Loremaster of the Amaranthine lands

“I hate to agree with him but he’s right,” Valerie admitted with a sigh. “It might sound like just another crazy plan, but it’s still the best option we have to make sure no one else gets hurt.”

“What about the others,” Letty said with a still shaky voice. “Do you think they will agree to help you?”

“Old Felix and the rest want Ulgrath to leave just as much as we do.”

“Even at the cost of some other world’s suffering?”

“To be fair,” Osmond scratched the back of his head. “If there’s a world strong enough to hold gods, there ought to be strong people there. They should be able to handle an archdemon better than us, right?”

“It doesn’t matter how we try to justify it,” Valerie spoke as the group headed toward the gateway in the hidden room. “The deal was struck and we are safe. For the time being at least. Are you heading over to tell them now?”

“Yes,” Regis nodded. “The sooner they find out the sooner we can make preparations. I know there will be a few disagreements but…”

“Do you want us to come with you?” Quentin asked, earning a slight nod.

“They might try to take a swing at me for going behind their backs and making a bargain with the archdemon.”

“Most of them will pat you on the back for finding a way to get rid of their enemy without involving them too much.” Osmond remarked with a knowing smirk as he let them go forward.

“Letty, what are you…”

“I’m going with you,” the wood elf stated as she stuck to him like glue. “I won’t let you wander off into the lion’s den again without me.”

“Fine,” Regis relented with a small smile as the group stepped onto the rune-carved tiles with Osmond staying behind. “Just... be ready to run if needed.”

A moment later the runes of the gateway lit up, hurling the group through the kingdom and back to the fortress they'd last seen the allied army. The moment they stepped out of the light they were greeted by weapons pointed at them.

“Easily there folks,” Quentin called out to the nervous soldiers. “Some of you might still remember us. We came here yesterday from the battlefield with the others.”

One of the guards nodded with recognition and the others began to lower their weapons.

“We’re looking for Grandmaster Felix or Princess Helena regarding the archdemon issue,” Regis spoke up from the side. “Do any of you know where we could find them?”

“They have returned to Atraune, sir.” The soldier answered curtly.

“Atraune? The entire army? Why would they go there of all places? I mean sure, it’s well-defended but it’s still an obvious target.”

“That’s what we have been told, sir.” Another soldier confirmed.

“I guess we’ll have to visit the spellcasters’ guild then.” Regis hummed before turning around to leave.

“Thanks for the help!” Quentin remarked as they stepped back onto the gateway platform, disappearing in a flash of light.

When they reappeared in Atraune, several spears, swords and sceptres were pointed at them.

“I swear this is becoming a common theme now.” Valerie grumbled as she looked at the nervous soldiers and mages.

“Lord Regis!” The receptionist from before recognized him, prompting everyone to step back and lower their weapons.

“Apologies for the sudden intrusion but I must speak with Grandmaster Felix immediately.”

“I’m sorry but the Grandmaster is out right now, along with Master Cedric.”

“Are they at a meeting with the allied army?”

“Yes, sir.” One of the guards confirmed.

“All the better,” the dark elf nodded. “Could someone be our guide and lead us to them?”

“Of course. Follow me.” The soldier agreed and led them outside of the building.

Atraune was a grand city, or at least much larger than East Fork. On the way, the group could see several large buildings that resembled multi-story houses and stores. Most of the buildings were made out of white coloured stones with some sporting marble columns or carved statues on their front section. The atmosphere was lively if a bit strained as people buzzed about on the cobblestone streets.

“Are the people aware of what happened in front of the capital?” Quentin asked the soldier, earning a slight nod.

“They are aware of the threat, but they were not told the whole truth of the matter. It would cause too much of a chaos.”

“Sure,” Valerie huffed. “Because an archdemon showing up at their doorstep with an army of demons won’t do that.”

“Do they at least have an evacuation plan or something?” Letty asked after being silent for so long.

“From what I know,” the guard sighed. “The plan is for the army to keep the enemy busy while the people get sent through the grand portal gate.”

“You don’t sound too sure about the plan.” Val remarked.

“It is not for me to make assumptions...”

“But?” Letty tried to politely pry for more information.

“I had seen how the gate works before. It takes several magi to keep it open for a short minute or two. Keeping it open long enough for everyone to go through in one go is...”

“It’s impossible,” Regis claimed. “The gateway requires too much arcana to make that feasible. It would be possible to send through smaller groups in quick succession with the mages resting between each group, but evacuating an entire city in one go is impossible.”

“That’s what I thought as well,” the soldier admitted as they reached a large building that was heavily guarded. “We are here.”

“Halt!” The guards raised their hands to stop them.

“I am Lord Regis Thorne. Please inform Grandmaster Felix of my arrival and tell him that it is important that he meets me.”

The soldiers looked at each other before one of them nodded, turning around to head inside. After a good minute of awkward silence, Cedric appeared from behind the door, letting out a relieved sigh as he saw them.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” the man said as he ushered them inside. “They have been arguing about what to do next for hours now and it does not seem like they will come to an agreement anytime soon.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing that I solved the problem,” Regis hummed. “Sort of.”

“You did?” The spellcaster looked at him baffled.

“You’ll understand once we’re there.”

Cedric let them through across the corridors of what seemed to be the local military government building. At the end of the hall was a large door with a pair of heavily armoured knights standing guard in front of it. They let the group through and as the door opened the familiar side of arguing nobles and soldiers greeted them.

“It was about time you showed up,” Emil remarked with a tired and cranky tone. “You disappeared on us right after we got out of that hellhole.”

