They ended up staying for another week in the Radiant Archive, with Niala having daily chats with Sabi, in between their scouring of any relevant information about mana corruption.

  The Reign researchers had been tackling the problem of Scion mana corruption for about as long as Scions existed, but seemingly had never found an acceptable solution. Of the more questionable ones, there were three. The group already knew of one: to have someone's mana fed upon by a Magivore.

  The issue with that one was that a magivore could drain someone of their mana while bypassing the soul-mana barrier's hard limit, but David didn't seem to have a limit. Beyond the difficulty of finding a magivore which wouldn't use that infinite mana to turn into an unstoppable monster, it was questionable whether it would even have an effect on David. If he couldn't be drained because he had infinite mana, then what good would it do?

  The second solution was also known to them: mana materialization. The issue here was that it was still only a theoretical possibility, although the retelling of the Hummer's beast masters could be a sign that it was possible. However, here again, there was the issue of David's mana; mana materialization was thought to work because it shunted your mana outside of your body. Just how big would Leviathan be if David ever managed to properly materialize him?

  The last solution was drastic, but had been proven to work, and could even be done with their current means: mana amputation. To artificially cut someone's mana down to a fraction of what it was. As terrible as it seemed, they nonetheless tucked this knowledge away to be used as a last resort. After all, the alternative was much worse.

  With the rest of their time, they selected more books to bring back, and especially the schematics and formulas of Sabi's enchantments, in the hope of being able to one day lift her out of the pillar and allow her to see the world.

  As Sabi had said, the pillar and her chamber were only a small part of the vast network of engraved enchantment which allowed her to function as a consciousness. The majority was underground, etched into hundreds of metal slabs, interlinked with metal wires which ran in thick bundles from slab to slab. Their visit there had been kept short, as the amount of mana coursing through the complex made the inside of their skin itch, but the complexity of the whole apparatus was obvious.

  Still, as Niala had said, they would find a way. Maybe a new housing, built under a town, with perception enchantments placed throughout, allowing her to see more than a single building, and interact with the people.

  Or... maybe a large, mostly metallic, vehicle, which would somehow allow her to travel the world.

  Plans for the future. For now, they had to pack up and make their way back to Riverwall, having already spent over a third of a season with their trip, and looking at another two weeks or so going back.

  The last thing they did was store the Archive's alchemy lab in one of David's cargo cloths. Niala just couldn't let all this pristine equipment go unused, and her current set was still mainly made up of Hodge's old one.

  On the day of their departure, having been woken up by a rather enthusiastic Rinka in full travelling gear, Sabi sprung one last surprise on them, assigning #67 as Rinka's personal aide. The consciousness explained that #67's instability meant he wasn't able to perform the delicate repairs and maintenance needed at the Archive, and was mostly used to fetch and carry materials. His utility thus limited, and with Rinka being considered ill-suited for the dangers of the world outside of the Archive's walls, #67 would serve as a... mostly functional guardian, if only to buy the magister time to run away.

  With everything set, the group, now with two extra members, stepped out of the Archive, its doors closing behind them.

  As soon as they had shut, #67's eyes wildly spun a few times, landing on David, and he asked with his warbling voice. “Are we there yet?”

  The trek home was eventful, in that they encountered many beasts, especially now that they were in early Summer and the predators were busy finding food for the pregnant females or newborns, and guarding their territories.

  It was not, however, notable, as between David, Jordo, Leandro and the two guards, there was little which could realistically threaten them.

  Rinka kept as far away from #67 as she could and discussed this new world with Niala. She seemed to face this new adventure with interest, though her eyes lingered just a little too long on whatever ruins the group came across.

  To her, the war was a recent memory, and from her point of view, her home country had still existed a few weeks ago, battered and crumbling it may have been.

  Niala had, of course, picked up on the woman's hidden turmoil and was sticking to her like a mother hen, and making sure she had seconds and even thirds of her meals whenever she so much as glanced at her empty plate.

  They made better time on their way back, now that they weren't stopping as often for Niala's “sample collections” or looking for landmarks to direct them to the Archive. And so, as the sun settled down on the twelfth day of the second leg of their trip, they arrived in sight of the north gate.

  Everyone had a smile of some sort, be it the tired one of Sybil and Sammie, who both felt like veterans of a gruelling war, or Rinka's excited one from laying eyes on her first real “post-apocalypse” settlement.

  And then, #67 had a full-body spasm and spoke. “Terminus, everybody- get the hell out- please claim your luggage.”

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  As they stepped through the north gate, to most of the group's surprise, the sleepy end-of-the-road town was nowhere to be found. In its stead was a frontier town, heavy with construction and renovation, its citizens moving with purpose aimed at the future.

  David and Niala knew that their respective families had made plans to invest in the town, but they had expected a limited impact. A small airport and railstation, some new infrastructure, maybe more paved roads...

