Dan’s arm started to shake. The arm above the glove began to itch, then to ache with soreness, and then to hurt for real. Dan remembered NT9 had said there could be some damage. Well, he could live with that. Ana could heal him when she got out.

Cracks began to appear in the stone slab, spider-webbing away from Dan’s palm. Small slivers of rock crumbled and fell away from the slab.

‘Come on,’ Dan thought. ‘We need to go faster than this.’ He pushed harder.

With a report like a thunderclap, a shockwave spread outwards from Dan’s palm, covering the whole face of the stone slab before Dan could even blink. Enormous cracks appeared behind the shockwave. At the same time, Dan felt a burning pain in his arm, and looking, saw that the flesh above the glove was red, and several gashes had appeared, spreading upwards from where the glove met his skin. NT9 had said there might be a few bruises. What Dan saw was significantly more than that.

It was too late to go back now, however. Dan pushed harder, and a moment later the entire stone slab exploded, sending flying shards of stone in every direction. Dan was momentarily afraid that the shards might injure those trapped inside – not to mention himself – but as they flew outwards, the shards broke apart over and over, disintegrating into increasingly smaller particles.

Before Dan knew what had happened, all that was left was a fine dust. The dust slammed into him, coating him from head to foot, the grains of sand getting in his newly-injured arm and making the pain worse. But the slab was gone. The others were free.

Gideon was the first to emerge. “What happened?” he said at once. “How did you get us out? What happened to your arm?”

“I’ll explain later,” Dan said, although he wasn’t sure if he should or not. He didn’t want word of his gloves getting out, and possibly reaching the Khyta soulborgs. “Valkrill knows we’re here; we need to get out now before he cuts us off.”

“The amulet comes first,” Gideon said, as the others began pouring out of the hall where they had been trapped.

“Otonashi’s getting it,” Dan said. “She’ll get it to Vydar, don’t worry. Right now we just need to get out.”

Gideon didn’t waste a second. “Everyone out!” he called. “Make for the fallback point!”

Dan waited to make sure everyone was out. Ana came out last, guarded by two knights. Dan urged them to hurry, and then raced up the tunnel behind them.

Without Dan to guide them, most of the group staggered about in the tunnel, running into walls and holding everyone up. The purple vines offered them some clue as to where to go, but since they were the only light source in the total blackness, and since the tunnel twisted and turned every chance it got, they were still forced to move along it at a snail’s pace.

“Come on,” Dan muttered to himself.

Hearing him, Ana looked back. “Drow!” she cried.

Dan spun around. Aided by his night vision, he could see drow pouring into the tunnel, scurrying along its walls like spiders in their haste. There were too many of them. They flooded the tunnel. There was only one thing Dan could do.

He raised his glove, and shoved his palm outwards.

A corresponding blast exploded from his glove. Dan gritted his teeth as his arm burned with pain, the gashes in it becoming wider and longer. But through the pain, he looked, and saw the drow being flung back by the shockwave. Several were slammed into the stone ceiling and landed a moment later, motionless. Several more were rammed into the walls. His glove continued to pulse, sending out continuous shock waves, and after a moment he saw the drow being held against the walls begin to bleed. First from their mouth. Then from their nose, then their eyes, then their ears… soon black blood was spilling from them. Almost out of shock at what he was doing, Dan lowered his glove. The shockwaves ceased instantly. The drow dropped to the floor, motionless, blood seeping from under them.

After that, no one else pursued them. They reached the cave exit a moment later. But there, another surprise awaited them.

Everything had changed. The light filtering down through the trees was now red. By its light, Dan could see thick clouds of dust drifting through the air. As they stepped out of the cave, Dan realized that something was falling from the sky. It was white, and for a moment he thought it was snow. But then he felt the heat of the air, the faint smell of smoke, and knew that it must be ash. The birds were gone. The only sounds in the forest were the stream nearby, which now sounded muted through all the dust and ash, and the distant calls of crows.

Some, like Dan, paused as they reached the cave exit, blinking up at the sky, wondering what had happened. Gideon was not one of these.

“Come on!” he called. “To the fallback point!”

They all fell in, quickly rushing for the gully they had left mere minutes ago. No one seemed to be following them, but they still wasted no time sliding down the embankment. Then, once they had spread out across the boulders lining the bottom of the gully, they fell silent, and waited. Would Valkrill pursue them?

There was no sound, however. Nothing but the quietly falling ash, and the muted rushing of the stream. No one had chased them. They were alone, ash was falling from the sky, and Dan had never felt more certain that he would never see Heleer again.

What had happened?

The forest didn’t reflect what they were preparing to do. As Dan and the others climbed out of the gully, rays of the new morning sun broke through the trees, shivering and dancing on the forest floor, and painting the trunks of young trees with shifting patches of sunlight. Everything around them seemed to be in bloom, from the young shoots of new trees poking up from the ground, to the soft green leaves swaying overhead, to the patches of scattered flowers covering the ground. The grass itself seemed especially green. Birds twittered happily in the trees, and the sound of a nearby stream lent its voice to the sighing of a gentle wind. The air smelled of grass and clean water and damp earth.

The very idea that they were about to leave all of this, and delve into a dark cave, seemed absurd. The very thought that such a place as the Underdark could exist sounded to Dan like a fairy tale. But then he saw it, and the weight of its reality came rushing back.

In the middle of the forest, across a nearby stream, an outcropping of rock jutted up from the ground at an angle, like a giant spike of stone which had been driven upwards by some giant’s hammer. On the underside of the outcropping, hidden in shadow beneath the trees, was a hole, the black entrance to the Underdark. This was it. They were here.

No one spoke. No one waited. Led by Gideon, they all entered the dark cavern, one after the other. Dan was right behind Gideon, his night vision illuminating the dark cave for him. However, for some reason he could only see a few yards ahead. Beyond that, everything was blackness. This was no ordinary cave.

The tunnel was tall, but very narrow, forcing them to go single file. It was completely silent. After a few minutes of steadily going downwards, vines began to appear, covering the walls and ceiling of the cave. At first they were thin, but soon they were as thick as Dan’s arm, and when he lifted his goggles to see, he found that they were glowing with a dull purple light. In his night vision they were brilliant, almost blotting out all else, though strangely, they seemed to shed no light on anything but the cave walls.

The floor steepened, and soon a chill was in the air. Dan shivered even though it wasn’t particularly cold. The sense of foreboding seeping from the walls was palpable. He glanced behind him. They were all still there. The whole line was still following.

Eventually, the ceiling dipped down, the hall widened, and Dan saw the walls end, as they widened into a giant room. He tapped Gideon on the shoulder to stop him. The whole line came to a quiet halt.

Dan quickly scanned the dark void before them. Nothing. Nothing in the night vision. No heat signatures. He even scanned it for arcane traces. There were faint purple smudges all over the cavern, but Dan guessed that was normal. There were no powerful spells or enchantments nearby, anyway, just residue. He gave Gideon the all clear.

The instant Gideon stepped into the large room, the silence was broken. A long, muted, wailing cry reached them, seeming to come from the stone walls themselves. It rose, and then faded. Everything was silence once more.

Dan felt the hairs on his neck stand up. Was this magic? A trick?

Gideon took another step forwards. Silence. Another step. Silence. Another.

Again, the long wail echoed in the room, more audible this time, though still dulled, as if heard from behind thick doors.

Gideon turned on the spot as the wail faded once more. “What is it?” Dan asked.

Gideon shook his head.

“A prisoner?” suggested Ana, coming up.

“Maybe,” Gideon whispered. “It could be a trap, too.”

“Valkrill doesn’t know we’re coming though, right?” Francois said, joining Ana.

“No…” Gideon said. “No, he can’t know. No one but Vydar and I knew the plan, and you’re the only ones I told. Not even my father knew exactly what we were doing.”

“Then it must be a prisoner,” Ana said. “You know what we’ve heard of Valkrill. He loves torture.”

Gideon nodded slowly. “It could be. We have to be careful.”

Again, the wail sounded. This time it was clearer, and Dan could almost make out words, pleading words, terrible begging, and then a shrill scream of pure, unimaginable agony. The cry was that of a woman, a young woman, almost a child. Dan shivered as the cry washed over him. He felt sick. Ana looked sick.

“Stay focused,” Dan heard Gideon mutter to himself. “Come on,” he said in a whisper. “Valkrill’s wellspring is this way. Dan, to your right. There should be a tunnel.”

Dan looked, took a few steps forward, and soon spotted the outline of a narrow tunnel. The ceiling was low. They would have to crouch. He signaled to Gideon. The line moved forward.

“AAHHHGGGHHH… No, no, please, I – PLEASE, NO!”

The whole line stopped dead still as another scream of torture rent the air. Dan looked to his left. It had come from there. It was close, perhaps just behind one door.

