Before either of the other two women could respond to Bazy’s story, the door slammed open and all three turned to see Mason with no glamour about him, and only the faintest amount of mana within him. Shaywise saw that Tory’s hand was on her weapon, but hadn’t noticed whether she had taken that position when she first heard the door, or when she saw who was there.

Mason glanced about the room, and then stared directly at Torysen. His hands empty at his sides, he walked up to her and knelt, allowing several moments to pass by in silence. His heart pounded, and he hoped Tory would be off her guard enough to take his next words peacefully.

“Torysen, I owe you an apology, and bring you a message. The rumors are true, I took Mowrytal’s soul with the Staff of Mardun, and he exists within me somehow. He’s been helping me, shaping my growth. He said that if you help me, it will help him,” Mason’s words fumbled out awkwardly, but he kept his eyes on Tory’s even as he knelt.

“Stand,” she said gruffly, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him to his feet. She slapped him hard with her free hand but nobody, including Mason, made a move in response. There was a violet flash in Mason’s eye as his glamour triggered for a moment, and he could see Tory visibly soften.

“I won’t get in your way, Demon. Shaywise, come to terms with Miss Bazy and discuss with...” she hesitated, “Mason about his plans for his race. I need time.”

Mason looked at Shaywise and she nodded a silent approval as Tory passed from the room. When the silence grew stale, Bazy started loudly, “Alright, smooth skin, sit down and let’s talk.”

She gave an even briefer background on what had happened here, and then finished with her point, “So, Demon, will you unseal the castle so that we can try to salvage what’s left of the city?”

He noticed Shaywise looking at him nervously. Though they had some background together, she had only known Mason a few days before he and Shayjol had disappeared. Mason’s true motives and personality were a distinct mystery.

Looking back at Bazy he said, “I will absolutely unseal the castle, but I would like more of the Darkest Night there before I do, if Shaywise thinks they’ll agree. If what you say is true, then it’s possible the rest of the city is overrun with monsters, and we might lose the one remaining piece that isn’t. But if we have warriors guarding the entrances, we might stand a chance of resisting that, right?”

“Most of the monsters I heard about were not very powerful. Arlon used to go down and fight and he would come back complaining that it was hardly worth his time. If the Darkest Night are on the same lines as Tory, or even just her archers, I think they could easily prevent the monsters from invading,” Bazy explained casually. “But you do realize that you’re asking me to accept an occupation by the Darkest Night. I know they want the mana we have here. If I ask them to defend our city, they won’t leave.”

“We only know a few dozen Biord are alive anyways. If the city has been ransacked I’m pretty sure we could find space for a small fighting force. Honestly if we just cleared out the servant quarters…” Mason shook his head, trying to remember who he was on Earth, and measure him against who he was becoming, “We could not only lay your friends to rest, but we could keep their memories alive by doing some good with their homes.”

“I have no doubt Tory could bring more of the Darkest Night here, but they will not want to be second class to the Biord. My people know their strength, and they are proud of it,” Shaywise added, a small look of satisfaction on her face.

“They would not be second. We Biord need help, and training. This city was hospitable, we lived easy lives and lacked ambition, but this world has no place for us if we are not able to change our ways. Train us, use us, and we will welcome you into our home.”

“I will ask the council for their guidance, but with the amount of mana running through this place, I think they will be glad for an opportunity to move some of our people here. Our mines cannot sustain the population indefinitely out on the surface.”

With that settled, they both looked back at Mason and Bazy spoke up, “And what about your people? I’ve been told that you are only the first here. What can we expect?”

Mason shook his head and looked down, “I really don’t know. I only have a vague message to go off of, so I don’t know if my people will come by the hundreds, thousands, or millions. My race adapts, it survives through intelligence and creativity, but we cannot use mana and don’t seem to even have the physical strength of the Darkest Night that I’ve met so far.

“Honestly, I’m worried that if monsters appear when the humans do, we’ll be killed outright without a chance.”

“Not if you have our assistance,” Shaywise countered, “Even if we are able to move our city in with the Biord, we won’t be able to entirely abandon our starting city, and with the monsters and the Corrosi to the north, we need all the assistance we can get repelling them.

“I can see in your mana how much you’ve changed in just the past few days. If the rest of you humans are so adaptable, it is very possible that an alliance between our three races could bring us some marginal stability.”

“Then what? We live happily ever after? We humans are,” Mason looked for a word, “stubborn? I guess. We won’t be happy settling. If they grow strong, they will want to expand, but I don’t have the faintest clue what’s further than your cabin in the woods, Shaywise.”

