Valdiss had summoned Meladris the next morning to accompany him on his regular inspection of his experiments. It was a task she abhorred and wished she could stop him, but with Belgard locked in the dungeons and in his weakened state, there was nothing she could to but watch and mourn silently for them.

The two walked down a dark stairwell within the deepest part of the castle, it was full day outside, but with no possible way to let natural light into these parts, torches and magic were necessary to illuminate the depressing halls. The lower they traveled the colder Meladris always felt, it had nothing to do with being deeper in the earth, it was an unnatural cold. She could already hear the groans, screams and wails of the ones Valdiss used for his twisted pleasure.

“Ah, music to my ears, don’t you think my sweet?” he said, his words were as vile as his interests. “Oh, come now. Not going to give me the silent treatment today again are you? Well it’s no matter. I’m close, once more. Soon, it’ll all be worth it. After that fool Belgard…”

He clenched his fists and slammed it against the wall of the hallway that led towards the laboratory. The rock cracked under the impact. Most would have become nervous or scared at such a sight, but Meladris had seen it all already, and this wasn’t even the worst.

Valdiss opened the large metal reinforced wooden door with a loud creak and cracking sound from the hinges being in poor shape. The wails and groans instantly became louder, it was almost unbearable. She swallowed hard and braced herself to enter, yet again, into the hell that Valdiss called his laboratory.

In the middle of the large room was a wooden table with various beakers, tubes and burners. A myriad of different colors, densities and viscosity of fluid within each. Along the walls from the floor to the ceiling were cages of varying sizes, large iron bars kept within them all manner of grotesque beasts. The worst of all within this hellish place was along the back wall.

A number of human test subjects were chained by their wrists above their heads to the cold stone wall. Men, women and there was one child. Their bodies covered in cuts, bruises, puncture wounds and stitches and other marks of torture.

Meladris made it a point not to bring her gaze to them, for every time she did it broke her heart. She followed Valdiss to the table where he began to analyze some of the fluids and check notations in a notebook on the table. The contents at first glance seemed to be nothing more than the scribbles and ramblings of a lunatic. But Valdiss, while psychotic, was incredibly intelligent.

“Yes this is perfect! Again after thirty years of picking up the pieces of my previous work…it’s nearly complete!” the shout echoed through the room, causing some of the groaning from the beasts to cease. “Isn't that wonderful news, my sweet!?” he turned to Meladris.

She looked at him with no emotion or care, and didn’t respond.

“Well, it’s no matter. Once I complete this elixir there will be no one to stand in my way, the army of all kingdoms will bow to me…willingly or bathed in blood. It matters not to me.”

Her heart dropped, she wanted so badly to stop him but there was nothing she would be able to do at this moment. After Belgard had destroyed his first laboratory over thirty years ago, which held all of his notations, test subjects and materials, he was captured by Valdiss. Vowing not to leave him behind Meladris promised to stay by his side, knowing Valdiss had an unsettling interest in her, so long as Belgard was left alive. He kept his word, albeit just barely.

Valdiss embedded a void gem within Belgard’s chest causing his power and life essence to slowly drain, but never would it kill him. He also summoned within Belgard’s eyes two small void orbs, slowly destroying them from within. The scene was horrifying and the screams were deafening. But as Valdiss promised…he did not die. It was then he was thrown into the dungeon she visited any chance she could.

Valdiss took the fluid he was examining and placed it into a small tube, then walked towards the woman that was chained along the wall. He forced her face upward and clenching her jaw made her mouth open, then forcefully poured the vile contents of the tube down her throat. He made sure to force her mouth shut with one hand and gently massaged her throat to make sure she swallowed it. Taking a step back he waited silently for a reaction.

The body began to convulse, her legs kicking out from beneath her, she would have fallen but the shackles on her wrists stopped that, causing the blood caked wounds to open anew, blood pouring from them. The groans were sickly and sounded inhuman. When she raised her heard in pain, the look on her face was of pure pain and terror. Meladris immediately closed her eyes and held her breath, she couldn’t watch.

