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The adrenaline was fading, and Val's eyes landed on the dark grey metal of the blade once gripped in the hands of the one and only Revin Redpelt. The wolfkin had been a source of inspiration to Valreth, who had always been on the lookout for tales of great heroes and their deeds. To see that such a powerful figure had fallen under the control of this magic-user... he wondered how he'd even made it out of all this.

He glanced up at his father. If not for him, he wouldn't have. He shuddered to think of himself in this woman's possession, carrying out whatever nefarious deeds she wanted him to.

His mind returned to the thoughts of Revin Redpelt as he saw the greatsword lying on the ground, and he reached for it.

"Wait," Sava Woodwalker said. "Don't. I have a theory, and if I'm right, that blade might be one of the only things that can hurt you."

Valreth drew back, looking up at her, eyes wide and ears perked. The alchemist knelt to pick it up and Ash stepped forward curiously, his father doing the same, though less out of curiosity and more from caution.

Sava was still muscled and didn't struggle at all in lifting the tall, broad sword from the floor. Valreth wondered if she'd used the same potion she'd brewed for his mother and if she was just permanently like this now, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, her form shrank down, shifting back to what it had been before. She must have been aware of when the potion would wear off, because the change in strength didn't surprise her at all, the middle-aged wolfkin smoothly readjusting her grip on the weapon's hilt and catching the flat of the long blade in her palm before laying it out on the table.

"What makes you so certain the blade could harm him?" his father asked, stepping up and eyeing it warily, like it might come alive and attack. "Is it enchanted?"

"I don't think so," the alchemist said, fingers lightly trailing up the blade, admiring its impeccable craft, "but, if it is pure adamantine..."

She trailed off, then held up a hand, and Val jumped slightly as a leather-bound notebook appeared from nowhere. She opened it quickly, the cover worn, the spine creaking in protest as she leafed the yellowed pages. It even smelled old, and it had stains on it he couldn't identify.

"Yes," she said, stopping and tapping a page. "I thought I remembered right. Fara's potion included flecks of the metal itself. And Katok, yours had both dragon blood and phoenix ash. In addition to some other ingredients."

There was a quick movement from Katok and a gentle rush of air that could be mistaken for a breeze, but Val knew his father must have tried to grab a peek at the alchemist's notes. He looked puzzled, which surprised Valreth, as he hadn't yet known a code his father couldn't crack.

"That explains why it burned so damned much," Katok sighed.

"But why the split?" Ash asked. "How come Valreth was only affected by the adamantine powder and I was only affected by the phoenix ash?"

Sava looked at her and shrugged.

"Nature can be a mystery," she said. "I'd look into it, but I doubt I could find an answer any more detailed than 'genetics is weird.'"

Val looked at the blade, thinking.

"I want to test it," he said.

"What?" his father asked.

"The blade," he said, "I want to see if it can actually hurt me."

"Son--"

"I'm not going to cut off my arm or anything," he said. "Just a little cut. She needs my blood to replicate my power, and I don't know how else we're going to get it. And the more we know about what can and can't hurt me, the better, right? Besides, maybe she's wrong."

The alchemist crossed her arms, but said nothing.

"Fine," his father sighed.

Val reached forward cautiously, slowly, and pressed a fingertip to the sharp edge of the adamantine sword. Pain shot through the finger and he hissed, jumping back. The others rushed forward to assess the injury. A single tiny droplet of blood gathered on his finger.

"That's it?" Ash said. "You freaked out about that tiny little--"

"Hey, shut up, I'm not used to actual pain, okay?"

She snickered.

"Gods, I'm glad I didn't decide to have more than one child," Sava said under her breath. Ash giggled, and even Val's father broke his seriousness enough to laugh.

"Is this enough to start?" Valreth asked as Sava took a small vial and let his blood drip into it.

"It should be," she said.

"Good," he sighed, "because I'm not eager to do that again."

"Here," Ash said gently, taking his hand and murmuring a spell. A soft blue glow sealed the tiny cut and he smiled in silent thanks. She smiled back.

With the assent of Val, Ash, Fara, and Katok, Sava made her way to the city's alchemy laboratory to set about concocting her potion, while Val and his father went to the prison to check on the captured witch and Revin Redpelt. The prison was large and intimidating, high walls with guards patrolling every square inch, their footfalls and clanking armor a constant background noise. They met with a single guard--probably trained to apprehend evil wizards and other types of ill-meaning magic-users, judging by the runes etched into his lightweight armor.

"She gave us her name," the guard said. "Calls herself 'Vex,' though our records say her real name is Veshra Spiritfire. She's been doing this for awhile, controlling people, collecting anyone she believes is powerful. She does have a surprisingly low body count, for what that's worth. She never gets her own hands dirty, but when her followers do kill for her, they seem to only do so when necessary."

"I guess you wouldn't face threat of death too often when you can tell anyone what to do," his father said.

"If our records are right--which they usually are--she might also have a connection to the Nexus," the guard said.

