The subdued hues of dusk glimmered through the entrance to Stonethorn Cave. These delicate colors appeared to beckon, to speak of an entire world that existed beyond the darkness; and Vance started to walk toward them. He was heading toward his freedom, but he was also cautious and skeptical. Although Eleanor was nowhere to be found, although he hadn’t seen her ever since he achieved Manotic Mastery, he not only predicted but also knew for certain that she would soon appear. She might creep behind him like a ghost, block his path like a sphinx, or threaten him like a plain old warden. The Dullahans weren’t done with him yet, he assumed, and he needed to be prepared for the worst.

With every step he took, he imagined and reimagined everything that could go wrong if Eleanor had been lying to him. Some of these fictional scenarios ended in his death; others had him shoved into a prison wagon and sent back to Argilstead. But then he reached the faint border between darkness and dusk, and here the grim thoughts stopped on their own. They scattered like dust in the wind, for he had suddenly realized a positive but baffling truth: although he had come this close to the exit, Eleanor hadn’t made her fated appearance. A glance behind him confirmed that she wasn’t lurking in the inky darkness, and another look in front of him revealed no flames in the dusk. What was going on? Where was she? Where were the Dullahans?

He hurried out of the cave and found himself standing in front of a stream. Murky water gurgled down a rocky slope; peculiar balls of thorny grass rolled along with the wind; a colorless gas burst out of scattered cracks in the ground. He walked forward and turned in a circle to get a panoramic view of his new surroundings. There were no signs of life, no Dullahans, no Headbound, no Turnocats. Loneliness and quietude reigned like two tyrants. Puzzled by this emptiness, he looked under his feet and found hoof marks that continued along the stream. It seemed that Eleanor had already left—that she had galloped away without saying a word.

Is she gone for good? He looked around him again, as if his Mental Eye had made a mistake, as if her absence would violate the unbreakable laws of nature. In the end, however, he found neither her shadow nor silhouette. She was truly gone. Is this what she meant? Without fights or drama? He looked around him once more, and this third incredulous search allowed him to spot a small shiny object that seemed to have been left behind by her. It was there, on a rock near the entrance to Stonethorn Cave. He walked back, bent down, and picked up a golden key. There was also a piece of paper tucked under it, and this paper too ended up in his hand. He unfolded it with unhidden curiosity, glanced at the scratchy writings on both of its sides, and finally started reading the front:

Dear Vance,

By the time you find this letter, I will be gone. I thought a lot about our last serious conversation, and I decided to leave as soon as I was sure of your recovery. But I still had things to discuss with you say, so I followed Pamela’s advice and started writing you this letter. I’d be happy grateful if you read it till the end.

I’m sure I’m not the person you imagined me to be. When I saved you from the Skull Jaws, I must’ve seemed like some sort of reliable ally friend guide. To be honest, I wanted to be one. I thought you’d die on your own, and I didn’t want Decay to claim another life. I wanted to prove to myself that I was different. Maybe I shouldn’t have offered you a ride to Argilstead. Maybe I’m the reason this chain of terrible events started. Maybe Sometimes I feel like it’s my fault Shannon died and you suffered so much. I made you lower your guard around other Turncoats. I created the perfect conditions for Hollie to trick you. But I never meant you any harm. My life in the human world has been hard, and I never felt like I belonged anywhere until I found the House of Turncoats. I only wanted you to feel the same sense of belonging.

Maybe if Shannon hadn’t died, Himilco, you, and I … the three of us would’ve sat down and talked about Necronettes and tried to figure out why you woke up in Rust Lake. You’re probably mocking me now. I know. You don’t trust anything I say because of the lies. I deserve it. I told you to trust me again and again, then I lied to you about the things that mattered the most. But believe me, I never thought of you as an asset or a corpse. I wanted you to get this second chance to complete your Class Ascension. Locking you up and leaving you to die would’ve broken me, and I’m happy I was never forced to do it. I’m relieved that you bounced back so fast and achieved Manotic Mastery in time. I hope you’ll forgive me one day for my dishonesty.

