They followed him through the twisting hallways until he reached a door that was stronger. A complicated pattern of runes covered its surface and glowed softly.

Greg felt the air pressure change when Veldway put his hand on them. This was because the magical lock that had been holding them together came loose. The door swung open to show a workshop that made Greg's small forge in Ferndale look like a toy set for kids.

The area was huge, at least the size of a small warehouse. There were workbenches along the walls, and each one was covered with tools that were so well-organized that they looked like museum displays.

There were labeled containers for all kinds of materials, from common iron to things Greg couldn't figure out. The center of the room was taken up by a giant forge that was cold right now but still gave off heat, which made it look like it had been used a lot until recently.

"This place is truly impressive," Greg exclaimed, overwhelmed by the sight. "This was a master craftsman's workshop, made for serious work."

"Functional," Veldway said again, already moving between storage units and taking out certain things. "I'll need these."

He began to give things to Greg. A crystal cylinder that hummed with energy inside it.

Three metal rings that looked like they were going around each other without touching. A small anvil made of something that looked like solidified starlight. "And these. These too."

"What are these for?" Greg asked, trying to keep the strange collection of things he had.

"Putting together the parts for the Resonance Hammer."

"The hammer itself is kept in a small space, but it needs a power core, a stabilization matrix, and a reality anchor to work." Veldway kept collecting things, moving quickly but on purpose. "Without these components, attempting to use the hammer would either result in a catastrophic failure or trigger a massive explosion."

"And maybe both."

"Let's not have any explosions," Lylia said firmly as she helped Greg carry the growing pile of things. "Those incidents have been occurring too frequently lately."

Veldway stopped at a certain workbench and opened a drawer that was locked. He took out what looked like a simple hammer, the kind that any apprentice blacksmith would use.

"This is more important than anything else we are taking."

Elwen said, "It's a regular hammer...?"

Veldway said, "It looks like a normal hammer, but looks can be deceiving."

"This is a hammer made of thought. There are only three of these in the world, and one of the previous owners has died, leaving only two that still work."

Greg's craftsman instincts kicked in. "Thought-forged?"

"A method that lets a blacksmith shape things with just their mind and will, without any tools."

"The hammer is the focus, but the real work is done in the mind." Veldway held it up to the light, and Greg could see faint symbols carved into the metal that looked like they moved when he looked at them directly. "To master it, you need years of practice and a level of mental discipline that most people don't have."

"I can use it well enough. One other person in the world can use it perfectly, but I won't say who they are because they want to stay anonymous."

Greg said, "That sounds noticeably advanced," as he tried to understand the idea.

Making things with just your mind. No hammering by hand or using traditional forging methods. It is simply the pure will to create that becomes a reality.

"It is. Most blacksmiths don't even understand the basics."

"The way you think about things when you craft is very different from how you do it now." Veldway put the hammer in his belt. "I'll need the Resonance Hammer to assemble it at the end. The calibration is too exact for normal methods."

A loud rumble from far away made them all stop. It came from above and outside, and it felt like something big was moving through the air.

Greg's blood ran cold. He was familiar with that sound. He had heard it before when the Calamity attacked Ironhaven.

"That's not good," he said for no reason.

Lylia realized with horror that they were "living weapons. They followed us out of the pocket dimension."

"Impossible," Veldway said, but he didn't sound sure. "The dimensional barriers should stop then...!"

"They would have to work together to force the portal open from the inside, which would take a lot of coordination and power to do that..." He stopped talking, and his face went from confident to worried. "They're very motivated by my leaving."

Another rumble, this time closer. Then there was a sound like metal scraping against stone coming from all sides at once.

The weapons weren't just coming. They were all around the building.

"New plan," Greg said quickly as he walked toward the door. "We take what we can carry and run right now!"

"The minecart system," Veldway said out of the blue. "Under this building is an old transportation network."

"It was made to quickly move people and things from one place to another. One of the lines goes straight to Meridian's underground infrastructure."

"It's a long way to go, but it doesn't go through the surface at all."

"Long way to go...?" Elwen's face was pale. "Meridian might not have a lot of time!"

"At the current Calamity speed, Meridian has exactly ninety-two minutes," Veldway said in his usual precise way. "The trip in the minecart takes about four hours."

"We will be three hours late to stop the first contact, but we will be on time to use the Resonance Hammer during the battle's most important part. The success of this plan depends on whether the defenders can hold out for that long.

It wasn't a favorable choice. It was the only thing they could do.

Greg said, "Then we move. Get what you can, everyone."

"Veldway, lead the way."

They loaded themselves up with as much gear as they could carry and followed Veldway deeper into the building. Downstairs, the space seemed to go on forever, with hallways that became rougher and older as they progressed.

The sounds of pursuit got louder behind them. The living weapons had definitely gotten into the building.

Veldway took them to a platform that had been cut out of solid rock. A track went off into the dark in both directions.

There was a minecart on the track that looked like it had been there for decades but was surprisingly well-kept. Greg had seen smaller mining carts before, but this one was bigger and clearly made to carry more than one person or a lot of cargo.

"In," Veldway said, and no one disagreed.

They all got into the cart, and Greg helped Hilda get into a position where she could sleep without putting too much pressure on her markings, which were getting brighter. Lylia and Elwen put the things they had gathered in the best order they could.

Veldway was the last one in, and as soon as he sat down, he pulled a lever. The cart lurched forward and quickly picked up speed.

They were moving fast through the underground tunnel in seconds, with the walls blurring past in the dim light of the phosphorescent moss. The sound of their passing was deafening, with wheels on rails making a constant thunder that made it impossible to talk.

Greg shut his eyes and tried to relax his racing heart. They are on their way to Meridian.

Marina and the others were there, either fighting, leaving, or holding on for dear life. He had to believe that they would be okay until he got there. That Tunner's ability to defend and Marina's ability to lead would be enough.

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