"You must be quite desperate," Regis said. "To visit me again after all this time."

He was adrift in darkness again, war raging around him, the same dream he'd had for nigh on end.

The mask, however, was new.

It floated above him just out of reach. An ivory carved thing of the purest white, devoid of emotion, yet radiating in all forms of malice.

Regis knew what it was, knew who it was. "Thought I'd gotten rid of you once and for all. Thought you'd be too bothered with your empire to try and reach out to a traitor like me."

The mask continued to hover, saying nothing.

"I'm not coming back. You hear me?" Regis reached out, imagining himself cracking the ivory carving in two in his grasp. "I've made up my mind. I'm going to settle things once and for all. Put things right. Like I should have done from the very beginning."

Nothing, save for the growing tension of men fighting and dying in the cold, empty battlefield of his dreams.

"You lied to me," Regis said. "From the very beginning. You were never going to honor our deal. You were going to bide your time till something killed me, but I showed you, I showed everyone that no one lies to me and gets away with it. I survived your bloody wars, and I'll live to see my brother dead, without an empire at my back."

There was a shift then, a subtle change in pressure around his temples. Pain squirmed in the back of his head as the mask drew closer, tiny pinpricks of golden light flickering into existence behind the eyeholes.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore," Regis said. "And soon neither will the boy. And when that happens, I hope he tears your farking heart out."

Flames erupted from the corners of the mask, devouring the fog around them as it coalesced into a shape of pure, unmistakable hatred. It reached out to him, hungry sparks licking at his body, but he wasn't going to apologize this time. Fear no longer ate away at him like before. He'd seen the hungry fire and found its flames wanting.

The mask pressed against him, flesh hissing and bubbling as two golden eyes bore into his very soul. It was like staring into the sun itself, like staring into the eye of a needle, a tiny pinprick of light driving itself neatly into him.

"Wake up, asshole!"

Regis gasped as a wet, heavy hand slapped him hard across the face. He shot up, reached for a weapon that wasn't there, fingers digging into cold sand instead. He looked up and winced at a sharp pain in his head, fingers touching where Fenris had butted him earlier, and coming back bloody.

"Took you long enough," the man growled.

Regis frowned and blinked away the last of the fog. He looked around, saw he was sitting along the edges of a shoreline, dirty shingles crunching underneath him. The sharp lip of a cliff leered up at him from across the water. No, not a cliff. A ravine.

It took a moment to put two and two together, but the answer came to him like another hard slap to the face. He'd fallen, it seemed, after his little tussle with Fenris, and they'd fallen down together into who knew where. A little irresponsible on his part, he considered.

"You all right?" Regis asked, words slurring through a heavy mouth. He rubbed his jaw, wincing at a sore spot.

"Am I all right?" Fenris stepped up next to him, tiny mirages chasing after his boot heels. "You nearly snap me in two with that bear hug of yours, brain me with your farking forehead right after, toss me down a ravine for good measure, and you're asking me if I'm all right?"

"Fine, forget I asked then." Regis looked around, hands aching to grab hold of something. "Is my hammer nearby?"

The great lump of Star Steel thudded into the sand beside him.

"It survived the landing," Fenris grumbled.

"Small graces then, all things considered." Regis sucked in a breath and blew it out. "I take it you're fine, and nothing feels broken inside of me, thanks for asking by the way." Memories of the mask burned into his vision, and he rubbed his eyes to make it go away. "So, we have that going for us at least."

"You forgot the part where we're both trapped down here!" Fenris said. "We're at the bottom of a quarry, an abandoned quarry I might add! Any chance we have of getting out of here is long gone now thanks to you!"

Regis wanted to butt Fenris in the face again, but even thinking about it made his head hurt. He rubbed at his scalp, tried to push the gnashing pain away, and thought about what to do first.

Finding a way back up was their obvious objective, but the lad was right on some accounts. Most quarries were little more than deep pits made to excavate and harvest stone, and with the many ladders and pulleys needed to ferry men and equipment up and down the glorified pit, sheer edges and clean walls were a must.

So climbing out was off the table, lest they wanted a few broken fingernails and some busted up egos to help pass the time. The other option was either finding a natural incline to walk towards, or praying for a miracle. Neither of which sounded very hopeful. At least they had water, so dying of thirst wasn't something to worry about.

"Fenris. Harald. Are you alive down there?" A worried face peeked out from the top of the ravine, a very familiar worried face by the looks of it.

"Loken?" Fenris looked up, the barest hint of concern in his voice.

"Fenris! Thank the stars you're okay!" The witch boy called back.

"I'm okay too," Regis said, but he might as well have been speaking to the wind. The two of them had already locked eyes with one another and were ignoring everyone else. Goddess above but they were like Libro and Elba sometimes. Enough to drive a man...

Regis paused as the pieces clicked together in his head, and he nodded thoughtfully. "I see then."

"Get us out of here," Fenris demanded. "Use your magick, or make us a rope, or something!"

"My magick doesn't work like that," Loken chided him. "As I keep trying to tell you two, and it would take too long to make a rope long enough to reach the both of you anyway."

"Oh really? Do you have any other bright ideas?"

