Judy pointed out a direction and Gavin opened a portal to an intercept path, stepping out in view of the person Judy had spotted.

  The stranger wore scant leather and linen clothes, dyed and stylised to a forest camouflage. Short cropped white hair revealed two long ears that ended at points above their head. Their face and body were lean and angular, with an oddly thin nose. Gavin couldn't distinguish a gender one way or another, they had an androgynous look that wouldn't have been much out of place on a fashion runway.

  They stopped dead the moment Gavins portal opened, bringing their cloth wrapped fists up and lowering into a ready fighting stance.

  “Yo.” Gavin called, dismissing his armour and motioning for Judy to do the same.

  “Two far traveller's how came you here?

  “There's four of us actually.” Gavin said “I'm Gavin, this is Judy, our friends Sam and Val are nearby. We just got here.”

  “I go by Wren of the Riverdew clans.”

  “Nice to meet you Wren.” Gavin said.

  “What purpose draws you to this city?”

  “Well, bit of a long story, we're on a quest to destroy a sword.”

  “That sword?” Wren asked, looking at it curiously for a second before her eyes went wide and she took a step back.

  “Yeah, this sword.”

  “Who- what are you?” She said her eyes boring holes into the team as she searched for something she wouldn't find.

  “We are the knights of the round table, Wardens from the planet Celestria.”

  “No, how have you not been corrupted?” She said, her face a mixture of fear and curiosity.

  “Corrupted?” Gavin asked, feeling a tendril of unease caress his spine.

  “You have no tattoos yet you wield the corrupted magic of this land with your souls. You should be half shade by now.”

  “Uhh, that's a little concerning.” Gavin said, pausing as the team sent a flurry of impressions at one another.

  “And how did you survive the battle up at the castle?”

  “Hold on, my team is sensing we have suffered some soul damage, Sam and Judy seem to be worse off than Val and I. We're gonna need to hole up for a bit and get to the bottom of this or we may have to leave and come up with another plan.”

  “My village is built on an area of stable magic, you may accompany me as guests until you know what ails you, the elders of the clan may well want to speak with you as well.”

  “Cheers Wren. Lead the way.”

  “With haste.” She nodded, waiting a second for confirmation before setting off at a brisk jog back the way she'd come.

  The team fell in behind, well used to running in full armour over extended distances. They were all in top physical shape, even though they'd been taking it easy while on earth they had still found time to run up the mountain they were based inside every morning.

  Wren seemed especially suited to the environment, where they crashed and trampled over rubble and ploughed through brambles the elf danced over with light steps and wove nimbly through finding the easiest path. The graceful flow reminded Gavin of a gazelle, perfectly adapted to fast movement through difficult terrain. He felt himself pressed further as their pace increased the further they delved into the forest, the elf evidently had figured they could keep up as they pushed their limits.

  Gavin funelled the magic of the sword through the team, keeping them all at their peak performance. Their internal group synergy once again bolstering their endurance beyond the sum of its parts.

  It didn't take them long to reach the village, and when they passed the line of stone that marked the boundary it felt like stepping into an air conditioned office on a humid day. The oppressiveness of the ambient magic abated, replaced with something that felt refreshing after so long on earth and their short time out in the ruined city.

  “We should seek out the council before you rest, it will be better this way.”

  “Be better? I have to warn you, historically people that try to interfere with our business typically don't come off well.” Gavin said, half amused.

  “I didn't mean it like that.” Wren said, holding her hands up in supplication, “You are my guest and no one will say a word against you while you are here, submitting yourselves to the council may mean the difference between them tolerating your presence and helping you.”

  “Right.” Gavin said, growing more concerned as Wren spoke.

  “Not to step on Gavin's toes here, but we don't really do the submitting ourselves to anyone thing either.” Sam said, backing Gavin up.

  “Guys, calm down, Wren is from a foreign culture, and we're in their home, we're going to follow protocol and you're going to be polite about it.” Judy said, accepting a subtle fist bump from Val under crossed arms.

  “Fine.” Gavin said, slumping his shoulders.

  Seeing that their brief moment of belligerence had passed Wren took the team further into the village. The buildings were mostly all domed bubbles growing out of the earth in clusters and tiled with what looked like ironoak bark. The streets meandered around the buildings, almost as a second thought to the undulating terrain and sprawling infrastructure.

  Elves stopped to watch as they passed, their curious eyes picking apart the party of foreigners in their midst. They, like Wren, appeared androgynous to the humans, tall, thin and lythe with long pointed ears and fine features. Colour rather than form seemed to differentiate them more than anything, their skin ran the gauntlet of earthen hues, from deep brown to sage green and their vibrant hair ranged from cool blues to fiery reds. The overall impression was disconcertingly alien, though Wren at least proved they spoke the common tongue even if she was sometimes stiff in her choice of words.

  Wren took them to the central building, which was easily the largest structure they could see. It was shaped roughly like a garlic bulb, the cloves angled counter-clockwise like they'd been pinched and twisted. The base had a dozen small bubbles protruding from the sides, and unlike the other buildings that had tiled bark roofs, this one seemed to be covered in one continuous sheet.

