Syrene is the multiclasser you summoned earlier, yes? Echo wasn’t really asking, so Elzio didn’t answer. Why did she spread her focus so thin? I have been considering multiple possibilities. Perhaps she was not quite smart or talented enough to push any one discipline too far? Or maybe—

“She was a teacher,” he said. “My teacher. One who cared more about her student’s learning than her own power, so she picked up as many specialties as possible. I always admired that about her. I was wrong.”

“It’s good to hear you admit that.”

Elzio turned quickly, his attention snapping to one of the doors on his left, which now stood open. Standing in the doorway was Syrene Wispwater.

“You’ve always had a bit of trouble acknowledging when you’d made your mistakes.” She stepped towards him, her periwinkle robes swirling around her feet. A brief scan detected no magical energies emanating off her save those necessary to keep the traps in the room active. “I think that’s a sign of growth. I know it’s not easy to admit when you’re wrong. But unfortunately, I’m going to make you do it one more time. Practice makes perfect.”

Elzio motioned his doppels forward, and they advanced, taking careful measures to avoid her triggers.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I think I’ve got a pretty good read on the situation.” But her words, more than any of the dozens of denials he’d heard thus far, did work to shatter his resolve. Had he been wrong? Had he misread the situation? Had his conjecture gone too far? Had he killed over a dozen people based on the theory that Sir Thomas had been preparing his entire squad to die to Nexus Deluuth?

But he knew he had to be right. It was more than just the letter in the study. He’d fled his bed in the middle of the night only to have the doppel he’d left behind murdered. Someone had snuck into his bedroom to kill him. How could he have been wrong?

Still, he was filled with doubts

Especially since something felt… off about this whole room. It was well defended but the traps were so easy to spot. Anyone taking more than a moment to look around would notice them. And Syrene would know Elzio would look.

Before his doppels could attack, he heard a shout behind him, and he barely turned in time to see a fighter barrel into the room, eyes blazing with rage. Elzio ducked the man’s Bloodlust-Empowered swing, and the man slipped on the ice, tumbling to the ground, where he slid just a few feet too far, directly into one of the wires.

With a whoosh of flame and a very short scream, one of the chandeliers from above cascaded down a river of fire, evaporating the fighter where he lay. Another second later, all that remained of him was some damp ash, as the brief, well-contained inferno had melted the ice where the man had once been.

“Leaving the door open behind you?” Syrene crossed her arms, blue eyes narrowed in disappointment. “Sloppy work, young master.”

“You were sloppy today, young master.”

Suddenly the words on the parchment—the letter that had roused him the night he’d fled—streamed back into his brain.

Someone had known he’d crept into Sir Thomas’s rooms. Someone had known Elzio had seen the letter. Someone had known Sir Thomas had known. And that someone had warned Elzio to run.

He dropped his hands, motioning his doppels to lower their guards. “You knew Sir Thomas was conspiring against Pyrthet.” Elzio wasn’t quite ready to drop his accusation against her. Not until he knew for sure she was an ally.

“I had theorized it,” Syrene said. She let her arms fall to her side, the large sleeves brushing against her robes. “There had been some speculation about his movements of the team, his communication with Deluuth. I had been digging for evidence, and in the meantime, stymied his attempts to set you up in battle against an echo.” Her eyes drifted to Echo behind Elzio, and they shifted to grey as they took in the nexus’s aura. “Once Loreth reached 5, Sir Thomas planned on feeding him to Deluuth’s. Maybe he would have even let you get to 6 or 7. Low enough power to be easily consumed.”

And he would have issued the challenge on behalf of Loreth. Echo sounded grim. Perhaps Sir Thomas Kiernan would have lied about the nature of the opponent.

“Loreth and his heroes would have entered combat without knowing who they were facing. They’d believe it was whoever Sir Thomas told them it was. They wouldn’t have known until far too late.” Syrene grimaced. “But there was still a lot I didn’t know. In fact, I didn’t know it was Deluuth until you did your investigation, Elzio.”

“I wasn’t even looking for anything in particular.” He rubbed his temples, but a wave of relief was already spreading down his neck and across his back. “Just… just snooping.”

“Curious to a fault.” Syrene turned and began waving her hands, casting a series of Trap Disassembles.

