Are the Gods willing to prevent suffering, but unable?

Then why hope?

Are they able, but unwilling?

Then why worship?

Are they both able and willing?

Then why do we suffer?

Are they neither able nor willing?

Then why call them Gods?

— Excerpt from The Woe of Life, by Scholar Epycurus of the Fallen Star Pavilion

----------------------------------------

By the start of the second day, the reality of keeping up with his own plans exhausted Molam to no end. He appreciated Primrose's strong grip over the organization as they received information in their base of operations, taking down notes as various people came and went, reporting from Lyka, Kalle, and Shurra.

He found the parchment they had served its purpose despite being unevenly cut. At first, he wondered how a group such as theirs had the funds to afford the expensive stationery he had access to even if they owned the market for warming stones, only to realize the source when one of Kalle's people came in with a fresh stack of parchment. Small wonder then, that Kalle commanded such importance in the group despite only joining recently. His expertise alone enabled the group to function at a higher level of efficiency.

Molam listened alongside Primrose as an informant relayed the observed patrol routes and actions of the city guards. He took care of jotting down each relevant piece of information alongside Primrose, having insisted on his being able to take his own set of notes based on what he found particularly useful. With a final stroke of his brush, he nodded to Primrose, indicating his satisfaction with the man's answers and allowed Primrose to dismiss their informant.

The informant received a handful of warming stones from a nearby member named Theresa. It was a way for their group to reward their members and distribute it without causing alarm to the city guards. For some reason yesterday, several distribution routes had been targeted by the city guards as though the patrols had expected them and the warming stones confiscated. Initially perplexed, Primrose had listened to Lyka and Shurra's proposal that they avoid further conflict by withholding distribution of the warming stones until after they controlled the city, but then Molam intervened, stating that they could not afford to stop showing their members why they were the better option. Instead, he argued the resident informant system would be an adequate way for them to distribute it chiefly among their members and they could share it with those they cared about. Furthermore, given the closeness of the timing to their plan they needed to make their group be more attractive to the residents, now more than ever.

Primrose had hesitated but agreed. The two of them watched as the resident informant left with the last bag of warming stones, followed by the member as she went to Kalle's and restock on their supply.

"That was the last one?" he asked, taking stock of what he had just learned as he shifted his head side to side, stretching his neck.

"For now."

Primrose stood up, extending herself upwards with a sigh as she reached towards the ceiling and raised her calves. Today, Primrose had chosen a blue dress with black gloves on her hands, making Molam wonder at her dexterity in also writing with gloved fingers. Molam noticed Primrose had mastered the art of dressing for comfort and a regal presence without coming across so rich as to make any members of their group wonder if she was misappropriating the group's funds, though he could not understand why she seemed insistent on wearing a dress despite the gradual seeping chill.

He himself stretched his neck and then vocalized a thought. "This group needs a name."

Primrose continued her stretches. "Perhaps, but avoiding it so far has meant safety. Names, like Titles, give too much identity to the world."

"Which has been fine so far, but not if we intend to push further." Molam dipped a brush in the ink before continuing to make notes based on what he had learned, grateful for the spirit's aid in ensuring the ink did not freeze over in the chilly room. He had purposefully worn a layer less than the others under Primrose's watchful eyes. "A cohesive sense of identity is important for humans to act. It helps them act with a combined purpose."

"Oh? Perhaps you can give me an example or two?"

"For example, the Empire of the Sun does much to cultivate their citizens' sense of identity and pride in being independent of the Gods. You can see it in various other forms. The Red Army, for one, has various named regiments such as the Dawn Cavalry within the second division. The mursashu are led by the Mursa, but to separate their areas of responsibility, they are divided into mursasho led by a mursashi, each mursasho has an identifying name." He paused. "I imagine even the group that follows GloomSire introduces themselves to their merchant victims as UnSeen."

