“I will lead an attack on the Factory,” Devi declared, “to take its central buildings.”

She watched the reactions of her friend-associates around the table with deliberate calm. The Painter’s council, now without the Painter, had definitely seen better days. Val was dead and hadn’t been replaced yet. Stanley had left, Tora was too busy, and Jessie decided not to show up. Something had to change or else they would fall apart. They needed more cause-committed people. Devi knew of a few promising candidates, but she needed time to verify their trustworthiness.

“With all due respect, that’s a terrible idea,” Erika said. She was wearing her usual business-uniform, sitting on the opposite table-end with her usual stacked-papers. The seats around her were empty, as Imaya and Heda had chosen to sit next to Devi.

“Doing nothing is a terrible idea too,” Devi said. “We are too—what is the word? Squeamish? We’ll look weak if we don’t act. We have the Dungeon Core. We have the power to collapse entire buildings.”

“Which would kill hundreds of innocents.”

“Which is why I said take the central buildings.”

“That’s hardly better,” Erika said. “Perhaps fewer people would die, but you are going to walk in there with the purpose of ending lives anyway.”

“I never said that.”

“Oh, please. We all know it will end in blood.”

“Well, we’re called Reapers for a reason.”

“That’s no excuse, and you know it.”

“I think it is well-justified to deal with a threat before it deals with us. But perhaps I cannot understand this, because I’m no Human.”

“If you intend to rule a Human-populated city, your excuse of being a Sylven won’t stand either.”

“Then I won’t make any excuses,” Devi said, “but I’m doing this anyway.”

They glared at each other over the table. The gap between them – both physical and figurative – could be felt too-keenly. Devi knew that neither of them was going to budge. Not like this.

In the end, it was Heda who broke the silent-staring contest.

“We aren’t talking about killing innocents,” she said. “Just the opposite, actually. Devi is right, we should do something. I’m sick of being unable to help.”

“Physical assault is hardly ever helpful,” Erika said, then turned to Imaya. “Are you supporting this sordid plan too?”

Imaya averted her eyes, fidgeting with the control crystal in her hands. Although she had plenty of confidence when it came to shaping and managing the Dungeon, handling conflict-matters wasn’t her strong-trait. In fact, recently she had been more withdrawn than ever before.

“I don’t like it,” she said. “It makes me feel like we are the bad guys. B-But the Factory is hiding even worse people, Erika. We know that the Black Moon has hideouts under the Factory’s buildings, covering up their operations…”

“The Factory is also the workplace of thousands of people from all around the lower ring,” Erika said. “Who’s going to employ them, once you destroy their only source of income? You? What do you think, would you do a better job than the Factory?”

“With your help,” Devi said, “we would.”

“With my help! You’re an optimist, Devi, and it’s good to see that you haven’t lost that even after all we’ve been through. But as someone who actually knows this city, I’m telling you that it’s not that simple.”

“It doesn’t need to be simple.”

“Easy for you to talk. You want to take the Factory by force and then let me deal with the fallout. A convenient plan in which you push the difficult tasks to others.”

“Taking the Factory is difficult too.”

“I disagree. Any idiot with a collar around her neck could march in there and brandish her sword. Violence is always easy.”

Devi clenched her jaw, forcing herself to remain calm. She wanted to win Erika’s support with logic-reasons, but this was an uphill-fight. She didn’t have the vocabulary to convincingly express herself, while Erika was well-spoken with sound arguments. Devi also didn’t know much about Terran economics and state-matters, which was something she intended to remedy in time. Time, however, was short-supplied. She needed Erika’s approval now.

“So, what’s it going to be?” Heda spoke up. “The majority here votes for the attack. We can do it with or without your support, Erika.”

Devi winced, glancing at Heda. No, this wasn’t how she wanted to do this. Erika was powerful—in some ways, the most powerful member of this council. Strong-arming her into cooperation would just sour relations between them further.

“I don’t care about the majority,” Erika said. “This is too big for us to decide. We should hear what Randel thinks about this. Did he oversleep again? It’s strange that he hasn’t shown up yet.”

