-Callen-

  I stretched as I got up for the big day. However, before going to the capital, I needed to visit Nightshade. Only three people presently could activate the doors: Callia, Nightshade, and myself. Therefore, for my visit to the capital, I needed to leave the door in her possession. It also just made sense to have a door with Nightshade since having a door home would be something extremely convenient no matter what we do in the future.

  I climb up the stairs of the tower and relax as I easily adjust myself to Nightshade. We chat briefly before I request she install the door somewhere within her reach. With her permission I go back down to the first floor and adjust some of the tower's foundation so the door can be firmly grounded. With the Void Gate situated, I got up to head back home. I needed a bit of time to prepare my nicest formal attire, and I’m sure Mom will get in a fuss about the event. Originally the journey was too far for her to participate, but now that she gets a morning to help me prep, there was no way she wouldn’t fuss over what I chose.

  I reach the door of the tower when I feel Nightshade reaching out to me and pausing. I can’t even remember if Nightshade has ever reached out to me first. The Hive Worm invasion, the Great Bear invasion, and even just for talking—never once has she needed to talk to me. I adjust my mindset to meet hers, and her perception flows into me. I feel a great many people fleeing desperately from something; as they fled, every dozen feet another person would collapse and hit the ground with an arrow impaling them. It wasn’t just one group but multiple from both Woodside and Portten. Then I saw the pursuers enter Nightshade’s perception. They were elves, but the bodies appeared desiccated. That didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous. While I couldn’t identify someone's level at a glance, it didn't mean Nightshade couldn't. It was a spectrum of numbers with the lowest at level 113, while some reached into the 150s.

  Had Nightshade been at full strength, driving away a hostile tribe of elves would’ve been a matter of effort, but she wasn’t. While the flowers in the tower that had died after her battle with the Great Bear had been regrown, they lacked any semblance of the strength prior. This was Nightshade warning me and also her admitting this attack was a dire issue. Without hesitation I ran straight to town hall. I dispatched messengers to the guards and the knights, ordering an immediate assembly. Then I shared everything I had learned with Crescent. Her face went slightly pale as I described what I saw, and I realized I was sharing information about Nightshade. I immediately adjusted my statements strictly in relevance to the elves and refugees.

  That, however, was the end of my response. I focused inwardly and contacted Callia. She was irritated at someone installing a poisonous mist dispenser in her room. Since she didn’t seem particularly upset, just annoyed, I figured it wasn’t a pressing issue, unlike mine. She noticed my reaching out, and I passed along the information I had gotten. My request was simply to rally any help she could send from the capital. I would ask her to come, but she was at best able to keep up with one of the elves, and that wasn’t enough. As much as it would frustrate her, I needed her to act as the doorway for support from the capital.

  Thankfully she understood the urgency and scale of the problem. She sent me a feeling of determination and reassurance. Ok, those were the two most important issues solved, but now I needed to determine what I could do for the refugees. An idea came to mind, and I reached back to Callia, requesting to borrow the door for a bit while she rallied aid. I felt her exasperation as she reversed course back to the door in her room and sent it back into the void. Note to self: having three doors, one for each of us, would be a good investment later.

  I ran over to the gate and looked out. Using the helicopter was out because I saw what elves could do to Callia when she was out sightseeing near the Fallen Forest. Looking down from the gate, I paused as a familiar sound of wheels dragging across hard terrain stood out. It takes a moment to pinpoint the sound, but I notice Nixie in a battlewagon-like vehicle joyriding on a dirt track.

  “Nixie!” I called out to her, but the sound of wheels revving undoubtedly drowned out my call. Instead I jumped down the wall using my airburst trick to slow my impact. I winced as I failed to time it right, but a fractured shin could wait. I ran over to her track and waved her down. The monster truck-sized battle wagon slows to a stop next to me.

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  “Callen? You're back! Like my new battlewagon!” While I would’ve loved to hear the story behind the monstrous war machine that Nixie had for some reason. I had a more urgent issue.

