I held my breath, blinking at the thing staring up from the cart bed.

It was a dead stone man—a heavy. Beside it was a small bundle of spears already dipped in green poison.

Its head bobbed with each bump along the street.

No, not dead… waiting to be born.

I turned to the glowing ziggurat in the distance.

However these stone men were brought to life must happen there. And Nostrand Del was apart of the process.

I let out a silent sigh.

Well then… time to do my job.

Taking one last look at my surroundings, I climbed into the back of the cart. The large stone man hauling it didn't miss a step. My weight was nothing compared to the weight of the heavy.

I sat next to its head, leaning back to rest an arm over the short wooden side wall.

Might as well make myself comfortable. It was going to be a long ride.

# # #

As the caravan of carts crept closer to the ziggurat, my sense of unease rose. The orb radiated with the same hunger as the one in the Lagos brothers' hall, but the effect was magnified a thousand-fold. Even from a block away, it was draining my will. I couldn't keep my jacket's enchantment running while in this field. I wouldn't be able to fight, let alone win.

There was also another problem.

I had run out of street.

The area around the ziggurat was clear of buildings and cover, leaving a flat, dirt field to park their carts—convenient for them but not me.

I dropped the enchantment.

If I could get out of the cart before-

"You've returned."

A familiar metallic voice boomed from the ziggurat.

The structure loomed over me—a blocky pyramid three stories tall. Each story was segmented into a smaller section, like a stack of shrinking rectangles. A single, wide staircase cut a line from the base of the ziggurat to the orb hovering above its square peak. Its dozens of rotating rings were mesmerizing.

I tore my eyes away from the orb to trace the steps of the ziggurat and then my surroundings. The heavy in front of me was still pulling the cart, while a few ahead turned at the sound of their master's voice.

Where is he? Where is Nostrand Del?

The lingering dread was no longer lingering. A chill prickled my back and worked its way up my neck.

I stood up in the cart before fear froze me in place.

"Nostrand Del! Face me!"

My cart came to an abrupt stop. The heavy pulling it turned to look at me over its shoulder. The other heavies followed, fixing me with their version of glares.

Not bad for a distraction.

My stone man driver dropped the handles holding the cart upright, and I stumbled forward into its waiting arms.

I slammed my right foot into its chest. Instead of pushing it off balance, I was sent reeling into the back of the cart, out of reach of its grasping hands.

"Wait!"

The command from the ziggurat made the large stone man cock its head. After a tense moment, it took a begrudging step back and went as still as a statue. The others stood with the same eerie calm.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

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The repeating sound of metal on stone was coming from the ziggurat; the sound was amplified like Nostrand Del's voice. My eyes were drawn to the figure moving at the top of the steps.

There he was—Nostrand Del.

"Come. Let us speak. Stone to flesh."

I jumped out the side of the cart, gathering all the bravado I could muster to walk past the heavies surrounding me. I weaved between the carts and the stone men, making my way to the base of the staircase.

Nostrand Del continued his walk down the stairs, his golden snake staff tapping against the stone.

He stopped at the first floor's terrace, a large, flat surface that wrapped around the ziggurat.

I examined the glowing stone steps. If he wanted to capture me or worse, he could have done it by now.

I steeled myself and took slow steps to meet the enemy Enchanter. My recent encounters with the other stone men made me appreciate the quality of his craftsmanship.

The many facets of his gem eyes glittered around his death mask of living gold. Individual golden threads sprouted from his head, slicked back behind his ears. The black stone of his body was smooth and polished to a sheen. Even his white sleeveless robe was spotless.

"Child of my blood. You look well."

I cracked a smile, clenching my teeth to stop them from chattering.

"No thanks to you."

"You were there for the attack? I'm pleased you survived."

"You are?"

"I've had… a change of mind. I need a chronicler for my conquest of the overworld and who better than one of my blood?"

I blinked at him.

Speechless.

For once, my lying hadn't backfired.

I winced.

Hadn't backfired yet…

"And here I thought you hated your blood."

Nostrand's eyes narrowed.

"I do. My very children drove daggers through my heart."

"Then why the change of mind?"

