Alana froze with her lips slightly apart when she opened the door and found Helen standing there, one hand on her hip and her usual scowl of ‘I wish we were just fighting’ written large across her face. But very quickly, Alana’s expression turned solemn and her hands dropped to her sides; in a way, she had known that she would be coming. She had chosen a Path by approaching Helen and asking for passage to the Nexus. This was the inevitable result of her true progress on that Path.

"So?" Helen asked simply. Her expression didn’t change.

Alana pressed her lips into a line. She felt somewhat reassured by her own, very human, sensation of her heart pumping blood through her muscles and organs. When she spoke, she chose her words carefully. "I felt my own weakness in the finals. I understand how close I came to losing that fight. And I cannot deny that my victory was less due to the strength of my image and more due to gamesmanship within the fight. But still... I want to try."

“A win is a win,” Helen responded mildly. She was using her own image as she carefully studied Alana, staining the air around her a mild pink with the intensity of it. Being carefully weighed by Helen was a curiously impersonal thing. At the moment, it was like they had never met, fought, eaten, or laughed together at all. The attention that Alana now earned was a pure thing of merit, sundered from personal feelings.

"You have a week. Sharpen your spear, Alana Donal." Helen said before she turned and left, leaving Alana with a strained sense of erratic glee.

A week was a small amount of time. But after her fight against Paolo and Kayle, Alana had quite a few ideas about areas of her image that could be refined. At least a dozen small steps popped into her head that would let her improve. And what she had learned from watching Randidly Ghosthound through the years was that it was these small steps that eventually carried you all the way toward power. As long as she went into a Dungeon and spent a few months honing herself within...

Alana clenched her fists so hard that she subconsciously released tongues of orange flame that danced across her knuckles. Whatever Helen had seen, it had been enough for a chance; as long as Alana could take the next step, she could earn herself a ticket to the Nexus. Her excitement was so genuine and pure that she belatedly realized that the flames had extended up along her arms to her biceps and began to singe her cotton shirt. Chagrined, Alana brought herself back under control.

Behind her in the suite they shared, the door to Hank's room opened and the gunslinger poked his head out. "Is that woman gone? I ain't associatin' with her ever again. You know she tried to cut my revolver in half?"

"Maybe that's considered flirting in her culture," Alana chuckled and closed the front door. “Besides, I know plenty of men that would kill for the ‘shot’ on her you had. Isn’t that right cowboy.”

Hank made a strangled noise in the back of his throat that made Alana laugh. She walked toward her room, but he cleared his throat and spoke before she got there. “Ay reckon that it won’t be these pistols that eventually slay her… but there is another issue. You seen Ancho today?”

Alana paused briefly. She considered telling Hank the truth: that she had seen Ancho hanging around with some of Wivanya’s children and a few ogres, that convinced the horse to try drinking ale and spitting it at a match to pretend he was a dragon. The sight on Hank’s face when he learned of his horse’s escapades would be priceless.

On the other hand, she didn’t want to blow up Ancho’s spot if the strangely intelligent, yet otherwise mundane horse was able to return without issue. So Alana offered Hank a small smile and lied. “Have you checked the stable? Well, you know he doesn’t like it there, he might be wandering about Kharon. I’m about to head out, so I’ll look for him as I’m departing and let you know if I see him.

Then Alana slipped into her small bedroom and shut the door behind her. Very quickly, she gathered up all of the few objects that she had scattered around the room: her spare clothes, leather wristguards, a whetstone and rag for polishing the head of her spear, a few spare dollars of currency on the bedside table, and the half-read travel report sent back from Vye’s explorations.

The book was the last thing Alana picked up. Of particular interest to her was the section on Zone 11’s Epic Dungeon. A few had gone in to cull the numbers of monsters that periodically exploded out of the Dungeon, but Warlord hadn’t yet wanted to commit a large number of Zone 11’s forces to the endeavor. Which meant that the hitherto unseen Dungeon Boss was a perfect foe to test herself.

She tossed everything into her interspatial ring. She only had a week; she would need to start immediately.

*****

Before even the clumsily tied rope came loose and the extendable ramp began to slide back toward full extension, Commissioner Arrietti was there. His hand snapped out and seized the metal handle and dragged it the half meter back into its original position. With his other hand, he looped the rope once more about the ramp and deftly tied a quick knot. Then he stepped back and glanced around at what had previously been the main route of ingress and egress into Kharon; the gate had been disassembled and all of the rope ladders and ramps were stowed away. Now it was simply another edge of the city, without any lingering structures.

Behind him, he heard one of his patrol officers speaking quietly to a younger colleague. "And THAT is why he's the Commissioner. It might seem overwhelming at first, but you can't relax, not even for a second. That's what it means to wear the uniform. If you want to learn how to be a police officer of Kharon, the best way is to watch the master."

