March Shadowgate mustered a large force from the armies gathered in Shadow Gate to face the Goblin threat. Most of the army were spearmen from the conscripts returning from the north. Levies heading north were reserved for the north war, and even March Shadowgate could not easily spend those forces without reprisal from the Empire. He did have them trained and deployed as reserves to defend his lands should the suppression force fail to slay the Goblin King.

  Orders of Knights from across the Empire were represented. Scorching Sun, Stone Circle, Severing Twilight, Flaming Axes, Holy Lances, and several that Biyu had never heard of had answered March Shadowgate's call. Many Knights were in Shadow Gate not to join the war, but for the annual tournament. They were there to scout new talent from among the levies and make connections with foreign Orders to exchange talent. Those Knights were eager to join the suppression force, as they saw it as an excellent opportunity to display their might and do their duty to the Empire.

  They mustered under the command of Marshal Kenneth of the Order of Severing Twilight, an older man who had commanded two campaigns against the Goblins and who had participated in many more. He was a stern man, but he treated Biyu with respect when she offered him her services. Their meeting was brief, and he only asked her a few questions before dismissing her so he could greet the next man offering his forces.

  Two weeks of hard marching west, they entered the lands of March Crimsondusk. There they made camp and prepared for the battle to come. Marshal Kenneth familiarized himself with the abilities and strategic value of the Knights, and organized his forces accordingly. They would spend a week in preparation before assaulting the Goblins. During that time, they would scout the enemy while members of the Stone Circle set up ramparts and fortifications for a fallback position.

  Biyu brought her Immortal Legion with her. May joining her was a given, but Malice Selene had invited herself along. The rest of the household remained behind under the protection of Bridget and the Order of Sweepers. That, and the blessings and guardian spirits she granted them.

  As her first duty as a member of the subjugation force, Biyu offered her services as a scout. Having birds as an option for her thralls, she granted Motley a flock of crows to inhabit. She was not the only one with scouts. There was one Knight who boasted scrying techniques using the rain. Other Knights could fly, allowing them to simply pass over the enemy from too far away for the Goblins to attack. Then there were those who had stealth skills. Taken altogether, and with the support of a specially trained member of the Treasure Hunters, Marshal Kenneth had extensive intelligence of the town the Goblins had fortified.

  In the short time the Goblin King was in the region, the Goblins had cleared out several villages. Surviving livestock was returned to their fortification. There they kept the livestock tended to, just like any village would. That included the Human livestock they had captured.

  Once they had settled down, Biyu had informed Marshal Kenneth that she had duties as a god to attend to. She left her Temple Knights under the command of a thrall guardian spirit.

  Malice Selene once more invited herself along, although this was something Biyu could have denied her. The woman intended to bring the Grudges along with them, but Biyu had rejected it.

  "Why?" Malice Selene had asked. There was challenge in her voice, but Biyu could tell the woman expected her to have a reason.

  "I am going to traverse the netherworld. It can be dangerous. You have a duty to see through, so I will take you. It will be hard enough to reach our destination. They have no reason to follow us. I will not waste time protecting them, nor will I accept responsibility for their deaths. They will not follow me somewhere none of you belong."

  Malice Selene stared at Biyu for a long moment. "We are going into the netherworld? I can follow you there?"

  Biyu took a comfortable seat on her bed. Mist rose up around her, and May motioned for Malice Selene into the mist. The agent of the Empire inspected the mist, unwilling to be rushed into danger, before taking a step into it.

  On the other side was Biyu's realm. It had changed significantly since she first formed it. It was still the same parcel of land, but now it dominated by large residence surrounded by a town. The residence was built around lovely courtyard garden, full of the many plants Biyu had seen during her travels. A large gazebo was erected over a pond full of colorful, fanciful fish. This was where Malice Selene and May entered, near a Biyu marching along with a pair of guardian spirits dragging a soul screaming for leniency.

  "What are you doing?" Malice Selene asked Biyu.

  "Casting this man into the Hells. He was a cannibal. A minor demon who was caught and killed before he grew too powerful."

  Malice Selene looked at the man. "May I come with?"

  "If you like. I must do this before we go."

  They marched to one of the smaller buildings. It was made of metal instead of the wood and stone like the rest of the residence, with flaming eyed guards standing at the doors both without and within. Inside was a huge gate of flesh and ash that belched the scent of sulfur and burnt flesh. Malice Selene kept her distance as she watched the guardian spirits shove the soul in. The man screamed. It was cut off as the spirit crossed the boundary. A moment later, three Lost Souls drifted out of the gate. Biyu reconstituted the souls into the people they once were. The guardian spirits with Biyu escorted the confused new people away.

