By the time the ferry reached Minolitana Prima, Vondaire had finished with his story. At least, as much of it as he was going to share. There were obviously gaps, especially with how he had spent his time after getting the shard, but Chorsay didn’t press him for more.

  Myrsvai told his story next as they walked through the city. At first, Owin listened closely, but with the realization that he was present for almost the entire story, he quickly stopped listening and took in the sights of the city. More people were reacting to him than they had before, and Shade had yet to say a word as he stared at everything.

  Arkasti walked close to Owin with the claymore resting on his shoulder and the smaller blade in his free hand. Arkasti seemed to half listen to the stories while keeping an eye on the people who waved to and shouted for Owin.

  “Ignore them,” Arkasti said.

  “Okay.” Owin nudged Shade. “Are you okay?”

  “What is this place called?”

  “Minolitana Prima,” Arkasti said.

  “I have a little tickle of a memory of this place. Kind of. I remember all the white walls, but the rest is . . . it’s taller than I remember.”

  “You were alive?” Arkasti asked.

  “He was a hero once,” Owin said.

  Shade looked at him. Owin smiled softly. He wasn’t going to share most of Shade’s story. That was for Shade to share, if he wanted.

  “You were? What happened?”

  “I died,” Shade said.

  Owin nodded.

  Vondaire appeared beside Owin. He matched pace perfectly and sighed dramatically. “You see what bothers me?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “This praise you are getting. The fame.” Vondaire gestured to the people who shouted at Owin. The streets weren’t absolutely packed with people, but it was busier than Owin had seen the couple of times he had been in Minolitana Prima.

  “And yet,” Vondaire continued. “I get none. What do you have that I don’t?”

  “Purple hair,” Shade said quickly.

  Vondaire brushed a gloved hand over his blonde hair. “I have a feeling there is more than the color of our hair involved. You see, even Chorsay and Arkasti, both 2 Shard Heroes, get no acknowledgement.”

  “Ew, is that a skeleton,” somebody nearby said.

  “Huh.” Shade shrugged. “I have no hair and people are still talking about me.”

  “That is reinforcing my point, Shade. There is a unique factor to the two of you that make you more noticeable to the average fool. How am I meant to stand out when you garner attention simply from existing?”

  “What if you fused with a goblin after your second shard?” Arkasti asked. “That would fuel the peoples’ fire.”

  “I would never. What about you? Any thoughts to a fusion?” Vondaire asked.

  They reached the peak of Minolitana Prima where the portal circle sat, guarded by Magna Regum heroes. Arkasti and Chorsay both scanned the area, making the effort obvious. Owin wondered what the point was when they could have easily done the same thing without opening indexes or making a show of checking each soldier present.

  “Nothing yet,” Arkasti said after a moment. “It looks fine to me, Chorsay.”

  “I agree. Let’s get moving.”

  “What are you watching for?” Myrsvai asked.

  Suta lifted his hands, ready to punch.

  “Egnatia, mostly.” Chorsay looked behind them. “Caution is our ally. To the Vraxridge portal.” He dug out a handful of coins and passed them to the portal guard.

  Vondaire wordlessly guided Owin to the correct portal, and gave him a little shove into the swirling mass. As soon as Owin was inside and felt the now-familiar pain of city to city portals, he wondered if Shade could travel through the portals.

  Before long, he appeared in another portal circle, stumbled as he figured out his footing, and then caught Shade as the skeleton tumbled out.

  “I was worried you wouldn’t be able to use the portal,” Owin said.

  “Worried? About me?” Shade tapped his gloved hand on Owin’s helmet. “While it is sweet, I would be more touched if you hadn’t jumped head first into the portal. Someone who is truly worried would wait and check on their loved one before leaping into the unknown.”

  “Vondaire pushed me.”

  The umbra stepped out of the portal and adjusted his sleeves. “I did, and I will again.”

