The Last Experience Point

Last Experience Point

PART III: Albion-4

EIGHT MONTHS LATER

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There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Zach said.

In stepped Alace, a pretty, middle-aged woman wearing a skirt, who halted in the doorframe leading to his office. She looked tired and overworked, and the light filtering in from the windows to the right highlighted the bags forming under her eyes. Zach understood exactly how she was feeling.

"Sir Calador," she said to him. "I have a man named Plonce from the finance department on hold. He says he spoke to you about DOS estimates yesterday?"

"Uh, one second, Alace."

Zach, leaning forward with one hand gripping his forehead and the other one desperately swiping the motion-based terminal screen built into his fancy, polished, cherry-wood desk, began frantically searching for the paperwork he could've sworn that he signed last week that allowed the various crews to begin laying the groundwork for construction to finally begin in at least one section of Ogre's Axe.

"Are you still with me, Tralsk?" he asked into a speaker on his desk.

"Of course, Sir Calador," a voice replied.

"Okay, I found it. Right here. It says I signed the waiver on February 2nd at just past noon."

"Which waiver?"

"The uh, the environmental waiver. Yeah, I've got it right here. I even remember doing it. The Royal Roses Department of Ecology and Safety said the radiation levels have now come down enough so that you guys are cleared to begin preliminary construction from 1st to 3rd avenue. I signed off and approved their findings."

"Forgive me, Sir Calador, but that's not what I'm calling about. I'm calling about the transfer authorization of construction materials."

"What authorization?" Zach asked, becoming annoyed. "I authorized the purchase months ago."

"Yes, you authorized the purchase, Sir Calador."

"Right. And I authorized the shipping permit and the storage."

"Correct. But you never officially authorized the release of the materials into my possession."

Zach suppressed a moan. "Oh, right. I'll do that by end of day today. I have another call. I have to go for now."

"Understood, and the Gods bless you, young man."

Zach pressed a button to disconnect himself. Then he made a waving motion to Alace, who nodded, returned to her own desk, and patched him through. "This is Zachys Calador," he said.

"Hello, Sir Calador. This is Plonce Untur from the finance department. I'm calling in regards to the withdrawal request you filed yesterday at 11:30 AM."

"Ah, yeah, what's up?"

"Not much uh…hmm…so, it says here you uh…you're transferring a payment of 62.4-million gold to the Department of Schooling?"

"Yeah. The DOS is about to go bankrupt."

"Right…it's just that I also see that a similar payment of 29 million gold was authorized by you recently."

"Teachers have to be paid," Zach explained. "Books need to be assigned. Kids need to eat lunch. What do you want from me?"

"It's just that our budget is very, very tight, Sir Calador, and while I am not able to overrule you, I would like you to consider perhaps lowering that down a bit. It's only going to cause us to have to cut back elsewhere."

Zach tried to keep his temper in check. "We're not cutting education. I already fought about this with Vim yesterday. Take it from the military."

"I'm not authorized to just take things from various departments. I'm only authorized to oversee the release of funds. Although I should remind you that you've already cut defense spending twice."

"Well, yeah," Zach said. "There's nobody left to fight. Why do we need to spend hundreds of millions of gold every year on nothing?"

"Some…might argue that the events of last year necessitate having a strong—"

"Oh, cut the shit, Plonce. I fought in that Gods-be-damned war. And I don't need to hear about what's important from a fucking bookkeeper. Send the DOS the money or I'll have you arrested."

"Very well, Sir Calador."

Zach dismissed the call, then sighed. He looked outside of the window nearest to his desk, where a heavy snow had begun to pound the fields outside of his estate. During the summer months, it had been so beautiful and green, and there had been a large forest he could walk through. He had a lot of land here: like a real, real lot. But it was now well below freezing outside, and taking a walk wouldn't be comfortable. There were also several inches of snow that coated the ground for miles.

I hear Archian Prime is amazing this time of year, though, he thought. It was difficult to imagine that hellishly cold place as a hot and beautiful paradise, but apparently, that was exactly what it became around now.

