"Pull!" Ro's knuckles turned white, and his face turned red as he pulled on his rope.

  At least two dozen goblins and cityfolk grunted and strained as they pulled with him.

  "It's almost out!" Tristan's face was beet red as she pulled on her own rope. "We can do it!"

  "Stupid... ass... cages..." Vral's teeth glinted in the orblight as she pulled on her rope.

  "Come on, you weak-ass bitches! Is this all you've got?!" Behind Vral, Ark was simultaneously pulling her and Vral's rope and glaring at anything that could move. "You heard the boss's women! Pull!"

  Vral looked over her shoulder and gave the red-haired goblin a nod.

  The entire crowd snarled as they pulled even harder, nearly taking me off my feet. "Shiiiiitttt!" It was like I was being pulled inside out!" Pushing with everything I had, I felt the reinforced doorway I'd been using as a brace begin to shift and crack under my hands.

  "One... more... time!" Na-Ya puffed.

  Everyone heaved, and the ropes snapped tight. There was a final bit of resistance, and then, the last cage tore through the boundary that separated my inventory from the real world. With a screech, it slid across the cobblestones and came to a stop next to Tristan. Behind the bars, there were several dozen skitterslinks piled up on top of one another, looking very confused.

  Exhausted and very much in pain, I fell onto my ass and held back a wave of nausea. The first cage we'd pulled out a week before was bad enough, but these two... they were worse. A lot worse. "That sucked."

  Tristan walked up, placed her hands on my head, and whispered words of power.

  [Healing Light]

  Energy rippled from her to me, providing instant relief.

  "You okay?" She leaned forward, cupped my chin in her hands, and pulled me into a soft, gentle kiss.

  "I am now," I whispered.

  "Good." She pressed a hand to my cheek, then walked back to the cage.

  "What do you see?" Vral walked to me as Tristan and Na-Ya began inspecting the skitterslinks. When she was in front of me, she turned, fell into my lap, and wiggled back until her back was pressed to my chest. Without looking, she reached her hand up and started rubbing my neck. "You okay?" Vral asked softly.

  "So good," I breathed as tingles shot up and down my spine. When I felt some relief, I said, "Yeah, I'll be alright." My spirit felt stretched and torn in a way that was hard to describe. All I knew was that it was incredibly uncomfortable.

  She smiled up at me. "We'll all take good care of you until you feel better."

  I closed my eyes and soaked in the love. "I'd like that."

  His eyes locked on the monsters, Ro drew his sword and walked to the cage. Taking position over Tristan and Na-Ya, he said, "I'll guard you."

  Thanks, Ro." Tristan assessed the monsters within.

  "Do they have it, too?" He asked.

  Na-Ya shook her head. "I'm not sure yet. They need to stop squirming first."

  "They have it, too!" Tristan pointed at one of the monsters and shouted.

  Clear as day, one of the larger skitterslinks was staring back at her with its beady black rat eyes.

  "Would you look at that?" Na-Ya squatted next to Tristan and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

  "Who would have thought [Sovereign] would work on monsters, too?" Ro looked at me. "What are you going to do with them?"

  I shook my head. "I have no idea." Looking closely, I saw that there was a black shield etched into the rat's chest. "What does one do with rat monsters?"

  "Infinite food glitch?" Vral offered. "Remember that rat soup Khadrel made for us back in the Dregs? Why don't we make that our official—"

  "We're not making our city's signature dish monster rat soup, Vral." Nope. No way.

  "But—"

  "I said no."

  Her bottom lip puffed out. "Well, you didn't have to be mean about it."

  "I'm never mean." Grabbing her chin, I pulled her head to the side and started kissing up and down her neck, making her squirm.

  "Stop it!" She giggled and swatted at me.

  Once I'd had my fill, I let her go and watched as Tristan and Na-Ya both walked to the other cage, the one with the nightcrawler. That monster had a shield etched into its head, too.

