Hirrus was never good at apologies. He’d skated by before by being stoic and unapproachable, such that no one ever expected one from him. And with Julissa, she’d always gone easy on him because she knew his heart. But that wouldn’t work here. A lack of practice meant he didn’t know where to begin.

“That went well,” Alric called before Hirrus could begin. The adventurer peeked out from his hiding place, confirming that the coast was clear before making his way over towards Nidra.

“You’re a good liar,” Nidra said. She narrowed her eyes at Alric, but her tone indicated that it was a compliment. “I am surprised you fooled them all so easily.”

“You did all the work,” Alric said, giving a dismissive wave. “I’m just a natural-born asshole.”

Hirrus joined them, and waited to get a word in edgewise.

“All of the masked figures have been dealt with,” Nidra said, turning to address Hirrus. “Your initial volley of Arcana took care of many of them, and the survivors were softened enough that they were trivial for me to finish. While they are laughable foes in combat, their ability to communicate over large distances made them the true threat. If Rumi got any word of this attack, he won’t receive further follow-up. At worst, he knows we’re engaged here. But their overconfidence in the power of their army might have given them pause.”

“So we might still have the element of surprise,” Alric said, nodding.

“One moment,” Hirrus said, holding up a hand to stop them from continuing. “I want to apologize.”

“Yeah, sure,” Alric said, reaching over and giving Hirrus a playful sock to the shoulder. “Just don’t let it happen again, big guy.”

“No, I’m serious,” Hirrus said, scowling at the adventurer. “I disrespected you both, neglecting your contributions. And instead of leaving me out to dry, you saved my life. Thank you both, and I promise I will take your words more seriously in the future.”

“Good,” Nidra said quickly, before Alric could cut in with another smart-alec remark. “Considering the power Rumi has felt comfortable staging out here, it’s possible that the army surrounding him is more than I anticipated. Your strength is our greatest asset, Hirrus, but it may not be enough without the leverage our skills provide.”

“Our?” Alric asked with a sudden grin. “As in, you and me?”

“Your talent for deception proved useful,” Nidra admitted. Despite the mask, Hirrus could hear the grimace in her voice. “Both to trick them into using their Transformation and to bait out their retreat.”

“So you admit it,” Alric said with a satisfied nod. “I’m useful.”

“Don’t push it,” Hirrus said.

“Yeah,” another voice agreed from behind Hirrus. “It would take her longer to decide to kill you than to actually do the deed. Trust me.” A man in red platemail stepped into view, making the trio into a quartet. GM Dave crossed his arms with a scowl. “And we might not even have that much time to spare.”

“What’s happening?” Nidra asked.

It struck Hirrus as unusual that she was so chill about the sudden new arrival. Had she met GM Dave before?

“There’s a GM task force being assembled to investigate the issue,” the man announced gravely. “We’re in the endgame now. They’re the ones who will discover what Rumi is doing, and once they do, that’s when the deletion flag will be applied, and you’ll all go bye-bye.”

“Can’t you do anything about it?” Alric asked. “Hide the GM tickets? Derail the investigation? Stall them or something?”

“Bitch, telling you about it was step fifteen,” GM Dave snapped. “It’s been a long fucking morning putting out fires and throwing up smokescreens. What the fuck do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?”

Hirrus shared in GM Dave’s scowl. If things were so dire that the brief act of notifying them was so low on the priority list, they must truly be running out of time.

“We just need Rumi bumped off before then,” GM Dave continued. “If I can keep the investigation from finding out about him, we’ll be safe. They’ll let the reset handle it if they don’t know some asshole is mass-producing you guys.”

“What kind of timeline do we have?” Hirrus asked.

“The investigation is supposed to meet tomorrow, but there’s a couple of brown-nosers who will want to have something to bring,” GM Dave said. “If you could kill him like… Ten minutes ago? That’d be great. Just fantastic.”

Hirrus took a breath. A part of his heart was shrieking in terror at the prospect of Julissa waking up and being without him. He couldn’t stop picturing the pain Dahlia’s eyes reflected in Julissa’s. He couldn’t let that happen. Just the same, he wasn’t going to be able to hurl himself into Rumi’s army and expect raw stubbornness to carry him through. Alric and Nidra saving his life in this last scrape had proved that.

“Where is Rumi?” Hirrus asked Nidra. “What direction, and how far?”

She pointed off to the southwest of the ruined town. “Over that hill, in the valley beyond, surrounded by all his remaining forces. Why? What are you planning?” she asked, one eyebrow quirked, demanding the right answer from him.

