It was late when Vivienne returned to the inn, Eliana alongside her. They’d been at the debriefing for the day following the attacks on the warlock bases.

Hump and the others had decided to wait up for her, all of them eager for news. The two women appeared exhausted when they took a seat at their table. The inn was quiet now. Most of the previous customers were long gone. It was dark out, and in these trying times, few dared travel in the night.

“I need wine,” Eliana declared. “Fancy a bottle, Vivi?”

Vivienne smiled. “Sure. I think we’ve earned it.”

“Perfect,” Eliana said. “Could we have that one you suggested the other night, Mister Gronde?”

“Ah, the vintage from Hatah,” the innkeeper said. “Of course. I’ll bring it right over.”

Hump watched as the innkeeper disappeared down his cellar then turned to the inquisitor. “Long night?”

Eliana nodded. “Busy day too. Across the city, eight warlock bases were destroyed in total. Twenty-two warlocks captured. The Pantheon hates our involvement most of the time but the moment it comes down to processing prisoners they can’t keep us long enough. Abraxus has been too busy snooping around the trees, so that duty fell to me.”

“That’s a good count,” Bud said. “So many warlocks captured must be hopeful.”

“Unfortunately, it sounds far better than it is, Robert,” Vivienne said. “Most of those we fought today were little more than grunts. We’ve hacked at the body, but I do not see this foe falling until we find its head.”

Eliana rested a hand on Vivienne’s arm. “You’re being pessimistic, Vivi. From my preliminary encounters, I believe at least a few of our prisoners will prove fruitful.”

“Anyone in particular pique your interest?” Hump asked.

She gave Hump a curious look. “A few,” she said mysteriously. “Though it’s more their general disposition that has me intrigued. Usually when we apprehend a gang or similar criminal enterprise, they’re quick to speak out to save their own skin. The Blackstone Warlocks are different. They seem united behind a common belief, and that makes them difficult to crack.”

The way she enunciated the final word left Hump nervous. Inquisitors were notorious for their brutality when dealing with warlocks or wielders of dark magic. The old man had always spoken of it in a bad light. A way to keep wizards scared, and a way to keep those of the Pantheon coming after them. Eliana’s methods were more subtle than most, but no less horrifying. Mind magic was an art to be feared.

“They sound like a cult,” Emilia said. “Fallen wizards and martials that are too selfish to accept their own limitations, and willing to rely on dark forces to make up for the strength they feel they are missing. It gives the rest of us a bad name.”

“Yes, I can see why you might think so,” Eliana said. “However, they do not seem to be devoted to a religious figurehead, but rather, they pursue a path. It’s quite interesting. They view the gods as our oppressors, and wish to free humanity from their grasp to regain the powers that were always meant for us to claim.”

It was just as Kassius had put it. If the Blackstone Warlocks really were connected, he wondered just how deep their roots went if even a prince of Alveron could be one of them.

Mister Gronde approached the table, wine bottle in hand. He poured both Vivienne and Eliana a glass and then left the bottle at the table.

“Just call if there’s anything else I can help you with, milady,” Gronde said.

“Thank you,” Eliana said with a tired smile.

“They’re a bunch of heretical lunatics is what they are,” Bud growled. “But their blasphemy will meet its end soon enough. They will know the wrath of the gods and their Chosen.”

“Indeed,” Eliana said. “It is just a matter of time before we see an end to this matter.”

“Did you find out anything about the trees yet?” Dylan asked. “I can’t stop thinking about them.”

Vivienne shook her head. “I’m afraid not. We’re calling them Trees of Damnation, and so far, we’ve found four of them across the eight defeated bases. All are very similar in size and appearance. The Pantheon are doing what they can to save the souls inside, though it doesn’t look like there will be any success in the short term.”

“Has simply destroying them been ruled out?” Celaine asked.

“For now,” Vivienne said. “It’s grim news, I know, though not everything is so dark. The trees have given the leaders of Sheercliff something to agree on finally. The factions are working together to figure out what must be done about the trees. Priests are praying, wizards studying, and warlocks are being interrogated. This is powerful magic, but we’ll find something.”

“What do we do in the meantime?” Hump asked.

“Be as ready as you can,” Vivienne said. “Warlocks have already been identified amongst the nobility. It’s a closed matter for now, but everyone is being checked. Today will not be the final fight, and I’m quite sure more warlock bases will be found soon. When they are, Ricard will remain as one of the primary leaders in their destruction. Unless you decide to withdraw from his task force, you will see more combat.”