  "Alex," Tristan asked after a couple of minutes of inspection. "Do you think you could do the vow thing with these monsters?" She nodded to the nightcrawler, who'd been hissing and attacking the iron bars of its cage ever since we pulled it out.

  I shrugged. "Might as well try, right?" For whatever reason, the vows we'd made the other day didn't stop the monsters from being violent. Standing, I walked between the two cages, thought of the words needed to tame monsters, took a deep breath, and started speaking.

  ***

  "Squeak!" A skitterslink announced as it ran into the house I was cleaning out with a half-dozen civilians.

  It had a letter tied to its back.

  Reaching down, I scratched the monster's chin, untied the letter, and started reading.

  Need help west gate. Wood rope broke. Need your muscles. Also, want see your ass.

  Vralf

  I scratched my forehead and tried to parse her words. Wood rope? What the hell was she talking about? With a sigh, I read the thing a couple of times. While it was impressive that she'd learned how to write even a little while training with Arden, we really needed to work on Vral's literacy if we were going to be using skitterslinks as messengers throughout the city.

  Oh!

  The crane. We'd built a simple crane with some old lumber and some of my rope a week back.

  It must have broken.

  Again.

  Pulling a quill out of my inventory, I scribbled a few sentences under hers, letting her know I'd be there once I finished clearing the rubble from the house I'd been working on. As I rolled the letter back up, I saw that she'd written a postscript on the back side.

  P. S. I talking Tris early morning. Last night fun. Tonight again?

  After scribbling, "Yes, absolutely," I retied the letter onto the skitterslink's back. Then, I reached into my pocket, pulled out a nut that looked vaguely like a blue cashew, and handed it to the monster. It snatched the nut from my fingers with its little fingers and emitted happy noises as it chewed.

  "Rrrrrr..." Fluffy growled down at the monster from a rafter up above.

  "Fluffy..." I shook my head at him. "No."

  "Ri!" He snapped back.

  "Squeak squeak!" The skitterslink shook its little fist at the dragonling.

  "Be nice, you two." I handed Fluffy a nut of his own before giving the skitterslink another. Both of them took their respective treats and chewed, but they never stopped eying one another. "Better?"

  "Rrr..." Fluffy chomped down on the nut and continued glaring.

  "Squeak!" The skitterslink pulled off its little flesh tophat from somewhere, bowed, and sprinted out of the house.

  I turned back to the wooden beam I'd been working on. With a slow breath, I picked it up and began resetting it in the ceiling as the other villagers watched. They all been trying to help, but they weren't strong enough. If I could just get some uninterrupted work in, I could probably finish in two hours.

  "Squeak!"

  I turned to find another skitterslink standing behind me, waiting.

  This one had a letter too.

  Reaching down, I untied the thing and started reading.

  Hi Love,

  I hope your work is coming along well today! I'm so proud of everything we've accomplished so far, and that's doubly true for you. You're truly an inspiration to us all, and I know the citizens are beyond grateful.

  Whenever you get a chance, would you mind coming over to the southern district? A bridge collapsed this morning. Thankfully, no one's hurt, but the cart we've been using to clear debris is stuck in the river. We could really use your help.

  Let me know, and either way, I love you,

  Tristan

  I let out my thousandth sigh that day. No rest for the wicked.

  Turning the letter over, I saw there was more on the back.

  P. S. Vral and I were talking after you split off this morning. We were wondering, if you're not too tired tonight...

  ***

  "It's as good as new, my friend." With a big grin, Khadrel handed my armor back, along with my newly restored shield. "Thorkim told me he even took the liberty of making some adjustments for you. I think you'll like them."

  I inspected each piece before I slipped it into my inventory. It really was all as good as new. "Tell him thank you for me, will you?"

  "I will, but next time you visit, you should go and tell him yourself." He slapped my shoulder. "Now that you can come and go when you please with those fancy chosen powers of yours, I expect we'll see you from time to time, yeah?" His eyes were giving sad, abandoned puppy. That, and he looked older than he had last time I'd seen him.

