Sara took a moment to examine the map before she made a decision. The buildings moved again as she watched. She thought that a left-right-left path could take her to the tower depending on how fast the buildings changed around her.

Dark lords hunting freelancers was a bad complication, but not something that was insurmountable. She had the rabbit and ox which should let her get away from anything short of an all-out war in the streets.

How bad was a city crossing?

A glance at the city from the station showed her at least three scenes of conflict where imaginary weapons and powers were being used. Tracing lines danced across the sky. One explosion lit up one street to her right. The chatter of normal sounding guns and one artillery piece filled the air.

If she went out there on her own, she would have to be as quiet as a shadow. She didn’t think that would work with the variety of hunters out there waiting for freelancers to enter their area of control.

The small group at Starting Point didn’t seem that promising. She doubted they would be helpful at all. She already missed Nick’s crew and it had only been a few minutes of subjective time.

She realized she had forgotten about Ryan’s watch. She put that down to one more question she would never have an answer to before this was done.

“Are there any more questions?,” asked the conductor.

“How would you cross if you were us?,” Sara asked. Maybe that would give her some idea on what she should do.

Striking out on her own seemed the best idea, but she might need the help the others represented. She wasn’t Wonder Woman with a magic lasso to make her enemies docile.

“There’s five of you,” said the conductor. “The two with the ruby and helm of

knowledge can change things in their areas to strike enemies from a distance, shield allies, and punch through obstacles. The stone master can change any ground he is in contact. You have the smuggler’s pistol, the lion sword and shield, and the twelve talismans of the zodiac which give you an array of specialized abilities. The last of you doesn’t appear to have any weapons at all. That’s not good for you in the city.”

“I prefer to think I’ll be in a target rich environment,” said the first passenger, the man in the t-shirt.

“With a group like yours with a lot of general skills, I would punch through any

obstacle in my way and pave my own road to the tower,” said the conductor. “The inner wall will spin a gate close to you eventually so you can pass to the tower’s base and openings to start back to the living world.”

Sara considered the advice and discarded it almost instantly. Doing what he said would draw down every Dark lord in the area on them. She could see the couple, and the stone master felt the same way. She couldn’t get a read on the last man of their party. His face seem to be a smiling mask that hid his thoughts better than a real mask.

“What happens if we just walk to the tower without all the razzmatazz?,” the man in the t-shirt asked.

“You get hunted like rats,” said the conductor. “The Dark powers are invested in not letting any freelancers through. It helps them somehow.”

“Are there any Light, or neutral areas?,” asked Sara.

“Yes, but they move with the rest of the city,” said the conductor. “Most new arrivals don’t reach any of them.”

Sara liked that as an option. If she reached the edge of a Light stronghold, the Dark would have to wait for her to come back into their territory. Any attack on the Light would violate their agreement.

She had no idea how that would go, but she expected a small war to erupt between the two powers. That wouldn’t be good for the rest of the city.

An aircraft flew by in the distance. Dozens of energy beams sliced into it until it exploded. The flash reached Starting Point and caused the woman with the gem to nudge her partner. He winced at the wreckage falling down in the city.

“Are there any secret paths?,” asked the stone master. His voice had the long time smoker’s rasp. “Any way to avoid the streets?”

“Sewers are present under the city, but they are full of monsters and Dark powers,” said the conductor. “You would be hemmed in from all sides, but able to fill the tunnel with flame with no problem.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“So it would just be like the surface, but more likely to hamper us,” said the stone master.

“And it changes to keep you from the tower also,” said the conductor.

Sara looked at the map. The layout had changed again while they had asked their questions. How much longer did they have before they were forced out of Starting Point?

It was clear none of them had a plan. Maybe if they struck out on their own, one of them would reach the tower and be able to go home. The others could take care of themselves better than she could at this point.

They seemed to have command of their weapons while she was still trying to think of ways to use hers effectively.

“Where do you guys want to start?,” asked the stone master.

“Are we fighting together?,” asked the man with the helm.

“I don’t see why not,” said the stone master. “It looks like a mess out there. We should try to stick together.”

“I don’t have a problem with it,” said t-shirt man. “I like to move slow, so I might hold you back.”

“It’s good,” said the stone master. “I’m Bob.”

“Wayne,” said the man in the t-shirt. “You three coming with us?”