“We’ve already decided to stay,” Dylan said.

Vivienne gave him a long look before nodding. “Excellent. This will be very good for you. For all of you. You’ll improve quickly, especially under Ricard’s leadership. Just… just be careful. We don’t know enough about these warlocks to comfortably assess threat levels, so you need to trust your instincts. Don’t go trying to fight any high-ranking warlocks.”

She took a sip of her wine and Dylan started to assure her that they’d be careful.

Hump liked this side of Vivi. The two of them had had their differences in the beginning, but she had always been a close friend to the old man. After getting to know her better, it was clear to him why. She cared for those she was close to.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Hump said, changing the topic. “I made some drawings of formations and runes found on our site. Most were incomplete but I think they might be useful.”

“Very useful,” Vivienne said. “Countess Daston has asked me to go to the various sites tomorrow and do the same. You’ll save me a trip. Can we see?”

Hump took out his spellbook and made a show of flicking to the appropriate page, then slid the book into the middle of the table for the two women to see.

“You drew these?” Eliana asked.

Hump nodded.

“They’re very accurate. I’m impressed. Never imagined Seth’s apprentice getting much practice in this area.”

“The old man definitely liked to keep me busy,” Hump said.

Eliana snorted, then studied the page. She sat back after a few moments and shook her head. “This is next to useless for me. There’s a few spells in Alveronian, but I don’t recognise this other language. How about you, Vivi?”

“I know a few of the runes,” she said. “Like you said, these here,” she pointed to the incomplete spell formations in Alveronian, “seem to be some sort of ward. Nothing particularly complex from the looks of it, but perhaps Tier 3 magic. The thirteen runes you recorded are more interesting.”

Her fingertip moved to the runes that Hump and Celaine had found while moving between the warlock runes.

“They were gouged into the edge of each room near the base of one of the walls,” Hump said. “It was Celaine that spotted them.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for more like them tomorrow,” Vivienne said. “They remind me of the markings on the black stones. Similar strokes, though I don’t recognise any of the runes. I’ll see what I can find in my notes tomorrow. If we can learn how their spells work, we may be able to find methods to break them.”

***

There was no time to delay their preparations. The next morning, they were off to the Daston estate to test Celaine’s new blessing and review their performance in the raids on the warlock bases. The main takeaway being that they’d all messed up when Hump became separated. Going forward, they had to move better as a unit. A difficult thing to expect with such versatile fighting styles out there, but something they would need to be prepared for in the future. Though with no casualties or serious injuries, it was difficult to call their quest anything but a success.

With that out of the way, Hump and his party gathered to see what Celaine’s new blessing, Way of Shadows, was capable of.

“I practiced last night and this morning,” Celaine said. “It’s especially difficult to wield in light.”

“Light repels shadow,” Hump said. “Overwhelming that intent is no easy feat. We could start in a dark room.”

Celaine took a seat toward the back of the well-lit training hall, her legs crossed. “No need. It’s manageable. And when it’s dark anyway I don’t particularly need to help to stay hidden. Just watch.”

She closed her eyes and breathed. At first, it just looked like she was practicing the same technique that Vivienne had taught her, but slowly the space around her darkened. It was a weird sight. Shadow didn’t exactly gather to her like Hump had expected, instead, it was more like the light around her faded. Slowly, Celaine faded from view, the entire rear side of the hallway consumed by darkness. One minute she was there, the next she was gone.

“You are officially a ball of shadow,” Emilia said.

“I’m not sure I agree,” Bud said. “She’s hardly a ball. It’s like the entire wall has been hidden behind a cloud.”

Emilia gave him an annoyed glance. “I didn’t mean it literally.”

“That took about a minute, Celaine,” Dylan said.

Celaine didn’t answer, but the darkness around her stirred, changing. Where before it seemed like an unlit section of the room, now it was more like fabric. It collapsed in stages, folding in as if it were a tent. She formed it in her hands until she held a ball of darkness before her. Slowly, she stretched it out, moulding it into a narrow rod.

She breathed deeply, opening her eyes. The ends were changing, becoming more pointed. The wisps of feathers formed on one side. Slowly, it started to look like an arrow. And then suddenly, the arrow broke apart. Light flooded the room. The arrow disintegrated into wisps of shadow, flaking off beneath the brightness. The room was once again normal.

