Everyone waited for Gary’s indomitable aura to return, but it never did. The whole outpost let out a deep breath nobody knew they’d been holding. All around them, Veilstriders began hugging each other and sobbing as the fog hanging over their heads slowly receded. For the first time since he left Veils End with Hannah, Harvey felt like he could think straight.

  “I’m so sorry, Harvey,” Carla sobbed, wrapping her arms around him and Elena.

  “Don’t be,” he sighed.

  “I didn’t know what else to do. I figured if Gary wanted you dead, you were already gone,” she continued.

  “Sound reasoning,” he chuckled. “I don’t think anyone thought we had a chance standing up to him.”

  “But you did,” Carla turned to Elena. “You were so brave.”

  “Is that what you call it? I killed Amy,” Elena whimpered.

  “She would’ve done the same to you,” Harvey said. “Hell, she was begging Gary to cut you down right then and there.”

  “Yeah, because I had a chain around her neck. I feel so… evil.”

  “Are soldiers evil for fighting to defend the people they love?” Carla asked. “My husband is in the Air Force and has killed more than his fair share of bad guys. It tears him apart, but at the end of the day, he gets to sleep knowing he’s doing what it takes to protect me. Our family. You are not evil, Elena. You are a hero.”

  “Th-thanks,” Elena stammered.

  “You stood up to him when no one else would, and Harvey, Julian, and Hannah are still alive because of it. Hell, I’m not stupid enough to believe he would’ve let all of us go in the end. The only reason he didn’t massacre us all was that we could still be useful to his plans. Was he really going to sneak his way to the portal instead of fighting the Undead?” Carla asked.

  “Yeah. He never thought we had a shot, so he planned on leveling as much as possible until the army showed up. Once they did, he’d harvest,” she shuddered, imitating Gary’s gruff voice. “The rest of Veils End before forcing his family through.”

  “Harvest, us?” Carla asked.

  “Yeah, he needed a lot of blood to shield Amy, Gabe, and me from attacks,” Elena explained.

  “What a coward,” Carla spat. “I hope a bloodrunn eats him.”

  “Slim chance, they were the inspiration for his entire class. He’d been tasting blood long before running into a level 10, but once he saw their blood magic in action, he was fixated on it,” Elena said.

  “Makes sense, those skills he used looked familiar. I don’t know how he managed to drink blood to heal. I would vomit every time I tried to use it,” Carla gagged.

  “Definitely disgusting, but also way stronger than I expected. I guess using blood as fuel instead of pure essence really boosts the effect. Dr. Silva’s healing skills…” Harvey trailed off, looking at the desiccated woman lying just a few feet away.

  “She was a good woman,” Elena whispered.

  “Yeah, she really was. Gary killed a lot of good people today, and for what, a few class levels? If that’s all he wanted, why not go spend a few hours in the forest instead?” Carla grieved.

  “Because it wasn’t just about his Class. It was about control. We watched him level up multiple times in under an hour, right? Once with the blood red glow of his class, and twice with that purple light?” Harvey asked.

  “Yeah?” Elena answered.

  “Well, the purple had to be his Profession, right? How was his profession leveling when all he was doing was suppressing us with his aura?”

  “Now that I think about it, you’re right. That was strange. I was just too terrified to notice,” Carla replied.

  “Exactly. He said his profession was called Dread Tyrant, right? And he got multiple levels from subduing the entire Outpost at once because we were all too scared to stand up to him. He must have a skill that harnesses our fear to control us. It’s the only explanation for how stupid we’ve all been the last few weeks,” Harvey explained.

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  “Stupid? Who are you calling stupid?” Carla jabbed.

  “Me. You. Everyone! I used to think it was only the four of us that had an issue with Gary, but after telling everyone about the mine, it seems like we all knew something was wrong.”

  “Ok, and?”

  “And, why didn’t we do anything about it?” Harvey asked.

  “We were scared! We all saw him butcher that stonetusk. We all felt his aura. It was bad enough when it was just the Mark, but the Imprint made it so much worse.”

  “Exactly, we were scared. He knew it, and he fed on it. A few weeks ago, Julian could’ve handled him alone, but instead of nipping the problem in the bud, we all ignored him until he was too strong to handle. All of our whispering and worrying about how to deal with Gary made him so strong we couldn’t,” Harvey explained.

  Around the corner, they heard the steady clopping of hooves in the dirt growing closer until Buttercup burst onto the main road. Hannah’s eyes were wild, and Harvey felt a pit forming in his stomach as he waited for her announcement.

  “He’s gone. We can’t find him,” she wheezed, out of breath despite Buttercup doing all the work.

  “Where’s Julian?” Harvey asked.

