If he’d seen this yesterday, Hugan knew his jaw would be dragging on the ground beneath them as they walked. While he’d been outside the Temple before, it was set up with overhangs and crenellations, so it was difficult to see just how large it was. He assumed something must still be hidden, because while the squat, rectangular block of stone behind them was large, it wasn’t nearly massive enough to contain the Path.

But that captured Hugan’s attention for all of a second. It wasn’t as though a bit of hidden stone was nearly as impossible as the Path itself--something so outlandish that even the strangest tales didn’t compare--and besides, there was something far more impressive before him now.

The wall around the Temple was itself a wonder--pure, black stone, high enough to dwarf the Temple behind them, higher than any building in Caelos. Hugan imagined the great walls of Corunti, which surrounded the capital and protected the inhabitants from monster raids, looked something like this barrier.

But that wasn’t the impressive part.

While the wall ringed the Temple in a wide circle, it still left only a few dozen meters of bare sand between itself and the Temple. But beyond it, more than twice the size of the first wall, was a second. It had dominated Hugan’s field of vision as they exited, but even as they walked towards the edge of the first wall, he could still see it soaring above. The pure height was difficult enough to grasp, but this wall seemed to enclose a far greater area than the first--its length boggled his mind.

It was almost enough to make him forget that his friend was stranded in the desert, alone.

“The first wall seems to respond to our stamina.” Their Adept commander spoke softly, respectfully, to Lila. They slowed as they approached the black stone, then stopped. Absently, Hugan reached out and touched it, then instinctively jerked his hand back. Black stone in the desert would be hot enough to burn. But…

“It is completely cool, young man.” The gray-haired Adept smiled and let out a light chuckle as he lifted a hand of his own.

Hugan felt his fists ball up. Laughing? He had to have heard about Maiz by now. Lila had gone to every single powerful person in the Temple she could think of, while Hugan spent hours trying to break down the door to the Path. Ziya had healed his wounds, but she couldn’t do anything about the smoldering frustration building up inside him.

“Calm.” Ziya’s whisper and the hand on his arm only made him angrier, but his friend’s piercing gaze brought him back to his senses. He’d suggested--perhaps ‘demanded’ was a better word--that they leave immediately, find a way through the wall and whatever other defenses the Temple erected, and find Maiz themselves. He could see in Lila’s face that she’d agreed with him, but Ziya had told them both to remain level-headed. They needed to know the new rules, how the defenses worked, before they could break them properly she’d said. Right.

A sharp thunk broke him out of his reverie. The commander’s palm lay flat against the black stone of the wall, his posture indicating he’d just struck it. Not hard, Hugan assumed. He knew all about attacking impregnable stone, now. It hurt.

Lila, standing directly beside the commander, opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the stone of the wall retracted with a grinding sound, a line opening up smoothly beneath the commander’s palm and widening into a rectangular opening. The smooth action of the stone shifting sent a shiver down Hugan’s neck. It seemed wrong, somehow.

“If you use a skill on it, this will happen. The opening closes once the user has passed through it. We think it will also deactivate if the user dies, but that is pure speculation.”

Lila grunted, her face drawing back into the scowl she’d held since waking Hugan last night. “Seems insecure.”

The commander let out another infuriating laugh. “The Jin’Sa herself examined it at dawn. She said that it seemed almost blessed by our Lord in its strength. Impregnable, to any but us.”

“What about the second one?” Hugan knew it was rude to omit the sir from any elder, not least an Adept as strong as this man. He didn’t much care.

The man looked at Hugan with a professional eye. For a moment, he seemed to be sizing Hugan up like his ba did a shipment of iron, but the look faded into cool indifference. “Still incredibly strong, and of truly marvelous size, but without the function or the strength of this wall. One presumes that the great champion did not have the resources at hand to enchant something so large. Indeed, this wall is the single greatest feat of magical construction I have heard of--excluding the Path, of course.”

In other words, they couldn’t pass through the outer wall like they could this one, but it wouldn’t be as strong either. There has to be a way through. Probably not a gate, but something.

“Come now, go through first.”

Lila muttered something under her breath as they passed through the slit in the black stone, the commander bringing up the rear. The wall was thick enough that they spent a moment in complete shadow, but as he exited, Hugan blinked.

