As they led us through decidedly not-flat terrain to our destination—causing Aerion to fall several more times and my anger to spike another few notches on her behalf—I had to wonder what all this secrecy was for. I supposed it was a good sign. That they cared about what we saw meant they were planning on letting us live after. Not that I thought they’d really manage to kill us before we managed to flee.

  Even still, it felt a bit excessive, and when they finally deemed it appropriate to remove our blindfolds and undo our gags, we found ourselves in a large hemispheric room made of the same sort of rooty material as our jail. It was like someone had weaved a wicker basket with thick, spindly branches or something, and then plastered in the gaps with mud.

  Lighting was provided by what looked like magical lamps, indicating they had at least one Boonworthy with the ability here. Overall, it was about as far from steampunk as you could get. Whatever relation these elves had to the ones in Order’s territory was a distant one.

  The single circular door leading in and out was firmly shut, and there wasn’t a single window allowing us to see outside.

  A half dozen elves guarded the perimeter, while a group of three stood on a platform in front of us, elevated by a few steps.

  Two of them, I immediately recognized, though only one was expected. The Sylrithar stood on the left in his Mythril armor, next to an old female elf with long white hair that I didn’t know, and another I very much did.

  “Elwend!?” I blurted. Then my brain went into overdrive. By his regal silk clothing and confident poise and the fact that he stood beside the other two leaders—not behind them, or across from them—told me a lot.

  It told me Elwend was either not an agent of Dominium, or there was a whole hell of a lot more going on here than met the eye.

  “I’m guessing there’s an explanation forthcoming,” I said. “Because otherwise, this is going to be a bad day for all of us.”

  Elwend’s mouth curled up into a wry smile before dissolving into a look of sadness. Or was it remorse? I didn’t know, Aerion was the expert at this stuff.

  Seeing how her face was scrunched up in a confused frown, it was a safe bet that she was just as confused as I was.

  “You are absolutely right,” Elwend replied. “We all owe you answers. First of all, allow me to apologize on behalf of the Sylrithar and everyone else responsible for treating you the way we have. I can’t begin to imagine the anguish you—our heroes of the land—must have gone through. To treat you this way, of all people…”

  “It had to be done, Elwend,” the Sylrithar said, though the way he muttered it made me think he wasn’t very happy with this state of affairs, either.

  Curious. He certainly hadn’t given any hint of that on the way over. Was he really that good of an actor? Moreover, why?

  “Can we at least remove their shackles? This is an embarrassment!” Elwend said, though who exactly was supposed to be embarrassed by this state of affairs, I didn’t know.

  I was just happy to be out of those stupid cuffs.

  A guard came around and uncuffed us both, leaving us free.

  “Well, it certainly wasn’t pleasant,” I said, eyes narrowed as I massaged my wrists. “So am I understanding correctly that we’re not your prisoners?”

  “On the contrary,” the woman said, speaking for the first time during our conversation. She wore a simple but elegant, one-piece dress, and if age had softened her features, her eyes were an exception.

  I felt like I was being stared down by a hawk.

  “You are our esteemed guests. And, if Order is with us, our saviors as well.”

  Both Aerion and I shifted nervously at the mention of the deity.

  I wisely decided not to inquire further, lest my elven girlfriend fly into a rage when things had finally taken a turn for the better.

  “Alright, then, lay it all out on the line,” I said. “Why have you brought us here? Why did you have to hide it?”

  “To put it simply, we brought you because we have a problem we believe you are uniquely suited to solve,” Elwend said. “As for the deception, well, there are eyes everywhere, I’m afraid. Even within this sacred forest.”

  I refrained from commenting on the irony that those words happened to come from the lips of a double agent.

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  “These caravan raids,” Aerion said. “There is more than meets the eye, isn’t there?”

  Elwend nodded. “It is true that we have been raiding the caravans. But only because we’ve been forced to as they venture deeper and deeper into our territory. To allow them in sends a message to Dominium. It tells the spies in their ranks that we are weak. That we cannot defend our own territory. It thus hastens our demise.”

  I raised an eyebrow. Something didn’t sound right there. “You do realize that attacking them is only going to bring even more soldiers out, right? Like the subjugation convoy that’s on its way.”

  Elwend nodded. “The lesser of two evils, I’m afraid. For you see, Dominium decided long ago that our forest is too valuable to let be, what with our location on the border of Wisdom’s territory.”

