It stormed during the night, and the thundering of rain against the roof was like morphine. The three of us slept like the dead, and when we roused, it was to clear peach-colored skies and a field of thick ground mist blanketing Eden.

We got ourselves breakfast - beans and rice and fried eggs for Angel, meat for me and Lulu, coffee for all of us - and after that, the group sat down in a circle and discussed what Angel was going to say to Merc. Or more accurately, me and Angel figured things out while Lulu blobbed around the hut, hoovering organic matter out of the carpets. Once Angel felt confident in her pitch, we left the illusory safety of the house and went to go find the glorious leader of the Maroons.

Merc was bent over the carpentry bench at Eden’s crafting hall, chatting with Lieutenant Hong while she worked. Hong leaned against a pillar, smoking and watching the door. When he saw the three of us roll in, he arched his eyebrows and jerked his head toward the entry.

"Look who the Reaper dragged in. Morning, Angel. Get some rest?" Merc, dressed in a tank top and shorts, swiped her arm across her forehead to clear away the sweat. To her right were a stack of finished planks, each unnaturally neat bundle tagged as [Finished Lumber].

"Uh... yeah." Angel replied, slightly late as she processed my telepathic translation. "Best sleep I think I’ve had since I got here, actually. I might have to build one of those treehouses myself. Don't suppose you have the schema for them?"

"Book's over there." Hong grunted, jerking his head toward a table in the workshop. It had over a dozen battered-looking books laid out in rows. "All those are free to use."

"Yeah. Go learn what you can while you're here," Merc said. "But before you do: did you have a think about my offer?"

"I did." Angel drew herself up a little taller, and lay a hand on my shoulder. "And while I have a lot of respect for you and what you’re doing here, I can't join the Maroons. We need to strike out on our own."

Merc sighed. "Figured as much."

"You're nuts," Hong said. "The Society Sponsoreds know you've got guns and an S-ranked Brute. You're a big, big target.”

“He’s not wrong, but ignore him anyway.” I did my best to radiate approval in her direction.

Angel flashed an irritated look at Hong. “Then let them try."

"Right. Well, can't say I'm not disappointed, but that's fair." Merc's mouth thinned. "You want to stay a few days? Get to know some folks?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to. You need those resources to take care of your people." Angel’s back was a little stiff. Standing up to authority was hard for her. "I want to help you guys out and support your mission, so rather than join you, I want to form an alliance. I was hoping you’d be also be willing to do some trading.”

"An alliance? You and what army?" Hong laughed derisively.

"The one that defeated Captain Targent in the arena, killed a Sponsored and several A and B-tiered Brutes. We also helped kill a whole lot of slavers, and we shattered Eisenblatter's camp," Angel replied crisply. "My team IS an army."

Merc pulled another palm tree log from her inventory, and dumped it out on the bench. "Well, let’s hear your offer, then. I'm listening."

"You guys need resources, and we need progress through the map," Angel continued. "The way I see it, Noodles and I could act as forward scouts. My team works best if we travel light and stay on the move. We don't need to accumulate resources beyond resupplying ammunition and heals. So, my primary offer is that we’ll sniff out metal and oil caches, only take what we need to survive, and funnel the rest back to you. In return, I want information - a map of all the camps, mines, and convoy routes you know of, plus the boss spawns. Any intelligence or leads you find into striking at the guilds, you send to me so we can leverage them."

“Fancy yourself a lone wolf, huh?” Merc's smile grew broad and toothy. "You really think you're up to this?"

Angel's ghostly blue eyes turned bright and hard. "Yes."

The Maroons leader made a show of thinking about it, but by the way she smelled, I knew she’d already decided.

"Alright," Merc said. "I'm game."

Angel smiled, a mix of pleasure and relief. "If you’re willing to provide backup for us if we find guarded caches and depots, I'll also trade you one of the junk turrets we picked up. Noodles can carry both, but it's cluttering up his inventory. We only need one."

