It wasn’t too much trouble to find Anneliese and all with her after taking care of Good King Norman. Despite the barriers in their way, Argrave was again connected to Elenore. That enabled their speedymunication and reunition. They were holed up in a grove far outside of town, likely because it was far away from the army of golems blocking the exit to Sandbara.


    As Orion and Argrave travelled, a haunting call echoed throughout the city. It was soon followed by the screams of crowds as all hell broke loose. When Argrave looked over, he saw one of the dreaded Shadonders emerge from a gaping abyss above the town. It looked like a whale that had been cked out entirely, yet it had an elongated obese human face lined with rows of teeth where a beard might’ve been. Uncountable mouths hidden in that jungle of teeth created a choir of voices singing joyously as they descended upon the city. It confirmed what Argrave had feared—Traugott’s time had been dedicated on perfecting the trouble that he’d caused on Dirracha. This portal, it seemed, wasrger and more stable than the brief foray in Dirracha.


    But Argrave and Orion could not waste time focusing on that. They found Anneliese and the rest soon enough in a low-lying grove, precisely as had been conveyed to Elenore.


    “Alright. I found them, sis. Thanks,” Argravemunicated back home.


    “Be safe. I don’t ever want to feel you go dark like that again,” Elenore told him, moments before theirmunication ended.


    The Alchemist had long ago spotted Argrave’s return, and told the others. They waited on him as they passed into the ce.


    Anneliese still held Sophia, precisely as Argrave had asked her to do. Anneliese got the young girl’s attention, and when her red eyes fell upon Argrave, they widened in disbelief. “What did I tell you?” Anneliese said to the princess.


    The Alchemist held out his hand as Argrave walked up. “My lens.”


    Argrave had intended to say something to Sophia, but he begrudgingly pulled it free from beneath his eye and flicked it like a coin. The ss faded into the Alchemist’s flesh, and Argrave’s eyes flickered between him and Sophia. He had hoped the item in Sandbara rted to Gerechtigkeit might be… well, an item, and not a person. Having Sophia here would be a burden, regardless of his feelings on the matter. He put his hand on her head while she stared at him in total shock.


    “Told you I’d be back, Sophia. These are the friends I told you about. We’re here to get you to safety—and that means we can’t talk much right now. Is that alright?”


    Sophia nodded, and Anneliese gently set her down. The princess walked up to his leg at once, touching him to be sure he was real before standing behind him, sheltered from all the others. It was awkward at first, but Argrave adjusted. She didn’t seem to want to say anything at all.


    After a time, Anneliese whispered, “I… don’t think she processes things like a normal girl does. She doesn’t fear for herself. She was more scared for you—and she trusts only you.”


    Argrave heard and absorbed her words, but more pressing matters deserved his attention. “I certainly hope we’vee up with something while I was busy risking my life. Mnie, your portals, maybe?”


    The Alchemist answered in all their stead. “The golems Dario—or more urately, the being working through Dario—sent are capable of neutralizing all supernatural energies, be it magic or divine blessing. I detected the same energying from the ones protecting Good King Norman. Did you find a way to bypass their nullification?”


    “No,” Argrave shook his head. “But it looks like they were attached to a specific host. Those people we got rid of—when they bit the dust, they started to disappear on their own. I was able to…” he looked down at Sophia, not wishing to admit he’d killed her father. He said instead, “Norman won’t trouble us ever again.”


    “So, whatever empowers the golems is likely anchored simrly to Dario. That’s a lead, at the very least.” The tower master Castro looked to be deep in thought.


    “But an easy way out seems off the table.” Argrave looked at his party. Onychinusa, Castro, Anneliese, himself, and the Alchemist—these golems were perfect counters to their magic. And from what Durran said of his fight against the creature, they weren’t exactly easy pickings physically, either. They were hardy enough to walk through liquified rock. That took tremendous power and durability.


    “I’m sure you’ve seen the Shadonder problem.” Argrave turned, and Sophia clung to his leg anxiously. “As much as I love ying my enemies against each other, I suspect the Shadonders wille without an end. Thousands of creatures the likes of which could have levelled Dirracha will spread out across thisnd, until Traugott finally sees the opportunity he’s been looking for.” He put his hand on Sophia’s head, almost to assure himself that she was still here. “The longer we wait, the worse the problem will get. So, I’m not sure we can afford to do something like that.”


    “The Shadonders are not Traugott’s puppets. He’s merely letting loose wild animals to take advantage of the chaos. Only Traugott himself that wille for us. That gives us some leeway in dealing with them.” Anneliese’s reminder was neutral, but did brighten some faces.


    “Why don’t we get the gods toe down here, get their hands dirty?” Mnie asked. “Better than dying.”


