Hannah finding a robe for herself was a stroke of luck, because running through a horde of undead monsters to reach the breach in the wall would have been impossible without both of them being obscured. The magic cloth didn't work on all monsters, of course, but with enough speed and tenacity, the two of them made it through to the other side after climbing over rubble, dead monsters, unmentionable substances, and the odd human.

  Emerging on the other side, they soon found themselves facing a shield wall, spears pointing right in their faces.

  "Don't!" Luke shouted, lowering his hood before waving his arms about. "We're not undead!"

  The human wall split apart, allowing them through before closing again.

  "What are you doing?" a man in plate armor shouted, spewing so much spit it dripped from his wide blond mustache. "Who are you?"

  "We're here to help," Hannah said, speaking just loud enough for her voice to carry over the din of battle.

  The knight's face shone with hope. "Saint knows we're in dire need of help! Where is your army? Is the vanguard we've spotted engaging the enemy to the southeast?"

  "Uh, sure," Luke said.

  "Well, spit it out! Who are you? Where did you come from? Our scouts have seen nothing to indicate reinforcements, and our neighboring kingdoms have all closed their borders!"

  "There's time for that later," Luke said, pointing at the sky. "That thing up there is their leader, yes?"

  "Of course! The Dread Dragon Naxaramus and his ill spawn!"

  "Great..." Unsure how to continue, Luke gestured to the keep and the wall. "Uh, what does this Nax want? And what is your name?"

  Luke couldn't inspect the knight.

  "I am Sir Godolfin, Second Knight of the Fourth Circle of Guardians," the knight said, a look of incredulity on his face. "What do you mean? What does the Dread Dragon want?"

  A young teen came running out of the keep proper, carrying a rolled-up piece of parchment with a seal on it. "Sir!" the teen called, handing over the message. "Another breach on the other side! You're needed!"

  "What of Sir Leleban?" Godolfin asked, his voice a quiet murmur, like he knew what the answer would be.

  "Dead, Sir!"

  The confirmation seemed to deaden something inside the knight, who hunched forward, his hands trembling as he shook his head in disbelief. "I told him. Told him to be safe."

  "Godolfin?" Hannah asked. "How can we get the dragon down here?"

  That seemed to pull him out of his stupor.

  "Down here? Are you mad, woman? The only reason we've lasted this long is because The Dread Dragon is satisfied with toying with us!"

  "What about us going up to it?"

  "You're both mad as Lilineese children on Savior-day," he said, but the light had returned to his eyes. "Are you telling me you think yourselves able to best our ancient foe before it claims our prince?"

  "Sure," Luke said. "We've killed a dragon before."

  Yes, they'd done it together with a whole lot of other Integrated last time, and yes, it was injured, but there were other Integrated up there this time as well, and both Luke and Hannah were much stronger than back in that cave. Looking up, there seemed to be fewer Integrated flying than before, but one of the smaller dragons was missing as well.

  "The Dread Naxaramus is no mere dragon, but you shall have your chance, if you think yourself able."

  "You've got a way for us to reach it?"

  "Saints help me, but we do." He turned and shouted. "Boy!" and the messenger from before rushed up. "Bring these two to The Circle of Elders. They need a way to reach The Dread, and by the Holiness of Sain Pelimta, we shall provide."

  "Thank you," Luke said.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  "Go!" Sir Godolfin shouted. "I shall go and find my way into the eternal embrace of Lamen. Sir Leleban awaits me."

  The young messenger waved for them to follow, and the three set off, heading for the keep.

  "Lucky," Hannah said as they reached a set of stone stairs.

  Following the messenger up the stairs, Luke wondered at that. "We needed a way up, and he said they'll provide one. Feels a little heavy-handed, don't you think?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "I don't even know," Luke said. "Just a feeling. Like, maybe Guide is here somehow? Reaching in to help?"

  "You told me these places are real."

  "And I think they are," Luke said, heading into a corridor after the messenger. "But maybe there's tampering."

  They were high up now, having climbed several stories, and the wind gusted in through slim openings in the stone wall, where archers crowded, taking turns pointing crossbows out through the slits.

  "There's no point in thinking about it like that," Hannah said. "It's not like they'll tell us, whoever 'they' are. Better to just go with it."

  "Not that easy for me to go with the flow," Luke grunted.

