Escaping our pursuers was more difficult than I'd expected, but not hard enough to be worrying.

We'd caught the warning early enough, and headed out ahead of the search. I snatched backwards glances as we retreated, trying to get a feel for what we were up against. The parties the fortress was sending out spread into the surroundings at irregular intervals, but they were taking a thoroughly methodical approach to their search. They proceeded regularly down the marked paths, weaving between rocks and hills, always keeping each other in sight and checking to the front and the sides.

For a moment, I wondered if we should have stayed inside the River of Stars and waited until they passed, but I quickly dismissed the idea. They would have definitely noticed the missing chain.

"Do you have a plan for this?" Yse's voice was ever so slightly nervous.

"Yeah, it's simple enough." I half-crouched, leaning forwards. "We just have to outrun them."

Well, I didn't actually run, at least not at first. I kept low, ducking and weaving behind anything that would block their line of sight, scrambling across the ground in a half-crouch, half-jog. It was tiring, but I kept it up, and managed to maintain our distance.

When they finally spotted me, I heard the yell, and finally straightened up, breaking into a sprint. By then, we were nearly halfway to the edge of the city.

"Can you see a stair?" I tried to keep my breathing steady.

"Yes, there's one… a bit to the left!"

I turned as I felt her nudge my neck, and tried to ignore how it made my scalp tingle. Friendly spider, friendly spider… I pushed the phobia out of my mind and kept moving. I could hear our pursuers gathering behind me, the yells growing louder, but I pushed that out of my mind too, focusing on keeping my speed up and not tripping on the rough ground.

As we drew near the edge, I heard Yse muttering something, and suddenly, the stair faded into view. I adjusted my course again and risked a glance back over my shoulder. My pursuers were close enough I could make out their clothes, but not their faces; as long as I didn't fall, we would make it.

I stumbled into the bottom of the stairwell with a clatter, and for a moment I scrambled on hands and knees before getting my feet under me and vaulting upwards. When I was nearing the top, I heard people pile in below - kinda, the curvature made that weird - and pushed the last little bits of energy I had into taking the last steps two at a time. I spun the bolt and slipped through the door, slamming it closed and fishing in my pockets.

"What are you—"

I whipped the key out and slammed it home, locking the door before turning it halfway back. Then I sprinted off again.

"—Oh, I see."

"Yeah, they can't, open it, like that…" I spun around a corner and slammed my back to the wall, leaning down to hang my head and pant. "Unless it's better made than most locks that style." It had a single keyway, and unless they sent someone around to remove the key from this side, their only choice was to break down the door. The super-secret invisible door.

I slid to the ground and looked around. No-one had paid much attention to my mad dash. I took a few more breaths, forced myself back to my feet, and stumbled into an alley.

A few turns later, and we were good as gone.

Our second attempt to gather information went a little more smoothly.

I had originally been curious about what exactly the underground did. Now, I was a little more hesitant to pry into that. However, I still wanted information; on Nepenthe, mostly, but now also on the correspondence we'd picked up from that courier.

The it was actually fairly easy, after I changed my strategy. I wandered back across town, taking time to recollect my thoughts and get my wind back. When I was feeling more recovered, I turned into the nearest pub and starting asking questions.

Gossip was always the easiest source of information, in any town with a bar. Sometimes you could even hear worthwhile bits and pieces just by sitting in the corner and drinking. I took a slightly more proactive approach, casing likely barflies and buying them a few drinks, then carefully asking them about the local Lords. We were, understandably, the celebrities around here. I learned some interesting things, and after the fourth or fifth bar, I had some idea what my self-proclaimed adversary was like.

"So, what do you think?" I asked Yse, as our latest informant took her leave.

"She seems more… reasonable than I would have expected, from someone who issued a challenge in the street." The spider was carefully webbing the saltcellar shut; I watched bemused as she gently lowered the lid, hiding the web inside and sealing the container for the next unsuspecting customer.

"Yeah." I put Yse's antics out of my mind, and took another sip of my… well, it was less revolting than the last drink I'd had, but it still wasn't what I'd consider good. At least it was alcohol. "Seems like she's high-handed but fair. I think her ultimatum might have been more about some strange code of honor than about watching us squirm, like Coatli said."

"Have you considered why she's doing this?"

"Well, she said she wants land…" I rubbed my forehead. "But you're right, taking her at her word is pretty foolish. I don't even know how her attacking us would work. Is it an invasion, like when monsters walk into my territory?"

Thankfully, the 'You're being invaded!' notifications hadn't flooded me like I feared the might. I guess the stalemate between Mighty Lizard and Mr. Hermit was continuing, and the territory near the Draconian village I'd re-marked was already so full of monsters any more invaders were probably being eaten.