“The Trials will keep them busy. If they grow strong, the Trials will just send tougher challenges. That is why Roving Bands like Torysen’s exist- to hopefully find the next challenge before it finds us.”

Mason leaned over a bowl that was carved into a recess in the back of his quarters. He splashed cool spring water on his face to try and focus himself, but even that his mind began comparing to the swirling, violent energies that he had grown familiar with over the last week.

Realizing that there were two souls, two sentient beings somehow captive within him had pushed him far beyond the limits that his mental health could naturally maintain. Still, there were dangers about, so for now he would grit his teeth and bear it when he had to. That was what led him to Tory, and that even more stressful discussion of the future fate of humanity.

He almost wanted to laugh, or cry, but most of all he wanted to sleep. However, something told him that when he did, he would have to confront Mowry and Geralt again. Instead, he had paced his room, bit his nails, rinsed himself with water, and tried desperately not to scream.

Mason missed his campsite. Even though its memory was somewhat tainted by the soul he had stolen from there, it was still the closest thing he had to a home on this plane. He had been suffering then too, but that was just pain, not this mental confusion and agony he was handling now. Fight small animals, gather nuts and berries, train up skills- it was a simple challenge with clear rewards.

Trying to coordinate three completely foreign groups forming an alliance to survive against threats unknown…

He pulled up his status screen, reminded that his skills were something he hadn’t checked after all of the busyness of the last day. He had unlocked a new ability: Stamina Drain- though he wasn’t surprised after seeing its effects. And beyond that, mana manipulation, glamour, recovery, mana blade, and staff and blade specializations had all improved by one point, while shadow stalk had improved by two.

It wasn’t a very noticeable improvement, but it was a start.

His more exciting notification was that he had completed his challenge.

Challenge Complete: Shadowstalking! You move through shadows as if they are the true place where you belong.

You have become a Magical Shadow Slayer.

You gain a focus point in Agility.

You gain a focus point in Creativity.

You gain a focus point to spend how you would like.

Mason immediately dropped the free point into intelligence.

You’ve unlocked the challenge: Spellcraft. Mana opens the door to a great many things, but can you step through the doorway?

The new, vague challenge frustrated Mason, but at least it was a challenge which would drive forward his abilities with magic. And the last challenge had led to him unlocking a skill, too. While he considered the possible ways he could complete the challenge, he heard a knock on his door.

Shayjol entered the room, scowling as he sat on the edge of Mason’s bed. He didn’t speak, but Mason hadn’t greeted him, only turned to stare.

Mason splashed some more water on his face then stood across from Shay, mind racing through the possible reasons Shay might be there.

When he was about to speak, Shay interrupted, “I am grateful that you came back for me, and glad that the old man did not kill you. I am not certain we would have been able to fight him in any other context than with so many reinforcements, and your abilities were… helpful.”

Mason sighed, “None of you are comfortable with what I did. None of Tory’s roving band would even talk to me when I woke up, other than to point me toward where she was. Bazy and Shaywise seemed to handle it alright but Bazy is a little odd and your mother is more focused on moving forward than anything.”

“Soul magic is forbidden and rare on Marra,” Shay explained, focusing more on the gentle pool of mana he was forming in front of him than on Mason’s mana signature, “Tory would have taken Geralt’s life, and he would have never moved again. His soul would have been free to return to the Beyond. But you claimed his soul, and either he lives on within you, or all that he is will become energy for you to use. This is not honorable.”

Activating Mana Sight, Mason could almost look directly at Shay without feeling blinded. These people were so bright, full of unusual energies and certain of things which he could hardly understand. It would be a never-ending culture shock, made almost worse by the fact that this land seemed to be nobody’s true home. “I haven’t used him for energy. I don’t even know how I would. He’s alive, within me. He wanted control, but Mowry is running the show. Mowry protected me.”

Shay’s violet eyes zipped back and forth across Mason now, and his lips moved in an incantation that Mason could hardly hear. “Your mana is very unusual. It might be that you are telling the truth. There are pockets where the energy flows in a very different way than the rest. You are not at harmony with the souls within you.”

He chuckled, “Of course not. I ripped them from their bodies and made them mine. I didn’t even know I was doing it- either time, if you’d believe me.”

“Then you should do what you can to make amends. A war within will tear you apart, and I think Torysen would be infuriated to lose the opportunity to tear you apart herself.”