The evacuation remained routine, though the monsters slowly grew more powerful.. Over the course of the day, I got more of a feeling for Copper and Marie’s fighting styles.
In open spaces, Copper flitted around the battlefield with summoned wings. He shot down at the Shadowbeasts with his gun, which transformed from a shotgun to a rifle and back. He seemed like he was a good shot, but I didn’t know much about guns or flying, so I could have been completely wrong. (1)
In more constrained spaces he tended to transform his gun into a handgun, and hold a knife in the other. Whenever a monster got dangerously close, he stabbed it with his knife, but that only happened once that day. Most of the time the Shadowbeasts died before they got close.
Marie almost exclusively fought while mounted when she had the space to do so. Her weapon transformed like Copper’s did, though it alternated between a sword, a spear, and a ludicrously oversized version of the same sword. I wasn’t sure how she managed to swing the last one without hurling herself from the horse, given that it was at least seven feet long, but she managed. Occasionally, she’d carelessly let her mount get swarmed, and it would explode into shimmering light.
She was just as good at fighting while grounded as while mounted, though she was also noticeably slower. When she was stuck on the ground, she consistently relied on her reasonably-sized sword. One flaw I did notice was that her weapon took almost a full second to transform, and it turned into formless light in the process. (2)
The evacuation continued to advance at full pace. As we headed inwards, the majority of the survivor colonies became larger, but more distant. Entire blocks were abandoned in places. Actual evacuation became slower, as the colonies had sent out scavenging missions to look for supplies. We had to either wait for them to come back, or make a trip to retrieve them. Without a safe zone, food was slowly becoming an issue for the colonies.
Of course, that wasn’t a problem that would last. Those who elected to evacuate would be fed, and those who wouldn’t could acquire food through trade with Sanctuary. As long as the safe zone persisted, food and water wouldn’t be an issue outside of the short term. In the long run, as long as you put in a little effort, it would be rare for food to be more of an issue than monsters. (3) Water was a larger concern. The repair drones seemed to still be functioning, but that wouldn’t last forever. When they broke, the plumbing would stop working in the city, and thirst would become a serious issue.
That night, the agreement we made was that I would cast [Blood of the Sacrificed] all night, and that Copper and Marie would each spend an hour assisting on guard duty. We all knew I was going to fall asleep this time.
The place tonight’s hosts were holed up in was a hotel and conference center combination, a wide open space surrounded by escalators to climb up and down floors. It was well suited for my powers.
---
Copper frowned at me as I sat down for the shift.
“I believe you.” He said.
“Thank you.” I said.
“In the spirit of fairness, my intentions are to grow powerful here.” He grinned, “This has been a promising start, if nothing else. I also desired to discover what you were up to. I believed you were a sinister mastermind.”
“I am.” I said. (4)
“Not for me.” Copper said, “There was no catch in your offer.”
“Your distrust was reasonable.” I said, “I know you’ll want to get free of the contract. Should I just tear it up?”
“Don’t until I’ve earned it.” Copper said, “I refuse to be indebted to you.”
“Given how suspicious I was, why did you take my offer?” I asked.
“All the options were rigged.” Copper said, “Yours was the best. There were no paths to power without a binding.”
“None?” I asked.
“You could join an army, but you’d have to swear for the campaign. You could try to gather power in the Goblin Markets, but even their lowest managers have to sign to secrecy and neutrality. The courts require oaths, unless you come in with more power than I could acquire.” Copper smiled, “No one wants a servant who could turn traitor. None of the deals are close to fair.”
“Not even the Autumn Court?” I asked. (5)
“They don’t require oaths of their servants, but they do of their Nobility. It's a fairer bargain than you could find elsewhere, but there’s no path to independent power.” Copper said, “I wanted options, and this was the only path where I could hope for that.”
“You’re telling me a lot. Why?” I asked.
“You’re not going to underestimate me.” Copper said, “I don’t have to show off my power. You’ll respect me either way.”
“Of course I will.” I said, “You chose to walk into this mess. If you survive, it won’t matter where you started. You’ll be dangerous. It’s not like I made it this far without a few unsafe bargains myself.”
“That’s useful to know.” Copper said, “Maybe you’ll be more useful as a friend than an enemy.”
We spent the rest of the shift talking about inconsequential things. I explained the broad strokes of my powers, and he ranted about the difficulties of enchanting enough bullets. Pouring raw magic into one was, according to him, an easy shortcut to give it more bite, but it was nothing compared to a proper enchantment. He could do those as well, but it took him minutes to do, rather than seconds.
---
[You have helped evacuate 198 people! 66 Moonlight Shards have been awarded.]
