The group sneaked into Aang’s hub through the “Union exit.” The one that connected the gnoll mineshaft to Aang’s private hunting grounds. Eem moved on Vivi’s shoulders, having joined back with the gang after being gone for a day. Vivi was happy to hear Eem’s enthusiastic gushes of excitement again. The fiend’s presence made any situation more fun.

  The Hollows entered the Union’s hub. Aang’s presence in the hub made members nervous. He rarely visited, leaving duties to Ven. When Aang did show up, something important was going on. The members knew this.

  Aang walked straight to the central fountain and called for all members to join the event up top, to watch the surge spawn. After a few minutes of letting people consider their decision, the ascent to Zand’s hub began.

  Around a hundred Union members had decided to join Aang, walking as a crowd after him. The Hollows walked at the front alongside the Union’s other higher ups. Vivi recognized many of the officials by their faces, but only Worhard was familiar by name. He’d talked with Vivi a few times during end cycle when she had free time.

  Ascending to the fourth level, nimrods had already crowded the hub. There were almost as many people as on collection day. This time, there weren’t as many beggars. The crowd was curious and nervous as opposed to desperate, waiting for the Stewards’ show to begin. The daylight gems were bright, clearly illuminating the hub in its entirety.

  The crowd made space as Aang’s convoy of Union members walked straight to the fenced-off surge-zone. Aang pushed through with his intimidating posture, clearing the space for his union. Quickly, the Union had secured a front-row view of the surge-zone. Vivi stood at the very front.

  The surge was going to hit the same fountain at which Uundref had introduced Zand’s rules to Vivi and the newcomers. A square around the fountain was blocked off with a spiky steel fence. Inside stood all ten of Zand’s Stewards and a few construction workers carrying what looked to be skulls. Mostly large demon skulls with intimidating horns, but Vivi spotted a few smaller human skulls as well.

  Other gangs had gathered up on the respective sides of the fence. Namely, Vivi spotted Bwern. He and his gang were positioned directly to the left of Aang’s Union. Bwern’s demons were already frowning at Union members.

  Bwern was a huge demon. Vivi had passed him only once so far, staying far away from him and his gang. His skin was reddish, and his horns were thick. His muscular arms were thicker than two of Vivi’s swords next to each other. Still, from what Ven had said about the man, he was far from stupid. Bwern had a cunning mind and clever fighting strategies behind all of his muscles.

  His gang members were all large, though nobody quite reached the size of their boss. Bwern valued pure strength and loyalty above all else. His members were brutes that followed strength.

  Bwern glanced in Vivi’s direction, and she quickly looked away. She scanned the crowd to see if she recognized anyone else on the front rows. Some of the faces were familiar, though Vivi didn’t know much about individual nimrods.

  Interestingly, she couldn’t see Andre. Was his gang not present? Vivi would have thought Andre would want to study the Stewards fighting. Perhaps he was watching from somewhere hidden.

  “Still going to take another thirty minutes or so,” Ven said. “I guess we’ll wait and watch.”

  The union did just that. Alisa and Rohan argued about something stupid behind Vivi, while the Stewards and the construction workers continued building the surge-zone.

  Vivi quickly spaced out from the conversations around her. She was tired, and she hadn’t taken a bath after runesmithing. The earlier talk with Aang kept repeating in her head.

  Was it stupid to try fighting the Stewards, after all? Around her, the Hollows were all smiling, seemingly satisfied with their lives. Other nimrods didn’t seem too unhappy either. Nervous, sure, and fighting for their lives, but Vivi could understand Aang’s point. Life as nimrod was bad, but everything could have been worse.

  Conversely, fighting the Stewards could very well make lives worse. Prisoners wouldn’t be freed if Zand fell. They’d be sent to other facilities or prisons, where they’d need to readjust to another life. Escaping with all the nimrods would be close to impossible. They’d be too easy to hunt down. A mass escape would prompt a response from higher-ups. Possibly from the King himself.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Even if Vivi and the Hollows escaped alone, they’d likely face a tough life outside as escapees. They’d be deemed criminals. Entering cities would be difficult. Building lives even more so.

  What, then, could they do? Vivi wasn’t going to join Ingfried. She despised living as a nimrod. But defeating the Stewards was too dangerous and risky, and the life afterward could very well be worse than life now.

  Inside Zand, Vivi had a smithy. She had friends. She had a life. A life surrounded by cruelty, but a life nonetheless.

