Archmage Donnu put out fires along the way. Sweat beaded on his face, and his middle-aged wrinkles were starting to look more pronounced. Elemental monsters impeded them at every step and around every corner. Creatures made of fire set things alight by their very existence. Earthen golems resisted most of their physical and magical attacks. The deeper they ventured into the Emerald Palace, the more there were.

"We shouldn't be much farther now," Donnu explained, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"You're really not under Jhene and Elaine's control anymore? For all we know, you could be going to assassinate your own Sultana," Kanae suggested.

"I'm positive," he answered promptly, though self-doubt marred his response.

At least that doubt was enough for Kanae to gather that he was, in fact, no longer under the effects of a succubus charm. The man was currently desperate to rescue his sovereign. Maybe now was as good a chance as any to prod for information.

Kanae continued, "When I first asked you about the Knight of Red, you brushed me off. You actually know what happened to her, don't you? After all, you're a member of Ordane's archaeology guild that traveled with her."

"How…" The archmage's eyes snapped open in shock, but they just as quickly tightened to avoid giving anything away. "I see how you would use this situation to your advantage. Very well, outsider. Assist me in saving Sultana Dudula. When and only once we succeed, shall I tell you what you seek to know."

It seemed Donnu was no stranger to striking deals more favorable to him. Now the ball was on Kanae's side of the court. If she wanted answers, they were going to have to ensure Sultana Dudula's safety.

The group reached a lavish antechamber to the audience hall. Tall columns connected the floor and ceiling, coiled with flowering vines to give the impression of a green forest. Fountains of water contained fish that were now dead from an intense heat that emanated from all around them. Unconscious guards had burn marks all over their lamellar.

Across the room, several familiar faces were gathered in front of a giant door. Grahib the Unbreakable Dervish, took a running charge and slammed his stone body against it. Every impact caused a glowing sigil to light up, seemingly absorbing the hit. However, cracks began to snake up the frame and the enchantments were waning. It wouldn't hold for much longer.

"Could you hurry up? We pay you for results, not incompetence!" Praijya, the tall harpy woman Kanae had fought back in Kandis, tapped her talons impatiently.

"It's not like anyone can stop us. This entire palace is filled with warriors lacking conviction and the will to offer a good fight. I wish someone would come and grant me a worthy challenge!" Sofisa sighed.

Only one of them noticed Kanae and her party's arrival. An elven man of modest stature around his 40s, whose auburn skin was touched by years of toil under the sun, glanced over his shoulder. He was bald, and his clean-shaven scalp had been tattooed in black ink. They resembled… spell enchantments. Maybe it came from Enchanted Ink, much like the ones on Kanae's body. A ceremonial maroon tunic he wore was trimmed with gold and black that reminded her of ancient royal Chinese fashion. His thin piercing eyes… For some reason, Kanae thought she was looking at the Saint Priest, Bocchiri Ruu, but they were clearly two different persons.

"I think you're about to get your wish, Sofisa. We have company," the elf said.

All of them turned around at once, and the Dancing Dervish's bored look vanished. Her demeanor beamed with excitement.

"Ah! Warrior Kanae, I'm glad to see you well! It seems you've brought new friends. I have been eagerly looking forward to a rematch ever since my defeat in The Diamond!" Sofisa exclaimed, childishly waving her arms to greet them.

Praijya shoved the Dervish aside and boomed, "Kanae, you made me look like a fool in front of the Harpy King!" Her feathers ruffled and puffed out, making herself appear a lot bigger than before. "I'm going to make it up by presenting your head to him!"

"You have a rapport with the Harpy King's scoundrels?" Archmage Donnu leaned in and whispered.

"Not by choice!" Kanae groaned in response, then stepped ahead to confront them. "Where's Theena, Praijya? If you hurt her, I'm going to do to you what I did to the last harpy woman that pissed me off!"

"Theena returned to the fold and is working to make up for her failures. You won't live to see her!" She crossed the entire chamber in a split second.

The impact sent them both flying across the room. Alicia, Claudia, and Edina unfurled their wings to try and help her, but the three Dervishes pounced on them like wolves. Praijya slashed Kanae with claw gloves. She reared her head back, and the sharpened steel grazed her cheeks. The two landed in a rectangular fountain. Its waters were scalding hot and bubbling.

"You humiliated me!" Praijya snarled. "I am the Left Talon of the Harpy—"

Kanae chucked a dead fish at her. It struck the harpy on the chest.

"Stop that!" Praijya smacked the fish away.

"Sorry. It sounded like you were about to monologue at me." Kanae threw another, hitting her in the face.

