I looked up at the massive sixteen-foot statues and swallowed. We stood before one of the large estates, almost a castle, and two tall stone statues flanked the entrance, almost like guards. They resembled classical fully plated warriors with shields and swords with faces hidden behind helmets with scaly wings on the side that angled back.

If this works, I might be able to stomp through with a stone army, I thought as I looked at the Goliarn beside me. He was staring at me with a gruff look of expectancy.

"Step back," I said as I moved towards the knee of the stone statue and put my hand on it.

With a deep breath, I tried to pull a vengeful spirit inside. Instantly, a swirl of angry spirits rushed towards me, and not for the first time I wondered if there were so many in some locations because of high death counts. The spirits seemed almost to hesitate. Then one surged inside.

The statue glowed dully for a moment, then the head moved, looking down as the stone groaned.

"By Cinderage's burning balls," the Goliarn behind me shouted.

I ignored him as I waited to see if the stone version of the vengeful spirit would do anything else, but it just looked at me.

"Oh man," I muttered as I moved to the next one and pulled in another spirit.

When both stone giants stood, watching me, I tried to imagine them running into the fight and grinned wickedly.

"Okay, we need more of these," I said as I turned to the Goliarn.

"Better not tell anyone I brought you here to steal these things," the Goliarn said as he glanced at the castle beyond the gate. "The Pelion's aren't known to take kindly to thieves."

"I'm sure they will be okay with it," I said.

"Sure," the Goliarn said, obviously not agreeing with me.

Ten minutes later, a dull rumbling came as we ran through the city, followed by a small army of almost thirty stone giants. When we reached a massive square, battle cries and metal on metal came from the distance.

"Panlir, head back to Kira and tell her to keep an eye out for the battle. As soon as I attack, she needs to get ready to stop any of the enemies from fleeing into the ciy," I said as I turned to the Goliarn.

"Sure, Brew," he grumbled, staring down at me. "You be careful, and I'll be sure to spread your title as you asked. The Deliverance, right?"

"Yeah, and thanks," I said as I turned to the two wooden vengeful spirits. "Guard him," I ordered before waving to Panlir. "They won't last long too far from me, so if something happens, run. I'll buy you a drink when this is all over!"

"Good," the massive Goliarn said. Then he turned and ran back in the direction of the south gate.

As I watched him go, I hoped my guess would prove true, that each of my titles would work independently. If Rathica needed Karma, this would be the most efficient way.

"Now, let's see how well you do in battle, Bob," I said as I turned to the biggest of the stone soldiers. Almost twenty-foot tall, Bob stood a head above the rest, able to look across many of the surrounding buildings. Just a simple vengeful spirit, I'd named him more for my own sanity than anything else.

With a mental command, he bent down and picked me up and placed me on his shoulder. I held onto the wings of his helm.

"Forward," I said while sending the same mental command.

No longer required to hold to our slower pace, the vengeful stone giants began thudding through the streets that seemed too narrow for them. I encountered no resistance this time, which suited me just fine.

The east gate was a mess, the stone entrance doors reduced to crumbled debris, while bodies littered the ground. A chaotic melee was visible beyond the wall, with small red demonic shapes flying above, flitting down to attack soldiers when they least expected it.

Flying demons, I thought as I frowned. Those could become a problem.

I only counted a few dozen, though, which got me thinking where the mass I'd seen before where. Had I burned them all? Unlikely.

The dark green garbed Tenziran defenders were fighting side by side with a host of other soldiers, but it was hard to make out who was the enemy.

I directed my force across the square and tried to ignore the bodies that their massive feet flattened, skulls crushing and bones snapping. Bob had to bend low to move below the gate, but when we passed it, the full power of the hymn of war flooded over me. From my high vantage point, I could see that the battlefield sprawled far, pockets of more organized soldiers slaughtering their way around the chaos, picking of others like predators. Far behind the army was a group of mounted soldiers, Nailhound officers by the looks of them.

"Well, Bob, I guess we've found our first target," I said as I gave a mental image. Bob and the others surged forward, lumbering, ungainly brutes undeterred by the danger ahead. The ground began to shake with their stampede, and as I held onto Bob's stone helmet, I drew in a deep breath.