“Um, the thing is,” Imaya said, “when we changed the passcode—”

“Randel is on a business trip,” Devi cut Imaya off. “He had left the city and won’t be back for a while.”

“Ah,” Erika said. “He didn’t tell me.”

“Because he told me. He was in a hurry.”

“I see,” Erika said, narrowing her eyes. “Now I understand why you’re in such a hurry to attack.”

“Then you misunderstand,” Devi said. “Randel wouldn’t have any objections with this. He even gave me intel on the hideouts beneath the Factory. There are captive people in there who could help us if we managed to free them.”

“So you say,” Erika said, watching her with an openly skeptical look. Devi bristled at the implication that she was a liar, but when she opened her mouth to retort Erika lifted a hand to shush her. Something changed in the aged Human’s expression right then, though Devi was unsure as to what. Understanding? Resignation?

“I know you aren’t telling me everything,” Erika said, leaning back in her chair, “but I also know where you’re coming from, Devi. You want to prove yourself. You aren’t doing this to help those poor and innocent Humans, but you do intend to help people. Your motives are selfish, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re trying to do good.”

“So—”

“So I’m willing to hear you out,” Erika said. “Break your plan down for me and I’ll tell you what you fail to see. Then, and only then, we may decide – together – whether this really is the path we want to take.”

Devi nodded, letting out a slow breath. Erika’s assessment made her feel self-conscious and she struggled to show none of it. Her motivations were more complex than Erika made them sound … but there was an undeniable truth to her words. Devi recalled Haro’quinn’s mocking laugh at her claim that she would create her own home here. Her own House. She vividly remembered the off-handed way in which the man took her words, the genuine disregard for her capabilities, for her very being. How could she not remember? It was what she grew up with. Disregard had always kept her company, never leaving. But here, in this world, in this city … she was going to prove Haro’quinn wrong. Oh, she was going to prove all of them wrong.

At first, she had imagined taking this path with her soul-mate by her side. She truly believed that Randel needed this too; people had to push themselves to grow their person and while Randel had a good-heart, he was motivation-lacking. Now, though … Devi was starting to think that it was just not meant to be. She would have to create her House truly on her own and she would have to find a way to save Randel at the same time. Daunting tasks. So far out of reach! A weaker person would have felt hopeless and lost.

Devi, on the other hand, was bursting with determination.

Never before had she felt so strongly that she was on the correct-path. That she had to do this no matter what. She had grown up with chains holding her down, but now all of those chains were broken and she was finally able to tackle the world. Hardships were expected. Welcomed, even. She grew day by day with no end in sight. She was determined to outgrow any obstacle in her way.

And so she detailed her plan to Erika, Heda, and Imaya—and she listened to their opinions. She considered their ideas. She was willing to compromise. Because even though she wanted to prove herself, this wasn’t a one-man-mission. Her House wouldn’t ever be realized without her friends, her associates, her people. She would never disregard someone else’s option, unlike all those men who disregarded hers. She had to be better than them.

The council meeting went on for a while, and they eventually had to end it without any serious conclusion about the Factory. Erika firmly believed that – instead of charging in blind – they had to learn more about the Factory’s management first so that the takeover could be as seamless as possible. The Engine brothers, who were the Factory’s infamous owners, were rumored to be rich enough to employ Players as bodyguards. Which was a big problem, considering how messy and destructive Player against Player fights could get. Devi had to accept that a prudent-slow approach was in order, even if every passing day felt like they were one step closer to losing the city.

“So, what’s next?” Heda asked as they stood up from their seats. Erika was drawing on a portal disk to make her leave and Imaya had already jumped back into fiddling with her control crystal.

“The training of the new Painter officers,” Devi said. “We should oversee it. To check on promising candidates, and more importantly, make ourselves seen. Leaders should be seen.”

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“I can feel a but coming,” Heda said, reattaching her scabbard to her belt. She always wore her weapons and armor, though it was less noticeable than before. No more heavy plates. Heda the tank had ceased to be; her new setup was more offense-oriented with little regard for her own safety.

