021

Noah sat quietly inside the dim airship, listening to the engine hum. The entire thing was blackiron and lit only by slivers of sky that peaked through the few greasy, round windows. Graven was piloting the thing. Jori and Sven were ensuring he drove it where he was supposed to. They were going to land where they had taken off from and hope nobody on the ground had noticed the fortress at Annatto was now sideways. They probably wouldn’t, unless they had a telescope or binoculars. It would take time before anybody knew. The first clue would be the missing guards and Graven, who were expected to return home soon.

Noah sat quietly, thinking about what Sven had said to him soon after they got on the ship. “Tell nobody about the artifact we saw in the vault.” It took Noah a while of thinking quietly to put it together, but he thought he had it figured out. The fact that Graven was present at the Annatto fortress was the clue he needed. Why would a golgotha be heading to Antimogne’s vault? Then Noah remembered that Graven had mentioned the Emperor had an artifact to gift to the golgotha to help their work in building their Tower of Babel.

The artifact Noah and Sven found was probably an artifact that could attach to the machine the golgotha used to build the Tower and speed it up or something. The anti-magic battery in the side compartment would reverse the effect of the time-slowing crystal artifact to make it speed things up instead. But the golgotha wouldn’t realize they were getting more than they bargained for: The artifact had a second function. It contained an amulet with a piece of Antimogne’s soul attached to it. But why would Antimogne want his soul attached to the Tower that killed gods? So the Tower of Babel would kill him, too?

It was when Noah considered the anti-magic battery might serve a dual purpose that he understood Antimogne’s plan. The Tower of Babel was essentially a giant artifact with the power to make the outer gods mortal. What effect would such an artifact have if it was imbued with anti-magic? Noah wasn’t sure, but it was possible that instead of making gods mortal, it could make a mortal into a god. Noah didn’t know how the golgotha artifact worked exactly, but if that was the case, then Antimogne was planning to use the Tower of Babel to turn himself into an outer god, replacing one of the existing outer gods. Heretics would be able to select him as a patron, and so on. His influence after that would be substantial.

Given Sven’s reaction, Noah feared he was right. Sven must know more than him about how the golgotha artifact worked. But why would Sven want Noah to keep quiet about the artifact and Antimogne’s plan? Why not tell the whole group? Was he afraid of Graven knowing?

Noah would have to ask Sven about it in private when he could. For now, Noah just sat quietly and hoped Graven didn’t crash the airship.

Berenice and Venus were both sitting on metal chairs across from Noah in the bridge of the airship. Their eyes were closed. After Noah used his new technique to free both of them, they had apparently levelled up several times and were choosing classes and abilities. To Noah, this made no sense. Why would they become humanborn all of the sudden, when they weren’t before? It’s not like their species was changing. All that was changing was that now, they were free from their sheeple gullibility.

Berenice looked giddy, and Noah grinned watching her. He wondered what class she would choose.

The airship thudded and then scraped along the ground, nearly knocking Noah out of his seat.

“Sorry about that, everyone. I am not a very good pilot,” said Graven.

“At least we didn’t crash,” said Jori.

Leaving the airship, they were eyed by some skeptical sheeple soldiers, but they didn’t say anything. They were the same guards that had been bribed before. The group entered the tunnels under the Toldenhold and headed to the Archback Casino.

“Guess what class I did choose, Noah!”

“What class, Berenice?”

“Come on, guess!” She was more thrilled than Noah had ever seen her. “And guess my level!”

“Uhh, three?”

“Four. Four! Canst thou believe it?”

“Wow, good for you. What class did you choose?”

“Guess!”

“I don’t know, Berenice. Heretic?”

“Nay! Guess again!”

Noah sighed. “Leader?”

“Warrior! I’m a Brute! I’m going to whip some serious behind! Bahahaha!”

Noah was taken aback. He definitely didn’t expect her to choose a combat-focused class. “Really?”

“Aye. I got Improved Strength from Barbarian and Improved Toughness from Brute, and then I took the Mauler subclass to get Greater Improved Strength, and I am maximizing mine Strength stat. Arm wrestle me, Noah!”

“How are we gonna arm wrestle?” asked Noah. They were still walking through the tunnels.

Berenice shrugged. “Next level, I shall acquire Mega Toss! I’ll have the power to hurl mine enemies at each other as if they are nothing!”

“That sounds cool.”