"Tenziran defenders, make way!" I roared, my voice barely audible above the sounds of battle and the thudding of ten-ton feet.

Still, some of the soldiers nearest the gate, defenders and enemies alike, disengaged and looked up. I wasn't sure if it was because of my shout or Bob and his brethren, and I didn't care. If I wanted to make full use of the vengeful spirits, I needed a good, clean division between defenders and attackers. Whatever way would get me their attention would be fine.

"Tenziran! Regroup at the gate," I roared, waving my hand at the gate behind me.

A few of the green-garbed defenders began withdrawing, made easier when the Elision soldiers began running from the path of the vengeful stone giants.

Still, the largest part of the massive battlefield had not yet seen us, meaning I was as likely to harm Tenziran soldiers as the Elisions.

A drum-beat started from behind me, loud and deep, and a shiver ran through the battle in front of me. I turned to find a group of warriors had appeared on the wall behind me. Had those been there before? I grunted as I looked at them in their luxurious armors and suddenly recognized Captain Gaudalin. She was waving at me, pointing at the far end of the battle. Behind her, a pair of soldiers were bashing down on a massive round drum.

Yeah, I saw them, I thought as I waved at her before turning to the army just in time for Bob and the others to reach the line.

Soldiers were fleeing in all directions in their hurry not to get trampled, but ahead were still pockets of fighting which would need to get out of the way. Still, the drum had been more effective than my shouting. The defenders were rapidly trying to disengage, head back and out of my path.

Should have remembered that armies have battle signals, I thought, cursing myself for not looking if there had been any leaders of the defenders' army left.

I looked as the Tenziran defending army disengaged, those on the sides running back to the gate, while the others slowly regrouped. They weren't fast enough.

Let's hope we don't hurt too many defenders, I thought as the first enemies began attacking my vengeful stone giants.

--

In the end, I knew I would never know how many defenders were crushed by my massive stone brutes. Still, when the Elision army began withdrawing en masse, running towards their leaders, a deafening cheer erupted from around me nonetheless.

"Good job, Bob," I muttered, watching the rout.

At some point, I'd thought they would fight till the death. However, as soon as I'd taken out the more organized Nailhounds, almost getting sniped in the process, it was as if a spell had been lifted from the simpler soldiers. Now, the largest group was running for their lives, many having dropped their weapons as they swarmed away.

I looked back at the thousands of defenders assembled behind me. A few of the stone statues had been brought down, bulging gray lumps in the mass of soldiers like stones in a river. Most were still intact, though, moving forward in an uneven line. The Nailhounds groups had managed to bring one down with ropes before I realized what they were doing, but as soon as I sent two giants to each group, they had been helpless. It didn't seem like the Elision army was used to fighting stone giants with no sense of pain or fear. I couldn't blame them.

Far ahead, I saw the mounted group of Elision officers had turned in an orderly fashion, moving southward along the edge of Lestinin's Drowning. The remains of their army were streaming after them, and I hesitated if I should pursue. Then I saw how quickly the officers were, their mounts sprinting forward like a blur, and I shook my head. For all their strengths, speed wasn't one of my vengeful stone giant's powers. With a weary sigh, I commanded them to stop.

A sudden silence descended upon the battlefield, the constant thudding of the giant feet finally silenced as the cheering stopped. I turned to find all eyes on me, bloodied smiles mixed with looks of weary pain. Far beyond lay Tenziran, the giant trees I'd created poking out over the sprawling city amidst plumes of smoke.

A rush went through the army, starting at the far left, and suddenly my status window went crazy with pings, more so than even when I was creating the trees. A soft chanting began on one side of the army, quickly growing to become understandable.

"Deliverance, Deliverance-"

As the chanting voices grew in number, the individual pings became indiscernible, turning into a low whine from my status window before stopping altogether. I felt a rush go through me as my face turned red from embarrassment. It looked like Panlir had managed to hold true to his promise, but not exactly as I'd expected.

I hope that's enough Karma for you, Rathica, I thought, as I directed Bob to return to the city. The army split to let us pass, but the chanting only grew, and an echo was starting from the city.

Eliandra is never going to believe this, I thought.

