“Thank you, oh so much!”

The younger woman took the small basket as if it was her newborn child. She held it closely, and her face was scrunched up as if she was about to break down and sob. My eyes watered as I picked up another basket, as to hand to the next person in line.

This time it was an older couple. They had a single voucher, which Henry took and tore in two. Handing the man the basket, I smiled and nodded as the two gently nodded and continued walking as to let the next person in line get their basket.

Henry asked the next person for their voucher, and I waited until he verified it and tore it before handing out the next basket.

“Thanks!” the young man was missing most of his front teeth, yet he didn’t let it stop his huge smile as he accepted the basket.

I nodded as I glanced at Henry who stood next to me. The human worker was usually found in the depot, even though he looked far too old to be doing such hard labor. He, like me, was just one of many in the line. The entire main lobby of the Animalia Guild had been retrofitted and converted into something of a massive vendor stall. We had large booths and tables set up in a way to allow hundreds of people to flow into the building from one end of the room, to out of the building at the other end. Along the way through, those who came here with the little vouches were given what we were handing out as charitable aid. Baskets of food. Clothes. Receipts and vouchers for inns and other safe houses throughout the city, so people who were now homeless or displaced thanks to the creature’s attack had somewhere to sleep out of the rain and cold.

“Voucher please,” Henry had to once again ask for the next person’s voucher. They produced it after a moment of fishing in what looked to be a tiny pocket in their jacket, but they had acted as if it was deep and endless.

“Thank you, bless you,” they said as I handed them their basket.

I nodded, and wondered how so many people could be… so thankful for so little.

The little baskets I was helping hand out were honestly, not much. A few loaves of bread, some dried meat, tea leaves and a small metal cup one could use to warm and boil water. A small box of spices, and an assortment of fruits and vegetables. Honestly to me it seemed like only a few meals worth of food… but everyone who, at least so far, I had given one of the boxes to has been nothing but thankful. Some, like the next person in line, were even teary eyed as they took it.

And all of them took it.

It felt as if the entirety of Lumen had shown up to receive aid… It was hard to comprehend just how many people were coming and going, even with me being front and center. Most of the Society members weren’t helping on this end, but rather the back. They were managing the people, and supplies. They were overlooking things and giving people orders, rather than doing something so hands on.

Honestly I could be too… but right now…

Well…

“Renn.”

Turning a little, I smiled at Lamp who gave me a huge smile back. She wasn’t alone, she had a few of the other eastern girls with her and they all waved upon noticing me. They were carrying small boxes, and were heading past me and the long line of tables I stood near. It looked like they were heading towards the bank, based off the hallway they were heading towards.

Neither Lamp nor those she was with stuck around too long. I had to return my attention back to the line in front of me. I wasn’t the only one handing out the baskets, of course, but there were so many people that even a single person slowing or stopping in their work caused a backup in the line.

Handing off some more baskets, I tried to focus on the task before me. It was easy to do, even if monotonous and simple… thanks to all the people. The ones coming into the building for aid seemed to be from all walks of life. Old, young, those clean dressed and those in tattered rags. A few children came through alone, with vouchers themselves, while sometimes entire families walked through all together.

Another line on the other side of the room gave out bags. Bags of clothes, blankets, and other necessities. It was a little odd that the clothes we handed out had our emblem sewn upon them. But I wasn’t going to complain, and neither were those who needed the help.

Maybe we were just handing out what we had available, already made. Hopefully we had enough…

“Thanks!” a young girl happily accepted the basket I gave to her, and I didn’t like how she struggled with it. She stayed in line, and didn’t drop the basket or its contents but she did become transfixed by the contents within it.

She looked far too young to be standing in line alone. She looked younger than Fly, and not just because she was skin and bones.

“Have your vouchers ready please,” Henry once again had to remind those in line nearby to prepare their vouchers. I noted several down the line begin to dig into their pockets.

“Are you Renn?”

I blinked and turned again, and found a woman I didn’t recognize. She smiled at me. And pointed behind her. “I’m here to swap with ya! Go get some rest!”

Ah. Right. Breaks. Humans sure did like them…

I nodded as I smiled next to me at Henry. “See you later Henry,” I said.

