Having confirmed the barrier’s efficacy, I wanted to return to Mount Aeternia.

Except with the barrier proving its worth, that meant it was time for Tamrie to depart.

Never had held a party for her. Her attempt to set Ari and I up was the closest we’d gotten. At least I’d finished her ring.

“Gonna miss all of ya,” Tamrie said, giving Ari a hug, then Bevel, then…

Yeah, we all got long teary hugs.

Technically, more than one, but I didn’t begrudge her for it. Would’ve preferred if she’d stayed, even if we weren’t lovers anymore.

In exchange, Bevel had given Tamrie a hat. A big hat. A proper wizard’s hat, with the pointy tip, the wide brim, and a leather strap at the base that hid several enchantments. The brim was so wide it stretched half a foot past Tamrie’s shoulders in either direction. Despite that, it sat lightly and securely atop her head. It had more enchantments than the ring, though none so expensive. There was an earth based enchantment for rigidity, an arcane enchantment to keep it locked to her head and a wind enchantment that had been intended to help with the weight. Bevel and I might’ve miscalculated the last but left it in since it would help slow her any time she fell.

Something Bevel insisted she try. Soon the pair of them were laughing in delight as Tamrie leapt back and forth, flailing her limbs wildly as she laughed.

Then she noticed Ari, Bevel and I had all sewn our names into it with Tresla’s help, and another round of teary eyed hugs ensued.

“I’d stay longer, if’n I could,” Tamrie said, when it was just her, Ari and me.

“We know, dear heart. It’s okay,” Ari said, pulling Tamrie into another tight hug. “This won’t be the last time we meet, I promise.”

“Best you keep it,” Tamrie said, kissing Ari on the cheek again. “I’ll be looking to collect, next we meet, stories and hugs both.”

“Even if we’re talking to you every night?” I asked, gesturing at the handbrush that she’d acquired as her caster.

“Especially,” Tamrie said, pulling me into a hug with both of them instead of giving me one of my own. “Know you’ve both a place in my heart, to be sure.”

“And you a place in ours,” Ari reassured her.

“Right. We best be off afore that giant snake pokes a hole in your mighty shield and push Rainbow Under the Moon hard enough he can’t protect the littles.”

“Pretty sure littles isn’t a word that can apply to leviathans,” I said, chuckling softly.

“Can be, if’n I’m using it,” Tamrie said, blowing a raspberry.

Then she darted in for a quick kiss on each of our lips before turning around and throwing herself off the promontory towards the leviathans, giant hat flopping even as it caught her and slowed her fall, the waves rising up to great her.

Those same waves wrapped themselves around her a moment later, and soon she was dancing between the leviathans, head back in laughter.

“She’s going to be okay,” Ari said, taking my hand.

“Doesn’t mean we won’t miss her.”

“Bit unfair, to finally find a friend to hold so fast, only to have her whisked away by the one thing she loves more than you,” Ari said, squeezing my hand.

“Pretty sure you didn’t whisk her away from me,” I said, giving her a teasing grin.

Ari rolled her eyes, leaning her head against my shoulder as we watched until Tamrie and the leviathans were out of sight. They’d be stopping in Spellford so she could surprise her mother, and possibly talk to Thozgar to ask for some advice. Ari had indicated he’d be open to it, so it mostly came down to if Tamrie had the nerve to go through with the meeting.

Then we hurried back to the crystal chamber so I could ensure that I had in fact set it so they were set as friendly. It had been surprisingly easy to grant the leviathans two-way passage through the barrier. They’d already been included under the exceptions list as a type of ‘local wildlife’.

Even so, I’d felt the need to be sure.

With Tamrie gone and our border secure, it was time for me to do something I’d been putting off.

The next step of the Dauntless trial.

Disembarking Aeternia’s Shield with Ari and Bevel, we flew over in silence.

In theory, this time, I shouldn’t be going in alone. That was what Conflict had all but promised. Still, even it hadn’t been able to guarantee what would happen.

So, after we’d arrived in the testing chamber, we took a couple hours to prepare. And by that, I mean we went into my Memory Palace and goofed off for a while.

A long while. Several days of compressed time. It was… I felt a little guilty about how much fun we were having.

That a lot of our goofing off could also be counted as productive time, since it involved spellwork, enchanting and the crafting of low tier spatial storage items, was mostly a factor of our shared interest in each of the above more than a desire to stay productive.

