After the barrier fell, the group guarding the entrance to the research center didn't last very long. 

The sandstorm mage was the last to go down. He seemed to be a fifth- or sixth-rank sorcerer, and he clearly had a lot of fighting experience, because he had a full bag of tricks. He was constantly using his swirling clouds of sand to deflect attacks, obscure their vision, and upset their footing.

Finally, Kino, Sala, Aunt Kat, and Ziryi all teamed up and went against him. The familiars used a combination of wind and gravity to push his sand back on top of him. Aunt Kat made several watermimics explode on it. And then Ziryi zapped the whole thing with a massive cluster of purple lightning.

It was finally enough to make the sandstorm mage—a large man with a shaved head and a sour expression—slump to the ground. But as soon as the lightning had cleared away, Kino ran over to put suppression bands on him, meaning that he was still alive.

As expected from someone who would bully a manticore into submission. He was a tenacious one....

The twins took charge of dragging the fallen guards outside to where the unconscious manticore was lying, assisted by Sala's magic, while Ariom and Ziryi started disabling the next round of enchantments.

The outer door had opened onto a sort of security checkpoint, where the guards had been waiting, and there was another large door on the other side of that, complete with another set of traps and barriers.

The two enchanters once again divided up the work on the traps. Then Ziryi triggered the door's opening mechanism while everyone else stood back, protected behind their various shields, in case another attack was waiting on the other side. 

But no sand or balls of lava came flying through the doorway this time. They waited until the door had opened completely, but no enemies appeared, so Aunt Kat signaled for Rockbrawler to lead the way further in.

Past the second door, they found themselves at the entrance to a warehouse area. There were several large magic lifts set into a nearby wall, but they didn't go toward them.

"Block the lifts," Aunt Kat instructed. "We don't want the enemies circling around behind us."

Silverwater raised his hands and shot out two streams of liquid metal that hardened into sheets, covering the lift doors. Then Namyis waved her staff and created a thick wall of ice that held the metal in place. 

"The intruders are there! Hurry!" Shouts came from the warehouse ahead, and Ariom could see more figures in guard uniforms hurrying toward them.

"Darkbolt. Ariom. Go check that door." Aunt Kat gestured toward a plain-looking door set into the wall across from the lifts. "Red and Kino, go with them. Everyone else...." She pointed her halberd toward the approaching guards and gave a grim smile. "Time for the next round!"

While the other half of the team went to engage the newest group of enemies, Ariom and Ziryi went over to the door, with Red and Kino following behind them, shielding them from any attacks that came their direction.

"It looks like the group that was guarding the entrance already sounded the alarm, so we can just ignore any alarm traps from now on," Ziryi told Ariom, scanning the area around the door. "Let's see...a basic locking barrier and...a fire trap? All right. I can handle these."

"Setting off alarm traps will let them know where we are in the building, won't it?" Ariom asked, watching as she stepped forward and began disarming the traps.

"Probably. But we're raiding their base a few hours after three people were teleported out of the Royal Guard headquarters," Red pointed out. "They'd have to be stupid not to realize what we're after. Of course...abducting the head of the Stability Center was a pretty stupid thing to do in the first place, so...." He trailed off with a shrug.

Ariom simply frowned and didn't reply.

During the meeting with Hydra and Captain Lysien, they'd all agreed that the official story would be that Focilo had been the real kidnapping target and that Thenio had simply been with him at the time and gotten caught up in it. This seemed like the best option to hide his connection to Ki'shiu and protect him from the attention of other malicious parties. 

And it was possible that it was true. At this point, they had no way of knowing what the Old One's intentions were in taking the two of them. But Ariom had a strong suspicion that it had actually been the other way around—that Thenio was the real target and Focilo was the one who had gotten caught up in it.

Well...if anything, kidnapping a boy who was under the protection of both the Magic Corps and a mythic beast was even stupider than kidnapping the head of the Stability Center, so Red's point still stood.

Ziryi finished disabling the enchantments not long afterward and opened the door a crack so that Kino could send some of his magic wind through to check for people on the other side.

The group of Order guards that the others had been fighting must not have been very strong, because they finished up their battle at about the same time. Then Namyis and the twins worked together to block off the entrance to the warehouse with a large wall of ice over woven strands of metal, ignoring the guards lying in a heap on the other side.  

"How does it look?" Aunt Kat asked, coming over with Sala and Rockbrawler behind her.

"No fresh smells," Kino said. "And I don't hear anything."

Ziryi nodded and pushed the door fully open. As Kino had said, the corridor on the other side was empty. 

"Good. Let's get back in formation." Aunt Kat looked over at the three wall-makers. "We'll move on as soon as they're finished. Keep scouting ahead for us, Kino."