The skin on the woman’s body began to bulge in places, as if something from inside wanted to escape. The bubbling of her flesh traversed her entire naked body over and over, causing her to shake violently, her right arm grew many times its normal size, causing the restraint on her wrist to buckle and snap from the change. She slumped over from no longer being restrained on that side, but the changes continued. Her jaw began to contort and change, growing longer and protrude from her face, her teeth fell out one by one, only to be replaced with sickly yellow fangs in unnatural and disorganized locations.

Her eyes, hidden behind sweat and blood matted hair began to glow green, and atop her head chunks of her hair and flesh slowly slid off of her skull, hitting the floor with a sickening splat. The chunks that went missing had protrusions appear under them, as if there were spikes coming out of her head. The right side of her chest in conjunction with her oversized arm expanded many times, causing her once normal matching breasts to become a lopsided and vile to look at. Everywhere the skin had changed or parts of her body that transformed began to boil, letting of a hissing sound and putrid smell.

The body seemed to stabilize after the grotesque changes ran their course. The other humans chained beside the woman were crying, some vomited from the smell and scene. It was then the chest of the woman exploded into a disgusting spray of rancid meat and blood as well as what seemed like crystals that matched the color of her green glowing eyes. The body lay there, lifeless, blood dripping and pooling underneath the now mutilated and ghastly corpse.

“Dammit!”

Valdiss shouted at the top of his lungs. The entire room fell completely silent. The air around him began to warp and what looked like heat trails one would see on a hot summer day, rose from his body. He leaned forward, clenching both fists in fury. But only for a brief moment. He then stood up straight, adjusted his dark red vest and cleared his throat.

“It seems there are still some, minor, adjustments that must be made.” He turned back to his notebook and scribbled more notations. “If I adjust the solution….heat for….two grams of…” his sentences were incomplete and Meladris knew that this was his habit of talking in random volumes as he pondered his next insane experiment, writing them down.

“I shall be making adjustments and refining the elixir. Go and fetch someone to clean up this mess, would you dear?” he said without looking up from his work.

She didn’t bow, nod or acknowledge his request, but turned and walked out of just one more nightmare she had to endure while in his ‘care’.

Even if she wanted to escape, she would never abandon Belgard. She had already ruined the lives of him, Justinian, Sarya and everyone else because of her desire to do what she thought was right. But assuming Belgard did pass away, she would still be captive of Valdiss due to a similar gem that he had embedded into her chest, this one was blue, and its purpose was no less violent or depraved than the one within Belgard. If Meladris did anything to warrant it, the crystal would activate by Valdiss’ command and absorb all liquid from within her body in an instant, making her nothing but a dried up husk, teetering on the line between life and death.

There was only two ways to realistically and safely remove the gems that they both had within their bodies. A sufficiently powerful Chanter able to override the magic contained within the gems, or if Valdiss himself removed them. Neither of which was likely to happen. And since the gems within each of their bodies was as opposite from their affinity as it could be, they couldn't remove it themselves.

Belgard was Earthenborne and his natural affinity was earth. An ever present element, even in the absence of plants, water and animal life…earth was always there. Embedded into his chest was a Void gem, the absence of all things. Meladris was a Dark Elf, her natural affinity was Darkness, lifeless, empty and cold. Water was the natural life giver, without water there was no possibility of life.

He was a genius, psychotic, sly and terrifying. She wondered every single day since that horrible event, how she could have made such a grave mistake. There was only one thing that gave her solace in all of this hellish life. The only reason she had not been taken by Valdiss was due to the pact that she had with Amrin. Belgard was no different. The only way to remove a pact was to either be more powerful than the original pact inciter, or the master dies.

Also the vow Meladris had made with Amrin was slightly different than the others, her chastity was his and his alone to take. She vowed her entire existence to the one she loved more than everything in the world combined. And because of that, if Valdiss so foolishly forced himself on her, they would both suffer an agonizing and hellish death the likes of which Valdiss could only dream of inflicting.

