“I thank you all for listening to my words,” concluded Yuyan, bowing to the assembled adlets. “May you find yourselves ever in accordance with the Mandate of Heaven.”

The crowd immediately began to applaud, several adlets voicing praise for the six-tailed fox-lady, for Lex, and for the Night Mare. More than a few broke into quiet conversation, nodding as they reiterated the points that the vixen had made. A few approached her directly, smiling as though going to talk to an old friend.

Not that Shadow could blame them; Yuyan had given a damn impressive speech.

So much so that none of the adlets, from what Shadow could tell, had noticed the other fox-girls passing out diamonds to the exotic beauties guarding the village.

That had instantly gotten the masked mare’s suspicions up, but she’d pushed her curiosity aside in favor of keeping an eye on Yuyan. With each of the four fox-girls – the six-tails who’d introduced herself as Yuyan when she’d called the adlets together, the five-tails who looked like she had just left her teenage years behind, and the twin three-tails who appeared to still be in the middle of theirs – having split up as soon as they’d exited Lex’s extradimensional mansion, Fail Forward had done the same, one mare following one fox.

Shadow had elected to go after Yuyan because the six-tails seemed like the leader, dividing the diamonds between the other three. There’d been no speaking between them – she’d simply stared at each of them in turn as she’d passed out the gems, each girl nodding – but according to what Woodheart had told them earlier, it was likely that they were using telepathy to communicate, similar to how Lex apparently had in order to keep the druid’s relationship with the fey a secret.

But the fact that he can do talk to people with his mind isn’t any sort of proof he’s a titan or whatever, Shadow had reminded herself as Yuyan had walked to the village center and asked for the adlets to give her their attention. He was doing that with Solvei when we met him. Besides, I think Mysty said there’s a spell to do that anyway. He’s just learned a few new tricks is all.

Like his having that terrifying fear aura.

Or reading the minds of everyone around him.

Or creating a spacious demiplane that was more luxurious than some castles.

All of which he’d gained the ability to do in just a few days.

It was unsettling to consider, but as far as Shadow was concerned, it was still more plausible than his wild story about having become a titan or demigod or whatever he thought he was now. It was far more likely that he’d fought and killed that “Mother” person Sissel answered to, only to lose Solvei in the process, and her death had driven him mad.

His new powers could be likewise explained by his helping himself to “Mother’s” stuff, since it had probably included a bunch of magic items – like that wire-foreleg of his – and a few spellbooks. His new girls were Sissel’s comrades, having bought their way into his good graces with sex, and now he was here looking for someone he could bring back to the Shrine of the Starless Sky and use as a vessel to resurrect Solvei again.

It was convoluted, sure, but it made a lot more sense than him becoming a godlike being who’d then almost immediately fought and killed two other deities.

Shadow had felt quite sure of that as Yuyan had started giving her speech.

But that had changed toward the end of the six-tail’s address.

While the vixen was a skilled orator, giving a dignified-yet-passionate apology for some sort of disruption that Lex had apparently caused earlier that morning, Shadow had lost track of everything else after unexpectedly catching sight of a familiar face in the crowd:

Panuk.

At first she’d thought she was mistaken, but the longer Shadow had looked at him, the more certain she’d become. It was Panuk, the leader of the adlet scouting party that had ambushed them, whom Lex had subsequently killed with his wooden skull mask. They’d carried his body with them for days, Toklo having begged them to bring it back so that Panuk’s family could eat him, that being how adlets disposed of their dead.

And while Toklo’s father’s warband had ultimately been the ones to do it – overseen by Akna, their shaman – Panuk’s body had still been devoured.

Shadow had seen it happen with her own eyes.

Yet there he was, alive and well again.

She’d almost managed to convince herself that there was some other explanation – that this was Panuk’s twin brother, or that the adlets had a custom where someone dressed up as a recently-deceased member of their village, or that someone was creating an illusion for...some reason – when the adlet had made eye contact with her.

