Toren Daen

I dropped down the shaft of the Cistern, landing without a sound. Standing up, I dusted off my cloak, peering around the familiar setting. It was a bit colder here than in the open air, but another pull on my mana core managed to warm me up.

I considered what I was going to say when I met the rest of the Rats. When I first joined the crew a few weeks ago, I had joined partially for companionship. But as part of my deal with Karsien, once the Joans were dealt with, I was free to leave.

I didn’t want to cut ties with them. They were good people, not just for me, but for the entire city. I’d be going into the Relictombs regularly, true, but I did need a home base outside the djinn’s deathtrap.

And I planned to keep helping East Fiachra in the future. Even if I didn’t take part in thieving missions on the regular, I’d be more than willing to supply these people financially.

My plans were thoroughly derailed when I entered the main room of the Cistern. Each and every one of the Rats were surrounding the planning table.

Hofal and Karsien looked distinctly worried, the former tapping his foot with a frown on his face as he stared at something I couldn’t quite make out. Wade sat back in a chair, a strange mashup of awe and concern fighting for dominance on his face.

Naereni’s eyes glittered even from here. She alone seemed to have uncomplicated feelings about whatever had happened.

“Am I interrupting something?” I asked, walking in slowly. Naereni shook her head, but Wade nodded. Huh.

Then I looked at what he was holding in his arms. It was a dark brown creature, covered in light scales and with a rodent’s nose. A ring of whitish fur rimmed its eyes.

It was a baby skaunter. It looked at me, tilting its head inquisitively from the nestle of Wade’s arms.

And it was panting. Like a dog.

Abso-fucking-lutely not.

“What the hell is that thing doing here?!” I said, pointing at the little skaunter, remembering how one of them had shredded my arms. “It's a wild mana beast!”

“It is not!” Naereni cried indignantly, standing between my accusing finger and the clearly savage beast. “It was a gift! And his name is Apple!”

“I was going to pick-” Wade started saying from behind the girl.

“His name,” Naereni reiterated, not looking back at Wade, “Is Apple!”

Wade furrowed his brow, then his eyes widened as he flushed crimson. “Apple it is,” he said, some sort of private joke landing.

“It’s a skaunter!” I said, trying to get my point across. The little beast looked at me with wide, endearing eyes, making a little skittering cough. I wouldn’t be fooled.

“It's tamed to be a pet,” Hofal added from the side, a complicated expression on his face. Surely he didn’t endorse keeping that thing? “And Wade thinks it has a unique synergy with his runes.”

I glared at the little mana beast until it curled into a ball, whimpering slightly in Wade’s arms.

“Stop being sour, Toren,” Naereni said. “If it makes you feel any better, you’ve got your own gift, too.”

I reeled back. Why would I want a skaunter? Those things were tiny demons!

Hofal diffused the situation with a huff. “It was good work you did against the Joans,” he said, changing the topic. “Though perhaps you should think before rushing into danger.”

I winced internally, remembering how I’d left the shield behind. That might not have been the smartest move.

“The shield speaks wisdom, Contractor. You would do well to listen,” Lady Dawn added over our bond.

Thanks for telling me to stay healthy, disembodied voice in my head, I replied.

“I learned my lesson doing that,” I said averting my gaze. “Nearly got blown to smithereens from that cabin bomb.”

Wade groaned. “The man who carted you off and knocked me out,” he started. “Remember him?”

“Dornar Joan?” I added, suddenly remembering that I hadn’t seen his body. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I realized I would probably have to track him down. But without Blood Joan’s resources and reputation, he’d be far less of a threat.

“That man,” Wade affirmed. “Though Hofal called him Flint,” I noticed Hofal flinch at the name. Karsien’s eyes simply hardened. Why? “He was the one who represented Blood Joan at the meetings I listened in on. Considering how fast he went for me, I think he figured out my rune. Or at least that the meetings were being watched. I don’t see how else they’d figure out to move their distillery right after we figure out where it is.”

I frowned, running that over in my head.

“Thank you, though,” Naereni piped up. She was sitting on the armrest of Wade’s chair, and as she spoke she wrapped an arm around his neck like she owned the place. The little skaunter nipped lightly at her hands. “That explosion woulda killed me for sure. Even if you tripped the trap, you were likely the only one who could’ve survived.”

Hofal grunted in affirmation and a bit of guilt. “I should’ve kept trying to follow you, Toren.”

I shook my head. “No, I… I went ahead deliberately. You can’t fault yourself for not being able to keep up in speed.” That didn’t seem to help, though.