  The topic died out when they reached a chamber full of figures in gray and red robes, all of them on their knees, foreheads pressed to the floor, where a circle full of patterns and symbols glowed. That, however, was not the first thing Luke saw. Spellweaves. The room was so full of them that it was almost impossible to focus on anything else. With so many, there was no focusing on a single one to tell what the spell might do. Feeling a headache coming on, he looked down at the floor, trying to reel Weaver's Perception back in with some difficulty.

  "Hello?" Hannah said.

  The messenger ran up to the single person standing, careful not to step on symbols. Whispering something in the old woman's ear, the young man then bowed and hurried out of the room, throwing a glance Luke's way. Having pulled Weaver's Perception back a little, so the amount of information didn't obliterate his focus, he saw the woman beckoning him.

  They took care not to mess up the patterns on the floor as they approached.

  "You need to fly?" she asked. Quick and to the point, this one.

  Hannah nodded. "We need to reach the dragon."

  She gave them a long look, as if weighing them, then nodded to herself. "Very well."

  "Just like that?" Luke asked.

  "I don't know who you are, but I can see in your Heartwells that you mean well, despite your horrific garb, and Naxaramus has thus far resisted our every attempt at holding it back. Diverting some of our attention for a moment is a small price to pay, even for a gamble such as this. We will do what we can to aid you from here, but our primary focus must be on bolstering our forces."

  Luke peered down at himself. Right, the robe. Maybe keeping that on hadn't been the best idea. "Thank you," Luke said, narrowing his eyes. "I am a healer. You have a sickness of the stomach that I could heal."

  The weighing look was a little different this time, more positive, perhaps, but the old woman shook her head. "That would be undignified."

  "Uh, OK."

  If the old woman didn't want her cancer gone, that was her business. Some people were just strange that way, like the mystery man Alan sent to get Luke out of that interrogation room.

  Raising her voice to the kneeling men and women in the room, the old woman spoke in a language Luke neither recognized nor understood. Three men and a woman rose as one and headed out of the room.

  "Follow them," the woman said. "But do not speak. The magic will carry you for a time. Once you feel it weakening, lower yourselves to the ground before it is too late."

  Hannah nodded to her. "Thank you again."

  The four mages walked off, forcing Luke and Hannah to jog after to catch up. Following to another staircase, it took them far too long to climb an almost infinite number of floors. Luke's feet, legs, and back ached with the strain as they emerged on top of the keep. Here, the wind buffeted them, pushing on the mages' robes with so much force they fell. The Unwavering Robes of Shadow Luke and Hannah wore didn't move at all. This let the two of them resist the wind. A welcome bonus, as they had to go quite far along the parapet. With how the keep was designed, the roof wasn't one flat surface, but a series of walkways and bridges crossing wide gaps where you'd fall all the way to the bottom floor if you went over the edge.

  Heading over to the center of the roof, Luke kept his eyes on the floor, fearing a fall if he slipped, but still glanced up at the sky now and again. The huge dragon was still up there, as were the smaller ones, off to the side. Integrated battled the monsters. More of them flew around up there now, but as he watched, two more dropped from the sky after a flash of light.

  "Things are looking bad up there," Hannah said.

  Luke could only nod. "It is." A moment later, once they reached a larger area near the center of the keep's rooftop and the mages bent down on the ground, he continued, airing his fears. "What if we can't bring down that huge one? It will be at a higher level than the one we fought last time, I'm sure of it."

  "We're stronger now."

  "Still."

  Hannah pursed her lips. "I have a plan."

  "You sound confident."

  That made her laugh, despite it all. "I'm faking it."

  "Well, you're good at it," he said with a somewhat forced chuckle. "Tell me your plan."

  "Maybe we don't have to defeat it."

  One of the male mages rose and directed the two of them to stand in a new glowing circle on the ground. This one was far less complicated, and the spellweaves surrounding the bent-down mages were all the same. Sort of simple, too, if he was being honest.

  "What do you mean?" Luke asked, taking a careful step into the middle of the circle.

  Hannah followed. "What if we just bring it to the ground? There have to be hundreds of Integrated out there at this point."

  "And like thousands of undead monsters."

  "Still," Hannah said.

  Luke considered her idea and nodded. "It's better than what I've got, which is nothing. So, the wings?"

  "One wing. If we both try our hardest to destroy one wing, that should do it, right?"

  "Right," Luke said, not feeling as proficient at faking his conviction as Hannah. Still, he'd do his best.

  Before he could say something else, Luke felt something stir in the air around him, and then he felt light. A moment later, his feet rose from the ground.

  "Whoa."