Ahh, Desoto, the beautiful, lush, green-filled paradise where Ulysses Katarin had grown up. He remembered a childhood spent exploring the deep forests and utterly untamed wilderness areas that surrounded his small town. As a young black boy in the mid eighteen-hundreds southern America, he’d been lucky to live in an area that didn’t allow slavery. Bystanders at the time didn’t really understand why the state of Desoto disallowed slavery, particularly given what an issue it was for every other state in their area. All they knew was that it had always been that way, and always would be. It wasn’t something they questioned that much, for some reason.

None of the Desoto Bystanders knew the truth about Baroness Gaia Sinclaire, a woman who would have had to be dead and buried before ever allowing any slavery to exist in her territory. And even then there was a solid chance she would resurrect herself to kill anyone who tried to make it happen. She made certain it never became an issue, from the very beginning of Desoto’s time as an official part of the young United States. And by the time Ulysses had been growing up, it was simply an accepted fact. There was no slavery allowed in that area. He had only known freedom.

In addition to not truly understanding just how bad black people like him had things outside his home state, the young Ulysses had had no clue about the dangerous monsters that filled not only the world in general, but the actual trees and bushes he had spent all those days playing in. He had barely known anything at all when it came to the world in those days. His father was a carpenter, his mother a seamstress who mended clothes for others in the village or travelers passing through on their long journeys. He listened to their tales and imagined himself out there.

Ulysses had longed for a real adventure in those days. He read books and listened to stories, played games in the forest with the few other boys who were close to his own age, and spent more than his share of time desperate for something fun and exciting. He and his friends made up their own tall tales about things they thought were out there in the woods, never dreaming that the truth was something far beyond what their imaginations could ever even hope to conjure up.

Then things changed. Ulysses had been recruited by a traveler who had been passing through town. The man, a stranger at the time, was Zedekiah Pericles. He’d seen the potential in Ulysses, not only (or even largely) in his desire for adventure and excitement, but in his capacity for learning, his appetite for improving himself. And, of course, his size. He was a large boy, even back then. His time spent helping his father by carrying lumber and supplies, as well as hours upon hours where he would help travelers passing through with any labor they needed in exchange for any stories they could tell him had left the already-tall boy quite well-built. He was strong and capable, but he needed training. He needed someone who could mold his clay properly. Zedekiah Pericles had known just where the young teenager could get that molding.

Crossroads. He had brought Ulysses to Crossroads, where he had learned everything about the monsters out there in the real world. He had gone through their training, had become so much more than he had been. He had graduated, gone out into the world and fought to protect innocents from monsters like Fossor. Hearing just how close the human world had come to complete extinction thanks to that Necromancer had already left Ulysses with an anxious fear of their types to begin with. Then he had been sent out on one of his first hunts after graduation, alongside an adult Heretic partner. They’d found a nest of vampire creatures, who had been preparing for who knew what sort of massacre. It should have been a simple hunt. They’d made their way to the nest during the day and carried plenty of daylight-projecting spells just in case. All they needed to do was barge in, take the sleeping vampires by surprise, and kill all of them before they could regroup or even understand what was happening. It should have been simple.

Then the other Necromancer, Jacob had shown up. Jacob ruined their attack, stopped them from killing the vampires and… and humiliated the Heretics. He took the vampires away, made sure Ulysses and his adult partner couldn’t find them, and did it all with such arrogance that Ulysses had sworn he would never forget that face, that voice, that--that--coat. He would never forget the look of that bastard, and promised himself that he would make Jacob pay for all of it.

Now he’d had his chance again, an opportunity to stop Jacob once and for all. And what had come of it? How much had he accomplished? Nothing. Jacob had once again humiliated him. He’d traipsed across the city of London, killing anyone he wanted to seemingly at random all while making lying excuses about them being zombie bombs created by his rival or… or something. Ulysses knew better than to listen to that nonsense. Necromancers were liars. He’d learned that much very early on in his Crossroads education, from hearing what had happened with Fossor. Necromancers absolutely could not be trusted, ever. They would lie and manipulate anyone they had to in order to get what they wanted. They worshiped death as though it was an actual deity. Nothing they ever said could be taken at face value. The best thing to do whenever you saw a Necromancer was to put them down hard before they could summon an army between you and them. Ulysses knew that, he had tried to stop Jacob this second time, to no avail. Every single one of those people who had been killed in that rampage through London was his fault. He owed them justice, and no matter what it took, he was going to see that justice brought. He was going to see the arrogance wiped from Jacob’s face as he was put down.

And right now, his best idea for how to find that justice was to go back to the state he had spent his childhood in. Not to the small town of his birth. That place had held no draw for him ever since his parents had passed away. They were gone, and he had lost any connection to the friends he had known in his youth. No, that place was not his destination. After becoming a part of Crossroads, Ulysses had learned much more about Desoto, including the baroness who ran the Heretic side of things in that area. Gaia Sinclaire, the mysterious witch who was able to, among other things, control technology. Including the far-advanced technology used by invaders to this world, such as Jacob himself. That invisible, airborne vessel he controlled, the one that had aided him so much during his recent attack on London. It was one of the bastard’s greatest advantages, and Ulysses knew just how to take that advantage away. If he could bring Gaia Sinclaire in on things, the next time that Necromancer tried to use the vessel, it could be turned against him. Hell, with her power, she might even be able to track the vessel itself and find out where that Necromancer kept himself hidden away when he wasn’t playing his deadly games.