Merc’s brows twitched. Angel’s confidence in the junk tier being a desirable item bore out, though, because she only had to think about it for a minute. "Deal. Don't know how well this map is going to serve you, though. The spawn camps around the Daeva shrines are intense. No one gets through."

"I got through," I said to Angel. "The Vanara spawn camp was a piece of cake."

"You leave that to us," Angel said aloud.

Merc barked a harsh crow’s laugh, picking up her saw. "I remember when I was like you. Had two good Legions, was in with the Centurions and climbing the ladder at light speed. At first, I thought that all I needed was a gun. Then I reached the tier where everyone had 'em and still couldn't beat the second Daeva, so I had to keep climbing. Became a Captain, got access to iron-level gear... but after beating Karkinos, I had no way to reach Rachini. So I started bargaining with myself, selling myself. I played politics, I trampled anyone I had to on the way up to Kaban's side. But no matter what I did or how high I climbed, Kaban didn’t want me to leave. So I didn’t. This place is like a casino, and if you aren't some Sponsored mafia darling, you're playing against the house with bad odds. That won’t change until Kaban is dead."

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Lulu shuddered, but Angel considered her words. Even without a woo-woo empathic link, I had a feeling that Angel and I were thinking the same thing.

"I can read the warning between the lines," she voiced.

"Good." Merc nodded. "Noodles there might be the only Reaper on the whole island. No one thinks much of Limne, but I'm guessing you've got some kind of sync matchup between them that makes her stronger. Whatever you do, don't throw these two away by charging front-first into a war you can't win."

“Ooh-ooh!” Lulu vibrated against my back.

Angel smiled. "Believe me, I know. When do you think you'll have Eisenblatter's information?"

"Pretty soon. Elijah and Cade are in there interrogating him now." Merc waved a hand vaguely toward some of the buildings. "When they've sent in their report, I'll forward it to you. No rush for you to leave, by the way. If you need to do any crafting, go ahead."

"Thanks. I really mean that.” Angel paused. “We honestly need ammo more than anything, but I can’t ask you to spare that."

Hong grunted. "Hardly anyone here has guns to use it with. No iron."

"Yeah," Merc replied. "Don't worry. We'll set you up with a couple hundred rifle rounds in exchange for that turret. I have a feeling she’ll come in real handy moving forward."

***

While my trusty human friend went on her crafting binge - that I was absolutely not envious about AT ALL - I parked my shiny black ass down and had a look over me and Lulu’s sheets. She had caught up to me and was now sitting pretty at Level 18, while I was still barely at Level 20. Level 20 was so close I could taste it. One more big fight, and we’d have access to our next big tier of abilities.

“You know, there’s got to be more sync moves we’re capable of,” I thought to Lulu. “Your strength is defense. Mine are attack and reflexes. There’s got to be ways we can leverage them.”

“Ooo.” Lulu had one of the dead Rex’s finger bones, batting it around like a cat with a toy.

“My thoughts exactly,” I replied. “I dunno… maybe I’m overthinking things at this early stage. But you're strong against Body, Psionic, and Poison abilities. Those are my elements, so in theory... if I'm figuring this system right, then I should be able to amplify with my elements. You can soak Earth and Metal well, too, which is great, because I've got some type weaknesses to both of those. But you have a triple weakness and no triple strengths... huh. At least I kick the ass of Blood and Air-type things."

"Ooo-huu."

There was potential there, but as I studied the Elemental Glyphs, I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something. I was going to have to take my own advice: radical accountability, and a better strategy for Lulu and I moving forward.

Merc PM'd Angel at about five in the afternoon, summoning us to her house. There, we traded one of the turrets for the key information that would keep us alive in the Jungle - the location of every major and minor player camp known to the Maroons. They had detailed info for the eastern side of the volcano – Centurions territory - but less data on the west. Even so, the remaining Daeva locations were clearly marked, along with the large encampments the big guilds had built to guard them. The base in front of Vanara's was the smallest and least secure. The one around Rachini, the third Daeva, was a whole fucking city. A fortified city, with big walls.

