They hesitated at the words, faltering as the eyes of the Riverlord fell on them.

  “Senior,” Yu Chen began, but the man cut him off.

  “Enough.” Han Moxuan said, his voice cold. “It is time to account for your transgressions.”

  The inscriptions running through the room flared to life as the palpable sense of menace around them deepened. An aura of power rose up, nearly as vast and deep as the river itself. It was crushing, emanating not just from this one room, but from across the entire city. The floor beneath their feet began vibrating, as though the tower itself had come alive.

  They were pressed to their knees as the weight of the aura fell across them. It continued to grow, so powerful Yu Chen’s shoulders began to shake, nearly taking him to his hands and knees. Serbo au Serbo shouted something as he repeated the sign he’d made before, speaking to the Riverlord in that guttural language of his.

  To Yu Chen’s surprise the man seemed to understand, cocking his head as he listened to the words. The menacing aura slowed, even fading slightly as the barbarian continued his appeal. Occasionally the Riverlord would interject as Serbo plead their case, speaking in the same strange language the large man did.

  They went back and forth for some time, long enough that Yu Chen’s knees began to hurt before the Riverlord raised his hand, silencing the young man.

  “Your people still have this custom?” He asked, sounding amused. “Even in my day it was considered an ancient rite.” He paused as though recalling something, before turning to look at the rest of them, his gaze lingering on each one in turn. “And what of you all? Will you join your friend in this? Or will he carry the burden alone, for all of you?”

  Yu Chen frowned, casting a glance towards the large man. Serbo au Serbo hesitated, searching for the words before speaking in his broken common tongue.

  “We help spirit, carry spirit.” The big man waved a hand, gesturing upwards. “Break ties, free spirit.”

  “Destroy me, you mean.” Han Moxuan interjected, his shrewd eyes peering down at the barbarian who still knelt on the floor. “Seal me away, as you do all wandering spirits.”

  Serbo protested, but the man cut him off.

  “Oh yes, I know how you frame it. Returning me to the cycle, freeing my soul.” He waved his hand, dismissing the man’s concerns. “Death in other words.”

  “But you’re already dead, aren’t you?” Sun Yuan said, tilting his head.

  Yan Ziqi groaned, shooting their navigator a look as the Riverlord turned his gaze on them.

  “No, I’m not.” Han Moxuan replied, slowly drawing out the words. “Although I don’t fault you for making the mistake. Although I no longer have my earthly body, I received a new one in return.”

  The glow in the room around them deepened at his words, and the city outside rumbled.

  “I’m no longer a spirit or a man,” he said, a forlorn look crossing his face, “but something else entirely.”

  He looked between each of them again, his gaze lingering on Serbo au Serbo and Xue Lan. He seemed to think for a second before nodding his head.

  “Death wouldn’t be so bad.” He said, strolling across the room, his back towards him. “I once roamed across the myriad worlds like a ghost, stepping through hidden realms and seeing things most would never see. Now I’m trapped here forever, unable to leave this city.” He paused, staring towards the ceiling. “I would have ended it long ago, except for one thing.”

  He waved his hand and the room brightened, almost blindingly so as something pale, wispy, and nearly invisible rose out of the ground. Then the lights faded, revealing a beautiful woman floating before them. Her eyes were closed as though sleeping and her pale skin was almost transparent, a sharp contrast to the black hair falling down her back in waves.

  No, Yu Chen realized. Not a woman, but a spirit.

  “My wife.” Han Moxuan said, regarding her with a sigh. “The only reason I haven’t ended this charade of a life. You wish to help me? Then take her with you and allow me to bring this all to an end.”

  Serbo au Serbo made the same sign he had before, a reverent expression crossing his face.

  “How do we do that?” Sun Yuan asked, scratching his head.

  Serbo stepped forward, his face deadly serious.

  “I carry. Free, up above.” He said, before bowing his broad frame towards the Riverlord.

  “No!” Han Moxuan shouted, the entire city rumbling ominously as if to punctuate his words. “I have not kept her safe all this time only to have her fall victim to your crude customs.”

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  “Spirits–” Serbo began, before cutting off with a gasp as the Riverlord slashed out with his hand. A wave of energy rolled over the large man, and when he opened his mouth to speak no words came out.

  “If my wife longs for death then she may have it,” Han Moxuan said, his voice firm, “but that will be her decision to make, not some wastelander’s.”

  “What then?” Yu Chen asked. “How else can we help her?”

  Han Moxuan’s eyes bored into him as he replied. “You’ll give her a body of course.”

  Xue Lan let out a low hiss as Yu Chen took half a step backwards.

  “Unfortunately, we’re still using ours.” Yu Chen said, shaking his head. His fingers twitched, unconsciously mimicking the sign Serbo made, as though that would protect him from possession.

  Han Moxuan snorted. “Your friend already offered me his, weren’t you listening?”

  Yu Chen risked a glance towards Serbo au Serbo. Thankfully the young man was still alive, but he was trapped in a barrier of force, slamming his fists against it as he shouted something the rest of them couldn’t hear.

  “I don’t think that’s what he meant,” Yu Chen ventured.

  “It doesn’t matter. Chang’er wouldn’t feel comfortable as a man anyways.” His head turned, landing on Sun Yuan. “She’ll take his.”

