Arai went first. He told Grizz about his battle with Lillandra at the top of the Nightfall; he told him what had happened to Odo, Vex, and Maya; and he told him about the spell Lillandra had cast that had transported him to the other side of the world. He told him about their adventures in Addis, Grand Skir, and the Scarred Lands, and of how they had journeyed to Carmaine after learning that the Steelmen were stationed at the Crevak de Che. He introduced him to Shell and Sir Estil, and to prove his story, he had Shell lower the hood of her cloak, revealing her pointed ears. "It's...a pleasure meeting you," Grizz said, staring at the girl.

  He left out some parts of the story, however, and altered others. He told Grizz that he had succeeded in killing the Night Queen at the Nightfall, and introduced Lillandra as Leila, a young sorceress he had met in the far east shortly after his arrival there, and who had decided to accompany him. Sir Estil, who couldn't stand these kinds of deceptions, but who understood the necessity of this one, coughed and cleared his throat in a disapproving sort of way whenever Arai told these lies. Lillandra, for her part, remained quiet.

  "This is the most remarkable story I've ever heard," Grizz said when he had finished. "You were sent to the other side of the Scarred Lands? And you've spent the last two years making your way back?"

  "Two years? Is that how long it's been?"

  "Very nearly." He turned to Lillandra, Shell, and Sir Estil. "You have been true friends to Arai, from the sound of it, seeing him safely through many hardships. Words cannot express my gratitude to you all, for returning him to us."

  "I swore an oath," Sir Estil said, shrugging.

  "It was nothing," Shell added, rather flippantly.

  But Arai had questions of his own, which he was dying to have answered, and he had hardly finished his story when he began peppering Grizz with them: "What happened after I entered the Nightfall? Did you take Fort Drakness? What about Lord Pierce?"

  Grizz frowned. "When you didn't return from the Nightfall, we thought the Night Queen had killed you, along with Odo and Maya and Vex as well. I went to the tower myself, intending to confront the Night Queen personally, but there was some kind of magic in place that prevented me, or anyone else, from entering. Feri tried to untangle it, but the magic was too complicated for her."

  Feri was the Steelmen's resident mage. "Where is Feri?" Arai asked.

  "She's taken ill, I'm afraid," he replied. "It's nothing serious, but it's come at a very bad time; we may not be able to carry out our plan." He shook his head, dismissing the subject. "Anyway, we assumed the Night Queen was still alive, since her magic was still in place, and although we had destroyed most of her monsters, we were afraid she might retaliate at any moment. And with you dead..." He trailed off. "All hope seemed lost."

  "What about Lord Pierce?"

  "He was gravely injured at Fort Drakness. He may be dead by now. In any case, his nephew, the new Lord Pierce, has declared himself the Lord Protector of Velon. He's only a boy, though, and as far as I know he hasn't budged from the Waterglass Palace."

  Arai couldn't believe what he was hearing. Lord Pierce still alive? His nephew the new Lord Protector? And what was this mysterious magic preventing anyone from entering the Nightfall? His spirits had been lifted immensely after reuniting with the Steelmen, but now they were flagging again, after hearing all this bad news.

  "The final battle for Fort Drakness took its toll on us," Grizz went on. "We entered Velon with fourteen hundred men; there are less than four hundred of us now. We lost Silver, lost the Robber. With our strength reduced, the Night Queen still in power, the Al'mud bearing down on us, and you apparently dead, we cut our losses and left Velon."

  "The Al'mud?"

  "Ah, yes. The Al'mud. The barbarians have always been a nuisance, but they've become a much more serious threat over the last two years. The tribes have banded together under a new war-leader, Rollaug, and his shaman Allugog. A few weeks ago I received word that they had finally reached Harbor Town; I suspect they're getting ready to move on to Hammersvik by now."

  And this was even worse news. "The new Lord Protector hasn't checked their progress?"

  "No. As I said, he hasn't budged from the Waterglass Palace. The rebellion against the Night Queen may have been unsuccessful, but the people remain deeply opposed to the Pierces, and to the nobility who allied with them. He has very few friends."

  "Anarchy, then," Arai muttered. "The Al'mud running rampant, the Lord Protector ineffective, and the ordinary people of Velon still too terrified of the Night Queen to organize themselves. Is that the situation?"

  "More or less." He put a hand on Arai's shoulder. "I wanted to stay, for your father's sake, and drive out this new Lord Pierce, at least. But the Steelmen are a mercenary company, and my men...well, they loved your father, but they love money, too, and there were no good prospects left for us in Velon."

  "I understand," Arai said resignedly. The Steelmen had agreed to fight for Velon as a favor to Arai, and to avenge their old captain, but Grizz was right; they were mercenaries, and they expected to get paid at some point.

  "So we returned to the Holy Empire," he finished, shrugging. "We worked for Duke L'stran for a few months, then headed south to see what kind of work we could pick up in the Marquisates. But then we began hearing rumors about a new kind of war breaking out in the west."

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Dayan?"

  "Indeed," he affirmed. "A brilliant young general, by all accounts. You've heard about Arl's City?"

  "I heard about it, but I had a hard time believing it."

  "It's true. The Holy Legion captured the city and took the emperor hostage. They turned back the Trustees, crushed the Manrador, and now..." He looked out his window, which faced west.

  "And now they're coming here."

  "The Grand Army hired us to reinforce the Crevak," he said. "I didn't realize how badly the situation had deteriorated, but a deal's a deal, and we're stuck with it now."

  "How large is this approaching army?" Sir Estil asked.

  "Vaix suspects they may have as many as thirteen thousand men. The Grand Army is badly outnumbered; they're hoping we can delay Dayan at the Crevak long enough for them to raise more men. But there's another problem."

  "What's that?"