His eyes had widened and his jaw had dropped, shock – and recognition – written all over his face.

In that moment, Shadow had known for sure that this wasn’t some sort of trick or misunderstanding.

Panuk, the adlet she’d seen die, was now alive again.

And as if having heard her thoughts, Yuyan had then implored everyone to remember the “great benevolence” that Lex had shown in “returning their departed kin” to them. Further driving the point home, several adlets had patted Panuk on the back then, clearly indicating that he was one of those departed.

It had been enough to rock Shadow to her core.

On paper, the idea that Lex could cast resurrection magic wasn’t that farfetched. It was common knowledge in the Pony Empire that the spells which could bring the dead back to life were divine in nature, granted by the gods to only their most devout servants. And that was a label that Lex, for all his faults, fit perfectly.

Having barbed wire wrapped around his foreleg without any cuts or scars to show for it. Possessing a “greater blessing” – according to Mystaria – which let him have Solvei for a familiar. Undergoing a rite in the Shrine of the Starless Sky which had granted him a monstrous new body, before turning around and leading a service which had woken Woodheart from her coma.

Whatever else could be said about him, no one could deny that Lex Legis was held high in the Night Mare’s esteem...apparently to the point of granting him resurrection magic capable of bringing back someone whose body had been torn apart and devoured.

Except that completely disproved Shadow’s theory about his having gone mad because Solvei had died again.

After all, if Lex could resurrect Panuk – and supposedly several other adlets – then there was no reason why he’d need to use another adlet as a vessel for his familiar’s soul; he could just restore her directly to life.

Which would mean that Solvei isn’t dead, Shadow realized, barely even noticing as the crowd of adlets started to disperse. And if that’s the case, then Lex isn’t crazy...or at least, not any crazier than usual. In which case, all of his talk about being a titan-

“Shadow!”

“Huh?!”

Barely managing to avoid falling over, Shadow whirled in place, her heart hammering in her chest as she caught sight of Spinner, the bard giving her a worried look. “What’re you spacing out for? Something’s happening! Look!”

Following Spinner’s outstretched hoof, Shadow turned to see one of the three-tailed vixens hurrying toward Yuyan. Despite the teen-looking fox’s impassive expression – her eyes hooded and her jaw relaxed – her tails were fluffed up and waving agitatedly behind her.

“That fox-girl was talking to the chick with the blue skin and the skimpy clothes – did you see her before? – and giving her some of those diamonds when all of a sudden she – the blue chick, not the fox-girl – whipped her head around and looked at the lake – I don’t know if you’ve seen it but there’s a lake just north of the village – and started getting all tense,” explained Spinner in a breathless rush.

“After that, the blue chick said something to the fox-girl and ran off,” continued the bard, “and the fox girl came here, and now-, hey, they’re leaving! C’mon, we gotta follow them!”

“But...”

For a moment, Shadow hesitated, glancing back at where she’d spotted Panuk. He hadn’t gone very far, having made his way through what was left of the crowd over to where Toklo’s father was; Shadow recognized him by the rune-covered spear slung across his back. Even as she watched, Panuk grabbed the elder adlet’s arm, lips moving rapidly before pointing back at her. Toklo’s father frowned, looking over and making eye contact with her-

“Shadow! Let’s go, we’re gonna lose sight of them!”

“I...alright...”

Reluctantly, Shadow let Spinner lead her away, falling into a gallop behind the bard. As much as she wanted to talk to Panuk and confirm that Lex had brought him back to life, her friends came first, and experience had taught her that if something was happening there was a good chance that Valor and Woodheart were already in the thick of it.

And as they reached the northern edge of the village a few minutes later, she saw that they were indeed.

Yuyan and the three-tails had somehow managed to disappear from view, but up ahead Shadow could see what looked like a standoff, with Valor having reared up on her hind legs, standing protectively in front of the other three-tails, shield at the ready. Opposite her was the tiger-woman with the fiery bikini that Shadow had seen when she’d first been dragged into the village, a flaming sword in hand.