“Gideon,” Ana said as the scream died. Her voice was shaky. “We can’t leave her.”

“The amulet comes first,” Gideon said, though he didn’t sound sure of it.

“Please, no, just kill me, please kill me, no… No… NO – AAHHH!”

“Fine,” Gideon muttered.

Dan didn’t need any coaxing. He turned to his left, and soon a much larger passage came into view. He pointed Gideon in the right direction. It was a much larger tunnel, allowing the line to move in three abreast. Dan felt someone pull his arm. It was Otonashi.

“Wait,” she said, as the knights moved into the tunnel, swords drawn. “Listen.”

Dan heard nothing. “What?” he asked. He was eager to rejoin Gideon at the front of the column.

“Listen,” Otonashi said again, whispering this time. “What is that?”

“I don’t hear anything,” Dan said.

“Wait until they’ve passed,” Otonashi said, nodding to the knights. “You can’t hear it over them.”

Dan glanced at the knights. “How come you can hear it then?” he asked, turning back to Otonashi.

“I’m a ninja,” Otonashi said, giving Dan a look which suggested this was the most obvious answer in the world. “I’ve trained myself to hear things others cannot.”

Dan waited until the last of the knights had moved into the tunnel. He still heard nothing.

“I don’t hear anything,” he said. “Otonashi, are you sure—”

Without warning, Otonashi pulled him to the side, away from the tunnel. Dan landed hard on the rough stone, just as there was a thunderous crash, and a giant slab of stone dropped from the ceiling and landed with a solid crunch right where he had been standing.

Instantly, Dan heard the knights and ninjas calling from the other side. Fists began hammering on the solid stone. Dan leapt to his feet, a feeling of dread in his stomach. It had been a trap!

Otonashi was already on her feet. “Valkrill knows we’re here,” she said.

Dan didn’t have to ask how she knew. Shrill cries echoed up from the floor itself, mixed in with low rumbling growls and the calls of horns. “What do we do?” he asked.

“We need to get the amulet,” Otonashi said. “There’s still time. Valkrill knows we’re here, but it will take him time to reach us. If we hurry, we can steal the amulet, and still get out without being caught.”

Dan felt like she was missing something very important. “What about the others?” he asked.

“There’s no time,” Otonashi said. “And besides, how would we ever break the stone?”

But Dan knew how to break the stone. One simple blast from his gloves and it would disintegrate. Wasn’t that what NT9 had said? “You go,” he said, thinking quickly. “You go and get the amulet. I’ll stay here and get them out. We can meet up back here and we’ll still have time to get out.”

Otonashi stood there for a moment, looking at Dan as if he had missed the point of an important argument. Then she grabbed him by both shoulders.

“Think, Dan!” she hissed. “These people are enemies!”

For a moment all sound ceased. And then Dan understood. Otonashi was in on it. Vydar had told her everything. She knew his plan to betray the alliance. And then Dan realized something else.

“They were meant to die, weren’t they?” he said.

Otonashi nodded. “Vydar made sure the commanders and leaders he knew would never join him were on this mission. He knew they would be trapped here.”

“But then… Valkrill knew we were coming.”

“He knew,” Otonashi said. “But not why. He thought Vydar intended to join him against both the alliance and Utgar, and gladly devised the trap to get rid of Vydar’s most powerful enemies. He has no idea that you and me are on the mission, or that we’re about to steal his amulet.”

Dan glanced back at the stone slab separating him from the others. Ana was behind that stone. And Gideon, and Sharwin, and Laelia, and all the rest. He couldn’t just let them die.

“But,” he said to Otonashi, “I can’t—”

“You can,” Otonashi said. “You must. How do you think Vydar will see it if you free them?”

Dan knew how Vydar would see it. If he freed them, any chance of getting Heleer would be gone.

“It’s either them or the amulet, Dan,” Otonashi said. “It’s right down there,” she pointed at the narrow tunnel. “Valkrill’s amulet is just there, waiting for you. You’re only steps away from it, Dan. Only steps away from Heleer.”

Dan didn’t even wonder how Otonashi knew about Heleer. Vydar must have told her. Right now they were running out of time. He looked down the narrow tunnel. Beyond that darkness lay the amulet and with it, Heleer. Everything he wanted was right there.

Dan looked back at the slab of stone. He could hear the muffled cries of those trapped within. He could hear sobbing which sounded like it was coming from Sharwin. Fists pounded on the slab. He could free them. He could free them, or he could have his horizon.

“We don’t have any more time,” Otonashi said, moving for the tunnel.

“I can’t leave them,” Dan said. “They’re my friends. I can’t leave them to die.”

Otonashi paused at the mouth of the tunnel. “Some things are more important, Dan,” she said. “This is the war. You have to see the larger picture.”

Dan did see the larger picture. He saw himself returning with the amulet. He saw himself at his horizon with Heleer, happy and content. Except he wasn’t happy. How could he be, knowing what the price of his horizon had been? How could he be content, knowing that his life with Heleer had cost the lives of Gideon, Ana, and the others? He couldn’t live like that.

Dan looked back at Otonashi, and at the tunnel beyond her. He couldn’t do it. After all this time, now that his horizon was so close, he couldn’t take it. He realized what Sharwin must feel, knowing that she could so easily reach her horizon, and yet refusing to do so. He was like her. He had found the line he wouldn’t cross.

“Last chance, Dan,” Otonashi said. “We have to go.”

“You go,” Dan said. “I won’t leave my friends.”

Otonashi watched him for a brief moment. “Fine,” she said. Then she ducked into the tunnel, and disappeared in the shadows.

Dan took a breath. He had made his choice, but had he just lost Heleer forever? There was no time to wonder about it. He could hear the creatures of Valkrill drawing closer, the sounds of their arrival becoming louder and clearer. He knew what he had to do.

He found the safety switch on his right glove, and pressed it. He felt no different. He supposed he would find out soon enough if it had worked. NT9 had said all he had to do was to put his palm at a right angle to his arm, as if he was pushing something. The glove would do the rest.

“Stand back!” Dan called, hoping his voice carried through the stone slab. Apparently it did, because the hammering instantly stopped. Dan placed his hand on the slab.

‘I know what I’m doing,’ he told himself. But did he? There was still time. He could still chase after Otonashi. Dan hesitated, staring at his hand on the stone slab.

‘No,’ he finally told himself. ‘I might have everything I want, but I wouldn’t be happy. I would know what the price had been. I’ll be reunited with Heleer someday. I will be. But not this way. Not at this price.’

He glanced back at the narrow tunnel despite himself. ‘The price is too great,’ he told himself sternly. He looked back at the stone slab, determined now. ‘And it’s not one I’m willing to pay.’ For a moment, he wondered if this was what Ana had meant, about a life not lived for others being no life at all.

Dan shook his head. He would have time to wonder later. He had made his choice. He took a deep breath, straightened his arm, and pushed against the stone slab with all his might.

Too weak to stop her own bleeding, Ana allowed Kaori to bandage her magically-inflicted wounds. Dan saw that she was right; they weren’t deep. They were, however, large, the abrasions covering most of her body. Ana insisted that she would be able to heal once they could rest.

Now that the battle was over, the flow of magical energy from the mages had stopped. The result was that everyone felt drained, as if they had gone a full day without sleep, and been fighting the whole time. Ana said the feeling would only get worse. They needed to find a safe place to rest.

Gideon decided that they would make for the fallback point. It was close to the Underdark cavern where Valkrill’s wellspring lay, but since it had been shielded from detection by Jandar’s mages, they would be safe there, invisible to unfriendly eyes. Once they got their strength back, they would enter the Underdark.

The ninjas procured some strips of black cloth, and Dan helped them wrap Trela’s body in it. She looked peaceful, her expression at odds with her gruesome wound. She was still smiling serenely as Dan began to wrap her head. He paused, pushing some stray strands of brown hair away from her face.

How could she look so peaceful? Dan knew he wouldn’t look that way if he were dying. He would do everything he could to keep himself alive. But Trela hadn’t done that. She had told Jaseff to stop healing her. Why?

It didn’t make sense to Dan. First Ana, and now Trela. Did all the mages care so little about their own lives? Dan shook his head. He carefully wrapped Trela’s head, gently covering the wound. Then her mouth, then her nose, and finally her eyes. Dan looked at them one last time, the lids closed, the expression so peaceful. He would never forget that look. He sighed, and wrapped the rest of her head.

Once all of the slain wolves had been pulled beneath the trees, where they would be invisible to passing kyrie, two knights arrived to carry Trela. Jaseff, who Dan thought would stay by her side, instead moved to the middle of the group, surrounding himself with knights. He spoke to no one, and kept his eyes downcast.

