Delve - 098: Stability

098: Stability - Delve | Royal RoadGeneral Experience Earned Richmond Rain Stroudwater
Four days had passed in a flash, and only now did Rain feel as if he was starting to get a handle on things. He was currently in the bathhouse, sitting on his cot in his makeshift room on the far side of the pool. He’d already been up for a few hours, having had breakfast, done a light workout, bathed, trimmed his beard, and donned his armor. The temporary padding that he was wearing underneath was a marginal improvement over his old gambeson, but it still was a bit uncomfortable.

At the moment, however, he couldn’t feel it. The final element of his new morning routine was to spend a bit of time trying to fix his soul. Aura Focus was active, blanking out his senses as he meditated, trying to visualize ‘the inner world.’

This wasn’t Essence Meditation. While he was technically using Essence Well, he had IFF set to blacklist everyone, including himself. Thus, there was no mana consumption whatsoever, with only the sensory deprivation of Aura Focus to show that he was doing anything at all. He’d found that the quiet helped him focus.

Meditation wasn’t something that Rain had been big on prior to getting whisked away from his old life. He knew how it was supposed to work, of course. Mindfulness had been hailed on the internet as a cure for everything from stress to anxiety to the common cold. Rain had tried it once, in an attempt to get himself out of his funk.

For like fifteen minutes.

The whole thing had struck him as pseudo-spiritual nonsense, designed to sell self-help books more than anything else. It hadn’t worked— obviously, given his mindset—and he’d given up after the single attempt.

Now, in a world filled with magic and confronting the existence of his soul, the practice seemed much less nonsensical. Rain was kicking himself for having dismissed it out of hand like an idiot. He’d never really given it a shot. Even if it ended up doing nothing for his soul, he was already seeing benefits just from the clarity that it brought to his otherwise scattered thoughts.

He’d long-since resolved to do better, but that wasn’t as easy as just saying it. He was still an idiot, after all. An idiot who had broken his soul before he even understood what it was. All he could do was try to be less of an idiot going forward. One day at a time.

With a flicker of annoyance, Rain realized that he was thinking about stuff, and then that he was thinking about thinking about stuff. That wasn’t how meditation was supposed to work. He forced himself to pay attention to his breathing again until the chittering of his mind faded away. All that was left was his breath.

After an indeterminate amount of time had passed, Rain switched his focus. He tried to visualize his soul.

When he’d earned his first accolade, he had been transported to a formless void in which he saw himself as a being of glowing blue light. Now, he was trying to recapture that feeling, to imagine himself as that being. Not a ghost, but a hologram. A digital representation. An entity of data. Of numbers and frozen light.

This was the link. The only clue that he had about what his soul might look like. The sole passage to the ‘inner world’ that Bartum had mentioned. His soul, the void, and something else.

Rain’s hand tightened on the unbound accolade that he was holding. He couldn’t feel the metal against his skin, but he knew it was there. With all of his might, he willed it to appear in the dark void of his mind. Willed himself to appear. To reach out. To take it.

Disappointed by his failure, he relaxed his grip. The accolade experiment was only one of the things that he’d tried, but he’d really thought it would be the key. After a moment, he frowned and pushed aside the emotion, focusing on his breathing once more. Then, he shifted focus, visualizing the blue dialogs that he saw as the system.

He pushed, straining to define what he wanted. To will the panel into existence.

Damn it. Why can’t I find a book about this? I miss Wikipedia.

He’d looked, of course. There was nothing on the subject in Staavo’s tower, which had been thoroughly ransacked during the riots. Rain felt bad about that, having been the one to leave it unlocked. He knew where the key was now, having located it in the mess with Detection, but he hadn’t thought of it back when it would have mattered. He shook his head.

And now I’m thinking again. Balls.

Breathing out slowly, he let his frustration fade away, returning his focus to his breathing. He floated in the darkness, dead to the world and his own problems. Another indeterminate quantity of time passed, with not so much as a thought to disturb the stillness.

Then, there was a flicker. Blue light, then a spiraling, twisting sensation accompanied by a rushing roar and an overpowering sense of impending destruction. Rain cried out, dropping Aura Focus and lurching to his feet. He windmilled his arms, managing to catch his balance before he toppled over onto his face. Sight returned, leaving him blinking in the mid-morning light.

“What the fuck was that?” he gasped.

Dozer didn’t reply. The slime was still asleep in its box. There was no one else around, and Rain’s view across the pool was obstructed by the wooden folding screen that he’d set up to give himself some measure of privacy. He could hear the bustle of activity on the other side, though. It sounded like the workers were singing something approaching a sea shanty, never mind that the sea was over a hundred leagues away.

The sounds barely even registered to Rain as he sat back down on the cot, reactivating Aura Focus. That was it, I’m sure of it. I was close. That feeling… That was my soul. That was the damage that Bartum saw.

He couldn’t say how he knew, but he did. The destruction that he had felt charging toward him had him feeling clammy just thinking about it. It was a primal fear, one that warned of the absolute obliteration of his entire being. However, this was the sixth time that he’d tried to access his soul through meditation, and the first time he’d gotten so much as a hint that he was on the right track. He wasn’t going to let a little existential dread stop him, not when he was so close.

The chaos is already there; I just can’t feel it...

He shook his head, trying to chase away his fear. I need to feel it if I’m going to fix it. It’s my own soul; there’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s not like that movie where looking at the monster drives you insane. Man, that was dumb as— Shit, distracted again. Come on, Rain, focus. Breathing. In. Out. In. Out.

After ten more minutes of this, Rain snarled in frustration and opened his eyes. It was no use. He was too excited to get anywhere near the mental state he’d been in when the sensation had occurred. There was no point in trying to force it. He resignedly flicked on his HUD, then cursed when he saw the time.

Damn it all, I’m going to be late.

He got to his feet, grabbed his helmet from where it was lying beside the cot, and tied it to his belt before wrapping himself up in his cloak. He’d try again later, once he had a chance to calm down. He left Dozer behind as he left his makeshift bedroom, creeping quietly to avoid waking the slime. The longer it stayed happily asleep in its box, the better. Random fact: slimes, like cats, loved boxes.

Once he was a few paces away, he began doubling his footsteps with Velocity. He’d started doing this two days ago whenever he had somewhere to be in a hurry, which was basically all of the time. By keeping the spell at a low level and just walking normally, he could cover a lot more ground. The experience was not unlike rollerblading. It got him some looks, but it was good practice for dealing with the disorientation from Velocity, and the cost was relatively low. With Aura Compression, he was getting a 98% boost to speed for only a paltry 4 mp/s. He had no trouble walking at that level, as long as he concentrated on his footing and took it easy around corners. It only started making him nauseated if he kept it up for an extended period, but even that he was getting used to.

When he reached the archway, he dropped the spell, needing to negotiate his way around the machinery that was obstructing the walkway. The resourceful workers had deconstructed a watermill, appropriating the waterwheel and the wooden gearing that came with it. A donkey was plodding in a circle beside the pool, yoked to the axle that had previously been attached to the millstone. Water was pouring from the top of the wheel into a rough wooden channel, which ran through the archway and out into the entry room where the barrel filling operation was in full swing.