Infuriated, Praijya lunged with bloodlust in her eyes. Kanae balled up a fist and threw a Titanic Blow into the water. She used the shower of rain and dead fish to dive out of the way. Distracted and having lost sight of her, Kanae snuck up from behind and casted Turn Horny.

The harpy doubled over and let out a sharp chirp. Praijya slapped a hand over her mouth.

"I like the way you moan. Let's hear some more— Turn Horny!" Kanae casted again, but she flicked her head, and the spiked blade attached to the end of her long white braid swung a wide arc.

It plunged into Kanae's shoulder, forcing her to dash away. She pressed a hand to the wound and casted Flash Heal. The bleeding stopped, and the water quickly washed away any signs of an injury.

The battle wasn't going their way. Edina and Alicia battled Sofisa to a standstill. Meanwhile, Claudia was only holding her own against Grahib and the other Dervish's fiery onslaught due to her insane constitution, as well as Archmage Donnu's help in granting her elemental resistance.

At this rate—

"I wasn't expecting much, but you really can't hold your own without me. How pathetic," a haughty voice echoed from the corridor.

All eyes turned to the antechamber entrance. Petyr Stormcloud entered with the bloodied warhammer propped against her shoulder and helmet in her other hand. The high elf's gaze noted Praijya, and then each of the Dervish in the room.

"It's that Ortesian!" Sofisa gasped.

"Ortesian? I thought they were colluding with the Mutt of Avanesse!" Praijya exclaimed.

"I'm on no one's side but my own." Petyr scoffed.

"In case you've forgotten, you're on my side!" Kanae reminded the high elf.

Petyr donned her helmet and entered the fray, starting with Praijya. The harpy danced around her with a flurry of slashes, but not a single attack so much as scratched the paladin's armor. When Petyr returned the favor with a strike of her own, Praijya was too nimble to be hit.

"Stand still! Quit moving!" Petyr shouted.

"As fucking if, Ortesian!" Praijya fired back.

"Praijya, be careful! That bitch is a paladin!" Grahib exclaimed from afar.

"Divine Command: Kneel!" the high elf ordered, and Praijya dropped to her knees.

Petyr was about to clobber the harpy until an inferno of a fireball roared in her direction. Kanae shot a Dispel. The blast sputtered out, but it was enough to make the paladin flinch. Praijya flew back to join her comrades.

"You're not going to hit them at this rate, but you know who you can hit? Me! Hit me!" Claudia retreated back to Kanae and Petyr, gesturing to her chest.

"Oh, my god. Not Project Pain!" Kanae winced and braced for impact.

"Fucking fine!" Petyr smashed the warhammer into Claudia's abdomen.

An intense pain surged through Kanae, as she and everyone in the room felt the agony vicariously through her in the form of magical feedback. Even Praijya and the Dervish went down.

"Ow… What kind of friendly fire is this… I feel like someone threw me on a bed of coals, and my penis is on the verge of climaxing…" Archmage Donnu squealed.

"That hit the spot!" Claudia patted where she had been struck, then whipped around with her paddle in hand. "Now, who's been a naughty, naughty boy that needs spanking?"

They hesitated to continue fighting. That combination from Petyr and Claudia managed to strike fear into their hearts. The elf, whose elemental gimmick seems to involve fire, shot a look at Sultana Dudula's audience chamber. His gaze went to the wall instead.

"They're going to escape!" Kanae realized right away.

"Grahib, run through the palace! We're escaping!" the elf ordered. He and Sofisa jumped onto the centaur's back, and they stampeded through the antechamber. Praijya cursed under her breath before flying after them.

Kanae, Petyr, and Claudia gave chase. Half a dozen walls had been punched through where they escaped, the very end of which was a hole in the side of the palace.

"We going after them?" Claudia asked, wings unfurled and ready to fly.

"Just us against those four? I think it's enough that we scared them off… Let's go back." Kanae sighed.

Edina was still lying on the ground when they got back, trembling like she just had the best sex of her life.

"Don't touch me… it hurts too much…" Edina shuddered.

On the other hand, Alicia picked herself up and grabbed Claudia by the face.

"Warn us the next time you intend to do that…" Alicia grumbled.

"Y-You got it, sis!" Claudia apologized.

"Alright, get up." Kanae hoisted Archmage Donnu to his feet. "We still have to make sure Sultana Dudula and Vizier Duran are safe inside."

The mage lumbered up to the door and channeled a spell that ended the effects of the enchantments. Magical sigils dimmed until they completely disappeared. The heavy doors groaned open, giving way to a lavish audience hall, inside of which almost a hundred finely-dressed people cowered.