  Two heavily tattooed guards stood at ease by the front entrance atop terraced stairs that swept down to a large flat cobbled square. They looked over Wren as the group approached, their eyes scanning the humans though they made no effort to stop them.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Inside the main chamber was a large open room, with tiered mezzanine floors that ran rings around the inside letting a single shaft of light down through the top of the building that hit on a crescent shaped table that sat below. Seven elves sat on ornate wooden chairs conversing amongst themselves, stopping as they spotted the new delegation approaching.

  “I am Wren, unbowed.” Wren said, taking a knee briefly before standing before the council of elders.

  “I am Sen, Dauntless, Speaker of the threefold seer, twice lucky. Be welcome Wren, you are known to us and are in good standing. What is the purpose of your presence here?” Said the elder sitting in the area of brightest light.

  “I come to herald the arrival of these far traveller's, I encountered them on my investigation of the disturbance at the castle. These travellers appear to have destroyed the nest of shades inhabiting the city.”

  “Is that so. Stand forward and be known to the council.” Sen said, becoming them forward with a gesture.

  Awkwardly they stepped up beside Wren, Gavin hesitated until Sam spoke first.

  “I am Samania Starbourne, Forged in battle, Dauntless.” She said, taking a knee as Wren had done before standing and maintaining eye contact with the Elder.

  Judy was next on the uptake.

  “I am Judith Hawkthorne, Forged in battle, dauntless.” she said, bowing her head in deference before standing beside Sam, tall and proud.

  “I am Valerie Westhart, Forged in battle, Dauntless.”

  “What the shit guys, how come you all have Dauntless?” Gavin whispered harshly to his friends.

  Sam shot him a venomous look that jolted him back to the task at hand.

  “I am Gavin Penē, Imperturbable, a friend in need, forged in battle, defender of the weak.” Gavin said, taking a reluctant knee before standing hastily.

  “Be welcome Samania, Judith, Valerie, and Gavin. You are guests in good standing and have done us no small favour it seems.”

  “It's all part of the Job Sen.” Gavin said, nodding his acknowledgement of his statement.

  “And what job is that?” Sen asked, leaning forward a few degrees.

  “We are wardens of the guild of wardens on Celestria, we root out and kill monsters where they appear.”

  “Celestria?” Sen said, glancing to his peers as the whispered below their breaths. “How came you here?”

  “That is a long and tedious story I don't super want to get into while I'm sober, suffice to say we have a way to operate the teleportation circles in the tower that's in the middle of the city, we left there to go to my home planet, earth, well, you might know it as Terra, anyway, we have this sword and we're looking for a way to safely destroy it and I believe the answer is somewhere on this planet.”

  “My understanding is that Celestria is home to several exceptionally powerful sorcerers, you did not want to seek them out for advice?”

  “Not a chance.” Gavin said, blowing out a sigh. “My culture is filled with stories about how power corrupts. I believe this sword in the wrong hands could devastate not just Celestria, but Earth and even possibly Salasthesia. We aren't strong enough to keep safe, and I don't think there's a hiding spot it can't be found eventually.”

  “You believe a sword can stand against the power of three worlds?”

  “Easily, yes. This sword is sapping every drop of magic from earth and storing it for use by the wielder. I can use a tiny portion of that magic, but for some of the big players on Celestria they could have a planets worth of magic at their fingertips. If even a handful of people want the sword and are willing to fight for it, the war that will break out over it will wipe out everyone and everything.”

  The elders continued their low whispered conversation. Some gesturing emphatically as they argued amongst themselves. Finally Sen sat upright to address the party.

  “We believe this is the wise course, have you considered the ramifications of what happens should you succeed?”

  “A bit, yeah, assuming we can safely destroy the sword without annihilating the solar system, magic will return to earth, monsters will appear that can't be killed, a lot of people will die.”

  “And you believe this is an ethical outcome?”

  “There's a philosophical question that's popular in my home planet, a trolley is rushing down a hill and will hit five people who cannot get out of the way, if it hits them it is certain to kill them, you can divert the trolley to a different path so it hits one person. What do you choose?”

  “I see the problem at hand. Acting to kill tens of thousands of your people now to save countless suffering in a conflict that would allow the victor to dominate any civilisation they desired. So, you believe it is ethical to divert the trolley?”

  “A month ago if you'd asked me I would have said not intervening was the most ethical thing to do. Killing the one person is murder, and the five are not my responsibility.”

  “Except they are.” Sen said.

  “Except they are.” Gavin agreed.

  “And you are willing to stain your soul to prevent a war that might not come to pass?”

  “There's another saying on my world about monkeys and typewriters-”

  “Gavin.” Sam said in warning.

  “Right. It doesn't matter if it's next week or a million years from now. The secrets out and there are people looking for it. Even if we hide it someone will figure out how to track us and it down.”

  “We believe it is in our own best interests to aid you with this task, though none of us here are especially skilled in the art of artifice. You would have to seek out a master artisan from one of the bastions, or one of the dragon lords.”

  “Dragon lords?” Gavin said, his demeanour transforming into nervous excitement.

  “There are thirteen Dragon Lords who inhabit the land, I'm sure Wren could fill you in on their disposition, suffice to say, they are deeply powerful magical beings who are perhaps the greatest wealth of magical knowledge on this planet.”

  “And, uhh, are they friendly?”

  “That is a complicated question, Gavin. They can be reasoned with is about all I'm willing to venture where they are concerned.”

  “Well, that sounds like a winner to me.” Gavin said, beaming are his team.