Rain briefly paused to survey the commotion of singing workers. The wooden channel had been set up to fill six barrels at a time, but that wasn’t enough to meet demand, and not everyone had come for a full barrel of water anyway. The place bustled with the activity. The workers were not only managing the barrels, but also carrying buckets, pots, and all manner of other containers back and forth to the pool to fill them. They’d tried letting the public inside to do it themselves, but that had caused an issue with people not wanting to leave the refrigerated building and preventing others from getting inside.

Rain waved to the workers and grinned as he got a hearty welcome in return. Everyone was well-used to his soul leakage at this point. All unawakened could feel it, though it bothered some more than others. A few of them, such as Tarny, said that they actually liked the sensation. Of the awakened, only the Watch seemed to notice anything wrong. No one from the Guild had been able to feel it, nor any of the awakened nobility.

Once Rain was satisfied that there were no issues, he turned and headed for the former storage room. Vanna was standing at the door, watching him with a patient expression. Rain winced as he rechecked the time. Thirteen minutes past the hour. Damn.

“Sorry,” he said to Vanna by way of greeting, then followed her into the room and nodded to people seated around the table. With the addition of the two of them, there were five people crammed into the tiny space, not leaving a lot of elbow room. Rain quickly took his seat at the table as Vanna closed the door and sat beside him.

“You’re late, bossman,” said Uman, an old man with a goat-like beard and a slurred accent. He accompanied this statement with his hands, saying the same thing in hand code. The grin on Uman’s face said that he was just teasing. Uman had been over forty-five minutes late to the first attempt at this meeting yesterday, and Rain had called him on it.

Rain made sure to look straight at Uman as he replied, speaking clearly and enunciating. “Sorry for making you wait, Uman. I am a total hypocrite, aren’t I?” Uman was deaf, but he was unbelievably good at reading lips. Rain wasn’t yet confident enough in his own grasp of hand code to try communicating that way, nor could the others have understood him if he had. Uman was only signing anything at all because Rain had asked him to. Learning the common hand code was on Rain’s list of priorities, but that wasn’t the reason Uman was here.

“S’okay,” said Uman, smiling. “I got to drink your coffee.”

“Hah!” Khurt laughed, jostling the old man. “No, he didn’t. I’ve got it on the floor next to me. Had to keep it safe from the old thief. Hang on.”

Rain watched with some amusement as Khurt attempted to retrieve the mug of coffee without spilling it everywhere. Uman wasn’t making it easy for him, making a show of fighting for it. As a silverplate Guilder, Khurt could have easily overpowered the old man, but he didn’t. Instead, he let him have his fun.

Khurt had introduced Uman to Rain when Rain had asked for someone who knew hand code. The two were friends. Uman had been a master brewer before he’d retired, and Khurt had apprenticed under him after he’d stopped adventuring to work at the Guild.

Rain was immensely grateful that Khurt had agreed to help. He’d liked the man from the moment he met him, and they got along well. It was astonishing to Rain that the barman didn’t have more friends back at the Guild, but apparently, there was a reason for that. People like Khurt and Gus—adventurers who had given up adventuring—were viewed with a certain stigma. They were ostracized by the other adventurers, looked down upon and called cowards behind their backs.

Rain didn’t know Gus’s circumstances, but Khurt had pulled Rain aside and explained his own situation. He hadn’t wanted Rain to think he was something that he wasn’t, or to count on him if ‘things went bad.’ Khurt had gotten a lucky blue when he was just a kid, but nobody had told him about specializations until it was too late. His skills were all over the place, chosen with a child’s enthusiasm and no thought at all for creating a coherent build. Despite his level, Khurt said that he was weaker than an average bronzeplate. In other words, too weak to advance.

It was a sad situation, but one that the barman had come to accept, and not something that Rain could do anything about, at least for now. A few types of respecialization accolades existed and could be used by anyone with a functioning soul, but they were one-time-use and hard to come by. At one skill point refunded per accolade, it would take basically a fortune to restore Khurt’s build to something viable, and that wasn’t even considering what was wrong with his stats.

The barman hadn’t gone into detail, but Rain could imagine how bad it was. It was a disturbing parallel to what could have happened to Rain had he not spent entirely too much time playing video games. He had honestly lucked out with some of his choices, barely avoiding preventing himself from getting an optimal set of specifications. Knowledge was power, but knowledge was hard to come by without the internet, or even the printing press.

Eventually, Khurt managed to get the mug away from Uman and passed it across the table to Rain. “Sorry, it’s not hot anymore. I could warm it for you, but I don't think a fireball would work very well in this closet you’ve got us crammed into.”

Rain smiled, accepting the mug. The middle-aged woman sitting next to the Guild barman sniffed. This was Lady Par, the owner of several of the larger warehouses in the city. “A proper coffee mug should be enchanted to maintain the temperature.” She looked over at Rain and nodded to him. “Good day, Lord Rain. Coffee is a luxury that I had not expected an adventurer such as yourself to value, and I am most pleased that you had your servant provide us with some. I must say, you have a most distinguished palate. You must tell me where you found a supply of the beans. The only person I have found selling them is charging an outrageous price.” She sniffed again. “Infuriating man. I ought to shave that mustache right off of his face.”

Rain smiled, taking a sip of his lukewarm coffee. “Vanna isn’t my servant, but you’re welcome. I paid more for the beans than they were worth, too. I’m happy to share, and I’m glad that you all enjoyed it.”

He knew exactly who Lady Par was talking about, of course. Mlem had bought up a lot of luxuries, such as coffee, and was making a killing selling them to the city’s nobles, gouging them horribly on the prices. Rain would have gotten mad at him for this, but the nobles could afford it. Mlem wasn’t an asshole like the few holdouts that were refusing to lower their prices on food. The man even had a pair of rules to cover the situation: ‘Rule 19: Only a fool extorts the poor,’ and ‘Rule 20: Make the rich pay richly.’ Rain had traded Mlem all of the books he’d purchased back to him, just for a small bag of coffee beans. It was a deal that benefited both sides, though Rain had elected not to mention that he’d memorized the contents of the books and that they were basically paperweights to him.

“Can we start?” asked Vanna, sounding slightly annoyed. She didn’t get along with the others very well, particularly Lady Par.

Rain nodded to her apologetically. “You’re right, Vanna, I made you wait. I’ve got no excuse, and I’m sorry. Why don’t you go first?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vanna said. “Honestly, you’re a bit weird when it comes to time, Rain. We were the ones who were late yesterday. I didn’t think you meant exactly ninth bell.”

“No, it’s not fine,” Rain said, shaking his head. “It won’t happen again. Now, please, go ahead. How are things going?”

“Well enough,” Vanna said. “We’re up to fifty workers now, and we’re all set on barrels for once. Your deposit idea is working well. People have started bringing them back or just bringing their own containers.”

Rain nodded, motioning her to continue.

“We’ve had a few incidents with people trying to cut the line, but no real trouble. Lord Tett stopped by again, wanted to talk to you about a business partnership. We sent him away.”

“You really should hear what the man has to say,” said Lady Par. “Tett might be a greedy bastard, but he is rich. He knows how to handle money.”

Rain shook his head. He wanted nothing to do with Tett. He was one of the ones who’d been hoarding water. While Rain was now charging for barrels, water was still free as long as you brought your own container. Tett had been demanding fifty copper per full barrel. That was a week’s wages for a laborer, a fact of which Rain was well aware. The fifty people working for him equated to 2,500 copper a week. At fourteen copper to the Tel, and eight days in a week, that was 22.3 Tel per day.

“How are the lines?” Rain asked, looking at Vanna.

