Jake buffed himself up with a two-minute-long Armor/Absorb spell. Only a fifth of the usual potency he’d use, but pulling this off and escaping alive might well take all his mana. The knot in his stomach didn’t have much confidence in his odds of success.

His mana ticked up slowly. He tugged at his bottom lip. The creatures spawned like clockwork once a minute, but there were still too many unknowns. Would the caves beyond be filled with enemies as well? Would he be able to remember the route back? Would a powerful blastbolt even be enough to shatter the totem?

One way to find out. Worst case, he needed more intel from Death, anyway.

Twenty seconds stretched out into an eternity. The knot twisted a little tighter. He would have cast a weak Heal too, but that wasn’t an option anymore. Those damned bargains. Dying definitely wasn’t plan A.

Pressure pounded against his chest. Should he have given up fear instead? He poked his head around the corner. What good did fear do him, anyway? He could have been picking up what was left of his real life, not about to hit and run a totem shrouded in dark magic.

He pulled on his mana and cast the Levitate spell. Thirty-five seconds duration. Get in, blast it, get out.

Magic tingled through him. He ran out of the tunnel and jumped. Air rushed across his face. He soared over the creatures’ heads, a mix of goblins, savage orcs, and other grotesque creatures.

Shouts rang out below him. Irrelevant. He dodged and weaved, heading for the totem. If he was close enough, he could fire through one of the holes. Destroy the totem, save the town, be a hero.

The good kind of hero.

He swerved, narrowly dodging being impaled by a bolt as thick as his fist. Was that orc carrying a crossbow or a ballista? No matter. He kept dodging, evading a flurry of arrows.

One shot was all he had. He wove the Blastbolt spell, its power straining against his control. Time for those levels in Cast in Motion to really pay off.

A goblin screamed below him. Jake smirked. What came up had to come down. Friendly fire was inevitable.

121 piercing damage received!

The impact sent him spinning. His mana smashed against the confines of the spell, nearly shattering it.

Nearly was still enough. Right on schedule, a hole opened in the barrier. Jake flew in close. Missing wasn’t an option.

“Ronka!” The white Blastbolt shot out of his hands and straight through the gap. Direct hit.

The totem shook. Magic rippled through it. Jake soared, turned, and headed for the exit.

Had it worked? The crashing behind him said yes. Either way, he had to go.

He dodged and weaved, evading a hail of arrows and bolts. Ahead was the tunnel. He could make it. He could get out of here in one piece.

55 dark damage received (74 absorbed)!

HP: 49/225

Agony ignited every nerve in his body. He gritted his teeth. It was keep moving or die. Jake self-cast a rapid, short-duration Absorb spell and stole a glance over his shoulder. The totem had shattered into multiple pieces. Above it hovered a dark spherical cloud, a storm of sparking power.

Another glance. Glowing purple eyes stared out of the storm. Ice ran down Jake’s spine. What was that thing?

A problem for later. Levitation time was nearly up and the jagged rocks below looked more than happy to break his body alongside his fall. He guided himself down and a force tapped at his back.

0 dark damage received (145 absorbed)!

He dared to smile. That was more like it. Jake hit the ground running and activated Mind Over Body, more than tripling his speed. He dodged from side to side as he sprinted away, narrowly evading another dark bolt.

Dark magic? His chest tightened. Focus, Jake. Focus!

Shouting and banging echoed up the tunnel from behind. Were they following? Jake raced around the corner and kept going, picking out the tunnels they’d come through originally. The more distance he could gain on the dungeon spawn before he had to slow, the better.

He had to get to Valbort asap and meet up with the others. They’d be there, waiting, alive and well. They didn’t have an army chasing them.

Maybe the dwarves would know more about that thing, too. Was it a caster, a demon? Or worse? Jake gulped. Probably the latter, which made gaining distance all the more important.

His stamina disagreed, and Mind Over Body was burning through what little was left of his mana. He was already half dead. Without mana or stamina, even a single goblin could make that fully dead all too easily.