“I had to make sure that my people knew what happened,” Regis explained. “And I also had a visitor while I was home.”

“A visitor?” The bishop asked as the rest of the people present turned toward him.

“Just a quarter of an hour ago, Archdemon Ulgrath paid me a visit along with Etienne and Natalie.”

As he said those words every knight present drew their weapons, some of them stepping in front of Princess Helena protectively.

“What happened?” Felix asked, while instinctively taking half a step back himself as well.

“That’s quite a story.” Regis said with a sigh before recalling the visit and the terms he and Ulgrath named.

By the end of his explanation, the people were more baffled than wary. They looked at him with mouths agape with even the archbishop and the princess being unable to hide their surprise.

“You must be joking, lad.” Archbishop Philip said with a dry voice.

“How could you be so foolish?” Felix asked with rising anger. “You should know damn well that making a fair deal with a demon is impossible. What if she breaks it? You could lead all of us to our doom.”

To answer his question Regis pulled aside his clothes to reveal the glowing sigil on his chest just above his heart.

“Not unless she wants to die as well.”

“An Archaean seal,” Felix muttered. “You have managed to bind her to an Archaean oath? How?”

“I might have turned the domain heart protecting my home into a bomb and threatened to set it off, killing all of us unless she agreed.” The loremaster said, his words earning a roaring laughter from the old spellcaster.

“That does sound like a good enough reason for her to agree to your terms,” Felix sighed. “However, it still leaves us in a bind. We were trying to make plans for many possibilities but none of us thought that such an event would occur. I am sure that I speak for most of us when I say that I am quite at a loss for what to say.”

“This is an outrage!” Bishop Emil said with a hatred-laced voice. “We cannot bow to the demands of a demon!”

“What are you suggesting then?” One of the nobles asked. “That... thing has the support of the royal army while we have barely a third of our forces left. Menelrond had sealed off its borders and refused to help. This is our best chance to get rid of the archdemon without losing more people.”

“But at what cost?” Another cleric raised his voice. “We would condemn another world to suffer under the reign of the archdemon, just so that ours could be at peace.”

“I accept the terms.” Princess Helena said, surprising everyone in the room.

“My lady...”

“I have made my decision,” she looked the bishop in the eyes. “As cruel as it is to the world we unleash her on, our duty is to our people. If Lord Regis can build the gate this...”

“Ulgrath.” The dark elf stated the demon’s name.

“Yes. If we can make this Ulgrath leave our world without risking anyone’s life, then that is what we will do. I implore every mage present to lend their aid to Lord Regis when the time comes to empower the gate.”

“The mages of Atraune are ready to serve.” Felix claimed with a firm tone with Cedric standing beside him.

One by one the different guild leaders pledged their mages to the cause, increasing the already tense atmosphere. The archbishop watched silence as the event unfolded before finally speaking up.

“If this is the path your Highness has chosen then I can only pray to the Seven that you will be able to shoulder the consequences. I shall not pledge our forces to aid you, but we will not interfere either.”

His statement sparked another round of arguments mostly centred around their unwillingness to participate but it also spilled over to the possibility of the church taking this chance to escape the kingdom.

“We will do no such thing,” archbishop Philip stated. “Our forces will stand by at the edge of the battlefield. Should the archdemon keep its word and leave, we will turn our attention toward the capital in hopes of freeing it from the remaining evil. Should it find a way to work around the Archaean oath, we will bring down the wrath of the Seven on it with everything we have left.”

“I understand,” the princess nodded in agreement. “Now that we have the issue settled, let us talk about the gate. Lord Regis, what do you need to build it?”

“I can build the physical body of the gate easily enough but enchanting it will be a harder feat to accomplish. It needs to be at least at the ‘well-made’ grade if not ‘excellent’ and that would require...”

“Elemental stones or arcanite,” Grandmaster Felix finished the thought. “And quite a lot.”

“We are talking about what, a bucket’s worth of arcanite here?” Another grand magus sighed. “We would all have to clear out our coffers to procure the necessary materials in such short order.”

“Lord Regis shall begin building the gate while we gather the necessary materials for the higher-grade enchantment.” One of the grandmasters stated as he turned towards his second-in-command before issuing the order to bring over their share of the precious materials.

“Ulgrath gave me two days to convince you and start the construction of the gate,” the loremaster stated. “So there’s no need to hurry. I’ll head over to the site tomorrow morning. That should give everyone enough time to prepare. By the way, how far is that fort we’ve been to from the battlefield?”

“About an hour on horseback. We’ll send word to prepare a mount for you.” One of the knights promised.

“No need. It’s enough if they point me in the right direction. Now then, if you don’t mind, I have a town full of frightened people to calm down. Your Highness.”

Saying his curt goodbye, Regis and his companions left the building, heading back toward the spellcasters’ guild where they used the gateway to return home. Once back in Thornfell, they were immediately welcomed by relieved faces as Tristan greeted them.

“Welcome back,” the steward said. “I hope you don’t mind but I took the liberty to inform the people about what happened at the mountain pass while you were away.”

“How did they take it?” Quentin asked with a morose tone.“They were glad to hear that we don’t have to leave, but they’re also quite anxious about the fact that we still have an archdemon on the loose.”

“Nothing surprising about that,” Valerie remarked. “It’s a miracle that we managed to get Ulgrath off our backs without having to fight again. To be honest I’m still expecting something to grow horribly wrong. Some stupid scheme that will come and bite us in the ass.”