With the Sigil for the dwarves obtained, Rory was starting to feel a little more hopeful. He had Angus use he Sigil of Transfer Warded into one of the columns and received back the Sigil of Shaded Region.

Angus didn’t mind losing the Sigil. For one, it wasn’t exactly useful to him or any of them at the palace. For another, he already had a Sigil from the Rescuer perk, as Rory discovered. It was a Sigil of Execution, which proved be a rather warlike Sigil with an ability that allowed the user to kill anything with far too much ease.

Rory found himself a little scared of it and understood why he had tried not to mention it to anyone he didn’t have to. It was best to keep it quiet for now.

But he was going to have to see how Angus could use it when they went outside again.

Trying his best to forget about a Sigil meant purely for killing like that, Rory called up the dwarves. Well, Talvic, specifically. The minelord sounded annoyed at being called, as usual, but Rory ignored it and told him about the Sigil he had created.

“…what need would we have for something we already control?” Talvic asked.

Rory smiled. He had figured he was going to get those kinds of questions. “You control the sun?”

“Well, no. But it does not sound like your Sigil does either.”

“It does, in a sense. The Sigil controls the intensity of sunlight around you. That means you can lower the effect of the sun in an area, which further means you don’t have to depend on your expensive clouds as much. At least, not for something as simple as shade. Think about how much this can extend your range and make the things you need completely useless.”

There was a long silence over the call, and Rory was starting to think it had disconnected for some reason. But then Talvic spoke, his voice a little hushed.

“You cannot simply upend an entire line of way a civilization has grown to work,” the minelord said. There was a surprising urgency in his voice, a note that Rory hadn’t ever heard before. Not that he had known the dwarf for long. “It is dangerous. You will be targeted. Killed even, and it does not even need to be the worst-case scenario.”

Rory swallowed. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what Talvic meant. After all, Rory’s line of thinking had been to reduce the dwarves’ dependence on the various things they needed to protect themselves from the sun. Those things couldn’t have been cheap, which meant someone was profiting off them.

In other words, there would be those who hated the Sigil of Shaded Region just for existing, and by extension, would mark Rory as an enemy as well.

But he was ready for that too.

“Well, does that mean you’re not going to be a part of it?” Rory asked Talvic.

“Part of what, exactly?”

“Changing things, if needed. Are you afraid of upending the things you’ve come to depend on.”

Talvic took a deep breath. “Of course, I will be ready. I am a businessman. I have no intention of letting any opportunities run by if there is something to gain.”

Rory grinned. “I knew I could count on you. But this Sigil isn’t for you.”

“What?”

Rory told the minelord his plan. There was a certain rush working through him with every word, the feeling that Talvic might reject the proposition at any moment a very real danger that Rory had to deal with. After he was done, the dwarf was dangerously silent. Though that at least confirmed he was thinking about it instead of rejecting out of hand.

“I see,” Talvic eventually said. “I will think about it some more, but I am beginning to believe in this endeavour. Lucky for you.”

“Yes, I’m quite lucky,” Rory said, trying to keep the sardonicism out of his voice.

“Yes. Let me know what comes next, when it is time, and I will be ready.”

They cut off the call. Troubling as the “I will think about it some more” was, Rory was overall glad about the outcome. Talvic had been convinced, more or less. Rory had known going through the businessman angle would work.

He had thought he could take the rest of the day off. His body was sore from all the practice, and he figured he really needed some time for him to do nothing but rest. Rory was, after all, quite old. He couldn’t keep going like most of the others could.

Unfortunately, his rest didn’t even last an hour. One of the Wraiths patrolling outside the hill the palace was situated on came in with a warning.

“More Homeworlders,” he said when Rory had arrived at the gate. “They come.”

“Why?” Rory asked. “Are they injured?”

“They are not. I cannot fathom the reason for their visit since I haven’t been in contact with them.”

Rory pressed his lips together. It was better that the Homeworlders hadn’t talked with the Wraiths. He wasn’t sure he wanted them to know he was working with Otherworlders in any capacity just yet.

“Thanks for informing us,” Rory said. “We’ll take it from here.”

They prepared for the visit. The Wraith had informed them it was only three people, though only one of them was the one they had helped a few days ago. That gave Rory some hope that this wasn’t going to be too much trouble. Maybe they had simply come to talk about the trading deal and potentially getting a letter of recognition.

“We’re ready,” Allen said. “If they try anything, we can spring our surprise from the surroundings.”

Rory nodded. “Stay out of sight for now, then.”

