Grey and I broke up for the day not long after that, since my mentor was still busy with everything involving the Elderwyck occupation. I got the impression that he really didn’t even have the time for the lesson he had given me.

He’d instead made time.

I appreciated that, I did. But that didn’t change my opinion about leaving. I just…I needed to go. It was like an itch in my skin that I wasn’t able to scratch. Every moment that I remained a part of this war, of this conflict…it grated on me.

But, probably not as quickly as Azarus and I had intended to. We had jumped the gun back in that wrecked tavern. We probably weren’t leaving anytime within the next week considering everything I had to do before we left. That wasn’t even taking in the prep Azarus might need to do on his own. I had people to see and rituals to undergo, after all. Speaking of, it was about time I sought out some of those people, who I knew would be at the meeting I’d been told about hours and hours ago.

Possibly the last gathering of the Nocturne Division.

I masked and hooded up, and then slipped out of a side window of the manse instead of the front door. I didn’t need the awe and worshipping looks I’d find in that direction.

………………………………..

It didn’t take me long to reach the docks. I was used to this city by now, as much as I was beginning to loathe it. When I reached the damaged warehouse that had been our meeting point, I found the dilapidated structure looking almost neat, compared to how it had looked before my little crusade against the surrounding plantations. It wasn’t repaired or anything, but the rubble had been cleared away and a few supporting beams had been erected to keep it from collapsing any further. At first I wondered why they had even bothered before I noticed that the Thorny Reef was still docked next to it. I suppose Bella needed a place to berth and this was as good a place as any.

When I touched down and started to approach the warehouse, one of the surviving members of the Division melted out of the shadows. I didn’t know who they were, considering they weren’t even bothering to wear a mask. The man inspected me for a moment before nodding. “Hangman. They’re inspecting you inside. You…don’t have to wear the mask if you don’t want to. We’ve all heard about your curse.”

Relief rolled over me at that. After a moment, I nodded at the unknown man and removed my mask and hood, revealing my mutated features to the world. “Thanks…” I trailed off for a moment.

He got the hint. “Cody, formerly Pincer,” He said with a wry smile.

Pincer. Not…sure I’d ever spoken with the man, but I think I’d seen him around.

I did my best to return his smile, but I felt it wither on the vine. Those came...harder for me, these days. “Nate. I…hope everyone hasn’t been waiting on me,” I said, a bit embarrassed at my tardiness. “I was busy for a while with…stuff…” I trailed off lamely. Said stuff involved getting momentarily shitfaced drunk and wallowing in my own despair, but I didn’t mention that.

Cody shook his head. “No, the meeting isn’t meant to start for a little bit more. Sparrow told us we’d make a decision when the sun set,” He said, nodding to the horizon. After my delightfully full day of misery, Tarus was only just starting to begin his descent. The light was barely starting to dim through the ever-present storm clouds. “Head on down to the basement. It’s where everyone left is gathering. I’ll be down in a bit.”

I nodded, and with a goodbye, walked past him and into the warehouse proper. Well, what remained of it.

My attention was continuously stolen by the numerous blood stains that littered the stone floor of the old fishery. I paused for a moment when I came upon the site where I knew I had fought General Longstripe at. There was a large, conspicuous blood stain on the stone that must have come from my attempted coup de grace. For a moment, I allowed myself to wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t failed in killing him then. If Baldric hadn’t been occupied with the mind-controlled General, would he have managed to kill Nerexxa before she could summon Rhazal?

I would never know, I suppose.

I shook off the useless thought and approached the basement, walking down the steps and into the command room.

There were distressingly few people down here, and all of them looked up at my entrance to stare at me. I returned the looks, taking a moment to count the number of people who had apparently survived the last week. Nearly everyone was sitting in a ring of chairs set out in the center of the room. I only barely registered the slouching form of Bella in the corner away from everyone else, puffing on a rolled cigarette and looking bored. She straightened up at my entrance, staring at me with a raised eyebrow, but I had other things on my mind.

Thirteen. Out of over fifty different Nocturne Division Agents that had been active in Elderwyck, only thirteen of us had survived. I didn’t count the still form of Sparrow behind the command desk in that number. He…hadn’t been here.

I let out a breath and fully descended the steps, meeting the gaze of those I knew personally as I did so. Liora was here, as expected, looking much more put together than the last time I saw her. The Gnoll woman wasn’t masked either, and seemed to be dressed nearly as an adventurer would be in hardened leathers. Strangely, I didn’t see Maria anywhere down here. Maybe she was the person we were waiting on to start the meeting? Guess I really wasn’t the last person to get here.