She prayed the day that Valdiss became stronger than her master, her love, would never come. But something in her heart told her that it was a foolish prayer. His existence was omnipotent compared to Valdiss. But still, she worried nonetheless.

She exited the stairway from the laboratory and walked down the long hallway towards the servant’s quarters. Even if Valdiss was a tyrant, he knew that without sufficient workers the state of the castle would be disturbing. So he made it a point to at least treat the servants with a modicum of kindness. She entered the door and closed it behind her. Immediately a group of servants bowed at her presence and the room fell silent. An older woman came through the bowing servants and gently lowered her head.

“I’m sorry to disturb you Margaret.”

“No, no dear. It’s always a pleasure to have you visit us. Now, what can I do for you? Or is it…our lord that requests us?”

“I’m afraid it is Valdiss. He has…” she swallowed hard and closed her eyes.

“I see. Say no more child.” The elderly woman knew full well that Meladris was the oldest person in the castle, but she still thought of her as a daughter. One of the very few presences in the castle Meladris held dear.

Margaret turned and beckoned two male servants to come forward, they were the usual ones to clean up after the gore in the laboratory. The only reason was due to their strong constitution and ability to keep from adding to the mess they had to clean. The looks on their face showed their displeasure, but they were more than willing so the younger ones and women wouldn’t have to deal with the room, Valdiss or the grotesque remains.

Meladris had a solemn expression and nodded to the two as they headed out of the door with cleaning supplies and a large barrel to place the remains.

After relaying the order from Valdiss to clean up his failed experiment, Meladris retired to her room. She walked to the door and placed her hand on the handle, and quietly said something, her eyes closed while doing so. Then entered the room closing the door behind her. The room was sparsely decorated with only the items necessary for sitting, sleeping and changing. There was no paintings, no flowers or anything else to give a touch of enjoying being in the room. To her it was no different than the dark and wet cell that Belgard was forced to live in. She opened the only window in the room and breathed in the fresh air it brought in.

She turned and sat at the table next to the window and rested her forehead into her hands. Knowing that a pact had been renewed, according to Belgard, she was starting to lose the patience she had forcing herself to be in this hell.

“Amrin…” she said quietly, a tear dropping from her eye and hitting the table.

She wanted to let him know that she was here somehow. She knew full well that after what they had done, albeit unintentional, was still unforgivable. She always recalled that accursed night when she was alone. She couldn’t help it. She was in this very situation and forced to be at the beck and call of the monster Valdiss, because of it. Even if he were to come and exact his revenge, at least Valdiss would also suffer the same fate, and she would be able to see him at least one more time. It was then she thought about the pact and who it was that would have renewed it.

Thinking back on the events of that night she couldn’t believe she didn’t realize it before. Of the six members that were present that night, only two of them weren’t actively part of the false ritual. Elynara and Gindel. It had to be one of them. She knew exactly what their elements were, what they felt like and could possibly look for a way to message them. But how?

She got up from her chair and began to pace around the room deep in thought. What did she have available to her that would be able to traverse large distances and locate specific magical signatures. Abruptly she came to a halt, closed her eyes and pressed her open hands against her face.

“Think….think…there has to be something…” she said to herself.

The various ways she could use her Darkness element over large distances flooded her mind, but everything she could think of was merely illusionary or used for defensive means, nothing that was good for offense or tracking. What she needed was something she could attach her magic onto that would activate at the sign of either Elynara’s or Gindel’s presence. But darkness couldn’t traverse where there is too much light if it is not being actively manipulated by the chanter. She needed something she could perform herself or something Belgard could help with. Something to hide the darkness…a container…a vessel…a hidden in plain sight self-sufficient…thing!

“A golem…” her eyes shot open. “A golem with a darkness core that can activate with their presence.” She whispered to herself.

