Chapter 182

Iolite and I had intended for the bath to be quick.

That plan failed almost immediately. Between the constant kissing and my inability to stop touching her, the entire thing stretched far longer than either of us intended. Every time I tried to actually wash, she would lean in for another kiss or melt against me when my hands wandered over her body. And every time she made that soft little sound deep in her throat - the one like smooth stones rubbing together underwater - my self control eroded a little more.

I brought her to orgasm once more before we finally managed to finish bathing and get dressed.

Afterward we joined the rest of the family for breakfast.

Mirri squealed the moment she saw Iolite. I have no idea how she recognized her, when I didn't. “Oh my goodness, look at you!” she gushed as she hurried over. “You’re adorable! And that dress is so cute on you! And you’re glowing!”

Iolite blinked slowly beneath the assault of enthusiasm.

It turned out she’d made the dress herself, which explained the slightly short sleeve and uneven hem. Even so, for a first attempt it was honestly incredible work. And she looked ridiculously cute wearing it.

The others gathered around after that, each reacting in their own way. Elise complimented the stitching. Ashlara hugged her warmly. Serah examined the fabric curiously. Even Tansy offered a rough sort of approval that probably counted as glowing praise by her standards.

After breakfast, we gathered for one final meeting to review the plan. Or more accurately our complete lack of one.

The idea was simple enough. We would follow Naevira into the Weeping Gallows, see where it deposited us, and hope the strange pull she felt would lead us the rest of the way.

“I am going with you, Shaper,” Iolite stated matter-of-factly.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I told her immediately. “Earth doesn’t have mana. We have no clue what that’s going to do to you.”

“I will persist,” she replied calmly. “I will not hinder the group.” She held my gaze steadily. “I chose to serve you, Shaper. You will require my assistance.” She paused. “Besides, you said you felt the Earthpulse there. I’ll be safe.”

I looked around the table for support.

Mirri shrugged helplessly. Vel and Thae both gave small nods. Moss stuffed another wad of birch pitch into her mouth. Clo was entirely occupied trying to teach a hamster how to balance on her finger.

I dragged a hand down my face.

“Alright,” I sighed. “But if anything goes wrong, we come back immediately.” I looked around the room carefully. “Like I said last night, we are all coming back alive.”

I sharpened my gaze. “No exceptions.”

Agreement spread around the table.

From there, I stepped into the demesne to conjure clothing. Everyone needed new outfits. After our first trip, the Interstitium had nearly shredded our clothes. After the second, most of them had ended up soaked in enough blood to warrant burning.

Clo was the only one whose normal wardrobe remotely resembled something people on Earth might wear, and even that was questionable.

Though Philadelphia would probably be cold this time of year, I opted for layered outfits instead of heavy winter gear. If we somehow ended up somewhere warmer - Florida, Arizona, the Middle East - parkas would attract just as much attention as our regular clothes.

Mirri got another rocker outfit - ripped jeans, combat boots, a band shirt, and a faded denim jacket. Elise naturally drifted back toward goth aesthetics. Ashlara ended up in a white t-shirt beneath a bomber jacket, ripped jeans layered over black leggings, and hiking boots sturdy enough to hide the fact she could casually split a man in half. I also conjured her a duffel bag large enough to discreetly carry her axe and shield. Serah received a long coat over a dark dress and leggings with knee-high boots.

Clo only really needed a leather biker jacket to complete her existing look, so that’s what she got. Tansy received a fitted pantsuit, flats, and a long overcoat draped around her shoulders in the hope it would obscure the extra arms long enough to avoid immediate panic. Nim got dark jeans, boots, a hoodie, and a heavy mid-length coat that somehow still failed to make him look less intimidating.

I dressed Moss in dark green slacks with a matching blazer over a black blouse. Vel ended up in dark slacks, white sneakers, and a gray blouse beneath a tweed jacket that somehow made her look even more dangerous rather than less.

There was still absolutely nothing I could do about Thae. For the short term, she would simply have to hide beneath a hooded poncho until she could safely take to the air.

Iolite received ripped jeans and a sweater. Naevira got a dark turtleneck beneath a long coat with jeans and flats. I settled on hiking boots, dark jeans, a band shirt, and a jacket.