He nodded as he took a voucher from a pregnant woman who had a bandage wrapped around half her face. It looked like her left eye had gotten hurt.

Stepping away from the table of baskets, I let the woman take my place. I hesitated a moment as I stepped back and away… to take in the sight of the line of tables and people.

There were seven stations on this side of the room. All were handing out those baskets, and there were large carts being brought in from the main hallway, from the depot, which replenished the stock of baskets. People worked quickly, nearly with as much gusto as those who were receiving the aid had.

The sight of people being so… good to one another, even if they were just doing their job, made me feel relieved.

It was moments like this that made it hard to hate humans.

Everyone was being orderly. Everyone was thankful. The worst that was happening so far was the simple annoyance of waiting for someone to find the voucher they lost in their pockets. So far as I could tell no one had tried to disrupt the process, or lie and steal either. Though the many guards stationed at the doors and walking around might have something to do with that.

I stepped out of the way of one of the large carts full of baskets, and noted that these baskets had different contents. The fruit was different, and they had circular bread stuff instead of long ones.

Interesting…

Gulping as I stepped away, I decided to just… walk around a bit and see how the rest of the room was doing. The side handing out clothes and blankets was just as busy as the one handing out food. Most of the people in that line were carrying the very baskets I had been helping hand out.

A pair of women were shaking the hands of one of the helpers, thanking her profusely. The worker, like all here, were employees of the Animalia Guild… and she looked bothered. As if she was embarrassed, and upset that they were making such a big deal out of it.

Most of everyone seemed to be thankful to such a degree, but it slowed the line. Every time someone tried to pause as to thank the workers, it made the whole process longer. No one in line seemed to really care, but…

“Oh? Renn, how’s it going?” Clair greeted me as she stepped out from the line, being replaced by a man. She too must be being forced to take a break.

“Well. How’re your children?” I asked the human woman. She was like Lamp, a member of the Society even though a human.

Clair smiled at me in a way that told me my question had touched her in the soul. Her eyes even began to water… which bothered me. Had they gotten hurt?

“They’re fine. They’re here. At the apartments. Our house got damaged, but luckily none of us were home at the time,” she said.

Ah. I see. “I’m so sorry.” I said as I stepped aside with her, as to get away from the line and the business of the people all over.

She nodded as we headed for the hallway. The one that led deeper into the building, towards the employee lunch rooms and kitchens. Maybe she was hungry.

“Quite an event. I’m so glad it happened while Vim was here, though,” Clair said with a quiet voice.

Side-glancing the woman I was walking next to, I tried to ignore the many people in the hallway with us. Most were humans, and although employees I knew it was likely not a one was a member of the Society like us.

“I suppose it was a good thing, yes,” I agreed.

I hadn’t thought of that. What would have happened if… that creature had emerged, and Vim hadn’t been here? Would the humans have been able to face it down? From what I heard they had tried. They had not only attacked it with their knights and machines of war, but from the sea too.

“Such is fate, however. I heard of Brom, a terrible price to pay… but compared to the losses of the general populace, all things considered, it went better than it could have,” Clair said with a sigh.

“How bad was it? For the city?” I asked. I didn’t like how she seemed to gloss over Brom’s death in such a way, but I was interested in hearing about the city.

Reatti and I had arrived last night… and although I had heard some of the news from others, and the humans I had been working with like Henry, I still wasn’t too sure exactly how bad it had been for Lumen.

“Thousands are dead or displaced. Nearly three whole city blocks were destroyed by the creature emerging from the ground alone. It’s how our house got destroyed. And we lived nearly two blocks away from where it had been. If you go outside before it gets dark, you’ll see some smoke from fires throughout the city. Those are bodies being burned,” Clair explained as we rounded a corner.

I shivered at the knowledge, and hated to learn it.

Thousands dead.

That explained all the injuries from all those people in that line. That explained why so many were so thankful.

The lives of everyone in this city had been affected, and uprooted. Even those who hadn’t been near the event had gotten involved in one way or another.

Coming up to a cross section, Clair paused and pointed down a smaller hallway. One that had lots of people coming and going from it.

“My daughters should be helping in the kitchens. I’m going to go check on them,” she said with a smile.

