Day Five. Dawn.

I knocked on the door to the Tartan barracks for what felt like forever before someone answered. The door opened a smidge, and an unknown player stared down at me from within.

“I need to speak to your captain,” I said without preamble.

“Who—” he began.

“Now!” I demanded.

The player’s mouth worked soundlessly, and he looked ready to slam the door in my face, but before he could do that, a voice called from within. “Let him in,” Cecilia said.

Not waiting for the player’s response, I barged in. I was being rude, I knew, but I was in a hurry and didn’t have time for niceties.

It would not take the Howlers long to muster a response to the killings in their fort, and before they did, I wanted to be ready to act. Glancing about, I spotted Cecilia standing nearby.

“This way, Michael,” she said.

I hurried to her side, and without saying anything, the elf turned about and headed deeper into the building.

“Where’s Ultack?” I asked.

“Training,” Cecilia replied, not elaborating further. She glanced at me sideways. “You look troubled. Is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I’ve uncovered some disconcerting facts. I’m hoping your captain can make more sense of it than me.”

“He will,” she replied unquestioningly as we drew to a halt in front of a closed door. “Go on in. The captain is inside.”

I nodded in thanks and, opening the door, stepped within. The room was small, simply furnished, and configured as an office. Talon was seated behind a desk, writing something on a slip of paper.

At my entrance, he stood up. “Welcome, Michael,” he said as if he had been expecting me. “Close the door and take a seat.”

I did as he bade and opened my mouth to begin.

Talon raised a finger, stopping me. “One moment,” he murmured. A moment later, he said, “Go ahead. We are shielded now.”

I nodded, appreciating his precautions. “I have found your son,” I said, meeting the envoy’s gaze.

Talon’s face broke out in a grin, his delight and relief unmistakable. “Where is he?” he asked eagerly.

I shrugged. “Probably on his way south already by now. I left him and his squad at the Red Rats’ camp last night.”

The captain’s smile faded. “So the squad made it to the camp? Why didn’t they report in earlier?”

“They were being held as prisoners.”

There was a heartbeat of silence as Talon digested this. “Prisoners?” he half growled. “Why were they bloody prisoners?”

I sighed. “It’s a long story and one your son can tell you himself when he gets back. But the short of it is, the Red Rats have covertly pledged allegiance to Erebus. Sturm’s squad found this out somehow, and to keep the matter secret, the tribe was ordered to hold your soldiers captive.”

Your task: Forging Dark Alliances! has been updated. You have informed Captain Talon of the alliance between the Red Rats and the Awakened Dead. Objective 2 completed.

For another drawn-out moment, the captain didn’t say anything, but his gaze had seemed to flick inwards in time with my own.

Had Talon received a quest update too?

“How did you free them?” he asked at last.

“I took advantage of the circumstances,” I replied, sidestepping the truth. “The Red Rats have decamped.” I held Talon’s gaze. “They’re marching south. To war.”

I didn’t elaborate further, letting the captain draw his own conclusions. I’d very deliberately not mentioned my own role in instigating the Red Rats’ actions or the detour I’d ordered them to make.

I’d not lied… not precisely, and I had shared the necessary facts. There was no reason for me to feel guilty. None.

Preoccupied with my tidings, the captain didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. “They can only be moving against the Howlers.” He cursed softly. “I can’t say I’m surprised Erebus has lost control of his minions. But what is that idiot Red Rat shaman thinking? Waging war on the Howlers is one thing. Holding Tartan soldiers captive… is another matter entirely.” He shook his head. “Rank foolishness.”

“I don’t understand all the whys of it myself,” I confessed. “But you’ve got one thing wrong.” I paused. “Erebus has not lost control of the goblins. The war the Red Rats are waging against the Howlers? That is at his behest.”

Again, I wasn’t telling the captain everything, but I didn’t think I was stretching the truth too far. The gist of what I told Talon was true—Erebus had ordered the war between the goblins—the rest was... unnecessary detail.

The captain leaned across his table, pinning me with his gaze. “Let me get this straight. You’re saying Erebus ordered the Red Rats to attack the Howlers?”

“I am.”

“Are you certain of that?”

I nodded. “I learned it from your son himself.”

“Sturm told you that?” Talon frowned. “But it makes no sense. I knew Erebus was stalling, but why attack the Howlers?” he murmured, more to himself than to me. “They hold the means to claiming the sector.”