"I do, and I'd tell you to if you'd shut your farking mouth for once and listen!"

That got Fenris' attention, Regis noticed. The lad was about to say something, before he clapped his mouth shut and took a neat little bow, giving Loken the floor to speak.

"If your spies were any good at their jobs then you'd know the town of Holsted used to have a rebel cell operating in it. Remember?"

"Vaguely. Makes sense why they burned the place down."

"Shut it!" Loken snapped, holding up a finger as warning.

Fenris pursed his lips, annoyed but compliant.

Took an effort for Regis to hold his smile back. It was funny, sometimes, how people's attitudes tended to shift when they really started to care. Loken, for all his cold, calm serenity, could possess a fire when it mattered. And Fenris, for all his gnashing teeth and claws, could be an obedient dog when he'd finally met his match.

"Which means," Loken continued. "The rebels would have built an escape tunnel through the town in case that ever happened. And where would be the best place to build said tunnels?"

"In the same place you're already hauling rock out of," Regis said.

"Exactly! If you can find one of those tunnels, it'll take you right out of the quarry and hopefully somewhere nearby. If you find a way out, try to make your way to the town of Varden. I'll be wait fingor you there."

"Why? So we can continue on this mad little quest of yours?" Fenris demanded, rebellious nature already returning. "I told you already I'm done with this. I'm not going to be your accessory to treason."

"None of that matters anymore!" Loken snarled back, much to everyone's surprise. "That path is gone now, Fenris! All I care about is getting you to safety. I owe you that much, least. Once we meet again in Varden..." The lad trailed off, wincing as he turned away. "Well, I suppose that doesn't matter anymore either."

"Wait," Fenris said, but Loken had already left, leaving the two of them alone once more.

Fenris didn't look like a vicious Forsworn in that moment, Regis considered. He looked like a scared, little boy, unsure of what to do next. He stole a glance over at Regis, and the fear in his eyes melted away behind a wall of indignant fury once more.

"What are you looking at?" he demanded.

"Nothing," Regis said. "Let's go find those tunnels Loken mentioned. They're our best bet for getting out of here." He picked up his hammer, smiling at the security it gave him. Like he could topple mountains if it came down to it.

Fenris stared at him, wet eyes gleaming in the half-light, before he punted a rock and started walking.

Felt like hours before they finally came upon a tunnel in the sheer rock face. By then the winds had picked up, a storm brewing overhead, inky black clouds pregnant with fresh snow. Regis could smell the familiar nip of it in the air, his breath steaming as he waved Fenris on.

Inside the wind made strange howling noises, reminding Regis of old stories about the Jotuns. About their deep warrens beneath mountains where they slept, surfacing at night to catch and consume the flesh of men.

"We need a torch," Fenris said, apprehension clear in his voice.

"Doubt anyone else is in here but us," Regis said. "Our eyes will adjust soon enough."

"I said we need a damn torch!"

A cold gust ripped past their shoulder blades, invisible fingers tugging at their cloaks. Fat flakes fluttered over the lip of the cave, chased inside in endless droves.

"Fine, give me a moment." Regis fumbled with the flint and steel in his pocket, numb fingers striking fruitlessly till a tiny spark lept up, catching at the oily rag. With a desperate puff, fire bloomed, warm light igniting in the narrow tunnel.

Fenris' face lit up at the sight of it. "Took you long enough."

"All right, all right. Give it a rest already." Regis took a few wary steps, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as he felt a sharp decline against the heel of his boot. "There's nothing to be afraid of down here."

"I'm not afraid!" Fenris snapped back indignantly.

"NIdo's tits, but where have I heard that before?" Regis shook his head as thoughts of Libro bubbled to the surface. That damn boy used to be afraid of everything and had an unhealthy habit of blabbing it to anyone. Funny, how people change.

"Who the fark is Nido and what do her tits have to do with anything?"

"She's a goddess from another kingdom! You wouldn't know her!" Regis turned on his heel and started marching. Damn, but he was getting frustrated now. His head throbbed from the Empress's invasion of his dreams, from Fenris smashing him in the face, from Loken's entire ludicrous plan. Bless his lucky stars if he even found a way out of these dark, forsaken tunnels. A cold shiver ran through him as he stared down the inky black ahead of him. For some reason, it reminded him too much of the Deadways back in Byzantia.

"Hey, wait for me!" Fenris yelled as he chased after him, his voice bouncing off the jagged, stone walls.

Hey...hey...hey...hey

me...me...me...me

"I'm not going anywhere," Regis assured him. He paused next to a jagged support beam left over from the mining operation, noticing the little cracks running through it. "But that doesn't mean I'm sticking around here for long. The sooner we start moving, the sooner we see the sky again."

He eyed the torch, noticing how much the fire had consumed it already. "Besides, we only have so many of these things. Getting lost in the dark doesn't sound like a great way to die."

Fenris hid his fear well as he leered up at Regis, torch light dancing in his eyes. "How do you want to die then, old man?"

Regis thought about it. He thought about punching Fenris first, but decided against it as he put a finger to his lips. "Protecting the people I care about, I suppose." And without another word, he turned on his heel and marched into the dark.

***