Astei brought them right up to the great tree trunk, to one of multiple shafts that ran right up into the canopy. A pair of women stood next to it. One leaned on a fence, watching them with a gentle smile and resting a large, cleaver-like sword next to her. The other sat in a meditative pose, eyes closed. Not even her nose twitched as her red-tinged hair brushed against her face.

  “How goes guard duty, ladies?” Astei asked.

  “All serene here,” the meditating woman said.

  “Vex can stay here next time while I have fun,” the other said with a sweet, disarming voice.

  “Not a chance, woman,” Vex hissed under his breath.

  “You’re back early, and with visitors, I see.”

  Ordra waved at her, then introduced his party. “We come bearing food for those stranded in the canopy.”

  “Who was it that sent you?” the meditating woman asked.

  “We’ll discuss that on the way up,” Astei said. “Everyone, this is Mireth. She’s rather strange, but a good soul.”

  “Among even stranger, sometimes,” Daena said.

  “The other is Tirra. Don’t let her size fool you. She swings that sword with the strength of an ogre.”

  “Technically, it’s just an enchantment,” Tirra corrected him.

  “Nuance. We’re going up.”

  The lift itself was a large, octagonal, solid wood structure with two levels connected via ladder. Benches ran along the edges of each level, with another circular bench in the center, with enough room to seat at least forty altogether, by Benedict’s reckoning. The backpack coffers went on one side of the car while the parties sat together on the other. Mireth pulled a lever that started their slow ascent.

  “Now that we have time, Astei, what is going on in this city?” Ordra asked.

  “You presumably know about the infestation in this city,” Astei began. “As far as we can tell, this was started by a group of people that showed up wearing long coats and bird masks. They didn’t seem to speak to anyone outside of terse complaints, nor did they do anything aside from amble around the city. When the monsters came, some people saw them holding strange, noiseless bells. We presume they use those to loosely control the monsters.”

  “That would explain the square,” Benedict murmured.

  “What happened there?”

  Benedict told them of their fight with the giant and imps, focusing specifically on the bell ringer.

  “The conclusion would be that these bell ringers are keeping the monsters alive, as well, so if we can find and destroy these bells, we can take the city back,” Mireth said, keeping her eyes closed and arms crossed.

  “Just show me what to smash,” Klugen said.

  Celica stared at the floor with a finger to her lips. “A noiseless bell that can control and even revive monsters? What artificer would make such a thing? More to the point, how?”

  “Why would you need to know how?” Daena asked.

  “Because if we know what Source they’re using, we can develop a good counter to it.”

  Daena shrugged. “The best counter is just destroying the problem.”

  “That’s a way to look at it.”

  “What about these bird masked men?” Amalyn asked.

  “There isn’t much more to say,” Tirra said. “Some people think someone is controlling them using the masks they never take off.”

  “The pair at the gate showed their bare faces, so I think we can discount that theory,” Benedict said.

  “Were there any distinguishing features on their coats?” Kirion asked.

  Vex shook his head. “If you’re looking for an organization they serve, good luck. No one has figured that out yet.”

  “I presume no one knows where they’re headquartered,” Amalyn said.

  “There are several adventuring parties doing expeditions into the city, and none of them have reported such a thing.”

  The deceiving peace of the city disappeared behind a wall of branches and leaves, then it all disappeared as the car entered a fully enclosed portion of the shaft in its final ascent. Light came back when they arrived at a massive platform. Huge branches extended through the wooden structure, reaching into the sky. Wooden walkways extended along and between branches, leading to octagonal structures built onto the tree itself, some with their own platforms. Everywhere, large lamps glowed on top of poles, providing light in the shadows of the endless leaves covering the sun.

  Astei’s party disembarked first, followed by Ordra’s carrying the supplies. A slight man in noble dress met them before everyone was off the car.

  “Did something happen?” the man asked. “You’re late!”

  “We had a good day of extermination and found these wayward adventurers,” Astei replied.

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  “And who are they?”

  “I am—” Ordra began.

  “These are Ordra, Benedict, Kirion, Shiyo, Amalyn, and Celica,” Astei interrupted, indicating each in turn. “They come from Lorvath bearing supplies for the people of Noctim.”

  “What kinds of supplies?” the man asked.

  “Food,” Benedict answered.

  “Glory be! Come! We must tell the High Minister!”

  Astei dismissed his party. “Go resupply and rest. We gather tomorrow morning at the same spot.” Then he turned to Ordra. “Good luck with the nobles.”

  The slight man walked with the gait of an aristocrat, taking them up one of the larger branches to the high minister’s estate. Along the way, he explained that the people from the base initially overwhelmed the houses in the canopy. Instead of sending them back down, the nobles created spaces on their spacious platforms for temporary housing—mostly campsites. The various adventurers dispersed among the refugees, some staying together and some not.

  The only food came from what they scavenged from the canopy and the spoils brought back by the adventurers. The former consisted primarily of berries and small birds that couldn’t fully sustain the populace, and the latter was running low as they had cleared out most of the existing stores. When Benedict asked about water, he was told a series of pumps and aqueducts kept water in the proper quantities.

  At the top of a larger branch, up an equally large staircase, they reached a larger estate than the others, though it was still smaller than Benedict would have expected for someone with the lofty title of High Minister. A nobleman waited in the door, beckoning them inside. Decorations and art lined the walls inside, while bedrolls covered at least a third of the floor space. A group of children played with a pair of maids away from the door. The nobleman took them into another room with a single circular table surrounded by eight plush chairs. At his insistence, they deposited the coffers in a corner before sitting down.