“Aye! When can we fight some enemies? I wish to prove mine newfound might. Hiyaa!” She punched the air in front of her. It didn’t look impressive, but with her new strength stat, it would probably hurt a lot to get punched by. Especially when she was made of solid metal, which she wasn’t right now because they were in range of the Toldenhold’s anti-magic star.

“Relax, Berenice. I’m sure we’ll end up in trouble again soon enough.”

“You should have taken me on the quest to Annatto. You would not have needed to flee had I been there.”

“You would have just ratted us out to the guards, Berenice.”

“Still.”

They arrived at the Archback Casino and made their way to the back room, where Vincenzio, their leader, was waiting for them.

“Thou art returned. Good. Where be Mead and Mordred? And who is this golgotha? A hostage? A new recruit?”

“Both, we hoped,” said Sven. “Mead and Mordred didn’t make it. There was trouble at Annatto. The Emperor doesn’t know yet.”

“Pox. And who be yon sheeple?”

“She is Noah’s companion, Berenice. She intercepted us at Annatto. She is… with us now.”

Vincenzio squinted at Sven, and then Berenice. “Fine. Tell me what hath transpired. Take a seat.” Everyone took a seat at the table.

Sven went over the mission. How they successfully infiltrated the fortress without being detected, but how the mission went wrong when Graven and some guards came unexpectedly to the vault. He told Vincenzio about the fight that ensued, and how Jori broke one of the chains suspending the fortress, causing it to swing sideways, killing Mead, Mordred, and most of the guards. “Risky,” was all Vincenzio said in response. Sven told him how they escaped with Graven as a hostage, and how Berenice was there to intercept them, and how Noah figured out how to free sheeple.

“Just so? No artifact required? Astonishing. Well done, boy. I knew I was right to invite thee to our band.” Vincenzio looked at Berenice. “And I reckon thou art with us now, too, eh? Welcome. What is thy class, now that thou art mamluk?”

“Mauler!” said Berenice with pride.

“From what I understand, she’s more of an artificer,” said Sven. “She can turn to solid metal.”

“Well, more muscle’s ever welcome. We’ll need it for what’s to come. ‘Twill be war. Once we liberate the sheeple in the Toldenhold, revolt against the Emperor is certain. The lords and ladies will sever their allegiance with him and turn to infighting. Chaos will unfold. In the chaos, we must attempt to slay Antimogne, seize power, and stabilize the realm.”

“You intend to free all the sheeple and slay the Emperor? This is treason!” Shouted Graven. “Why would you kill the Emperor? Without him, the golgotha’s holy mission is hopeless! And what horrors would occur if the Empire dissolved! Do you not recall the time before the Empire? It was not long ago.”

“Frankly, golgotha, hold thy damned tongue. We care not for thy holy mission. And anything is better than this tyrant. Bring the golgotha to me.”

Jori stood up and gestured for Graven to go toward Vincenzio. Skeptical, he went around the table and stood by Vincenzio.

“What do you intend, sir?” asked Graven.

Vincenzio reached out with one long, thin arm, touching Graven’s gray skin. “Permanent Domination,” spoke Vincenzio. Graven’s eyes went white briefly and then faded back to their colour: white, with grey irises and black pupils. Aside from that, there was no indication that anything magical had taken place.

Graven knelt before Vincenzio. “I will do whatever you command, my lord. Though I do hope you do not force me to act in a way that would compromise my holy mission.”

“Sit thee down,” spoke Vincenzio. Graven obeyed, returning to the table. Just like that, Graven was a slave to Vincenzio.

“Permanent Domination? You made him a slave?” asked Noah.

“Aye. Problem?”

“You’re fighting against the Emperor because he uses slaves. Isn’t it wrong for you to do the exact same thing?”

“One thrall to save multitudes. ‘Tis a price worth paying,” spoke Vincenzio.

“You’re all okay with this?” asked Noah, looking around. Nobody was going to join him.

“Sorry, Noah,” said Sven. “He is right. It’s one person, and it’s temporary. Once we don’t need him, he’ll be free to go.”

Noah relented. He liked Graven, and didn’t believe in slavery, but it wasn’t worth fighting over. The Empire had thousands of slaves. What was one more? Maybe Noah would care more about Vincenzio’s hypocrisy if he was more invested in their mission, but Noah wanted revenge – and Chastity – more than he wanted to save the Empire.