  “Sorry,” Sun Yuan said with a terrified laugh. “But I’m a man too.”

  “I already told you she has no desire to be a man.” Han Moxuan said, his eyes flashing. “Enough playing around, bring out the vessel.”

  Sun Yuan looked around at the rest of them, but no one knew what the spirit was referring to.

  “What…” Sun Yuan asked, looking hesitant.

  “The Spirit Vessel!” The Riverlord shouted, his lips twisting into a frown. The entire tower shook with his impatience. “The one you so foolishly allowed to be destroyed.”

  Sun Yuan’s pale face was a mess of confusion, but he hurried to bring forth the Spirit Vessel without any further complaints. It was a sad sight. Even in the palm of his hand you could see it was shattered, the mast split in half, the hull in ruins. Yu Chen couldn’t say for certain that it could float at all.

  Not that the Riverlord cared.

  A slight gesture and the vessel rose, floating through the air to hover in front of Han Moxuan, who observed it with a frown. A moment of silence stretched out as they watched, wondering what he would do next.

  “Come,” was all he said. He strode past them, walking towards the levitating platform with the spirit vessel bobbing along behind him.

  The bubble of force around Serbo au Serbo popped, filling the air with the barbarian’s howls that quickly cut off once he realized he was free. They exchanged glances before following Han Moxuan, squeezing onto the platform beside him. They all gave the Riverlord plenty of room despite the tight space, none of them willing to intrude too closely upon him.

  He didn’t speak again as he led them on a winding path down the tower, but to their surprise he didn’t stop on the first floor. Instead, the platform continued down, sinking further into the earth below. It wasn’t a long trip to the basement of the tower, but it wasn’t short either, long enough for Yu Chen to begin feeling anxious as they descended through a claustrophobic tube of greyish-blue stone.

  His palms began to sweat being so close to Han Moxuan, but the Riverlord paid them no mind. He seemed lost in thought, his chin held in his hand as he stared below, pondering something the rest of them couldn’t comprehend.

  Then they arrived, the tube opening up into a massive space, far larger than even the ground floor of the spire above. Yan Ziqi let out a startled gasp from beside him, and Yu Chen couldn’t help but agree. The entire space was one massive workshop, the sort of thing the young artificer dreamed of. Massive forges filled the space, alongside glowing contraptions and tools he didn’t recognize. Half-finished projects lay abandoned, shelves were packed with rare materials and exotic metals, gadgets and instruments covered desks and tables.

  That wasn’t what caught their attention.

  No, the reason Yan Ziqi’s eyes were gleaming was something entirely different. Something sat in the center of the room, taking up most of the space. A spherical cage of glowing metal surrounding a mass of roiling energy that crackled within. Thousands of the tiny metallic tubes they’d seen before fed into the cage. They hung from the sky like a thick mess of vines, forming a thick canopy above them.

  The Riverlord ignored all this, stepping off the platform and walking towards a large workbench towards the back, larger and more ornate than the others.

  They crowded behind, remaining close by but far enough away to give the man his space. Yu Chen, Sun Yuan, Serbo au Serbo. The three of them remained towards the back, hesitant to approach too closely to the powerful creature standing before them but Yan Ziqi and Xue Lan had no such qualms.

  To the contrary they stepped forward, intent on watching every movement the Riverlord made. Their eyes gleamed, enamoured with the opportunity.

  At first nothing happened, until all of a sudden Han Moxuan’s aura peaked once again, filling the air with the sensation of crackling energy. The Spirit Vessel floated into the air high above them before suddenly expanding to its full size, leaving all eighty feet or more of the ship suspended in the air above.

  If Han Moxuan felt any strain from holding the ship aloft, he didn’t show it. His aura didn’t flicker, and the roiling cage of energy didn’t show the slightest iota of change. Then he twisted his hand, filling the air with the screeching sound of rent metal as the ship tore itself to pieces.

  Sun Yuan let out a startled shout, tensing to leap forward. Yu Chen grabbed his shoulder, holding him in place. The other boy turned his eyes towards him, but Yu Chen simply shook his head.

  In seconds the vessel went from shattered but fixable to an utter ruin. The inscriptions covering it were torn to shreds, the metal of its form breaking into separate plates that floated in the air. The Riverlord waved a hand, sending energy flooding into the great furnaces nearby. Spiritual fires sprung to life with a wave of heat that billowed across the room.

  Another wave of his hand sent shiny ingots of metal flying from the shelves to join the torn metal of what had once been the Sleeping Lady. The furnaces roared in delight as the metal flew into them, happy to be fed for the first time in millennia. The metal gradually changed colors as it floated in the flames. Great hammers rose from the ground when the right color appeared, smashing down with mighty blows that formed them into new plates.

  Meanwhile, the broken mast floated through the air to arrive before the Riverlord. One slash of his hand sundered the metal, revealing the broken spirit stone encased within. The two halves twisted through the air as they moved towards him, spinning around to match up their jagged edges. He reached out a hand, unleashing a wave of power with a single touch. He moved his hand, revealing a pillar of spirit stone had been fused into a single solid piece once again.

  Yu Chen sucked in his breath at the sight, hardly able to believe what he’d just seen, but the Riverlord wasn’t done yet.