  "That's it?" Malice Selene asked.

  "You want demons to stream out, grab them, and drag them back?" May asked. "That'd be dangerous. And stupid. We have guards here to keep demons from sneaking out."

  "This is your realm, Lady Bringer. Can't you just decide they can't enter?"

  Biyu wiggled her hand. "Maybe. Demons have power, even here, Malice Selene. If they are powerful or sneaky enough, I may not be able to stop them." She considered for a moment, and then let out a sigh. "It is part of the rules. I could prevent demons from leaving the gate. If I do, then there are other things I cannot do. For example, leave some demons to live."

  "And why exactly would you suffer demons to live?"

  "Many Sacred Beasts are demons. They do not necessarily deserve to die."

  Malice Selene frowned, but she asked nothing else as they made their way out of the residence. The main building of the residence was three stories and made of marble. Malice Selene looked at it pensively as they made their way out. The building had a presence to it, and even the souls who worked in the residence avoided it.

  "What's that?" Malice Selene asked.

  "That is Arliss's seat within my soul." She looked at Malice Selene. "Would you like to attend Judgment when we return?"

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  Malice Selene pressed her lips into a line. "I would like that."

  "Be aware that you cannot stand in the presence of Arliss without hearing your own litanies."

  At the gate to the residence, they passed a young man leading a small crowd of awed and confused souls. One of her Guides. The Guide led them to a waiting scribe, who lead the people into the residence.

  "Not what I expected your realm to look like," Malice Selene said. "It's a lot more bureaucratic."

  "I offer the dead a chance to complete unfinished business, and those who do not go to the Heavens a chance to atone for their lives. The bureaucracy is for the accounting of debts and penance. There is even a magistrate for those who wish to challenge their ledgers."

  "What happens when they pay off their debt?" Malice Selene asked.

  "That is why I am going to see the Goblins. Did you know Goblins do not go to Judgment?"

  "I did not," Malice Selene said. "Why is that important?"

  Biyu did not answer her question.

  Biyu led them away from the residence before opening up her realm to the netherworld. Once more Biyu ushered her companions into the mist. This time she followed them. On the other side of the mist was Biyu's room, with her body, as solid as the one they stood beside, sitting where they had left it.

  "Why did you leave your body behind?" Malice Selene asked.

  "My realm is where my body is. If I take my body with me, then I would not be able to return."

  "Most gods can step in and out of their domain."

  "I have no domain in the mortal world. I bring the dead to Judgment. If I leave the world of the living, there is no path I could take to return."

  Malice Selene looked doubtful, but she quietly followed as May led them out of the camp and into wilds beyond. The terrain was similar to the living world, except for the appearance of the souls of the living who appeared as ghosts. The mortals were faint if they showed at all, while Knights appeared as nearly solid colored light.

  In the distance, odd creatures could be seen. May led them around the distant horrors, while Malice Selene looked on with confusion. "Are those the souls of Monsters?" she asked.

  Biyu shook her head. "No. Those are souls of the world." At Malice Selene's questioning look, she explained, "They are like Arliss. Pieces of the world that live like he does."

  Malice Selene paused. "What's alive?"

  "Everything," Biyu replied before indicating the sky above. Malice Selene looked up to see what Biyu was waving at. What should have been the sun was a giant, bloodshot eye. It looked back at her, and she could feel its dismissive judgment even as the weight of its gaze settled on her. Drawn into the gaze, it was not until May covered Malice Selene's eyes that she could look away from the arresting glare.

  "Avoid looking at them. Not all of them are as harmless as the sun is."

  "That's harmless?" Malice Selene asked, shivering at the memory of being unable to look away.

  "The sun looks down on us. That is all. Lightning seeks to smite us. The earth wishes to bury and devour us. There are others, but I do not know them all."

  "That's horrifying," Malice Selene said. "Aren't you afraid of them?"

  "It is no less dangerous than wandering the wilds," Biyu said. "I was taught how to do that. Besides, they do not have any real interest in us. They simply are. Do what they do. They do not make decisions. At least, any outside of their purpose. Even Arliss is just a mechanism of the universe working from a rubric hidden from us. He can present as Human, but he is very far from it."

  "How do you know that?"

  "A piece of him resides within my soul. I know it intimately. It does think, but only about its assigned task. He Judges, and does nothing else. He does not even want to Judge us. It is simply what he does. He is nothing like a man."

