"Mother!" One of the priests shouted and rushed forward, hands already glowing with healing energy. The others scrambled to finish up their work and do the same. As Ro crossed the crypt, Maven entered behind him, followed by a few other templars.

  Shouting filled the crypt as they began pulling the heavy stone doors shut. Distorted animal calls sounded from up the stairs. The grinding sound of stone against stone filled the mausoleum as they sealed us in until the door shut, sending a final boom through the stone chamber.

  Ro's face was grim, his jaw set in a tight line as he lowered her onto the nearest empty sarcophagus. He wiped the sweat-soaked hair from her head and whispered something I couldn't make out to Varga before stepping back and addressing the room. "Careful, all of you. She's very weak." His voice was thin and strained.

  "Sorry, Ro." The priest who'd rushed over slowed down and began directing the others. We're all exhausted, so we'll work in pairs. Jorik, come and help me. The rest of you, gather whatever mana you can. We'll need you soon." One of the priests, a short middle-aged man, nodded and walked forward while the others sat wherever they could. Seconds later, a dim light shone throughout the crypt as the priests began healing her.

  Ro slumped against the far wall of the crypt. He wiped the sweat from his brow, but his shoulders were sagging, and his face was drawn. I could tell he was exhausted.

  Walking to him, I set my hand on his shoulder. "How'd it go out there?"

  He sighed without looking at me. "She held as long as she could." He slumped down to the floor. I sank down next to him. "Mother did well, but it wasn't enough."

  Shit. "How many are left?"

  "Truthfully? If I had to guess, not many. Maybe three or four dozen."

  That was good news. "Do you think we should go up and take them on?"

  He shook his head. "I'm sure between you, me, and the other templars and priests, we could probably take them on, but the losses would be massive. And if we failed..."

  "We wouldn't."

  "The ones that remain are the strongest and least deformed. The fight wouldn't be easy, and everyone here is exhausted. It's nearly dawn, and I'm sure no one's slept."

  I nodded. He was right. "Aside from the injured, not a wink."

  He looked around the room. "It looks like most have been healed. That's good, at least."

  I handed him one of my vials. That left me with one. "I've been helping as much as I can, but I think you'll make better use of this than I can moving forward."

  He took the vial and considered me. "You healed them yourself?"

  "As much as I could, yeah."

  He patted my thigh. "You're a good man. I'm glad you were here."

  "I'm glad I was, too."

  That meant a lot. "So, what's the plan?"

  "I honestly don't know. I don't think we can wait it out, but I don't think we should go to the surface either. Both options are bad."

  "What do you mean?"

  A massive sigh sounded from the tired elf. "I don't know how long that door can hold. One of the creatures out there is massive. We may end up with a fight whether we want it or not. But, at least in here, we can slow the fight down. That seems smarter."

  "If it comes to that, then I'll be right at the front next to you."

  He smiled. "I know you will."

  I rested my head against the wall and took a deep breath. After a moment, a realization hit me. If we were going to fight here, maybe die here, I needed to come clean about something. "Can I tell you something?"

  "Anything."

  I'd been holding onto this for too long. "I hated you when we first met."

  He laughed, the sound like bells chiming. "I had a feeling. You were always glaring at me. But why?"

  "I had a massive crush on Na-Ya. She was the second person I met here, and I thought she was so sweet. And she was way too pretty. When I found out you two were dating, I got super jealous. I started training just to show you up."

  He laughed harder. "So that's why you were always such a tryhard during training?"

  "Yup."

  "That makes so much sense." He looked over at me with a big smile on his face. "And now you're with Na-Ya's cousin." He pretended to get stern. "She's not some second choice of yours, is she?"

  I shook my head. "Not at all. I think Na-Ya's great, but she's great for you. She's too sweet for me. I need my women headstrong and feisty. I'm too dense for anyone else."

  "You really are."

  "Hey!"

  He slapped my arm. "It took you, what? A year to figure out that Tristan was a girl? And that she was crazy about you?"

  "Fourteen months."

  "Dummy."

  "Hey, it wasn't my fault she wore thick robes all the time."

  "Yeah, she was pretty gangly. The change wasn't kind to her."

  I laughed. "What does that even mean?"

  "Elves don't finish what you humans call puberty until they meet their mates. She was pretty upset when she started the change after meeting you."

  "Are you saying she knew that early on?"

  "Yeah? You didn't know?"

  "No!" I didn't even know what the change was! How was I supposed to know that's when elf puberty happens?"

  "Well, the second half of it. The mental stuff and a good part of the physical stuff happen early on. It's the second half of the change that hits later, even if you're only a mixed blood like Tristan. Didn't you study with Arden?"

  I laughed. "Have you met me? I faked my way through the first six months, and I'm not exactly the sharpest crayon in the light bulb box. I mostly liked the pictures of cool monsters." Wait. "She was crazy about me?"

  "Do you know how many times she complained about you to us?"

  "Complaining doesn't mean she was crazy about me, Ro."

  "To Tristan, it does. It meant she was thinking about you."