That being said, my greatest regret of all is that I couldn’t keep my word. I said I wouldn’t let anyone harm you. I always thought that being a Dullahan Guard would give me the power to protect other Turncoats. I think I was wrong. Fate was toying with us when I asked Solsnam to oversee your trial. It must sound like I’m coming up with excuses. Maybe I am. I just hope you don’t think of me as an enemy forgive me. I failed you. I tried my best to help you. And I didn’t think of it as helping a random stranger. Everything I did was for a fellow Turncoat who suffered long under the Church of Amirani and who didn’t deserve to suffer again by the hands of the Dullahans. Not everyone in Argilstead is your enemy. Himilco and I are there, and

So … I know you don’t need help or advice, but if you’ve already read this far, maybe you’d accept a little something from us. Himilco stole your golden key from the evidence safe box and brought it here the other day, while you were sleeping. I left it with the letter. I also left you a bag of potion patches behind the rock. Please take it. You’re going to fight a Middlerift Beast, and you’ll need some healing. Also, please check the back of this letter. It has information about Hollie. I’m sorry my writing was a bit of a mess. I’m not good at organizing my thoughts on paper.

Farewell,

Eleanor

***

After he finished reading, Vance stood still for a few minutes. The letter was more of a surprise than any chase or fight. It made him recall the moment he saw Eleanor for the first time. He remembered how he had turned around from the height of a dune and eyed her galloping toward him through the desert of the undead. That encounter was the start of everything. Who was the lonesome rider whom he had met on that lost day? Was she an unlucky hero-wannabe? A guilt-troubled hypocrite? A childish idealist? Some suspicious mixture of all the above? Vance couldn’t pinpoint the right answer, but he knew one thing for sure: she was now part of the past, and it was futile to look back.

He folded the farewell letter and almost put it in his pants pocket, but then he remembered that its back had information about Hollie. It was this side of the paper that was more relevant to his remaining 42 hours. In its upper half, he found estimates and predictions about the runaway murderer’s Skills, Perks, and stats. Because Eleanor never left Stonethorn Cave, Vance concluded that it must’ve been Himilco Magus who had gathered this information. He probably asked around the House of Turncoats and tried to guesstimate. Better than nothing, I guess. Vance wanted to learn as much as possible about Hollie to avoid any new surprises, so he began to read the short report:

Stats

Name or Alias Hollie Age 20-30 Class Adventurer Slayer Previous Class Spectral Assassin Level 50-55 HP 800-875 MP 1550-1700 Stamina 1550-1700 Strength 245-370 Endurance 75-200 Intelligence 500-625 Magic Resistance 75-200 Duplicity 350-475 Faith 5

* The estimates do not take into consideration the doubling of the highest two stats by the “Headbound” Class Effect.

Skills

Equip Spectre Reaper's Wrath Become Spectre

Perks

Unknown Perk Unknown Perk Empty Perk Slot

This is no good. Vance felt disappointed. His experience of fighting against Hollie in the solar-elven armory told him that these numbers were inaccurate. He couldn’t even accept any of them as approximations. If Hollie had invested 245-370 stat points in Strength, she would’ve used her throwing knives more often, and her throws would’ve been much more powerful than the ones he had seen. Conversely, if she had invested only 75-200 points in Magic Resistance, his Spectral Execution would’ve probably killed her. It was more probable that her Magic Resistance was in the range between 300 and 400 points.

Overall, it seemed Himilco Magus, who probably had preconceptions about assassins, had overestimated her Strength and Duplicity, and underestimated her Endurance and Magic Resistance. Other than the useless Faith, the only stat that Vance found plausible was Intelligence. And he had a good reason for this belief—his own Perk: Eye of the Assassin. This Perk allowed him to see the Intelligence of his enemies as long as it was lower than his. It was this Perk that had enabled him to see Severus’s Intelligence grow; it was this Perk that had helped him react fast and eliminate Benedict’s party before it was too late. But in the case of Hollie, he didn’t get an option to check her Intelligence, so he concluded that it must be higher than his—higher than 524.