Damn Death and his crooked deals. Healing would have been pretty useful about now. Jake clenched his fists. All he could do about it now was deal with the consequences. He reached for a potion and winced. All that hoarding the potions, and he’d blown them up. Might as well have used them when he had the chance.

He dropped Mind Over Body and hid behind a huge stalagmite. No Stealth—he needed his stamina to recharge. His heart pounded. If any of them came looking for him here…

He listened out, his chest tightening at every noise. Had he lost them?

Why hadn’t he just gone with the others? The totem wasn’t their problem. The dwarves had hundreds of soldiers. They could have held the line.

Jake swallowed. Most of those dwarves were raw recruits, ordinary men and women forced to defend their homes. What good were they against an enemy that could spawn vicious creatures out of thin air?

It had been the right call, but was the real threat the totem or the demonic being staring out of that storm cloud? His gut said this wasn’t over.

No sound of pursuit. At least he was safe for now, anyway. That was one upside of how complicated these tunnels were—searching for him wouldn’t be simple, even with an army.

Jake headed on, keeping low-powered Armor and Absorb effects up at all times. He snuck up to each corner, peered around it, and then walked to the next, using as little light as he could get away with.

It wasn’t far to Valbort, not that it felt like it. Cavern after cavern, each one potentially holding another involuntary visit to that smug god of shitty deals.

At last, a faint glow at the end of the tunnel. Jake braced himself against the tunnel wall and shook. How long since he’d been safe? He swallowed. He wasn’t safe yet. He still had to make it to the gatehouse. Even then, there’d be a portcullis and a gate barring his way. He snuck up to the end of the tunnel and peered out.

Valbort’s welcoming light rolled out from the gatehouse, fighting a futile battle against the darkness in the rest of the cavern. Were goblins hiding in the shadows, ready to strike?

Wouldn’t it have attacked already? Unless it was a scout, or a party sent to ambush returning dwarf patrols. Could dungeon spawn be that smart?

The Battlemages had been. There was a distinct split between sentient and non-sentient creatures. The hairs down Jake’s arm tingled and stood on end. There had been real evil behind those purple eyes staring out of the void.

Standing around all day wasn’t an alternative. He’d have to make a dash for it. He rebuffed and ran toward the gate, scanning all around him for enemies. Tension coiled in his muscles. If anything attacked, he’d be ready.

Nothing did. He approached the portcullis, almost disappointed, and hailed the guards.

A moment passed. Jake bit his lip. They’d let him in, wouldn’t they?

The portcullis pulled up. Jake smiled and shouted out the Dwarvish for thank you, or at least what Gramok had said meant that. Hopefully, it hadn’t been a prank. He stepped past the portcullis and it slammed shut behind him.

The gate creaked open. Each of the dozen guards behind it was clad in heavy armor from head to toe. Most nervously shuffled about, muttering to each other in hushed tones. One was slouched against the wall, calm as anything. He nodded as Jake passed.

Had something happened? Jake frowned and headed for the tavern. If the others were here yet—and who was he kidding, they would be—they’d have headed there, or at least left a message.

Jake rounded the corner to the tavern plaza and froze. His jaw clenched. That damned statue was bad enough, but now people were praying to it? What was wrong with them? And why were so many people huddled around the board in front of the tavern?

The board was all in Dwarvish, no help there. He passed the crowd with his heart in his throat and entered the tavern. Were they okay?

Relief flushed through him. He smiled and held his arms out wide. “Cara! Gramok!”

Cara rushed up and embraced him. “You survived! …right?”

Jake nodded. “Survived and shattered that totem into pieces. There’s more to catch you up on, but first—what the hell’s going on?”

Cara looked away. Gramok cleared his throat but said nothing.

“Guys? Why are people worshiping my—” Jake’s fists clenched. He drew air and exhaled hard. “Worshiping the Divine Emperor? What did you tell them?”

