Sitting at the marble table, I am about to leave for tonight’s ‘heist,’ but considering I will be entering hibernation later tonight, there is one thing I need to do before then.

Since my contract with Terra, I have been eating sandwiches and turkey, refining Nebula and Vitrum when not using my mana for something else. The turkeys are still not as delicious as the stolen meat from the café.

I find myself staring at the ceiling, reflecting on the taste of that food. ‘Would anyone even notice if some food started disappearing?’

There has been an issue with some of the more recent turkeys—someone has already harvested much of the essence from it. Terra told me that a lot of organizations are having their people work at slaughterhouses. This includes turkeys, I presume. I still receive essence from animals that have had their essence collected through the Cosmic System, yet it is a tiny fraction of the typical amount. This has happened once with the copepods; eating does not permit me to double the essence; rather, it merely squeezes out what is left.

Reaching into a brown bag, I remove a giant white mushroom. If I had to guess, it weighs at least a pound. ‘I cannot believe it was a mushroom this whole time. I suppose I was eating so fast I did not even notice.’

I glance back and forth, making certain I am alone. Pushing the cattail through the hole at my neck, I break the mushroom in two. Engulfing half, it bubbles into a bitter, milky haze.

Earl’s wall surfaces.

Earl Interface:

Absorbed ‘King Oyster’

Reduced Erysichthon value 4

Essence value 0

0.1 Refinable Nebula

0.2 Refinable Vitrum

Details: A non-poisonous fungus known for its size and resemblance to bivalves. This fungus has not awakened to Mana.

Checking the name, I shake my head. ‘Aye, it really is a mushroom. I believe Earl thought she was clever by calling it “paste pearl.”’ This mushroom arrived a few minutes ago. Terra had to have it flown in from Europe; it is not as common due to the world’s circumstances. ‘I hate mushrooms; at least these types of mushrooms.’

Placing the mushroom back into the bag, I slide it away from me. I have had to be careful with the amount of food I eat due to the paste. If I create another monster, like the Wretched Rat, it could create havoc in the camps. Though I admit, the dinosaur has been placid. It appears more interested in guarding its lake than attacking me. Besides that, since I wear an arc suit now, I have to be mindful of my paste or risk having it inside my suit. I would rather not have a monster burst from my suit someday.

Leaning back, I think, ‘Earl, prithee, the paste pearl adaptation.’

Earl Interface:

Particulate Form Germination Tier Adaptations

Available Miscellaneous Adaptations

Paste Pearl

(Recent Meal King Oyster)

Encase and store overflow paste within a black pearl-like structure. Pearls can be used to feed, mutate, and awaken animals or plants that have not been introduced to mana prior—a maximum of five pearls can be made before they automatically fall from the kiln.

[Cost: 41 Essence + 2.3 Refined Nebula]

Essence Available: 111 [R = 59%]

Refined Nebula Available: 7.2 [4.3]

Refined Vitrum Available: 6.5 [3.6]

Refined Acerb: 0.8 (0.0)

I confirm the adaptation’s information and then my amounts of materials. ‘So I have been able to obtain the most Essence, Nebula, and Vitrum I have ever had by eating turkeys. I shan’t complain. This has been a boon. Actually, the paste pearl adaptation costs more now. That is annoying. Still, I shall take the paste pearl adaptation, Earl.’

Wearing my arc suit, I do my best to watch, but it is difficult to see. The flame looks to brighten and the outside layer of the shell separates, forming a small orb. When the gleam returns to normal, the sphere revolves around the shell’s exterior. Summoning my status, my adaptations now includes “Paste Pearl (1 / 5).”

I nod, retrieve the papers I shall need for the night, and then perform a small search of the RV. After not discovering Terra and giving Gen a scratch behind the ear, I grab the coat I have been using these past few days and exit the RV.

In the cold of night, two escorts that I learned are named Summer and Noah, approach and take a position at my left and right. These two are the original woman and man in red, respectfully. The other three escort’s names are still mysteries to me; I shall take the opportunity to learn them when we actually work together.

I suppose I could ask Terra, she would tell me, except then I might misremember what I should and should not know about them. If their past were essential to our relationship, Terra would inform me, so I believe I should wait for them to tell me themselves when the time arrives.

Shutting the RV’s door, we walk to Frisbee Hill together. The pair do not talk much; they may require a moment to grow more accustomed to my presence.

Terra’s voice speaks into my head, “I wanted to hang the signs with you.”

I glance left to right. Spinning around, I spot Terra approaching. Tonight she is wearing a puffy white coat, violet veil, and a pair of this era’s standard blue trousers. At her sides and back walk the three other escorts with flat expressions.

