The moods and attitudes around the table covered a wide spectrum. Samson Bleedingheart, for one, sat nervously, his arms by his side and his dinner plate light. He nibbled here and there, and while it was all delicious, he was much too unnerved to eat. The metal coin with the bleedingheart image sat beside a warm mug of cider. He stared at it to keep from staring at anyone else.

  Maribel was in a similar position, but her quiet and meek personage did not seem to be out of discomfort or being out of place, but rather one of shame.

  Chief Maplegrove and Petra were comfortable enough at the table. Corrine sat at the head of the table, vollying conversations between the druid leader and the barbarian goddess and the three would laugh in their three different ways. Chief Maplegrove giggled softly from behind a handkerchief, Corrine cackled, doubled over the table, and Petra threw her head back and guffawed.

  Wesley watched with eager eyes, studying the women at the table while at once liberally enjoying his meal. He would lean forward from beside his mother and glance eagerly at Sam to check on the paladin, then go back to listening.

  The fanged folk, Robin, was doing well for himself. In fact, had he not told Sam personally he had no idea what was happening or where they were, Sam would have thought he lived here. He spun around in his chair, firing off conversation starters to everyone at the table, giving attention to everyone he could. The man knew how to socialize.

  The pirate queen Zora would probe into the conversation from time to time as well. She would throw herself around the table and gesture wildly as she did whenever she did speak, all the while glancing over to Cayd, who was sitting, plate empty, smoldering in fury.

  “Look, are we done messing around? If this is as serious as you all seem to think it is, maybe it is time we get on it?” Cayd finally snarled, bringing the joviality to a screeching and harsh halt.

  Corrine glared at the Gavundari. “You know damn good and well we have plenty of time.”

  “Do we, though?” Maribel asked.

  Corrine smiled sweetly. “Of course. You’re sitting in my plane, lodged right between the physical and divinel. We are perpendicular to the moment I picked each of you up. Kaitlyn won’t take a single step while we are here.”

  “Who are you?” Sam asked. “If I may…” he added, catching himself sounding rather rude.

  “She’s a reality warping goddess who has kidnapped us,” Cayd explained for her. “Someone who has never been able to resist sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Are you all done eating?”

  “I mean,” Robin began, looking at the spread. “The dishes keep refilling. So I think it’s a bit of an uphill battle.”

  “Exactly. So can we move on?”

  Corrine mocked shock and despair. “Forgive an old woman for trying to keep her home warm and lively. I am so sorry my generosity has inconvenienced you so, Minister.”

  “Why does she keep calling you ‘Minister,’ Cayd?” Zora asked, turning to look him in the eye.

  “Because she likes to dig around in old wounds,” Cayd replied.

  “You have quite the mouth for a mortal,” Petra remarked, her eyebrow cocking.

  “I feel I have earned it, Daughter of Winter.”

  Zora, still looking at Cayd, unsatisfied by his answer, shifted to look at Petra. “He did try to hold the God of the Ocean hostage by using Solana. He’s a crafty ass.”

  Petra smiled. “Probably why the Hag invited him?”

  “Exactly,” Corrine said with a wild grin. “Of course, his expertise in magic is also somewhat valuable. Emphasis on the somewhat.” Corrine waved her hand and dishes began to vanish, one by one. “But the Minister says it is time to work, so work we shall.”

  Wesley snagged one last roll before the basket disappeared and asked “what are we working on? And what can we do?”

  “Well,” Chief Maplegrove began, scooting herself closer to the table. “We are all well aware of the ascension of Dorvan the Wroth. The conflagration that consumed three of The March’s largest cities.”

  There were nods of understanding from around the table as each of them braced themselves. Dorvan and the Wrath Liches had impacted the lives of everyone on The March in one way or another. And never for the better.

  “His ascension and the death it caused has left a black mark on godhood in our society. A society that was already far removed from the Heroic Age of Gavundar.”

  “What’s that, Chief?” Zora asked.

  “The Heroic Age is what we call the period where Gavundar’s first king, Sandral Gavund, consolidated the Gavundari communities into his empire. Just so happened the world was a mess all over,” Cayd answered. “More mortals ascended to godhood at that period than any other in world history.”

