Greffyn Cornelius was restless.

  He paced back and forth, barely noticing the primitive architecture. More than anything else, he just wanted to go home, to see his wives and ensure that his children were doing everything they could to maximize their potential. But here he was on some backwater planet that had yet to even escape the threat of excisement.

  The only solace came from the fact that at least the atmosphere wasn’t as thin as he had been led to expect. In all three-hundred-and-twelve of his years, most of which had been spent working as a strike commander for the Green Mountain Mining Guild, he’d never visited such a young planet. He had heard stories, though. Of ethera so thin that even high ascendents felt like they were suffocating.

  And while Earth’s atmosphere wasn’t nearly enough to fully sustain him, it wasn’t as debilitating as he’d been told to expect. So long as he took his potions every few days, he could function more or less normally and display the full breadth of his power.

  Which was a good thing, considering his mission.

  “Have they arrived?” he asked, glancing at his Administrator, Mable. The sky elf was so thin that she looked like little more than a skeleton – a characteristic of her particular brand of elven ancestry. But as emaciated as she appeared, she was at least good at her job. A requirement for anyone in Greffyn’s employ.

  He had two-hundred good fighters with him and half as many support personnel, all with a singular goal – to show the rest of the multi-verse that it wasn’t always a good idea to sever ties with the Green Mountain Mining Guild.

  Greffyn wasn’t sure how they meant to spin it, but he suspected it would include the words overreach and hubris. He could practically hear the story even now, when it had yet to be written. In their haste to break free of their obligations to the guild, Ironshore had gotten into bed with some less-than-reputable forces. And when they couldn’t meet their obligations, they’d paid the consequences. It was a tale as old as the very concept of a contract, and Greffyn knew the guild’s propagandists would make it very, very believable.

  Not that it mattered to him.

  His job was simple enough, and he needn’t focus on anything else. Thankfully, for such a young planet, there would be no one capable of opposing him. The very idea that anyone might have reached demi-god status so early in the integration was patently laughable. And there was no chance at all that a mere ascendent could defeat his force, much less credibly challenge him.

  The outcome was already foretold. He just needed to play his part, put them in their place, and replace their leadership with someone who understood how the world worked.

  Nobody escaped the guild. Even if they’d managed to pay off their loan, which was a minor miracle in and of itself, Ironshore could not be allowed to break free and forge their own path. That would set a precedent that might give other people ideas, and that would throw the entire system into chaos.

  Mable shook her head, saying, “The answer is the same as it was ten minutes ago. Sir.”

  “Don’t get snarky with me,” he growled.

  “Don’t ask stupid questions, and you will not receive flippant answers.”

  Greffyn grunted, then went back to pacing. If Mable wasn’t so talented – and an integral part of his operation – he might’ve punished her. But the sky elf was nothing if not necessary, so he tolerated her insubordination. Thankfully, she kept it to when they were alone. Otherwise, he might not have had a choice.

  His heavy boots thudded against the stone floor as he stepped from one end of the room to the next. When they’d arrived, he had been surprised to find the castle deserted. It was a mundane construction, but still, it was a sturdy enough building. It was also old, at least compared to the other buildings they’d seen after arriving on Earth. Hundreds of years, at least.

  At any rate, it made for a decent base of operations, even if the surrounding city made everyone uneasy. It stank of Voxx, even though none were found nearby.

  It wasn’t until they found the bodies, all rotted down to skeletons, that they’d begun to piece together what had happened. The city had been conquered, its people killed. Whether the Voxx came before or after was a mystery, but Greffyn didn’t much care one way or another. His people were more than capable of dealing with the low-level monsters spawned by local rifts.

  Eventually, he grew tired of waiting and decided to explore the castle. He had only a passing interest in architecture, and even that usually didn’t extend to such primitive structures. However, it was better than simply standing around and doing nothing. Perhaps he might get some insight into the enemy.

  Soon, he came to realize just how unlikely that hope was to come to fruition. The castle was no more impressive than he’d thought at first glance, and it lacked even the most basic amenities. If a building didn’t have a dedicated bathroom in it, how advanced could its builders really be?

  After a while, his steps led him outside and to an overgrown city that hadn’t been occupied for years. Most of the buildings had been subjected to various levels of destruction, either due to poor quality or being left to the elements. Trees had sprouted in the middle of the streets, and vines threatened to tear down any walls that still stood. In a few more years, it would all be gone.

  And good riddance.

  The ugly, square buildings were unimpressive even considering the primitive nature of the natives. By comparison, the castle was a palace fit for an emperor.

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  As he was inspecting a building containing curious flat boxes featuring glass fronts, he noticed that someone was watching him.

  “You trying to sneak up on me?” he asked, turning to see another dwarf leaning against the wall. While Greffyn had the build of the Warrior he was, with heavy shoulders, a stout frame, and sturdy legs, Marus was the opposite. Almost as thin as a gnome, he barely even resembled a dwarf, save for his impressively braided beard.

  He was clad all in black, with a brace of knives across his chest. A shortsword hung at his waist, and a crossbow had been slung across his back. His only other defining feature was a thin scar stretching from the edge of his mouth almost to his ear. It was a relic of his youth, and one he refused to have fixed by a Fleshshaper.

  “No use,” Marus said, pushing away from the wall.

  “Damn right,” Greffyn agreed. “The others back too?”

  Marus nodded. “For an hour or two.”

  “Why didn’t anyone come get me?”

  He shrugged. “Didn’t want to interrupt your little hobby here,” Marus answered. He gestured at their surroundings. “Gods know why you care about primitive cultures so much.”

  “I don’t.”

  The other dwarf narrowed his eyes. “You spend time exploring these sorts of places every time we visit a new world.”