Karsien was uncharacteristically quiet, something that drew my attention more than anything else.

“He is ruminating on something,” Lady Dawn offered. “Considering what to say, or if he should speak at all.”

“There have been complications regarding the destruction of the Joans,” Karsien said, his words cutting across the conversation like a blade. “Regarding the aftermath.”

I zeroed in on him. Had Dornar Joan managed to do something? I should’ve killed the psychopathic bastard.

“Another party claimed credit for the destruction of Blood Joan a few days ago,” Karsien said, leaning over the planning table. “And they have been successful in convincing most that they were involved.”

I started. That was not what I was expecting. My mind started to pick up speed as I tried to work through the implications. Was this good for us? Bad?

“How did they manage that?” I asked, needing more information. “I thought it would be pretty obvious the Rats were the ones who decimated their blithe supply.”

“It was obvious,” Karsien continued. “Our plan was everything it needed to be. Loud. Flashy. Destructive. But it was originally never supposed to involve the estate of a well-regarded Blood.”

Wade spoke up, seeming to connect a few dots in his head. “We should all be being hounded like dogs,” he said, a mix of emotions in his voice. “It’s one thing to destroy an already illegal operation that our Scythe has expressed dislike for. It’s another to blow up their home. One makes us heroes, the other terrorists.”

Lady Dawn supplied more conjecture, helping my thoughts keep up. “So, why are the Rats not desperately hiding? What is missing here, Contractor?”

Somebody stepped in, I realized. Somebody powerful enough to shelter the Rats. Intentionally or not.

“This other party managed to convince people that the Rats weren’t alone in this,” I said. “What did they do?”

“Bloodstone Elixirs,” Karsien said. “A multi-dominion merchant conglomerate that supplies ascenders, hospitals, and even the research academies with potions. They’re extremely powerful. And they released a public statement denouncing Blood Joan and their blithe production.”

“I don’t see how that indicates they were involved with us,” I said skeptically. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Karsien looked at me long and hard from under his mask. His bandana was up today, covering his lower face. I knew he was not smiling. “They recruited each and every mage that helped you escape the Joans into their security forces, minus our own band.”

My blood went cold. I remembered seeing Aban and Vaelum right before I passed out. They had come to save me, and now it sounded like they’d been pressured into joining this company.

“They are clever,” Lady Dawn acknowledged over our bond. “The others that assisted you all worked for Blood Joan before their rescue attempt. With this, it appears they were spies planted all along, primed to turn on their false masters and raze their home to the ground in one fell swoop.”

I swallowed heavily. “Are they hostile?” I asked. “Considering you all aren’t being searched for like I was, I doubt there’s some sort of kill order on your heads put out by these folks.”

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“We never stole from them,” Naereni said helpfully. “So they shouldn’t have a reason to attack us.”

Well, considering a band of thieves just wiped out an entire production operation, I’d be worried if I were an elixir conglomerate.

Then Hofal dropped the bomb. “There were gifts for each of the Rats left in the Cistern for us to discover,” he said, his foot starting to tap again. “The sender was labeled as Bloodstone Elixirs.”

I paled. Oh. Oh shit.

“Yeah, that was my reaction,” Wade said, sinking into his chair. He hefted the little skaunter into the air. It made puppy eyes at me as it drooled on the floor, but I wouldn’t be fooled. “This was what I was given.”

“I just got a nice set of rings,” Naereni piped up. She hadn’t removed her arm from around Wade’s shoulder. “I am going to make a killing selling them!”

Hofal held up what looked like a small ball of clay. I watched as he imbued it with mana, my jaw dropping as it morphed into impossibly detailed shapes. “This is called tombcrust. There are places in the Relictombs where this substance can be harvested. It responds amazingly well to intent and earth mana, meaning it’s exceptionally easy to shape.”

The little glob of earth proceeded to mimic some arches, a detailed window pane, and then a front cutout of a temple. “It’s also worth its weight in gold.” The man looked almost shell-shocked from his gift.

I turned to Karsien, but he wasn’t forthcoming about whatever ‘gift’ he got. “Are these… bribes? Threats?” I asked, genuinely confused. For those to show up in the middle of the Cistern implied the place was compromised by outside forces. It made a powerful statement.

“The Rats won’t need to worry about being harmed by Bloodstone Elixirs,” Karsien said mysteriously, turning away. “But it can never hurt to watch your steps even more.”

