Together, Terra and I move through the nighttide of the wintry park toward Bethesda Terrace. There I shall begin placing new nodes for the first time since I arrived. The walk is quiet, I can tell Terra’s mind is messy, so I am going to try to wait patiently for her to either say nothing or confess her mind.

Upon arriving at the Terrace, I move to the side of Node 1, face northward, and prepare to count my paces as I did in the past. My plan for three of my four nodes is simple; I want to bring as much of the Lake into my Domain as possible. That way, I can commence leeching haze from the beasts that prowl its depths. In my opinion, the beasts are both the easiest and least problematic Essence that’s accessible to me at this time. {I am going to be placing more node trees tonight. Thy company is very much welcome, of course.}

Terra nods.

I count my steps until I reach the very edge of the Lake and upon a leafless willow tree. Optimally, I would place my nodes at the maximum of two hundred feet apart, but I am hoping to set my next node at the end of a spit of land on the opposite bank of the Lake. If that is what I want to do, then this willow tree is the nearest tree to the spit.

Since Earl and I seem to be more in tune since our last conversation, a purple wall appears before I must even ask.

Earl Interface:

Tree Type: Black Willow.

Distance from Node 1 is 160.0 feet.

Establish Node 5?

[Yes]       [No]

I pull the zipper that runs across the palm of my glove and then hold my hand toward the willow tree. ‘Aye, let’s make this into a node.’

A spark floats away from my glove, dances between the willow’s drooping branches, and then sinks into the black bark. When it makes contact, veins of various colors pulsate with haze. The outer bark creaks open, revealing more veins in the pulpy interior of the tree as wisps of black haze flow outward. With a woody clank, the bark clamps shut.

{So this will be another glass tree?} I hear Terra ask.

{Aye, I presume it will, but in all honesty, I am not certain if these shall be different or not.} I stare at the willow tree. Memories of Roanoke and that day surface from the depths of my mind. Pausing, I glance at Terra and choose my next words cautiously before asking, {Didst thou begin seizing control of thy organization? Doth ‘whacked’ mean...}

{...I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it.} Running her fingers through her silver hair with one hand and pulling a familiar veil from a bag at her side with the other, she continues, {I really didn’t want to make you complicit if it wasn’t necessary.}

{Again, I do appreciate thy concern, but I also do not require thy protection from such things.}

Placing the veil over her face, her cloth sewn to her face is hidden along with her silver eye. {It’s just you’re… you’re a good person, and I really don’t want to ruin that. I’ve already noticed you acting a bit differently since everyone started coming to the park…. I mean, it’s good that you’re embracing your role as the Fairy and a knight, but...} She bites her lip, thinking for a moment before taking a breath and continuing, {...I just don’t want to turn you, Constance, into someone else. It’s inevitable that we’ll all change, but I’d like to mitigate it for as long as possible.}

Looking over, I see Terra staring at the ground and combing a lock of hair behind her ear. {Thou knowest that I have done things in the past that many would deem ‘bad’ ...or perhaps even ‘evil.’} Her green eyes turn upward, waiting for me to continue. {Though I have never killed anyone with intent, I am not ignorant to the fact that some would still call me evil in spite of me not fully comprehending what was happening.}

{What do you mean, ‘with intent?’ I thought you said you had never killed anyone before?}

I gesture for her to follow and walk toward what I have learned is called Bow Bridge. {It still all seems like a dream. All of it was so alien that I believe I shall always hesitate to say ‘I killed,’ but others would not hesitate to place the blame upon me …Forgive me; I do not wish to speak of that right now.}

{That’s okay, I understand.} She sighs. {But it sounds to me like whatever happened was just an accident, so I’m not sure it’s quite the same as doing something with intent.}

{Perhaps, but opinions on notions such as ‘intent’ and blame tend to differ.} Walking side by side in snow that reflects a blue hue, we pass by the angel fountain on Bethesda Terrace. I glance up at the sources of this hue, finding the shimmering figure of the Tower. The Tower is beautiful; its purpose and intent are anything but. {...Yet that was merely an example of one of the worst things I might be culpable for. Even without it, most would still believe me bad, and some would believe me evil. It did not stop there.}

As we walk across Bow Bridge and our feet echo against the wood, we look over to see the shadows of fish beneath the ice. Hurrying across, we make it to the other sides. Without a word, we grab some branches and begin shoving them between the railing, blocking the path and closing off the bridge.