"Because you are not those children."

"That's… fair."

I exhaled, releasing the tension in my shoulders and hooking my thumbs into the front of my belt sash. This isn't what I expected, but it was useful. I needed to buy time while the party prepared their attack.

"Can I ask you something?"

Nostrand tilted his head to the left.

"You may."

"What was it like to live in the Petty Kingdoms Era?"

"Is that what they call it now?"

He nodded to himself.

"Petty. That is an appropriate word, I suppose. I will answer your question. Put simply, it was an age without order or reason. Kings with nothing but narrow tracts of land to their name fought over scraps. Thousands died from their skirmishes, and many more from their self-inflicted famines. And while you fought the enemy without, the enemy within sharpened their knives. It was pure chaos. Everything I am opposed to."

"That's funny coming from the guy who tried to blow up a town."

I pointed at the orb hovering at the top of the ziggurat.

"Who poisoned their own kingdom with an enchanted artifact."

Nostrand turned, taking in the sight of its spinning rings of gold, copper and iron. There were also rings of red, white, and dark grey—metals and minerals I didn't recognize.

"My Grand Terraformer is not an instrument of chaos but of advancement. It provides the raw materials for my revolution."

"Revolution?"

I forced the sarcasm out of my voice.

Nostrand turned away from the orb, sweeping his arm over the Undertown and the assembled heavies at the base of the ziggurat.

"Behold. My revolt against flesh. The chaos of the overworld replaced with the stability of stone—eternal, unchanging…"

"Dead."

Nostrand's voice trailed off. It was replaced with a hollow metallic laugh.

"Dead? Ignorance is also eternal, but I am the illuminator of truth."

He raised his staff, and the red gem floating between the snakes' jaws glowed.

Wisps of golden quintessence wafted from the Grand Terraformer, drawn to the gem raised over Nostrand's head.

It passed through the gem, turning from gold to the jewel's shade of bloody red. The red quintessence flowed into the heavy laying on the nearest cart at the base of the ziggurat.

The large stone man shook. Light sparked in its crystal eyes. Its chest cracked and ruptured. Liquid gold leaked from the fissures, turning into tendrils that wrapped around its torso. Two large hands grabbed the side of the cart, and the heavy pulled itself to its feet.

"Look, child of my blood. Where flesh has failed this soul, I have given it a new life, a new body and a new purpose."

Spirits below.

So, that's how he made revenants.

"How do you know? How can you tell which soul is which?"

"Impressed, are you? The Grand Terraformer separates the souls it absorbs and allows me to find the right people with the right skills. In the beginning, craftsmen and now, soldiers. All united under my vision of a world turned to stone."

"That's…"

Insane.

"Incredible."

Nostrand smirked.

"Tell me, can your Enchanter do that?"

"What?"

He looked up to the clouds covering the cavern ceiling.

"Don't play the fool. I know it's not you. You don't have the conviction to be an Enchanter. You have no passion. No goal or higher purpose that animates you. No interest in changing the world."

Alright, I get it.

He glared at me with his chin still raised. I took a step back, a wave of fear prickling my skin.

"So, instead, you interfere with me. You sabotage my dreams, my goals, and a hundred years of planning. I have given you grace. I have given you an opportunity to survive what's coming. Now, YOU will give me answers. Where is the Enchanter?"

"I don't know."

He turned to face me, gripping his staff in both hands. I took another step back.

"I don't believe you. Tell me what you know."

"I can't."

He stepped forward, grip tightening around the golden-coiled snakes.

"Can't or won't?"

Tension filled the air. The anticipation of sudden and inescapable violence.

"Won't."

His gem eyes gleamed.

"Then you leave me no choice. I will have my answers from you, whether you are alive… or dead."

I willed my dagger into my left hand, throwing it pommel first into Nostrand Del's eyes. It bounced off the faceted surface to clatter on the stone steps.

"Child of my blood. Did you think I would make my vessel out of common materials? My eyes are blood diamonds. You couldn't scratch them, let alone break them."

I willed my dagger into my right hand and drew my shortened cane into my left.

"Good to know."

The time for distractions was over. The time for battle had just begun.

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