I finally got an answer as to where Sylvia was, as well. Turns out she had been here, all along. My former partner was wearing what looked to be a replica of her old combat leathers. I almost stopped for a moment at the sight of them, as I hadn’t seen that getup since Addersfield and our first lessons. The Sculpted woman was covered from head to toe in nondescript black leathers, with her face being covered with a non-Division leather mask like it had back then. I only knew it was Sylvia because I recognized the outfit.

I felt a pang of heartbreak at how she was looking at me. There was a note of wariness in her crystalline blue gaze that hadn’t been present earlier. It made me wonder what she had been told.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

Sparrow, the only person in the room still in a Nocturne mask, looked from the book he had been reading in silence. He gave me a nod and spoke up in the quiet room. “Nathan,” He said calmly, shutting his book. “Good to see you. If you’ll take a seat, we’ll get started soo-”

Another set of footsteps behind me cut the man off, causing me and everyone else to look behind us. I turned just in time to watch as an oddly dressed Maria descended into the basement, completely uncaring about the odd looks she was getting. The woman looked to be dressed almost as a roving merchant would be, wearing hardy-looking travel clothes in muted colors. Slung over her back was a large pack that seemed to be stuffed to the gills, with a familiar bow strapped to the side of it. Atop her head was a wide-brimmed leather hat tilted at an almost jaunty angle.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Trailing behind her was a bemused-looking Cody.

Maria didn’t care about the looks she was getting. Instead, she just marched down in the room, and straight up to my still standing form. “Heard about some curious things happening out in the countryside,” She said with a smirk, shrugging her massive pack off her shoulders and tossing it against the wall. I winced at the clanging noise that erupted from the impact. “Didja get what you needed to done?”

I looked away from her pack to give my now former comrade a slight nod. Despite everything that had happened to me recently, I didn’t regret freeing the enslaved Sculpted in the area a single bit. “I did,” I said quietly, a slight twist to my lips. Maria’s smirk widened in response.

We were interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing behind us. When I turned, I saw a mildly impatient Sparrow waving to the gathered chairs. “Nathan, Maria, Cody,” He said dryly. “If you don’t mind, we all have places to be. Let’s get this done.”

Straightening up, the three of us who had been indicated nodded and sat down in the circle. When we were all seated, Sparrow stood up from the desk and joined us in the last remaining chair.

The circle was silent for a moment, before Sparrow reached up and removed his mask. An almost femininely mousy-looking face greeted the world, complete with a long brunette ponytail draping down a slender neck. I blinked at the sight of him.

Those were very… delicate-looking features, for such a deep-voiced man.

God I was glad I still had the physical control that my core ring gave me.

“We all know why we’re here,” Sparrow said in a grim tone. “The operational forces of the Nocturne Division have been all but wiped out from this campaign. A number of…highly unseen circumstances placed us-you,” He corrected himself, sounding almost bitter. “In the path of…horrors. I’m here to tell you that the leadership of the Order is…sympathetic.”

One of the other surviving Agents snorted. “Sure. And what the hells does that mean?”

Sparrow sighed. “It means that we’re done, honestly,” He said, reaching up to massage his forehead. “The Nocturne Division, in its current state, cannot function. While the logistical side of our organization survived, considering they were all back in Helstein during this, there are too few of the actual Agents left. As such, the Grand Marshall and Marshall are offering a number of choices to all surviving Division assets.”

I leaned forward at that, resting my forearms on my knees. Grey hadn’t mentioned any of this to me, despite the extended amount of time I’d spent with him.

“One,” Sparrow said. “You can choose to outright retire from both the Nocturne Division and the Order altogether. I know W-Maria in particular has chosen to go this route.” He said, nodding to her.

This caused a bit of a stir among gathered Agents, with some of them turning to stare at Maria. She just shrugged, uncaring about some of their accusing stares.

“Two,” Sparrow said loudly, drawing attention back to him. “Is that you can either choose to join the logistical arm of what remains of the Division, and retire from fieldwork. I know a number of you have the skills to be useful there. It’s going to be seeing some changes, though,” He shrugged. “It’s barely going to be the Division anymore, so the skullduggery is going to be essentially over. It’s being folded into the administration of the Order, and will be based out of the chapter house in Blutstein at the end of the war. It’s not a…bad life, per se. Safe, with a possible retirement.”

That…wasn’t for me. But I did see a few people nodding along with that.

“Third. You…can choose to join the regular forces of the Order,” Sparrow said doubtfully. “You would join as a Lieutenant, and would become a small squad commander. The option, at the very least, exists. It’s how you’re going to continue outright fighting for the Order, if that’s what you wish.”

I didn’t see much interest in that, with the notable exception of one person. Most of the members of the Nocturne Division had been part of the elite of the Order. Essentially on the track to being the true classsers, if not of a specific type.