“Getting longer,” Vanna said. “We still can’t keep up.”

Rain cursed. “Fine, tell Tarny he can recruit another fifty workers. I’ll figure out how to pay them somehow.”

Vanna nodded. “He’ll be elated.”

Rain groaned. 44.6 Tel a day…. I’ve got 113 Tel left. Damn it. Less than three days, and that doesn’t even include other expenses. I shouldn’t have commissioned that damn bodysuit. Is it too late to tell Mlem to give me my money back? Probably. He’ll have already bought the Force Crysts.

“That’s all, Rain,” Vanna said as the silence began to stretch on. “We’re doing okay in terms of organization. I don’t want to bother you with all of the little details.”

“Thank you, Vanna,” Rain said with a sigh. I’ll go hunt slimes, I guess. I might be able to get 50 Tel in a day if I really hustle. It’s a shame more people don’t need their equipment charged. He shook his head and looked over at Khurt. “Khurt, how are things going on your end?”

“Not well,” Khurt said. “You know the Guild. Rankin is making a real fuss, taking down my postings as soon as I put them up. I’ve got two low-level water mages, a brother and sister, who’ve agreed to help, but everyone else is refusing. ‘Adventurers don’t work for free.’ You know how it goes.”

Rain frowned. I did offer to pay them in mana. I guess that wasn’t enough. “What about Mahria?”

“Oh, she’s working. Using that Froststorm spell of hers for any noble who pays her.” Khurt held up his hands. “Now, now, I know you don’t approve, but she and the other few ice mages we’ve got are the only reason the city isn’t boiling right now.”

Rain sighed. “No, I get it. Charging for a service is fine; believe me, I’ve been all over that argument. Just ask Wallace.” Rain mentally ran over his finances again and shook his head. Charging for water would solve so many issues, but he refused to do it. He looked up at Khurt. “It’s just, poor people need help too, you know? Chilling down nobles’ houses is all well and good, but it’s not going to save any lives. I’ve done the math. She’s not going to make even a dent on cooling the whole dome.”

Khurt nodded. “So you say, but you haven’t seen her use Froststorm. She’s an aberrant, Rain, just like you. The spell’s twice as big as it should be when she uses it, and I’ve got no idea how. Oh, and she laughed when I told her about your offer of mana. The nobles are practically drowning her in potions and Tel, to hear her tell it.”

“Fine,” Rain said, rubbing at his temples. Maybe I could get in on that action. It might be faster than hunting slimes, depending on how much they’re paying. Mahria will be pissed if I undercut her, but she can deal with it. I don’t care about her feelings if she’s not going to work with me. He looked back at Khurt. “The water mages, the brother and sister? How powerful are we talking here? Do they know Aquatic Reservoir? Blinding Fog? Pressure Jet?”

“Not sure,” Khurt said. “I’ve never seen them fight.”

“Please find out. If they can use Blinding Fog and Reservoir, have them tank up on cold water and walk around the residential district, making as much fog as they can. We need to cool people down. If it’s just Water Manipulation, so be it. Send them to Vanna and have them help fill barrels. I’ll pay in mana, as I said.”

“And the other two things I asked you to look into, any leads?”

“No, sorry,” Khurt said, running a hand over his bald head. “Nothing new there. I still haven’t found anyone who knows how to enter their soul or anyone who’s got a depth gauge.”

“Don’t worry, Rain,” Uman said. “If it happens, all us dulls are dead.” He punctuated this statement by wiggling his hand in the sign for fate. “Not like we could stop it, even if we knew. Beats starving to death.”

“Pardon, what are we talking about?” said Lady Par casually. “The dulls dying, I mean, not the soul thing. Oh,” she said, stopping suddenly. “You asked me to look into that too, didn’t you? I’ve got no real leads, I’m afraid. None of my friends knew, though Lady Ceft did say her cousin’s granddaughter once ran into a hermit who lived in a cave behind a waterfall. She didn’t say where, though. Not in Fel Sadanis, certainly, but isn’t that the kind of thing you said to look for, Lord Rain?”

“I wasn’t serious about that,” Rain said, looking at her in disbelief. “It was just a random thought.”

“Ah, my mistake,” said Lady Par. “Anyway, back to my original question. What is Uman talking about? And what’s a depth gauge?”

“It’s a piece of adventurer kit,” Khurt said. “Not very common. It tells you the rank of an area.”

“Ah,” said Lady Par. “Of course. I knew that.”

“Sure you did,” said Vanna sarcastically, giving the noble a look.

“I simply misremembered the name,” Lady Par said with a sniff, not even looking at Vanna. She instead directed her gaze to Rain. “Why do you want one?”

“Rain thinks a rank shift is coming,” Uman said before Rain could answer.

“Preposterous,” said Lady Par. “Fel Sadanis is stable and rankless. My family has been digging for years, and all we’ve hit are slimes. There aren’t even any caves around here.”

Rain shook his head. “You saw the storm yesterday. You tell me that lightning snow every few days is normal, and I’ll believe you. If you can’t, then, well, something is going on. Maybe not rank shift, but something.”

“That’s the Empire,” Lady Par said. “You mark my words, it is their doing.”

“Empire’s gone,” Uman said.

“You don’t know that,” Lady Par said testily. “They’ll kill us all the second that barrier comes down. They’re out there. Hiding in plain sight.”

“Any luck there, Rain?” Vanna interrupted. “With the barrier?”

Rain shook his head, silently thanking Vanna for getting them back on track. “I still haven’t heard from Velika. I checked around where the artifact should be, but I couldn’t find any safe tunnels leading to it. That section of the sewer is blocked off by a collapse.”

“Want me to send some people over?” Vanna asked. “Get started on the digging?”

Rain shook his head. “The water is more important for now, at least, until I talk to Velika. Even if we can get right over it, we have no idea how deep it is. I can’t sense anything down there except broken stone.”

“You really should call her Citizen Sadanis,” Lady Par said. “Proper address is important, Lord Rain.”

Rain shrugged. “Believe me, I don’t think she’ll care. And on that note, stop calling me Lord.”

“But you are a lord,” Lady Par said, smiling. “It is a lord who has the audacity to take command in a time of crisis.” She sniffed. “I would not follow a commoner.”

Rain rested his head in his hands, massaging his temples. The steel of his gauntlets was cold and comforting against his bare skin. “Why don’t you go next, Lady Par.” He looked up. “Unless you had anything else, Khurt?”

“No, I’m done,” said Khurt.

Lady Par nodded, then stood to speak. Rain prepared himself to gnaw off his own arms, just in case things went bad and he needed to escape.

It took Lady Par approximately thirty minutes to describe the latest doings of the myriad noble families in the city, both large and small. The issue was that the noblewoman seemed utterly incapable of staying on topic. Rain needed to understand the nobles if he wanted to work with them, and listening to their gossip was an excellent way to do that, but still. Lady Par was excruciating to listen to, for all that her updates turned out to be surprisingly informative in the end.

Over the course of her rambling monologue, Rain managed to extract the key piece of information that he was after, namely that the food situation was under control for the moment. They had perhaps six week’s worth of supplies for the city, given the current rates of spoilage and consumption. That didn’t count whatever the non-compliant nobles had squirreled away, but there weren’t enough of those to make a significant difference.

Nobles were selfish and petty, as a rule, at least in Fel Sadanis. However, only some of them, such as Lord Tett, were big enough assholes to try and capitalize on the situation. From what Lady Par had told him, most of her peers had simply hoarded a bit of food for themselves and their families, then hunkered down to wait for the situation to blow over.

