The Brightgate is just as impressive as the first time we visited.

Twice as tall as any other building in the town and made out of a crystalline form of mana, it towers over the entire town and is visible from miles away.

During our travels, I realised that I forgot to turn my notifications on after killing the Sporemother. I turned them back on but only got greeted by one.

[Congratulations, Runecarver has reached level 2. 4 Magic Capacity and 2 Mana Regeneration have been awarded.]

It's very disappointing, I expected at least a title out of it but I suppose Balthazar did the majority of the work. He deserved whatever title came from it.

"You've got something on your cheek," Kara teases me, pointing at her right cheek.

I wipe at my cheek, trying to get rid of the probably nonexistent stain. Maggie apparently thought it was funny to leave a kiss mark on my cheek before leaving in the morning and Kara agrees wholeheartedly.

"I hate you," I reply, walking past her and the guards at the gate. They don't stop us.

"No, you don't."

We make our way to the saloon, wanting to ask around for Aones stars before visiting Siegfried. I assume that they have already moved on and left Brightgate but it's worth a try. A saloon is always a hotspot for rumours after all.

The second we enter the saloon, a mug flies towards us, spraying us with beer as it bounces off the wall next to us.

"I win!" Vikram is standing up, getting cheered on by Fleur with Merah sitting by the side, quietly sipping a drink.

Vikram has apparently won a game of cards and his opponent is not happy about it, swearing up a storm as he accuses Vikram of four different ways of cheating at once.

Fleur is having none of it and points her rapier at the man's throat when he tries to take Vikram's winnings. "You lost fairly, have some dignity."

Kara walks straight up to the bar, passing by Fleur, and loudly asks the bartender "Say, have you heard of a group of wannabe adventurers that are stuck around here? They should have four members and are really vain, relying on their fame from killing a hydra when someone else took care of it."

"Ha ha," Fleur laughs mirthlessly, turning around to face us, "very funny but at least get our number of members right."

"Did Darryl leave," Kara asks. He is the only one not here. She sits down next to Fleur and accepts a drink from Merah while I sit down next to Vikram.

Vikram shakes my hand and asks me "Who's Darryl?"

"Your fourth member," I answer. What kind of joke is this? He just looks at me confusedly so I quickly continue "Fleurs brother, he was frontline with you."

Fleur scoffs. "I would remember if I had a brother that went adventuring with me," she tells us, downing her drink before continuing "very funny joke."

"It's not a joke," I reassure her. This is like what happened with the sheriff.

"We need to go to Siegfried," Merah states, standing up and leaving her drink behind.

Kara, Fleur and Vikram down their drinks and Vikram pays the bartender before we all depart. I didn't even get the chance to get a drink.

Kara and I quiz them on our way to Siegfried, trying to figure out what had happened.

They haven't forgotten anyone else we could think of but can't remember a single thing about Darryl. They think that Fleur never had a brother, Vikram has always been the frontline fighter with some assistance from Fleur.

We quickly make our way to the tower, running the last stretch as we realise that there is something incredibly wrong going on here.

Vikram is the first at the door and pounds his fists against it. "Siegfried, get out here!"

Stolen story; please report.

It takes only a moment for the door to swing open and Siegfried to greet us. "How can I help you," he asks, taking a sip of his coffee.

He looks better than the last time I've seen him. Not as tired or pale as last time, he is even wearing a somewhat fanciful robe instead of a bathrobe. Good for him.

"Do you remember Darryl?"

He turns around and walks away without a word, going to a bookshelf and picking out a ledger.

He sits at the table and motions for us to come in as he opens the ledger. He trails his hand down the list of names until he gets to Darryl. "Darryl Winchester," he reads aloud, "he is part of your group, isn't he?"

"You're part of the Winchester's?" Kara asks Fleur in barely concealed disgust.

I don't even know why Kara thinks that's a bad thing. Are the Winchester's some sort of gang? Before Fleur can respond, I ask Siegfried "Do you remember him? Without using any written records, do you remember him?"

He furrows his brows in thought as we sit down, before shaking his head. "No, I don't remember him but that's hardly remarkable. I barely remember the Chosen and that's kind of my job."

"Speaking of which, can I talk with you two in private," Siegfried asks Merah and me.

Merah answers before I manage "anything you want to talk with us about, they can hear." She's got a point.

"Alright," he says, summoning the skeletal monkey to shelve the ledger again. I've got a feeling that he didn't really care either way. "Cinder would like to extend an opportunity to you two. She has been gathering the other Chosen, trying to form a Pantheon, and she wants you two in it."

I dimly remember that a Pantheon is supposed to be a group of gods but I don't even know any other Chosen than Merah.

Unless Cinder is a Chosen.

It'd explain why she wants to form a Pantheon but she feels too… malevolent to be a deity.

I might not be the best person to decide that, I killed an entire city for a chance at freedom after all.

I shove my feelings away, burying them and ignoring them. This is not the time to think about this.

"What's in it for us," I ask hesitantly.

Merah answers at the same time as me "I'll do it."

Merah turns around to me and looks down at me with a complicated expression. "Why? Don't you want to help people?"

"How is working together with her helping people? She is the leader of the Stokes," I argue, finding her sudden agreement a bit suspicious. Cinder was frighteningly good at talking me out of murder.

She scowls. "That doesn't mean the others are as bad. We can always kick her out if she ends up vying for power," she replies, crossing her arms under her chest. "I forget how young you are sometimes. "

"I'm 19!"

"I am 41," she states, unimpressed. She doesn't look older than 25 and certainly doesn't act like anyone else I know who's that old!

"Don't give me that look," she tells me, turning to Siegfried. "I will help them as long as they are working to help the hunters' plains prosper."

"Before I forget," Siegfried speaks up, ignoring her. He pulls a small package out of his pocket and hands it to me. "Cinder told me to give you this token of her gratitude. "

It's a small cube, barely bigger than a coin, it fits well into the palm of my hand. It has some heft to it but isn't heavy enough for metal. I pocket it.

[Grant: What do you think of this?]

[Vona: I don't like it but you have to become stronger to kill her and Idanu. We did something similar in my time and it'd be a smart thing for you to do.]

"Okay, I'll bite," I relent. It can't be that bad if there's six Chosen that can take care of her. "What are we supposed to do?"

Siegfried snaps his finger, ordering two little vulture skeletons to land on the table in front of Merah and me. "Take these two with you and they'll notify you when Cinder sets the date for the first meeting."

I stuff mine in my bag while Merah puts hers on her shoulder.

Fleur returns us to the original reason for our visit. "What about Darryl?"

"What about him," Siegfried asks.

"You might not care," she accuses him, "but if he really was my brother, I demand answers."

He looks at her and takes a sip of his coffee. "Alright, then investigate."

"Asshole," Fleur says, standing up. She storms out of the room, quickly followed by Vikram.

Merah looks pained to let them go but turns back to me. "Will you help us?"

"Probably not," I honestly admit, raising my hand to stop her protesting before it even starts. "I do enjoy helping people but we aren't exactly flush with cash and this looks like a long-term project."

We probably have enough funds to last us a while unless Kara spends it on expensive food again. I am still confused how she can eat so much without gaining any weight but it's probably a perk of her fighting bare handed instead of with firearms.

"We can stick around for a few days," Kara offers. She definitely just wants to go to the bathhouse or catch up with Fleur.

"Thank you," Merah says, a gentle smile spreading on her face.

"I know just the place to catch up," Kara says with a grin.