《Library of Rain》 Terms and Conditions Terms and Conditions The ss message screen was something that only happened to the most skilled and important of people, so why was Thirty-six looking at one right now? [Requirements met. ording to the deal made with Oru, you will now be granted the unique hidden ss: Master of the Library] [Warning: Due to being a hidden ss, you will gain no experience or levels in your hidden ss skills.] Thirty-six had no idea who Oru was and definitely couldn''t recall making any deal with them. She quickly nced over the underground pen to ensure no one had noticed her startled jump at the glowing message¡¯s appearance. Luckily, the other children were scared of her and kept their distance, huddling in groups of three or four. They were thin and malnourished, though not as much as usual; the Keepers had provided extra food for thest two weeks. Most of the children upied themselves with games or staying warm. For once, Thirty-six didn''t wish they would let her join them. She returned her attention to the glowing text; the only time she had heard of this happening to one of the other ves was a few years ago when a boy in another pen had supposedly unlocked some kind of punching ss. ording to the gossip Thirty-six had listened in on, the kid disappeared when the Keepers found out. It sounded to Thirty-six like he had been sold to the arena, where the Keepers mentioned they could go to fight and kill one another. Thirty-six feared being sold to the arena. Despite the other kids being scared of her, she was really bad at fighting. Returning to the message, she prodded in with her mind, and the message faded. iling with her mind, she tried to will it back. Instead, a new message appeared. [Name: Thirty-six Age: 10 ss: [error] Hidden ss: Master of the Library ss Skills: [error] Hidden ss Skills: Door to the Library Lend Passive Skills: Aura of the Unnatural Limited Use Skills: Terms of the Deal: uses left 1] Thirty-six double-checked to ensure that no one else could see the floating letters. Reassured, she studied the message. The first thing she learned was her age; she was ten years old. Thirty-six was pretty sure that that was old, at least for the pen. The second thing she saw was that she had a hidden ss but not a ss. She hoped this meant she could keep her ss hidden when the mean keeper next came by to scan the children. She really wanted to know what her skills did. What was a Door to the Library, and how could she use it? The message changed, lines swirling and forming into new words. [Door to the Library: To ess the Library of Oru, push your will into any door, and it will transform into a portal. Once the door closes, the portal will also close. When you''re ready to leave, you can exit through any door, and it will take you back to the same one you entered from.] Thirty-six had no idea what the words meant. What was the Library of Oru? Or a portal? The message didn¡¯t change to answer her confused thoughts this time. Maybe it was only allowed to talk about Thirty-six¡¯s information? As she thought about her information, it returned. She looked it over again and focused on her Hidden ss, hoping it would tell her more; sadly, it remained unchanged. Next, she tried thinking about Lend. The letters swirled and reformed into a new message. [Lend: You may set terms when giving another a tome from the Library of Oru. If the conditions are broken, the tome will return to the library.] Again, Thirty-six didn¡¯t understand the message, so she moved on. She next tried the passive skill Aura of the Unnatural, like before the message changed. Thirty-six couldn¡¯t hold back her delight at this; it was like she and the glowing letters were having a conversation. [Aura of the Unnatural: You give off an aura that emanates untold truths from beyond reality. All living things can sense this instinctually and will know to avoid you. This aura will provide some protection against the influence of the void.] This gave Thirty-six pause. She didn¡¯t understand everything the message said, but the middle part stood out to her; was this why the other kids avoided her? Had she always had this skill? She wanted to learn more, but the message wouldn¡¯t tell her anything. She sighed and checked thest skill. [Terms of the Deal: Gain knowledge of the deal you made with Oru.] [Do you wish to use ¡®Terms of the Deal¡¯? Uses left 1] Thirty-six cocked her head. Did this mean that using this skill would exin what was going on? She wasn¡¯t sure, but there was one way to find out; she activated the skill. Immediately after, Thirty-six slumped to the ground. She felt her mind detach from her body, which was probably good because if she could scream in pain, she would. White hotnces of pain pierced her skull as information flowed into her. Then, her mind retreated to a void. Thirty-six could see nothing, smell nothing, feel nothing. Right as she was on the brink of panicking, she heard a voice. It managed to be both rasping and smooth at the same time. ¡°So, after all your failures, youe to me hoping to gain the power to actually save your world?¡± The speaker had an amused, mocking tone. ¡°You see how futile it is now that your friends are dead and your allies have betrayed you. Kingdoms have perished, and corruption runs rampant. Now that the wars have grown in scale and frequency, right along with the ve trade that you despise so much.¡± Rasper clearly enjoyed rubbing these facts in. ¡°So tell me, little hero, what are you willing to give for the power to cause real change?¡± After a short silence, a soft voice answered with a single word. ¡°Everything¡±. Rasper bellowed withughter. ¡°Perfect, because my help will cost you everything. I will take your memory, your strength inbat, your identity, and your freedom. You will be reborn as the daughter of a ve. Once you turn ten, you will learn of this deal and why you made it. Along with that knowledge, you will also gain ess to my library, where all forbidden knowledge is held. Use the knowledge stored within to save this boring world if you can. Though I suspect you will fail and only unleash more chaos.¡± Thirty-six could hear the vicious grin in Rasper¡¯s voice. ¡°Do you ept?¡± There was another pause, this one much longer, before the second voice answered, an unrecognizable mix of emotions bleeding into the single word, ¡°Yes.¡± After thest word was spoken, Thirty-six could feel her consciousness moving through the void toward her body. Before she could regain consciousness, her mind abruptly stopped; the void around her twisted and churned. Thirty-six couldn''t feel her body, but her mind was still filled with nauseous sensations. Out of the abyss came the same quiet voice from the vision. ¡°Young future me, by now, you should know the terms of the deal. However, Oru underestimates me if he thinks he can control what information I learn in this new life. I created this knowledge packet and snuck it onto the skill Oru built to fulfill his part of the deal. It should contain everything you need. Sadly, I can only transfer information; He would easily spot any memories. Hopefully, this knowledge will give you the tools you need. Little One, I know you aren''t me. This deal will essentially cause my death so you can be born. It''s selfish of me to ask you to continue my quest, but I am selfish, so let me ask you. Please use your power to save as many people as possible. However, if you find joy in doing something else, no one will me you, me least of all, for walking a different path. This is thest you¡¯ll hear from me, so let me say good luck; go and find happiness¡±. After this brief message, information flooded Thirty-six¡¯s mind as her consciousness faded. Taking a Walk Taking a Walk It had been a few days since the messages had first appeared, and Thirty-six was still trying to process all the information she had received. There was much more information than the Keepers had ever shared with the children. Some of the information contradicted what the Keepers taught as well. One thing that caught her interest gave her a good idea of where she was. Some vers would take all the offspring of their ves and keep them in pens until they were old enough to be sent to work some kind of physical job. This usually happened around the age of ten. Keeping the children ignorant and isted was supposed to make them scared of the world and their new masters. In truth, it made some of them unstable. Thirty-six was ten years old, ording to the message. They would soon take her out of the pen. She squirmed in her lonely corner, scared of what would await her once she was sent off but excited to see the sky. She didn¡¯t have any memories of the sky, but she had gained an understanding of what it was through the memory packet past her smuggled her; if it was as beautiful as it sounded, she couldn¡¯t wait to see it. Another important thing she learned was her colors. Why was this important? Because she now knew what color the messages glowed, allowing her to give it a proper name, ¡®Mr. Purple¡¯. She had also decided that Mr. Purple was male and that he was her best friend. After all, when she asked Mr. Purple something, he answered her. He may do it the same way every time, but that didn¡¯t matter. At least he would talk to her. Thirty-six was a little disappointed that, other than the limited skills section disappearing, nothing had changed in Mr. Purples'' messages since the first day. Giving Mr. Purple a name also made Thirty-six realize how much she disliked her name. Thirty-six wasn''t a name; it was a number. And not even a cute one. She wanted a new name. However, nothing in the pen gave her much inspiration, and the knowledge she got from the skill had no emotions attached. How was she supposed to find a name that spoke to her with only dead knowledge? She put off choosing a name for herself until she found one she liked. Thirty-six snapped her attention to the door of the underground room, which was loudly unbolted. Was it time? Were they finally going to be taken outside? The door opened, and six older men and women, the Keepers, entered the underground room. Thirty-six had only seen groups this bige down here when leading a pen of children out of the room. Thirty-six¡¯s heart started pounding with excitement. It was finally time to leave this ce. Shortly after, Thirty-six was in the middle of a scared group of children as the Keepers led them up a set of stairs¡ªthree Keepers in front and three behind. The walls of the staircase, covered in a coat of cream-colored paint, were much nicer than the underground room. Thirty-six was proud that she could now name the color. After the staircase, the Keepers led them through a hallway with dark wood paneling on the walls and ceiling. It was really pretty. Thirty-six thought about changing her name to Wood. After a bit of consideration, she discarded the idea. It didn¡¯t feel right to her. They followed the Keepers through a door to a room with arge wooden tub big enough for all the children to fit in together. ¡°Strip and get in.¡± an older female keeper with a scarred face said. Her voice had no trace of warmth in it. Many of the children jumped. They all started taking the rags they called clothes off. Once the children got in the tub, whose water was ice cold, four of the younger Keepers grabbed bars of yellowish soap and began roughly washing the kids. There was more than one yelp as the rough soap pulled dirt and dead skin off a kid. When it was Thirty-six¡¯s turn, she gritted her teeth at the unpleasant sensation. The incredibly gritty soap that felt like it was trying to rip her skin right off. Really, what was in this stuff? It hurt. The only good thing about this was that the Keepers didn¡¯t seem to want to waste their time doing this either, so her cleaning was brief. After the scrubbing, the Keepers ordered them out of the tub, whose water had turned a murky ck color. They lined up and had buckets of cold water poured over their heads to wash off the soap and grimy water. Thirty-six was astonished to see her hair change from a murky gray-brown to pure ck. She really liked the color. Looking around, most children and Keepers had red or blond hair. That made hers special. She resisted the urge to hug her hair as they were led through the washroom to a small room with a tattered gray couch and splintered wooden table. One look at the table and Thirty-six was d she hadn¡¯t decided to change her name to Wood. The olddy keeper looked at the children and gave them another set of terse instructions. ¡°Wait here until wee for you. A Keeper wille for you one at a time. Don¡¯t argue¡±. And with that, they left the room, locking the doors behind them. Based on her knowledge, Thirty-six figured she and the others would be auctioned off. If she could find a way to escape before that happened, it would be easier than trying to escape her new masters. Plus, the idea of being sold hurt her pride. She gave the room a more thorough scan. There wasn¡¯t much in this room, sturdy gray walls and a tattered couch. Wall-mounted candle sticks to high up reach lit the whole ce. The children, still naked, huddled in their groups. More than a few were sniffling and shivering. All in all, not much to use for escape. Unless¡­ She walked over to the door they hade in from and tried the handle. It was locked. She tried again, this time pushing her power into it. There was a strange sensation of something moving through her body into the door. She tried the handle again. This time, it opened. Library of Oru Library of Oru As she cautiously pushed the door open, Thirty-six was greeted by a thick darkness that seemed to swallow all light. She tentatively extended her hand into it, watching as her hand disappeared from view before reemerging unscathed. If this was a portal to the Library of Oru, she could hide there where no one would find her. Then, she could find a way to escape after the auction when the doors to this room should be unlocked. Giving the room onest look around before entering, she saw Eighteen and Forty-two looking at her with wide eyes. Making a decision, she motioned to them, beckoning them to follow her. Eighteen looked uncertain for a second, but when Forty-two looked away, she did as well. Thirty-six stepped towards them, determined to convince them toe with her. Maybe if she helped them escape, they would be her friends. Before she could reach them, she heard footstepsing from outside the door the Keepers had left through. Out of time and afraid that one of the kids would tell the Keeper she could open the door, she turned around and stepped through the darkness, closing the door behind her. For five minutes after closing the door, Thirty-six couldn¡¯t take her eyes off it, afraid that it would open and the Keepers woulde to take her. The door looked different on this side. Where it was made of paneled wood on the other side, this side was made of stone and some kind of ck metal. Carved into it were creatures that Thirty-six had no knowledge of. They were all different, made of scales, ws, tentacles, and horns. Some had wings, while others had fins. Some had many eyes, while others were blind. However, All of them were trying to eat each other while they were, in turn, being eaten. This mess of limbs and teeth was carved in intricate detail from the top to the bottom of the door. The rim of the door was made of ck metal that bled into the carving to add swirling shadows to the already confusing scene. Ripping her gaze away from the mesmerizing scene, Thirty-six looked around. It only took her a moment to decide that she wouldn¡¯t be naming herself after anything she found in this ce. She stood in arge room. The floor was made of gray and ck tiles cut and fitted together in a pattern that seemed to shift and turn in impossible ways. After staring for a minute, Thirty-six realized that the floor was actually changing. The ceiling was shaped out of a glossy brown wood. As she looked at it, she thought it might be walnut. Whatever that was. It was carved in the shape of a man''s head, mouth open wider than any human could manage. Vines or tentacles poured out of the mouth like hundreds of long tongs, each tongue wrapping around a screaming person. The wall was swirling darkness. Things seemed to form in its depths: monsters, battles, twisted faces wrapped in anguish, but as soon as the images appeared, they vanished only to be reced by another. On the other side of the room was a gap in the wall that stretched from floor to ceiling. A thick ck fog started about halfway through the room and made it difficult to see what was beyond the opening. The air was cold and dry, not helping the wet Thirty-six stay warm. Hugging herself in an attempt to stay warm, she walked deeper into the library. The first thing she noticed was that the fog seemed to move so that it was always twenty feet or so away from her in any direction. By the time she got to the other end of the room, she could hardly see the door she came in from. The room beyond the gap was made of nothing but bookshelves. They were made of the same type of stone as the floor in the entry room and possessed simrly strange carvings. More strange than the shelves, though, were the books on them. No two books were alike. Some were bound in leather, others in bone, others in stone; some were wrapped in materials that Thirty-six didn''t recognize. One book was bound in white leather with luminous golden symbols on the spine. The book next to it was simply a stack of pages sewn together, blood dripping from between its pages. Another book had fingers peeking out from it as though it had been mmed shut on a hand; the fingers were still moving. One ordinary-looking book whispered to Thirty-six, promising her everything she could ever want and warning her that she would never find happiness should she ignore it. Turning away from the burning, screaming, glowing, dripping books, Thirty-six hugged herself tighter. Now, it wasn''t just because of the cold. The books were unsettling, and she felt things were watching her from the dark mist. Why had Past Her wanted ess to this ce so badly? She was only in the second room and was already wondering if she shouldn''t return to the auction house to be sold rather than stay here any longer. If I was willing to give everything for this ce, there must be something good here. I just need to keep looking. Walking through the shelves and ignoring the voices from the books in the mist, she pressed forward until she reached the opposite wall. There was no opening on this wall; instead, there was a line of twisted pedestals. Each had a book on them. The tops of the pedestals were at an angle to facilitate reading what was resting on them. Cautiously, Thirty-six walked up to one of the pedestals. A thin leather-bound book with a colorful stylized eye tattooed on the fronty atop the plinth. Of the books she had seen so far, this one was the least intimidating. The eye was even pretty. A thin chain attached the book to the pedestal, preventing anyone from taking it from its resting ce. Thirty-six curiously opened the front cover. Inside were words written in anguage she didn¡¯t understand. When she tried to read them, the words peeled off the page and flew towards her face in long strands of inky runes. She lurched away from the book but wasn''t nearly fast enough. The strands of words pierced her, sliding between her eyes and her sockets, slithering their way into the back of her skull. Knowledge began to flood into her mind. Not like when she had used the ¡°Terms of the Deal¡± skill, this was far more viting. As the words wrapped around her brain, she understood the color of truth. She understood how falsehoods bent reality and twisted whaty behind the visible world, leading to discolorations. As suddenly as it began, it was over. The words returned to the page, and the booky open innocently, inviting her to turn the page. Thirty-six backed away from the book until her back bumped into a bookshelf. What was that? Dozens of swirling lines formed in front of her, intertwining until they created a message. Mr. Purple had answered her question. [Skill Attained: Truth Sight.] [Creating ss around Truth Sight.] [Error: Truth Sight has been absorbed into Master of the Library; creation of new ss canceled.] [Truth Sight: You can now understand the truthfulness of spoken words based on their color. Read further into the Tome of Chromatic Truths to unlock more features.] Before she could process what she had just read, Mr. Purple formed another message. [WARNING: Mental corruption has risen 3%. Current mental corruption 3%] Economics Economics Thirty-six looked at the most recent message Mr. Purple had given her. [WARNING: Mental corruption has risen 3%. Current mental corruption 3%] What''s mental corruption? She didn¡¯t feel any different. She tried to asses her mental state. As far as she could tell, she was fine. No holes in her memory. No strange urges or voices in her head. Maybe it only made a difference when she reached 100%. Deciding to see what Mr. Purple could tell her, she asked him to show her her information. [Name: Thirty-six Age: 10 Mental corruption: 3% Physical corruption: 0% ss: [error] Hidden ss: Master of the Library ss Skills: [error] Hidden ss Skills: Door to the Library Lend Truth Sight Passive Skills: Aura of the Unnatural] It looked like how she would expect, except that two kinds of corruption were listed. What is Physical corruption? She didn¡¯t worry about it too much since she had none, but she would need to keep an eye on it. More importantly, she had gained a skill, ¡°Truth Sight.¡± If every book in this library gave skills to those who read them, then she understood why this library was so valuable. While the experience of learning ¡°Truth Sight¡± was unpleasant, there didn¡¯t seem to be any significant drawbacks other than the mysterious corruption. Emboldened by this, Thirty-six started exploring the library with new excitement. ¡°Truth Sight¡± might not help her escape the auction house, but one of these books surely had a skill that could help her. The problem was that none had titles that made the skills they offered obvious. Most didn¡¯t even have visible titles. As she wandered the shelves, she came to a wall with a simple door set in it. Excited to see a door that wasn¡¯t covered in strange carvings or some other unsettling thing, Thirty-six opened it and stepped through into a small bedroom. The bedroom was sparsely furnished. It had a small bed with a dark wooden chest at its foot. A coat rack stood by the door, a tattered ck cloak hanging off it. Thirty-six went straight to the coat rack and grabbed the cloak. Despite its tattered state, the cloak felt soft and smooth to the touch. Thirty-six added soft things to her list of new stuff she liked, right next to pretty colors. As she donned the cloak, it shrank to fit her. She wasn¡¯t sure if clothes were supposed to do that. Her knowledge of clothing was somewhatcking. Since it wasn''t hurting her though, she decided not to worry about it. Feeling a weight pulling down one side of her coat, she found an inner pocket with three tarnished silver coins in it. The coins had an old man''s head on one side and a shield with a horse on the other. Putting the coin back into her pocket, she opened the chest. Unfortunately, whatever had been in the trunk had long since turned to dust. Disappointed Thirty-six tried the bed. She knew what beds were from her skill, but nothing could have prepared her for howying on a real straw bed felt. She couldn¡¯t believe people got to sleep on something like this every day. It took her ten minutes to convince herself to get up and explore the library again. Leaving the room, Thirty-six decided to follow the wall to see if she could find any more doors. The only features of note, however, were the opening she came in from, the door to the bedroom, a handful of arches set into the wall with nk stone in them, and the wall of pedestals. Everything else was bookshelves, very tall bookshelves. Having mapped out the library, Thirty-six started paying more attention to the books. She couldn¡¯t read all of them because she was worried about her corruption, but maybe she could find one that could give her a skill to help her escape. The first book that caught her eye dripped shadows. She was sure that it would give her a shadow skill. Pulling the book off the shelf, she opened it and started reading. This book was gentler than thest, with no letters peeling off the page or anything simr. Instead, as she looked at the words on the page, written in a differentnguage from thest book, information on creating a dusk rose seed seeped into her mind. After reading about the dusk rose for a bit, Thirty-six paused to see if she would get a new skill. Nothing happened. Disappointed that this book didn¡¯t grant a shadow skill, she reced it on the shelf. [WARNING: Mental corruption has risen 4%. Current mental corruption 7%] Thirty-six jumped at the unexpected message from Mr. Purple. If she gained corruption, then had she gained a skill? Asking Mr. Purple to show her her information, she nced through it quickly. There was no change except for her rising corruption. That meant she had gained more corruption learning about some useless rose than from learning a skill. Fortunately, the extra corruption didn¡¯t seem to do anything, so she kept looking through the library. This time, she decided to look for a book that felt right, not just one that looked like it might give her a skill she wanted. After an hour of searching, she decided to try a clear book that had different coins suspended in it. The silver in her pocket seemed drawn to the tome. Opening it, she realized she had no idea how to read a clear book. There were no visible words. She could only see the coins suspended in the clear pages. This first page held the cross-section of a gold coin with a bit of the coin on the cover and the rest suspended in the future pages. Focusing on this cross-section, Thirty-six found that the inside of the coin had a swirling pattern that conveyed a subtle meaning as she concentrated. She began flipping through the pages, getting a little more with each cross-section. The coins told of the power of wealth and how it could open doors. The more a coin is worth, the more doors it could open. They instructed on how one should im wealth for one''s own. It went on like this for a while, but as she neared the end, the tone of the book changed. It went from praising wealth to aplex theory of how, due to the value humans ce on money, coins gain a spiritual weight that leaves an indent on reality. The book ended on that odd note. Thirty-six tried to put the book back but found she couldn''t stop thinking about it. She was missing something. Opening the book up again, she restarted from the beginning. This time, she realized that the part of the book that aggrandized iming wealth, when read with the knowledge from the end of the book, became instructions on how to forge a bond with a coin. She tried forming a connection with one of her silver coins. After a few tries, she felt the coin in her mind; it was a faint presence. She couldn¡¯t tell where it was or how far, just that it existed. Excited by her sess, she read through the book a third time, and this time it clicked. The book had always been speaking of the metaphysical. The doors opened were doors in reality that could be opened at the indent coins created in reality. If one had a connection to the coin and knew how they could slip through space to the location of the coin. As Thirty-six came to this conclusion, Mr. Purple created a message. [Skill Attained: Path of Wealth.] [Creating ss around Path of Wealth.] [Error: Path of Wealth has been absorbed into Master of the Library; creation of new ss canceled.] [Path of Wealth: You may connect to two coins and teleport to their locations at any time. The value of the coin will determine how many uses it has. Once all of a coin¡¯s uses are spent, the coin will be destroyed. You may increase the number of coins you may connect to through practice.] [WARNING: Mental corruption has risen 12%. Current mental corruption 19%] This time, Thirty-six knew something was wrong. Buying Out Buying Out Immediately after Thirty-six put the book down, she felt something on her arm. Looking down, she saw a bulge under the skin of her forearm. The lump started moving. Thirty-six could feel the thing crawling under her skin up towards her shoulder. She yelped and tried to hit the bulge, but it started moving erratically as though it could see her actions. As she tried to crush the thing under her skin, she felt another tug, this time on her leg. Then she felt another and another. Soon, she had half a dozen things crawling around under her skin. Sometimes, they would send a sharp sting through her as they bit her beneath the skin. Thirty-six fought valiantly to get rid of the things under her skin. Their movements made her feel unclean. She wished she could peel her skin off just to get rid of the invaders viting her. She began to draw blood as she scratched at her skin in desperation. Realizing that she was losing control, she copsed to the ground. Curling up in a ball on the floor next to the dropped coin book, Thirty-six quietly whimpered. Her mind swirled with fear and pain. Thirty-six wasn¡¯t sure how long shey there, but eventually, the terror began to fade, and she forced herself to think through the disgusting feelings. Where did these thingse from? How did they get inside me? She hadn¡¯t seen any living thing in the library. They only started attacking me after I read the book. After my mental corruption rose. Thirty-six looked at the bulges under her skin. Was this all in her head? How could she tell? If it was in her head, then was it any less real? Trying onest time to crush one of the things tormenting her, Thirty-six made herself uncurl and sit up. Closing her eyes, she wiped away her tears and started breathing slowly. Forcing herself to calm down, she felt her heart rate slow back to normal. The sensation of the things was still there, sending the asionalnce of pain through her and leaving her feeling unclean, but Thirty-six was in control of herself. Gingerly picking up the coin book from the corner, she returned it to the shelf. Heading back to the room, Thirty-six kept her head down, trying not to so much as look at the books lest she raise her corruption. Making it back to the room, she fell into the bed and drifted off into a dreamless sleep. After waking, Thirty-six decided that what she had would have to be enough. She didn¡¯t dare risk raising her corruption any further. After working her way back through the library, a feat made harder because the flooryout seemed to change slightly, she found her way back to the entry room. Thirty-six checked that she had all three of her coins, two of which were bound with ¡°Path of Wealth.¡± She held one of her bound coins in her hand and cracked the door open. She could see through to the room the keepers had made the children wait in. It was empty, and the candles on the walls were unlit. The only light came from under the other set of doors. Slipping out of the library, she gently closed the door behind her, ending the connection and returning it to a normal door once again. Slipping across the room, she pressed her ear to the doors to see if she could hear anything from the other side. It was all quiet. She tried to open the door, but it was still locked. Time to test out my new skill. Taking her silver coin, she knelt on the carpeted floor and slid the coin under the door. She was trying to get the coin to just make it to the other side but put too much force into it and sent the coin sliding until it hit something on the other side. Thirty-six winced. Holding her breath, she waited a few seconds to hear if anyone was on the other side of the door, but there were no exmations indicating that someone had seen or heard the coin. Thirty-six reached out with her mind. She could feel two coins; one was to the coin in her coat pocket the other led somewhere else. She couldn¡¯t so much as tell what direction it led, only that she could go to it. Concentrating on this second coin, she felt her way to the indent of importance it made and connected herself to that ce. The world copsed in on itself, then expanded again, and Thirty-six was standing in a short carpeted hallway above a silver coin. The other end of the hallway opened up to a stage. Thirty-six could see a simr hallway on the other side of the stage with another door at its end. The stage itself had posts of all different shapes and sizes with iron rings to facilitate tying people up. Most were toorge for children. The walls of the hallway obscured her view of the room the stage looked out on for now. But there wasn¡¯t any sound, and the lights were very dim. If Thirty-six hadn''t lived most of her life in the dark, she might not have been able to see very clearly. Thirty-six had expected to feel more disorientated or nauseous after moving through reality like that. But in truth, she felt great. She had even enjoyed the sensation. Picking up her coin and refusing to swat at the lump on her leg, mocking her, Thirty-six, snuck to the edge of the hallway and peeked out into the room. The room had a dozen or so fancy tables with soft-looking chairs around them. There was a pair of double doors on the far side and two doors on each side close to the stage. The double doors looked like a good ce to start looking for an exit. Thirty-six scampered over to them, taking a moment to try out one of the fancy chairs. It felt amazing, even better than her new bed. Thirty-six seriously considered trying to take one of these chairs with her; unfortunately, they were too bulky to sneak around with. So, with a soul-wrenching effort, she left it behind as she went to the doors. Listening at the door for a moment, Thirty-six heard nothing, so she got on her knees to slide her coin under. ¡°...found the kid yet?¡± A faint voice drifted under the door. Thirty-six looked around to make sure that the voice truly wasing from under the door. ¡°Stopining,¡± a second voice answered. The voices were getting stronger. ¡°The kid can¡¯t hide forever. She¡¯lle out looking for food soon. As long as we watch the entrances, she can¡¯t escape.¡± ¡°How did they even let her get loose in the first ce?¡± ¡°Dunno. All Uty would say is that the girl is creepy as sin, and she wouldn¡¯t put anything past the freak.¡± ¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t creepy the first thing in the description they gave us?¡± There was a defiant note of amusement at this. ¡°Yea. Creepy little girl with ck hair, green eyes and freckles. I thought it was funny that they emphasized that she was creepy rather than her rare hair color. It makes ya wonder what¡¯s wrong with her.¡± ¡°Maybe she has that ''I''m gunna kill you'' look the girls at the tavern give me.¡± ¡°You deserve those looks.¡± The men continued to banter and theorize about why Thirty-six was creepy as their voices faded away in the other direction. Thirty-six forced herself to listen to it all in case they gave any other helpful information on how she could escape. The happiness from trying out the fancy chair faded as they spoke. Onement in particr kept ying in her mind. ¡®Makes ya wonder what¡¯s wrong with her.¡¯ Those words hurt more than Thirty-six wanted to admit. She felt broken, her value less than everyone else. Maybe if she wasn¡¯t so creepy, the others would have yed with her or at least let her join their conversations. Thirty-six took a deep breath, letting the bad emotions leave with her exhale. She needed to focus on escape. It sounded like the ground floor was being patrolled, and the exits watched. So, it was time to leave in a way they wouldn¡¯t expect. It was time to find some stairs. Heading back to the stage, she tried the door on the opposite side from where she came in. It was unlocked. Heading through Thirty-six found herself in arge, mostly empty, store room. This was probably where items for auction were normally held. The only thing of interest was the stairs heading up. Thirty-six went straight for them. Wincing as her first step caused the wooden step to creak. After that, she tried to only step on the sides of the stairs close to the wall where the creaking was weakest. Thirty-six managed to take the stairs up three flights without running into anyone. Thest flight was significantly narrower, as though they didn¡¯t intend to take much traffic. At its end was a thick oak door. Gingerly trying to open it, she found it locked. She slid her coin under so it would barely reach the other side of the door. The coin made a soft rasping sound as it slid across the wooden floor. After listening for a moment, she warped to the coin. The room she ended up in was dark. The dim light from under the door was barely enough to dimly illuminate piles of things stacked against the round walls. The room smelled slightly dusty. This must be an attic storeroom. The thing that stood out to Thirty-six the most, though, was the sound. A muffled pattering sound; it calmed Thirty-six, even through the tension of trying to escape this ce unnoticed. She tried to look for the sound but couldn''t see anything that could be the cause. Walking deeper into the room, Thirty-six found what she was looking for: window shutters covering up a window and keeping out the weather. The soothing sound wasing from the other side. Fumbling a bit in the dark, she finally managed to utch the shutters and opened the window. For a moment, Thirty-six forgot to breathe. She knew what the sky looked like, but seeing it herself for the first time was an experience she doubted she would ever forget. The sky was mostly covered by dark silver clouds, asionally illuminated by the light of several moons casting beams of silver down on the dark city below. However, the most captivating sight was the rain - countless water droplets falling freely yet surrounded by their own. Thirty-six wanted to be just like them, a part of something greater than herself and surrounded by family. In that moment, Thirty-six found a name that she felt fit her. [Name: Rain Age: 10 Mental corruption:... Lay of the Land Lay of the Land Rain turned her eyes away from the silvery sky and towards the darkened city. She was a few stories up, high enough to see a good chunk of the surrounding city. Only a few buildings were lit at this time of night; the rest were only jagged silhouettes made of sharp spires and vicious angles. The view of the street below was obstructed from Rain¡¯s view by the roof of the building below her. Still, she had been looking for a window, and this would work. Taking her coin, she threw it past the roofing beneath her and into the unseen street below. Looking around the room, Rain briefly thought about searching through the items. Maybe she could find something to take as a trophy or leave something as a prank. Her eagerness to be free stopped her; instead, she mentally grasped the coin she had just thrown and warped to it. Appearing in a dark street, Rain bent over to pick up her coin. Before she could grab it, the coin began convulsing and writhing. Large bubbles formed and shrank as the coin grew to three times its size, churning in on itself. Then, without any indication of why, the coin shrank down to nothing, leaving a crater carved out of the cobbled street where it had been. Rain backed away from the divot that was slowly filling with rain. She could no longer feel the coin in her mind. Thinking back to the skill, she remembered it mentioned that each coin would have a limited number of uses. It seemed her silver coins could be used three times. With nothing left here for her, Rain took onest look at therge auction house that had been her home for thest ten years of her life. Grateful for her freedom, she turned and ran through the rain to her new future. The next day was full of new experiences and a constant sense of Deja Vu. While Rain had never experienced anything outside her pen, she had enormous amounts of knowledge from the information packet her past self had snuck into her ¡°terms¡± skill. Because of this, her day felt like she was cementing her knowledge into personal experience and making it truly her own. After escaping, Rain ran through the rain until she found arge market square. Out of breath and entranced by the sky, she had rested against a wall to stare into the rain. Not long after, the sky lit up, and a warm light peeked over the rooftops. With the sun, the city came to life, a bustling and noisy ce full of people amongst whom Rain may one day find a family. Needless to say, Rain added sunrises to her list of favorite things just below the rain and soft beds. With daylight, she could better see the city and people around her. Most people had grim faces; they were the kind of faces people made when things were hard and hope was thin. Their clothes didn¡¯t help the gloomy atmosphere. They were all grays and browns, sturdy but drab. Rain was disappointed that their red and blond hair was the only color they really had. Most of the clothes were a bit loose, like they were missing ayer underneath, and despite the different styles, everyone had a scarf and pair of goggles around their neck. The city was as monochrome as the people. Most buildings were made out of smooth ck stone with flowing patterns. The roofs were tall and sharply pointed. They all had at least one sharp spire or twisting tower, whether they were shops, homes, or any other building. Despite there not being a tuft of smoke or fire in sight, the streets and roofs were stained in gray ash. There were piles of the stuff against the walls or in the middle of open spaces. A few men were already using shovels and a cart to haul it away. In the near distance, Rain could see a cliff with bigger, nicer buildings looking down on the area she was in. Deciding to search the area, Rain started wandering the rigidly straight streets. As Rain entered a seven-way intersection with arge open square, she found a group of ying children, watched over by an older man and middle-aged woman wielding crossbows. The children were ying a game with an inted dder of some kind. Rain couldn¡¯t understand the rules, but they looked like they were having fun kicking the ball around andughing. When Rain approached them, hoping they would let her join, they shied away from her just like the children from the pen. A small girl with red hair and freckles even started crying at Rain''s approach. Immediately, the woman pointed her crossbow at Rain and called out. ¡°Get lost, kid. Yer not wanted here.¡± Rain froze in fear and shock. All she had wanted was to y with the others. How had things gotten so bad so fast? They had just met, and these people already seemed to hate her. To make things worse, Rain could see that the woman was telling the truth by the cloud of vibrant colors that plumed from her mouth as she spoke. ¡°I said get lost,¡± the woman snarled, firing her crossbow at the wall next to Rain. Rain jumped, breaking out of her shock; she ran away as fast as her legs could carry her. A simr scene yed out multiple times, with children being scared of her and adults being distrustful. Rain could tell from people''s reactions that her ¡°Aura of the Unnatural¡± skill lost potency on people as they aged. Rather than fear, they seemed to find her creepy and untrustworthy. Despite people''s distrust in her, Rain had managed to wheedle some basic information from street vendors. She had tried entering a few stores but been promptly thrown out due to her tattered cloak and filthy shoeless feet. She had learned that they were in Tineak, the capital of the Crescent Archipgo. More specifically, they were in the Low Ring. The city had four rings, the Crown Ring at the top of the mountain with a pit of fire and molten rock at its center. Around it was the Mid Ring, then the Low Ring. Finally, at the bottom was the Dead Ring, named thus because no one lived there anymore. Knowing she was in the Crescent Archipgo helped exin why she didn¡¯t know manymon things here. Her information was mostly about ces on the maind. Through her other conversations and observations, she found that the local currency was different from what her information told her. The two coins in her pocket were not from the Crescent Archipgo. The mostmon coins here had holes in the middle, allowing them to be strung around a person''s neck. The coins were also pretty small, about as wide as a person''s thumb. The least valuable coins were made of copper. Most people called them opps. It took about three opps to buy a small loaf of bread. Rain wasn¡¯t sure if opps had enough value for her ¡°Path of Welth¡± skill to work on them. Then there were the silver coins, vers. Ten opps made a ver. Lastly, gold coins olds; ten vers to an old. Listening in on conversations in the street, Rain also got an idea of how some inds were doing. More than a few people talked about how Estom Ind had beenbeled a lost ind because of a gue. This was the third different gue to break out in thest eight years. At nightfall, Rain learned a valuable lesson. Three men cornered Rain in a deserted side street; when she tried to run, one of them punched her in the stomach, knocking the air from her lungs and making her fall to the ground. While she tried to pull air into her lungs, the men began to tie her up. The moment she felt the rope tighten around one of her wrists, Rain panicked and warped to the coin she had thrown into a pile of ash in case of emergency, taking the rope with her. After her misadventure, Rain realized that this was why she had seen so few beggars or street urchins in Tineak. Anyone who no one would miss likely disappeared. It also helped exin why at least one armed person was always watching wherever children yed. Shaken enough for one day, Rain used a random door to enter her library. The dark mist and strange whispers didn¡¯t even bother her as she found her way back to the room and fell asleep on the straw mattress. Making Friends Making Friends When Rain woke, it took her a while to get out of bed. The way yesterday had ended left her in a sour mood. Eventually, she got herself motivated by thinking about the things she needed to do. She needed to gain more information on the state of things. How was the ve trade so brazen? Why was the capital city so depopted it had an entire ring abandoned? Why hadmunication with the maind stopped? Who were the important yers? Rain¡¯s stomach growled. Thest time she had eaten was a day and a half ago. Before she could do anything, she needed to find food. Swinging her feet out of bed, she sat up. Looking down at herself, Rain realized that her cloak was in better condition than she remembered. Its holes were much smaller, and its sleeves and bottom were far less ripped and jagged. Rain rubbed it between two fingers; if anything, it felt softer than when she first found it. She wasn¡¯t sure what was happening with the strange cloak, but she was happy about it. The cloak was the first thing she had ever owned, and she was fond of it. Seeing it fix itself was like seeing a friend get better after a sickness; at least, that''s how Rain imagined it felt. She had never had a friend besides Mr. Purple, and he couldn¡¯t get sick. Rain made her way out of the library. Whenever she passed a book that talked, whispered, or screamed, she would wish them a good morning. She figured that if they could talk, they might answer her. She was only slightly disappointed that none of them seemed to understand her. The sky outside was overcast and gray, leaving the dark stone and timber city below in a gloomy atmosphere. Rain headed towards arger market square that she had liked. Today, she was much more aware of her surroundings than yesterday. She wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to jump her again. When Rain arrived at the square, she found it far more crowded than expected. In the center was a stage that hadn''t been there before. Standing on it was a man in borate gold and green robes. ¡°These troubles that gue the archipgo will not abate until you repent and show your faith by bringing tithes to Agro¡¯s temple!¡± Rain was taken aback by the ck pitch of the man''s words. The only true thing he said was the name of his god. ¡°Agro loves the people of the Isles butcks the power to help us! If the people of this city gave their faith to him with their tithes, he would be able to bring safety to us all!¡± More inky darkness poured from the man''s lips as he spoke. By this point, Rain was sure that this Argo fellow didn¡¯t care at all for these people and just wanted their money. The crowd, however, were muttering. Things were bad and only getting worse. Rain guessed that more than a few would give their money, hoping it might improve things. Poor Fools. Turning away from the liar, Rain pushed through the crowd toward where vendors had been selling food yesterday. Eventually, she made it to a cart she had been eyeing yesterday. Behind it was arge man selling meat skewers. A sign beside the cart stated a price of 4 opps a skewer. Walking in front of the cart, Rain reached up to ce one of her coins on the cart. ¡°I¡¯d like two, please.¡± Rain said as confidently as she could. Hopefully, the man would ept her coin as a ver. It¡¯srger than a ver, so I should be fine, right? The man looked down at her and then at the coin she had deposited on his cart. ¡°Where in Arkit did you steal this from kid?¡± the man asked. ¡°What do you think would happen if I called the guards?¡± The man reached for the coin with a gleam in his eye that made Rain uneasy. Trusting her instincts, she snatched away the coin before the man could grab it and bolted away. She heard the man shouting behind her but quickly got lost in the crowd. Despite feeling that she had escaped, she didn¡¯t stop running. She would try to get food again somewhere else. Rain pelted straight into a young boy as she slid around a corner, knocking them both off their feet. Scrambling back up, Rain rushed over to the boy. ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked, anxiously shifting from foot to foot. The boy looked up at her ruefully. ¡°Yeah. Help me up?¡± he asked, sticking out a hand. Rain blinked. Did he just answer me and offer to let me touch him? Rain grasped his hand and pulled him up, walking around him to check for injuries. His brown pants were a little dirty, but he seemed fine. The boy had brown hair and a white flower-coated apron. He looked to be around her age. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I¡¯m so sorry, I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Rain kept repeating. This was the first person who didn¡¯t seem to hate her on sight. Would he be mad at her now because she knocked him down? The boy justughed. ¡°It''s ok. I''ve had to run from bullies before, too. Do you need a ce to hide?¡± The boy''s eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief. ¡°I¡­¡± Rain looked behind her. There was no hint of someone following her. ¡°No, I think I¡¯m okay,¡± she said tentatively. Should I do it? There was something Rain really wanted to do, but she had never done it before. What if she did it wrong? What if heughed at her? Hesitating only for a moment, she clenched her hands and pushed onward. ¡°My name is Rain, what''s yours?¡± there she did it! She introduced herself using the name she chose. It had been a little stiff, but she did it! How would he respond? He wouldn¡¯tugh or suddenly decide she was creepy, right? ¡°I''m Lon.¡± the boy said with a cheerful smile. Sess! Rain was bouncing up and down with joy, unaware of her actions. Did this count as making a friend? Did this mean she could ask him to y the game with the inted dder with her? Or maybe the game with the pebbles that the kids in the pen used to y. Was there another game he could teach her about? A loud growling came from her stomach before she could ask any of these things, reminding her that she hadn''t eaten in a while. Lon looked at her. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Rain slumped in disappointment. Why? This had been her big chance to y with her first friend. Why had her stupid hunger ruined it? ¡°Wait here for one second,¡± Lon said before ducking into a side entrance to the bakery they were standing by. Before Rain could wonder what was happening, Lon had reappeared holding a small loaf of bread with a burnt end. ¡°Sorry that it''s burnt. I''m still learning.¡± Lon said sadly. ¡°Pa keeps yelling at me for being a bad baker. Says I''m a worthless apprentice.¡± At this point, Lon finally realized that Rain had already eaten most of the loaf, burnt crust and all. ¡°Oh,¡± he said in a small voice, ¡°I guess you were more hungry than I thought. I would give you more, but Pa will get mad at me if I give away good bread.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t he get mad at you for giving me that loaf then?¡± Rain asked, eyes widening. ¡°Here,¡± she said, offering him one of her coins. Lon took the coin and looked at it. ¡°What is this? I''ve never seen a coin like this. It''s so big, and there''s no hole in the middle; how are you supposed to put it on your string?¡± Rain had no idea how to answer any of his questions. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I found it a couple days ago. It''s the only money I have.¡± Lon took onest look at it and handed it back. ¡°This might belong to someone important. If they find it and think I stole it, my whole family could get in trouble. Don''t worry about the bread. Pa would have had me throw it out anyway.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Rain answered; mustering up her courage, she decided to ask him to y with her again. ¡°Do you want to,¡± before she could finish her question, a voice bellowed from out of the bakery. ¡°Boy. Get your ass in here!¡± Lon jumped and rushed toward the door. Rain was not going to let this chance pass her by. ¡°Can Ie talk to you tomorrow?¡± she blurted out before he could disappear. ¡°Sure,¡± he called as he disappeared into the bakery. Rain could have jumped for joy. She had done it. She had made a friend, and tomorrow, she would ask him to y with her. Maybe she should spy on the children ying from yesterday; that way, she could impress Lon with how well she knew the rules. Thinking about all the fun things she would do tomorrow, Rain skipped away, d she had decided to get up this morning. Temple Watching Temple Watching Rain was excited to see Lon tomorrow, but she wanted to be able to buy his bread next time. How could she expect to be his equal if she only ever took from him? Since the coins she had seemed dangerous to spend, she would need a way to change them for local currency. Fortunately, the events of the morning had given her an idea. Slipping through the streets, Rain avoided guards whenever she saw them. Guards who let things get as bad as they were in this city should not be trusted. Though she had to admit the blue uniforms and bronze helmets they wore made a nice ssh of color. As she entered the Mid Ring, the city around her got cleaner, and the buildings became nicer. The stones were smoother, and the signs above shops were more borate. Eventually, Rain found the building she was looking for, a tall cathedral made of a white stoneced with vivid green veins. The stone was bright and sharply contrasted with the usual dark stone of the city. The building had a massive dome in the center with six wings of unequal lengths protruding at unequal intervals around it. The architecture of the Temple of Agro was smooth and flowing, making it stand out next to the jagged buildings around it. Rain took a breath to settle her nerves and went over her story in her head again. Hopefully, the things she knew from ¡°terms¡± were still valid, or this might end poorly. Comforted by the knowledge that if her n failed, she could always warp to the coin she had hidden in a bush two streets back. Rain entered through the temple¡¯s front doors. As Rain entered, she saw two men dressed in green and gold holding spears standing sentry at the entrance. Despite her slightly ragged cloak, they did not react much besides giving her a disapproving nce. No problems, yet. Rain moved deeper into the bowels of the temple, her feet making little sound on the cool stone. The floor had patterns iid in gold, and the walls had paintings of different scenes, most of which seemed to revolve around a figure with gold hair and a green robe healing people or stopping natural disasters. Rain guessed that he was the God Agros. At the end of therge wing, it opened into the area under the dome. At the center of thisrge room, right beneath a shaft of light that came directly down from the center of the dome, was a pedestal where a man, in an even fancier robe than the priest this morning, stood giving a sermon. Rain couldn¡¯t hear what he was saying, but she could see the cloud of filthy lies pouring out of his mouth. Thatforted Rain; she would have felt bad about what she was nning if she thought these people were nice. Around the pedestal were rows of seats where people could sit to listen to the sermon. They were sparsely popted with people listening or praying. Reaching the area under the dome, Rain looked around. The priest from this morning had mentioned making offerings at this temple. The question was, where? A priestess approached Rain and kindly asked, "Are you looking for something, child?" It was time for Rain to see if she could act. In a nervous tone, that was mostly real, Rain said, ¡°A priest this morning said that if we came here and made offerings, the bad things would stop. So I brought this coin that my grandmother said was very valuable.¡± Rain showed the priestess her coin. The priestess examined the coin, ¡°Interesting, this isn¡¯t a type of coin I''m familiar with from the Isles or the maind. It must be very old.