"Gods beyond, Ana, but I'm happy to see you. All of you!"

Kaira looked rough. Her face was drawn, her head covered in black stubble, and her clothes were frayed and filthy, stained with goddess knew— well, no. Goddess didn't know. But Ana could guess easily enough, and it was nothing she'd want to drag around for nearly a month. But Kaira was still Kaira, and she'd completely ignored anything resembling decorum or a chain of command to shout and wave excitedly at Ana as soon as she and Captain Pirta came around the bend and into view.

She'd completely overshadowed Captain Falk and the others who stood beside them. Not that it mattered. Any annoyance on Captain Falk's face vanished when his wife appeared behind Ana and Pirta. With a joyous cry of "Tober!" Marra immediately sprinted ahead, moving with deceptive speed for her age and shape and stopping only a foot from her husband.

As the two devolved into emotional whispers — the captain pressing himself into the barrier, his wife struggling to hold back from joining him — Kaira drew Ana's attention again. "Level 13!? Damn, woman, you've been busy!"

"You haven't been cooling your heels, either," Ana observed. Kaira was now Level 16. "I thought I saw a lot of charred demons back there."

"Hah! Yeah. Benefit of long range and good single-target damage: I get a good contribution in almost any fight. Not that it's done me much good the last… how long has it been? There aren't exactly days and nights in here."

"About four weeks since you left the outpost," Ana said.

Kaira's mask of cheer fell for just a fraction of a second before her smile came back. "So just over three weeks in here. Alright. Could be worse."

Ana was about to reply when Kaira's eyes moved to a point far above Ana's head.

"While I understand the desire to catch up, Marshal, I believe that you were the one who said not to waste any time," Captain Pirta said as she appeared beside Ana.

"Sorry, Captain Pirta," Kaira said with a quick nod. Then she blinked and looked at Ana. "Excuse me? Marshal?"

"Yeah, we've got a lot of catching up to do," Ana said. She turned and looked up so she could speak to Pirta. "Captain, would you fill in Captain Falk so we can find out what the hell happened here?"

With a nod, the Captain took three long steps over to her martial counterpart, striding past the others crowding near the barrier to speak with their long lost friends.

"What the fuck?" Kaira whispered, then looked from Pirta to Ana. "Hey, is that my arbalest?"

"That it is. Hope you don't mind. Your housemate, landlady, whatever — Valena? She thought you wouldn't mind. And I decided to agree with her. I mean…" Ana hefted the weapon appreciatively.

Kaira grinned, reminding Ana just how many teeth the themion woman had, and how pointy they were. "Yeah, not at all! It's not like you're just fucking around in the woods with it."

"That's a relief," Ana said politely. "I wish I would've had more opportunity to use it, honestly. It's damned satisfying. The first time I tried shooting it in the square I just about fell in love with it."

Kaira's eyes popped wide open. "Ana! Gods, you can't shoot an arbalest in the square! What if you—"

"Calm down, Kaira! I'm not an idiot. It didn't have a bolt in it."

Kaira's voice went up an octave, drawing looks from all around. "You fired it unloaded!? No, no, no, Ana, you can't do that! Why'd you—? Oh, just give it here, I have to—"

Ana was not at all ready for that reaction. She handed the arbalest through the barrier somewhat sheepishly; she'd clearly not taken as good care of her friend's weapon as she'd thought. Worn though she was, Kaira immediately started fussing over it, and Ana waited patiently until her themion friend calmed down and declared that she couldn't see any damage.

"Listen, Ana, you can't shoot a crossbow with no bolt in it," Kaira said with some annoyance, but mostly relief. "Most of the force goes into the bolt, right, and that's pretty heavy. Without the bolt—"

"No, no, I get it," she said, hands raised in surrender. "No more dry-firing the crossbows. I promise."

As she spoke Ana felt Messy approaching, a hand settling on her shoulder as her girlfriend joined her and Kaira. "Hello, Kaira," she said. "It's such a relief to see you again. Angel, the officers have gathered. Pirta asked me to tell you. It's time."

"Thanks, babe," Ana said. "Sorry, Kaira. Duty calls."

