After Clara’s bold proclamation against George and his group, there wasn’t much left to say at breakfast. There wasn’t much left to eat, either, after Clara had kicked all the bowls onto the floor when she climbed on top of the table. Hudson still had some room in his black hole of a stomach, so he quickly got an extra helping and scarfed it down.

Clara’s fairly sudden change from wishing she hadn’t survived to proclaiming vengeance on her former leader was giving Hudson whiplash. She had a very emotional personality; he recalled her literally screaming in Vince’s face just yesterday. Or maybe an intense personality would be a better descriptor, as she seemed perfectly calm now, chowing down on a new bowl of breakfast slop. Intense emotions with no filter, but once they were gone, she was back to an even keel.

Hudson could see how she might not have been the best at following orders.

As Hudson expected, the next event for the day was the same as the first day: mining maseki, or magic rock collection. Hudson and his team quickly gathered up the tools they needed from those provided by the director, studiously avoiding any of George’s cheater group – not even looking them in the eye. He was worried about antagonizing them further.

Hudson wondered about the wisdom of Clara’s declaration of war. He didn’t disagree with the logic; while Vince’s point was certainly naive and bordering on the impossible, he agreed with the overall sentiment. If there’s a shadow of a chance at a better outcome, then why not try for it? And if you’re going to do something, why not go the whole way?

Hudson just thought that maybe it was wiser to keep secret your desire to defeat someone and take their – what was it? breath, blood and bones? for yourself. At least until you had a plan to defeat them.

He and Cor met at the weapon rack and looked over the options.

“Do you know how to use a sword? or a spear?” Hudson asked.

“Stick the pointy end in the bad guy,” Cor replied.

“Very helpful,” Hudson said. He waved discreetly at Clara, trying to get her attention. She was looking through the pickaxes, picking them up one at a time and taking test swings. After a particularly vicious two-handed swipe, she seemed satisfied with her pick, and walked over to join Hudson and Cor.

Vince was talking animatedly with the middle-aged woman that he had spoken with the previous day. Hudson seemed to recall that she had also tried to sneak a few handfuls of maseki into her pockets; she must have known it was a valuable resource outside of the trial. He wasn’t sure why he was talking to her, but he kept pointing at the tools, so perhaps he was trying to convince her to come along as well. Hudson shrugged; the more the merrier, he supposed, especially if they were able to gather maseki faster, open up the Sigil Challenges faster, and basically complete the trial more quickly.

“Hey Clara,” Hudson said as she walked over. “We’re picking out our equipment and we're looking at the weapons. We didn’t get attacked by anything yesterday though. What attacked you guys?”

Clara blinked slowly and looked Hudson and Cor over. “You plan on going mining?” she asked slowly.

“Yes, of course. The more of this maseki we mine, the faster we get out of this trial, right? And I don’t want the cheaters – that’s what I call your group, er, ex-group – to keep cheating and get all the benefits for themselves.”

“Cheaters? Hmph.” Clara looked them up and down again with a critical stare, making Hudson feel slightly uncomfortable. “What makes them cheaters? They have the same opportunity as you; they just know enough, and are strong enough, to take it.

“And they’re strong enough to go into the caves and fight off the silverines. Unlike you. An old man, a rooster, and a smelly sneak.”

Hudson couldn’t help but sniff his armpit.

“What are these silverines like?” Cor asked. “And are they only in the caves?”

Clara nodded. “They prefer enclosed spaces. They do not like a lot of light; dim lights are usually fine, but brighter lights will drive them to anger and very bright lights will disorient them.

“They are large chitinous insects the size of a small dog. Think of a large, silver centipede crossed with the head and front appendages of a praying mantis. They use the claws on their front legs to tunnel their way through stone in search of maseki deposits.

“On their own, and with plenty of space to maneuver, they are not dangerous. They are fast attacking to the front, but have difficulty changing direction side-to-side, which is easy to exploit. But when swarmed by a hive, or in cramped, enclosed spaces… they can be a difficult opponent.”

Hudson shuddered a little bit at the mental image of a silverine.

“Is that what happened to you?” Hudson asked.

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Clara nodded, a distant look in her eye.

“Is the danger less if we don’t go down in the caves?” Cor asked.

Clara looked at him oddly. “I suppose so, but if you want to gather maseki, you have to go down in the caves.”

“Not necessarily,” Hudson said. “We won’t go down in the cave and we’ll stick to open areas where we can maneuver around. We’ll see what we can find. Do you want to come with us?”

