Shadar was… well, unsure. It was a strange feeling. He’d gone through most of his life certain of his course. He’d conquered and fought and killed, knowing that he would eventually have his goal, accomplish the Plan. But in recent years, he’d started to see that, whatever he thought, the Children of Massahn were just like any others--unruly, and unwilling to follow, and now…

“They’ve changed course.”

“How certain?”

“As much as we can be, considering we can’t keep eyes on them for more than a few minutes at a time.”

Digaratoth was professional as ever, but a hint of annoyance had crept into his tone. It wasn’t directed at Shadar--if Shadar didn’t like being uncertain, Digaratoth hated it.

“Where?”

Digaratoth let out a hissing laugh that would have set many human’s teeth on edge. “No idea. As far as we can tell, there’s nothing truly important in the area. The biggest landmark is the Roc’s Nest, but their old course would have taken them close enough to that as it was. And there’s no real reason for them to engage the Mother Roc other than training.”

Shadar grunted. “The other plans?”

Digaratoth gave him a sidelong look, impressive as he was struggling to keep up with Shadar’s long strides. “Unsuccessful so far--I need more time.”

“Hm.”

They were walking through the Dragontooth Dungeon’s tunnels, occasionally passing a goblin, Saurian, or skeleton on some administrative task. They turned onto a side tunnel and stepped in a larger room with black walls patterned in hexagons shimmering with a red light that illuminated the surroundings. The door shut behind them with a gentle thud, and Shadar spared a moment of concentration to seal it completely with the Dungeon’s aura. He had many rooms like this one throughout his Dungeon, fitted with anti-divination measures and without means for physical spies to enter. His throne room was one of those, but this one suited his purposes better here.

“Safe.”

Digaratoth sighed. “You know, I am rather good at my job.”

“Yes, but so are they. How is it really going?”

Digaratoth flicked his tongue out slightly. “Perfectly, of course. There is no way to transmit a rumor to an army marching through the Waste, but by the time they get to the other end, people will practically be shouting about the mysterious God-Chosen of Corunti.”

“Good.”

“It’s always nice to be appreciated.”

“You’re welcome.” A little smile cracked his pensive expression. Digaratoth returned it with a flick of his tongue.

“So, why exactly did you have me do this?”

“To see how she reacts. If she wants to kill them or…”

“Talk?” Digaratoth let out a snort, which was barely audible. Saurians couldn’t manipulate their tongues in that manner. “Not likely, but I see your point. Now, what should we do about the army marching across the Waste?”

“Leave them be, as I’ve said.”

“Shadar, they aren’t losing anyone.”

Shadar frowned. “What?”

“We thought we could let them starve and dehydrate half their force in the desert, but they’ve somehow managed to keep all of their soldiers watered and most of them fed.”

“How?”

Digaratoth let out another of his laughs. “They’ve found more water sources than I knew existed in that wasteland. Most of them are powerful Dungeons as well, I’d guess. And before you ask, I have no idea how they find the places so consistently.”

“It must be her.”

“That was my best guess.”

“Speaking of that, have you turned up any information?”

Digaratoth’s shoulders slumped slightly. “Not as much as I would have expected, really. There are legends, of course, but according to those, you should be a Divine Judge of humanity who smites the unworthy with your right hand and rewards the just with your left. Most stories agree that the Chosen of opposing pairs have opposing abilities. So Lumia’s Chosen and Ulion’s Chosen will be opposites. The same for Hudith and Haddad, as well as Viselys and Nomenadon.”

Massahn was alone. According to some, that meant that every other god was set against him. In practical terms at least, they were right.

“Hm.”

“I’m sorry. It’s been quite a long time since the last set of God-Chosen, you know. But I think we have a good handle on her abilities, at least.”

“Oh?”

“She seemed to use Light-based magic against Eva. A powerful light mage seems likely for Lumia’s Chosen.”

“And the water?”

“That could be divine intervention. Lumia loves doing that.”

“The rules are stricter for us than ordinary priests.” It was true. Garth gave him useful information about as often as Silence made any sort of sense.

“So, what do you think she can do then?”

“I don’t know. Which means--”

“--anything.” Digartoth sounded tired. Shadar concurred. “So, what do you want to do?”

Shadar thought for a moment. “That change of course.”

“What about it?”

“We don’t know what she wants?”

“Not really. I didn’t mention it for the spies, but some reports place the Temple of the Sands somewhere in the region she’s entering.”

Shadar had heard of the Temple of the Sands. It was… now that he thought about it, he hadn’t ever heard much in the way of details about the place.“Why?”

“We, uh, don’t know. The place is mentioned in dozens of accounts, especially among Masters in the region of the Waste, but no details are given as to why it might be important. It was a little disconcerting, to tell you the truth. I’ve been meaning to tell you about it but it just...”

“Slipped your mind?” Shadar rubbed his chin. He felt stubble, already grown longer than he liked. “The Golden Nest has hidden for long enough. Send them to scout this Temple.”

“All right. Any other orders, while I’m at it?”

“Have them prepare the forces they’ve marshalled. We may have to fight her sooner than I thought..”