  Everyone else appeared before long. While Shade continued ranting about something, everyone went silent. Even all the portal guards and travelers.

  It was terrifying at first, but then Owin followed everyone’s gazes and spotted a woman standing at an entrance to the portal circle. She wore a long, white coat, a cropped pink shirt underneath, and tailored pants. One of her hands was metal, and after a moment of staring, Owin realized one of her feet, even in heeled shoes, was also a prosthetic. Two fox ears stuck out from the top of her head and a tail swished behind her.

  Owin made a face. “Is that—”

  “Yes,” Vondaire said quickly.

  “This party looks worse than the other one,” Althowin said.

  “They’ll look the part after a bath,” Chorsay said.

  “No more water, please,” Owin said.

  Althowin cracked a smile. “Get moving.”

  “Let us go,” Chorsay said. He gently put his hands on Arkasti and Myrsvai’s backs, guiding them forward.

  Owin ignored everyone else’s discomfort and led the way. Shade stuck right beside him, and Suta appeared on Owin’s other side before long.

  “Hi,” Owin said as he reached Althowin.

  Her index immediately appeared. “Interesting.” It vanished. “Katalin and Ernie had a lot of good things to say about you. Don’t disappoint me.”

  “Uh.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Shade said. He saluted.

  Althowin pointed at Shade with her thumb. “What is this?”

  “My familiar,” Owin said.

  Suta nodded.

  “Is that a real answer?” Althowin opened her index again, looking at Shade. She frowned and closed the glowing screen. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “You’ve never seen something beautiful?” Shade asked.

  “Does it always talk this much?”

  “Yes,” Myrsvai said.

  Althowin raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. “I’ve heard your stories too. Miya had a lot to say about you. If I’m not mistaken, she is rather infatuated.”

  Myrsvai furrowed his brow. He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again and pressed his lips together.

  “Some things are better left unsaid,” Chorsay said gently. “Let’s speak more once we return. Owin has yet to share the story of his adventure.”

  “Yeah, fine. Come on. Your friends are probably eager to see you.” She turned on one foot, then slipped her hands into her jacket pockets and started walking straight through the city, ignoring all the looks.

  “Now this is true fame,” Vondaire whispered to Owin.

  “It sure is,” Althowin said.

  Vondaire went still and silent, clearly having not intended Althowin to hear him. Owin laughed and took the opportunity to see Vraxridge. After having been hurried through a few times, he had barely been able to see anything not immediately around the portal circle.

  Vraxridge was tall. Every building Owin could see was bigger than the tallest in Atrevaar. It felt cramped on both sides of the main road they walked down. The tall buildings were like a dense forest, grown too close together but too big and old to change anything.

  Random people soon started growing as excited as they had been in Minolitana Prima. Once Althowin had led the party away from the portal circle, random people walking past started to shout things at Althowin. Most were positive, some were not. Althowin ignored it all, and anyone who got close quickly retreated under a quick glance from the 7 Shard Hero.

  “How did you lose the arm?” Althowin asked.

  “The deep sea behemoth on the ninth floor.”

  “The unkillable one?”

  Owin nodded.

  “Did you kill it?”

  “No.”

  “Huh.”

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  Althowin stopped outside a door and gestured. The building was visually unremarkable, but the size dwarfed everything else in the area. It was a series of tall, stone buildings connected by walkways. The whole compound formed a circle, and from the outside, Owin couldn’t tell what was in the center. It could just be another building, or something else entirely.

  “Welcome to my home,” Althowin said. “Before we reunite you with all your friends, I do intend to listen to the entire story of your journey through the Ocean. If you’ll follow me, I have a spot for us to sit and talk. I have some decisions to make.” She opened the door and gestured inside.

  Owin entered and moved aside. Everyone gathered in the lobby and waited until Althowin closed the door, said something to the man behind the desk, then started down a hallway to the left of the door.

  The place looked like a maze, so Owin stayed close, following the alchemist through a series of hallways until they came upon a room of couches with a small counter that held a sink and all kinds of other equipment Owin had never seen before.