Sara considered the offer while the couple stepped away to argue in private. They probably didn’t need the rest of the group more than they were needed. The thought she might have cover appealed to her.

“I’m willing to chip in if we’re sneaking around,” said Sara. “The maze seems to be consistent so you can probably find your way if you alternate every other turn.”

“Alternate every other turn?,” asked Bob.

“Left, then right, then left again,” said Sara. “I could be wrong, but I think that’s how it’s moving.”

“That sounds like a plan,” said Bob. “If things get wild, I can tear down part of a building so we can make an escape.”

“Can you handle metal?,” asked Wayne.

“Just stone, but a lot of the buildings look like brick,” said Bob. “I can maybe tear up the stage here, but not the rails or the platform we came around on.”

“It’s still useful,” said Wayne. “Maybe we can use it to move fast if we need it.”

“I can surf on it,” said Bob. “I haven’t tried to use it with other people, but it should work the same if I’m careful.”

“Like surfing an avalanche?,” said Wayne. He smiled at the thought.

“Exactly,” said Bob. He made a wave with his hand.

“I don’t think we can wait here long,” said Sara. “We’ll be easy pickings if the Dark regularly come through here.”

“What’s your name?,” asked Wayne.

“Sara,” said Sara.

“Nice to meet you,” said Wayne. “I don’t hear anything close by, but I think you’re right. We should get moving before something comes along that we have to fight.”

“So we’re sneaking?,” asked Bob.

“Yep,” said Wayne. “That seems to be the viable tactic. Maybe we can third up some Dark lord trying to kill other guys trying to get through. Give them a hand with a surprise backstab.”

“I like that,” said Bob.

That appealed to Sara too. She had been through three straight fights with Dark lords. She would rather stab them in the back before they knew she was there.

“We would like to come along,” said the woman with the gem. “Nasser and I can change the environment with our weapons.”

“The more the merrier,” said Wayne. “Something is coming along. I think we should get moving before it gets here.”

He jumped off the platform. He looked around. Then he started walking with his hands in his pockets.

“He doesn’t seem as concerned as I think he should be,” said the woman with the gem.

“He might have been on the rim a long time,” said Bob. He dropped down off the stage. “I wonder how he knows something is coming.”

Sara dropped down beside Bob. She looked around. The outside of Starting Point was a store facade that had seen better days. The street disappeared in the dark, but there were sidewalks. The buildings did appear to be brick, so they could go through them with the ox if they had to make a quick escape.

The other woman and Nasser dropped on the street. They looked around before hurrying to get in the middle of the line. They seemed concerned that they may have to bear the brunt of an attack.

Sara considered that their weapons might need special preparations to use. If they were attacked first, they might be defenseless for the time it took to be prepared. She didn’t need that with the weapons she had taken from the armory.

Sara didn’t mind taking up the end of the line. She had the laser eyes ready to burn up any target that might present itself. That was enough for her.

Sounds of fighting filled the air. She wondered how the other groups of freelancers were doing. She thought that if they had a place to mass up, they could rush the gate and decimate any Dark force that got in their way.

She thought that would be better than skulking around, waiting to be discovered.

Wayne waited at the next corner. He seemed to be staring at a building across the street from where he leaned against a stoop.

The group formed a circle to keep an eye on the street while they talked out the problem.

“Something happened on the other side of that block,” said Wayne. “I don’t know if they can hear us over here, but I can hear them so we can’t rule it out. How do you want to play this?”

“The rest of you go around,” said Sara. “I’ll go over and see what’s there. I’ll catch up.”

“No splitting,” said Wayne. “We all go, or none of us go.”

“I vote we look at the problem,” said Sara. “We should make sure there’s nobody in trouble.”

“We should go around,” said the woman with the gem. Nasser nodded in agreement with her.

“I don’t have an opinion either way,” said Bob. “If we go over and have to run, I can create a wall to buy us time. If we go around, then we’re just doing what we’ve been doing.”

“We’ll look it over,” said Wayne. “The more Dark lords we kill now, the easier it will be for us later.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” said the woman with the gem.

“Then it’s a fib I’m telling myself to justify what I was going to do no matter what,” said Wayne. He smiled at her disgruntled look. “Keep an eye out for traps. This could be bait.”

He walked across the street, slipping into an alley as silent as a shadow.