Glancing across his office, he noted the look of amusement in the Grandmaster’s eyes as he watched him sit down. Commander Dahl sank into his chair, exhausted by the day he’d been having. Apparently, the man found it quite funny to force him to sit at the general’s desk while actually being the one in charge of their little meeting.

  ‘I’m too tired to be intimidated right now. Or maybe I’m just getting used to his presence. Either way, let’s just get this over with,’ he thought to himself.

  “Alright, Sir. The privacy wards are engaged. What can I do for you?” he asked.

  Still smirking, the Grandmaster began pacing across the room while pretending to examine the art on the walls with exaggerated interest. “With the dwarven Battleborns having arrived, I’d like to hear an update on the current intelligence concerning what’s going on in the mountain… along with a few related matters outside it.”

  Commander Dahl didn’t bother thinking about the ‘why’ behind the question. He was honestly too busy to worry about what game the Grandmaster was playing at the moment. Instead, he intended to answer the man’s question as succinctly as possible. If he were really lucky, he’d be able to get out of this meeting without being assigned another problem to deal with.

  “I’ll assume you mean the events occurring in the upper city,” he replied before beginning his report as professionally as possible. “After receiving word about the attempt to reach the ritual site before the kobalds activate their portal, we began monitoring the situation as best we could. Unfortunately, we’ve mostly lost contact with the forces from House Walker who’ve pushed through the blockade in their efforts to get to the former throne room. But, we’re at least still getting updates from the army divisions which have been pressuring the kobald encampments. Losses have been minimal, and progress is being made to whittle down the enemy’s numbers.”

  Mentally connecting with his link, he began reviewing the reports he’d received before continuing. “While our mages along with the Tower of Magic haven't been able to monitor the floors around the ritual site, we’re been able to reci-”

  Interrupting him, the Grandmaster chuckled and asked, “Even with those costly upgrades to the scrying arrays, they still can’t pierce the kobald’s illusions?”

  Sighing in exasperation, Commander Dahl replied, “It’s not a matter of the kobald’s illusions. It’s the ethereal instability that is the problem. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told by the mages who’ve been tasked with monitoring them.”

  Seeing as the Grandmaster responded to the news with a half-hearted shrug and a gesture for him to continue, Commander Dahl resumed his report. “The good news is that we were able to embed some troops with communications orbs along with House Walker’s forces, so we have some idea of what is happening.”

  The Grandmaster nodded in apparent appreciation of the commander’s foresight while asking, “So you’re aware that the portal has been activated.”

  Quickly replying, Commander Dahl said, “And promptly closed. Although we’re receiving conflicting reports concerning exactly how that happened.”

  The Grandmaster stopped pacing to stare at the Commander while asking with interest, “Conflicting how?”

  Commander Dahl replied, “Well, the three agents who successfully reported in all mentioned different accounts. One believed that the portal closed itself before cutting off communications when the dwarves arrived. Another claimed that Lord Walker sacrificed himself to close the portal and was reborn in the light of the gods for his sacrifice. Considering the source for that report is a cleric, the analysts are understandingly skeptical. And for the last, they claimed that either ‘flying dwarven mages’ or ‘Invisible Populators’ of all things were responsible for what happened. Although the last seems the least likely since there aren’t any Populators in the city.”

  Noticing the condescending smirk on the Grandmaster’s face, Commander Dahl made a note to check the transport logs after the man left. It wasn’t inconceivable for Populators to have arrived without alerting anyone. Unlikely, but not impossible.

  ‘That’s just great. I’m sure they won’t be causing another headache for me to deal with,’ he thought sarcastically to himself.

  Tapping his fingers on the desk in thought, Commander Dahl set the matter of the Populators aside and returned to what he’d been saying, “The only thing everyone agreed on was that the portal had been closed. And until we manage to push through the blockades to recover House Walker’s forces, that’s likely all we’ll know for sure. That is unless Lady Verena's claims are true, and that our resident archmage has abducted Lord Walker from the battlefield and commandeered a Center Research lab to examine him on the grounds that he is now, of all things, a planar invader.”

  Smiling as if he was holding back a secret, the Grandmaster replied, “Oh, that sounds interesting. What else has Lady Verena been up to?”

  Running a hand through his hair, Commander Dahl leaned back in his chair and replied, “Too much, Sir. And none of it makes any sense. Through intermediaries, she filed a formal accusation concerning Lord Walker’s apparent illegal use of soul magic. She barely tried to hide her inv -”

  The Grandmaster interrupted him by asking, “I thought that matter had already been settled. I specifically remember discussing it with the Council of Leadership during our former general’s last days in office. I believed the evaluators from the Royal Academy made it clear that what Lord Walker was doing wasn’t soul magic.”

