and utters a spell that causes the wick to flame. Now I can see her drawing. It is a map of the maze, similar to the one in my mind, only with all the side corridors and dead ends drawn too. ‘At first, I thought I had the right class of magic to defeat this maze. I simply sat at the junctions while my elementals went along the corridors, checking them for me. Initially, I used a fire elemental, because it lit up the darkness and I could see its glow even a long way off. Then I nearly fell in a pit that the fire elemental had failed to trigger, because it was too light. So I swapped to summoning earth elementals. They are slower but safer. And although I lost some elementals to traps and had to mediate from time to time for more mana, I got this far perfectly safely and fairly quickly.

‘Unfortunately, I was sitting the wrong side of the sliding wall when my elemental trod on the trap nearby. I tried with all my elementals to move that sliding wall, but without success. For many, this failure would mean death by thirst. Not for me, I was confident you’d come. I knew you’d find my marks on the floor.’

‘That was very smart and encouraging too, it filled me with good cheer that I knew the route to you.’

‘How long have I been in the maze? It’s hard to keep track of time here.’

‘Four days after you left, there was a battle in the compound, another day after that and in here was I thrown to the ground.’

Naturally, she wants to know about the fight with the orcs and the inferni of the Eriba faction. And when I’ve described that as best I can, I tell her about how Bazule and Ghosty tried to claim the credit.

‘Of course. With those two, you have wonder who they work for? Who wants an alliance with the inferni and yet also cares about the actions taken by a paladin from a defeated realm?’

‘Northway; that’s what they say.’

A lift of her dark eyes is enough to make me feel a little foolish. Since Bazule and Ghosty are not from Grimlar, Sartas or Cantreth, that leaves only Southway or the Arkine Empire from the realms I am familiar with. I say so.

Having finished packing her gear, Yuliaka stands. ‘Probably. Although there are a few realms from further afield that could have assigned spies like these to the Underworld. Now,’ I get a rare smile, pale teeth shining in the candlelight, ‘how are you going to kill that subterra scarabaeus?’

A subterra scarabaeus? The luminous beetle presumably. How indeed? ‘Before I do, I have a request from you. My mouth is very dry. Can you spare a drink from your supply?’

‘Certainly. I’m rationing it, of course. But my concern was that you might not be here for weeks. With your help, we shouldn’t be here all that long.’

That Yuliaka has such confidence in me is inspiring and I feel taller as I take a careful mouthful of water from her canteen. It is delicious and refreshing and I give her heartfelt thanks before adding, ‘What spells do you know, so I can plan as we go?’

‘The usual cantrips: Produce Flame, Read Magic, Mending. First level: Detect Magic, Acid Splash, Flare, Elemental Summoning One. Second level: Elemental Summoning Two, Heal Elemental. And on a scroll, another Elemental Summoning Two and Yashem’s Blessing. That one is a fire shield buff for a summoned creature, but it’s level three, so I have a significant chance of failure.’

‘A dagger in your belt I see, can you give it to me?’

‘Certainly. And I have a spare. Here.’

‘A belt too, if it doesn’t trouble you.’

A simple belt. Whose importance I failed to appreciate until adventuring without one. Now I can shift the crossbow bolts I retrieved from jamming the wall to a more comfortable position, strapped against my waist with the two daggers. I’m beginning to feel more like my old self. The crow who can doppelganger flank, Backstab, and dance around my enemies with two-weapon fighting at 9.

When we arrive at the door, Yuliaka looks at me expectantly.

‘Brute force is a risk that yet might do; you summon and buff an elemental, I fight the monster too. With a lamp to cast a shadow long and wide, I can quickly be on the monster’s far side. Then if Backstab is not available to me, I’m certain that my flanking strikes will be.’

The expression on Yuliaka’s face is sceptical. ‘Elementals don’t have aggro holding skills like real tanks. If I summon an earth elemental to protect me, the scarabaeus will turn against you. And you have no armour. I tried attacking it with a fire elemental but had to shut the door nearly at once, the monster is vicious and took the elemental down in seconds.’

‘Then let’s try my other idea; which for you requires only resting here.’