She stops a few feet away. Noticing the side of her face without the cloth is blushed, I ask, “Hast thou been drinking?”

“I…” She runs a finger through her silver hair while maintaining her Galtry expression on the outside. Yet, in my head, her words are stiff, “How… how can you tell!?”

Circling my own face with my finger, I then point at hers. “Thy face is red, though I was not certain if it was that or the cold. Is it a good time to be doing such things?”

“No, not really, but I only had one glass of red wine. I don’t have much of a tolerance since Caldwell usually won’t buy me wine.”

“Why...?” I tilt my head. “Doth thou have a drinking problem?”

“No, I’m not twenty-one. He sometimes doesn’t seem to realize he works for me.” She sighs. “Anyway, I just wanted a glass to celebrate our bringing of the Consortium to the negotiating table.”

“Not twenty-one?”

“Yeah, I’ll be twenty in a few weeks and the drinking age is twenty-one.”

“Drinking age; what is that?”

“It’s not important, especially with the way the world is heading. Now, let’s enjoy a single moment of peace together, okay?”

“But don’t you need to meet with the others before they attempt the theft? Not to mention, Lincoln and Pierce?”

“They can wait a moment and the meeting with the Consortium is still hours away. Besides, this will only take a second; all we’re doing is hanging up a notice in disguise. ”

“That’s true… Oh, I have meant to ask, why am I the one hanging the signs? If I am in disguise, does it matter who does it?”

“Did you forget?” Faking a huff in my head, she replies, “We promised to hang signs together a few weeks ago and never did; I was looking forward to it too.”

I make a questioning squint with my eyes but then realize what she is speaking of. “Ah, thou means the warning signs. We did not because we got interrupted, and in the end, they ended up being unnecessary with the Consortium’s arrival.”

“That’s right, time to do as we said we would.” She strolls past me, motioning for me to follow.

Shrugging, we walk together while the five escorts take position behind us.

“I want to hang some of my student’s drawings while we are there too.” She holds up some papers with rough drawings on them. I recognize them; they are the ones her young students made. They certainly look like they were made by children. “I think it’s funny. They’d be excited to see them hanging up.”

“Aye. They are still appropriate too, I suppose.” I glimpse at The Lake. “There is indeed a monster in The Lake, just as there was then. I am certain thy students would be delighted to see them being put to use.”

Nodding, she smiles and adds, “When I take my organization, I’m going to go back to get them. Then I’ll show them that I hung them up like I said I would.”

‘...Now that I recall, she did say once that she had people she wanted to protect. Is that who she was speaking of?’

Terra seems lost in thought after that, so the walk turns quiet.

Arriving at an area near “The Falconer” statue, we come upon a makeshift signboard. Instead of being a signboard fastened to two posts and stacked into the ground, it is instead a signboard suspended on chains and joined to a modest wooden trestle. The signboard itself is rather long; it could hold at least twenty of our notices. I shall be making use of a small piece of it. The whole thing was erected by an assortment of carpenters from the camp a day or so ago.

The unique thing about the signboard is the big devices fastened to the top called “loudspeakers.” Those were purchased by Terra and also placed by the carpenters. She intends to install several of these around the camp. When I asked about them, the carpenter stated, “they make things louder,” and that was as much detail as I was given. I suppose sticking the note to their hammer so that they would see it when they were not busy was not the best way to ask.

“Space them out so people won’t crowd around one spot. Oh, and here use this to attach it,” Terra says, reaching into her pocket and then giving me some tacks to hang the signs with.

I place my hand on the back of the board to prevent it from swaying, and together, I begin attaching the notices while Terra hangs her student’s drawings.

The notices were composed by me to match both my handwriting and, as Terra said, ‘speaking habits.’

All three read as follows:

“Notice! To all who shall brave the challenges of the Tower, the Tower shall provide for thee.

On the morrow, a chance of a lifetime shall commence for six hundred individuals. Six hundred tokens shall be gifted to those that lead by example—displaying sincerity, virtue, and promoting unity amongst thy fellows.

Five hundred of these tokens will allow thee a chance to awaken first, joining into the Beta earlier than most anyone here.

To the most promising one hundred, a greater prize shall be presented. The one hundred shall be both given the right to awaken and be amidst the first to explore the Tower’s innards, the first to try their hands. All of these individuals will be amongst the best and shall be remembered as such from here onward.

Tokens shall be redeemed to the one who speaks to the speaker. Who that is will be evident in the near future.

Best wishes, Pilgrims - The Fairy of The Tower.”