Neither Jaseff nor Ana were able to do much healing, and, as Dan had guessed, Sharwin couldn’t heal at all. The ninjas seemed to have basic knowledge of how to treat wounds however, and bandaged those who needed it. Then, limping, wincing, and favoring various limbs, the group moved for the forest, coxing the last vestiges of energy from their bodies. It was morning, and the sun was up. They couldn’t be seen.

Dan watched Jasseff as they walked. He didn’t weep. He didn’t speak. He simply put one foot in front of the other, looking at nothing but his own two feet. He didn’t need to say anything, however. The way he moved was enough.

Dan knew he was looking at a defeated man. Jaseff was broken. Dan could imagine how he must feel. What if he had lost Heleer? Would he be the same as Jaseff: defeated, broken? Would that be the end? Would he be finished?

Dan had to admit it would be. There was nothing beyond Heleer and his horizon. If they were taken from him… he couldn’t even picture the pit of darkness which would engulf him. But then, unbidden, he remembered Trela’s face. She had died. She had been separated from everything she loved and desired. And yet she had been at peace. Dan watched Jaseff, and saw the opposite: he had lost everything he loved and desired, and now he was devastated.

How could the reaction of one be so far from the reaction of the other?

They found the fallback point easily. Jaseff was one of the mages who had protected it, and led them to a nearby stream. He didn’t cross it, but followed it a ways until they came to a wide gully.

“This whole area is shielded,” he whispered to them. “As long as we stay in the gully, we won’t be found.”

One by one, the group slid down the embankment and into the gully. It was dry and covered in soft grass and moss-laden boulders. It was wide, and plenty long enough for them all. They settled against the boulders as comfortably as they could, and with no other option, gave in to sleep. Once they were rested, Ana and Jaseff would be able to heal them. And then… then they would steal Valkrill’s amulet.

It was dark when Dan woke, feeling sore all over. His right side in particular was sore, and when he gingerly touched it, it seared with pain. He guessed having a massive wolf sit on top of him might be the cause.

Others were stirring in the gully, though all were quiet, knowing how close they were to Valkrill’s wellspring (even though Jaseff had said that they couldn’t be heard). There were two glimmers of flickering light in the gully, and Dan soon discerned that they were Ana and Jaseff, healing those who needed it. He quickly made his way over to Jaseff.  

Jaseff was busy healing Gideon, who was lying against a large mossy stone and grimacing as Jaseff worked. By the light of Jaseff’s magic, Dan could see that Gideon’s wounds were many and deep. Only the bandages of the ninjas had kept him from bleeding out. Jaseff still looked pale, but Gideon’s wounds mended steadily under his concentration, and soon they both stood.

“My thanks,” Gideon said. “But remember what I told you: don’t overexert yourself. We need you in there, and Ana’s a lot stronger at the moment. Let her do most of the healing.”

Jaseff nodded, but said nothing. He turned, and saw Dan. “Are you hurt?” he asked. His voice was hoarse, and his face was hidden behind his long dark hair. He made no effort to brush it out of his eyes.

“Yes,” Dan said, a little uncertainly, “but I’m sure Ana can handle it. Gideon’s right. You should—”

“Sit,” Jaseff said. His tone wasn’t commanding. Neither was it calm. It was devoid of all emotion, bereft of all feeling. It was the voice of an empty shell.

Dan sat.

“Where?” Jaseff asked.

“My rib,” Dan said. “I think that wolf might have cracked it.”

Jaseff’s palm flickered with a faint blue light. “You’re right,” he said, still in that same dead voice. “Hold still.”

Dan braced himself against the rocks beneath him, but he felt no pain. Instead, he felt his ribs moving slowly, steadily back into place. It didn’t hurt exactly. It just felt… unnatural.

“I’m sorry about Trela,” Dan said as Jaseff worked.

Jaseff said nothing.

Dan didn’t know what else to say.

“They buried her,” Jaseff said unexpectedly. “At the head of the gully, some of the knights buried her.” His voice was still dead. “Ana was there. She said Trela had a full life. That she died happy.” Jaseff paused in his healing and looked up. “How can someone die happy, Dan?”

Jaseff’s voice held a measure of confusion, but Dan didn’t know the answer. He was just as confused as Jaseff was. “I – I don’t know,” Dan said. “Ana’s said some things which don’t make any sense to me either.”

“They make sense to me,” Jaseff said, resuming his healing. “She’s just trying to make me feel better, by somehow suggesting that Trela was happy about dying.”

“I doubt she was happy about dying,” Dan said. “But she seemed at peace.”

“Of course she did,” Jaseff said, his voice returning to its empty tone. “She was doing the same thing as Ana, trying to make me feel better. She always did that. She was always considering someone else, and never herself.”

Jaseff was silent for a moment. His palm flared briefly, and then went out. Dan felt fully healed.

“That’s why I loved her,” Jaseff said quietly into the darkness. “She was fearless. She didn’t care what happened to her, as long as she could save someone else, be that an ally wounded in a drow attack, or a boy – or a boy about to throw away his last chance at a good life.”

Jaseff’s voice finally broke. Dan heard him take a shaky breath. “It’s your job to save us now,” Dan said. “That’s what she said, isn’t it? It’s your turn?”

Jaseff shook his head. “I can’t save you,” he said. “When I first met her, I decided I wanted to be like her: fearless. But I can’t. I’ve tried for years, and I can’t.”

Dan didn’t accept that. Before Heleer, he would have said nothing could convince him to be patient, to simply wait for an opportunity to escape. He had been wrong, and Dan believed Jaseff was wrong too. “You can be,” he said. “You can be just as fearless as Trela was.”

“Not without her,” Jaseff said. “I need her.” He let out a sigh of defeat. “I always needed her. I was always too cautious, too afraid of everything. She was my shield. I thought that if I got to know her, then I would become confident like she was. And what happened? I just hid behind her, content to let her take all the risks and challenges for me.” Jaseff sounded disgusted with himself, but worse, he sounded defeated, like he had given up on everything.

“It’s not your fault, Jaseff,” Dan said quietly.

Jaseff sighed. He got up and pulled Dan to his feet. “I know,” he said. “It’s just… I wish I had been better. For her.”

“You can be,” Dan said. “Trust me, you can be.”

Gideon found Dan shortly afterwards and told him that they would enter the Underdark at daybreak. “The drow are nocturnal,” he explained, “so it’s a better time for us. Get some more sleep. I’ll wake everyone at dawn.”

Still feeling worn and sore, Dan was grateful to get more rest. He settled back in the spot where he had slept, and was soon far away from Valhalla, chasing distant horizons and following Heleer’s calling voice.

He was pulled from sleep by Laelia just as the faintest hint of orange began to tint the sky.

“Time to get up,” she whispered. “Jaseff’s gone.”

“Gone?” Dan echoed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean he’s gone,” Laelia said. She sounded almost as defeated as Jaseff had. “He left while we were all sleeping. Kaori has already sent ninjas out after him, but he has too great a head start.”

“But—” Dan got to his feet. “But… I was just talking to him. Why would he leave?”

Laelia glanced at him before turning away. “He needed Trela. He wasn’t just saying it. He couldn’t enter the Underdark without her. He was too afraid. Come on,” she added. “Gideon wants to talk to us all at the head of the gully.”

She led Dan up the gully, past restless knights and ninjas. All were preparing for battle, checking their armor for damage or sharpening their swords. Gideon, Ana, Sharwin, Otonashi, Francois, and Kaori were clustered at the head of the gully, waiting. Dan and Laelia sat down.

“Right,” Gideon said. “I’m sure by now you all know that Jaseff has left us.” He looked a bit lost as he said it, as if he couldn’t quite believe it. Dan glanced at Laelia. She looked as if she had no trouble believing it. If anything, she looked acceptant to the point of defeat.

“Some of you,” Gideon said, forcing some certainty into his voice, “might be wondering if he had the right idea.”

No one said anything. Dan knew he would go into the Underdark no matter what – the way back to Heleer was there – but looking at the others, he could tell they were uncertain. Jaseff’s desertion had been completely unexpected. None of them knew what to think.

“I won’t lie to you,” Gideon said, “going in there is going to be dangerous. We’ve already lost several of Francois’ men to the wolves.” He glanced to the right as he spoke, and following his gaze, Dan saw several fresh graves nearby, rough stones with chiseled names on them the only markers. He couldn’t see which one was Trela’s.

“I don’t believe in ordering people to do something when I know it’s only going to make the situation worse,” Gideon said. “So if any of you are having doubts about going into the Underdark, I’d like to hear them.”

No one spoke. Dan both wanted to stay as far away from the Underdark as possible, and at the same time knew he had to go straight to its very heart. There was no choice for him. Vydar had made sure he had only one option.