"'Angel? Babe?" Kaira whispered behind Ana as she walked away, before her voice turned pleading. "Messy? Please?"

The sound of Messy laughing was just what Ana needed.

Captain Falk was the only officer on the expedition, but he was joined by two Party leaders. The first was Brosden, whom Ana knew from the training yard. The other was a serene-faced woman, an [Elfin Hydromancer (24)] whom Ana thought she vaguely recognized from the baths. Not much taller than Ana, of average build for the Splinter and with straight, shoulder-length hair, the Hydromancer's most distinguishing feature was that she was one of the darkest-skinned people Ana had ever seen. It was also interesting to see a specialized Water-mage who was a fulltime Delver. Ana had seen how effective Sendra could be with bursts of high-pressure water, but Ana's impression was that most Water-mages were like her Party-member: casual Delvers at best. She was curious to see what a Water-based combat mage could do.

"Marshal Cole," Pirta said as Ana approached, and the militia officers moved aside for her. "You already know Captain Falk, of course, and I'm told you're acquainted with Mister Brosden, as well?"

"He gave me some pointers on shield use once, yeah. They've come in handy," Ana said, nodding to Brosden. The compact man smiled and nodded back.

"Good," Pirta said. "That leaves only Miss Spira." She nodded to the Hydromancer, who took it as an invitation to speak.

"A pleasure, Marshal Cole," Spira said, her voice a smooth — one might say liquid — alto. "I've been looking forward to meeting you properly. You've been the subject of quite a lot of gossip, I'm afraid."

"I guess you haven't had much to do but talk," Ana replied. The idea of being gossiped about made her back prickle, but it was inevitable even before she was thrust into the spotlight. Despite her feelings on the matter, she kept her voice carefully amused; there was no point in poisoning the mood further. "So, Miss Spira. Can I assume that you're one of the people who've kept the others alive?"

Spira gave a facetious bow, "I'm not so humble as to deny it. There are nearly three dozen of us, and only one other Water-mage. And I'm sure he'll forgive me if I say that he only dabbles. Yes, I've been the one keeping us hydrated."

"And we're damned lucky for it," Captain Falk interjected. "Not many Water-mages could conjure over thirty pints of water several times per day — not in separate portions and kept suspended so we can drink the stuff instead of taking an accidental bath. No, indeed! We owe Miss Spira our lives, make no mistake. Her and everyone else who kept us fed and healthy."

Pirta cleared her throat loudly. "As important as it is to give credit where credit is due, we do still have an existential threat to deal with, Tober. We've been told that these barriers cannot, by the very rules that govern the Delves, prevent us from reaching the Crystal chamber. Yet we've found no other route there. Please tell us how you came to be trapped here. Why have you not collapsed the Delve?"

"Ah, that," Captain Falk said, his mustache drooping. "This passage does indeed lead to the chamber. But, well, there's a problem." He paused for effect. "We can't get to it."

"Why?"

"It's up a hundred foot wall," Captain Falk said curtly. "We can't climb it, and Rasker, our only Air-mage, can't take himself or anyone else high enough. He was a wreck for the first week until we convinced him that it's not his fault. I—" Captain Falk seemed about to expound on that, but Marra gave him a gentle "get on with it" gesture. He did. "Yes, well. I doubt there are even any demons up there, with the horde we had to slaughter once we passed this barrier. Lost three good people in that fight," he added sadly. "That makes ten in total, now. Haven't heard a sound since then."

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"So the only way out is up a hundred feet of sheer, nearly frictionless wall?" Ana asked. "What have you tried? What kinds of mages do you have?"

Spira spoke up. "Myself and the second Water-mage, one Air-mage, one dual Fire- and Lightning-mage, four dedicated Fire-mages, two dedicated Lightning-mages, three Earth-mages, one of which is specialized in Stone, and two Life-mages who are not yet deep enough into their craft to abhor violence entirely. We had a Kineticist, but he was sadly killed before we entered the Delve. We have tried various combinations of Shapings, and even a few rituals, but to no avail."