Further back, Woodheart had already stripped naked, hurling a pinecone in front of where the five-tailed vixen – a short sword in hand and a murderous expression on her face – was circling the ebony she-elf with the draconic limbs. No sooner had the pinecone landed than both leaped back, just in time to avoid the shards that went flying as Woodheart’s makeshift missile suddenly exploded, sending magically-strengthened shards flying in all directions.

But the coniferous shrapnel had barely hit the ground when the five-tails rushed forward again, sword raised as she made a beeline for the dark-skinned elf. “I will collect your head for daring to harm my sister!” she shrieked, incensed.

Her opponent, by contrast, was grinning, claws raised and scaly tail thrashing as she dove forward. “Bring it, bitch! I’m gonna rip your tails off and use them as a jump rope!”

Woodheart was already readying another pinecone, but Shadow could see that she wasn’t going to make it in time to stop the elf and the vixen from tearing into each other.

Despite not knowing what was happening, she was already looking for ways to try and back her friends up. “Spinner, get ready to-”

She didn’t have a chance to finish before pandemonium broke out.

The water at the edge of the nearby lake suddenly shot upward, as though something huge had just broken the surface. At the same time, a pony-sized shape shot down from the sky, moving so fast that it was almost a blur. Simultaneously, a gout of flames washed across the area, engulfing the tigress and the black elf both. As that happened, a warbling, distorted note could be heard, and it made Shadow's legs give out under her as the sound caused her head to spin, hitting the dirt hard, Spinner collapsing next to her.

When she stood up a moment later, the chaos had ended.

The wall of fire was gone, leaving the tigress and the elf unharmed. The ground was damp, Valor and Woodheart were both soaked, and standing near the edge of the lake was the blue-skinned woman Spinner had mentioned, now atop what looked like a humongous crab made of water. There were several more people nearby, including Yuyan and the other three-tails, along with a statuesque silvery-haired woman whose skintight outfit was made of her own tresses and a redhead with glasses whose clothing looked like it could barely get around her impressive curves.

But the most striking of the newcomers was standing amidst them all.

Almost as tall as Yuyan, they looked like a pony crossed with a deer, except for the iridescent green scales covering its body, with no brand on their flank. A mane of brilliant gold covered their head and ran down the back of their neck, and a pair of thin, curving horns swept back from above their brow. Cloven hooves seemed to repel the mud as they strode forward, casting an imperious gaze at everyone around it.

“A qilin?” murmured the redhead, frowning.

“I don't care what it is,” snapped the she-elf. “It ain't supposed to be here, so let's gut it!”

“Do not!” snapped Yuyan. “This is a messenger from the Celestial Bureaucracy!”

“You are almost correct, Pimao Biyu Hai Yuyan,” answered the qilin, the rich timbre of its voice giving away that it was male. “I stand before you now, not on behalf of the Celestial Bureaucracy as a whole, but as a messenger in service of His Exalted Magnificence Yen-Wang-Yeh, Judge of the Dead, Administrator of the Ten Lawful Courts, and Overseer of the Eighteen Authorities for Righteous Discipline.”

The announcement made Yuyan's eyes widen, and not just her; the other three vixens looked shocked as well, trading glances that seemed nervous and excited at the same time.

Seeming to forget everything else, the six-tails stepped forward, her tails waving behind her. “Please forgive this wholly inadequate welcome, honored envoy. Had I been aware of your visit, I-”

“It would have made no difference,” announced the qilin, his voice neither kind nor cold.

“I am here only to inform you that your clan's debt to His Exalted Magnificence has now come due, and must be paid in full immediately.”

Author's Note

Investigating the foxes, Fail Forward manages to find themselves drawn into a chaotic situation as a messenger for the Celestial Bureaucracy appears, claiming that Yuyan’s clan is in debt!

What does the Pimao Jingzhi owe to their pantheon’s Judge of the Dead? Will their having been given to Lex as concubines affect their situation?