It always seems impossible until it’s done.

Pre-Fall leader.

The High and Dry was more and more familiar, given all the times Johanna had had meetings there. She’d even joked about making it the official Talent House – she guessed they might as well use that name, after all – headquarters.

This time, there were two people already sitting with Miles. The man, she thought she’d recognized, having seen him around the pub before. The woman was unknown.

“Hello, everyone.”

“Johanna,” Miles said, “allow me to introduce you to two of the most dependable and reputable of New Sandusky. Cameron Scott and Madelynn Nash head well-established teams, reliable and regular. Their teams are good, experienced, and not the kind to screw people over loot. Those kinds of teams never get truly working anyway. Put up the right contract, and you can trust them.”

“At least until we’re back in town, and I drop you like hot garbage if you messed up,” the man – Scott – said. “You get your chance, but not a second one.”

The woman was studying her very carefully. Johanna already knew her youth would work against her, but if Miles Bertram was willing to vouch for her, it could work out somewhat.

“I was getting ready to head out when Miles got me here,” the woman finally said. “I’m unsure if it’s worth it, but salvage doesn’t need strict schedules after all. The season is long enough.”

“The floor is yours, Johanna”, Miles announced.

“My team and I are slowly getting ready for a major expedition. We are looking for people ready for a long-term commitment, at least until winter. The opportunities will be quite… unique.”

“So, what kind of team are you looking for, exactly?” Scott asked.

“Between fifteen and twenty people total, counting us. As I said, reliable, which Miles just said you were. People who know how to operate in ruins, recognize the kind of traps you may find, who have seen Changed beasts and are cautious but not afraid.”

“Most of the people doing that work can do that, easily”, Nash noted. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t stay long in the profession.”

“Which is why I’m adding ‘reliable’. People who will not just take easy loot and go for the longer game, people who can go along other teams, that kind of people.”

“That sounds quite weird when said that way. What kind of expedition are you planning that needs that many people? And to get what?”

Johanna hesitated briefly but stayed on the script she’d chosen.

“It’s going to be two. A small test run first. But the main one is… the East Coast. More specifically, the Ancient capital, Washington DC.”

Both salvager team heads looked at her in surprise. Then they turned to Miles.

“You knew?”

“I did.”

“And you haven’t laughed her out? Didn’t you try that and lose some of your old team?” Nash asked.

“I lost a friend, yes. But she’s shown me her plans, how she intends to reduce the risks to reasonable. Not discussed, shown.”

Scott pushed himself into his chair.

“People have targeted these kinds of spots since the Fall. Nobody ever came back so far, unless they turned back before even crossing the Appalachians,” he objected, arms crossed.

“A hundred and fifty miles of danger, I know. Well, we have Talents on our side. Hero and lots of Sorcery, with a Saint as a backup.”

“I remember you. A flame hand, right? But it will take more than a flaming hand to deal with Changed beasts.”

“I know. That’s why our plan is a two-parter. First, we have a test expedition in the Lakes.”

“For what?”

“It’s a pre-commitment field trial. The idea is to demonstrate we can negotiate the dangers of the East Coast death zone and see how much we can trust each other over that. If it doesn’t pan out, we’ll test again with others, but I’d rather not take too long. I’m probably overestimating winters compared to the Marches of the Montana…”

“It’s not that bad, at least compared to that place,” Madelynn said.

“But it’s a long trip, it will take organization first, and we’ll probably have to spend some time once we get there, with nights that get shorter all the time. Otherwise, the idea is that people joining this first expedition should be open, in principle at least, to go on the real one later on. I don’t think there is a need for such a large expedition to the ruins of the area,” Johanna suggested.

“Yeah, right. You can get into scuffles with packs of Canids or the odd Ursid, and we did have to bail out Jurgen’s team last year, as they got seriously wounded. But larger teams mean usually more complicated logistics, like carts to carry things and the like.”

“Not for the first expedition. I’ve asked Miles to suggest a target, with good enough prospects, and relatively untouched because it would be slightly riskier than usual.”

“And I’ve got one,” the man answered. “It was called Grand Rapids before the Fall.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Both scavenger leaders whistled in almost unison.

“Hard?” Johanna asked.

“You can say that. It’s not a truly deep mana zone as you can find in the Algonquin or even the East Coast border, but you can count on getting tangled with all kinds of Changed beasts, even before the fall season. They don’t range very far, but there are enough around.”

“About 120 miles from New Sandusky. That far, I’d say even Lansing would be a better prospect for salvaging…”

“Lansing? But that’s a classic. I know it’s far, but if you go early in the season, you may not even see a Changed in the north suburbs.”

“Central Lansing has been never really scouted seriously…”

Johanna listened to the two team leaders debating the merits of the known spots. She looked at Miles who was waiting for the discussion to pause.

“Grand Rapids has been even less visited and is larger than Lansing next door. And one just has to look at what passes as white ‘cedars’ around to see why. That’s how you know it’s heavy mana-filled,” he finally said.

“You take this seriously,” Cameron Scott asked Miles.

“I do. As I said, I’ve seen what they can do. And, it will be easy to check, even before we get there.”

“We’re looking at around ten-twelve people in addition to us five, but we can take a few more. That way, if some people don’t want to follow up, we still have enough for the main expedition.”

“That’s four from me,” Cameron said, “and I presume still five for you?”

“That’s right,” Madelynn confirmed.

“Plus, Miles and Ulrich, that sounds good to me,” she concluded.

“Wait, you two are coming too?”

“I thought you retired from that?” Madelynn added.