When Spira said that their Kineticist had been killed, Simt gasped and put her hand to her mouth, turning her face away.

Another friend, confirmed dead, Ana thought. Another blow to morale, or another spur to determination and vengeance? She tried not to dwell on it and nodded, storing Spira's words away. "And this is the only way to the chamber?" she asked.

"The one and only," Captain Falk confirmed.

"Then we may as well join you on the other side of this barrier. We're stuck between two barriers as it is. We may as well have company and get a first-hand look at the problem."

Falk nodded. "Captain Pirta and I came to the same conclusion. But she insisted on you and the officers having your say, and no harm in that. So, are we agreed, then?"

Captain Falk looked around the assembled officers, who nodded one by one.

"Good," Ana said. "Simt, Tellak, Spira: I want you to gather everyone with a caster Class and brainstorm ideas. We're adding some specializations and Classes to the mix. We can do this. Right?"

"Of course, right!" the militia officers chorused automatically, to Captain Falk and Brosden's bemusement. Spira only raised her eyebrows curiously.

Ana offered her a smile. "There's a lot more to gossip about these days," she said by way of explanation, then turned to the elf. "Captain Pirta, I think this needs to come from you."

"Very well," Pirta said before turning to face the assembled Delvers and raising her voice. "Everybody! At your own pace, join your friends! We're going through the barrier! The only way out is forward!" Then, lowering her voice again, she said to the gathered officers, "If we so have to build a sapient ladder to do it."

When Ana rejoined Messy and Kaira, the former looked thoroughly interrogated, while the latter grinned at Ana like a damned lunatic. They'd been joined by Tor and Omda, and as Ana arrived, so did Petra and the rest of the Party — minus Deni and Sendra, who'd been called away with the rest of the mages.

"Gods, I'm glad to see you ladies!" Tor said with a warm smile, which faded in stages as he realized that the three extras following Petra were, indeed, part of the group. "Trig. Sylt. Waller."

"Barlo," Waller said, with an expression somewhere between distaste and resignation. That done, the two men seemed to erase each other from their respective perceptions.

Tor's smile came back as he focused on Ana, though a little perplexed this time. "So, Ana, would you kindly tell me why Irry's grinning like a rabid weasel? She and Miss Mestendi refuse to tell me."

Ana gave Messy a look. Messy just smiled innocently right back. Fine, Ana thought. If she wants to play games…

"Well, I don't know how much Mestendi's told Kaira," she said, "but the Wayfarer's made me her Chosen. She speaks to me. Directly. In my head." The way Tor's face froze was enough that Ana actually had to make an effort to keep her deadpan expression as she continued, "Also, Captain Pirta declared me Marshal for the Splinter, making me the de facto military leader of this mission to rescue your sorry asses."

Ana savored the shock on Tor's face for a moment. And then, because Messy's surprise had turned into a pout when she used her full name and was now starting to look more and more like genuine hurt, she added, "Oh. And this is a thing." Then she wrapped her arm around Messy's waist, got up on her tip-toes, and kissed her on the cheek.

Messy's crestfallen expression was obliterated by a smug smile. That woman, Ana thought with some satisfaction, thrived on public displays of affection.

Tor gawped. Omda just nodded, apparently satisfied with the explanation. And Kaira broke out laughing. "I told you!" she managed to say to no one in particular in between cackles. "I gods-damn told you!"

The survivors of the expedition had done what they could with the space available to them.

With the passage being about fifty feet wide and hundreds of yards long, they had plenty of space. There was no yielding surface for pegs, so they hadn't been able to set up any tents, but then there was no weather to worry about. Instead they'd improvised some privacy screens using the tent cloth and poles, which they'd used to section off some semi-private areas, such as the "bath" and the latrine, which doubled as their food supply.

It was… less than great. And with little to do besides keep themselves alive for another day, there was, as Kaira so delicately put it, "a damn lotta screwing going on." Apparently people either got used to it or found a way to plug their ears.

By the way that Brosden had joined them, walking so close to Kaira that they sometimes bumped into each other, it was clear that Kaira had elected to be part of the problem. Ana chose not to comment. The last time those two had been together had apparently ended poorly, but that old saying about misery and strange bedfellows seemed appropriate. Literally, in this case.