Far from a wasteland of golden-red sand like the rest of the desert, this area looked like a field at the eastern edge of Caelos--a tapestry of green and yellow set against the dark backdrop of soil beneath. Men and women in white tunics worked with scythes and baskets at exaggerated speed throughout the fields, tending crops and gathering what they could. Rice, it looked like, with some other grains and root vegetables in sight. All things they’d been eating for the past month. Hugan probably should have wondered about that earlier.

“So that’s why they’re so godsdamned far from the Temple!” Lila sounded like a great mystery had finally been solved for her, though discontent still colored her tone. “Hold on. Why couldn’t he have just made them closer to the Temple?”

The commander was already moving along the inner wall, but he looked back at them.

“There are now fortresses around each of the watering holes. More than enough space to house or forces for the time being. As for why the great champion made the watering holes so far from the Temple, I could not say, though certainly the smaller wall would not contain our fields. Perhaps he felt it better that they be located far enough away to provide space for crops, even if that meant less protection in case of invasion?”

Lila grunted. “More like he just forgot. Or he wanted to make us work harder for a laugh.”

The commander didn’t reply, though he did half-turn as he walked, and Hugan could see his jaw tensing. Good.

“And now we can’t get more water, right?”

“Correct.”

“So that’s why they’re harvesting the crops. Because he closed the godsdamned Path, we don’t have the water to irrigate them.”

“The shadow of the walls would have killed the crops regardless.”

Lila’s scoff ended all conversation for a few moments. Hugan spent them sizing up the wall. It was large enough to make seeing the top a little difficult, but he thought it seemed like there was some kind of ledge at the top. He couldn’t see any sign of an opening, however. Why not ask?

“How does the outer wall work?” He tried his best not to sound too eager, but he’d never been good at this sort of thing. Maiz wouldn’t have had a problem getting whatever he needed out of the commander, and leaving the man thinking that he’d given away nothing.

“It is a marvel. There is weaponry built into the workings, though we are not properly equipped to use the more advanced machines. Our scouts have access to the top via each of the towers, and you will be expected to manage reports from your own scouts, among other duties.”

Though Hugan had asked the question, the commander directed his words at Lila, who scowled in reply.

“So what, she actually took that crazy old--”

“--Lila.” The word was flat. The commander didn’t turn, just kept walking. They passed more fields left untended as of yet. Hugan had no doubt the monks would get to them eventually. “The young are important. The survival of the Temple is our first priority. The survival of our people is the second. But we value the growth of the next generation--”

“--if you’re going to tell me you would have given me a tower and a contingent, I--”

“--what about aerial attack?” Ziya spoke softly as always, but Lila still stopped immediately. Hugan’s brain took a moment to process her words, but the commander was already answering, quicker to change topics.

“One of the first things the Jin tested. A thrown rock slid away through the air as if there were a dome above us, covering the outer wall from edge to edge. It doesn’t appear to pose a problem for us at the top of the wall, however. ”

Ziya nodded, and didn’t say more.

Finally, a circular bump in the wall came into view. Anywhere else, it might have been an impressive sight, but the wall it was built into made it seem only a slightly interesting decoration rather than the tower it was.

The commander stopped, finally turning, the tower rising up behind him like a giant shadow. Menacing. He looked at Lila for a moment, but then his eyes locked straight on Hugan’s. He felt power, but also the weight of simple experience. It felt something like looking at his mother when she was especially serious.

“We are at war. The Jin’Aba’s request or not, both of you will have a taste of command. It is not a privilege. It is a responsibility to those you lead. Do not fail them.”

Hugan opened his mouth even as an angry puff of air sounded from Lila, but a smile stopped him.

“Yes, I have a responsibility as well. I will try.” He looked at Lila. “I cannot promise that I will succeed, nor that I will be fast enough, but I will try.”

Hugan nodded, though the man was still looking at Lila. Fine. But whatever the man said about the responsibility of command, Hugan knew one thing--he had a responsibility to Maiz. He wouldn’t begrudge the commander his effort, but he echoed the man’s promise, strengthened it.

We’ll come for you. However we can.