While I write a note on sticky paper, Terra says, {I don’t really understand what you meant. What did “not stop there?”}

I remove the note and stick it to the branches just as a vast shadow swims below the bridge. {Though I lived a life rarely owning anything, I still had debts and basic needs. Those debts were seldom paid by me. Instead, I passed my debts unto others.} We resume our walk to the next node location. {Stealing bread from a beggar, using sleight of hand to relieve people of their coin, pilfering firewood in the winter, and since the only illness I ever had was my haze, I often stalked heavily diseased areas, stealing from the forlorn dead. Which, amongst several other things, helped contribute to my interest in medicine.}

{That’s all things you didn’t want to do, though. It’s just what you needed to do. It’s different from what I did, what I’m going to have to keep doing.}

{That’s not the point. The point is, few would call me a ‘good person.’ Despite not being what people would think is a ‘good person,’ I still like to laugh, I still like to be silly, and I still like to learn new things because that’s who I am. So aye, I may not be what most people would call a ‘good person’ and...} There’s a flash and a rumble as a bomb explodes in the distance. I gesture in the direction of the explosion and continue, {...And bad things were always happening around me, but why did that mean I had to give up the things I liked? Things I liked about myself? I had given enough, they had taken enough, so why let them take that from me too?}

{And I like that you’re like that too, that’s why I didn’t want to make you complicit, but whether they be good or bad, experiences change everyone. Those things still chip away at you, even if you aren’t personally aware it’s happening.}

{Nay, I would disagree.} We turn onto a dirt path toward a point of land that is closer to the Node I just planted. {I personally believe experiences just add to the foundation that’s already there. Though the foundation may become obscured over time, the experiences merely sit atop it, and in the same way they can be added, they can be removed. That said, I will concede that removing is much more difficult and arduous than adding.}

We walk in silence for a time while Terra thinks, and I scrutinize the trees for one that may suit my purposes.

Spotting one tree that seems different from the others around it, I approach, and a purple wall appears.

Earl Interface:

Tree Type: White Mulberry.

Distance from Node 5 is 191.2 feet.

Establish Node 6?

[Yes]       [No]

Peering out over the frozen lake, I see the black willow tree on the opposite bank. My eyes drift to the Bow Bridge that we just crossed, and I nod. I raise my hand. ‘Aye, Earl, I believe this spot shall suffice.’

The many branches of the mulberry creak as the spark enter and the veins spread. The lights reflect on Terra’s red face as a thought crosses my mind. {I think I should apologize.}

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She tilts her head, still partly lost in her own thoughts.

{Our discussion.} I rub the back of my neck. {I did not intend to move it in the direction I did. It was not at all comforting like I intended it to be.}

A small smirk appears at the corner of her red lips. {You were trying to comfort me? I thought you were just trying to distract me with a philosophical debate.}

{...Nay, I apologize. I have more experience with mitigating anger than alleviating sadness. I believe I meant to circle things back to, ‘Do not let others decide if thou art ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and do not allow bad experiences to obscure thyself.’ Then I would ask, ‘Art thou fine’ and ‘Is there anything I may do to make it better.’} I raise the brown bag with the sandwich I am still carrying and hold it out to her. {Before inquiring if thou wast hungry and desired my sandwich. There may have been more in between, but this is as much as I had prepared.}

Blinking, she stares at the ground and then… laughs. All she can do is laugh as I stand there with my arm extended and the wind gently pushes against the bag.

{...Is it the sandwich or me that thou art laughing at because both of us are starting to feel awkwardly pained?}

She laughs for another moment before finally answering, “It’s you clearly. You’re just so innocently facetious sometimes, and it does make me feel better.” Wiping away a tear, her gaze drifts toward the bag. “And, if you really don’t mind, I’ll take the sandwich. I haven’t eaten in over a day now, I think.”