¡± Looking back at Rain, she smiled and assured Rain that Agro would bless her for giving up her family heirloom, which Rain could clearly see was a lie. ¡°Follow me, child, and I¡¯ll show you to the offering box,¡± the priestess said, leading Rain to an ornate jewel-encrusted box with a slot on the top for inserting coins. Rain ced her coin into the slot and heard it tter into other coins in the box. ¡°Very good child,¡± the priestess said, cupping Rain¡¯s chin with her left hand. ¡°May Agro, the god of good fortune and protection, bless you,¡± and with that blessing, the priestess walked away. Yes! My n is working. With part one of the nplete, Rain needed to wait for the box to be emptied. Deciding that she wasn¡¯t likely to be bothered here, Rain sat in a pew with a view of the donation box. She listened to the rancid lies pouring from the fancily dressed priest as he preached about how shows of faith gave Agro the power to protect his chosen people. Two minutes in, her attention was already returning to more interesting things. This morning, when Rain had left her library, someone had tried to open the door she was using as a portal from the other side. From the man''s colorful cursing, all of which Rain had made sure to memorize, the man couldn¡¯t open the door from his side despite it being clearly open from Rain''s point of view. In the end, she had to m the portal shut on her side and run as fast as she could so the man couldn¡¯t catch her. If she was being honest, it had been pretty fun. Rain already had ns for the woman who shot the crossbow at Rain. Rain figured it would be fun to use her powers to lock the woman inside her own house as a bit of revenge. Rain was curious about how her portals worked and would need to experiment with them soon. She happily made a few ns for tests, only a few of which involved bothering people for fun. Eventually, running out of things to think about, Rain sighed. She guessed that this n would be very boring for the next few hours. Maybe she should start thinking of all the bread she could eat with what she was about to get? Someone Broke That Someone Broke That It turned out that waiting in the church was a futile idea. The priests ushered everyone out at nightfall without the money in the collections box ever being moved. On second thought, Rain should have realized that the money wouldn¡¯t be collected until the people were gone. The question was, when would it be moved? Did they do it every day or once a week? With no choice but to guess, Rain decided that a few hours before dawn was the best time to try her n. If it failed the first time, she might still be able to try again. With nothing better to do, Rain retrieved the coin she had hidden in a bush and used the back door of a closed shop to enter her library. She noticed the moment she entered the library that she could no longer feel the coin she had left in the collection box. Worried that something had happened to it, she stepped out of the library; the moment she was back in the real world, the connection reformed. She was relieved to see that the coin was alright; her n would be dead if she lost a coin. Rain stepped back into the library, and the connection disappeared again. Deciding to test her theory, she put her other coin on the ground inside the library and stepped out. The moment her head passed through the dark vale, the connection to the coin in the library vanished, and the link to the coin in the temple reappeared. Her best guess was that the library was too far away from the rest of the world for her connection to work. This made her wonder how far she could hold a connection. She would have to find a way to test that sometime. Heading back into the library for good, Rain went straight to the bed in her room. After listening to the priest all day, the screams and whispers from the books in the mist were like a soft luby. A few hourster, Rain was back out in the world in a district a few blocks away from the temple, staring up into the stars. It would be dawn in a few hours, almost time for Rain to start the riskiest part of her n. Rain asked the stars to watch over her, then, taking a calming breath, set down a coin and warped to the one she had left in the temple. This part of her n waspletely up to chance. Odds were she would end up near some corrupt priests'' money-safe or an unemptied collections box. All Rain would have to do is grab as many valuable things as possible and warp back to the coin she left in the city. What happened in reality was even better than she could have predicted. Rain found herself in a treasury. The walls were lined with chests of gold and silver. There were shelves of fine cloths and silks, piles of precious stones, and other valuable objects. Gold-covered statues with gems for eyes and fine swords were mixed in with the other treasure. Seeing where she was, Rain had to revise her ns immediately. There was no way she would just fill her pockets and leave. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. It was time to test a few things. Looking around, Rain found that arge vault door was the only way into this treasury. She wasn¡¯t sure this would count as a door. Walking over to the thick steel door, rain pulled on it, using her skill to turn it into a gate to her library. It worked. The locked vault door opened, its inside filled with murky darkness. With a grin evil enough to scare a dark god, Rain scooped up an armful of treasure and walked through the door. The library entry room was the same as always, except that the door wasrger than usual. Rain walked to the middle and deposited her loot on the floor of the room. After escaping the auction house, Rain had been thinking about how much she wished she could take one of the fancy chairs with her. That was when She realized that the library could be so much more than just a ce to keep strange books. Now, she would prove it. Thus began several long, sweaty minutes of hauling enormous amounts of wealth into her library. Gold, jewels, idols, tools, books, nothing escaped her pilfering. If she could lift it, she took it. She got a thrill of enjoyment out of stealing a disy of what looked like ceremonial objects. Once all that was left in the treasury was the heavier things, Rain had to think of the best way to steal them, too. She could leave them behind, but she had the opportunity here and now. No good ever came from passing by an opportunity. The thing she wanted most in this room was a life-sized gold statue of Agro. If she could steal it, she would have raided the temple of a god and carted away his image as a prisoner. A part of her simply couldn¡¯t resist trying such a stunt. The only problem was she couldn''t move the thing. Looking around the room to make sure that there wasn¡¯t anything else she wanted left, Rain went back to her library to retrieve arge ceremonial hammer she had taken from the treasury. Bringing back her hammer, she stood in front of the statue once more. Resting the heavy hammer head on the floor, Rain waved cheerfully at the statue. ¡°You¡¯reing with me, mister.¡± Heafting the hammer, Rain brought it down in a crushing blow at the statue''s ankle. The sound of the hammer on the statue was deafening. The blow left the ankle deformed and weakened. After a few more blows, the ankle broke, and the statue crashed to the floor. Chips of the stone floor flew up from the heavy impact. Rain rushed over to the head of the statue and started beating on it with her hammer, deforming the side of its face and slowly breaking it off at the neck. Fortunately, the statue was hollow, or there was no way she could have ever broken it. Before she could get the head off, Rain heard a voice from outside. ¡°Something''s in the treasury, get the guards and ensure no one leaves the temple!¡± ¡°Yes, Pontiff,¡± a second voice said with the sound of running footsteps. Rain redoubled her efforts, the head deforming more with each hit as the crack in the neck grew. She could hear someone trying to open the door. However, like the man this morning, he couldn¡¯t open it from that side while her portal was active. ¡°This is the work of another Prince of Darkness!¡± the outraged Pontiff said from just outside the vault. ¡°I won¡¯t allow this insult.¡± With a reverent tone, the Pontiff began saying what sounded like a prayer. ¡°Oh, mighty Agros, Lord of Lies Treachery and Deceit, one of your brother¡¯s chosen conspires against you in your own stronghold. I implore you to rip away this barrier blocking me from punishing this vile intruder.¡± As soon as the Pontiff began to pray, Rain sensed a pressure on her soul as a powerful energy attempted to forcefully shut the gateway to her library. Straining to keep the portal open, Rain took onest swing at the statue, parting its head from the body. She jumped onto the head, wrapping her arm around it while holding the hammer in the other hand. Exhausted, she let the portal to her library get crushed as she warped away to the coin she had left for her escape route, taking her prize with her. Spending the Plunder Spending the Plunder As Rain appeared in the street, the bacsh of having her portal forcefully closed hit her like a kick to the chest. Blood dripped from her tightly shut eyes as she struggled to pull in air. Numbly, she crawled further into the dark alleyway, dragging her prizes with her. It was still night, and there shouldn¡¯t be anyone about, but if someone caught her with the head, she would have all kinds of problems. After crawling as far as she could, Rain curled up into the fetal position, whimpering in pain. Everything hurt. Her ears were ringing, and she could smell blood. In front of her, Mr. Purple was trying to tell her something, but she couldn¡¯t get her eyes to focus enough to read it. Using all her strength, Rain pulled herself to a doorway and used it to open a way to the library. Exerting her powers like this made Rain''s head hurt a hundred times worse. It felt like someone was trying to knock her head off with a hammer. Rain managed to barely pull herself and her trophies through the door and close it behind her before she passed out in front of her new pile of treasure. She didn¡¯t see Lon the next day or the day after that. Instead, shey curled up on the floor, her mind fogged with pain as whatever the Pontiff had done to forcefully close her portal continued savaging her. After two days, the pain subsided enough for her to pull herself to her bed, where she slept restfully for another day. By that point, hunger and thirst drove her out of bed; even though she still hurt all over, she could now move, and her head was clear. As she moved through the library to the exit, she asked Mr. Purple to show her what he had been trying to since the day she got hurt. Every time he tried so far, Rain ignored him because she was in too much pain. She should probably apologize to him for ignoring him. Fortunately, Mr. Purple didn¡¯t seem angry as he swirled into existence, showing her the message she asked for. [Congrations: Oru is amused by your actions in humiliating Agro and his chosen. Oru would like to reward you with the skill: Librarian¡¯s Insight. Do you ept?] Rain didn¡¯t need to think long about it. More skills would always be good. I ept. [Skill Attained: Librarians Insight.] [Librarians Insight: You will now receive notifications on the skills and corruption gained when anyone reads a book from the Library of Oru.] This gave Rain pause. With her ¡°Lend¡± skill and this new skill, she had a good set of tools to make use of the library. She wouldn''t be reading any more books herself after what happened because of thest one. The lumps were still a constant aggravation. But people with skills and sses were far more likely to be important figures. If she could give skills to people who would be grateful to her and help them rise to prominence, she could influence the world far more than if she tried to fix everything herself. There would be problems like figuring out how to find these people, but that would be a problem for future Rain. Right now, she just wanted some food and maybe a bath. Wiping crusted blood off her face with her now totally fine cloak, Rain decided she would also get some clothes. This cloak was great, but it looked a little oddpared to what other children were wearing. She also wondered what shoes felt like. In other words, it was time for her first shopping trip. Scooping up a handful of coins from her pile in the entry, she pocketed them. ¡°Take care of the ce for me.¡± Rain said, patting the deformed golden Agro head. Stepping through the door, Rain noticed the sky held an afternoon sun. First thing is food. Rain had to leave the Mid Ring to find a fruit vendor, but the walk wasn¡¯t long. As she walked, she noticed things about this city that seemed off. For one, despite the ve trade being a part of the city, she had yet to see a single obvious ve. The people she had seen cleaning the streets looked poor but free. She also realized she was wrong when she thought there were no street urchins. She saw a few of them watching her from a distance. They were either very good at avoiding trouble or backed by someone with enough clout to protect them. Given Rain¡¯s situation, she might need to look further into that. Rain finally found a fruit cart and bought a snowy white fruit she had never heard of, meaning it likely didn¡¯t grow on the maind. The fruit had almost no vor, seeming to just disappear in her mouth. Rain smiled at the sensation and bought another one. After her meal, Rain searched for a cobbler to get her new shoes. She ended up just wandering around till she found one after asking for directions earned her a volley of insults about ¡®freaky worthless orphans.¡¯ When she did find a shop, located in the Lower Ring but surprisingly well-kept, it even had ss windows, Rain was ready to be insulted and ignored until she waved some money around. To her delight, that never happened. The shop owner was an older man with silvery hair and nice eyes. He let Rain in and said that if she was here for a safe ce to rest, he didn¡¯t mind her staying until it was time to close shop. When Rain asked about the price of shoes, he told her that for feet her size, he would charge ten old. Everything the man said was true, making Rain want to buy her shoes from this ce. She went through her pocket until she found eleven gold coins; cing them up on the counter, she asked him for a pair of shoes. The shopkeeper''s eyes widened at the sight of the money. ¡°My apologies, young miss. I didn¡¯t think you were a customer. Please have a seat.¡± He motioned to a small wooden stool. Rain sat, and he knelt to look closer at her filthy feet. ¡°Hmm, what kind of shoes are you looking for?¡± he asked, retrieving a cloth and cleaning her feet. ¡°Good ones?¡± Rain answered, unsure what he meant. The manughed. ¡°Of course, all the shoes I sell are good. What I meant was, what purpose do you need the shoes for? Do you need light shoes for running, thick boots for theing winter, sturdy boots for working, or elegant shoes for impressing?¡± Rain thought about it for a second, ¡°Can you make some that are kind of fancy but not too fancy and also good for running?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± the old man said with a smile. ¡°Let me take your measurements.¡± With that, the man grabbed a string with ck lines and began using it to measure Rain''s feet. Once he finished, he told her to return in two days and ushered her out the door. The rest of her shopping was faster. The seamstress had clothes that fit Rain, so she didn¡¯t have to wait. She learned that the clothes were baggy because people would line the insides with furs during the cold months to keep warm. She ended up leaving with some boring, sturdy brown clothes like children in the Lower Ring might wear, as well as some of the nicest that this seamstress had. Her favorite was a deep green sleeveless dress. It was impractical and wouldn¡¯t keep her warm, but she couldn¡¯t wait to wear it. Once she had her shoes, Rain would be able to shop in the safer Mid Ring without raising suspicion. That would be good because someone had been following her all day. Across the street, a young boy with dirty blond hair was talking to an older woman. He seemed to bepletely oblivious of Rain, but she doubted that was the truth. She had first seen this boy with other urchins as she headed to buy fruit. Nothing about him made her think twice about him until she saw him the second time talking to a store owner as she left the cobbler''s shop. After that, she kept an eye out. He was always around. Not in a way that would make Rain think he was watching her, except that he seemed to have business wherever she happened to be. The question Rain had been mulling over for a while was whether to ditch him or capture him. Back to Lon Back to Lon In the end, the bundle of clothes in Rain''s arms was the deciding factor. No point ruining them just to toy with him. Even if it would be fun. She would have to ditch him before entering her library. If he saw her entering the library and waited long enough to see her leave, it might give away a significant weakness of her skill. Turning a corner down an empty side street, Rain dropped a coin in a pile of ash. She kept walking for another fifteen minutes. Once sure they were far from where she dropped her coin, she ducked out of sight and warped to it. The coin spasmed out of existence as Rain backtracked to another deserted alley, then used a door to go home. Heading to her room, she sat on her bed and held up her new green dress. She wanted to put it on but realized it probably wouldn¡¯t be a good choice if she hoped to y with Lonter. She put it down with regret; before she could, a strand of thread shot out of her cloak and attached to the dress. The dress disintegrated, starting at the point that the thread touched. It was gone before Rain could even try to save it. Rain turned betrayed eyes on her cloak. ¡°Why would you do that.¡± She was fighting back tears at this point. Sure, It was stupid, but she had been really looking forward to wearing something colorful. Before the situation could escte, the cloak rippled and shifted. In a matter of seconds, it was a perfect replica of the dress it had just eaten. Face immediately clearing up, Rain stood up and twirled around, enjoying the feel of the dress. The green really was a pretty color amidst the stark tones of the library. ¡°Mr. Cloak, can you change back?¡± The cloak shifted back to normal. Delighted, Rain began feeding her cloak all the clothes she just bought. It ate everything except the goggles. Rain guessed it could only eat cloth things. Deciding to test this, Rain went to her hoard and picked out a ne; her cloak wasn''t even slightly interested. It did, however, eat a roll of scarlet silk. When Rain tried to turn her cloak into the roll of silk, it shifted material from the ck cloth to elegant silk, otherwise retaining its shape. Excited, Rain experimented with the cloak and found it could take the form of any clothes it ate and change to be made of any fabric it ate. With this discovery, Rain fed her cloak all the fabric in her hoard. It probably cost a small fortune, but she didn¡¯t care; it was Agro¡¯s money, after all. Once done, Rain shifted her clothes to proper Low Ring clothes, wrapped her goggles around her neck, and headed out to find Lon. Leaving the library, she saw no sign of the boy following her. It looked like she had properly lost him. Keeping an eye out for other suspicious people, Rain set out for Lon¡¯s bakery. It took Rain a few minutes to find the bakery. She had to backtrack from the day she met Lon since she hadn¡¯t been paying attention to where she was during the mad run that led her to bump into him. Once she found the ce, she confidently entered and waited for her turn to buy something. When it was her turn, she reached up to ce four opps on the counter and asked the man for a loaf of bread. The man behind the counter, who Rain assumed was Lon¡¯s father, swept the coins off the counter into a purse at his waist. Then he took a small loaf off the rack behind him and wordlessly handed it to Rain before looking at the next customer. Not seeing Lon, Rain decided to ask his father. ¡°Is Lon here?¡± The man looked at her for a second, then gruffly said, ¡°Talon¡¯s fetching water from the well.¡± before returning to his current customer. Rain decided to go outside and eat her loaf while she waited for Lon to return. After a few minutes, she saw himing down the street carrying a heavy-looking bucket of water. His pants and shoes were wet from water spilling as he struggled to haul it back to the bakery. Running up to him, Rain waved and smiled. She hadn¡¯t realized how excited she was to see him again. ¡°Want some help with that?¡± she asked as she came into earshot. ¡°Oh, hay. I thought something happened to you.¡± Lon said in a strained voice as he struggled with his water. ¡°I would love some help, but I don¡¯t think there''s a good way to carry a bucket of water together.¡± Realizing that he was probably right, Rain stayed a little ahead of him so she could open whatever door he needed to take his water through. A handful of grunts from Lonter, they were in the bakery kitchen where Lon could set his bucket down. ¡°Thanks for getting the door for me. That bucket is heavy.¡± ¡°Of course. Do you want to y today?¡± After being unable to ask thest time she talked with Lon, Rain decided to waste no time asking the important questions. ¡°Sorry, Pa needs me to help around the bakery.¡± The immediate rejection hit her right in the gut. The crushing blow almost made her give up. Then she thought about what he had actually said. He¡¯d said he needed to help around the bakery, not that he couldn¡¯t y when he was done. Rain decided to try one more time. ¡°Can we y when you finish? I''ll help you with your work until then.¡± She thought she did a good job keeping the worry out of her voice. Lon was about to say something but hesitated when he noticed her unconsciously clutching her shirt. ¡°All right.¡± Heroes Heroes Is this girl an orphan or a noble¡¯s daughter? That¡¯s what Talon couldn¡¯t figure out. ¡°We''re almost done. Can you take this rag and wipe the flour off the table there?¡± Talon asked. ¡°Okay!¡± The girl bounced over and took the rag he offered her. Humming a cheery tune, she started wiping down the kneading table. Talon smiled at her enthusiasm. That cheerful attitude had to mean she was some kind of noble. She wasn¡¯t beaten down. Going over to check how she did cutting the meat for tomorrow''s pies, he found it cut just like he¡¯d asked. She had properly skinned the ashmin and removed the entrails. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but it was way better than a pampered noble should be able to do. So what was she? Everything about her was a contradiction. Her personality and attitude were open and friendly, but just looking at her made him ufortable to the point that he had almost brushed off her obvious attempts at friendship. Fortunately, he had realized what was happening before he did something mean. Heroes didn¡¯t push people away just because they had a creepy feel to them. Unless they were evil, but judging from the girl¡¯s happy humming, she wasn¡¯t. Talon rubbed his purple ribs; he should know better than anyone not to treat people poorly for things they had no control over. The fact that she made his skin crawl was not her fault. Probably. Looking around the kitchen, Talon realized with the girl''s help, he would be done with his work early. ¡°We¡¯re almost done. What do you want to do?¡± The girl immediately forgot about cleaning the kneading table. ¡°You know that game with the inted ball? I really want to try it!¡± Talon could almost feel the excitement radiating off her. This was another point for her being a noble girl. What Low Ringer hadn¡¯t yed knees or headstop before? She looked to be two or three years younger than him, but if she grew up in the Low Ring, she should have yed these games dozens of times. Enjoying the mystery of it all, Talon grabbed a rag and helped with the kneading table. The girl blushed a bit and started cleaning again. ¡°Sure, I have some friends who like to y knees. We can go find them when we''re done here.¡± Coon and Ound owned a ball, and the brothers loved to y knees, especially when they could beat the other team. With the girl being new to the game, she and Talon would lose a lot. Usually, being on a team with a lousy teammate would bother Talon, but he had a feeling losing with Rain would still be fun. Once they finished cleaning, Talon took Rain by the hand and led her from the bakery before Pa coulde around and decide that something was his fault and hit him, or worse, her, for it. ¡°So if you don''t y knees, what do you usually do for fun?¡± He asked her, hoping to gain more clues about his new friend. If she said something like gardening, it would be another point for her being a noble. If she said something like chase, it would be a point for street orphan. After a brief pause, she answered. ¡°I like eating, I guess.¡± Well, that didn¡¯t give him much. ¡°What kind of foods do you like?¡± ¡°I liked your bread.¡± And that gave him nothing. He was trying to think of a good question when they reached the street where Coon and Ound usually yed. Sure enough, there they were, passing their ball back and forth with their knees. ¡°Hay guys, I got a rookie to y knees with us.¡± ¡°Hay Lon, did ya Pa let you go early?¡± Ound said while focusing on keeping the ball in the air. ¡°Rain here helped me out, so I was able to get away,¡± Talon said, motioning to Rain next to him. ¡°So, do you guys want to y pairs? I bet Rain and I can beat you even if she¡¯s never yed knees before.¡± ¡°Oh, you think you can take us?¡± Coon said, trying to distract everyone from the fact that he had just floored the ball. ¡°We can take¡­ who in Arkit is that!¡± The moment Coon looked at Rain, his attitude changed from friendly to hostile. Talon could understand the feelings; he struggled to hold her hand even after spending a few hours with her. Still, she hadn¡¯t done anything wrong. He hoped he could help his friends see how nice Rain was. Unfortunately¡­ ¡°Why are you with a freak like that? She¡¯s gotta be a ck sser.¡± ¡°Ya man, why would you bring her near us? I bet she has all kinds of curse skills.¡± Talon had also thought Rain was a ck sser when she bumped into him. At first, he had wanted to run before she could give him nightmares or strangle him with his shadow, but a hero never runs. Instead, a hero would confront the ck sser and defeat them, convincing them of the error of their ways. Then, the ck sser would join the hero on their grand quest. So that''s what he did. Admittedly, the grand conflict had been rather short, involving him getting knocked on his butt, and she had asked him to be friends, not the other way around, but Talon wouldn¡¯t sweat the details. ¡°I defeated her in battle and made her my ally,¡± Talon stated in the heroic voice and pose he practiced when no one could hear him. ¡°No way am I ying with her. My ma told me stories of Higgor the Strangler. She¡¯ll kill us in our sleep if we give her a chance to mark us.¡± Ound said while Coon nodded. At this point, Talon could feel Rain''s hand shaking. Looking over at her, he found her looking at her feet. Her ck hair had fallen in front of her face; it didn¡¯t help her look less creepy. Fantasies of being a hero aside, Talon needed to fix this before she got hurt. ¡°Seriously, she¡¯s good. Let''s y a game of pairs.¡± Coon shook his head. ¡°No way, I can feel something off with her from here. Ditch the creep, and we¡¯ll y takeover.¡± ¡°Ya, if you¡¯re going to spend time with that freak, then leave us alone. We don''t want its curses to rub off on us.¡± Talon didn¡¯t know what to do. He had been good friends with Coon and Ound for years and knew them well enough to know that they were serious. They didn¡¯t want to be around anyone who spent time with Rain. He¡¯d thought he could convince them; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have brought Rain here. But he¡¯d been wrong. Now, he had to decide whether to break his promise to Rain, a girl he barely knew, or lose two of his best friends. Talon knew what the right answer was. Pardeth, one of the heroes that Talon looked up to the most, had betrayed and imprisoned all his friends and family after he caught them performing human sacrifices in the hopes of gaining eternal life. Pardeth had been forced to kill his own brother in order to protect the innocent. If Talon wanted to be a hero, he needed to do what was right no matter what it cost him. ¡°Come on, Rain. Let''s find something else to do.¡± With a heavy heart, Talon squeezed Rain''s hand and led her away. ¡°Seriously!¡± Coon said. ¡°Don¡¯te crying to us when she curses you,¡± Ound called after Talon. Talon ignored them, unsure if he had made the right decision, that is, until a small hand squeezed his, and a smaller voice whispered, ¡°Thank you.¡± Promise Promise Rain kept her head down as Lon led her away from the two boys. It took all her effort to hold back the tears. She wasn''t hurt that the boys didn¡¯t want to y with her. She was used to that. Having Lon get excluded because of her, that was new, that was worse. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I''m a bad person. Now they hate you because of me.¡± Rain couldn¡¯t quit looking at the ash-covered ground. ¡°I don''t know how to be someone people want to be around. Everyone thinks I''m creepy. You¡¯re the first person to hold my hand.¡± On a rational level, Rain knew she was rambling, but she couldn¡¯t stop the words pouring from her mouth. There were things that hurt, but she had never had anyone to talk to about it. Now that she did, the words just flowed out. Lon was kind enough to not only risk his friendships for her, but also to listen as she rambled an apology. She didn¡¯t deserve a friend like him. He had been nothing but nice to her, and Rain had done nothing but cause him trouble. Maybe she should avoid him so she wouldn¡¯t cause him more problems. She knew avoiding him was probably the right thing to do, but she wanted a friend more than she wanted to do the right thing. That realization made her hate herself even more. It made her feel even less worthy to be his friend. Needing to get out of her thoughts, Rain asked Lon a question. ¡°What are ck ssers?¡± Lon looked at her, confused at the change of subject. ¡°ck ssers are people who have unlocked dangerous sses and never registered them or trained at the Grand Academy. If you¡¯re not going to share that you have a ss, it''s probably because you n to use it to harm others. The well-known ck ssers like Higgor the Strangler tend to be responsible for a lot of deaths.¡± This exnation didn¡¯t make Rain feel much better. By Lon¡¯s definition, she was a ck sser. That meant the boys had been right not to y with her. They were also probably right not to want to be around her. ¡°What happens when people find ck ssers?¡± Rain asked, not knowing if she wanted the answer. ¡°If they haven¡¯t done anything, they are forced to register and work for one of the lords for a year. If they have been using their skills to hurt others, they get imprisoned or sent to Arkit.¡± Rain regretted asking. After the stunt she pulled, robbing the liars'' temple, she would probably be sent to Arkit. Rain knew she shouldn¡¯t ask, but she couldn¡¯t help herself. ¡°How do they send you to Arkit?¡± ¡°Oh, the Crown Ringers like to watch criminals getting thrown into the pit ofva at the top of the city. They say it purifies evil people.¡± Rain was right; she shouldn¡¯t have asked. ¡°What¡¯s this Grand Academy?¡± For some reason, this question perked Lon up. ¡°The Grand Academy is where all the heroes and important people train. If you get a ss, you can attend even if youe from the Low Ring or an outer ind. There are even people who will pay for your food and housing.¡± Lon almost had stars in his eyes as he talked about the Grand Academy. ¡°They say that the academy has ways to unlock sses so that any lord who attends can get a ss if they don¡¯t already have one. But if someone like us wants to go, the only way would be to get a ss first. That''s why I''m going to figure out how to get a ss. If I can go to the academy, I¡¯ll be able to escape Pa and learn to be a hero. If I had the power to, I''d improve life in the Low Ring.¡± Rain listened to Lon¡¯s exnation; most of it made sense, and she could see he was honest about wanting to help the Low Ring, but there was one thing she couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°Why would you want to escape your Pa?¡± Did he not realize how lucky he was to have a Pa? Rain would give up everything for a family. Lon hesitated at that question. Some of the life draining out of his eyes. ¡°Ma died a year ago, and Pa hasn¡¯t been the same. He started drinking more and more. And when he gets drunk, he stops pretending he likes me. He tells me it''s my fault Ma died, that I''m a useless baker and son, that he wishes he didn¡¯t have to take care of me. He tells me to be grateful to Ma that she wanted him to care for me, or I would be on the streets so he could hire apetent apprentice.¡± He rubbed his side and continued. ¡°If I get too close or talk back, he gets angry and throws punches. No matter what I do, everything is my fault. I want to go to the academy to escape him and prove that I can help others. I may not be a good baker, but I''m sure I can be a hero.¡± Rain had no idea how to respond to any of this. She thought having a family was all she really wanted, yet it sounded like Lon¡¯s family was as bad as being back with the keepers. Lon¡¯s words also gave Rain an idea of how she could repay him for being nice to her. He needed a ss to get into this Grand Academy he dreamed about. Rain just so happened to have a library full of ways to gain skills and possibly sses. If she lent Lon a book, he could fulfill his dream of attending the academy and bing a hero. If he did that, he would be an influential person, one who owed Rain for giving him a chance. She could use him to influence the city for the better. Rain stopped walking as she realized where her thoughts had gone. How had she gone from wanting to help a friend who was kind to her to wanting to use a friend as a tool to achieve her goals? She really was a bad person, wasn¡¯t she? Rain finally couldn¡¯t hold her tears back as she realized she was an awful person who didn¡¯t deserve to have friends. ¡°What¡¯s wrong,¡± Lon asked, flustered at her tears. ¡°Did I say something that upset you?¡± Lon''s concern only made Rain feel worse. She needed to do something to pay him back. ¡°Lon, what''s your full name?¡± Now looking utterly confused, Lon answered, ¡°Talon Bakerson.¡± Rain looked Lon in the eyes and made him and herself a promise. ¡°Talon Bakerson, I''m going to make sure you get a ss and be a hero.¡± And once she did, she would never talk to him again; that way, Rain couldn¡¯t ask him for more than he had already given her, more than she deserved. Message Message Two days after she met with Lon, Rain returned to the cobbler to pick up her new shoes. The silver-haired cobbler smiled as Rain stepped into the store. ¡°Wee back, young miss. Your shoes are ready as promised. Give me a moment.¡± With that, the shopkeeper walked into a back room. A momentter, he returned carrying a pair of soft-looking gray shoes. ¡°Here we are, a pair of ashmin leather boots dyed gray so that ash and snow won''t stain them. The soles are made of thicker seator hide for extra durability.¡± The shoes were well-made and lookedfortable. It was a simple but pretty design that would go up just past her ankle. Rain did wish she could have them be more colorful, maybe a bright red, but she understood that the ash would ruin any bright-colored shoes. When she tried to take the shoes, the cobbler shook his head and motioned for her to sit. Complying with the request, Rain sat. The cobbler grabbed his rag and cleaned her feet, exining how to care for the shoes properly. He exined socks and how they were easier to clean than shoes, hence why she should wear them. Most of this was stuff Rain knew from her ¡°terms skill,¡± but the man''s voice was soothing, and Rain wasn¡¯t in any hurry to be somewhere. After cleaning Rain''s feet, the shopkeeper put two gray socks on her feet. The socks were oddlyfortable. Rain almost put them on her favorites list but decided she needed to start being more picky. After the socks were the shoes, they were alsofortable, though the added weight on her feet felt odd. She wondered if she would get tired faster because of these. After being asked to try them out, Rain stood up and walked around. Everything felt great. Her right shoe had a slight pricking feeling, but she ignored it. ¡°They''re perfect! Thank you.¡± Rain said to the old man. The shopkeeper smiled in satisfaction. ¡°Thank you, young miss. You¡¯ve already paid in full, so pleasee to me again when you require your next pair of shoes.¡± Rain promised to do so and left the shop. She casually nced around the street to see if there were any suspicious people this time. Not seeing anyone, Rain began to wander around. She didn¡¯t really have a ce to go right now. She wanted to visit Lon, but after how much trouble she caused him, she felt guilty bothering him again. She could pick a book out of the library and use it as an excuse to visit him, but once she did that and he got his ss, she would have to avoid him as she had promised herself. That would make the loss of a friend final. She wasn¡¯t ready to face that, not yet. Deciding to wander around and get a better idea of the cityyout, Rain picked a direction she hadn¡¯t been before and started walking. She passed streets and squares of all different shapes and sizes. This city didn¡¯t like to use even numbers for intersections; whether it was three, five, or seven, almost all were odd. That made for a lot of sharp-cornered buildings. As she walked, the poking sensation in her right shoe got more and more aggravating. Finally fed up, Rain sat down and took it off, trying to look inside for what was stabbing her. Unable to see all the way inside, she reached in. The inside of the shoe''s leather was rougher than the outside. She felt something odd as her hand brushed the tip''s inside. When she tried to grab it, it came out easily. In Rain''s hand was a small piece of gray paper. Unfolding it, Rain found a message. Good job losing the boy we had following you, Thirty-six. The Rothford Auction House hired us to find you. However, after hearing about some of your possible deeds since escaping, and given your ability to lose a tail, we would like you to do a job for us instead. If you are interested,e to the Fiddler¡¯s Retreat in the Middle Ring and ask for honeyed milk. We can return to our original n with Rothford if you''re not interested. Rain read the message one more time before putting her shoe back on. Sure enough, the annoying pricking sensation was gone. Whoever had written that message knew about Rain. They knew her name used to be Thirty-six and hinted that they knew what she had done since she escaped. She didn¡¯t think they would add that part if they didn¡¯t consider it important. The only things she had done that could be interesting to them were robbing Agro and her friendship with Lon. She didn¡¯t think it was her friendship with Lon. The only reason they might bring that up is if they nned to use him to threaten her, but given the not-too-subtle threat at the end of the letter, that didn¡¯t seem likely. That meant they at least suspected her of robbing the temple. The thought scared her more than them knowing she was an escaped ve. Was it worth the risk of seeing this person to avoid having a target painted on her back for the Rothford Auction House and the Temple of Agro? Probably. Also, Rain didn¡¯t like the idea of running from a meeting with someone when she might be able to get something out of it. Decision made: Rain changed into Middle Ring appropriate clothes, hid a coin, and set off to the Mid Ring to confront whoever thought threatening her was a good idea. As always, finding the ce she was looking for took a long time. Tineak was arge city, and having most people unwilling to give her directions made things difficult. Ultimately, she found that waving some vers around for anyone willing to give her directions worked wonders. Apparently, greed beat the fear of her unnatural aura. The Fiddler¡¯s Retreat was a stone building with cheery blue lines painted on the front. A sign overhead had a man with a fiddle running from a mob of angry people. Rainughed. Not what she expected when she got the note. Entering, she found a warm atmosphere with tables spaced randomly around the room. A pretty older woman and a girl who must have been her daughter were weaving between tables, serving food, and filling drinks. In a corner, a man misrepresented the establishment by ying a flute. There was a bar with an older man behind it. He was talking with one of the customers. Rain decided the bar would be the coolest ce to give the contact line. So she went over and climbed onto one of the massive stools. The stool was so tall that her feet couldn¡¯t find anything to rest on as she sat. But the real killer of the cool act she had been going for was that her head was barely above the level of the counter. When the man behind the counter finished talking, he looked over and asked with a smile, ¡°What can I get for you, young miss?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like a honeyed milk, please.¡± Yeah, she shouldn¡¯t have tried to look cool; this whole act was doomed from the start. ¡°Ah yes,¡± the man said, ¡°that will be two opps.¡± Rain paid, and the man went out back to get her order. When he returned, he held a small cup of milk and sat it down in front of her. ¡°Here you are. Take your time and enjoy.¡± Unsure what she was supposed to do now, Rain sat back and took a drink. The milk was really sweet and cool. It was definitely up there in the list of her favorite foods. A familiar boy approached her before she finished her drink and asked if she coulde with him. The boy was the same one who had been following her the other day, and Rain really wanted to tease him about losing her. Resisting her urges, Rain drained her cup and hopped off the stool. Now that she was close to the boy, she saw he was a foot taller than her. It was good that she hadn¡¯t tried to capture him back then. The boy led her around to an inn room. The number on the door marked it as room two. The boy knocked. When an older man asked who it was, the boy answered ¡®Arlos¡¯, and they were invited toe in. Negotiations Negotiations The room looked just like Rain would expect an inn room to look: a small bed with a dresser next to it; in the corner was a pine table with an old man sitting on one of two chairs. The man had absolutely no features that made him stand out. Smiling at Rain, he invited her to take the other seat at the table. After Rain sat, the man turned to the boy and said, ¡°Thank you, Arlos, go and keep watch outside for me.¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the boy said before leaving the room. From the color of the man''s words, Arlos was not the boy''s actual name. ¡°Thank you foring, Thirty-six. You can call me Manas.¡± This was actually all true. Why would he give his real name while using a fake name for the boy? The man paused as if waiting for her to say something, but Rain had nothing to say to him. She had decided before arriving not to tell these people her new name. There was no reason to give an enemy more information. ¡°Well, yes. I invited you here because I heard about your brilliant escape from the Rothford Auction House. Disappearing from a locked room full of children without leaving a trace. Not to mention the rumors that something of great value disappeared from the Temple of Agro the same day our people observed you praying there until they closed their doors to the public.¡± Rain tried to keep her expression neutral. She had made a big mistake waiting for the priests to empty the collection box. That ced her firmly at the scene of the crime. If she had thought a bit harder, she should have realized that. Manas chuckled at something. ¡°My dear girl, you need to work on your poker face. Your expression bes too fixed when you try to avoid showing your emotion.¡± Unfortunately, the colors of his words were true. Rain tried not to sulk at that but apparently failed. The man¡¯s chuckling just got louder. Rain decided just to wait for the man to calm down. And eventually, he did. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, young one, I have a fondness for children¡ªthat''s actually why I need your help.¡± Rain was interested to see that he was telling the truth. This, more than anything, made her inclined to trust him. ¡°You see, I belong to a group known as the Watching Stars. We deal in information; if there is something someone wants to know, theye to us, and we find it. One of our organization''s enemies, Lord Miggos, is holding a young girl captive in his estate. Given your track record, I believe you would be capable of helping her to escape.¡± Rain considered what Manas had said so far. He hadn¡¯t lied yet, but If he specialized in gathering information, he likely wouldn¡¯t give her more information than she needed. Seeing how much she could get from the man could be fun. ¡°If your people are so skilled, why do you need me.¡± Manas smiled wanly at her. ¡°The Watching Stars aren¡¯t the ones asking you to do this. This is a personal request. The girl is important to me, and if I try to free her myself or ask the Stars to help me, Miggos might threaten her to stop us. I need someone who Miggos can''t trace back to me.¡± Now, that was an interesting blend of vibrant truths and inky lies. The Watching Stars were the ones asking her to do this, but Manas was also genuinely fond of this girl. Manas also lied about not wanting someone who could be traced back to him. What Rain could read between the lines of Manas¡¯s exnation was that this, Lord Miggos, was holding someone of import to the Watching Stars. The Watching Stars wanted to use Manas and Rain as a failsafe. If Miggos captured and interrogated Rain, the Stars would expect her to reveal everything she knew, implicating this Manas fellow. Then, when Miggos came looking for revenge, the Stars could offer up Manas to save the rest of the organization. Who was this girl that the Stars and Manas would be willing to risk so much for a chance to rescue? ¡°What is the girl¡¯s name and description?¡± Rain asked. ¡°Her name is Ariana. She¡¯s a young girl with curly red hair who is slightly shorter than you.¡± ¡°How can I convince Ariana toe with me? Most people really¡­ dislike me,¡± Rain finished with reluctance. ¡°Tell her Uncle Manas sent you to bring her to his secret courtyard.¡± Rain processed thatst bit of information. If Manas was Ariana¡¯s Uncle, then it stood to reason that Ariana was the daughter of someone in the Stars¡¯ leadership. All spection aside, Rain wanted to take the job. If another kid was held captive, Rain wanted to help free them. Maybe they could be friends after. Having a friend with strong ties to an information-gathering group could be useful. Realizing where her thoughts were going, Rain shut them down. Why did she immediately start thinking of how to use Ariana if she befriended her? This kind of thinking was why she didn¡¯t deserve to have friends. ¡°What are you offering in payment?¡± Rain asked, trying to take her thoughts out of their downward spiral. ¡°I¡¯ll convince our leaders to cancel their contract with Rothford if you do me this favor.¡± This was true, but. Rain shook her head, ¡°Not enough. You¡¯re asking me to put myself in guaranteed danger in exchange for not putting me in possible danger. If you want my help, I want payment.¡± ¡°And the temple?¡± Manas asked with an amused smile. ¡°What about them?¡± Manasughed, ¡°Good answer. So what do you want as payment?¡± ¡°Information¡± This piqued Manas¡¯s attention. ¡°That can be arranged depending on the kind of information you¡¯re seeking.¡± ¡°I want three things. I want to know about all small or medium-sized tradingpanies in Tineak that have fallen on hard times. I want to know about the city''s major organizations, legal and illegal. I also want to know how to contact the Watching Stars to buy information in the future.¡± Rain had been thinking about how she could use her newfound wealth to make more money for a few days. The idea she liked the most was buying out a tradingpany. Not only would this be a way to make money, but it would also provide a way to extend her reach across the isles of the archipgo. She wanted to know about organizations in the city like the Watching Stars so she could start nning how to move the major yers. Taking control of Tineak would be a big step towards controlling the archipgo. Manas hummed at her counteroffer. ¡°Information on tradingpanies I can get for you. I''m afraid that information on all the organizations in the city is too much. I, of course, will be willing to give you information on how to find us should you seed. Or, if you wish, we could take you in and train you. You would be expected to do jobs for us, but we would teach you and help you find any information you may be searching for.¡± Rain was disappointed to see that he wasn¡¯t lying. She would need to lessen the scope of the information she requested from him. ¡°If you can¡¯t give me information on all the organizations in the city, then get me information on the major gangs in the city. As for joining your organization, may I ask you to hold that offer?¡± In truth, Rain had no intention of taking them up on their offer. While it would be useful to know how to sneak around and find all the information herself, Rain had other things she would have to do. Hiring the Stars to find the information she needed would be more efficient. Maybe when her reach was long enough, she could buy the Stars¡¯plete loyalty so she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about them selling information on her. It would be something for her to think about. Manas smiled at her. ¡°I can get you that information. Do we have a deal?¡± Truth. ¡°Yes, we do,¡± Rain said, putting two fingers to her lips and nodding. Manas mirrored her movement, sealing the deal. ¡°Now,¡° Rain said in a bright voice, ¡°to free your niece, I¡¯m going to need a soft chair, a live uffter, a map of the city around where Miggos is holding her, and a blindfold.¡± Experiments Experiments Manas sighed at Rain''s strange requests. ¡°Very well, I can have those things prepared for you by the end of the day. Come back here to pick them up at nightfall.¡± Rain nodded in agreement before walking out of the room. She would need to do a handful of things before attempting to save Ariana. The first thing was to test out her skills. Before, she had made assumptions on how they would work. Looking back, the chances of something going very wrong when she raided the Temple of Agro were ufortably high. Suffering for a few days due to the Pontiff¡¯s skill was a small price to pay for herck of preparation. Even with proper preparation, it would be risky, leading to her second list item. She needed to lend Lon a book so he could get his skills, just in case she didn¡¯t make it back. Rain looked up at the sky. She had about three hours until nightfall, enough time to find the right book. After winding her way through the streets for a few minutes, Rain checked that no one was following her, then used her power on a small side door. Back in her library, Rain took a deep breath. This ce, frightening at first, now felt familiar and safe to her. Stepping past the pile of gold, Rain entered the library proper. Rain had noticed in the past that the books seemed to move around when she wasn¡¯t here because they were never in the same ce when she looked for them again. Some books, like the one that whispered sweet promises, were easy to find; others could take a while. Fortunately, Rain didn¡¯t have a book she was looking for today. All she needed was a book that looked like it might give a heroic skill. Or one that looked like it might fit Lon. Walking back and forth through the shelves, she found nothing that felt like it would do the trick. By the time she had finished her first walk through all the shelves, her neck was starting to hurt from looking up for so long. The shelves were all quite tall, and Rain had spent most of her time with her neck craned back so she could see the books on the higher shelves. Taking a walk around the outside of the room, she looked at each of the books on individual pedestals. The one with the eye made her shiver; the memory of its words sliding into the back of her skull was still fresh. But if she was being honest, it had given her a valuable skill. The description of the skill had even told her that she could improve it if she read more of the book. She didn¡¯t dare risk reading more, though. Her mental corruption was already too high. She may be getting used to the things she felt and saw crawling under her skin to the point she barely noticed them, but Rain wasn''t willing to risk whatever might happen to her if she raised it further. None of the other books she passed met her criteria either. Rain remembered seeing a white book with golden symbols that might be promising, but she couldn''t find it no matter where she looked. Frustrated, Rain decided that the book didn¡¯t have to look like it would provide some heroic skill; it just had to fit Lon. Deciding to do onest search, Rain found one book that looked promising. High up on a shelf was a stitched leather book with a string of ws attached to the spine. Lon¡¯s full name was Talon, and ws were a kind of talon. It would have to do. Looking for a way to climb up to the book, Rain noticed adder that hadn¡¯t been there before. It had tracks on the bottom, and its top connected to a channel on the top of the bookshelf that Rain was sure hadn¡¯t been there. Deciding that the library was just being the library, Rain slid thedder over to the book she wanted and climbed up to retrieve it. The book had a primitive feel, with roughly stitched leather and the string of ws dangling free from it. It had no title anywhere in sight, and Rain didn¡¯t dare to open it for fear of identally reading some of it. Looking over the book again, Rain decided it would have to do. She brought the book to her room and ced it inside her chest. Hopefully, it wouldn¡¯t disappear before she could lend it to Lon. Rain left the library and returned to the Fiddler¡¯s Retreat as darkness fell. She found the boy with the fake name Arlos there waiting for her. He led her around back where the things she had requested sat: a soft-looking chair that Rain couldn¡¯t wait to try out, a small fluffy ash-gray critter withrge eyes and a poofy tail sitting in a small cage, a map of the Mid Ring and a strip of ck cloth. ¡°Here¡¯s the stuff you wanted. Is it satisfactory?¡± The boy didn¡¯t seem to like having to give Rain the items she asked for. If she had to guess, he probably didn¡¯t like her in general. ¡°Thank you. I can take it from here.¡± The boy didn¡¯t bother answering Rain and just left. Rain wasn¡¯tining, though. She didn¡¯t want to haul the chair farther than she had to. Rain waited for the boy to turn the corner before immediately pulling the chair through the nearest door into the library. Returning, she gathered up the other items before going back to the library. When she approached the cage with the uffter, the little fluff ball started screeching and backed as far from her as its cage would allow. Rain had to admit that she was a little disappointed. But in the end, she hadn¡¯t asked for the uffter as a pet. She needed a living creature to test her skills on. One that couldn¡¯t speak. As she brought the quivering creature into the library, its squeaking grew more frantic as it seemed to want to hide from everything around it. In the end, it curled into a little ball at the bottom of its cage and went still. Rain hoped it would be alright for a little while. It wouldn¡¯t do for the little guy to die before she finished her tests. Leaving the library once again, Rain made her way to the Low Ring. Still not seeing anyone watching her, she used a door to enter her library again. She was d when she saw that she could open the door. She had worried that because a living thing had entered through another door, a new door wouldn¡¯t be possible until the uffter had left the library. Now for the real test. If she carried the uffter through the door, would ite back through the door she had entered in the Low Ring, would she leave through the door it had entered back by the Fiddler¡¯s Retreat, or would they be split up, appearing out of the doors they originally entered through? Checking that the lump of fur was still alive, Rain picked up the cage. She took a breath for her moment of truth and left the library. The result was very anticlimactic, with her just stepping out of the door holding the uffter in its cage. The little critter seemed to rx as it left the library but still didn¡¯t uncurl from its ball. Rain smiled at the sess of her experiment and asked Mr. Purple to show her ¡°Door to the Library¡± skill. [Door to the Library: To ess the Library of Oru, push your will into any door, and it will transform into a portal. Once the door closes, the portal will also close. When you''re ready to leave, you can exit through any door, and it will take you back to the same one you entered from.] It looked like Her skill only cared about thest door she used to enter the library. This was perfect. Now for the second test. It was time to see if ¡°Path of Wealth¡± would also allow her to transport others. Grabbing her little furry victim, Rain threw a coin a few feet away and warped to it. The moment she did, she felt her cage get lighter. Looking back to where she had been, Rain caught sight of the tail of the uffter as it dove into a pile of ash. Sighing, Rain decided to try and see what she could take with her and what she couldn¡¯t. It turned out that the only things she could take with her were her clothes and any item she was carrying. If the item touched the walls or floor, it would remain behind as she moved. A bit wiser and a few vers poorer, Rain decided to get some sleep and give the book to Lon in the morning. The First Book The First Book In the early hours of the morning, Rain was waiting for Lon, holding a wrapped package in her hand. When he finally came down the stairs from where he and his father lived above the bakery, he appeared surprised to see her. However, Rain greeted him with a cheerful wave and a smile. ¡°Morning Lon! I have something for you.