In a walled-off section of Puppet Town’s residential quarter, the refugees who had fled from the Gilded Heights were going about their daily lives.

  They were thrilled to have a roof over their heads and food in their bellies—free from the casual cruelty of sadistic criminals. Living in Puppet Town was like having a wonderful dream after enduring a terrible nightmare, although anything was better than living in a place where their existence could end at a whim in one horrific manner or another.

  While there was tension in the air and war was brewing along the horizon, the refugees considered themselves fortunate. All of them had lost someone during their ordeal—either killed by the Claws or during their journey to the Ivory Plains. Compared to the hell they had endured, a few weeks of living under close observation was a trivial matter.

  In short, they had no problem with remaining in quarantine until the sheriff and mayor were ready to integrate them with the rest of Puppet Town’s population.

  That was why no one had tried to sneak past the guards or undermine the settlement in any way. For these people were exactly what they appeared to be—tourists who had been trapped on Ord when the anomaly struck. Refugees who were just trying to survive the myriad dangers of the magical world that had become their new home.

  In fact, their behavior had become so predictable and easy to manage that their guards were beginning to grow lax—bored of watching people tell stories around the fire or going about one menial chore or another… which was exactly what the Claws were counting on.

  Unbeknownst to the leaders of Puppet Town, each of the refugees carried a ticking time bomb inside their brains. A malady that Doc and Sakura were unable to sense, and the various forms of cleansing magic and Disruption fields they had employed were unable to disarm.

  The reason why was simple. Ella’s mind magic was capable of implanting her victims with post-hypnotic suggestions—commands that would linger in their psyches long after the skill she had used to instill them had run its course.

  They hadn’t been able to reveal this secret because they didn’t know it themselves. Further complicating the matter, Ella’s suggestions didn’t pose a direct threat and were dormant until certain conditions were met, making them difficult to detect through danger-sensing skills and the like.

  Everyone had just finished eating lunch when a beast came charging down a nearby street, a young bull that hadn’t been fully trained and had broken free from its pen. The bulky bovine went charging for the center of town, nearly trampling several people along the way. The guards swore as they raced to catch the bull before someone got hurt—leaving the immigrants unwatched.

  The instant they were alone, the refugees got a distant look in their eyes as Ella’s post-hypnotic suggestions took hold. Without a word, they moved into one of the largest buildings in the walled-off ward—a storeroom where various supplies were held before being distributed.

  They formed a circle in a specific order, carving runes into the woodwork with utility knives with unerring precision. When the symbols were complete, everyone joined hands and began to chant.

  As it happened, Ella’s efforts were only half the story. In addition to her mind-manipulating magic, Ripper had added his own contribution. With her help, the man had carved a series of runes into each of the refugee’s femurs. Symbols that were inactive by themselves and wouldn’t be healed by Doc’s magic.

  When the bones were arranged in a circle, linked with the runic array that had been carved into the floor of the storeroom, and activated by the proper chant, the symbols laid the groundwork for a ritual spell—one capable of bypassing the magitech Dome protecting the settlement from outside interference, since this magic had been generated from within.

  Although none of the refugees were cored, their puppet bodies could still produce magic by converting magicytes. The process was wildly inefficient and ran the risk of causing lasting harm in the volume they were creating. Together, their efforts were enough to fill the runes with a potent layer of magical energy.

  The circle started shining as the ritual reached a fever pitch—people passing out as the expenditure pushed their bodies to the point of magicyte starvation. When the spell hit critical mass, there was a flash of light followed by the thud of dozens of unconscious forms hitting the floorboards as one.

  When the light faded, three people were standing in the center of the circle, smiling wide as they realized where they were. “The teleportation ritual was a success, Wraith,” one woman said.

  “Obviously,” the elite Claw responded. “While Ripper and Ella failed to conquer the dungeon, I must admit that their efforts here have gone off without a hitch. Perhaps it will be enough to keep Yussuf from flaying the flesh from their bones—pleasant as that image might be.”

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  “What about the mess here?” The final jailbird gestured to the ritual circle and ring of comatose tourists. “Should we silence them and then clean up?”

  “It won’t be a problem,” Wraith replied. “When they wake up, they will cover the circle and then forget what happened—thanks to Ella’s suggestion. By the time anyone realizes something is wrong, our work will be complete, and the defenses shielding the settlement from invasion will be no more.”

  While everyone checked their equipment, the Claws’ strike leader reviewed the parameters of their infiltration.

  “Make sure to blend in with the town’s residents. Recon your targets, but don’t do anything to draw attention to yourselves. Wait for my signal before you destroy the turrets and the generator powering the Dome. I need to deal with the woman who has been protecting Puppet Town from the shadows first—hopefully killing the mayor in the process. Be patient, do your jobs, and we will be richly rewarded.”