Ari and I also ended up spending a good deal of time talking about how we might make use of the changes to Cape Aeternia, and what it meant for the future. There was, on occasion, a bit of discussion about other possibilities for the future.

Eventually, we grew close to my limit and came out. Together, the three of us descended to the trial doors, Conflict escorting us, each of its steps ringing loud as ever.

“This shall be your last time within this trial,” Conflict said, pausing next to the door. “Poorly forged, was this trial I see know, much as you’ve gained from it. Never should I have included so many personalities so closely aligned with each other. It has been their path you’ve tread, as much as your own.”

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“Had kinda figured that out,” I said, shaking my head and chuckling softly.

“You near the end of that path. And once you reach it, you know what will happen to them,” Conflict said, lowering its head to meet my gaze. “You are sure it is what you want?”

“I can’t let them go back to being tortured or locked away. Even if its not as bad as what Depths does,” I said, nodding. “When its over… yeah, don’t send them back to Keeper. Let them move on.”

“Once more, I cannot refuse your choice, no matter how ill-forged a bargain for a Major Favor,” Conflict said, chains rustling softly behind it. Despite its words, there was something about its bearing that made me feel like it approved of my choice.

With that discussion over, I turned to Bevel and Ari. “You two ready?”

“Yep,” Bevel said, nodding seriously. She glared at the door with the assembled crew on it. No sign of the Dauntless itself, just the four ‘real’ people.

“We are with you, Perry,” Ari confirmed, standing on my other side. “Let us face this together.”

Stepping forward, hands held, we laid them upon the door.

A few seconds later, I was wondering if it had worked, blinking. Then I realized that while we still stood with our hands linked, pressed against a door, it wasn’t the one from Conflict’s trial.

Instead, it was a much smaller door, similar to the types that split up the sections of the Dauntless.

It wasn’t one of those though. I knew those doors better than I knew the back of my own hand.

This was smaller, but also sturdier.

My time to inspect the door passed, as it suddenly slid open. On the other side stood Kezil, frown on his half-melted face.

Ari let out a gasp, as did Bevel, though Bevel’s was clearly one of excitement.

I’d warned them, but in a world of magical healing, seeing that sort of wound on a living person was pretty rare. Not something you easily got used to.

“’Bout time you got here, Percival,” Kezil said, shaking his head. “See you brought your family. Wasn’t sure you would.”

“Good to see you too, Kezil,” I said with a grunt. “I’m guessing I’m the last to arrive? They tell you what’s going on? Didn’t tell me a thing.”

“You’re the last, aye. No surprise there. We get promoted to Special Recon and you’re still getting special treatment ‘cause of those magic fingers of yours,” Kezil said, shaking his head. Then he glanced towards Bevil and Ari, and quickly added, “Not that there’s nothing wrong with those… you know what, I’mma stop yapping now.”

“He is even more endearing than you had led me to believe, my dear,” Ari said, placing her hand lightly on my arm. Despite knowing she was playing the role, her using the words ‘my dear,’ sent a pleasant tingle up my spine.

“Papa’s fingers are the best,” Bevel said, nodding seriously. “He gives the best head rubs.”

I reached over with my free hand, ruffling her hair.

“Cozy family you got, Perry,” Kezil grunted. “Might not have regretted bringing my own if they were so well behaved.”

The width of Bevel’s grin at that comment was, I suspected, roughly proportionate to the amount of chaos she was going to cause.

Then I processed the meaning of his words. “Wait, you mean you brought your family too?”

“Course I did,” Kezil spat to the side, then glanced towards Ari and quickly made a scrubbing motion with his boot.

Ari simply graced him with an amused smile.

“That’s…” I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Would they be real, like him, or more simulations?

And if they were real… what would that mean if Conflict let the souls within move on? It was too late to change, but I wish I’d known.

A short while later, I discovered they were simulations, which was both disappointing and a relief.

It would’ve been nice to meet Kezil’s family. As it was, they were a little more complete than most other simulations, but still didn’t interact with us much.

They acknowledged my presence, and even spoke to me a couple times, though never in response to something I’d said.

After Kezil introduced us and showed us to the quarters where we’d be staying, we split off from our families to visit the small ships bridge. Much as they were a part of the scenario, Bevel and Ari weren’t technically crew.