I intended to exclude the word “pilgrim;” however, Terra held the opinion that it made the Tower seem closer to a sacred place. She went on to say that tomorrow is the Thanksgiving holiday, so it was festive as well. At first, I believed it was the latter, except then I heard that some people have been competing for spots on Pilgrim Hill to the Terrace’s east, going as far as fighting in some cases. They claim it is a special location because I used the word “pilgrim” in my newest prophecy. I only said it because it felt appropriate; I do not care for the word myself.

‘I wonder if Terra would consider me one of these pilgrims everyone has romanticized. Truly it was nothing like they seem to imagine. For the townsfolk, it was incessant hardship; for me, it was peaceful.’ Glancing at her, smiling at one of her student’s signs, I stare up at the cloudy night sky. ‘I still have not spoken to her about Roanoke, not by name or detail.’

“You know, I never did tell you what the other contract I had made was, did I?” Terra’s voice questions in my head.

“...Oh.” Removing my gaze from the sky, I shake my head. “Nay, thou did not.”

“It’s one I made with my father. I had to make a contract with a spirit before my twentieth birthday, or I’d be forced to grow apathetic toward the students.”

“Apathetic?”

“Essentially, I would lose the capacity to care about them.” She smoothes the edge of one of the signs. “The real catch was, there weren’t any spirits around and he knew that. He just wanted me to step out of the way.”

I study Terra’s expression and then some of the drawings her students sketched. “...That sounds like an abominable stipulation, I shan’t lie.”

“So I just wanted to say thank you. I wasn’t totally sure, but it turned out that Kiln do in fact count as spirits.”

“Oh? So it’s already been resolved...?” Scratching the side of my glass helmet, I tilt my head. “I did not do anything, though I am glad I helped.”

“You’ve done more than anyone for me… Now, let’s place the final cornerstone on our little area of the park here. How does that sound to you?”

“It sounds wonderful; I am eager to finish things.”

She nods. “Then I’ll see you after my meeting is concluded.”

“Aye, I see nary a reason it should not go smoothly.”

“Yes, either way, we are both protected.” Raising an eyebrow, she asks, “And are you sure you won’t come to the meeting?”

“I shan’t, not this one anyway. If I go, I will be a distraction, and I am certain they will try to use the opportunity to learn more about me and the situation here. Besides, a contract cannot be made until after the Tower sprouts since we do not know the amount we can offer them at the moment.”

With a slight smirk, she walks away along with her three escorts. “Alas, I guess I’ll have to do the boring part alone then. See you soon then.”

“Fare thee well, and if that Gary fellow is there, tell him that sometimes a few words can do the work of many.”

Disappearing below the hilltop, I witness her shaking her head at my advice.

I gesture to Summer and Noah; we slip away as well.

In the distance, I hear someone yell, “Hey! Hey! There’s something from the Fairy on the board!”

We trudge through the snow until we are around a thousand feet east of the signboard. There we come upon a structure I am familiar with. It is a stage made of marble, something I came across the day I arrived at the Terrace. This is where I shall be observing the Consortium from. It’s also near where I shall be fulfilling the second prophecy tomorrow before hibernation.

Gazing toward the Arcade and Terra, I cannot see much. The Consortium has closed off the backside of the Arcade as well. This is the side I originally entered from, the side opposite the fountain and lake where a single grand staircase leads down into the Arcade.

Still, this is where the canisters are meant to be loaded. After they are loaded, we expect they will move their ride onto the road that runs above the Arcade, and then they shall take a right turn. They will then travel a few hundred feet east, where they will come upon the barricade erected by Jessica and Leo.

“There’s a heater over here. We can use this as a position to warm up while we make rounds around the Terrace,” Summer says, pointing toward a device upon the marble stage. Looking at the device herself, she lifts an eyebrow and frowns. “Noah, you were supposed to cover the heater with its case so it wouldn’t get too wet.”

‘I guess the cold has relaxed them a tad.’

Noah raises his arms, gesturing toward the heater. “I was gonna, but there was like a big mushroom growing on the case. It was gross; no way was I touching it.”

‘Mushrooms do have a tendency to appear where they were not quickly. Have to be careful.’

“Mushroom?” She scoffs. “Dude, there’s no way; it’s like twenty degrees. Where’d you put it?”

Raising his hand, he gestures toward a thicket. “Flung it in the grass somewhere with a stick. I’m telling you, though, it was like the most generic grossly picturesque lookin’ mushroom I’ve ever seen!”

“Just whatever, start the heater before it gets too wet to turn on.”