"That’s Fortuna," Merc confirmed to us while we gaped at the huge shaded sprawl surrounding Rachini’s Lair, the Temple of the Winds. "Biggest settlement in Malae. Houses about five hundred people, including slaves. Also has the biggest copper and tin mines, which is why Kaban made it his base."

Angel regarded the size of the settlement in numb silence. I could tell she was losing her nerve.

“If you’re wondering, Fortuna is where every solo team has lost the fight so far," Merc added helpfully, handing Angel a bag of potions. "There’s two layers of walls. The outer walls surround everything, including the mines. The inner wall separates the mines - and its slaves - from the townies who live behind it. The guild members live there pretty well, with houses and roads and plenty of resources."

Angel didn't lipread her, still looking at the map. When I relayed her words, she glanced up through her HUD. “I’m sure they do. But the slaves’ lives are hell.”

A momentary expression of guilt passed over Merc’s weathered face, but before she could reply, we heard boots crunching on the gravel behind us. It was Elijah, rangy and dark in a short duster coat, his hands jammed down into his pockets. He looked at us, as if puzzled by the fact we dared to be alive near him, breathing his air.

"Eisenblatter squealed." He muttered, shooting Angel a suspicious look. “Can we go somewhere private for the debrief?”

Merc shook her head. “Speak freely. We already traded with Angel: she’s allowed to hear this info.”

Elijah looked sidelong at us. His lips pressed together for a moment, before he ruffled his shoulders like an agitated bird and turned back to Merc. "We have a couple of leads on supply convoys. Heavily guarded. Eisen says multiple Legions are escorting them, something about ‘Security Level Theta’. The Pigs have been saber-rattling about taking down caravans, so the Centurions are doubling up on their convoy defense and patrols."

"Theta? Of course." Merc groaned.

"We can take them," Hong said. "There's enough of us. And you’ve got a Brute now."

“We’d lose more than we gain. If the Cents have declared Theta level on their convoys, it means we’ll be dealing with an A-grade Brute and Cute pair, plus at least two B-grade Brutes and their trainers. Eisenblatter’s beast is C-grade, and its stats are shit. Only thing it’s good for is helping me catch a better wild Legion team.” Merc hawked in her throat, grimacing.

“There’s more.” Elijah scowled. I was coming to realize this was his default expression, and maybe wasn't even personal. “Apparently, the Pigs on the front lines of the Warfront are running out of oil.”

“Oil?” Merc frowned, her stormy expression turning to one of surprise. “How? The Hell Pigs camp three quarters of the oil on the map.”

“Eisen doesn’t know: just that his scouts reported that there’s been fights breaking out in Pigs encampments over oil for crafting,” Elijah said. “He had vague plans to try and torch their oil convoys. Don’t know why he decided against it.”

“Because he’s a blubbering coward who was only Sponsored so people could feel better about themselves in real life?” I thought to Angel and Lulu. “That, or he knows about Kaban playing both sides, and was in on the game.”

Lulu chortled. Angel smiled faintly.

Merc thought about that bit of news for close to a minute before responding. “The Pigs frontliners running out of oil, while still running convoys of it. I don’t like it. Anyway, something to keep an eye on moving forward. Elijah, I need you for something.”

“Ma’am.”

“I’m about to finalize a trade with Angel here. After that, I need you grab a mount, and lead her and her Legions out of Eden.” Merc paused to light a cigarette. “Nicely. There aren’t any hard feelings here, you understand?”

Elijah glanced at her, then at the three of us. “Yes’m. Understood.”

By Angel’s expression, she had her own thoughts about what the news about the Pigs and their oil meant. But we couldn’t discuss it yet. As Merc had pointed out, there was a huge difference between being allies and being friends.