Nilla and I are lazing around. She's reading a book, and I am browsing around the empire, trying to find some inspiration for dinner. I could go for something vegetarian. I'm sure the others won't see my culinary choice as a major transgression and throw me out of the house. Right? I'm kinda getting nervous now. Why don't I test the wa—

"It's time," I say.

Nilla marks her spot with a finger and looks at me. "Time for what?" she asks.

"We need to go. Bring us to the dungeon."

The book slips from her grasp, forgotten. "Belhir? ...Are you sure? Maybe we should go grab our gear first. Or wait for them to wrap up. What if someone spots us and recognizes us?"

"No hiding necessary, lassy. Today, we end this."

Nilla clenches her jaw, her teeth grinding against one another. She springs up. "Okay."

We teleport so close to a blue portal we are almost inside the dungeon. A minute movement avoids any gazes from errant delvers and transports us inside.

A forest. The ground is covered with red and yellow leaves, with more gently drifting down. Tall trees are spaced quite far apart, their stick-like white trunks affording a somewhat unobstructed view.

I point to my left. "{Two kilometers (Rough conversion from a widely used unit of length based on the scales of an ancient dragon)} in that direction."

"How do you—" Nilla shakes her head and simply moves us again.

We appear on the edge of a battle. Tiff is using only tempering to fight some monster with a twisted face and four muscular arms, an oni boss variant. Harrn is sitting on a stone bench observing intently. Our sudden arrival startles both dwarves. A quick glance our way causes Harrn to leap up, his focused expression replaced by one filled with dread. Tiff turns, meeting my eyes. As the oni takes advantage of the presented opening and strikes, a fiery blast originates from Tiff, obliterating the boss instantly.

While Tiff is running over, Harrn asks, his tone urgent, "What's wrong?"

I answer, "Iffir took the bait."

Tiff skids to a halt next to us. "What bait?" he asks. Nilla's questioning expression echoes the query.

Harrn and I lock eyes. Tiff and Nilla shift their gazes between us, their impatience growing.

Finally, Harrn answers for me, "Iffir has isolated himself, enabling one of Belhir's eventualities."

I continue, "We take out both at the same time—the emperor and his golems. A single decisive strike."

Nilla addresses me, her tone incredulous, "The golems? All of them? Is that—" She interrupts herself, something clicking into place in her mind. She gestures to the gate out.

As we step through, Nilla brings us somewhere deep underground. We are standing in a cramped room with shelves of enchanted items inside. Instead of the stealthy inclination, the magical equipment chosen this time is a different statement—all bets are off.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Tiff and Nilla don leather armor, perfect for mobile mages. Light, agile, and ready to react with a deluge of protective barriers. They supplement the outerwear with accessories containing even more defensive enchantments.

Harrn has no use for armor. His body is stronger than what any enchanter can create.

After everyone is ready, I start, "Listen up. I've determined Iffir's current location. Our main objective is to follow him wherever he teleports to or to prevent him from escaping as soon as possible. While we are moving in on the emperor, most of our allies will be commencing a full assault, trying to bog down the empire's fighters and preventing reinforcements from reacting. The rest will be taking care of the control artifacts. Remember, you must get to Iffir. If you fail to secure him, we all fail."

"Why are you speaking like you won't be joining us?" Nilla asks.

"Iffir is in a heavily—and I mean heavily—fortified location. It's even deeper than we are now. Other than its approximate size, I know very little. But I know this, while you confront the biggest obstacle—Mara, someone will need to stay back and hold off the numerous golems that are most likely in there, guarding him. That is my task."

Tiff shakes his head. "I don't agree. We'll be stronger together."

I sigh. "This is the only way. If you take too long with Iffir, the golems will overwhelm us. You have to be quick. A single second can be the difference between victory and defeat, lad. There is no room for errors, and no room for negotiations."

Nilla glares angrily at me for a moment but averts her gaze before I can notice her disapproval, too. Tiff holds eye contact with me, his mind churning with rebuffs and rebuttals, but as he goes over his options, the fight slowly drains out of him.

The young dwarf utters a single sharp word, "Fine."

"I am the master of metal," I say with a smile. "Those overgrown buckets of scrap won't even know what hit 'em." My smile starts to fade, my tone turning serious. "Whatever happens, we'll meet again, wherever that may be. Trust me, my friends."

Nilla speaks up again, her distress evident, "That doesn't inspire much confidence, old man." I just shrug, grinning at her.

Harrn looks at me. I give him a small nod. He returns it in kind.

"Let's go," I say.

I relay a rough location to Nilla. We appear floating high in the air, standing on an invisible platform. She morphs the magic, surrounding us in a sphere of force. That sphere is, in turn, hidden by illusions.

"Where?" Nilla asks. I point down and at a specific spot.

"He won't run. Not initially. So be ready," I say.

Harrn envelops his children in a hug, softly whispering, "Nilla, Tiff, I love you."

Nilla replies for both of them, "We love you too, Dad." Tiff squeezes his father a touch tighter.

Harrn gives himself a few more moments and then lets them go, turning around and looking at the ground. His eyes harden. His breathing turns slow and steady. Any hate he ever felt is gone. There is only the next decision.

Nilla takes a deep breath and plunges her arm down. The sphere follows the movement, accelerating toward the ground. Faster and faster. It smashes into the soil, throwing up a cloud of dirt and rocks, boring deeper and deeper, unstoppable.

We crash against a barrier, shattering it with ease. Inside her magic, the impact is almost unfelt. The sphere punctures a stone dome and enters a cavernous space, stopping, suspended in the air. The dome is nearly a kilometer in diameter. A small number of light sources break up the sprawling darkness, circling around a smaller dome located in the middle. The eerie illumination outlines thousands and thousands of unmoving figures. Each singular eye is staring right at us.

Nilla shouts, "The inner section is too protected! I can't pierce the enchantment!" Before she can even finish her observation, we are already in front of a metal gate.

Harrn blurs, his movement simultaneous with a devastating strike. There is a giant hole in the gate. The three dwarves blink away, leaving me behind.

I send a hidden observer with them. While my miniscule drone can still communicate from inside the ridiculously powerful enchantment, warping is next to impossible.

With a flick of my wrist, the gate becomes whole again, but unfortunately, much weaker. Before the army of golems can break through my little privacy curtain, I issue a command.

Smooth pylons warp around the edges of the large dome and around the inner structure. An energy shield powers up. Two Knight class drones appear next to each golem.

The cavernous space explodes into frenzied action.

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