[You have contributed to the deaths of a great number of Shadowbeasts! +121,002 Potentia, + 12,100 Net Quanta]
[You have a total of 191,999 Potential and 30,641 Quanta]
[You have spent 160,000 Potential to upgrade ‘Kindest Venom’ from lv. 5 to lv. 6!]
[You have spent 25,600 Potential to upgrade ‘Melody’s Reprise’ from lv. 9 to lv. 10!]
[You have 6,399 Potential remaining!]
---
The rest of the week passed in a blur of shared meals, nonstop combat, and constant evacuations. The city was too large for us to make a huge amount of progress, but we were making some. Most days we were covering eight blocks of the city, even if we were still only evacuating one or two groups of people. More areas had no survivors, or, in better cases, had survivor colonies with no actual interest in leaving.
The next day, as we ate breakfast, Copper asked, “Marie, why do you hate Ashlyn but like me?”
“She sold her soul to a monster.” Marie said flatly, and glared at me.
Copper shrugged, “She would hardly agree with your assertion. Even if your allegations were fact, I made a pact with her. Nothing quite so grand as selling my soul, but she is my friend forevermore by oath and bond. Why exempt me and not her?”
Marie sighed, “Ashlyn isn’t a monster yet. She’s let the corruption in, but it hasn’t won yet. But it’s inside her, and it isn’t inside you. Someday, it’ll devour her light.”
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“Is that why you dislike her?” Copper asked.
Marie sighed, “Do we have to have this conversation in front of her?”
“Yes.” Copper said.
“Fine.” Marie turned towards me, “Ashlyn, I don’t dislike you. I refuse to like you, because you’re going to turn into a monster someday. But I can’t hate you.”
I looked away.
“I don’t hate you either.” I said, “But I’m not going to turn into a monster, and I believe you serve one.”
“Exactly.” Marie said, “I’m not interested in being friends because we’re going to be enemies. I think Ashlyn feels the same.”
I shrugged, “I wouldn’t mind being your friend, if you understand that it won’t change anything. I’m not going to pull my punches when you come for me.”
“I won’t be friends with people I can’t like.” Marie said.
“Fair enough.” I said.
---
[You have established a bond with Marie Fawkes! New Skill Acquired!
[Infusion of Self]: Within a Dream, any attributes you have an affinity for can be infused into suitable vessels to enhance them. In addition, you can attempt to distort any object you are touching with your attributes. The efficacy of the skill will scale with the object, and with your [Dream Potency]. Your current affinities are Cruelty, Corruption, and “Corrupted Cruelty”, and [Mirrored Night is a suitable vessel.}]
[You have helped 174 people evacuate! You have gained 58 Moonlight Shards]
[You have gained 253,674 Potential and 25367 Net Quanta!]
[You have a total of 260,073 Potential and 56,008 Quanta]
[You have spent 80,000 Potential to upgrade ‘Internal Apocalypse’ from lv. 4 to lv. 5]
[You have spent 160,000 Potential to upgrade ‘Internal Apocalypse’ from lv. 5 to lv. 6]
[You have 20,073 Potential remaining!]
---
The next day, Copper came by to talk to me while Marie was organizing a group of refugees.
“Why’d you sign your contract with Eris?” Copper asked.
“I wanted to be able to make a difference today, rather than someday.” I said, “Besides, I understand Eris. Marie’s wrong about her, and about our relationship.”
“Did you really sell your soul?” Copper asked.
“I bought a piece of hers, actually. Paid for it with promises I plan to fulfill and a down payment until I do.” I grinned, “I’ve gotten one over her, not vice versa.”
“Do you think your plans through?” Copper asked, “Because, saying this as your friend, that sounds like a bad idea.”
“Says the goblin who swore eternal friendship to me.” I said.
“Yes.” Copper answered, “there’s no hypocrisy in that! Playing along with you is different from deliberately trying to con something that - if Marie’s stories are right - could go toe to toe with any fae monarch in the kingdoms.”
“Eris isn’t quite that strong.” I said, “She’d lose to most. Besides, she’s even more desperate than you were.”
“And you completely missed that I might hunt you down to escape the contract.” Copper said, “Forgive me if I don’t think too highly of your risk assessments.”
“Are you worrying over me?” I asked.
“Yes.” Copper said, “You’ve been a useful partner, I’d like to keep you around.”
I froze. I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Then Marie walked in, and it was back to work.
---
[You have helped evacuate 165 people! You have gained 55 Moonlight Shards]
[You have gained 253,504 Potential and 25350 Net Quanta!]
[You have 273,577 Potential and 81,358 Quanta!]