  "Yeah, well, she's going to kill me when we get out of this."

  "Yeah, she will."

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "She's scary sometimes..."

  "She's a handful."

  "She is."

  "And Vral?" His eyes searched mine.

  "Definitely a handful."

  "Is that all?"

  "Tristan says that our roots have grown together. I didn't know what that meant at first, but I think I get it now. I'm pretty sure it means I'm stuck with them both."

  He laughed. "It does. Does that bother you?"

  "It did."

  "Don't let it, my friend. Plus, I don't think you have much choice at this point."

  I chuckled. "Yes, sir. And no, I certainly don't." I glanced down at the ring on my finger. I was okay with that.

  He smiled. "Na-Ya says the same about me and her, though. About the roots. I didn't know what it meant either."

  "Your people don't have the same belief?"

  "No. We talk about walking in the light with our lovers."

  "Appropriate."

  "Yeah."

  "So, are you still my self-proclaimed rival, then?"

  I chuckled. "No. I'm your friend."

  "I'm glad."

  "You know what, though? My little one-sided rivalry pushed me to get stronger. Because of it, Tristan and I went on adventures. She and I fell for one another. We met Vral. I wouldn't change anything."

  He leaned back against the wall. "Yeah. Me neither. It's been a good life."

  I smacked his leg. "None of that. It'll keep being a good life, got it?"

  He was still. Finally, after what felt like forever, he gave a small nod. "Got it."

  ***

  The room shook as something repeatedly slammed into the large stone door. The muffled shouting of the animal people sounded from outside the heavy stone door, and dirt cascaded from the ceiling with every strike.

  "Not long now." Ro had gotten a little sleep over the last hour or so.

  I stood up. "I'm going to stretch my legs. If the fight's close, I need to limber up."

  "I'm going to try to rest a little longer." He set his head back against the wall. "If the door cracks up, come smack me."

  I nodded, stood up, and stepped toward the back room of the crypt. Something about the scholars' conversation had been pulling at my attention. They'd been inspecting the back wall for hours, and I was way too curious about what they were talking about.

  Walking through the crypt, I saw that the priests were all either sleeping or meditating. Lady Varga's healing had gone well. Luckily, she'd only been drained and had a case of mana burn, similar to Tristan after Embermist Keep. Once they'd healed her, they'd put her in the back room on a bed of cloaks.

  Weaving my way through the dozens of villagers and the injured, I got close to the back wall. As I did, I started making out the scholars' conversation.

  "... There has to be a lever... "I'm sure of it..."

  "... I've told you a thousand times... Sealed for ages..."

  "... It's magical, you dolts... Need to find the sigil..."

  Reaching the wall, I tapped the nearest scholar's shoulder, but he didn't seem to notice.

  "Pull on the stones! It's gotta be here." The man said, his salt-and-pepper beard swinging from side to side as he searched each stone.

  "Grund, it's magical. Stop looking for switches!"

  "Damn it, Ivhar. It's not magic! Look for a switch."

  "What are you guys looking for?" I asked the trio.

  The third scholar was standing off to the side and glaring at them through her thick spectacles. I realized it was Elonie, one of the scholars I knew from Arden's scriptorium. I hadn't recognized her due to a thick layer of soot that coated her... everything. "About damn time you came over to say hi, Alex. Talk some sense into those idiots."

  Elonie was a force to be reckoned with. She was a thirty-year-old self-proclaimed prodigy who was always right, even when she was wrong. "What am I looking at?"

  "I found an old sealed archway into the Depths. It clearly collapsed ages ago, but these two idiots think the door can be opened. They're wrong, of course." Her nose raised halfway to the ceiling as she spoke.

  One of the other scholars grunted and stood up. When he was on his feet, I saw that it was Grund, a dwarf with fire-red hair who was friendly with Arden. He was also covered in soot. "It's Alexander!" Grund stepped up and took my hand in his. "Well met, my boy! Didn't see you were here."

  A thick drawl sounded from behind him. "He's been helping half the damn crypt, Grund. Where's your head at these days?" Ivhar stepped up next to him. The man's salt and pepper hair was nearly completely burnt off, but his thick beard was barely touched. "Well met, Alex."

  "Hey, Ivhar. Grund. Elonie." Looking between the three, I asked, "So, do you think the door can be opened?"

  "Yes. There's a magical run somewhere around here."

  "Yes. There's a mechanical lever around her somewhere."

  "No. They're as wrong as they are incompetent."

  The three scholars glared at one another.

  "Okay, so walk me through the steps. Why do we think there's a doorway here?" It looked like a stone wall.

  Elonie stepped forward and pointed at several spots on the wall. "See these markings? These striations are a clear indication that the spell [Shape Earth]

  "She's correct."

  "I concur."

  I squinted at the wall. It seemed like regular stone to me, but I believed them. "Okay, let's say you're right. Why do you think it can be opened again?"

  Elonia scoffed. "It can't."

  Grund puffed up. "Because this is my people's work! We always leave a lever."