Clara looked over at the cheater group, formed up in a huddle around their leader, George. Her grip on her pickaxe tightened.

“You don’t gotta beat ‘em all up today,” Cor said.

Clara’s grip on her pickaxe slowly eased. “You’re right. I will join you today, but I warn you – going into the caves is foolish for those as weak as you.”

“Understood,” Hudson said. Vince was walking up, pushing a wheelbarrow of his own.

“Hey Vince, did you convince anyone else to join us?”

“No,” he replied. “They’re too scared. Can’t say I blame them… I’m a little scared myself.”

Based on his facial expression and body language, Vince was more than a little scared. His greed and his fear were at war, and currently, his greed was winning. Hudson gave him a recap on silverines, and their plan to stay out of the caves, which eased the anxious look on Vince’s face quite a bit.

The disembodied voice of the director began speaking in their ears, and they scrambled to finish grabbing their equipment.

“Please prepare to depart. Opening to rift active in t-minus 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Opening rift.”

George Adams, the fourth of his name, led his cheater group through the rift immediately, wasting no time. Hudson, Cor, Vince and Clara rolled their two wheelbarrows over to the rift filled with a few canvas bags, pickaxes, and sledgehammers. Hudson kept his rucksack with his provisions and basic medic kit on his back, but on a whim, he grabbed two of the spears from the weapons rack and put them in the wheelbarrow as well, sharp ends down in the bucket. Just in case.

They pushed one by one through the cold, inky portal and emerged into the dark cave on the other side. After Clara pushed through the portal last, they regrouped and filed out into the same ravine. Vince was in front, leading with his wheelbarrow, and Hudson and Cor were walking in between.

Hudson took a moment to gaze up at the wonderful, mesmerizing alien sky. The sight of the gas giant, gently floating through the laser-sharp pin pricks of stars filled him with awe. Gentle streamers of green and gold were strung around the lower edges of the atmosphere, and Hudson wondered what they were and what caused them.

There was a tugging in his spirit to go explore; to ditch the trial, to ditch his chances at getting back to Earth and just… go. Away from everything he’d known and was causing him such grief.

If there was a silver lining to this whole deal, it was being able to see sights like this.

Vince, pushing the wheelbarrow at the front, stopped suddenly. Clara accidentally bumped her wheelbarrow into Hudson and Cor.

“What is it?” Hudson asked, looking down from the sky. Immediately, the concentrated beams of multiple lights shined onto his face. The figure of George stepped out from behind a boulder in front of them.

To his credit, Vince acted decisively, if cowardly. Upon seeing George, and the beams of the flashlights shining on Hudson and Clara, he dropped the handles of his wheelbarrow, turned, and ran back towards the rift portal.

George motioned dismissively with his hand, and the members of his group circling behind to cut off escape let Vince run past them.

“Run, mouth-breather,” he said, pointing at Cor.

Cor just shook his head, turned, and spat in the dirt.

George shrugged, and then turned his back and started walking away, up the ravine in the direction of the caves.

“Wait,” Hudson said. “What are you doing? The trial has rules. You’re not allowed to obstruct or harm other participants.”

George stopped, and turned his head back slightly to reply. He had an amused, almost feral grin on his face.

“Ah… the rules. You are one of those people.

“Perhaps you fail to realize, but we are not within the trial grounds. The Director’s perception does not extend here… nor will it ever. Its presence would not be hidden here, and it would invite the terror of beings even the Disciples fear.

“But do not worry. Your lives are not in danger… I would not want to sully my perfect record for the trial with something so banal as your death, or the death of one who has failed me.”

His eyes turned cold as he turned to Clara. “I will enjoy informing your parents how I have thrown their useless daughter into the pits.

“And for you… Hudson,” he said, turning back with a smile, “for you, I have special plans. A human cultivator, but not from S.E.C.T.? With an unknown cultivation technique? That could be useful. In a number of ways.”

He paused, then motioned for the members of his group to back off.

“But since you are not from S.E.C.T., I cannot fault you for your lack of comprehension. I will personally teach you a lesson – a lesson about strength, and your place in the world.”

Hudson stared at the crazy member of S.E.C.T., slowly coming to the realization that they might be in trouble. He started his cultivation technique, breathing deep, and beside him, Clara did the same. They didn’t have time to think of a plan, however, as without warning, George himself rushed towards the three of them, his legs a blur as they ate up the distance in a fraction of a second.

Hudson’s eyes widened in shock as he brought up his hands to block, his vision filled with the silvery glow emanating from the fist that was fast approaching his face.