Now that Graven was bound to do as Vincenzio required, he was interrogated for any information that may be useful. Mostly, they talked about the golgotha’s relationship with the Emperor, and whether or not they could be turned against the Emperor. The answer to that question was a simple no. They would never betray him. Noah and Sven exchanged glances when Graven admitted that the next of the gods the golgotha wanted to kill was the Eye itself.

“The Eye? Methought the golgotha didst worship the Eye? Yet, thou wishest to destroy it? To what end?”

“No. We pretend to worship both the Eye and the Foot, so other nations are less hostile toward us, but we see the Foot as the one true god, and seek to destroy all false gods. Emperor Antimogne himself, a Foot Heretic, is aware of this deception and supports us in our mission.”

Of course he does, thought Noah. You’re helping him replace the Eye with himself! Antimogne planned to let the golgotha kill the Eye, and then take the Eye’s place as the most powerful god! Sven looked troubled at the news. Noah kept quiet.

“He is providing us with an artifact to help speed up our work. With it, we will surely reach the Eye before year’s end. That is what I went to fetch from Annatto. For some reason, the Emperor is very secretive about the artifact. I thought he would want his contribution to be made public, but apparently not so.”

The interrogation continued until Vincenzio was satisfied he’d milked Graven for any useful information he could provide. Afterward, they discussed their future plans.

“Thanks be to thee, Graven, for thy unwilling service. Now, ‘tis time to determine our next course. Methinks ‘tis clear that disseminating the sheeple-freeing secret doth take precedence over anything else, including the Elven cure. Once matters settle, an airship to Hoomtree we shall send. For now, I need every man to devote himself to the task of spreading the secret and rallying the newfound mamluk beneath my standard, against the Emperor. ‘Tis war, comrades. On the morrow, we commence. This eve, rest well. Sell any artifacts you have found at Annatto, for we shall have need of the coin. That is all.”

Noah felt his pockets. He still had a few artifacts stashed. Many of the magical rings, necklaces, and bracelets he had stolen from Annatto had fallen out when he was falling, but he still had some, and he was sure Sven had more, since he had been flying when the fortress turned on its side.

“Wait,” said Sven, “Shouldn’t we send an airship to Hoomtree now while we still have one available? If we don’t send one now, we may not ever have the chance if the struggle against the Emperor does not go our way.”

“Aye, send Noah and I!” said Berenice.

“No,” said Noah, “It’s alright. I want to see the Emperor burn before we leave the Toldenhold. When he’s dead, then we can go.”

“But what of the Elves? And what of Chastity?”

Vincenzio spoke. “Am I mistook, or am I yet in charge here? Our every endeavour must be fixed on freeing the sheeple. We must aid our own before we help the Elves, or any others. This hath been our struggle all along, and ‘tis at last coming to pass. I will not let it falter because we devoted an entire Imperial airship to some charity mission. Understood?”

“Yes, Vincenzio,” said Sven.

Vincenzio looked at Berenice and Noah, and they nodded. Venus, Jori, and Graven nodded too.

“Good. Savour thy final peacetime rest, all.”

The group ended their meeting. Noah told Berenice he wanted to have a word with Sven, and she said she’d meet him at the palace. Noah then pulled Sven aside.

“Sven?”

“Yes, Noah?”

“Why didn’t you want me to tell anyone about the artifact we saw? I mean, I think I know what it’s for, but…”

Sven’s face hardened. “Ah. So you figured it out. I thought from the look you gave me while Graven spoke you might have. Old Antimogne wants to replace the soul of a god with his own. Not just any god, as we heard. The Eye itself. I said you shouldn’t tell anyone because I have a feeling if Vincenzio finds out, he will try to replace Antimogne’s soul with his own, and become god himself. The man fights for justice, but his idea of justice and mine differ. If you and I want to stop Antimogne, we must do it on our own.”

“Oh. You don’t trust Vincenzio? He doesn’t seem that bad.”

Sven smiled. “Not one bit. You didn’t see how he used to treat Venus. You haven’t seen the things he’s had us do in the name of doing what is right. We should not include him in our plans, lest he dominate us and force us to help him become a god.”

“Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”

“The one saving grace is that we have time. The artifact is still at Annatto, likely undamaged, and will shortly be transported to golgotha by the sounds of it. After, I assume, being sealed shut so curious eyes do not find Antimogne’s soul amulet. After that, it won’t be until next year that the golgotha’s Tower will reach the Eye. We have until then to stop them. It won’t be easy to stop them. We’ll have to break into Golgotha, which is well-defended and skeptical of outsiders, but we have a year to plan.”

