(Y6, November 17th)

The town of Manticore’s Buff had long boasted “Easternmost Settlement of Northworld” before the world map showed that Alpha was further east. But, at the moment, it was the closest point to the Deva sector.

Vantegaard was used to have the highest Perception, but Tarenasala spotted them first.

“6 people at the front, coming toward us.”

“Karseerteal. And his merry band of Inquisitors. And probably the local agent.”

“You know, I wonder who had the idea of using that name. You couldn’t do worse to spook people than call yourself the Inquisition,” remarked Quandocor.

“The Spanish Inquisition?”

Birkathane snorted. With the end in sight, they could joke about the hunt.

“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, true. But that’s the best example of the saying: Never let a Gater name something. I’m pretty sure someone in the early days had the idea it sounded badass the first time they had to investigate something.”

“Mr. Vantegaard. You’ve been a hard man to catch. Congratulations, no one would expect a lowbie to do so much. So, why are you surrendering now?”

“You got the message, then?”

“Yes. And there’s Armangest second in command coming up. She should have been there yesterday. The boss is not leaving anything to chance. So, before we start, tell me finally. Why did you get Vasili killed?”

“I didn’t. An alien trap did.”

“Yes. And I’m a closet Historicianus. Do you have any idea how many times those weirdos have found indications of ‘alien presence’ in dungeons all over Northworld?”

“We offered to talk. Under truth potions.”

Karseerteal snorted.

“In a quote-neutral setting-unquote. Truth potions work, M. Vantegaard, but only in a controlled setting. Maybe the Earthen Brethren were truly neutral, but unless we could be sure of that, they could help you with Neuralyzer.”

“Neura what?”

Zachrakal intervened, “a high-level potion. Fun story, the original alchemist was trying to make a detox for drinking, so he could keep on drinking without adverse effect. He was only partially successful.”

Seeing the blank looks of the group, she added, “The original formula kept his head clear, but did nothing for the rest. So you’d drink and drink without any signs, and then your body would shut down from alcohol poisoning before any warning. In Northworld, if you’ve got the right people around, you live. On Earth, you usually die. So the recipe is usually not advertised. One more stuff too dangerous for general consumption.”

“What does this have to do with truth potions?”

“A small variant of the formula keeps your mind clear of any interference. Amphetamines, LSD… truth potions, charm potions. That’s Neuralyzer for you.”

She added, “that’s my job to control for all that. I would have kept you in completely controlled conditions, unable to Recess, until I could be sure that you didn’t have Neuralyzer acting. Then, we could be sure of the truth. So you see, the Brethren offer would be – was – worthless. If they’re your sponsors or working for them, guess what?”

Karseerteal concluded, “so that’s how we go. We secure you, we make sure you’re not loaded, and then we get to find out why you killed Vasili.”

“Like you secured my girl?” intervened Randgridda.

Karseerteal turned toward the angry guild leader.

“You are the Valkyrie leader?”

“I am. And you fucked with my people.”

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“Your decision. You decided to help them. Now, your… Valkyrie said you were suckered in and genuinely believed their story, but you help the wrong persons, you pay the price.”

Vantegaard held his hand to placate everyone before the tempers escalated.

“There’s no need for truth potions anyway. We can show you the truth. We do have proof now.”

“Really?”

“We went to the closest alien sector.”

Karseerteal mockingly raised his head, looking over the group.

“Don’t see any alien. Anyone see any alien here?”

“We found some of them dead from a nasty fight, but that meant we could at least bring their stuff. And you will see it’s nothing like what we use. It is really alien.”

Vantegaard rummaged into his backpack and brought out some of the equipment. He showed the six-fingered gloves to Karseerteal.

“So, what about that glove? I mean it’s weird looking with an extra finger, but am I supposed to be impressed?”

“No. Look at it. The descriptor.”

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“What is that garbage? How did you…”

“It doesn’t matter who crafts the item. It always shows up with a proper description in your language. It’s English, Mandarin, whatever. But not this. This is untranslatable. The Interface can’t give us a name, because no human made it.”

Vantegaard paused, looking again at the glove he was holding.

“Except… it’s changed. There’s a word. A normal one now.”