“I didn’t know you could assemble traps,” Elzio said, watching the flames die in the chandeliers. Syrene really was a complete mixed bag.

“Our Support program is somewhat lacking,” she said. “Why else would a Mage like myself end up in charge of a Support? It’s an underappreciated role.”

Elzio scoffed. “No one ever gives Supports the respect they get. It’s their undoing.”

“I wouldn’t say no one.” Spell complete, Syrene turned back to Elzio, a smile on her lips. “Only at low levels. No civilization gets too far without properly valuing them. But Pyrthet was never going to make it that far. That’s why I went the Mage route. Level up high enough to get a decent teaching position and try to be the change I wanted to see.” The smile slipped, her shoulders drooped, and for a moment, Elzio thought she looked older than he knew she was. “I suppose that was a foolish dream.”

I would take the opposite lesson. Echo floated besides Syrene, scrutinizing the woman carefully. You are right. Loreth would have never survived. Many nexi fall into one of two traps. They hold close their egos and refuse to listen, therefore shedding all valuable advisors, or they listen to every command given, therefore accumulating power hungry mortals who only wish to grow their own power. You would have simply fallen to Deluuth, to Irona, and either been killed or reduced to poverty and shame.

Echo’s words were blunt and entirely sure of themselves. There must be some base knowledge all nexi were born with. She couldn’t have been very old herself, yet she was utterly certain.

“So what lesson should I take, oh wise echo?” Syrene’s chiding was gentle and tired, and Echo didn’t seem to take offense.

That you are in the position to take your skills and values and do something truly new with them.

Elzio stared at Echo, in disbelief. Was she proposing Syrene join them? Fight in an arena with them? It was a ludicrous prospect, imagining his esteemed, elderly mentor combatting proverbial children in a nexus battle. But then again, was it really so preposterous? She had set up a series of deadly traps to defend herself from the traitors, and hadn’t flinched when one of them had been imolated.

“To get something you’ve never had…” Syrene tilted her head. “While I can’t say it’s what I envisioned myself doing—likely I was picturing a more traditional retirement—perhaps I could assist you on your goal.” Her lips pressed together. “What… is your goal? It’s not to rule Pyrthet.”

“That’s…” Elzio sighed. “That’s a solid question. I haven’t gotten there yet, not fully. One step at a time. Will you help us defeat Sir Thomas?”

Syrene shook out her hands, clearing them from her billowing sleeves, and rubbed her hands together, starting to charge a spell Elzio couldn’t identify. “Why do you think I waited up here for you?”

“You could have waited downstairs,” Elzio said, as he nodded to the door.

She gathered her robes in a free hand, stepping around the ash of her once coworker. “I didn’t trust them up here alone. I was able to pick up a good deal about their battle strategy before giving them the slip and barricading myself away.” She pushed open the door and gave the hallway a quick once over. Then she looked back at Elzio. “Shall we then?”

It was easier killing people with Syrene at his side, and Elzio wasn’t sure if he liked that better or worse. Maybe it was just that, with another human at his side, he felt more validated in his attacks. Echo stayed by his side, of course, and fueled his power, but she lacked the perspective he had as a human. She wasn’t a creature of wanton destruction, but she was still forming a moral code. Another human saying ‘yes, this is right’ made it feel more right.

Syrene also knew where Sir Thomas was, which made it easier to skirt by pockets of enemies. So together, they killed fewer traitors than they would have alone, which was also a good thing, though Elzio pondered what would become of those traitors once they found Sir Thomas. Nothing about this was simple. But for once, Elzio truly had agency.

It was a trade off he was perfectly happy with, and he wasn’t sure if he liked that either.

As they ascended through the floors, the number of defenders dwindled. After two floors of barely anything, Elzio finally commented on it.

“Seems they’ve concentrated most of their forces on the top level.” He peered down the hallway leading to the next stairwell. The Citadel was designed to be defendable, so no central staircases would take him all the way up. “Defending Sir Thomas?”

Syrene shook her head as they walked down the hall. “No. I think they clustered their defenses up front. They didn’t expect you to actually cut through them, either because they thought you wouldn’t or they thought you couldn’t. The idea of concentrating most of their forces above would imply any outside of that force would essentially be falling on their swords.”

