Livia could detect the faintest trace of sea salt on the air now. They were getting close to the edge of land, and if Krey’s words were to be taken literally, the absolute end. In any event, she suspected it would be nice to see open waters again after so long. Maybe she’d even go for a swim, gods be willing. That is if there are any gods left in Berodyl, she thought. The paved stone was ending, and would soon be behind them. Ahead was knee-high grass, wild garna trees, and most-likely the occasional monster to fight. A few large banditcats had wandered near the grounds of Ardour Temple during her short stay, and she’d helped fend them off. She’d also had the pleasure of trying garna apples, named for their appearance, which was, at first, repulsive. The resembled polished spheres of garnetite, but once you took a bite out of the crispy, juicy fruit, you found that it tasted as good as pure garnet looked. That’s when Livia’s stomach growled at her, and she wondered if garna apples would go well with banditcat meat roasted over a campfire. Then her stomach panged as she realised they had no camp supplies on them.

“How’s your head?” Krey asked abruptly.

“What?” Livia was pulled from her hungry daydream.

“Has some of the fuzziness cleared up yet?”

“Oh. Actually, yeah, but not of the battle. Some things before that— closer to when I first arrived. I remember eating some food I was brought, by a cute lady in a white robe, and I remember talking to another knight with the same heraldry as you. Can’t remember either of their names, though.”

“Well, I’d wager that ‘cute lady’ you recall was Hierophant Emilie. She insisted on helping outlanders settle in herself, even though it was really us knights who had the responsibility.”

“What about the knight I only half remember?”

“Could’ve been several people— anyone from the group that was stationed at the temple. No point in speculating now, though; they’re all dead.”

“Oh, right… I’m sorry.”

Krey silently raised an open hand in response, as if to say don’t worry.

They didn’t return to silence for long. Out of nowhere, a bolt of light whizzed past both of them and exploded against the ground. “What was that?!” Livia blurted, drawing Veridis.

“Shit…” Krey groaned. “I’m pretty sure it’s whatever the hell we were attacked with at the temple.”

Livia’s eyes widened as she spotted a figure fast approaching… and a faint light shining at the end of a metal object in their hands. She raised Veridis just in time, twisting it so the flat of the blade was facing outward. With a press of her thumb against the base of the blade, a magic circle bloomed into being in front of her, centred on her blade. Another luminous projectile careened toward them - from the weapon their attacker was holding - and it dispersed into Veridis’ shield with a harsh flash. Another one came… and for the first time, Livia saw the magic shield start to crack. No, she silently realised. Not for the first time! Another shot, and the magic shield shattered completely, dissolving into specs of light as she was dragged down behind a rock. The sword itself, thankfully, remained intact.

“I really wish you had your memories,” Krey complained. “You would’ve known that wasn’t going to work.”

“Actually,” Livia blustered, “I think they just came back!”

“What spectacular timing,” Krey cheered. “Perhaps there’s something rattling around in your head that’ll help us out of this situation.”

Livia tried to think of something - anything - that might be of use. “Let’s see… ah! I know! Sit tight, Krey, I’ve got an idea.” She got up onto her haunches and slowly raised up from behind the rock, making shapes and motions with her hands as she went, working the magic that the goddess Phyrn had taught her. As a bolt came flying toward her, she threw her hands into the air, and a slab of earth did as she commanded, raising like a wall between her and the shooter. She grinned, looking down at Krey.

He smirked, and then remarked: “that’s handy! But, uh… now what?”

“Uh…” Livia’s mouth hung open in thought. “I’m… not sure.”

“Here’s an idea. Can you throw that wall?”

“I could throw this rock.” She pointed to the rock they’d first used as cover.

“Okay, throw that at him, and then we’ll run at him in a pincer formation.”

Livia nodded, wasting no time putting their plan into action, simple though it was. However, simple could be very effective, and in this case, it definitely was. As the rock went flying over Livia’s petramantic wall - losing cohesion and splitting into several smaller rocks as it went - they both darted from cover in opposite directions and made for the shooter’s position. Another thing ‘simple’ didn’t always mean was ‘easy’. In the end, Krey would get to the shooter first, knocking him down and disarming him, a solid ten seconds before Livia - huffing and puffing - caught up. “Alright! Nice work… phew.”

“You alright?”

“That rock wall was heavy— even for a petramancer. Couldn’t keep the mana in the rock stable…”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry. I think our friend here can attest to the effectiveness of your efforts. Barely had to nudge him to send him sprawling; you must’ve been right on target.”

Livia knelt down to get a better look at the shooter. He was a bronze elf; his pointed features marked him as elven, and his skin was the colour you’d expect of elves of the bronze sub-race. He had thick, yellow hair, swept back out of his face, and eyes of a similar colour. Livia had heard only a little about elves in this world, but she knew enough. She knew they weren’t as advanced or independent as the elves she’d encountered in her own world, and didn’t have their own homeland here. She looked just across from him, and saw his weapon. She reached over and picked it up, examining the stainless silver metal it was made of and its sleek, graceful form.

“Any idea what this thing is?” Livia held it up, passing it on.

“Not a clue,” sighed Krey, “but it’s definitely what was used against us at the temple. Two… no, maybe three of them I think.” He carefully rolled it in his hands along its length, getting a feel for the weight. “If I had to speculate… it looks like a toploader, but it’s definitely not the same kind of weapon— not at all. Toploaders fire physical shot. This, though…” he held it by the butt and prodded their assailant with the end of the long, thin barrel. “Well, elf? What is this weapon of yours?”

The elf said nothing. He had been claimed by unconsciousness.

Livia knelt down to feel his pulse. “Well… at least he’s not dead. I’ll leave him with a faint healing aura; maybe he’ll come to his senses when he wakes to a second chance.”

As the elf’s head tilted to reveal the right side of his neck, Livia spotted the emblem that had been branded into his flesh. “What the…?”

“Let me see.” Krey knelt down, and then stood back up with haste, as if in momentary retreat. “Oh no…”

“What is it?”

“If Dunlark Spire have this kind of equipment…”

“What’s Dunlark Spire? Krey, tell me what’s going on.”

Krey took a moment to ease his grimace. “That’s the brand of Dunlark Spire on his neck, a nasty bunch by all accounts. They believe that worship of the gods is a weakness that needs to be shed by mortalkind in order for us to retake control of our world. They’ve been the butt of jokes for years, and an embarrassment considering we were preparing to fight alongside the gods, but… if they’ve got this kind of weaponry now… I wonder if they have something to do with the gods falling silent.”

Livia put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. “All the more reason for us to hurry up and find this hierophant of yours, then. Come on— let’s get moving.”