  “Do you mind?” Vondaire asked, pointing at one item on the counter.

  “Whatever you want.” Althowin sat in a single chair, leaving the couches for everyone else.

  Owin climbed onto one couch. Suta hurried and sat directly beside Owin before Shade could. The skeleton sat down on Suta’s side and put his elbow on the familiar’s head.

  Arkasti, Chorsay, and Myrsvai all sat on a couch together. The two huge men took up most of the room, so Myrsvai sat on the end, leaning partially over the armrest.

  By the time Vondaire was done making coffee, the only spot available was directly beside Shade. He sighed and sat next to the skeleton.

  “We’re best friends, aren’t we?” Shade asked.

  “No.”

  “We will be.”

  “No.”

  “What’s your name again?”

  Vondaire closed his eyes and sniffed the coffee. “This is high quality.”

  “Of course it is,” Althowin said. “Do I seem like the cheap type?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  Althowin kicked her feet up onto a foot rest. “Let’s hear it.”

  Everyone turned to Owin.

  “Oh. Now?”

  Chorsay nodded. “You can do it.”

  Owin looked at Shade, who narrowed his eye sockets. “I’m going to let Shade tell some of it.”

  “Fine, whatever.” Althowin folded her hands in her lap. “Go.”

  A lot of Owin’s early story was repeating what Myrsvai had said earlier, but Althowin hadn’t been present, so he included everything he could remember. He mentioned the cathkabel fortress, Temikiel the priest, and Myrsvai’s damaged leg. Owin included all the secrets in his story, which caught Arkasti’s attention.

  As soon as Owin mentioned summoning Shade for the first time, the skeleton took over the story. Myrsvai added some information, careful not to interrupt. After what felt like forever, Owin reached the fifth floor when he nearly died and got separated from Myrsvai and Suta.

  When his story went in a direction he wasn’t sure about sharing.

  “We found some dead heroes on the seamount ramp, and that brought us to the Void Nexus heroes and Avani, who was in a party with the dead ones we saw.” Owin looked at Shade.

  “We helped them get through the grenades. Well, I helped them. I blew up like fifty times, but Owin kept resummoning me and commanding me to run to my death.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “He told me I was a pawn to be sacrificed, and that my life didn’t matter.”

  Althowin raised an eyebrow.

  “I just waved my arms, screamed, and ran at the fish entirely of my own free will. I just thought it would be more funny to make Owin sound like some evil monster, which I now recognize was not my best decision. Probably not my worst either, but hey, what can you do?”

  Everyone stared at Shade.

  “Then Owin did some cool jumping attacks and killed a big lobster.”

  “I killed it with a spell, actually.”

  “You have spells?” Shade asked.

  Vondaire actually laughed, but quickly composed himself.

  Owin continued the story and paused at the point when Myrsvai and Suta continued onto the sixth floor. He looked at Chorsay, who smiled softly. The old man already knew, didn’t he? And if he knew, Althowin probably knew.

  “Then I fought Siora and Nikoletta to stop them from getting their shards.”

  “Fought isn’t the word I would use,” Vondaire said. “I was at the exit when they emerged.”

  Owin lowered his head, staring into his lap. “I didn’t kill them.”

  “They looked like they had been killed a few times over. But he’s right,” Vondaire said. “He was merciful, to an extent.”

  “Siora told me she deserved it,” Althowin said. “Is it true?”

  “I don’t know. I wanted her to feel the fear she made me feel. Both of them.”

  “And did it make you feel better? Did you feel powerful?”

  “For a minute.”

  Althowin nodded slowly. “What changed?”

  “Shade. He yelled at me. He was really angry.”

  “Still am,” Shade said.

  Owin took a deep breath. “They made me feel like a monster. Like I did something wrong just for existing. They hunted me.”