There was also the refuse pile, and the morgue. The first mostly comprised about a dozen thoroughly desiccated demon carcasses. Ana wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to look at jerky the same way again. The latter contained seven equally desiccated corpses, the three Delvers who'd died in clearing this place, and four revenants that they'd destroyed, of which one was familiar. That one, Tor informed Ana quietly and in a place where Waller and his cronies couldn't hear, was Larion — Waller's Rogue friend who'd attacked Ana together with Rankan the Ranger. Not that he'd been recognizable with how ravaged his body was, but Inspect didn't lie.

Last, rising above it all, was what the locals had dubbed The Wall. The Wall was, as Captain Falk had said, at least a hundred feet of sheer, practically glass-smooth whatever-the-Delve-was-made-of. The ceiling was another twenty or so feet above the top, with the way it vaulted hinting at a decent sized chamber up there. The Crystal chamber, presumably — nobody knew for sure. They hadn't managed to get up there. If they had, they would have been out long before Ana and the others came to look for them.

A few hours and a simple meal later, which despite the situation had the air of a small celebration about it, the two captains called a meeting of the officers and Party leaders.

Spira, representing the mages, was first to speak, saying, "We have something that we're not entirely ashamed to call a plan." She looked at Tellak and Simt in turn, who both nodded. "We think that it has a chance of success, at least. You may have an idea of it already — I imagine it was hard to miss our attempts."

She was right. Only the dead could have missed them launching a shield into the air repeatedly, forcing people to take cover as it flew off course and clattered to the ground time and time again. They finally got it stable enough that it came straight back down several times in a row, and that had been when they approached the captains to call a meeting.

"You want someone to ride a shield up," Ana deadpanned.

"That's right," Spira said. "Rasker will create an updraft, I will produce a focused, high-pressure spray of water, and Simt will use direct force. Provided the person in question is light to start with, and Tellak can reduce their weight enough, this should give us the lift needed to reach the top despite the loss of force at such a distance."

"But—?" Ana prompted.

"But the person in question will need to be extraordinarily stable. It will need to be someone with a high Agility, and ideally someone with at least a chance of survival if things go poorly."

Ana could already feel several sets of eyes on her when she asked, "What about combat ability? Do we know that the area at the top is clear?"

"We think so," Captain Falk said. "For three weeks no one's picked anything up by sound, smell, or danger sense, but we don't know for sure. Can't, without seeing the place. So of course it would be best if our volunteer could fight solo as well."

More eyes locked onto Ana.

"And if it's not the Crystal chamber?" Ana asked.

"Then we'll send up as much rope as we can, and we'll rely on whoever we've sent up there to be strong and stable enough to hold while the first of us climb up."

"Right," Ana said, nodding thoughtfully and keeping her voice neutral as she resigned herself to her fate.

It had been obvious from the start which way this was going. She hadn't spoken openly about what was on her Summary to anyone since she told Messy, but neither had she held back during any of the fights she'd been in. Her physical strength was well known, and with her position as marshal, she was sure that word about anything she did that was out of the ordinary got around quickly. Even her unconscious, preternatural grace from Perfect Balance was sure to have been noticed and gossiped about, new though it was.

She'd seen the mages talk to the captains before she arrived. She knew what they wanted and hoped for. Hell, they were probably right. So, no matter how railroaded she felt, she wasn't going to argue. Even though she thought that she might be able to talk them out of it and have them pick someone else, who would that be? How long would it take to choose a new "volunteer?"

They didn't have time for indecision or argument. They needed to get out and break Karti and his little doomsday cult, and then she could decide what to do with the rest of her life. Probably move far, far away, if she wanted anything resembling anonymity. Assuming they all survived this, of course.

Ana looked around the small group. The longer she stayed silent, the more eyes were on her.

She didn't sigh, or let the slightest bit of resignation slip into her voice. "Alright," she said. "I'm not going to make you ask. I'll do it. Let's get everything set up. It's time to get everyone out of here."

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