“I went along with them. When I said she’d shown me how she wants to handle Changed beasts, that’s what I meant.”

“I heard about you going on a salvage run, I mean, but I thought it was just some easy run, to rekindle memories,” Cameron said.

“Nope. I wasn’t about to recommend you to some unknowns. Not before checking if they were serious.”

“So, when she says she’s already had Saints and Heroes in her team…?”

“She’s serious,” he confirmed.

“Well, color me interested if you think it’s a solid proposition. Of course, trying for the Grand Rapid is something, that East Coast business is something else.”

“That’s why I called it a pre-commitment trial. Because if you’re already set against the idea of the expedition, we’re wasting time,” Johanna said.

“I’m not against it. But it’s a tough sell, you have to admit. You?”

“Same,” Madelynn replied. “I have doubts about the East Coast. It’s a long trip after all, and the profitability of such is uncertain.”

Johanna looked at Miles, but the man shrugged almost imperceptibly. It was her offer, her campaign… her quest, after all.

“We have specific targets there, and some will be worth a lot. But that’s not what I’m counting for. Worst case, we settle for Artifacts.”

Both scavenging leaders looked at each other.

“You settle… for Artifacts?” Madelynn Nash said. “They’re worth a lot, and you say worst case? Miles got his reputation when he came because he’d probably seen and sold more than all of New Sandusky in five decades. What makes you even think you can get some?”

“Macintosh complained he’d had two recently and they were eating in his liquidity,” Cameron noted. “Wouldn’t say who got them, of course. You?”

“My team. Miles had the help of an Artifact, but I have the same type of Talent. If there is an Artifact within a mile and a half, I’ll know it.”

“Well, that’s a random factor that just got a lot better. Although there aren’t that many to begin with.”

“Ruins in heavy mana zones are much better for that. We only found one… maybe two in low mana zones. The rest came from big mana zones.”

“Like the East Coast?”

“And Grand Rapids,” Miles baited.

“So, you don’t need to drink much anymore.”

“I’m never really thirsty. Which is a fun thing, given what my people are called – at least politely,” Ulrich said.

“Which means one of your Talents includes a reduction in drinking needs. We’ve been looking for these since we got the gloves. Thorn Fist is out, the compendium says it just increases your strength somewhat. Dark Flame too, no one has found any associated effect. Now, Laura can try to emulate the rest of your abilities, and see if she can make one happen.”

“Or we can test directly,” the thirster replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, as we’ve discovered, an Artifact interferes with its Talent. I can wear your gloves, and if one of my Talents fails…”

“We’ll know which one.”

“And if all of them work, then we’ll know which ones it is not. My bet is on Barkskin. It takes a special kind of mindset to keep it up.”

“It’s not Barkskin,” Laura said as the thirster’s skin turned brown and thick.

“Not too much water would have fit with being a tree. Well…”

They had moved outside of town, to allow for testing. The vegetation under Ulrich turned rigid, and he immediately turned his Talent off, because they already knew the herbs would desiccate and die if walked on. If it had not been for horrible difficulty moving, it would have made for a great weed remover.

It was only when Ulrich slapped on a large tree that they scored a win.

“So it’s that one?”

“Looks like,” Ulrich said as he peeled off the gloves.

“Let’s try this,” Johanna said, as her friend put them on.

It took Laura a try or two, but then she slid into the tree, leaving no mark. She almost instantly came out.

“You can’t see anything!”

“No. It’s a bit hard to get used to. I guess trees don’t have sight,” Ulrich noted.

“So now, you’ve got water walking, tree hiding, and that insane cold aura,” Johanna noted.

“Which I can’t sustain for long, or my trousers won’t survive the damage,” Laura replied.

“Well, if you can’t find more Artifacts in Grand Rapids, I would imagine the East Coast will offer other opportunities. It’s almost like an entire extra specialization,” Ulrich noted.

Good work. I gave him that one to allow the opportunity to figure out your gloves, Moore cheered mentally. Although I didn’t think of that particular way of checking.

She’d managed to check out some light furniture for her apartment, to have more than three chairs and a small table. And a minimum of supplies for the pantry, because she realized there had been almost an entire year when all she ate, all the four of them ate, was meals prepared by others or pre-packaged for the road. And while meals at restaurants or top inns could be incredible… there was something to be said for meals you made yourself, just for you and Tom.

She just wanted a couple of days where she could be Johanna Milton, fresh resident of New Sandusky, not Fire Shaper Johanna Milton, emissary of an Ancient Power. So, she sighed and picked the Sandusky Times to check her new home’s comings and goings.

Montana’s top figure to present case

The Adjutant to the Warden of the Montana himself took to travel to Nashville to petition the Senate. When a raiding force managed to pass the Kootenai Gap, he argues, the condition for the mutual defense and support of the States of the Union should be satisfied.

The Warden is dissatisfied with the support or lack thereof and wants active help from his neighbors. The general mobilization seems to be running into problems, according to several sources in the Marches, and precious units would need to be diverted from defense to enforce the orders, notably among towns near the frontiers where substantial levies are missing.

People familiar with the current Senate expect no quick decision to be made, although the Adjutant is expected to make direct addresses to the assembled Senators…

Johanna remembered well Agnello, who was said to be the right-hand man of Warden Maistry and therefore the second most powerful person in the Marches.

The fact that the same Adjutant, the man that had grabbed them from Valetta and escorted them to New Benton, was there, in Independence State, immediately made her nervous. Although, of course, the man was nearly three hundred miles away, and there was no way he could even be aware of their presence in the same State.