“Ah…” I debated going with her. I wanted to meet the children named Sing and Song, to see if their names had somehow granted them unique voices… but…

Nodding gently at Clair I waved at her as she stepped away. “See you later Clair, tell your children hi for me,” I said.

She nodded back as she turned and left.

Judging by how Clair had to slow her pace and get in what looked almost like a line itself as she headed down the hallway, I sighed and decided it was better to avoid that section of the building.

It was likely so busy that I’d not be able to have any kind of conversation with anyone. Those kitchens could be busy even during a normal day, let alone one like this.

Heading down another hallway, one that wasn’t as busy but still busier than I had ever seen it before… I headed for the section behind the bank that they had made into something of a command center. I knew I’d find members of the Society there, likely most of them… but there was a single individual I really wanted to find.

Since arriving last night, I’d only seen a few members. Merit and Sofia last night. Brandy this morning. Tosh had been the one to tell me I could help anywhere I felt comfortable doing so, and I had eventually ended up handing out baskets after wandering around a bit.

The Society was busy. So busy that no one had the time to spend on me.

I wasn’t upset over such a thing… but I did feel like there was something else going on. Even Merit had been a little… quiet with me. And not just because she and Sofia had been in a hurry to go off and do whatever they had been tasked with this morning.

But most importantly…

Entering one of the large rooms being used to coordinate everything going on, I paused a moment to scan the room for any familiar face.

I found Lawrence quickly enough, and was a little surprised he was the only one here. I recognized several other people, but none of them were members of the Society. They’d not be able to answer my question.

Or well, maybe they could… but first I’d check with Lawrence.

Walking over to his desk, I ignored the way he ignored me as he signed some kind of yellow paper. It looked odd amongst the more bland colored papers on his desk… why was it such a bright yellow?

“Deliver this to Brandy,” he lifted the paper and held it out to me, which I took and nodded.

“Where is she?” I asked.

“Where…?” Lawrence’s voice sounded annoyed, the kind of annoyed that usually was followed by a chide comment… but his anger dissipated immediately upon noticing me.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He sighed and smiled at me. “She’s up in her office. Do you know where it is Renn?” he asked.

I shook my head. “She has an office?” I asked.

Lawrence sighed and one of his attendants stood from her chair nearby. “I’ll take her sir,” she said gently.

He nodded, and then went straight to another document… as if that was all that needed to be said or done about it.

“Lawrence, do you know where Vim is?” I asked him as the woman readied her desk to leave.

“No. Last I saw him was this morning, during the meeting,” he said.

Meeting… we had a meeting? No one had told me.

No. Wait. It might have been something more business-like. Maybe with just them and Gerald and Brandy… not something the whole of the Society had done.

“Any idea where he could be?” I asked as the woman shifted on her heels. She was kind enough to wait for me, but I could sense her urgency. She wanted to be off.

Lawrence stopped before writing something on the next document, and then glanced up at me. “Ask Brandy, Renn. Vim could be anywhere during moments like these,” he said calmly.

I nodded. That was true enough.

“I’ll get this to her,” I said as I wiggled the odd paper in my hand. Why did it feel heavy? It was just a single sheet of paper…

“Please do,” Lawrence said as I stepped away, and followed the woman who gestured to a nearby door. It was closed, which was odd… so many doors were open right now, thanks to so many people being so active.

She opened the door to let met pass through, and I waited until she shut it behind her. The door led to a smaller hallway… One that was empty.

Which was very interesting.

I recognized the hallway, but wasn’t sure why. Had I been in this hallway before? I couldn’t remember it, but I had to have been… since I remembered it. I remembered the way the rug curled a little at the edges near the wall, as if it had gotten severely damp at one time and hadn’t been properly dried.

“This way,” the woman said as we headed down the hallway… the only way the hallway could go.

Looking down at the paper I was delivering, I frowned as I realized it might not be paper at all. It felt… oddly smooth, and the letters looked sewn into the paper, not inked on.

I read the document, and wished I hadn’t.

This was a letter of dismissal. For an employee named Skark.

Lawrence had been but one of several signatures. I had recognized a few of the names upon it. Most were human members, those who were older and managed groups and teams of people.

