I said the words because I was a cruel idiot.

  Sitting here telling Julian I was looking for a way to leave, but then telling him I loved him.

  My resolve was breaking, but not broken. I’d set out on my search to the ends of Valaria, and things were finally coming to a close.

  Julian’s eyes glinted with some powerful emotion before he closed them, drew breath and opened them again. He was still standing, and took the single step needed to bring him closer. From the tension that cut the air, and his earlier frustrations, a half-forgotten fear crept into my throat.

  Years of survival instinct made me flinch as he leaned down and placed a hand on the table, trapping me in my chair. Anyone would’ve started shaking under the intensity, I’m sure.

  “Good.” He said softly, dropping a kiss on my forehead.

  Then he straightened and turned away, summoning his heavy winter jacket and equipping it. I couldn't see his face as he said, “Then let’s go get this over with.”

  …

  Alice wasn’t there when we portalled onto the drawbridge at the Northern Fortress. Just to be sure, I was holding Nova’s Celestial Pendant, the treasure from Season Two that glowed in the presence of other celestials.

  Its yellow gemstone remained constant.

  “You’re back!” Sir Tully waved from on top of the parapets. The paladin jumped down and landed in front of us with a gentle clang of armor. “We haven’t seen any sign of Guild Mistress Alice since you left. Orders, Your Grace?”

  Julian was back in action, “Tell Jeffry to pack for a longer trip. We are setting out as soon as everyone is ready.”

  “Back to the grind it is!” The paladin saluted and turned to do as he was told.

  Julian added, “We’ll be pushing harder than before, so plan accordingly.”

  The paladin flinched and looked back at them over his shoulder, “Does that mean…”

  “Two weeks,” The duke told him. “And a dungeon delve.”

  “Really?” Sir Tully turned and shot me a look.

  “Do I look like I’m joking?” Julian frowned, his usual dark countenance in full force.

  “Wow, alright.” Sir Tully was unphased, scratching his head once before his face split into a wide grin.

  I told the paladin, “Don’t forget to pack a spare warhammer.”

  “Good idea!” Then he waved and ran off to tell the others.

  Julian sighed. We walked after the excited paladin, not hand in hand.

  After last night, it felt like I was closer to Julian than before, but with a deeper pit between us.

  “Was that a helpful reminder, or a warning?” He asked.

  “A warning,” I told him, “His is going to break in the next battle. Or that’s what I’ve gathered from Sense Fate.”

  [Passive Perk: Sense Fate has activated. [Sir Tully Grey] will break his beloved Warhammer in his next fight.

  You have crossed paths with a Fate that can be changed. Area of effect radius Level 65 x Perception 42 x [Foretelling] Skill Level 4 = 11180 sq/ft. Fate herself will guide you.

  “Strike fast when elemental form, brace but harder than the hand, face foes succumbed in storm, and shatter where they stand.”]

  “Anything else we should be wary of?” He asked, off-hand.

  I glanced at my notifications. “There’s only an [Oracle] about Henrietta… but I’ve stopped looking in on her unless I have to.”

  It seemed like an invasion of privacy.

  [Foretelling] what was supposed to happen was next to useless, since Feliwyn wasn’t fighting Henrietta in this life… she was doting on the Dark Lady.

  And since I wasn’t dedicated to Madame Potts’ Cast’s anymore, it wasn’t as necessary to check in on every little thing. At this point the only one I’d be interested in watching is Alice – if for no other reason than to prepare against her.

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  I wasn’t as interested in Season Three of Dungeon Delves and Debutantes… I just wanted to survive long enough to reach Julian’s dungeon and my bridge and make peace with my life.

  “Your Grace, Miss Gerda,” John appeared out of the shadows beside us. “Visha says we can be ready to depart within the hour.”

  “Good.” Julian crossed his arms.

  …

  Seven weeks into the north

  We were approaching the shores of the northern sea and the area where my [Map] showed we might find Julian’s dungeon.

  “We should stop here!” I stuck my head out around Visha and called up to Julian at the front. We were speed walking north single file through the snow, and had been for hours.

  Julian spoke over his shoulder, not slowing down. “At the top of the next ridge.”

  There was a hill in the distance, with a few trees.

  “We should really stop now!” I said, and the group slowed. It wasn’t ideal, as we were ankle deep in a snow drift, but gauging the timing I thought now should be about right.