  “I’ve heard the stories. This Nikoletta is apparently still recovering. I haven’t met her, and I don’t intend to. Powerful people need a conscience. Mistakes happen. Taking steps to fix those mistakes, to improve yourself, is what’s important. I made plenty of mistakes in the past, but I improved and I won’t make one again.”

  Owin couldn’t imagine saying he would never make a mistake again, especially with actual confidence, but if anyone could, the 7 Shard Hero would be the one to do it.

  “Keep going,” Althowin said.

  Owin told the rest of the story, about the mana batteries, the Vile Fiend, about Sloswen’s appearance. As he talked, Althowin pulled a notebook from a jacket pocket and started to write notes. Owin kept the story going, pausing for Shade a few times, and skipped right over his question for Sloswen.

  As soon as Owin and Shade finished talking about the fight against Chaudius, Vondaire lifted his hand.

  “I do have to say, they make it sound more coordinated than it appeared. As far as I could tell, Shade only just discovered his abilities and attacked like a feral infant.”

  “Part of that is true,” Shade said. “Hopefully, it is obvious I am talking about the whole feral infant insult.”

  “That’s the true part?” Owin asked.

  “Uh. Wait.”

  “And, we’re caught up.” Althowin kicked her legs off the footrest and sat upright. “Now, it’s my turn. Based on what I’ve heard from others, and now you, Owin . . .” She tapped her pen against the notebook. “You have unlimited potential for growth, which is quite concerning. Some want to kill you to stop you from becoming the strongest hero in all of Verdantallis. Others want to use you to become strong. There are those, like me, who just want to see what’s possible. Your hero company is now protected by me, but if I feel even the smallest threat from you, if I feel like it will be better for the whole world, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

  Owin nodded.

  “Hurting heroes who hurt you doesn’t make you a danger to the world. It doesn’t make you a danger to anyone but those idiots. But Siora is now one of my idiots, so whatever issues you still have with her need to be forgotten or ignored.”

  “I can’t forget what she did, but I’ll ignore it the best I can.”

  Althowin continued tapping the pen against her notebook. “Good. Now for our plan.” She stood up, walked around a corner, and dragged a chalkboard on wheels behind her. “I am working to assemble heroes I can trust to both protect you and to kill you, if necessary. Right now, the only real protection we have is me, the strongest,” she said, pointing to a fox drawn on the chalkboard. “And Veph, the not strongest.” She pointed to a frowning face.

  Chorsay sighed.

  “Yes, exactly,” Althowin said. “You are not nearly strong enough to be useful to us at the moment. Chorsay Eoghet, you need another shard if you want to be included in my plans.” Althowin drew a really tall stick figure and put two dashes beside it. “Arkasti, who is newly on our side, kind of, is going to figure out a fusion plan and execute said plan. Right?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Arkasti said.

  Althowin drew a bull with an arrow pointing to a question mark. “That leaves you three, who all need to get another shard. Is anyone against this plan?”

  Myrsvai shifted, then raised his hand. “I—”

  “You will get another shard. We’ll discuss it privately after this meeting. I have a separate plan for you,” Althowin said.

  “Oh.”

  Suta smashed his fists together. “Plan.”

  “Yes, like I said.” Althowin drew a terrible rendition of Suta’s face and wrote the word ‘plan’ beside it. She drew Owin and a simple stick figure, representing Vondaire, and just wrote ‘shards’ beside it.

  “I have no issues with this plan. I am ready to continue as soon as I am allowed,” Vondaire said.

  Althowin opened her index, looked at him, then closed it. “Yeah, you’ll be fine. What are you going to fuse with?”

  “I haven’t decided.”

  “Everyone takes so long to figure it out. Find a mob that fights the same way you do, fuse, done. It’s easy.”

  “You fused with a unique creature,” Vondaire said.

  “Right. Because it fit.” Althowin tapped her piece of chalk on the board. “Does anyone have questions about this plan?”

  Shade raised his hand.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  “What dungeon?”