They lined up again, leaving a space for the twins, who joined them a few minutes later. Then they all filed through the door and down the corridor.

After a couple of turns and a few more disarmed traps, they reached a staircase leading downward. They paused briefly in front of it so that Namyis could block off the rest of the corridor with an ice wall and then headed down.

There was another door at the bottom of the stairs, along with another layer of enchantments. They waited a few minutes while Ziryi disabled them. She seemed to be getting used to the Old One's enchanting style, because her speed was gradually increasing.

When she was done, she stepped back, and Rockbrawler opened the door a little. Then he looked back at Kino.

The storm hound sent out a gust of wind and then stood still for a minute, his nose in the air, before looking up at Rockbrawler and nodding. Rockbrawler opened the door the rest of the way and stepped out. 

They followed him out of the stairwell and down another empty hallway to another door. Then they paused again so that Ziryi could undo the enchantments and Namyis could create ice walls around their path. 

A short time later, Ziryi stepped back and let Rockbrawler open the door again, revealing another set of stairs leading down.

They repeated the whole process again. And again. 

They didn't encounter any more enemies until the third floor down. There, while they were waiting for Ziryi to undo the enchantments on the door, another door opened further down the corridor. 

A young woman wearing what looked like a laboratory uniform stepped out and turned in their direction. But when she saw the team of battlemages looking back at her, she stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at them blankly for a couple of seconds, her eyes wide. Then she screamed, turned around, and dashed back through the door, slamming it behind her.

They let her go. Chasing her down would take too much time, and it probably wasn't worth the trouble. They could leave the researchers to the teams that would come to clean up this place after they got Thenio and Focilo out. But Namyis made the ice walls on that floor extra thick, just in case the woman came back with reinforcements.

Finally, after descending another flight of stairs, they reached their destination—the fourth underground floor. 

"Since they seem to be holding research subjects on this floor, the security will probably be heavier here. Pay attention, everyone," Aunt Kat warned as Ziryi finished undoing the enchantments on the door at the bottom of the stairs and moved back to let Rockbrawler take the lead again.

Everyone nodded in understanding. Then Rockbrawler eased the door open, and they all fell silent, waiting for Kino's verdict. He spent quite a lot longer smelling the air this time.

"I can smell people," he said finally. "Not close. They're further ahead. But there are a lot of them."

"How many? Can you make a rough estimate?" Aunt Kat asked.

Kino was silent for a moment, still sniffing. "I think...at least twenty? They might not all be guards. There's a lot of doctor smell mixed in."

"Doctor smell? So you think there are researchers that have joined in to defend the place?"

"Maybe. I don't know. But they smell like that."

"What about demons? Can you smell any of those?"

"I think...." Kino paused again, sniffing. "There are some traces. But I think that's from the doctor people. I don't think there are any actual demons close by."

"All right. That helps. Well done, Kino." Aunt Kat patted the storm hound's armored head. Then she looked around at the rest of the team. "Looks like we might have a big fight ahead. With any luck, they'll only be strong in numbers. But be ready for anything. Let's go secure the corridor outside to start with."

They all nodded and then focused toward the front. Rockbrawler pulled the door open, cautiously checked outside, and then went through. The others followed.

There was another door nearby, which presumably had another set of stairs behind it. But they didn't need to go any further down, so Namyis froze it over, along with one end of the corridor. Then the rescue team moved in the direction that was still open.

When they turned out of that hallway and into an adjoining one, they began moving past large windows that looked into what seemed to be workrooms. Or maybe operating rooms, since the tables in the center of them were about the right size for an adult human to lie on. The rooms also held an assortment of unfamiliar machines and racks of strange tools.

Halfway down that hallway, Ariom heard a sneeze next to him and turned to see Kino with his ears flattened and his nose wrinkled, looking disgusted by something.

"Kino? Are you all right?"

The storm hound sneezed again and shook his head like he was trying to get a fly off his nose. "There are a lot of nasty smells coming from those rooms."

"What kind of smells?" Red asked him, frowning a little.

"Medicine. Alchemical materials. Blood. Dead bodies." Kino sneezed a third time. "A little demon magic, too. They've been doing scary things here."

"I'm sure," Red said dryly. "I've yet to see an Order research facility where they weren't doing scary things...."

Ariom grimaced. He'd read enough about the Order of the Ravener to know more or less what to expect in a place like this. But seeing it in person was still a bit of a shock.

And Garem and Kino had to deal with this kind of thing all the time? No wonder they always looked so gloomy....

Ariom made a mental note to start inviting Kino over to play with Iggy once in a while. The poor dog could probably use an occasional break.