“But I think you should do it without me today,” Devi admitted. “I need to visit Jack for the usual report.”

Heda’s burn-scarred face darkened at the mention of their Covenant leader.

“You know,” she said, “sometimes I wonder why we are still among the Rangers of Fortram. Why don’t we just quit?”

“Because they stand for something good,” Devi said, “even if its leader is somewhat underhanded.”

“Somewhat?” Heda asked, scowling. “Jack sacrificed Kim and many of my friends just to lure out a shade! Is that what you call somewhat underhanded?”

“I meant—”

“I know what you meant—you wanted to use this fancy new word that you recently learned. It’s fine. Go and report to Jack. I’ll check on the recruits.”

She stormed off, leaving through the portal that Erika had opened. Devi sighed, said her good-byes to Imaya, then followed Heda out into one of those proxy rooms that had several portal disks in a circle. Both Erika and Heda were still in the middle of drawing symbols on their disks, and Devi stepped to a third one to draw hers. She had a small notebook with all the important portal destinations, but she knew the one in the Rangers of Fortram headquarters by heart. She drew it in silence, listening to the rhythmic clang of three pieces of chalk hitting the stone disks.

“I’m sorry, Devi,” Heda spoke just as her portal opened. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“I know,” Devi said. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight? At our usual place.”

“That—that would be nice, yes. Thank you. And good luck with Jack.”

She left through her portal and a few heartbeats later Devi left through hers.

The richly-furnished communal room of the Rangers’ headquarters stood empty as usual. Devi rested a hand on Silverfang’s hilt almost subconsciously. There was no need to worry, yet she couldn’t help it. She felt as if she stood in a haunted-ruin.

The Covenant, much like the Painter’s council, had certainly seen better days too. Many of the Rangers had been killed by Tamie and many more had left afterward. Devi was still the newest recruit; Jack either couldn’t find new Players or he didn’t care about it anymore. He kept his plans obscured-hidden, but Devi was reasonably sure that he hadn’t accounted for Randel capturing the shade—and so, his schemes were now in disarray.

Devi hurried up the stairs and walked down the silent corridors to Jack’s office. She found the door already open. Inside, only a meager desk lamp provided light; ever since Fortram had sunk below the ground, the once-bright office no longer basked in sunlight. The room’s large windows stood empty-gloomy, except … there was a fluffy round bird sitting just outside, pecking at the luminescent plants that grew on the windowsill. The tiny taps of its beak were almost in rhyme with the ticking clock in the corner of the office.

“Good day to you, Devi.”

Jack was sitting in the chair behind his desk, his back turned to the door, watching the bird through the window. Devi could see his reflection in the glass; his posture looked stiff and his scarred face twisted in pain as he sipped something from a teacup. His voice had been calm and pleasant, however.

“I have a moment of free time,” Devi said, “so I came to report.”

“Very well,” Jack smoothly said. “Take a seat, then.”

He turned his chair around, set his teacup down, and gestured at the lie-detecting chair on the other side of the desk. Devi didn’t even look at the seat.

“I prefer not to,” she said. “I’ll be brief: Randel left the city and won’t be back for a while. Other than that, I have nothing to report on him.”

Jack froze for a tiny-brief moment, then set his elbows on the desk and laced his fingers together. The bird outside stopped tapping—and inexplicably, the clock stopped ticking too. It didn’t bother Jack. He gave Devi a long look while she did her best not to look too worried. Jack was dangerous, but he had always been reasonable and polite. Indeed, his gaze softened after a while. He seemed to have come to a decision.

“Is that the truth?” Jack asked in an off-handed manner. As if he wasn’t particularly interested in the answer.

“Yes.”

“Does this have anything to do with you not sleeping with Randel lately?”

“It—excuse me?”

“You haven’t used Dreamcatcher for a while now,” Jack said, leaning back in his chair. “I’d like to know why. If you no longer have any use for it, I would kindly ask you to return it.”

“How—how do you know we are not using it?”