Glancing at the others, Dan saw that they didn’t seem so sure. In fact, the only one who didn’t have doubt or fear written all over their face was Otonashi. She looked calm and peaceful, but somehow Dan sensed a quiet determination coming from her. He didn’t have any trouble believing that she was ready to take on the whole of the Underdark herself.

“I don’t want to do this,” Gideon said, surprising them all. Everyone looked at him. “I don’t,” he said, “and I doubt any of you do either. For the first time since the war began, my whole family is together under one roof. I don’t want to be out here, in the middle of Braunglayde, about to dive into the Underdark. I want to be with them.”

He took a breath. “But I’m going in anyway. I believe in what I’m doing. Utgar is trying to take away Valhalla’s freedom, and that’s wrong. It’s as simple as that. If my father taught me one thing, it’s to not stand by if you can fix something,”— he glanced at Laelia — “or save someone.”

Laelia saw him look at her. Dan saw her mouth tighten, and in that moment, he realized that she wasn’t merely disappointed that Gideon had killed Caius. She was actually angry at him. It was a stupid reaction, but based on what Jaseff had told him, it made some sense. After a moment, Laelia got up and walked away.

There was a moment of silence. Then Sharwin spoke.

“I don’t want to go in there either,” she said, her voice quavering slightly. “At times I think about leaving, about just slipping away. But I always remind myself that I can’t.” She paused and wiped her eyes. “I have a son,” she continued, “a three-year-old son whom I have never seen since the day he was born.”

No one spoke.

“My husband was… away when he was born. And thanks to a surprise attack from Valkrill, he never saw his son. I was urgently needed at the front, and as soon as I was able, I entrusted my son to the care of Syvarris and his wife. They were both retired from the war, and I trusted them to raise my son. I swore I would return once the threat to Ullar’s territory was handled… but I never did. Since then, there has always been a place I must go, an army I must fight, or a force I must join. Because of the war, I haven’t seen my son since I placed him in Syvarris’ arms.”

“Surely Ullar would understand,” Ana said. “Surely he could make an exception and send you back, even for a little while.”

Sharwin shook her head. “He’s tried. More than once. But every time, something new arrives, and I must leave again. Every time, I tell myself, ‘this is the last time. The last time I’ll be called. After this, I’ll see my son.’ But I’m always wrong.”

“Why don’t you leave?” asked Kaori gently. “You said you think about it sometimes.”

“I do,” Sharwin said. “I dream about seeing my son, about seeing his face, about raising him myself. But every time I think about that, I know that I would be living a lie. The war has taught me a lot, and there is a lot I would teach my son. But one of the greatest lessons I would teach him, would be loyalty. I could never do that if I had deserted my own Valkyrie to do so.” Sharwin drew a breath, steeling herself. “And that is why I will enter the Underdark. That’s why I will continue to do whatever Ullar needs me to, until I can see my son without betraying all I’ve sworn.”

Silence followed these words. The similarities between Sharwin and himself were not lost on Dan. They were both stuck in the war, both unable to be with the ones they most desired to see. But that was where the similarities ended. Dan would give anything, do anything, to see Heleer. Sharwin would not. She knew her horizon, she knew how to get to it, but there were lines she would not cross. Dan thought about that. Were there lines he would not cross? Or was his horizon and Heleer the only things which mattered?

“What about you, Ana?” Gideon said. “I know you never wanted to come on this mission.”

Dan looked at Ana. Her skin was pale, but in places it was reddened, evidence of her magic still visible. She looked frail, fragile even, but in her light green eyes there was a calmness Dan had never seen.

“I never wanted to be in this war, let alone this mission,” Ana said. “But that doesn’t change anything. As long as there are people for me to heal, I’ll go wherever I’m needed, even if that’s Utgar’s throne room.”

Gideon smiled. “Then let’s end this war together,” he said. “We get Valkrill’s amulet, and we get one step closer to victory, and peace for Valhalla. Then we can all get what we want.”

As they prepared to move out, the knights and ninjas lining up, Dan saw, from where he stood near the front, Gideon and Laelia talking. He had the distinct impression that Laelia’s confidence was slipping away, that her determination was deteriorating out of control. Gideon was talking to her, and Dan felt he must be trying to prop her up, to save her from the despair which was about to engulf her. But Laelia walked away. She wouldn’t let him save her. She wouldn’t let anyone save her.

Dan watched Gideon as Laelia left. He saw on his face only sorrowful determination. Gideon watched Laelia join the knights, and then turned back to the rest of the group. “Move out,” he called.

Dan looked back, the whole column of knights and ninjas behind him. None looked determined. None looked confident. Not one face looked like it was ready to enter the Underdark.

But that was exactly what they had to do.

“There’s no debate,” Gideon said. “We’ve got to attack the wolves.”

“What if there are kyrie scouts, though?” said Sharwin. “It’s nearly dawn. What if kyrie fly overhead and see us?”

“Then we’re done for,” Gideon said grimly. “We’ll have to try to make it back to Hyleran before we’re ambushed. But if Kaori’s scouts are right, then the wolves have caught our scent. We don’t have a choice. We can’t let them reach Valkrill. If we catch them, then we still have a chance to surprise Valkrill. If we let them go, then we might as well start heading for Hyleran now.”

Everyone was silent. It was the obvious thing to do. Shortly after Dan and Ana had returned, one of Kaori’s ninjas had arrived to say that they had spotted wolf scouts sniffing out the party’s trail. Shortly afterwards, another ninja had arrived, reporting that the pack, which had been moving southwards at an easy speed, had suddenly sped up, and was now running south. No one doubted that they had caught the scent of Gideon’s group, and were now rushing to tell Valkrill or Utgar. There was no choice but to break cover and pursue them, even though the sun was coming up.

Apparently, the mages had the ability to infuse the party with energy, because not only did they feel wide awake, but they set out after the wolves at a run, and didn’t slow despite having to run up and down several low hills. They emerged from the pine forest covering the hills onto a plain of tall grasses, the pack of wolves easily visible ten stone throws away.  

Dan and the others could see the edge of another forest not far away. It was the forest which held Valkrill’s wellspring, according to Gideon. If the wolves made the trees before they did, all was lost. They were already halfway there.

The party chased after the wolves at full speed. The ninjas outstripped them all, Kaori and Otonashi at their head. The knights began to lag behind, weighted down by their heavy armor. Dan, also encased in armor – albeit lighter – was just ahead of them, as were Gideon and Laelia. The mages were back with the knights, as they stopped every few minutes. Every time they did, there was a corresponding explosion up ahead in the pack of wolves.

The wolves were fast, but somehow they weren’t fast enough. Maybe it was the magic of the mages, slowing them down and sapping their strength. Maybe it was the fact that Dan felt like he could run for hours (he was sure once the magic causing their sudden burst of energy wore off, they wouldn’t have enough energy to put one foot in front of the other). Whatever the cause, the ninjas crashed into the wolves a mere hundred yards from the edge of the forest. The wolves turned to deal with them, and a moment later, Gideon, Dan, Laelia, and then all of Francois’ knights arrived, hacking into the pack.

Dan hung back, having nothing but his pistol. He was able to pick off a few isolated wolves before the mages came up behind him and began dropping wolves with small precisely-placed explosions of energy.

Meanwhile, the ninjas were up front, keeping the wolves from escaping into the forest. The knights were hacking at the back of the pack, led on by Gideon and Laelia. Wolves were dropping faster than Dan could count. And then the pack seemed to organize itself, and things changed.

A trio of wolves broke from the confused mob of the pack and surrounded Gideon, lashing out with their claws, but always staying well away from his blade. They seemed to sense that he was the leader. More wolves joined them, and soon Gideon was completely cut off from the others. Judging by the way the ring of wolves kept leaping back, Gideon was still swinging, but Dan knew that couldn’t last very long. Laelia, seeing what was going on, rushed to Gideon’s defense. The wolves parted like water, and then surrounded her too, cutting her off from the battle as well.

With Gideon separated, Trela took charge. She started shouting orders to the knights to flank the wolves, and motioned for Kaori to press in, sowing confusion. It seemed to be working. The pack was surrounded, and the ninjas, darting in and out of the pack, were causing the wolves to become distracted, which allowed the knights to dispatch them.

However, a few wolves managed to break free of the knights, and charged straight for Trela, knowing that she was in command now. Dan managed to shoot two of them in the head, but then the wolves were upon them, three in all, snarling and slashing.

As before in Caius’ cave, a few knights had stayed behind to protect the mages, but they were outnumbered. The wolves were too close to the knights for Dan to shoot them, so, knowing that his metal gloves were better than no weapon at all, he tackled the first wolf which came close enough, hoping the mages would be able to turn the battle in their favor quickly.