Most of the group also ended up with hats, sunglasses, and cloth masks. Frankly, that was the only way several of them were passing for remotely human in public.

Then came the difficult part - the children.

There were hugs and kisses all around as we said goodbye. Hopefully we wouldn’t be gone long, but everyone could feel the weight hanging over this mission. Even the little ones sensed the uncertainty pressing against us.

I began to sing softly. The stone wall surrounding the Weeping Gallows parted like wet clay beneath my voice.

I kissed Naevira gently on the head and gave her a confident nod.

Vel and Nim moved to either side of her and the three advanced toward the tree together.

The Gallows split open. Dull red light spilled from the wound in its trunk.

When they reached the opening, Naevira hesitated and looked back at me.

I smiled at her and nodded once more.

Then the three stepped inside.

The others followed after them one by one - a force of terrifying power and impossible versatility marching willingly into the unknown.

I lingered only a moment longer. I turned back toward my children, gave them one final smile and wave, then sealed the stone wall behind us.

As I stepped into the Weeping Gallows, the tree closed around me.

* * *

Within the Gallows, everything was bathed in dull crimson light.

Roots and vines twisted around me in suffocating masses, but unlike the previous journey, there was a clear path this time - one the others were already following deeper into the living tunnel.

The vines were more aggressive now.

Before, they’d behaved like wary predators circling prey they weren’t certain they wanted to attack. Now they had clearly chosen their targets. Something else was simply preventing them from striking.

They lunged constantly. Thick roots snapped forward like striking snakes, only to recoil violently at the last instant as though burned or whipped. But the pain didn’t discourage them. They kept trying over and over, darting toward me with frantic hunger before jerking backward again at the final moment.

Ahead of me, the others clustered tightly around Naevira.

She stood at the center of it all like the eye of a storm. The vines would not approach her. They writhed and twisted at a distance instead, keeping away from her presence entirely - and so long as the others stayed near her, they remained untouched as well.

I moved closer to the group. As I approached, the roots retreated farther, until there was nearly twenty feet of clear space surrounding Naevira in every direction.

The path twisted endlessly through the crimson glow before finally opening toward darkness ahead - an exit.

One by one, the others went through until only Naevira and I remained behind.

She reached for my hand.

Together, we crossed through the opening.

“Whoa,” Mirri breathed.

“Holy shit! Why aren’t the trees green?!” Clo shouted as she bounced excitedly in place.

Nim stood tense and alert nearby, muscles tight as braided cables while his eyes swept the landscape for threats.

Serah simply stared in stunned silence, one hand covering her mouth.

Iolite had gone completely still.

This wasn’t Philadelphia. Not even remotely close.

We stood atop an enormous rocky hill overlooking miles of wilderness. Around us, the forest blazed with autumn color - brilliant gold, deep crimson, and burning orange.

The giant hills rolled endlessly into the distance, their slopes blanketed in bright trees while a river carved through the valleys far below like a silver ribbon.

The air smelled unmistakably of autumn. Maple carried a faint sweetness while oak added something dry and bitter beneath it. Damp earth and rich black soil lingered underneath both, all wrapped in the cold, clean sharpness of approaching winter.

I recognized it immediately, even if I couldn’t place the exact location.

The Appalachian Mountains.

We could’ve been anywhere along the east coast of North America - from southern Canada all the way to Alabama - but the timing narrowed it down. Too warm for Canada. Too cold for the deep south. My best guess was somewhere around Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or West Virginia.

“It’s autumn,” I explained to Clo. “The leaves change color during autumn here.”

I smiled faintly as the cold wind stirred through the trees. “I haven’t seen this in a very long time.”

Then I looked toward Naevira. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she stared out across the mountains. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “Like home… but higher.”

I let her stand there for a few moments before gently squeezing her hand.

“Which way?” I asked quietly.

With visible effort, she pulled herself free from the spell the landscape held over her and scanned the horizon. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated.

“I think…” She slowly raised one hand and pointed toward the distant mountains. “That way.”

I nodded once. “Then that’s where we’re going.”

* * *

We made our way down the mountainside.