I find that rather cowardly, Echo commented.

“I wouldn’t say cowardly,” Elzio said. “They probably thought at the very least their primary force would weaken us, and any subsequent defenders would be able to finish the job. It’s actually quite smart, I’ll give them that.”

As if to challenge his assertion, on this last word, two assailants leapt from opposing rooms, nearly on top of Elzio, abilities prepped and ready to go.

Two level 6 Fighters. One Swordsman, one Axe Wielder. With barely a second to react, Elzio summoned two high level Tanks, duplicates of a brawny woman he’d defeated below. The doppels absorbed the attacks, before flinging back the fighters with Concussive Blows. Elzio turned to Syrene, who had stiffened at the attack. She was sharp witted and wise, but fighting on her feet wasn’t among her greatest talents.

So instead, Elzio ordered his Tanks to cast a high leveled Skull Smash, stunning both opponents for several seconds.

“Syrene.” He motioned at the two. “I’d love to not have to summon another fighter.”

She snapped out of it, and pointed a finger.

As the spell cast, Elzio took a closer look at the ability.

Chain Lightning (repeating)

Level 8: Casts a bolt of chain lightning that jumps ten times. May repeat targets. Modified 180% from base level.

It was quite the dazzling spell, as it leapt from Swordsman to Axe Wielder a half dozen times before both stunned men reached 0 hit points and slumped to the ground, lifeless.

“I’ve been wondering what that spell was,” Elzio said, as the three continued their way down. “Never had the chance to examine it with more combatants, and I don't think you’ve cast it around me as a student. I thought it looked like Chain Lightning, but I didn’t realize it could repeat targets.”

“You ought to have asked.” Syrene flexed her fingers. “I can give you a full rundown of the spells I’ve used today later, if you’d be interested. Either of you,” she added, addressing Echo.

I would very much like that. I only know Elzio’s spells. The doppelgangers and the few others. Summon minor object. Low level abilities.

“Doppelgangers are not inherently low leveled,” Syrene said. “That one spell was almost fully responsible for your victory over the Pyrthet Nexus. And I’m sure you’ve been able to see from this—” she waved a hand at the hall around them “—how effective it is at high levels.”

Perpetually less so than those around you.

Elzio rolled his eyes as he continued down the hall. “She’s just being snarky,” he said. “Not old enough to be wise.”

He could feel her bristle at this, but she didn’t retort. It was honestly fascinating, watching her learn how to interact with mortals in real time, growing from an echo that had never spoken to anyone before to an entity that was now just learning tact.

“Well,” Syrene said, “hold off on your squabbles. We’re nearly at Sir Thomas’s chambers now. This is technically your fight, Elzio. How do you wish to proceed?”

Elzio looked up the staircase that would lead to his enemy’s chambers. The chambers that, mere days ago, he’d found himself idly pawing through, looking for something interesting. Interesting was perhaps quite an understatement here.

“I need a confession from him,” Elzio said. “So we can’t kill him. You have a stun, right?”

“I have many.” Syrene pulled up her spells list for Elzio to see. In a nexus battle, heroes could only take three spells unless their nexus leveled up the number of spell slots, so Elzio had never had to manage so many. She had well over a dozen.

“Something strong and long lasting,” he said. “Electroshock?”

“That does damage,” Syrene said, hovering over the ability to expand its text. “And we’re not in a nexus, so it’ll hurt quite a bit.”

Elzio scanned the spell.

Electroshock

Level 9: Ensnares target in an energy chain for seven seconds. Drains 8% current hit points and 10% maximum stamina per second. Target is stunned and rooted for duration.

He nodded. “Perfect. That’ll keep him still long enough for us to knock him out. I’ll take out any defenders he has with him.” Elzio pulled up a level 22 Tank, for their personal defenses, and then a level 19 Archer and a level 18 Whips Master. Long range, with the potential for melee, but he wanted to keep things as far from him, Syrene, and Echo as possible.

“I’m going to miss having this much power,” he said, looking at his blank-faced doppels. “After this, my level 5s are going to feel like children’s play.”

Before either of the others could respond, however, he snapped and pointed upwards. His three minions began to ascend the tower. It was time to end this.