I really hated being the bearer of bad news… hopefully Brandy didn’t ask me to deliver it to the person in question.

“I saw Vim a few hours ago. He was with those eastern girls,” the woman then spoke up as we rounded a corner.

“Oh?” I perked up at that. Interesting… Actually it was interesting that I had seen Lamp with the other eastern girls too… “Why did the others return? The other eastern girls?” I asked the woman.

“Not sure? Maybe they’re just here to help. We need all the help we can get right now,” she said lightly. Seemed she didn’t really care.

Hopefully that was all it was. Lamp hadn’t looked upset or hurt… but…

We rounded another corner, and some large windows came into view. Not far down the hallway, was a big door. One open. The only door open.

“Right there. I’ll wait outside in case I need to take something back with me,” the woman pointed at the open door.

I nodded as I entered Brandy’s office… and was surprised to find not just Brandy, but Herra… and a rather plain office.

“Hey Renn,” Herra greeted me, which made Brandy look up from her desk.

Brandy smiled at me. “Tired of handing out baskets are ya?” she asked.

“More like breaks are… too enforced, here,” I said as I stepped past Herra, who was sitting on a strangely thin looking chair. Stepping up to Brandy’s desk, I held out the yellow letter to her.

“Ah. Which ones this?” she asked as she took it.

“There’s more than one?” I asked worriedly.

She nodded as she scratched her neck. “One of many. Thanks. Did I hear one of Lawrence’s people out there?” Brandy asked carefully.

I nodded. Was she asking because she had something for him, or to find out if we were alone?

“Mind giving these to her?” Brandy asked as she lifted two books. The books were more folders than books, but they were heavy all the same.

Taking them from Brandy, I stepped out of the office to hand them off. She nodded and thanked me, seemingly glad to have been given them quickly. She hurried off back down the hallway, heading back where we came from.

Watching her go, I glanced around to make sure we were now alone. Oddly we were.

Why was this place so quiet and empty compared to the rest of the building?

Stepping back into Brandy’s office, I noted the… lack of anything decorative. It was honestly not suited for her… she was such a vibrant person, with a boisterous personality. One would expect her office to have more character.

I wonder if the blandness of the office was a reflection of her true personality, or instead her religious side peaking through. Or maybe she simply didn’t decorate it because she wasn’t here often. She traveled around like Vim did, to a point.

“Do you know where Vim is, Brandy?” I asked.

“There was some trouble on the boat earlier. He should be there still, I bet,” Herra said.

Brandy nodded. “The third port to the south. The one near the lighthouse,” she verified it.

Something had happened? That required Vim?

If it was something dangerous he likely wouldn’t like me going there… especially with the city in such disarray.

“You can go if you want. It wasn’t that big of a deal I don’t think,” Brandy said, likely reading my thoughts on my face.

“Hm…” I nodded, and wondered if I should. Or maybe I should just… stay here. And keep working. To occupy my mind.

“How’s the arm, Renn?” Herra asked.

I wiggled it in the small sling and nodded. “Feeling better. I think it won’t be long before it’s out of this silly thing,” I said.

“And the tail?” Brandy asked.

“Still hurts… but not as bad. I can sit down without wanting to cry at least,” I said.

That wasn’t entirely honest. It was one of the reasons I had chosen to help out at the donation lines. They were all standing… everywhere else was either sitting, or hard labor.

“That’s good. You heal quickly… but Merit does too. She cracked her skull, and I think it healed before we even left the Sanctuary,” Herra grumbled, as if to complain.

Brandy chuckled as she went to reading another report. It was a long paper, with lots of wrinkles… as if it had been folded dozens of times.

“I saw Lamp with some of the other girls… is it okay for them all to be back here?” I asked.

“Hm? Oh yes. The Eastern Embassy was fine, but some of their support buildings got destroyed and damaged. Lamp came a few days ago and asked if we’d let her and some of her people live here. She plans to bring them into the Society, and feels that if she leaves them at the Eastern Embassy they won’t be kept safe. I guess she didn’t like how they handled themselves during the chaos,” Brandy explained as she wrote on the report.