It was so simple. Even if he was imprisoned by Valdiss, he could still create a small enough golem construct that can move independent during day or night of the chanter. An animal perhaps, to keep it from being obvious. Once within range of either Elynara or Gindel, the Darkness would erupt and take the form of her message. Since she remembered how their auras felt and what she could allow the shadow core to react to, it wouldn’t do anything until it found one of them. But why choose just one? She could have two at the same time sending them in opposite directions to Arestoth and The Dominion.

The only thing that gave her pause for concern was that she didn’t want to drag them into this ridiculous world she had created for herself and the others. She made it a point to keep them out of it, which is why they weren’t involved in the first place. And to bring them into this now of all times? But this was different…Amrin was back.

The excitement of it all began to fill her heart, but she was quick to quell it. It was only hypothetical, and reliant on Belgard being able to summon enough magical power to create one golem, let alone two. It was something she had to speak to him as soon as possible. She could risk heading back to Valdiss and asking how long he would be preoccupied, but that would seem too suspicious, or she could risk it and head to the dungeons now. The only other alternative was to wait until nightfall as she usually did. It was the safest, but the one that would waste an entire day.

She began to pace around the room once more, pondering and weighing the options. Begrudgingly she decided on the safest course of action and would wait until night fall. She had waited for thousands of years, what is one more night?

Meladris decided to take a seat at the table by the window once more and couldn’t help but smile a little at the prospect of it all. Certainly it could fail horribly and they would be punished for attempting it. Or maybe…just maybe it’ll work and he would find it. Maybe it’ll work and he will come to exact swift and powerful revenge on what has been done to him. Deciding to rest for a little, she closed her eyes and rest it on top of her arms on the table.

***

The rage on the face was terrifying. He was screaming something, but there was no sound, he was furious. The colors in his eyes were flickering every color imaginable, his face beet red from anger and straining against the chains that bound him to the large black obelisk. The chains began to stretch and could be seen warping against his strength. But they quickly stopped moving once he had finished his chant. He had said it was all necessary. He said that the obelisk would drain his powers to make it evenly distribute the overwhelming energy to everyone. He said that the chains were to prevent him from hurting himself, or others. He said that Aeon’s Slumber would no longer have to be done if everyone takes in a part of his energy. He lied!

The chant had finished, the body chained to the obelisk convulsed and lurched his head backwards, mouth open, the veins and tendons in his neck looked as if they were going to burst out. Then slumped forward. His breathing slow and erratic.

She wanted to run to him, unchain him and set him free. But she couldn’t move. Why wouldn’t her legs work? She looked down and she was on the ground. She was completely drained of all energy. Everyone around her was no different…except one. He was still standing. Laughing.

She reached her hand out with tear filled eyes and saw his face. Rage covered it once more, he opened his mouth to say something again.

“MELADRIS!!!”

He lied.

***

*BANG!*

The loud sound startled her awake. The sound repeated and realized it was someone at the door. The only one that would hit the door that loud was Valdiss. She stood and straightened her dress. Running her fingers over her face she felt something wet. She realized she had been crying. Meladris immediately wiped them away and made sure to act as if there was nothing wrong. The banging on the door persisted. Grasping the handle of the door she opened it gently.

“What took you so long to come to the door?” he said with a slight annoyance in his voice.

“I must have fallen asleep. My apologies.”

He reached out his hand towards her cheek and stopped just short.

“Yes, it seems you still have remains of quite a deep slumber on your face.” Lowering his hand he continued. “I was concerned, you did not return after the servants had been summoned.”

“Your concern is unnecessary, I just felt tired.”

“Is that so? Hmm…well I’m not above letting my favorite gain some rest.” The way he referred to her in a way someone would refer to property made her stomach turn. “I have some work that needs to be tended to outside of the castle so I shall be away for the remainder of the night. I was wondering if you would like to accompany me? Get some time out of these walls perhaps?”

The thought of Valdiss leaving for the day caused her joy and excitement to well up inside of her. But she did well to keep it completely hidden.

“My apologies, but I still feel somewhat tired, perhaps I will retire for the day instead.”

He looked at her questioningly and narrowed his eyes. Silence fell between the two for a short while.