The only useful thing in this report is the fact that Hollie has two Perks … I can add that to the conjecture that her highest two stats might be Intelligence and Magic Resistance. He contented himself with this information, since it was the only reliable bit he could extract. Then he moved past the stat predictions. The lower half of the page consisted of a drawing. Eleanor had sketched him a map, which was surprisingly more coherent than the body of her letter. Argilstead, Witch’s Lands, Sizensya’s Hut, and Stonethorn Cave were all labels on this sketch, and alongside these labels, there were several scattered H-shaped marks. A small legend clarified that these marks were in fact the locations where Hollie had been spotted (by members of the Dullahans or by friendly informants).

Seven suspected sightings. He moved his forefinger from one H to the next. Then he suddenly stopped. He had noticed something rather strange: two of the sightings were near Sizensya’s Hut, and the remaining five formed a zigzaggy line that seemed to be moving closer toward Stonethorn Cave. It was hard to think of this pattern as a product of randomness. It seemed as though Hollie somehow knew his location at all times. How was she tracking him down? How was she able to chase him through Middlerift in such a way? There was a chance that she had an insider among the Dullahans, but it was unlikely that she was able to communicate so effectively with this insider while she was on the run.

There was another reason for this pattern on the map, and Vance strained his mind to arrive at it. Was she using an Ezran gadget? An item? An enchantment? No, it must’ve been a Perk or a Class Ability. She used to be a Spectral Assassin like me. He tried to remember whether his previous class had any relevant Perks or Abilities. Target Acquired. She might have Target Acquired. The map wrinkled in his hand as he identified the most probable reason behind the pattern. Target Acquired was a Perk that allowed a Spectral Assassin to track an enemy. The assassin only needed to engage in close-range combat with the target once, and an invisible tracking marker would be set automatically. This tenacious marker remained for 14 days, or until either the target or the assassin died.

She knows my exact location, and she’ll track me down no matter what I do. If she alone came after him, he probably wouldn’t have much of a problem, but he was afraid that she could also bring with her the forces of Decay. She had enough time to arrive here at Stonethorn Cave, but she didn’t. This delay … It might mean that she’s not traveling alone. At the very least, she might have some undead with her. Skull Jaws or even worse. The situation was like a daisy chain: he was chasing the Middlerift Beast; Hollie and the undead were chasing him; Himilco Magus and the Dullahans were chasing Hollie. If any two components of the unstable chain touched, there would be sparks and fire.

I can’t let this happen. Since he had only 42 hours remaining, he couldn’t let himself engage in a lengthy battle against crowds of undead. He needed to avoid unnecessary combat at all costs. I need to move fast and stay ahead of Hollie at all times. He felt glad that he hadn’t ignored the back side of the letter, and without wasting a moment, he shoved the paper into his pocket and used his golden key to open the Imp’s Storehouse. He shut his Mental Eye, imagined a door, and put the key in its lock. When he opened his Eye again, a stately door had formed in front of him. He reached for its golden knob quickly and opened the portal to the Spatial Pocket.

“Monsieur Wolfe, it is a pleasure to see you again.” Didier, the monocled imp, stepped out of the portal. “The last time I saw you, I had the impression that we were about to lose a valuable customer. It brings me joy to learn that such was not the case. Pure joy! How may I help you?”

“I need my items,” Vance said.

“Which, may I ask?”

“All of them.”

“Would you like them in a certain order?”

“I’m in a hurry.”

“Pardon, Monsieur Wolfe. Right away.”

Didier disappeared into the opalescent portal, and after a few minutes, it returned—overburdened by more than its own body weight in items. On the ground in front of Vance, it placed the Mantis Armor, Larval Dagger, Farreach Token, and Robes of Azara the Cursed-Knight. The items formed quite the pile, and the armor made quite the sound. But Vance focused only on the Robes of Azara the Cursed-Knight. These black-brown robes, with their tattered sleeves and their lack of accessories, reminded him of Shannon again. Although he was short on time, he ended up pausing for a moment, noticing how the world was moving so fast, remembering how Shannon had gotten into and out of his life in what felt like seconds.