  “He’s booking it to the Hell Hotel to warn John in case Gary’s headed that direction. The rest of us can all leave together whenever we’re ready.”

  Again, the Outpost let out a sigh of relief. Maybe he was really gone. His aura still tainted the air like smoke yet to be carried away by the wind, but it was slowly fading. Harvey didn’t know if his theory about Gary using a skill to keep Veils End afraid was correct, but there was something missing now that he was gone. A weight that finally lifted from his shoulders. For days, he’d felt like someone had been slowly burying him in the sand until he couldn’t move anymore, but now he was starting to wriggle his way out.

  “What are we waiting for? The Loom is gone. The mirror is just a mirror again. Let’s get out of here.” Someone called out.

  “Julian filled a few slipsacks with supplies this morning, so we can afford to wait a few days at most before we’d be traveling hungry,” Hannah explained.

  The Veilstriders deliberated for a while before deciding they’d spend an hour gathering their things before heading to the hotel. Everyone had received a notification after losing the quest that displayed a compass leading to the final Outpost, so they didn’t need to worry about getting lost along the way. With the cadre of F Grade ascendants present, nothing in the forest should pose too much of a threat as long as they traveled together.

  “I’m not sure I’m ready to leave,” Harvey sighed.

  “What? You have to,” Elena said.

  “I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I think we should use Veils End as a decoy. Lure the Undead inside before blowing the place up.”

  “It’s not a terrible idea,” Hannah agreed.

  “What? Yes, it is? The only people who can set something like that up are Harvey and I, and I need to go evolve!” Elena fussed.

  “You made it to level 25?” Harvey gasped.

  “Yeah… Killing Amy got me a Class level and maxed out my Race,” she confirmed.

  “That’s so exciting! You finally get to evolve!” Hannah congratulated.

  “I know! And since Veils End doesn’t have a Loom anymore, you’re going to have to come with me, Harvey!” Elena shouted.

  “You don’t need me there to evolve,” Harvey winced. “I’ll just be a few days behind you guys.”

  “I risked my life to save you, and this is how you thank me? Asking me to leave you alone in an Outpost about to be overrun with Undead?”

  Placing both arms around her, he pulled Elena into a fierce hug. She melted into his arms, and he cursed that he couldn’t feel her warm embrace through his steel armor. “Elena, I need you to listen to me. You saved my life. I know that without you, I’d be a dried-out husk on the ground right now. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repay you for what you did today, but I want to start by giving us the best possible chance of getting out of this trial alive.”

  “Then do that! Fight with us at the Hell Hotel!”

  “I will, but wouldn’t you rather the Veilstriders face an army that’s already had a few bombs go off in their faces? I’m not talking about taking on the Undead alone, just luring them inside the walls, detonating a few traps, and running for my life. Hell, if I have to, I can use Booster to turn myself into a rocket headed straight for backup,” Harvey explained.

  “There are so many things that could go wrong. What if Gary comes back while the rest of us are gone?”

  “Again, human rocket. Trust me, if I ever see that maniac again, I’m running for the hills. He must be close to level 40 at least to have the Vitality to survive everything we threw at him,” Harvey chuckled.

  “Julian and I can come back and help you once we get everyone settled,” Hannah offered.

  “No! Nobody’s coming back because Harvey’s coming with us!” Elena scoffed.

  “Elena, please. I trust you with my life. Now it’s time for you to trust me. This isn’t suicide, it’s a plan. A good one.”

  She squirmed, her eyes darting back and forth between Hannah, Carla, and the ground, looking for someone to tell her she was right.

  “We’re all going to have to take risks before the war is over. At least this one has an easy exit plan,” Carla encouraged.

  “Fine,” she groaned. “What am I supposed to do while you’re gone? I can’t inscribe anything that isn’t essence infused.”

  “Take a few elemental corpses and see if someone else can’t forge something out of them. I doubt I’m the only Veilstrider in the entire trial who bought the Blacksmithing guide. Maybe you can make a few traps and shields yourself? Do whatever you can to prepare the battlefield for when the Undead show up. We can’t afford to hide in that hotel once the dragon arrives,” Harvey explained, retrieving a half-dozen dead elementals from a pile inside the smithy. He’d need a few of his own, but he could always get more. His Class had fallen behind after his week of forging around the clock, so it might be good to get his own stock.

  “Harvey, don’t do anything stupid while we’re gone,” Hannah said, loading the bodies into her own slipsack. “Julian and I will be back in a few days to help you get everything set up.”

  “Don’t get yourself killed,” Elena swore. “Please. I need you.”

  “I won’t,” he whispered, pulling her in for one last hug. “I promise.”