Jack leaned forward and tapped a finger against an empty glass globe on his desk. A glass globe that had always been there, as far as Devi could remember. She now watched it with a twisted feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“It’s called Dreamcatcher for a reason,” Jack said. “The globe can show and replay any dream that the receiver catches.”

“You’ve been spying on us,” Devi whispered in sudden realization. The awful feeling in her stomach was slowly turning into something else, something fiercer and hotter. “You’ve been spying on us!”

Her hand went for Silverfang’s hilt but grasped empty air. She patted down her empty belt, panicking briefly, before looking back at Jack just as he casually set Silverfang next to his teacup.

“There’s no need to get angry,” he said, speaking softly. “If you think about it, this is the very same thing that you’ve done to Randel in the beginning. You watched his dreams without his knowledge.”

“You—that was different! I was trying to help him, but you—you lied to me! Give Silverfang back right now.”

“I didn’t lie to you. You wanted something to get into a person’s subconscious, and I lent you a tool. I didn’t promise anything else. And you’ll get Silverfang back as soon as I’m certain that you’re not going to rearrange my office with it.”

He sad it so calmly, so carelessly, his cool grey eyes so apology-lacking that it felt like an insult in itself. Devi took deep breaths, balling her hands into fists and willing herself to remain still. She would make Jack pay for this. Heda was right; they should have left this Covenant long ago.

“Why?! Why did you—”

Why did Jack have to snoop on her most intimate moments with Randel? Why did he have to witness her dreams, her memories that not even Randel knew about? Why did he betray her trust?!

“I’m similar to you in many ways, Devi.”

“Of course you are,” Devi spat. “The Abyss take you Jack, you think I’m going to believe—”

“It’s true,” he cut her off, his voice turning sharp. “Years ago, my significant other was possessed.”

She blinked. “What? Who?”

“My soul-mate, if you will. Her body was taken by a shade that uses her ever since.”

“Taken…?”

Jack gave her a stiff smile, then picked up his teacup again.

“Sounds familiar, isn’t it?” he asked, taking a sip. “Some say that history runs in cycles. I suspected that Randel was possessed ever since I met him. Of course, it turned out that I wasn’t entirely correct; Randel has a unique symbiosis with those shades, something that I find utterly fascinating.”

“I don’t care what you find fascinating,” Devi said. “You spied on us, and now you try to—what? To apologize by telling me that we’re in similar boots?”

“No, Devi. I’m not apologizing. I just decided to be honest with you and explain why I did what I did. Randel’s situation … simply put, he gave me hope. I thought that I finally found a small opening, a chance to learn more about these mythic creatures called shades. Better yet, you wanted to learn more about them too. If there was anyone who could get more answers out of him, it was you.”

“Too bad I never found any answers.”

“You did—just not the ones we sought. Shades are terrifying. We learned that they cannot be beaten. They are not infallible, but to defeat them we’d have to confront them on their turf. Mind against mind. Against their expertise, we’re akin to children; feeble and fumbling. We have no chance. Still, I admire you for facing them night after night. For living with Randel and trusting him, knowing that the shades could take control anytime. For not giving up on him. I wish I was as strong as you.”

“You gave up.”

“I gave up many times. Randel’s shades rekindled some measure of hope, but it’s dwindling out already. If I’m truly honest with myself, I should give up hope. I’m wasting my time by grasping at straws. I should accept that my loved ones are gone forever. I should focus my attention on something worthier instead. Someone more promising, someone who’s already present.”

He drank from his cup, his grey eyes watching Devi with quiet intensity.

“Sorry,” she said, “but I’m not interested in you romantically.”

Jack coughed, choking on his drink. Devi frowned. This was the first time she had ever seen Jack lose his composure.

“I didn’t, hrm, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m far too old, Devi—perhaps not for a Human, but definitely for a Player. I was talking about taking you as my apprentice, though in hindsight I admit that I should have been more explicit.”

“Oh.”

“I didn’t lie when I said that we were similar: you have the same drive that I once had. That alone would take you far, but you’re talented and smart on top of that. As a Sylven, you have access to powerful equipment in the Player Shop. You have all the tools to ascend—you just need to learn how to use those tools.”