“Listen,” Hirrus said, drawing himself up to his full height. He towered over Alric and Nidra, and even GM Dave’s imposing stature was barely a match for him. “I’m not sure where the idea originated that this was going to be smooth or easy. Dispel that notion right now. This is going to be hard and messy. If I’m supposed to be the tool you need, it was always going to be hard and messy. It’s the only way I know how to do things.”

Alric snorted and murmured something under his breath, but Hirrus ignored him. Adventurers were just like that sometimes.

“Success is not assured,” Hirrus continued. He raised one fist and clapped it down into an open palm. “But sometime very soon, I will be within striking distance of Rumi. Once that happens, I am going to strike. It will be hard. It will be messy. But it will be done. If that’s the last thing I do with this life, then so be it. I will die having done what was asked of me to stave off oblivion. It will be up to the survivors to see to the rest.”

GM Dave and Nidra both made faces like they’d just bit into a lemon. Hirrus disregarded it, pressing on. Speeches weren’t his thing, and so he couldn’t afford to lose his momentum now.

“I recognize my limitations,” he continued. He clapped a fist to his armored chest. “I am a blunt instrument. I require proper leverage to do the most damage.” He reached out and put a hand on Alric’s shoulder. “Alric and Nidra, I need you to scout ahead. See what’s coming. Make a plan. I promise this time, I’ll listen.”

Alric nodded with a big grin.

Nidra gave a slightly more curt nod, but Hirrus sensed a bit of relief from her at his words.

“GM Dave, I think it would be an overstatement to say that I understand half of what you’ve ever said to me,” Hirrus concluded. “But I suspect that you’re under no obligation to help me, which makes your actions to preserve our existence all the more heroic. Do what you can. Know that I have faith in you.”

The bearded man had a conflicted look in his eyes. Hirrus wasn’t sure if that meant he had been dishonest with him, or if he was just touched by being included. He lamented that he wasn’t better at reading people.

“Sooner is better, then,” Nidra said, tapping Alric on the shoulder. She made a gesture, and the pair of them began to move to the southwest. “We’ll be back shortly with a plan.”

“I’ll meet you on the rise,” Hirrus said, before looking at GM Dave. “I have one more question.”

Alric paused, curious, but Nidra gave him a gentle urging to keep moving, and so they left Hirrus and GM Dave alone.

“I think I know what this is about,” GM Dave said.

“You know I have to ask,” Hirrus said.

“Dahlia is safe,” GM Dave said.

Despite himself, Hirrus felt a weight come off his heart.

“I like her,” GM Dave said with a grin. “She’s a real firecracker. I promise I won’t let anything happen to her.” He reached up and scratched his chin through his beard. “I realize now, though, I probably should have gotten her put up somewhere safe long before this. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Shadow Council might have moved to kidnap her to weaponize you. They have to have a better idea of what’s going on than even we do.”

“Who?” Hirrus asked. After a moment’s thought, he added: “what?” and “why?”

“The assholes who have King Larisa under their thumb,” GM Dave explained. His expression turned quickly to a scowl. “Getting control of powerful NPCs is what they do. They’re just a bunch of power-hungry assholes, but they’re very good at what they do. The guild leader of almost every guild in the country has a voice on their council. There’s no way of knowing how much Fidelis told them before you ganked his ass in his own home, but it can’t have been nothing.”

Hirrus grimaced. Another complication could be the end of it, coming in so late into the game. If there was another force - especially a whole group of adventurers with as much individual power as Fidelis - their plan might be doomed already.

“Don’t worry about them, though,” GM Dave said quickly. “Without the ability to snatch Dahlia, and all your other friends being dead in the ground in Yenon, they can’t do much to you. Even if they were pissed at you for taking out Fidelis, they hate nothing more than putting their own boots to the ground. Their roundabout methods are too slow to reach you here. Just focus on Rumi for now, okay?”

Hirrus nodded. He could only hope that GM Dave was right. Just like he could only hope that GM Dave could keep him from oblivion.

Just like he could only hope that GM Dave was on his side in the first place.

“It will be over soon,” Hirrus said, turning southwest. Alric and Nidra were already out of sight through the ruins. “Rumi is out of defenses now.”

The adventurer had fled across Oshar Tun, from Yenon to Inoha, and from there to Shemil. Wall after wall of foes had been placed between him and Hirrus.

And so the guard had followed, smashing those defenses to ash and splinters.

All that remained was the final approach.