Well, it helps that my Skills give me precise warnings about accidents like this... Commissioner Arrietti thought modestly while simultaneously bearing a wide smile on his face. He remained facing out toward the edge of Kharon to hide his good cheer. Over the edge, he could see a crowd milling above, peering up at the moving city. Ahem. Certainly though, considering the torturous training with Helen I had to endure in order to get here... I have earned the chance to savor this respect...!

Commissioner Arrietti stood with arms akimbo, looking down below at the construction crews that were rapidly moving through the area of the duos tournament and either tearing down or making the various structures permanent. Just as quickly as this place had housed thousands of attendees, now the Orchard moved forward with plans to make this area literally house people. Beneath him, the stone ground began to tremble.

While a small crowd watched, the many legs of Kharon eased outward and pressed against the ground. Engravings gradually began to glow along their length. Up by Commissioner Arrietti, moss spirits swirled downward over the edge of the city in larger and larger numbers, preparing to fuel the movement. Four hundred metal limbs pressed against the ground and then began to flex. Kharon trembled once more.

Then it gradually began to rise. Another wave of moss spirits exploded outward from the buildings of Kharon in a breathtaking number. They whipped through the air and then zipped down to swim playfully amongst the many legs as the metal limbs heaved Kharon's bulk up into the air. The motes of emerald light ran together so thickly that they no longer seemed like individuals but were one giant river. Upon that river, the boat that was Kharon gradually stirred and was carried away toward the borderlands.

When Kharon was safely trundling South, heading to blaze a Path to Earth's final, and hitherto uncontacted Zone, Commissioner Arrietti gave up his heroic pose at the edge and turned around. He strode purposefully back toward the center of Kharon, giving stern nods to the various municipal workers that continued to pack away the materials used for the bridges. When he passed the two officers that were talking about him earlier, they snapped to attention and offered him a sharp salute. Arrietti's heart swelled with pride.

He walked around the corner and was now safely out of sight. Arrietti surreptitiously checked the surrounding street. Then he broke into a brisk jog toward Town Hall, feeling a light film of sweat beginning to form on his forehead despite the cool temperature; he was going to be late.

The consequences of such a state made him furious at himself for losing himself in the swell of pride. If Tatiana was in a bad mood and assigned him some additional training with Helen...

Arrietti began to accelerate and tears formed at the corner of his eyes. What did it say about him that his closest female relationship was with the woman who regularly tortured him?!? He was only a few steps away from those particular men who enjoyed painful explicit acts in sex dungeons with beautiful women... what if this prolonged exposure to Helen, who was admittedly a very attractive woman, was slowly warping his typical preferences?!?!

Needless to say, Commissioner Arrietti arrived at Town Hall with a bubbling cauldron of negative emotions sitting in his chest. But at the front door, he straightened his uniform and coughed into his hand. His worries were ultimately pushed to the side in the face of his training. It was only with a confident and severe expression that he proceeded into the building. Regardless of his feelings, respecting the institution of Kharon was paramount. It was only as the prestige of Kharon was increased that Arrieti could find satisfaction in his semi-miserable state.

Only through my station that I can feel satisfaction, Arrietti reflected rather dourly as he walked down the hallway and approached the meeting room. He sighed and shook his head, reaching for the door handle. He was prepared for the worst.

But before Arrietti opened the door, Tatiana came swiftly around the corner. Her face split into an apologetic smile as she saw him. "Ah, Commissioner. I hope you all haven't been waiting long; my meeting with Randidly took a little longer than expected. Is everyone present?"

I have no idea, Arrietti thought to himself. But instead of answering, he smiled and opened the door. His eyes scanned the present faces within as they turned to regard him. Then he confidently answered. "Yes, we are ready for you."

"Actually though..." When Tatiana reached him, she put her hand against the doorframe and pushed it shut. The people within tilted their heads curiously to the side as she did so. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about. Come to my office after the meeting so we can address it further, but I wanted to give you some time to gather your thoughts before that: there has been a sharp increase in complaints regarding Kharon's police force over the course of the tournament. It is most likely just due to the added strain of helping with security, but I want to be thorough. As long as you don't mind, I'd like to launch an investigation into the entire department, searching for corruption and abuse of power."

"Eh? But... we just put the whole department through the Dungeon training..." Commissioner Arrieti mumbled. He heard a strange ringing in his ears. His department… investigated…?

Tatiana sighed. "We don't talk about it much, but its precisely after sharp gains in power that people can experience dangerous shifts in their psychology. Previously repressed and controlled impulses have a habit of manifesting when someone feels a newfound sense of capability. But, I trust your choices in subordinates: I'm sure all of it will be for nothing."

Then she opened the door and walked into the room.