  “I’m just killing time. If you’d gotten here on schedule, I wouldn’t have needed to.”

  “Well, I’m here now, so we can get started.”

  Greffyn didn’t respond, mostly because he didn’t really have an explanation that Marus would accept. The dwarf might’ve been his subordinate, but he definitely didn’t see himself that way. He would follow orders, but respect wasn’t really part of his personality. Still, he was one of the best ascendent scouts available, which meant he had every reason for his attitude.

  In silence, the pair returned to the castle, which had become a hive of activity. Everyone knew they were on the verge of moving, and they’d reacted accordingly by gathering things, packing supplies, and preparing for the journey.

  Greffyn led Marus into the room where he’d left Mable, only to find the sky elf meeting with a pair of other members of the strike force. A half-dwarf and a gnome. Greffyn struggled to remember their names because they were new recruits. Otherwise, there was only one other person there – Esta, a human woman and one of the most valuable members of the support personnel.

  Once Mable sent the two new recruits scurrying away, they got down to business.

  “Report,” Greffyn told Marus.

  “Security is incredibly lax. They don’t even have a tag system in place,” he explained. Back home, no one was allowed into the city without an identification tag on their person. Otherwise, anyone could enter. “Our people are inside, waiting on our signal.”

  “Any notables?” asked Mable.

  “A few. It’s in my report. No demigods, though. A few high ascendents. They won’t be a problem.”

  “You seem certain,” Greffyn remarked.

  He shrugged. “It’s a newly integrated planet. Chances they have anyone worthwhile are pretty slim. There’s one man that worries me, but he’s inside a Primal Realm at the moment.”

  “The Druid,” Esta said.

  Greffyn shook his head. “It’s not right. Druids are supposed to sit in their groves and play with their plants. Not slaughter cities.”

  “This is a different, wilder sort of Druid.”

  “Will he be a problem?”

  Esta answered, “Our sources say that he has been gone for months, and he’s known to spend long stretches away from the island where his grove is located.”

  “Ripe for the taking,” Marus said.

  “No.”

  “What?”

  “I said no,” Greffyn repeated. “That’s a fight we don’t need. Our goal is to hit Ironshore hard, install our puppets, then leave. We will not borrow trouble by exceeding the parameters of our mission. Do you understand?”

  “Aye. I understand. I don’t agree, but you’re the boss.”

  “If you disobey my order…”

  He left the threat hanging. Marus might’ve been a valuable member of the strike force, but insubordination would not be tolerated. Greffyn would end him if it came down to it, and it had nothing to do with wanting to protect the Druid or his grove. Instead, it was about following the parameters of the mission. If the Green Mountain Mining Guild wanted them to attack that island, it would have been included in their orders.

  Marus raised his hands, saying, “I won’t.”

  “Good,” Greffyn said, maintaining eye contact with the scout for a few seconds before he turned to Esta. “Your mission?”

  “Successful. Our new stewards were quite amenable to the offered terms,” she answered. “However, the old man was not as receptive as we’d hoped, so I was forced to speak to the second-in-command. He was very eager, and he assured me that he would have no issues dealing with his elder.”

  Greffyn nodded. “That is probably better anyway,” he admitted. After all, the younger of the two was much more powerful. The only reason he wasn’t in charge was due to some familial custom. “How many can they bring?”

  “More than twenty thousand.”

  Greffyn scratched his bearded chin. “That’s less than expected.”

  “They have experienced heavy casualties of late.”

  “An issue?”

  “It is a newly integrated planet facing excisement. People die. That is nothing out of the ordinary.”

  That much was true. Most newly touched planets fell prey to excisement, and that was if everything progressed on schedule. Earth was obviously different, with its accelerated pace. If they hadn’t already conquered multiple Primal Realms, the Green Mountain Mining Guild wouldn’t have even bothered reasserting their claims on Ironshore. However, the fact that they’d progressed so far meant that they had a much better chance than average of seeing it through to the end.

  “So, we can proceed on schedule?” he asked Esta.

  “They will be in place, and they will do their part.”

  “Good. Very good. Then everyone is dismissed. Except you, Mable. We have something else to discuss.”

  She nodded, and the others left the room to go about their business. There was a lot to do before they set out, and after that, a long journey ahead of them.

  But he wasn’t concerned with that. Instead, he asked Mable, “Have our people had a chance to examine the readings?”

  She answered, “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “The ethereal density of this planet is at an unprecedented level for this point in its integration. As a result, Primal Realms are likely much more expansive, with far more powerful enemies within. In addition, those Primal Realms reportedly share a stronger connection with the elder races than normal,” she explained, verifying what Greffyn already felt. “Towers will be slightly more difficult as well.”

  “Worth using them as a training tool?”

  She shook her head. “No. It would throw off our schedule.”

  “But after we’re done?”

  “If everything goes as planned, we will have nearly three months before we must return. I suggest we use that to enter the Primal Realm controlled by Ironshore. They have mapped it out, and they know precisely how to conquer it both quickly and efficiently.”

  Greffyn couldn’t help but smile at that. While he wouldn’t get much out of it – being a demi-god meant that he’d need to go to a much more developed world to gain experience –his people could certainly benefit. And that kind of opportunity would engender loyalty, which was almost as important as strengthening the troops.

  “Good. Begin preparations for that as well, then. Don’t let word of it get out, though. I want them all focused on the task at hand.”

  “Very well.”

  And with that, she left to join the others in preparing for departure. For his part, Greffyn could only hope that he’d thought of everything. While he wasn’t concerned with failure – with him there, that just wasn’t possible – that didn’t mean his people were entirely safe. And he refused to lose even a single member of his team.

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