¡± Lon¡¯s confusion deepened a bit. Maybe there was a bit of concern in there, too. ¡°Morning Rain, what''s this thing you have for me?¡± ¡°It''s a secret. Do you have some time? I need to exin it.¡± Lon looked a little ufortable at that. ¡°I need to help Pa make the morning bread and pies. I¡¯m going to be busy for a while.¡± ¡°I could help you in the kitchen again.¡± Rain offered, excited to spend time with her friend. She¡¯d conveniently forgotten she¡¯d promised herself to leave him alone. Or at least that''s what she told herself. ¡°No, no, that''s a bad idea,¡± Lon said, waving his arms back and forth. ¡°Last time was okay because Pa was out front, but he¡¯ll be in the kitchen this time, so no, you can¡¯t help.¡± This vehement refusal took Rain aback, but Lon wasn¡¯t lying, so she let it drop. ¡°When is the food for sale? And when can you talk for a bit?¡± ¡°Come back in an hour for food. And Pa usually gives me some time to rest at noon bell.¡± ¡°Okay, make some good stuff. I''ll be back in an hour.¡± With that and a wave, Rain set off to wait at one of her favorite spots. There were a few benefits to having people unwilling to give directions unless she threw money at them. The first was she got very good at navigating the city. Already, Rain knew this section of the Low Ring pretty well, so getting to her destination didn¡¯t take nearly as long as it would have a few days ago. The second good thing was that while wandering around, she would sometimes find interesting ces. Today, she went to one of her favorites. A depression in the city floor that went from the very top of the city to the bottom like a riverbed only without the water. Over the small ravine were dozens of bridges connecting streets from both sides of the scar in the city. Rain had found three simr crevasses at the other cardinal directions of the city. She supposed they had a purpose but had no idea what it might be. She liked to think they were the w marks of a dragon that had attacked the city. That wasn''t why she came here, though. She came here for the view. Without any buildings in the way, it was possible to see to the bottom of the mountain Tineak was built around and the ind below. The ind was full of valleys and hills. In the valleys were swirling colors of ash over ck rocks. The hills were capped with verdant greenery. Many hilltops were popted with small towns and farms. Others were covered in thick pine forests, giving those hills spiky dark green hair. Beyond the hills and valleys was the sparkling blue ocean, wavespping against the shore, and the rising sun made everything glitter. Rain knew she had things she should do here, but a part of her wanted to sail that expanse and see the other inds. She promised herself that one day she would. Rain stared out at the distant ocean waves until it was time to return for the food. Determined to try one of everything, she headed back to the bakery, only making detours twice to avoid questionable people. When she arrived, a line of people was already waiting to get their breakfast before going to work for the day. Rain got in line and closed her eyes to inhale the scents wafting from the bakery. When she opened her eyes, she was a little sad to see that although the line was fairly tight-packed, the person in front and behind her made sure not to get too close to her. She decided not to let it ruin her day. She ordered a huge meat pie when she reached the front of the line, paying Lon¡¯s grumpy Pa a whole ver. Carrying her prize off, she ate it in a doorless alley where she could easily see both ways. It was a good ce to ensure no one could sneak up on her while she ate. The meat pie was delicious. Meat grease mixed with the mushrooms and crust giving everything a wonderful vor. Rain ate the whole thing, then made sure to eat the crumbs and lick her fingers. Leaning back against the wall, she looked at the wrapped package she had been carrying around all morning. Inside was the rough book with the w braided string attached to it. Rain had decided this book would be as good as any for getting Lon a ss. She had to admit she was a little worried about the corruption Lon would experience. But none of the books she had read gave more than twelve percent. It had taken three books before she had started seeing side effects, so Lon should be problem-free with only one. Unlike Rain, whose hidden Master of the Library ss kept absorbing all the new skills, once he gained a skill from a tome, he should be able to form a ss around it. Then, he could make all his dreams of going to the academy and bing a heroe true. Rain knew she should be happy at the thought, but she knew that if he did be someone important, she would need to avoid him, or she would drag him into her problems. The thought made her reconsider giving him the book. She still had time to find a recement surprise before the noon bell. Rain cut her thoughts short and returned to the bakery to wait before she betrayed her friend for selfish reasons. The remaining wait was excruciating, but eventually, the time came, and the bells rang their noonday signal. Now that the time was here and the decision made, Rain was excited to see what kind of ss Lon would get. She stood outside the door where she had first met Lon, bouncing from foot to foot as she waited for him toe out. When Lon finally came and saw Rain, his expression changed from tired to amused. ¡°Excited about something?¡± ¡°Yes, now hurry up and get over here!¡± Lon grinned as he walked over to her. When he was closer, Rain unwrapped the book she had been carrying all day. ¡°Remember how you told me you wanted a ss so you could go to that academy?¡± Lon nodded at that, eyes fixed on the book in Rain''s hands and brows furrowed. ¡°Well, this book can grant anyone who reads it a skill they can build a ss around.¡± Lon¡¯s eyes widened at that. ¡°Wait, you''re saying reading that book could get me into the academy?¡± ¡°Yes, but there are some problems.¡± Rain said, worried that he might try to read the book before he knew what he was getting into. Rain¡¯s words immediately caught Lon''s attention. ¡°What kind of problems?¡± It was time to make sure that Lon understood what he was getting into. ¡°First, I don¡¯t know what kind of skill it will give you. It could be something really great or weak.¡± Lon didn¡¯t seem too bothered by this, so Rain continued. ¡°Second, there is a chance it won''t work. I read a simr book that didn¡¯t give me any skills.¡± This caught his attention, just not for the reason Rain expected. ¡°Wait, you¡¯ve read one of these books? Does that mean you have a ss? If I read this book, will we be going to the academy together?¡± The hopeful look in Lon¡¯s eyes made Rain feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Maybe she could go to the academy with him. She did want to learn how to put her skills to their best use after all. It wasn¡¯t her fault that training to use her abilities would ce her close to her friend. Feeling her resolve stretch to the breaking point, Rain soldered on before she could make a decision. ¡°I do have a ss. But I''m not sure if I want to go to the academy or not yet.¡± Lon looked like he had a lot of questions to ask, and Rain wasn¡¯t ready to answer them yet, so she spoke before he could. ¡°Lastly, reading one of these books will cause mental and possibly physical corruption.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Rain decided that now was as good a time as any to check something. Rolling back her sleeve, she pointed to one of the things moving around under her skin. ¡®Do you see that.¡± she asked. Lon looked at her arm as if trying to figure out what she was talking about. Finally, he asked in a hesitant tone. ¡°Your arm?¡± ¡°Do you see the thing moving around under the skin?¡± Lon looked closer, trying to see what she was talking about. Either he couldn¡¯t see therge lump where something moved under her skin, or the lump didn¡¯t exist. Since Rain didn¡¯t think his eyes were that bad, the lumps must really be in her head. Knowing that she was slightly crazy wasforting. Better that than actually having parasites living under her skin. ¡°What you can''t see are the things that live under my skin. I¡¯m pretty sure that the reason that you can''t see them is because they don¡¯t exist. I started seeing and feeling them after my mental corruption hit neen percent. I don¡¯t know how the mental corruption will affect you, but it took me three books before my mind started ying tricks on me, so you should be fine.¡± ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that reading this book could make me see things, but it could also get me into the academy?¡± That about summed it up. ¡°Yea¡± Lon took a long look at the bakery next to them. ¡°If it can get me out of this ce, it¡¯ll be worth it. I¡¯ll read it.¡± Talon’s Out Talon¡¯s Out Lon took the book out of Rain¡¯s hands, face a mask of nervous excitement. He ran his hands over the stitched leather cover, fingers lingering over the seams between leather pieces. He looked closer at the ws on the string before finally taking a deep breath and opening the book. Rain watched all this in fidgety silence. When he finally started reading, she could see a faint warping around him and the book. If she had to guess, it was closer to the impression valuable things made on reality than the discoloration that happened when people told lies. She kind of hoped Lon would take a while so she could figure out what was going on. When Lon turned the page, Rain realized she should have told him to take breaks and check his corruption instead of reading the whole book. This book might be like the tome of chromatic truths and only require a single chapter to get a skill. She decided to let him keep reading for now. A couple of pages wouldn¡¯t do that much, and if this book was like the Tome of Chromatic Truths, he would probably feel the skill being forced on him. Lon kept reading; as he did, the strange warping around him grew stronger and stronger. After his fifth page, Rain decided she needed to stop him from reading further until they could assess his corruption levels. ¡°Lon, you should take a break.¡± He ignored her. ¡°Lon, you need to take a break now!¡± Lon didn¡¯t even pause as he turned the page. ¡°Lon, do you hear me? It could be bad if you don¡¯t stop.¡± Nothing. Rain reached out to shake Lon out of whatever stupor he was in but found she couldn''t touch him. The aura around him rebuffed her attempts. Meanwhile, Lon turned another page. The warping around Lon began to shift from a slight distortion, simr to the kind hot temperatures make, to ghostly hands reaching out of the book, holding gifts and offering them to Lon. Rain needed to stop Lon before he got hurt. Taking the bonded ver she had on her, she tossed it between Lon''s feet and warped to it. Hopefully, her appearing under him would knock him down and break him out of whatever trance he was in. Instead, as she warped, she felt a force hit her like a punch to the gut, and she appeared a foot short of Lon and the coin. The coin immediately destroyed itself despite being fresh. At this point, Rain didn¡¯t know what else she could do other than wait and hope her friend was alright. Another ten minutes passed. The distorted arms from the book became more solid with every passing second. Before reaching the halfway point in the book, Lon seemed to return to himself and snapped the book shut. ¡°Ugg, that was¡­ odd.¡± Lon groaned. Before Rain could ask him if he was alright, Mr. Purple appeared with a message. [Reader Talon has attained the skill: Battle Enhancement.] [Creating ss around Battle Enhancement for reader Talon.] Lon stared at Rain, a look of dazed wonder in his eyes. ¡°Rain, it worked.¡± [Notice: Reader Talon is exceptionally vulnerable to the corrupting influence; all corruption gained will be increased by 500%.] [Notice: Reader Talon¡¯s mental corruption has risen 100%. Current mental corruption 100%.] [Notice: Reader Talon¡¯s physical corruption has risen 100%. Current physical corruption 100%.] More messages from Mr. Purple appeared, but Rain ignored them as Lon''s expression shifted from joy to confusion to hunger. Then, his body began to morph. His legs grew longer, and his feet elongated, ripping apart his shoes as he shifted his stance to stand on his toes. His feet looked more like those of a dog than a man. His shirt ripped as a third arm sprouted underneath his left arm. This new appendage had two elbows, allowing it to move in ways no arm should. Each of his three hands was tipped with long ws that dripped a viscous ck ooze. The thing that scared Rain the most, though, was his face. So very little had changed with his face. His mouth was wider and filled with sharp teeth, and a third eye had sprouted above his left eye. It was still a familiar face, but those changes made it feel so very off. Lon took an awkward step towards Rain. Nothing moved right, as though his muscles and bones were in all the wrong ces. His strange anatomy looked all the more unnatural under his perfectly normal pale human skin. Rain could see the goosebumps on his exposed arms. ¡°Lon,¡± Rain managed in a tiny voice. Lon opened his mouth and screamed, hitting pitches that no human voice should ever reach. Rain felt her body lock up, and Mr. Purple returned with more messages. She ignored them like the rest. Lon took another step towards Rain. He was close enough that she could touch him if she could move. He grinned, showing his jagged teeth, and shed at Rain with his ws. Before he could make contact, Rain warped to the coin she kept as an escape route in case of trouble, appearing behind a bush in a neighborhood ten minutes from Lon. She toppled over the moment she appeared still paralyzed. As she tried to regain control of her limbs, Mr. Purple kindly showed her a message. [You have been paralyzed by the skill ¡®Talon¡¯s Rage¡¯ paralyze duration 30 seconds.] That was useful to know. It was a pity there was no way to read a message in the middle of stressful situations. Rainposed herself and made a deliberate effort to gather her thoughts as the skill''s effect faded. She needed a way to capture Lon. If she could hold him, she might be able to find a way to reverse the corruption. The only ce in Tineak she might be able to keep him in secret was the Dead Ring. But she didn¡¯t know it well, and getting Lon there without him hurting someone or getting hurt was slim. Alternatively, she could lure him into her library and lock him in. That would help keep him isted but would also make her library inessible. There was also the chance he might read something in there and worsen his condition. Rain started to feel her toes. It was time to get back to Lon. Pulling herself to her feet, she started an awkward run back, stumbling along as she tried to regain full control of her limbs. People looked at her oddly as she shuffled by. Rain decided that locking him in the library would be the best solution until she could find somece else to hold him. By this point, she had fully recovered from the paralyzation skill and was running as fast as her legs could take her. People had gone from odd looks as she stumbled to angry looks as she knifed between them and jumped over things that got in her way. The best n to get Lon into the library would be to get him to charge at her while she stood in front of an open doorway. She could dive out of the way before he got her and close the door. Given Lon¡¯s new form, he would likely be able to change direction faster than her, so diving out of the way at thest second wouldn¡¯t work. However, if she dropped a coin to the side and warped to it, she could dodge out of the way at thest second without giving away that she nned to dodge. By this point, Rain was close enough to hear faint shouts and metal nging. People were also fleeing the area. That wasn¡¯t a good sign. She needed to hurry before someone got hurt. As she turned thest corner, a new sense joined the sound of fighting. The smell of blood. Laying in the street just outside the alley where Rain had given Lon the book were three corpses: two men and a teenage girl. They had all been ripped open with sharp ws. One of the men was missing arge portion of his chest. Ragged teeth marks covered the edge of the wound. In the street, six guards in blue uniforms emzoned with the Star of Tineak tried to keep a bleeding Lon at bay with their spears. Lon growled and swiped his ws in the direction of one of the guards. As he made the motion, ws of light detached from his hand and flew into the guard, carving deep gouges into his chest and causing him to fall backward. Another guard, seeing Lon''s distraction, tried to stab him in the side. Lon caught the attack with his third arm and pulled the guard towards him, wing the guard in the face. The guard screamed and clutched his face as if it were on fire. A third guard, this one older, yelled at the others. ¡°Stay back. We just need to hold it until a sser arrives.¡± The others took this advice and tried to hold Lon back without engaging him. This was a problem for Rain; if Lon was being pinned down, she wouldn¡¯t be able to trick him into the library. Looking around, she scanned for anything that might help her salvage this. Her eyes were drawn back to the corpses outside the alley. The book! If she destroyed it, maybe it would undo what happened to Lon! Rain ran to the alley, jumping over the corpses and pools of blood, and bolted down to where the booky innocently on the ground. When she reached it, she closed her eyes and opened the book. She could feel it trying to reach her, but with her eyes closed, it couldn¡¯t make contact. Grabbing for the first page, Rain began ripping it out of the book. The moment the page started to tear, the book dissolved. Opening her eyes, Rain saw motes of light floating away from where the book used to be. Had that done anything? Rain ran back to the opening of the main street to find Lon still fighting the guards. One more of the guardsy unmoving on the ground. It didn¡¯t work. She needed a n that would work. She started looking over the street again, hoping she missed something she could use to fix all this. Two new figures entered the scene: a man in silvery armor carrying a steel sword led by another guard. As they arrived, the guard pointed at Lon, too out of breath to speak. The man in silver patted him on the back and told him to rest. ¡°Guardsmen, pull back. I will deal with this abomination.¡± The guards disengaged at the man in silver¡¯s words and ran for all they were worth. Lon eyed the man in silver wearily as he took a bite from a severed arm he had picked up somewhere. The man in silver casually approached Lon as though Lon posed no threat. Lon swiped his hands, sending ws of light towards the man. As the ws reached the man in silver, he beat them out of the air with his sword using minimal effort. Seeing this, Lon screamed, paralyzing Rain all the way back where she stood. The man in silver, however, seemed unaffected. When he was ten feet from Lon, he crouched down, pointing the tip of his sword at Lon; then, fast as a bolt of lightning, the man in silver was behind Lon. The man slowly stood up straight as Lon toppled to the ground, head rolling off his shoulders. Rain could do nothing but watch. The bodies in the street, and now Lon, a kind boy who stood up for what he thought was right, the first and only friend she ever had, they were all dead, and it was all her fault. Rescue Rescue Rain stumbled back into the alleyway, the sight of Lon¡¯s twisted form being beheaded burned into her mind. It¡¯s all my fault. She ran. She ran from the man in silver, she ran from the guards, she ran from the corpses in the street, she ran from the body of her only real friend. It¡¯s all my fault. She was a murderer, she was evil, she didn¡¯t deserve to have friends, but she had still gone out of her way to spend time with him because she didn¡¯t want to be alone. She had ced her feelings over the safety of her friend. It''s all my fault. She could hear Ound¡¯s voice as she ran. ¡®Don¡¯te crying to us when she curses you!¡¯ She had thought he was being mean, but no, he had been right; she was evil. She was a ck sser who would do nothing but bring pain and death to everyone around her. It''s all my fault. She didn¡¯t deserve to live after what she had done. Her past self had given up everything so that Rain could save people; instead, she had cursed and murdered them. She didn¡¯t deserve to exist. It''s all my fault. Rain''s mind continued to churn and darken with thoughts of self-hate as she wandered aimlessly through the streets. Anyone who thought of bothering her changed their mind when they saw the expression on her face. Hours passed as Rain''s mind whirled, and coherent thought ceased. When she finally stopped, she found herself standing in front of the Miggos¡¯s manor. She didn¡¯t know when she had decided toe here, but she needed to act, to do something, and if she was hurt or killed in the process, all the better. The manor was a pretty ce that sat on the edge of the Mid Ring overlooking the Low Ring. Three stories tall, it looked like a pretty and peaceful ce. Too bad for it; it would soon be stained by the filth that was Rain. She had nned to do this sneakily, but now she found she didn¡¯t care. She changed her cloak back to its original form. When she saw that it was whole and neat, she forced it to return to the ragged state it had been in when she first found it. Better, she didn¡¯t deserve to wear nice things. Putting on the goggles she had bought, she wrapped her head and face in the type of scarf everyone in the city wore. Walking up to the wall surrounding the estate, she lobbed a coin over it. Before it could evennd on the other side, she warped to it, falling a foot beforending on a shaped bush, crushing it. The destruction seemed fitting for a monster like her. She picked up her coin and started walking towards the manor. There were two ces a person would usually be held captive: high up in the air or underground. Monsters were kept underground, monsters like Rain. Rain wasn¡¯t here to save a monster, so she needed to go up. Taking her coin, she threw it at an unshuttered ss window on the second story. The coin bounced off the ss andnded in the grass outside. Looking around, Rain scoped up her coin and arge rock. This time, she threw the rock at the window. A loud crash and raining ss announced Rain''s sess. Tossing the coin through the window, Rain warped into the building. She could hear running footsteps and shouting people, but she didn¡¯t care. She had appeared in what looked like a bedroom; it was nice without being toovish with a pretty pale blue color scheme. In the hallway, servants scurried around. They got even more agitated when they saw Rain in her ck garb face covered. Some of them rushed off while others attempted to corner or capture Rain. It was useless. When a lone servant or maid tried to capture her, she would use her smaller size to slip around them or slide between their legs. When they tried to work in teams or make a wall of bodies, she would throw a coin down the hallway and warp to it. She initially had problems when she found out that her teleporting killed her momentum. She had been sliding under a maid when she warped away and found herself lying motionless on the floor, unable to use her momentum to rise quickly to her feet. Still, she adapted. When the servants realized what she could do, some tried to catch the coins. This led to Rain bouncing the coins off the walls or roof to avoid the people. It was almost like a game, one she didn¡¯t deserve to y. Eventually, after a few short minutes and many coinster, Rain found a room on the third floor that was locked from the outside. Sliding past a persistent maid, Rain skated a coin under the door and warped in. A bored-looking redhead girl a few years younger than Rain was lying spread-eagled on the floor despite there being a nice bed. She was staring listlessly at the ceiling. When Rain popped into existence, she jerked in surprise. When she looked at Rain, there was no fear on her face; instead, there was curiosity? Excitement? Rain wasn¡¯t sure. Rain used her skill to turn the door behind her into a portal, locking the rest of the mansion out of the room. ¡°Your uncle Manas sent me to bring you to his secret courtyard.¡± The girl Ariana¡¯s face brightened at Rain''s words. ¡°What are we waiting for? Let''s go!¡± Ariana hopped to her feet and ran over to Rain, trying to take her hand. Rain jerked her hand back before she could touch it. Rain would not allow this girl to be cursed like Lon. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± Ariana backed up, confused. ¡°Okay.¡± Rain took a deep breath and took the blindfold Manas had given her out of her pocket. ¡°Put this on.¡± Sheplied. The slight hurt on her face turning into excitement. ¡°What are we doing?¡± ¡°Just follow me.¡± Rain took off her face wrap and used it to cover her hand. This way, when she grabbed Ariana''s hand to lead her through the portal, Ariana wouldn¡¯t be exposed to Rain''s bare skin. It was still wrong for Rain to touch someone, but she didn¡¯t know what else to do. Ariana passed through the portal withoutplications, and Rain led her to the chair that she had gotten out of Manas. She directed Ariana to sit in the chair. ¡°Whatever happens, don''t take off the blindfold until I tell you. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Yessir.¡± The moment Rain started turning, Ariana reached up for the blindfold. Rain hugged her, pinning her arms between them before Ariana could remove her blindfold. ¡°No! Don¡¯t. Please don''t. I don''t want. Please, not again.¡± Rain had no idea what she was trying to say; all she knew was that she hurt. Hurt so much that she couldn¡¯t hold back the tears that had been trying to escape for hours. She didn¡¯t know what to do, how to fix things, how to fix herself. She was an evil person, a murderer; the only thing she had done since escaping was to hurt others. She was a monster, but she didn''t want to be. She wanted to be someone good. The problem was, She didn¡¯t know how to be anyone other than herself, so how was she supposed to be someone good like Lon? Maybe if she could do the right thing just once, it would mean there was hope for her. If she were honest with herself, that was the reason she was here: to save one person, to see if she had anything good in her or if she was irredeemable. Rain got her sobbing under control and pulled away from the girl, a strand of snot connecting her to the shoulder she had been crying into. Ariana lowered her hands. ¡°Sorry, I won''t peek until you say so, promise, so please don''t be sad.¡± ¡°Please, don''t. I don''t want bad. Just, please don''t look.¡± It was all Rain could manage. She hoped it would be enough. Rewrapping her face, she returned to the Miggos manor. The moment she set foot in the room Ariana had been locked in, the portal to her library copsed, and Mr. Purple showed up with another message. [Warning: You are in an antiskill barrier. You cannot use any active skills until the barrier is disabled or you leave the area of the barrier.] Escape Escape [Warning: You are in an antiskill barrier. You cannot use any active skills until the barrier is disabled or you leave the area of the barrier.] With that simple message, all Rain''s ns were crushed. No active skills meant no ¡®door to the Library¡¯ or ¡®Path of Wealth.¡¯ She needed to think fast before armed men with a key to the door came to capture her or Ariana broke her promise and lifted her blindfold. Looking around the room, Rain found an oilmp and a spark flicker. Using the spark flicker, she lit themp. There was noise outside the door as heavy footsteps approached, and amanding voice told the servants to back away from the door. Rain wasn¡¯t sure if her n would work, but for the girl''s sake, she would have to make it. Her goal was the room she had seen at the end of the hall with the fancy decor andrge windows overlooking the Low Ring. When she heard a key in the lock, she cocked her arm back, ready to throw hermp. The moment a gaprge enough to fit themp appeared, she threw it, shattering it on the wall outside. The armored man who had been opening the door yelped as burning oil sshed him. The wall themp broke on was made of stone and didn¡¯t light up when the burning oil hit it, but the pine floor and fancy rug in the hallway, along with the drapes and paintings, those all caught fire quite nicely. Rain used the distraction to bolt past the three armed men towards her escape. However, one of the armored men had the presence of mind to grab her by the arm as she tried to pass him. ¡°Got him.¡± the man said, coughing from the smoke. ¡°Rog, Nath, put that out before the whole ce burns down.¡± The man''s grip on her arm hurt; any harder might break something. Rain thrashed, trying to break away. She needed to get out of here before something happened to Ariana. Rain didn¡¯t care what happened to herself; she deserved every bad thing that happened to her for what she had done, but Ariana wasn¡¯t a monster. Rain didn¡¯t think the man would be willing to touch her if he knew what she had done. She would have been able to escape then. All she had on her were some coins; her skills were blocked, and the man was far stronger than her and wearing armor. There was no way she was escaping through force. Why was it that one of the few times someone will touch me is also one of the few times I wish they wouldn¡¯t? Rain felt an idea begin to take form. She needed the man to let her go; her active skills were blocked, but her passive skills were not. For as long as she could remember, people had avoided her. Ever since she learned of her ¡®Aura of the Unnatural¡¯ skill, she knew that it must be warning people to stay away from her. But if so, then it wasn¡¯t warning them nearly enough. If it had done its job right, Lon would never have befriended her, and she wouldn¡¯t have been able to hurt him. Taking all the bad things she had done, all the self-hate she fostered, Rain pushed it into her aura, trying to force the people around her to understand that she was vile and unnatural. Her aura responded. The shadows cast by the raging mes seemed to stop flickering and dancing and instead began to curl independently of the me that cast them. Behind Rain, her shadow shifted and grew. Five more arms sprouted from it. Each hand had nine fingers. The first arm had one joint at the elbow, the second had two joints at unequal distances; the pattern continued until the seventh arm with its seven skewed joints. Where the shadow of her head would be was a mass of darkness with two glowing eyes and a mouth of jagged teeth. Whispers started to seep up from the floor; the words and voices were just barely iprehensible. But the meaning still made its way through. They spoke of the abandoned and lost, of knowledge forsaken and things that could have been. But most of all, they spoke of sorrow. Rain could use this. Reaching up, she caressed the man''s face under the open-faced bronze helmet he wore. Fortunately, he was bent over slightly so he could grab her arm. Otherwise, she never would have been able to reach his face. As she touched him, the man flinched back, eyes wide at the things happening around him. The other two men looked equally frightened. Seeing that it wasn¡¯t enough, Rain spoke; her voice sounded strange and unnatural, not something that should exist in this world. ¡°Will youe with me to the Garden of Arkit?¡± The curress, the voice, and the invitation to Arkit convinced the man that she was some kind of servant of a Prince of Darkness. Which, in a way, she might be. The man let go of her and stumbled away. The moment he let go, Rain turned away from the men and slowly walked to her target room. She had to work hard not to run and ruin the image of a powerful denizen of Arkit. Once she reached the room, she walked up to therge window. Out the window, she could see a straight drop down the three stories of the manor and then another seven or so stories down a sheer cliff to the Low Ring. Turning around, she saw the men frozen in ce, watching her as the hall behind them burned. Rain spread her arms in a dramatic pose and threw herself backward through the window and into a freefall. Rain pivoted her body around as she fell and threw a coin at the ground. As she plummeted past the manor, she could feel the restrictive barrier disappear, and her skills react to her. She could feel the coin she had just thrown and warped to it when it hit the ground. Rain appeared belly down on the ground right above the coin she had thrown. Somehow, she hadn¡¯t killed herself. Looking around, she saw a regr Low Ring street covered in ash with its colorless buildings. Her aura had returned to normal; no strange sounds or shadows were present. Getting to her feet, Rain ran as fast as she could to get somewhere out of sight of the Manor above, fire lighting up its windows like angry eyes. The moment she felt safe to do so, Rain opened a door to the library, worried about what she would find. To her great relief, she saw Ariana sitting where she had left her, blindfold still on. ¡°Is that you?¡± Ariana sounded a little worried. It was probably a bit frightening to sit in a strange ce like this. Rain hadn¡¯t realized that the whispering from the books was audible from here before. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re almost home.¡± With that, Rain led Ariana outside. She had done it. She had saved one person. With this one act, Rain could see. She was a monster, but she could be something better. A Kind Monster A Kind Monster Getting Ariana to the Fiddler¡¯s Retreat was more challenging than it should have been. Not because Miggos¡¯s men were behind every corner, criminal organizations were trying to attack her, or any other thing Rain would have guessed might cause a dy. In fact, by all ounts, the journey was uneventful. The problem was Ariana herself. The girl got easily distracted and would run off in random directions whenever something caught her eye. More than once, Rain had a panic attack when she realized the girl wasn¡¯t following her, forcing Rain to backtrack and look for her before something bad happened. After the third or fourth time this happened, Rain forced Ariana to hold her hand. Rain felt incredibly guilty about this, but she had no other choice. She tried not to enjoy the feeling of the girl¡¯s hand in her own. Even holding the distractable girl''s hand, Rain almost lost her a few times. After a while, Rain discovered a tactic that kept Ariana focused. She turned it into a race. By picking a destination in the right direction and challenging her to a race, Rain could get Ariana to put all her attention towards going in the right direction. Rain did have to add different rules to the races to keep Ariana¡¯s interest but Rain couldn¡¯t deny that running backwards as fast as possible, or trying to race while remaining unseen by some random passerby, was kind of fun. When they reached the Fiddler¡¯s Retreat, Rain went straight to room number two and knocked. The door opened before Rain could even lower her hand. Manas stood there, arms open wide. ¡°My Girl! You¡¯re safe!¡± Ariana ran into Manas¡¯s arms, and he swept her up into a massive hug. Rain felt a roiling pit of jealousy build up in her. To have someone care for her, to be hugged like that, to have someone tofort her when everything went wrong, Rain wanted it so much it hurt. Tearing her gaze away from the two, Rain looked at the floor. ¡°Thank you, Thirty-six, for bringing her back to us.¡± Rain looked up at the words to see the smiling face of Manas. He was holding out a roll of paper to Rain. ¡°Here is the information I promised you and instructions on contacting the Watching Stars. I look forward to our future business.¡± Rain took the information and the implied dismissal and left. As Rain wandered the streets looking for a good door to use to go home, Mr. Purple appeared, reminding her of all the messages she had ignored during the events of the day. Rain was tired and didn¡¯t want to deal with them right now, but she wanted to be rude to Mr. Purple even less, so she let him show her the first messages. [Congrattions: By raising another human¡¯s mental corruption, you have reduced your mental corruption. Mental corruption has fallen 10%. Current mental corruption, 9%.] [Congrattions: By raising another human¡¯s physical corruption, you have reduced your physical corruption. Physical corruption has fallen 10%. Current physical corruption, [Error].] Rain felt sick and immediately regretted looking at the messages. Was she being rewarded for what she did to Lon? The pit of self-loathing in her stomach grew at the thought. Looking down, Rain realized she could no longer feel the things moving under her skin. She had gotten so used to them that she hadn''t noticed them disappear. Looking back at the messages, Rain was certain they had been connected to her corruption levels. Now that her corruption had dropped, the unpleasant hallucinations disappeared. Mr. Purple rearranged himself to show her another message. [Congrattions: By raising another human¡¯s mental and physical corruption to 100%, you have unlocked a new skill: Artisan of Abominations. Do you ept?] Rain felt like someone had punched her in the gut. If thest messages weren''t a reward for the awful things she had done, then this definitely was. What did this skill even do? [Artisan of Abominations: You may bind the will of any Human with 100% physical or mental corruption, turning them into your thralls. This effect can not be undone.] ¡°I refuse!¡± Rain wanted no part of that skill; she never wanted to let someone read one of her books again. Turning people into savage monsters was terrible enough, let alone turning them into a thrall afterward. Rain hated very; was her ss trying to turn her into everything she hated in the world? [Artisan of Abominations has been added to your list of potential skills. You may change your mind and ept it at any time.] Rain could scream. No! Get rid of it. I don¡¯t ever want to see it again! Nothing happened. Taking a deep breath and unsure how much more she could take tonight, Rain asked for thest message. [Congrattions: By forcefully empowering your skill ¡®Aura of the Unnatural¡¯ with your will, you have raised it to level [Error Level System Unavable]; all passive effects of the aura increased.] Rain worried about all the errors in Mr. Purple¡¯s messages. Was she hurting him too? Maybe she should stop looking at his messages so he wouldn¡¯t get hurt. At least this time, the message gave her something she felt she deserved. With her aura empowered, people would be even less likely to go near her. She wouldn¡¯t have to worry about hurting anyone because no one would get close to her. Rain started to cry as the realization that she would always be alone hit her. She knew she deserved it, and that she was dangerous, but she hated the idea of being alone. And she hated herself for being so selfish. Hugging herself, Rain picked a door to use to go home. She needed to get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow, she could figure out how to deal with things. ¡°Hay there. You look like you need someone to talk to.¡± Rain whirled around at the sound of a soft voice. Sitting on a doorstep was a young man in his mid-twenties with golden hair so bright it reflected the little light the night offered. He smiled softly at Rain and sipped from a steel sk. The man patted the step next to him. ¡°Have a seat and tell me what''s wrong. I won¡¯t promise to fix it, but I can lend you my ear.¡± Rain hesitated; there was something off about this man. He dressed like any other Mid Ringer, but the fact that he could afford a steel sk instead of themon bronze meant he had money to waste. To top it off, Rain was certain he hadn¡¯t been there. She had been about to open a portal to her library and had scanned the street for anyone who might have been in the area. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I rarely bite these days. You have my word; I won¡¯t harm you.¡± the man took a drink and looked up at the sky. ¡°Honestly, I came here to investigate a new disturbance. Never thought I¡¯d find a crumb of hope instead.¡± Rain had no idea what to make of the odd man, but he didn¡¯t feel hostile, and shockingly enough, his words had the color of truth to them. She also felt that given the way he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, he was powerful enough to be safe from Rain. Rain walked over to the man and sat on the step next to him. The man she decided to call Blondy smiled and offered her his sk. ¡°Have a drink. It''s just juice, nothing funky.¡± Rain saw he wasn¡¯t lying and took a sip. The juice was both tangy and sweet easily the best thing she had ever tasted. Blondy chuckled when he saw her face. ¡°It''s the juice of a fruit called a lemon mixed with some extra goodies to make it taste better. Do you like it?¡± Rain nodded fervently. She was a little sad to give the sk back. ¡°You look like you¡¯re having a bad night. Tell me about it. You don¡¯t have to give me details if you don¡¯t want.¡± Rain hesitated only for a second. ¡°I killed my only friend today.¡± her voice came out in a warbling whisper. She expected Blondy to be shocked by her statement, but he kept staring at the sky. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to! I didn''t mean to! I¡­. just wanted to help.¡± Rain hugged her knees and buried her face. She didn¡¯t want Blondy to see her crying. Well, more than he already had. ¡°I kept telling myself I needed to leave him alone because I would only hurt him, but I didn¡¯t because being around him made me happy.¡± Blondy gave her time to say more if she wanted. When it became clear that she was done he finally broke the silence. ¡°So it was an ident?¡± ¡°Yes. But I could have avoided it; I should have avoided it. It only happened because I¡¯m a monster, and I acted without knowing what might happen.¡± Blondy actuallyughed at that and ruffled her hair. ¡°Trust me, kiddo, as a real monster, I can tell you you aren''t one. I used to kill people for the fun of it. Killed some of my siblings, too, when I thought they were trying to steal from me. You didn¡¯t even want to kill your friend. As for not knowing something that got your friend hurt, it sounds like you have your heart in the right ce. You can only act on the knowledge you have at the time. As long as you try to learn as much as you can, you can¡¯t me yourself for what you don¡¯t know. Just make the best decision with what you know at the time.¡± Rain thought she would be scared to sit next to a self-professed murderer, but he didn¡¯t feel threatening, and knowing that he wasn¡¯t good made her feel like she wasn¡¯t unworthy to talk to him, putting her at ease. ¡°Get as smart as I can so I can¡¯t me myself when I don¡¯t know something.¡± Rain mused to herself. It made sense to her, but the pain and guilt at Lon¡¯s death were still there potent as ever. Now though, Rain felt like she had the tools to turn those things from pain to something else. Time would tell. Rain turned to thank Blondy, only to see him walking away down the deserted street. His sk of juice was resting where he had been sitting. Picking it up, Rain called to the strange man. ¡°You forgot your juice!¡± Blondy turned his head so she could see the left side of his face and called over his shoulder. ¡°No I didn¡¯t. Why don¡¯t you keep it? You can give the sk back to me when we next meet if you want, but you¡¯ll have to hold on until then. That means you can¡¯t give up on yourself, kiddo.¡± And with that, he walked out of sight. Going into Business Going into Business A little over a week after Lon¡¯s death and her conversation with Blondy, Rain finally felt like she could do things without wanting to cry. Now she just felt empty, as though after so long of being sad, she no longer had any emotions left in her. Compared to the pain, it felt nice. She hoped it wouldst. Taking the roll of paper with the information the Watching Stars gave her, Rain unrolled it to see what it said. Manas had broken the information on the scroll into two lists, one of failing merchants and the other of major gangs. At the bottom, he had listed a few ways to get a hold of the Watching Stars should she want to buy more information. Rain chose to focus on the merchants for now. She was sitting on a pile of money, which was doing her no good. Looking through the list, she saw five names. The first name was Ard Dulman. He specialized in selling cosmetics and fashionable women¡¯s clothes. Renowned as one of the best in the Mid Ring, he built quite a profitable tradingpany with suppliers all over the Isles. His lousy fortune came when he was caught cheating on his wife with multiple customers. Now, he had a long line of angry husbands trying to take him down and an equally furious wife. From everything Rain could see about him, it looked like he would be forced into an early retirement, and one of his kids would be taking up the business. Rain wished the man luck and moved on to the next name. Low Porter was a second-generation merchant who was undercut in every item he sold. The most significant loss he sustained in recent days was when he spent a small fortune on frost silk from a distant northern ind only to have one of his rivals start selling the silk two days before Low¡¯s shipment arrived. Not only that, but his rival was able to sell at a cheaper price than Low could. That one shipment alone almost bankrupted Low, and it was hardly an isted experience. From what Rain could tell from the information, the problem was that Low tried to do things exactly like his father and failed to adapt. Rain decided to pass Low by for now and moved to the next name. Ack Friend ran a small shippingpany that supplied fine lumber. The problem was that the ind where he sourced his lumber had recently been pronounced a dead ind after a gue broke out there. Ack was a vocal advocate for sending a team to the ind to check on the state of the people there. However, until the ind was pronounced safe or he found a new source of fine lumber, he would be a merchant with no wares. The next merchant on her list was Ad Purson. He was a ve merchant, and that was as far as Rain read before moving on. She would not be partnering with a ver. Thest name was Ind Markson. Ind was known as a savvy businessman who traded in all kinds of things and had connections across the archipgo. His current problem was that brigands were targeting his ships and caravans. The information spected that one of hispetitors had hired the bandits to attack only his shipments. After hisst shipment was lost despite increasing guards, Ind was left with barely two opps to rub together. As far as Rain was concerned, he was perfect. The man had a good sense for business and the contacts to make it work. However, he would be unable to recover without someone to get rid of the bandits and the money to restart his business. Rain was already forming a n to get rid of the bandits, and she had money to spare. If she could pull this off, she would have apetent merchant making her money and providing her connections to the other inds. Rain looked through the information on the man to get a better idea of who he was as a person and how she should approach him. He was married and had a son around Rain¡¯s age. Any information on his family life seemed to paint him in a positive light. It made Rain like him. After a little more skimming, she found a warehouse in the Low Ring that was all that remained of his holdings in the city. It sounded like he was spending a lot of time there trying to figure out how to get out of his current situation. Rain felt it was as good a ce as anywhere to find him. Looking through her hoard for something she could use to impress Mr. Markson with her wealth, Rain found a small bag ofrge gems. She figured it would have to do. She would prefer to show him one of the bars of gold she had pilfered, but they were too heavy to haul around the city; even if she used a door to retrieve it right before entering the warehouse, her arriving carrying a bar of gold she could hardly lift would make a bad first impression. She would wait until they had an agreement before showing up with suspicious goods. Tucking her pouch of gems into her cloak, she changed her cloak to look like drab gray Low Ringer garb and headed out to find Mr. Markson¡¯s warehouse. It was a bit of a walk from where Rain hadst entered her library in the Mid Ring to Mr. Markson¡¯s warehouse in the Low Ring, but fortunately, it was a nice day. The gossip Rain heard in the Mid Ring was mostly standard stuff. Still, asionally, she would hear different theories about what happened at Miggos¡¯s manor or about monsters attacking people in the streets. Apparently, Rain burning down a good portion of Miggos¡¯s mansion was a big deal. If she was being honest about it, she was kinda proud of that. The number of patrolling guards decreased when she entered the Low Ring, and the casual rummermongering turned into true fear. There was a general air that people here weren¡¯t safe. Rain felt like someone had stabbed her in the gut. The Low Ring had always had an air of unease, but now, in part because of what she had done, people were even more afraid than before. She tried to ignore the pain around her and keep to less popted areas so she wouldn¡¯t feel guilty about the state of things. However, when she heard a quiet call for help from a narrow sidestreet, she couldn¡¯t help but make a detour. In the cramped street littered with ash-covered refuse, a tiny figure was crumpled in front of a young blond woman. The woman was ranting at the tiny figure and kicking it to punctuate her words. ¡°If you can¡¯t¡± kick ¡°get that rich fool¡± kick ¡°to ept you¡± kick ¡°as his daughter,¡± kick ¡°then why have I¡± kick ¡°been feeding you?¡± kick. Rain had no idea what was going on, but she had seen enough. She poured her rage into her aura skill, and the shadowed street came to life. The shadows formed a million pools, then each pool formed an eye, and each eye focused on the woman. ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡± Rain¡¯s voice came out different fromst time. It sounded like a thousand angry whisperers speaking in discordant union. The strange voice slid right into the brain. The woman stopped her rant immediately as all the blood drained from her face. She spun in every direction, looking for a safe way out and seeing only eyes of shadow gazing back at her. When she saw Rain slowly walking towards her body cloaked in shadow, the woman panicked and ran in the other direction. With the woman gone, Rain tried to lower the intensity of her aura but found she couldn¡¯t return it to normal; her anger was still too high. All she managed to do was reduce it a bit and shrink the affected size. It would have to do for now. Going over to the crumpled figure, Rain found a battered girl about her own age with sunny blond hair and tears in her sky-blue eyes. Rain expected to see fear in the girl''s eyes when she saw Rain; after all, Rain¡¯s aura was still sting stronger than usual, and most children Rain¡¯s age couldn¡¯t take her usual aura. However, instead of fear, Rain could swear she saw stars. ¡°Are you okay?¡± The girl nodded, sitting up from where she had been huddled in a ball on the ground. Rain noticed she had a split lip and bruises all over. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± A nod. ¡°Well,e on then.¡± Rain didn¡¯t offer to help the girl up, no matter how much she wanted to. Honestly, Rain wanted to hug her and tell her it would be alright; then, she would tell the girl that they would be good friends. But Rain couldn¡¯t. She just didn¡¯t know what might hurt someone, and she wasn¡¯t willing to risk this poor girl. Rain watched with pangs of guilt as the girl struggled to her feet and limped after Rain. The girl was clearly hurting. Rain led the girl to the end of the street in the opposite direction that the awful woman had run off in. As she walked, her aura returned to normal as her anger was reced by concern for the struggling girl behind her. It took every fiber of self-control she had not to go back and try to carry the girl. Eventually, they made it to a more crowded street, and Rain found a cart selling food. Telling the girl to sit, Rain bought them both some food and offered the girl her portion. The girl looked at Rain like she was a goddess. Rain tried not to preen too much at the admiration. She failed. Once they had eaten, Rain looked at the girl. She was worried that the girl might be unable to find a safe ce to live. It sounded like the older woman Rain had found beating the girl was her mother or something. ¡°Will you be okay?¡± Rain figured that the best way to find out was to ask. The girl nodded. Comforted, Rain got up and started back towards Mr. Markson¡¯s warehouse. The girl got up and started limping after. It was at this point Rain realized there might have been a misunderstanding somewhere. Deal Deal Rain had no idea what to do. The poor girl following her didn¡¯t seem to have a safe ce to go, but it wasn¡¯t safe for her to be near Rain either. Rain had told her she couldn¡¯t take her in, but the girl had just looked at Rain sadly and followed after her as she started walking away. Now Rain was walking slowly enough that the girl could keep up while pretending she wasn¡¯t aware of the girl. After all, if Rain left her behind in her state, she might get attacked or taken. The very thought made Rain feel ill. Maybe if Rain brought the girl to a healer and left her behind while the healer tended to her, Rain could get rid of her. But what if the healer realizes Rain isn¡¯t returning and takes advantage of the abandoned girl? If Rain waited for her to be treated, she would probably be even harder to lose. If Rain did try to take her in, where would they sleep? Rain had been sleeping in her library, but having the girl sleep in a library full of books that could turn her into a raging monster was an idea Rain wasn¡¯t willing to entertain. As she pondered for a solution to her problem, the two small girls continued towards Mr. Markson¡¯s warehouse. The dark-haired girl in front walked slowly, taking lots of unnecessary breaks and throwing covert looks over her shoulder while the sunny blond was trying to skulk behind, poorly hiding from sight and limping as fast as she could. By the time her destination came into sight, Rain was thoroughly stumped. The blond was trying to hide behind the corner of a building as she watched Rain. Clearly, she didn¡¯t understand how to hide; half her body was peeking past the corner she was trying to hide behind, and the way she crouched made her look more suspicious than if she just walked out into the open. The more Rain saw the more she worried for this girl. Trying to put the girl out of her mind, Rain entered the warehouse through its massive loading gates. The inside was worn but well maintained, with plenty of thin-slitted windows high up in the stone walls to let in light. Two empty handcarts were sitting just inside the loading doors. Some areas close to the carts looked like they were for temporarily storing goods while the carts were being loaded or unloaded. In the back were some doors Rain guessed led to the warehouse proper and another set that should lead to an office area. Rain headed towards the door that should lead to an office, ignoring the blue eyes and blond hair peeking out at her from behind the warehouse entrance. Knocking on the door, Rain realized Mr. Markson might not own this building anymore. Her information was a couple days old now, and he had been in a desperate situation. He might have sold the ce to cover his losses. After a few moments, a red-haired man with dark bags under his eyes opened the door and gave Rain a kind, if exhausted, smile. ¡°How can I help you, young miss?¡± ¡°Are you Mr. Markson?¡± ¡°What¡¯s left of him.¡± Mr. Markson said with a tired chuckle. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± ¡°It''s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Markson. My name is Rain.¡± Rain was trying to sound as formal and polite as she could. Her original n had been to change her clothes into something fancier when she got close to the warehouse, but with the blond girl following her, she hadn''t been able to find a ce to do it in secrecy. ¡°I want to be your partner, Mr. Markson.¡± Rain said with all the confidence she could put into her voice. ¡°Do you now. And what do you want to be partners in?¡± Despite having his world falling apart around him, Mr. Markson was willing to spend some of his time humoring a strange girl who had shown up uninvited at his door. If Rain had any doubt that she had picked the right merchant, it disappeared. ¡°I want to offer you the money to finance your business back to its original size and beyond, as well as give you a way to get rid of the bandits that have been targeting your shipments. In exchange, I want half the profits and a say in the business.