They had set up potential traps on either side of the driveway. Many of the trees had been destroyed during the Thunderclaw’s attack, and Rory decided to remember to plant some new ones when he had time.

When the Homeworlders finally showed up, Rory noticed that there were two men and one woman. Same party as they’d had the last time, though the individual constituents were different. Shen was the only one Rory recognized. The other man and the woman were new.

“Welcome,” Rory said once the Homeworlders were close enough to hear. “How can we help you here?”

The trio didn’t stop at the call. They continued walking until they were close enough to not need to shout out their reply. Rory appreciated not straining his lungs or his throat, but he still found it a bit rude.

“Good afternoon, Rory,” Shen said. He looked a little sweaty, likely due to the walk and the climb up the hill. “Good to see you’re still alive here.”

Rory smiled at him in greeting. “I’m happy to see you well too. It’s nice to know the Otherworlders aren’t giving you too much trouble.”

“Oh they’re giving us trouble, alright,” the woman muttered.

The unknown man shot her a glare, then mollified his expression into a smile before turning to Rory. “Hello. I’m Aaron. This is my sister, Linda.”

Now that Rory looked properly, he did notice similarities between the siblings. They both had dark brown hair and grey eyes. Linda’s face was dotted with more freckles, and she wore a bomber jacket that didn’t fit her well along with jeans. Aaron had an unkempt beard and glasses with thick frames, his cargo pants tucked into his combat boots.

“Interesting Safe Zone you’ve got here,” Aaron said, eyeing the shimmering boundary.

“Thanks,” Rory said. “Care to come inside?”

They nodded in unison, and Rory ushered them through the gate. The others ambled or worked nearby, keeping a curious eye on their guests. When they reached the main hall, there was a moment’s uncomfortable silence before the Homeworlders seemed to realize they hadn’t answered Rory’s question. Of course, he hadn’t done anything to remind them about it. He wasn’t feeling that charitable.

“Ah, right,” Aaron said. “We heard good things about you guys from Shen, Linus, and Sylvia. You’ve got some plans, don’t you?”

Rory nodded. “We do.” He gave them a refresher about what he was looking for, including the trading deal and the letter of recognition. Rory was actually happy there was little small talk. “Are you here to talk about that?”

“We are.” His words were careful. Almost practiced. “I think it can be beneficial partnership for both of us, and we’ll all have a lot to gain from it.”

“I think so too. So, let’s get to it—what exactly do you need from me to get it going?”

Aaron looked around at the hall, pausing fractionally on the people around them. “Well, it would be good to have proof of the service you’re willing to provide. Of course, we would give you a sample of what we can offer in return.”

Rory nodded. “That’s fair. Have you seen the list we provided a while back?”

“We have. It’s an interesting… reference.”

Rory couldn’t help but laugh a little. “I’m glad you find it interesting.”

“You really want to be paid in Mana?” Linda asked. “Aren’t there are other things you need? Like food, or clothes, or even toilet paper?”

“Well, we do. But bartering for goods becomes complicated with what we determine of how much something might be worth. Instead, I was thinking we could establish Mana as the new form of currency.”

“Were you then thinking using the Mana to buy things from us? Isn’t it an extra step instead of just giving each other the goods we need?”

“It is,” Rory said. “But we’re slowly working things out so that we’re self-sufficient when it comes to things like basic necessities. It wouldn’t do to depend on others to get what we need to live. Except for Mana. We have some stored away, but it can never hurt to get more since we tend to burn through them.”

Linda didn’t look she was satisfied, but she didn’t raise any further arguments.

Aaron hummed. “That’s a strange proposition.”

“Something to get used to for sure,” Rory said. “But yes, about the proof. What exactly were you looking for?”

“Nothing more than a demonstration of the proposed deal. We’ve got some cases for each exact service you intend to provide.”

Aaron opened the pack on his back and started taking things out. One was a small axe, the other was a packet containing a strange mixture, and the other was a Sigil itself. “Can you make a Sigil from each of these?”

“Sure. Here, let me see.”

Rory activated his Weaving and focused it on the axe in Aaron’s hand, turning the white lines on it. It took only a couple of second for the axe to dissolve into a Sigil. Rory got no notification from it, likely because it was in Aaron’s hand instead of his.

“Interesting,” he said. “Just as I suspected. I got a Sigil of Axe.”

“What does it do?” Rory asked.

“Allows me to turn things I have into an axe, if I so wish.”

Rory nodded. The crossbow quarrels he had Woven for Ned had been something similar. A shaping Sigil that allowed any other element being used to be turned into that shape.