  “What dungeon?” Althowin looked back at the list. “Actually a good question. Well done, skeleton. The Ocean isn’t one I would suggest as a first or second, but now that you’re done, we don’t need to think about that. Many, like Arkasti, think the Sky should be second, which is objectively wrong. The Fortress should always be one of the first two. So, as soon as things are prepared and you’re adequately rested, you will head to Vekuborg and into the Fortress Dungeon.”

  “Why the Fortress?” Owin asked.

  “It is the most combat focused dungeon. Diphinadra loves combat and will adjust floors as heroes progress to add more encounters if someone is trying to avoid fighting. If a hero waits too long to conquer the Fortress, they will find the odds overwhelming. All three of you are positioned to be able to handle the Fortress on your own.”

  “But we’ll go as a party?” Owin asked.

  “No. The first and last four floors are all isolated. Only two in the middle are common, and Diphinadra will try to pit heroes against one another on those floors. You’re better off going at your own pace, especially when you need to sleep.”

  “I am thinking of going to the Tundra for my fusion,” Arkasti said.

  Althowin wrote the dungeon beside Arkasti on the board. “Let’s discuss potential mobs. I like the idea. Anything else? Any objections?”

  Owin shook his head. It didn’t sound like he was being given a ton of options, but also the 7 Shard Hero was going to help him. That was all he needed to hear. If Katalin and Ernie trusted her as much as they did, Owin had no reason to doubt Althowin.

  “Chorsay, can you show everyone to their quarters? I am going to take Owin and his familiar, I guess, to Kat’s workshop.”

  “Yeah. Thank you. Everyone follow me.” Chorsay stood, stretched, and waved as he headed for a staircase.

  Althowin waited for everyone to clear out, leaving only Owin and Shade. “If it’s necessary, I’ll kill you.”

  “You said that.”

  “Okay.” She set the piece of chalk down. “I just don’t want you to think you have me fooled. I’ll be watching everything.”

  “I thought you didn’t want Ernie and Kat to get their shards.”

  Althowin crossed her arms. “You know, I was hoping they would never have to suffer, but what can you do? They care too much about you to not get involved in whatever's coming. They need to be strong enough to survive, because they will survive.”

  “You care about them,” Owin said.

  “I do. So do you. So, let’s find a way to work together.”

  Owin nodded.

  “Can we start with an actual explanation of this?” She pointed at Shade.

  “Uh,” Shade held up his hands. “I’m innocent.”

  “I fought a few Cursed on my way to seven shards. I’ve never heard of the Withered Shade. None of the Cursed I fought ever wanted to have a conversation.” She dragged the footrest across and sat directly in front of Shade. “Who are you?”

  “Shade,” Owin said. “I think we can share the story.”

  “I’d rather not.”

  Althowin leaned in closer. “What story?”

  “I used my question to ask about Shade. Sloswen said—”

  “Can I?” Shade asked, interrupting.

  Owin nodded.

  “I was the first entertainer to get all seven shards. Hundreds of years ago, I think. Most of what Sloswen said sounded like some legend to me. Nothing I really remember. But bits have returned as Owin found more bones. I think I can reconstruct my full memory if we get all the bones, but for now, I’m not sad about the missing pieces. Apparently, I cheated by summoning a 7 Shard Hero into the dungeon with some unique item. I cheated my way through all seven towers and the gods punished me.”

  “And now?”

  “I do my best to help Owin because he’s my friend.”

  “It’s that simple?”

  Shade nodded.

  “Okay.” Althowin stood and stretched. “Kat left a unique item for you, and Miya has been working hard. Plus, you said you had the Vile Fiend’s bones and those mana batteries, right? I have some ideas, if you want to hand those over.”

  “I do,” Owin said quickly. “But it will be difficult since Shade has to get them from his box.”

  “His box?”

  “Purgatory,” Shade said. “Prison. Home. Whatever you want to call it.”