  Commander Dahl nodded. “It had. Or I’d thought it had. But, apparently, that hadn’t been a formal inquiry, or at least not enough of one for it to matter to the Tower of Law to state it for the record. For some reason, Lady Verena pushed for a formal investigation. She did it through a third party, but we know for a fact that it came from her. For whatever reason, she then pretended to find out about the investigation and offered to personally collect a team from the military arm of the Tower of Law to go and confront Lord Walker directly over the matter. Which, of course, makes no sense because as far as we know he’s still with his house’s forces in the mountain. She claimed that if they went with her, they’d be able to hear a first-hand account of what transpired in the upper city’s fight for the throne room and that all of their questions would be answered.”

  The Grandmaster smiled, “Perhaps her claims of Lord Walker having been abducted were true.”

  Resuming his pacing, the Grandmaster let the matter drop by asking, “Anything else?”

  Confused, Commander Dahl replied, “Before today? A great deal. For example, our counterparts with the guard have been trying to follow her movements and have reported that she’s been working with those former evaluators you mentioned. As you probably know, they’ve formally joined House Walker and left the Academy for some reason. Nobody is sure why, but there are plenty of theories being offered by the analysts who have been following the situation. Regardless, they’ve been seen meeting with her all over the city and doing… something. Nobody seems to have any idea for sure what that something is. Interestingly, the only two guards who’ve gotten close to figuring out what they’ve been doing have begun showing signs of possibly being compromised.”

  Chuckling, the Grandmaster asked, “Compromised how?”

  Using his link to look up the report he’d remembered reading, Commander Dahl replied, “Well, for one thing, both of them have stopped all of the extracurricular activities that they used to enjoy and found meaning in. No more going out for drinks with their friends or participating in the arena clubs they used to be a part of. Oddly, they both said the same thing to everyone they knew when they were questioned about it, ‘I’ve begun walking my path again’. One of them even ended his relationships with the two women he’d been seeing. And that’s not all. They’ve also both signed up for classes at their local Centers in their off time. ‘Reevaluating your Path’ and ‘Meditative Introspection’ were the class titles. Same classes, different Centers. In short, a complete change of personality over the past few weeks with concerning similarities in their behavior.”

  Seeing the look of surprise on the Grandmaster’s face, Commander Dahl continued, “I know, it doesn’t make any sense. But since their superiors consider the changes a net positive, they have no justifiable reason to press them about it. Both guards are still filing their reports, and seeming to do their jobs… they’ve just changed and their investigations which had looked so promising have been stalled.”

  Leaning forward over his desk to rest on his elbows, Commander Dahl went on to say, “Regardless, going back to the subject of what Lady Verena has been up to today… over the past thirty minutes or so she’s done more than just accuse Lord Walker of illegal soul magic. She’s also had House Verena’s lawbinders file half a dozen proactive defense motions against possible charges ranging from illegal business practices to abuse of his retainers on the grounds of inhumane training practices. None of them are in response to any investigations the Tower of Law has pending, and all of them have been exhaustive in their detail. She and her people must have been working on them for a while. She’s been quite busy. For the past hour, I’ve been receiving all manner of reports about her. Do you have any insight as to what’s going on with her?”

  Looking somewhat shocked, the Grandmaster muttered to himself as if he hadn’t heard the commander’s question, “Is she trying to protect him or condemn him? She and her husband just joined their house to House Walker. What game is she playing, and who is her opponent?”

  Shrugging his shoulders while rolling his eyes, Commander Dahl replied to Grandmaster’s rhetorical questions, “The analysts have no idea, and nor do I. While I’m sure it matters, I just don’t have the time to worry about it at the moment. The fact of the matter is, the portal is down, we have teams in the field fighting the kobalds who are in need of support, and the enemy is no longer going to be getting reinforcements. We have a real chance to clear out the upper city and secure our rear for when we head down into the deeper floors. That’s all I care about right now.”

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Nodding in understanding, the Grandmaster replied with a fond smile, “You’re absolutely correct, of course. Leave the politics to the politicians. Stay aware of what’s happening, but don’t let yourself get distracted. Keep up that focus, and you’ll be keeping that chair, Temporary General Dahl.”

  —--

  Now maybe it was the way Nero had been describing recent events, or possibly it was late enough in the day that the man was feeling angry because he’d missed out on lunch or something… but whatever the reason, Nero could tell the man was on the brink of losing it. His face was red and his hands were clenched tight enough to turn his knuckles white. Nero could just tell the man was struggling to stop himself from standing up and shouting at him for ‘being difficult’.

  Visibly restraining himself, the man asked through gritted teeth, “Reports have come in stating that you died before reconstituting yourself out of raw essence. If you would, could you please elaborate on those claims?.”