The wolf was bigger than Dan by at least a foot. Now that he was on top of it, he could tell that it didn’t look wholly like a wolf. It was covered in brown fur, and it had pointed teeth in the muzzle of a dog, but its paws were elongated into something more resembling human hands, although they still possessed sharp claws. The wolf’s arms were as long as its legs, which gave it a range advantage on Dan, but they also seemed a lot thinner than a man’s, and not quite as strong. The wolf’s body, however, was nothing but pure muscle, and Dan quickly found himself struggling to keep the wolf down.

The wolf quickly wrapped its legs around Dan’s body, knocked his arms away, and then bucked upwards, rolling on top of Dan’s left leg. Dan was stuck. The wolf quickly completed the roll, and then sat up, on top of Dan. Dan quickly raised his metal gloves, blocking the swiping blows from the wolf as it tried to tear at his face. One blow got by, but merely bounced off of Dan’s chest-armor. He still felt the blow, however.

Remembering what the wolf had done, Dan waited until the wolf drew one paw back to swipe him, and then grabbed the other. He pulled down on the arm, pulling the wolf with it, and then with his free arm, elbowed the wolf squarely in the face. The wolf let out a howl of pain and temporarily stopped swinging at Dan. That was all the opportunity he needed.

Pulling his gun from its holster, Dan pointed it upwards and fired three times. The bolts of energy smashed straight through the wolf’s body, each one ripping a new hole and singing the fur. The wolf gasped, tried desperately to reach Dan’s face (Dan did his best to block the blows), and then slumped off of Dan, choking on the blood rapidly rising in its throat. Dan got up and quickly fired one last shot into the wolf’s head, and then looked about him.

One knight had been slain. He was lying nearby, his throat slashed several times, his eyes wide and unseeing. The other knight had killed his wolf, and the two survivors were now on the ground, grappling at each other’s throats, the knight’s sword lying a short distance away.

Dan quickly raced to the wolf, delivered a low kick to its rib cage which knocked it off of the knight, and then fired a shot into its head before it could get up. The wolf twitched for a moment, and then was still, blood pouring from the wound.

Dan helped the knight to his feet.

“Merci,” the knight said. A long gash ran the length of his face, dripping blood onto his armor, but he was otherwise unscathed.

“Jaseff!”

Dan glanced behind him. It seemed that another wolf had broken free of the knights, and, missing Trela, had tackled Jaseff to the ground. Jaseff clearly hadn’t put up much of a fight. His arms were gouged with bloody claw marks, and the side of his neck was a bloody mess of torn skin, where apparently the wolf had bitten him. He looked as white as the hair of the drow. Trela was kneeling over him, quickly healing his neck. Sharwin seemed to be the one who had pulled the wolf from Jaseff, as the beast now lay on the ground, quivering and twitching beneath her palm. Ana was the only one still focused on the fight.

Trela stopped Jaseff’s bleeding with magic, her hands trembling and her own face just as white as Jaseff’s. However, she stood without mending his injuries, and turned back to the battle. Dan understood. Now that the threat to Jaseff’s life was over, Trela needed to command the battle, to make sure they won.

It was at that point that a massive wolf, seven feet tall, burst from the pack and ran for Trela. This wolf was different. He wore armor, and carried a shield the size of his torso. He also held a blade in his other hand, a strange type of sword, which curved back and forwards, resembling a highly sharpened question mark.

With a savage cross between a howl and a yell, the wolf charged Trela. Dan raised his gun and fired, but the wolf raised his shield in time, and the energy from Dan’s gun dissipated on it. He fired again, with the same effect. And then the wolf was upon them.

Trela ducked the first blow, but the wolf shot out a leg and tripped her, causing her to fall to the ground. Jaseff struggled to get to his feet, but his arms gave out, and he fell back, unable to help. The wolf dropped to his knee on top of Trela, keeping her down. Trela let out a gasp of pain as the wolf landed on top of her, and Dan saw her crumple; her breath had been knocked out. The wolf raised his blade. Sharwin was too far away, although she was running to help. Likewise, Dan would be a second too late. None of them were close enough to stop the blow.

Or so Dan thought. Out of nowhere, a shimmering golden shield of magic erupted from somewhere on Trela’s right, encasing her completely. The wolf’s blade descended, struck the magic amidst a burst of energy, and then rebounded back. Trela had been saved.

Quickly looking for the source of the shield, Dan spotted Ana. She had her hands up, palms facing outwards, and a golden shield was emanating from her, encasing Trela, Dan, and several nearby knights. For a moment Dan thought they had been saved. And then blood began staining Ana’s clothing, as if sprouting from unseen wounds. She collapsed as blood soaked her, coming seemingly from nowhere. The shield evaporated.

While Dan had been watching Ana, Sharwin had taken advantage of the few extra seconds and raced to Trela’s side. She now struck the wolf with her palm. Normally the blow would have done virtually nothing, but Dan saw the wolf reel back as an arc of blue energy leapt from Sharwin’s hand.

The wolf, snarling, swung his blade at Sharwin. Sharwin, who had apparently not expected the wolf to be so resilient, simply sat there. A moment later, the blade struck her full in the face, and she was flung to the ground.

The wolf had struck with the back of the blade, which Dan quickly discerned was not sharp, though still doubtless quite painful. However, with Sharwin out of the way, and Trela still gasping for breath beneath him, the wolf turned back, and brought his blade back down, aiming straight for Trela’s head.

Dan launched himself at the wolf. He barely made it in time. He tackled the wolf off of Trela just as the blade descended. He didn’t give the wolf any time to recover, but stuck the barrel of his gun in the matted fur of the wolf’s chest, and fired twice. The wolf quickly fell backwards, and was still.

Dan glanced over at Trela. It seemed that as he tackled the wolf, the tip of the blade had caught Trela’s throat. A massive gash, far too deep, was now spewing blood all over Trela and the grass she lay upon.

Pulling himself to his hands and knees, Jaseff crawled to where Trela lay. “Hold on,” he said, placing shaking hands on her neck. “Hold on. I’ll save you.”

Jaseff closed his eyes, and a moment later there was a corresponding glow beneath his palms. However, the light was faint. Trela gasped and her body shuddered, but the blood kept coming, welling up from beneath Jaseff’s hands.

Dan looked around. Trela needed someone else; Jaseff was too injured to heal her. However, there was no one else. Sharwin was nearby, but she had her hands pressed to her head where the wolf had struck her, and was curled up in pain. Ana was definitely in no condition to heal: blood was still soaking her clothes, and she was lying motionless where she had fallen. Dan didn’t know the first thing about keeping someone alive – aside from the basics he had learned during his training – so he remained where he was, sitting next to the dead wolf, willing Jaseff to heal Trela.

Apparently, the armored wolf was the leader of the pack. Upon his death, many of the wolves broke and tried to run. The ninjas and knights cut them down mercilessly, not letting a single one escape. With their numbers thinned, the remaining wolves were quickly surrounded and dispatched. Out of the corner of his eye, Dan saw several knights hack through the wolves surrounding Gideon and Laelia, revealing them both to still be alive, although sporting a grisly collection of bloody gashes.

Not knowing what else to do, Dan got shakily to his feet and made his way over to Ana. As he drew close, he saw that she was alive. He could see her breathing. Other than that though, she was still, the grass below her stained red with blood.

“Ana?” Dan whispered, dropping to his knees beside her. “Ana?” It seemed foolish to ask if she was alright, since she obviously wasn’t, so Dan said nothing else.

Ana let out a rattling breath, and then breathed in sharply in pain. “I was hoping to avoid doing that,” she managed to whisper.

“What did you do?” Dan asked.

“The shield,” Ana whispered. “It absorbs blows, but…”

“You take them instead,” Dan said, realizing what must have happened. Ana’s shield would protect anyone completely, but it came at a price: Ana would be injured instead. She must have taken the blow aimed for Trela, as well as whatever had been aimed at the few knights she had been protecting at the same time.

“I’ll live,” Ana coughed, seeing Dan’s face. “These wounds aren’t deep. See what you can do for Trela.”

“Why did you do that?” Dan asked.

“What, save Trela?” Ana whispered. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“But… you—”

“Me?” Ana echoed. “Some things are more important than me. Some are even more important than you, Dan.”

The false words stung Dan, but Ana gave a weak smile, and he knew she hadn’t meant them to.

“Go, Dan,” Ana said. “I’ll be fine. See what you can do for Trela.”

Dan was reluctant to leave her, partially because of the things he had said to her less than an hour ago, but she told him to leave again, so he got up and made his way to Trela.

Jaseff was still trying to heal her, but it was clear it wasn’t working. Not enough, anyway. Trela’s wound had grown smaller under Jaseff’s care, but blood still spurted from it, now soaking the both of them. Kaori, Gideon, and several knights had gathered about them by this time.