“Handle themselves…” I whispered, and wondered what that meant. I’d need to find Vim to get him to translate for me, once things settled down a little.

“They panicked. Got some people hurt because of it. Typical human stuff, Renn. Nothing malicious… just incompetence,” Herra said.

“Ah…” I nodded, although I still didn’t like the sound of that. So some did get hurt. I hope they were all fine.

Lamp had looked okay at least. I had seen her this morning too, but she had only hugged me and then ran off. Not much I could do about that, what with everyone being busy… and the language barrier, but…

“It was nice of you to go with Fly, Renn. I’m sure it made the trip easier for her,” Herra then said.

“Hm. She seemed fine when I left. Very excited and happy to be there,” I said. I tried not to think of much more than Fly’s smile from those memories.

Herra nodded, and then sighed. “I also heard what happened. I’m sorry Renn. If it makes you feel any better my family is banished from there, and a few other places as well. For things our ancestors did, too,” Herra said.

“Wait really?” I perked up at that, especially since… I mean…

Studying Herra, I wondered how she and her family had gotten the same treatment. I had no idea what an armadillo was, but surely it wasn’t something too ferocious? Herra was sharp tongued, sometimes, but far from strong or violent. Before I had gotten hurt I had helped her open the heavy metal doors to the Society houses on many occasions. She struggled terribly with them.

She nodded as she shrugged. “Something my great grandfather did. I’ll be honest I never cared much to find out what it was. Let the past be the past,” she said.

I nodded, though I didn’t agree.

I wanted to know what had happened…

Glancing to Brandy, I hesitated. She might know… but she was engrossed in what she was reading. She had a frown, and looked worried a little.

“Anything I could help out with, Herra?” I asked her since Brandy seemed focused.

“Everything and everywhere? I’ll be honest I’m glad I’m leaving, it’s going to be busy like this for months maybe even years. Maybe by the time I get back it’ll settle down a bit,” Herra said with a huff.

Oh. Right. She was going to leave with Vim, to go home.

“So you plan on leaving soon?” I asked.

She nodded. “As soon as Vim thinks we can go. You know how he gets during moments like this,” she said with a wave.

Did I?

Compared to what had happened in Ruvindale… this was far bigger in terms of importance and severity, at least in my opinion. And the only reason we had left Ruvindale so quickly, was simply because all of the members there had disappeared. Either gone into hiding or… well…

Here was a different story. Plus it concerned so much more than just those here. The Society relied on this guild for funds.

“There is something you can do for me. There’s a few people here that Vim invited. He’s not here so we can’t confirm it, but he did mention a few people might show up. Would you go check them for me?” Brandy finally looked away from her desk, and up at me.

“New members? Like Wool?” I asked, interested.

She shook her head and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thankfully, no. They’re humans. He just offered them help… likely because they had helped him or something. He said if any showed up to offer them jobs, basically. They’re at the mail-room, near the makeshift hospitals,” Brandy said as she held out a sheet of paper to me.

I took the paper and glanced down at it. It had her signature, giving permission for rooms at the apartments in the building, and potential jobs if deemed acceptable by those named upon the paper.

Basically a writ of permission. Likely very similar to what had been given to Lamp’s people.

“Near the hospitals,” I nodded. I knew where that was. I not only knew where the mail room was, I knew especially about the makeshift help centers they had set up near the depot. Turns out there were a lot of people injured… and we were helping them too. Surprisingly Tosh was there, running it.

Turned out Tosh was very adept at surgery and such things. I hadn’t known this, but he had been the one to address Merit and my injuries, when we first arrived that day.

“Two families. Just… verify their stories, for me, if you can. I’ll check on them, as will Vim when he gets back. You okay with this?” Brandy asked.

I nodded. “Sure.” Seemed interesting, and I liked the idea of… helping those that Vim promised we’d help.

“Thanks. And here Herra, I finished,” Brandy said as she went to handing Herra the group of large reports I had noticed earlier. The ones folded oddly.

Herra stood from her seat and took them in her arms, and I noted the way they dangled in them. Neither she nor Brandy seemed to care about folding them up as to easily carry them… even though they already had the necessary wrinkles for such a thing.

“See ya later Renn,” Herra said as she stepped past me, and headed out.

