“Arkanon,” Jonathan replied, not needing to turn to recognize the man. “How is it that you always know where I am?”

  “Ah, well,” Arkanon began, suddenly a bit sheepish. “I might have placed a tracker on you the first time you met me. During our fight.”

  “Why?” Jonathan said, frowning.

  Arkanon shrugged. “Because you were an unknown, and as we became allies, I realized that it was useful. It helped save you after Slothari’s death. Otherwise you would have drowned in that lava.”

  “Fair enough,” Jonathan said, conceding the point. “Don’t do it again though. I’m fine with it now, but I cannot speak for anyone else.”

  Arkanon nodded. “Right. Now, there’s a lot that has changed in this realm, and its people are looking for you, their lord. Your failure to appear led some to believe that you were slain in your final battle with Slothari. You must put an end to those rumors.”

  “What exactly is the layout of the new realm?” Jonathan asked, scanning the horizon. “Did the two capitals fuse?”

  “As far as I know, no. The Oozing Bastion is the closest, but the Ashen Citadel is about five thousand miles beyond that.”

  Jonathan grinned. “I’ll do them in order then.”

  Thirty minutes later, he stood in the center of the shattered Avenue of Rot, taking in the full scale of the Oozing Bastion. Much of it was in ruins, but that which remained was gargantuan in scope. Corpses littered the ground, as many of the city’s inhabitants had fled, leaving nobody to deal with such things while the main objective was to shore up the city’s defences.

  Jonathan raced up the silent avenue, before finding himself confronted by a small division of guards. He recognized their armor, both from memory, and because their armor sets were mismatched. That could only mean one thing. They were his allies.

  “Lord Harlowe!” One of them shouted, before sinking to one knee. The others quickly followed him.

  “Rise, my followers,” Jonathan replied a moment later as he strode through their ranks. One of the fighters tried to reach out to touch him, as if he were a religious adherent being confronted with his prophet.

  Jonathan let it happen, despite being quite uncomfortable with it. It didn’t harm him, and it only served to make one of his loyal subjects happy.

  Another soldier ran up, clad in lighter armor. She was some sort of messenger, and her face looked harried. With the grand events of the last few days, her job had been a busy one indeed.

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  “Lord!” She snapped off, saluting. “Lord Lackland and Lord Hushar are waiting within the center of Slothari’s palace. They do not know that you are here yet.”

  “Thank you,” Jonathan replied, nodding.

  The woman bowed, and moved out of his way, letting him ascend the slight slope that led up to the base of the mountain. A winding path led around the palace, vast archways allowing ingress at various points.

  Jonathan passed by all of those, only pausing for a few moments to watch the rebuilding effort. Many of the structures that made up the larger palace complex were in disarray, and they bore the telltale signs of being punched into pieces of dust. He looked behind at Arkanon, and gave him a nod of approval.

  By the time he reached the peak of the mountain, he could just about make out the voices of Edgar and Hushar. He winced as he heard the latter bellowing in fury.

  “Where the hell are they? We’ve searched this god-damned palace for days!”

  “I don’t know!” Edgar retorted, showing an uncharacteristic strain of annoyance. “I’ve searched everywhere with my wind abilities. I couldn’t find anything to suggest their presence!”

  Jonathan sighed, and strode into the main chamber that topped the palace, striding along the hallways. His armored heels made crisp clacking noises on the stone as he walked. The noise echoed through the building, and he heard the arguing pause.

  A moment later, two figures rounded the corner, both fuming with anger. Their faces changed when they saw Jonathan though, lighting up.

  “There you are!” Edgar exclaimed, a smile on his face. “We thought something had happened to you!”

  “To me?” Jonathan replied, laughing. “You know me better than that.”

  “Jonathan,” Hushar said, nodding sullenly. “Good to see you.”

  “I will take my leave now,” Arkanon interjected, turning on his heels. “Take the time to reconnect. I will be training in the palace. Slothari has a spectacular set of automaton fighters.”

  As soon as Arkanon was gone, Jonathan spoke. “I couldn’t help but overhear some tension. I can only assume that Tukar and the others still have not been found?”

  “Unfortunately, yes.” Edgar shook his head. “Somehow, no trace of their being is within these halls, despite it being the only place they could be. All we know is that they aren’t dead, going by the faction interface.”

  “Ah. Would you mind if I look for them? Perhaps my Void abilities and my Blessing will help in ways that nobody else can achieve.”

  Both of the other men nodded, and Jonathan started down the hallways. He had a suspicion about the kind of life that Slothari led, and he started in the throne room. At first glance, it was simply a standard example of its kind, with a large throne in its center, and some superficial decorations. The entire room was ringed with a large alcove stretching along the top. Jonathan peered into the gloom, but couldn’t see anything, even with his advanced senses.

  “We already searched up there,” Edgar said sadly.

  “Let me check first,” Jonathan answered. He activated his Blessing, and then sent a wave of Void energy racing around the room. Suddenly, a ghostly premonition appeared before him, and he saw his attack striking a few undefended bodies, eating away at them. He quickly canceled the attack, and leaped up into the alcove.

  “There’s a few people up here!” He called down, prompting Hushar to jump up after him.

  “Where?” Hushar growled, almost twitching from repressed anger.

  Jonathan pointed at the place where he had sensed something, and watched as Hushar gave him a glare. “There’s nothing there,” the Uthraki spat.

  Jonathan continued to point at the spot. “Just check. I know there is.”