  I felt a pang of guilt. How I could tell him I was too busy to visit? "Yeah. I'll be here."

  Khadrel slapped my arm again. "By the way, the lift is complete now!"

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Good news!" I replied.

  "It is, isn't it?" Not only has trade and travel been booming between our fair cities, but Tinker Town is packing up and moving back down to Khozad'Thar sometime next week."

  "That's great to hear. I'll definitely have to come see it once we finish our next quest." Reaching out, I clasped his forearm. "Thank you, my friend. I can't tell you how many times that armor you had made for me has saved my life."

  The old dwarf squeezed. "It's the least I can do for the Hero of the Pit."

  "So, Alex, I'd like to know more about this city you were talking about." Elise's eyes were bright and engaged as she stroked her chin. "You say there's a big tree in the center of it? And people from the Fourth Era are coming back to life?"

  I nodded. "More and more are returning every day. In two weeks, we've grown from seventy-five goblins and forty-six civilians to over four-hundred people."

  "It sounds like something out of a fairy tale," Davik murmured beside her.

  Weaving her fingers through his, Elise pressed. "You really must go on. I want to know everything!"

  "So nosy," Davik chided his fiancée.

  "Being nosy's what I'm best at!" Elise leaned forward and put her chin in her hands. "But come now, Dav. You can't tell me this isn't so interesting!"

  I laughed and pulled out the amulet Ura-Elathiel gave me. "So, here's the thing..."

  ***

  "Look at it go." Ro crossed his arms and watched as the nightcrawler tore through the half-dozen humanoid fish monsters that had been pestering our fishermen along the east edge of the city, just past the rainbow wall and at the edge of the marsh.

  "I'm kind of glad we didn't end up having to fight that thing." As I spoke, the nightcrawler tore one of the monster's heads clean off with its barbed body segments. "Still, you think it's safe to keep it around?"

  Shrugging, Ro said, "None of this seems safe to me, but I'm not so sure that my gut's the most reliable thing to go by anymore. We have skitterslinks delivering mail and a nightcrawler guarding the city's boundary. Also, a forest wyrm will be waking up soon. I have a feeling it will end up taking up residence in the city, alongside two other dragons." He chuckled. "I'm fairly certain the old rules don't matter anymore." Nodding at the rainbow wall, he added, "Plus, that thing's there to protect us, right?"

  We'd learned that monsters couldn't make it through the rainbow wall. Well, monsters that weren't my monsters couldn't get in. But that didn't stop them from trying.

  I turned to find his golden eyes taking me in. Not knowing what else to say, I decided to be honest. "Thanks for being here. I wouldn't want to do it without you."

  He grinned. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, brother."

  "Are you two slacking again?" Na-Ya appeared behind us. Wrapping her arms around Ro's waist, she said, "As the leader of this city, I command you both to come home and eat dinn... er..." She hesitated when she saw the nightcrawler. "Damn, look at that thing go."

  I laughed. "Right?!"

  ***

  "A wrym?" Nivan looked at me like I was crazy. "You fought a wyrm?!"

  It did sound crazy. "Yup."

  "And that was the thing making the crystals?" He asked.

  I shook my head. "No. That was a different dragon."

  "You met multiple dragons?!" Nel shouted.

  With a nod, I said, "We sure did."

  "Where are they now?" Despite being no more than twenty-one, Nel's entire face was made up of worry lines.

  "One's back in the city that we found. The other is asleep at the edge of the Marsh of Waking Dreams." I used the name we'd all come up with one night. It seemed far more appropriate than the "Marsh of Silent Screams." I figured if people heard it enough times, they'd start using it.

  "Wyrms are dangerous, Alex. And dragons are even moreso." Nivan was staring daggers at me. "Why wouldn't you put them down?"

  I shrugged. "The Great Mother's been helping keep Goodfield free from monsters, and the wyrm's not a bad guy once you get to know him."

  Nivan shook his head. "The dragon's been... helping us?"