Randgridda added, “it didn’t look that way when we picked it.”

“The Interface… is adjusting.”

Karseerteal laughed.

“Okay. Just because you can trigger a weird bug on an item looted in some dungeon…”

“Elemental skills. Ever heard of them? Me neither. The closest to elemental-themed stuff we have is some geomantic spells, and you don’t have that classification on gear. At least not human gear.”

Vantegaard brought then the whip weapon, showing off the six finger-holes with dual thumbs.

“This one is a weapon made by an alien Gater. For an alien Gater. But that’s not all we have.”

“More bugged items.”

“No. Something more.”

Vantegaard pulled the Silvergate.

“There are lots of Silvergates found around, so what…”

Karseerteal looked at the 2m globe of darkness.

“I know. Nobody’s ever been able to activate a Silvergate on this side because we all already have one that leads us back to Earth. Even if it’s just tucked into the Interface or something, it prevents anyone from using another Silvergate while on Northworld.”

“How can you activate it…”

Vantegaard pulled out a second one and came over and handed it.

“Try it.”

Karseerteal looked at the Silvergate, not quite trusting himself.

“The reason we can activate them is that these don’t lead back to Earth. They lead to their world. From where the ones we called the Deva come from. And it’s all black because it’s exactly like when you first enter Northworld. We don’t have a fixed spawn point there yet.”

“It’s not some ambiguous stuff, or an item crafted by a faker. That’s a real Silvergate. That’s the final thing that proves that the Deva are real. That the testimony we gave on the expedition is true.”

“And that’s unexpected,” said a voice behind Karseerteal.

Everyone turned toward the newcomer. While they were looking at the expedition’s items, a woman had come over from Manticore. She wore an ornate set of violet-tinged leather with a glowing staff strapped to her side. Quandocor was reminded of the staff he’d seen so long ago at Hilltop Samms.

“Vastragal. I’m the second in command for the Cartographer Guild in Alpha.”

“I…” hesitated Karseerteal.

“Yes, we’ve never met before. Anyone can confirm the handle?”

Vinogradman confirmed, “that’s the right one. Unless you’ve got a Two-thousander doppelgänger running around.”

Vantegaard asked the Cartographer officer, “so, you’ve seen this Silvergate. What do you think?”

“It’s hard to dismiss. If someone has the capacity to fuck with Silvergates for some weird scenario to deceive the Cartographers, we’re doomed.”

“So you believe us now,” said Vantegaard.

The Cartographer officer opined.

“I’m willing to trust you. Armangest is still going to want to confirm your story… but with that kind of evidence, I would say it’s really a confirmation rather than an Inquisition.”

Vastragal spread her hands in a placating gesture as Karseerteal looked like he was choking.

“I know. We all wanted the death of Vasilikulik to be avenged, and the ones who did this to pay. But it really looks like this one is going to have to wait.”

Vantegaard let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“I’m a bit relieved, to be honest. A deception that deep and convoluted required enormous stakes, not just to protect something, but to fool us, and even Armangest started to have problems to imagine what could be worth trapping an entire expedition using implanted newbies. Not that there’s anything wrong with his imagination.”

“We told you the truth.”

“Yes, but we’ve been looking for evidence of aliens for years. Except for a bunch of nutso, nobody expected to find any. It was… too neat a world. I’ve read your report. Both of them. The five gaters and all that sounds straight out of a 4chan conspiracy. Even less; they have become better and better at hoaxes over the years, while yours sounded convoluted.”

She added, “But those… Gates. Change everything. I mean, you could enlist someone, have him craft from the right style of loot, and maybe use think in Klingon or something to try to fake it. It sounds horribly contrived, but maybe it’s doable if you have the right reasons for it. But no one has ever been able to make a Silvergate work in Northworld. It’s just not possible. It’s completely wrong on every level from what we know of the behavior of them. And what’s more, one that appears to lead to a new point that’s not a spawn or a respawn.”

“So, you’re finally calling your hounds off?” asked Randgridda.

“Yes. We are. And now we’re going to ask you to help. Because that’s just got a lot bigger than the Cartographers.”

“Thanks,” said Vantegaard.

“And I want you to pay for what you did to my Guild,” added Randgridda.