Feeling exhausted, he reached for his coffee and accidentally knocked over a commemorative plaque that he kept on his desk: a memento given to him by the Orcish Queen herself after he'd spent a combined total of around twenty hours over a period of three days testifying in front of the various world leaders.

By that point, Zach had already gone over every talking point with Mr. Oren and the others, and so he'd known how to answer every question; from Mr. Oren's reaction at the time, he'd come away with the strong sense that he'd done a very good job.

As proof of this, negotiations were finally underway to readmit humanity into global trade. It was also why Mr. Oren hadn't been in North Bastia for several months. He'd basically relocated to the Orcish continent, which hosted the URG: The United Races of Galterra. It was a large building where global affairs were conducted. Mr. Oren had only been back to North Bastia for a few short trips since negotiations had started.

Simpler times, he thought as he picked up the plaque and dusted it off. It showed a photograph of him shaking hands with the Orcish Queen while the Chief Engineer of the Dwarven people smiled in the background. He was standing next to the Gnomish King, who in turn was beside the Scale-King of the Lizardmen. And there was Zach, with a genuinely pleased expression on his face.

In honor of reunification, it read on the bottom. May the hostilities between all peoples of Galterra become a relic of the past.

Now, as Zach reminisced, he almost wished he could go back and relive those days. At the time, it had seemed like a boring chore. Little did he realize it was actually more like the last vacation he'd ever take. Since then, he'd been buried alive in work. And all of it was his own doing, too. Literally all of it.

After returning to North Bastia, Zach had come to learn precisely what being a high-ranking member of a guild actually entailed, and the answer surprised him. Because the answer was as simple as: it was whatever you made of it.

Except for rare occasions when very important tasks needed doing, there was absolutely no one telling Zach that he had to do this or that. Or that he should involve himself with this task or that task. Until he actually chose to do so, no one would ever bother him. Instead, there was a much simpler proposition, and it seemed it was the same for most guilds.

Basically, there existed a list of things that needed to be done in order of priority, and someone from the Royal Roses either did those things or they just weren't done. It was that simple. And for Zach, his involvement was all because of a little girl he'd met in Giant's Fall after finally stopping by to see his estate with his own two eyes.

On his first trip here, it had still been early into the summer, and this little girl and her mother had set him down the path he would end up following for almost a year now.

"I'm so sorry about this, Sir Calador," one of his security personnel had said upon spotting the two. "I'll have them removed."

"No, don't," Zach had said, having felt disgusted even by the suggestion.

The woman and her daughter had been sweating, so Zach had invited them inside for some cold lemonade. He'd then asked why they'd shown up here. As it turned out, they'd come here just in the off-chance Zach actually showed up. They also claimed they'd made the trip out here several times in the past, but this was the first time they'd ever gotten to see Zach. Zach had then laughed and told them that it was because it had been his first time here as well.

After a brief conversation, Zach learned that the eleven-year-old girl had been out of school for over two months because her local school had shut down due to running out of gold. It was also here that Zach discovered that, as fourth-in-command of the Royal Roses, he basically had the ability to dabble in just about any issue, but with one very important caveat; Vim had explained to him that any project he—or anyone from the top-10 of the Royal Roses—picked up had to be seen to completion.

And so began a long, months-long road to reform the education system. During this time, Zach had learned one morning from the news media of all places that delay after delay was befalling the reconstruction of Ogre's Axe. And it was while Zach had been having his morning coffee and watching this report that he'd wondered: why in the hell wasn't anyone from the Royal Roses doing something about this?

And that had been the moment it really sank into him. That he was the reason. Maybe not in the literal sense, but in the sense that nothing ever got done until someone bothered to do it. Yet, at first, he'd been hesitant, as he knew absolutely nothing about construction or why things weren't going smoothly. Surely, there had to be someone specialized in taking care of just these issues.

Nope.