“I don’t want to ascend, and I’m already learning. What makes you think I’d want to learn from you?”

“Because you’re not a fool. Because I have decades of experience as a Player, which is not something that many can boast about. The smart choice is to take what you can from me and make it yours.”

“Offering to teach me doesn’t excuse what you did,” Devi said. “You betrayed my trust by looking into my head. You violated my mind!”

“You did the same to Randel, but he forgave you. Don’t you think that you owe me the same?”

“That’s underhanded reasoning! Randel and I are soul-mates. Just because we forgive each other, the same it doesn’t extend to you!”

Jack sighed. “Fine, I won’t argue. You can get very stubborn and hot-headed at times, but I never thought that you would refuse an opportunity to learn simply because of spite.”

Devi bit her lip, trying to think through her anger and frustration. Jack was manipulating her, of course—but hurt feelings aside, she really didn’t have any reason to refuse his offer. She could always back out of it later. How far could she trust Jack, though?

“What do you get out of this?” Devi asked.

“A sense of accomplishment,” Jack said, putting his empty cup down. It clanged against the saucer, a hollow ring with a soft echo.

“About what?” Devi prompted.

“About my life,” Jack quietly said. “During my life in Nerilia, I have accumulated wealth and power and influence—and yet, I have never truly felt accomplished. My time here didn’t really matter. I didn’t make the world a better place—quite the contrary, in fact. There’s blood on my hands, Devi, lots of blood, as you may have already guessed by looking at my skill set. I’ve always wanted to leave a lasting impact on the world, but I never knew how. And now? Now I’m running out of time.”

“You sound like a dying man.”

The scars on Jack’s face tightened as he smiled.

“I’m not physically dying,” he said, “though I do have a number of Disabilities that I’ll reveal to you in due time. Nevertheless, it’s not my physical health I’m worried about. It’s my will to live.”

Devi watched in shocked silence as Jack rose from his chair and walked around the table, stopping right in front of her. He appeared to be calm and unconcerned, his grey eyes somewhat distant. He produced a small hand-mirror from his pocket and held it up next to his head, making sure that Devi could see her own face. The missing tip of her left horn. The vertical scar that ran across her eye.

“It has already begun. How long until you look like this?” Jack asked, gesturing at his own face beside the mirror. Too many scars to count. Long and short, deep and shallow. Devi had always assumed that Jack’s scars were the result of getting tortured, but now she was unsure. She averted her gaze.

“So you want to leave a legacy,” she said. “You want me to learn from your mistakes, and you want me to do better. You want to claim that your life wasn’t in vain.”

“Exactly,” Jack said, putting away the mirror. He kept his eyes on Devi.

“I’m not comfortable with this.”

“Neither am I. We’ll both need to bear with it.”

He walked back to his chair and sat down. Devi remained standing. The clock began ticking again.

“What was she like?” she asked softly. “Your soul-mate who was taken.”

“Business-like with a cold attitude,” Jack replied. “It took a lot of time and effort until she warmed up to me, but it was all worth it in the end. Not the very end, mind you. She became her old self after the shade took her. Cold and practical. That’s one of the reasons why the shade likes her, I think, and the other reason is her powers. The creature has kept using her body for years now. To be fair, I don’t even know if anything remains of her at all. She wasn’t like Randel.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Really? You don’t look sorry.”

“I’m sorry for her, not you. I’m still mad at you.”

“Ah,” Jack said. “Understandable.”

They watched each other for a while longer, with Jack sitting almost motionlessly while Devi squirmed-and-churned in place. She wanted to turn and run the other way. She didn’t want this—but she needed this. It was a way to better herself. She was a powerful Player, she was the leader of the Painters, and she was the Dungeon Master. None of these meant that she had nothing left to learn. Quite the contrary, in fact. Jack, for all his faults, could be a valuable mentor.

“Alright,” Devi said. “So, when do we start?”

Jack raised an eyebrow at that.

“Start?” he asked. “Why, Devi, we have already started.”