"I don't think so." Yse rubbed her forelegs over her face. "My knowledge of this is a bit thin, but I believe you would have a Dungeon Battle."

"I don't have a dungeon, though," I pointed out.

"…True." She cocked her head to one side, thinking. "But you should when the challenge comes around, as long as she waits a whole week. Well, let's call it six nights; say she attacks you the evening before the seventh day. I believe you will have repaired enough marks to set up a proper dungeon by then."

"Alright." I nodded. "So, dungeon battle?"

"Right. Well, when one Lord enacts hostilities in another's domain, the defender gains some advantages from the Voice of the World. But there are ways to mitigate that, and the biggest one is to declare intent before attacking. Invaders can aim for regalia, land, or monsters; limiting themselves to any of those things will lessen the handicap somewhat. If they say nothing, the assumption is they've come to seize the Heart, and the defender gets full support.

"The thing is, most of that support is aimed towards enhancing the defender's dungeon. I think I mentioned, when we were examining the lectern in your Sanctuary, that the dungeon is a separate space?"

I nodded.

"Well, intruders onto your Domain can be forced into that space. The battle takes place there, using your advantages, and the victor gets the spoils."

"If we won… what would the spoils be?" I asked, interested.

"Probably progression of your aspects." She shrugged her second pair of legs.

"And how does she win, if she wants land? Can she just, say, mark the part of the dungeon she's in, or does she need to fight all the way through, break out of my dungeon somehow?"

"Well, I'm not really certain." She shifted a bit. "I only know this much about dungeon battles because Cuahuli seized his Ensnare Regalia during one. That… caused him trouble later, even though he wasn't the instigator."

"How did he even get to another Domain?" I frowned.

"Through Crossroads." She absently picked up a peanut from a nearby dish and started wrapping it webbing. "It was some conspiracy; I don't know the details. Raak probably would, but…" She sighed. "Anyways, Cuahuli picked a group of us, and we marched through Crossroads, meeting another Lord at one of the gates. They did… something, I'm still not sure what, and opened a passage into the dungeon of the Lord we were attacking. I can only say how my battle went - we got pinned down by a sniper and I missed most of the fighting. But at the end, we were ejected back to Crossroads, and my Lord had seized a Regalia."

"I see." I nodded, thinking over the implications of that. Was Crossroads originally intended to help facilitate battles between Lords? This city was currently exceedingly fortified; most groups had delineated some area, and defended it zealously. Would I have to worry about being invaded through Crossroads in the future?

"Afterwards, he was censured for participating. The Convocation apparently did not like Dungeon Battles."

"Hmm." I rested my chin in my palm and thought.

"Who was that other Lord you were asking about?"

"Hmm?"

Yse finished wrapping the peanut and placed it back in the bowl. I casually fished it out and dropped it on the floor.

"You were asking about someone else besides Nepenthe, right?"

"Oh, yeah." I nodded. "Ayarat. Apparently one of his generals is conspiring against him. I wanted to learn what I could about him and his Domain."

"And you know this because…?"

"Oh, the correspondence we, uh, liberated." I tapped my jacket pocket where I'd folded the papers. "It seemed like it might be useful."

"Are you hatching a scheme?" Yse cocked her head at me.

"Maybe." I let a smile play around my lips. "Well, I've got the beginnings of one, but there's no end goal yet. We'll see." I stood. "Come on, let's get back to Coatli. We've still got preparations to make."

Yse tensed to jump, but relaxed. "Arm?"

"Oh, right." I held out one hand to her, and she scurried up my sleeve. "Thank you."

When we got back, Coatli was drilling his squad again. They were flitting through the air over the manor, careening around the edges of the Sanctuary and stabbing at each other with spears. When we showed up, he led them in an impressive aerial salute, before landing right before us.

"Have fun? Learn anything useful?" He grinned.

"Yes!" Yse cheered.

"Maybe." I ran my hand through my hair. "We definitely found something. How goes the training?" I jerked my chin at the Draconians.

"Better and better." He nodded. "I believe we have enough rudimentary teamwork to survive in the jungle."

"Good, because we're going to need to rush."

"Hey, don't worry about us." He smirked. "You'll be the one holding us back."

"That's true, isn't it." I sighed. "I am the weakest link here."

"Hey, don't take it too hard." He shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that."

"No, you're right." I shrugged. "I've been considering this for a while, but I think I should take a chance with the Spirit stat." I turned to the door next to us, leading to the Path of Dreams.

"Yeah?" He grimaced. "We still don't know what it costs. Unless you do, Yse?"

"No." The spider shook her head. "Cuahuli was done with the Path of Dreams before I met him. All I know is that the cost he paid was something intangible."

"I'll just have to trust the Voice." I frowned. "I don't believe it's malicious."

"Why not?"

