The journey back to the City of Glass is surprisingly uneventful. I suppose part of it is that we're used to the trip by now — I'm able to tune out everything that happens on the way, up to and including the strange interaction with the guards where they take a sample of my Firmament. Nothing's come of it so far, but I still make sure to give them a fake sample.

Tarin, as usual, doesn't bother. I imagine he's done this plenty of times before he ever met me, though, considering his relationship with Miktik. I doubt them having an additional sample of his Firmament is actually going to make a difference.

"What happened between you and Mari, anyway?" I ask once we've gotten past the Great Gates. Tarin looked like he needed some time to think on the journey, so I haven't asked about it so far. Now, though, he looks a little more like he's in the mood to talk.

"She tell me she worried," Tarin says. We've slowed down to a walking pace for the time being. Actually being in Isthanok means we have to be careful about Whisper being able to listen in to everything they say. I've never really thought about how suffocating that is, but the difference is stark now that I haven't had to watch my every word for the past day or so.

"About what?" I ask. I think I know the answer, but Tarin seems to want to talk it through.

"Me," Tarin says, which surprises me. It doesn't exactly mirror what she told me when we last spoke, though that was a different iteration of her. "She worry I lonely."

"I'm assuming she's not talking about the kind of loneliness I can help with," I say dryly. Tarin's expression is almost comically horrified, like he hadn't even considered that interpretation.

"No!" he squawks. "Just... I experience many things. She not. You understand?"

That much I do understand. Tarin's essentially moving on without her. He's having new experiences, encountering new people, fighting new fights — and Mari is stuck in place. I haven't made any progress in figuring out how to bring someone else into the loop intentionally, nor do I really know where to start, even with all the strides I've made in Firmament and imbuement.

"Yeah," I say. That's a little closer to what Mari talked to me about. "Do you know what you want to do about it? I've been wondering if I might be able to bring her into the loop somehow..."

To my surprise, Tarin immediately shakes his head. "She not want join," he says. "She say experiencing same thing too many times not easy."

A short silence. Then Tarin continues, "she right."

I don't have anything to say to that.

"You don't seem bored with the loops," Ahkelios points out. His chosen perch this time is on top of my head, nestled in my hair. "Not yet, anyway."

"I not bored," Tarin says. "Many things interesting. But for how long?"

"As long as you can handle it, I suppose," I say.

Maybe I've been looking at this the wrong way. Maybe I shouldn't be looking for a way to get Mari in, but a way to get Tarin out.

I'm not sure I like the idea of that.

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

Isthanok looms ahead of us. The first indication that it's near is the crystalline palace in the sky that directs the sun's glare almost directly into my eyes. This is also the first time I notice that Tough Body seems to passively increase my ability to stare into powerful sources of light without being blinded. Not that I'm about to try staring into the sun or anything.

As more of the city comes into view, however, I almost immediately notice that things are... different. I slow down, bleeding off the speed skills I've been using, and next to me Tarin does the same. We exchange cautious glances.

"I don't remember there being this many guards before," I say quietly.

More accurately, I don't remember there being any guards before. Security within Isthanok is mostly handled by He-Who-Guards and his many bodies, as I understand it. I don't ever really see them around, so presumably they're good at hiding.

Even in the last loop, where Guard began injured and apparently dying, there hadn't been any guards stationed at the borders of Isthanok. So one of two things must have happened: either Guard's condition is much worse than before, or Whisper was able to pass on a message about the Trialgoer being active.

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I grimace. The changes don't bode well, but this doesn't really change what we have to do.

"We're not going to visit Miktik this time," I mutter. I feel compelled to be quiet even though we're still well out of Whisper's range — at least, I'm pretty sure we are. The Firmament doesn't get collected into her palace from this far away. "Don't want to put her at risk, and we've already seen the design for her Firmament sink."

"Your design not complete," Tarin points out, entirely reasonably.

"I'm sure I can make do," I say. Ahkelios makes it a point to rap me on the skull, at this point, and I sigh. "...Okay, we'll talk to Miktik. But I don't want to involve her any more than necessary. At this point I'm tired of seeing Whisper abuse her."

From the grim look on Tarin's face and the way he tenses up, I'm pretty sure he agrees. He confirms it a second later. "She try it again and I fight her."

"Not kill?"