  "This Dayan is a very charismatic young man," he said sourly, "and his advisor, this Bellarue, was an extremely influential scheradatze in Arl's City. He's got half the Holy Empire convinced that Dayan is the new incarnation of Arl. And as I mentioned earlier, he's also holding the emperor hostage. As long as he has the emperor, the other states of the Holy Empire are going to be reluctant to move against him."

  "I thought this emperor was just a figurehead," Shell said.

  "He has very little political power," Grizz acknowledged. "But he's still a descendant of Arliel, and symbolically he's still very important, especially to pious men like Duke Galagus and others in the Greater Remnant. Galagus commands one of the largest and best-equipped armies in the Empire, and he immediately marched south out of Dulcifer when he heard that Arl's City had been captured, but his hands are tied now that the emperor's been taken hostage. He won't commit to an attack."

  "So what are you going to do?"

  "I do have a plan," he said. "I'm just waiting to hear back from the Grand Army. But now that Feri's taken ill, I'm not sure we'll be able to pull it off."

  "What is it?"

  He went over to the window, once again looking out to the west. "We can't hold the Crevak," he said. "The fortress is strong, but we don't have the men or materiel to hold off Dayan's forces for more than a week or two. We need to give the Old Duchy and the Marquisates more time to march their armies up here, and we need Galagus' help."

  "The Marquisates have committed troops?"

  "Not as yet, but Dayan has made it clear that he plans to split his forces after he takes the Crevak. Half of his army will proceed into the Old Duchy and the Marquisates, while the other marches north to finish off Galagus and take the Cyrilles." He paused. "There's something I forgot to mention. This Bellarue has been talking about overthrowing the Night Queen as well, and conquering Velon once and for all. If Dayan succeeds in taking the Cyrilles -- and he almost certainly will -- he's very likely to try his luck in Velon next."

  Arai frowned. Velon had been threatened with invasion before, but Velon was cold, remote, and lightly populated, and anyway the states of the Holy Empire were usually too busy fighting amongst themselves to advance the project. For the last century the Night Queen's magic had kept them at bay; before that, the armies of King Reemus and his ancestors had prevented any major incursions. The Tuv River was also a formidable natural barrier.

  Was it true? Was Velon really threatened?

  "These are some grand ambitions," Arai muttered. "Can he succeed?"

  "If he wants Velon, he'll take it," Grizz said bluntly. "In its weakened state, I don't think Velon could hold off the Baron of Tot, much less the Holy Legion."

  Arai sighed. "This is not what I wanted to hear."

  "What's your plan?" Sir Estil pressed.

  "Ah," Grizz said. "Forgive the digression. My plan, briefly, is to sneak into Dayan's camp and rescue the emperor."

  They all stared. "That's certainly a bold plan," Lillandra finally muttered.

  "Rescuing the emperor will give Duke Galagus a free hand," Grizz said. "As soon as the emperor is free, his army will head south immediately, forcing Dayan to turn his attention north. That will give the Old Duchy and the Marquisates, not to mention the Grand Army, more time to bring up their troops." He shrugged. "Galagus might also defeat him outright."

  "How did Feri figure into your plan?" Arai asked.

  "We were counting on her magic to disguise us," he said. "The Grand Army allowed us access to the Crevak's secret vaults; Feri found a magical artifact down there which can cover a man in a glamour."

  "A Crux of Illusion," Lillandra murmured.

  "She was going to use it disguise a small team, which would infiltrate the camp and seize the emperor. From there, the group would head north, reunite with me and the rest of the Steelmen, and deliver the emperor to Galagus." He smiled faintly. "Dayan is delayed, Galagus is free to attack, and the Steelmen are no longer doomed to defend the Crevak. If it worked, it could turn the tide of this war. But I've been having trouble finding volunteers, and Feri's too ill to carry it out now, anyway. I've been trying to find another mage, but it's hard to know who to trust."

  "It's a good plan," Arai said slowly, "but a risky one as well. What if this team encounters an enemy sorcerer? Sorcerers can see through illusions, can't they?" He glanced at Lillandra.

  "They can," she admitted, "but only if they're paying attention."

  Arai considered that. "Dayan is likely to have the emperor hidden away somewhere. That could present another problem." He got to his feet and started pacing around the room, thinking.

  Lillandra scowled at him. "Don't tell me..."

  "It's a good plan," he repeated. "Exceedingly dangerous, of course, but..." He turned to Grizz. "I have a proposition for you."

  "Oh?"

  "I'd like to volunteer for this mission. Lill..." He stopped there, correcting himself. "Leila is a talented sorceress. She can take Feri's place. Sir Estil is the best fighter I've ever seen, and I still have Silus, in case we run into magical trouble. I think we stand a good chance of succeeding."

  "Arai," Lillandra hissed, "this is crazy."

  "In exchange," Arai said, "I want the Steelmen to return with me to Velon, to protect Hammersvik from the Al'mud, and..." He glanced again at Lillandra. "To help me figure out what's going on at the Nightfall."

  Grizz gave him a long, considering look. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

  "What I want," he muttered, "is to return to Velon in peace. But that doesn't seem to be an option right now."

  The older man nodded sadly. "I think I can convince the men to return to Velon," he said, "but it won't be easy. The situation there is almost as hopeless as the one we're in now, and they're going to wonder when they're finally getting paid."

  "I'm sure something can be arranged," Arai said, although in fact, he had no idea how he was going to repay the Steelmen when the fighting was finally over.

  Grizz snorted. "You always did have more courage than sense, lad. Very well. I accept your proposition. I only hope I'm not sending you to your death."

  They shook hands to seal the deal. Lillandra, Arai noticed, was still scowling. Sir Estil, meanwhile, looked troubled, and Shell was rolling her eyes and sighing.

  "Here we go again," she grumbled.