“Very well. I will have Margaret check in on you during dinner time to make sure you are still well.” He finally said. No suspicion in his voice. “May you rest well then, my love.”

She cringed ever so slightly at the word and wanted to puke. Her only response was a simple bow, and once he had turned to walk away she closed the door. Her breathing became heavy and being unable to keep her head up she rested it against the door with her eyes closed tight. This was perfect. It could very well be a trap and he already knew exactly what was going on. But how could he? She only just now thought of it, alone in her room. And there was no way that Valdiss knew of the renewal pact with…someone.

Only because Belgard was so well attuned to the earth was he able to “hear” about it from the elements. She was being paranoid. This was a golden opportunity and one she would not see passed up. Quickly heading to the window of her room she looked out over the courtyard, a carriage was ready and waiting for Valdiss. Making sure not to make it obvious she was watching she sat in the chair and listened closely.

Footsteps clicking on the stone steps. Crunching gravel under boots. Carriage door opening and moments later shutting. To make sure there was no one waiting outside she quickly left her seat and carefully peeked out of the window to make sure Valdiss had indeed stepped into the carriage and departed. A few attendants waiting at the base of the steps and the carriage pulled away from the castle and down the gravel path. There was definitely a figure inside the carriage. She ran to the door and rested her hand on the handle and froze. But was it Valdiss?

Her heart was beating out of control. Was it really him? Was he only pretending to leave for the night? What if he was hiding somewhere inside the castle ready to catch her in the act? What if he already knew about Amrin being free? Was he going to be waiting for her inside the dungeon ready to kill them both for their duplicity? Was he….

She gasped, breathing heavily. The thoughts, questions, hypotheticals and what-if’s flooded her mind. She couldn’t handle it. Eyes closed the entire time, breathing deeply in and out with sweat starting to collect on her brow she clutched the front of her blouse to try and ease her violently beating heart.

“Breathe…You’re over thinking things…Just…go.” She said to herself quietly.

Meladris quickly opened the door and peered into the hallway. As if a massive weight was lifted from her chest and caused her labored breathing to clear, the hallway was empty. She exited her room, closed the door and ran quickly down the empty hall towards a stairwell. She had to make a quick stop somewhere before making her way to her ultimate goal. The path was one she had taken many times in the past. If needed she would be able to do so in the dark, and after thinking about it, she has had to once or twice.

Running down the stairs carefully, skipping a few but making sure to brace herself against the wall in case a misstep caused her to stumble. Meladris was finally at the exit to the back courtyard, the one that would lead her to the dungeon steps. But since it was during the day it would be all too obvious if there was anyone watching. But she had an idea.

Sitting down on the steps just inside the entryway, she closed her eyes and began to whisper the same words over and over quietly.

“Shadows be my shroud…Shadows be my shroud…Shadows be my shroud.”

To keep from using too much magical energy too quickly, which would no doubt alert Valdiss or any of his Guard Captains, the incantation was a minor one that allows gentle shadows to begin coursing along her body. Like wisps of smoke, small and fragile, as if the slightest breath would make them dissipate. Over time more and more of them entangled her body, wrapping around her legs, waist, stomach and arms. More and more they gathered and over time Meladris’ entire body was clouded by a light and almost vapor like gray cloud. Then she waited for her chance.

The sun was high in the sky and very little clouds to give her the chance she needed, but she would wait. What felt like agonizing hours to her she waited…and waited. Then, there it was! A cloud began to blot out of the sun, soon now. At just the right time the cloud had reached its thickest portion to block the sun, casting a gray and dull shadow across the courtyard.

Not missing this chance, she bolted out of the entry way and darted across the open courtyard, shrouded in a smoke-like cloak. Keeping close to the ground she moved with the speed a normal body was unable to obtain. She noticed in the corner of her eyes a few guards patrolling the ramparts and her heart stopped, but her body did not. She had come this far already and she would not be stopped.

