After that much needed night of festivity we allowed ourselves to sleep in as long as we wanted on the hospitality of Koa’s tribe. Maeve fell asleep the moment she plopped herself into the makeshift bed they had provided for us - apparently this ‘vengeance’ of hers would be coming when I least expected it. I chuckled to myself and kissed her forehead as I crawled in beside her, every bit as tired as she was. The thought of not having to get up with the sun filled me with warmth despite the ever-present Ptarmigan chill, and before I knew it I was out cold.

//Time Skip//

Wolfgang: “Thank you for everything, elder. Xenna and I will remember that night for the rest of our lives.”

Koa: “Think nothing of it, Wolfgang. When you return, I… I promise to make things right between us.”

Wolfgang: “That will hardly be necessary, elder. I know everything you did over the years, you did out of love. Tough love, perhaps, but regardless, I’ve always known you’ve cared.”

Koa: “...you’ve become a fine young man, my son. I’m so proud of you. 

Rhy put his arm around his soulbond as she held back her tears.

Koa: “I know I’m many years too late to say this, but if you would like… you could do away with that pretentious title.”

Wolfgang threw his arms around Koa.

Wolfgang: “I would like that very much. Thank you… Mother.”

Rhy laughed and joined in the hug. 

Rhy: “Get in here, you! You’re part of the family now too, you know!”

Xenna gestured to herself in surprise, still recovering from the emotional scene.

Koa: “Yes, you! Unless my son has another soulbond we don't know about!"

Xenna sniffled and ran to them, joining in the hug and laughing.

Wolfgang, Rhy, and Koa: “Ha ha ha!!”

The rest of us watched on, touched.

Maeve: “How long do you think before Xenna starts laughing like that? I give it a year.”

Zyutrak and I chuckled. Then the three of us left the new family to say their goodbyes while we made sure we were fully packed and ready to leave. As we gave our supplies a once-over, Maeve spoke up with uncharacteristic reservation.

Maeve: “So… we’re finally going there? We’re actually ready for The Ardenscar?”

Seth: “Theoretically. Unfortunately though, everything that comes next is completely uncharted territory. We won’t even have legends to guide us from this point on.”

Zyturak: “Still, we do have our plan. We’ll use the artifacts to enter the Ardenscar, search for Yreth’s realm of Armistice, collect The Nail, then come face to face with The Architect, and… have a discussion with It.”

Maeve: “If you think we’ll be able to just debate The Architect into seeing the error of Its ways, I envy you.”

Seth: “Yeah, we’re bringing The Nail for a reason. But hey, if by some miracle The Architect wants to surrender, I say we let It.”

Xenna and Wolfgang arrived and joined us in our final preparations.

Xenna: “Before we actually go in there and hinge our entire plan on this artifact, why exactly do we believe The Nail is going to ensure we survive our encounter with The Architect? Isn’t It practically a god?”

Seth: “Well, to kill a god you need a god… or at least part of one. The Nail is supposed to be heavily related to Yreth, and imbued with an incredible amount of Its power. I hadn’t quite pieced together exactly what form it would take until our encounter with Ikterwal, but most likely The Nail is going to be a piece of Yreth’s body before It took on human form…”

Wolfgang: “Before? But that would mean-”

Seth: “It’s an intact part of a Denizen… part of Yreth’s original body from Bedlam, and absolutely overflowing with Soul energy.”

Xenna: “I’m going to pretend none of this is insane for my own benefit. So again, how does Yreth’s anatomy help us win this?”

Seth: “As Ikterwal mentioned, each Cenotaph is actually one twelfth of a Denizen of Bedlam - In order to grant them sentience and a chance to live according to Yreth’s values, whenever Yreth struck a Denizen down in the earliest histories, It would have needed to split the Denizen up into twelve lesser bodies just to house their one powerful soul. Lesser is relative, of course. A cenotaph is worth who knows how many of us.”

Seth: “Now, as for The Nail, our ancestors, through their faith, imbued Yreth with incredible strength that allowed It to overpower the other Denizens, and I have a feeling that empowerment had to do with aether manipulation, and perhaps a bit of Soul magic-”

Xenna: “But humans don’t have Soul magic.”

Seth: “We may not, but Yreth certainly would have. The newly formed humans must have felt a connection with their creator, and their faith could have caused Yreth’s soul to reverberate magic between them and Itself. In fact, it’s remarkably similar to what a very small number of Cenotaph were known to use their Soul magic for - Soul Bolstering.”

Maeve: “Hold on, there were Cenotaph who didn’t spend their whole lives building death machines and murdering indiscriminately?”

Seth: “So the legends say. There weren’t many of them, but these Cenotaph didn’t want anything to do with the violence of their kin. Instead they focused on just making the most of their lives with each other. Their souls formed exceptionally strong bonds, empowering them beyond all mortal limits, and they were able to weather assaults from the dragons, other Cenotaph, and even Yreth’s armies. They say an accord was eventually signed between humans and these peaceful Cenotaph, but unfortunately we didn’t have a copy at the archives for me to verify, and there remains no sign of them alive today.”