  “I’m afraid I’ve been remiss,” the nobleman said. “My name is Fergus, and I am Noctim’s High Minister.”

  “Good to have your name, High Minister,” Ordra said.

  “This is a private space. Ask whatever questions you wish, and I will answer the best I know how.”

  Amalyn leaned forward and interlocked her fingers. “We hear that a group of men in long coats and bird masks are responsible for this. Can you tell us anything more about them?”

  “Their representative came to the Council of Ministers before any of them appeared in the city with one demand: tribute to their leader. We refused, of course, and were awarded with the current infestation not long after.”

  “Who was this leader?” Ordra asked.

  “Someone named Seraphine.”

  Amalyn gasped. When Benedict looked at her, her eyes were wide, and her pupils had dilated. Celica took Amalyn’s hands in hers and caressed them. Kirion rested a hand on her shoulder.

  Fergus noticed, too. “Please, if you know anything about this Seraphine, tell us.”

  “She—” Amalyn said, words catching in her throat.

  “She was a bright, good soul once,” Shiyo said instead. “I saw her turn into a twisted, wretched creature with her only goal being dominance of others. I couldn’t be with her any longer. That was before she had these new followers.”

  “I see,” Fergus said, leaning back in his chair.

  “She’s a Wraith,” Amalyn spat. “Twisted and wretches are all they are.”

  Benedict felt her words like a gunshot, but kept his face neutral.

  “Where can we find her? We need to end this madness,” Fergus said.

  “You aren’t planning on offering tribute, are you?” Ordra asked.

  “What choice do we have? Adventuring parties go out every day and kill more monsters, and every day they have more to kill. Nothing has come close to stemming the tide. Even your contribution I fear has only bought us a few days at most.”

  Amalyn glared at him. “The only way to deal with a Wraith is to kill them. They’re ruthless evil. You give her a single aur in tribute, and she’ll destroy all you know worse than already.”

  “Miss, if you have another idea, please tell me.” His eyes held genuine sadness as he pleaded with her.

  “I don’t.”

  “Amalyn has a deeply personal stake in this, High Minister,” Ordra said. “Regardless, I agree with her. This woman’s followers have proven they will use deadly tricks to get what they want.”

  “Do you have suggestions?” Fergus asked.

  Kirion cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Sir, in my previous life, I was a thief. My skillset is particularly suited to the kind of work you may require in this instance.”

  “Meaning?”

  “We have a lead on how the monsters keep coming back. Given some time, I believe I could destroy their ability to do so.”

  “Any leads you have, we would appreciate,” Shiyo added.

  “Even a map of the city could help,” Celica said.

  Fergus stroked his short beard. “Can you stay the next couple of days? I will gather all the information I can for you. If you can do this, you will be rewarded well.”

  Ordra offered a hand to Fergus. “No payment will be required. We’ll just take what we can from Seraphine’s men.”

  Fergus shook Ordra’s hand, sealing the deal.

  Night in the canopy didn’t seem that much different than day, by Benedict’s reckoning. Masses of leaves hid the sun and daylit sky and continued to do so to the stars and moons. Everything darkened slightly as the few spots that let light through turned darker and little else. The other indication came with the returning lifts and disembarking adventurers.

  Ordra managed to find a small platform away from most of the lanterns for their camp. The fire was there for warmth and food, nothing else.

  “I think we should discuss our plans for tomorrow,” Ordra said as he flipped the small cuts of meat.

  “Fact-finding before we head down?” Kirion asked.

  “Not exactly. We’re going down immediately.”

  “Going down with no preparation? That sounds intelligent,” Shiyo groaned.

  A mischievous grin formed on Ordra’s lips. “It is with my idea. The adventurers go down during the day, hunt, then come back to the canopy. All our quarry needs to do is wait for nightfall to move substantially.”

  “And what do you think they’re doing at night?” Celica asked.

  “We won’t know until we see for ourselves. I’m sure Kirion, at least, is up for it.”

  “Why must you have such faith in me?” Kirion complained.

  “It’s a compliment, my friend.”

  “The best time to resurrect the monsters is at night,” Benedict said.

  “Exactly,” Ordra said. “We wait for them to come out and resurrect their monsters, then follow them back to wherever they’re hiding.”

  Celica stared at her staff. “Well, that’s a good idea, but do we have all we need for that?”

  “We just need enough dry rations for a couple nights, right?” Shiyo asked.

  “Which we have already,” Ordra answered with a nod.

  As their food sizzled in Ordra’s frying pan, Benedict cut his eyes over to Amalyn. She stared at the flames, almost mesmerized.

  “Thinking about the masked men, Amalyn?” Benedict asked.

  Amalyn didn’t answer.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Don’t push it, Benedict,” Ordra said.

  “They should know, Ordra,” Amalyn finally said. Everyone looked at her. “My big brother was an adventurer, bringing home extra money every day to help our little farm. One day, he came home saying he had met a woman named Seraphine.”

  Benedict felt Shiyo wince.

  Amalyn didn’t. “As time went on, he started wearing strange things, including a long coat I hadn’t seen before. Even worse, he spent less and less time with us, never bringing this supposed love around to see us. The one time I saw her, I was in the town, and my brother stood in the square with a group of others dressed the same as him. A woman was there, too. She turned and revealed those glowing Wraith eyes. All the men, including my brother, put on the bird masks and followed her out of town. Not a week later, I found out she destroyed the neighboring city, and my brother was likely with her.”

  Celica massaged Amalyn’s shoulder. “If he’s here, we’ll find him.”

  “I just want him back.”

  Shiyo stared at the wooden floor. “Someone has to stop her.”