There were construction specialists, engineers, bankers, finance gurus, and everything in between—but the high-ranking officials who made the ball roll? That was him. Or someone else. But everyone seemed so busy. Thus, despite being such an urgent issue, the reconstruction of a destroyed city somehow had fallen by the wayside—until Zach decided to actually take upon the responsibility of overseeing the project himself.

And Gods, it had become the most difficult task he'd ever set out to do. But there were so many human lives that were helped along the way. And so many in the future who'd be helped, too.

Right now, Giant's Fall was in really, really bad shape. If you had told Zach a year ago that the day would come when the region of Whispery Woods would send financial and food aid to the region of Giant's Fall, Zach would have laughed in your face. And yet, in a miraculous, stunning turnaround, Whispery Woods was already in the green not even a full year after the Elves had taken over, and prosperity was returning to the city. Giant's Fall, on the other hand, was on its way to becoming the new Whispery Woods thanks to that Gods-be-damned nuclear weapon.

We're struggling, Zach thought.

Thankfully, Zach was not alone in tackling the reconstruction project. Not long after he'd begun, he'd received a partner. Someone who had become his best friend in the world these past eight months. Someone who also happened to be the closest thing he now had to a "next-door neighbor," though in this case, "next door" meant about fifteen miles away.

And I think that's him right now, Zach thought with a smile. He could tell from the unique, thudding footsteps that preceded a knock on his door, which opened as Alace entered once again.

"Sir Grundor is here to see you," she said.

"I can tell," Zach replied with a laugh.

And with that, in strode the level-105 zombie wearing a five-thousand-gold suit. "Lunch today?" he asked, to which Zach nodded.

Grundor had been stopping by to see him every day for the past six months. And he'd really been a great friend to Zach. Especially when he'd come over late at night for snacks and to hang out when Zach was unable to sleep. Without him, the loneliness would've been unbearable. Especially since he only got to see Kalana a few times a week these days, if that. She was busy being the governor of Whispery Woods, a job she happened to be doing very well, mostly because she actually cared.

"What've you got there?" Zach asked him, trying not to laugh.

"It's a surprise," he said. He casually strolled over to Zach's desk and set down something in fancy wrapping paper. "Happy 18th birthday, Zach."

"Ah, shit. You didn't have to, Grund."

The zombie began flexing his muscles at random, which he tended to do from time to time. "'Course I did! Hey, Zach, when are you gonna start working out with me? You're getting too lazy."

"I've been busy!"

"Excuses."

Grundor pulled up a chair and sat across from him as Zach opened the present. Inside was a simple cotton t-shirt that had a picture of Grundor wearing a costume with a cape. He loved it. "Is this from the new Grundor movie?"

"Yup! You're the first one to receive my official merch, Zach."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Awesome."

The two shared a laugh. But then the laughter died off. Getting up slowly from his chair, Zach walked over to the door and ensured it was closed and locked. Then he turned around, and he let the worry and terror fill his face. Around Grundor, he didn't have to lie: he didn't have to put on a show of confidence. He was sick inside. He was torn apart.

"It's been eight months," he said. "Grundor, they're all dead. Aren't they?"

He shook his head. "You're not gonna freak out about this again, are you?"

The fear shot through him. He'd been holding it in all day again. "We should've heard something by now. Jimmy told us back then that he'd contact us as soon as he found out how the place worked. It's been eight months, Grundor!"

During the first few months after Jimmy and the others defeated the gate guardian and departed from Galterra, Zach wasn't overly worried. This was because Grundor's level was tied to Olivir's level, and Grundor had shot up very, very fast to level 105, which meant Olivir must've been gaining heaps of experience. But about three months in, the leveling stopped. Grundor was now perpetually stuck at level 105. He hadn't budged.

Initially, Zach didn't worry too much because he'd concluded that if Olivir had died, Grundor would vanish, too. Thus, the fact that Grundor still existed meant Olivir must still exist. But one day, Grundor had explained to him that that wasn't exactly true. His existence was bound to Olivir's, but Olivir's death wouldn't automatically mean his own death as well. Most likely, he would continue on. Therefore, Zach could not rely on Grundor's existence to imply Olivir's.