By the time Ulysses stepped off the boat and took in the sight of Desoto’s capital city of Los Pasos Primeros, it had been three weeks since the events back in London. He had intended to come here sooner, but had ended up being distracted for a time.

The primary source of that distraction was stepping off the boat beside him while taking in a deep breath of her own. “You’re right,” Lucy Culpepper, the Natural-Bonded he had met while doing his rounds after Jacob’s rampage, announced, “you really can smell the green on the air around here. It’s beautiful.” She turned that way, offering him a raised eyebrow that sent his heart fluttering all over again and reminded him of the past couple weeks of distraction. “You really grew up here?”

“Not here,” he reminded her easily, even as they moved forward away from the other ship passengers already descending the gangplank to head off down the docks. “My village was a few hundred miles northeast. I never even saw this place until after I joined Crossroads. But you’re right, it is beautiful here. And believe me, the wild areas are even better. This is the most gorgeous place on this continent. When we’re done with Baroness Sinclaire, I’ll show you more of it.”

With that firm promise, he led his companion across the dock and into the city proper. It had grown quite a lot since its early days as the first official colony in this area. The city was built right on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, and did brisk trade with Mexico itself as well as the islands of Cuba, the Bahamas, and Jamaica. Not to mention Central and South America. Between its beautiful, lush landscape attracting tourists, and the fact that it was the first and best port of call for so many trade ships, Desoto was well on its way to having one of the strongest economies of the still-growing United States. Ulysses was proud of his home, and even if he hadn’t needed to come here to speak with Baroness Sinclaire, he still would have enjoyed showing it off to Lucy.

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He had sent messages ahead, letting the baroness know he was coming and that he would very much like to speak with her. So, even as he and his companion were walking across the bustling docks, Ulysses kept his eyes open for who the woman might have sent to greet them. Despite that, he was still taken by surprise as a voice piped up from a stack of barrels they were passing. “Oy! You Katarin and company?” The figure perched there was a child, barely ten years old, if that. She had long blonde hair tied into a braid and wore dark breeches and a heavily-patched shirt that had been white at one point but now held pieces of shirts of half a dozen other colors.

Before Ulysses could respond, Lucy had already introduced herself to the girl, who in turn informed them that her own name was Carrie Manners, and gave them the password he had set up in his messages so they would know who to follow. She had been sent by Gaia to bring them straight to the Baroness’s home. Which, Carrie made sure to recite in what was probably an imitation of Gaia herself, needed to happen, ‘immediately and without any distractions, yes even the bakery Miss Manners, they can see it later.’ It seemed the girl had a tendency to take newcomers on a bit of a tour throughout the city in exchange for stories of other places they had seen (and likely a bit of coin). But in this case, Gaia wanted Ulysses to be brought straight to her with absolutely no delays. Which at least proved she was taking the whole thing seriously. He had almost been worried that she wouldn’t actually believe Jacob was a real threat that they needed to be ready to handle whenever he showed up again. Thankfully, it seemed she was already fully aware of just how much of a problem the bastard Necromancer could be.

So, Ulysses and Lucy allowed themselves to be led off the docks and through a confusing maze of streets. It certainly didn't seem like they were taking the most direct route to get to their destinations. Ulysses could have sworn they actually doubled back on themselves at least once. But he didn't know the city the way Carrie did, and she might’ve had a reason to not go straight there. For all he knew, Gaia protected her sanctuary through various spells that could only be bypassed with this roundabout path. That would make sense, given the number of monsters out there who would no doubt give anything to be able to kill someone of her power and authority. Yes, protecting her home through any means necessary, including maze-spells, was just common sense. As soon as that thought came, Ulysses was able to calm his rampant paranoia.

Finally, they found themselves standing in front of a tall brick building, over five stories in height and surrounded by an eight foot stone wall with several small gargoyles (the actual statue sort) perched along both the wall itself and various parts of the building, overlooking the streets beyond. The gate was manned by a pale man with graying hair in a suit. When they approached, he greeted Carrie warmly before giving Ulysses and Lucy a thorough onceover. The Crossroads Heretic felt several scanning and identification powers lightly touching him, clearly making sure they were who they claimed to be and that this wasn’t some sort of trick to get close to Gaia. Then he introduced himself as Barker. No indication of whether that was a first name, a last name, or a title of some sort. It was just Barker. With the introduction done, the man pushed the gate open wide, gesturing for them to head inside with the polite note that they were expected.

Gaia herself was indeed waiting for them just inside the foyer of the tall house, next to a staircase leading up. Seeing the red-haired woman in her dark suit and sensing just how much strength and power radiated off her, Ulysses immediately felt calmer. He had been anxious, on edge, ever since that second interaction with Jacob. His time with Lucy, and the feelings both had quickly developed for one another had helped that, but the worry about what would happen the next time that Necromancer inevitably showed up had always been there in the background. Now, however, he felt confident. Gaia Sinclaire would know what to do about that whole thing.