"Hmm," Primrose had reached for her toes in a standing position, then stood up again, her burnt-orange hair flying above her and settling around her shoulders. Molam was impressed that none of the satem flowers flew out of her hair with the maneuver. "We've purposefully avoided it so the city guards would gain nothing should they decide to interrogate any captured members." She rearranged her tangled hair around her shoulders. "We've achieved much with our combined purpose, without needing a name so far. What more are you proposing we achieve with a name?"

"We've achieved this much because the group had something to offer and we were appealing to the self-interest of each member. Warming stones? The temptation that something else was better? All of that is easy for these members to align themselves with. The lack of a group identity is also a potential downfall." Molam watched Primrose as she settled her hair back to how it was. "We're about to ask them to betray the Empire. To risk freeing JiangXi. To risk the Bloody Prince's wrath and another repeat of Kamisukawa. People value their lives, Primrose. The only way to override self-interest is to convince them that there's something greater than them; something worth giving their lives for." He blinked away the encroaching darkness, refusing to allow the memories to resurface. "Give enough people a sense of group identity, they align their values with the group and do the things they need to do, no matter what you ask, no matter how much they might personally object."

Primrose twisted her upper body to the side, a graceful movement that splayed out the hem of her blue dress like a blooming flower and held that pose for a moment as her purple eyes gazed at Molam. "That almost sounds like they stop thinking for themselves and simply do what the group wants."

He shrugged at that. Though the air was chilly, flames surged just out of his vision. He ignored the ethereal scent of burning flesh and shifted in his chair, stretching out his limbs.

"After all, that's how humans — and their ideas — survive the test of time. No individual is more important than the group. Since we're announcing ourselves to the city of JiangXi, and by extension, the Empire of the Sun and the rest of Free Cities in a few days, we may as well."

Primrose sat down, smoothing out her dress and then raised an eyebrow at Molam. "Well, given the amount of thought you've put into this, I'm quite certain you have a name in mind then."

An image of golden horns chased away the flames that burned just outside his vision and he almost laughed. "Hardly. But it is something that should be considered. Ideally we will have a name soon."

"Perhaps you could give it some thought. After all, it's your idea." She pushed aside her notes and then leveraged a stiff stare at him. "While a group name is quite the fanciful thinking, shouldn't we be more worried about the other thing we discussed?"

A knock on the door, and the next informant poked his head in. Molam signaled for them to enter. "Later," he said. "What we know of the board is incomplete."

They listened as the informant, a gaunt-looking man with sunken cheeks wearing the armor of a city guard, relayed information about the city guards expecting a change in patrol routes upon Winter's Sorrow, and a new request for evaluation of the combat readiness of the city guards' gear. Primrose asked questions, but it seemed that the informant was only able to confirm so much. Molam's thoughts swirled with unease as he noted down each detail, drawing the change in patrol routes onto a map of the city and while it remained inconclusive, the suspicion nagged at him. The nature of the change seemed too targeted, too precise.

Finally, Molam asked a question. "What was the reasoning for all of this change?"

The turncoat looked at Primrose, who nodded for him to answer the question.

"It isn't something the quartermasters tend to explain, but I have heard that the City Lord plans on ensuring nothing can happen during Winter's Sorrow after the roads are all blocked. The City Lord is expecting to welcome a mursashu caravan."

Molam nodded to himself as he reviewed his notes. "And has a change like this happened before within the past three years?"

"I…" The informant paused, stroking his wide chin with a gloved hand. "I don't recall. But if I had to guess, I don't think so."

"Thank you." Molam gave Primrose a look, then nodded.

"You have done well. Help yourself to a warmed bun before you resume your duties." Primrose indicated to Theresa to give the man a bigger allotment of warming stones, and the informant left.

Molam studied the map and continued to contemplate. A sudden change in patrol routes, and an unexpected evaluation for combat readiness. Another mursashu caravan, or the same one for Mursa Shang? Suspicion gave way to simmering certainty, a feeling that echoed how he had felt when he had first walked out of the Inner Sanctum and was confronted by Priestess Komura. He looked up at Theresa. "Thank you for your work. May I speak to Primrose alone?"