An unfamiliar sadness weighed on his wistful mind. Then Shannon’s tearful face disappeared from his recollections, and he instead remembered the words of Himilco Magus. In their conversation after the trial, Himilco had told him three important facts. The first was that his awakening in Rust Lake somehow pertained to Honeydew Flies. The second was that the predominantly harmless flies were present in the same bedroom where Shannon had died. The third was that the Robes of Azara had a special enchantment that could break through the audiovisual disguises of the flies. When he recalled these three facts combined, Vance picked up the robes and started to put them on.

He wanted to see if there were any Honeydew Flies following him around and perhaps also to understand why they were doing so. He knew that the robes weren’t guaranteed to work, but he had to try their powers at least once. He wore them over his clothes, and when he did, for a second, for only the briefest moment, he heard a faint buzz. He looked around him in a hurry—eager to see a fly, eager to solve the mystery of his awakening in Rust Lake. But the buzz was already gone, and nowhere around him did he spot a Honeydew Fly. He stood puzzled and bewildered—according to Himilco, the robes were supposed to give him answers, but they only added to his confusion: did he imagine the buzz, or was it real?

“Is something wrong, Monsieur Wolfe?” Didier asked.

“No … No, it’s nothing.”

“Were you not in a hurry?”

“Yes … Yes, I am.” Vance took off the robes and gave them to Didier. “Did you hear the buzz? You didn’t. I know you didn’t. But that doesn’t mean anything.” Why would a Honeydew Fly follow me around? It still doesn’t make any sense. He noticed that Didier was looking at him in bewilderment. “You can put the robes back in the storage. I don’t need them now. The Class Ascension takes priority over everything. Yes … I’ll keep things simple. If I complete my ascension, I won’t have to worry about Hollie or the flies.”

“Um … Understood. Then the robes shall remain in your storage in case you ever need them,” Didier said, updating the logs. “Would you like me to put back any other items, or should I take my leave?”

“You can go now. Just go!”

“Bonne journée.” Didier folded the Robes of Azara the Cursed Knight and walked back into the shiny portal, mumbling, “What a terrible set of robes you are. The mademoiselle who once owned you is no more, and the monsieur who owns you now … Well, he seems to have lost either his temper or his mind. Or maybe both. Le Diable seul le sait.”

***

Once Didier was gone, Vance cleared his mind, set his priorities straight, and started to gear up. He grabbed the Mantis Armor first. With a bit of a struggle and a lot of contortion, he was able to fasten the many straps of the green-black breastplate. Then he put on the gauntlets—offering his forearm good protection without impeding the freedom of his hands. Next he tried to put the tall boots on, but it seemed that they were incompatible with his new parasitic feet. The dragon claws simply couldn’t fit into a space designed for humanoid toes. And perhaps it was for the best: the parasites would surely dislike being crammed into a tight space, and who knew how they might express their discomfort.

Abandoning the boots, Vance picked up the last piece of the armor set—the helmet. There was no head to protect, of course, but there was an important use for this helmet. He strapped it carefully on top of his neck and covered his Flame of Revival, lowering the chances that the light of the flame would attract enemies and ensuring that it wouldn’t ruin his sneaking at a critical moment. Once he was sure that the helmet was secure in place, he picked up the Larval Dagger and placed it inside a special sheath that was built into the breastplate of the Mantis Armor. The dagger chinked into place. And Vance was finally ready to fight as many beasts as Middlerift threw at him.

What remained was his vehicle—the mount that would transport him to his next destination. He picked up the Farreach Token, and as he did, he started to remember what Eleanor had told him in the Fly Market. I need to break the token to summon a mount. Each mount is unique, and the summoning is randomized. He felt slightly uneasy. If he ended up summoning a creature like a slow slug or a lumbering elephant, it would be the end. I’ve had terrible luck in Middlerift so far, and I can’t imagine it improving now. But please … anything but a slug. He crossed his fingers, raised the Farreach Token, and then broke it in half on his knee.

