Day by day, Hump felt his condition improving. By the second, he was back to practicing his shaping exercises and cantrips. By the third, he hardly noticed the cold touch of essence overuse anymore, other than when he pushed himself too hard.

It took them five days to return to Sheercliff City—almost twice as long as the trip to Stonebark Forest. With so many villagers relying on handcarts to move their possessions, there was no avoiding the slow pace. When Sheercliff finally peeked over the horizon—a beacon of white stone that shone even in the overcast, winter sky—Hump couldn’t help but feel relieved. There was no getting used to the sense of defeat along the line, the crying children at night, the hopelessness.

Beyond the city limits, Hump was pleased to see the refugee camps had changed much. Simple buildings of yellow stone towered four stories tall. They were perfectly smooth and all but identically built by earth wielders at work even now. They worked in groups, channelling blessings and spellcraft in groups to shape the earth around the city to their will. While far from the luxury of a proper house, it gave the refugees actual walls and a home where before they’d hardly had tents. Clearly, Countess Daston had worked hard to ensure her people were taken care of. He just wondered if the city’s food supply would hold up.

Bud pulled up on Asoltef beside him. “I don’t like returning defeated.”

“Neither do I,” Hump said. He stared off at the cliff, the carriageways that moved along its face like small, dark spots from the distance. Surrounded by the grey clouds, it was as if gloom enveloped the city.

They drew quite a crowd as they approached. Ricard had sent messengers ahead to ensure that people were in place to accept the additional refugees. They came in numbers to meet them, bringing with them healers, clothing, food, water, and any other necessities the people might need. People lined the streets as they approached, whispering about Ricard and Marcela, both famous throughout the city. Despite the brief moment of excitement, there was a sombre mood to the people here. They appeared exhausted and defeated.

Marcela gathered their full squad of four parties to her.

“Take the rest of the day,” Marcela said. “I intend to stay here and ensure that the villagers are properly looked after before returning home myself. We’ll reconvene tomorrow at the academy if that suits everyone.”

There were no complaints. Hump said his goodbyes to Harlow and Joan with the rest of his party, and then headed for the city gates.

“Wizard Hump?”

Hump turned to see Luna amongst the crowd, accompanied by other members of the Pantheon that tended the refugee camps. She was in her priestess robes, embroidered with Lady Light’s sigil.

She approached and smiled. “I thought that was you.” She waved at everyone else. “Hi again. I didn’t realise your party was part of Lord Godward’s expedition.”

“We weren’t with the expedition, actually,” Hump said. “Our job was to protect the villages around Stonebark Forest while the expedition did their thing.”

“Oh, I see.” She looked down the line of people, a sad expression on her face. “Still, it looks like you’ve all been through a lot. Here.” She opened a basket around her shoulder and offered it to them. Inside were shortbread biscuits in the shape of wings.

“Is this not for the refugees?” Hump asked.

“There’s plenty more,” Luna said.

Bud took one and took a bite. “Mhm, this is delicious! Thank you.”

Luna smiled at him. “You are very welcome.”

Hump took one too, along with the rest of his party.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” She looked at Hump. “Do come by if you want to catch up.”

Hump watched her go, taking a bite of his biscuit. Bud was right; it was good. “Well, at least we got a warm welcome.”

Celaine kicked her horse onward, laughing under her breath. “You are such an idiot.”

Hump frowned after her. “What?”

“I thought you wizards were supposed to be smart,” Emilia said. “She clearly just invited you to meet with her.”

“She’s a priestess!” Hump said. “She’s just being polite.”

Emilia raised an eyebrow and shook her head, then carried on after Celaine.

Bud snorted, clapping him on the shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get back to the inn.”

Hump laughed, then realised Emilia wasn’t joking. “Wait, seriously?” He glanced over his shoulder, searching for Luna’s blonde hair in the crowd, but she was already gone.

The city streets were packed. They worked their way through the crowd on foot before arriving at the gates. Bud showed them his carriageway pass, given to each of them by Countess Daston, and they were allowed through without question.

“I’m going to part ways with you here, if that’s okay,” Emilia said. “I’m sure my brother has been worried sick. I should check in with him.”

“Of course,” Bud said. “Please pass along my greetings.”

She laughed, short and sharp. “I’m sure he’ll love that. I’ll meet you all at the academy tomorrow.”

The four of them walked the quiet alleyways where they’d fought the warlock affiliated gang all those weeks ago, working their way back to the inn. With the ever-growing crowd, Hump was glad they’d spent the coin to keep their rooms, even if it had seemed like a waste at the time.

There was a sudden tremor. Hump reached for the alley wall to catch himself as the ground rumbled beneath them, only for a moment.

“Did you all feel that?” he asked.

“Sheercliff is known for the occasional earthquake,” Bud said. “This is the city of Osidium after all.”

They stabled the horses and tipped the stable boy to have them each properly groomed before going inside.

The quant inn was warmly lit, and Hump couldn’t help but feel at home as he went inside. Sheercliff had been good to him, for the most part at least, and Mister Gronde sure did make good food.

Inside, it smelt of bread and roasting meats—an improvement from the food shortages when they had left the city. In a large booth on the far side of the room, Vivienne looked at them and waved. Sat with her were Inquisitor Eliana, and Countess Daston’s lead researcher, Graham.

“It is good to see you all.” Vivienne rose from her chair to give Dylan a hug. She wrinkled her nose. “You stink.”

“A week on the road will do that to you,” he said, grinning. “How are you? And how are things in Sheercliff?”

Her expression soured, and she let out a long sigh. “Let’s talk after you put your things away. I’m afraid there’s little in the way of good news.”