  “Nixie, refugees from Portten and Woodside need help. I'll explain on the way!” I hopped into the gunner rack of the vehicle, and Nixie wasted no time speeding off the track and sending us down the road at full speed.

  “Hundreds of people from Woodside and Portten on the road fleeing to Port Town. They’ve got some really dangerous elves in pursuit. I’ve got a portal that can bring them to safety, but well, you heard the story of what happened to Callia. The refugees should be near the crossroads before the river. If we can get to the river fort before them, then we can use it as shelter while the refugees escape. While the door is active, I have to be within range of it with the Mana Zone, so I can’t stray far.” Nixie had her eyes on the road as she expertly drifted around the large roots in the road. She had a look of fierce concentration on her face as she pushed herself to the limit to get us there faster.

  “Right, good thing I enjoyed my brief run as driver on the last wagon! If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have spent all of Callia’s savings on my new ride.” I looked at her oddly at that comment.

  “What? I helped rescue her from bandits without question and landed the killing shot on the big bad. Then you two just ran off without me! I figured she wouldn’t be hurting for money after you inevitably find a bunch of treasure, so I planned to pay her back with contributions on the next adventure. I can't let myself fall behind!” Immediately I felt a bit bad. When considering who to bring for the journey to the capital, we didn’t even ask our siblings to join us. We justified it with Reesia being busy with the town guard and Crescent being busy with mayoral fill-in work, but Nixie was dismissed because after the river battle we thought of her as a defensive strategic asset to the town. Completely forgetting all the years growing up that Sis promised her adventure as a team.

  I had no words of comfort to give her now, but I’ll be sure to remember next time. The sound of the river up ahead started to reach us, and Nixie drifted to a stop outside the fort.

  “I’ll direct the refugees to you and try to buy time!” Before I hopped out of the vehicle, I handed her every projectile protection amulet I had.

  “Use these one at a time. I can’t guarantee it’ll save you, but it's the best I have. Make sure you come back, or I’m going out there to find you. Got that?!” There was no way I would leave my sister behind in circumstances like this. I made sure to lock eyes with her to convey how seriously I felt about this. She shoved me towards the door, responding.

  “Got it, no staying behind, and arrows are scary. Make sure that the getaway plan is ready for me in case I come in hot.” I hopped off the battlewagon as she took it around the fort and through the river itself. I noticed dwarven runes on the wheels let it grip on the water and pass over without issue. Right, Nixie, this was Nixie; her personal monster truck was probably loaded with more tricks than I could count.

  Interrupted Meeting

  Karia looked down on the Paladin captain in disdain. She understood why the man chose to approach her, but it also irked her. They brought nothing of value other than the antagonism of various jealous factions, but she was also the only queen in the capital who respected their work. Vienne was a stuck-up capital-born low-level wastrel who was only the latest of several daughters from her father to marry the king. Like flowers, they came and went frequently, but the role of High Queen was restricted to whoever was the current favorite.

  Then there was Queen Harlanou, who married the king in a bid to escape her psychopathic brother. It was a successful bid, but the lady had an irrational fear of everyone except the king, but even the king was tired of her single-minded obsession. Karia, however, only complied with the marriage by the loosest definition, and she frequently disagreed significantly with the king's hedonism and neglect of the kingdom.

  With every other queen and even the king being utterly useless, Karia found herself having to take the reins on any affairs outside the capital, and for some reason that fed into the superiority complex of Vienne, who thought that meant she had forced Karia out of the core. All of this also meant she understood the mission and purpose of the church far more than anyone else in the capital because Karia could care less about local power when she was busy governing the outer territories.

  The paladin restrained his hunting abomination and knelt before her.

  “Your Highness Queen Karia.” He started, but she had no patience to deal with it; she would much rather go hunting with Callia again. Something about the girl made her fun to tease and decompress around. The broken one flailed wildly trying to crawl at the door and managed to snap its neck while resisting. Both Karia and Paladin Korin looked in disbelief as the creature managed to kill itself. The next moment the door opened, and an uncharacteristically desperate Callia dodged the guards trying to restrain her. She kneeled before Karia.

  “My Queen, I have urgent news from Port Town and request aid!”

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