The girl looked at Primrose, who nodded. The door closed behind them.

"Someone leaked information." Molam kept his tone mild. "Very specific information about what we're going to do." He pointed to the map. "The city guards will be poised to be able to respond to the places we are targeting. By tomorrow, the guards will have adjusted to their newest locations and we'll be hard pressed to jailbreak or pull them away from Agytha."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Primrose stayed silent. Then, "So are we calling it off? You said we needed to wait for Winter's Sorrow to ensure that we could proceed with full confidence if the Tempest didn't return. We can still back out."

Molam chewed on the inside of his lip, eyes focused on the map in front of him. The chain of consequences played itself out in his mind. If he couldn't gain control of JiangXi, then he couldn't get the elderwood. If the Empire still had control by Spring's Blessings, they would burn it for the Festival of the Hero and he would need to wait another year to have another chance.

His writing brush splintered in his hand and he let go, realizing that he had been clenching it with frustration. The thought of delaying his own return was already unpalatable, but even worse, it disgusted him that RainBringer could have possibly planned this out five years ago when she told him to retrieve the spirit in exchange for her promise.

"I think I have a better idea. The others won't like it, but I need you to pay attention to them."

***

At Molam's behest, Primrose had recalled Kalle, Shurra, and Lyka to the base after Molam explained the new strategy to her. Judging by her pressed lips, it was clear that she initially objected. As he laid out his reasonings one by one, he found her nodding and agreeing to help.

Molam looked about at the other co-leaders and cleared his throat.

"We attack tonight."

The response was almost immediate.

"Tonight?!" Lyka exploded. "What happened to waiting until Winter's Sorrow?"

"We aren't fully prepared to do this tonight," Shurra agreed, "All preparations had been based on your three-day plan. To change it on such short notice would only reflect poor leadership."

"Now, now, I'm sure Molam has his reason. At least let us listen to him." Kalle was busy tapping a hammer against the hinge of the door to the meeting room. "It's freezing. Can we have some hot mead? I'll even take tea."

I think the jade talisman is here.

He gave Primrose a quick glance from the corner of his eye, and found that she was already pouring the tea. At best, he could only hope that Primrose was also keeping an eye out for everyone's reactions, for she knew them better than he did.

"New developments have arrived, and we will act upon it." Molam held up his notes, then placed them on the table in case anyone wanted to read through them. "The city guards have been given orders to heighten their security. We cannot afford to wait until they are prepared."

"But neither can we attack while we aren't prepared, or have you forgotten that?" Lyka ignored the notes, though Shurra had picked them up and was sifting through them. "We aren't a standing army. We're just a nameless group that cannot risk —"

"We're going to be named the Dao." Primrose stated.

"— sacrifice and — what? The Dao?" Lyka paused in her tirade, and even Molam needed to mask his surprise at Primrose's interjection. "We're even going with a name now?"

Primrose smiled as she poured hot tea for Lyka. "Indeed, though if there are any of you that suggest something better, it can be put up for consideration." She gave Molam a sideways glance. "Since we haven't had one for so long, I am of course willing to discard this one if a better one is suggested."

"The Dao," Kalle mused, standing up and testing the door while looking at their group gathered around the table, "From the Old Tongue? I believe it means 'The Way.'"

"It will serve as an announcement to the rest of the Free Cities." Primrose rested the teapot and sat down again. "Since the Free Cities have been reluctant to extend their worries beyond their own borders, we need to show them a path forward."

"As eager as I am to participate in the legend of the Dao, it amounts to little if the Dao does not make a good start." Shurra's blue eyes panned around the room while she sat with her head leaning against a gloved fist, until finally her gaze landed firmly on Molam. "Explain more about why we are attacking tonight."

"We're going to need a better explanation than you panicking," Lyka placed both hands on the table and caused the tea to shake violently. "You yourself said that it was best to wait until IceMourne's divine snow closed off the roads."