Seth: “Anyway, the point of all this is if that kind of magic still resides within The Nail, using it would be our best shot at actually bringing The Architect down.”

Wolfgang looked completely lost, but Maeve and Xenna started to nod their heads.

Maeve: “Alright, so The Nail has some kind of extra special Soul magic even beyond all the mass destruction most Cenotaph used to use theirs for, plus it’s part of a Denizen, which are each worth twelve Cenotaph, plus the Denizen part in question is actually from humankind’s god, and is imbued with our ancestor’s ancient faith. Got it.”

Xenna: “And as powerful as The Architect has somehow become, It should still be ‘just’ a Cenotaph, and therefore still vulnerable to this secret weapon of ours. Well, the theory is… it’s out there, but it’s sound enough.”

Wolfgang: “Alright, then! If you all agree this is our best hope, then I am with you! The journey should be swift - we’ll switch back to our carriage in about two days, then we’ll be at the edge of the Ardenscar’s influence in another two… assuming the corruption hasn’t grown even farther, that is. I sure hope these machines of yours work as well as you think, Seth.”

So do I, Wolfgang. So do I.

Zyturak: “There’s a small stopover city called Ellia on the way.  We should head there and load up on supplies we can carry on foot - we have no idea how long we’ll be wandering extraplanar space, and I doubt we can take the carriage with us - or that the horses would want to go anywhere near it.”

Wolfgang: “I can vouch for a resounding ‘No’ from them.”

Maeve: “Sounds like we know what we have to do, then. Let’s get a move on!”

Fortunately for us the weather had much improved and we made excellent time returning to the cabin where Wolfgang’s friend lived. The dogs were happy to be home and the horses had been well taken care of. After a brief rest to transfer our supplies to the carriage and enjoy a meal, we headed for our destination. The grasslands gave way to marsh, slowing our progress somewhat, but Wolfgang always knew how to keep us on solid ground the whole way through. 

It wasn’t long before we made it to Ellia, a border city between Providence and the Aldmoor empire - much of whose territory the Ardenscar had taken over as its corruption clawed its way across the land. Perhaps as a result, Ellia was much larger than any of us remembered as more and more refugees had moved there. 

Not only that, the empress’ soldiers were everywhere. We decided to keep our plan quiet, unsure of how the Aldmoorian Empress would react if she got wind of it. More than anything, we packed up on lightweight food that could sustain us for a long time such as nuts and dried fruits, and the rest of our weight came from water. The journey’s start would be rough but we’d have lots of energy to start out with, and knowing our burden would only be lessened as the days went by would be motivation to keep on going. We decided to book a few rooms at Ellia’s inn, The MusKeg, and allow ourselves as much rest as we needed before stepping through those uncanny gates. There was a nervous energy as we ate our dinner together, but there was excitement, too. 

Seth: “So. I feel I was pretty upfront about our goal since the very first day, but now that we’re only a sunrise away from the reality of passing through the Ardenscar, I want to confirm that we’re all still on board with this. I can’t even claim that this plan is foolproof, so I for one couldn’t blame anyone who decides this is the end of the line.”

Wolfgang: “Is that to say that you’re going, Seth, even if you had to go alone? You, who has no hope in a fight with a bandit, let alone a Cenotaph?”

Maeve: “Of course he won’t be alone... I’m going with him, obviously! It was hearing those whispers that started all this, after all, and I need to follow through with it to the end to finally understand what all this Bedlam stuff was really about. Getting to protect lover boy here is just a very welcome added bonus.”

Wolfgang: “Ha ha ha!! Well said, Maeve. I will be going too - cleansing the corruption of the Ardenscar is its own reward, after all. I’m simply impressed by the confidence our humble librarian is displaying today.”

Xenna: “It truly is inspirational... I too will shatter my fears and plunge headfirst into the unknown! Imagine the metaphysical secrets that are waiting to be uncovered in the rift! And to show this Architect that we are not Its mere playthings - I can’t wait to see the look on Its face!”

Zyturak: “That will be satisfying indeed. The Architect may have the power to delve into our minds, but so long as I live and breathe I will not allow It to pluck so much as a stray thought from our heads!”

Hearing these affirmations filled me with a joyous rapture of emotions. Even if we were killed the moment we stepped through the rift, having known friends like these was so much more than I could have ever asked for.

Seth: “Thank you, all of you. If anyone can stop this psychopath, it’s the five of us, together. I’m more grateful to have met you all than I can ever say.”

I was tearing up, but Maeve didn’t make fun of me this time. She was busy contending with tears of her own.

Zyturak: “I know we will persevere. Let us rest, now - We will have need of our strength for the trials ahead.”