  “Do we need to put down a bridge?” Visha asked, one hand on each of her weapons.

  “No.” I pointed up.

  Overhead, the meteor could now be seen in broad daylight. It had become bigger by day and brighter by night, until it was a concerning celestial body taking up a permanent spot in the summer sky.

  “I’m just saying, for a ball of rock crashing towards us, it’s very pretty.” Sir Tully shaded his eyes from the sun, squinting as the light reflected on the snow all around us.

  It hurt from the glare of the snow.

  The paladin was right. Whatever the meteor was, it was magical in nature and shimmered beautifully. The tail was a glittering arch, and with my high level Perception, I could focus until it was clear as looking through a telescope. The comet’s magic pulsed in different colours, while the tail that trailed behind it looked like golden glitter from a child’s art table.

  Julian truffed through the snow to stand beside me. “What did you see?”

  “I think they’re going to deal with the meteor soon. If we wanted to prepare.” I told him.

  I already had my [Map] open, and Servalt, specifically the Tower of Mages, was suddenly highlighted yellow from [Sooth Area]. A game scenario was playing out in the Tower of Mages, and I could reasonably guess which one even without taking the time to use [Foretelling].

  “What would we need to prepare?” Jeffry asked, he was right behind me in the line.

  “Umbrellas,” I said, pulling out my own. “Healing potions, and a shield in case there’s debris from the explosion?”

  I knew roughly what the mage had planned… but maybe I should foretell what originally happened?

  While I debated, there was a sudden *pop* from the south that echoed out across the hills. High above, glowing magical writing in intricately crafted mana circles appeared one after the other, all in a line towards the meteor.

  Each ring was a hundred steps across, at least.

  The mana to power the spells had collected was enough to mana burn a dozen elite mages - and was only possible because Master Thomas had been draining his own min-max mana supply into crystals every day for months.

  I opened my umbrella as a bullet of water half as wide as the spell rings burst through the magic circles, hitting the meteor.

  It exploded in an eruption of mana that lit up the sky like a second sun. I let out a painful grunt and covered my face.

  [Divine Heal] hit me with Julian’s shield, repairing the damage to my eyes.

  “I don’t think that umbrella is going to protect you from the meteorites,” Sir Pram pointed out.

  “I thought that six months of rain harvested from Servalt would evaporate into mist like cloud seeding and then cause rain clouds to form overhead and I’d look smart with my umbrella all ready to go.” I told the selkie, still holding my umbrella in case I was right.

  “It doesn’t feel like it’s going to rain.” Sir Tully said, rubbing one eye from his own healing experience.

  “Everyone’s a critic.” I said, one hand on my hip. “Why don’t you try being the [Oracle] for a change?”

  “Don’t encourage him.” Visha said, poking the paladin.

  “I’d rather hit things.” Sir Tully said, hefting his new warhammer onto his shoulders.

  It made sense that the comet fell a few weeks before the Fall Ball - Henrietta would need time to go and collect the fragments before the celebration. I could only imagine Master Thomas doing something completely wasteful and making it into a dress with crushed sparkling meteor dust, or fashioning it to a symbolic ring.

  If I found one, I’d take it to Grand Duchess Calisto - that woman would know exactly what to do with a potent mana rock.

  I thought that, but I still owed her a pile of Master Crystal research papers that I’d told myself I’d give her months ago.

  “We’ll wait until the debris falls.” Julian said, “And then it’s back to hiking.”

  “I don’t think it will land anytime soon.” Jeffry told the duke. “It if takes a few days to walk across North Sumbria, it should take a day, at least, to fall from the Void space.”

  Between my dislike for math, and this being a magical world with unknown physics or gravity, I was willing to believe almost anything. And Jeffry sounded sure of himself.

  I put away my umbrella.

  Julian nodded, “Then we can keep walking. Jeffry, fly ahead and make sure there isn’t anything unpleasant waiting for us.”

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Jeffry smiled, happy for any excuse to use his flight ability. “Right away, Your Grace.”

  Jeffry flew back in a hurry.

  “Julian!” He said, slipping into an informal address in his excitement, “You can see the dungeon from the hill! We’ve found it!”

  Patreon is up to chapter 101 out of 105... if you are tempted to read close to the end muahahaha.

  A quick note that the next book will be in a NEW FICTION tab. I'll make a post after this work is done with a link to the new page.

  Now I just need to decide on a name....

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