“Well, that’s ominous,” Hump said. “Why don’t you tell us now quickly so we don’t dwell in anxiety in the meantime.”

She smiled. “Go on. We’ll be waiting here.” She looked at them all. “I am so very glad you all returned safely.”

There was food and drink waiting for them upon their return. The four of them sat down on one side, while Vivienne, Eliana, and Graham sat opposite them, recounting the situation as they ate.

“Where to start?” Vivienne said.

“What about the good news first?” Eliana said. “Vivi’s tribunal was postponed indefinitely, much to Abraxus’ dismay.”

“Ah, indeed it was,” Vivienne said. “It took one line from Justine Daston to put a stop to that, and other than a few grumbles from the Wizard Society, nobody has mentioned it since.”

“That’s brilliant!” Dylan said.

Vivienne shrugged. “While it was postponed, my record has not yet been wiped clean. And if there’s one thing I can say about Abraxus, it is that he is stubborn.” She waved her hand to the side. “Enough about that though. It’s nonsense in the grand scheme of things. Since you left, the Blackstone Warlock threat has only grown.”

“Is that what we’re calling them now?” Celaine asked.

“The Temple Guard have cracked down on many of their gangs in the last month,” Eliana explained. “A lot of that is owed to Graham’s artifact—it is no longer necessary for Chosen to carry out a ritual to test whether or not someone is a warlock. You would not believe how much time that saves.”

Hump forced himself to smile as Vivienne gave him a knowing look.

“Of the warlocks discovered, every one of them has possessed a black stone,” Eliana continued.

“Have you figured out what they do?” Hump asked.

Graham chuckled. “Now there’s the mystery. I’ve yet to make the darn things work. Not even a moment of essence interaction—whatever they are, they’re unlike any artifact I’ve seen before.”

“And the captured warlocks have said nothing?” Bud asked.

“No,” Eliana said. “And our methods are not kind. I am a mind magic user, yet my best efforts have yet to crack them. Whatever they have done to their souls, it grants them significantly more resistance than ordinary people.”

“You’ve resorted to torture?” Bud said, affronted.

“My magic does not cause pain,” Eliana said. “But people are dying. There have been some suggestions that more… violent methods be employed.”

Bud shook his head. “Gods. And then we’d be no better than them.”

“The goal is not to be better than them,” Vivienne said. “The goal is to stop innocent people from dying, and to stop whatever evil they are planning. This is not public knowledge, but there was an attempt on Countess Daston’s life. Since then, the call for harsher methods has been high.”

Bud’s mouth dropped open. “Was the culprit caught?”

“Killed, not caught,” Vivienne said.

“Marcela was also attacked,” Dylan said. “Could it be related?”

“I doubt it,” Hump said. “That seemed more like an attack of opportunity than a planned assassination.”

“As in Marcela Daston?” Eliana asked quickly. “You were working with her?”

Eliana turned to Vivienne. “How did this never come up?”

“I didn’t see the relevance.”

“This is big news, Vivi! You’re working for the countess. Your apprentice and his party for her daughter. You should have said something.”

“I knew,” Graham said haphazardly.

Eliana frowned at him. “That’s not very helpful now.” She turned back to Hump. “Do you know what happened then? We only know that there was an attack, but not the exact details.”

“Hump more than knows what happened,” Bud said. “It’s only thanks to him that she’s alive. He saved her life.”

“I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time,” Hump said. He recounted the events leading up to the attack: the three adventurers they’d rescued from razorclaws, and the unexpected betrayal. “As I said, this was far too opportunistic to be planned.”

Eliana sighed. “Indeed, that seems likely. A shame, because we could use the information right now. So much has been happening, it’s difficult to see how it’s all connected.”

“There’s more?” Bud asked.

“Stonebark Forest Dungeon was not the only one to expand,” Vivienne said. “They all did, and we’ve been experiencing earthquakes ever since.”

“We felt a tremor on the way in,” Celaine said.

“You get used to it,” Vivienne said. “They’ve been happening at least twice a day.”

“Is it because of the expansions?” Hump asked.

“Gods know,” Vivienne said.

“It’s our best guess,” Graham said. “Though that’s truly all it is at this point. They coincided with the expansions, though why they have continued is still up for debate.”

“Debate?” Hump said. “So you have an idea.”

“I suppose… Our leading suspicion is that they are still growing.”

Hump gulped. “Oh.”

“What happened to the other dungeons?” Bud asked.

Vivienne took a sip of her drink. “Stonebark Forest was only the first dungeon to expand, and it was far from the worst case. The Telvar Mines were next, and since they’re abandoned, there were fortunately no deaths. But three days ago, Dendree Hill expanded, wiping out half the expedition in the process, including the silver ranker leading it. Some say we will join the Fallen Lands here in the coming months.”

“You believe that?” Dylan asked.

“I don’t know,” Vivienne said. “But some dark force is at work, and nobody has the faintest idea of its purpose. When sixth circle Chosen and the Duke’s best general don’t know what’s going on, that makes me afraid. I know of no case of dungeons expanding like this outside of the Fallen Lands.”

Bud shifted in his seat, and she looked at him, reading something on his face.

“What?” she asked suspiciously.

“I can’t tell you,” Bud said. “But I suspect if you wait until tomorrow, you may find out.”

“If you know something important, you need to tell us,” Vivienne pushed, then she slowed down, looking at the rest of them. “You can’t tell us?”

“We are sworn to secrecy,” Hump said. “What I can tell you though is that you’re right. There’s a dark force at work here, and we should be afraid.”