  “Including my father,” Petra added.

  “And our first Mortal Chief,” Wesley said, looking to his mother who nodded in confirmation.

  “But few others on the continent of Talnorel ascended.”

  “Well, not many mortals can be trusted to ascend,” Sam said. “At least, that’s what the Church of the Will feels. No one can match the purpose and will of the elder gods.”

  “So says the Church of the Will,” Corrine scoffed. “I mean no disrespect, Corporal and Sister. Only that the concept is misguided. There are two aspects of mortal ascension that are present in an individual before they can become divine.

  “The first is the Light of Greatness. Some feature in them that just makes them more than the average mortal. Who knows how it gets there. But once it’s there, it’s there.

  “The second is the Great Deed. The mortal has to do something profound. Whether it’s profoundly good or profoundly evil, that does not matter.”

  “What does this have to do with the pillar of smoke?” Petra asked. “I mean, I can guess someone is ascending, but why the lesson?”

  “Someone is ascending,” Sister Maribel confirmed. “Her name is Kaitlyn Carpenter and she is a red magic user, an Earth Nomad. For those of you familiar with the theft of the Halcyon Band and its use in an attack on The Throne a few months back, she was intimately involved in those events.”

  “She is a powerful shaman,” Sam said. “I fought her in Happfield Chapel. I mean, I had never seen a shaman before. But she was able to command the stone without toppling the whole building. I always learned shamans had issues maintaining control over their powers. She had precision.”

  “You were taught right,” Robin said with a nod. “Our powers come from emotion. Can you control your emotions well?”

  Sam looked at Robin, unsure if he should answer or not. After an awkward beat, Robin laughed.

  “Okay, bad question to ask a stranger. Sorry. But yeah, people are not good at controlling their emotions. Seems she is, though.”

  “Which makes this situation that much more volatile,” Chief Maplegrove said.

  “I have discussed with Corrine Kaitlyn’s current status. Her ascension is not complete,” Maribel said.

  “I assume she has not done her great deed?” Wesley suggested.

  “She may have,” Robin replied. “She struck Kraag’s shell and hurt him pretty badly.”

  “So it was true?” Zora asked, shocked.

  “Did you hear the roar? It happened.” Robin’s mood fell hard at those words.

  “She also murdered her entire nomad tribe,” Maribel added.

  “So what’s the hold up? Why hasn’t she ascended?” Cayd asked, his tone softening as he learned more.

  “I don’t want her to just yet,” Corrine said frankly.

  “Dorvan’s ascension has poisoned our views toward mortal deities,” Chief Maplegrove said. “Between the Warchief in Gavundar and the Halcyon Band, and now Kaitlyn herself, we are looking at shifting tides.”

  “Warchief?” Petra asked, her attention grabbed by the title.

  “We will not discuss him here,” Cayd said. He was not overly harsh, but just stern.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “The Minister is right,” Corrine agreed. “We are here for the shaman.”

  “My apologies, Corrine,” the Chief bowed her head.

  “Of course, dear. No trouble at all. You are very right in understanding that things are shifting. Possibly toward a second Heroic Age.”

  “So why not just let Kaitlyn ascend?” Petra shrugged. “Get started off with a bang?”

  “That’s probably what we don’t want,” Wesley guessed. “Another Dorvan? Our second Heroic Age is going to look like a march of villains.”

  “That’s exactly it,” Corrine said.

  “So what is the plan?” Zora asked. “We’re going to go to an after dinner assassination of a demigod? That’s a little morbid, Corrine.”

  Corrine laughed. “I suggested as much! But the Chief and the Speaker told me they would rather not.” There was an air of sarcasm to her voice that muddied the intent.

  “I think that if we can spin this situation, we could win back the idea of mortal ascensions.” Robin looked around the table. “If we can quarantine Kaitlyn somehow, get her into a safe, sterile place, we can allow her to ascend peacefully and positively.”

  “Kaitlyn isn’t a bad person,” Sam said. “I spent two weeks with her. She cares about people, and feels guilty for the things she has done in Matthew’s name.”

  “And Dorvan thinks he understands the key to human destiny,” Petra said to him. “He’s not a bad person, just a risk taker before he ascended.”