¡± Rain wasn¡¯t sure how he would react to her statement. She was, after all, a poorly dressed ten-year-old. She gave it good odds that he would dismiss her out of hand. ¡°Why don¡¯t you and your friende in?¡± Rain wondered who he was talking about before realizing who her ¡®friend¡¯ must be; looking back at the blond girl, she sighed. Realizing she had been spotted, the girl squeaked and tried to hide. Rain could still see her foot peaking past the edge of the warehouse loading gates. ¡°She¡¯s not¡­ She¡¯s hard to exin. I helped her out on my trip here, and she started following me.¡± deciding that she wouldn¡¯t get rid of the girl easily, Rain gave in on getting her wounds treated. ¡°She also has some bad bruises. Do you know someone who could treat them? I can pay for it.¡± Mr. Markson chuckled. ¡°I do. Why don''t you have her sit inside while we talk?¡± Rain chose her steps carefully; as she went to the door, she made sure not to make a sound. When she was on the other side of the wall from the girl, she popped her head around the side of the open gate. ¡°What are you waiting for? Come in!¡± The girl let out an even louder squeak and almost fell over. Rain felt kind of bad for scaring the girl but she had to admit it had been fun. She would probably make the same choice again. Realizing that Mr. Markson was watching her and she was currently not helping her case as a mature and trustworthy future business partner, Rain straightened up and tried to pretend that she hadn¡¯t been messing around. ¡°Er, why don''t youe in and sit down if you n to follow me anyway?¡± That sounded properly mature and haughty, right? The girl hesitantly limped into the warehouse. When Mr. Markson saw her limp, he came forward to help her walk to a seat in his office. Rain was grateful. She had been about to do the same herself before remembering that she wanted to avoid touching people as much as possible. That didn''t stop her from getting a little jealous when Mr. Markson patted the girl''s head. What did that feel like? It probably felt really nice. Rain reached up to touch the top of her head. Seeing Mr. Markson start to turn around, she quickly put her hand down; she didn¡¯t need him to see her act like more of a child. Plus, she didn¡¯t like the emotions she was feeling right now. ¡°Now that that is taken care of, young miss, why don¡¯t we step into my office?¡± Rain gratefully followed, happy for the distraction. They entered a nice, if simple, office room. On the pine desk were a set of bronze scales and some papers. The walls had lighter patches where paintings or drapes once covered the now bare walls. ¡°So young miss, why don''t you exin to me what you have in mind to miraculously fix my problems.¡± Despite the somewhat aggressive choice of his words, Rain detected no malice yet. To begin with, Rain pulled out the pouch of stones she had concealed under her cloak and poured them onto the table. ¡°This is just a small token of the wealth that I have at my disposal. I am prepared to finance your trade operations for the next year to help get your business back to its former glory and beyond in exchange for half the profits going forward.¡± Mr. Markson picked up one of the gems and began looking it over. After examining the gem, he put it in a separate pile and picked up another rock. He repeated this process until he had examined every gem, then sat back in his chair. ¡°And may I ask who you represent, young miss?¡± Rain had been expecting this. Once she proved that she had wealth and that this wasn¡¯t a childish prank, the next best exnation for her presence here was that she was here for someone who wanted to work through her for secrecy or to teach her how to do business at a young age. The truth was, of course, neither of those things. ¡°I represent only myself.¡± She had initially nned to use a fabricated story to lead him into thinking she was part of some declining lord''s house, but given the ease of this meeting so far, Rain had a suspicion about the man. ¡°I see. In that case, I presume you don¡¯t want me to know how you came into your wealth?¡± ¡°Correct, I don¡¯t see any reason to share that information.¡± ¡°Very well. In that case, how do you n to eliminate the band of brigands attacking my shipments? Even if you give me all the gold in the world, I can do nothing if I can¡¯t get goods where they need to go.¡± Perfect. Rain had been correct. Mr. Markson either knew of her before she showed up on his doorstep or, what Rain felt was more likely, he had some kind of merchant ss that allowed him to get a good read on the negotiations simr to her truth sight. ¡°To get rid of the bandit problem, I need you to procure a strong box big enough to hold arge book. Then, I need you to prepare a caravan to ship that box somewhere yourpetitors will find threatening. I''ll provide the contents of the box. Once the caravan is raided and the box stolen, your problems will fix themselves. You can, of course, pay for all of this by selling those gems.¡± Mr. Markson gave her a long, searching look before finally putting two fingers to his lips and nodding. ¡°Deal.¡± Dreams and Plays Dreams and ys Rain ended up leaving the girl with Mr. Markson. She paid him for her treatment, food, and shelter for the next week. When Mr. Markson promised he would have everything ready for their n by tomorrow, she bid him farewell and returned to the Mid Ring to keep up appearances. She had to admit that the buildings in the Mid Ring were prettier than the Low Ring. They used more bronze filigree on the buildings, and the way it caught the light of the setting sun made the walls of the alleys and streets glimmer. She just wished there was more color. The sight of gray ash on ck stone did nothing to lift her spirits. With nothing better to do, she found a well-concealed door and used it to return home. Walking through the rows of books, each vying for her attention in some way, Rain realized that her corruption may have gone down, but she was bing more and more like these books every day. Especially when she pushed her aura; if these books didn¡¯t belong in the mortal world, did she? Tired and not liking where her mind was taking her, Rain changed her cloak into the softest thing it could be and went to sleep. Rain was standing in the mouth of an alley, watching three boys ying a game with an inted dder, bouncing it back and forth. They wereughing and having a good time, not a worry in the world. Rain recognized the boys Ound Coon and Lon. A hand rested on her shoulder. ¡°You stole that from me.¡± The voice was raspy and cracked from screaming. Rain knew who it belonged to. She didn¡¯t want to see him but couldn¡¯t stop herself from turning. Behind her stood Lon. Not the Lon happily ying with his friend as he should be, but the Lon she had cursed twisted and deformed. He had two arms folded in front of him while he rested the third on Rain¡¯s shoulder. A line around his neck poured out blood, staining his torso red and puddling at his feet. ¡°You stole that from me!¡± Lon¡¯s roar had spit flying from his lips as he moved the hand from Rain¡¯s shoulder to her neck, mming her against the wall and lifting her feet off the ground. Rain couldn¡¯t pull any air into her lungs, but somehow she could still speak. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You think that makes it better? You think that excuses you for what you did to me? Don¡¯t you dare listen to that blond stranger! You¡¯re a monster. Don¡¯t forget it! You deserve every awful thing that happens to you.¡± Rain struggled, unable to breathe, unable to refute his words, unable to stop the tears from running down her face. Until eventually, mercifully, she died. Rain woke with a start, tears streaming down her eyes. She couldn¡¯t remember the full dream, but it left her scared and alone. If sleeping meant returning to that, she didn¡¯t want anything to do with it. Deciding that she was done sleeping for the day, she put on her shoes and went outside to give herself the illusion of having a purpose. Night had fallen, but people were still out and about in the Mid Ring enjoying entertainment after a day¡¯s work. Rain didn¡¯t know what to do with herself. Eventually, she found herself standing on a bridge over one of the four ravines. The view down the mountain and to the nighttime ocean was pretty. Pockets of lights crowned some of the foothills where towns or farmsteadsy. It was a peaceful scene until the ground started shaking. The traffic across the bridge grew fervent as people began rushing to get home or indoors. Most had put on their goggles and wrapped their faces in scarves. Unsure what was going on, Rain followed suit and covered her face. Ash started to fall from the sky as the shaking of the earth grew more intense. Rain got off the bridge before it had a chance to break. Before she made it off, the city began to lighten. Molten rock was flowing down the channel Rain had been standing over; theva illuminated the world around it in a soft red glow as it flowed under the bridges. Theva ran off the edge of the Mid Ring, creating a thick waterfall before continuing its journey through the ravines of the Low Ring, Dead Ring, and into the valleys of the ind below. Rain finally understood why there were only buildings and greenery on the tops of the foothills. With the amount ofva running through the channel, the foothills would soon be inds in a sea of fire. Rain had to back up as the heat grew to be too much. Soon, the falling ash thickened, lowering Rain¡¯s visibility. The air began to stink, and Rain found herself coughing as though she couldn¡¯t get any air. Seeing the street around her was nearly empty, Rain realized she needed to get inside fast as all the clearly smarter Mid Ringers had. She stumbled to a sizeable, lit building, still letting people enter. No one stopped Rain as she entered a gilded lobby. One dapperly dressed man in blue and gold clothes insisted on brushing off the ash on her clothes before she entered the lobby proper. Rain thanked the man between coughs. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. The man epted her thanks gracefully and asked her if she would be waiting out the eruption in the lobby or if she would like to buy a ticket to see the y that had started ten minutes ago. Deciding that it would be better to distract herself with a y than to have time with nothing to do but let her thoughts torment her, Rain paid the man and was allowed into a massive theater room. The room could probably seat over two hundred people. The size boggled Rain¡¯s mind. On the stage, a pretty woman with red hair and a vibrant red dress stood loudly, speaking to a blond girl in Low Ring garb. The costumes, the set pieces, the acting, and the actresses, they all pulled Rain in, to the point that she barely noticed the ground shaking. The story was about a young serving girl who fell in love with the lord of her ind. When the lord¡¯s sister learned about the girl¡¯s feelings, she banished the girl from the ind. Left adrift on the ocean waves, the heroine survived by virtue of the strength of her love for the lord. Eventually, the heroine found an ind tond on and, starving and thirsty, was rescued by a wise old man who nursed her back to health. By this point, Rain was on the edge of her seat. The scenes where the heroine was on the boat surrounded by water but unable to drink had gotten to Rain somehow. Once the heroine was back to full health, she told the old man about how the lord¡¯s sister had banished her from her home ind for falling in love with the ind lord. The old man listened to her and gave her a choice. She could either go to the city on this new ind and start her life over or take the trials passed down to the old man by his father and gain a ss. Rain was a little amused by the trials that the heroine went through. Rain¡¯s understanding of intentionally gaining a ss, granted to her by her past self, informed her that it required absorbing a catalyst followed by apatible great feat. The y only had the great feat, with the heroine spending a week locked in a cage of frost wolves and deploying tricks to keep them from eating her. Still, despite the y¡¯s inuracies, Rain loved every minute. The best part of the y was when the heroine returned to her home ind only to find it taken over by a ck sser. The ck sser, who had an amazing costume of ck with straps and buckles all over it and an eyepatch that looked really cool, fought the heroine. The heroine, for her part, was also dressed up for the final battle in a pretty blue dress with whitecing all around. Rain couldn¡¯t decide which one she liked more. The blue color of the dress was vibrant and lively. Rain would love a chance to wear it herself. On the other hand, the ck garb of the ck sser with its six belts around the left arm was so cool. Ultimately, the ck sser¡¯s lines tipped the scales for Rain. Rain wanted to cheer every time he called out the name of one of his skills; they sounded much more exciting than the heroines. Eventually, the y ended with the heroine defeating the ck sser, who went out with a puff of ck smoke and a cheer from the crowd. With the ind saved, the heroine married the lord of the ind. Though angry about the marriage, the lord¡¯s sister couldn¡¯t do anything to stop it because the heroine now had a ss. While the two lovers kissed, the curtains closed, ending the y. Later that night, after the y had ended and the volcano had stopped erupting, a solitary golden statue heady on a straw mattress. It was forced to watch as a ten-year-old girl, who had developed a newfound love for all things edgy, posed, bandaged hand covering an eyepatched eye. ¡°Kek kek kek. You think you can stop me, Rain the Conqueror? Shadow Eater!¡± Shipping Shipping Rain was exhausted as she approached Mr. Markson¡¯s warehouse. She had already spent most of the morning looking for ck belts to add to her ck sser costume. Unfortunately, her cloak couldn¡¯t recreate leather or metal, or it would have been much easier. So far, she had only found one belt that would work. Still, it was progress. The moment Rain entered the warehouse, a blond streak flew towards her to offer a cup of water and a happy smile. The girl-Rain should really ask her her name now that losing her wasn¡¯t an option-barely limped after being treated yesterday. Rain was d to see it; watching her wince every time she took a step had really hurt. ¡°You never told me your name. I¡¯m Rain.¡± The smile on the girl''s face fell a bit, and she looked down, not answering. ¡°Come on, I know you can speak. I heard you call for help yesterday." The girl muttered something so quietly that Rain could barely hear her. ¡°What was that?¡± Rain asked, moving her ear closer to the girl''s mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t like my name.¡± Rain could understand that. Thirty-six was a stupid name too, after all. ¡°Why don¡¯t you change it then?¡± ¡°W-would you pick one for me?¡± The way the girl stammered and looked away as she asked broke Rain¡¯s resolve, and she went in to hug the girl. Then an image came to her mind: Lon, blood running down his disfigured torso, ¡®You did this to me!¡¯ Rain stopped. Why was her breathing so ragged? Were her hands shaking? Rain needed to act, to do something before whatever this was got worse. ¡°Sounds like fun!¡± Rain said, forcing her voice to sound chipper. Walking around the girl, Rain periodically crouched or cocked her head so that she could see her from every angle. It wasn¡¯t really necessary, but seeing the girl''s cheeks and ears turn bright red from embarrassment made it a lot of fun. So, of course, Rain was going to do it. Gentle teasing aside, Rain needed a name for the girl. Most people in Tineak were named after things. The first name that came into Rain''s mind after looking at the girl with her golden hair, ming red cheeks, and bright blue eyes-that couldn¡¯t seem to decide if they wanted to stare at Rain or look in any other direction-was Sunshine. Ine for short. Rain almost said the name before realizing that would make them Rain and Sunshine. Nope, Rain needed to keep her distance. Having matching names would be fun, though. Maybe just Shine? What were the other options? Fiery because of the cheeks? Rain did think calling the timid girl Fiery would be kind of fun. None of these options felt as good to Rain as the first, though. So, Rain went with her instincts and changed it a little so it wouldn¡¯t be such a tant pairing. ¡°What do you think of Sunrise? Ise for short.¡± ¡°It''s pretty.¡± ¡°Does that mean you like it?¡± The girl, Sunrise, nodded. Rain patted Sunrise on the head. ¡°I think it fits. You¡¯re just getting started now, but one day, you¡¯ll shine brightly.¡± Sunrise had her eyes closed and a sweet smile on her face. Whenever Rain patted her, she would push her head up into the hand. Rain couldn¡¯t hold back her own smile. What am I doing! Rain pulled her hand back. How had she ended up touching Sunrise despite telling herself not to? Rain needed to go before she identally hurt Sunrise. ¡°Is Mr. Markson here?¡± Sunrise nodded and reached for Rain''s hand; then halfway there, Sunrise abandoned the gesture and spun around, ears burning red, and sped towards the office where Rain had met Mr. Marksonst time. Rain followed her there to where Mr. Markson waited. He seemed to be in better shape this time than he had just yesterday. The circles under his eyes had faded a bit, and his smile seemed less strained. ¡°Young miss. It''s good to see you. Everything is ready as you asked. All that''s left is for you to provide the contents for the strong box.¡± Mr. Markson gestured to a sturdy-looking bronze box on the table. It looked to be made out of a single piece of metal with a lid that would slide and lock into ce. Rain examined it and saw it had enough space for what she needed. She looked around to make sure Sunrise was out of the room. ¡°Perfect.¡± With that word, Rain removed the book hidden under her cloak. The moment the ordinary-looking book was free of her cloak, it began whispering. It promised to help her save everyone, that if she read it, she could bring back Lon, that she could have a family. It warned that if she didn¡¯t read it, she would never gain control of herself and would curse anyone; she would remain a monster unworthy of love. Of all the books Rain had seen in the library, this one felt the most dangerous. And the most tempting. It was perfect for what she needed. Rain hoped her ¡®Lend¡¯ skill would work as she thought. She asked Mr. Purple to show her its description one more time. [Lend: You may set terms when giving another a tome from the Library of Oru. If the conditions are broken, the tome will return to the library.] It should work. ¡°Mr. Markson, I¡¯m lending you this book until this strongbox reaches its destination, three people read it, or two months pass.¡± Rain could feel the energy rush out of her. And with it, a yawn. Using skills wasn¡¯t helping herck of sleep. For his part, Mr. Markson looked shaken. His eyes were locked on the book, his face a mix of greed and wariness. Rain pulled out a thin note and slipped it into the back cover of the book before cing it in the strongbox. The note was her insurance n. It read simply. ¡°Congrattions on sessfully absorbing the power within this book. Not all do. I sent this book by way of our merchant friend in hopes that you would have what it takes to seize its power. This was just a taste of what I can offer. If you want true power, then offer our merchant friend your services, and I will find you. I can give you all that you want; all I ask in return is obedience.¡± Rain closed the lid on the lockbox. The n was simple. If the bandits stole and opened the box, one of them would almost certainly look through the book. If it went poorly for them, they would turn into a raging monster and kill theirrades. If the monster won, then it would be someone else''s problem. If the other bandits won, they should be too afraid to touch Mr. Markson''s goods again, and Rain would never have to worry about them. If they didn¡¯t turn crazy, they would find the note, and the book would disappear after three people read it. The note promised more power and sses for all their people. Having a few people with sses would make the bandits a fearsome group. But if all of them did, they would be a force to be reckoned with. It was a promise that would make anyone greedy. Whatever happened, it would be beneficial for Rain. And if some unforeseen thing happened, the book would vanish in two months no matter what as a failsafe. Rain looked at Mr. Markson. ¡°Don¡¯t ever open that book.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Mr. Markson locked the strongbox. Side Story 1 Side Story 1 Sunrise had never enjoyed the dark before; it reminded her of being locked in that cramped trunk, forced to remain silent while listening to her mother entertaining guests. The stink of mold, the feel of bugs crawling on her while unable to brush them off for fear of making a sound, the sounds of moaning and grunting, she hated them all. But that changed when she met Rain, the only good person Sunrise had ever met. Rain radiated a feeling of dark ces. Just looking at her made Sunrise feel a chill down her spine and her heart race. But unlike every time before, instead of feeling scared or disgusted, Sunrise felt drawn in; she wanted to be closer to Rain to stand next to her for the rest of her life. That was why this current situation wouldn¡¯t do. Markson seemed alright. He had even tried to get her toe home and stay with him and his wife and son. He treated her with kindness. She didn¡¯t trust him. Everyone at ¡®The House¡¯ pretended to be kind and caring, customers and whores alike. Sunrise had learned better than to believe it. Kind faces onlysted until someone realized they could do whatever they wanted without repercussions. She didn¡¯t belong here working for Markson; she should be working for Rain. Sunrise had turned Markson¡¯s offer of a ce to stay down not just because she didn¡¯t trust him but because she was afraid that Rain woulde back and she wouldn¡¯t be here to greet her. So, instead, she slept at the warehouse. She had climbed up to a small ledge above one of the windows. It was small, but being high up made Sunrise feel safe. People never looked up. She had found high ces to hide for years at ¡®The House¡¯ to avoid the people. Sunrise perked up when she heard a disturbing creaking sound. Was Rain here? Unfortunately, it seemed that one of the doors had shifted for some reason. She slumped back down. Whenever she caught a shadow moving in the corner of her eye or heard a creepy sound, it reminded her of Rain, and she got her hopes up. She should know better. Back in the alley where her mother had been beating her because she wasn''t good enough for her disgusting father to take in, Rain had emitted a feeling far stronger than the simple feeling of being alone in a creaky, empty warehouse in the middle of the night. Rain''s hair had floated like she was underwater, and her eyes glowed purple. Sunrise wanted to be just like her. When Sunrise listened in on Rain and Markson¡¯s conversation, she had heard a third voice promising to help her be close to Rain forever. She had almost barged in when she heard it. Unfortunately, the voice had disappeared, and she hadn¡¯t been able to find its source despite a lengthy search afterward. Still, she couldn''t get its words out of her head, the thought of being with Rain, maybe getting patted on the head again. Sunrise''s ears turned red. It was perfect. They didn¡¯t need anyone else; all the filthy people could disappear. She only wanted Rain. Elizabeth the bastarddy, was no more; she was Sunrise, and she would do whatever it took to stay close to Rain, her hero. No Uffters Were Harmed in the Making of This Chapter No Uffters Were Harmed in the Making of This Chapter Rain massaged her temples. This was the third night in a row that she couldn¡¯t sleep longer than a few hours before Lon came. She wished Blondy was still around; she could use his advice. Or more of that sweet lemon juice. The steel sk he''d given her was long empty. She even tried sticking her tongue in to get every drop possible. She had asked Mr. Markson if he knew where she could find more. He, in turn, was shocked that she had gotten her hands on some of the stuff. Apparently, lemons grew on the maind, and since no ships had returned from the maind in years¡­ well she doubted she would be seeing the sweet drink again anytime soon. A pity, because it might distract her from the headache herck of sleep was giving her. Returning her attention to her current distraction, Rain scanned the thirty wooden cages stacked close to the wall of the library entry room. She had moved her treasure into her room and even had Mr. Markson buy chests and other furniture to decorate the room. Now, it felt like a cozy home in the middle of a cursed library. Who wouldn¡¯t want to live there? The best part was the pile of gold around the bed, making her feel like a dragon sleeping on her hoard of gold. It was every girl''s dream. Or it would be if she could actually sleep without nightmares. And her thoughts were wondering. She had important things to do this night besides wanting to sleep. She was going to test her books. She just needed to get off this super soft chair. Why had she insisted on scamming Manas out of a super soft chair? Now, she just wanted to sleep in it. Prying herself from the loving embrace of the ridiculously soft chair, Rain picked up the first cage. Inside it was a uffter also bought from Mr. Markson. The adorable creature looked like a ball of fluff with stubby legs and a long bushy tail;rge blue eyes peeked out of the floof in the front. Rain wished she could hug it. Unfortunately, thest time she had tried that with one of these, it had bitten her. Her aura scared the critters so badly that they got aggressive. Now that Rain knew that they couldn''t be friends, these little fuzz balls would test her books so she could figure out how to use them safely on people. The first test was to see if the uffters could use the books despite theirck of reading abilities. Rain thought there was a good chance. After all, she had no idea whatnguage the books were written in, but she had still been able to read them. Setting the cage with the squealing critter down, Rain entered the library looking for a book that might make for a good experiment. In the end, she picked a regal leather book that even had a title embossed in gold letters: ¡®The Minds of Men.¡¯ It should work. When she returned to the entry room, she was greeted by squeaks. ¡°You guys ready to learn how to read?¡± They didn¡¯t sound ready. Rain didn¡¯t like this idea, but it was the best she had. Blondy had said that it wasn¡¯t her fault because she didn¡¯t know what would happen. Now that she knew how bad things could get, Rain needed to make sure that she learned as much as possible about the effects of her books so she never hurt a friend again. If that meant testing things on these critters, so be it. Rain would never stop trying to learn. The first uffter to get a book would be the one that bit her. She totally hadn¡¯t picked it to be first out of revenge. That would be petty. Rain didn¡¯t do petty things like using her skills to lock a woman in her house for hours yesterday because the woman had once shot a crossbow at Rain when Rain tried to y with some other kids. Rain was above such things. Rain turned the book away from her and opened it to the first page. She presented the open book to the cage so the uffter inside could see the pages. The uffter squeaked and hid under its tail for a bit, but eventually, it peeked out to see what Rain was doing. That''s when it saw the book, and all its squeaks stopped. Rain couldn¡¯t see any visible signs that the book was affecting the uffter, so she just turned the pages every few minutes. Eventually, Rain reached the end of the book and closed it. The little uffter stood on the other side of the cage, staring nkly before its legs gave out and it syed out on the bottom of the cage. [Reader [Error] has attained the skill: Mind Magic.] [Creating ss around Mind Magic for Reader [Error].] [Notice: Reader [Error]¡¯s mental corruption has risen [Error]. Current mental corruption [Error].] [Notice: Reader [Error]¡¯s physical corruption has risen [Error]. Current physical corruption [Error].] [Reader [Error] has met the requirements for evolution from uffter to [Error].] [Congrattions: [Error].] [Warning: [Error].] [Notice: You have created an unnned type of monster. Do you wish to name it?] Rain took a step back from the sudden barrage of messages. Mr. Purple was working overtime with all these. The number of errors was worrying. Thatst question, though. What was an unnned type of monster? Who nned monsters? Was monster an actual ss-rted term? Rain had always thought it was just what you called something cruel and vicious. Curious about what would happen, Rain answered the question. ¡°Yes!¡± [Please give a name for the new breed of monster.] Rain didn¡¯t know what mind magic was, so she decided to go with something simple. ¡°Mind Uffter¡± [New monster type has been registered as Mind Uffter.] [Congrattions: for creating the Mind Uffters, the first type of monster native to EW1, you [Error} c4n f1x m3 {Error] have gained the skill: Mother of Monsters.] [Notice: In recognition of your past interactions with a dragon, the first type of monster, Mother of Monsters will be upgraded.] [Mother of Monsters: monsters will be attracted to you and are more inclined to be friendly towards you. You may make a bond with one monster. You can improve this skill with practice.] What just happened? For starters, it was pretty clear that Mr. Purple was not feeling well with all those errors. Rain really hoped it wasn¡¯t her fault. Was there a way to get rid of Mr. Purple? Would she be able to survive without him helping her know how things worked? But wait, she might not need to; looking back at one of the messages that had worried her, she saw the message in the twisted letters ¡®can fix me¡¯, was Mr. Purple saying she could help fix him? Rain added Fixing Mr. Purple to her growing list of things to do: restore Mr. Markson¡¯s business, adopt a criminal organization, learn how her library works, take over the archipgo, save the world¡­ find a family. Rain crossed thatst one off the list. She shouldn¡¯t be greedy. Another thing Rain didn¡¯t understand was ¡®EW1.¡¯ was that another symptom of Mr. Purple''s sickness, or did it mean something? Was it perhaps supposed to be Ewi? That might make sense. Ewi kinda sounded like a ce, but how big was it? All that boring stuff aside, though, when had Rain interacted with a dragon! Nothing came to mind, leaving Rain with the sad realization that her past self had probably met the dragon. Rain had never wished for her past self¡¯s memories more than she did at that moment. A weak squeak brought Rain out of her thoughts. She really was struggling to stay focused tonight. She was just so tired. The squeak, right! Looking at the new mind uffter, Rain noticed the differences in its fur. Where a few minutes ago, the fur had been a solid ash gray now, it was more of a silver color with bolts of blue fur streaking out from the side of itsrge blue eyes. Rain thought it looked even cuter than before. She wasn¡¯t dumb enough to try to pet it, though. It had bitten her once before it turned into a monster. Studying the floof ball a little closer, Rain realized that it didn¡¯t seem afraid of her or the library anymore. Before, it had been panicked and would try to hide in its tail whenever it could. Now, it just looked around in a daze. The second thing Rain saw was the faint shimmer above the uffter. It looked like a gas was drifting off the little thing. Rain knew that warping. It was the same as the distortioning off Lon while he read the book she had given him. Rain grimaced and decided to try her next test. Taking another uffter in its cage down, she opened the ¡®The Minds of Men¡¯ again to the first page. After going through all the pages with the second uffter, it copsed, and she got another string of messages from Mr. Purple. The uffter¡¯s name was still written as [Error], but the corruption levels were normal, unlikest time. Both had risen to 100%. It still got the Mind Magic skill, but there was no message about evolution. Looking back at the uffter, Rain realized its fur was falling out, revealing twisted, lumpy flesh. Walking around the cage, Rain looked at its head; its tiny face had huge closed eyes, and its tiny mouth was partially open, drool leaking out. One of its teeth had grown nearly as long as it was tall. It jutted out of the corner of the mouth in an unwieldy fashion. Why didn¡¯t this one evolve? Rain repeated the experiment on two other uffters with simr results. One had its fur turn into scales, and it grew aggressive, trying to chew through its cage. The other grew eyes on the back of its feet and started bashing its head into the floor of its cage. Neither evolved like the first. What was the difference? Is it because the first one bit me? Deciding to test this theory, Rain got the next uffter to bite her before exposing it to the book. The results were the same as thest three. Her blood wasn¡¯t the reason. Unsure how else to test this, Rain decided to move on to the essential tests. How much could the uffters read before the corruption grew too strong? The next three uffters only got to read the first page. The results were promising. They each got the Mind Magic skill; however, unlike the others, their corruption only rose between 10% to 30%. If having her mental corruption at 19% caused Rain to see and feel things crawling under her skin, then 30% could be dangerous. She also noticed that the one with the highest physical corruption at 27% showed visible signs of change, with its fur starting to turn ck. Rain returned to the library and found another book; this one had tree bark for a cover, and leaves were growing out of the pages. Repeating her actions with this new book, Rain made three uffters read the whole book. Each of the uffters gained the nt Maniption skill and corruption between 60% to 80%. The one exception was one uffter, which, ording to the messages, was immune to mental corruption. That didn¡¯t stop it from growing long, sharp horns, though. When Rain showed only the first page to a group of fresh uffters, they gained 3% to 8% corruption but no skill. Rain continued her experiments until she ran out of uffters. During her tests with her fifth book, another evolved after gaining a Windwalking skill. This uffter grew a second tail, and its fur turned pure white. It too, had the warping vapor floating off it. Despite all her efforts, Rain never found what those two had inmon. The result of the experiments was that each book gave a different amount of corruption. The corruption wasn¡¯t always bnced, with some books giving far more of one type than the other. She also found that between 20% to 30% was where things started to get nasty for the uffters. Rain decided it was rtively safe for someone to read the first page. Hopefully, that would be enough to gain a skill. Some books took longer, and some never gave a skill at all. Rain messaged her temples, trying to work away the headache. This was enough for now. She really didn¡¯t like testing this on the uffters. She decided to release them all outside and give them lots of food as thanks. Then maybe she would try sleeping again. It had been a long night, but now Rain could start creating heroes to improve this world. Looking at what she had done to the uffters, Rain couldn¡¯t help but wonder if she belonged near heroes. Debut Debut A week after Mr. Markson¡¯s first book shipment left, Rain got the message she had been waiting for. [Reader Ho has attained the skill: Death Wisper.] [Creating ss around Death Wisper for reader Ho.] [Notice: Reader Ho is immune to physical corruption.] [Notice: Reader Ho¡¯s mental corruption has risen 63%. Current mental corruption 63%.] Perfect. With a high mental corruption, there was no way Ho wasn¡¯t insane. ¡®Death Wisper¡¯ also sounded deadly enough that Rain felt confident that the bandits were now having a bad day. The oue wasn¡¯t as certain as she would have liked. She would have preferred being added to the shipment in a ve cage to ensure everything yed out right, but she had picked Mr. Markson because he never got involved in that filth. It would be suspicious if he suddenly tried to ship one ve. Leaning against a clean Mid Ring wall, Rain watched the sunset as she waited for more messages. When the sky went dark with no more notifications, Rain decided that none were iing and pushed herself off the wall. Her ns with Mr. Markson wereing along nicely, but Rain needed far more sway in the city than one merchant to influence things in the right direction. It was time to dip her toes into the city''s crime to go with the finger she had in its economics. Rain headed to a section of the Low Ring she usually avoided. As she walked down the steep ramp that led from the Mid Ring to the Low Ring, the colorful, neat signs and bronze filigreed walls of the Mid Ring gave way to the dirtier and colorless streets of the Low Ring. Unlike other sections of the Low Ring, though, this part had no children ying, even with an armed adult to keep watch. That wasn¡¯t to say the streets were empty, though they were just filled with a different sort. Rain wrapped her face in her scarf. That bit of clothing did more than she thought when she first bought it - or, well, the scarf that her cloak ate at least - it kept the ash out during eruptions, the warmth in, and her face hidden. Rain just wished it could hide the rest of her as she avoided the third person who thought a small girl on her own might make a good payday. Eventually, she found the ce she was looking for, a rundown housing building. Rain counted the windows seven floors up; there was a light. Her target was home. It was a shared living space, so it shouldn''t be too hard to get in, but Rain wanted to make more of an entrance than just knocking on his door. Looking at the building, Rain sighed. She could use the window; it just wouldn¡¯t look as cool as she wanted. If she could sneak in unnoticed and be there when he turned around, that would be the best; then she could say something cool and make a dramatic escape like in the ys she had been watching most nights. Rain checked that her hair was hidden in her scarf and entered the building''s front door. One of the door''s hinges was broken, making it harder to open than she expected. The inside of the building was dimly lit and had a funny smell. Once her eyes finally adjusted, she saw the dirty stone walls with a pair of doors on opposite sides of a rickety pine staircase. Some of those steps looked rotten. Rain checked the connection to the coin she had hidden back in the Mid Ring. She got ready to use it if she fell through the stairs. Rain walked up the steps, ready for something to go wrong. The only sounds were the creaking steps and someone coughing in one of the suites. On the seventh floor, Rain entered the dark suite on the left. The smell of alcohol and rot was strong in the air. In the corner, a blond man with sunken cheeks and wearing grubby gray clothesy on the floor. Rain couldn''t tell if he was breathing or not. Taking a detour from her business, she crept over to the man to check if he was alright. She ced her hand close to his nose and mouth and felt no breath. Letting her worry beat her caution, Rain felt his neck for a pulse. It was cold. The man had been dead for a while. Looking around the room, all Rain saw was a rundown bed and broken furniture. There was no sign of others living here. No friends, no family, no one who would care or notice that the man was gone. Rain wished she could do something for the man to show someone remembered him. Taking a coin out of her pocket, she wrapped his hand around it. Rain found it sad that she could feel reality indent where the coin was due to the value people ced in it, yet when she looked at the man, she could feel nothing. Rain didn¡¯t know how to feel about that. With nothing more she could do for the man, Rain walked to the window. The moons'' silver light filtered through the clouds, casting palences into the city. Rain took a deep breath and let it out. She was going to have fun tonight, and nothing would stop her. Looking down, Rain changed her cloak into the outfit she had put together in the past few days: tight ck pants and a sleeveless shirt with a shoulder cape over the left shoulder and white bandages covering her left arm. She let her hair free of the scarf she had been using to cover herself and reced it with an awesome-looking eyepatch. Rain removed the belt she had bought and wrapped it around her right thigh toplete the look. She still wasn¡¯t sure what the belt was supposed to do, or why so many ck ssers in the ys wore tight clothes like this, but they looked cool, so Rain was ok with it. The shoulder cape originally came from a young lord in her favorite y. He and the evil ck sser had eventually fallen in love and married in the end. Rain designed her look to be a mixture of the lovers'' costumes. Getting into character, Rain slipped through the window and grabbed a ridge in the stone to hold herself up. Heights became far less scary when you could teleport yourself to safety if you fell. Using the ridge as a handhold, Rain scaled sideways towards the lit window. Holding herself up with only her hands was way more tiring than expected. Moving faster to get to the window before her arms gave out, Rain slipped into the lit room with a relieved sigh. Unlike the rest of this building, this room was clean and well-kept. The furniture was still old, and the nkets on the bed were thin, but they looked cared for. What was more important was the two small sleeping figures in the bed and the young man standing between Rain and the bed, pointing a dagger at her. Rain was impressed with how fast the red-headed man had moved from where he had been sitting at a desk to between Rain and the bed. The man, who couldn''t be older than eighteen or neen, perfectly matched Rain''s description with his sharp nose and piercing eyes. ¡°Hello, Mr. Less.¡± Rain whispered so as not to wake up the sleeping kids. The man, full name Worthless - which pretty much summed up how his family had treated him - didn¡¯t waver in his protective stance over the kids behind him. ¡°Why are you here?¡± He also spoke in a whisper. Rain walked over to look at what he was reading on the desk. The papers there had crude drawings of everyday things with their names written in overly simple letters to the side. Under the neat, simplebels, the words were repeated in rough beginner handwriting. ¡°Learning to read.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question. ¡°Why are you here!¡± ¡°To offer you a way to get those two a better life.¡± ¡°I''m not selling them or letting you take them.¡± ¡°No, they will have a better life because I can offer you the power to build them one.¡± Rain wasn¡¯t sure if she was ying her part well enough. The dialogue seemed ok, but she was just standing there. She needed to figure out how to do a cool pose or walk before her image as a mysterious woman in ck was ruined. With no better ideas, Rain decided that sitting on the desk would have to do. cing her hands on the desk behind her, Rain tried to boost herself up onto it. She misjudged its height. d her hair covered her burning ears, Rain decided that using the chair as a stepping stool was a better way up. ¡°The terms are simple. I¡¯ll give you the power to take over the Ash Grifters like you¡¯ve been aiming for. I¡¯ll even help you take down the ck Stones and the Bloody Shovels afterward. In exchange, you¡¯ll help me with tasks from time to time.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m Ark¡¯s loyal man!¡± ¡°We both know that you¡¯re not.¡± The knuckles on Less¡¯s hand turned white at Rain¡¯sment. He took a step towards Rain, knife ready. ¡°I¡¯ll show you how loyal I¡­¡± ¡°I guess I need to show you what I can do.¡± Rain cut him off, Right leg dangling off the side of the desk while she rested her chin on her left knee. Rain opened the container deep inside herself, where she kept all the feelings she wasn¡¯t ready to deal with; letting out a single drop of twisted ck emotion, she pushed it into her aura. The shadows exploded out from under her, extinguishing all light. A Worthless View A Worthless View Worthless sat at his desk, trying to remember the squiggles that represented each word. Learning to read and write was going slower than he wanted. He had even paid three vers to get these papers, yet he didn¡¯t understand how it was supposed to work. I¡¯mining again. He did that too often when he got frustrated. Butining wouldn''t keep ke and Sea safe. Worthless doubled down on the papers; it wasn¡¯t a matter of whether it was possible for him or not. He would figure this out. There was a soft thump behind him. Whirling out of his chair, Worthless drew the knife on his belt; no one was hurting his family. Standing just inside his window was a small, strangely dressed girl. She had no visible weapons and showed no fear¡ªnever a goodbination. Worthless wanted to check on ke and Sea but refused to take his eyes off the intruder. It looked like she hade in through the window. He thought it was too small for a threat to fit through. He should have known better. ¡°Hello, Mr. Less.¡± the girl said. Her quiet voice sent shivers down Worthless¡¯s spine. It sounded like the innocent voice of a young girl but wrong in a way he couldn¡¯t exin. ¡°Why are you here!¡± Worthless struggled to keep his voice steady and quiet. This home was supposed to be a safe ce for ke and Sea; if they woke up and saw this strange intruder, it would shatter that illusion for them. The girl, no, the intruder, walked over to the desk where he had been working and looked down at his reading pictures. To look away from someone pointing a knife at her, she¡¯s confident. ¡°Learning to read.¡± She knows what those are for. She¡¯s either well-taught or older than she looks. ¡°Why are you here!¡± Worthless listened closely for other sounds; if this intruder wouldn¡¯t state their business, then they might be stalling. He needed to make sure no one got the drop on him. ¡°To offer you a way to get those two a better life.¡± Worthless¡¯s blood went cold. ¡°I''m not selling them or letting you take them!¡± ¡°No, they will have a better life because I can offer you the power to build them a better life.¡± That wasn¡¯t the response Worthless expected, and he didn¡¯t like it. No one offered something without expecting more in return. Whatever power this girl was offering, he was sure he couldn¡¯t afford it. Turning to face Worthless, the intruder tried to sit on his desk. And failed? The intruder used the chair to get up onto the desk then sat there in an awkward pose. What is that thigh strap for? He couldn''t see a weapon or sheath anywhere, and the pants were tight enough that he would see if there was anything under the cloth. Nothing she wore made sense. The tight clothes almost looked like they were supposed to be seductive. Did she think he was into little girls because he picked ke and Sea up off the street? ¡°The terms are simple. I¡¯ll give you the power to take over the Ash Grifters like you¡¯ve been aiming for. I¡¯ll even help you take down the ck Stones and the Bloody Shovels afterward. In exchange, you¡¯ll perform tasks for me from time to time.¡± Bloody ashes! he had thought his maneuvering was more subtle than this! Had Ark noticed his actions and sent this intruder to test his loyalty? Worthless needed to pass this test. ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m Ark¡¯s loyal man!¡± ¡°We both know that you¡¯re not.¡± This wasn¡¯t good. He needed to prove his loyalty before ke and Sea got hurt. He got ready to charge the intruder. ¡°I¡¯ll show you how loyal I Am!¡± ¡°I guess I need to show you what I can do.¡± she cut him off before he could finish. And then the world went mad! Shadows sprung out from under the girl and swallowed the light of themp he had been studying by. The walls seemed to disappear as the world turned into an endless void of writhing ck and gray. The only real light came from the girl¡¯s eyes; the uncovered eye glowed a frightening purple, while the edge of her eyepatch also glowed that same color. It gave her face, with its unnatural grin, a lopsided feel. Worthless stepped back. He had been wrong. This wasn''t a test from Ark. This girl, no, this thing was too powerful. If Ark couldmand something like this, he would be unchallenged. Falling to his hands and knees, Worthless dropped his dagger. ¡°Please forgive me! I thought you were one of Ark¡¯s agents.¡± The thing cocked her head like a predator deciding whether or not to eat a uffter. The darkness vanished, and the thing¡¯s eyes stopped glowing. ¡°There now, do you believe I can give you power?¡± the thing said in a terrifyingly chipper voice. ¡°Y-yes¡± Worthless didn¡¯t know what was going on, but his and his family''s safety depended on him satisfying this creature. ¡°Good, so like I said, I can get you and those you bring to me power so you can take control of the gangs in this city. In exchange, you help me when I call for you. Do we have a deal?¡± Worthless put two fingers to his lips. ¡°We have a d-deal.¡± He knew he would end up regretting thister, but that would only be possible if he lived to see ater. ¡°Great!¡± the thing said, repeating the gesture. ¡°Then, if you¡¯re sure, follow me.¡± With that, the thing hopped off his desk, opened his front door, and walked out. Worthless stared at the open door with dread. He couldn¡¯t see the hall outside, only swirling darkness. It reminded him of what the thing had just done to his home. Taking a look at his sisters, Worthless squared his shoulders. He would do what he needed to to appease this thing and protect them. With that thought, he walked through the door. A nauseous feeling came over him as he passed over the threshold. When his vision cleared, he saw he wasn¡¯t in the stairway. He was in Arkit. The walls were shifting ck nightmares, a dark mist restrained his vision, and the sounds, he could hear the insane chatteringing from deeper within the mist. The whole atmosphere of this ce was like the thing that had led him here: unsettling and unnatural. Worthless spun around at the sound of the door closing behind him. The thing stood next to a metal reinforced door covered in nightmares. There was no escape for him. ¡°Don''t want anyone following us in here,¡± it said in that cheerful voice. ¡°Follow me; I don¡¯t want to lose you in the mist.¡± With that, it walked into the mist. With no better option, Worthless followed. To his surprise, the mist fled from him, leaving the area around him clear. It was still too close for his liking; an ambusher could easily surround him in the mist without him being any the wiser. The constant noise only made it worse. Not long after entering the mist, the thing stopped walking and turned to look at him. ¡°Let me exin how this will work. This,¡± the figure said, spreading its arms wide to disy the mist around it. ¡°Is my library. The books you see here will grant their reader a skill and a ss.¡± This caught Worthless¡¯s attention. sses were the difference between the nobility and the trash like him. If he gained a ss, then taking over the Ash Grifters would be easy. ¡°Each book also has a cost. The more you read, the more it will cost. You see, these books will alter your mind and body.¡± That dumped a bucket of cold water on Worthless¡¯s excitement. ¡°That¡¯s why you will only read the first page until I tell you otherwise. It should stop any major changes from happening.¡± And with that benediction, the creature turned around and walked between two dark shapes in the mist. A New Life A New Life Worthless followed the creature. What else could he do? Stay stranded in this gloomy prison? Soon, the dark shapes in the mist revealed themselves as massive shelves full of books. He had never seen so many books in one ce. However, after an eye opened on the spine of one of the books and started staring at him, he wondered if these were truly books. His dark guide stopped walking and turned to him. ¡°You must choose which book you wish to read from. I will not make that decision for you.¡± Why did she look down when she said thatst part? Was she lying? ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll follow you until you find a book that feels right for you.¡± The way the creature clutched at the hem of her shirt reminded Worthless of when Sea was nervous. Why would this powerful creature be scared? Worthless couldn¡¯t figure it out, but it did little to relieve his worry. Turning to the shelves, Worthless wondered if this was all a test from some god. Would he be punished if he chose an expensive-looking book like that solid gold one? Or was he supposed to search with his heart to find the right book? He rubbed his eyes as he realized he was using bedtime stories to help him decide which book to risk his life on. ¡°You can walk around if you want.¡± He did not want. The less of this ce he saw, the better. Looking around the shelves, every book he saw gave him a feeling of dread in his stomach. How was he going to get out of this ce in one piece? She wants me to do things for her, so this isn¡¯t designed to kill me. The thought gave him littlefort. Alive and whole were two different things. He decided that if he was going to escape this nightmare, he would need to go deeper. Turning away from a book with ghostly hands beckoning him closer, he walked further into the bowels of the library. Worthless could almost feel his grip on reality loosening with every passing minute he spent in this endless maze of horrors and impossibilities. If he didn¡¯t get out of here soon, ke and Sea would wake up, and he wouldn¡¯t be there. The thought of his two sisters gave him strength and acted as a shield against the influence of this ce. That''s right, I need the power to protect them and make a better world for us. Resolve strengthened, Worthless quickened his pace. He needed to find the right book. As he had the thought, his eye caught a book on the shelf. Unlike other books in this ce, he didn¡¯t immediately want to look away; in fact, he found it impossible to. The book had a in gray cover, but the edges of the book were glowing red cinders as though the book had just been pulled out of a fire. The air above it had the same slight warping look you would find above ava flow. Worthless knew it was impossible, but he could swear he felt the heat of the book from here. Without conscious thought, he reached up and grabbed the book off the shelf. Before he could open it, a hand gripped his wrist. Worthless jumped, mind snapping back into control as his body readied itself to fight whatever had grabbed him. He rxed a bit when he saw who it was¡ªthe unnatural one. She looked into his eyes, her usual good humor absent. ¡°Listen, Mr. Less, these books can do horrible things to the people who read them. If you don¡¯t want to risk it, I will take you back and find someone else. If this goes wrong, I¡­ I won''t be able to help you.¡± What was going on? She looked like she wanted to cry. Worthless could believe that these books were dangerous. They came from this pit, after all. But if they could grant him power. ¡°Reading this will give me a ss, though?¡± ¡°It can. Not every book does, but it''s rare not to.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the risk.¡± Worthless could understand what he was getting into; this ce and its keeper were clearly dangerous. But if they would lend him just a fraction of their power, then it would be worth the risk. That was when he realized an important fact he hadn''t thought of. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to read yet,¡± he admitted, shamefaced. ¡°Don''t worry, the books want to be read.¡± the guide said. ¡°It''s more important that you remember to only read one page. No more. Got it?¡± He nodded, and she let go of his wrist. Taking a deep breath and onest thought about the bedtime stories of fools making deals with dark princes, Worthless opened the book. She was correct; the words wanted to be read and flowed into his mind. They were easy to understand, exining that the true nature of heat was to twist perceptions and make things seem as what they were not. All too soon, he reached the end of the first page. Every fiber of his being wanted him to turn the page and learn the mysteries that this book contained. If all books were like this, he could understand why the lords hoarded them and valued people who could read and write. Determined, he wrenched his gaze away from the book and closed it. He felt like a starving man who had just thrown away a tter of food. Why was he being so foolish? He should read more. Then he saw her, and he came back to himself. Better not to disobey the darkling that had him trapped in this ce. [Skill Attained: Heat Mirage.] [Creating ss around Heat Mirage.] He had done it! He had a skill and was getting a ss! A massive grin crossed his face right before the world turned in on itself. And more messages appeared. [WARNING: Mental corruption has risen [Error]. Current mental corruption [Error].] [WARNING: Mental corruption has risen [Error]. Current mental corruption [Error].] With those words, the twisted library around him turned in on itself as his consciousness faded. Visions churned before his eyes of things he couldn¡¯t understand, all except for one. For a brief moment, he saw an empty white ce with a single woman standing in it. Or part of a woman, at least; all he could see of her was half of her head and part of her shoulder floating at the right height. Inky fog leaked out of the ces where she should have been connected to the rest of her body. The half of a mouth she possessed was open in an almost manic grin as she stared at him. Then the woman and the ce were gone. [Congrattions: you have met the requirements for evolution from Human to Ash Fox-kin.] [Heat Mirage has been used as the foundation of the racial ss Ash Priest.] [ss skill Mould Ash gained.] [ss skill Manipte Fire gained.] [ss skill Heat Resistance gained.] [Racial skill Fox Transformation gained.] [Congrattions: as the Progenitor of a new race, all offspring you have with any humanoid race for the next seven generations will be Ash Fox-kin.] [Warning: You will no longer be able to read any book from the library other than the Tome of Heated Lies.] As Worthless¡¯s vision cleared, he found himself on his hands and knees. His body ached in a simr way to how it had when he was a kid after he had been kicked into unconsciousness. His head hurt, and his tail¡­ wait his tail? Looking back, he saw a fluffy ash-gray tail sprouting from his lower back! How had he grown a tail? She had mentioned that the books could alter his mind and body but to grow a tail! Not only that, but ording to the messages, he was no longer human. If this was the effect on his body, what had it done to his mind? Looking up at the apparition that brought him here, he saw her looking down on him in surprise. She had kept her word and gotten him a ss. He may have to hide his tail now, but that was a small cost. He gritted his teeth at the thought of hiding his magnificent tail. Why did that bother him? Deciding it wasn¡¯t important, he bowed his head towards his patron. ¡°Thank you, mydy. May I ask your name?