My eyebrows shot up at Coatli's words.

"I do agree with you," he hastened to add, "but I'm curious as to why you think that way."

"It's something my grandmother believed," I said slowly. "According to her, the Voice is a force of balance, and doesn't give or ask more than someone is ready for. That doesn't mean catastrophe won't follow, but that it comes from the choices of the receiver. The gifts themselves are made in good faith."

"Mmm." He nodded. "Draconians - well, in my time at least - believe the Voice is like the sun and rain, falling on all equally, and failure to seize its power comes from a lack of courage, not strength."

"Well, more personally…" I paused. "I've never felt that the Voice has tried to trick me or drag me down." I shrugged. "Sometimes it takes a bit of lateral thinking to use my skills effectively or something, but yeah. Anyways, I'm going to do this. You coming?"

"Sorry, no." He spread his wings. "Too busy."

"Yse?" I asked the spider.

"Wild tigers couldn't keep me away!" She leaped excitedly to the door.

I turned and pushed it open.

Inside, it was the same golden-warm wood and precisely placed pedestals. Without pausing or stopping to doubt myself, I stepped forwards and plucked the Tears of Tonalzinti from their pedestal.

"Will you receive the dream of Tonalzinti?" The Voice echoed in my ears.

There was a flash of white, and then everything went black.

The tree stood atop a mountain.

It lived in the harsh rocky places, surrounded by crags and whipped by storms.

Still, it stood strong.

It bowed to the wind, but refused to break; it was slashed by the rain but kept its grip on the earth, never washed away.

Its trunk was golden and its leaves were pale.

On the calm days, it basked in the sunbeams and stretched taller, slowly, steadily, pushing its shoots upwards, spreading branches outwards, reaching skywards with the calm tenacity that flowed up from its deep roots.

It grew.

At some point, the winds could no longer shake it.

At some point, the rains could no longer penetrate its foliage.

Leaves fell, on occasion, and the rocks beneath it were slowly covered with earth, then grass.

Its roots delved deeper, tiny tips burrowing into the rock, shattering the stone into boulders, then rubble, then pebbles.

Birds came to nest in its branches.

In due time it flowered, and became acquainted with bees.

Seasons passed slowly and peacefully.

One day, a boy came.

The tree didn't pay him much attention at first - in fact, it barely understood what 'attention' meant at this point, but something was beginning to quicken in it like sap in spring, and the arrival of the boy hastened that.

He clambered up the mountain, finally pausing to rest when he reached its shade, looking up in awe at the verdant giant.

When he finished his lunch, he put a hand to the lowest branch and climbed into the sky.

It was the wonder and joy he felt, standing on the highest limb, looking out over the fierce mountains and howling winds, that crystalized into the tree's first thought.

This is a good place.

The rain fell, the sun shone, and the tree grew.

The boy didn't come often, but what is time to a tree?

He grew taller and broader, but the tree's limbs never bent under his feet.

Eventually, he came less and less, and when he stood with the tree and looked out over the valley, there was less and less joy in him.

He began to wither.

Finally, the tree thought he had stopped coming.

But one day, in the late evening, a figure made its way up the mountain.

They sat together and watched the sunset.

When he rose to a go, a fruit fell beside him.

It was rough and bitter, but filled with small golden seeds.

He picked it up, bowed once to the tree, and walked back down the valley.

He never came again.

My vision swam, and the room spun into focus around me.

"Ooog." I clutched my head. That had been… intense.

"Will you mark this Regalia?"

The Voice was a whisper in my ear. I almost began to gather magic, but stopped myself.

That had been a question, a choice.

Caveat Emptor tickled my brain. Buyer beware.

Make a mark or… I remembered the question before the vision. Accept the dream?

It was a blind guess, but… I didn't really want to use the spell.

What sort of buyer was more despised than one who refused to pay?

"I will not mark this." I firmed my resolve.

"You have accepted the Dream of Tonalzinti."

A weight of emotion, hundreds of years of reaching for the sun, weathering the rain, sheltering a tiny patch of mountain, only to sow a single fruit, crashed into me. A burden of meaning - I couldn't tell what it meant yet, but I knew it was important - blazed in my brain.

"For agreeing to pay the price, your Path begins to advance. Strive to fulfill the Dreams you bear in accordance to your understanding and ability."

There was a flicker, and we were standing outside the Path.

"You have gained a second Regalia. Your Dominon grows, and your influence upon the Land is strengthened."

"You have gained the aspect of Fire. Prove its worth upon the world, consuming all in your path, giving no quarter and asking none in return."

The Voice faded, and I stood staring at the vial in my hand, filled with small golden seeds.

"What," Yse asked quietly, "the hell just happened?"

"I'm rather uncertain myself," was all I could reply.

"All I know is, there was a tree…"