“But… no! Please!” Borpo said to the Gremlin and Naga. “Talk some sense into her! Surely my concerns do not warrant such punishment!”

“Pehapsss if it wasss a sssolitary isssssue,” said Ms. Thyssisss, “but we have documented your offensssesss exssstensssively.” She took him by the arm and guided him toward the doorway.

“Mr. Meister—Gabor, come now!” pleaded Borpo. “Did I not share roast boar and fine grog with you after the last company feast? Are we not brothers in arms? How can you do this?”

Mr. Meister shrugged. “As we like to say, you don’t have to be cold-blooded to work in HR. But it helps!”

The Gremlin and the Naga shared a laugh as they led the Orc away. Feista was still trembling when she turned back to the CEO. To her surprise, she found Asherzu grinning.

“Finally, a way to pull that thorn from our side,” the chieftain said to her brother.

“For a time, anyway,” said Darak. “Borpo will find a way back to power.”

“Of course. His persistence is what makes him valuable. But, by the fallen gods, it is nice to have some respite from his scheming.” Asherzu looked back at Feista with a warm smile. “I am sorry you were forced to endure such a display. Please, accept my apologies, and tell me more of your findings on the dragon’s hoard.”

“Uh…” Feista’s stomach was still firmly lodged in her throat. “I… uh…”

“Please. Do not be nervous,” said the Orcess. “Boldly explain your findings, and then know that we will check them. And if they are wrong, well, we shall all learn something.”

“Y-yes, lady,” said Feista. “I am not scared of being wrong.”

“Then why is your tail⁠—”

Feista shifted in her seat and swore to herself that she’d cut off her thrice-cursed tail someday. “I worry because I do not know what all of this means, Great Lady. Because people yell or go white with terror or… or get demoted at the mention of the dragon’s hoard being overvalued. And it is still a theory! What will happen if it is proven? I am scared of being right!”

“Do not worry.” Asherzu idly picked up a warg skull from her desk and stared into its empty eyes. “If you are right, your findings might be exactly what this company needs.”

“How can that be?” asked Feista. “Lady, it would be a disaster.”

Asherzu’s smile mirrored the skull’s fanged grin. “For those who fear to tread new paths, it would be. But for those with bold hearts, with the strength and courage to dance with the thunderstorm and carve new paths with the lightning…” She set the skull down and turned her smile to Feista. “Well, for us, the future is always bright.”

“Glowing with a light beyond mortal comprehension,” said Kaitha.

“Filling the halls of eternity with glorious radiance,” the guard said automatically.

Gorm squirmed and tried to discreetly adjust his makeshift robes. “Sowing… uh… blessings an’ justice in… erf… in equal measure.”

“And so bringing light unto the darkness.”

“May it be so.” Gorm held his breath and tried not to stare at the guard as he waited. Sweat beaded on his brow and chafed under his ever-bunching robes.

“Always and forever,” finished the guard, a black-bearded Dwarf in a simple red and white tabard. He leaned against the doorway that served as his post and nodded appreciatively to the disguised heroes. “Good, good. Ye two are learnin’ fast, for new ones. Though your friend needs to speak up more.”

Gaist, still cloaked in the form of a small woman, shrugged and nodded.

The old Dwarf nodded at Gorm. “Plus, you’re still tryin’ to wear Human robes. One of the Elves put ye up to that?”

“Aye. One did.” Gorm gave Kaitha a sidelong glare as he scratched at the robes furiously.

“Har! They never tire of that bleedin’ prank,” said the guard amiably. “Don’t worry. Sister Erika’s the quartermaster—she can set ye up with a nice tabard. Much more comfortable. There aren’t many Dwarves here, but there’s enough that they’ll have one in your size.”

“And where’s she set up again?” Gorm asked.

“Right down in the lower barracks.” The guard turned to nod at the correct hallway, giving Gorm an opportunity to punch him squarely in the jaw and slam his head into the stone wall.

A few minutes later, Gorm admired his new tabard as Gaist and Kaitha dragged the unconscious Dwarf back down the hall. “This fella was right,” he said, enjoying a cool breeze below his belt. “This is much more comfortable.”

“I’m ever so glad,” hissed Kaitha.

“Why are ye sayin’ it like you’re angry, then?”

The Elf snorted as they arrived at the storage room. “We finally got the whole invocation right! We could have actually made it past a guard peacefully, and you knocked him out!”

“I needed to get out of those robes,” Gorm said. “’Sides, what’s one more guard knocked out at this point?”

He pulled open the door to the storage room, which at present was primarily used to store unconscious Tandosians.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter,” said Kaitha, working to maneuver the latest victim into the room. “Gods, at this rate we’re going to take down every guard in the thrice-cursed building.”

“That’s what I bloody said we should do,” grumbled Gorm.

“Well, I guess you got your way!” the Elf snarled back. A prone Tandosian started to groan something, but she silenced him with a swift kick. “Can we just get back to finding out whatever it is they’re hiding here?”

The trio quickly returned down the now-familiar passage to the unfortunate Dwarf’s station, where they adopted a posture of purpose and walked determinedly into the adjacent hallway. The new corridor was long, bathed in golden light by glowing crystals set in wall sconces, and otherwise empty. The sounds of bustling crowds grew as Gorm and Kaitha made their way through the passage, punctuated by an occasional growl or roar. Gorm rested his hand on his axe as they stepped up to the next guard station.

“Praise Tandos,” Kaitha began with a wave to the two guards stationed at the doorway.

“Yeah, yeah. Go on through,” said a Human guard with a wave of her mailed hand.

Their sudden nonchalance was enough to give Gorm pause. “Uh, but the invocation⁠—”

The two guards shared a knowing look and a derisive snort of laughter. “Look, I can tell you must be new,” said the senior guard.

“Yes,” said Kaitha.

“Which means the only reason you’d be coming to the dens is if you been assigned to the burn teams,” the guard continued.

“That’s us,” said Gorm, eager to avoid her suspicions.

The guard nodded and held up two stubby fingers. “Right. So first of all, your orientation has already started on the other side of the dens. And second, you probably ain’t got enough time left on Arth to waste on the invocation! Ha!”

“So how’s about we do you a favor and skip it?” the second guard chimed in.

The pair of Tandosians shared a good cackle at the joke. The heroes feigned concern and scurried on through the doorway.

The cavern beyond was bigger than a city square, and brimmed with almost as much activity. Grubby attendants wheeled carts loaded with the corpses of farm animals across the rough-hewn floor. A small army of acolytes carried brooms, buckets, and raw cuts of meat between six large cages carved into the sides of the stone. Across the way, the cavern sloped up toward a wide mouth, through which gray light and a dull drizzle seeped in from outside. Near this entrance, Gorm could see a pack of people standing around something large and indistinct.