After greeting them and introducing herself to Lucy, she did not lead them up the stairs, however. Instead, Gaia took the new arrivals through several corridors and out a side door to a patio in the garden out back. There was already a table of cakes and tea waiting for them, which the baroness insisted they try before getting down to business. Some part of Ulysses felt like she was evaluating him. He’d met the woman a few times before, of course, during the course of both his education and afterward. Enough to have an idea of just how strong she was, and for her to know who he was. But this felt different, in some way. She seemed to be using this time, while they were taking the offered food and drink, to somehow take his measure in a much deeper way. Perhaps she wanted to know if he was truly up to the task he had set for himself, the task of finally stopping Jacob Donn once and for all. Or perhaps he was simply imagining all of it.

Whatever her reasoning, Gaia finally settled in and offered Ulysses a small smile. “Now that manners have been attended to and no one’s stomach is interrupting, you said something in your messages about having a plan to attend to the Necromancer known as Jacob, yes?”

It was Lucy who spoke up, her voice firm. “He wants to stop any more attacks like the one that just happened in London. You did hear about that even all the way over here, didn't you?” There was still raw emotion there. She had seen how terrified each of her neighbors were about the whole situation. It was even worse considering the Bystander Effect had erased the specific details from their minds. They didn't understand what actually happened. All they knew was that dozens of people had been struck down for no apparent reason and with no connection between them. The Bystander authorities were calling it some sort of food poisoning, claiming that all the people who had been seen dying were affected by tainted meat. And that the same tainted meat had made some people see things, such as lights in the sky and wild animals running around. It wasn’t exactly the most ironclad story, but Ulysses had seen much worse even in his relatively short time as a member of Crossroads. Bystanders tended to accept the story they were given.

Gaia was already nodding while her gaze remained locked on him. She seemed to be staring straight through to his soul, examining Ulysses in a way that made him shift uncertainly. He could understand why Sinclaire had so easily become the Baroness of Desoto. She radiated a feeling of control and power that was obvious even this soon into the meeting. “Yes, I am, in fact, very well informed of just what transpired that day. I believe the more relevant question would be, are you?”

The question made him blink. “I was there. I saw everything that he did to those people. I saw how casually he killed them. I saw the damage his sky vessel is capable of. That's why we're here. If anyone in this world has the ability to rip control of that vessel away from him, it's you. We need your help. If we're going to stop him the next time he pokes his head up and tries to play these games, we need you to turn that vessel against him. If you can do that. If we can take him by surprise with that reversal, I know we can put a stop to that Necromancer once and for all. Once he’s done, maybe we can force him to tell us everything he knows about how to stop their kind. Then Fossor could be dealt with.” He knew he sounded eager right then, but he couldn’t help it. The prospect of ending the reigns of both of those bastards was too appealing.

Gaia, however, didn't seem to share that enthusiasm for some reason. She continued to watch him in silence for a long and somewhat awkward few seconds. It looked like she was coming to a decision, but something told Ulysses that it wasn't actually about what he had asked her. This was something else, something she had clearly been wrestling with for some time before they arrived. But what could she have been so occupied with that was more important than the prospect of ending two separate Necromancers who had already proven to be such problems?

Lucy seemed taken aback by the reaction as well, but she was more immediately vocal about it, putting her glass down rather firmly before demanding, “Is there something wrong with that? Because you don't seem all that interested in making sure this Jacob creature can’t do that again. Do we need to take you over to London and let you see the fear he has left in his wake? Perhaps the next time he shows himself, you can be called on to bury the bodies and console the survivors. The damage he has done, simply to my own neighborhood, can’t be brushed aside or ignored.”

Holding up a hand for peace before the other woman could go any further or become angrier, Gaia gave another short nod. “Of course not. I have every sympathy for those who are affected by any violence whatsoever. And yet, sometimes a situation is more complicated than it appears to be on the surface. You should both be well aware of that.”

She stood then, turning to walk to the edge of the patio so she could look at the very well-tended garden. Her voice was soft and introspective. “Ulysses, you have been on Crossroads hunts before. You have chased Strangers through populated areas, because allowing them to escape would mean they would be free to harm and kill others. You did this despite being unable to explain the truth to the innocent Bystanders who were simply in the way. You have left your own share of civilians traumatized and afraid, because it was impossible to actually tell them exactly what happened in a way they would accept, understand, or remember. Because, despite the damage and fear it caused, doing so was better than the alternative. Action was better than inaction, despite the pain that action left behind. You’ve made that choice before.”

Frowning, Ulysses exchanged an uncertain look with Lucy before picking himself up as well. The tea and food was left forgotten. “Yes, of course I have. We can’t explain why we do the things we do. Not to Bystanders. It may look evil from their point of view, but they don’t… have the context to… understand what…” He trailed off, the frown deepening.

Pointed silence reigned for a moment, before Gaia turned from the garden to face them. Her eyes met his. “Yes. Context is very important for understanding any situation. So perhaps I should supply some of my own.

“By telling you about what happened when I met Jacob for the first time.”