I shrug. Warm, cold, unless it is an actual fire, I cannot feel it. As far as cold goes, I have never felt it as a Kiln, or more accurately, it is all I feel. It’s strange the things one can become accustomed to. The heater device clicks and an orange flame springs up.

Noah smiles at Summer.

“Shut up,” Summer says.

To appear more human, I walk to the flame’s side and place my back to it as one would a glowing hearth. [1]

Time passes as the three of us watch the Consortium movements. The park becomes quiet as the people return to their encampment, and soon, it is time for the actual theft.

A torch illuminates the area at the top of the Arcade’s grand staircase. Hearing the metallic clicks of canisters bumping against one another, I gesture toward Summer and Noah. The three of us move through the snow toward Pilgrim’s Hill. We are going to take a position between Pilgrim Hill and the Terrace. The likelihood of the Consortium taking a left instead of a right is almost nil. This is because the road to the left has not been cleared of snow and people have placed several of what I am told are called barbecues in the middle of it. The barbecues shan’t be going anyplace; what’s essential is that Jessica and Leo set the barricades in the opposite direction.

Arriving at the designated location, we instantly notice something is not right. “Where is the barricade the cops were supposed to put up? Did those pigs really betray Miss Galtry?” Summer asks, anger evident in her voice.

“Do you really think they would?” Looking between Summer and I. “With the contract and all?”

Terra informed me that the contract they signed was not reciprocal; it was a subordinate contract. This fixes Terra above them; however, this type of contract is more restrictive when it comes to stipulations and punishments. In this case, the punishment for attempting to reveal secrets is extreme pain and a temporary inability to speak. If it is something worse than that, the punishment is crippling pain and loss of the right eye. Anything more would have taken a toll on Terra, who had performed a taxing lifetime reciprocal contract with me that same day.

I shake my head and remove my yellow sticky paper. “Nay. I do not believe they would. It does not make sense for them to do so,” I write.

Just as I pass my message to Summer and Noah, I recognize Leo hurrying over with a pair of long wooden barricades. He abandons one, drags the other onto the road, and places it. With haste, he retrieves the second one and repeats his previous actions. Looking left to right, he hesitates before running away.

‘That seemed odd.’

Noah raises a hand. “Well, I guess he didn’t betray Miss Galtry, but what was up with that?”

“Looked like he was searching for something,” Summer responds. After Summer’s words, the ride transporting the canisters departs from the Arcade. “At least they didn’t screw up the operation; the truck didn’t seem to notice him.”

As expected, the ride, a so-called truck, moves onto the road, swings right, and approaches the barricades. I examine the area around the Consortium stronghold. As long as Lincoln and Pierce went to the meeting with Terra, everything should go fine.

The ride stops at our barricades.

A man lowers his carriage window, pokes his head out, and gestures off into the distance. Where he’s motioning, there are the flickering red and blue lights of the noble’s guard that are expecting them. The canisters only had to go a thousand or so feet to receive the noble’s guard support, yet they have been blocked at an intersection after only four hundred. If I were in their position, I would estimate the likelihood of something happening so close to where I just departed remote.

The man sitting on the right side, the passenger, opens his carriage door. Careful not to slip on the icy roads, he shuffles over to the barricades complaining the whole time he does so. His partner, the driver, watches him. What both of them do not notice is Hoarse approaching their truck from the rear.

Removing something from his jacket, Hoarse wedges it into a pipe at the tail of the truck, blocking the white smoke it usually spews.

“Blocking the exhaust.” Summer points at the driver. “They’re gonna try to get the other guy out of the truck or at least get the engine to stall.” Hoarse dips beneath the truck to search for the device that tracks its movements. “Still, he’s either stupid or overly confident.”

“Seems like the kinda guy who’s been run over before,” Noah adds with a high chuckle.

I shrug. ‘I have hidden beneath moving carriages before. To either hide, steal, or on one occasion, travel.’

From the bushes, a woman stumbles out with her head down. She looks disheveled as if in distress. This woman is Emily.

Collapsing onto the road, the passenger pauses and shouts something. When Emily does not respond, he tosses the barricade from the road and shuffles over to her.

With the barricade removed from their path, the truck rolls forward. Hoarse latches onto the truck’s bottom and is dragged along.

The truck reels, coming to a gradual stop. At the same time, the passenger reaches Emily’s motionless form. Bending down, he is about to tap her on the shoulder when Emily seizes his wrist. Threads, like twine, stitch themselves into the passenger’s arms.

From the bushes on the opposite side of the road, Lorcan rushes out. He reaches the driver’s window and shatters it with a pair of metal knuckles. Being awakened, Lorcan is much faster than the driver. He wraps his arms around the driver’s neck and yanks him from the truck.