Jaseff was obviously running himself ragged trying to heal Trela. His whole body was shaking, his face was drained of color, and he kept sagging sideways, his body not even able to keep him upright. Eventually he could do no more, and fell sideways, landing next to Trela.

Dan glanced over at Sharwin. She was in the same position he had seen her last, though two ninjas were now bent over her, talking to her softly. She wasn’t moving. She couldn’t help them. Now that he thought of it, Dan wasn’t even sure if she could heal. Ana had said there were three healers, not four.

Jaseff struggled up, and placed his hands again on Trela’s neck. This time, however, Trela reached up, took Jaseff’s hands in her own, and gently moved them away. “It’s okay,” she said, smiling weakly up at Jaseff.

Okay? How could it be okay? Dan’s confusion was mirrored in Jaseff’s face.

Trela smiled at him. “I’ve healed more than a life’s worth of people, Jaseff. It’s okay.”

“No,” Jaseff whispered, his voice hoarse. “It’s not okay.”

“It is,” Trela said. She coughed, the sudden motion shaking her whole body. She winced in pain. “It’s your turn now, Jaseff.”

“But I need you,” Jaseff said, struggling ineffectually against Trela’s hands. In his weakened state, he couldn’t put up much of a fight.

“I’ve lived my life,” Trela said, her smile returning. “I spent it healing others. That meant something. You—” Another cough shook her body. “It’s your turn,” she whispered, looking into Jaseff’s eyes. “Live your life.”

Tears were staining Jaseff’s face. “You are my life,” he said, as fiercely as he could.

Trela shook her head slowly. “No,” she whispered. “Help others, Jaseff. That’s your life. Heal others. Give them a second chance.”

“But… I need you,” Jaseff said, choking the words out. “I need you.”

Trela smiled at him. Then she raised one hand and put it behind his head. Dan saw a shiver race across her body. Her smile faltered, but she kept it determinedly in place.

“Others,” she whispered, almost too softly for Dan to hear. Jaseff, unable to keep himself upright, bent forwards, until his forehead touched hers. Trela smiled, and let out a breath. Dan saw the tension of pain leave her face.

Her body gave a very slight shake, she took one last breath, closed her eyes, and then was still. Jaseff collapsed on top of her, tears falling from his eyes.

“Dan.”

Someone was shaking him. Dan woke up quickly.

“Dan.” It was Gideon.

“What is it?” Dan asked. He sensed urgency in Gideon’s voice.

“There’s a fire to the east,” Gideon said as Dan got to his feet, dusting pine needles off of himself. The hills they had set up camp in were covered in tall pine trees. “One of the ninjas reported it. Someone is down in one of the valleys, and they’ve lit a fire. This far into Valkrill’s territory, it can’t be anyone good.”

“Do we know who it is?” Dan asked.

Gideon shook his head. “We don’t know for sure, but it’s either wolves or kyrie. Drow have no use for fire. I can’t risk sending the ninjas to find out. It’s dark, so they would have to get close to see what’s going on. Too close. If it’s wolves, they would smell them easily. I need someone who can see in the dark from far away, and that means you.”

Dan felt his stomach tighten. “What do I do?” he asked.

“Keep to the trees,” Gideon said. “Remember that if it is wolves, they can see in the dark just as well as you can. If the wind starts blowing your scent towards them, drop to the ground. Only get close enough to see who they are and what they’re doing. Then report back.

“I’m going to take the others into the next valley, just in case a strong wind picks up and the wolves smell us. I’ll leave Ana behind here. Report to her. She’ll know what to do next.”

Dan nodded. “And what if it’s a whole army or something?”

“Then get back here as soon as possible. We’ll wait for them to pass. We can’t be caught out in the open this close to Valkrill’s wellspring.”

Dan nodded.

“Good luck,” Gideon said. He moved off to where the knights were sleeping.

It was still dark. There was no hint of gray in the sky, so Dan guessed they still had at least a few hours before daylight. Who would have lit a fire this late? Certainly not kyrie.

Dan moved off in the direction Gideon had pointed. The party was situated in a depression between the low rolling hills which covered the area. There were several of the depressions, forming a chain of shallow hills and valleys stretching completely across their path. Once they crossed the hills, they would enter a small forest, in which was the cave housing Valkrill’s wellspring. Assuming of course that they weren’t about to be discovered.

A ninja materialized in front of Dan as he wove his way through the trees.

“Gideon sent you?” she confirmed.

Dan nodded.

“Keep going straight,” she said. “There’s a glow coming from the valley below; I’d guess the size to be pretty small, probably just a campfire or two.”

“Thanks,” Dan said. “Gideon’s moving everyone to the next valley over. You should probably go with them.”

The ninja nodded and disappeared into the darkness.

Dan continued up the gradual slope, trying to avoid patches of dead leaves as he moved between the trees. He didn’t want to make any more noise than he had to. He reached the top of the small hill, crouched down, and crawled the rest of the way forwards, until he could look down into the next valley.

Below, the trees thinned out some, allowing Dan to easily see the brilliant flicker of a fire. He couldn’t make it out, since the trees blocked his view, but he could see it illuminating their undersides. He’d have to get closer. There was a whisper of a breeze, but it was blowing towards him, so keeping low, Dan hurried down the slope. Once the ground started to level out, he stopped behind a tree, and glanced around it.

The pine trees were tall and devoid of branches below their tops, meaning Dan could see straight through the forest now that he was on level ground. He could see the glow of the fire, but it was blocked by the shadows of figures moving in front of it.

Finding the dial on top of his goggles, Dan turned it, zooming his vision in. He adjusted the focus to the shadowy figures, and then paused, trying to discern what they were. They definitely weren’t drow; they were too bulky. They were silhouetted against the light, but he couldn’t see any wings, so that only left one option: wolves. They were standing on two legs, but Dan remembered that Aviir had told him the wolves summoned by Utgar did so.

He still couldn’t see what they were doing, so he quickly ran to a different tree. He had a much better view from this angle. The wolves – he could clearly see fur now – seemed to be gathered in a circle around the fire, surrounding five figures on the ground. Dan focused on the figures, and soon a gap opened up in the circle of wolves, and he was able to see them clearly.

They were humans, five samurai of Einar, by the look of their tattered armor. They were tied up together, back to back, and it was clear from the cuts and bruises that the wolves had been beating them. They all bore claw marks, and one looked like he had even been bitten.

Dan focused on the wolves, and soon discerned what they were doing. Several wolves had burning torches of grass stalks bound together, and they were methodically lighting patches of grass on fire. Other wolves were using their claws to scrape away the grass outside the circle. It didn’t take Dan long to figure out what was happening: the wolves were creating a circle of fire around the samurai. With the ground bare outside the circle, the fire could only go inwards, towards the samurai. They would be burned alive.

The wolves completed setting the grass on fire, then quickly stepped back as the dry stalks blazed to life. Several wolves, clearly leaders, began barking out commands. They were moving out. As one, the pack of wolves began to move off, running at an easy loping pace, heading south.

Dan watched them go. They rounded a hill, and disappeared from sight. Dan had counted at least forty. He looked back at the five samurai. The fire still had a ways to go before it reached them, but by now the pillars of flame were tall, licking at the black sky and showering the samurai with sparks.

Dan scanned the whole circle of flame with his goggles, looking for an opening. There was none. What would happen if he tried to save the samurai? Would his armor keep him safe from the flames? Or would he be cooked in it? And what about the samurai? Their armor wasn’t exactly made out of flame-resistant material.

Dan quickly added up his chances. He might be able to get one of the samurai out, maybe two, but he might also misjudge the fire, and end up being burned along with the samurai. Dan remembered Heleer. He couldn’t die. Not now. Besides, Gideon needed to know about the wolves. They were far too close for comfort. Dan glanced once more at the samurai, now struggling against the ropes. He had no choice. He couldn’t risk his life.

Dan turned and ran. He had to tell Gideon as quickly as possible. All it would take was a strong wind blowing in the wrong direction, and the wolves would sense the whole party.

Dan ran up the gradual rise until he reached the top of the small hill. There he paused for breath, and then half-ran half-stumbled down the opposite slope. Ana was waiting for him at the bottom.

“What happened?” she asked, worry in her voice as she saw that he was out of breath.

“Wolves,” Dan gasped. “About forty. They moved off to the south.”

“What were they doing?” Ana asked.

“They had some prisoners,” Dan said. “Samurai. They set a fire around them.”

“You mean they are going to burn them alive?” Ana asked, her face more pallid than usual. “Where are they? How many did you get out?”

“None,” Dan said. “I couldn’t go in, Ana. I wouldn’t have gotten past the flames.”

Ana looked at him, her expression quickly turning into one of shock. “You don’t know that,” she said.