Gramok took another swig of his drink. He winced and let out a long sigh. “The Emperor’s visit has appeared on the calendar board. He arrives in three days.”

Three days. A dark void crushed Jake’s insides. “Calendar board?”

“It shows important events,” Gramok said. “Major festivals, coronations, that kind of thing. Not often something unexpected appears on it.”

“And now they’re worshipping?”

Gramok shrugged and took another swig. “They’re scared. They pray he’s coming to save them. However bad the Emperor might be, the dungeon spawn are worse.”

Jake clenched his eyes shut. This couldn’t be happening. But it was, and he had to deal with it. “He’s not coming to save them. He’s coming for me.” Jake sighed. “Ardic deserves to know.”

Cara wrapped her arm around him. “It’ll be alright. You’re not to blame for your father. Besides, you’ve got a gift for them.” She held up the portal stone with her other hand.

Such a small thing, not much bigger than a tennis ball, yet woven with such immense magic. Jake took the orb and held it. It tingled in his hand, buzzing with magic unused for thousands of years.

“Ardic’s a busy man these days,” Gramok said. “I’ll let him know what he needs to. You should go deliver that.”

Jake nodded. “Right.” So much power in his hand. Luther would be excited to see this. “First, though, there’s something else you and Ardic need to know.” Jake relayed all he could remember about the storm cloud, the dark magic, and those glowing eyes behind it.

Gramok’s brow furled the more he listened. When Jake finished, he looked like he was afraid the world was going to end. “The dwarves know this area better than I. I will… see what they know.”

Was there more to that? Jake bit his lip. Gramok wasn’t one to keep anything to himself. If all he had was rumors and conjecture, that wouldn’t be worth sharing, not if the dwarves might know more. Whatever he suspected, it had to be bad.

Jake nodded. “Let us know what you find out. I’ll go hand in the quest.”

Cara stroked her hand down his back and rose to her feet. “I’m going to train the archer recruits. They need every bit of help they can get.”

Always looking for ways to help. Jake’s heart tingled. He smiled up at her. “Sounds like a good plan. Meet at the archery range when we’re done?”

They all agreed and headed their separate ways. Jake made his way to the mage barracks. Luther wouldn’t be in his office, but someone there would likely know where he was.

Jake stared at the portal stone. The magic was mostly Portals, but there were various other types as well. A substantial portion was given over to Telepathy magic. Was it controlled telepathically?

A jolt of adrenaline shot through him. Could it be used for communication? There were definitely similarities to the Message effect. Did the wood elves have a portal stone? Their villages hadn’t been destroyed in the same way. Maybe he could message them?

A sly smile spread across Jake’s face. One of the sections in the orb looked a lot like the missing half of the Ring of Return’s magic. Not the entire missing half, though. The portal stone seemed more like a power source and a catalyst than a self-contained solution.

If a portal stone was how the Ring of Return worked, then the wood elves didn’t just have a portal stone, they had one set up and working. There had to be some kind of security built in to stop anyone teleporting to it.

Did the ring hold some kind of key? Was that why the ring had built-in invisibility, and why Elivala had implored him to keep it safe? The ability to teleport an army straight into the heart of the forest was terrifying.

He knocked on the door of the caster barracks and waited. Did dwarves knock? They had a lot of doors. They had to knock, right?

The door swung open. A smile lit up Zelig’s face. “Jake! Welcome back.”

“Thanks. Luther around?”

“Right this way.” Zelig led Jake back into the street and toward the main gate. “Those spells you made us have proven really useful.”

“Happy to help. Speaking of which, I’ve got a new effect.”

They discussed the best uses for the Transform effect. The sheer size of the stone blocks required would make it impractical for stonework. Assuming it could work metal, Zelig was sure that the blacksmiths would be overjoyed for aid with the more intricate, and thus time-consuming, parts of their craft.

