"Hi." Severance gave a little wave. The last time he came here, she'd been the one to guide him to the Champion's clan Head, Linjao.

Jaema's warm brown eyes crinkled at the corners. "Who's your friend?"

Friend? Severance looked from the Valkyrie on one side to Vast on the other. He wasn't sure who she meant. To be on the safe side, he decided to introduce both. He patted Vast between the ears and said, "This is Vast. And that's the Valkyrie I pulled out of a ruin. She needs help and this was the only place I could bring her."

"Ah." Jaema's expression didn't change, but something about her demeanor seemed to soften. "May I take a look?"

Her question startled Severance, because why would she need to ask permission? This was her Clan headquarters, wasn't it? But then he realized he and Vast were still right next to the Valkyrie.

"Oh! Sorry, go ahead." He immediately took several paces back. Vast moved with him, as if he were part of Severance. Not once had the vastlhidan ceased his warning rumble. But at least he was staying fairly calm.

Jaema went to the Valkyrie. She made a soft exclamation when she saw the poor woman's gaunt features. And when she pulled back a corner of the blanket to take closer look, she actually closed her eyes for a brief moment. She replaced the blanket, and gently laid the back of a hand against the Valkyrie's cheek.

"Where did you find her?" She didn't look away from the Valkyrie. Her voice was calm, steady, and Severance found himself admiring her composure. She'd held it together far better than he did.

"I'm not sure," he said slowly. He wasn't sure how much he could give away here, but he also knew he had to tell them something. The Eternal Champions were allies, after all. "It was in the Lost Lands. There's ruins everywhere there."

"Describe it, please."

"The ruins?"

Jaema turned to face him. "Everything you can."

One look at those normally gentle brown eyes of hers and a mild alarm spiked through him. There was a ferocity lurking there, a promise of utter devastation to whoever had visited such cruelty upon the poor woman who lay motionlessly on the bench. It was like being faced with the primal fury of a mother bear.

He still held the token in one of his hands, and now he could feel the smooth edges of the wood biting into his flesh as he grasped it tight. He wondered how the Knights would fair against a woman like Jaema.

"Right. Okay. This part of the Lost Lands was all gray. Gritty dust on the ground, gray skies, and piles of ash, like everything had been burned in an instant."

"That sounds like the Scorched zone," The guard piped up. He hadn't left the guardhouse, but stood near the door as if to prevent anyone else from coming in.

"Seems like," Jaema agreed. She still watched Severance closely, as if determined to not miss the slightest of details. "What else?"

"There wasn't much of anything left standing there. But there was this well. An underground storage place." He paused, because revulsion rose so quickly that his stomach tightened and for a moment, he couldn't continue. Just the memory of what he'd seen there... he wasn't going to forget it for a long time.

Nothing like that should ever exist. Nothing like that should ever have happened. But it did, and it had, and he was frightened by the thought that maybe there were other places like that out there. Because if had happened once, what's to say it didn't again?

"Severance?" Jaema prodded. Her tone was gentle, but that frightening look in her eyes had not faded.

He tensed, and did not know if it was from her or from the horrible memory he was dredging up. He found Vast's soft fur, and curled his fingers into it as tightly as they could go, like it was a lifeline.

"There were many down there," he said, and his own voice sounded strange, distant to his ears. It felt like it was coming from across the room rather than himself. "Chained to the walls and left to rot. There wasn't much left of them. She was the only survivor. I don't know how she survived, not with the rest in the state they were. I healed her, but... I can't put back what isn't there."

Vast whined and leaned against him. The sudden weight against his leg broke him out of his daze. Taking in a shaky breath, he looked down to find Vast gazing up at him. With another whine, Vast coiled his tail twice around Severance's legs. It was, Severance thought distantly, almost as if the beast was trying to give him a hug.

The notion was absolutely ridiculous, but the brief flash of amusement was enough to help him steady himself.

"She was awake for a moment," he looked back to Jaema. "She said it was the Knights."

That felt important to share, because he was pretty sure the Eternal Champions and Knights already were on the warpath with each other. And if any clan could put up a fight against the Knights, then the Eternal Champions had both the manpower and strength to do so.

"I see." Jaema considered this. "There were no other survivors? You are certain?"

"I'm very certain." Severance suppressed a shiver. Those who remained in that place were firmly entrenched in the embrace of death.

"Then I must thank you for bringing this one out. Please be assured, we will look after her."

It was just words, but Severance felt a near-overwhelming surge of relief. Somehow, he knew that Jaema meant what she said. This Valkyrie would not lack for care in her hands.

He gave a tiny smile. Even now, he wasn't sure if the Valkyrie would survive. But at least now, she had a chance.

"Get Haevron in here," Jaema turned to the guard. "Tell him to bring everything. He's going to need it."

"On it." The guard immediately ducked out of the guardhouse. Severance could hear him giving out commands to those waiting outside, followed by the heavy footfalls of several people rushing away.

"Now," Jaema's face broke into a warm smile, which went a long way to soften the roar in her eyes. "You're here as our guest. Might I persuade you to stay with us for a while?"