“Can’t we just tell the golgotha that Antimogne’s tricking them?”

“I have considered it. But I suspect they may try to use the same technique to make the Foot the prime god, rather than the Eye. I think we should involve nobody in this secret unless absolutely necessary, alright? You can tell Berenice, and I’ll tell Jori, but that’s it.”

“Sure. But we can’t break into Golgotha, just the four of us, can we?”

“Certainly not. We’ll have to come up with something.”

“Excuse me, but I have an idea.”

Noah and Sven both jumped, turning to see someone was talking to them. They hadn’t seen her approach in the dim, neon light outside the Archback Casino, and she had come right up to them while they whispered with one another. They quickly stepped away from her and turned to look at her.

Her skin was bright pink, and she was nude except for a brown hooded cloak. She was short and thin. Her wide eyes had pink irises. She was totally bald, and her pink forehead had a white heart shape in the center. She looked at them innocently.

“Who are you?”

“Oh! I am deeply sorry for startling you! I am Cardi Heartspawn. I am the Avatar of the Heart, here to help you.”

“What?” asked Noah.

“An Avatar? What do you mean?” asked Sven.

“I was created mere weeks ago by our lady, the Heart, to aid you on your quest. You, Noah, will save the Earth. I was instructed to wait until this moment in time, after you exit the Archback Casino, after your mission to the giant bird in the sky, to intervene on behalf of the Heart. You are about to make a grave mistake, and I am here to prevent it.”

“What mistake?” asked Noah.

“I don’t know,” she said, frowning. “I’m afraid she didn’t tell me.”

“Marvelous,” said Sven.

“So you showed up to help us, but you don’t know anything? Why should we even believe you were sent by the Heart?” Noah asked. He knew, however, that she was probably telling the truth. The message on his stats screen, “[She is coming.]”, had made him think something like this might happen.

“I don’t care whether you believe me or not,” she said. They waited for her to continue, but she was done talking.

“Okay… So what do you want, then? You said you had an idea about the golgotha?” asked Noah.

“Oh, yes!” She smiled wide. “I was also supposed to tell you, Noah, that if you stay in the Empire, you will surely die.”

“What!” said Noah.

“Yes, it’s true. The Heart herself placed that knowledge in my mind upon my creation. I only wish she had told me more.”

“I must say, I find all this very hard to believe. Noah, this may be one of the Emperor’s tricks,” said Sven.

“Oh! Right! I know what to do to smooth all this over. Hold on.” Cardi stepped back and tilted her head. “Could you two stand a little closer together? Actually, I think this is fine.” Before Noah could ask what she was planning to do, Noah and Sven were surrounded by a flurry of opaque, pink, heart-shaped bubbles. Noah and Sven both flinched. The shiny pink bubbles blew past Noah and Sven, popping against their skin.

“Huh?” asked Noah. The bubbles dispersed. Noah had been afraid he was being attacked, but they were just… bubbles?

He looked at Cardi. Oh! Cardi! He had been seeing her as some kind of stranger before – someone to be skeptical of. But now, he saw her for who she really was. Cardi Heartspawn, his dearest friend. She was like a sister to him. Even though they had just met minutes ago, he cared about her deeply. She was as close to him as Berenice, or anyone else.

“There! Now do you trust me?”

“Yes, old blood, of course I do. Why wouldn’t I, Cardi?” said Sven.

Noah knew she had just used some magic on him to make him care about her, but he didn’t mind because – magic or not – he did care about her. “Yeah, I trust you. I know you wouldn’t lie to us.”

“Great! Group hug!”

Cardi took Noah and Sven in for an awkward three-person hug.

“What was that?” asked Sven. “That was powerful magic.”

“That’s my Avatar ability. Every Avatar has an Avatar ability. It’s called Flurry of Hearts.”

“There are more Avatars?” asked Sven.

“I have no idea,” said Cardi.

“It makes people love you?” asked Noah. “But isn’t that, like, wrong?”

“Why would that be wrong? I’m just making you see me how everyone should see everyone else, silly. I love everyone! Everyone should love everyone!”

“I guess you have a point or something, as long as you’re not going to use it for evil.”

“I am the Avatar of the Heart, why would I be evil?” asked Cardi.