  "Those crystals are called dragonvein. The dragon's been turning monsters into them. It's all a whole thing, but it's basically how powerful dragons from some rare bloodline purify monsters."

  "I can't believe this." He scratched at the scraggly beard he'd grown. "Why is it that this stuff always happens to you?"

  I laughed. "I guess I'm lucky like that."

  Nel rubbed her arms, which were covered in goosebumps. "I mean, I'm grateful that the dragon's been helping us and all, but still... It's terrifying knowing they're out there."

  "Still, thank you, Alex." Nivan bowed his head to me. "For everything. We can sleep much better knowing that we're not in danger." He laughed. "I think."

  "We won't sleep that well, and you know it," Nel added.

  If she thought multiple dragons being out there was terrifying, then the next bit of news was going to give her a heart attack. "Yeah, well, here's the thing. I kind of told Dhurak—that's the wyrm's name, by the way—that he's to head over here once he's all healed up if he can't find me. I tried to give him new orders on the way back to Goodfield, but he's in such a deep sleep right now that my commands aren't reaching him. Sorry about that."

  Both of their faces turned ghost-white.

  ***

  "Boy," Renard rumbled as he exited the temple's front doors and marched toward me, Lady Varga and Arden in tow. "Where are you taking us, exactly?"

  "You'll see." I slapped his shoulder as he, Lady Varga, and Arden stepped close enough that they could all hold hands.

  "I, for one, am quite excited for this little surprise of yours, Alex." Arden had looked as giddy as a schoolgirl ever since I told him everything I'd learned from Ura-Elathiel. I'd asked him to keep everything else under wraps from the others, though.

  "I have a feeling he's taking us to the source of his information." The scholar was scribbling away at a thick leather-bound notebook. "Am I right? I am, aren't I?" Before I could answer, he held up a hand and said, "No! It's a surprise. I love surprises." He didn't sound convincing at all.

  I'd received a dove from the temple that stated that it was nearly time to begin our next quest, so I'd used [Recall] to jump back to the temple. Unfortunately, neither Faye nor Kasimir could make it. I wasn't exactly excited to see the latter, considering all the questions I had about him, but I was pretty bummed that the former wasn't here for this. However, one person had come. I had a feeling this was going to be awesome.

  "I wouldn't mind spending a little more time with you once this field trip of ours is over," Greta purred as she and Jorn exited the temple. They were arm in arm and looking very bonded.

  "I know a perfect spot out on the river," Jorn said with that husky tone guys got when they were shooting their shot. "It's quiet, beautiful, and... private."

  Greta's eyes lit up. "I would love that."

  "Okay, you two." I pointed for them to step next to Arden. "Enough flirting for one day."

  Jorn shot me a look that screamed, "Don't cock block me, man!" Then, he added, "I'm just glad to be included in this little outing, even if you've forgotten me after all your other adventures. You damn squirt."

  Greta stuck her tongue out at me. "And you better learn to be kinder to your elders, Alex. I don't like this sass you've developed since..." Her face dropped. "Since we met today."

  I grinned back at her. "I like to think that I'm always kind..." It was time for the name drop. "Greta."

  She froze mid-step. "What did you just say?"

  I hadn't really remembered her the last few times I'd seen her. However, ever since we'd cleansed Caer-Elath-Synareth, I was able to remember more about the witch than I had in some time. While some of my memories were still fuzzy, they were returning more and more every day. And now that I had them again, I thought, maybe, this little plan of mine might work for her and Jorn, too. "What, Greta? Did I say something weird?"

  Her lips worked. "How do you... You haven't... remembered me... since..."

  "Since the seal?" I said.

  Her breath caught. "Y-yeah."

  "I know." I reached out and grabbed her hand.

  Jorn puffed his chest out. "About damn time. We haven't gone on a proper adventure together in years now! Remember when we fought that evil witch out by Goodfield? That was fun."

  That snapped Greta out of her stupor. Kissing his cheek, she whispered, "My hero."