  Vivi’s thoughts were broken as the Stewards began stacking skulls atop the fountain and all across its perimeter. Some skulls were tossed into the water. The skulls were tied together with rope. Vivi guessed this was done to connect the hosts together to spawn one boss instead of a horde of lesser skeletons.

  “Looks like they’re crafting a death-based monster,” Ven said. “Without clear host bones, it’s hard to imagine what they’re crafting. With so many skulls, it’s likely going to be a necromancer monster.”

  “Necromancer?” Vivi asked.

  “A monster that grows stronger by extracting corpses,” Ven said. “Necromancy monsters can’t summon dead like whimsical black-magic necromancers, but they grow significantly stronger from devouring freshly killed ether.”

  “Are shamans necromancers?” Vivi asked. Lucius had mentioned that the Twilight Shaman could grow strong too.

  Ven raised his eyebrows, surprised by the question. “No. Shaman bosses tend to gather armies of existing monsters. With each monster they gain control over, their ether reserves grow. Every type of boss usually has a quirky method of growing stronger if left alone. With shamans, their reserves are proportional to the size of their army.”

  Interesting, Vivi thought. Ythar’s priests had most likely taught the same thing to teens in Fellwater. Vivi had skipped most lectures. She still had a lot to learn about boss monsters.

  “Dear nimrods!” a loud voice suddenly said. The hub fell silent.

  The speaker was Uundref. He used ether to enhance the volume of his voice, making his words almost deafening. “A great blessing has been delivered to Zand! After four years without incident, another surge is spawning directly inside the hub!”

  Beside him, two demons pulled forth a cart, on which sat a tall prize wheel. It had two colors. One side was a dark green and the other bloody red. Uundref grinned as it was brought in. “To celebrate this event, your honored Stewards have decided to launch a lovely little game!”

  “More gambling?” Rohan asked.

  “What’s happening?” Vivi asked.

  “The Stewards sometimes do this,” Ven said. “They’ll offer a gamble for desperate nimrods.” His face was serious, bordering gloomy. “Usually, the offers are far from pleasant.”

  “All nimrods are allowed to enter!” Uundref said. “Those with a slash mark or two will gain priority in the queue. I encourage anyone with a slash mark to enter without hesitation! Today’s prize wheel has no losing outcomes.”

  Uundref spun the wheel as a demonstration. He spoke while it spun. “A green landing will earn the contestant fifty ether straight to their reserves, no questions asked. A simple outcome, and a good way to earn yourself out of debt.”

  The wheel stopped on red. Uundref grinned. “The red outcome is far more interesting. Any contestants who earn red will join the Stewards for our upcoming boss fight! Any survivors are free to collect ether up to their maximum limit of three hundred!”

  “Oh no,” Ven said. “I see where this is going. Vivi, you should place Emmy down.”

  “What, why?” Vivi asked. “Is something bad happening?”

  Ven frowned. “Well, I guess this isn’t Emmy’s first time seeing death. Just be warned, okay?”

  Vivi raised her eyebrows. To her, Uundref’s proposal sounded good. The green landing could very well save someone’s life, pushing a nimrod above the one hundred limit for the upcoming collection day. The red outcome could be dangerous, but its rewards were especially enticing for struggling nimrods. They simply had to survive in the arena while the Stewards fought the boss.

  A lot of nimrods were seemingly thinking the same. A queue quickly formed before the prize wheel. The first scrawny looked like he would have taken the wheel even if red meant torture. He was almost begging beneath the wheel.

  The wheel landed on green, and fifty ether was fairly transferred to his core. Vivi had never seen such relief on a demon’s face.

  The next spin hit red.

  “Ahh, our first winner!” Uundref said. “Congratulations, and good luck on the boss fight!”

  The demon was tossed inside the fences. She was a small woman with a slash mark showing beneath her torn clothes. She looked nervous as she entered the field, but she quickly picked a spot far away from the fountain.

  The wheel continued spinning, hitting red more than it did green. After ten minutes of spinning, and after Uundref had spent at least five hundred ether on green results, the surge-zone was starting to fill with demons.

  Vivi sensed the ether below the earth. A surge was definitely building. Uundref, too, seemed to sense the surge about to hit. He paused the line before the next contestant. In total, twenty six demons made it inside the fence.

  “Dear contestants!” Uundref said. “Thank you all for entering. It will be an honor to fight alongside you.” He spread his arms wide and faced the fountain. “Let the battle begin!”

  Upon his words, the surge spawned, coating the fountain and the skulls within with active ether.