  “The same territory where the Cataclysm’s about to break out.”

  No one knew for sure where the Cataclysm would hit hardest yet, but enough Dungeons had landed that people could make educated guesses, and Wisdom was looking like it had drawn the short straw this time.

  “Indeed. Given the natural fortification of the trees and the gauntlet it forces any attacking hordes to run, you can see why Dominium wishes to lay claim to this place.”

  “Seems like the perfect place to build a base,” I agreed. “Well, I see the problem now, but I still have no clue what you expect me to do about it. Sure, I helped the Champions defeat the Cataclysm Dungeon near Basecrest, but that doesn’t give me a whole lot of sway over Dominium. Besides, I have a sneaking suspicion they sent me on this quest to die out here so they can get their land back.”

  The three elves shifted uncomfortably, glancing at each other.

  “You make some astute observations,” Elwend said. “While no one in Dominium bears you ill will, the city can be somewhat callous when it comes to human life.”

  I gasped. “In Dominion’s capital!? No way!”

  Elwend chuckled, eyes twinkling. “Indeed. Our patron deity influences much of the culture, for better and worse. As for how you come into all of this? Well, let’s just say we have a plan.”

  I knew that look. I sometimes made it myself. It was the look of someone about to reveal a harebrained plan as likely to get everyone killed as it was to succeed. My kind of plan.

  Which was why chills of dread crept down my back.

  “This is a bit much,” I muttered as I paced around the room Aerion and I had been assigned. We’d been blindfolded and cuffed the moment our meeting finished, of course. Apparently Dominium had several spies within their ranks. The elves had killed some, but chose to leave others be to prove to Dominium that Elwend was really on their side and not a double agent as they must have suspected.

  It was a dangerous game that elf was playing, but if he’d survived this long, he must've been pretty good at it. By feeding a steady stream of misinformation to the more gullible spies, Dominium was convinced Elwend was on their side.

  In fact, it was that trust that underpinned this insane plan.

  “They want us to stage a battle,” I said, running my fingers through my hair. “One we’re supposed to lose. But not too badly. Just enough to rout the incoming forces so that we can go to Dominium with Elwend and tell them ‘what fearsome warriors these elves are and you should absolutely find some way of recruiting them rather than killing them and taking their homeland. Such a loss it would be for your country!’

  Aerion giggled, which made me smile.

  “What?” she asked, half-laughing.

  “Nothing! It’s just nice seeing you be more open with your emotions. When we first met, I could’ve sworn you were an ice princess. Or, prince.”

  Aerion rolled her eyes. “We were embroiled within a Trial! Hardly the place to let loose, don’t you think? And then…” her smile faded.

  “Then there was the whole Cosmo chaos.”

  “Yes,” Aerion said, looking like she’d just gulped lime juice. “That.”

  “All behind us now,” I said, moving in to embrace her before touching foreheads. “Still, what the heck are we supposed to do?”

  “The rewards are quite good…” Aerion muttered, making no move to resist.

  “Mythril armor and weapons? Personal tutoring from an elven mastersmith? Soul training? I didn’t even know that was a thing!”

  Aerion nodded, which only made her bump into my forehead. “Even so, I fail to see how we could possibly sabotage the convoy. Not when they’re but a handful of days away.”

  “Yeah,” I said, releasing our hug to plop down on the comfy green couch. Like most things in the forest, it’d been constructed of vines and leaves, and was surprisingly springy. “I’ve got a few ideas, but they’re all long shots. Would be a hell of a lot easier if the other guys were still here. At any rate, if we’re going to do this, it had better be soon. They need to hoof us back to where the caravan can find us.”

  “What do you feel?” Aerion asked, straddling me on the couch. “Do you wish to proceed?”

  “You do, don’t you?”

  Aerion bit her lip before nodding. “I do. I think we stand to gain much from these elves. Enough, perhaps to rank up. The Cataclysms we’ll face in the future will only grow more dangerous. I fear we’ve not the strength to overcome them, even with your wondrous magic.”

  “Yeah,” I said, looking up into her azure-emerald eyes. “I’m of the same mind. The risk is high. But the potential gains are enormous.”

  Aerion smiled and flicked my hair. “Then we’d best get going, yes?”

  “Well,” I said, giving her a devious grin. “We’re finally alone. And not cuffed… I think they can wait a few moments, don’t you think?”

  Aerion’s smile widened into a grin that mirrored my own.