A guard stopped and looked down into the courtyard, Meladris thought it was over. The guard simply rubbed his eyes and shook his head as if he was seeing things. Her relief was palpable. Finally she made it to the stairs leading into the darkness of the earth and not stopping for anything she jumped down the first flight of steps, landing as quietly as possible, she pressed her still shadow concealed body against the wall and glued her eyes to the entry way. The brightness of the sun blinded her slightly, the cloud had passed by. She just made it. The breathing was forced to stay quiet and strained her nerves, causing her entire body to shake.

“Move. No one saw you….just keep moving.” She whispered.

Meladris slid her back against the wall towards the steps leading further into the dungeons and listened closely to any potential footsteps heading her way. She vowed that if she was caught now she would not go without a fight, she would die taking as many of Valdiss’ minions with her and destroy the entry to the dungeons so that he could not get to Belgard. Meladris was convinced he would rather starve and die than live to be his plaything one more day. There was nothing.

“Go!” her mind shouted.

Pushing off from the wall, Meladris darted down the steps in total darkness. Since she had been in the entry way of the castle, and shrouded herself in the shadows, her eyes had not become accustomed to the brightness of the sun, luckily for her. This allowed her to traverse the steps further and further until all signs of the sunlight from the surface disappeared. Taking a break once more, she released the shroud and began to pant heavily.

Meladris couldn’t remember the last time her heart, mind and body were pushed this much. Before it was because of battle or reconnaissance…now it was something as petty as hiding from a single man. She couldn’t help but think how pathetic she had become.

Belgard’s cell was only a little further away, she would be able to talk to him soon, and because of that her heart began to race once more. Not due to fear or doubt or nervousness, but because she was that much closer to getting the message out that he was here. Quietly and with purpose her feet took her down a few more flights of steps and along the narrow row of cell doors.

“Belgard?” the voice was barely audible, but since there was no other sounds in the pitch blackness, there was no need to have it louder.

“Mm?” the body stirred.

The sound of rustling cloth and flesh dragging across the stone floor now filled the darkness. Meladris couldn’t see a single thing, it was pitch black. Not even her hand in front of her face anymore. The wonder of whether she would be able to get used to it and make out at least some scenes took root in the back of her mind.

“W-who…Meladris?”

“Y-yes…it’s me.” The breathing was still labored and quick.

“What is it? Why do you sound so out of breath? Is everything ok?”

“Yes. Belgard. I..have…” now that Meladris was able to speak with him, all the tension in her body released at the same time, causing her to almost collapse from exhaustion.

“Steady now, girl. Slow.”

She took a few moments to catch her breath and relax herself. Her breathing steadied and her heart began to beat at a normal pace.

“I have an idea, Belgard. You said that a pact was renewed, correct?”

“Mm, that’s right. Isn’t it great?” he began to chuckle.

“Yes, more than you can ever know. And that’s why I thought of a way to get him here.”

“W-what? Him? You mean to bring our master here?” Belgard’s voice trembled.

“Yes. If you help me. I think we can do it together.”

“He will kill us all, you know.” Belgard said flatly.

“And would you rather continue the life we lead now?”

Silence fell over the darkness once more.

“What do you have in mind?”

She smiled big.

“I need you to create a golem, something small, something inconspicuous and hollow.”

“I…I might be able to do that but I have nothing to use.”

“Hold out your hands.”

Listening to her he held his hands out as far as he could. Meladris then fished around in the darkness searching for his outstretched hands. Until finally she brushed by them and quickly grabbed hold. She immediately noticed at how much she could feel his bones under the loose and frail feeling skin. A lump formed in her throat but she pushed it away.

“Here” she placed a satchel into his hands.

Belgard placed it in his lap and opened the bag and reached in. A cold, slightly wet and familiar feeling greeted his hand.

“You are a clever girl, you are.” The way he said it made it obvious a smile covered his face.

“I’m sorry to say this now but…I need two.”

“T-two? Girl you ask a lot of a broken old man…Why two?”

“There is only two possible people Master would ever renew a pact with, instead of killing…”

“Elynara or Little Gin…of course.” He said after realizing it.