Celaine breathed heavily, catching her breath.

“Nicely done,” Hump said.

“It’s really, really difficult to form it in full light,” Celaine said. “I know there is shadow essence around me, but it feels so faint. The only thing holding it in place is my will, and the moment I become distracted creating the arrow, I can feel my control over it slipping.”

“You should get used to that,” Dylan said. “I struggled with a similar issue when learning to wield Grasping Vines. It’s difficult to fix so much in your mind at once.”

Hump grinned, feeling a little uplifted at hearing of their struggle. He appreciated that even Chosen had to put in a little work for the sake of strength.

“You’ll get used to it,” Hump said. “It comes with practice. You’ll learn to hold separate thoughts in your mind at once, like partitions in a room.”

“What it comes with is a headache,” Celaine said, massing her temples. “And why do you have that smug grin on your face?”

Hump let his face relax before the others could turn to see him. “That’s just rude. This is my normal face.”

They moved on to other tests next, experimenting with various light levels and shapes. Trying to form objects from shadows on the ground, beneath her foot, and in complete darkness. It was delicate work, and Hump could see the frustration building in Celaine as she practiced. So far, it seemed she could only solidify a shape out of true shadow. Anything less than that and it would be little more than a flimsy construct, falling apart at the slightest touch or loss of focus.

“I can’t do it,” Celaine said. She was sweating. “I’m losing my mind even trying. An arrow is too complex a shape for me right now.”

“You could try pairing it with Bloodshadow,” Hump suggested. “The dagger creates shadow out of essence. It’s already given structure. It might be more easily manipulated.”

“Or it might try to eat her,” Bud said.

“She’s not had much trouble with it so far,” Hump said. “And I’m not suggesting we give it any blood. Just wield its shadow.”

“I’ll try it.” Celaine drew the dagger from her belt. She forced essence into the blade, and shadow erupted along its edge, smoking from it like angry fire. She tugged at the shadow with her other hand, plucking at it as if it were thread. The shadow stopped billowing, becoming more solid, bending to her touch. She pulled harder, and the shadow swarmed around her hand. She pulled it out as if drawing a blade from its sheath, a rod emerging from within. Hump sensed something different this time. There was more power in this than her previous attempts. She held it out and the top shifted, the arrowhead forming. Twin fletchings grew from the shadow on the other end, spiralling down the shaft.

She looked at the arrow, breathing deeply. Slowly, she sheathed her dagger and drew her bow. She nocked the arrow and drew back the string, whirling to aim at a wooden post off to the side of the hall. A line of darkness pierced the hall, thudding into the post and piercing deeply. It stuck there, smoking fiercely, the shadow trailing into the air and then slowly fading.

“That worked better,” Celaine said happily. She let out a breath, smiling, the frustration seemingly gone from her at the success. “I’ll need to work on that though. Won’t do me much good if I need to draw my dagger every time I need an arrow.”

“Good practice though,” Dylan said.

“If the arrows fade like that, you’ll be able to kill your target with hardly a trace,” Bud said. “That’s a little terrifying.”

Hump scratched the back of his head. “I swear, the more I see of Chosen archers, the more I never want to make an enemy of one.”

Celaine lowered her bow. “Doesn’t make for much of an arrow in the usual sense though. It’s far too unwieldy. It might be a good way to track a target if I’ve got some time to prepare. I think for now, the utility aspect of the blessing will be more useful, at least until I get better at gathering shadow. Right now I can just about give it shape, but I need to give it more power too.”

“You should try it with Predator’s Instinct next,” Hump said. “See if that helps. You may even be able to use it with Power Shot.”

“If you can, it’s incredibly powerful,” Dylan said. “Blessings that compound often lead to deadly combinations. With three blessings fuelling a single shot, you’ll be striking with far more power than most third circle archers.”

“Sorry to interrupt.” They turned as Marcela approached, holding out a letter in her hand. “We just got a new quest. Another base has been found and Ricard wants us on his task force again.”

Hump took the letter, scanning it. More warlock bases had been discovered, and once more they were to assist with a sweep and search operation.

“When are we meeting?” Emilia asked.

“The briefing is in two hours,” Marcela said. “The next mission is tonight.”

He felt his heart start to race as the nervous excitement of a fight came over him. Vivienne had said they’d be busy, but this came sooner than expected.

Hump folded the letter back up and returned it to Marcela. “We’ll grab some lunch and rest up till then.”