A large number of guards, much better equipped than the ones outside, positioned their pikes at eye-level. Spellcasters were ready to lob magic to defend themselves. All of them breathed a sigh of relief when it was Archmage Donnu they saw.

"The attackers have been repelled! Where is Sultana Dudula?" Donnu asked.

They parted right down the middle, revealing a furious, pint-sized beastman woman storming down in a huff. Vizier Duran followed closely behind trying to calm her wrath.

"I was almost killed, Donnu! Where in the sands have you been?!" the woman shrieked.

"Looking to the defenses, your majesty! These are the heroes who fought the Harpy King's agents. Although their methods were… unsavory and unconventional, they succeeded in forcing them to retreat," he attempted to explain desperately. "Kanae, heroes— This is Sultana Dudula, ruler of Bravost, the Emerald Jewel."

Kanae had to look down in order to meet the sultana's gaze. She was small. Smaller than Edina, but an inch taller than her cousin, Duran. Her fine fur was a dark and cloudy red, its color worn from age. An extravagant golden crown, embedded with many jewels, particularly that of emeralds, adorned her head. She wore a beautiful gilded robe which shimmered from many crystals woven into the fabric, and it really befitted royalty whose country's wealth stemmed from exporting jewels.

However, Sultana Dudula's demeanor was beaten by years of stress and paranoia. Her hands were constantly clenched, with nails digging into her palm. Makeup couldn't hide the heavy bags weighing down her lower eyelids.

Even though Kanae and the others had been introduced to the sultana as saviors by Archmage Donnu, her posture remained very guarded.

"Strangers do not help without expecting something in return. For all we know, you could have invited assassins into our midsts. How else did the Harpy King's minions get in here? Get them out of my sight! And in gratitude for repelling the foul invaders, they may leave my palace alive!" Sultana Dudula exclaimed.

"But—" Donnu opened his mouth to object, but she lifted a finger to silence him. He bowed instead.

To the Sultana's side, Vizier Duran lowered his head apologetically, too.

"Ungrateful cattle." Alicia glowered at Bravost's ruler.

"What?" The sultana glared.

"Please! I'll escort them out myself, your majesty!" Donnu corralled Kanae and her companions away and whispered, "Meet me in the foyer at the bottom of the palace."

The others weren't happy. Rightfully so. It took some convincing before Kanae got them to quietly leave the palace. To Petyr, it was just another day of dealing with royal pain in the asses. She turned her nose to the air and put it to the back of her mind. Claudia already got her rocks off. Edina snatched a couple of things from the palace and unconscious guards on the way out. Alicia was… unusually mad, but it likely wasn't because of the sultana herself.

Kanae waited in a side room adjacent to the foyer. It was more of a guest hall to put noble people waiting for an audience with Sultana Dudula. Snacks and refreshments, including lavish furnishings, were included to placate the self-important class. Beyond the door, guards and servants rushed about to get everything in order after the attack.

Someone, or a lot of someones, would be getting a lashing for failing the sultana. Eventually, the door opened and in came Archmage Donnu. It looked like he had escaped her paranoid fury.

"I was starting to think you turned your back against our deal," Kanae said.

"You have proven to be potentially powerful allies. I cannot simply let that slip by, even if the sultana has…" Donnu sighed heavily.

The man slumped down on the table and helped himself to the food laid about. He pushed aside a glass of wine, grabbing an entire bottle instead.

"I'll tell you. But you must promise me that this stays between us. I know you will likely fill your companions in, and there is nothing I can do about that. However, this cannot be public knowledge. Can you promise me that?" Archmage Donnu asked.

"I promise." Kanae agreed without any intention of following through with it.

Donnu likely sensed that in her words when he sighed. 

"It began with the Harpy King's discovery of a ruins in the Under Roads, beneath a town under his rule called Buraj. His domain, Elusis, is no epicenter of archaeological pursuits or scholarly endeavors. There are greater riches and more handsome rewards here in Bravost for miners. Whatever the Harpy King discovered, he did not have the manpower, tools, or wise-minded leaders to brave an expedition underground. So, he reached out to the sultana for help with the promise of peace and a share of prosperity from the discoveries. I, as you somehow discovered, was a member of Ordane University's esteemed archaeology guild, and among nine others were tasked by Sultana Dudula for this. We… quickly discovered the Under Roads were much more treacherous than expected. That is when we asked for help."

"You reached out to Radevic," Kanae said.