“One golem will be sent towards Arestoth and the other in the direction of The Dominion. That’s why I need them to be hollow.”

“Not just hollow…you are asking me to imbue them with enough magical energy to keep them autonomous for…an unknown amount of time. I…I don’t know if I can do that with two of them.” Belgard’s voice was filled with guilt and sadness.

“I see. I was afraid of that…”

“I’m sorry…”

“No! No, Belgard, you have nothing to apologize for.” She said as she gripped the bars to his cells. “This is…is all my fault. It always has been.”

“That is where you are wrong, Meladris. We all had a chance to speak up. We all had just as much time to figure it out. We were all lied to. But due to our shortsightedness and complacency…no, this is not your fault, girl, this is all of ours.”

Belgard tried his best to ease her doubts and explain that they were all in on it, and all of them had their own share of guilt to shoulder.

“I’ll see what I can do with the first one and maybe…just maybe we can make a second. If not, you might need to think about where to send it.” He groaned as he repositioned himself. “But, if your goal is to get his attention…why do you need two?”

“W-what do you mean? We don’t know who renewed their pact or where they are, so sending them in different

directions would increase the chances to find them would it not?”

“True, true…but uhh…I’m pretty sure it came from thatta way.” Belgard said as he quickly raised his hand and threw a pointed thumb in the direction he was talking about.

“Wait…you know which direction it came from? That’s amazing!” Meladris leaned against the bars and could hug Belgard if possible. “Which town? Which city?!” her excitement was overflowing.

“Girl, I’ve been in here for a donkey’s age…I have no idea where anything is. And keep in mind that it’s far from a sure thing. I just know which general direction it came from. The Elements aren’t like some kind of…trackers or somethin’. I just know a pact was renewed, the elements felt an enormous amount of power and it came from somewhere over there.” He pointed into the darkness, but as Meladris never bothered to illuminate a rock this time she had no idea where he pointed.

“Um, I can’t see where you’re gesturing to. Hold on a second.” She felt around on the ground for something, anything she could use to illuminate the area and stumbled across a tiny pebble. It was enough.

“Illuminate.” The tiny pebble sparked to brilliant life and shined into the cell. “Ok, once more?”

Belgard pointed to the back left corner from where she was kneeling. Meladris paused to think about her current location, retracing her steps back up the plethora of winding stairs and the orientation of the castle compared to Arestoth and The Dominion. Because there were so many steps she had to repeat the process in her mind multiple times to make absolutely sure the direction she was thinking was the correct one.

She sighed heavily once she realized where the direction was.

“That bad?”

“Unfortunately. It’s towards Arestoth…which is much farther than The Dominion is.”

“Hmm…which means it’ll require a lot of magical power to fuel it to get at least that far.” He sounded concerned. “How far? Approximately?”

“Five days travel by horse?” she guessed.

“That far?!” he was shocked at the distance. “You certainly don’t make it easy do you girl? But regardless…like I said before. Even if it is towards Arestoth, there is absolutely no guarantee that it happened there. For all I know it happened on the other side of the world. It just felt like it came from that direction is all.

“I know. But it is much more than we’ve had to go on in recent years.”

Belgard let out a sigh, followed by a few coughs, and cleared his throat. Reaching into the satchel that Meladris had given him earlier he grabbed a handful of the cold and wet substance. Kneading it and molding it in his hands with skill he continued to reach in and collect small chunks and add it to the figure he was molding.

“Where’d you get this shit? This clay is awful!”

She frowned slightly and was thankful that Belgard couldn’t see.

“Um…it’s actually not really clay.”

“What?” he said deadpan and stopped working. “Woman if this is really shit, I’m going to throw it at you.”

“Of course it’s not! Does it smell like it!? It’s just what I could find underneath some of the stones in the castle garden’s pond.”

“Ugh, that explains it. Well, it’s better than nothing so I’ll do what I can.”