Severance shook his head. "Sorry, I can't. But thank you."

"Are you sure?"

There was genuine disappointment there, and it almost made Severance regret his refusal. Almost, because the warnings of Mouna and Zillah were still ringing in his ears. And he didn't want to linger any longer, not with the Valkyrie here to remind him of the nightmare he'd found her in.

He touched his teleport ring lightly. "I'm sure."

"Then, perhaps next time," she conceded. "You will always be welcome here, Severance. If there's anything we can do for you, let us know."

He'd been about to teleport out of there, but that gave him pause. There was something she might be able to help him with. He just wasn't sure if he should ask.

He hesitated, debating with himself. Jack Coyote wouldn't probably like it if he did ask, and the thought of invoking the tank's ire made Severance a little uncomfortable. But then again, he couldn't leave all the decisions up to the tank, could he? Not when this was his team, too.

"I need someone," he blurted, and then immediately regretted it, because the second he heard it, he realized how bad it sounded. "I mean, we're looking for someone."

"Oh?" Jaema lifted a brow. His sudden admission seemed to amuse her, which only made him worried that she was taking it the wrong way.

"My team," Severance clarified quickly. "We're going to need another Outsider for our team. For the, you know, the dungeon. If you know of someone who might work, then maybe you could point them our way?"

Jaema nodded slowly. "I might be able to help you there. What are you looking for, exactly?"

The fact that she was seriously considering this caught Severance off guard. There hadn't even been any hesitation, either. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, really, but he didn't think it would have been so easy.

"Well," he scratched his cheek where a strand of hair had been tickling it. "We'll need a fighter. A versatile one, since we'll most likely have a cryomancer for crowd control and a knightglaive for damage. Someone who can adapt and work well with others." The last part he added with Jack Coyote in mind.

"Of course," she said. "I'm assuming you'll want them available for this time of today?"

"Earlier, actually." Severance gave her the usual time he and the team met up. Then he added, "We don't need them right away, but probably in three or four days. And once we get going, we'll probably be going at it for four hours straight every day, so whoever it is needs to be okay with that."

"Naturally." She chuckled. "I'm familiar with how you Outsiders operate. We have plenty of you under our wing, after all. I will look into this and let you know what I find. Is that acceptable?"

He nodded immediately. That was more than acceptable, and more than he could have hoped for.

"Yes, thank you."

Jaema Yorvok inclined her head. "Then it will be done."

There was a sense of finality about her statement, and Severance knew the conversation was done. There wasn't anything else to say at that point. He excused himself and teleported back to his own clan House.

Zillah and Mouna were waiting for him. As they drew him aside to ask him what happened, Severance couldn't help his thoughts drifting from that nightmarish hole in the ground to the way the Valkyrie's thin body had felt weightless in his arms. There had also been that unsettling look in Jaema's eyes, and he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she'd ever found the people responsible. There probably wouldn't be many pieces left.

He didn't get to remain lost in his thoughts for long, however, for once he finished catching them up to what had happened, Zillah decided to drop a bombshell on him.

"There's more," she said. She exchanged a long look with Mouna, who nodded, before she fixed Severance with an unwavering stare. "There has to be. Many of them were taken, and only a few were in that place."

We will look for them, Mouna added.

Severance looked at them in dismay. "You're sure of this?"

"Yes," Zillah answered. "I know you're busy, so leave this to Mouna and I. If we need you, we'll find you."

When Mouna nodded her agreement, Severance's worry increased. This would put both women on the trail of the Knights. He wanted to stop them, to tell them it was too dangerous, but one look at their faces told him such a conversation would not end well. And if he were honest, he'd be doing the same thing in their shoes.

"Okay," he reluctantly agreed. "But be careful. And maybe get Dhin's help. Or even Wellon's. An extra set of eyes and hands won't hurt, right?"

He didn't want to suggest Wellon, as he didn't have a very good opinion of the teen, but he figured if anyone had time to spare, it would either be Wellon or Dhin. To his relief, neither woman rejected his suggestion outright. They did look at each other and share a smile, though. Whatever that meant.

"We'll be careful," Zillah promised him. She didn't promise anything else, though. And that worried him.

***

Some time later, Severance found Dhin in their usual clearing in the woods. The Veiled man was seated on a stump, sharpening one of his knives. Each stroke of the blade against the stone created a soft scraping sound.

"Hey." Severance called out as he approached.

Dhin grunted in response, not bothering to stop what he was doing.

Narrowing his eyes, Severance stooped to pick up a fallen branch. It was thick and heavy, which meant it was perfect. He chucked it Dhin's head.

Over the past couple of weeks, his aim had improved vastly. It would have rebounded off of Dhin's forehead if the clansman hadn't abruptly ducked out of the way.

"What's that for?" Dhin scowled. Now he was giving Severance his full attention.

Severance smiled.

"I need your help."

"Oh?" Dhin perked up, like a dog catching the scent of a fresh kill.

"What's the quickest way you know of to get more strength?"

To that, Dhin grinned. Severance knew he was in for a world of pain. But he stepped forward anyway, because it needed to be done. There were people that needed him and he wasn't going to fail them.