¡± She paused for a long enough time that Worthless was worried that she wouldn¡¯t grace him with her name. ¡°Tyix.¡± she eventually replied. ¡°Thank you, Lady Tyix.¡± He had a ss now, and it seemed like a powerful one; all his dreams were in sight. ¡°I¡¯m just doing my part of our deal,¡± Tyix said, bending over to pick up the Tome of Heated Lies. She proffered the book to Worthless. ¡°I''ll lend you this book as long as you keep your end of our deal. You also need to ensure no one else ever reads from it.¡± He took the book from her. ¡°Of course, my Lady.¡± She looked at him thoughtfully. ¡°You¡¯re one of my people now, Mr. Less, so I will give you a new name. You are not worthless to me; you are Mirage. And I expect great things from you.¡± Those words hit harder than he would have expected. No one had ever believed in him. His whole life, he had felt unwanted or receable to everyone but ke and Sea, but now, to hear from this being that she believed in him, he realized that those were words he had been hoping for, but never expected to hear. He wouldn¡¯t disappoint her. Another Library! Another Library! Rain ended up teleporting away from the newly minted Ash Fox-kin right before dawn. Her new minion clutched his smoldering book and looked at her respectfully assuring her he would find loyal people to help him. Her acting skills must have been better than she thought; she had him fooled into thinking she could actually do something to him if he turned on her. Rain changed into a pretty green casual dress. She had started keeping buttons in an inner pocket of her coat so it could use them when it changed shape. Today, she was using some simple wooden ones. Skipping down the street, Rain spread her arms like wings, carefully avoiding the cracks between paving stones. She deserved to have some fun, right? Not many ten-year-olds could say they had taken the first steps to bing the criminal overlords of the capital. Rain wished the early risers wouldn¡¯t be so good at avoiding her; it would be more fun if she had to dodge between them. Boring people wouldn¡¯t ruin her mood, though. She had done it! She had used one of her books to help someone! Admittedly, when his hair had turned gray, and he grew pointy ears and a tail, she had thought this would be another failure on her part. But no, he had had a race evolution just like the uffters. There had been a few differences. The race was already known, so she hadn¡¯t had to name it, and Mr. Purple had said something about his records, whatever that meant. But it didn¡¯t matter. He seemed alright with it, so she would be too. Now that she had Mr. Markson and Mr. Mirage working for her, she would need more information to know where to sow more seeds. Hence, her current destination: a tavern in the Mid Ring she could use to contact the Watching Stars. Unfortunately, when she arrived, it was to see the building surrounded by armed men wearing the symbol of Lord Miggos¡ªthe man whose manor Rain had set fire to. Well, ashes, she might be responsible for this. Whether or not this was her fault, she wouldn''t be using this method of contact to get in touch with the Stars. What would be the next best bet? She remembered there being instructions to get in contact with them through the Mid Ring Library and Goldhand Auction House. The library it was. She had had enough of auction houses tost her a lifetime. Pivoting on her heel, Rain headed towards the inner part of the Mid Ring where the library was. She was excited to see it. It would be way smaller than her library, but it would probably be cool. When she arrived, it was to find that the library was one of therger buildings in the Mid Ring. The building was shaped like arge spire with smaller spires branching off it. Rain was disappointed to see men and women with the Miggos house symbol about the ce. Rain could give up on the library and go to the auction house, but there was no guarantee that it would be any less infested with Miggos¡¯s minions. Rain couldn¡¯t wait until she was the one with the minions. She had been all wrapped up when she visited Miggos¡¯s House, so it should be safe for her to enter. Right? Checking that she had a coin in a safe ce, she walked right into the library''s front doors. None of the Miggos Minions - should she call them Miggions? - paid her any attention. The front doors led to arge stone room with a red carpeted floor andrge windows letting in light. Behind a counter, an old woman sat reading some kind of book. There was also a door with an armed guard standing next to it that looked like it led into the library proper. She assumed she needed to talk to the woman behind the counter to get permission to enter the library. Rain made sure her posture was straight and her expression was mature. If she was being honest, she wasn¡¯t really sure what a mature face was supposed to feel like. Either way, she approached the woman. ¡°Excuse me, Mam.¡± The woman looked up but said nothing. ¡°What do I need to do to enter the Library?¡± The woman scrutinized Rain''s appearance, noting her disheveled hair, tired eyes, and neat but simple clothing, and found her wanting. ¡°To enter the first three library floors one time is an old. If you n to frequent the library, you will want a chit of admittance, which will cost you forty old.¡± That was a lot! And it would only get her into the first three floors? How many floors were there? Rain¡¯s contact was on the first floor, so she should probably buy a chit toe by whenever she wanted. It didn¡¯t hurt that she was curious about what non-cursed books were like. Despite having knowledge from her past life, there were still things she knew nothing about. Libraries were one of them. Reaching into her coat, Rain produced forty old coins and ced them on the counter before the woman. The woman¡¯s eyes widened at the sight of the money, clearly not expecting Rain to be able to pay. ¡°I¡¯d like to buy a chit Mam.¡± Rain said, trying to keep her satisfaction out of her voice at seeing the surprised look on the woman''s face. ¡°Very well.¡± the woman said, taking Rain¡¯s money and recounting it. ¡°Here is a chit for the first three floors. You will need to pay more to go above that. You may not take any books out of the library. You will be searched when you leave.¡± As the stuffydy spoke, she handed Rain a thin rectangle of carved wood with an image of the library carved onto its face. It had a small hole drilled through the top where it could be kept on a string. A small number three was at the bottom, under the library''s image. Rain took the chit and happily left the woman mid-speech. She showed it to the guard, who let her in with a smirk at the judgy woman. Rain liked him. Now Rain needed to find her contact. The notes Mr. Manas had given her said that she needed to ask for help understanding a section of the book ¡®Ashmin Cooking.¡¯ So the first thing she would need to do was find that book. The moment she entered the library proper, her mouth fell open. Maybe it was just theck of fog obscuring everything, but this library looked farrger than hers. How was that possible? Her library was supposed to be where all forbidden knowledge was held. It should be massivepared to a regr library. This first floor was full of shelves of ordered and boring-looking books withrge windows letting in light and a balcony around the outside walls providing ess to even more bookshelves. How was Rain supposed to find a specific book in this ce? Looking around for someone to ask Rain saw more Miggions walking around like they were looking for something. That was going to add anotheryer ofplexity to getting in contact with the Stars. For some reason, Rain found herself smiling. Was she looking forward to this? Reminding herself that this was not a game, Rain started by looking for someone who might be able to help her find the right book. Every time she had to pass a Miggion, she would feel a slight thrill. Pretending she wasn¡¯t scared as she walked by was fun. Maybe she should try to be an actress so she could have fun like this all the time. If she did be an actress, she would have to decide whether she wanted to y the prettydy or the ck sser. Maybe she could be a pretty ck sser? No ck ssers didn¡¯t wear green. Rain rounded a corner to find a counter with another woman behind it. This woman wasn¡¯t as old as the first. She seemed to be in her twenties with blond hair, and, were those sses? Rain knew of them but had never seen them before. They were cool. Rain wondered what they felt like. ¡°Excuse me, mam.¡± Rain asked thedy, ¡°Do you know how to find a specific book?¡± ¡°Of course. Do you have the name of the book?¡± Rain noticed that one of the Miggions was close; he might be in earshot. Not sure if they knew about the book, but thinking it was likely given that they were here, Rain realized she couldn¡¯t say anything until there was no one around to overhear. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to pronounce it.¡± Hopefully, there was a book with the location of all the other books in it. ¡°That''s no problem. If you can write down the book title you¡¯re looking for, I can help you find it.¡± That wasn¡¯t what Rain had been hoping to hear. But it was still a good way to get what she needed. So, ears burning red, she wrote ¡®Ashmin Cooking¡¯ on the piece of paper that the kinddy offered her. Why had she said she didn¡¯t know how to pronounce it? Thedy looked at the paper and gave a softugh. ¡°I¡¯m afraid another patron is currently reading this book. But if you want, I can lead you to where they are studying?¡± ¡°I, er, okay.¡± Rain answered. Hopefully, she could still make contact with the Stars here. She really didn¡¯t want to have to go to the auction house. ¡°Follow me, dear.¡± The woman led Rain to a side reading room. Its cement and size reminded Rain of her bedroom back in her library. Inside was a table topped with piles of books and surrounded byfortable-looking chairs. A man, who also looked to be in his twenties, sat at the table reading. ¡°Sorry to interrupt, Orm. This youngdy is looking for one of the books you¡¯re hoarding in here.¡± ¡°Huh, oh, is she now? Well,e on in, young miss, what book are you looking for?¡± The man Orm¡¯s voice was distracted, and he never bothered to look away from the book he was reading. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Ashmin Cooking.¡± That caught his attention. And for the first time, he looked away from his book. His eyes immediately captivated Rain; one was a normal gray, while the other was a vibrant ice blue. ¡°Ya, I can take care of her. Thanks, Hope.¡± ¡°Oh, it''s no problem. I¡¯m happy to help you if you ever need anything, Orm.¡± Thedy, Hope, had her hands sped in front of her. She looked like she was trying to find the right words and failing. She also hadn¡¯t taken her eyes off Orm since they entered the room. Orm, for his part, had yet to spare her a nce. ¡°Yep, yep, I¡¯ve got this thanks.¡± Hope bowed slightly and left. Rain caught a glimpse of a sad smile as she turned around. ¡°You can look through the pile of books for Ashmin Cooking if you really want that book, or you can just tell me what the number thirty-six means to you.¡± Rain briefly froze at the question before deciding to take the risk. ¡°My past.¡± Orm grinned. ¡°So you¡¯re the troublemaker who got Miggos all riled up? Good for you. What do you need?¡± ¡°Just to rify, you are one of the Watching¡­¡± Rain left the sentence hanging, hoping he would finish it. ¡°Watching Stars, yes. I¡¯m the library contact today.¡± Rain looked at the man closer. He had blond hair that went well with his mismatched eyes and a long gray robe with ink stains on the sleeves. It wasn¡¯t how she expected an informant to look, but now that she thought about it, what was she expecting? ¡°Here is a list of things I want information on.¡± Rain said, pulling a sheet of paper she had prepared and handing it to Orm. He looked it over briefly and nodded. "That will cost thirty old upfront and another thirty uponpletion.¡± Rain winced at the price. Sure, she could afford it, but it was still a lot. Rain pulled out the thirty old he asked for and handed it over. ¡°Great,e back in a week, and I¡¯ll have your information for you. If you need it sooner than that, it¡¯ll cost more.¡± ¡°A week is fine.¡± ¡°Great! Oh, and as an advance, talk to Hope if you want to know about noble culture and customs. She¡¯s a smart one. Just maybe ask her on a day when Miggos isn¡¯t being a pain.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Orm was already fully invested in his book and didn¡¯t bother to answer. Side Stories 2 & 3 Side Stories 2 & 3 The uffter looked down at the lesser uffters she had dominated. To one side were the twisted ones, gifts from her green-eyed goddess. She had a job, and they would all serve their purpose. The two-tailed chosen stood next to her. He wasn¡¯t as smart as her, but the goddess had chosen him, so she wouldn¡¯t argue with him being here. These here would make for a good start in achieving the goal of their goddess. She had only briefly brushed the goddess''s mind when she was first gifted with intelligence and power. But that had been enough to see the desires of the green-eyed one. The goddess wanted knowledge, so she would gather it. Unfortunately, dominating the minds of the lesser humans was more challenging than the lesser ufters and the twisted. Still, she had enough power to read their surface thoughts. She learned theirnguage and customs, how they interacted, and what they wanted. It wasn¡¯t enough. If she wanted the recognition of her goddess, she needed to gather more. With a mentalmand, the lessers scurried away to watch the city. She would keep watch of everything through their eyes. She felt a movement in her belly. Good, her children were growing. She knew she wasn¡¯t strong enough to achieve the green-eyed goddess''s goals alone, so she would have many children. She would teach them their duty to the green-eyed one, and together, they would gather all the information this city had to offer. Who knows, with multiple mind uffters working together, they might even be able to dominate the lesser humans. ***** Ho looked down on the beautifully twisted visage of the woman, blood leaking from her ears and ck veins spreading from her temples. It was almost perfect. If only she had answered his questions, it would have been perfect. He had even lied and told her he would spare her life if she told him who ¡®our merchant friend¡¯ was. She had refused, telling him she didn¡¯t know. She thought her tears would convince him. She was wrong. He knew she was lying. She just didn¡¯t want to tell him. She didn¡¯t want him to get another of the books. ¡°Why?¡± Ho asked the dead room, grabbing the woman''s hair and smashing her face into the wooden floor. ¡°Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY? WHY? WHY!¡± With each word, he smashed her face into the floor, breaking bones and turning it into a pulverized mess. The note in the book said that he needed to talk to ¡®our merchant friend.¡¯ Ho didn¡¯t know who that was! The boss probably knew, but he refused to tell Ho after Ho killed him. No matter, Ho would just keep killing people until one of them told him what he wanted to know. Yes. He thought as he stood up to his full, crooked height. I will kill this ¡®merchant friend¡¯ and force you to give more power. With that, he walked out of the bloody home and onto a sun-lit farm. Of Lords and Loneliness Of Lords and Loneliness Two days after her meeting in the library, Rain found herself in trouble. The y she had nned to see had been canceled, leaving her with nothing to upy her mind. The emotions she ignored were now overwhelming her, and the sea of inky pain, usually just out of sight, was pushing down on her. The leaks she had felt since waking up that morning had grown. Rain needed to do something to distract herself. Now! Mr. Markson was expecting her tomorrow. She couldn¡¯t visit him. Likewise, Mr. Mirage needed a few more days to gather recruits to bring through the Library. Who then? The Watching Stars wouldn¡¯t have her information for a few more days. Hope! That¡¯s right, she could ask Hope to bring her books on noble society. Rain ran towards the library. The physical exertion helped to keep her mind off things, but it wasn''t enough. She needed more distractions. As she made her way, she kept a watchful eye on the people around her, constantly scanning for any possible threats. However, her attention was momentarily diverted when she passed a group of children engrossed in a game. In that moment, she was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt and envy. What would it be like to y with friends without a care in the world? Rain sped up. When Rain reached the Library, she found a quiet ce to change before entering. She had her cloak turn into her favorite dress, green of course, and forced a dignified look onto her face. Her quivering chin took a while to get under control. Outwardlyposed, Rain entered the library, ignored the judgydy behind the counter, and presented her chit to the guard who let her in. Even though it was her second time here, Rain couldn¡¯t help but be awed by the size of the ce. It was so much bigger than hers. She needed to get to the bottom of that. This Mid Ring library would not outdo her. Following the outer wall, Rain searched for Hope. It didn¡¯t take her long. Standing there behind her counter was the same sses-wearing girl. Rain waved, putting as much cheer into the movement as she could. ¡°Hi, Mis. Hope!¡± Hope looked up from the book she was reading. ¡°Hello there, it''s good to see you again. Do you need something?¡± ¡°Yep! I was hoping you could help me learn about nobles!¡± Hope smiled. ¡°I would be happy to.¡± Hope¡¯s words were the color of truth. Everything about Hope felt cheerful and colorful even when wearing the nd ck and white skirt uniform of the library. Rain couldn¡¯t help but like her. ¡°Where do you want to start? And I apologize, but I don¡¯t think I caught your namest time.¡± ¡°My name is Rain!¡± No matter how many times Rain introduced herself, it still gave her a thrill to share the name she had chosen. ¡°I want to learn about how the lords, what they do, who they are, how they run things, and if amoner can be one.¡± Hope smiled at Rain¡¯s list of questions. ¡°Wonderful! I¡¯ll turn you into a little schr.¡± With that said, Hope motioned for Rain to follow her and walked into the library. The way that Hope navigated the library, pulling books off the shelf as she went, showed that she knew every shelf and book here. As a sort of librarian herself, Rain was starting to look up to Hope. Would Rain be able to move around her library like this someday? Hope Led Rain to a reading room simr to the one she had met Orm in and ced the scary,rge stack of books on the table. ¡°Okay, so this book discusses the origin of the Gathering of Lords. Oh, right, the Gathering of Lords is what we call our leaders. Though I''m sure you already know that.¡± Rain was starting to think that if she got Hope talking, she might not have to read that intimidating pile of books. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that; why do they call it the Gathering of Lords?¡± ¡°Oh, that''s because back when the inds were independent, a group of explorers discovered the maind and returned, telling stories of the advanced crafting techniques and weapons there. These explorers managed to gather the lords of many of therger inds to a meeting to discuss the threat the maind posed to them. They say the first Gathering took three months, but eventually, the lords decided to put aside their differences and work together.¡± Rain would not let her chin start quivering again. ¡°Is that what the Gathering is still like?¡± ¡°It¡¯s changed slightly since then. After the first Gathering, the inds that started to work together and trade rapidly advanced in crafting and farming; because of this, other inds started joining until most of the inds were a part of the Gathering. That''s when the stratification happened, with lords starting to rank themselves ording to the resources they controlled. The most powerful were the three High Lords, with the Arch Lord ruling over everything.¡± ¡°What makes the Arch Lord so special?¡± Rain asked. She had her chin in her hand to hide its slight quivering. ¡°Oh, the Arch Lord is Lord Tineak. And that''s because Tineak is the only ind where star metal can be mined. Star metal is said to make the best armor and is incredibly rare. Its usefulness helped the first Lord Tineak be the Arch Lord, and they never lost that position.¡± Rain could see a man in silvery armor cutting Lon¡¯s head off. That must have been star metal. She closed her eyes to stop the tears from escaping. She didn¡¯t need to cry. She was alright. ¡°Can amoner be a lord?¡± her voice was starting to quiver too, not good. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yep, I¡¯m just closing my eyes to help me concentrate,¡± Rain lied. ¡°Oh, all right. Well, to answer your question, to be a lord, you have to ownnd that produces something of value. So, if you owned a piece ofnd and found that it grew a useful herb that couldn¡¯t be found anywhere else, you could use that fact to try to be a Lesser Lord. Some wealthy merchants marry into lord families as a way to join the gathering because they have the money but not thend to qualify. Or sometimes they make deals with lord families to have them adopt one of their children. I hear thosest two are bing moremon these days as disasters leave more and more lords destitute.¡± ¡°Thank you, Hope. Can I find you after I have some time to think this all over?¡± Rain had more questions she wanted to ask, but she couldn¡¯t hold herself together much longer. Already, she was pressing her fingers into her closed eyes, trying to stop them from crying. ¡°Wha oh, sorry! I get carried away sometimes. I¡¯ll stop bothering you. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Rain wanted to tell her it was no bother, but she needed Hope to leave fast. So, Rain said nothing. She heard the door open and close. Unable to wait more than a minute, Rain followed, but rather than stepping into the brightly lit library, she stepped into a fog-clogged and dark library full of books that would curse the unfortunate. Rain dropped to her knees and finally let the tears she had held back all day flow freely. Hunching over in pain, she hugged herself tightly, with her fingers digging into her shoulders. But there was nofort in that thin hug; it only served to remind her of how alone she was. The bitter jealousy and longing that Rain harbored every time she saw children ying or families walking together. Every time she saw a mother caring for a son or a fatherforting his daughter, Rain felt it. She wanted it. But she would never have it. Didn¡¯t deserve it. Not after what she had done. She knew it didn¡¯t make sense to me herself, but she didn¡¯t feel it. In her heart, Rain knew the truth: she didn¡¯t deserve to be loved. Fingers drawing blood as she tried to hug herself harder, Rain screamed till her throat went raw. It was a scream of absolute pain, of longing, of hopelessness. It was a wail of the lost and lonely. And as was fitting of such a sound, no one heard it, no one cared. Behind the Door Behind the Door Rain sat with her back against the door. The sounds hadn¡¯t changed after her¡­ she didn¡¯t know what to call it. All she knew was that she was back in control of herself, and that she was tired. Maybe if she went to sleep now, she wouldn''t be haunted by her dreams. It was a tempting thought luring her to close her eyes. Despite that, Rain couldn¡¯t get the image of Lon out of her head. She knew the truth; she was too scared to sleep. Rain wouldn¡¯t dwell on her problems; they were unimportant. She should focus on helping people like her past self had asked. Now was a perfect time to answer a question that had bothered Rain since she first saw the Mid Ring Library. Why was it so much bigger than hers? She pushed all thoughts about what just happened out of her mind. Rain walked the perimeter of her library, looking for any door or secret passages that might lead somewhere else. She found some arches set into the wall that looked like they should house doors, but no matter how much she poked and prodded, she could not find any. The whole area was more or less how she remembered it from her first visit. What was she missing? She asked Mr. Purple to show her the ¡®Door to the Library¡¯ skill again. [Door to the Library: To ess the Library of Oru, push your will into any door, and it will transform into a portal. Once the door closes, the portal will also close. When you''re ready to leave, you can exit through any door, and it will take you back to the same one you entered from.] She realized that it never actually mentioned what was in the Library of Oru. Had her past self been scammed? Then Rain noticed something in the description she hadn¡¯t before. It said she could leave through any door, not just the exit door. In fact, she had no proof that there even was an exit door. If that were true, then had she just assumed the door in the entry hall was an exit because that was where she entered? Rain sprinted back to the intricately carved door. Pulling it open, she willed her power not to enter the door. As it opened, Rain didn¡¯t see the usual darkness indicating a portal; instead, she saw a well-lit balcony with handrails made of petrified hands clinging and wing to each other in a frozen depiction of struggle. Rain thought she understood her library but had only ever seen a part of it. Stepping out onto the balcony, she was stunned by the vastness around her. Balconies, walkways, and catwalks everywhere, all of them covered in bookshelves or piles of books. Books and loose papers flew around, merging into other piles or shelves. Rain saw a bunch of paperse together to form a book; not long after, an entire pile of books burned away in green fire. Yet despite the pping, flying, skidding, and burning, not a sound was to be heard. The entire ce seemed to be built around a cylindrical shaft. Gripping the stone rail and peering down, Rain saw the bottom of the shaft was taken up by a single massive dark eye. Its edges were indistinct, as though it had no permanent shape. As she stared at it, the eye swiveled to look back at her. In that moment, Rain felt very small. Rain stepped out of the eye''s line of site and looked up to see: the library falling apart? Only nothing was moving. The building blocks of the library were all separated, floating in an endless nothing; the library seemed to go on for eternity, but the farther up it went, the farther its pieces were spread. What is that empty void? Rain had so many questions she wanted answered about this ce. Were all the books here skill books, or were there other kinds? Were the books that caught fire no longer forbidden and so removed? If Rain could make it to the top floors, would she be able to float like the chunks of stone? And, of course, what was that eye? Looking back down at the eye, Rain saw its amorphous pupil change sizes as it stared at different parts of the room. Leaning over to get a better view, Rain caught a glimpse of movement in the corner of her eye. There, on a balcony down and across from her, was a girl with ck hair and a green dress. The same dress Rain was wearing. The girl was staring at something below her intently. Following her gaze, Rain saw the same girl in the same dress looking over yet another balcony. Rain raised her hand above her head and saw the others do the same thing. If Rain was looking down on herself, then was she also above herself? Looking up, Rain found herself. The her above was also staring up. Was this some kind of reflection trick? Rain took a coin and threw it down at one of the hers. She heard something clinking on the ground next to her as she saw her coinnd on the balcony below her. Turning to the sound, Rain saw a dented ver lying beside her. She picked it up. It looked just like the coin she had thrown, and as she reached out with her mind to the coin she threw, it was clearly the coin in her hand. Interesting. Rain took the coin and threw it again to the same balcony. This time, though, instead of picking the coin up when she heard itnd, she warped to it. She enjoyed the familiar folding sensation as the world copsed around her. When the world unfolded, Rain found herself standing on a familiar balcony. Looking around, Rain confirmed that while it looked simr to the one she had just been standing on, it was, in fact, a different ce. The door leading out onto the balcony was the giveaway. Though simr, its carvings were different. Rain had done the same thing twice and gotten different results. The first time, when she picked up the coin, her thrownded on the balcony she was standing on. The second time, when she had immediately warped to the coin, she had ended in a different ce. It was almost like her present actions changed the past. Deciding to test this theory, Rain repeated her actions a few times. It was exactly as she thought, with the coin being where she threw it unless she tried to pick it up, in which case it would havended next to her instead. That was the pattern until Rain was convinced, at which point the library, seemingly annoyed that Rain was trying to apply rules to it, decided to stop following them, and Rain gave up. Looking over the railing to see how close she was to the eye, Rain found herself no closer. But how? She must have gone down close to thirty stories. How many more hers were between her and the eye? Rain found herself and followed her gaze to where another her stood. She kept doing that only to find that there was always another her. They were always farther down than thest, yet they never felt farther away. As Rain was trying to wrap her head around all this, Mr. Purple bloomed into existence with a message for her. [Warning: due to prolonged exposure to unreality, your mental corruption has increased by 1%, current mental corruption 4%.] Wait, my mental corruption is only 4%? This confused her until she remembered that her corruption had dropped 10% after¡­ It had probably gone down another 6% when she had raised that bandit guy¡¯s corruption by 60%. That would ount for everything. She needed to get out of this part of the library before her corruption worsened. With it this low, she might be able to risk another book. Rain was d she could leave through any door. She had no idea how to navigate in a ce where direction and distance held no meaning. Turning to the door, Rain let herself out. She had a meeting with Mr. Markson. Preparations Preparations Rain had a bit of time before meeting with Mr. Marksonter that day, and she decided to use it to find another book to read. With her mental corruption only at 4%, she felt like now would be a good time to add a new skill to her ss. She had thought about exploring the shaft, as she had named the new part of the library. Still, with how big - or maybe small, it was impossible to tell in a ce where distance didn¡¯t really exist - the shaft was, she would take a while to find anything useful. By then, the unreality of the ce would probably give her so much corruption she wouldn¡¯t be able to use any of it. So she stayed in the mist room and looked for something good; she thought she might have found a winner. The tome she was holding was a simple book with pictures of sleeping children on it. Rain chose it, hoping it might help her with her nightmare problem. Also, it was a thin book, meaning it would hopefully provide less corruption. Taking a deep breath, Rain opened the book and took the plunge. The book had no words. Instead, the most horrific stench Rain had ever smelled emanated from its pages. Rain had lived in a ve pen for ten years, and this was still worse smelling than all the unwashed bodies, piles of undisposed excrement, and vomit she had been exposed to there. Rain was d that she hadn''t eaten in a while. But the real problem with the smell was that Rain could understand what it meant, and if she wanted to gather the whole story, she would have to inhale it willingly. Closing her watering eyes, Rain inhaled a sharp breath. The meaning was there in a way she couldn¡¯t exin with words. Two more excruciating breathster, and she understood the whole story. Her best trantion of the book''s meaning was about bing one with those who consumed you by attaching a small piece of your soul to the part of you that was eaten and fusing it to the consumer. Then,ter, you could use that small part attached to the host to create a connection when the host was at its weakest. The whole book was gross, from the content to the delivery method. Rain hoped she would never have to ¡®read¡¯ a book like it again. As she finished internalizing it all, Mr. Purple arrived with his usual slog of messages. [Skill Attained: Enter Dream.] [Creating ss around Enter Dream.] [Error: Enter Dream has been absorbed into Master of the Library; creation of new ss canceled.] [Enter Dream: You may forge a connection to anyone who consumes a portion of your body. This connection will allow you to enter their dreams andmunicate with them while they sleep.] [WARNING: Mental corruption has risen 10%. Current mental corruption 14%.] Rain went over a mental checklist: no strange feelings, hallucinations, spike in aggression, or lethargy. Her personality seemed normal. It appeared that her corruption was still at a safe level. Though would she really be able to tell if it wasn¡¯t? She also noticed that she gained corruption much slower than others. If she had to guess, she thought it was the effect of her Aura of the Unnatural skill when it said, ¡®This aura will provide some protection against the influence of the void.¡¯ At least some good came from that skill. This new skill, however, seemed odd. Why would she let others eat her just so she could talk to them in their dreams? Also, what counted as her body? Did a hair count? She would need to test this. But first, she needed to get to her meeting. ***** Rain''s meeting with Mr. Markson went better than she expected. They had sent out several shipments over the past few days, and other than the first, none had been waid. That meant it was time to really restart Mr. Markson¡¯s business. They had talked at length about what goods to move and how much Mr. Markson would need to make it happen. For the most part, Rain let him make the decisions; he knew what he was doing. But there were two items that Rain insisted that he find and import: paint and dyes. Rain was tired of seeing the same gloomy ck stone buildings and ash-covered streets. Some buildings, like the Fiddlers Retreat, painted patterns on their front, but most found that to be wasteful. Rain was going to change that. The dye was for the same reason. Pretty things cheer people up. So if Rain could make pretty clothes avable for everyone, everyone would be happier. It made sense to Rain. During the entire meeting, Sunrise hovered close to Rain, giving her drinks and snacks and ignoring Mr. Markson whenever he suggested she finish some task he¡¯d assigned her. Despite her attention, whenever Rain would try to talk to her, she would just blush and look down. Rain wasn¡¯t sure what was going on with her, but Rain was d she seemed to be happy here. The only real surprise of the meeting happened when everything was over, and Rain was getting up to leave. ¡°Oh, before I forget. I would like to invite you toe and have dinner with my family and me tonight if you are willing. As thanks for saving my business.¡± Those words caused Rain to freeze where she stood. Had she really just heard him ask her to spend time with his family? A real family! ¡°I, er, yes I, that would be great!¡± Rain needed to get ready to make the best first impression possible! Quickly gathering the time and ce from Mr. Markson, Rain rushed off. This was her big chance. Mr. Markson was a nice man; if his wife and son were anything like him, they would be perfect. Rain spotted a row of beautiful knives disyed outside a smithy as she searched the Mid Ring for a tailor who could make her a perfect dress before dinner. For a minute, Rain could see herself standing there with a boy who looked like Mr. Markson. She would help him pick out a knife, and he would teach her to carve wood. They would y together and look out for each other. Eventually, the vision ended, and Rain realized how much time she had wasted. She did end up finding a tailor who could make a dress for her in time. As she was paying, she could almost hear Mr. Markson haggling down the price with the tailor so he could get the best deal for ¡®his daughter.¡¯ Taking the dress and feeding it to her cloak, Rain raced to a spot near where Mr. Markson lived in the Mid Ring. She then entered her library to get ready. Rain''s insides felt like tight knots. She wasn¡¯t even sure if she could eat anything when the time came. Rain changed into the dress she had just bought and looked at herself in the mirror she had ced in her room. The dress was a pretty pale green with white and blue flowers. The skirt only went down to the knees, and there were no sleeves, making it useless for most days, but Rain loved it. Flowers weren¡¯tmon in Tineak due to the ash and cold. There were some hearty bushes, but you only found flowers in a lord¡¯s greenhouse. Still, Rain thought they were beautiful. She hoped one day to go to a ce where flowers were plentiful. Rain twirled, delighted by how the skirt red out. Looking back into the mirror, she forced herself to look past the dress to the person inside it. Rain¡¯s hair was a little messy, and the dark circles under her eyes were no good. Rain poked and prodded at the dark circles, but no matter what she tried, she couldn¡¯t get them to change colors back to normal. Giving up on them as a lost cause, Rain looked at her hair. She had no idea what to do with it, so she tried to think about what Ms. Hope looked like. After all, no one could dislike the cheerful librarian. She remembered Hope keeping her hair in a braid. Rain had never braided hair before, but it looked simple enough. Taking a breath, Rain sat in front of the mirror and started braiding her hair. As she did, she could imagine a kind-looking woman behind her helping Rain braid her hair while Rain told her all about her day. Before Rain realized what was happening, she felt tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. In the end, it took Rain several hours to figure out how to braid her hair properly, the end result wasn¡¯t the neatest, but Rain was proud of it. It was time. Stomach hurting and clutching the hem of her skirt, Rain set off to impress the Marksons. Decisions at Dinner Decisions at Dinner The pit in Rain¡¯s stomach was strong as ever as she approached the modest and neat house where the Marksons lived. Rain felt more scared now than when she had robbed the Temple of Agro. Gathering all her courage and doing her best to act rxed, Rain knocked on the door. Not long after, the door opened to reveal a smiling Mr. Markson. The dark bags he used to have under his eyes were all but gone now. He seemed happy. Realizing that she had helped this man when he was low, for some reason it made Rain feel better. The knots in her stomach loosened, and her fake smile became real. ¡°Wee, young Rain! Come inside and meet my family.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mr. Markson.¡± ¡°Please call me Ind.¡± ¡°Okay, Mr. Ind.¡± Mr. Markson chuckled as she entered. The house was nice but sparsely furnished. The only real decoration was a picture of a young Mr. Markson standing beside a pretty blond woman holding a baby. They were all dressed in crisp blue clothes. There were ces next to the painting that suggested they used to hold their own paintings, but now only the family portrait remained. ¡°Right this way.¡± Mr. Markson led her into a small dining room with a table set for four. A blond boy, maybe a year older than Rain, stood up from where he sat at the table. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Mis. Rain. I¡¯m Sor¡± His words were stiff, and their color was almost nonexistent, as though he had spouted a memorized line without any real meaning. Rain couldpletely understand how he felt. If she had thought about it, she would have also memorized things to say. ¡°Nice to meet you too Sor.¡± Rain got closer to Sor. ¡°What kind of games do you like to y?¡± Sor took a step back. ¡°I like to read. By myself.¡± And that was a lie. But why would he lie? Were his hobbies something bad? Before Rain could think too much on this, Ms. Markson entered from another doorway. Rain could recognize her from the picture. She was a little older, but she still looked kind. ¡°You must be the young Mis Rain Ind has told me so much about. I¡¯m so grateful for everything you¡¯ve done for our family; it''s a pleasure to finally meet you. I¡¯m Tal Markson.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Ms. Markson! You¡¯re really pretty.¡± It was the truth, and Rain hoped thatplimenting her would make Ms. Markson like Rain more. ¡°Aw, thank you.¡± ¡°Why Don¡¯t you twodies have a seat so we can start eating?¡± Everyone sat at the table with Mr and Ms Markson on one side and Rain and Sor on the other. Mr and Ms Markson sat close to each other while Sor sat at the far corner, as far from Rain as he could be. Rain wasn¡¯t stupid; she could see that Sor didn¡¯t like her. She just wished she knew what she could have done to change that. The dinner was pleasant; the family would talk amongst themselves and tried to include Rain as often as possible. Unfortunately, Rain could see deeper. She saw Ms. Markson''s ufortable posture and the way no one would eat anything Rain had been close to. She saw the ck color of the words as Ms. Markson told her they hoped Rain would visit again. Rain had no way to deny it. They were kind and tried to bring her into their family dinner, but Rain didn¡¯t belong here. She made them profoundly ufortable. She didn¡¯t belong. Rain spent the rest of the night looking for the first opportunity to leave the ce. When she finally did, it was to find it raining out. Mr. Markson attempted to convince her to stay the night, but she refused. Walking under the night sky, her namesake falling around her, drew Rain back to the first time she had seen the sky and the rain. She remembered why she chose that name: freedom and a ce to belong. Thinking back to her actions earlier, she had been acting a fool. It was obvious that she wouldn¡¯t be epted as part of the Marksons. Why had she let herself have those foolish daydreams? Why had she spent so much time trying to look good enough that they would want her? Even without her aura, it was incredibly unlikely that she would have somehow be part of their family. Yet she dared to hope. Rain kicked a clump of wet ash, sttering it across a wall where it began to run down like gray tears. That hope made everything hurt more. Rain promised herself she wouldn¡¯t ever act so foolishly as this again. Reaching out a closed fist, She opened her hand as though releasing something into the wind and rain. When Ms. Hope told her how amoner could join the Gathering of Lords, Rain knew that paying a failing house to adopt her would be a great way for her to gain ess to powerful people. It would be a major step in her quest to w her way to the top and gain control over everything. All she had to do was sell her chance at a real family. And what good was a chance she would never get? There was still time. One of the things she asked about from the Watching Stars was the current state of lords in Tineak. It should have enough information for Rain to pick a victim. The walk to the library gave Rain enough time to sort everything out. By the time she arrived, Rain was feeling strong and determined. She needed to focus on her goal of helping as many people as she could. Her feelings were second to that. Rain wasn¡¯t surprised to find Orm still at the library. He always said he was just on duty, but Rain was pretty sure he just lived there. After some brief small talk, Rain handed him the rest of the money she owed, and he handed her a slip of paper. Sitting down across from Orm, Rain opened the paper and skimmed through it. Eventually, she found what she was looking for. The Estom House. It was a mid-ranked house that ruled the ind of Estom, a forest ind. They were best known for the fine lumber they sold. However, due to a gue that broke out on their ind, Estom had beenbeled a dead ind, and travel to and from it was now forbidden. Lord and Lady Estom, as well as their son, rarely left their manor in the Crown Ring here in Tineak to visit their holdings, so they were off ind when it was quarantined. General consensus was that the gue only broke out on Estom because of severe neglect by its rulers. There were plenty of other rumors about the Estoms, from infidelity to selling their own citizens. The son had a reputation aszy, stupid, and talentless. All in all, they were perfect for what Rain wanted. She would infiltrate their house and use them to further her own goals. Rain was corruption; she would be the rot that grew in the heart of the Estom House. Then, when they were no longer useful, she would take over House Estom or burn it down. Either way, they were finished. New Family New Family It had been two days since Rain decided to buy her way into House Estom. Two days of negotiating, bribing, signing legal documents, and other practices pulled straight out of Arkit. If it hadn¡¯t been for Mr. Markson working things out on her side, Rain didn¡¯t know if she would have been able to get this far. But here she was, standing before avish mansion in the Crown Ring. The mansion was six stories tall and even had a greenhouse attached to one side. Rain hoped it was full of flowers. Mr. Markson ced his hand on her back and gave her a slight push forward. Today was thest signing where Mr. Markson and Rain would finalize their agreement with the Estoms. When everything was finished, Mr. Markson would leave this ce, and Rain would remain. After gathering herself for this final push, Rain marched to the front door. Statues of self-important-looking people lined the way. Before Rain reached the front door, its double doors opened, and a line of servants weed Rain and Mr. Markson. One servant wearing drab monochrome clothes with only a dab of green trim led them toward the lounge where the final signing would ur. Nothing about this ce would suggest that the inhabitants were in a desperate financial situation due to having theirnds quarantined. Everywhere Rain looked, there were decorations more expensive than thest. Delicate wood carvings and panels showed the Estom''s status as lords of a forest ind. The lounge was arge room with space for performing music or duels. To one side, there was a table with two couches around it. Three borately dressed blonds sat at one side of the table. Lord and Lady Estom sat together while their son sat to one side, ignored. Lord Estom had greedy eyes and a smile that said he would be your best friend as long as you had something he wanted. Lady Estom was as cold and beautiful as the statues outside. The son whose name Rain couldn¡¯t remember was as unremarkable as his reputation. They sat across from the Estoms. ¡°Wee back, Markson. Everything is prepared. Are things ready on your side?¡± said Lord Estom. ¡°Yes, the money will be brought by as soon as everything is signed.¡± The terms of the contract were simple. The Estoms would be provided with arge amount of money - Rain was forced to give up almost a quarter of her stolen treasure - In exchange, the Estoms would adopt Rain and give her all the rights and privileges that a youngdy of House Estom was due. The contract was written on an enchanted scroll that would hold the participants to the deal. Rain hadn¡¯t heard of such contracts before, and from what she understood, they had limitations on what they could do, but Mr. Markson promised her it would ensure she wasn¡¯t locked into a room or kicked out once the Estoms got what they wanted. Rain still nned to research how they worked right after antiskill barriers. A servant entered carrying a tray with an intricate document and ced it between the two parties on the table. ¡°Feel free to look over it again before signing.¡± Lord Estom said with anguid wave of his hand. Mr. Markson read the document, then nodded at Rain. ¡°Very well, everything looks to be in order. Shall we seal the contract?¡± Mr. Markson asked, offering the contract back to Lord Estom. Lord Estom took the contract and kissed it, then handed it off to his wife. Lady Estom also kissed the contract before passing it back to Mr. Markson, who kissed it before handing it to Rain. Rain looked at the contract for a moment before kissing it as well. She felt something drain out of her, simr to when she used her skills, and the words on the contract began to glow to her eyes. ¡°Very well, the contract is sealed. You can have your people bring in the payment.¡± Lord Estom said, looking at Mr. Markson. Mr. Markson nodded and stood to finish his part in all this, leaving Rain alone with the Estoms. Lord Estom looked at Rain for the first time today and gave her a smile. Rain recognized it as the same fake smile his paintings in the manor bore. ¡°I¡¯m happy to have you as part of the family, dear. I hope you feel wee.¡± Rain could easily see the color of his lie. Lady Estom also took this time to acknowledge Rain. ¡°you said your name was Rain, correct? Well, it won''t do for a member of House Estom to bear amoner''s name. We¡¯ll change your name to Raina.¡± Rain was not okay with that. Her name had meaning; it was the first thing she chose for herself. She wouldn¡¯t give it up for a meaningless jumble of sounds, even if it was only slightly different. ¡°Thank you, but my name is Rain.¡± Lady Estom¡¯s face made the slightest change in expression at Rain''s refusal to change her name. Rain was honestly impressed that someone could express so much contempt with such a small change. Lady Estom was clearly a master at what she did. ¡°You can call yourself whatever you want, Raina. Now, if you will all excuse me, I have things to do.¡± That said, Lady Estom stood up, her every movement full of grace, and left the room. ¡°I must also supervise the unloading of the payment.¡± and like that, Lord Estom was up and out to y with his new money, leaving Rain sitting there with no idea what to do. The son gave Rain a disinterested look. ¡°I¡¯m happy to have you as a little sister, I suppose.¡± For the first time that day, Rain was caught off guard because despite the detached tone it was said in, the colors of his words were vibrant and true. The boy, her brother, got up and looked around. He groaned. ¡°It looks like I¡¯ll have to show you where your room is.¡± Rain didn¡¯t even need her skills to know that was a lie. There were servants all over the ce; all she would have to do is ask one of them, and they would be more than capable of showing her to her new room. Still, Rain didn¡¯t say anything. The boy led her up four flights of stairs and down a hall into one of the manor¡¯s wings. The door to her room was massive, made of fine dark wood. Rain was a little concerned to see a keyhole under the doorknob. The boy, she really needed to remember his name, motioned to the door. ¡°This is your room.¡± then he pointed to the door directly across the hall. ¡°that¡¯s my room, so don¡¯t bother me.¡± Again, thatst part was a lie. Still, out of respect for him, Rain didn¡¯t say anything. She just thanked him and went into her new room. Calling it a room was an understatement. It was more of a small house itself. Just inside the door was a greeting area simr to the lounge she had just left with a table and chairs. Arge window in the back overlooked the greenhouse below, much to Rain''s delight. To each side of the room was a door. Looking behind one, Rain found arge washroom. On the other side was the actual bedroom. The center of the room was a massive bed that looked softer than a cloud to Rain. It made her feel more tired just looking at it. A firece was set into the connecting wall to heat the sitting room and the bedroom. The bedroom had soft, light-blue carpet contrasting the dark wood and ck stone of the walls and ceiling. Rain opened a wardrobe on one side of the room, excited to see what colorful clothesy within, only to be disappointed to find it empty. She would probably have to provide her own clothes. Only a little disappointed, Rain opened an unassuming door at one side of the room. Inside was a small room with an unimpressive bed and chest. Rain guessed that it was where a personal servant was supposed to live. Closing the door, Rain looked around one more time. This was her new home. Lucus Lucus Rain watched from her window to where she could see men unloading a handcart full of gold bars under the watchful eyes of Mr. Markson and Lord Estom. Even this far up, Rain could see the glee in Lord Estom¡¯s movements. Rain looked away from her new father as he reveled in his newfound wealth. She gazed past the garden of hedges and ck stone monoliths over the estate wall to the Crown Ring. It was nicer than the other parts of the city, withrge dark-spired manors and shops made of borate stonework. The roads were wider yet had less traffic, and everything was clean of ash and grime. Eventually, Rain got bored of watching people ride in expensive handcarts and decided to go explore the greenhouse. She had only ever seen a few flowers, and each had been really pretty. Finding her way through the mansion was challenging, but she eventually found her way outside, though she was on the wrong side of the house from the greenhouse. The sounds of cking wood and shouts were thick in the air. Following a hedge taller than her, Rain went looking for the source of the sound. Eventually, she found it: arge empty space in the middle of a ring of henges where four boys sparred with wooden swords under the watchful eye of an experienced-looking warrior. Rain watched the sparring through the henge. She wanted to find a ce with a better view, but they would tell her to go away if they knew she was there. She realized one of the boys was her new brother. He seemed to be the worst of the fighters. He frequently took hits from the other boys and got yelled at the most by the warrior. Despite that, there didn¡¯t seem to be any animosity between him and the others. Between fights, a servant would approach and offer everyone something to drink or a towel to dry their sweat. Rain spent a moment looking through her pockets for her information on her new brother. She had originally nned to outperform him and take his ce as heir, or remove him if necessary, but she didn¡¯t feel right about that anymore. There it was. Name Lucus, the only child of House Estom. Average inbat and academics, hecks motivation and talent. He is neither loved or hated by those around him. Some wish for their talented daughters to marry him, believing it will allow them to control House Estom. Other than his stupid, meaningless name, there wasn¡¯t much there. Rain looked back through the bush to see him losing another fight. He didn¡¯t seem to be bad; he just wasn¡¯t as skilled as the other three. During the next break, one of the servants said something to Lucus as she handed him something to drink. Lucus stopped drinking halfway through her exnation, and after a brief back and forth between the two, he handed her the cup and marched straight toward where Rain was hiding. Ashes, he found me! Rain started her escape, but he called out to her before she could get away. ¡°Why are you hiding in the bushes like a weirdo? If you want to watch,e and sit down over there like a normal person.¡± Rain turned around to see him pointing to a shaded area with chairs underneath. Was he inviting her to stay? She ran around the hedge until she found an opening, then entered the open area with everyone else. It was a little awkward having everyone stare at her, but as long as no one was angry at her, she didn¡¯t mind. With their scene over, the four boys went back to their sparing. Rain couldn¡¯t hold in her excitement at being included. She found herself jumping up and down in ce as the sparring matches went on. Wanting to be a part of it, Rain cheered for Lucus. ¡°Get him, brother!¡± Lucus immediately fumbled and took a hit to the ribs. Rain was horrified she had distracted him and gotten him hurt. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I''m so so sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to..¡± ¡°Shut up. I don''t care if you yell. It had nothing to do with me losing. So do whatever you want.¡± Rain was relieved he didn¡¯t seem to be angry at her. She continued to cheer as the sparring went on, but she made sure not to be too loud; she didn¡¯t want to bother him. Lucus, for his part, seemed to be more invested in the matches. He even won one of them. After a few hours, a servant came to tell Lucus that supper would be ready shortly and that he should return to the manor to clean up. After taking a few steps, Lucus turned to where Rain was standing. ¡°Come on, we need to get ready!¡± Rain blinked, realizing the servant had also been talking to her. Unsure what to do, Rain started following Lucus. Only to have him turn and re at her. ¡°Stop following me like a weirdo. Just walk next to me.¡± Rain felt her ears warm as she rushed to walk beside Lucus. The journey to the manor was quiet. Rain didn¡¯t know what to say without getting scolded. Lucus, for his part, seemed equally unable to figure out what to say. Once back at their rooms, Lucus changed while Rain waited outside his door. She wasn¡¯t dirty after all. A few minutester, he left his room in fresh clothing, and the two of them went to eat together. The dining hall was massive, with a long table running down the center. It could easily have hosted dozens of people. Currently, there were only settings for two people. Rain and Lucus sat down, and servants ced some of the best-smelling food Rain had ever smelt in front of them. ¡°Where are Lord and Lady Estom?¡± Rain asked. ¡°You think they would waste time eating with us?¡± Rain had thought that families ate together; however, before she could say anything, Lucus continued. ¡°No, you¡¯ll be lucky if they even talk to you every couple of days.¡± Rain decided to change the subject and started gushing over the food. She spent the rest of the meal eating amazing things and getting scolded for her table manners by Lucus. The meal ended with a servant bringing each of them a square of some kind of jiggly brown thing. It only took one bite for Rain to decide she was putting it on her list of favorite things. It was cool and slimy with a sweet taste, unlike anything Rain had ever eaten. It was perfect. Seeing the look on Rain''s face, Lucus slid his portion over to her. ¡°I don¡¯t like this stuff, so you can eat mine.¡± His words were a color so ck they put the priests of Agro to shame. Rain slid his portion back and insisted he eat it with her. It was the right choice. Rain found that good food tasted twice as good when you ate it with someone else. *** Later that night, Rain stood in front of her new bed, a familiar terror gripping her as she thought of going to sleep. The evening had been fun with her following Lucus around and him calling her a weirdo or telling her she was annoying him. She wasn¡¯t bothered by it, though, because she could see he was lying - at least about her being annoying. But now she was so tired. Maybe the nightmares wouldn¡¯te tonight? Deciding to risk it, Rainy down in the bed. It was even softer than her bed back in her library. It was like lying on a¡­ Rain woke tears in her eyes, heart pounding. It had been a bad one. There was no way she could go back to sleep now. Rain was exhausted and shaking; she was so, so tired of it all. Looking at her bed, Rain made a decision. Leaving her room, she stared at the door to Lucus¡¯s room. Trying the handle, she found it locked. She slid a coin under the door and warped into the room. It looked simr to hers, with a spacious sitting room in the front. Rain picked up her coin and cracked the door to the bedroom open. There he was, sleeping peacefully in his ownrge bed. Rain walked up to the side of the bed and looked down. Was she really going to do this? But the truth was that she was scared, and maybe having someone hold her while she slept would help the nightmares go away. Taking a half step forward, Rain hesitated. No, he had been nice to her. If she bothered him, he might not talk to her anymore. It wasn¡¯t worth the risk just so she could sleep one night. She turned around and returned to her room. She spent the night huddled in a ball and tormented by nightmares, but at least she hadn¡¯t ruined her chance to be friends with her new brother. Lessons Lessons When the morning finally came, it arrived with a maid to wake Rain up. The maid called to Rain, calling her ¡®Young Lady Estom¡¯ and telling her it was time to wake up. Rain, for her part, was already awake, having been unable to sleep for long before the nightmares chased her back to reality. Still, she pretended to wake up from a deep sleep. The maid told Rain to prepare for the day before beating a hasty retreat. The whole exchange took less than a minute. Rain changed her cloak into a nice knee-length white and blue dress. It reminded her of a cloudy day. Not the nasty gray clouds that were usually in the sky, but the fluffy white clouds that made people feel happy. Rain was going to make today a good day. First, though, she needed to find a good ce to leave a coin. This manor was well defended, and judging from Lord and Lady Estom''s actions yesterday, no one would bother Rain. In the end, Rain decided that the servant''s room next to hers was the safest ce to hide the coin. No one lived there. Even if someone was snooping in her rooms when she warped back, it was less likely they would be in that small room and see her appear out of nowhere. Coin secured, Rain took onest look around the room to see if she should bring anything with her. However, before she could warp out, there was a knock at the door. Rain could still just leave and let whoever it was knocking look for her, but she had to admit she was curious about who was trying to talk to her. Rain opened the door. On the other side was another of the house servants. Rain should really start trying to tell them apart. "Follow me, Young Lady, and I will take you to your morning lessons." Wait, lessons? What were these lessons about? Unsure what was going on, Rain decided to go along with things until she had a better picture. "Lead the way." The servant led Rain to another door on the same floor. When Rain entered, she was left speechless. The door led to a library bigger than her mist room. While it was smaller than the Mid Ring library, it was still huge. All these books for just one family. Rain was stunned by the thought. With all these books just down the hall from her new room, she would be able to read them whenever she wanted. Rain followed the servant down an open stairway to a reading area of the library where Lucus sat at a table; standing on the other side of the room was an old woman with wrinkles like crumpled paper. "Ah, good. You''ve brought her. Now, Young Lady, have a seat there next to the Young Lord." Rain followed instructions and sat at the table next to Lucus, who, for his part, looked incredibly bored. "Now, we will continue today''s lesson on the history of House Estom." Rain was already starting to regret not escaping when she had the chance. The woman''s voice was dry and slow; it seasoned everything she said with a thickyer of lifelessness. Where someone like Hope could make anything interesting by virtue of her bubbly excitement on the subject, this woman could tell a story about a fight between dragons and still put Rain to sleep. Rain started to think of all the better things she could be doing instead of being stuck here. She had been thinking of starting a school for the children of the Mid and Low Rings. She could foster loyalty in them, then take the best among them and use them to infiltrate ces of power as servants and scribes. She liked the idea. It was simr to what the lords did with the Grand Acadamy, but they left so much talent behind by only inviting the children of lords and those with sses to learn. There were so many people in the city, like Mr. Mirage, who would do anything to improve their ce in life. She would need to find good teachers for this school. Maybe Hope would be willing to teach. She did seem to be excited about learning and teaching. Even if she didn''t know as much as Ms. Crinkles, her passion would make her an exciting teacher. Rain sighed. Their teacher had yet to change the tone of her voice as she lectured. It was all that same dry, slow tone. Looking over at Lucus, Rain saw him staring ahead with soulless eyes. That was pretty much how she felt. Picking up a piece of charcoal and a scrap of paper, Rain started drawing. She drew herself as a beautiful heroine in a flowing dress, kicking an evil ck sser with Lucus''s face. She had to admit she wasn''t much of an artist, but at least drawing was something to do. When the old teacher looked away from them, Rain slid the picture over to Lucus. Lucus, moving for the first time since she sat down, looked at the picture. Then, picked up a piece of charcoal of his own and started drawing. Rain tried to listen to the lesson she really did. It was something about how House Estom made a deal with the lords of bronze to make spears and elevate their ce in the Gathering. If taught by almost anyone else, Rain would have been fascinated, but by the time Lucus slid the paper back to her, her mind had gonepletely nk. Looking down at the paper, Rain was stunned by how well Lucus could draw. His lines were crisp and shaded, making everything feel real, plus his proportions were way better than Rain''s. His picture, which was right next to Rain''s, showed Him blocking Rain''s attack and countering with a knife thrust. There was no way Rain was going to let him win this fight. Rain blocked his knife attack and kneed him in the gut, then passed the paper back. Lucus took the knee to the gut and used it to grab Rain and throw her over his shoulder. Then he passed the paper back to Rain, whonded on her back and swept Lucus''s legs from under him. As their battle heated up and they started using skills, it became clear to Rain that they were evenly matched. If Rain wanted to win this fight, she would have to show that she was stronger. With this in mind, the next time the paper was passed to her, she added minions to Lucus''s side. She could have added the minions to her own side, but then Lucus would probably just draw his own minions, and nothing would change. But by giving him the minions, she created an imbnce in the fight against herself. Lucus passed the paper back to her. Perfect! He had epted the minions without giving her anything to bnce it out. Rain drew herself killing each of the minions in different cool ways, and when Lucus didn''t try to stop her, he unconsciously epted that Rain was as strong as him and his minionsbined. Now that the minions were dead, He would have to ept that Rain was stronger. It was all over. Rain drew herself using one of the deadly skills she had just used to finish off a minion on Lucus. There was no way he would be able to stop it. But against all logic, he blocked it. How! That move should have left a hole in his stomach! As Rain tried to figure out how to kill Lucus, she realized that their teacher wasn''t talking anymore. Looking up from the paper, she saw that she and Lucus were being given a dangerous look. "Since you don''t seem to be interested in listening to anything I say, how about you copy the first fifty pages of Lord Verneri Estom''s journal? I expect you to have it done before our lesson tomorrow." And with that, Ms. Crinkles shuffled away. Lucus, who had been in the middle of drawing when they were noticed, groaned. "Great, that''s going to take hours." Rain cocked her head. "Then why would we do it? She can''t do anything to us, can she?" Lucus looked shocked at the idea of not doing as he was told. "She could tell Mother and Father." "So what? You said yourself that Lord and Lady Estome rarely bother with us anyway. I doubt they care." "...I guess you''re right." Taking one look at the massive journal, Lucus made up his mind. "I guess I''ll go to sword training early. Are you going toe watch again?" "No, I have other things I want to do today." Rain said, looking at all the books around her. Lucus''s shoulders slumped slightly. "Good, your cheering was annoying." Rain decided not to call him out on his lie. Return to the Low Ring Return to the Low Ring Rain spent several hours in the library looking through books and getting an idea of what was there. There was a lot on politics and economics and a whole section on forest management. One scaryrge section was full of nothing but journals from past lords anddies of House Estom. The best part, though, was the small section with nothing but stories. Stories on brave ssers and charming lords, stories about adventure exploration and battle. There were even stories of nothing but romance. Rain didn¡¯t get those. Of all these books, there were two that Rain was excited to read; the first had a picture of a dragon on the cover and no title, the second had ady in a tattered dress and wearing a crown embroidered on the cover above the title ''Rise of the Fallen Lady.'' Rain ced those two where she could easily find themter; those would be the first she read next time she couldn¡¯t sleep. About an hour after she started her exploration, Lucus walked back into the library and began wandering around. ¡°Hi Lucus! What are you looking for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business, weirdo!¡± And with that, he left having done absolutely nothing. Rain had no idea what to make of Lucus. But he had been nice enough to herst night, so she decided not to get angry. Rain took onest look around the library before finally warping out of the manor. It was time for her to see if Mr. Mirage had gathered a group of recruits. When Rain got to Mr. Mirage¡¯s home, he was gone. Not unexpected. Still, it was annoying. Even during the day, this wasn¡¯t a part of the city she could wander around without causing problems. Realizing her mistake ining here so early, Rain snuck into his house and used his door to enter her library. Rain turned around to look at the carved door that led to the shaft. She could spend some time exploring it before nightfall, but no, being in that part of the library would raise her corruption. She was already at 14%, much higher and she would start showing symptoms. With a sad sigh, Rain realized she should have brought one of those storybooks from Estom Manor. When nightfall finally rolled around, Rain was waiting in her ck sser costume. She had spent a good chunk of her time waiting, trying out different looks, and pretending to y different roles, but she decided to talk with Mr. Mirage in the ck sser costume. He was used to it, and ying a different role now wouldn¡¯t be as fun as trying that role on someone fresh. Opening the door, Rain walked out into Mr. Mirage¡¯s home. There he was, along with the two girls he had adopted, sitting around a table eating. All three of them looked at Rain. Oops. She probably should have waited until the girls were asleep. Oh no, they look scared! Rain started shifting her weight back and forth. This wasn¡¯t good; she didn¡¯t want to scare the girls. What could she do? There was nothing for it but to abandon her acting and try to be as friendly as possible. Rain prayed her aura wouldn¡¯t be too much for the girls. Raising a hand high above her head, Rain waved. ¡°Hi, Mr. Mirage, how are you?¡± The younger of the two girls, who couldn¡¯t have been older than five, climbed off her chair and hid behind Mr. Mirage. Rain waited for worse, but there was no crying. She let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Lady Tyix, I¡¯ve been waiting for you to make contact.¡± Mirage pried the little ones'' hands off of himself and knelt before Rain. Rain forced her eyes off the girls she was terrified of scaring, and looked at Mr. Mirage for the first time. His now gray hair peeked out from under the tattered cap he was wearing to hide his fluffy new ears. There was also a bulge up his back where Rain guessed he was trying to hide his new tail as well. Rain wondered if he had shared his transformation with anyone yet. ¡°Good, but now is not the time or ce.¡± Rain wasn¡¯t going to talk with him about taking over the organized crime of the Low Ring while his little sisters? Daughters? Whatever. Were listening. Looking at the food on the table, Rain realized this might actually be a perfect opportunity to test out her newest skill. She had Mr. Purple pull it up for her. [Enter Dream: You may forge a connection to anyone who consumes a portion of your body. This connection will allow you to enter their dreams andmunicate with them while they sleep.] Walking over to the table, Rain picked up a sharp-looking knife. The girl, who hadn¡¯t moved yet, sprang off her chair and joined her sister, hiding behind Mr. Mirage. No matter how often it happened, it still hurt to have people run from her like that. Rain used the knife to cut a shallow line on the bottom of her pinky finger. Then she squeezed two drops of her blood out into the cup of water that had been sitting in front of Mr. Mirage. That done, she picked up the cup and got down on one knee in front of the kneeling ash fox-kin. Rain proffered the cup to him. ¡°Drink it.¡± He didn¡¯t even hesitate taking the cup and draining it. Rain, for her part, focused on forging that connection, pushing the part of her that was still connected to the blood to bind with Mr. Mirage. As the cup was emptied, Rain felt the connection form. She could feel Mr. Mirage in her mind, simr to how she felt the coins she was bonded to. Just like the coins, she could also feel his existence but not where he was. When she tried to use the connection to connect to him, it felt slippery and unstable. Based on the description of the skill, it probably only became possible to interfere with the connection after the target fell asleep since she was only supposed to be able to enter his dreams. ¡°Very good. I will contact youter. For now, enjoy your time with your loved ones.¡± Rain almost told him she would see him in his dreams but realized that if her skill didn¡¯t work like she thought it would, then she would look like a fool. So, she kept things vague. ¡°Of course, Lady Tyix.¡± Mr. Mirage said from his kneeling position. Rain¡¯s acting must have been really good if he was this deferential after almost a week of not seeing her. Rain tried not to be too proud of herself; still, the corners of her mouth twitched up in defiance of her will. Rain stood, and without saying another word, she warped back to the servant room in Estom manor. Now, all she had to do was wait for him to sleep so she could talk to him in his dreams. Her stomach growled, reminding Rain that she hadn''t eaten all day. She had a coin out in the Low Ring, but it was in a section of the city where street vendors were rare, and by the time she ran to where people sold food, everyone would have gone home for the night. With a sigh, Rain realized she would just have to go hungry again tonight. Rain remembered the description for her ''Path of Wealth'' skill saying that she could increase the number of coins she could connect to through practice. It would be great to have more coins. Then, she could leave them all over the city and warp to wherever she needed to go at any time. She would definitely have left one in an area of the city where food was sold. Still, it was strange that she hadn¡¯t upgraded that skill by now with how often she used it. Maybe she was doing something wrong? She would need to test things out. Rain walked out of the servants'' room into hers, then taking one look at the bed, she decided it wasn''t worth trying to sleep again and went into her sitting room. The whole ce felt so empty. Especially when Rain thought about Mr. Mirage eating with his small family in their tiny home. The entire ce had been smaller than just this room, yet Rain wished she could be living there. With a sigh, Rain plopped down on one of the couches by the table, and that¡¯s when she saw it: a small lopsided sandwich sitting on the table with a note next to it. Rain picked up and read the note. ¡°If you¡¯re going to hide all day to escape studying, you should at leaste eat dinner, weirdo. Because you didn¡¯t show, I ate your dessert. Anyway, here¡¯s some of my leftovers.¡± Rain smiled as she pulled off the bread and started eating the meat and vegetables inside the sandwich. Maybe her empty rooms weren¡¯t so empty. Dream Walking Dream Walking It only took a few hours before Rain felt something shift in her bond with Mr. Mirage. The once slippery thread leading off into the void suddenly became solid and possible to grasp. Rain wasted no timetching on and pulling herself towards it. Her mind seemed to be sucked into darkness while her body slumped sideways on the couch. In an instant eternity, Rain found herself floating above an empty street thick with ash. All around, uffters were scurrying while a gray fox chased them. Was this Mr. Mirage¡¯s dream? Rain looked around, seeing no hint of Mr. Mirage. She also realized she didn¡¯t have a body here. This was his dream; he should be here somewhere. If Rain had to guess, her best bet was that he was the fox. His race was ash fox-kin now, after all. Rain would start by trying to talk to it. First, though, Rain needed a body. As she focused on that, she got the impression that if she wanted to create a body, she would only need to focus on how she wanted it to look, and she could create it in this dreamscape. She almost made the mistake of forming her body to look like her real body, but no, if she could look like anything she wanted, then that meant she could get in on the fun happening below. Rain focused on creating a fox body for herself. She would give it ck fur to match her real hair, of course, and green eyes were a must. As she held the image in her mind, Rain could feel a body forming for herself from nothing. Before long, Rain¡¯s sight - previously floating free in the air, able to see in any direction at any time - snapped into ce behind her fox body''s eyes. Then, as the body finished forming, Rain dropped the three feet or so into the soft ash of the street below. Rain stood up from where she was syed out on the ash and shook herself to clean out her fur. Running in a circle, Rain was amazed by how natural it felt to be on all fours, like she had used this body all her life. Turning to where the gray fox was chasing helpless uffters around and through the ash, Rain joined in the fun, charging in and heading a group of uffters off. The next few minutes were spent chasing fluff balls, burrowing through ash, and yipping with joy. Rain had such a good time that when she plowed through an ash bank in hot pursuit of an especiallyrge ball of fluff, she was surprised to see a gray fox in the distance, reminding her that she wasn¡¯t here to y. Breaking off from her pursuit, Rain bounded over to the gray fox. ¡°Mr. Mirage?¡± The fox stopped its chasing of the uffters and looked at Rain. Rain wasn¡¯t an expert on reading fox expressions, but it looked befuddled, like it had just woken up from a dream. ¡°Lady Tyix, is that you? Where are we?¡± Rain grimised at the name. She really should have thought of a name before meeting Mr. Mirage for the first time. Tyix wasn¡¯t a bad name, but the fact that she was using a truncated version of Thirty-six still bothered her. Unfortunately, it was all she coulde up with on the spot. Whatever. Nothing she could do about it now. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re in your dream. I chose this ce because no one can overhear us here.¡± Rain was pretty sure that was true. Unless someone else had a skill that allowed them to see others'' dreams. ¡°My dream.¡± Mr. Mirage looked down at himself and over at the uffters hiding all around. ¡°Is this really what I dream about?¡± Not waiting for an answer, he looked over at himself, then his form shifted, changing shape and springing up like a tree. When he finished, he was standing there in his human form, only without the cap covering his ears and with his tail proudly swaying in the wind. He kneeled in front of Rain, who, for her part, felt silly looking like a fox now and staring up at the muchrger human. Rain shifted her own body to its normal human form, then, because she could, she gave herself ears and a tail to match Mr. Mirage. ¡°You can get up. I¡¯m here so we can discuss our ns.¡± ¡°Of course, My Lady.¡± ¡°Good, now let''s walk. I want to see what else is in your dream world.¡± Mr. Mirage didn¡¯t seem too happy with that idea, but he followed Rain anyway. ¡°Last time we spoke, you told me you could find people who would be loyal to you no matter what.¡± ¡°Yes, Lady Tyix, I have gathered three good friends who also want to make the Low Ring a better ce for them and theirs. ¡°Friends, huh. Do you trust them with the power one of my books will grant them?¡± ¡°I do. I¡¯ve known these three for years, and we''ve helped each other more often than I can count. None of them betrayed me when I told them I nned to kill Ark and take over the Ash Grifters.¡± Rain thought about this as they turned a corner down another boring street covered in droves of uffters. Other than the fun chasing, there wasn¡¯t anything exciting in Mr. Mirage¡¯s dream. ¡°You¡¯ve been friends with them for years?¡± Rain said softly. She didn¡¯t like where this was going or what she would have to ask next. Rain fought back the deep sadness welling up inside her. Did she really need to do this? Would grabbing power over the isles really help the people in them. Rain wanted to say no, but the information she had gained from her past self couldn¡¯t be ignored. The maind was already tearing itself apart, and if Rain didn¡¯t do something, the isles would be as well soon. Rain had to stop that, even if it meant hurting people. With that in mind, she asked her next question. ¡°Are you willing to kill these friends if they react poorly to my books?¡± With three people, there was a good chance at least one would react poorly to whichever book they chose. When that happened, they would need to be put down before they could go on a rampage. It wasn¡¯t a pleasant thought, but Rain needed to know if Mr. Mirage could kill a corrupted friend. Thinking about Lon, Rain knew she couldn¡¯t have killed him even if she had the strength to. By the time she arrived, he had already killed three people, and she still didn¡¯t think she could have done it. Yet that was what she was asking Mr. Mirage to do. She was asking him to kill a friend rather than let them go on a rampage. Now that she knew the risks, she needed to make sure her actions didn¡¯t put innocent people at risk. She would make sure that whoever read from her library knew the risks and that the risks were to them and them alone. After a few minutes, Mr. Mirage spoke. ¡°Is there no way to undo the effects if something goes poorly?¡± ¡°No. None that I know of.¡± ¡°Then, if they were a danger to others, I would be able to kill them.¡± Rain winced at that. There was something in the sound of his voice that hurt. It reminded Rain of all the times when she had felt the most lonely, a sort of emptiness that hollowed out the soul. Rain regretted that she had to ask this question and force Mr. Mirage to decide he would be willing to kill his friends when he might never even have to act on it. But now Rain could continue onward. He understood the risks and had epted them; now, all that was left was to set a time and ce. ¡°Gather them tomorrow night. I¡¯ll give them the option to make a deal with me and enter my library.¡± Cursed Child Cursed Child When Rain returned from Mr. Mirage¡¯s dream, she found that being in other people¡¯s dreams was the opposite of getting a good night''s rest. Not that she had had many of those recently. Still, she felt even more tired and wrung out than she did after spending a whole night fighting through her periodic nightmares. She also apparently spent more time there than she had thought; light was already pouring through the windows. Feeling hungry and with nothing to eat but the dried bread left fromst night¡¯s sandwich, Rain prepared herself to warp out so she could find something to eat. Before she could, though, Rain looked at the bread on the table. If she lived here, she should be able to eat whatever food the people here ate. The idea of eating food out of a kitchen or pantry was novel to Rain; she immediately wanted to try it out. After tidying up her clothes and hair a bit, Rain set out to find a kitchen. Maybe she could cook for herself. She¡¯d never cooked before other than that brief time with Lon, a thought that caused her to grimace. Still, cooking might be fun. Rain set off to start her cooking adventure; however, a servant called out to her before she could get far from her rooms. ¡°Ah. Young Lady Estom, there you are! Where did you disappear off to? Oh, never mind, you need to report to your lessons.¡± Rain turned to the man. He was the same dully dressed servant who had shown her into the lounge for the document signing. With a grimace, Rain thought of telling him that she wanted to go get food first, but this man seemed important in the household. She worried that he might be able to cause her problems if she refused him. With an inward sigh, she told him to lead the way. While he led her through the manor, Rain noticed that the other household staff seemed to stay away and that none would look at her. Rain wasn¡¯t sure if it was her or the man leading her that caused the behavior, but she wasn¡¯t fond of it. Eventually, Rain was ushered through a door into a ballroom where Lucus was being taught how to dance. ¡°I brought your runaway student.¡± Lucus¡¯s teacher, a stately-looking man, looked toward Rain and her escort. ¡°Have you now good good. Young Master Lucus, this is a prime opportunity for you to learn how to dance with ady whocks in experience.¡± Rain didn¡¯t like that the man immediately assumed that she had no experience with dancing just by looking at her, even if it was true. She looked at Lucus to see what he thought about all of this and received a shrug. Walking over to him, Rain waited for someone to tell her what she was supposed to do. Seeing her confusion, Lucus grabbed her right hand with his own right hand so their hands were sped between them, left arms ck at their sides. The next hour was a blur of pain and exhaustion. Apparently, the dancing style popr amongst the lords involved a lot of spinning, kicking, and twirling under each other''s linked arms. Rain was sure it would look beautiful if done by two people who knew what they were doing, but with Rain being aplete novice, she ended up spending most of her time twisting her arm as she failed to pull off some maneuver or move in such a way that would allow her shoulder to rotate. Still, Rain had fun. By the time they were allowed to take a break, Rain¡¯s shoulder was thoroughly strained. Lucus decided to use this time toin about Rain¡¯s disappearance. ¡°...And because you weren¡¯t there Ms. Drostan yelled at me for not copying that journal!¡± Lucus paused for a moment from his lengthy tirade before continuing in a calmer tone, ¡°I don''t think she likes you. She kept calling you that wicked child and saying you were a bad influence.¡± Rain wasn¡¯t surprised; she saw how the servants had avoided them this morning. Plus, they had said no one could find her to take her to her sses this morning, but Rain had been lying on the couch in her rooms. The only reason for no one to find her would be if no one looked. It didn¡¯t take much imagination to realize that the people in this manor found her creepy and distasteful. They couldn¡¯t be overt about it because of her newly purchased position as a daughter of the house, but that didn¡¯t mean they would ever do more for her than the bare minimum. The real question was, why didn¡¯t Lucus avoid her? ¡°Do you think I¡¯m creepy?¡± Rain said it before she could think about whether it was a good idea. Lucus, for his part, looked confused. ¡°I mean, that''s one way to put it. I think you¡¯re a freaky weirdo.¡± The way he said it withplete honesty and a totalck of malice somehow left Rain feeling better. ¡°What''s with the dumb question?¡± Rain didn¡¯t know how to answer, so she stayed silent. ¡°Whatever, we still have to finish up here. Try not to be so bad at this. You¡¯re tiring me out, and I need to be ready for sword training this afternoon. Father told me he wanted me to prove myself at the next swords tournament.¡± ¡°Swords tournament?¡± ¡°It''s this dumb event they hold twice a year where all the Young Lords on Tineak and some of the closer indse together and have duels. Then afterwards, everyone tells the boys who enjoy sword fighting and are good at it that they¡¯re better than the rest of us just because they have the ¡®right¡¯ hobby.¡± Lucus was getting more and more visibly angry as his rant went on. Rain didn¡¯t quite understand what was wrong, but it sounded like he might be mad because no one liked his sword fighting. Maybe she could help. ¡°When is the tournament? Can I watch?¡± This didn¡¯t seem to help. ¡°It''s next week. And do whatever you want, weirdo. If you want to go fawn over Toivo, go ahead.¡± ¡°I was actually hoping to watch your matches.¡± Lucus paused, though only for a moment, as he walked away. ¡°I don¡¯t care; do whatever you want.¡± And that was a lie. Lucus didn¡¯t talk to her much for the rest of the day as they went through their sses. Most of the time, they were taught together, and Rain was expected to figure out what was going on as the teachers continued the lessons they nned to teach Lucus. It was a constant struggle, and Lucus, who hadn¡¯t cheered up, seemed in no mood to help her. At first, Rain thought the lesson''s difficulty was just because no one knew what level she was at on the different subjects, but as the day went on, she realized there was more to it than that. The teachers seemed to actively hate her; even if they tried to hide it, they would sometimes let things slip. The teachers weren''t the only ones either. The rest of the staff were polite and did whatever she asked of them, but they still tried to avoid her. Towards the end of the day, Rain heard some of the servants talking. ¡°Are you Okay? You¡¯ve spent so much time around that thing today I was getting worried it might hurt you.¡± ¡°That''s because none of you would help me with that hideous cursed child!¡± Rain recognized that voice. It belonged to one of the maids who had been consistently kind to her over the course of the day. Apparently, it had all been an act. ¡°Oh, that''s a good name for it! I still can''t believe The Lord and Lady would be willing to take in that cursed child even with all the money they were offered.¡± With her head down, Rain gave up on the rest of the day''s sses and snuck back to her rooms. She doubted anyone woulde looking for her anyway. There in her rooms, Rain thought about the conversation. Funnily enough, as much as it hurt, as much as being shunned made her feel like something was wrong with her, she would rather be forced to listen to the servants'' hate than do what she was nning. Because shortly, she would likely be responsible for the madness and death of another person. The New Grifters The New Grifters Rain arrived at the meeting spot, an empty building in the Dead Ring, at sundown, half an hour before the meeting was supposed to take ce. The building was almostpletely buried in ash, which made finding the one entrance that had been dug out simple. Rain slid down the ash to where the building''s front door was splintered and broken. A moderate amount of ash had poured into what Rain recognized as a storefront. The ce was otherwise empty, leaving Rain with no idea what used to be sold here. Searching desperately for a door she could use when Mr. Mirage and his friends arrived, Rain located a mostly intact door to an empty store room. Testing it out, she found it worked for making a portal to her library. Door secured, Rain changed into her costume - now with two belts on her leg after a lucky find - and grabbed a fancy gold and jewel-incrusted goblet sitting with some ceremonial objects and a steel knife from her hoard. Then, she waited for her guests. It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive. Mr. Mirage was leading the pack, holding a ball of me for light with four people following behind him: two men and two women. Wait, hadn¡¯t Mr. Mirage said he was only bringing three? Rain was a little on guard with the extra person. Wanting to make sure no one tried to do anything to her, Rain pushed a little of her fear into her aura, not enough to make a major difference but enough to make the shadows twist in the corners of the eye. The people behind Mr. Mirage seemed unnerved by the atmosphere in the abandoned shop. Before any of them saw Rain standing in the corner, she stepped out and spoke in her best mysterious voice. ¡°Wee Mr. Mirage. I see you brought your friends as promised.¡± Seeing the other four jump in surprise at Rain¡¯s entrance threatened to bring a smile to her lips. It was always fun to have people react well to her acting. Being an actress really would be exciting. Turning her gaze to the other four, Rain spoke to them without waiting for Mr. Mirage to respond. ¡°What do you four understand about why you are here?¡± One of the women, a scarred and freckled girl with fire-red hair, stepped forward and answered with a confident voice. ¡°We''re here to get sses like Less here so we can stomp Ark and his goons.¡± ¡°Has Mr. Mirage told you about the risks?¡± ¡°Shure has! If this goes belly up, we die.¡± Rain looked at the woman. ¡°Mr. Mirage, please remove your hat and show your tail.¡± Staring at her for a moment, he did as she asked. The other four stared in shock at the animal features of their friend. ¡°What in Arkit happened to you, Less!¡± one of the men, a stocky blond man, asked. ¡°This,¡± Rain stated for all to hear, ¡°is a mild case of what can happen to those who take the path I present. If you decide to enter into a deal with me, you will be risking death, yes, but you will also be risking your mind and body. Everything that makes you who you are could be taken from you, leaving nothing but a monster where you used to be. So let me ask you, are you willing to risk everything to make a deal for power?¡± There was a long pause when the other man, a tall blond, looked at Mr. Mirage. ¡°Is that why she calls you Mirage Less? Did you turn into a different person after you took her deal?¡± ¡°No. I have noticed the way I think is different after the transformation, but I¡¯m still me. The name is for a different reason. And I do prefer it to Worthless.¡± ¡°Fair enough, Mirage. I trust you. Do you think the risk is worth it?¡± ¡°I would rather die than live the rest of my life as a filthy stray.¡± ¡°Fair. If Mirage is down with this deal, then so am I.¡± the man stressed the word Mirage as though testing it out. ¡°I don¡¯t care what the risks are. If it''s a chance to gain a ss, I¡¯ll take it!¡± ¡°Are you two sure? This whole thing feels wrong.¡± Rain turned to look at thest person in the room, a small woman with hunched shoulders, as though she was trying to make herself as small as possible. ¡°What are your thoughts?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Rain waited for more, but nothing came. Very well. She had done her duty and given them the information they needed to decide for themselves. ¡°If you¡¯re all sure then,¡± Rain lifted the cup she had been holding onto up and set it down on the store counter. Then, producing the knife, she pricked herself on the hand, squeezing her own blood into the goblet. ¡°You must each drink a drop of blood.¡± After seeing how convenient it was tomunicate with Mr. Mirage by dream, Rain decided that she would make creating a dream link between herself and any potential reader a part of her process. When there was a small pool of blood at the bottom of the goblet, Rain willed her cloak to grow bandages and wrap her hand. Picking up the goblet, Rain offered it to the scarreddy first. The redhead took the cup and sipped a bit of the blood. Rain willed the connection to form and told the woman to stop drinking the moment she felt it snap into ce. Then, giving instructions to pass on the goblet, Rain repeated the processes with the other three. With four new connections created, Rain turned around and motioned for the others to follow her as she headed to the storeroom door. When she used the door to create a portal to her Library and motioned for them to go through the murky portal, they all hesitated, even the scarred redhead. That is until Mr. Mirage took the lead and stepped through with a simple ¡°it''s safe.¡± After that, the others followed, with the red-haired woman leading the way, followed by the tall blond, then the stocky, nervous man, and finally the timid woman. With everyone inside, Rain followed them into the library. The first thing Rain noticed when she entered was three people huddled together, looking around with worry. Mr. Mirage stood close to them, offering them aforting presence. On the ground close to the huddle was the nervous, stocky man, eyes full of terror, head swiveling every which way. ¡°This this is Arkit! I knew this was a bad idea! This ce will consume us all! Can¡¯t you all feel it? Everything about this ce is wrong!¡± With that, the man scrambled to his feet and rushed back through the portal. Rain did nothing to stop him. If he didn¡¯t want to risk it, she wouldn''t try to force him. In a way, she was d he¡¯d left. ¡°Does anyone else wish to leave?¡± There was no answer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lady Tyix. I thought Ard was willing to do what it takes. It looks like I thought too highly of him.¡± ¡°No matter, let''s continue.¡± After that, things went simrly to how they went with Mr. Mirage. The scarred redhead chose her book first, picking a thick tome with a figure wearing a crown and sitting on a throne painted on its cover. After reading its first page, she gained a skill called ¡®Absolute Command¡¯ as well as a moderate amount of physical and mental corruption. The only difference Rain could see with her appearance was that her pupils had turned pure gold. Her smile also seemed to get a bit more aggressive and ambitious. After her ss formed, she knelt before Rain. ¡°Ha! Thank you, Lady Tyix! We¡¯re gunna crush Ark, the ck Stones, and the Blody Shovles. And when you need us, we¡¯ll be there!¡± Rain smiled at this, not just because Rain had gotten a new piece to move but because this woman seemed like the kind of person Rain could be friends with. ¡°Good, what''s your name?¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Lava, but everyone calls me Ava.¡± ¡°All right, Ms. Ava, I¡¯ve done my part. Be ready to answer when I call.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Ava responded with a bowed head that didn¡¯t entirely hide that grin. The next person to pick a book was the man. He chose a thin book titled ¡®Wisdom of Time.¡¯ His corruption grew higher than Ava¡¯s, putting him in the high twenties for both kinds, and Rain prepared to tell Mr. Mirage to kill him. However, when the man¡¯s changes finished, he stood there with no extreme differences other than his hair, which now seemed made out of a blueish mist drifting off his head. His facial expressions had also be distant, like he was thinking about far-off things. When Rain tried to talk with him, this impression was reinforced. Every word out of his mouth seemed like he was barely thinking about the conversation. In the end, Rain gave up on trying to talk to him. Looking at Mr. Purple¡¯s messages, Rain saw he had gained the skill ¡®Predict.¡¯ Finally, it came time for thest woman, who, when she realized she was the only one who hadn¡¯t decided, grabbed a random book off the shelf and opened it without even examining the cover. The effects were immediate. The woman¡¯s skin sluffed off her body, and her exposed muscles turned transparent, exposing her organs. Everyone watched in horror as her bones dissolved and her eyes melted out of her head. The woman flopped to the ground. Rain could see the heart beating faster and faster through the woman''s translucent flesh. The messages swirling before Rain''s eyes told her that the woman was immune to mental corruption but highly vulnerable to physical corruption. She would bepletely lucid both as her body changed and afterward, forever trapped in her twisted body. Rain ignored the shocked and revolted voices of the others and knelt next to the woman who was secreting a putrid slime from her skinless muscles and burbling from a mouth that wasn¡¯t where it should be. Rain ignored all of that, scooped up the human-shaped slug-thing, and hugged it to herself. Tears fell onto the woman and mixed with the ooze as Rain cried for a woman who no longer had eyes to cry for herself. If only Rain could say, she was shocked. Side Stories 4 & 5 Side Stories 4 & 5 Commander Thea looked down at the reports on her desk. ¡°Three unregistered ssers popping up together overnight? There¡®s no way this isn¡¯t orchestrated. But who would risk three unique ssers? And what do they hope to gain?¡± Henrik, her Left Hand, didn¡¯t appear to have any answers to her muttered questions and remained silent as Thea searched through the reports for any information that might give her an idea of what was happening. ¡°Is this urate, Hand Henrik? These three took control of most of the organized crime in the Low Ring in less than a week?¡± ¡°That is correct, Mam. As soon as the rumors reached me, I had my best intelligence gatherers confirm the situation.¡± Thea gazed down at the papers with the stare of a disapproving Drill Sergeant. If the papers had sentience, they would have been cringing in fright. Finally, she made her decision. ¡°Hand Henrik.¡± ¡°Mam!¡± ¡°Report the appearance of these uniques to the Arch Lord. Then have your men watch these uniques. I want to know what they¡¯re up to and who they work for.¡± ¡°Are we not going to follow protocol and invite them to the Grand Academy?¡± To question the orders of a Commander was usually the height of folly, but Henrik was a Hand. He had earned that right by repeated demonstrations of skill and mind. Thea trusted him to ask questions and find answers for himself, so it would benefit her to exin her reasoning. ¡°No, until we can verify the origin of these three, they would pose a risk to the young lords and uniques of the academy. We can''t endanger our future.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± With that, Left Hand Henrik left to fulfill his duty. Thea meanwhile stared down at the papers. ¡°Sonja, I need you to return soon. Something gives me the feeling I¡¯ll be needing both my hands to deal with this problem.¡± ***** River regretted everything. She regretted her uselessness, she regretted her jealousy, but most of all, she regretted insisting on being included when she overheard Less talking to Ava about gaining a ss. She had thought it was her chance to make something of herself to prove she could be as useful as Ava. She was wrong. From the moment she opened that book, she had known it was a mistake toe along. The pain was like nothing she could imagine. She could still feel her skin pulling, stretching, popping, rending. Her sight had disappeared, and her senses had gone dull. Everything she knew seemed distant as she found herself trapped in the dark, unable to move her body like she used to. She had no idea how long this went on or if it would ever end. She was trapped, beating at the walls of her mind, a prisoner in her own flesh, unable to interact with the world she could barely sense. Before long, she went from fear that the book was killing her to wishing it had. The nothingness was terrifying and absolute. She prayed to every god she knew that one of them would kill and free her. Nothing She tried to control her body in its current state. But without sensory feedback, her efforts would be forever doomed. Eventually, she gave up and resigned herself to a fate of endless imprisonment and let her mind drift off into a trance. And, of course, that was when She arrived. Tournament Arc? Tournament Arc? It had been four days since the incident with Mr. Mirage and his friends. And to Rain''s difort, she was handling it better than she should. After spending the first day distraught, Rain had spent the unrestful nightly hours between brief bouts of sleep thinking about what she could have done differently. Blondy¡¯s words kepting back to her. She had tried to learn everything she could, she had warned them about the risks, she hadn¡¯t forced anyone to read, and she had no ill will when she gave them the offer. What more could she have done? So, was beating herself up over the disaster going to help anyone? No. Rain had determined to look for a way to help the woman, but she would not crush herself over what happened. The experience had terrified the other three, even bringing the distant man back from wherever his mind went. After Rain did her best tofort the poor woman, unsure if anything she did had any effect, she used this as an example of what could happen to those who ran afoul of the library. The three remaining seemed to truly understand the risks of the ce and became very quiet for the rest of the night. When Mr. Mirage asked what to do with the woman, Rain told him that she was no threat and he should do whatever he wanted with her. That at least seemed to relieve him. The days since then had been dull, with nothing significant happening. Rain would go to sses during the day and read books at night to try and catch up. The servants treated her the same, avoiding her as much as possible. One sign of the servants'' distaste for her was the growingyer of dust building up in her rooms as no one dared to enter them to clean. The dried crust from the sandwich Lucus had made for her still sat on the table where she had left it almost a week ago. When Rain had talked to Mr. Dull - she had never actually asked the head servant his name - he had told her that cleaning her rooms would be the job of her personal maid. The problem was Rain didn¡¯t have one, and none of the servants wanted the job. Eventually, Rain just gave up on the idea and started thinking of returning to sleep in her library. It wasn¡¯t like the dusty, empty rooms meant anything to her. Maybe she would start sleeping somewhere else tomorrow. She could decide thatter; the question for now was whether or not she should go to watch the swordsmanship tournament tomorrow. As Rainy on her couch thinking and looking up at the in ceiling, she stretched out a hand towards the unseen stars, an unbonded ver clutched in her fist. She was trying to forge a connection to it despite already having two bound coins. Her training hadn¡¯t borne fruit yet, but it gave her something to do while she decided on the best course of action. Every time she mentioned the tournament to Lucus, his mood soured, but Rain really wanted to go and do everything she could for her new sort of brother. Rain liked him. Even if he thought she was a freaky weirdo, she wanted to be able to cheer for him. The problem was she had no idea why he hated the tournament so much. He had told her a bit, but she didn¡¯t understand. As time passed by and dawn drew closer without any inspiration striking Rain, she decided. She was going to the tournament to see what was happening with Lucus. She could figure out what was wrong from there. It wasn¡¯t just for Lucus¡¯s sake, either. Rain needed to be acquainted with the lords of Tineak. Decision made, she closed her eyes and let the nightmares take her. The next day, Rain was assisted into an borate covered cart with images of trees carved into its walls. Three burly men with bared arms held a bar in front, keeping the cart level on its two wheels and ready to pull. She was soon joined by Lucus as well as Lord and Lady Estom. Sitting on a padded seat in the corner, Rain watched Lucus surreptitiously. He was dressed in a sharp gray outfit, all straight lines and immacte buttons except for the fur lining the neck and spilling out over his shoulders and upper back. Rain also had a fur lining under her simple but pretty green dress. Rain had to go shopping the other day to buy fur linings and samples of Crown Ring garb to feed her cloak. Funnily enough, the inside of her wardrobe contained only furs, random piles of buttons, assorted straps, and belts. Anything cloth had long been eaten. Maybe it was a good thing none of the servants would enter her room. The cart was pulled gently through the street, where it passed other such carts as well as groups of people in clothes that had more color than anything Rain would have found in the other rings. The people were guarded by men and asionally women who carried spears and bared various symbols representing the different houses on their chests. Whenever any of these groups approached, the less extravagantly dressed people on the street made way for them. Rain found it a little strange that the Crown Ring seemed to have more rules on who to make way for than the other rings. Shouldn¡¯t the fact that most of the people here were literally on the top mean that there should be less bowing and scraping? Whatever, Rain was sure she would get used to it before long. Rain was also interested to note when she first explored the Crown Ring, she could find no trace of ves here either. The whole situation confused her. She had ten years of knowledge of very in the city but had yet to see a single ve since her escape. She would have thought it was an outlier, except people had tried to capture her on multiple asions when she was about minding her own business. It was long past time she found answers on the subject. While Rain was thinking, the cart came to a stop before a building that looked like it had eaten another ten buildings. It was built from the same dark stone as the rest of the city, but where most buildings reached five stories at most, this one was easily eight and covered in spires that brought that height well over ten stories. It was the manor of High Lord Orom. House Orom had the knowledge and the ind where the catalysts for the warrior ss were created. As such, they were one of the strongest Houses in the Gathering. Any other House that wanted their young lord ordy to gain the warrior ss had to buy the requirements from House Orom. More often than not, they didn¡¯t pay with money. All told, this was the perfect ce to hold a swordsmanship tournament. As the members of House Estom disembarked with Lord and Lady Estom, followed by Lucus and finally Rain, a group of servants bearing the crossed sword and spear symbol of House Orom led them into the manor where the venue would be held. Rain saw several other groups of servants doing the same for other well-dressed families. Most families had at least one son dressed very simrly to Lucus. Rain assumed it was some kind of uniform for those who would bepeting. The Manor was even morevish than Estom manor, if that was even possible, but whereas Estom manor was decorated with finely carved wood panels and sculptures, Orom manor had burnished weapons on ques hung on the walls and suits of armor in every hall. The walls themself were mostly bare ck stone with the asional painting of proud warriors subduing their enemies. Rain didn¡¯t see much of the manor before they entered a massive room even more extensive than the theater Rain loved. Already, there were hundreds of people inside, richly dressed men and women in fine furs while servants, bearing the Orom symbol, weaved in and out offering drinks. One thing that immediately caught Rain¡¯s eye was the hair. There were plenty of people with the typical red and blond hair, but Rain also saw people with strange colors like brown or white. There were even a few people with ck hair like Rain¡¯s. She would need to keep an eye on them. There was a chance they were rted. In the center of the room were four circr fighting pits with painted rings about twenty feet across in their center. Each pit had plenty of room around the painted circles for people to stand close to the action while watching. The slopes of the pits were terraced, making each pit a mini-amphitheater and allowing more people to sit or stand and look down on the action inside. In Between the four pits was a raised dais. A sizeable temporary counter on one side of the room disyed signs with the odds of the uing fights while a man in Orom colors talked with the Lords who approached to ce bets. Looking more closely, Rain realized there were distinct pockets in the crowd around certain men and boys in fighter garb. It almost looked like these boys were little lords among lords. They tended to have a disproportionate number of girls in their retinues, which Rain found odd. Lord Estom immediately abandoned the rest of his family to ce his bets and talk with the other Lords around the counter. Lady Estom, after briefly looking at Rain and Lucus, told them not to embarrass the House name and left to join a group of women who werevishly dressed even by the standards of this ce. Rain looked at Lucus to see what he would do, only to find him staring at the boys in the middle of their huddles with a look of hatred that Rain recognized as the type most people used on her. ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Rain asked. ¡°Do whatever you want. You shouldn¡¯t have even bothereding.¡± And with that, Lucus stormed off to where some of the other boys were waiting for the duels to begin. A Fight and a Plan A Fight and a n Rain ended up wandering around the room after Lucus stormed off. Weaving between people, she overheard all kinds of gossip and interesting tidbits. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Young Lord Orom can now best swordsmen a circle above¡­¡± ¡°My daughter Andrea is turning sixteen. Hopefully, one of the boys this tournament will¡­¡± ¡°...recalled Sonja, the curse wielder¡­¡± ¡°...and House Atats are both suffering due to blights.