"I did say that," Molam did not raise his voice as Lyka had, but his heartbeat pounded in his ears as he kept his expression neutral. "And as I also said earlier, the circumstances have changed. We may not be fully prepared, but neither is the city. In fact, we are more prepared than they are."

Kalle sat down in his chair and held out an arm across Lyka before she could speak. It seemed he was done fixing the door. "Even assuming that is true, the City Lord has the authority to light the signal fires and request reinforcements from the Red Army. If the roads are not closed off, we can hardly expect to fight off even a small battalion."

Molam held out a disarming hand as an agreeable gesture. "With only a day left, where would the City Lord receive reinforcements from? Falysos, the nearest Empire city, is at least four days' travel away. Even if Falysos' Titled One deployed, they would need two days to arrive." Though he focused on looking at Kalle, he ensured that both Lyka and Shurra were in his vision. Hopefully, Primrose was observing too.

"And the Tempest?" asked Shurra.

"The Tempest has been engaged with GloomSire and the UnSeen. Even assuming she succeeds in the subjugation and somehow comes back before Winter's Sorrow closes off the roads, GloomSire is a Titled One. A clash between the two of them will hardly leave the Tempest at her full strength."

"If they clashed." Lyka spoke pointedly, her eyes on him. "Unless you can confirm this, we can't possibly know. And if we don't know, it's best to assume the worst." She turned to Primrose. "We can't do any of this with all this uncertainty. Lives are at stake, Prim." The woman looked at the others. "Not just our lives either. If the Tempest returns, it'll be a bloodbath. If the Empire — if the Bloody Prince finds out — we might risk another repeat of Kamisukawa. He'll dye the river red."

Shurra crossed her arms. "I'm not afraid of fighting Agytha or any of the city guards. But the city guards have their own share of auramasters, and I'm quite sure they outnumber us. Not to mention, if the Tempest returns we have nothing."

Kalle shrugged. "This is honestly out of my area of expertise. I'm not even participating in the fighting, right? That's on the three of you." He pointed to Lyka, Shurra, and Primrose.

"And that's the problem isn't it?" Lyka seized on that. "It's our lives he's risking!" She pointed at Molam. "While you two useless men take the easy job of overseeing the jailbreak and fight auramasters at best, you don't risk fighting a Titled One yourself, and —"

"Lyka's absolutely right." Molam responded. "I'll be joining the attack on the Mansion."

For a moment, there was stunned silence as Kalle raised an eyebrow and Shurra's eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down. Then Lyka regained her composure. "Oh, you will now? So you can stay back and watch while you take notes, just like what you've done this entire time cozying up in here while we go out and freeze?" Lyka sneered. "Strategy, is it? The art of coming up with plans and then sending people off to their deaths, so you can then 'revise' it and reposition yourself. I know your kind," Lyka said savagely. "Prim and I have seen —"

"Lyka." Primrose spoke up, a hint of warning. "Your concern is valid, but we will trust our strategist's judgment." She reached out and held Lyka's hand. "And if you cannot trust his judgment, then I ask that you trust mine."

Lyka fell silent and looked as though she would argue, then threw Molam a glare before she nodded.

Primrose looked to Molam with concern. "I didn't know you were going to join us."

Molam crossed his arms, placing his hand over his armguard. "It's my plan, and Lyka's right. It makes no sense for me to remove myself from the fighting if I'm asking you to risk your lives. But I agree that the auramasters that form up part of the city guards could be a problem, so there was one thing I had Kalle prepare to ensure this could work in our favor. Kalle?"

Kalle looked surprised. "Here?"

Molam nodded.

Reaching into his cloak, Kalle gingerly pulled out several vials of a clear liquid and set them on the table.

Shurra's eyes narrowed and she shifted in her seat. "Is that…?"

"Just a sleeping draught. I asked Kalle to create a batch," Molam directed his gaze to Shurra. "Colorless and odorless. We'll make them sleep, and the ones that can still fight will be groggy."