"Not at first," he corrected tersely. "We sought the best adventurers Savir had to offer— the Dervish Five. When even they weren't enough, we were at our wits end. Sultana Dudula sent word to Radevic for help, and they responded by sending a member of the Knights of the Order of Colors, Sivvy Brenhallow the Knight of Red. With her and the Dervishes' help, we carved our way underground… and uncovered dwarven ruins."

As was normal when venturing deep into the earth. However, given what Kanae had discovered already, anything to do with the dwarves was usually accompanied by the stink of the Cult of Lust and Depravity.

"What we found could only be described as an… engine of sorts. It appeared to power various mechanisms, magical in design. The engine actually absorbed latent mana from portals to, if you can believe it or not, open a rift into the Primal Planes," Donnu explained.

"Primal Planes…" Kanae lit up with recognition. "When we were traveling through the Arkesian Wastes, there was a gigantic magical sandstorm. It turned out to be wind elementals. My friends and I defeated them. I questioned an elemental that confessed the Harpy King binded them to his will!"

He nodded. "Indeed. The Harpy King is somehow able to exert control over the elementals. That day, he betrayed his promise to Sultana Dudula and hoarded those powers for himself. We barely escaped with our lives, thanks in large part to the Knight of Red. I'm sorry to say, your colleague is a victim to him not wanting outsiders to learn of this discovery. As for the Dervish Five, he has since infused them with elemental magic directly from the Primal Planes. It is where they draw their power."

And so, Red had been missing ever since. Likely a prisoner of the Harpy King, or worse. Hopefully not. Kanae promised Grand Eye Analise that she would bring Sivvy back. She wasn't going to let her down.

"What about the whole collapsing Under Roads that you're doing? What's the logic in that?" Kanae asked.

"It seems some among Ordane's top scholars have loose lips." Donnu clicked his tongue.

"Don't blame them. I'm a succubus." She smiled seductively.

"Listen…" He lowered his voice before continuing. "Not every decision Sultana Dudula has made is from a place of sound mind. In her disturbed albeit justified reasoning, it is to keep more of what might be found where they belong. Buried in the earth."

Not an entirely wrong way to go about it…

"Thanks. I think one thing is clear: the Harpy King is our mutual enemy. You have an ally in me whether Sultana Dudula likes it or not. There's one more thing I want to know though. Barring Rookies from the adventurers hall. Why?" Kanae folded her arms.

"The adventurers halls of Savir are supposed to be impartial to political affairs. In recent years, the Harpy King has weaponized them, sending infiltrators from Elusis under the guise of young adventurers. This isn't an issue with the other two ranks, who have already established themselves and carry with them long resumes," he explained.

Kanae held her tongue and was reminded of Theena, who was actually an agent of the Harpy King. In a way, Sultana Dudula had the right idea. It was too bad that honest adventurers like Seven and Kara had to suffer for her paranoid decision.

The archmage escorted Kanae out of the Emerald Palace. A carriage awaited her in the courtyard, and her friends were already inside and ready to leave after a long day and tough battle.

"Before you go." Donnu rested a hand on the carriage door. "I would like to offer you a chance to earn Bravost's eternal gratitude. Sultana Dudula is too stubborn and paranoid to seek help from outsiders, but I am not her. If you return the relics stolen from the Archives by those succubus fiends, I will get you an audience with the sultana. I have a better chance than Vizier Duran. Of course, you will be rewarded for this undertaking. I'll inform the city guards to forget the infractions you have made during your stay in Bravost, as a gesture of good will."

"I'm guessing it's your head on the line if she finds out the relics are gone, huh? Tracking succubi down won't be easy, but sure. I'll see what I can do," Kanae said.

Donnu opened the door for Kanae to enter the carriage. Her beaten and weary friends were half-asleep inside. Alicia was the only one still awake, and smiled at her climbing in.

It was dark by the time they returned to Ordane's Rise. They were going to have to save tracking Jhene and Elaine down for tomorrow, but those two could be long gone by then. Everyone turned into their own rooms for the night. Kanae was about to do the same until a knock came to her door. She opened it to find Petyr, dressed in a rather girlish white and gold nightgown, her hair let down to her chest, and… wielding her warhammer. Aside from the weapon, it was about the most casual Kanae had ever seen the high elf.

"I'm scared to ask, but… What is the weapon for?" Kanae asked.

"To hit you if you try to come onto me. You demanded to know my connection to the Dryoak Consortium. I'm not tired yet, so I've come to tell you. I also brought Lemaren wine, an Ortesian house of winemakers." Petyr lifted a bottle and two glasses in her other hand.

"In that case, I could go for some wine and stories." She threw open the door to let the elf in.