  I grabbed Arden's hand with my free one. "Yeah, well, just you wait. This is going to be even better than that adventure."

  Varga and Renard looked at one another, shrugged, and clasped hands.

  "Alright, everyone. Hold on to your butts, and don't complain if we end up in a river. I'm still not very good at this." In my mind's eye, I visualized the top of the tree, dug deep, and...

  [Recall]

  ***

  "They're still at it." Vral snickered beside me. "Losers."

  "Shush, you," Tristan snapped. "I think it's the sweetest thing!"

  "I agree." I pulled both her and Vral close. "I'd do the same thing if I ever forgot either of you."

  "I'd do even more." Tristan squeezed both of our hands before settling her back into my chest and hiking her legs over Vral's. "I'd never let either of you go."

  Vral blushed. "Y-yeah?"

  "Definitely." Tristan kissed Vral's forehead, then turned and kissed mine.

  I settled into my throne and soaked the moment in, along with the feeling of both of my women lounging on my lap.

  Through the archway, and far out on one of the Dreaming Crown's boughs, Greta and Jorn were sitting side-by-side, making out like teenagers as the sky turned to dusk. They'd been that way ever since we'd arrived back in Caer-Elath-Sylnareth. The second their feet touched the tree, they looked at one another, their eyes went wide, and the started kissing. After many tears and words and kisses, Greta floated them out onto the bough, where they'd been soaking in the Orb of Light's light ever since.

  "This is incredible!" Arden shouted to my right. "There are so many artifacts just in one storage room!" The scholar shuffled into the great hall from the right, holding a dozen items in his arms. "Alex? Do you have any idea how many essays I could write based on merely one of these artifacts alone?!"

  I laughed. "Then why don't you set up shop here for a while?"

  Slowly, he shook his head. "I couldn't impose..."

  With a shrug, I said, "Why not? We have plenty of room."

  "I..."

  "We could restore one of the buildings down in the city for you. That way, you could have a place to write."

  He looked at Varga, then Renard, who both nodded. That made him beam. "I... I would like that very much, yes."

  "You heard the boss!" Ark shot to her feet. All around her, her crew, plus over a dozen others, shot up to their feet with her. "We're going out and to find the best damn place to write in this whole city! Got it?!"

  "Ma'am!" The goblins shouted in response.

  With a single curt nod, she turned, bowed to me, then marched to a hand-sized crystal embedded in the far wall of the great hall. Pressing her hand to it, there was a flash of light, and she was gone.

  "You heard her," Grort shouted. "Time to move!" He glared at the rest of the goblins, his hands on his hips. One by one, the others vanished. When only Grort remained, he turned, bowed, and disappeared, too.

  "Is that..." Arden stepped toward the stone. "Is that a waystone?!"

  "Sure is." After Ura-Elathiel's spirit had disappeared, we realized we were stuck at the top of the tree with only a very sleepy dragon and her child to help us get back down. Luckily, Fluffy was there to show us how to use the waystone. After using it, we were whisked down to the base of the tree, where two massive bronze gates stood separating the city from the Dreaming Crown.

  "I have to use it." He placed the artifacts on the floor and rushed to the stone. With absolutely no hesitation, he pressed his hand to the thing and vanished.

  "I haven't seen him like that in years." Tristan giggled. "It's cute."

  "Nerd," Vral said, shaking her head.

  "Boy, girl, Slasher." Renard marched up to us. "We also would like to inspect this city of yours."

  "Indeed." Varga floated up to us with perfect grace, despite her large size. "It's been so long since we've had much presence in Istaera. I would like to know if there is an old temple in this city that we might be able to restore, given the time and resources. "

  I nodded. "There is one. It's in the western district."

  Varga smiled. "Thank you, my child."

  Just then, footsteps echoed to our left. To our left, Urik sauntered into the great hall with the halfling man who'd raised hell down on the streets a month back at her side. They were looking awfully chummy together, considering he wanted to pogrom every goblin in the city a month before.