In addition to the workrooms with the disturbing smells, they also passed a couple of rooms that looked similar to Ariom's analysis lab. But there were no people visible in any of the rooms they passed, and after they went a little further, they found out why.

According to Eteon's maps, this floor was divided into two parts. One was the 'medical' area, including the workrooms and analysis labs. The other was the 'residential' area, where the holding cells were. One area to keep captives, and the other to do...whatever it was they were doing to them.

In between the two was a large, open area. It was very sparsely decorated, so its purpose was probably to make it harder for captives to escape unnoticed, since the exits were all on the other side of the floor.

There was also only one entrance to the holding cells—a large archway with security desks on both sides. And currently, all the researchers and guards on this floor seemed to be lined up in front of it, waiting for them. It looked like twenty-five or thirty people in total.

As Red had said earlier, it was obvious that the purpose of the raid was to rescue the abducted people, so it was obvious where the rescue team would be heading. The guards here must have decided that gathering everyone up at this entrance was the most efficient way to defend against their attackers.

Of course, it was also an efficient way for the rescue team to take out all the enemies on this floor in one go.

"Nice of you to all gather up like this," Aunt Kat told them, surveying the group with a grin on her face. "It saves us the trouble of hunting you all down."

She held up her halberd and released a wave of water that split into six identical water tigers that all lifted their heads and roared silently at the group across the room. Sala joined in, letting out a single, real roar that echoed off the bare walls.

Aunt Kat lowered her halberd, pointing it straight at the enemies. "Rescue team, attack!"

 

---

 

Focilo's tree roots had spread out quite a long way by this time—enough to start giving him information about what was going on in the rest of the building. So he was aware when the intruder alarm went off and the guards and researchers stopped what they were doing and started moving around restlessly, looking for someone to give them instructions.

Unfortunately for them, the head of the building security—a fearsome sandstorm mage who had even managed to tame a manticore and make it his familiar—had gone to the ground floor to check the guard patrols after they received word that the base was under attack. 

He'd sounded a building-wide alarm about twenty minutes later, but they hadn't been able to get in touch with him since then.

Eventually, the leader of the floor's security team decided to prioritize defending the holding area and started rounding people up to stand at the entrance. 

It wouldn't have been a bad idea if they'd been up against more mundane intruders. But when the fighting finally started, Focilo could sense a clear difference in the magic power of the two sides. 

That felt like a team from the Magic Corps' first squad. Most of the people here simply weren't a match for battlemages at that level.

Most of them.

Focilo kept part of his attention on the energy vibrations from the battle while he listened to a conversation that was happening nearby.

"The intruders have made it to this floor?"

"Yes, Doctor. The security team is holding them off at the entrance to the research subject holding area, but.... What should we do?"

"Nothing, for now. They shouldn't be able to find us. And if they somehow do.... Well. I'll take care of them." Focilo's sensitive roots could feel the air stirring as Ebihan let out a deep sigh. "Really...the Magic Corps must have already noticed this base. Were they already preparing to attack us? There's no way they could have found us so quickly otherwise. Such bad timing. The Old Ones will be terribly displeased...."

Ebihan gave another deep sigh and walked away, shaking his head. 

He seemed much more afraid of the Old Ones than he was of the approaching battlemages. That was a little concerning. Focilo didn't know what kind of tricks the man had hidden up his sleeve, but apparently they were enough to make him think he could go up against the team currently stomping all over his colleagues. 

It sounded ridiculous, but you shouldn't underestimate a close follower of the Old Ones. He might have some kind of powerful artifact or secret techniques.

Focilo would have to keep an eye on him.

For now, he turned his attention back to the ongoing battle. He was also quite surprised to see the Magic Corps arrive so quickly. Maybe they really had been staking the place out already.

Or maybe.... He glanced over at Thenio.

The Consort would be able to find this place easily if he were willing to risk being corrupted. Had he or his agent actually stepped in and told the Magic Corps where to go? Did they really value this boy that much?

Speaking of which....

Focilo analyzed the sensations he was receiving from his network of roots and found a man who'd come in with the Magic Corps' rescue team. He was mostly hanging back, staying out of the fighting, but he occasionally fired off an arrow toward one of the Order members. Focilo could feel the arrows explode with magic power when they hit, which meant they were enchanted. And they all had a very familiar magic signature.

Yes, that really was Ariom. Incredible. Focilo probably wouldn't have believed it if the evidence weren't right there in front of him.

He glanced at Thenio again. What was it about that boy? 

Weak people were afraid of him, but stronger ones seemed to feel an unusual desire to help and protect him. Magic beasts were drawn to him. And even mythic beasts were interested in him.