Tarin snorts. "I not kill Whisper. She too strong. But I can be very, very annoying."

I can't argue with that. The idea of Tarin swooping in and out at his blistering pace and annoying Whisper makes me smirk a bit.

That smirk quickly falls away as we approach the guards that stand at the border to Isthanok.

They're both silverwisps, and considering how unkempt their uniforms are and the way they keep looking nervously between one another, I'm guessing neither of them are used to the job — they hold their weapons like they're toys rather than weapons.

Their weapons are large marbles filled with deadly Firmament. I hope they know what side the Firmament is supposed to come out from — the spherical shape doesn't really give you a lot of clues. I can tell there's a cone of energy in there with my Firmament sense, but barring that, there are no markings that might indicate a firing direction.

"That looks like a disaster waiting to happen," I mutter.

The noise is enough for the two silverwisps to take notice. One of them steps forward. "What's your purpose in Isthanok today?" he asks. I note the sudden concentration of Firmament being drawn up to Whisper's palace — she's listening in.

"Visit!" Tarin squawks. "We want visit—"

"—a kobold-run shop we heard about," I interrupt. "I think it's called Thys and Thaht?"

Tarin gives me a baffled look. I ignore him.

"Really?" the guard seems surprised. I feel the focused Firmament waver a bit — Whisper's lost interest and is going back to passive listening. "Not a very popular shop, that one."

"Why not?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Too many explosions," he says, waving a hand. "How long will you be staying in Isthanok?"

"Not long," I say. "Maybe a day or two. We're going to check out the Craven Arena, too."

"Oh?" the guard leans forward, suddenly interested. "As a spectator, or a fighter?"

...That smells like a trap. I feign embarrassment and laugh. "I doubt I'd last a second in the ring."

"Most people don't," the silverwisp says, his pendant displaying a smirk. He takes a step back — evidently, I gave him the answer he wanted to hear — and waves us both in. "You're clear. Enjoy your time in Isthanok."

Tarin and I make our way past him, a little bemused by the whole experience. Everything inside Isthanok hasn't changed, at least. The Firmament feels a little different, but I'm guessing that's because of Guard's absence, which speaks volumes as to his power.

"We go shop?" Tarin asks. His way of asking about the kobold shop I mentioned, I suppose. Anything more specific might be an obvious tipoff, especially if Whisper knows that the Trial is now active.

"Let's get your friend first," I say. "Bring her along. I'm sure she'd be interested in what they've got."

I'm not just saying that, either. Whatever tech or imbuements they use are seriously impressive, considering the difficulty I had against that one piloted robot. Tarin nods thoughtfully in response.

We make our way once more to Miktik's workshop, ducking through the hole in the fence and the Firmament barrier that separates the two sections of the city. Like before, the abrupt change in noise is jarring — this part of the city is much louder than any other. I wonder if that's why the barrier exists, to dampen and filter out the sound that Whisper receives as she listens in on the city. It's not like that's a trivial imbuement to keep running.

"Something feel different," Tarin says suddenly. I blink.

"Does it?" I glance around. Nothing looks particularly out of the ordinary.

"I feel it too," Ahkelios says. The little guy twitches in his spot in my hair — I can't see him, but I can feel him shifting uncomfortably. Not a great sign.

I flick on Firmament Sight. My natural Firmament sense is good, but I'm not able to organize the information as quickly as I can with a visual reference. The moment I do, I see it.

There's... a gradient, for lack of a better word. The Firmament looks normal at first glance, but a second look shows that it's getting gradually denser as it approaches the direction of Miktik's workshop, and while the workshop itself is still out of range for me, this is enough to warrant caution.

Evidently, Ahkelios and Tarin have developed their instincts enough to know when something is wrong, even if they can't pinpoint what it is. I'll have to work on that.

"There's some kind of concentration of Firmament up ahead," I say. "It's subtle, but it's there."

Ahkelios opens his mouth to ask me a question, then pauses, sending said question through our bond instead. What changed this time? he asks. Whisper took longer to send for MIktik last time. This is too soon.

I shrug. No idea, I admit. But I'm guessing Whisper has some idea of what's going on now.

You think she's got something to do with this, then?

Maybe. It's the only thing I can think of, anyway. We'll find out. Not like a bit of Firmament is going to stop us.