    “If they know about this ce, they might learn about Sophia.” She looked up at him when her name was called. “I can’t predict what they’ll try and do with her. No—we can’t involve them.”


    Anneliese stepped away to the top of the hill shielding the grove, watching the distant golems. “The thread connecting these golems… it is quite thin. Stretched.” She turned back to them. “I suspect it’s a matter of distance. This is only my conjecture, but I don’t believe magic and divine nullification will be as absolute as it was in your initial encounters with Dario. And the reason why the golems are lingering near the entrance isn’t because they want to catch us as we leave. No—they likely can’t advance further without breaking their connection.”


    “I fail to see how we might take advantage of that, Your Highness,” Orion said politely. “The golems will stand watch, but the Shadonders will flush us out, like water slowly filling a cer we’re trapped inside.”


    Anneliese paused at that, lowering her head in deeper contemtion. Castro, however, raised a finger.


    “Argrave—you’ve learned thisnd intimately. Is there any way one could approach either the Shadonders or the golems quickly and covertly?”


    Argrave didn’t need to think for very long. “Sure. There’s a hugework of tunnels underneath most of the city for the kingsmen and the king himself to show up throughout town. But given how dangerous the Shadonders are—given they might cause the whole thing to copse at any time—I wouldn’t rmend it.”


    Castro closed his eyes and contemted something deeply. Argrave watched him with bright eyes, hoping that there was something that the wise old man would think of in this dark hour. After a time, a smile fell across Castro’s face and he opened his eyes with aughing sigh.


    “I will punch a hole through the Shadonders and the golems both. And through that hole, you all shall leave.”


    “No, you won’t,” Argrave shot down his idea at once.


    “Time wastes as we—” Castro continued, but Argrave interrupted him again.


    “No, you won’t, because I know exactly what you’re thinking. You’ll use your A-rank ascension, and you’ll tear through them all like a knife through butter. But I won’t let you, because I know how that ends. And it ends pretty badly for you.”


    “I have a robust session n, Argrave,” Castro assured him. “My position in the Order has basically already been delegated to those who will take my ce. And I assure you, they are as steadfastly loyal to you as I am.”


    “I’ve never had to do what you’re talking about before. I don’t want to start now,” Argrave shook his head.


    “Maybe I want it,” Castro mused. “I am many things, but famous? I think not. Over three hundred years of living, and I can still walk through the streets of any city without so much as a widened eye in recognition. Make sure the historians write about me, maybe hire a minstrel or two… and this old man can breathe hisst.”


    Argrave looked at him with a terrible feeling swirling in his chest. He couldn’t conjure words, and that only made the feeling worse.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    “If you want to save all, I could consume this city,” the Alchemist said, looking about. “They are people lost in time, and already being massacred by the Shadonders. I could once again call upon potentiation. Those from the Shadonds will fuel my endless appetite. I will chase them into their own realm. And then, when all our enemies are subsumed into my flesh…” he pointed at the ck stone hanging around Argrave’s neck. “You put the Smiling Raven inside there.”


    Argrave looked between them. “What is with you two?”


    “I dare not test my unevolved might against those golems while the Shadonders swarm down without end. Furthermore, I know you dislike the idea of me having some say in Sophia’s fate.” The Alchemist looked at Argrave squarely. “Dario’s words stuck with you. And they stuck with me, too. I am not ignorant I am inhuman. Whatever she represents, perhaps I deserve no say in the fate of the world. Bing the Smiling Raven would ay your fears more permanently. And you gain a weapon to use however you will.”


    Argrave looked around at everyone. He already saw in their faces something of what he felt in his heart—ack of other choices.


    “Whatever n you decide on, decide upon it quickly,” Onychinusa reminded Argrave. “Elsewise, I’ll just go home without you. More of those disgusting Shadonders areing from their portals. Soon, this whole city will be lost to them.”


    “I’m, uhh… of a like mind,” Mnie admitted quietly, though with a degree more empathy than the ancient elf. “So, Argrave?”


    Ask an old man to die, or ask an older man to turn into an abomination that destroyed a continent millennia ago. If the Alchemist became the Smiling Raven, they would lose his tremendous capability of research, his vast trove of knowledge, and all things rted to the direction of researching Gerechtigkeit. Castro, meanwhile, would undoubtedly pass on if he did as he proposed. His A-rank ascension all but guaranteed such a fate.


    Argrave looked down at Sophia—innocent, confused, and hiding behind his leg for protection. Though he knew the answer, he hesitated to speak it. He found his resolve in her trembling figure. Argrave lifted his head up, took a deep breath, and prepared to damn an ally with his next utterance.