  As they walked through the construction yard that Riverwall had become, they wondered if some mad soul had decided to turn it into a miniature Majestic. Entire neighbourhoods were in the process of being torn down and replaced, new buildings sprouting up everywhere, roads being widened, and there were signs of a full sewer system being built under their feet.

  The dissonant visions only intensified as they walked through the west gate; the ruins had been cleared away, the reclaiming forest had been uprooted and replanted in parks or turned to timber. Vast material piles were surrounded by construction projects and machinery.

  They spotted Hodge by one of the piles, gazing at it approvingly.

  Their shock was complete when they came upon their “home”; a half-finished stone wall circled their entire holdings, and a new stone path welcomed them, leading to a revived plaza, the middle of which was now a small basin-type fountain. The ruins had been razed, the grass cut, the weeds uprooted. The trees and bushes had been trimmed, and a small park was under construction in the lot next to their house.

  And, speaking of their house, the expansion they had planned was under construction. Nobody was present at the job site, this late in the day, but it wasn't hard to imagine the small crew that must have been working here for the past week or two.

  Whatever was going on, it was moving much faster than they had anticipated.

  Leandro bade them good night, saying he was going to take a few days to “relax” after their season-long trip in the hungerwoods.

  Sybel and Sammie likewise excused themselves, wanting to go report their return to the Azure Guard camp, but promising they'd be back in the morning to resume their duty.

  Everyone else made their way inside, greeting Linzy and Lychee, the latter immediately being adopted by Rinka, though maybe more as a curiosity than a pet.

  Introductions were made, a small snack was prepared, and Linzy brought them up on what had happened in town, which turned out to have mostly been what they had seen; someone was practically rebuilding the entire town.

  The goblin woman explained how Karline had taken and completed David's posting for a team of builders way ahead of schedule, dumping them in her lap. Instead of leaving them to idle for who knew how long, and since she had the plans, she'd taken the liberty of “trading” for a tiny bit of those giant material piles all over town. She'd paid them out of the shop's funds, and work had begun in earnest.

  They then gave Rinka a room, took a relaxing bath, and retreated to their own bedroom.

  As they cuddled together and quickly fell asleep, their last thought was wondering if their bed had always been this soft and comfy.

  As she made her way back to the Azure Guard camp in town, Sybil allowed the last four weeks of travelling, and especially training, to finally catch up to her. It was a bone-deep exhaustion, the kind that didn't fade overnight, and sapped your mind of its energy.

  And yet, she felt fulfilled. As sore as her muscles felt, as brain-dead as she was, she couldn't help but smile. It had been an adventure! Dangerous beasts! Secrets and mysteries! Long-lost knowledge!

  Saints, she wished she could leave tomorrow on another trip like that!

  ...maybe not tomorrow tomorrow, but soon!

  Sammie's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Even if my whole body is calling me a traitor right now, I have to admit you were right.”

  She glanced back at him. “Right about what?”

  “About attaching ourselves to those two. Ah, I'm not talking about the adventure we just had. That was fun and exciting, sure, but no. It's their, huh, potential, the real deal. We just need to make sure we hang on for the trip.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean? What potential?”

  He smirked. “Syb, common, haven't you spotted all the crests and company logos strewn about?”

  “You mean on the construction sites? There are a lot of them.”

  He waved a hand. “No, I mean on the stockpiles. The material, where it's coming, who's paying for all this. They're all related, either sub-families or subsidiaries, or known partners, of two groups.” He explained.

  “...Aren't you going to tell me?”

  He grimaced. “You're no fun. The Wardenfels and the Cococo.”

  “Cococo?”

  “Cornelius Concoctions Company. Niala's father, remember?”

  “Huh, sure, from the wedding, where he spent most of the time writing up contracts on napkins with the two goblin women. What about it?”

  Sammie shook his head. “The two people, whom we are guarding, have their families rebuilding the town. At first, I thought they might have been outcasts, so far out from them, but now... They're stars, burning bright, and we can be along for the ride.”

  Sybil stopped and about-faced, staring at Sammie. “I am not going to abuse my position to come into wealth or power, and you had better not be telling me you would, Sam.”

  Something flashed in his eyes, too quickly for her to notice. He sighed. “No, Sybil, I'm not going to abuse our wards to enrich myself. But that doesn't mean I can't try and pick up whatever falls off their wagon.”

  He frowned when her expression didn't change. “Look, all I'm saying is, being close to them is going to be good for us. For you. High visibility, lots of renown, it will open doors, just by doing our job. Don't tell me that's not enticing?”

  She squinted at him, eventually letting her shoulders slump and turning around, resuming her march toward the camp. “You know I don't care about that stuff, Sam, and neither should you.”

  He didn't answer.