Apart from the things he’d actually asked her to look into, Lady Par also shared several ‘juicy morsels,’ as she called them. For example, there was the fact that Lord Summerland was cheating on Lady Summerland, and that Lady Summerland not only knew of the paramour in question, but had literally hired the woman to seduce her husband. Useless information? Perhaps. However, it was easier to just let Lady Par talk rather than try to nudge her back on track.

When she was finally finished, Lady Par sat down stiffly. “Ooph,” she said as she collapsed into her chair. “That’s all I have for today, I think, unless you want to know more about the Ranks tournament. Do you play Ranks, Lord Rain? We’d be honored if you’d join us.”

“Thank you, Lady Par,“ Rain said. “Perhaps another time. I am afraid that I am too busy for Ranks at the moment. Uman, if you’d please.”

Uman nodded. “I shouldn’t need long,” he said aloud, sitting up in his chair. Rain had to force himself to keep a straight face. Uman hadn’t signed what he’d said this time. Instead, his hands had said something along the lines of: ‘I thought she’d never shut up.’ Lady Par was friendly and helpful, but damn if she wasn’t long-winded.

“I spoke with Officer Turton again just after sunup,” Uman said in his slurred accent, signing at the same time. Rain quickly directed his attention to the man�s hands to watch for signs he didn’t know. “He says that they’re having trouble calibrating the mindcaster. They don’t have anyone familiar with it in the Lee, so it is taking a while.”

Rain nodded, then signed “continue.” The Watch had sent a small band of scouts to their outpost in Vestvall to retrieve communications equipment, and that party had returned to find the camp that they’d left behind totally destroyed. They’d been back for three and a half days now, and Rain had hired Uman to serve as a conduit of communication through the barrier.

The Lee was a sheltered camp beneath a massive column of stone leaning against the barrier, a remnant of the cataclysmic battle between the DKE and the Empire. The Watch wasn’t in command out there, having merely joined up with the people who had already taken shelter beneath the pillar and given the camp its name.

“As for new arrivals, another group of traders showed up yesterday, just before the storm got bad,” Uman said. “They were carrying food, which is good. The Lee shouldn’t starve for another two weeks, now. Population is up to about thirty. Turton is focusing on getting the mindcaster working, but if he can’t fix it within another two days, he’s gonna up and leave. Also, he says he doesn’t need me to talk to the Watch inside anymore. They’ve got their own guy sending messages now. Ran into him, actually. Real shifty fellow, don’t think he’s an officer.”

“What did he look like?” Vanna asked.

“Sorry, say that again?” Uman said, looking at her. “I couldn’t see your lips.”

Vanna apologized and repeated the question, to which Uman shrugged. “Short, scrawny, wearing a cloak. Didn’t get a good look at his face. Why?”

Vanna shook her head. “Just curious. The Watch is really taking the Citizen’s rule seriously. Sadanis hasn’t been seen in days, but they still haven’t come out of their strongholds. It’s odd.”

“Not so odd,” said Khurt. “They lost all of their Sentinels, and the Guild lost three silverplates. There’s nobody in the city who even has a hope of stopping the Citizen if she decides she wants them dead. Other than her, the strongest person in the city is probably that Bank enforcer. I can never remember his name.”

“Anyway,” Uman said loudly, taking back control of the conversation. “Officer Turton also said that there’s someone else out there, but they haven’t come to the camp yet. A woman in a white cloak. She’s been camped out on a hill on the other side of the city from the Lee since before the Watch got there. He finally sent an officer over to check it out, but that was just before I talked to him. I don’t know what he learned.”

Rain had leaned forward the moment Uman mentioned the woman. Ameliah was wearing a white cloak. “This woman, she was alone?”

Uman nodded. “So Turton said. Haven’t looked for her myself. Northeast of the city, near the river. Should be visible from the walls. Kinda far, though.”

Rain took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It’s probably not her. She should have found the others by now, and they’d be with her. I’ll go see for myself. Later. More likely, it’s just some trader… Rain felt a chill as a thought crossed his mind. Or Lavarro… Yeah, with my luck, that’s probably who it is.

“Last thing,” Uman said. “Turton said that the last storm was really bad, the worst he’s ever seen. The winds were fierce, and the cold was brutal. If not for the shelter of the Lee, there’d have been deaths. Turton thinks the woman north of the city must be awakened; otherwise, she’d have never made it through. She’d have been right out there in the worst of it, but there was smoke from her fire this morning.”

It’s not Lavarro. It’s just a coincidence. Her daughter is still trapped in here, though, so maybe… Rain shook his head firmly, then looked back at Uman. “Any news about what happened to the army? Did the traders know about what�s going on in the DKE?”

“Nothing,” Uman said. “They left Southguard before they knew what they were walking into. No word about the army. They just vanished into thin air.”

Rain nodded. He’d expected as much. “Thanks, Uman. Let me know if anything changes. Maybe go with Khurt to the guild and see if you can find anyone who knows how to run a mindcaster. You can give Officer Turton instructions.”

“You got it,” Uman said.

“Well, if there’s nothing else, I think that’s it for today. Same time tomorrow, everyone, assuming I’m still alive. I’m going to see Velika this afternoon.”

“She finally sent for you?” Vanna asked.

“No,” Rain said. “At this point, I don’t think she’s going to. I haven’t heard back from Carten, either. I’m starting to get worried that, well…”

“What?” asked Lady Par.

Rain shook his head. It was seeming more and more likely by the day that Westbridge wasn’t coming back. Something had happened; otherwise, Velika wouldn’t have holed herself up like she had. Rain had been half-expecting her to take her rage out on the remnant of the Watch. Instead, she’d been silent. Somehow, the silence was worse.

“Come on, Rain,” said Khurt, laughing. “That’s cruel. You can’t say ominous stuff like that, and then not finish the sentence.”

“I can, in fact,” Rain said. The others he could trust, maybe, but telling Lady Par would be as good as distributing pamphlets throughout the city saying that the DKE was going to leave them to rot. That would cause another riot, which was the last thing they needed. No, he had to go see Velika and figure out what was really going on. He didn’t want anything to do with the Citizen, but this wasn’t about him. If they couldn’t get the barrier down soon, then it wouldn’t matter if Velika slaughtered everyone or if they all died from a sudden rank shift. They had six weeks, then everyone would starve. They’d be dead all the same.

Velika’s estate, formerly Halgrave’s, was more like a fortress than anything else. So much so, in fact, that Rain suspected it had been at one point. The main building—or keep, he supposed—abutted the city wall and had been constructed from the same large blocks of stone. While it was much less elegant than some of the nobles’ manors that he’d seen, it was more impressive simply due to the apparent age of the building. That said, it looked like it had seen better days. There were a few smaller, newer-looking buildings inside the low wall that sectioned the estate off from the city, as well as another tower, almost identical to the one that Staavo called his home, only taller.

Rain lowered himself down from the balcony he’d been using to see over the wall, then adjusted his armor. It wasn’t fitting right, the temporary padding he had on underneath too bulky in some places, and not bulky enough in others. That annoyance would be solved within a few days, but for now, he just had to deal with it. It would only be an issue if he got into a fight with someone other than Velika. If he got in a fight with Velika, ill-fitting armor would be the least of his concerns.