  With that, the trio of jailbirds activated various skills to conceal their identities. They scaled the walls of the enclosure and passed into an unguarded section of the district, just as the refugees began waking up and the lookouts returned to their posts.

  Although Puppet Town didn’t know it yet, their conflict with the Claws had just entered a deadly new phase, and only Sakura had a chance of stopping them before it was too late.

  ***

  Edge and Melenia made rapid progress after he woke up and they climbed down from the ledge. By now, they were accustomed to operating in this environment, and someone had already cleared out most of the aggressive beasts along their path.

  Thanks to the arrows drawn on the walls, they didn’t have to go through the painstaking process of figuring out which passages to follow, letting them proceed at full speed while crossing the biome. We should catch up before long, he decided after noticing that the paint was getting fresher by the mile.

  He grew more excited with every step he took. In part, because Edge was eager to be reunited with his friends, but mostly due to the anticipation of acquiring his second Epic skill and his very first domain. He was having a hard time tracking the passage of time while traversing the Deep-Gill Grottos, but sometime within the next 36 hours, Fear the Seasons would complete its two-week digestion period and hatch—adding its considerable power to his skillset.

  A few caverns and one short fight later, Sense Treasure revealed the presence of another valuable resource that was locked inside a pocket of stone a few feet behind the tunnel wall. Working together with Mel, he had the deposit exposed within a matter of minutes, stepping back to shield his face from the flash of heat that was released when the last bit of rock gave way.

  Inside was a small cavity containing a cluster of fiery red gemstones. The description was quite literal in this case, since the resource in question turned out to be flame rubies, which were useful for crafting a variety of fire-aspected enhancements. Edge split the sparkling jewels with Mel, and they continued on their way.

  “Thanks,” she said. “After I add a fire enchantment to my axe, there should be enough left over to craft a pair of earrings or maybe a necklace.”

  “They would look lovely on you,” he replied. “These gems are a perfect match for your hair.” The guardswoman seemed pleased by the prospect, smiling as they continued crossing the grottos while heading for the world of light above.

  Over the next hour, they passed several passageways with markings indicating that dangerous enemies or hazardous terrain lay beyond, which Edge took to be a promising sign. Whatever is in there, they managed to survive it, and the time it took to scout everything out will help us catch up.

  Not long after, he heard the clamor of combat echoing down the tunnel ahead. By now, he was intimately familiar with the sound of warring mycanoids, and the clang of steel striking stone told him that this battle was being fought by one of his missing crew members.

  Edge and Mel pushed themselves into a burst of speed—bolstered by the Warlord’s Mantles he conjured along the way. The duo rushed into an enclosure in time to watch Lilly and Sasha engage a group of five slicers—a dangerous encounter by any reckoning.

  Although he was worried about his friends, he wasn’t the only one who had learned how to deal with the killer mushrooms. While the slicers were lethal opponents, the beasts specialized in offense at the expense of defense. The walking shrooms were deadly in close combat, but they were vulnerable to ranged attacks and seemed weak against flame.

  Every time they tried to advance or attacked with their bladed appendages, Sasha let loose with Fire Breathing. With the napalm upgrade she’d received for ranking up the skill, even a brief touch was sufficient to transfer searing mana onto her opponents, which consumed the mycanoids’ tendrils within a matter of seconds.

  Every time a mycelium blade made it past her breath, Sasha cut it out of the air with her Flame-Imbued spear or blocked it with her diamondback-leather shield. Her potent defense meant that Lilly could focus purely on offense. She let loose with a series of Vortex Shots and Scattershots, occasionally combing them with Transparency to enable a sneak attack.

  Every bolt landed on target and tore chunks out of the shadowkiller’s enemies, diminishing their mobility as the fight dragged on. Even still, the hunters couldn’t handle dozens of bladed strands without taking a few stray hits. While both women were bleeding, they didn’t seem to have received any critical wounds.

  The slicers were so focused on avoiding Sasha’s breath and Lilly’s bolts that they failed to notice Edge and Mel approaching from behind. A few well-placed Double Slashes combined with Force Cleave left the closest pair lying in pieces, while the other hunters finished off the rest of the pack.

  After stopping to steal some powers from the shrooms that were still alive and putting the experience into Double Slash, Mel and Edge rushed forward to greet their missing friends—thrilled to be reunited at last.

  “Edge, you’re all right.” Sasha dropped her spear and threw her arms around him as Lilly stepped forward to embrace Mel. “We’ve been worried sick. I’m so glad that both of you are safe.”