--

Far below the ground, in a long-forgotten city, an explosion rattled dusty old buildings. Faint screams came from inside, but the powerful beings standing at Boglodon's shadowy outskirts ignored them.

"That brat of yours is proving useful again," Ulderion groaned from where he sat, back against an odd, purple-leafed tree. Gleaming green leaves formed above his head, rushing towards the barrier every few seconds.

"How about you give him to me? I'll make him into my most powerful treant," Ulderion said with a mock grin.

His duly glowing eyes were focused on a multifaceted barrier that separated the city from the rest of the expansive cave system beyond. A green and purple mist suspended behind it, swirling chaotically as occasional shapes formed into horrendous visages. Sometimes the purple turned black as a multitude of small, slit pupils stared at them from all around.

Dull gold made up most of the barrier, with watery blue swaths, lines of green leaves, and scales of gray less frequent.

"Yes and no," Rathica snarled through clenched teeth. She stood before the barrier, her arms raised as a weak golden light spread from her hands.

A hulking brute of a man stood beside her, stony plates growing across his bare upper body and silvery light gleaming along the edges. Gray light rose from him, adding to the barrier.

"No matter how good he is, we need more," he said, his voice rough and dry, like boulders rolling and sliding across each other. "I did warn you. You should have gotten yourself more Primes when you had the chance."

Rathica looked to The Stone with a snort. "Like all those Prime's of yours are helping that much!"

"You can act tough if you want," The Stone rumbled, not sounding aggrieved. "But until a minute ago, you weren't contributing."

Rathica didn't answer but refocused her attention on the barrier, trying to finish the network of self-sustaining magic they had been trying to build for days now. If they could manage it, it would free their hands. It was a big if, though.

"Where are Flowheart and Wyerg?" the Stone asked, turning around to scan around. "It is almost their turn to take over. Your energy is almost gone, and I can't hold this on my own."

"Still inside, trying in vain to contact their Primes or reach their domains," Ulderion said, closing his eyes. "I'm out," he muttered as the few green leaflike energy bursts stopped.

Although he didn't apologize, a wave of simmering anger laced his voice.

"I've got a bit left," Rathica said as she strained again.

"Do you think the brat got your message?" Ulderian asked.

A pair of footsteps interrupted them as Flowheart appeared around a building. Wyerg padded silently beside her, his eyes gleaming brightly.

"He had better," Flowheart snapped coldly as she moved beside Rathica.

"Neither of us had any luck, meaning he is the only one who even knows what's going on. Let's just hope he tells the other Primes. Just him won't be enough."

Water essence rushed out of Flowheart, quickly coloring the barrier blue. A sharper silver, like blades, came from Wyerg, and Rathica lowered her arms as she walked away, her face drawn and weary.

"I'll stay a bit," the Stone rumbled.

"Suit yourself," Ulderian said as he got up and followed Rathica, who wordlessly moved into the city.

When they were a good distance away, the tree deity sighed.

"They are right to be angry and worried. If we don't get out of here before Ux gains supremacy over the roaming demons below the sea-"

"I know," Rathica snapped. "What do you expect me to do?"

Ulderian laughed softly.

"A miracle might be nice. Perhaps you could figure out how that spell works? If we can manage to finish forming the Pantheon, you might be able to blast our way out," he said.

Rathica didn't respond, her jaw set and an angry glint in her eyes.

They moved towards a stone building with branches filled with fruits poking out from it. Small trees lined the border, and people sat inside, huddled together and either dully looking at the ground or each other. They barely looked up when the two deities moved inside, a far cry from before.

"I've been trying for days," Rathica said. "The thing makes no sense!"

Ulderion grunted in agreement as they both stood before a four-by-four canvas, magically hovering in the air at the back of the room. Minute glyphs covered it, some glowing in odd patterns, others dull.

"I still think it's a puzzle," Ulderion said. "It reminds me of something..."

"Unless you can remember, stop interrupting me," Rathica said as she stepped forward and began inspecting the glyphs.

Ulderion said nothing as he quietly watched how she began rearranging the glyphs, forming different patterns, so complex even half of the deities here didn't understand.

After a short while, he sat down, closed his eyes, and continued his almost impossible task of weaving through the chaotic barrier that held them to try and contact the few Prime's he had managed to make.