He grimaced in pain and reached into a pocket, retrieving a white tablet which he popped into his mouth. He chewed briefly, then swallowed and reached for his canteen. The antacids that he’d purchased from Reason were in dire need of some flavoring. It was basically like eating chalk, but it was better than living with the heartburn.

While Rain was feeling better overall than he’d been since escaping his entombment, a few symptoms had remained, namely stiffness in the morning, heartburn, and headaches. The headache showed up when he pushed himself too hard, while the stiffness worsened when he didn’t push himself hard enough. Managing the two was a balance. He had to stay active in both body and mind without overdoing it. The heartburn was random, seemingly unrelated to anything that Rain ate or did. At this point, he was starting to give up hope that he’d recover on his own, only taking comfort in the fact that his condition didn’t appear to be getting worse.

He lowered his visor and moved deliberately toward the front gate. He’d made sure to charge his armor before he left, and he wasn’t wearing his cloak, so the Dark Regeneration rune hadn’t drained all of the charge away. He was as ready as he could be.

“Oh, look, Breggeh! It’s Rain!” Kettel said as soon as Rain rounded the corner and came into sight of the front gate. Rain waved to both of them. He’d already seen them standing guard when he’d scoped out the place.

“Lord Rain,” Breggeh said as Rain drew to a stop in front of them.

“Rain! I heard ye weren’t dead!” Kettel said, laughing and clapping him on the shoulder. “I was gonna come an’ see ye, but ye know how it is.” He released Rain and lifted his collar to show him the hawk pinned to his lapel. “Gotta’ job to do.”

“It’s good to see you, Kettel. Breggeh.” Rain said. Reluctantly, he flipped up his visor again. “I’m here to see her.”

“I figured,” Kettel said. “Go on in, I ain’t stoppin’ ye.”

“Kettel, she said no one gets in,” Breggeh said. “Even if it’s Rain, don’t you think we should go and ask, first?”

Kettel shrugged. “Ask who? Captain Carten? I’m sure as hells no askin’ the Citizen ‘erself. She’d rip me ‘ed clear off.”

“Yes, the captain,” Breggeh said. “Of course that’s who I meant.”

“Wait, Captain Carten?” Rain said, looking between Kettel and Breggeh. “You mean Carten is in charge?”

“Yup,” said Kettel. “Citizen Sadanis is just lettin’ ‘em handle things. You know ‘em, right? The captain?”

Rain nodded absently. Who would willingly put Carten in charge of anything?

“Well, there ye go then, Breggeh,” Kettel said. “Captn’d just let ‘em in anyway. S’no point in askin’.”

Breggeh sighed. “Fine. Sorry, Rain, I just don’t want to get in trouble. She doesn’t seem to care what we do, as long as we stick around. Arlo left once, and, well…”

“Well, what?” Rain said, concern growing in his stomach. “What did she do?”

“Tracked ‘em down,” Kettel said. “Gave ‘em this whole speech about betrayal, then broke his arm an’ dragged ‘em back.” He held up a hand. “Don’t worry, we snuck ‘em a healing potion. He’s fine. Well, mostly fine. Doesn’t leave his room much. Did ye hear his da’ got killed?”

Rain nodded, sadly. “Yeah, I did hear about that. I’ll go visit him once I’m done with Velika. See how he’s doing.”

“That would be nice of you,” Breggeh said. “When you talk to the Citizen, just…be careful what you say. She’s not exactly stable.”

“I know,” Rain said. “Carten left me a letter. That’s part of why I’m here. How are you two holding up?”

“Well enough,” Breggeh said. “I’m getting plenty of time to practice my kata. I’m making good progress. My husband came to visit yesterday. I told him to just stay here, but he’s afraid of the Citizen.” She smiled sadly. “It was nice to see him, all the same.”

Rain rubbed his neck awkwardly. They’re like prisoners, just without the bars…

“Oi, Rain, check this out!” Kettel said, then pointed at a line of wooden buckets that someone had arranged on top of the courtyard wall a few meters away. “Firebolt!”

There was a brief flash of heat, then a small bolt of fire flickered into existence at the tip of Kettel’s finger and shot toward the buckets, missing them altogether. The spell flew for a few more meters, then detonated in mid-air with a pop when it reached the end of its range.

“Shit,” Kettel said. “Missed.”

“So you’re going Fire Mage, then?” Rain said. “I’d have thought you’d have stuck with staff, or maybe gone for a brawler class.”

“O’course not!” Kettel said, laughing. “Jus’ cuz I liked a good scrap, it don’t mean I don’ wanna blow stuff up!”

“I guess that’s my mistake, then,” Rain said. “Call it a failure of imagination. It’s not like any of you had any other options for fighting before. Of course you’d pick up some magic.”

“Failure of imagination…” said Breggeh slowly. “I haven’t heard that phrase before. It’s a good one.”

Rain nodded. “I suppose. Well, Kettel, if you’re going to be a mage, then that staff of mine isn’t going to be much use to you, being made of metal and all.”

“Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about tha’. Hang on, Rain, no need ta Wukong me. I’ll go grab it. Left it in me room cuz I couldn’t get it ta shrink like ye do.” Kettel darted away before Rain could reply.

“You never did explain what a Wukong was,” said Breggeh. “Is it some kind of monster?”

“Monkey King,” Rain said with a shrug. “He’s from this ancient myth from…” Rain paused and shook his head. “Anyway, he’s stupid strong and immortal in like sixteen different ways.”

“Huh,” Breggeh said. “Where are you from, anyway? Your accent is from Fel Sadanis for sure, but you say the strangest stuff sometimes.”

“Far away,” Rain said with a shrug. He’d gotten used to avoiding that particular question at this point. “How about the others? Bosco? Rina? Samson? They okay?”

Breggeh nodded. “Yeah, they’re fine, given the circumstances. Rina’s slime is getting huge.”

“Huh,” Rain said. “Maybe I should ask her about how pet monsters work. I’ve got my own slime too, now, if you didn’t know. I’m not sure what people have heard about what I’ve been up to. I’m not used to this whole fame thing.”

Breggeh shrugged. “A slime, huh?”

Rain nodded. “Yeah. He doesn’t listen to me, though. I only got him to stay at the bathhouse by locking him in the storeroom. I feel kinda bad about that, but he’s got a short memory, so he’ll probably just forget about it once I’m back.”

“He?” Breggeh asked. “Slimes have gender?”

“Not really,” Rain said. “At least, I don’t think they do. A friend’s daughter decided that Dozer was male, and since then, I’ve just kind of gone with it. Easier than trying to argue with a seven-year-old.”

Breggeh smiled. “I suppose it is. My own daughters are the same way. I wish I could go see them.”

Rain winced, and the conversation stalled. Mercifully, there were only a few moments of awkward silence before Kettel returned and tossed Rain the Quickstaff. Rain snagged it out of midair and retracted it in one smooth motion, then slipped it into a pouch.

“How do ye do tha’, anyway?” Kettel asked, gesturing to the pouch. “Make it smaller, like?”

“Mana Manipulation. Magical Utility tree.” Rain said. “It lets me power the activation rune on the staff. It does the retraction thing all on its own. I told you about Mana Manipulation before, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yeah, that ye did,” Kettel said. “Workin’ me way there. Anyway, I ran inta’ Captain Carten. He knows yer here. Says ta meet him in the study. Second door on the left once ye get inta’ the main hall.”