  “How do you know?” Sam asked, offended at her downplaying the most modern mass murderer in history.

  “I’ve met him, Bleedingheart. Have you?”

  Sam looked away, embarrassed, but Corrine continued without him.

  “Petra is not off base. When the ascension happens, the mortal becomes greater than they are in every way. Including mood and emotion. If Kaitlyn ascends with rage enough to harm Kraag, that rage will be multiplied. And we can not abide that or we will be looking at another three Scorched Cities.”

  “Which three?” Zora asked in morbid curiosity.

  “She’s headed straight for The Throne,” Maribel said.

  “Robin, you said Quarantine. We could use the Verdant Stage,” Wesley suggested.

  “That is precisely what I thought we could do,” the Chief said. “She is not trained in green magic, but we could guide her.”

  “You would need the best druids in the world,” Cayd remarked.

  “And we have them,” Wesley said before his mother could. “Talnorel, as well.”

  “Talnorel will not be helping,” Corrine said. “Just as Kraag will not either. Just as neither did during the first Talnorel Alliance. You all are on your own.”

  “This is good news!” Petra said with excitement, triggering looks of shock or confusion from around the room. “Oh. I made a bad contract for this avatar. That I would not abandon my tribe until they were safe. I saw a woman made of lava in a vision.”

  “You did?” Corrine asked her.

  “She was coming across Bridgefort, burning everything she walked over.”

  “Sounds like her to me,” Robin remarked.

  “How are you going to trap a lava woman on the Verdant Stage? One who has never used green magic in her life? I don’t buy visions too often, but if Winter’s Daughter’s dreams are accurate, this woman is a little more than just an angry warlord.” Cayd looked around the table to get his answer.

  “We will be using Kraag’s Host. The wounding of the god has awoken something in my people that I’ve never seen before. Talking about our magic tied to emotion? This is probably as emotional as any of us will ever be. Shamans from Kraag’s Host and druids from the Verdant Grove will work together to get her isolated.”

  “And you will have a goddess of ice. But what will this little paladin do?” Petra asked, gripping Sam’s shoulder.

  “Since you asked, Petra,” Corrine began. “We need someone to buffer the Church of the Will.”

  “Sam’s not good at that one,” Petra remarked.

  “So you will help him. Maribel here has done her best to slow the flow of information north, but she has bad news.”

  “Sam, they’re calling an Inquisition,” Maribel explained.

  “Damn it. When?”

  “The bell in Elmsmith Chapel will ring, activating them, as soon as you leave my cottage.”

  “So what am I supposed to do, talk to them? Tell them not to do their job?” Sam asked.

  “The legacy of Kaitlyn Carpenter is at risk, Corporal,” Chief Maplegrove said. “We will be focused on containing the demigoddess. If the Inquisition arrives on the scene, there is no telling how things could play out.”

  “Why don’t we let them handle it?” Zora asked. “They just wait for shit like this to happen, don’t they?”

  “The Church of the Will maintains a chip on its shoulder for failing with Dorvan. They waited to send in an Inquisition to break up the Wrath Liches and they blame themselves for letting the cult grow large enough to create the Scorched Cities.” Maribel shook her head. “They vowed to never let a situation like that get this far. If the Inquisition gets to Kaitlyn, they will kill her. They will use the murder to defame the nomads and Kraag’s Host as failing to prevent a second Dorvan, and you will be looking at a new dark age.”

  Sam sighed heavily. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “But at least you’ll have me to help you do it,” Petra said, punching his arm.

  “You said Elmsmith?” Wesley asked. “We left from Sam’s house.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Corrine said, waving. “An easy fix.”

  “So,” Cayd began. “Why am I here?”

  “We simply wanted input from a blue magic expert,” Chief Maplegrove answered. “Do you think a plan of quarantining Kaitlyn could work?”

  “Honestly? I have no idea.”

  “Great, big help,” Zora groaned.

  “Why do you even care? Dealing with this isn’t going to get you back to your ship any faster.”

  Zora thought for a moment. “I don’t know. Just seems wrong to let some lady get murdered by the church, or to let her blow up The Throne.”

  “Rich, from the woman who wanted to bomb Dawnbreak.”