I hold the bag closer. {Go ahead, have at it... I guess.}

Taking the bag in hand, she smiles at me. “Thank you.” She takes a breath and then regains a serious demeanor. {While I am able to say it, how about I bring you up to speed on the syndicate?}

{Aye, I would like that.}

While we walk between the places I intend to place new nodes, Terra explains what has occurred to me.

She starts by giving me a short summary of how the syndicate is organized. {There were two underbosses, six lieutenants, twelve street captains, forty-eight alley runners, a hundred or so movers, and then somewhere around a thousand foot soldiers in the Manhattan branch last I checked a few months back. There were associates, producers, and suppliers too, but they aren’t kept track of. The underbosses, lieutenants, street captains, and those close to them in the syndicate are who I need to be rid of to purge the Hex Church’s influence…}

After that, she moves into more recent events. {We spent a lot of time tracking a lieutenant and a street captain that are both heavily involved in the drug branch of the syndicate. These particular people had been experimenting on people with Elixir in hopes of creating new, more powerful drugs as well as an ‘injectable mana potion.’}

{Elixir!} I shout back. {Then they were probably killing people with those experiments!}

{Yeah, some of them were, and that helped make it easier, but still.} She sighs. {Anyway, an opportunity arose with this ‘End of New York’ party they were throwing. They call it a party, yet it’s really just a twenty-four hour drug binge. So Summer and another escort, named Erin, volunteered and began seducing both a lieutenant and a street captain in hopes of receiving an invitation to the affair, and they managed to get one after offering to bring enough high-purity ‘Yen cocaine’ for everyone...}

As I approach a tree to the northwest of Node 6, she pauses her explanation.

I raise my hand, and a purple wall appears.

Earl Interface:

Tree Type: Kwanzan Cherry

Distance from Node 6 is 199.8 feet.

Establish Node 7?

[Yes]       [No]

Reading the distance and type, I nod. ‘Aye, Earl.’

Terra watches the spark leave my glove, and then she continues her story, {So after Summer and Erin managed to get an invitation to the ‘End of New York’ party, I ordered them to… do as I said and, ‘get rid of them.’ The lieutenant, the street captain, and some of their closest subordinates showed as planned. Except, they didn’t fully trust Summer and Erin, and so they forced them to do the drugs first. After that, they relaxed, turned on some music, took the drugs, overdosed, and then… fell asleep.}

She pauses, shakes her head, and covers her mouth. {At first, I believed I had killed Summer and Erin too, but when Hoarse, Noah, and I went in, they were both just barely conscious. Being awakened, I guess it made them more resistant to overdosing. Hoarse and I injected them with some naloxone to cancel the fentanyl’s effects, and while we did that, I watched the others who were all snoring. ...It was like they just… fell asleep watching television. ‘They looked like dads in a sitcom,’ is what crossed my mind. These people were dying because of my direction, and such a stupid, unsympathetic thought crossed my mind.}

{I have an abundance of experience with those sorts of situations, and though I do not know what these ‘sitcoms’ are, I do not believe the thought was stupid or unsympathetic. The mind can go to odd places when facing the unfamiliar.}

{I… I guess.} She drops her hand and then wraps her arms around herself. {It was all so surreal. One by one, they stopped snoring... and it was just over.}

Things remain quiet for some time; I am unsure what to say to her. While I think we move to the last location. This one shall be to the south and away from the other three I just placed because I want to use it to bring my own vent into my Domain.

Moving to Node 3, I stand and prepare to count out my steps. {I shan’t judge thee. In my mind, thy reasoning to do this is sound. It shan’t make thou a ‘paragon,’ but from my experience, rulers and leaders never are. Besides, if the stories are anything to go by, paragons often live short, tragic lives.} I begin counting my steps and add, {And I would be quite angry with thee if thy life is cut short.}

She blows a puff of air from her nostrils. {I’m not going anywhere. ...Thank you for letting me walk with you.}

I stop at a tree at the edge of a square and raise my hand. {I do not need thy thanks; I only ask that thee stops trying to ‘protect’ me from the world and the unscrupulous. I cannot say what type of reaction or opinion I may have, yet I know I can handle it given time.}

A purple wall appears.