"Something must've happened," Zach said. "It's been too long. Every day that goes by is getting harder. Where the fuck are they, Grundor? They wouldn't have just abandoned or forgotten about us. I miss my damn cat."

Their faces flashed before his eyes: Lienne, Rian, Olivir, Kolona, Donovan, the Britethorns, Eldora, Ophelia, Maric, Kesten, Alixia, Ishina, and so many more.

Fluffles!

Where were they?

They have to be dead. I'm deluding myself.

"Grundor," he said softly.

"Yeah?"

"You feel like taking a ride to Elendroth? Or are you busy tonight?"

"I'm busy," he said apologetically. "I have a date with Angelica. Mushkie's watching the tavern, and the kids are watching the item shop."

Zach nodded. "Ah, all right."

Eight months ago, when Zach had pulled Olandrin back to Galterra, he'd made a bizarre request of the man before he returned to the OMP. It was one he strongly doubted would be granted, yet he felt he needed to ask anyway. He'd asked Olandrin if it was possible to unbind Mushkie from his item shop, as he'd been trapped there for a long time, and it seemed cruel.

As it so happened, Olandrin not only could, but it was within his purview to do so. He'd claimed it could be done instantly with a simple change of the "permission structure." Initially, Zach had been shocked, as he'd thought surely this would be the thing that sets Adamus into a rage. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized how little it would matter to Adamus as long as the places kept running. Adamus didn't care one way or another about sentient NPCs, and Zach would be surprised if he ever thought about them at all.

He's so cruel, Zach thought.

At any rate, from that day forward, Mushkie had begun taking Fridays and Sundays off. And during these days, Fylwen would send three young Elvish children to the shop to "learn responsibility" and run it while he was gone. On Fridays, Mushkie was free to go wherever he wanted and do whatever he wanted, even choosing to visit Zach every now and again.

I've become like him, he thought, chuckling to himself. Lonely and missing people from the past.

On Sundays, however, Mushkie worked in Angelica's and Angelica took the day off. Sundays had thus become very important for Grundor, as it was the only day of the week the two could really spend any time together. So Zach couldn't be too upset with him for not being able to tag along.

"I hope you're not going down there to try to find anything out," Grundor said. "You'll just be wasting your time."

"Maybe," Zach said. "But I have to try."

Things had changed with the Elves since the day of Olandrin's appearance eight months ago, and a lot of it was Zach's fault. At the time, Zach had talked openly with Olandrin about things such as the "system" and the "OMP." Zach hadn't minded talking in front of the Elves. He assumed it would just be gibberish to their ears and mean nothing.

And that had been a mistake, as he'd failed to appreciate just how smart and devoted they were towards adhering to their "Great Lord." He'd totally, completely underestimated them.

Without being told anything specific, and without any Great One ever appearing before them to provide them with such information, the Elves had been able to use nothing but context clues and background information to perfectly discover everything that Zach knew and they didn't. Namely, with regards to Adamus.

In particular, it had been the exchange between Zach and Olandrin regarding that "ring" he wasn't allowed to give Zach. That, more than anything else, had been what let the Elves extrapolate on everything else. At the time, Olandrin had told him that Adamus stopped him from giving Zach the ring because it was "cheating." Then, later, after giving Fylwen a level-150 gladius, Fylwen claimed she'd never use it because of how holy it was to her. Olandrin had replied that such a thing was likely why Adamus was even allowing her to have it.

And from just these two events alone, the Elves had somehow figured it out: all of it.

Fylwen now understood that there was a "system" that governed power, and that the purpose of this system was to enable a fair opportunity for everyone to grow strong. She also understood that Adamus's primary directive was not to allow interference with his creation, and from there, everything between himself and Eilea had started to click.

One day, about 5 months ago, during a routine visit to Elendroth, Fylwen had approached Zach and told him all these things. Then she'd asked him point-blank: "Am I correct, young man? I have spent months discussing this almost every night with the Wise Ones."

