Zan did not make small talk with the Wardens when he returned.

He explained to them what happened, how he navigated the tutor, then gave the boy, Luxley, the horn.

“Well done, Zan. While acting as a double-agent in enemy territory, it is important to cover your tracks. Before the next time you visit this contact, however, we would recommend building an alternative identity to blend into the local environment,” Sigma-Prime said.

Zan told the Wardens he would think of the new identity later. Before he went to bed, he asked for an update on Jiehong. “His vitals are fine. He appears to be asleep. Likely in a room at the tavern. Of course, however, we do not know for sure.”

Knowing it was fine, and Jiehong was sleeping off his excess, Zan went to bed himself. Dreamless sleep later, a breakfast devoured in full, Zan returned to the war room refreshed.

Walking up the stairs to said war room, Zan heard a voice at his ear: “Testing. Testing. Can you hear me?”

Zan froze until he could place the sound. Realizing it was Luxley, his nerves untangled. He stuttered for a moment, not understanding how he should reply.

Going for broke, Zan whispered, “I can hear you. Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, I can… this is so cool!”

Taking a moment to think through how he would talk with so many people at once, Zan told Luxley, “Listen. Talk to me. Anytime, any day. I might not always be able to respond, but I will when I can, and I will never ignore you. That’s not me. I have responsibilities, though. I just wanted you to know my boundaries.”

“That’s fine, dude. No worries. People have said I talk a lot, though, so I might end up talking your ear off and whatnot. Be prepared for a lot of dishing about my daily life and who I find cute and my studies and…” Luxley went on.

‘What have I unleashed?’ Zan thought to himself comedically. Yet he smiled.

“Actually!” Luxley said, “I need to go! Extra study session. Talk later!”

Resuming his march to the war room, Zan leaned against the wall as he made his talk with the Wardens. “Heya. Anything while I was asleep?”

“The situation remains the same,” Sigma-Prime spoke as she hurried herself with tasks Zan couldn’t comprehend.

The Screen Master said, “My sensors show Jiehong remains asleep. He will probably be gone for the day.”

“I figured,” Zan replied. “So why don’t we seize the initiative?”

“Affirmative: what did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking a lot about our situation. Between, you know, all the back and forth with my contact in the Expanse. I think we should try to cross the pass and link up with some royal army guys,” Zan said.

“Crossing the pass is unlikely, given the war situation. However, I agree with you, Zan. Locating an expert cannot be left to chance. We need to be direct in our role. This means locating an expert ourselves through the liberation of new territories.”

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“Where you would recommend, we focus?” Zan asked.

Before him, Zan saw the ‘war table,’ as he called the holographic display of the surrounding area, change. All the ‘pixels’ shifted and displayed the local terrain at the mid-level bird’s-eye view. Highlighted as a faint golden aura was a space further south.

“Here,” the Screen Master said, referring to the aura. “The enemy has not yet penetrated. For reasons unknown, the enemy is concentrating their efforts through the country’s east. Sigma-Prime and I have monitored the situation around the clock, using both our Center’s capabilities, which are restored more every day, and the flow of the Slipsteam. We—”

“Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Slipstream?” Zan interrupted.

“Correct. Order technology connects to the magical residue of the gods in ways no other technology is capable. Tapping into the flow of this energy as it travels the plane of reality allows us to map the local region than we would otherwise be able to by only using the lodestones. Although this process is uneven, the magical residue during the last few days has been heavy, and in high enough concentrations to allow even our damaged sensors to pick it up. This allows us to reverse the flow and send echoes to translocate and map areas beyond the center’s domain.”

Zan had to have the Screen Master go over the explanation a few more times. Though he said he understood, he really didn’t, and wanted to move on with the strategy meeting.

“Alright. So, mapping technicalities aside, the enemy — you’ve observed — is focusing their manpower to our west. My guess why would be because that is where the national capital is, so they want that most of all. Clearly. So we have time to build our defenses… so as long as the capital holds and the invaders don’t launch a surprise assault,” Zan said.

“Our assessment, exactly. This could change, but with the capital holding firm and the enemy remaining focused on the capital, Sigma-Prime and myself believe we have tactical space. With movement further south now free, unexpected as it would appear, we should take advantage. Gaining allies south while searching for a translation expert should not be the priority,” Simulacrum said.

Once again, Zan agreed with everything the Wardens said. Their logic remained sound. With no counter-strategy of his own, Zan saw no reason against leaving their large, but empty, strategically unimportant, backwater region.

“Sounds good, you guys, sounds good. Where should be our first visit? Where do you think will be the rallying point for local forces?” Zan asked, and as he did so, thought a little dumb. He was the one who lived his whole life in this part of the world. I was a village kid… not like I knew anything about the world beyond the tri-village area…

“Here, or there,” the Screen Master said. “We haven’t been able to identify large-scale troop movements. However, if your countrymen are moving during nighttime, our sensors could not pick them up even with the Slipstream re-boundary and echo-location in play. Either cities, however, should lend you an ear to the right direction.”

Taking mental notes of everything, Zan became overwhelmed and said, “This is all getting too much to keep track of… do you guys have a map?”

“Yes. We will provide navigational help. We will also provide a map for you at a later date once we restore our manufactory capabilities,” the Screen Master said.

“Cool… I guess we will be fine,” Zan said, worried about getting lost out there in the big and wide world.

“You will be fine, Zan. Anytime you need help, ping the command center and we will provide aid if possible. You must learn to rely on us.”

“Yeah. You’re right. It’s been a weird few days. For so long, I’ve been a follower. Now I’m a leader… the war, Luxley… gods, its all so much,” Zan said, mostly to himself.

“We understand. But in time, you will learn, Zan, that having teammates you can rely on is the ultimate power.”

Nodding along to everything the Wardens told, Zan asked about the preparations they should bring. To which, the Wardens said, “Rest well. Then report to the war room with Jiehong. Make sure he is recovered from his night out.”

Zan spent the rest of the day in repose.

He pretended to read whatever was lying around, talked in pieces with the villagers, only to seem polite and take an interest in their lives under pressure, but he mostly meditated on the carnage. Even if the violence, so far, mostly directed itself to the enemy.

As the sun set, Zan wondered where Luxley had gone off to. An extra lesson? That should have been done hours ago, Zan thought.

Interrupting his musings regarding his new friend, the old friend returned.

“Jiehong. Feeling better?” Zan asked.

“Much. Ugh, I am going to need some good sleep. Any luck finding the translator?”

“Nah., I haven’t given up hope, though. We have a new direction. We go south and we liberate!”