“I know you’re not evil, Cardi. I was just saying.”

“You still haven’t told us your idea, old blood,” said Sven.

“Ah, right! My idea is for you to, ahem, ‘go south and seek aid in your quest from the Elves.’ Whatever that means.”

“South? To the Elves? It could be a viable plan. If we took the cure to them and explained the situation in as much detail as necessary, they may be able to provide us aid in a mission against Golgotha. They certainly wouldn’t want a longfolk or anyone else becoming a god.”

“But, the cure was supposed to be my gift to Chastity…”

“Aww, is someone in love? I love love!” Cardi hugged Noah. He felt awkward, since her bare pink breasts pressed against his armour while she did.

“I am sure your beloved will still see it that way, Noah,” said Sven.

Noah thought about it. The airship was still parked outside the city. Noah, Sven, Jori, Cardi, and Berenice could take it south. Leaving all the political shit to Vincenzio and his people. Noah would be sad that he wouldn’t be able to see Antimogne die, but maybe this was more important than mere revenge. He did want to see Chastity again.

“Okay, let’s do it. We need to get Berenice and Jori. Then we can meet at the airship?”

“Very well, my friend. I will see you soon.” Sven hugged Cardi goodbye and nodded to Noah before leaving to find Jori. Noah wondered if they should invite Venus, too, but Sven had already left, and he didn’t know her very well anyway.

Noah went with Cardi to the palace, where Berenice had said she’d meet with him. He was worried when he entered the palace that the Emperor would have figured out he was guilty of attacking Annatto, and he’d be arrested on the spot, but the guards paid no attention to him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that someone was waiting outside of his room for him, but it was just… Kirsa?

“Hi, sweetie!” she cooed. Kirsa ran toward Noah, her tall, leafy ponytail bobbing as she ran. She wrapped her orange arms around Noah, almost knocking him over.

“Uhh, hi.”

She reached up and kissed his cheek. “I missed you so much, my Lord!”

Cardi spoke to Kirsa. “It’s nice to meet you, orange lady! I’m sure we’ll be the best of friends!”

“My name is Kirsa. Who are you? You’re not Noah’s girlfriend or something, are you? Because he’s mine. Just so you know.”

“No, nothing like that,” said Noah. He pulled away from her embrace. “What are you doing here, Kirsa?”

“I came to see you, of course! They finally let me go. Can you believe how long it took? It was one boring hearing after another. But I’m finally here! Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“Uhh, sure.” Noah wondered why it took so long to release her. Did the Emperor want to keep Kirsa away from Noah, just like he did Chastity? Well, now she was here, and Noah wasn’t thrilled. He was busy. He wanted to get Berenice and leave. He didn’t really have time to chat. And he was surprised Kirsa wasn’t trying to kill him or something. He chose Berenice over her when it came down to it. Did she not remember that? “I’m surprised you’re happy to see me, I guess, after everything that happened.”

“Oh, that? Ha! Ha ha ha!” Kirsa tried too hard to laugh, and Noah could tell she wasn’t being genuine. “Don’t worry about that babe! I know you weren’t thinking clearly because that sheeple was manipulating you and messing with your head. I know you’re sorry, and you wouldn’t do it again, right?”

“Sure…”

“So don’t worry about it, my Lord!” She kissed Noah’s cheek again. Oh, God. How would he get rid of her? “Where is that sheep girl again? She didn’t die, did she?”

“No, I was just coming to get her. I guess she’s probably in the library. We’ll have to go get her.”

“She’s not your girlfriend either, now, is she? That would be gross.”

“No, Kirsa. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Besides me, right?”

“No, Kirsa. I don’t have a girlfriend. Not you, not anyone.”

Kirsa took his rejection in stride. “Oh, baby, don’t be dramatic. I know we had some total drama at the Rainbow Mountains, but it’s over now. Water under the bridge. I’m not mad. I’m not even mad at that sheeple girl. What was her name? Bernie? Whatever. Let’s just be together again, okay? It’s been forever! I bet you missed me!” Her hand wandered to his crotch, but he took her hand by the wrist.

“No, Kirsa. You can’t just come back and demand to be my girlfriend. You tried to kill Berenice in the Rainbow Mountains by ratting her out to Clyp. I haven’t forgotten.”

“So? She tried to kill me, too! She almost succeeded! I thought I was gonna be executed, and I was crying and screaming nonstop every night until I heard that the Emperor pardoned me thanks to you. I knew you would save me, Noah, baby! I knew you wouldn’t abandon me!”