Zach knew he couldn't lie to her face. Telling her anything else just felt plain wrong. And Kalana, who'd been with him at the time, definitely wouldn't have allowed him to lie to her mother. And so, he'd nodded and said, "Yeah, that's right. You figured all that out from just a few sentences?"

"I have," she explained. "And now, all of it will be added to our holiest of books. It may even take higher priority than some existing texts, given the sheer importance of it: all of it except for the OMP, which the Great Lord Olandrin told us we cannot share. Not that we know what it is."

"I might as well just tell you," Zach said. "At this point, they probably already trust you enough not to let any of this leak. The OMP stands for Orbital Monitoring Platform. It's a series of space stations where the people who uphold the system work. It's where Adamus lives." He'd then explained the kinds of outfits they wore, and how Prila had come down as one of them.

Fylwen had thanked him for this knowledge and had instructed her scribes not to dare write it down. But she'd done something else, too. She'd begun actively searching Galterra for any signs of the OMP. She'd told her Elvish scouts what to look for, and somehow, through some means, she began finding them.

Each time she caught wind of an OMP crew on Galterra, she would dispatch a royal guard to protect them wherever they were until, eventually, according to Kalana, Adamus himself had contacted her through her mind to thank her, and he'd told her that if she insisted on sparing her "precious" resources to protect and safeguard his OMP crews when they made repairs on Galterra, he might as well set up a line of communication between herself and a "project manager" so that she could be told in advance when and where they would touch down.

Fylwen reacted to this as one could expect an Elf to react: she held an emergency meeting of the highest-ranking figures of the Elvish religion, and she now doubled the number of Elves dedicated just to protecting Adamus's people while they "performed their miracles."

That wasn't the only news to come out of the OMP. Zach himself had spoken to Olandrin one more time since he departed, but only for about five minutes, and through his phone of all things. Olandrin had actually found his number and called him from the damn space station.

It had been a very short conversation, but very informative, too.

Olandrin had explained that collaborations between himself and Adamus were going "tremendously better" than expected, and that they were seeing eye-to-eye in ways they hadn't for thousands of years. Both men agreed that the core infrastructure of the system was poor, and so they'd decided to delay the next "update" for a while, along with "Project Rejuvenation," in order to work on a much more sensitive and delicate update that wouldn't be something ordinary people would notice but would greatly enhance the aging infrastructure of the system.

"Basically, I'm gonna have to ask you and Kalana to wait a bit on your dragons," he said. "I'm really sorry about that. We're holding off on that until we can update the system's nodes. It's gonna take some time. So don't expect any spawns to reappear either. It's better this way, though, trust me."

Zach told him he understood. And that was the last he'd heard from Olandrin.

Now, as Zach thought on all these things, he realized that he didn't even care that much, because the idea of a floating dragon home base, which had sounded so awesome at the time, wouldn't even succeed in making him smile. He wouldn't be able to enjoy any of it while his friends were missing and probably dead.

I need closure, he thought. It's been almost a year. I can't go on forever hoping and wondering if they're still alive out there. If they're not, we need to send another expedition. The World Eater is going to spawn in four years!

If Jimmy and all the others were dead, Zach deserved to know. He deserved to finally begin the process of mourning them. And so, after a brief lunch with Grundor, he approached Alace and said, "Tell Kalana not to come here tonight. We're going to celebrate my birthday on Elendroth instead."

"Understood, Sir Calador."

And with that, he'd bundled himself up into a jacket and shivered his way to his helipad; once there, his pilot flew him to the airport in the city of Giant's Fall, where his private jet awaited. And although the flight would be dramatically longer than simply making his way through the dungeons—by a factor of about nine hours—Zach just plain didn't feel like romping through dungeons right now. That was all so exhausting.

Gods, I really have become lazy.

Shortly after takeoff, Zach took a several-hour nap in his leather-padded, spacious seat, and then he told his chef what he wanted for dinner, which by this point just felt so routine and normal to him.

He'd now officially been a real member of a political guild for way longer than he'd been an adventurer. Despite the parts of his adventuring life being so substantial in terms of their importance to who he had become, they had been so brief by comparison.

