A month had passed since what the commoners were calling the ‘Battle of Four Couches’. I absolutely loathed the name. Certainly, there was a commonality between there being four armies, four mages, and four couches, but it just left a bitter taste in my mouth. It wasn’t the first time a battle was given a ridiculous name, though, and my expectations for humans’ ability to name things weren't high to begin with.

But it had been a good month. Days spent traveling and looking in on the doors of earth-magic spells. I hadn't even seen a thousandth of what it had to offer, and already I felt I had grown tremendously in my craft. That I could do this from the comfort of a couch with a glass of wine in hand made it all the more enticing.

I also felt guilty for doing it. Learning magic this way felt cheap somehow. I should have been plundering the towers of the fallen Mirktallean mages for their spells, or researching on my own through a more traditional means. Learning through the doorways felt as if I had stumbled across a secret benefactor, and no mage truly gave spells and their work away without a price.

I shook my head, as I considered the matter before me. I stood before my tower crystal with the inert dungeon core in hand. The tower crystal could absorb it to improve somehow, though I wasn’t certain exactly what it would do. There were only a few records on the topic, and most of those were suppositions. The opportunity to study it firsthand might advance my knowledge on the subject by leaps and bounds.

This was also the first time in more than a month that I had visited this room. I was happy to see that the giant spider I placed as a guard was still alive. Especially so, given that all those tasked with feeding it had been preoccupied elsewhere. That it could survive on mana alone was a little troubling, but I would annotate that as another area of study for the future. Between the doorways available through my new Authority, methods of fighting the Pestilence, the studies on the Asrid Flower, and the research into a Longevity spell, I had more than enough to occupy me.

And that was just the magical studies I had tasked myself with. Jax had requested to depart my service to apply the new Beast Bond spell across the country, supposedly in preparation for the coming Pestilence. While it might save a handful of lives, I doubted it. That didn’t stop me from agreeing to the matter, though. The young man had the urge for adventure, and I wouldn’t keep an assistant that didn’t want to be here. I'd provided him with a bracelet crafted for conjuring two wind elementals to fly with, something I hoped might speed his journey.

With both Jax and Leslie off on quests, the remaining duties left Philipe a very busy mage. Between his responsibilities and assigned studies, the man was teetering on the edge of a stress-induced breakdown. Only the regular advice given to him by my former assistant now Alderman Kine seemed to keep that from happening. Still, my three assistants had proven more trustworthy than the Pyromancer Diedre.

After her supposed revenge was sated, she had absconded with everything the Silverflame had owned without a word to anyone. Given her promises to me beforehand, I couldn’t help but be disappointed in her duplicity. I was also disappointed the tea hadn't prevented that, but would inquire as to how she got around its effects should we cross paths in the future.

Loralie and Pyl had returned with me, as well as several new guards and magic-users. A shaman and a diviner were among them. Pyl had been able to study the growth of Death Crystals among the battlefields around Gold Castle, and was working on a new project that excited both him and the witches to no end. Some sort of death crystal mirror to commune with the spirits of the dead, and possibly summon them forth into the world. I was both apprehensive about and enticed by it.

If it worked, I might be able to speak to my mother, Ram, or an entire number of lost comrades and friends. Perhaps even the ghosts of old mages with secret knowledge.

The opportunities presented were worth the risks, even if I urged them to proceed cautiously. I believed I fooled them all with my calm demeanor, except for Loralie. Somehow, the woman seemed to be able to see right through me in a lot of things. Still, the matters of romance and the heart were a distraction I didn’t need at the moment. Hopefully, we would survive long enough to have time to explore a relationship, but that was only if we survived.

I sighed and shook my head. Even here in my sanctum, the woman distracted me. I could hear her musical laughter tinkling in my ear.

With a glance at the tower crystal, I chose yes on the option for it to absorb the dungeon core. Some other time, I might have been able to reconstruct the original artifact, but I wasn’t certain how long that kind of research would take. Rather, empowering the Tower Crystal would give me a more immediate gain, even if I wasn’t certain what that gain would be until after it occurred.

I analyzed and documented the changes for the next few hours, before I proceeded back upstairs to attend dinner. Lilly was conspicuously avoiding me since my return, and I planned to address that today. However, as I reached my first-floor dining hall, I found my former assistant Baron Alred Froom sitting at the table eating. If I had thought Count Wilchrest’s expression after victory was smug, Alred’s looked like a cat that had just eaten a bird.

Beside me, my seneschal bowed, and spoke, “Presenting Alderman Nemon Fargus.”

I gave him a look that said there would be discussions concerning this afterward. While I might have given orders not to be disturbed when left to my sanctum, and turning away a guest wouldn’t be appropriate, there had to be a better solution than this. Fentworth Aide was a dour man, though. He didn't even smile when I informed him his family in Gold Castle was safe and sound.

Alred bowed his head, “Good Evening, Nemon. I was just telling your seneschal how great Derrick’s cooking is.”

I quirked an eyebrow, “Derrick?”

My seneschal politely coughed into a fist and whispered, “Derrick is your new cook’s name, my lord.”

“Ah, yes. Quite so.” I answered quickly, though I was thankful neither of them pursued the topic. After the pause, I spoke again and moved to take my seat at the table, “Good to see you, Alred. You look excited.”

Excited might have been an understatement. Despite his advanced age and his noble dress, the man looked as giddy as a child getting sweet cake.

“Nemon, I was able to reach the fifth-tier. Not just that, I was able to select Planar Lord following your instructions. I have been to the different planes, and I think—I think we might have a place to retreat to. You may have given me the key to saving humanity, my friend.” He spoke quickly, ignoring the crumbs that flew out of his mouth. His eyes were lit with an excitement and hope, the kind I’d only seen in wizards and freed slaves.

Yet, more than his tone and expression, I was taken by his words. The different planes had always held an interest to me. They were close to the frontier of magic, and even I could only reach a small part of their power. If Alred shared what he learned there—I was beyond interested in hearing.

I sat down next to him, “Alred! Tell me everything. Where did you go? What did you see? Your class, what skills does it grant? Have you created your own—”

I couldn’t keep speaking before something crashed through the wards of my tower. It wasn’t an attack, but a signal of divine might. The odor of blood, and the loud piercing cry of a raven echoed through all of us. Both Alred and I looked at each other in surprise. I rose and rushed up the stairs to the top of my tower. I could hear his footsteps behind me as we ran. When we reached the top, I saw all my guards there staring south, and I looked in that direction as well.

There wasn’t much to see. I thought I could make out the barest shade of red against the black horizon, but it might have been a trick on my eyes.

The sun had set. Beyond the stars and darkness, the skies were clear. Yet, we all felt it. The Tervans had summoned their Blood-God.

“What does this mean?” Alred whispered behind me as we stared in the darkness. Whispered as if afraid his words might attract attention.

I shuddered before I answered, “My old friend, it means we have much less time than we suspected.”