My ears perked up at that. “What does that mean?”

“Kingdom sectors are not like dungeon sectors,” the captain said absently, “they can be claimed.”

My brows furrowed. We’d touched on this topic before, but I wasn’t sure I understood the reference or how it answered what I’d just asked.

The captain’s gaze drifted my way, and he noticed my confusion. “What do you know about sectors?”

I grimaced. “Other than what you told me before?”

He nodded.

“Not much,” I admitted.

The captain smiled kindly. “Then you know more than most. Many players are unaware of how little they truly understand.”

Talon paused, gathering his thoughts. “Remember what I told you before, that the Forever Kingdom is a world broken in two?”

“I do.”

“One half, the aboveground world, resides in the aether, and the other, the world below, occupies the nether,” Talon continued. “In a millennia-old cataclysmic event, each half was shattered into millions of smaller pieces—what we call sectors.” He looked at me. “Still following?”

I nodded, fascinated by this bit of lore.

“Think of the sectors as little islands floating either in the void of the aether or in the darkness of the nether,” the captain said. “Kingdom sectors—those in the aether—function differently from dungeon sectors—those in the nether. The most crucial difference between the two is the manner in which they are claimed.” He held my gaze for a moment to stress the importance of his next point. “To establish ownership of a kingdom sector, a faction has to control its safe zone.”

I frowned for a moment, puzzled, then my eyes widened as I caught on. “Like what the Howlers are doing now?”

“Exactly,” Talon exclaimed. “To control the safe zone of a sector this size requires a fort garrisoned by at least a thousand soldiers.”

“That means—” I broke off, my frown deepening as something occurred to me. “Wait. If that’s the case, shouldn’t the Howlers already own this valley?”

Talon smiled. “The goblins aren’t players. Only player factions can own a sector. But with the Howler fort already in control of the safe zone, the moment they join a faction—the Awakened Dead or Tartans—things in this valley will change drastically.” He paused. “Do you understand what I’m driving at Michael?”

“I think so,” I replied absently, my thoughts churning furiously. “The Awakened Dead would be better served by coopting the Howlers into their faction—not going to war with them.”

The captain nodded. “Correct. It’s what makes your news so mystifying. I’d been assuming all along that the only reason Erebus allowed the Howlers to build their fort was so he could claim the sector immediately when they pledged allegiance to him.” He shook his head. “Now, I don’t know what to believe.”

I nodded wordlessly, my own confusion even greater than the captain’s.

What the captain didn’t know yet, because I hadn’t told him—and now I was no longer certain I should tell him—was that the Howlers were already allied with the Awakened Dead.

Which means what exactly?

With a heartfelt sigh, I bowed my head and rubbed my temples. Matters were refusing to make sense. If what the captain had told me was true, then the sector should already be under the Awakened Dead’s control, shouldn’t it?

Unless the captain is lying.

Or the dead goblin was.

I blew out a troubled breath. Instead of clarifying matters, my visit to the captain was only confusing me further.

The captain chuckled at my expression. “Perplexing, isn’t it? The only way any of this makes sense is if the Howlers have refused the Awakened Dead’s overtures.”

I remained silent, saying nothing to disabuse him of this bit of speculation—even though I suspected he was wrong.

I wasn’t being entirely forthcoming with the captain, but I could not forget he was an envoy of a Dark Power, one completely unknown to me. Talon’s first loyalty would be to his master, and our goals were not necessarily aligned.

“That must be it,” Talon murmured after a moment of silent contemplation.

“What benefit does controlling a kingdom sector confer?” I asked, steering the conversation to safer ground.

“Well, for one, the faction’s players have free run of the sector, able to teleport into and out of the sector at will, anytime and anyplace. For another, the owning faction can surveil all non-allied players in the sector and know exactly where they are at all times. Lastly, the owner can also bar enemy and neutral players from entering the safe zone. All of this, as you can imagine, makes capturing an ordinary Kingdom sector difficult. With a closed sector like this one? It’s well-nigh impossible without overwhelming force.”

I whistled appreciatively. Owning a sector was definitely advantageous. So why was Erebus delaying his claim to this one?

I had no answer.

“But all this speculation is fruitless and beside the point,” the captain said, shaking his head. “What’s important is having proof of what Erebus is about.” He eyed me searchingly. “Do you?”

I nodded. Withdrawing Stayne’s letter from my pocket, I spread it out on the table for him to read.