“Now the next,” Aaron said.

Rory used his Weaving on the pack of strange materials. He hadn’t recognized what he’d seen there, but he didn’t need to. Only Aaron really cared about the Sigil they were about to get.

Once again, Rory received no notification from the system about the Sigil he had Woven. Interesting find. It seemed that Rory Wove a Sigil into someone else’s hand, he never received any information about what he had Woven from the system.

“Did it work?” Rory asked. “What is it?”

Aaron showed him the new Sigil with an image of a crown. “It’s a Sigil of Ruling.”

“Ruling?”

“Correct. It allows the user to control others so long as certain conditions have been met.”

“Control others?” Viv asked, eyebrows drawing down with a heavy frown.

“It’s not what you think. We don’t use it forcefully against other people. It’s more for objects and occasionally some animals.”

“The cows really don’t want to move…” Linda muttered.

“Wait, you can use Sigils on animals?” Rory asked.

Aaron raised his hand. “It’s not like that. A different Sigil allows us to influence with more Sigils.”

Rory decided to put it out his mind for now, though he felt as though it functioned like his Sigil of Settlement. “And the last one?”

Aaron nodded. He handed the Sigil to Shen, who absorbed and activated it, its image glowing with blue and golden light on the back of his hand. Nearby. Rory caught Viv tensing, but her worries proved unfounded as Shen only summoned balls of light-yellow light.

“A Sigil of Illumination,” Aaron said. “We’re trying to make more lights. Think you can convert some of them to more Sigils?”

Rory nodded. This was easy. He used his Weaving on one of the light balls and turned it into the same Sigil that Aaron had given to Shen. Aaron caught the new Sigil, then gave it to Shen, who absorbed it.

“That all the proof you need?” Viv asked, her tone making it clear that that was all the proof she was hoping they’d need.

“Last one,” Linda said, drawing out a sword. “You said you could do something like Warding, right? I want you to Ward something interesting to this sword.”

Rory observed the weapon for a while. It was a straight, double-edged blade. “I think I’ve got the perfect Sigil.”

He left them and retrieved one of the Sigils of Lightning they still hadn’t used, and the old Sigil of Heavenly Lightning he had nearly forgotten about. Rory had to push back the memories of the Thunderclaw Knight. When he reached the Homeworlders again, he took the sword and Warded the Sigil of Lightning into the blade.

“There you go,” Rory said. “One Warded sword.”

Linda stared at the blade, then swung it experimentally. Lighting crackled along its length. It seems she had a Sigil of Wielding with her.

“I also have old Sigils I wouldn’t mind selling.” Rory showed them the Sigil of Heavenly Lightning. “It’s extremely valuable, if you have someone who can use it.”

The sight of the Sigil, or rather, its rarity, had all the Homeworlders staring. Linda demanded to know how he had come by it, and Rory briefly explained about the Thunderclaw Knight.

“Sounds like our version of Thunderclaw,” Linda said.

“Your Thunderclaw?’ Rory asked, frowning.

Aaron shot her another glare. “She means we’ve been dealing with similar monsters near Mirrorend. But I’m curious, Rory. Why don’t you want to come join us? I understand you’ve had this talk with Linus and Sylvia before, but I wanted to hear it too.”

Rory took a deep breath to try not to feel too short with them, then explained his reasoning about not wanting to get caught up in their conflict and building a freer life out here in Hillhard.

“Understandable,” Aaron said. “But you do realize that you’re denying the Homeworlders, your people, access to an amazingly vaunted skill.”

Rory felt a little cold all of a sudden. “You mean my Weaving?”

“Correct. It could be a tremendous asset to your fellow humans. Think about—”

“We’re not interested in any of that,” Viv said. “Are you happy with the deal we’ve made?”

“We are, yes,” Aaron said. “We didn’t mean to offend.”

“No offence caused,” Rory said. “But if you’re satisfied with what we’ve done so far, then we have a deal on our hands, right?”

It was sadly not as straightforward as he would have liked. Aaron had brought packs of Mana, as requested by the terms of service Rory had provided in the letter, in return for the up-front services he had demanded of Rory. That was nice of him. But he was unable to provide anything further. Apparently, he still needed to report to his superiors about it, who would then decide if issuing a letter of recognition and an official trading deal were worth it.

They parted amicably enough, but their words still nagged at Rory as he watched them depart. Maybe he was depriving the Homeworlders a valuable skill. But he wasn’t beholden to them. He didn’t owe anyone anything. Rory needed to keep doing what he believed in, and that was that.