  Ivhar scowled. "Fool of a dwarf. There are clear signs that this was made by elven magic, not dwarven magic. Look here!" He pointed to a small nodule in the wall. "Would any dwarf do such sloppy work?"

  "Well, no, but—"

  "But nothing!"

  I stepped forward. "Okay, say you're right. Why does any of this matter?"

  Elonie rolled her eyes. "The histories say that Light's Hope was built atop a gateway into the Depths. These two think we can get to safety that way."

  "We can!"

  "We will!"

  I was beginning to see why she was more irritated than usual. "Okay, if it were a lever, what would we be looking for?"

  Grund stepped forward. "An indentation about the size of a fingernail somewhere on this wall."

  "And if it were magic?"

  "A rune the size of a penny and disguised from the senses by illusion magic. It will be almost impossible to detect with our senses, but if we focus, it should be possible."

  I tapped my chin and thought. As I did, the stone door behind us shuddered as something struck it. Illusion magic? That made me think of when I first found Embermist. Didn't the sword pierce through illusions? "I have an idea."

  "You think a tutee like you can—"

  "Shush, Elonie." Grund waved his hand at her.

  Drawing Embermist, I walked up to the wall. I noticed that its pommel gem was still flickering weakly, but it seemed to have more energy than before.

  Its voice was faint and distorted.

  The sword didn't answer, but its pommel flashed.

  [Pierce the Veil]

  I wondered how many spells Embermist had as its magic took hold, and a weak red light emitted from the blade. Sweeping the blade along the wall, I didn't find much of note.

  "See, I told you—"

  "Wait! Go back!" Ivhar grabbed my hand and thrust it toward the ceiling. "There!"

  Even with the magic, I couldn't really see what he was talking about. "What do you see?"

  "By the Goddess, he's right!" Grund shot toward the wall and stood on his toes. It's right there!"

  Elonie cocked her head. "It can't be..."

  Squinting, I saw the smallest glint of light emitting from under Embermist's blade. It looked like a small rune. "Is that really it?"

  "Hold steady!" Ivhar shoved Grund onto his knees. Before the dwarf could get back up, the human stepped on his back and reached upward. With a triumphant cry, he touched the rune, which flashed under his fingers. The door began to ripple an instant later.

  Hopping off Grund's back, Ivhar shouted, "I was right!" He rushed to the corner and threw a pack over his shoulders. It was filled with countless books.

  Elonie already had a nearly identical pack on her back. "I told you it led to the Depths!"

  Maven, sword drawn. "What's happening?"

  "It's a way out," Grund said as he stood up and brushed off his knees. "And that's all you did, Elonie."

  "Hmph!" Elonie's nose found the roof again.

  The wall continued to ripple for a few moments before it bent in on itself, revealing a long black staircase that led into the Earth. A stale, acrid smell wafted out of the gaping hole. The only indication that there had been a wall there was a small stony stalactite hanging from the ceiling in the same spot where the rune had been.

  Maven's eyes filled with relief. "Does this mean...?"

  I nodded. "I think so."

  Grund was tearing through yet another book-filled backpack. After a minute, he shouted and pulled out a charred book. "Found it!"

  I walked up to him. "What is it?"

  He grinned broadly as he flipped through its pages. "A map of the upper Depths. said I wouldn't need it."

  Ivhar scoffed. "Never said such a thing."

  "My children, you have found our salvation." Lady Varga's voice sounded from behind us.

  As one, all three scholars whispered, "Mother."

  She walked to the opening and looked downward. "Can we take this tunnel to safety?"

  Grund nodded. "Yes, Mother. I've found a map of the area. It would take several weeks, but we could get as far as Khozad'Adar with relative safety. Within days, we could be in Uldan'Thar, where we might be lucky enough to find a patrol and some supplies."

  "What about monsters?" The only thing I knew about the Depths was that it was filled with them.

  "This area of the Depths is relatively shallow, and my people patrol as far out as the surface town of Odenkirk. We'll be at the greatest risk for only three or four days, depending on how fast we move, but once we're near Uldan'Thar, we should be safe."

  She nodded. "Then that's what we'll do." Turning, she spoke to the rest of the room. "My children, prepare yourselves. We will be leaving shortly."

  A chorus of cheers sounded from Templars, priests, and laypeople alike.

  Elonie's cut through the shouts. "But who'll stay behind?"

  The two other scholars, Lady Varga, and I looked at her. "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "That rune. It can't be used on both sides. Who'll stay and trigger it once everyone's down the stairs? If no one stays, they'll just follow us into the Depths."

  The other people in the mausoleum began to gather their things, and the room quieted down. In the quiet, the sounds outside of the room grew louder: scratching, pounding, and those horrible, inhuman shrieks. As I listened, a thought struck me. Who the hell would stay here to die?

  "I will." Ro's voice sounded behind me.

  My heart nearly fell out of my chest.

  He appeared next to me. "I'll stay." His voice was firm, his jaw set.

  A grim certainty washed over me. I knew what I had to do. What I was here for. "No. You won't. I will."