Ah. So she had been waiting for that.

“Bye,” I said to her and Brandy. Brandy only nodded as I left the office.

I turned left while Herra went right, and as we left I heard voices down the hallway. People were heading for Brandy’s office.

Busy, busy.

Glancing down at the note Brandy had gave me, I wondered how often Vim did such a thing. Brandy hadn’t sounded too happy over this, yet she had signed off on it…

Offering help was what we were doing for the whole city, it seemed… but these people were those that Vim specifically offered it to.

Interesting. I wonder if it had happened during the event with the Master, or after while we were all gone.

I looked forward to meeting them. And hearing their stories.

Finding a large door, I opened it and was glad to find myself in one of the main hallways. So I had been here before… I had just never realized it led to Brandy’s office. It was on the main floor, between the bank and main lobby. An odd place for it, since it was kind of out of the way… and not really near anyone else’s offices.

Passing people and carts, I did my best to stay out of everyone’s way as I headed towards the mail room. To complete my task… and hopefully distract myself a little longer.

Brandy and Herra had been odd. Even though it was busy, and even though they had spoken openly to me…

I had noticed the odd and tensely feeling in the air in that room.

My hope was that I had simply walked in while they were talking about something serious, but I knew the truth.

Something had happened. Maybe them learning of my banishment from the Bell Church was more serious than I was being led to believe.

“Hey Renn!” A bank worker greeted me as we passed one another. She smiled at me in a way that told me she too knew the feeling of being given a lot to do. She was pushing one of the carts, although it was empty.

Leaving the hallway, I entered the large waiting room for the mail room, and was glad to find that although packed of people… it wasn’t too noisy. Most were sitting in chairs, waiting patiently. There was a huge line near the entrance doors, but there were a few tables and desks that had no people in front of them at all. They were being given vouchers here too… they had little blue strips on them. I noticed the many vouchers in everyone’s hands, and on their laps as they sat and waited for their names to be called.

What were we handing out here? I didn’t see any baskets or goods being distributed, nor were they waiting to get into the nearby hospitals. Even though a few people here had bandages and injuries, and I smelled fresh blood and wounds, this wasn’t where people who needed medical help came.

So…

Walking over to one of the main desks, where three women wearing our emblem sat and worked, I noticed the large basket full of torn vouchers.

“Hey there, I’ve been asked to find…” I looked down at the little note. “A Mark family and…” I stumbled on the name of the other family. It wasn’t written in the language I was used to seeing here. Were those letters even real?

“Mark and the old couple? Yes, back there in that room,” the woman farthest from me pointed behind them, to one of the smaller rooms near the main mail room. It like many other rooms had an open door, and I could see people within it.

“Thanks,” I nodded as I walked away, and went to the room.

Inside I found a larger room that it had appeared to be. Inside were only a few people, but they were also… well…

I hesitated a moment, since it stunk. I recognized the smell immediately, even through the smell of blood and old wounds.

The sewers.

Several of the people in the room looked up at me, since they were all sitting in chairs patiently. There were a few older people, some younger ones, and some children. The children were in the corner playing with some kind of toy.

“Honey,” an older woman woke up the older man she sat next to… and I noticed that most of the people here were wearing the clothes we had been handing out all day. And the few wrapped in blankets were the same.

A few were injured. But most looked just like what I assumed them to be.

Impoverished.

These people were from the sewers.

And Vim had offered them sanctuary…

Smiling as I entered the room, I steadied myself as I decided to devote my all to these people. I’d find out what had happened. Their whole stories… and I’d deal with them appropriately. Brandy had only asked me to assess them… but I’d do far more than that, if this was what I thought it was.

I knew that there were seemingly thousands of people who were coming here for help. For aid. For food. For shelter… but right now…

Just as Lamp and her people had been for me before, or Fly…

These were now those I’d focus on and dedicate myself to.

And not just because Vim had been the one to say they needed to be saved.

And not just because I needed to distract myself from the growing suspicion something was horribly wrong.

But because if I didn’t help them… I’d likely need help myself.

Such charity would save me from needing it myself.

It made no sense, but it was how I felt right now.

Hopefully I wasn’t making another mistake.