The conversation stalled for a moment before the leader of the Rats spoke up again. “Follow me, Toren. I need to speak with you alone.”

—

I hesitantly followed the Rat as he entered his room. I wasn’t surprised by how he’d decorated the place. A dartboard hung right next to the door, and a dozen different trinkets and trophies lined the walls.

The Rat immediately sat down in a chair across from the dartboard, staring me down.

“What do you want to talk about away from the others?” I asked.

Karsien watched me for a moment. Then he moved a hand to his face, gripping his masquerade mask on either side. He pulled it off, lowering it slowly.

I blinked at what I saw. This was the first time I’d seen Karsien without his mask.

And I could understand why he wore it. His upper face was brutally scarred; the skin of horribly mismatched colors. Mottled pink splotches dotted his forehead, erasing any eyebrows he might have had. He was missing part of his nose, making him look almost like a skull had skin stretched over it tightly. I was amazed his eyes were intact.

I took a step back, utterly unprepared for what was happening. “What happened to you?” I asked, feeling conflicted.

“Dornar Joan,” Karsien replied. “Or as Hofal knew him, Flint.”

I reeled, trying haphazardly to cobble together all I knew of Karsien. “That’s who you wanted vengeance against,” I said, finally understanding. “I… I failed to kill him in that mansion. He’s still out there, isn’t he? That’s why you wanted to talk to me?”

“No, he isn’t,” Karsien replied, keeping his eyes locked on me. “I killed him as he fled from you.”

I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it. I fumbled for something to say. “What did he do to you?” I asked. It felt like what the man wanted.

“I went on an ascent with him,” Karsien said without preamble. “Several, in fact. The last one we went on together, however, I barely survived.”

“He turned on you,” I guessed.

“He did. For a simple accolade, something he had gotten a dozen times before. And the way he beat me down? Well, it gave me perspective. I wasn’t any less of a slum rat than I had been before I got my runes.”

Karsien looked contemplative for a moment before his expression hardened. It looked almost horrifying on his burned face. “But when I clawed out of that pit, I didn’t even know Flint’s name. I did not know where to start.”

“How did you figure it out, then?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe. I tried to keep my eyes trained on Karsien’s, refusing to let them wander. I thought he wanted me to stare. Wanted me to gawk. But I didn’t.

“Renea Shorn,” Karsien replied. “The leader of Bloodstone Elixirs.”

I frowned, trying to figure out what all this meant. “You do work for her,” I said, taking a guess. “That’s what the Rats have been: an aim at taking down the competitor of your boss, while also fulfilling your own vengeance.”

Karsien shook his head very, very slowly. “No. The woman simply told me a name and the first place I should look. From there, I built all of this myself,” he said, gesturing to his room, and I suspected the Rats as a whole.

“But after this, I have no doubt that this was her plan.” He paused, piercing me with the little dots of his eyes. “I’m clever, Toren Daen. I can see a dozen ways to manipulate you right now, not including your strange lack of runes.” I tensed at his words, but Karsien ignored my sudden nervousness, instead continuing his story. “But this woman only needed to plant one seed to topple a rival, then swoop in afterward and claim the glory.”

“I don’t see how this is relevant to me,” I said lowly, narrowing my eyes at Karsien’s earlier implied threat. He said it as if it was nothing.

“It is, Toren, because you didn’t just get a gift from Bloodstone Elixirs. You got a note.”

I exhaled. “And somehow this woman is going to manipulate me, too?” I said, realizing that I wasn’t in immediate danger from the man. “It doesn’t seem like you’re upset with how things turned out.”

“It isn’t simply that I got what I want,” Karsien said. “It is that she so smoothly achieved both of our desires. Do you understand the difficulty of that, Toren? It would have been far easier to simply raze the Joans to the ground with her own resources. But now my crew and I are in her debt, and if she asks something of me, I would not be able to refuse.”

“You’re still at the whims of greater powers,” I said after a moment, understanding. “Your situation hasn’t changed at all, even if everybody else thinks it has. You’re an unwitting pawn on a board, even if you didn’t know it.”

Karsien stared at me for a long, long time. I restrained the urge to break away, his scars searing themselves into my memory.

“He knows it makes people uncomfortable,” Lady Dawn said, her mind brushing against my own. “It is why he wears a mask, but also why he has chosen to remove it now.”

Karsien reached into the pocket of his jacket, retrieving a sealed letter. He stood up robotically, handing it to me. “You have a cunning head on your shoulders, Toren. Don’t let it dig into things it shouldn’t.”