Earl Interface:

Tree Type: American Elm

Distance from Node 3 is 186.4 feet.

Establish Node 8?

[Yes]       [No]

I nod. ‘Aye, I thank thee, Earl. That shall be the last one for the night.’

{I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to seem as if I was selling you short or anything.}

{Do not concern thyself with it further.} Watching the various colors of haze spread through the tree bark, I continue, {...Also, just know that I believe thee art a good person, and I care naught what anyone else may have to say on the subject. Thou are willing to handle the world’s unpleasantries to save others from having to do so.}

“I’m not really sure it’s as unselfish as you’re making it sound,” she says aloud.

{Is it not? I believe the most telling thing thou ever said to me was when we talked at the noble’s castle. It was then that thou said to me that thou wast pursuing freedom from thy father, not only for thyself but to shield others. That’s not something an ordinary person does, Terra. So for what it’s worth, I know thee art a good person.}

“I’m not really sure what to say… I’m not really used to someone saying those sort of things to me...” Peering into my helmet, she says, {I really appreciate everything you’ve said, and the sentiment is mutual. Though I doubt I’ll ever be able to genuinely call myself a ‘good person,’ because a good person couldn’t or wouldn’t do what I am… and I think I’m okay with that because your opinion is the only one that matters to me. If you ever have similar thoughts or struggles, I hope you know you can come to me too.}

{...Oh.} I rub my foot in the snow, thinking. {Then I suppose this is an excellent time to tell thee that I shall be confining myself to the Tower for the next week or so. I am going to take a few more risks with the insects to help push things forward…}

Raising an eyebrow, she asks, {Is that wise?}

{It’s not something I wanted to do, so I am not going to say if it is or not. However, we do not have much time to tarry. The camps are becoming more restless, supplies thinner, and I am concerned with most of the Pilgrim’s total lack of resilience and valor. It may be harsh of me to say, but I believe many Pilgrims would crumble in the face of even minor danger. They need to be built up little by little in the Tower, then here, in the material world, they may better contribute or even act on their own.}

{Yeah. That was a small part of why we separated them out with the tokens, yet they’re still just ordinary people, for the most part, who will freeze up in a surprising or precarious situation. Still, if all goes well, I’ll be gaining control of the drug branch in the next couple of days. That’s around a sixth of the Galtry Syndicate or approximately two hundred extra people, plus equipment and resources I’ll have to work with from now on. That means I can afford to send you a fully equipped Noah, Erin, and Ruby to protect you and the camp for a while.}

{That would be very appreciated. There is one more thing… I have decided that I am going to dispatch the Fly Kiln, Mithridates.} I glance at the quiet city and say, {He was attempting to expand toward the camp in secret; clear, consistent maliciousness toward either the people or me. I am not going to attempt to speak to them beforehand or offer them clemency.} Crossing my arms, I peer at Terra. {Also. Mithridates is a baleful, dunghill, chawbacon, bugger, and I hate him.}

Shaking her head, a smile spreads across her face. {Well, I’m not sure how I’d argue against such convincing logic, but either way, I agree that they need to be removed sooner rather than later. Just let me update you before you disappear for a week.} She nods and reaches into her coat pocket. {There have been more Kiln and information from General Riddick.} Unfolding the paper, she shows me a map. {This map is for you. It’s just a printout that I marked up while I was in the medical tent, but it should help a bit.}

The two of us discuss the new developments, including major military encampments, issues in the camp, and the new Kiln that have sprouted in our vicinity. When the sun is beginning to peek over the horizon, we separate, both feeling a bit lighter than before.

Returning to Fairy’s Pantry, the days pass as I make great strides with the creatures of Fairy’s Pantry.