With that, we bid the others good night. Maeve and I retired to our room, and as we had been doing every night for the last few weeks, we held each other as tightly as possible, trying not to take our proximity to one another for granted. We hadn’t spoken about it, but we both knew the pressure of our upcoming mission and the very real chance that we might never see each other again was eating away at us. Anxiety was growing in me, not because we might die, but because if we did I would be leaving things unsaid that needed to be said. So I mustered up every bit of my feelings for her and...

Maeve: “Hey, so-”

Seth: “Maeve, I-”

We spoke at the same time, and though I could have used it as an excuse to hesitate, I decided to just barrel right through.

Seth: “I love you.”

Maeve closed her mouth and studied me for a moment, then laughed with relief.

Maeve: “Oh thank Yreth you said something, because I was about to stumble through a lot of unnecessary words to try and say the same damn thing.”

It was hard to get closer than we already were, but I tried, squeezing her against me with joyful abandon. 

Maeve: “Ack! What is this, revenge for that time I had you in my tendrils?”

I loosened my grip on her, speaking through joyful tears.

Seth: “Sorry! I’m just so happy…”

I sniffled, looking into her glistening eyes and unusually timid expression. Her voice was shaking when she finally spoke.

Maeve: “Do you... really mean it?”

I touched her cheek and nodded my sincerity. Maeve let herself smile with an incredible warmth that she must have been afraid of all this time. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

Maeve: “I love you, Seth. More than those words could ever hope to express. I’m so, so happy that it’s you in my corner.”

Seth: “And I promise you I always will be.”

We kissed for a long time as our feelings crashed like waves between us. Then with our hearts full to bursting and the certain feeling that everything would work out so long as we had each other, we fell into a content, peaceful sleep.

//Time Skip// 

We had been trudging through the swamp for nearly an hour, slapping at mosquitoes as Wolfgang tried desperately to keep the horses as dry as possible and the carriage out of the mire. We were about to send them back to Ellia for the lack of dry path forward when Xenna saw it. 

Xenna: “The aether is… different ahead. Heavier, wilder. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Wolfgang: “That would be the corruption - it’s advanced much further than we anticipated…”

He closed his eyes, lost in thought for a moment.

Wolfgang: “This is it, everyone. I’ll set up the hay bales and we’ll keep the carriage on this patch of solid land as base camp. The horses know to run back to Ellia if they run out of food or at the first sign of danger.”

We moved ahead cautiously, and the very ground beneath our feet changed. Everything was too bright, too lively. Some distance ahead of us a pillar of swampy water shot out of the ground before solidifying into stone. The sky itself seemed to shift hues under the uneven fog that arbitrarily rose or fell. I wore The Key like a necklace and The Anchor around my left wrist. I could feel their power.

Seth: “Stay close to me.”

Maeve cast a playful wink my way.

Maeve: “Oh, you don’t have to tell me twice!”

We stepped into the chaotic terrain. Everything in a large distance around us stuttered for a moment, then was forced to return to normal. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief that the plan was holding together for now. 

We passed through all kinds of strange phenomena on our way forward. The terrain would morph wildly from grass to lava to... we didn’t even want to know what, and back again. Shadows of creatures could be spotted at the edges of our vision, but never seen head-on. Strange white noise gave way to indecipherable, hissing whispers. Luckily, The Anchor shielded us from any serious harm, but it was hard not to be unnerved. Xenna suddenly stopped walking and pointed forward.

Xenna: “Not more than two hundred feet ahead… The Ardenscar.”

She traced the invisible lines of aether as she spoke in awe of the sight only she was privy to. 

Seth: “Xenna, can you determine anything about the Scar from here?”

Xenna: “I’m afraid there’s so much aether pouring out of it that there’s very little more I can say. It’s practically blinding.” 

Wolfgang shuddered. 

Wolfgang: “I can feel it, too. When I step into the rift, will I be completely cut off from my connection with the land…? The thought terrifies me.”

Maeve: “I’m sure it’ll take more than a mere dimensional rift to pull Ptarmigan out of you, Wolfie.”

Wolfgang: “Ha ha ha!! Of course, you’re right.”

Zyturak: “We’re all in good spirits… that’s a miracle in itself. Are we ready to take the first step on the end of this journey?”

Everyone nodded, resolve shining in their eyes.

Seth: “Alright, then. Here goes nothing.”

I led our ragtag group to the source of the corruption. All in all, there wasn’t much to see. The Ardenscar was near invisible - only a tall vertical distortion of light signified that anything served as the source of the rampant chaos. Xenna’s eyes widened - she could clearly see something more than the rest of us, but didn’t feel the need to elaborate.

The Anchor seemed to strain against the rift, our bubble of safety shrinking somewhat, and my heart caught in my throat. True to her word, Maeve was as close to me as she could get away with. With her reassuring presence at my side I held The Key aloft as Queen Dajjal had done. An embarrassing moment passed as nothing happened.

Seth: “Hmm, maybe I-”

Then the distortion lurched forward, and consumed our very essence.