Alex and the others continued through the Mirrorlands for around half an hour before making their return to the Ancestry. The chances of Crimson having left someone on watch for their return were a bit too high.

Fortunately, Alex stepped through the portal he had opened back open into the dank, fetid halls of the Ancestry, nobody was waiting for them. He stood in a dark hallway not too dissimilar from the one that he’d been in within the Mirrorlands.

It struck him just how much magical energy the Ancestry must have had. Its reflection was strikingly close. The Rotkeeper must have been quite the powerful monster when he was still alive.

Do I want his legacy myself? I don’t think so… but I suppose it depends on what it is. Maybe I can just take it in a little to-go baggie and figure out what to do with it later. That would be the best. I’m definitely not leaving the Legacy for any of the Great Families if I can do anything about it.

The others poured out from the portal behind him, all ready for a fight. Their arms slowly lowered as they found themselves standing alone in the dark corridor. They were alone.

“Well,” Derek said through a yawn as they watched the Mirrorlands portal stitch close. “That was a little anticlimactic. I could have slept a bit longer.”

“Only if you wanted us to leave you back there,” Wess said. He glanced to Claire. “Where to, Spooky?”

“Don’t call me that,” Claire said.

“It’s a good nickname,” Wess said. “Everyone needs a nickname.”

“It’s a nickname,” Claire agreed as she pulled a small compass out from her pocket and glanced at its face. “But you aren’t the one that gets to give me one. There is no part of me that wants to think of you every time I hear my name.”

“Ouch,” Wess said. “I’m hurt. I thought we were friends.”

“I imagine you’ll be more than memorable enough without being responsible for a substandard nickname,” Claire said dryly as she started off down the hall.

“Besides,” Alex said, falling in behind her. “She’s already got one.”

“She does?” Wess asked. “I never heard anyone using it.”

“That’s because it’s saved for occasions that you don’t get to be present for,” Claire said.

“Wow. That’s more information than I needed,” Wess said with a grimace. “Just rub it in, would you? Not everyone managed to find someone to boink uglies with. Life is hard for some of us. You should be more considerate.”

“I’m sorry to hear your troubles,” Claire deadpanned. “But I was referring to placing on leaderboards. The nickname I gave myself in the System.”

Wess coughed, then let out a grumble and fell silent. Alex bit back a laugh. He was pretty sure Claire hadn’t been referring to that at all, but it wasn’t like anyone could prove otherwise.

The joke wasn’t exactly the most high-brow humor he’d ever heard. But there was something about crawling through the ancient gravesite of some old guy that had spent the past few days sending everything in his power to kill them that made proper humor feel a bit pointless. A cheap joke was just as good as a well-thought out one when the result was all the same.

They continued deeper into the Ancestry. The sound of their breath and muted footfalls echoing through the darkness were the only things that accompanied them. Everyone kept their magic at the ready as they scanned in search for an ambush, but one never came.

Claire’s compass — which must have been the reward she’d gotten for stealing the kill on the boss monster from Crimson — directed them through the winding tunnels for something around an hour.

Not once were they attacked. It was actually rather odd. After spending this much time in the Ancestry, wandering through its halls uncontested felt stranger than getting attacked constantly.

Perhaps it was their proximity to the approaching end of the Ancestry, but every part of Alex’s mind was convinced that there should have been an immensely powerful monster waiting for them around every corner they took.

It never showed up. Instead, the pathways slowly opened until familiar stone was beneath Alex’s feet once more. They continued to find themselves standing before rows of massive witness stands.

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They were at the entrance of the courtroom once again.

And standing in the center of the dark hall was none other than Shawn. The giant didn’t have a wig or any manner of strange getup this time around. He was exactly as he had been the first time Alex had laid eyes on him.

The giant didn’t say a word as they approached. His eyes just tracked them with a silent intensity, as if he were trying to peer straight into their souls.

“We got the compass,” Claire said, raising it before herself. “Same deal as last time, if you would. Or are we going to have to figure out some other way to avoid fighting each other and make it clear that we’re splitting the points?”

The corner of Shawn’s lips twitched. “Don’t be so confident that everyone feels the same. You never know the true thoughts of those you travel with. That’s a lot of points you’ve got in your hand. You don’t know what you could be giving up.”

“I think we’re good,” Alex said. “Split them, please.”