With the dim illumination from the pebble in the palm of her hand she continued to watch Belgard work. Even without his eyes he was fully capable of manipulating the clay into a shape using just his hands. He was molding, adding and removing chunks of clay with dexterous movements. Meladris had no idea what the final product was going to be but regardless she was certain it would be perfect. The two sat in total silence for a long while until finally Belgard lifted up to show her the final product.

“There, hopefully it doesn’t look like some kind of monster?”

She lifted the pebble into the air to get a better spread of the light and smiled at the final image of the golem that would hopefully be the key to their liberation from this hell.

“That’s a very cute dog!” she exclaimed.

“What? It’s a weasel!”

They both paused for a moment, then broke out into laughter. Belgard immediately regretted it after he started coughing violently.

“Oh, are you ok? I’m sorry.” she said chuckling slightly.

“I-I’m fine...” Belgard took a moment to catch his breath. “Now, I just have to imbue it with enough magical energy to let it roam all the way to Arestoth?”

“That’s right. I’m sorry I wish I could help but Earth magic isn’t my strong suit.”

“Actually, there might be a way you could help. Are your shadows capable of independent movement?”

“Yes, but they are unable to do so unless I’m within a certain range, or if there is too much light. That’s why I was hoping you could create a golem, since they don’t have those limitations.”

“True, but what if we did both?”

“Both? I don’t…” Before she could finish, Belgard interrupted.

“I’ll make the golem just a shell, imbue enough power into it to allow the shell to become tough to keep it from breaking or dissolving if it rains, and your shadows inside can move the limbs, that’ll work…right?”

Meladris took a second to think about it. If the shell was able to shut out all of the light and still pliable enough to move, her shadows could move the legs, but there was a problem.

“Yes, I could, but…There’s no way for me to control where it goes, the most I could do is make it repeat the same movements over a loop, like running. Changing directions, adjusting for obstacles and such is beyond what they can do after they leave my direct control.”

“Ah, no worries, the head of this guy will be all me. If you can make the legs move that’ll be perfect.”

Belgard held the weasel figure in both hands and began to mumble silently to himself. Meladris could see the strain on his face. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead and he began to breathe faster. Slowly the golem began to glow very faintly with yellow light, pulse and then the light disappeared. This process repeated half a dozen more times until Belgard let out a large gasp and placed the golem on the ground before him.

Meladris lowered the pebble light and noticed that the golem’s head had moved to watch. The head was independent of the body, and since it was not hollow, the weight of it would allow for the hollow body to be easily manipulated as far as direction is concerned. It was brilliant.

“Belgard, you are a genius. But…how do I…?”

Before she could finish he lifted it up and stretched his hands out for her to take it. Placing the pebble on the ground beside her she reached in and gingerly pulled it between the bars, thankfully it was thin enough to slip right through. When it was placed right next to the light pebble the golem looked up at Meladris and opened its mouth.

“He looks hungry. Got anything he could eat?” he said slyly.

“You never cease to amaze Belgard.”

Meladris pointed her right index finger at the weasel golem’s mouth and concentrated. A small ball of shadows popped into existence. Over time it began to grow and pulse larger then smaller, larger then smaller. Finishing her incantation she placed the ball into the golem’s mouth and pushed it into the tiny hole at the back. Once the golem had finished having the shadow transferred into it, it instantly closed its mouth to keep light out and the shadow in.

Smiling at the scene Meladris waited for it to move. Before it took effect she made sure to turn it towards the steps.

“So it knows to head directly to Arestoth, right?” she asked with concern in her voice.

“Well, I couldn’t tell it exactly where to go to be honest. I just told it to head in the direction I felt the renewal pacts energy. The rest is on you. I hope you put into it what you needed to.”

“I did. I’m positive he will get the message.”

As Meladris finished her sentence the golem started to move. Awkwardly at first, like a newborn taking its first steps. But slowly it picked up the pace and before she could hold up the pebble light to keep an eye on it longer it had already disappeared up the stairs. The little pitter patter of clay feet hitting the stone steps as it ran up them.

“Let’s hope we get released from this nightmare…one way or the other.” Belgard said gently.