***************

“This is awesome,” Hugan whispered to Maiz. Maiz didn’t really agree, but he said nothing. Mostly because, in armor, Hugan’s words were still loud enough for the other three combatants to hear what he’d said.

“I am glad to hear you say that, Mister Hugan. So you are ready, then?” Adrian, the well-built Journeyman Warrior Monk, had a smile in his voice, but he was doing an admirable job of keeping any laughter from escaping him.

“So we’re, uh--”

“--there’s a band of fighters headed to this Dungeon, probably because it has a small groundwater supply. They’ve been sending combatants of the appropriate ranks to take water in the past, so they’ll probably be Journeyman or high-Apprentice level. Our job is to fight them,” Maiz interjected.

“We have to take one alive if possible,” Adrian added, nodding. He frowned at Hugan. “You should really pay better attention Mister Hugan. We have a duty to protect the Temple with all of our power.”

Hugan nodded, managing to make the motion look lazy even with his steel helm clanking. “Yeah, I’m sorry. But I’m only here for Maiz.”

“And I’m only here because of the Jin’Teslin,” Maiz added, annoyance in his tone. This group, Adrian, Juya, and a lean young man named Rajit, had all met Maiz before, and they hadn’t seemed overly reverent about the Jin then, so he didn't worry much about showing his bad mood.

“That is a bit unfortunate,” Adrian nodded sympathetically as he stepped over the dissolving corpse of an oversized red scorpion-monster. He appeared to notice something about a particular section of cave wall, and took up a crouch against it, facing the entrance to the space. “Everyone, please find a position for the attack. Juya, Rajit, and Mister Hugan, we will be attempting to find any ranged attackers and disable them quickly. Maiz, if you could find somewhere to hide until we do that, your job will be to breach any heavy defenses.”

Maiz nodded glumly, moving behind the little well in the center of the room. He had, of course, disclosed his Spellsword abilities to Adrian before the briefing they’d just recieved, and he approved of how Adrian had responded to the information. The Warrior Monks all had Fast Feet and Hugan was a wall as it was, so they would be in little danger from projectiles compared to Maiz. Of course, Maiz had nothing to fear, but they didn’t know that.

“Well, at least you can get experience from this,” Juya called over to him, continuing the conversation as if it hadn’t been interrupted. “I have heard that fighting humans is worth more than monsters.”

“I heard that it only increases your knowledge modifier faster,” Rajit interjected. The two of them had taken positions on either side of the entrance, a little closer than Adrian. Hugan had sidled up next to Rajit, and Maiz, peeking over the edge of the well, could see his eyes following the conversation with interest.

“You will find out shortly, children. Be silent now. Rajit, you need to move back a little. Why not go behind your armored friend? Adrian, are you all ready?”

Maiz jumped, almost dropping his staff as a tall man dressed in the strange tunic of the Temple walked through the entrance with a casual gait and deceptive speed. Hugan started as well, taking a step forward and raising his shield. The man looked at him approvingly.

“Well done! Excellent instincts you’ve got there, but I would suggest keeping your shield up from now on, just in case.”

Maiz hadn’t had nearly as useful of a reaction. Surreptitiously, he activated Fast Feet, cursing himself for not doing it sooner.

“Everyone is ready sir.” Adrian sounded respectful, putting Maiz on edge immediately, but he hadn’t said a ‘Jin’ title, so at least this probably wasn’t a Master.

The man smiled, an almost fatherly expression. He had gray around the edges of his hair, and his skin was pitted with old blemishes and scars. He carried a staff not unlike Maiz’s own, though it seemed a bit longer and thinner.

“Very good. I will be in the back then, in case anything goes wrong. Do not worry, I won’t interfere unless anything drastic happens.” With that, the man continued sauntering through the room, deftly hopping over the now half-dissolved scorpion, and took a squatting position near the inscription to exit, on the far wall.

What? Maiz raised an eyebrow, looking at the squatting man. He must have been a more experienced combatant, perhaps an Adept. He thought it made fine sense to send someone to supervise their little ‘squad,’ but somehow he hadn’t thought that they’d be receiving anything like a safety net in this expedition. And if this Adept could be spared to fight, why were the rest of them even there in the first place?

“Look sharp, boy. I have another of these skirmishes to oversee in an hour, and I would rather not waste stamina on saving you five for no reason. You have the best view of the entrance, so you should be keeping your eyes on it.”

Maiz flushed slightly and gave the man a short, respectful nod, turning back to the entrance. So that was what it was, then. This man wasn’t just a safety net, he was an instructor. And this was practice. Suddenly, the slight tension in his shoulders relaxed, and his grip on his staff loosened to a comfortable level. This wasn’t any different from the other training he’d done in the past months. Hells, he’d never had an Adept looking over his shoulder when he was clearing the Dungeons in the Path. This would be fine.

Then, Maiz heard the voices drifting into the cavern.

“Stay in formation!”

“Oh relax Sarge, I could clear this place on my own!”

“Now! Diamond pattern for the boss. Jon, you’re point. I have a feeling this one’s going to be venomous, so make sure to cover Fia.”

Time to fight. Maiz kept his gaze trained on the entrance, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hugan’s armored form shift slightly. Even without seeing his face, he knew the Warden was sporting a grin.