It was almost like he was a—

No. That was impossible. Focilo shook his head, cutting off his ridiculous train of thought. 

By all accounts, Thenio was human. An unusual human, to be sure, but human nonetheless. And even if he were really something else, there was no way he could be one of those.

The effect he had on other people was probably the result of him being a phoenix child. If he had been absorbing an unusually large number of fragments, and if that second magic circuit really was amplifying his phoenix-like abilities, then it somewhat made sense.

Focilo sighed. He needed to get out of this place and go home. Whether it was due to lack of sleep or the shock of meeting an Old One or being trapped in this cell, his tired mind kept dreaming up all kinds of nonsensical ideas....

He refocused on what was happening with the Magic Corps team. Crazy speculations about the boy could wait. Right now, he had to do his best to prepare for whatever was about to happen. 

If Ebihan really was strong enough to take on a first squad team, then it was possible that the rescue team would need a little rescuing themselves. Focilo needed to be ready to help them out when the time came.

 

---

 

Ariom stared blankly at Aunt Kat. "They're not here? What do you mean they're not here? How can they not be here?"

"I'm sorry, Ariom, but they really don't seem to be here. We've looked in all the holding cells, and Kino has smelled the entire floor. There's no sign of them." Aunt Kat's expression was deeply apologetic. "Remember, we picked this out as the most likely place, but there was never any guarantee that they were here to begin with. They must be on another floor...or even in another building. We'll just have to keep looking."

She patted his arm comfortingly and then went over to where Ziryi and Ironfish were looking at the building maps and discussing where they ought to go from here. 

They were still in the large room in the center of the fourth floor. Red was treating Rockbrawler and Silverwater, who had both received minor injuries during the last fight. Sala was floating the unconscious Order members into some of the unused holding cells, while keeping an eye on the few conscious ones who had surrendered and gone into a cell of their own accord. And Kino was prowling around the area, watching for approaching enemies and continuing to search for signs of Thenio, Focilo, or Rimeus.

Ariom continued to stand there, staring unseeingly into space. He knew that he ought to go consult with the others and help figure out what to do next. But it was like everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours had just caught up with him, completely overloading his mind.

He was so tired all of a sudden....

"Hey, don't zone out in a place like this," an annoyingly familiar voice said, bringing him out of his stupor. "Do you need a nice cold shower to help you wake up?"

Ariom turned to glare at Namyis. She'd gone to block off all the exits to this floor, to help make sure no enemies could sneak up on them. But she must have just gotten back.

"Keep your ice water to yourself," he snapped. "I don't need it."

"Aww...I was only trying to help." Namyis put on an innocent expression for a moment. Then she wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue at him. "Come on, try to cheer up. I know it's discouraging that they weren't where we expected them to be. But it's not like we're out of time yet. Eteon said that Thenio could last a day or two, right? It's only been a few hours since then. We'll keep looking, so don't give up!"

"I know," Ariom said irritably. "I'm not going to give up. It's just that I've had a really lousy day and night. Nothing has gone how it was supposed to. Way too many people have been trying to kill me. I've exhausted my magic multiple times and barely got any chance to rest. My assistant got kidnapped and is currently dying of magic suffocation. I somehow ended up going on a raid with the Magic Corps, of all things. And now there's yet another setback. So I'm taking a five minute break to feel annoyed about it all, okay? Do you have a problem with—"

He suddenly broke off. There was a strange, hot sensation on his chest. Frowning, Ariom reached inside his combat suit and pulled out the pendant that was hanging around his neck. The one that Relisa had given him, which was made from Ket'shiu's wood.

It was glowing softly, and it felt warm against his skin.

"Isn't that the necklace Grandmaster Sephior's wife gave you?" Namyis asked, looking at it curiously. "Why is it glowing like that?"

At her words, everyone else turned to look. For a moment, they all stared silently at the shining circle of wood in Ariom's hand.

Then the light coming from the pendant flared more brightly, and something sprouted out of the wood where the carving of the tree was. A single green branch grew upwards. A few buds appeared on it, stretching out and unfurling into small green and gold leaves.

When the branch was about ten inches long, it stopped growing. The glow and heat faded. For a moment, it was just a simple, innocent-looking tree sprout sticking up from Ariom's hand, swaying slightly.

Then it suddenly tilted hard to one side, pointing down a nearby corridor.

There was a moment of silence.

"I think it wants us to go that way," Namyis said, pointing in the same direction as the sprout. She looked around at the others. "Anybody know what the Magic Corps' policy on taking directions from tree branches is? I must have missed that particular training session."