  “Cayd, you do not know the first thing about my Dawnbreak siege, and you evidently don’t know the first thing about how to deal with this Talnorel Alliance stuff.”

  “I’m not from here,” Cayd remarked. “I could care less what happens to your Throne or your goddesses.”

  “What is wrong with you?” Petra asked, rising from her chair. “You have been invited by this goddess to participate in making history and you offend her with every sentence.”

  “Because this goddess turned her back on Gavundar. Three times.”

  “That is not true and you know that,” Corrine said with the tone of someone who has had to say it far too many times.

  “Corrine may be kind enough to abide your disrespect, but I am not,” Petra warned Cayd.

  “A young goddess’s first avatar? Doubt you even understand what you are truly capable of. Your father would make me nervous. You hardly impress me.”

  “Now that is enough bravado, Cayd. Petra, please be seated.” Corrine stood and began making her way to the doorway into the house’s foyer. “Answer Chief Maplegrove and the Speaker’s question so I can remove you from this house.”

  Cayd took a deep breath. “Winter’s Daughter, I apologize. I was out of line.” He turned to Robin and the Chief. “You mentioned a sterile environment, that is key, I would think. She can command red magic enough to harm Kraag? You will need shamans on hand to keep her from reaching out the earth around wherever you contain her. And druids as well to keep the Verdant Stage strong enough to contain her. If you have the people with the skills to keep her from breaking the seals, you should have all the time in the world to calm her down. If she can still be reasoned with, that is.”

  Petra was still standing, staring Cayd down.

  “Petra,” Sam said to her. “He… uh… He apologized.”

  “I heard him.”

  “Look, I think we got all we needed. Chief, I suppose you will be going back to the Grove and meeting us soon?” Robin asked, standing from his seat.

  “I will be moving to a Grove nearer to Kaitlyn’s current location. One that has not been turned to the Overgrowth. It will be risky to reach my druids considering the issues we currently have with one of our turncoat resources, but the risk will be worth it.”

  “I understand,” Robin said with a nod. “I will see you soon, then. It was nice to meet all of you. Cayd, Zora? Corrine will be letting us out by Kraag’s host.”

  “What?” Zora asked. “But we were in Crossroads.”

  “Right, but I have it on good authority that someone wants to meet you, Zora,” Corrine replied. “It’s time for you all to be leaving, though. Forgive my rushing you out, Robin, Zora. But Cayd must leave.”

  “Gladly,” Cayd said. “Sorry you all had to see me like this.”

  Corrine led the trio to the door and guided them all out, shutting the door behind them and sighing.

  “Corrine,” Petra said softly. “I’m sorry I got so heated.”

  “Do not worry, Winter’s Daughter. Minister Zahid is one of the greatest men on this world. I would not have brought him here if I thought his input was not useful.”

  “Was it, though?” Wesley asked.

  “He just griped and then agreed with us,” Maribel added.

  “True, but he is also aware now of what we are up against. Trust me when I say that we are all better with Cayd passively on our side than actively against us. Petra, Samson? We are now in Elmsmith. This is where I will ask you to leave.”

  “I will go with you,” Wesley said, standing as well.

  “Are you sure? I would rather you be with me,” Chief Maplegrove said. “With Gideon looking for you, you would be safer.”

  Wesley looked at Petra and Sam as they prepared to leave. “I’ll be safe with them, too, mother.”

  “We'd love to have you, Wes!” Petra said cheerfully. “At least I’d have one not dragging his feet whenever I want to do the right thing.”

  “Yeah, thanks Petra.”

  Corrine smiled as she watched them gather by the door. “When you step outside, the Inquisition’s chime will toll. You all are on paths in this world’s history. When the bells ring, turning back will be nearly impossible.

  “I think I’m okay with that,” Wesley said, looking at his friends.

  “Honestly, I'm more worried about Mister Bleedingheart,” the goddess said with a sly grin. “Good luck to you three.”

  The trio stepped out of the cottage, thanking Corrine for the meal as the low toll of a bell rang through the cottage. Corrine shut the door behind them and turned to look at Maplegrove and Maribel.

  “Godmaker, you seem tired,” Chief Maplegrove said softly.

  “It’s been a very busy few months, Chief!”