[You have spent 51,200 Potential to upgrade ‘Lake of the Sacrificed’ from level 10 to level 11]
[You have spent 51,200 Potential to upgrade ‘Melody’s Reprise’ from level 10 to level 11]
[You have 171,177 Potential remaining!]
---
“Marie, Why are you here?” Copper asked, “I get why Ashlyn’s here, I think. She wants to help people and more than that, her people are here. Why are you?
Marie scowled at him, “There’s not a lot of ways to help innocents in Heaven. Nothing bad happens to anyone who doesn’t deserve it. They don’t need a warrior to defend them, most of the time.”
I scowled at that. Either Marie was mistaken, or Marie was a monster. She didn’t have the blood from William’s sacrifices on her hands yet, but she was ignoring its presence. I wanted to believe she just missed that it was happening at all. Civilians genuinely wouldn’t, and for all that I knew about her power, I didn’t know where she fell in the hierarchy. But she was too powerful for that to be likely. Either she was a foot soldier, or she was in one of the more elite factions of Paradise’s military.
In the second case, the best possibility would be that she was a Luminary. Those could genuinely be blind to how horribly their prisoners were treated, and how much injustice was involved. If you trumped up the charges - the main reason the Luminaries existed was for the war on the Abyss. They fought in places and took missions, but it wouldn’t be hard for a grunt in the Luminaries to completely miss the darker side of things. They trusted that everyone in the prison was guilty, and that William wouldn’t give the death penalty to anyone who wasn’t a murderer. Why wouldn’t they?
While I was sulking about that, Marie continued, “Why are you here?”
Copper grinned, “I want power. This is the safest way to get it.”
Marie sneered. I jumped into the conversation before she could start a fight.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because power opens doors, almost as well as wealth.” Copper said, “I don’t have any specific aspirations yet. If I desire to build the world to help others, I’ll need power to defend what I build. If I desire to build a personal paradise, that will also require power to hold onto what I have. Among the fae, if you want to have anything worth stealing, you need power to protect yourself, or a patron willing to defend you.”
“There’s no laws to do that?” Marie asked.
“There are.” I interjected, “But once you get big enough, the people who make the laws might swing for you. How would William react if someone started a shrine to Eris? I doubt he’s specifically got a law against it, but he’d shut it down anyways.”
Marie scowled.
“Exactly.” Copper said, “If I help people that they want helpless, well. There’s probably more than one reason you won’t find a free orphanage in the Goblin Market.”
“What is a free orphanage?” Marie asked hesitantly.
“One that doesn’t bill the kids for food, shelter, and education.” Copper said, “One that doesn’t charge interest on that bill. There aren’t any in the Market, and few true ones outside. I paid my debts off, not everyone could. I was lucky, whatever my peers might say.”
Both of us didn’t know what to say to that.
Copper sighed, “I’m still lucky, actually. This is a much better option than most people get. I don’t even have to go back, if I don’t want to.”
I left to run for my shift on guard duty, and missed whatever happened in the conversation after that.
---
[You have helped 231 people evacuate! You have gained 77 Moonlight Shards.]
[You have gained 248032 Potential and 24,803 Quanta!]
[You have 419,209 Potential and 106,631 Quanta!]
[You have spent 320,000 Potential to upgrade ‘Kindest Venom’ from lv. 6 to lv. 7]
[You have 99,791 Potential remaining!]
[Congratulations! You have survived 10 days since the Shutdown began. There are only 1,085 days to go!]
---
I was woken by a massive booming noise, and scrambled to the roof to look for the source. In the distance, a skyscraper was falling to pieces. That wasn’t good.
---
(1) Nearly every shot hit, I just couldn’t know if they hit what he was trying to hit. As little as I know about human firearms, I know even less about Fae firearms. I genuinely thought they only used them as novelties and assassination tools! Powerful Fae don’t mind a few holes in them unless there’s antimagic properties involved.
(2) I took a note of that. I was probably going to fight her, if one of us didn’t wind up dead first, and it would be good to remember.
(3) If you had a safe zone, you could always buy food from the system store.
(4) I probably wasn’t lying. I didn’t claim I was a good Mastermind, and I was aligned with a force of “Darkness”, benevolent or not.
(5) The Twinned Monarch(s) of Autumn were the most benevolent of the Moonlit Fae Kingdoms. (6) They had both the inclination and power to indulge in kindness and generosity without the Kingdom suffering for it.
(6) Technically any of the minor kingdoms - in the Starlit Realm rather than the Moonlit Realm - could’ve also been options, but there wasn’t much room for climbing as a subordinate there. In general, the only way to climb there was murder.
---