For a Ro’an airship, both the bridge and the ship itself were tiny. Well below the usual limit, barely having enough space for a dozen small rooms. There were airplanes back on Earth that had been bigger.

Considering it hadn’t been designed to run as part of a larger fleet, I found myself wanting to tear into every part of it.

Not that I had time, since soon after Kezil and I left our families, he said, “Bit strange, innit, us, being big damn heroes and all?”

“Heroes is one way to put it,” I said, guessing he was referring to our return with the Dauntless, but knowing a vague answer would get him talking more.

“What else do you call trying to stop the aliens hell bent on destroying our world? Bah, if we’re not heroes, ain’t no one,” Kezil said, grunting. “Course, feels like we’re gettin’ sent on grunt work more these days. Damn politics, can’t escape ‘em, even after we’re dead.”

The last was said with a wink right as we reached the door to the bridge.

Well, command area. It was little more than the bare space required to fit five seats, two of which were the pilot and copilot chairs.

“Nice of you to join us, enchantineer,” Captain Sidhe said from her place in the pilot’s seat. “Please, sit. We’ll be departing shortly. I’m afraid the Sparrow’s Shadow isn’t as smooth as you’re used to.”

I nodded, strapping in as the captain made an announcement to the rest of the ship.

Then we pulled out of the ship we’d been docked in. Some random trade ship, from the looks of the design. Not that I got a very close look at it.

As Captain Sidhe had said, the Shadow wasn’t a smooth ride. Nor was it slow.

Even though I was strapped in, I still bounced around a lot at first. Eventually though, we seemed to reach a less bumpy velocity. Even from high up, the scenery below was moving fast.

After tapping a couple icons on her console, Sidhe turned to face us. “Okay, we should be good for the next couple hours. Now that we’re away, I can give you the official briefing.”

“Bout rutting time, pardon my saying so, Captain,” Kezil grumbled.

“You’re pardoned, Kezil,” the captain replied with a smile and the tone of one long used to giving such pardons. “As you’re all familiar by now, they don’t like anyone knowing what we’re up to. And as some of us have demonstrated in the past, the best way to keep that from being discovered, is if some of us don’t know the details until we’re underway.”

Both Suzenne and Kezil looked away at that comment.

“Our mission is to track down a soul cultist. A man who’s been making trouble across Terra Vista,” the captain continued, her smile fading. “A former member of a group of Kinya users, the Knights Exemplar. Our intel indicates he goes by the name Sebastian, though it’s unlikely that’s his real name. He’s at least equivalent to a full Hydra-souled in combat rating, though he prefers subtler methods.”

“Beggin’ your pardon, Captain, but why in the seven Republics are we being sent after him then? Vaden’s the only one who can hold a blade, and he’s no match for a tier-4,” Kezil said, crossing his arms.

“Much as I pride myself on my skill with the blade, I must agree with our comrade’s assessment,” Vaden said, inclining his head towards the captain.

“We’re not trying to capture him. We don’t even want to talk to him, if we can help it,” Captain Sidhe explained. “We’re just trying to get close enough that our genius enchantineer can stick one of his fancy tracking devices on the man. Then they’ll bring in Felor.”

“Felor? They’re willing to bring a Dragon-souled into this?” Suzenne asked, her voice squeaking. “Isn’t she one of the Hundred Kingdom’s? Why is she getting involved?”

“Apparently this man took someone important from her. They didn’t give me the details,” the captain quickly added when Suzenne looked ready to object again. “We’ve been advised to be clear of the scene before activating the tracer though. Felor isn’t known for being gentle when she gets involved.”

“Isn’t known for being gentle is an understatement,” Suzenne said, leaning back, face pale. “From what I’ve read, she doesn’t care about casualties. At all. Just an excuse for the mortals to have more babies.”

“Right messed up, that is,” Kezil said, making a motion to ward off evil.

“Right, so find this man, get a tracker on him, then call for the big guns once we’re out of range. Where was it we’re hoping to find him?” I asked, finally getting involved in the conversation.

“It’s a small village, barely on the edge of the map. Run by some petty Magus Dominus. He knows we’re coming, command says he won’t give us trouble,” the captain replied, tapping her console and bringing up a very familiar map.

“The village doesn’t have a name that we know of, but it’s situated right next to Mount Aeternia. And we’re fairly certain that whatever our target is looking for, it’s inside that mountain.”