Telo leaned closer, nearly losing his balance when something slid under his hand. "Found something."
"You mean you broke something?" Dem countered, shifting back into human form.
Telo held up a circular object slightly larger than his hand. It was framed in a pale metal, with small saw-tooth protrusions along the bottom edge. "Looks like something a baker would use to cut biscuits."
Dem took it, turning it over in his palm. He placed it face-down over the fox symbol on the map. "There are small slots arranged in a circle. Like a lock."
Telo leaned in as Dem rotated it. After a quarter turn, it sank smoothly into the stone with a metallic click. The lights dimmed sharply; the yellow torches shifted to blue.
"Interesting," Telo said, scanning the room. "I really hope that does more than just change the lighting."
"Yeah," Dem agreed. He removed the device and placed it over the pine marten symbol. "Look."
Telo crossed the table. "Can you activate the other eight?"
"I don't think so." Dem shook his head. "This is a key. The fox symbol has slots. None of the others do."
When set over the pine marten, the center of the piece aligned with a specific point.
"It's marking something," Telo said slowly. "If the fox one points to the bay—roughly where the underwater entrance is—then this might be showing where another room is."
"Agreed." Dem unrolled the Sentry Force map of the Four Kingdoms. "We'll mark the suspected locations."
They turned to leave, and Telo nearly ran into Dem when he stopped short. "What's that?"
The dais was glowing. The fox sigil had been replaced by familiar runes.
The blue torches in the map room dimmed as the torches in this chamber flared yellow.
Telo frowned. "So when the map room turned blue, this room went yellow?"
Dem nodded slowly. "Doesn't that look like the transport rune the mage at Frostridge was trying to draw in the mines?"
Telo stepped closer. "Should I try stepping on it?"
"No," Dem said—
Too late.
"Sorry," Telo muttered, already standing on the dais. He glanced down. Nothing happened. "Fox form?"
"Get off," Dem said flatly. "Before you end up somewhere unpleasant. Like the Beast Empire."
Telo hopped back immediately. "Right. Definitely not what I was thinking."
"Let's go," Dem said, shifting the tatzelwurm from his leg back to his arm.
Standing ankle-deep in the water, Telo brightened. "I have a theory."
"You think there are eight more sigils, and once we activate them we can move across the continent at will," Dem said.
"What? No—" Telo blinked. "I mean—shit. Actually, let's go with that."
Dem slid the map-room key into his storage ring. "We'll find out when we reach the Swiftwind compound."
The tatzelwurm shifted slightly—and then vanished.
Dem stumbled, his senses flaring. No smell. No life force nearby.
"We leaving?" Telo paused, already waist-deep in water, when he noticed Dem hadn't followed.
"You see where the tatzelwurm went?" Dem asked.
Telo glanced at Dem's arm, then down at his own ankle, before shrugging. "Did she go back inside?"
"Inside?" Dem frowned. His senses were sharp enough that she shouldn't have been able to slip away unnoticed. After a moment, he glanced into his spatial ring, then sighed. "Never mind. She's in my storage ring."
"Really?" Telo followed as Dem dove back into the water, climbing onto the raft above.
Dem stretched out in the sunlight, letting the warmth seep into his bones. "My ring isn't like other storage rings. It's from the Rat King's tomb."
Telo nodded; he'd heard the story. When Dem gifted the nine clan leaders their rings, they'd agreed to form the Sentry Force. "Stands to reason the Rat King's ring might be better than standard ones."
"I guess," Dem said, unconvinced. He pulled the tatzelwurm free; the kit yawned in protest and wrapped around his hand. "How did you get in there?"
Telo laughed as the kit began gnawing on Dem's fingers. "You think it's bound to you?"
"The ring?" Dem nodded. "Yeah. The moment I put it on."
"No," Telo said, shaking his head. "I mean the tatzelwurm. Maybe that's why. Besides—haven't you put corpses in the ring before?"
"Yeah, but those are corpses. As far as the ring's concerned, that's the same as roast or rabbit."
"That's disgusting," Telo said, suppressing a shudder.
"I haven't tried putting anything alive in there," Dem mused. "Suppose I could catch a rabbit or something." He glanced sideways. "Unless you want to try going in?"
Telo's eyes widened. "No way. What if you can't breathe? Or it's freezing?"
Dem snorted. "The tatzelwurm seemed fine. Fell asleep, even."
As if to prove the point, she vanished again—back into the ring.
"Try a few other living things first," Telo said quickly. "In a pinch. And only in the presence of mortal danger."