Farreach Echo Your mount runs free in the Plains of Bazawrath.

Vance felt his heart beating.

Farreach Echo With your answers, you guide it close.

My answers?

Farreach Echo Should your mount hasten or endure?

The summoning isn’t completely random. Vance cheered up. Hasten!

Farreach Echo Should it slink past its enemies or break through their lines?

Slink past its enemies.

Farreach Echo Should it cross the rugged lands, the stormy seas, or the gusty skies?

The gusty skies.

Farreach Echo Your mount hears your voice and answers your call.

Suddenly, the broken fragments of the Farrreach Token began to shine. They flew off the ground and out of Vance’s hands. In the middle of the air, they gathered and floated as if they had been suspended by an invisible force. Then they started to spin at a startling speed, and their spinning created a horizontal vortex that continued to grow and grow. Anything could have walked out of a vortex this size, but in the next moment, Vance saw a hoof. As the large vortex dissipated, a peculiar pegasus emerged from the Plains of Bazawrath. It walked toward him and neighed with a pleasant voice.

What do we have here? Vance looked in surprise at his new mount. Unlike a normal pegasus, its hide was black, and its wings were like those of ravens or crows. Instead of a mane, it had an emerald flame burning along its neck. The same jewel-like color was present again in its flaming tail, which was divided into three parts similar to three snakes or three whips. The backs of its four hooves were also aflame, but here the color was a much darker green. Its eyes were two watchful orbs that seemed to be staring beyond the mundane, and its head was crowned with three horns—one longer than the other two.

Farreach Echo

You have summoned the Emerald Pegasus.

Although she is slow on land, she can reach high speeds in the air. Her eyes know more than what the glass orbs of the fortunetellers can say, and her three horns communicate her prophecies—when they are of equal length, beware. But do not fear: on her back, a rider gains a shielding flame that can nullify one fatal hit, and in distress, her tail releases its three Emerald Wisps to slow down even the most persistent pursuer.

This went better than I thought. Vance felt satisfied with the summoning.

Farreach Echo Would you like to name your mount?

Why not? He wanted something short and simple, so he dropped the -erald from emerald and added a -ma. Emma.

Farreach Echo

Emma has become your mount.

By saying “Return to Bazawrath,” you can send her back to the Plains of Bazawrath at any time. If you send her back, you will receive a special token with her name so that you can summon her again.

Your original Farreach Token has expired.

Convenient enough. Vance walked a step closer and patted Emma on the neck. He wanted to show her some affection, but she made no reaction to his gentle touches. Her facial expression remained stern and wooden. Perhaps she wasn’t used to him yet, or perhaps she was used to being on constant alert. Time would tell which was the case. He patted her one last time. Then he got on her back, paying attention not to get in the way of her wings. There was neither saddle nor reins, so he took a moment to adjust his body before he placed his hands on her neck to guide her.

As soon as he was settled in the position of the rider, however, her flaming mane suddenly erupted and startled him. What’s happening? Vance suspected that Emma was rebelling against him, and he was about to jump off her back to avoid the flames of her mane. But in the next moment, he realized that she was neither rebellious nor angry. Even her green flames were cold and harmless. He sat still and allowed them to coat him. Before long, they had covered his body in a protective layer—the flame shield that could nullify one fatal blow—and they burned on top of his Mantis Armor, giving him the intimidating appearance of a flaming horseman.

Ready for travel, Vance closed his Mental Eye and sought the wise guidance of Thurvik. The bloodstained footprints appeared in front of him and formed a trail that continued toward his Middlerift Beast. It’s time to get my head back on my shoulders. He urged Emma onward, and she started to move. She walked, then cantered, then galloped. As soon as she had reached a certain speed, she spread her raven-black wings wide and took off into the untamed sky. For a mere second after the take-off, her three horns grew to have the same length, and if Vance had noticed this and looked back once, he would’ve seen—on the highlands east of Stonethorn Cave—the scraggy silhouette of a pursuing Hollie.