Not many people wanted to voluntarily take a demotion.

“Fourth, if you can’t give up this life,” Sparrow continued. “You can choose to join up with the Bluebacks,” He nodded over at Bella, to my surprise. “I’ll let Captain Isabella talk more about it.”

Bella stood up from her chair then and stalked into the center of the chairs, unbothered by the stares of everyone else. “Ain’t much to it,” She said bluntly. “The Admirals always need more blades, and some of you lot are good at wet work. If ye ain’t interested in pushin’ paper, and want to shiv some more Loyalist dogs, then ye’ve got a place on the sea.” She turned on her heel then and stalked back to her chair, but not before stopping to give me an odd look. She mouthed the word ‘later’, causing me to nod in return.

I was already going to talk to you about something Bella. Don’t worry.

“I'm...personally going to be taking that option,” Sparrow said ruefully, shaking his head. “I failed you all, by not being here,” He held up his hand when some of the other Agents protested verbally. “I’ve already signed up. It’s done.”

Exchanging a glance with Liora from across the room, I spoke up. “I don’t know about anyone else, Sparrow,” I said out loud, drawing attention. “But…I don’t begrudge you. I wouldn’t wish the shit that went on in Elderwyck on my worst enemy.”

That was a lie.

I would have wished worse on Magnus, but that wasn’t the point.

Sparrow smiled wearily at me, as several other Agent’s nodded along. “That’s kind of you to say, Nathan. But my sense of duty will not allow me to do otherwise. And…call me Alex. Sparrow…that mask is being hung up. So!” He said, forcibly cheerful. “I’m afraid it’s time to make a decision, people. We’ll go around the circle, and I want you to say what your plans are. I’ll write them down, and deliver the decisions to the leadership. Maria, can you go first? Just for the record.”

Maria shrugged, not standing up from her chair. “I’m retiring, as you all know,” She said indifferently. “I’m heading south to try and find my family in Blutstein. I know!” She held up a hand, when some people protested at that. “I know that it’s going to be hard, and that it’s where the Loyalists are thickest. But I have to try, and I’m not letting anyone stop me.” She finished defiantly.

Ah.

Well, there went one of the people I was going to talk to. I originally had the idea of trying to convince the woman to join up with Azarus and I, but I had no plans to go south of all places.

I wanted to get away from the war, not further in.

“Good luck, Maria,” Liora spoke up for the first time. Her voice pierced through the protests, silencing them. When she saw that she had the attention of the room, Liora stood up. “I…am retiring as well.”

That seemed to shock most of the room, Alex included. I…wasn’t as surprised, considering Baldric’s last request.

“But…” Cody said in a confused tone. “The Division and the Order are practically in your blood?”

Liora snorted bitterly. “Yes, and where has that gotten us?” She said with a frown. “An early grave. No, let my line be done with it, and let the Division vanish into the wind.”

Alex coughed into his fist. “Ah…I see,” He said weakly, before shaking his head. “Then…Sylvia? I…know you don’t remember much about your role here, but I do need to know what you intend.”

The Sculpted woman stood up then. “I will be joining the regular Order forces,” She said simply. That…didn’t surprise me, thinking about it. It’s not like she was going to be leaving the organization that her father helped run.

Alex nodded then as Sylvia sat back down, as unsurprised as I was. “Very well. Next…Nathan,” He said, turning to look at me.

Along with everyone else. There were some very curious looks being thrown my way.

I stood up from my chair, indifferent to the attention. “I’ll be retiring as well,” I said with finality.

That shocked some people as well.

“But you were the one that killed the Calamity!” One Agent said in surprise. “The Order needs you!”

“And aren’t you the Grand Marshall’s apprentice?” Another asked in confusion. I saw Sylvia’s attention sharpen at that, as she took another look at me.

I felt a frown cross my lips.

Thanks, Woodrick. Thanks a lot.

“Yes, and that isn’t changing,” I said curtly. “But I’m done with the war. Too much has happened, and I need to process it.”

I was getting a bit tired of answering that, honestly. I'd be glad when this was all behind me.

I sat down then, deliberately cutting off any questions that could have been thrown my way. Conversation slowly started back up then, and I didn’t speak again while the rest of the Division was deciding their own fates.

It was only after the meeting was over that I stirred in my chair, standing up. I was intending to seek out Liora, but I was unsurprised to find the Gnoll woman already waiting on me near the stairs out. She jerked her head in the direction of Bella and joined the pirate as she stalked out of the basement with the others.

I followed them, aware of several eyes tracking me.

Including Sylvias.

I tried not to let it bother me.