  "And the thing is, when you gut someone, you have to turn your blade so that..." Her words trailed off when she realized we were all there. "Boss? When'd you get back?"

  "Hey, Urik. Falwell." I'd learned in the past month that the halfling's name was Falwell. He'd actually been elected as the representative of the fourth era civilians.' That, obviously, had given him and Urik time to get familiar with one another. "We've been back for several hours. What have you two been up to?"

  They looked at one another and blushed.

  "You slut!" Vral shot out of my lap. "I knew you were a no-good, rotten—"

  "It's not what it looks like!" Urik's blush grew crimson. "We've been working on the western district together, so we had to do some planning!"

  "Planning?! Out in the boughs?!" Vral marched up to Urik and shoved her back a step. "Bullshit!"

  Urik's blush grew as she stuttered for a good ten seconds before she finally said, "Okay! Fine! But we only kissed!"

  Falwell's eyes flicked away. "Y-yeah!"

  "Kissed?!" Vral snarled. "Is that all?"

  "And, uh... We did some hand stuff," Urik mumbled.

  Vral's eyes literally started glowing. "How did this happen?"

  "Well, we kind of fought a lot at first... and then we got in a bad fight a few weeks ago, and I shoved him, and he shoved me back, and then he called me scum, so I called him a cunt, and then... You know..."

  "I-I realized that we aren't so different!" Falwell stammered. "And now... now I can't help but be smitten by her!" His jaw set, and his voice grew impassioned. "Urik's the most beautiful woman in the world!"

  Urik's blush grew even deeper.

  "Juicy," I whispered. Love was blossoming on the Dreaming Crown these days.

  Tristan giggled. "Very."

  "Of course she is! Urik's a fucking babe!" Vral turned and shoved Falwell. "Now, you better take responsibility, asshole!"

  "R-responsibility?" His eyes darted back to Urik.

  She shoved him. "Have you beaten her down yet? Has she begged you to stop kicking her ass?! Huh?!" Vral poked his biceps. "I don't see any muscles on you. I don't think you could do it if you wanted to!"

  He tried to push the irate goblin off, to no avail. "What does any of this mean?"

  Urik shuffled before saying, "The thing is, in goblin culture, you kind of have to prove that you're worthy of my hand..." She swallowed. "But I lost my tribe, so I don't have the right to take a mate anymore."

  Vral stomped her foot. "Bullshit! You're one of my people. You're an Ash Eater! So this won't stand!" Vral ripped her daggers out of their sheaths. "You better be fucking ready, because it's happening. Right here, right now!"

  Falwell threw his hands up. "Don't kill me!"

  "Kill you?" Vral frowned. "Why would I kill you?"

  When Vral said that Urik was one of her people, Urik's eyes went saucer-shaped. "Vral, does that mean—"

  Vral's head whipped back to Urik. "You're unexiled, bitch!" Vral shoved a dagger in either of their hands. "Now, as a newly reappointed member of the Tu'Vigh tribe, it's time for you to do the thing!"

  Urik's eyes filled with tears. "You mean it, Vral?"

  "Yes!" Vral shoved her across the hall. "Now, get ready to fight!"

  Falwell looked at me with the most despairing face I'd ever seen. "My lord? What should I do?"

  I shrugged. "If you want a hot goblin wife, you'd better fight hard."

  Hands shaking and with the absolute worst combat stance I'd ever seen, Falwell held Vral's dagger up between himself and Urik.

  "Shouldn't we stop this?" Tristan whispered. "This is going to be a bloodbath."

  "Honestly? Let's see what happens." I wrapped my arms around her waist. "You never know. He might surprise us."

  "I'll heal him if he gets hurt." She settled back into me. "Maybe the Goddess will guide his hand?"

  I laughed. "I really hope so."

  "Fight!" Vral shouted.

  Kissing my cheek, Tristan whispered, "I love you, my king."

  I turned and brushed my lips on hers. "I love you right back, my queen."

  Our lips pressed together right when Urik and Falwell crossed blades.