But his friends. His friends were always in his heart. He couldn't take the not knowing. The way it gnawed at him again and again and again.

Early on, he'd tried to take his mind off it via silly distractions, such as his weekly Gotcha Get'cha. But one night, he'd gotten depressed and reset the cooldown to a month, getting only commons. So he'd reset it to a year, meeting the same fate once more. He'd stopped himself, however, as he realized he was on a spiral that would see him inevitably end up with a hundred-year cooldown.

As he stared out of the jet's window and into the hazy, snowy sky, he couldn't stave off the feelings of longing and sadness he felt. He badly wanted to see his friends again: alive.

Maybe I should've taken the dungeons after all, he thought, tempted by the idea of seeing the adventurers who still remained. In particular, Zephyr, who had very reluctantly agreed to stay behind, as the adventuring community desperately needed a leader to rally behind and to ensure order. At the moment, Spider from the God Slayers Guild and Zephyr were working hand-in-hand to keep things smooth. Tyson should've been there with them.

Gods, please, don't let him be dead, Zach thought, immense guilt flooding into him. I never should've let him go. I never should've let any of them go without me!

After an anxious remainder to his flight, Zach landed in Elendroth's newly erected airstrip in the mob-free zone, which had now become a full-fledged, bustling town complete with hotels, shopping malls, and a deluge of visitors from overseas. Dwarves and Orcs walked freely beside humans as they toured the island paradise.

"Zach," Fylwen said, greeting him as he stepped out of the jet. The two embraced. "You don't come around enough anymore."

"I've just been so busy," Zach said. "Did Kal get here yet?"

"She'll be landing within the hour."

Zach nodded. Then he spotted Seiley and Trelvor, overjoyed to see them both. Afterwards, he paused to give each of them a hug before opening his mouth to speak. And it was here that the conversation turned serious, along with Fylwen's expression.

"Fylwen," he said casually and nonchalantly. "I was hoping I could say hi to Eilea real quick."

"I know you were," Fylwen said softly but sternly. "But you cannot."

Seiley and Trelvor nodded compassionately, but the two quickly adopted a much tougher posture towards Zach as they looked him dead in the eyes. "You shouldn't even ask," Trelvor said.

At this, Zach frowned. "Why not? Maybe you misheard me. I said I just wanted to say hi. Not that I wanted a private meeting. Gods, what's gotten into you three? You're acting all crazy."

"Young man," Fylwen said, her voice an eerie mix of compassion and sternness. "Please don't belittle our intelligence. I'm not a fool, so do not treat me like one. You wish to learn the fate of my husband and your friends. The same thing you want to know every time you come here."

"Huh?" Zach asked. "No, not at all. I wouldn't even mention it."

"Lies!" Fylwen snapped, anger in her words. "Zach, cease this deception immediately."

"But I'm not lying. I really wasn't going to ask her."

"Perhaps, but you would search her facial expression for some sign. And you know as well as I do that all you would need would be a single look at the Great Goddess, and she would do her utmost to give you some kind of an answer. She would signal it to you in some way. Do not pretend otherwise!"

Becoming upset, Zach had to take a moment before replying in order to ensure he didn't start a diplomatic incident between the Royal Roses and the Guild of Elvadin by doing something stupid out of anger.

"So what if she does?" he asked.

"That's interference!" Fylwen shouted. "The one thing the Great Lord Adamus is against above all. The holiest of all Godly laws: thou shalt not interfere with the system! Something you have done far too much of, and so has she."

"How is it interfering just to know if my friends are dead? How does it interefere with anything to let me know if I should start mourning them or preparing to rescue them?"

"The fact that such an answer would govern your decisions is precisely why it would count as interference. The Great Goddess is not permitted to provide you with information you cannot readily obtain on your own."

Zach swore. "And what about you, Trelvor? Or you, Seiley? Don't you two care what happened to Rian and Lienne?"