"Agreed," Dem laughed. "It's not like I want to carry you around anyway."
Telo leaned back on his elbows. "Miss home?"
Dem nodded. "Yeah. But I'm glad to be here. Your family's fun to be around."
Telo nodded. "The Clan Chief asked me for my advice yesterday. Can you imagine that? I only got back from Massat a few months ago, and now I'm giving advice."
"We've done a lot of good work for the clans," Dem said. "Swiftwind, Frostridge, Stonefall, Red Fox. Nearly half of them, in just a few months."
"Tell me the truth," Telo said. "Rodric's beastkin was impressive, right?" He sighed. "I bet the fight between him and Mullen was incredible."
"A rhino against a bear?" Dem said. "It was a big bear, sure—but nothing stands up to three tons of armor and razor-sharp horns."
Telo grinned. "I was disappointed you didn't pick me as your second. But looking back… probably the right call."
Dem snorted. "Probably. That bear would've eaten your beastkin."
Telo didn't argue. "What did Mullen call himself?"
"A behemoth," Dem said. "Beastkin of extraordinary size and strength."
"I see," Telo said thoughtfully. "Is his dasai a behemoth too?"
"No. Teya's beastkin is a wolverine."
Telo's eyes widened. "Oh. Those are vicious."
Dem spent the next few days with Telo and Yena—hunting, trapping, and taking the tatzelwurm into the woods. The kit proved to be an instinctive hunter, easily catching rabbits and squirrels with startling precision.
On their last day, Regis and Eltia found them fishing along the riverbank.
The couple walked hand in hand while their daughter wandered ahead, curious about everything.
Eltia pulled Dem into a tight embrace, kissing both his cheeks before doing the same to Telo. "Thank you. Both of you. Our family will always be in your debt."
Regis nodded, gripping their shoulders. "We'd given up on everything. If you ever need anything—anything at all—just tell me."
Dem smiled. "I consider the nine clans my family." His gaze drifted to Tarania, kneeling beside the tatzelwurm as it slept in the sun, paws in the air, snoring softly.
The kit cracked open one green eye when Tarania stroked its head and began to purr.
"You can pick her up," Dem said gently.
Tarania did, smiling as the small serpentine body wrapped around her arm. Fresh ink from tribal magic marked her skin, though she still spoke only a few words and constantly checked for her parents. Healing would take time.
At night, Dem slipped out with Telo and Yena, shifting into their beastkin forms. The fox and dhole were perfect for stalking games, and they roamed the woods for hours while Dem taught the tatzelwurm to hunt by scent and sound.
On the final morning, Dem and Telo met the Red Fox sentries at dawn. Their goodbyes already said, they departed in silence, heading west.
**
Ai and Tam watched as Noko entered the Swiftwind family camp, hunched over and clearly carrying something.
"Noko…" Ai set aside the arrow she was fletching. "What are you holding?"
"Nothing, dosu," Noko said quickly, turning her back.
"Please tell me it isn't another skunk," Ai said.
Noko had a habit of bringing wounded creatures home. The last one—a baby skunk—had sent the entire camp scattering before it was reunited with its family.
"No skunks," Noko promised. She glanced over her shoulder, smiling as she revealed a small bird cradled in her hands. "It's hurt. I'm going to fix it."
Ai knelt beside her. "Looks like a broken wing."
"It's fine." Noko gently spread the wing, her hands glowing with soft light as sweat beaded on her brow.
Moments later, the bird stood calmly on her palms. Then it flapped its wings and vanished into the morning sky.
"Saints, dasai," Ai breathed. "That was amazing…" She turned as several tribals ran past.
Tam stood, recognizing Yanz. "What's going on?"
"More Sentries are coming back," Yanz called without slowing.
Ai looped her arm through Noko's. "Let's see if Dem's with them."
Noko nodded eagerly.
The Sentry Force had been returning in waves for days. Each time, Ai and Noko rushed to the stables—each time disappointed.
"DASAI!"
Ai spotted Dem and broke into a run.
Dem grinned as the familiar voice hit him—and a heartbeat later, he was wrapped in a fierce hug.
"Welcome home," Ai said, ruffling his hair.
Noko arrived moments later, breathless. "Dosu! You were gone so long!"
"A bit longer than planned," Dem said, smiling. He turned to Telo. "Get a head count. Let Revan know we'll take roving guard and the river crossing."
"Yes, commander," Telo said, winking at Ai and Tam. "Missed you two."
"Don't even try it," Ai said.
Tam nodded, hiding a smile. "We're on to you."
"That's right," Noko agreed, though she had no idea why.