“Show me?” Rain said.

Kettel shrugged. “Ye can’t miss it. ‘Sides, he said he wanted ta talk ta ye alone. Also told me ta get back ta guardin’.”

“Right,” Rain said. “Well, hang in there, you two. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get Velika to let you go, or at least take a break or something.”

“Don’t…” Breggeh hesitated, then shook her head. “Thanks. Just don’t say anything to piss her off.”

Rain sighed. “I’ll do my best, but she might not like some of what I have to say. It needs to be said, though. Don’t spread this around, but the city’s only got six weeks of food left. We need to get her to lower the barrier before people start dying. If she kills me, well…” He sighed. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Nice knowin’ ye, Rain,” Kettel said with a grin, clapping him on the shoulder again.

“Thanks, Kettel,” Rain said, then slid his visor closed and walked into the courtyard toward the keep.

As he passed the tower, he noticed something strange. He diverted his course, coming to a stop in front of the door to the tower. It was made out of metal, not wood, and there was a line of runes carved into it around the edge. They weren’t glowing, but that didn’t mean anything. He recognized one or two of them, though he had no idea what they meant. The symbols that runecrafters used were still a bit of a mystery. They were fascinating from a mechanical standpoint, but information on them was scarce, perhaps even scarcer than runecrafters themselves.

It was on his list of things to look into if he ever got the time. If he could tame a slime without the system calling him a tamer, then runecraft might be possible for him too. Chemistry worked, he knew. Reason had said as much, and Meloni had proven it by showing him a potion that she’d made all on her own. She had even offered to show him how she’d done it, but again, the lack of time issue had reared its head. There just weren’t enough hours in the day.

Rain frowned and looked away from the door. This wasn’t the time to get distracted.

A sudden flash of light halted him in his tracks only moments after he’d started moving away. In the corner of his eye, he caught a flicker on the bar that displayed his armor’s mana saturation. A few hundred points of magic damage had been absorbed. Someone had attacked him.

Rain whirled in a circle, searching the courtyard with his eyes as he activated Force Ward. He saw no one other than Breggeh and Kettel, who were both looking away from him. Just as his saturation bar drained back to empty, the flash came again, and it shot back up. Rain cursed. Where the hell is it coming from, and what the hell is it? It is magic, clearly, but I can’t see the projectile. It’s like Val’s spell, but Val wouldn’t attack me like this…

The flash struck him a third time. Rain narrowed his eyes and dropped Force Ward. If the attacker was going to stick to magic, then they’d need stronger stuff than this to get through his armor. The mana dispersion rate of the Dark Steel was simply too high. He activated Detection instead, searching for entities. There were signals all around him, he was in the city, after all, but the one that caught his attention was directly above him.

He looked up just in time to catch another blast of magic straight in the face. His visor blocked the spell entirely, the magic drawn into the metal with none of it making through the eye slit. It was still bright, though.

Rain cursed. Damn it, always remember to look up.

He blinked, clearing his eyes, then his eyebrows rose behind his visor as he saw the face of his attacker leaning over the parapet of the tower. What the? It actually is Val! What the hell is he doing?

Seeing that he’d attracted Rain’s attention, Val quickly raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

“What you doing?” Rain signed at him clumsily in hand code, but Val only shrugged. He replied with a single sign, the one that indicated a question.

Shit, he doesn’t understand. He probably only knows the few signs that people use in combat.

Rain flipped up his visor and opened his mouth to yell at him, but Val quickly made the sign for ‘stop.’ He pointed at Kettel and Breggeh, then made the sign for ‘sentry.’

Rain sighed. “Are you…trap?” he signed, pointing at the tower as he looked up at Val.

Val spread his arms helplessly.

Rain shook his head. Damn. I don’t know the sign for prison, but there’s no way he would either. I knew Velika had him locked up somewhere, but I figured she’d have him in a dungeon, not the top of a tower. What is he, a princess?

Val caught Rain’s attention with another sign. “Mana?”

“What?” Rain signed back.

“You, mana?” Val signed.

“Yes?” Rain signed, making it a question. He’s asking if I have mana? Does he want me to give him some?

“Yes. Defend. Force,” Val signed.

Then, he jumped off the tower.

Rain gasped in shock, activating Force Ward as Val fell. The tower was taller than Staavo’s, at least six stories high. Rain barely had time to process what had happened before Val hit the ground, absorbing the impact with his legs and several hundred of Rain’s mana.

“What the fu—” Rain began, but Val cut him off with a hiss.

“Shh. Keep your voice down,” Val said.

“What were you thinking?” Rain hissed back. “If I hadn’t been fast enough, you’d be a pancake!”

“I’d have been fine,” Val whispered, “My legs wouldn’t have broken. Probably. I’d have jumped ages ago, but I didn’t want to take the risk.”

Rain goggled at him. “Val, you can’t just— What were you thinking?”

Val grinned. “Nice to see you too, Rain. I like the beard. Also, thanks for saving me again. Not from that damn tower, though that too. I mean from the snake. Scaly bastard got me good.”

“Sorry Rain, gotta go,” Val whispered urgently. “If the guards see me, they’ll tell Velika, and then she’ll rip my arms off and shove them up my ass.”

“That’s…disturbingly specific,” Rain said, still scrambling to catch up.

“Don’t tell anyone that I’m not up there anymore.” Val pointed at the tower. “Not even Carten. He’s on her side, the damn lovesick idiot. I’ll come find you later.”

Before Rain could reply, Val vanished. Literally. He was there, and then he wasn’t. Rain’s jaw dropped, then he activated Detection. Val’s signal came back as clear as day, hurrying toward the gate. Rain could hear his rapid footsteps, but he couldn’t see him at all.

Val’s signal slowed as he reached the gate. Once he was past Kettel and Breggeh, he sped up again, vanishing as he passed outside of Detection’s range.

Rain closed his mouth with a click, letting the spell drop. What the hell, Val? Since when can you become invisible? There’s not even a skill for that!

After a minute to process, Rain sighed, then closed his visor again. Well, I know how he got into the lair now. I’ll have to ask Velika what she was planning to do with him. I need to know how dead he’s going to be when she finds out he’s gone. I also need to talk to him about Lightbreaker. It’s just too much of a damn coincidence.

He shook his head, trying to put Val out of his mind. He resumed his march toward the keep and entered through the large wooden doors, activating Force Ward as he did so. ‘Sparsely decorated’ didn’t even begin to describe the entry hall. That would have required it to be decorated in the first place. The walls and floor were bare stone, and there were no windows. The only light to be had was spilling out from one of the doorways leading off the hall, the second one on the left.

Well, I see why Kettel said I couldn’t miss it. It looks as if Halgrave decorated his house like he decorated his office, if you can even call this a house. It’s more like a haunted ruin. Maybe he got a good deal from his realtor. Rain narrowed his eyes, then headed for the lit doorway. He was careful to stay away from the stairway that was cut into the floor on the right side of the hallway across from the door. The steps plunged down into unknown depths without so much as a railing for safety, a blatant code violation if he’d ever seen one.

The door to the lit room was ajar, and Rain knocked on it politely.

“That you, Rain?” Carten’s voice said tiredly from inside. Rain pushed the door open and saw the big man sitting behind a desk that was piled with papers. The light was coming from an oil lamp sitting on the desk, dangerously close to one of the stacks of paper. Carten wasn’t wearing his armor, just a roughspun shirt and plain pants. He was holding a feather pen and staring at a sheet of paper in the dim light from the lamp.