“No,” Dan agreed. “But I don’t know that I would have made it, either. I didn’t have a choice, Ana. I had to get back. We have to warn Gideon.”

“You just left them there?” Ana asked. “You just left them to die?”

“I had to,” Dan said. “If I hadn’t made it out, then eventually Gideon would have to send someone else, and by that time the wolves could have slaughtered us all.”

“But they were going to die,” Ana said. “You can’t just leave them!”

Dan was getting annoyed at Ana now. They had to warn Gideon before it was too late. “Look,” he said, “I didn’t want to leave, but I had to. I could have been killed trying to get through that fire.”

“You could have been killed?” Ana exclaimed. She gave Dan a look which clearly said she thought he was out of his mind. Then she took off running up the slope.

“Ana!” Dan called. “Wait!” He ran after her. If the wolves had doubled back, she would be seen. Even if they hadn’t, they were wasting precious time. They had to warn Gideon.

Dan caught up to Ana half way up the hill and grabbed her arm. She tried to pull free. “Let me go!” she cried, struggling against his grip. “There’s still time to save them!”

“No, there isn’t,” Dan said. “We’ve got to warn Gideon. Besides, you would stand even less of a chance of getting through those flames than I would. You have no armor; your clothing would go up instantly.”

Ana rounded on him. “So what?” she said, her voice much louder than Dan would have liked. “So what? Maybe I would get through the fire, maybe I wouldn’t. But I’m not about to give up without trying. Those are people down there, Dan. Lives about to be snuffed out. I’m not going to give up on them because the fire is a little bit hot. Now let me go.” She succeeded in pulling her arm from Dan’s metal grip.

Dan grabbed her again before she could move, spinning her around by the shoulders to face him. “You can’t go down there,” he said. “There’s no time. Don’t you get it? If the wolves smell us or Gideon, it’s all over. For all we know, they might already be attacking the others. We’ve got to get back.”

“Then you go,” Ana said, trying to pull free of Dan. “I’ll save the samurai. You go back to Gideon and tell him how you saved your own skin.”

“Ana!” Dan said indignantly.

Ana seemed to know she had spoken in haste, but Dan saw no regret on her face. “Yes, I mean it,” she said. “Go. I’ll save them.”

“You can’t do that!” Dan said. “What if the wolves come back? What if they’re keeping an eye on the prisoners, just in case they escape?”

“Then I’ll fight them!” Ana said. “I’m a caster, Dan. I can take care of myself. Now go. And don’t try to stop me again.”

She pulled herself away from him a second time and took off up the hill. Dan stood for a moment, irresolute, and then took off after her. It was too risky. If the wolves saw her, they would know there was a force nearby. All it would take was one messenger and Valkrill would know they were coming.

Dan caught up with Ana at the top of the hill, but he need not have worried: she had stopped a short ways down. As Dan approached, she dropped to her knees, watching the fire in the valley below. Dan looked, and saw why:

The fire had enclosed the samurai. They were all on fire, their armor catching easily. Screams and cries of agony echoed up from the valley as the samurai burned. Two, their bonds evidentially burned away, broke from the wall of flame, but they didn’t get far. They stumbled and rolled as the fire continued to lick across their skin. One tried desperately to put it out by rolling, but it was too late: his whole body was consumed in flames. For a full minute the samurai screamed their torture to the skies as the embers ascended to the heavens. Then, one by one, they fell silent. Out of grass to burn, the circle of fire died out, leaving only a blackened piece of ground, and five smoldering corpses. An ill wind picked up the smoke from the remains and blew it towards Dan and Ana, causing their eyes to water, and their mouths to become full of the taste of burned flesh.

As darkness took them once more, Ana turned burning eyes on Dan. “You did this,” she said, her voice trembling. “You killed them.”

“I had no choice,” Dan said.

Ana stood. “Oh, you had every choice,” she said. Dan was surprised by the amount of venom in her voice. “You could have easily saved them all, or at least one, and still had plenty of time to warn Gideon.”

“I don’t know that,” Dan said. “I might have caught fire. Or I might have made it through the first time, but then be unable to go through again, and be stuck inside the ring.”

“Or you could have tried to save them,” Ana said, taking a step towards him, “or at least have seen how hot the fire was. You could have tried to get through it. You could have tried… but you didn’t. Why? Because you could have died. That’s what you told me.”

“It’s true!” Dan said, partially irritated at Ana, but also a bit worried by the quiet anger in her voice.  “What do you want me to say, Ana? That I saved myself? I did! I’m sorry you don’t like it, but there’s too much at stake.”

“Don’t like it?” Ana echoed. “Don’t like it? Can’t you hear yourself Dan? You left five people to die. To die! What if it had been you down there? Would you have been so understanding if I had left you to die?”

That was just illogical. What did it matter what the samurai had thought? That changed nothing. Dan hadn’t wanted to leave them, but he had to, just as anyone else would have had to in his situation. Ana’s reaction was understandable, but it was illogical. They didn’t have time for it.

“Look,” Dan said, trying to assume a calming voice, “you’re not thinking straight. I know you’re upset, but we don’t have time for this right now. We’ve got to warn Gideon.”

“I am thinking perfectly straight!” Ana shouted. “You’re the one who seems to think leaving people to die is fine!”

“Of course it’s not fine,” Dan said, worried that the wolves would hear Ana. “but it was either us or them.”

“You or them, you mean,” Ana said, glaring at Dan.

“Fine,” Dan said, desperate to stop her shouting. “Me or them. I could either have tried to save them, probably died in the process, and then fail to warn Gideon about the wolves, or I could save us all like I’ve been trying to do.”

Ana laughed. It was a cold laugh, an empty laugh, a laugh which, for a moment, made Dan wonder if Laelia was right and Ana really was Mordril after all. “You don’t care about saving us,” she said, her voice cold, “no more than you cared about saving those samurai. I’ve heard enough deathbed confessions to know what kind of person I’m looking at, Dan. And you’re the kind who cares about only one thing: you.”

She spat out the word like it was a curse. It was the way she said it, more than the word itself, which made Dan angry. Who was Ana, to say she knew who he was? She didn’t know a thing about him. She had no idea how he had lived before he came to Valhalla. She knew nothing of his one true goal. And she had the presumption to stand there and tell him that she knew who he was?

“Am I wrong?” Ana spat. “Say you care about others. Say it, and look me in the eye when you do.”

Dan didn’t have to take this. “No,” he said, his own anger rising.

Ana let out another cold laugh. “You don’t even deny it?” she said.

“I don’t have to,” Dan said, his voice rising despite his best efforts to keep it down. “Who are you to judge me? If we listened to your decisions, we’d probably all be dead within a day because we walked into the enemy’s open arms!”

A gust of wind blew more smoke in their faces. Ana mouthed wordlessly at Dan for a moment, and then seemed to lose whatever control she had left. “All you care about is yourself!” she screamed at him, mere inches from his face. Her voice held more shock than anger now, as if she couldn’t believe what she was saying.

‘So?’ Dan thought. His own anger boiling within him, he replied, “You have to! You have to live for yourself just to survive!”

Ana looked murderous. “If you don’t live for others, you’ll never live at all!”

“I’ll never live at all if I do live for others!” Dan shouted back. “You’d have me walk right into that fire and die, wouldn’t you? Am I the only one here with enough common sense to stay alive?”

“Am I the only one here who can recognize the value of a life?” Ana yelled back.

Dan was done with this. “Well maybe my life was more valuable!” he yelled.

Ana slapped him. There was no warning. She simply pulled back and hit him across the face as hard as she could. But then something else happened, something Dan doubted very much Ana had meant to do.

Something else slammed into him, a wave of magic following close behind Ana’s hand. It blasted his whole side with a burning heat, and flung him to the ground, where he lay, his side burning as if on fire.

“Dan!” Ana cried. She dropped to her knees beside him. “I’m sorry!” she said. “It just happened! I didn’t mean to—”

Dan had no doubt that it had been an accident, but he was still angry. He got to his feet as the pain subsided. “If you’re finished yelling for all the wolves to hear,” he said, “we need to warn Gideon and the others. If they aren’t already dead by now, thanks to your stupidity.”

Without waiting for her, Dan turned and went back down the hill, away from the smoking remains of the samurai. He didn’t look back, but heard Ana turn and follow him after a moment. She was completely silent.

“So what did you think?”

Dan looked back. Otonashi was behind him.

“What did you think of your first battle?” she asked.

What did he think? Dan didn’t know. He had killed two drow. How was he supposed to feel? All he knew was that he felt very little at all. The realization felt wrong to him, and yet he was oddly at ease with it. Surely that couldn’t be right. Was something wrong with him?