Without the driver, the truck rolls forward at a rambling pace toward the passenger and Emily.

Ava follows Lorcan out of the hedges. While Lorcan restrains the driver steady, Ava removes a quill from her frock. Her quill falls from her bandaged fingertips. A puff of hot air exits the hood of her frock as she huffs and retrieves it from a slush pile on the road. Inspecting the quills tip, she scribbles something upon the driver’s forehead in dark black ink. She pulls back her sleeve, exposing her wrist. Threads shoot from the cloth stitched to her wrist and sew themselves into the ink.

When the stitches have finished, the ink on the driver’s forehead trickles like raindrops into his eyes, painting them black. ‘A direct hex that apparently lasts until the ink on the forehead is smeared and persists for a few minutes thereafter. It makes him blind.’

Ava then races toward the truck, kicking up an icy slurry as she does so.

As for the passenger, the threads finish sewing themselves into his body and vanish. The passenger’s legs buckle and he sinks to the ground. Emily leaps to her feet and hurries from the truck’s path. She slides on the icy road, barely catching herself.

Hopping onto the truck, Ava opens the carriage door and jumps in. The truck wobbles back and forth and skids to a halt, much to Emily’s relief.

Meanwhile, Hoarse draws himself out from beneath the truck. He stands and inspects what resembles a small black box before flinging it further up the road.

Summer shakes her head. “That was the tracking device.”

“He knew exactly where it was; he’s done this before,” Noah replies, rolling his eyes. “Frequent carjacker this guy.”

Hoarse removes the object he shoved into the pipe earlier and shuffles over to the driver that Emily sent falling to the ground. He flips him onto their front, removes cordage from his coat, and uses it to tie the driver’s arms and legs.

After Hoarse places him into a sitting position, Emily removes a quill from her coat and scribbles more writing onto his face. She rips the bandage from her face, revealing the cloth she tore from her cheek weeks earlier has grown back. Threads stream from the fabric into the writing. Drops of blood drip from Emily’s cheek, so she replaces her bandage, leaving the bound passenger with writing on his forehead and cheek.

Noah presses his lips together and asks, “How bad do you imagine that hurts?”

“She didn’t seem like she was in pain,” Summer replies.

Meanwhile, Lorcan has tied the driver. Hoarse and Lorcan tie the two men together and leave them sitting in the middle of the road, surrounded by the barricades. All of them climb into the truck and turn northward, away from the Consortium and the noble’s guard to the east.

From behind us, the crunch of snow. Summer and Noah remove their weapons. In tandem, the three of us spin around, discovering the reddened face of Leo.

“Someone took Jessica!” Leo says, gesturing to the groves of trees behind him.

Summer’s brows furrow, she glances at Pilgrim Hill and then questions, “Who? The people?”

Leo raises his arms while shaking his head. “I don’t know, someone! If I knew, I’d already have gone to get her!”

“How do you know; are you sure?” Noah asks, narrowing his eyes.

“Well, I felt it was pretty obvious when she was close by and said ‘someone’s over here,’ then I couldn’t find her two seconds later!”

“Have you tried calling her?”

With a mocking laugh, Leo says, “Call her! What kinda idiot brings their cell phone when they’re committing a crime?!” He sighs. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he answers his own questions. “More than you’d imagine actually, we arrest a lot of people like that. Anyway, I need your help looking. Calling this in would be bad; we aren’t supposed to be working right now.”

Summer and Noah glance at one another and then turn to me.

Frowning, Summer says, “Every once in a while, a girl would get into the wrong set of wheels and they’d never be seen again. Cops never went searching for them.”

Leo’s mouth opens in disbelief.

“It’s true,” Noah says, flexing his eyebrows. “Certainly, didn’t help us.”

Leo’s face is one of astonishment. “You’re both acting like I’m asking you to assault a mobster’s hideout in your underwear; I just want you to stroll around the park like a normal person while turning your head from side to side!”

Summer raises her hands. “I mean, is there a kidnapper or did she just get lost? Because the way I see it, a kidnapper on the loose is serious business and I’m supposed to be guarding a VIP here,” she says, gesturing toward me.

I glimpse at the crime scene in the distance. Consortium men run from their stronghold toward the driver and passenger. As soon as they reach out to touch them, a secondary trap hex Emily crafted activates, sending the two to the ground.

Writing a message, I display it to the three, “Our business is concluded here, I do not mind searching for a moment, but I am not willing to seek her for long. Where didst thou separate from her?”