Rain blinked. “Hi Carten.”

Is Carten doing…paperwork? What?

Carten sighed and looked up from the sheet of paper, setting down his pen. “I told ya not ta come ‘til she sent for ya.”

“Carten, are you okay?” Rain asked, entering the room. As he did, he noticed that it was noticeably cooler inside than it had been in the hall. There was a metal plate hanging on one wall covered with runes glowing with a faint blue light.

“No, I’m not okay,” Carten said, then chuckled, the familiar grin returning to his black-bearded face as he got to his feet. “It’s good ta’ see ya, Little Mouse. I’m glad ya ain’t dead.”

Rain smiled. “Thanks, Carten.”

“C’mon,” Carten said, picking up the lamp. “Let’s go fer a walk. Lord Whatsit an’ that Enforcer bloke’ll be here soon. I don’t particularly want ta talk to ‘em. I’m fine makin’ em wait fer me.”

“Enforcer Sannin?” Rain said, raising an eyebrow. Belatedly, he remembered his visor was closed, but he didn’t open it. He didn’t know where Velika was. “From the Bank? Who’s Lord Whatsit’?”

Carten laughed, wrapping a meaty arm around Rain’s shoulder and giving him a friendly shake before letting him go as the pair of them walked out into the hallway. “If anyone ever asks ya ta check the books, Rain, just tell em ta piss off. Actually, no, you’d probably like doin’ all that math. Bloody hells, I hate multiplyin’.”

“Carten,” Rain said as the big man led him down the hallway deeper into the keep. “Why are you doing the Citizen’s taxes? Doesn’t she have someone else to do that for her?”

Carten sighed. “No, and it ain’t taxes. That money’s already gone. I tell ya, Rain, I thought I was bad with crystal, but Velika…” He shook his head. “As fer why I’m doin’ this, well, there’s no one else. Lord Whatsit said it weren’t lordly work, and I don’ trust ‘em furthern’ I can kick ‘em neither. Sannin’s a cold-eyed snake, Rain. The man’s got no fear. Velika borrowed money, and he jus’ won’t shut up about it. She’d probably kill ‘em if I let ‘em talk ta her.”

“Well, he is a banker,” Rain said. “That’s what bankers do. How much money?”

“Few thousand Tel,” Carten said with a shrug. “She needed jus’ a bit extra fer enchanted equipment fer her guard an’ such. Now, we’re in trouble. Most of ‘em have run off with what she gave ‘em, but I don’t have a list of who’s who, so I can’t exactly go an’ get it back. Lord Whatsit says he’s workin’ on it.”

“Who’s lord Whatsit?” Rain asked again.

“Skinny, pasty guy,” Carten said. “Wears a stupid hat. His name’s Wagarar…agar… somethin’.”

“Lord Wagarardrogrum?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” Carten said, nodding.

Rain smiled. “Yeah, Lord Whatsit is better.”

Carten laughed, then pointed to a staircase leading up. “Velika’s on the third floor.”

Rain nodded. “You don’t call her Citizen Sadanis?”

“No,” Carten said. “Not anymore. You shouldn’t either if ya know what’s good for ya. In fact, don’t say the word ‘Citizen’ at all.”

Carten shrugged. “I’ve asked. She won’t explain. Threw me down the stairs instead.”

“Listen, Rain, Vel’s not feelin’ so good. Not like she was before.”

“Carten, why are you still with her? I mean, seriously, you’ve only known her for like a week. Don’t tell me you—”

Carten stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, then turned to face him, a serious expression looking incongruous on his bearded face.

“She’s a good person, Rain. What the Watch did ta her weren’t right. They tried ta kill her, and for nothin’! Almost succeeded, too. Her leg’s still not healed, and her hair…” Carten shook his head. “She had ta kill em back. She didn’t have no choice, Rain. Now, I know how ya feel about killin’, but ya can’t go judgin’ her on it. It’s weighin’ on her, too, Rain. She jus’ wanted ta be free, and now…” he shook his head. “She’s trapped like us.” Carten winced after a second, realizing what he’d said. “Shit. Don’t tell no one about that.”

Damn, he really is in love with her, isn’t he? How is that even possible?

“It’s okay, Carten, I already know about the situation,” Rain said as Carten released his shoulder and continued leading him down the hallway. “That’s why I need to talk to her.”

Carten shook his head, then sighed. “Okay. Just watch what ya say an’ how ya say it. She ain’t in a good place, like I said. All she gets excited about is eatin’, fuckin’, and terrorizin’ the servants. Rest ‘o the time, she’s…well. You’ll see.”

“Carten…” Rain said, at a loss for what to say.

“It’ll all be okay, Rain. She’s gettin’ better. It’s just gonna take time. She’ll know what to do, once she’s back ta normal. She’ll convince that Westbridge fucker ta come let us out. I know she can.” Carten trailed off, coming to a halt. He pointed down the hall. “She’s down there, in her room. The door at the end. Ya better go alone. She’s mad at me right now, and I really do gotta go deal with that banker bastard.”

“Carten,” Rain said, looking at him. “Hang in there, okay? I’m going to talk to her. We’ll get this sorted out, one way or another.”

Carten nodded, then hit his head with his hand. “Damn, I only brought one light.”

“I’ve got a candle,” Rain said, digging around in one of his pouches. He retrieved it, then lit it from Carten’s lamp. Then, he offered the big man his hand.

Carten grabbed it and squeezed, shaking firmly. Even through his gauntlet, Rain could tell that the man’s grip was like a vice. Rain smiled slightly behind his visor, then squeezed back, hard. Carten’s eyes widened, then his old grin broke out across his face as he strengthened his grip to match.

“Haha, Little Mouse! Now that’s more like it!” Carten said. He gave Rain’s hand another hard squeeze, then let go and clapped him on the back. The serious expression returned to his face. “Good luck, Rain.”

“You too, Carten,” Rain said, watching as the big man retreated down the hallway and disappeared around a corner. I’ll talk to him about his relationship later. I need to see how bad it is first. She threw him down a flight of stairs? I mean, sure, Carten would just bounce, but that doesn’t make it okay. He might love her, as preposterous as that is, but she probably just thinks of him like some disposable bed warmer. Rain shook his head and turned to face the door.

After taking a deep breath, he walked the rest of the distance down the hallway and knocked. There was no response after a few seconds, so he knocked again.

This time, a mumbled reply came through the door. “Go away.”

Rain shook his head. He wasn’t going to play this game. The doorknob turned easily when he tried it, the door swinging open and flooding the hallway with light. He didn’t have a chance to take in anything else before something hit him in the face.

The projectile, whatever it was, flew straight through the slit in his visor with a metallic clink and stabbed him directly in the eye. Rain had been running Force Ward from the moment he had entered the front door of the building, which was the only thing that saved him. The actual damage from the strike was minimal, completely blocked by his magic, but he still reacted as anyone would upon having a foreign object flung at their face.

“Ah!” he gasped as he stumbled backward, hands rising protect himself.

“Oh,” said Velika’s weary voice. “It’s you.”

Rain pulled the object free of his visor with some difficulty, then stared at it with disbelief as he realized what it was.

He looked up from the innocuous piece of cutlery to see Velika staring at him, an annoyed expression on her face. A few other details of the scene hit him harder than the spoon had. For one, she was naked from the waist up.