The clothes I’d picked out for everyone turned out to be spectacularly unsuited for hiking through Appalachian wilderness. Flats slipped constantly on wet stone and frost-slick leaves. Half the boots fared only marginally better. Thick underbrush clawed at tights, jackets, and dresses with open hostility, snagging fabric and tearing at hems whenever we tried to force a direct route.

We ended up following the terrain instead of fighting it - winding along narrow game trails and shallow runoff channels carved by rainwater through the hills. The forest forced us into pairs most of the time and occasionally into single file where the brush grew too dense.

The woods were alive around us. Birds chirped unseen in the canopy overhead. Woodpeckers hammered rhythmically somewhere deeper in the trees. Squirrels and chipmunks rustled through dead leaves while tiny mice darted beneath fallen branches.

It didn’t feel like we were marching toward a potentially catastrophic battle against an enemy we barely understood. But I wasn’t stupid enough to let the beauty lull me into complacency.

I kept scanning the forest as we moved, ears straining for anything out of place. We didn’t speak much - we all understood that trouble could come at any moment.

After roughly an hour, we reached the valley floor.

A paved road cut through the wilderness ahead of us in a hard, unnatural line. Both shoulders had been swallowed by saplings, tangled brambles, and tall grass so dense they formed an almost impenetrable wall.

We turned left and followed the rocky bank of a narrow creek until we finally located a gap in the brush large enough to reach the road itself. In the fifteen minutes it took us to find it, not a single vehicle had passed by.

“The road’ll be faster,” I told everyone quietly. “Even if it isn’t the exact direction we need to go.” I glanced down both empty lanes. “But we’ll also be exposed.”

Vel surveyed the tree line carefully. “We’ll see threats coming farther away out there,” she said. “But snipers in the woods become a bigger problem.”

“Traps are harder to spot in the forest,” Ashlara countered. “And it’s tighter in there. Less room to maneuver.”

“There’s cover in the woods,” Tansy added.

I wasn’t entirely sure whether she meant for us or the enemy.

I scanned the surrounding forest one more time before making the call. “We stick to the woods,” I decided. “They’ll have cover either way. At least this way we get some too.”

I looked at each of them in turn. “Stay alert for traps, ambushes, and anything else that looks wrong.”

Then another thought struck me. “Let’s split into two groups,” I said. “If one group gets hit, the other can flank or reinforce instead of everyone getting caught together.”

My gaze moved across the group as I assigned teams. “Vel, Thae, Moss - you take Mirri, Ashie, and Iolite.” I turned toward the others. “Nim, Clo, and Tansy - you’re with Naevira, Elise, Serah, and me. Keep each other in sight.”

There were nods all around.

We crossed the road quickly and disappeared back into the forest on the opposite side.

Roughly forty-five minutes later, we reached an old chain-link fence.

“What is that?” Mirri breathed, awe and fear tangled together in her voice.

“A mine,” I told her.

“A wound,” Iolite answered softly. “One that will never heal.”

I understood the reaction immediately.

Beyond the fence, the mountain itself had been carved open.

Enormous terraced cuts descended into the earth in uneven steps, exposing layers of shale, slate, coal, and bare stone all streaked rust-red by decades of runoff. Forest had once covered the entire mountainside. Now huge portions of it had been stripped away to make room for rusting industrial ruins. Conveyor frames. Cranes. Fuel tanks. Maintenance garages. Abandoned trailers. A massive breaker building looming over the pit like the skeleton of some dead steel giant.

Towering spoil piles surrounded portions of the excavation - mountains of crushed waste stone and shale, some rising well over two hundred feet high. Sparse grass struggled to reclaim the land around them, but most of the ground remained barren and scarred.

“That’s not a mine,” Mirri said quietly. “A mine is a tunnel that follows ore.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “But we don’t do it like that anymore.” I stared out over the dead mountain. “It’s a strip mine. To get all the coal, we tear everything away above it.”

I exhaled slowly. “Strip the world down to the bone.”

“That’s horrible,” Mirri whispered.

I nodded once. “Yeah.” My eyes lingered on the gutted mountainside. “Doesn’t stop anybody, though.”