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‘You don’t feel any different?’ Garovel asked.

Asad glanced at Qorvass.

‘He feels perfectly normal,’ the reaper said. ‘As do I. And shouldn’t I be affected by it as well?’

‘Yes, you should,’ said Garovel. ‘Hmm...’

‘Let’s test it on Jada.’ Qorvass hovered quickly away, then soon returned with her.

She seemed a bit confused about what was going on but took the shield nonetheless.

Everyone waited, but nothing happened.

‘Curious,’ said Garovel. ‘Would you mind helping us test its strength now, as well?’

‘Not at all,’ said Qorvass.

The small troupe ventured off together, wanting to put themselves a safe distance away from the crowd. They found an isolated, yet well-lit spot near the bench where Hector had been sitting. A broad corridor lay far to the right, but no one was using it.

And Hector paused, abruptly realizing that he had yet to see anyone other than the Rainlords and Asad’s family. He wondered when he would see his first inhabitant of the Undercrust. He wondered if they would look any different from normal people. Or “surface” people, at least. He wasn’t sure he knew what qualified as “normal” anymore.

He pushed the thought out of his mind and set the shield down, propping it up against the wall. He backed away and decided to use the same hallway he’d seen before. He wasn’t terribly concerned about getting hurt, of course, but he figured it would be bad if he let the suit get damaged. Using the corner as cover, Hector poked his head out to watch Asad work.

The Lord Najir started off easy. He clapped his hands together, and then, as he brought them apart again, a large spear of solid quartz materialized, which he grabbed with both hands, as it continued to grow beyond his own wingspan.