“Shit,” he said, looking away. “Sorry, I didn’t know you weren’t dressed.”

Velika snorted. “Like I care. Give me my damn spoon back.”

Rain blinked. That wasn’t the reaction he’d expected, but then again, the nudity taboo wasn’t nearly as strong in this society as it was in his own. Warily, he entered the room, returning his gaze to the Citizen as he passed her the improvised projectile.

She snatched it roughly from his hand and turned back to the bowl of soup that she had clearly been eating before he’d barged in. Rain couldn’t help but notice the way her bare breasts shifted with the motion. No matter his feelings about her, Velika was physically attractive, though at the moment, she looked like a complete mess.

The hair on one side of her head had been hacked away unevenly, and what remained was a tangled, matted mess. Mercifully for Rain’s composure, she was wearing linen briefs, though they were a far cry from pants. Her left leg was tightly wrapped in bandages, though the right was bare, her dark skin smooth and unblemished.

“Take off that stupid helmet,” Velika said, slurping up a spoonful of soup. “If you’re going to ogle me, at least do it right. Get a proper leer or two in.”

Rain shook his head, looking away. The room was a disaster, and it reeked with the odor of sex and stale sweat. The huge bed was a mess of tangled sheets, and there were crumpled clothes and discarded dirty dishes everywhere.

“I said, take it off,” Velika said.

“I’d rather not,” Rain said. “Someone just threw a spoon at my eye.”

Velika laughed. “It was a good shot, wasn’t it? I wasn’t even looking. Take it off, coward.”

Rain sighed and reluctantly raised his visor. This seemed to satisfy the Citizen, as she stopped glaring at him and returned her attention to her soup.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“I needed to talk to you,” Rain said, carefully looking anywhere but at the Citizen. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. “I can come back in a little bit if you—”

“Stop that,” Velika interrupted, setting down her spoon and standing to face him.

“Looking at the wall when you’re talking to me. What are you, a fucking prude or something? Raised in an Ellish monastery?”

“No,” Rain said, looking back at her. “It’s just really awkward being fully dressed and talking to someone who isn’t.”

“Better,” she said, with a snort of amusement. She pointed vaguely in the direction of the bed. “Two ways to fix that. Either you get out of that armor and we have some fun, or you get me a shirt.”

Rain moved hurriedly to get her a shirt. There was no way in hell he was going to even entertain her first suggestion, whether she’d been serious or not.

Velika sniffed as he handed her the garment, setting down her spoon and standing up. “Your loss,” she said, pulling it on. Rain belatedly realized that the shirt he’d given her was stained.

“Do you mind if I use Purify?” Rain asked, trying not to think about what kinds of liquids might have caused the stain in question.

“Do what you want,” Velika said, abandoning her half-finished bowl of soup and letting herself fall face-first onto the bed. The heat had faded from her tone, to be replaced with resignation. “It’s not like it matters,” she said, her voice muffled by the bedding.

What the hell is wrong with her? I was expecting a lot of yelling and maybe having to run for my life, not…this. Rain activated Purify, banishing the foul odors from the air and purging the remains of food from the dishes lying scattered about the floor. He knew depression, but he’d never let his apartment get to anything even approaching this level of squalor. Something was seriously wrong. He switched to Refrigerate and cooled the hot and humid air, stopping when fog started to form, not wanting to make everything damp. It was still warm, but significantly better than it had been.

Velika turned her head to peer at him with one eye. “I forgot how handy you were.”

Rain walked over to the chair Velika had been sitting in before and sat down, noting that the soup hadn’t disappeared from the bowl. Purify must have still considered it to be food. It was steaming, slightly, the liquid still warm despite his use of magic.

“Where’d the soup come from?” he asked, looking at her. A nice, innocuous question seemed like a good place to start the conversation. “I didn’t see any servants or anything.”

“They’re around,” Velika said with a sigh. “Carten made the soup, though. He said it was an apology. You better not have evaporated it with your spell. I wasn’t finished.”

“Carten made soup?” Rain said, raising an eyebrow.

“Soup fixes everything,” Velika said, blowing a puff of air out of her nose. She closed her eyes and sighed. “As if.”

Rain blinked. Soup fixes everything? That’s Jamus’s line.

Rain took a deep breath and prepared himself. There was no point waiting any longer. “Velika, we need to talk about the barrier.”

“Fuck the barrier,” Velika said, not looking at him. “If that’s what you’re here for, you’re wasting your time.”

“We need to lower it,” Rain said. “Can you talk to Westbridge, or—”

Velika’s eyes snapped open, and she pushed herself up to a sitting position, glaring at him. “No. I can’t fucking talk to Westbridge.”

“Why not?” Rain said. “I thought the Citizens were linked? If not Westbridge, then one of the oth—”

“No,” Velika said. “The barrier blocks it, you idiot. Fucking Westbridge…” She shook her head. “He was the only one I could contact.”

Rain blinked. “Wait a second, what do you mean, ‘was’?”

“He’s fucking DEAD!” Velika screamed. Rain launched himself to his feet at her sudden outburst, then blinked when he saw that she had dropped her head into her hands. “And so are all of us,” she mumbled.

A sense of dread gripped at Rain as he fought to process what she meant by that, sinking back into the chair. Westbridge is dead? And so are we?

“You don’t get it, do you?” snapped Velika, raising her head to stare at him. “Westbridge told me how the barrier works, Rain. It’s got a list of people it will let through, and that list has exactly one name on it. The name of a dead man.” She tapped her breastbone. “The link told me when he died. I could feel him get cut away. It’s not like it is with the others. I can still feel them, even now. They’re all there, but out of reach. He’s not fucking coming back to let us out. No one is.”

“Fuck,” Rain said. “I mean, I suspected something might have changed, but—”

“The barrier stone won’t work either,” Velika said. “I tried it. Wormed myself down there and spent days fighting with the thing. It’s incomprehensible. I still get a headache just thinking about the things I saw when I touched it. Couldn’t break it either. It’s fucking indestructible Majistraal bullshit.” She sighed. “Westbridge was some kind of genius with that stuff. Old bastard had one foot in the grave and was a giant pain in the ass, but he knew what he was doing when it came to magic.”

“Maybe someone else—” Rain started.

Velika laughed. “Who? One of your shitty bronzeplate mages? One of the nobles? You?” She snorted in amusement.

Rain opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off.

“This is all the fucking Watch’s fault. If they hadn’t attacked me, then maybe…” She shook her head. “No mage in here is going to be able to do what Westbridge could. Do you have any idea how ridiculous that man was? He was getting weak in his old age, and he still could have killed me like that!” She snapped her fingers.

Rain shook his head. “I’d like to try the barrier stone. Even if that doesn’t work, we can’t just give up. There’s got to be a way to lower it.”

“Oh, there’s a way,” Velika said, her mouth twisting into a sardonic grin.

“How?” Rain asked, leaning forward, scarcely daring to hope.

Velika cackled with a brief bout of manic laughter, then let herself fall back onto the bed to stare up at the ceiling.

“The barrier runs on mana, Rain,” she said softly, raising her hand above her face to stare at her fingers. “People make mana. If there’s no people, then there’s no barrier.” She slashed her hand down faster than Rain could follow, a boom like a gunshot resounding from the wake of its passage. Velika spoke softly in the silence that followed, but not so softly that Rain couldn’t hear her over the ringing of his ears.

“All I need to do is kill every last one of you.”