Gideon had led them all out of the tunnel, and after everyone had been checked over by the healers and healed accordingly, they had set out again, moving quickly now that there was nothing in sight but an endless plain. There was a small cluster of hills they needed to reach before daybreak. They couldn’t stay out in the open.

“What did you think?” Otonashi repeated. They were walking quickly, but she didn’t sound the least bit out of breath.

“I don’t know,” Dan said, a little annoyed at her persistence. “I don’t feel anything, alright?”

“Do you think you’d want to do it again? Kill, I mean?”

“No,” Dan said quickly. It seemed the right thing to say, but he wasn’t sure if it was true. He felt his gun at his side, and knew perfectly well that he would have no second thoughts about using it again.

Otonashi was silent, but Dan sensed she knew what he had been thinking. “All the great warriors,” she said, “the ones who really make it, the ones who everyone fears… they feel at home in battle. They don’t necessarily relish it, but they aren’t repulsed by it, either. They just… belong there. Do you think you belong there, Dan? In battle?”

It was Dan’s turn to be silent. Did he belong in battle? Now that he thought about it, it actually made sense. He knew perfectly well that he was constantly seeking something new, something different every second. What else could constantly change other than battle? Was that Dan’s horizon? It couldn’t be though. Right?

“I… I don’t know,” Dan said.

“Don’t worry,” Otonashi said, in a comforting tone Dan would never have expected from her. “Sometimes it takes a few battles to know where you belong. The important thing is to stay in control. Once your emotions take over, then there’s no telling where you’ll end up.”

“You speaking from experience?” Dan guessed.

Otonashi took her time in replying. “Maybe,” she said quietly. “But it’s true; just look at Jaseff.”

Dan glanced at Jaseff, who was walking a ways in front of them, head bowed, Trela close by his side. “What about him?” Dan asked.

“You saw what he did when the fighting broke out,” Otonashi said. “He fears battle, but instead of controlling his fear, he let it rule him. That’s the mark of a coward.”

“I’m not a coward,” Jaseff said.

Dan looked up. He hadn’t noticed Jaseff slow, allowing himself to drift closer to them. He now walked beside them.

“I don’t say it to hurt you,” Otonashi said, again in that surprisingly comforting tone. Dan felt that she meant it.

“I’m not a coward,” Jaseff muttered.

“Then you should stand up in a fight,” Otonashi said, her voice still gentle. “Watch those about you, channel their emotions, not your own fear.”

“Easier said than done,” Jaseff said. “Fear is all I have.”

Both Dan and Otonashi were silent. Dan knew there was more Jaseff could say.

“It’s all I’ve ever had,” Jaseff finally said. “It kept me alive. If there was a threat, you ran. Simple as that. I’ve listened to it all my life. Trying to control it now is like trying to stop breathing. It’s too late.”

“It’s never too late,” Dan said, surprising himself. “You can control it, trust me.” He remembered his own obsession with escaping, and how, with Heleer’s help, he had eventually subdued it. At least temporarily. He wouldn’t tell Jaseff about that part.

Jaseff shook his head. “I’ve tried,” he said. “I’ve been trying for years. I just wish I could be more like Trela. She jumps right into a battle. She isn’t afraid of anything.”

“Of course she is,” Otonashi said calmly. “The fear in battle is what keeps us alive. Otherwise we would all charge in and be killed within a second.”

“Maybe,” said Jaseff, “but if she is afraid, she never shows it. And neither does anyone else. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t even be on this mission. I probably wouldn’t even be in Jandar’s army for that matter.”

“What do you mean?” Dan asked.

“I probably would have run away by now,” Jaseff said, sounding disgusted with himself. “Found a hole to hide in until the war was over. Without Trela, I wouldn’t be able to face anything.”

“Jandar must have summoned you for a reason,” Otonashi said. “He must have seen something in you.”

“Whatever he saw died off a long time ago,” Jaseff said. “Leave it, Otonashi. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but it’s not going to work.”

Otonashi was silent for a moment, and then sped up to the front of the line, where she resumed her normal pace, alone.

“What would you do if you went back?” Dan asked Jaseff. “If Jandar sent you back to Toril? Away from this war?”

“There’s war on Toril too,” Jaseff said. “We’re always fighting the drow and their allies.”

“The war can’t be everywhere though,” Dan reasoned. “What if you didn’t have to fight?”

Jaseff looked up after a moment. “Then I would have everything I wanted. Trela wouldn’t though. She needs this. She won’t admit it, but she needs action, something to struggle against. I don’t.” He sighed. “But there’s no point in talking about it. I’m never going back. None of us are.”

“Why not?” Dan asked quickly.

Jaseff shrugged. “They’ve tried before,” he said. “The other Valkyrie have tried sending people back through the wellsprings, but they can’t do it, not without all of the amulets. Ullar’s failed at least twenty times.”

“What happens when they try?”

“Usually nothing. Once an elf was teleported into the middle of Utgar’s territory – an accident Einar is interested in replicating with an army – but that’s it. This war is no closer to ending than when it began, so we’ll be stuck here for a long time. Probably the rest of our lives.”

Dan wanted to tell Jaseff how close the end of the war really was – if for no other reason than to give him some hope – but he knew he couldn’t. So he said nothing.

They walked on in silence. So the other Valkyrie had tried to use the wellsprings to send people back. That was more than Vydar had done, at least as far as Dan knew. That didn’t help him, however. He was set on his path now. Vydar had been right: he could either help him end the war and hope he honored his promise, or betray what he knew, and prolong it with no end in sight. Dan was stuck now.

The hills they were making for came into view just as Dan noticed that the sky was lightening ever so slowly. They still had a good hour before dawn, but they would have to hurry. Gideon seemed to know it, for he urged them on with greater speed.

As they walked, Dan noticed that Laelia wasn’t as talkative as she usually was. In the forest, she had gone from person to person, often (as far as Dan could tell, since he could hear only a few words) with the result of an argument. He had thought she rather enjoyed it.

But now, she was walking beside Gideon, completely silent, without looking up. She was slumped forwards, and didn’t at all look like her usual self.

Gideon seemed to sense something was off. He put his arm around Laelia and said something Dan couldn’t hear. However, Laelia only shook her head, and shrugged Gideon’s arm away.

“What’s wrong with her?” Dan asked Jaseff, nodding towards Laelia.

“Depressed,” Jaseff said.

“Why?” Dan asked blankly.

“She wanted to kill Caius herself. Now that Gideon killed him for her… she’s been building up to this for years. I knew her well. She had become obsessed with it. Killing him had become her one great goal. Now it’s been denied her, so…”

“But,” Dan said, “Caius is still dead. Why would it matter who did it?”

Jaseff scratched his head. “All I have is theories,” he said, looking sideways at Dan.

Dan spread his palms. “All I have is time.”

“Well,” Jaseff said, “you remember how she said Caius raided the village she lived in?”

Dan nodded.

“Trela and I were in Lindesfarme at the time, and we were sent in as healers. A lot of Laelia’s family was wounded – in one way or another – and her father, Crixus, had it the worst of all. Einar even called Ana in to try and save him, but there was hardly anything she could do.

“While I was there, trying to keep Crixus alive, I couldn’t help but overhear what else was going on. I’m not sure exactly how, but Laelia’s mother had apparently been put down her whole life, told she would amount to nothing, that kind of thing. When she was summoned, she made something out of herself, and helped Einar’s cause more than once. So, naturally, she tried to instill what she had learned on her daughter.

“With her father barely able to eat, Laelia was going through a dark time. In the raid, Caius had done more than injure or kill everyone she cared about; he had stolen her family’s wealth. They were left with nothing. The only reason they had a roof over their heads at all was because Gideon’s mother let them live with her.

“Laelia knew she would have to join the war to support her mother, but she was convinced she would be turned down, thinking she wasn’t good enough. So, naturally, her mother did what she had always done, and told her the opposite: that she could be just as good as anyone else, better even.

“I think,” Jaseff paused a moment. “I think that’s why she had to kill Caius herself. Caius was the one who had destroyed her life. If she could destroy his life, then I think she would see herself as better than him. As more capable. And I think she needs to see herself that way. I think what her mother said had the wrong effect: by telling her that she could be as good as anyone else, I think it implied that she didn’t start that way, and now Laelia feels like she has to always prove herself. That’s why she won’t let anyone help her with anything. That’s why she had to support her mother herself. And I think that’s why she had to kill Caius herself. And now that Gideon both robbed her of that opportunity and saved her life in the process… you get the idea.”

Dan watched Laelia up ahead, walking slowly despite Gideon’s urgings. Was Jaseff right? Had killing Caius been Laelia’s one goal, the one thing she was aiming for? Had it been her own horizon? Dan saw her in a new light. If what Jaseff said was true, then he was looking at someone who had tried to reach their horizon, and had failed.

What if that happened to him? What if he never reached his horizon?