Shawn was silent for a moment longer. Then he cocked an eyebrow. “Are you so certain? One among you holds a different desire.”

Alex glanced at Wess. The cowboy gave him a one-shouldered shrug. Alyssa did the same. He didn’t even bother sending one in Claire’s direction — and Derek barely even seemed to care what was happening. He was busy picking at a dagger lodged in his forehead.

Their gazes went back to Shawn.

“I think you’re stalling,” Alex said.

Shawn sighed. “You know, I really thought that would work.”

“Seriously?” Alyssa asked.

An amused glint danced through the giant’s eyes. “You’d be surprised. I’ve watched at least three other small parties turn on each other. Loyalty is a rare currency — and a cheap one to throw away. If you all choose to split the reward, there isn’t any going back. It’ll be done.”

“We’ve already made our stance clear,” Alex said. “Do it. Unless you’re going to give us some tips about what’s coming up next or a definite path on getting to the Grave?”

Shawn smirked. “No.”

“Then we’re done discussing,” Alex said.

The others all nodded.

Shawn shrugged.

“Done,” he said. “Fifty points. To all of you.”

Alex’s eyes widened slightly. That had nearly doubled his points. He’d gone from 55 to 105 in a split instant. Evidently, killing that last boss had been quite the accomplishment. Crimson probably would have wept bloody tears if they knew how much they’d missed out on.

But for that matter, even Alex barely knew how much they’d missed out on. He still didn’t have the faintest damn idea of what was actually available to purchase within Shawn’s store. They’d never had enough money to get the best item in it, so they’d never had a chance to check.

“Well?” Alex asked. “Can we afford the most expensive thing yet? Are you finally going to show us your shop? Or is there yet another kill we’ve got to steal first?”

Shawn smirked. “I must say that your team has had a remarkably interesting way to approaching the Ancestry. It isn’t one that I think the Rotkeeper foresaw… but I suspect he would have approved.”

“That didn’t answer the question,” Claire observed. “Do we have enough?”

“Yes,” Shawn said. “You do. The most expensive item in my store is 100 points.”

“It’s the path to the Grave, isn’t it?” Claire asked.

Shawn smiled. “Yes. And one of you will have to buy it if you want to make your way there. But the path does not guarantee access to the Legacy. You’ll have to sacrifice your chance at getting a reward from the riches I hold in exchange for paving the way for your comrades.”

He let his words hang in the moment for a long second.

“Oh. That’s fine,” Claire said. “I’ll do it.”

Shawn paused. “What? Just like that? Did you not hear—”

“No, I heard. It’s just an easy answer. We came here for the Legacy and whatever the Rotkeeper stuck in the Grave. Everything else is just extra,” Claire said. Then she grinned and nodded in Alex’s direction. “And if I see something I really want, I’ll just have him get it for me with his points. You’re making this a much bigger deal than it is.”

Shawn looked from Claire to Alex.

“I feel for you,” Wess informed Shawn. “Couples are the worst.”

The giant just sighed. “You really do know how to suck the fun out of everything, Dhampir. Very well. The path is yours. Prepare yourself.”

“Hold on,” Alyssa said. “Can’t the rest of us check your shop out first?”

Shawn’s eyes glinted in amusement. “You should have done that first. Those of you who survive may feel free to swing by again once you’ve finished up. Enjoy the Rotkeeper’s final trial.”

Then he snapped his fingers.

A wave of energy tore through the courtroom before anyone could respond.

The world changed.

Bright green grass bloomed where only stone had been. Warm sunlight bore down on Alex’s back as he found himself standing amongst the others in the center of a small grassy plain. Colorful flowers dotted the ground around them, forming a path that led up to a lone wooden door standing upright in the ground a dozen paces away from them.

There were no walls around the door, nor was there anything beyond it but more grassland. It was simply a door in the middle of nowhere. The door didn’t even have a handle. There was just a simple metal plate where the knob should have been.

But nobody was really focused on the door. Everyone was staring at the impossibly wide man who stood beside it, a fishlike grin stretching across his huge features.

“It’s good to see you again, Alex,” the River King said as his eyes moved to land on Alyssa. His smile somehow grew wider still, stretching so far that it seemed to split his head from one ear to the other. “I see you brought my sacrifice with you.”