"Underhanded methods like this won't be a respectable way to announce the Dao," Shurra stood up with a clenched jaw, looking towards Primrose. "This is not what you promised me."

"If you wish to engage in single combat with the Agytha, that's perfectly arrangeable." Molam placed his palms flat on the table, "I'm not asking you to fight a drugged Agytha. This is only going to ensure that our jailbreak in the city goes off without a hitch."

Shurra stared down at him, her fingers flexing undecidedly. "Agytha is my hunt," she declared with finality.

Molam looked to Shurra. "I can guarantee you a duel with the City Lord Agytha if you want. A City Lord of the Empire. That should make for a good story around the HeartHomes."

The Northerner nodded after a moment of pondering. "No outsider interference."

"And the sleeping draught will ensure the city guards don't disturb your hunt," Molam soothed her. "I hope you see more value in fighting Agytha alone than being constantly interrupted?"

After a moment of contemplation, the Northerner sat down. Molam could appreciate her blatant honesty when it came to avoiding underhanded means, but he saw no reason to do so himself.

"I don't think it needs to be said, but I want you to acknowledge we are free to resume our primary goal of capturing her should you lose the duel."

Shurra palmed the hilt of her sword. "I don't lose."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. Lyka? Any concerns?"

"What about the city guards that resist capture? Do we kill them?" asked Lyka.

"No," Molam did not want to consider it. He paused, closing his eyes and trying his best to shove aside the dark-blue gaze in his mind before looking back at the rest. "Not unless we're forced to. Many of the city guards have family in the city, and I'm quite certain that they have little loyalty to Agytha. Claiming the city only to invite another internal uprising is a poor plan at best. Once we have Agytha, Primrose can do some light convincing. The stubborn ones can be housed in the newly vacant jails for some... more convincing. Any other concerns, Lyka?"

The woman shook her head. "None that would matter at this point. The decision has been made." She held her hands out. "As part of the group, it's my duty to be committed even if I disagree."

"That's all I ask." Molam looked at Kalle. "I'm sorry to make you oversee the latter half of the jailbreaking logistics on your own. Just think of it as …" He searched for an apt comparison. "As…guiding an avalanche of snow, but it's all people."

Kalle made a face that scrunched up his beard. "That's a terrible analogy, but I understand what you mean."

"I tried, alright?" Molam smiled at the alchemist. "We'll get it started together before the rest of us split off to look for Agytha in the City Lord's Mansion, and I trust you to keep it going while keeping the city guards busy. The city must be secured, or we lose everything." Molam drummed his fingers against the table. "Do all of you understand? The City Lord Agytha must be captured."

Shurra's normally pale cheeks flushed as she looked down upon their seated forms, the look of disapproval still evident on her face. Lyka's dark features were equally pallid, but she voiced no objection. Kalle and Primrose's eyes glinted in the candlelight at him.

"Then I suppose these are for me. The garrison, right?" Primrose reached for the glass vials, and they disappeared swiftly into her dress before she pointed to Molam's cloak hanging from his chair. "May I borrow that?"

Molam hesitated, looking at the cloak Komura had given him. Then he nodded. "We'll begin right after sunset. Meet us in front of the City Lord's Mansion then."

She wrapped his cloak around herself and pulled the hood over her burnt-orange hair, tucking it all in and then winking at the group. "And if things go poorly, Molam has command in my absence. Understand?"

The other members nodded. Primrose gave both Shurra and Lyka a look that said she expected them to obey her order before she left, smiling at Kalle who had opened the door for her.

The door closed and Molam sat back, eyeing the three as they looked back at him. He wondered if he should comment on being trusted with the command, then thought better of it. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that all of this was for him to free JiangXi, obtain the city's allotment of elderwood, and as the Oracle put it: gain the army he had once wanted. And that meant he should take care to not lose them now.

"So," he began, looking at Shurra and Lyka. "Tell me about your preferred ways of fighting in a group."