"Of course we do!" Seiley yelled, her entire face contorting into a grimace. "You think it's easy for us? You think me and Trelvor don't want to know if the humans we love are still alive? For the record, we have both remained faithful for almost a year. Neither of us have moved on either. So stop being selfish. You're not the only one in pain!"

Zach again had to stifle his anger. "Fylwen, if they had died, Eilea would've spent the entire day or maybe even week crying. She would've broken down. And you would for sure have seen it. So can you at least tell me if that's happened?"

"I cannot," she said, "as that would be interference by proxy."

"Gah, fuck! I wish to the Gods I never told you anything!"

"Why?" she demanded. "This is what's good and just. The Great Lord Adamus is wise and understands the tough but loving path forward. Oh, and for the record, he is concerned about you, Zach. Despite all the rage you harbor, he wishes the best for you."

Zach laughed. "Sure. And how would you know that?"

"He told me so last week."

Zach's mouth popped open. "W-what? He spoke to you again?"

"Again?" Fylwen asked. "I speak with the Great Lord on the first of every month."

Zach wanted to tear the hair out of his head. "You never told me that!"

"And why is it I should tell you at all? You have made him your adversary. It is only through my prayers that you remain in his good graces!"

Zach couldn't believe this shit. Fylwen had become like him only with Adamus instead of Eilea. This was just outrageous. "You know, it's only because I've grown to really like you that I'll warn you, Fylwen. This is how it starts. It starts with little conversations in your head. Next thing you know, you're mediating conflicts between Gods and getting roped into their world so fast you won't even realize what happened until you're already completely swept up in their drama."

"Young man," Fylwen said, her expression suddenly turning puzzled. "I've been in this world from the start. It is you who were 'roped in.' I've always believed in the Gods and knew in my heart they were real and existed. You are the one who has only first come to believe."

Zach didn't even bother telling her that that was an inaccurate description of his views. Instead, he looked to Seiley and Trelvor. "So you two get to have closure, but I don't. Is that it?"

Trelvor glared at him. "Once again, Zach, you fail to appreciate our dedication. Neither Seiley nor myself have had any interaction with Eilea in eight months."

Zach blinked in surprise. "Wait, what? Fylwen banned even you two from seeing her?"

"Not exactly," Trelvor said. "Seiley and I mutually agreed to recuse ourselves from seeing her due to our existing conflict of interest. Despite all the dedication we have in our hearts for the Gods, I, as well as Seiley, know that if I am in her presence, I will be unable to show the strength necessary to avoid begging her for answers." As he spoke, his voice cracked, and Zach immediately went from annoyed with Trelvor to wanting to comfort him.

"I miss my Lienne," he whimpered. "Every day. Every night. I don't know if she yet lives. And if not, I do not know if she died a hero's death or if she suffered."

Seiley began to tear up as well. "Rian's the biggest asshole I've ever met in my life, but he was mine, and I loved him."

"I'm sorry," Zach whispered. "I had no idea you were suffering as much as me."

"And I am hurting as well, young man," Fylwen said softly. "Ever since you and my daughter befriended these two Elves, they've become like a part of my family. You think it doesn't pain me that I cannot tell them anything?"

"I understand," Zach said sadly. "I guess I came all this way for nothing."

Fylwen shook her head. "Nonsense. It's rare I get to see you, and I'd be glad to celebrate your birthday with you." She hugged him again, softly at first, but then tightly enough to cause him just a bit of pain. Into his ear, Fylwen whispered, "Why haven't you proposed to Kalana yet?"

Becoming immediately nervous, Zach whispered back, "I plan to. I just haven't yet."

"Do not plan for much longer, young man. My daughter is not a 'fling!' She is an Elvish princess, not your consort. Do you not wish to marry her?"

"Of course I do! I just don't feel like I'm worthy yet."

"You are. You are the only human that has ever existed worthy enough to marry my daughter. And you have my blessing to do so."

"Then I will," Zach said. "If she'll have me. But first, I need to find out what happened to my friends."

"And how will you do that?"

Zach exhaled. "I guess I'm just going to have to go there by myself."