I nodded in reply, looking at the writing on the front of the envelope.

To Toren Daen, it read in swirling gold letters. The similarity to another letter I’d received made it feel instantly ominous, like the contents would shatter my soul.

“I’m afraid the only reason I joined your crew was because I have a tendency to be impulsive,” I said, looking up from the paper.

Karsien cracked a grin, this one a lot more familiar. “I suppose that’s true. Your ‘gift’ was planted in your room, by the way. It seems Renea Shorn knows where you sleep.”

—

Renea Shorn did know where I slept. A relatively long box wrapped in deep red cloth awaited me, sitting comfortably on my bed. I approached it warily, wondering if I should be worried if it was a bomb.

But first, I looked at the letter in my hands. The seal was a simple round-bottom beaker with little ornamentation. It hadn’t been opened.

I broke the seal, not knowing what to expect from the paper inside. A threat? An offer of some sort? Maybe blackmail regarding my secrets?

My previous conversation with Karsien jumped into my mind again. What did this woman know about me? What did she think she knew?

I slowly pulled the paper from the envelope, unsheathing it like a weapon. The paper was written in a similar handwriting as the cover, the swooping letters containing an elegance I had rarely seen in my previous life. The letters weren’t golden, however, but regular black ink.

Congratulations on completing your vengeance, Toren Daen. The Joans have long been a thorn in the side of Bloodstone Elixirs. Though it was not your intention, you have done our company a great favor with your actions. Thus, we send you this gift. Take it in the spirit it was given and use it well.

Signed,

Renea Shorn, Head of Bloodstone Elixirs

Huh, I thought. That wasn’t nearly as bad a letter as I expected. I turned my attention to the actual ‘gift.’

The wrapping was quite ostentatious. It was simple cloth, but I immediately knew Naereni would salivate at the potential earnings she could make selling it off. My mana sense didn’t pick anything especially extraordinary about the box, so I slowly lifted the top half.

Inside, a set of beautiful sheathed weapons sat inlaid into the box. One was a single-edged saber with a long, slightly curved blade. The metal had a wavy pattern that looked similar to Damascus steel, but there were lines of dark red material snaking through the folds. Runes I didn’t recognize were etched along the thicker part of the steel, giving it a sense of mystique.

The point and edge were wicked sharp, and I felt my own eyes might bleed just from looking at the tip. The handle was wrapped in dark leather, while the swept-hilt guard shone silver. The sheathe had intricate, waving lines etched into the leather, and from the sheen of the material I knew it was brand new.

The other weapon was a dagger, clearly of a set with the saber. It was a bit shorter than my previous weapon, and this one was slightly curved with a single edge. It had the same striations of red along the waving pattern in the steel with matching runes. The handguard was shorter than I was used to, but I looked at both weapons with a childlike sort of wonder.

On the pommel of each weapon, the sigil of Named Blood Daen stared back.

I reached my hands out to the weapons, grasping their hilts and holding them up. Each of them was extremely light, and I felt a sort of reverence for their craftsmanship. Who could give these as a gift?

“Contractor,” Lady Dawn said over my bond, breaking through my reverie. “There is something wrong with these weapons. Something overlays them.”

I frowned, then gingerly set them down. I couldn’t sense anything, but I’d learned to trust my bond on things like this. “What do you mean?”

“I cannot tell just yet. Sit for a moment. Meditate, and I shall see.”

With worry growing, I sat down cross-legged on my bed, closing my eyes and focusing inward as I did whenever I assimilated my Beast Will. I held the weapons in my lap, trying to direct my focus toward them.

I felt Lady Dawn begin to concentrate with me, her own mind feathering across my senses.

“A spell is laid over these,” Lady Dawn said after a moment. “I recognize this particular spell. A sympathetic link is formed between these objects and another, allowing them to be traced wherever they are.”

I started, but wasn’t really surprised, just disappointed. They were really nice weapons, and I’d wanted to keep them. But if they allowed someone to track me, I’d have to dispose of them somewhere or sell them for cash. I needed to watch out for Bloodstone Elixirs. Their intentions were predictably not as pure as their letter implied.

“That sucks,” I said, deflating. “They had the stamp of Named Blood Daen and everything.”

No, I was not sulking.

“All is not lost, Contractor,” Lady Dawn chided, stern as if I was a child pouting about not getting dessert. “You may yet sever this sympathetic link, disallowing these weapons from being traced.”

I felt myself grin, my mood slowly reversing. “Then what are we waiting for?”