  Before Nero could reply in a manner that finally broke the poor man, Vera leaned forward in her chair and said, “Those reports were given to you by me. Had I not done so, you’d still have no idea what occurred. As for the specifics of how Lord Walker was able to reconstitute himself, that is immaterial to the report which you requested.”

  The man turned his glare to Vera and said, “As the Tower of Law’s military liaison, I was assured, by you, that I would be getting all my questions answered if we came with you.”

  Her expression blank, Vera replied, “And you have. You and the military wanted to know what happened with the portal, and now you have something to tell them. Concerning Lord Walker’s abilities, they fall under the accords regulating the treatment of uniques and are not germane to the status of the portal or any threat to Dorchester whatsoever. By Lord Walker’s own testimony, you can see that everything I reported to you on behalf of House Walker was true and that the portal can be confirmed as closed. You can tell Commander Dahl that he is free to send as many troops as he wants into the upper city knowing that the enemy will be receiving no reinforcements. I’m sure the heroes of House Walker will appreciate it.”

  Archmage Jennings helpfully added, “I can confirm that as well. The portal being closed, that is. I suspect now that the link to the other plane has been cut off, and the ritual has been taken care of, the Tower of Magic will soon be able to scry the area without issue. Likely within the next 15 to 30 hours, the essence in the area will stabilize enough for them to get through.”

  Waving his hand as if it were an afterthought, he brought up a hologram which began showing the battle from the perspective of a scry. “As I said, I recorded the entire engagement. And now that the matter has been handled locally, and in my capacity as the head of the council of mages, I am of the opinion that there is no reasonable threat to your city's path by you having access to it. So, feel free to watch it until you are satisfied. But, that being said, I also believe that it’s now past time for this meeting to be over.”

  Without another word, the archmage offered Vera a nod before standing up and straightening his robes. Not understanding what was happening, but enjoying it nonetheless, Nero watched as Vera stood up as well, followed quickly by all of the people who were wearing House Walker’s colors. Even Nick hopped to his feet and began getting ready to leave.

  As a final parting gift, Archmage Jennings said to the stunned investigator, “I’ve already sent copies of this recording to your superiors in the Tower of Law along with the city’s central command for the military. The recording here will continue to play on repeat for as long as you stay in the room. I’m sure you’ll find it as exciting as I did when I watched it happen. So, enjoy. And, lastly, again for the record, I commend you all for your service and dedication to your city.”

  Nero watched them all file out of the conference room while the horrific memory of what he and the Wackos had gone through played out like a movie on the hologram hovering over the table in front of him. While the people from the Tower of Law were currently distracted by what they were seeing, Nero pulled his eyes away from the uncomfortable sight and stood up himself.

  He rushed toward the door, not wanting to be left behind. His haste had nothing to do with him not wanting to watch how poorly the battle had gone for the people he’d been fighting alongside for the past week, or how many lives had been lost. He was sure the guilt he was feeling was simply indigestion or possibly the after-effects from all the testing Jennings had put him through.

  Outside of the conference room and back in the lab, Nero was surprised to see the archmage chatting so congenially with Vera as if they’d been old friends for years. In between them stood Nick, watching the byplay like a disgustingly pleased parent seeing his wife and best friend getting along. The sight was so confusing that Nero couldn’t muster up the brainpower to be jealous.

  “I don’t think he’ll be a problem, although you never know. While I can’t be certain, if he is who I think he is, then you can expect his next move would be to get the Academy involved. However, even if he succeeds, I doubt very much will come of it. By getting Nero’s identity verified in the presence of both myself and the locals, everything should turn out fine,” he said supportively, his voice sounding uncharacteristically charming.

  Vera nodded in understanding before replying, “I can’t thank you enough for contacting me. Without your help, this could have all gone very differently.”

  Nick, who’d been patiently watching them talk, added, “What are we going to do about the dwarves? Without the Populators to hold them back, they might be a problem.”

  Vera replied quickly, “We’ll have to send an emissary to their new city immediately. The king appreciated Lord Walker transferring their mountain to them despite the city’s interference, so I doubt he’ll stand aside and let them do whatever they want. Dwarves are known to be honorable when personal relationships like this are involved.”

  The archmage agreed, “That’s true. Regardless of what Nero’s ability to close portals could do for them as a people, the king won’t do anything drastic. He’ll try diplomacy first. In fact, I doubt he’ll go through the city and instead try to contact Nero directly. By the time you send your emissary, whoever he sent would probably already be on their way. I’d hold off for now and just wait for him to contact you.”

  While standing around with the lawyers from House Walker, Nero was feeling more than a little bit out of the loop watching Vera, Jennings, and Nick all talk about things he didn’t fully understand. Not having anything to contribute, he’d kept his mouth shut and listened closely.