Val's fur bristled and he caught an immediate whiff of alarm pheromones off his father. The Nexus was an immense magical wellspring of natural power. It was more than just a landmark to the wolfkin, it was a sacred and ancient place, held dear to their people. More than that, it was the greatest source of magical power on the continent, possibly the strongest in the world. If this Vex was tapping into it, she wouldn't be held by an anti-magic cell for long...

But the guard held up a hand.

"She never displayed any direct connection to it herself," he said. "Her younger sister is the one connected to it, so if worse comes to worst, we can always contact her for help."

"Good. Get the message out," his father said with a nod.

"Back to the original point: Redpelt's not the only powerful figure she's taken," the guard said.

"So then my son may not have been the only target," Katok mused, glancing at Val.

"No sir," the guard confirmed grimly. "We believe she was after you and your wife as well."

"What about Revin Redpelt?" Val asked. "Her bodyguard?"

The guard sighed.

"He... well, this is where it gets awkward..."

Katok and Valreth both lifted an eyebrow.

"He was apparently not actually under her control," the guard said.

"But that collar we pulled off him..." Katok said. The guard nodded.

"The mages tested it; it provided a psychic link, and it was letting her control him, but he claims to have willingly submitted to her control."

Valreth blinked.

"Why would he do such a thing?" he asked. "For a hero like that to just..."

It made no sense. The guard looked uncomfortable and scratched the back of his head.

"We had a cleric use Zone of Truth when we interrogated both of them," he said. "Redpelt, uh, claims to have an... interest in magical mind-control."

Val's face heated up and he glanced away. His father scoffed.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Yes," the guard said, suddenly becoming grim again. "I'm sure you noticed the increased patrols?" Katok nodded. "The witch claims to have other followers. She says there's an army coming."

His and his father's eyes widened.

"Surely they can't all be willing servants," his father said. "How can she maintain control of an entire army from inside her cell?"

"The anti-magic field severs the psychic connection," the guard said with a nod. "She can't contact them directly. But from what the mages explained, the mind control effects remain in place unless the collars themselves are dispelled. Anyone wearing one is still under her control and would follow whatever orders she'd given. According to her, her last order to her followers was to come find her if she didn't return in a few days. And she claims they'll do whatever they can to get her back."

"Including assault the city?" his father asked. The guard nodded grimly.

***

As much as Val was fascinated by heroes and what made them become who they were, he was equally curious about villains, often sympathizing with the antagonists of old stories, real or not. Most often, it was a dark past that shaped a villain's motives, but sometimes it was the simple corruption of power. Sometimes it could be blamed on other things, and the story had an easy out, revealing the foul and cruel villain was simply the victim of a dark artifact that warped the mind, or a powerful patron who'd lured them with promises and bent them to their will. Sometimes the hero could free them and it would be a happy ending for everyone, or so the stories went.

But sometimes it was hard. Sometimes, villains were corrupted by the sheer power they'd gained, and nothing more. And not just magic, either. Sometimes it was wealth or fame, or political authority. Those villains were always the hardest for heroes to fight, often untouched by the law, or even able to alter it to suit them. The broad extent of their capabilities lead them to do terrible things, simply because they could, because no one would stop them, and those things became more and more terrible the longer they went unchecked. In these instances, the only thing to be done was to take their power away, to hope that in time they could learn to use it responsibly, or never have it returned.

The ability to control another's mind, impart your will on theirs directly, was certainly a corruptive power.

Val thought of Ash. His new sister. His mind spun at that thought and he pushed it aside for now, refocusing. Perhaps she could find a way to remove this wolfkin woman's power? She'd been keen enough to determine its source, magically tied to Vex's scent, and while that alone didn't necessarily qualify her to do something about it, she did mention she'd spent her life studying magic--sources of magical power, specifically--while attempting to determine the origin of her own fiery phoenix-like rebirth. Maybe she could do something.

But what if it wasn't mere corruption of that power alone? This wolfkin, whoever she was, might have been corrupted earlier in her path. If she'd had a bad start in life, and made the wrong choices in response, then it would be a much harder job to help her. But that was what he would try to do, because that was what heroes did. No matter how hard it got, the job was to save everyone.

And so he went deeper into the prison.

Revin Redpelt lived up to the name, his broad shoulders and thick muscles covered in a thick pelt of reddish-brown fur, hidden only by the plain, ragged prison garb, barely sufficient to do it's job.

"I just wanted to know why. Why did you follow her?" Val said. The brown wolfkin, not ten years older than him, peered between the bars. "It can't have just been because of..."

The male chuckled.

"It wasn't just because of the sex, no," he said, his voice deep. "Oddly, it was because of my heroism, not in defiance of it."

The hero looked solemn. Val waited for him to get his thoughts together.

"She was... so lonely... forcing others to love her, using her magic to control them. But she knew it wasn't real. She seemed surprised when I came willingly."

"You... love her," Valreth breathed, not a question, but a revelation. The brown-fur nodded, bright green eyes shining.

That was it. That was how he could save Vex, and in doing so, save everyone.