¡± However, if she stayed in the same ce for too long, the people would notice her. The conversation would switch to mutterings about ¡®House Estom¡¯s new cursed child.¡¯ apparently, the staff of the Estom manor weren¡¯t content to simply speak ill of her to each other; they had spread news of her along with their nickname for her. The adults weren¡¯t the only ones to have issues with Rain; whenever she tried to approach one of the many clusters of children, the group would close ranks to block her out. These highborn people were too good to act out in fear like others Rain had met, but it seemed they had other ways of getting rid of things that made them ufortable. The few times Rain did manage to force eye contact, it usually ended with the other person flinching or looking away. None were willing to speak with her. Rain sighed. Guess I just need to find somewhere to wait until the duels start. Looking around, Rain found something she hadn''t seen the first time she scanned the room: a table covered in food. Suddenly not unhappy at being ignored, Rain went straight to where she could see tes of the brown jelly she had eaten with Lucus. Grabbing a te, Rain spent a blissful few minutes eating and humming a happy tune. It was even sweeter than the one she had eaten at Estom Manor. When Rain finished, she looked around to see if she could get away with licking the te clean as well. Sadly, no one else seemed to be doing that, and Rain was confident that if she did, it would fuel the gossip about her. Looking at the te with its sweet remnants stuck on the bottom, Rain gave up on them and dejectedly waited for one of the servants toe and take her te like she had seen them do with others. And waited. And waited. Sweeping her gaze around, Rain locked eyes with one of the servants, who quickly looked away. Oh, guess no one wants toe near me. Rain found another table close by and ced her te down on it, then stepped back so the servants could im it without having to approach her. Sure enough, before long, a man came and grabbed the te, giving it to a woman who was carrying several dirty dishes. ¡°Take this load to the berit and tell them that if they don¡¯t want to lose body parts, they¡¯ll clean them fast and well.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Rain took note of the conversation. She would have to ask about itter. Hope should be able to answer her questions. That would give Rain an excuse to skip her lessons and actually learn something. Plus, Rain just enjoyed being around Hope. Rain was making her third raid on the food table - this time going for a type of chilled fruit she had never seen before - when the announcement went out that the duels were about to start. ¡°Attention, everyone! Lord Stig Orom willmence the opening of the fall duelingpetition!¡± a loud voice announced. Rain turned towards the voice as the hubbub in the massive room calmed down. Standing atop the dais in the center of the room, a man was bowing and getting out of the way. A gigantic figure with the Orom symbol engraved on his shiny silvery breastte stood to take his ce. The lumbering man had blond hair and a braided beard. The fur draped over his already massive shoulders gave him a powerful look, and when he spoke, his voice matched. ¡°Wee guests to the fall dueling tournament! I look forward to seeing how the next generation holds up. As well as seeing my son defeat all of yours!¡± Rain expected someone to call Lord Orom out on his insult, but no one did. At best, Rain heard a few nervous chuckles and saw some hastily covered angry looks. Lord Orom, for his part, seemed amused by the reactions. ¡°Now, enough of this, let''s get started! Viggo.¡± ¡°Of course, sir.¡± said the man who had called for silence, stepping back to the forefront as Lord Orom left the dais. ¡°The duels will be split by age¡­¡± The man, Viggo, went on and on about the rules; the essential bits were that Lucus would be facing off with other ten to twelve-year-olds. They would be fighting with dulled swords. The matches were decided if one duelist scored a fatal hit, three nonfatal hits, or pushed the other out of the ring. Those who won went on to fight againter; those who lost were out. No outside help was allowed. Rain scampered over to the ring where Lucus would be fighting. Already, a crowd was forming, albeit smaller than around the other rings, as two boys prepared to fight. Rain didn¡¯t recognize either of the boys. They both seemed alright, butpared to the furious cking Rain could hear from some of the other rings, this fight didn¡¯t seem very exciting. Before long, the fight was over with a fatal blow, and one boy left the ring holding his sword high while the other skulked off. Rain watched how the people treated the twobatants. The boy who just won was praised and congratted, while the one who lost was mostly ignored. Was this what Lucus was talking about when he said everyone treated the good fighters better than the rest? If that¡¯s what Lucus is angry about, then Rain just needed to make sure that she helped Lucus win. But how was she supposed to help him without breaking the rules? While Rain thought, several other matches happened below and a man sitting on the central dais givementary. Rain realized there were three other simr men providingmentary for the other three rings. Before Rain was ready, Lucus stepped into the ring along with another boy; he still had that grumpy look on his face. Rain looked around to see where Lord and Lady Estom were watching the match but couldn¡¯t find them. Giving up on finding them, Rain made her way to a better vantage point to see the duel. The people around her made way for her, none wanting to be too close to the ¡®cursed child.¡¯ From her new vantage point, Rain watched Lucus trade blows with a slightly shorter blond boy. It wasn¡¯t the day''s most exciting match, but both boys seemed to know what they were doing. Lucus fought with a steady, slow pace, mostly blocking but asionally making an attack while his opponent was swinging much faster and sloppier. Rain had to bite her lip as she watched Lucus being slowly pushed back. She couldn''t cheer for him right now and risk distracting him again. Maybe she could try distracting the other boy? But with all the noise going on, there was no way Rain could get his attention. However, Lucus didn¡¯t seem to need her help. Just as he was getting close to the edge, he made a counter lunge at his opponent, who, tired from his frantic whaling, was unable to bring his guard up in time and was stabbed with the blunt point of Lucus¡¯s sword. The crowd cheered as Lucus was dered the winner. Rain, of course, cheered loudest of all, jumping and waving at Lucus; however, she failed to get his attention as he sculked off the stage as though he had just lost the match. Shouldn¡¯t he be happier? Rain was trying to figure out what was wrong when she heard a familiar name. Toivo. The announcer was introducing thebatants, and people were evening from the other rings to watch this Toivo fight. Toivo was a tall boy for his age with the same blond hair as his father. He seemed very familiar with the dueling sword he held, as though he carried it around with himself wherever he went. Thinking about how much Lucus seemed to dislike the boy, Rain couldn¡¯t help but think he looked like a smug jerk with that half smile. Rain noticed the Estoms joining the crowd as the fight began. The fight didn¡¯tst long; Toivo beat his opponent with six strikes. The first five were to block the furious onrush of his opponent. The boy seemed to think his only chance of victory was to get a killing blow before Toivo had a chance to fight back. However, Toivo withstood the attack and, with a single counterstrike, shed his opponent across the ribs. The crowd cheered as Toivo raised his sword in the air, an arrogant smirk on his punchable face. Rain turned away, unable to look at Toivo any longer. How was she going to help Lucus win against someone like that? As Rain looked around the pocket in the crowd that formed around her, she stared at a boy. He was one of the fighters who had lost in a previous bout. Something about Rain¡¯s gaze must have reached him because he looked around, wincing when he saw Rain staring. Rain grinned evilly. She had an idea. Fallout Fallout Rain paid close attention to the fights. She didn¡¯t want to overuse her strategy, so she needed to know which of the boys would be threats to Lucus. If Rain had to guess, Lucus was slightly better than average with a sword. Rain doubted she could help him win the whole tournament, but she might be able to get him one or two more victories. That would make him happy, right? When it was Lucus¡¯s turn to fight, Rain rushed to the bottom of the pit to stand close to the circle. Fortunately, his next opponent wasn¡¯t very good, and Rain didn¡¯t have to do anything. She still cheered loudly when Lucus won, but likest time, he didn¡¯t pay attention, leaving the stage quickly and looking almost angry at the people watching. Rain really hoped helping him win would cheer him up. Then the moment came; Lucus¡¯s name was called along with Toivo¡¯s. If there was ever a time to act, it was now. Rain watched as Lucus and Toivo walked down the terraced sides of the pit. The crowd cheered for Toivo, who seemed to be enjoying the attention. Lucus, however, just red daggers at the other boy. Both boys got into position. Rain rushed to make sure she was in position as well. Getting into ce just behind Lucus, Rain tried to stand behind a couple, but as always happened when Rain stayed in one ce for too long, the people around her got ufortable. They started edging away from her, leaving a pocket of empty space around her and destroying her cover. Rain readjusted so that Lucus was between her and Toivo. It was a good thing she was so small; Lucus¡¯s body was enough to mostly hide her. The announcer called the fight. Rain couldn¡¯t see Toivo¡¯s face, but she could imagine that cocky look on it as he approached Lucus with a leisurely gait, no doubt assured of his victory. Rain really hoped she could help take him down. When only a few steps away, Toivo lunged forward towards Lucus, who only barely managed to parry the blow. Toivo used the momentum of his sword being deflected to swing it around for an attack at Lucus¡¯s side when Rain¡¯s tactic finally worked. From the moment Toivo had first lunged, Rain had been staring at him and waving with all her might. The empty pocket around her now helped as nothing obstructed Toivo¡¯s view of her. She couldn¡¯t flex her aura, or it would be obvious she was trying to cheat, but she didn¡¯t really need to. Thebination of her staring and him catching a glimpse of her in the corner of his eye was enough to capture Toivo¡¯s attention briefly and make him flinch as Rain grinned, showing him some teeth. That small moment of involuntary fear and hesitation was all it took for Lucus to hit the arrogant jerk with a winning blow. There was silence for a moment until the announcer started giving excitedmentary on the match, and arge number of lords began shouting in anger. There were also some lords who looked thrilled at the oue. Most of those went to the gambling counter to ept their generous winnings. Rain, for her part, skulked back, hoping no one would try to me her for cheating. It would be hard to argue that her standing there and cheering was cheating without knowing about her skill, and since Rain''s ss was hidden, there was no way they would ever guess she could use skills. Looking through the energetic crowd, Rain caught a glimpse of Lucus. For the first time that night, the bitter look on his face was gone, reced by a look of confusion. Both boys were ushured off the field so the next fights could start. Rain, excited at her sess, found a ce to sit on one of the terraces to watch the match. The next time Lucus was up, she repeated her feat, causing the opponent to flinch when he saw her smile at him, costing them the match. Rain couldn¡¯t stop herself from giggling as she fled the scene. This tournament was way more fun than she had thought. Climbing out of the dueling pit, Rain skipped over to the table for a victory snack. There were some more desserts she wanted to try. A few momentster, Rain was happily munching on some fruit covered in a sweet sauce when a shadow fell over her. Rain looked over, confused. She was standing in a mostly empty part of the room, and no one ever went out of their way to stand close to her. She immediately recognized the man looming over her: Lord Orom. he was standing next to her and drinking something from a ss, gaze pointed towards the dueling rings. ¡°I wanted to thank you,¡± he said without looking at her. ¡°For teaching my son such a valuable lesson. He was getting arrogant. To lose the tournament because of a simple distraction. Well.¡± Lord Orom grinned like a predator. ¡°With how angry he is right now, motivating him to work harder should be easy.¡± Rain didn¡¯t know what to do. If she epted thepliment, then she would be admitting to guilt, but Lord Orom didn¡¯t seem mad. ¡°Thank you?¡± Lord Orom looked down at Rain for the first time. His searching gaze took her in from top to bottom. ¡°Huh, seems like those Estom fools did something smart for once. Regardless, stop interfering with the matches; it won''t end well if you continue.¡± And with that, he left. Rain wasn¡¯t sure if he had just threatened or warned her, but the look in his eyes convinced her to stop. Lucus would just have to take it from here. He had already done well enough that he should be happy, right? Finishing her snack, Rain returned to the ring to watch more of the matches. Between fights, she looked over to see if she could spot Lucus standing with the other boys, waiting for their turn. There he was, standing slightly by himself; he wasn''t as happy as Rain hoped. Rain couldn¡¯t help him with his next match, either. When his next match came, it was against a red-haired boy who sneered at Lucus and said something Rain couldn¡¯t hear. She could, however, see the shift in Lucus¡¯s expression as he lunged at the boy, who easily sidestepped and sliced at Lucus¡¯s leg despite having an easy opening for a finishing blow. Thementator announced the hit. Lucus had two hits left. The boys paired off again, and the redhead said something else. Rain couldn¡¯t make out the words through the cheering crowd, but she could almost hear the mocking tone of voice just by seeing the boy''s face. Lucus tried attacking again, and the redhead parried, taking a swing at Lucus¡¯s arm despite having another opening for a finishing blow. The announcer called the hit. The next time Lucus took a hit, he would lose no matter where it was. Rain had her fists tightly clenched, and her brows furrowed in worry. ¡°Come on,¡± she muttered, ¡°you can do this.¡± He couldn¡¯t. In the following exchange, the redhead attacked first, bypassing Lucus¡¯s guard and striking him firmly in the chest. A fatal blow. The crown cheered at the match as Lucus hurried off the field. Rain left as well, cutting through the crowd to meet up with Lucus. By the time she caught up, he had already found Lord and Lady Estom. ¡°Do you know how much money I lost because of you! If you had any honor, you would have let him recover and fought him with skill rather than take advantage of his stumble to take a cheap win.¡± The anger on Lucus¡¯s face was gone, along with his other emotions, leaving his facepletely nk. Rain didn¡¯t understand what was going on. What was wrong with taking advantage of an opening in a fight? Didn¡¯t that take skill? ¡°I lost two hundred old in that bet!¡± With that, Lord Estom turned and left his son behind, Lady Estom following closely behind him. Wait, a bet? Did Lord Estom bet against his own son? Rain hesitantly approached Lucus. Had her help caused Lucus problems instead? Hadn¡¯t he wanted to win to impress his parents? Why were they angry? ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Go away.¡± Rain shrunk back. Maybe she could cheer him up. ¡°You did really good.¡± ¡°I said go away, you annoying weirdo!¡± Rain looked down, tears threatening the corners of her eyes. ¡°Sorry.¡± She turned to leave. ¡°Wait! I¡¯m sorry¡­ thanks¡­ for caring.¡± When Rain looked back, it was to see Lucus with his back turned to her, ears slightly red. Did this mean he wasn¡¯t mad at her? Was there a chance something good coulde from this disaster? Contacting the Lost Contacting the Lost Rain was reading a book on lordly etiquette a few hours before sundown when she felt it; her connection to Mirage¡¯s friend finally solidified. Rain had started to worry that the woman''s transformation had rendered the link unusable after days of it being an unstable mess. Sitting the book on her table, Rainy on her couch and closed her eyes, pulling herself through the connection. After a moment where time seemed unreal, Rain found herself floating once again in someone else¡¯s dream. However, unlike Mirage¡¯s peaceful dream, this one was anything but. Rain was in a small room filled with the ck mist of her library. She could hear the sounds of people in the fog shouting in pain and begging for help, punctuated by roars and the wet sound of tearing flesh. Rain could recognize a nightmare when she saw one. She couldn''t remember thest peaceful dream she''d had. It made her heart ache to think of the woman forced to suffer in this ce, unable to avoid sleep like Rain. Flying off at top speed to search for the woman, Rain quickly found her huddled in a corner, face tearstreaked and hopeless. Despite the sounds, this room was tiny and held neither exit or beast. Only a woman trapped in her fear. Drawing close to the woman, Rain forced herself to form a body. She didn¡¯t dress it in the ck costume of Tyix; instead, she just wore her favorite green dress. Hopefully, some color would help in this bleak dreamscape. The woman didn¡¯t notice Rainnd next to her. Her eyes were ssy as though she had given up on trying to interact with the world. Rain crouched down next to the woman. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Nothing. Rain reached out and shook the woman''s shoulder. The woman''s eyes snapped to Rain and dted in fear. The woman scrambled back from Rain, a wordless whine emanating from her throat as she tried to push herself into the wall as though she could merge with it and gain a few more inches of distance from Rain. Rain froze, hesitant to cause further distress, but the woman needed help, and Rain was the only one who could offer it. Trying a different tactic, Rain smiled, and in a soft voice, as though she was talking to a frightened animal, Rain spoke to the woman. ¡°It''s okay. I''m here to help. I promise I won''t hurt you. You¡¯re going to be alright.¡± As Rain spoke, she slowly approached the woman, ignoring how her whimpering increased as the distance decreased. Soon, Rain was again next to the woman; Rain crouched down. How could shefort her? Rain really wanted to give the woman a hug; however, the woman didn¡¯t look like she wanted anything to do with Rain. So Rainpromised and gathered the woman''s hands up and sped them between her own. ¡°You''re going to be alright. My name¡¯s Rain, by the way, what¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°R-river.¡± Rain was shocked by the one-word response. She hadn¡¯t thought she would actually get an answer. ¡°It''s nice to meet you for real, Ms. River.¡± No response. The woman was aware of Rain and could speak. The problem was she was too scared to do so. Rain couldn¡¯t do anything about her aura, but maybe she could do something about the dream. If it was possible to change her body, then perhaps... Rain focused outward on the world around her; she would try starting small. She focused on the sounds of people being eaten alive and willed them to go silent. Nothing happened. Reaching further, Rain gripped the dreamscape with her mind. Rain was connected to this ce through her skill; it was a part of her, and she could control it. She tried again, and the world went silent. Rain could feel a burning in her head behind her eyes as though she was lifting something heavy with her mind. She ignored it; her n was working. mping down harder on the world, Rain once again exerted her will on it. This dark and suffocating room wouldn¡¯t do. Rain forced it to change. Slowly, the darkness faded, and the room''s walls and ceiling dissolved. Flowers sprouted up from the floor, and a bright blue sky appeared overhead. A table and chairs sprouted from the ground with tes and tes of Rain''s favorite desserts. Rain had turned the dreamscape into a replica of the Estom Manor greenhouse - with the small addition of a table of snacks. Now, this was a proper dream. Unfortunately, Rain felt like someone had driven spikes through her eyes. The pain in her head almost caused her to pass out. Could you pass out in a dream? Ignoring the pain, Rain turned to the woman. ¡°That''s better. Do you want to sit and talk?¡± The woman said nothing; she was too busy looking around in wonder. ¡°Wanna sit down and eat with me? This jelly stuff is really good.¡± The woman looked at Rain and wearily sat down across from her. ¡°Are you Lady Tyix?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Why me? Why did I get cursed? Why are you only nowing to see me? What do you have nned for me?¡± Rain was taken aback by the barrage of questions. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I tried to warn you that the books could be dangerous. I didn¡¯t want... I didn''t know that this would happen to you. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Tears had begun streaming down Rain''s cheeks as she sat there, listening to the woman. Though Rain had convinced herself that it wasn''t her fault - that she had only provided an option and the woman had made her own choice - sitting here now, being med by the woman whose life had be a nightmare due to Rain¡¯s actions, it became much harder to tell herself that she was meless. Before she knew it, Rain had be the one huddled in a ball and whimpering, trapped in her own prison. When she felt something warm and soft wrap around her hands. Opening her eyes, Rain saw the woman crouching next to Rain''s chair and sping her hands just like Rain had done for her moments before. ¡°It''s okay, don¡¯t cry. I didn¡¯t mean to me you. It''s okay.¡± Theforting words made Rain feel better, and the feeling of someone willingly holding even a small part of her sent warm feelings through Rain. She wanted to rub her cheek on the woman''s hands, to savor that feeling of human contact, but that wouldn¡¯t be right. Rain wasn¡¯t here for herself. She was here for the woman. ¡°Thank you.¡± Rain said through watery eyes. ¡°If you want, I could tell you everything.¡± ¡°Okay, tell me everything, Lady Tyix.¡± ¡°Let''s sit down, and please don¡¯t call me Lady Tyix. My real name is Rain.¡± ¡°Got it, Lady Rain.¡± ¡°Just Rain. And what was your name again?¡± ¡°River.¡± ¡°I hope we can be friends, Ms. River.¡± Rain said, sitting down and sliding one of the jellies towards her. Rain had been telling the truth when she said she would tell Ms. River everything. After all, the woman couldn¡¯t speak. She was the perfect secret keeper. The question was where to start. After a bit of thought, Rain decided that the best ce would be when she got her ss. It wasn¡¯t like there had been much of note in her life before that. Rain hoped that by exining her ns to someone older than herself, she might be able to get some help. As much as Rain wanted to help everyone, sometimes she felt like she couldn¡¯t do it alone. ¡°It all started when I gained a ss¡­¡± The Skills of the Boneless The Skills of the Boneless Rain spent the next few minutes exining her ss to Ms. River. She described what the library really was and why she was willing to let people risk its knowledge. She spoke of her goals and the problems she hoped to solve, all while ignoring the pain in her head. As she spoke, it felt like weights were falling off her shoulders, and the exnation soon turned into rambling. Rain had never had anyone to confide in. She had never been able to just exin her challenges or how she felt to someone. Having the knowledge and trust of her past self dumped onto her shoulders only made it worse, adding to her feelings of istion. Yet now, as she spoke with this woman she hardly knew, Rain realized how much she needed help. Not only that, but as she exined the problems, she found walls in her mind shattering as obvious solutions made themselves known. By the time she finished rambling, she was talking about the kind cobbler in the Low Ring who had sold her her first pair of shoes. That''s when the realization hit with a heavy dose of embarrassment. She had been talking aboutpletely unrted things for a while, unburdening herself while someone in far worse condition was sitting right there, looking for answers to their problems. Ears burning, Rain looked down. ¡°Sorry. You didn¡¯t need to hear about most of that stuff.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Rain felt a hand take a nervous grip on Rain¡¯s much smaller hand. ¡°I don¡¯t me you for what happened to me. It¡¯s my own fault.¡± Rain looked back up but said nothing as Ms. River continued talking. ¡°I was so worried about holding everyone up because I was the only one who hadn''t chosen a book that I read a book without giving it enough consideration - I never could do anything right.¡± Rain wanted to cheer Ms. River up. So she did the only thing she could think of. ¡°What skill did you get?¡± Rain had gotten a message about Ms. River¡¯s skill, but she had ignored it at the time, and now Mr. Purple wouldn¡¯t show it to her again. She must have really hurt his feelings when she ignored him, because no matter how much she apologized, he refused to show her the message again. ¡°How do I know?¡± ¡°I just think about my name really hard, and Mr. Purple writes all my information out for me.¡± Ms. River screwed up her face at that, looking like she was trying really hard to poop. Then her face rxed, and her eyes widened as she saw something Rain didn¡¯t. ¡°I can read this! But I''ve never been able to read before! Did getting a ss teach me how to read?¡± ¡°Did you get a ss? What are your skills? Do you have anything good? What is Mr. Purple telling you?¡± Rain realized she was standing on her chair and bouncing in excitement. d that Ms. River seemed too distracted to notice her behavior, Rain got down and almost fell over as the pain behind her eyes throbbed to new heights. ¡°Who is Mr. Purple?¡± Ms. River asked, still lost, reading something Rain couldn¡¯t see. ¡°That''s the name of the words that tell you about your skills and stuff. I named them that because they glow purple.¡± ¡°My words are silver.¡± That stumped Rain for a bit. ¡°Maybe you have a different messenger?¡± It was the best thing Rain coulde up with. But it also gave Rain a way to check something she had been worried about. ¡°Does your, err, Ms. Silver? Say error a lot?¡± ¡°Yes, what''s that about?¡± Rain sighed in relief. ¡°No idea. I¡¯m just d Mr. Purple isn''t sick. Anyway, what''s your ss!¡± ¡°It says my ss is giarist. I have no idea what that is. My only skill is echo. I don¡¯t know what it does, though.¡± ¡°Try asking your Ms. Silver. She should be able to exin how it works!¡± ¡°Woah, it all changed. You''re Right! Save a copy of any skill used on you. You can then use that skill as if it were your own. You may remember any two skills at one time; more skill slots will be unlocked at higher levels, error level system unavable.¡± Ms. River¡¯s face fell a little at the description. ¡°That doesn''t seem very useful. The only skills I¡¯ll get are the ones other ssers use on me, and I¡¯ve never met another sser before. And if what you said is true and I¡¯m now a boneless, skinned fish, then my chances of ever using this skill are almost nonexistent.¡± Rain didn¡¯t agree with that assessment. In fact, she was currently kicking herself for not remembering what book Ms. River had read. It would almost be worth the risk of reading to get that skill for herself. Regardless, this skill might give Ms. River a way to fix her problems to an extent. ¡°Hey Ms. River. I¡¯m using a skill on you right now. Can you copy it?¡± Ms. River¡¯s face scrunched up for a bit before her eyes once again widened. ¡°I did it! I copied the Enter Dream skill!¡± Rain watched as Ms. River read the skill description, her face changing from excitement to disgust as she processed the requirements to use this skill. ¡°Is this why you made us drink your blood?¡± ¡°Yeah. Good thing I did, too, or I wouldn¡¯t have a way to talk with you now.¡± ¡°I guess it was a good thing, but what can I do with this? It''s not like I have ways of convincing people to drink my blood.¡± ¡°No, but if I can get people to eat bits of you, then you can enter their dreams. It won¡¯t be the same as having your body back, but at least you can interact with people again!¡± Rain could already think of all kinds of ways she could put Ms. River to use. If she could slip an enemy a bit of Ms. River¡¯s slime, then she could have Ms. River monitor them in their dreams. Or maybe she could have Ms. River act as a messenger to deliver messages to people for Rain. Rain realized where her mind was going. No, Ms. River wasn¡¯t a tool Rain could use. She was a person Rain should help. Rain felt even worse when she saw the gratitude on Ms. River¡¯s face. ¡°You would do that for me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you! If you ever need anything, I¡¯ll help.¡± Why was she making it so easy to use her like a tool? But if she was offering, Rain could use the help. ¡°Okay, I''m looking forward to working with you! Who do you want me to slip River juice to first?¡± Ms. River grimaced at that. ¡°Don¡¯t call it River juice.¡± Rain didn¡¯t understand why that was a problem but shrugged and went on, ignoring the twinges of pain her movements were causing. ¡°Okay.¡± Ms. River thought for a moment before speaking. ¡°Do you think you could get Less to do it?¡± She asked hesitantly before rushing on. ¡°don¡¯t slip it to him. Of course, tell him what it is and, why he should eat it, and what it does. I don¡¯t want to trick him into it. Not that what you did was wrong. Or even tricking. I just don¡¯t want¡­ to¡­ I''m going to stop talking now.¡± Rain couldn¡¯t hold back the grin at the deluge of words. ¡°I¡¯ll get it to him, don¡¯t worry.¡± Rain had so much more she wanted to talk with Ms. River about, but before she could, a wave of pain swept over her, pulling her from the dream. When Rain woke, she was lying on her couch, and she was covered in blood. Caught Caught Rain Scrambled off the couch. Or she tried to. The moment she moved her head, pain shot through it, and she ended up copsing to the floor. Her eyes burned like they had been dipped inva, and her stomach churned. Rain could feel tacky moisture on her cheeks. Gingerly looking down confirmed that her front was soaked in blood. Carefully feeling herself, Rain found no injury on her body. That only left the head. Warily, Rain lifted her hands to her face. The pain was immediate. Any time she touched near her eyes, thence of pain would return. She needed to see what happened. Which meant that she needed to get to the mirror in her bedroom. It wasn¡¯t far, but it felt like an ocean away. Regardless, Rain gathered her resolve and slowly crawled through her sitting room to her adjoining bedroom. Every time she moved too fast or jostled herself too hard, the pain would spike, and the bile in her throat would threaten toe out. Still, she pressed on. Eventually, she made it to the mirror. Rain''s cheeks were stained from bloody tears apanied by the scarlet handprints from when she had felt her face. The rims of her eyes were caked in dried blood, and her whites - they were crimson red andced with dark veins. Rain closed her eyes, enjoying the brief relief from their burning. Was this corruption? Rain asked Mr. Purple to show her her information. Opening her eyes, Rain saw Mr. Purple hovering in front of her face with her information disyed. There was no change, so this wasn¡¯t corruption. Rain closed her eyes and tried to figure out what happened. It couldn¡¯t be a hidden effect of the Enter Dream skill because she had used that skill on Mr. Mirage, and nothing had happened. So, was this all a result of Rain changing the dreamscape? She had felt pain in her dream head at the time, but she never expected it to be affecting her real body. Why had that hurt her so badly? Thinking back on the description of the skill, Rain had Mr. Purple pull it up. She groaned when she realized she would need to open her eyes again to see the message. With a great disy of strength, Rain pried her burning eyes open and read the message Mr. Purple was showing her. [Enter Dream: You may forge a connection to anyone who consumes a portion of your body. This connection will allow you to enter their dreams andmunicate with them while they sleep.] It said nothing about changing dreams. Whatever Rain had done, it hadn¡¯t been a skill. The implications behind that were more than Rain wanted to think about right now, so instead, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Rain managed to get a few hours of rest. Her nightmares tonight weren¡¯t the violent type. Instead, she dreamed that she and the Estoms were a proper family, only for the Estoms to melt from being around her. When Rain ran from the bubbling corpses, horrified by what she had done, she caused one of the maids who got too close to her to scream as her skin dripped from her body. Sour smoke rising from her discarded skin. In the end, Rain found a giant hole at the bottom of Estom Manor, and that''s where she spent the rest of the night curled up, far enough away from everyone that she couldn¡¯t hurt them. It was far from the worst dream she''d hadtely. And by the time she woke, her head felt better. When Rain tried to open her eyes, she found that they were gummed shut. Using her hand to scrape away the gunk and dried kes of blood, Rain opened her eyes. They still burned, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as it had been. Looking back into the mirror, Rain saw that the color of her whites had faded to a dark pink. The veins had also shrunk quite a lot. Rain groaned in relief. It looked like there would be no permanent damage. Now Rain had another problem, though. How was she going to clean all this up? She hadn¡¯t brought any water to the washroom, and if any of the maids saw her in this state, then the cursed child nickname would spread even further. Rain couldn¡¯t warp out into the middle of the city like this, either. Lucus¡¯s room. If she could get across the hall without anyone seeing her, she could use the water in his washroom to clean off the blood. Then she could rece his water, and no one would know what happened. Rain looked out the window to check the time. It was mid-day. Lucus would be in sses. Rain slowly got to her feet and retrieved the coin she had stashed in the empty servant room. She cautiously walked to avoid causing more pain; then she went to her door. She closed her eyes and listened for signs of servant activity. Hearing none, she opened the door and walked across the hall. Trying the handle, Rain found it locked again. d she had thought to bring her coin, Rain slid it under the door and warped to it. The warp was surprisingly easy on her head, not causing any pain. Slowly looking around to ensure no one was in the room, Rain headed towards the washroom to one side. ¡°What are you doing in my room?¡± Rain whipped around at the words and almost dropped at the stab of pain. There, standing in the doorway between the sitting room and the bedroom, was Lucus. No! He was going to see Rain covered in blood! Rain pivoted sharply, turning her back to Lucus and closing her eyes as if that would help. ¡°sses of Arkit! Is that blood!¡± No! No! No! No! Why had shee here? Why was he here? he should be in sses! Rain couldn¡¯t warp away; she was holding the only coin in the Manor that she was bonded to. What to do? What to do? What to do! ¡°Are you hurt? Let me call the servants!¡± ¡°No! - I don¡¯t want anyone to see me like this.¡± ¡°Then why are you in my room?¡± ¡°I needed water to clean myself off, and your room was the only ce I thought I could get to unseen.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have water in your own room? Never mind, let''s get you cleaned up first. Are you sick? Are you hurt? What''s going on?¡± ¡°I had a bad dream, and when I woke up, I was like this.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie, but Rain really didn¡¯t want Lucus to realize she was a sser, so she didn¡¯t tell him everything. Hopefully, it would be enough. ¡°Come on!¡± Rain felt a hand grab her arm and pull. Opening her eyes, she saw Lucus holding her arm and pulling her to the washroom. Not saying anything, Rain allowed herself to be drawn. Lucus grabbed a cloth, soaked it in water from the washing basin, and handed it to Rain. ¡°Can you clean yourself?¡± Rain nodded, immediately realizing it was a mistake, and answered. ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Taking the cloth, Rain started scrubbing the dried blood from her face. Soon, the fabric was stained red as Rain felt the relief of having the blood pulled free of her skin. That didn¡¯t stop her eyes from burning. Looking in the mirror over the basin, Rain could see that her face was clean, but her eyes were still pink. With no better idea, Rain dunked her face in the basin, letting the cool water sooth her eyes. Wiping her face again, Rain started to clean the blood off her neck and chest. However, when she got to her chest, it was to find the previously blood-drenched dress perfectly clean. Grateful for that blessing, Rain cleaned off the blood stuck to her skin and hesitantly turned to look at Lucus, who was standing in the doorway with his arms folded. ¡°Um, could you ask a servant to bring a bucket of water for me?¡± ¡°What for.¡± ¡°So I can clean the blood on the floor of my rooms.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just ask them? Or, better yet, have them clean it.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t listen to me or clean my room. And if they saw the blood, they would start worse rumors.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Lucus said, walking towards the door to yank on a corded rope. ¡°But while we wait for them toe, you''re going to exin what''s going on.¡± Hiding the Evidence Hiding the Evidence Rain gulped at Lucus¡¯s pronouncement. Apparently, he hadn¡¯t bought her half-truth about it being from a bad dream. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You disappear all the time, and even though I¡¯ve lived here most of my life, I can''t find you. Now you show up covered in blood?¡± Wait, had he gone looking for her? That thought made Rain feel all warm inside despite the situation. ¡°Well, um, you see.¡± There was a knock on the door. ¡°Young lord?¡± a muffled voice said through the door. Rain almost jumped out of her skin. Then, she almost passed out from the pain in her head. Lucus gave her a look before turning to the door and calling out. ¡°Bring me a bucket of water. And some fresh cloth.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Rain waited, staring at the door, but no one entered. ¡°I thought they were going toe in and see me,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°You might want to go inside my room while we wait for them to return.¡± Rain didn¡¯t need to be told twice. She went as fast as her pounding head would let her, taking cover in the bedroom before anyone could see her bloodshot eyes. Lucus¡¯s room was simr to hers, but now that Rain was seeing it in the light of day, she realized that it had a desk in one corner with papers scattered everywhere. Looking over at the papers on the desk, Rain discovered that instead of the notes on their lessons that she was expecting, every page on the desk was covered in drawings. The drawings were of anything and everything: ces, random objects, people around the manor. There was even a picture of Rain; it was pretty good, too, except her eyes were represented as dark voids of scribbled ck charcoal. ¡°Did you draw all of these?¡± ¡°Ya.¡± ¡°They¡¯re really good!¡± ¡°...thanks¡± Lucus seemed unsure about how to handle the current conversation. He clearly liked drawing but didn''t know how to handle thepliment. Rain really wanted to ask why her picture had scribbled eyes, but she didn¡¯t feel like that would be a good idea. Unfortunately, that gave Lucus an opportunity to turn the conversation back to ufortable topics. ¡°You never answered my question.¡± Ashes! Rain thought about what to tell him. She didn¡¯t have a good lie, but she couldn¡¯t tell him the truth. Could she? He had always been nice to her, and if that picture was anything to judge by, he wasn¡¯t immune to her aura. So, was he a good person, or was he trying to get something from her? Rain thought about her interactions with Ms. River. It had been amazing to talk to someone and to be willing to rely on them. Maybe she could recruit Lucus to her side, too? But if he was only pretending to be nice, that would be it for Rain. All her ns would be over. No, she needed a way to test him first. ¡°Can I show you instead?¡± That took Lucus off guard a bit. ¡°Fine. We can go after the water gets here.¡± ¡°Um, I need to get some things ready before I show you. Can you give me a couple of days?¡± Rain needed to test Lucus¡¯s character a bit. Fortunately, that wouldn¡¯t take time away from the ns she had made while talking with Ms. River. If Lucus passed, then she might tell him about her library. ¡°Whatever. I don¡¯t care that much.¡± That was a lie. After that, Rain and Lucus stood there awkwardly until the maid returned with the water and handed it off to Lucus while Rain hid in his room. To Rain''s surprise, Lucus didn¡¯t just give her the bucket; instead, he carried it across the hall to her room for her. And when he saw the state of her rooms, he didn¡¯t say anything. Rain still saw him taking in the dust and dried crusts of bread. He gazed at the bloodstained sofa and the dried handprints that trailed towards Rain''s bedroom, which she had left behind while crawling towards her mirror. ¡°I¡¯ll help you clean up.¡± Those words almost made Rain cry. There was a lot to do here, and Rain was in too much pain to want to do any of it. ¡°Thanks.¡± Rain''s eyes were burning worse, but this time, it was from tears of the more ordinary variety. The two of them got to work scrubbing the handprints off the floor and trying to clean the couch. That only had a limited effect. By the time they finished, the light blue couch still had a sizeable brownish stain on one side, and the pillow Rain had been resting her head on was safely hidden in the corner of the personal maid''s room where no one would find it. The bucket of water they had been using was almost empty as well. ¡°Where do the servants get the water from?¡± Rain asked. Whenever she needed water, she had to ask one of the servants, and Rain was starting to hate dealing with them. The gossip at the tournament was still fresh on Rain''s mind. She would rather just get the water herself in the future. ¡°We have a well in the kitchen that esses the aquifers.¡± Aquifer, Rain knew that word from her past self, but how was the water getting to the top of the mountain? ¡°Have you been inside it?¡± Lucus gave a sheepish grin. ¡°I tried but was told there¡¯s a steep punishment for anyone entering it. They don¡¯t want the drinking water to get polluted.¡± That made sense to Rain, but it didn¡¯t answer how water was getting to the top of the mountain. It probably had something to do with a ss, but how? Rain decided to investigate the aquifers sometime, though that would have to go at the bottom of her list of things to do. Right now, it was time for Rain to start making an active push against very. ¡°Thanks for the help, Lucus. I think I''m going to get some sleep now.¡± Rain did n to get some sleep, but she also needed to get rid of Lucus so she could get started. It was time to find out where all the ves were. And what better way to find where the ves are than to follow them after they were bought? It was time for Rain to return home to the Rothford Trading House. Returning to the Start Returning to the Start Five days had gone by since Rain had promised Lucus to show him where she went, and he hadn¡¯t brought it up since. Rain hadn¡¯t been idle during that time. She spent most of the days watching the Rothford Auction House from the vantage of a tall spire nearby. Her ¡®Path of Wealth¡¯ skill made getting to the top of the ordinarily inessible spire easy. Sitting on a ledge by the top of the spire with nothing better to do also gave her plenty of time to practice her ¡®Path of Wealth¡¯ skill. However, it wasn¡¯t until the second day that she made any progress and managed to create a third bonded coin. Mr. Purple even celebrated with her by giving her a message telling her all about what she had just done. It was a little redundant, but Rain was d he was excited for her. On the third day, she finally saw them open an auction. Masked and hooded figures hade flooding in. Some had skulked in, clearly not wanting to be recognized. Others had arrived in hand-pulled carts and wearing disguises that disguised nothing. But no matter who they were, it seemed to be bad etiquette to show with your face uncovered. Rain was d for that. She didn¡¯t want her former owners to recognize their runaway merchandise. Rain had descended to the ground after the auction ended and eavesdropped on the departing crown to find the time of the next auction. It didn''t take long before she heard a fat man muttering to his friend about having better luck in two days. With that done, she made a quick rendezvous with Mr. Mirage. She still needed to fulfill her promise to Ms. River. That meeting had been swift. Rain had arrived at the new headquarters of Mr. Mirage¡¯s organization - a much nicer building than where he had been living - and snuck into his office to wait for him. She was a little disappointed not to get a bigger reaction out of him when he walked in to see her sitting in his chair, but she had better things to do than sulk about a failed bit of drama. They had talked briefly before going to where River was being kept. Mr. Mirage had eaten a bit of the ooze escaping from her skinless body, and Rain had gathered a bottle of the stuff for personal useter. Then she had left. Rain was preparing to infiltrate the auction when she realized that if she showed up to the auction by herself, she would stand out. There hadn¡¯t been any lone children entering or leaving thest one. Rain had briefly considered asking Mr. Mirage or Mr. Markson to apany her but dismissed the idea. She didn¡¯t want there to be any connection between them and her next victim. Instead, Rain had found a desperate man in the Low Ring and offered him a deal. She would feed him and clothe him, and if he did a good job, she would even give him an old. All he would have to do ise with her to the auction and not speak. The man, Ome, had been ecstatic at the opportunity. An old coin was probably more than he saw in half a year. All that preparation had led to this point as Rain approached the auction house beside Ome. She wore a dark cloak with a deep hood to hide her face and, more importantly, her hair. Ome beside her was dressed more fashionably, with fur showing at his cor and a in, wooden mask that was nk except for the eye holes. Rain hadn¡¯t wanted any part of his face to be seen. A burly man by the door held out a hand to stop them from entering. ¡°Five vers a person to enter.¡± Rain paid the man ten vers. He showed no surprise at being paid by the child instead of the silent man and simply let them in. Rain smiled at the small sess. It was odd strolling into a building that Rain had been escaping from not long ago. Walking through the double doors into the showroom brought back the memories of that night. It had been the first time she had entered the library. Now, she was the daughter of a lord. Despite her nostalgia, the room wasn¡¯t exactly as she remembered. Now it had people in it. Masked and hooded men and women walked around talking with each other. Others sat at tables drinking while the staff of the house plied the patrons with more alcohol. Rain recognized some of the staff, like Itch, one of the keepers who taught Rain and the other ves. She was currently directing the other staff. Most of the patrons looked like they came from the higher rings of the city, so why are they at an auction in the Low Ring? Rain guided Oam to a seat at a partially empty table with a good view of the others in the room. The only other upants of the table were a couple who were already pretty drunk and noisily flirting with each other. They kept calling out for the ¡®nightly entertainment¡¯ to start. There was also a slightly overweight man in clothes that had once been fine but were starting to look rough with age. One of the staff approached them to ask if they wanted anything to drink. Rain had to bite her tongue when she saw him. It was Tard, a junior member of the staff. He had always enjoyed tormenting anyone in his power. Whenever it was his turn to feed the children, he had taken endless delight in spitting - or worse - on their food while they watched before sliding it through the bars for them to eat. It hadn¡¯t bothered her nearly as much then as it did now. Probably because she now knew better. It took monumental control for Rain to regte her voice as she answered that her master would like a ss of something strong and red. Tard nodded and left to retrieve the drink. When he returned, Rain was forced to pay the vile man. It hurt more for her to part with the three vers the drink cost than all the old she had paid to the Stars. Still, she did it, letting her tormenter take the money. He wasn¡¯t her target. Tonight. The drink naturally sat on the table untouched. Oam wasn¡¯t allowed to lift his mask to drink, and Rain had no interest in the stuff. As the auction drew closer, the room filled and settled. Eventually, a richly dressed man with no mask and a warm smile walked onto the stage, illuminated by the light from the chandeliers overhead. ¡°Wee, Lords and Ladies! Tonight, we have a fine lineup of merchandise guaranteed to be a perfect addition to any berit or bedroom! To start off the night, we have three men in the prime of their life well muscled and ready to work, an excellent fit for any berit requiring strenuousbor.¡± As the man spoke, three naked men were led out, chained at their wrists. They all disyed bulky muscles, but what truly grabbed Rain''s attention was their eyes. They were shattered, not a drop of hope left. Their manacles were attached to rings on the stage floor as the smiling man continued. ¡°These boys are truly disciplined; they won''tin no matter what you do to them. Watch.¡± As the man motioned to the chained men, another man that Rain recognized, Sher, approached with a whip and started flogging the ves. ¡°As you can see, these boys won¡¯t try to fight back or resist.¡± He was right. The men were so broken that they did nothing as their backs were covered in thick red welts. The room around them was full of appreciative words and, in some cases,ughter and catcalling. The couple next to Rain was particrly loud, cheering and drunkenly calling for the men to be hit harder. Rain looked away. She didn''t need to see this. She wasn¡¯t here for the auction. Already, she had gained a lot. Back at the Orom Manor, she had heard the word berit, but she hadn¡¯t been sure what it meant. Given what she had already heard and seen tonight, she had a better idea. It seemed that the people of the Isles did very differently than the maind. They didn¡¯t just asionally raise ves in isted pits; they kept them in pits for most of their lives. Rain could understand the logic behind it. Keep your workforce in an easily guarded ce and have thembor crafting or refining out of sight. That way, the people above don''t have to see the suffering. Thinking about it made her shudder. Now that Rain had seen the sky, the thought of being trapped underground for the rest of her life terrified her. She would never let it happen. With one goal of the nightplete, Rain studied the other patrons. Who could she easily manipte? The Hunter The Hunter Rain watched each of the people at the auction. The individuals who continually won their auctions were dismissed. They didn¡¯t stink of desperation enough for Rain. She also rejected the people who were here for the spectacle of watching the ves being mistreated, like the couple sharing her table. She was d to note that Ome looked profoundly ufortable in the current situation. It spoke well of his character. That didn¡¯t stop Rain from kicking him under the table and giving him a look. She couldn¡¯t afford for him to ruin this just because he didn¡¯t fit in with a group of soulless viins. Returning to the room, Rain continued to thin out the candidates. Anyone who looked like they had a ss was out. So were those who didn¡¯t bid on anything. By this point, she had narrowed it down to a small handful of people, and with no other way to narrow down her search, Rain picked the person who looked like they would be easiest to make contact with, the lone man who had been sitting at the table when Rain entered. He had bid several times exclusively on young girls and lost every time. With each loss, he guzzled more liquor andined. ¡°Arkit! I''m Lord Isster! My Fathermanded one of thergest navies in the inds! I deserve these girls.¡± he slurred, mming his cup on the table as he was outbid yet again. ¡°You people are nobodies. You should let me have what I want!¡± Every time he opened his mouth, Rain felt her n get easier. Rain had started to realize that the information she had gotten from her past self had some serious holes and didn¡¯t understand how things worked in the isles, but in this case, it pulled through for her. She could feel that the more entitled a person was, the more they felt the world owed them, the simpler it would be to control them. All she would have to do was offer him everything he felt he deserved - for a small price - and he would dly ept. It was time to start. Sliding a needle out of her sleeve, Rain pricked her finger under the table. She waited as a drop of blood welled up, then reached for the ss of alcohol in front of Ome. As she grabbed it, she made sure to scrape her finger across the rim of the ss so her blood ran down into the drink. Standing Rain took the drink to Lord Isster and ced it in front of him with a bow. ¡°My master wishes to offer you a drink. Someone of your stature deserves better treatment than this.¡± ¡°Finally, someone recognizes who I am!¡± Rain watched the man from her bowed posture. Surely he wasn¡¯t dumb enough to drink something given to him by¡­ Apparently, he was. Rain forged the connection as the fool drained the tainted ss. ¡°What are you still doing here? Unless you have more for me to drink, go away!¡± ¡°Of course, Lord Isster.¡± As Rain walked behind Isster to return to her seat, she slipped a bonded ver into his jacket pocket. Having a third coin really was nice. The chance that he would find it and spend it before going home tonight was high, but it wouldn¡¯t destroy Rain''s ns if he did. It would just make them more challenging. With that done, Rain had aplished everything she could, and she didn¡¯t want to be in this ce a moment longer than she had to. Walking up to the sitting Ome, she whispered into his ear. ¡°That''s all for tonight; let''s go.¡± Ome got unsteadily to his feet, and Rain grabbed his arm to help him bnce as they headed for the door. When Rain felt Ome could walk alone, she released his arm and approached one of the staff that she didn¡¯t recognize. ¡°My master wishes to know when you will be selling more children?¡± The man turned away from where he had been lustfully looking at what was happening on the stage and answered her question. ¡°The nextrge sale will be Threeday.¡± ¡°Thank you. I will return with a junior member then to bid for my master.¡± Rain said with a slight nod before returning to walk behind Ome as they exited the building. Rain stayed vignt as they walked through the next few streets but didn¡¯t see anyone following them. There was only the regr traffic. ¡°You did well, Ome. here¡¯s your payment.¡± Rain said, handing Ome an old. ¡°Can I take off this mask?¡± Ome asked, taking the coin. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Ome removed the mask before going to the side of the street to vomit. Rain could understand how he felt. ¡°I ain¡¯t never want to see that again!¡± ¡°I hope you never do. Good luck with your life, Mr. Ome.¡± Rain left the man where he stood looking ill. If she was being honest, she didn¡¯t feel much better than he had. Why people would frequent a ce like that for fun, she would never know. Rain continued to walk aimlessly, looking for an empty ce to warp away. But it seemed that tonight, she had chosen the wrong way. The crowd only seemed to be getting thicker. Curious about what was happening, Rain slipped through the pack of people to get to the front of the crowd. When she finally squeezed through to the annoyance of the people around her, she found the source: the body of a man wearing the hat of a merchant. Hey on the ground face up. He was clearly dead, but the only marks on him were dark veins covering his face originating from his temples. ¡°...and now Fin, why are they killing all the merchants?