The Divine Emperor wouldn’t arrive for a few days, anyway. Jake promised to stop by the blacksmiths when he had the chance. Any spells he came up with, he’d teach to Zelig, who’d then teach them to any other mages who were available to help.

At the main gate, Luther greeted them with a curt nod. The grizzled dwarf shouted a flurry of instructions in Dwarvish and turned his attention on Jake. “You have the portal stone.”

How could he tell? Probably because the thing radiated magic like a sun. Jake nodded and pulled the stone back out of his pack. “I do.” He carefully handed over the orb.

Retrieve the Tarkath Portal Stone completed.

5,000 XP received!

Level increased 8 → 9!

Luther took the portal stone and bowed his head. “You have our thanks. Zelig, back to work. Jake, I’ll arrange for our best Runesmith to make her services available to you.” The corners of Luther’s lips turned up, almost reaching what could charitably be called a smile. “For now, let’s go set this up.”

Jake increased his Intelligence—extra mana, better Spellcrafting, more powerful spells—and followed. “Set it up? Doesn’t it need a device? You already have one, don’t you?”

“After the fall of Tarkath, we had always planned to retrieve the portal stone. We sent several expeditions. None returned.”

Jake nodded somberly and explained the threats they had faced, particularly the Shadow of Fenrir. Any expedition taking that on would have to be huge, if it was even possible at all. Luther knew nothing of the purple-eyed creature of darkness, but promised to find out what he could.

He led Jake up the steps of the fortified building that Frieda had taken them to before. The guards snapped to attention and the metal gate swung open. Rather than heading into the map room, Luther led down a narrow, winding staircase. It spiraled down several floors at least before coming out onto a single corridor.

No guards, but a metal door barred the way. Two passages, one left and one right of the door, came off at forty-five-degree angles. Luther pulled open the heavy door, and they passed through.

The next room was diamond-shaped, with its two entrances at opposite corners. Jake glanced around. Those passages at forty-five-degree angles were well-protected enclosures with line of sight over the entire room, while murder holes riddled the ceiling above. The entire room was a kill box.

Jake followed Luther into another stone room with a higher ceiling and only one entrance. A large, upright stone ring laden with Portals magic dominated the room. Around the inside of the ring ran a dull blue line. More lines ran across the floor, leading from the ring to a spherical indent in the back wall slightly bigger than a tennis ball.

This had to be the portal room. Luther strode to the back of the room and inserted the portal stone. Its magic roared to life and the blue lines glowed.

“That’s it?” Jake asked.

Luther nodded. “The room is designed specifically for the stone. There is one more task to complete, but I require no assistance for that. I thought you would be interested to see the results of your labors.”

“Very.” Jake bit his lip. The way Luther had said he didn’t require assistance felt off. “You need to set up a code?”

A long pause. “Yes. Perhaps, one day, you might be trusted with that code.”

“When we’re all allies, right?” Yeah, that figured. “Is there a way to message other orbs?”

“If they are active and you know its signature, yes. You know of another active portal?”

Jake pictured the Ring of Return in his mind. Part of it reminded him of the Forest. Was that the signature? “I think so.”

Luther beckoned. “Touch the stone. Hold that signature in your mind and project your message at it.”

Jake pressed his palm against the orb and reached out. His mind brushed against a non-intrusive presence. A dull presence, not cold but devoid of any warmth. Was that the controls?

He focused on the Forest’s signature and pushed a thought into the orb. This is Jake Tolabar So’aroaska. Can anyone hear me?

A vague sense of success came back, but nothing else. Would he know if the message had failed? Was anyone even listening on the other side? If no one used the portal network anymore, it was quite possible that no one was. Then again, the wood elves loved their traditions, regardless of whether they made sense anymore.

Jake? The human ranger?

A message. Jake’s breath caught. He pushed back a reply. Yes.

Seconds dragged by, and no response came. A lump formed in his throat. What was the delay?

This is Lookout Jaskan Erinbar So’aroaska. Is Cara with you? You should both return to the Forest. The dungeon spawn are massing.