  May led them further into the netherworld. The path they took twisted and turned, and more than a few times May came back for them when a step they took led to somewhere else. Malice Selene looked increasingly sick as the world changed and twisted around them between steps. They were not using May's abilities, instead relying on her innate sense of the netherworld to travel the distance quickly. Even Malice Selene was unlikely to do well with May's technique while traveling the netherworld.

  When they finally reached the town the Goblins were using, they all stared in surprise at what they found. The souls of the Goblins were clear and solid, and nothing like the gaseous ghost lights of Lost Souls. They looked like pieces of black stone shaped into the spiny brambles of a rose bush with broken edges. As they watched, the brambles changed shape, with the pieces molding into nearby pieces, forming into a stone brier patch. Yet, no matter how complete it looked, Biyu could always find broken edges.

  The town was full of Goblins moving about their business, only visible as their twisted piece of stone soul. The souls twisted and shifted as they moved, merging with nearby pieces and detaching from those they drew away from. Always the souls touched upon those nearby.

  Biyu looked up, not for any particular reason, and stared at what she found. It had not been visible in the distance. Biyu was unsure if that was a feature of the netherworld, or if it hid itself in some way. Above her was a massive piece of the stone, bent in many angles, with its sharp points reaching out into the distance beyond sight. She knew it was the soul of the Goblin King. That was how it drew in the far off Goblins. It was a Goblin with a powerful, god-like soul. Malice Selene and May followed her gaze. They had no words as they joined her in staring up at the massive stone brier that covered the town in all directions.

  Biyu had them take a position on a cliff overlooking the town. May made a few excursions, to see if the Goblins or the Goblin King would notice them. None did. They remained waiting even after May returned.

  "What are we waiting for, Lady Bringer?" Malice Selene asked when it became clear Biyu was waiting for something.

  "A Goblin Lost Soul," Biyu said. "I believe they will come to the beckoning Goblin King."

  "Why?" Malice Selene asked. Biyu still did not answer.

  Eventually, a piece of pointy black stone floated from the east. It was attached to a tiny point of the Goblin King's soul. Biyu marked it with the least of her blessings. A tag to follow, as she entered the town behind it. She moved as quickly as she dared, following the Lost Soul. Towns tended to be more static than the wilderness, with fewer places where a step took you somewhere unexpected. That did not mean it did not happen. Sometimes when she passed through an arch or doorway, she ended up somewhere else and had to backtrack. Once in a while she felt laughter, and knew the god or power behind crossroads and doorways was amused by her missteps.

  Biyu could feel her chance to see what she was looking for slipping away as they were wrong-footed or slowed by the pointy stone brambles between them and the soul that twisted its way through unimpeded. She felt overjoyed as they reached an unremarkable alley where the soul of a Goblin was. There she watched with intent interest as the Lost Soul reached its destination. She did not use her eyes, not that the eyes of her form were real. Instead, she brought her Divinity down on the souls to watch them in a way unique to her soul and how it interacted with the netherworld. She watched.

  The souls she watched, new and old, writhed uncomfortably under her scrutiny. The entire lattice around them shuddered with it, and she felt the increasing attention of the souls around her. They could not see into the netherworld, but they could feel her gaze upon part of their collective soul. The presence of a god descended upon them, its will stunning Malice Selene. May grabbed and dragged the woman as they made their way out of the choking brambles crowding into them.

  It was not the time to ask, but Biyu had a sense that May twisted the world around them, opening a passage for them to escape through. Before they had gone far, a figure stood before them. For a moment, she thought it was Gillas come to confront them. Then, she took in the details. It was black stone instead of flesh. It was a small Minotaur, instead of a man with the head of a stag, with antlers where her horns should be.

  That was when it struck her, and she looked at the pointy pieces of stone once more. It wasn't a stone bramble, but shattered pieces of antler joining together with the antlers upon the effigy of Gillas's head. Whether it was a metaphor brought to life by the netherworld, or a truth of the world that was veiled, Biyu understood.

  The thing before them groped, its hand reaching out to find them as though they were invisible, its eyes looking around but unable to see them. May lead them away, leaving the Goblin King seeking something it would not find.

  "What was that?" Malice Selene asked.

  "Goblin Kings are akin to demons," Biyu said. "They gain in power the more Goblins they collect."

  "That… makes sense. But they aren't demons."

  "They are similar. A demon whose domain is Goblins. They can only make Goblins greater, something their numbers already do. Except, they can collect many more from much further away." She took a last look at the soul of the Goblin King. "It would be hard to notice they are like demons."

  They were quiet as they traveled back.

  "Did you find what you were looking for?" Malice Selene asked.

  Biyu nodded. Now it was a question of whom she would test it with.