  However, by this point, he’d pieced one or two things together. For one, Jennings had been in on whatever Vera had done to stop the Populators from taking him. And two… well that’s it. That’s all he’d figured out so far. He didn’t know what they were talking about the Academy, or the dwarves, or what the hell had just happened in the conference room. All he knew for certain was there had been a lot going on which he’d been missing, and that he was damned sure ready for some answers.

  Stepping forward to join their little parlay, he looked up at all of them and asked, “Do any of you mind letting me in on whatever the hell you all are talking about?”

  Nick, always eager to offer an explanation, looked over at Nero with a smile and said, “It’s not all that complicated once you understand the identities and backgrounds of all the players involved. Vera’s goal in the game was to keep you safe. Her main opponent was the Populator in charge of stopping the dwarves from interfering. You see, when the archmage contacted her and told her what had happened, she knew they’d want to take you. So, she immediately contacted the Tower of Law and the military to ensure that both House Walker’s forces would be taken care of and that you would be free from any method they could use to control you. I do, however, think that heading off the soul magic charges is a little premature. I’m still not entirely certain the word of the archmage would be enough.”

  While still looking confused, Nero turned his head to the archmage when the man helpfully picked up the explanation.

  “Once I recognized what would happen after you’d so publicly closed a portal and reconstituted your body, I contacted Vera immediately so she could prepare. Granted, it took me a few minutes to piece together what had happened since when you died the automatic teleport I placed on you dropped your body in the middle of my chambers and I was unable to revive you. With you having successfully closed a portal in a way that defies our current understanding of magic, I knew that you were in danger. Obviously, both the Populators and the dwarves would want to take you with them to learn how you did it. Then, when you reconstituted yourself, I knew that the Populator in charge would stop at nothing to get his claws into you. Ensuring that your identity was on record was imperative to prevent that from happening,” said the archmage.

  Vera then added, “He contacted me immediately so I could begin our game’s counteroffensive. Once your identity was confirmed, legally there was nothing they could do. I also took the liberty of cutting off their other likely avenues of attack by sending out some missives my teams had been working on in case more local troubles presented themselves. For example, they could have declared you an illegal soul mage and tried to get you to come with them that way. Framing all of your feats as derivatives of your unique abilities was necessary to stop them from being legally allowed to demand answers. Ensuring that they wouldn’t be able to get any support from the locals was just a side benefit.”

  Nick chimed in, “I still think that -”

  Interrupting him to pick up the explanation, Archmage Jennings said, “The head of the Populators is a man I know from the Royal Academy, I’m almost sure of it. While their armor is perfectly capable of hiding their identities, I’ve been around long enough to recognize a few of the more recognizable team leaders. He would have wanted to study you. Specifically, how you accomplished a corporeal reconstruction. He’s beginning to suffer some age creep and knows that he’ll likely not reach 100 before he dies. Which is an event I’m looking forward to by the way. The man’s been a pain in my neck for over a century. Julius never should have promoted the man. Do you know that he prefers-”

  Interrupting the man right back, Nick said, “And the dwarves want you because of the portals. Their underground cities are constantly under assault from extra-planar threats. Clan Mithrilstrike’s original city was even wiped out by one. We can’t be sure, but Vera guessed that the Populator in charge would have probably made a deal with the Battleborns to interrogate you after they got you out of the city.”

  Nero, finally having gotten a bit more of the background information he would have needed to comprehend even a fraction of what had been going on, turned to Jennings and asked, “So, you kidnapped me for my own good? Is that what I’m hearing?”

  Nodding with a smirk, Jennings replied, “More or less. I also wanted to get whatever readings I could off of your new body before your form began stabilizing with the local essence flows. You should know, you are technically now a form of human that hasn’t ever existed before on this plane. In many ways, you’re an extra-planar variation of a human rather than a locally developed one.”

  Nero, not caring about that right now and thoroughly done listening to them regardless of how important what they were saying was, replied, “Uh-huh. So, I’m safe… for now. And someone is going to go collect the Wackos? Then can I get some real food and a shower… maybe enjoy that big ass bed back at the estate I never get to sleep in?”

  Nick replied, “Actually, it would be really helpful if you were to allow us to test your harmonic frequency. Also, if you could participate in a few simulated portal closings… that’d be great. Oh, and maybe you could walk us through-”

  Patting her husband on the shoulder with a fond look on her face, Vera spoke over him. “Not right now, dear. The science will still be there tomorrow. For now, let’s get Nero home.”

  Nero ignored both the archmage and Nick as they began discussing what tests would need to be done. Instead, he followed Vera out the door walking closely beside her. Behind them all, he could sense their entourage of silent lawyers who’d still not uttered a single word.

  ‘Home, huh…’ he thought to himself while smiling at the thought of finally being the kind of rich asshole who had the option of returning to his estate and enjoying a meal handmade by his personal chef, a gloriously decadent rain shower, and a harem sized bed wrapped in silk sheets.