Noah sighed. “I don’t really have time for this right now, Kirsa. I have to get Berenice. We’re leaving.”

“Okay, but I’m coming with you!”

“No, Kirsa.” Kirsa’s face fell. “I’m happy you’re alive, but you’re not my girlfriend. I don’t trust you. You betrayed Berenice at the Rainbow Mountains, and you betrayed me.”

“Baby, please!” Kirsa clung to him. “I’m sorry! I just thought she was trying to steal you away from me, and I couldn’t let that happen, because I’m crazy about you. But I’m not mad anymore. I’m not mad at her. I even brought her a special gift to say I was sorry! And I have something special for you, too.” Her eyes were welling with tears, but there was a glint of hope in them, too. She smiled slightly. “Baby, I’m pregnant.”

What? They had unprotected sex a number of times, but… “What? How?”

Kirsa giggled. “How do you think, silly?”

Oh God. Noah’s mind turned to Chastity. He couldn’t be with her if he was the father of Kirsa’s child. What would their child even look like? Half-human, half-carrot? Or some other vegetable? He didn’t want to have a kid with Kirsa. If anyone, he would have a child with Chastity, but he wasn’t ready to start a family at all! This was too much, all at once, and Noah felt overwhelmed.

“So, I can come with you, right baby?”

“Fine. We’ll figure this out later. We need to go, Kirsa.”

“Okay, baby. Let’s go.”

As they walked, Cardi spoke to Noah. “I’m sorry, I didn’t really follow any of that. What did Kirsa mean when she said she was pregnant?”

Oh God. She didn’t know what pregnancy was? Kirsa replied for him. “It means I have Noah’s little baby inside my tummy!”

“Baby? As in, a small, undeveloped person?”

“Yep! Half-carrot, half-Lord. My baby’s gonna be a noble!”

“Wow, that sounds great! I’m happy for the two of you!”

“Thanks! What was your name, again? I like you.”

“I’m Cardi. Cardi Heartspawn. I’m the Avatar of the Heart.”

“Okay, well, nice to meet you. As long as you don’t try anything with Noah, I think we’ll totally be friends.”

“What do you mean, ‘try anything’? Just to make sure I don’t do anything by mistake.”

“I mean, like, sex,” said Kirsa.

“I’m not sure what you mean. Is that how you made a baby together?”

“You don’t know what sex is? Sorry, but are you stupid? Is that why you’re naked under that cloak? You should really wear some clothes, you know. I don’t want Noah getting any ideas.”

“Kirsa,” said Noah sternly.

“Sorry, babe. I’m not trying to be jealous. Cardi, you can wear whatever you want. Just don’t touch Noah, okay?”

“No touching. And no ‘sex’. Got it.”

“Great!” Kirsa side-hugged Cardi.

The orange and pink young women followed Noah into the library, where Berenice was lounging in a chair, reading a book about the history of warfare.

“Oh, Noah! And thou hast brought company. Kirsa,” she greeted Kirsa plainly, “And who might this be?”

“Cardi Heartspawn! I am the Avatar of the Heart.”

“We can explain later. We have to go, Berenice.”

“Go? Whither?” she asked.

“With Sven and Jori in the airship. Cardi says if we stay here, we’ll die. Or I’ll die, at least. It’s a warning from the Heart herself. We’re going to deliver the cure. Come on. We’re leaving now; Sven’s just grabbing Jori.”

“Ah, well, hmm.” Berenice closed her book and looked at Noah. “Very well. I trust thy judgement. And, are all here coming with us?” She eyed Cardi and Kirsa. “And is each person here apprised of our destination?”

Berenice was asking if Kirsa knew they were flying to the Elven city of Hoomtree, where Chastity would be. Yeah, she wouldn’t be happy about that. But Noah didn’t want to deal with that right now.

“We can fill them in on the way. Let’s go.”

After fetching their belongings and the rest of their gold, they left the palace and the Toldenhold to where the airship was parked. The guards were gone, and Sven and Jori were waiting for them. Noah looked back at the blackiron city and the black anti-magic star which hovered above it. The Toldenhold was beautiful in a grungy, dystopian way. But he would be glad to leave it behind.

One by one, they boarded the airship. With Sven at the helm, they climbed into the sky, heading south for Hoomtree.