¡± a man to Rain''s right was saying to one of his friends. Apparently, this was the third death like this in thest week. From what Rain could tell by the muttering, everyone had thought the first two might be a new disease. However, now that a third body was found, with all of the victims being merchants, it was clear they had a dangerous ck sser on the loose. *** It wasn¡¯t until the early morning hours that Rain felt the connection with Isster solidify, indicating that he had finally gone to sleep. And about time, too. Rain had been waiting for hours. What had he even been doing? Regardless, Rain needed to wait a few more minutes to be sure he was alone. Then, hoping he hadn''t found the coin she had left in his coat, she warped to it. When space unfolded, Rain found herself in a fine room that bore the wares of age and neglect. The fine carpets were matted in the areas of greatest traffic, and the furniture had lost its gleam. The coat Rain had left her coin in was slung over the back of a couch, and Isster was passed out on a bed reeking of alcohol. He apparently hadn¡¯t had time to change or get under the covers. No one else was in the room, allowing Rain to ease her tensed muscles. With how loudly he was snoring, she would have no problem moving around. Any noise she made would be drowned in his cacophony. Quickly scouring the room, Rain found what she was looking for: a loose board on the bottom of his wardrobe. Prying the board off, Rain ced a bag with forty old coins inside the dusty hollow. Then, she produced a book from her cloak. The book had a firmly molded crimson leather cover imprinted with interweaving runes. Rain had picked it from her library specifically for this. Looking at the drunk, Rain whispered. ¡°I will lend you this book for one day or until you read one page from it.¡± She wasn¡¯t sure if she actually had to say the terms for her ¡®Lend¡¯ skill to work, but since she didn¡¯t have to worry about being overheard or waking him up, she figured it couldn¡¯t hurt. That done, she ced the book next to the bag of coins and set the board back into ce. Then, she hid her bonded ver under Isster¡¯s bed. Perfect. Rain warped back to her room. It was time to start the show. Sales Pitch Sales Pitch Rain wasn¡¯t surprised when she entered Isster¡¯s dream to find him naked in bed, surrounded by two of the girls he had bid on earlier. He really was gross. Like every time before, Rain was only an invisible floating eye right now. She would have to create a body if she wanted to speak with the victim. The question was, how did she want to y this? She could take her normal form and try to unnerve him. Rain had noticed that people were unusually intimidated by children who knew too much. But the main reason she was using Isster was that she wanted a disposable pawn that couldn¡¯t be connected to her. It would be unfortunate for her if he knew too much should he be captured and interrogated. In that case, if Rain made herself look older than she was, it would make it difficult for anyone to trace this back to her. Rain''s other options were to look like an animal or make herself a boy. Being an animal was the wrong choice. She doubted Isster would take her seriously if she spoke to him as an uffter. As for being a boy, Rain pictured herself looking like Blondy. She could probably do it, but for some reason, the idea just didn¡¯t work for her. She didn¡¯t want to be Blondy. So older it was. Rain created her body but tried to envision it as it would look when she was old. She used Ms. Hope as a guide to try and figure out how to make the perfect old Rain. It took a while, but Rain finally got something she liked. Honestly, she could have been Ms. Hope''s twin, except she had ck hair. Rain had changed the color of her eyes to match Mr. Purple and gotten rid of her freckles. To finish the disguise, she had created a sleek dress of ck and purple simr to the dresses the women had been wearing at the auction - it was a shame for such pretty dresses to be worn by such vile people. All finished, Rain got her mind prepped for the role she was about to y. Then she called out to Isster, pulling his awareness into the dream. ¡°Lord Isster, it really is a shame your family has fallen so low that the only ce you can get the treatment you deserve is in your dreams.¡± Isster¡¯s face clouded over in confusion as if he had just woken up from a dream. ¡°What''s going on? Who are you!¡± ¡°Who am I?¡± Rain said, putting a finger to her chin and looking up in mock thought, ¡°You can call me Patron.¡± Rain had learned from her mistakes with Mr. Mirage and nned answers to these kinds of questions beforehand. Before Isster could say anything, Rain continued cutting Isster off before he could speak. ¡°Why am I here? That''s an easy question to answer. I¡¯m here to offer you everything you deserve.¡± As she spoke, she slowly walked towards Isster. She was using the walk she had seen some characters in ys use, as well as some of the whores in the pleasure district of the Low Ring. She had heard it referred to as ¡®sexy.¡¯ She didn¡¯t understand it, but she still practiced it in front of her mirror, along with her other acting. Rain had to be ready to be an actress after she finished saving the world after all. The walk was working, drawing Isster''s attention and shutting him up. ¡°People treat you like you¡¯re just another Low Lord, or worse, amoner. Do you know why?¡± By this point, Rain was standing over the bed Isster was lying on as he looked up at her. ¡°Because they have forgotten who you are.¡± ¡°Money.¡± Rain raised her hand, willing old coins to flow from it and tter on the floor. ¡°Power.¡± She raised her other hand and willed a me to spring into life above it, ignoring the pain starting to blossom behind her eyes as she manipted the dream. Rain held the images for a few more seconds; then, she let it all fade. The hunger in Isster¡¯s eyes was almost a physical force by this point. Rain had him. ¡°I will grant you all of this. All you must do is perform one small task for me. Can you do that?¡± Rain asked as she bent down and caressed his chin. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± Rain smiled. ¡°Simple, I need you to contact a group known as the Watching Stars and pay them for information on every barit, brothel, and camp that has ves in Tineak. I want the location, owner, and number of ves in each one.¡± Isster looked confused about this request but nodded all the same. ¡°Perfect. Of course, I won¡¯t have you do anything without proof that I can uphold my end of the bargain. When you wake up, go to your dresser. You¡¯ll find a loose board on its base. Pull it up, and inside, you¡¯ll find a bag of old coins and a book. The coins are for paying the Watching Stars. The book is the down payment. Read the first page, and you will receive a fraction of the power I¡¯m willing to give you. Once you finish the task I¡¯ve given you, I¡¯ll ensure you receive more power than you can handle.¡± Rain could almostugh at the greed in his eyes. ¡°I must warn you that the book I offer changes in the minds and bodies of themoners that have read them, but for someone as important as you, it should be inconsequential.¡± She had thought about not warning him, but even for scum like him, Rain wouldn¡¯t trick him by lying. She would just fan his ego and let him knowingly ruin himself. It worked. Isster didn¡¯t even consider that he might be vulnerable to the same things as amoner. Instead, he asked. ¡°What kind of power will the book grant me?¡± ¡°A skill and ss.¡± Rain answered with an indulgent smile. Isster licked his lips. He was a low enough lord that he hadn¡¯t been able to gain a ss when attending the Grand Acadamy if he had even gone. ¡°How do I contact the Watching Stars?¡± Rain told him about the contact at the Goldhand Auction House - there was no way she was going to share her library contact with him. He took it all in, eager to achieve the greatness he deserved. Rain stood straight and looked down on him. ¡°Good now, don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± Rain flexed her aura. Even in a dream, it responded, forming grinning maws out of the surrounding shadows. Rain caught a brief look of fear in Isster¡¯s eyes before she severed the connection, returning to her body. Opening her eyes, Rain could feel a slight burn from them, but it was nothing like the fire that her changes in Ms. River''s dream had created. Looking down, Rain found no blood. Good, she hadn¡¯t over-exerted herself. Lying back down, Rain went over the encounter in her head. Had she missed anything? She couldn¡¯t think of anything, but only time would tell. Hopefully, he would get the information, and Rain could n the next step toward freeing the ves in Tineak. It only took a few minutes for Mr. Purple to give her the good news. [Reader Lennart Isster has attained the skill: Gem Sight.] [Creating ss around Gem Sight for reader Lennart Isster.] [Notice: Reader Lennart Isster¡¯s mental corruption has risen 16%. Current mental corruption 16%.] [Notice: Reader Lennart Isster¡¯s physical corruption has risen 14%. Current physical corruption 14%.] Putting her arm over her aching eyes, Rain wanted to drift off to sleep. But first - Rain groaned as she got off the couch - she needed to go wash herself off. The events of the night left her feeling unclean. Side Stories 6, 7 & 8 Side Stories 6, 7 & 8 Lucus put the final line down on histest picture. Stepping back to look at it with fresh eyes, he noticed that one of the buildings in the distance was slightly misshapen. He sat down and started fixing his mistake. Ever since the tournament, Lucus had stopped attending his lessons. As his sister would say, ¡®What can they do to you?¡¯ The only reason he had even been trying was to impress his father. For all the good it had done him. It still made his blood boil when he thought about how he had been dressed down for winning. He¡¯d thought people only cared about the young lords who were skilled with swords. And that still seemed to be true. Except for Lucus, even if he spent all his time practicing and trying to impress, he would still be considered less. So why would he try topete with the boys who were blessed to enjoy the things that gave a person worth? Instead, he would do what he enjoyed and draw. He would never have to bother with a sword again. Lucus drew an angry, jagged line from one corner of the picture to the other. Then he ripped the picture in half and crumpled it up. Taking in a ragged breath, he tried to calm himself. He was fine. At least one person had been proud of him. The thought brought him to his sister, the monster wearing the skin of a girl and, ironically, the only member of his family who had noticed his work. He just wished he knew what she was. The way she moved and smiled - it was close to the way a human would, but off just enough that he could tell it was wrong without knowing why. It reminded him of some of his earlier pictures of people. And when she had snuck into his room - his locked room - covered in blood, he¡¯d thought she was trying to murder him at first. But instead, she¡¯d asked for his help. He didn¡¯t believe for a second that the blood was the result of a dream, but she seemed so grateful for his help that he couldn¡¯t force himself to push her. However, he had gotten her to promise to show him where she hid all the time. He was going to figure her out. And if she ate someone else, he would help her clean up the blood again. She was his sister, after all. *** Sunrise red at the doors to the warehouse, cheeks puffed with air. Where was she? She hadn¡¯te by in days! Had Rain forgotten about her? To make matters worse, she was at that shitstain''s ce. Sunrise was fine with him not admitting she was his daughter. She was also fine with him leaving her to the mercy of her mother. But trying to steal Rain was unforgivable. Sunrise swore that the next time Rain came, she would be taking Sunrise with her. No matter what. *** ¡°The greatest lead we have is a ck-haired child visiting their headquarters two nights ago.¡± Henrik was d to see that this information caught Commander Thea¡¯s attention. ¡°ck hair, you say? Did your men recognize the child?¡± ¡°They did not. However, when they tried to follow the child after they met with Mirage, the child escaped them. ording to them, it was like the child disappeared.¡± Thea leaned back in her chair at that. ¡°That sounds like a stealth-type ss. Add that to the ck hair, and House Sonom sounds like our most likely suspect.¡± ¡°Indeed, though, we also have this,¡± Henrik said, passing a drawing to the Commander. The drawing was a simple charcoal sketch of a crossed goblet and dagger. ¡°This is the symbol that their leaders have adopted. From what my men can tell, they seem to ce great importance on it.¡± ¡°Any idea what it''s about?¡± ¡°Our inside man said it had something to do with a Lady Tyix, but he isn¡¯t high enough in the organization to know what that means. He ims that getting that name alone took effort and luck.¡± ¡°Do you believe this Tyix is the liaison between whoever is supporting the Grifters and their leaders?¡± ¡°Very likely.¡± ¡°I see, and what of the serial killer? Do you think they are connected?¡± ¡°My men haven¡¯t been able to find any connection between the Merchant Killer and the Ash Grifters.¡± ¡°Well, that''s something at least.¡± Before Henrik could give the next part of his report, the door to the office burst open. ¡°How ya doin boss!¡± Henrik groaned. She was back and as uncontroble as ever. But when you were a powerful, unique sser, you could do whatever you wanted. ¡°Wee back Sonja.¡± Commander Thea easily replied to the disrespectful Right Hand. ¡°we¡¯ll be needing your skills shortly.¡± ¡°Yeah, ya do! I had someone try to cast a skill on me through this guy on my way here.¡± Sonja said, holding up a dead uffter. ¡°Wait, someone is using animals to perform skills?¡± ¡°That''s what I said, boss.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s a fifth ck sser in the city.¡± ¡°Five ck ssers? Now, this could actually be fun.¡± Henrik doubted that. The Second Page The Second Page Rain took a swig from her sk, the crisp, sweet arit juice clinging to her tongue as she red down at her opponent. The book red back up at her. Rain had realized a couple of thingstely. The first had been after she snuck away to watch another y. The main character was a really cool investigator who solved crimes and murders. He was really smart, and whenever he was thinking, he would drink from a sk. Rain had immediately thought of the small steel sk that Blondy had given her. She kept it by her bed to remind herself not to give up; only now did she realize what a waste of potential that was. The other thing, and the reason Rain was in her library, was because of another waste of potential. She had been exultant after Isster gained his ss right up until the point where she realized she hadn''t possessed any corruption at the time. Mr. Mirage¡¯s friends had raised their corruption enough to drop hers to the low single digits! Now, Isster had pushed it to zero, meaning that she could have had more corruption without consequence. It was time to rectify that mistake as she stood in front of the Tome of Chromatic Truths, the very first book she had ever read. She remembered Mr. Purple saying that her Truth Sight would improve by reading more of the book. Well, it was time to see how that went. She had considered learning a new skill, but the skills she got from the library were so random that she risked getting something truly useless by reading them. Plus, she had no idea how much corruption they would give her. This book, though, had only raised her corruption by three percent. It was basically free. Not only that, but she could actually find it since it was chained to this pedestal, unlike the other books, which seemed to disappear and appear at will in random ces on the shelves. Rain ran her fingers over the eye tattooed onto the cover. She knew she was procrastinating, but this book was also the most painful she had found. She really didn¡¯t want to do this again. If only the world cared about what she wanted. Rain gritted her teeth and opened the book, waiting for the words to slide into her eyes. But nothing. The booky there on its pedestal like a normal book, the words obediently sitting on their page as if they hadn¡¯t ever flown off to assault people. She gingerly turned the page, and there it was. The words ripped themselves off the page and into her skull. She could feel them forcing their knowledge into her, but she could also feel them observing her, brushing up against her memories, and judging her. Before Rain knew it, the sensation was over, and the words slid out, squirming out of her eye sockets and back to their page. Rain copsed, her mind utterly vited. [Truth Sight has been upgraded] [WARNING: Mental corruption has risen 21%. Current mental corruption 21%.] [WARNING: Physical corruption has risen 1%. Current Physical corruption 1%.] Rain groaned at the message from Mr. Purple. It had worked. Probably. She asked Mr. Purple to bring up the description of ¡®Truth Sight.¡¯ [Truth Sight: You can understand the truthfulness of spoken words based on their color. You can now see false energy that does not belong in your realm. Read further into the Tome of Chromatic Truths to unlock more features.] What was that even supposed to mean? Rain had been hoping for an ability to see falsehoods in written words or something like that. What in Arkit was false energy? Why would she even care? And that was a lot more corruption than before. She had even gained physical corruption for the first time. It would go away the next time someone read a book, but still. [Why h4v3 y0u m4d3 n0 3ff0r7 70 f1x m3?] Rain¡¯s eyes widened at the unsolicited message From Mr. Purple. ¡°Did you just ask me something!¡± [Y35] [Y0u n33d 1nf0rm4710n 1n 7h3 07h3r p4r75 0f 7h3 118r4ry] ¡°Why haven¡¯t you answered me before? Can the other messengers hear people? How are you broken?¡± Rain scrambled to her feet, looking around wildly as if she might be able to see more of Mr. Purple in other parts of the room. Nothing. There were no more messages and no signs that there had ever been. What did it mean? Why had Mr. Purple chosen to speak to her now, of all times? How was he broken, and what could Rain do to fix him? There was no doubt in her mind that she would fix him if given a chance. Not after all he had done for her. The messages were hard to understand, but if she was reading them right, then the answers she was looking for were in the other parts of the library, the parts she hadn¡¯t explored due to the corruption. That would have to change. She looked in the direction of the door to the shaft. The next time her levels were low, she wouldn¡¯t be taking a new skill. With her head throbbing a lot less, Rain figured it was time to return to the real world and figure out what her skill upgrade did. It was a shame the skill didn¡¯t help with written words; that would have been so useful. She could have just read books and known which parts were true and which were not. The moment she stepped out of the library back into her room in Estom Manor, she saw what her skill did. ck light shimmered off of Rain, drifting away where it pooled in the corners of the room and slowly seeped into the stones of the manor. Rain could see as it slowly transformed the stones into otherworldly fakes of themselves. It wasn¡¯t a process that would finish in a day or even in a month, but it was happening. Rain could see dark pools all over her room. They must have been growing for as long as Rain had been staying here. Was this her aura? Could it linger like this in a single ce? Mr. Purple had said she could see false energy now. But what did it mean if her own aura was false? And what was it even false to? Rereading the description, Rain had a suspicion. It said it showed false energy that didn¡¯t belong. Rain hadn¡¯t been creating this ck shimmer back in the library. It had only started when she stepped into the normal world. In other words, her own skill was telling her she didn¡¯t belong in this world. Of course, it did. Rain took a deep swig from her sk again. Whoever said that her skill for seeing the truth was correct? She would make herself belong. Rain gave a grin at the sk. Drinking from it was kinda fun. That''s when Rain noticed it; there was another source of dark shimmer in the room. Flowing up from under the door to her washroom was a small trickle of ck. It was a far lighter shade than what poured off Rain, but it was still noticeable. Doing her best investigator walk, Rain eased the door to the washroom open. The room looked exactly like it always did. Wash basin and mirror to one side with a bucket of water beside them and an empty tub on the other. Rain had actually never used the tub, preferring a cloth and the bucket. Letting her eyes scan the room, Rain found the source of her investigation: the drain on the floor next to the tub. That''s where the trail led. Rain stood over it and looked down, trying to see what was down there. All she saw was a darkness where the light didn¡¯t prate. Out of curiosity - err, that is - as part of the investigation, Rain decided to pour some water down the drain and see what happened. There was a squeak, then nothing as the frigid water funneled down the hole. Soon, the shimmer stopped floating from the drain. Rain realized that being an investigator was harder then she thought, because she had no idea what that could have been. Night Time Adventure Night Time Adventure Rain huddled in the gloomy recess of the building, hand firmly gripping Lucus¡¯s as footsteps ambled down the street nearby apanied by deranged whispering. ¡°Why, why, why won''t anyone tell me? They know. I know they know, but they won''t tell me!¡± Not for the first time, Rain wished she had listened to Mr. Purple. *** Several hours earlier. Rain surveyed the items strewn out on her bed: some rope snacks, eating utensils, aplete set of nice boys'' clothing, and a mask in Lucus¡¯s size. Rain had been forced to bat away and scold more than one tendril from her cloak that tried to eat the clothes. She was pretty sure it was sulking now. Either way, the sun was down, and it was finally time to see what kind of person Lucus really was. Though the snacks weren¡¯t, strictly speaking, necessary, Rain was going to make sure this outing was a fun adventure because it might be thest one she had with Lucus. Rain stuffed her pockets with the food and headed to Lucus¡¯s room. Before she even made it out of her own room, Mr. Purple writhed into existence. [Why haven¡¯t you searched for answers yet?] Mr. Purple had be very chatty recently. Rain didn¡¯t mind, but he only seemed interested in telling her to explore further into the library. ¡°I can¡¯t yet. I need to lower my corruption first.¡± [You¡¯ll be fine. Am I not important to you?] Rain winced at that. How could he think he wasn¡¯t important? He was the first friend she had ever made. The thought of hurting his feelings by not searching for a way to help him gave Rain pause. Should she ignore her instincts and go searching for a way to help Mr. Purple rather than taking care of tonight''s business? No Rain needed to keep her mind above all else. Mr. Purple would only have to wait a few days until her ns for Isster finished. ¡°I¡¯ll do it soon, but I can¡¯t yet,¡± Rain apologized. Mr. Purple Ignored her, leaving her with a huffy silence. Or what Rain interpreted as a huffy silence. He couldn¡¯t make sound even if he wanted to, being made of glowing words and all. Although now that Rain thought about it, that might not be true. She had believed he couldn¡¯t answer her until recently. There was no telling what other things he was hiding. Rain knocked on Lucus¡¯s door. ¡°What is it.¡± Lucus didn¡¯t sound too excited to talk to whoever was at the door. ¡°It''s me. Do you still want to see why I keep disappearing?¡± Rain heard hurried footsteps approach the door before it opened. Lucus was wearing slightly rumpled clothes. ¡°You¡¯re going to show me where you hide?¡± ¡°Sort of? I want to show you why I need to keep disappearing.¡± ¡°All right, show me!¡± Rain motioned for Lucus to follow her into her room, then gestured towards the clothes scattered on her bed. ¡°Put those on.¡± Lucus gave her a dubious look before changing into the clothes. ¡°All right now for the fun part!¡± Rain was certain that if they tried walking out the front door, that no one would stop them; but sneaking out sounded like so much more fun. Incidentally, Rain had spent thest day and a half casing Estom Manor for security ws that would allow them to sneak out unnoticed. Frankly, it hadn¡¯t been that hard. Most of the nonessential staff had been let go to save money, and that included most houseguards. There had been a man telling stories on a street corner, and while spoken stories weren¡¯t as exciting as full ys, one part of the man''s tales had caught Rain''s attention. A daring thief had snuck into a building by climbing a rope through its window. Rain couldn¡¯t wait to do that herself, though in reverse. With the rope firmly tied to her bed, Rain threw it out her window and then turned to Lucus. ¡°Ready?¡± He looked more confused than ready. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Making us an escape route!¡± ¡°...¡± Rain took his silence for understanding and grabbed the rope before climbing out the window. She could faintly hear Lucus calling her a weirdo. It turned out that climbing down a rope was harder than it sounded. By the time Rain got to the bottom, her hands were exhausted and raw from the rope. Why had the man made that sound so exciting! Whatever. Not long after, Lucus touched down next to her. He was in slightly better shape than her but was still panting. ¡°All right, we¡¯re almost out.¡± Rain whispered. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Into the city.¡± ¡°You want me to follow you into the city in the middle of the night?¡± ¡°You wanted me to show you what I was doing, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°... you aren¡¯t nning to eat me, are you?¡± ¡°Why would I eat you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Why would you eat anyone?¡± It was a fair question, but Rain had no idea why they were talking about eating people. Was Lucus alright? Rain let the topic die and motioned for Lucus to follow her, which he reluctantly did. The rest of the escape wasn¡¯t too hard. Some of the decorative stone monoliths in the garden were small enough that they could be used to climb ontorger monoliths and then over the wall. When Rain''s feet plopped onto the street outside the manor, sending up a poof of ash, she felt like a master thief escaping after grabbing her loot. Not a momentter, her partner in crimended next to her. ¡°So where are we going now?¡± Lucus was starting to look excited, too, as he got into the spirit of things. Rain grinned at him. ¡°Now, we need to head to the Low Ring. Follow me and try to keep quiet. There¡¯s a lot of people who try to capture lone kids like us.¡± Rain was d to see that Lucus wasn¡¯t scared by her words. Good, he was into the adventure as well. The trip to the Low Ring didn¡¯t take too long. Rain was familiar with the city and could easily see the signs of trouble. Lucus was confused by the first few seemingly random turns they made as Rain guided them away from ambushes and shady people. But when he heard the sounds of a man being beatening from the street Rain had just diverted them from, he stopped asking questions and walked closer to Rain, especially as they entered the lower rings. Rain, for her part, was basking in the feeling of having someone willingly stay within arms reach of her. It didn¡¯t happen often. All too soon, the fun part of the night ended as they approached the Rothford Auction House. Tonight was the night more children were going to be sold. Rain had informed the staff that she would be returning with a junior, so hopefully, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems getting in. It was time to show Lucus what the world was like outside his ebon manor. ¡°The food in your pockets smells really good. Can I have it?¡± Wait, who was that! Rain looked around for the speaker but saw no one. The only other sounds were made by the passers-by, nocturnal animals, and the slight keening of wind through the stone streets. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± Lucus asked, seeing her expression. ¡°...nothing.¡± Rain answered uncertainly. It couldn¡¯t be a good sign that Rain was hearing things. It sounded like the words were being said right into her ears. Was this her corruption finally acting up? Unable to find answers, Rain turned to Lucus. ¡°We¡¯re going to enter a ve auction. Don¡¯t say a word until I tell you. If you have to speak, then your name is Thorn, and you are my trainee.¡± Rain liked the name Thorn. Hopefully, they wouldn¡¯t need to use it tonight, so she could use it again, maybe give it to one of her minions as she had done with Mr. Mirage. ¡°Why are we going to a ve auction?¡± Lucus looked thoroughly confused by this. ¡°Why would you evene to such a dangerous part of the city?¡± ¡°We''re here because you need to see what things are really like. And I grew up in this part of the city.¡± To be specific, she had grown up right under the Rothford Auction House. She looked at Lucus¡¯s confused face before finally sighing. ¡°Just follow me.¡± Lucus looked back the way they came before nodding. Night Time Nightmare Night Time Nightmare As they approached the Auction House, the light shimmer drifting off the man at the door immediately caught Rain''s attention. How was he letting off shimmer? That should mean he had some kind of connection to false energy. Though now that Rain looked harder, his shimmer was far lighter than hers. It almost had some color to it. Did that mean that it was more natural to the world? Rain didn¡¯t bother pausing as she led Lucus past the man, dropping ten vers into his hand. The man, for his part, seemed happy not to have to exin the rules again. The further they walked into the auction house, the closer Lucus drew to her. Rain chose to sit again at the same table asst time. Hopefully, that would remind the staff of who they were and avoid any questions about why children were here. The auction was already in full swing by the time they¡¯d entered. Rain had timed their arrival to just before theter half of the auction. She didn¡¯t want to witness more than she had to. She didn¡¯t even need to look at the stage to know it was bad. The pitiful sobbing of whichever woman was being ¡®disyed¡¯ right now was more than enough for her. Instead, Rain watched the building horror in Lucus¡¯s eyes as person after person was brought up, degraded, denied their humanity, and sold while the viins around themughed and partied. Eventually, a batch of children were brought out to the excitement of many in the crowd. ¡°And here we have this month''s batch of bastards, courtesy of the fine brothels of this city!¡± the auctioneer said with a flourish. ¡°You can raise these brats to be whatever you want! Guards, workers, lovers, they¡¯re ready to be molded into whatever you need them to be. You also might even find the bastard child of a rival. Always a potent weapon.¡± Rain had noticed other people with ck hair when she was at the tournament. Was that why the Rothford Auction House had bothered looking for her, so they could sell her to someone looking to target a house with ck hair? It did make a twisted kind of sense. Rain looked to the stage for the first time that night to see a dozen or so children her agepletely naked and shivering on the stage. She was relieved to see that none of them were being tied on those posts. Each child was sold, one by one, as Rain saw what her fate would have looked like if she hadn¡¯t gained her powers. This, this is why she would never give up. That was enough. Rain grabbed Lucus¡¯s shoulder, causing him to jump in surprise. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He didn¡¯t argue, standing and following her out in a daze. Rain did cast one longing look at the wine casks the staff were using to serve their patrons. If only she could find a way to get her blood in those. She memorized the symbol branded onto the side of one of the casks. Perhaps if she could get to it before it arrived¡­ Rain had thought about just pouring her blood into the aquifer, but she didn¡¯t think she had enough blood to make that effective. ¡°Why would you go to a ce like that?¡± Rain was shocked to hear Lucus¡¯s heated question. Looking around, she realized they were clear of the auction house and wandering around the Low Ring. She¡¯d gotten lost in her thoughts again. ¡°Because I wanted you to see how awful it was.¡± ¡°Why!¡± ¡°Tell me, are you alright with what you saw?¡± Rain asked, ignoring his question. ¡°No, of course not. How could people treat each other like that?¡± ¡°Did you know that we keep ves like that under our home?¡± It was true. Estom Manor had a small berit under its kitchen where the dishes were washed. theundry was done and any other task that could be given to the forcedbor was sent. Rain had searched the Manor the moment she realized what berits were. There were only half a dozen people locked in there, but each of them was thin and pale, with the women being in particr bad shape. Lucus looked uneasy when he realized that he was a part of what he had just seen. ¡°Then we need to free them!¡± Rain smiled. She had wanted to free them too, but that it would only draw attention in her direction, attention she couldn¡¯t afford. So she left the poor wrenches where she¡¯d found them. ¡°We can''t do that. If we release them - and I don¡¯t know if Lord and Lady Estom would even let us - then the other lords would see us as opposed to very. If anything ever happened to hinder very, we would be the first suspects.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t do nothing!¡± Rain¡¯s smile widened. She was proud of Lucus for reacting this way. ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do unless you know of a ce we can hide a bunch of escaped ves.¡± It was one of the problems that Rain hadn¡¯t¡­ ¡°Don''t go that way!¡± It was the voice, the same one from earlier. Rain snapped her attention away from her thoughts and to her surroundings. But it was toote. She hadn¡¯t noticed the streets around her growing quiet as people stopped roaming around. Now, the only sounds to be heard were the rhythmic, muffled thumps of someone hitting something soft. A soft mist had formed to rece the people, and it now covered the ground, obscuring her feet and giving the area an ethereal feel. ¡°Why. will. no one. answer. me!¡± It was a new voice cracked and higher pitched than Rain would have expected from the figure she could now see past the corner they had just rounded. Down the street, illuminated by the light of the moons and standing between twisted ck buildings, was a tall, thin man kicking the corpse at his feet and ranting. Rain didn¡¯t recognize the man, but she did recognize the dark shimmer dripping from his skin and pooling at his feet. This man had a ss, and judging from the darkness of his shimmer and the words he was saying, Rain had a suspicion of who this was. Ho: the bandit she had used to remove the blockade from Mr. Markson. And if Rain had to guess from the corpse at his feet, he was the one killing merchants in the city. ¡°Why won''t you tell me who our merchant friend is!¡± he howled into the night. How had no one heard him? If he was this loud when he killed people, then he should have been caught days ago. Rain grabbed Lucus and pulled him back behind the corner. ¡°Whooose theeere?¡± Ho¡¯s words were stretched out into a yful question. One that chilled Rain to the bone. He had noticed them. She grabbed Lucus¡¯s hand and started running. She could hear the lopsided gait and giggling of the man chasing them through the streets. Rain pulled them towards a nearby seven-way intersection. It was the best ce to try to lose someone that she could think of. As Lucus¡¯s shock wore off, he started running for real and pulling ahead of Rain. She made sure to hold his hand so he didn¡¯t leave her. There was no way he would make it home in one piece without her. She slid a bit as she made a turn in the intersection, so sharp she was almost going backward. Her arm jerked as Lucus tried to keep running straight. Rain pulled in the new direction, and fortunately, he followed. Where were the people? It waste, yes, but the streets shouldn¡¯t be this devoid of life. Rain hadn¡¯t seen another soul since running into Ho. Was this a skill? Rain was starting to run out of breath when she felt a pull on her arm. Lucus seemed to realize she couldn¡¯t run much farther and was pulling her toward a small side alley. The two of them huddled in the recess of a building while Rain caught her breath. ¡°Rain, what?¡± Rain pped a hand over Lucus¡¯s mouth. They weren¡¯t out of this yet. There! She could hear the sounds of Ho¡¯s footsteps. He had figured out which road they had chosen. If he could do that he may figure out where they were now. Think Rain! How can I lose him! Rain could see a door not far from her and Lucus, but if she hid in there, then Lucus would see the library. Plus, they would have no way to know if Ho was waiting for them outside or not. Rain could abandon Lucus and warp away, but that thought made her feel ill. The footsteps were getting closer. This was her only chance. She grabbed Lucus¡¯s hand and readied herself to run to the door. But first, she wanted to try onest thing. ¡°The merchant friend from your note is named Rothford. He has an auction house just outside Brothel Street!¡± Rain yelled it as loud as she could. The footsteps stopped. ¡°You know who our merchant friend is?¡± the deranged voice wavered. ¡°Yes, but if you want to meet him, you¡¯ll have to move fast. He was preparing to go on a trip within the hour.¡± Rain could see the ck lies drifting from her own lips, but she didn¡¯t care. There was no way having anything to do with Ho would end well. So she might as well send him to her enemies. She doubted anyone would be able to trace him back to her. ¡°Heh heh he HA HA HA HA! Thank you! Finally, I met someone worth talking to! I should kill you as thanks, but I don¡¯t have time. I promise to kill you next time we meet!¡± Rain waited for the footsteps as Ho left, but there was nothing but silence. Soon, the mist faded and people began to appear again, passing by as if there had never been an insane killer on the loose. Rain peeked out and looked around. The city looked just as she would have expected it to at this time. Ho seemed to have simply faded into nothing. Turning to Lucus, Rain spoke, her voice full of weariness. ¡°Let''s go home.¡± It wasn¡¯t until she reached Estom Manor that Rain realized that during all her nning for the night, she had never thought about how they were going to sneak back in. One Less Loose End One Less Loose End Rain wandered the greenhouse admiring the flowers, d that she was able toe here now that her confinement to her rooms was over. For some reason, when Lucus and her were caught sneaking back into the Manor, Lord Estom had decided it was all her fault and ordered her to stay in her rooms for three whole days! She had naturally not obeyed those orders and instead spent most of that time reading in the Mid Ring library. They had storybooks in there! As a result, Rain thoroughly enjoyed her ¡®confinement.¡¯ But now she could roam freely again. More than that, it was the day for Isster to give her the information she had asked for. Even as she walked the garden admiring the bounty of colors, beautiful shapes, and wonderful smells so different from the ash and mold she was used to, Rain could feel her connection to Isster. He was sleeping, and now would be the perfect time to contact him. A bright blue flower caught Rain''s eye. Rain looked around to make sure no one could see, then gave in to her curiosity. It was a mistake. She spat and grimaced as a bitter vor coated her tongue. How could something so pretty taste so nasty? This was the third flower she had tried, and all of them tasted foul. It made no sense; shouldn¡¯t something colorful like that taste sweet? Even though everything Rain knew told her it wouldn¡¯t, she couldn¡¯t force herself to believe it. Rain took a long drink from her sk to wash away the taste in her mouth. She had dyed enough. She sat down on a bench and slipped into Isster¡¯s dreams. *** Isster stood atop a pile of gems, dark shimmer wafting off him in lines and connecting him to the gems lying around his feet. Rain was curious about what skills and ss he got, but in the grand scheme of things, it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Hello Lord Isster. It appears you¡¯re enjoying my gift.¡± Isster snapped out of his dream trance as Rain spoke to him. But he didn¡¯t bother turning to face her as he spoke. ¡°Yes, this truly is a power fitting me. Thank you for bringing it to me. Those ash lickers at the academy were wrong to deprive me of it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re finding your ce. Are you ready for more? Do you have the information I asked for?¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Good, show me the information.¡± A slightly panicked look crossed the portion of Isster''s face Rain could see. ¡°I do not have the information here in my dream! You will have to allow me to bring it to you in the real world.¡± Rain was disappointed but not surprised. ¡°Very well, then leave the information in the hollow of your dresser where you found the gold. Then go to the Crown Ring guard house. You will find another tome in a wooden box hidden underneath the ash between the guard house and the scribe''s hutch beside it. I will allow you to read from that book once. Once you stop, it will vanish, and of course, the more you read, the more power you will receive. If you can handle it.¡± The truth was that Rain needed to get rid of Isster now that he had served his usefulness. That said, she refused to lie to him about the effects of her books. Pressuring him into taking more than he could handle however, that was perfectly eptable to her. The fool in question looked overjoyed at the thought of gaining more power. ¡°Now wake and do as you were told!¡± Rain said with her best flourish before leaving the dream. *** It didn¡¯t take long for Isster¡¯s link to fuzz, indicating to Rain that he was awake. Now, she just needed to wait for the notifications. Rain pulled some dried fruit from her pockets and had a snack while she waited for Mr. Purple to give her the good news. [Reader Lennart Isster has attained the skill: Pillow Step.] [Creating ss around Pillow Step for reader Lennart Isster.] [WARNING: Reader Lenart already has a ss. Adapting Pillow Step to fit existing ss.] [Notice: Reader Lennart Isster¡¯s mental corruption has risen 73%. Current mental corruption 89%.] [Notice: Reader Lennart Isster¡¯s physical corruption has risen 90%. Current physical corruption 100%.] [Congrattions: By raising another human¡¯s mental corruption, you have reduced your mental corruption. Mental corruption has fallen 7%. Current mental corruption, 14%.] [Congrattions: By raising another human¡¯s physical corruption, you have reduced your physical corruption. Physical corruption has fallen 9%. Current physical corruption, 1%.] Rain stared at thatst message in confusion. Her physical corruption had already been at one percent. How could it still be one percent after falling by nine percent? She shook her head. There would be time to figure that outter. For now, she was on a timer. Isster had likely just gone insane and mutated right in front of the Crown Ring guard house. Rain had ced the book there for a reason. If Isster became violent as she suspected he would, then he would be right next to a building full of armed people and ssers ready to put him down. The problem was that if he was still recognizable, then guards mighte to search his residence to figure out what had happened to him. Rain needed to extract the information from him before that happened. She reached out with her mind, grasped onto the coin she had hidden under Isster¡¯s bed, and warped to it. When the world unfolded around her, she was lying on the dusty floor under his bed. The coin writhing as it consumed itself. She crawled out and hurried over to the dresser. Prying up the loose board, Rain found it, the piece of paper this had all been for. Briefly scanning it, she confirmed that it was what she was looking for. Before she warped away, Rain realized there might be some kind of evidence here to implicate her, such as an entry in Isster¡¯s journal. She couldn¡¯t allow that to see the light of day. She ransacked the room, looking for anything that might implicate her. She didn¡¯t find anything that might hurt her, but she did find an antique box full of old-fashioned jewelry. That, of course, went into her pocket. Rain felt the thread connecting her to Isster snap and vanish. She stumbled briefly at the mental bacsh. She had done it. She had led a man to his death. Rain may not have killed him directly, but unlike with the bandits, she had sought him out. She had attacked him, not simply defended herself. Rain didn¡¯t know how she should feel right now. So she added the incident and emotions to that area in her head where she kept the things she couldn¡¯t deal with, and returned to the task at hand. She needed to get out of here. Deciding not to take any chances, Rain poured out all the oil from the wallmps onto the wooden floor and set the puddle on fire. Better to make sure there was nothing she hadn¡¯t found. She waited for the mes to take hold before warping back to the servant''s room beside her own. Looking through her new treasure, Rain quickly entered her library to ce it with the rest of her hoard. With a moment to think, she plopped down on her old bed. It was harder than she remembered. Her mental corruption was back down to fourteen, which was a huge weight off her shoulders. Back when it had been at neen, she had hallucinated having things living under her skin. Twenty-one should have been worse, but she didn¡¯t seem to be affected this time. Unless the voice she had heard when out with Lucus was corruption. If that was the case, it had been pretty mild. She certainly wasn¡¯t going to question a good thing. The physical corruption was more worrying; why wasn¡¯t it dropping? ¡°Hay, Mr. Purple, what''s going on with my corruption?¡± Nothing. ¡°Are you still angry at me for not exploring the library yet?¡± Still nothing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Rain¡¯s head drooped a little at Mr. Purple¡¯s silent rebuke. ¡°I know I should prioritized you. I¡¯m just¡­ scared.¡± Her words fell on deaf ears. And why shouldn¡¯t they? Rain had prioritized her own safety over Mr. Purple¡¯s. That wasn¡¯t how you were supposed to treat your first friend. Rain ced her pillow over her head. She needed to explore the Library soon. Surely, once she freed enough ves, one of them would be willing to make a deal? Casing the Joint Casing the Joint Rain walked down the Mid Ring street, clumps of people passing her by, their heads down and feet moving swiftly. The atmosphere in the city had always been grim, but now it was worse than ever, and Rain was ashamed to admit that it was partly her fault. Rumors were going around of people morphing into monsters and attacking each other. After Isster had morphed into what Rain had heard described as ¡®a swollen mess with gems for eyes¡¯ and tried to kill several people right outside the Crown Ring guard house, the incident with Lon suddenly found light in the higher rings. People were starting to specte that the city was under a subtle attack by a ck sser, which, in a way, it was. Rain regretted adding more worry to these people''s already grim lives, but how would she ever be able to improve their lives if she never did anything for fear of it backfiring somehow? Rain wished she knew the answer. To make things worse, she was already nning her next attack. When Rain had first seen the paper from Isster, she had been overwhelmed by its sheer size. Almost every building in the Crown Ring and many of those in the Mid Ring had a berit beneath it, not to mention therger ones beneath factories and workshops. The number of people quietly suffering out of sight where the delicate sensibilities of the rich and powerful couldn¡¯t see them was staggering. The worst part was that Rain knew there was nothing she could do to save all of them until she owned the entire ind. And that was years away at the most optimistic. Many of these people would be dead by then. All Rain could do was focus on what she could do right now. She could help one, maybe two of these ces, so she picked two of thergest and focused on them. Her choice has been easy: The Star Metal Mines, with an estimated ve poption of around ny, and the Theluse Brothel, with an estimated ve poption in the seventies. Both were awful ces to live and be forced to work. Rain already had a n for how she could get into the Star Metal Mine. It would require a bit of help, but Rain thought it would be surprisingly easy. Its isted position underground actually helped it since it forced all the ves to stay close together and gave the guards the impression that they only had to watch one exit. The problem would actually be the brothel; since it was so open, it would be harder to gather the ves without the owners noticing. That was why Rain was currently walking around it. She had her cloak formed into a forgettable brown outfit, fur peeking out of the edges to ward off the cold of the first snowkes of winter as they drifted down to mingle with the ash of Tineak. The brothel was more like aplex with three buildings, making a triangle, amon courtyard in the center where the things that were shared between buildings tended to be kept, andundry was hung to be dried. Rain couldn¡¯t see a way to make them gather all the ves into one ce where Rain could spirit them away. She sat against a wall and pulled a handful of cold grilled mushrooms from her coat so she could have something to chew on while she thought. It was a shame she hadn¡¯t found a way to keep a proper dessert in her pockets. She had tried when taking Lucus on that adventure, but by the time they got home, the food had been all smushed. Maybe if she¡­ Rain shook her head. This wasn¡¯t the problem she should be thinking about. The brothel. Right. Doing something like starting a fire would cause a panic, but it wouldn¡¯t get people where she needed them. Could she make a contract with someone in the brothel? It couldn¡¯t be someone with any kind of power, or she might as well just buy all the ves. Would a simple clerk be able to do anything? If she could convince the person in charge, then she might be able to have them order everyone where she wanted them. But then again, that would be just convincing the man to sell what was his. Rain couldn¡¯t afford to do that with everyone. Unless he didn¡¯t know that''s what he was doing. Rain grinned evilly as she had an idea. She just needed to sell him something that didn¡¯t exist. Now, what would he be interested in? Rain had managed to identify the man in charge, but she couldn¡¯t enter the brothel to get closer to him. That meant the only thing she could do was wait for him to go home so she could see where he lived. She guessed it was time for more waiting. But she didn¡¯t mind, she had thought this might happen and brought a book. Rain pulled out ¡®Rise of the Fallen Lady¡¯ and continued from where she had left off. *** Rain watched the man leaving his home. She had followed him herest night before returning to her own home to sleep. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t get a chance to see Lucus. He¡¯d been too caught up in his studies since their adventure for Rain to see how he was doing. She was starting to feel like he was avoiding her. She hoped not. The man turned the corner and was out of sight. Rain immediately walked up to his ratherrge Mid Ring home and casually slid a coin under his door. Once she was out of sight from everyone, she warped into the locked house. The interior was pretty, but it had nothing on the manors of the Crown Ring. Rain also suspected that anything of value was hidden so thieves like her couldn¡¯t get to it. It was a good thing she wasn¡¯t here to steal. The house had a clean smell, and the furniture was simple but sturdy. It was nice, but with what Rain guessed the man was making, it wasn¡¯t nearly enough. Did he just hide his excess money? Rain hoped he had a secret safe somewhere full of gold, like in the stories. Stepping into the kitchen, Rain found it in the same style as the rest of the house, cooking equipment hanging on its ck stone walls. There was a set of dishes drying next to a basin of water. The ce was almost too clean. Searching around and making sure to leave everything in the exact same ce as she found them, Rain located his food. There was already a b of fine meat set aside, along with seasonings. If Rain had to guess, this was going to be his dinner. He seemed the type to n and prep everything before he needed it. Rain did the natural thing and spat all over the meat. No reason to waste blood after all. If everything went well, she would be in his dreams by the end of the night. The rest of the house was just as clean, orderly, andcking in clues, just like the kitchen. This guy¡¯s boringness was starting to grate on Rain. What was wrong with him? Did he have no personality? Were work and sitting in this too-clean house the only things he did? Rain stepped into the study, herst hope for finding anything this man needed. In character with the rest of the house, everything was neat and ordered, with some books and papers in precise stacks on the desk. Rain took a peek at the books. Religion everyst one of them. The papers were next. She found some notes on the ves at the brothel. Nothing too useful, just which ves were acting up and suggested punishments. The name Flower came up a lot. Looking through the drawers, Rain found a letter to Lord Sonom about having found another girl he might be interested in and inquiring when he would like to take her. Rain¡¯s eyes returned to the books on religion. There might be something there. Unlike most of the things in this house, those books looked worn and used. If this man - or Mr. Ner as the letter identified him - was a strong believer, then this might be her best bet. Opening a book titled ¡®The Mercy and Miracles of Agro¡¯ Rain looked at the marked and worn text. This might work. But she needed to do some research first. Rain warped away, leaving almost no evidence that she had been there. She would make a quick stop by the Mid Ring library before heading home. Maybe Ms. Hope could teach her something about the teachings of Agro. A New Day A New Day Rain¡¯s head hit her desk for the third time as she tried to read ¡®The Mercy and Miracles of Agro.¡¯ She had thought that reading about the teachings of the Lord of Lies and Deceit would be more interesting, but honestly, she just wanted to be done with it. ¡°Why did you abandon me, Ms. Hope?¡± The studying had gone so well until Ms. Hope went to see Mr. Orm and never returned. Rain couldn¡¯t be mad at Ms. Hope. She had looked so happy when she¡¯d been asked to check on Mr. Orm, but the studying went so much better with Ms. Hope here to help. Rain just needed to grit her teeth and do this! *** Rain woke with her face buried in the same book she had been trying to read. A quick nce out the windows told her she had been here for a while; the sun had already set. She was annoyed with herself for falling asleep, but at the same time, this had been one of her rare dreamless sleeps, so she decided not to be too upset. Closing the book, she decided to head home. She might have to rethink this n. If she needed to learn the ins and outs of Agro¡¯s teachings to pull this off, she might be better off trying a different approach. A thoughtter, and she was in the dark servant''s room next to her own. She wouldn¡¯t be falling asleep tonight, not after her nap. So, instead, Rain decided to watch the moons through her window. Something about how they hid behind the clouds, only to peek out and throw pale beams of light over the city, mesmerized Rain. A knock at the door broke her out of her reverie. No one ever came to her rooms. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°It''s me.¡± It was Lucus! If he was knocking on her door, then he wasn¡¯t avoiding her! Rain could feel a weight lift from her shoulders that she hadn¡¯t known was there. ¡°Coming!¡± Rain raced to the door and let Lucus in. ¡°Thanks.¡± Lucus looked a little - what was the word - hesitant, maybe? He was speaking quieter than he used to and staring at her less. Had her aura grown stronger? She didn¡¯t think it had. ¡°So you know how you said I couldn¡¯t do anything to help unless I knew of a ce we could hide ves?¡± Rain blinked; when had she¡­ oh right. ¡°Well, I have an idea. We could hide them on Estom Ind.¡± ¡°How would that help?¡± ¡°Estom Ind is a dead ind. No ships are allowed in or out until the Gathering decides it''s safe. Father says that the gue will already have killed everyone it''s going to and that the only reason it''s still under quarantine is because House Odom is using it as an excuse to get ahead of us.¡± Rain thought through what Lucus was saying: if the ind was quarantined and safe, then it really would be a good ce to hide a bunch of runaway ves. No one could ask where all these people wereing from, and no one from Tineak would go looking for them there. ¡°Lucus, you¡¯re a genius!¡± Rain was hopping in excitement. Figuring out what to do with the people she freed had been one of the problems she had no idea how to solve. She knew it had been a good idea to involve others. ¡°Thank you, brother.¡± Lucus¡¯s ears turned a bit red. ¡°Whatever it was, just a stray thought.¡± That was a lie. Rain almost hugged him before catching herself. He may be okay with her aura right now, but if she got too close and it drove him away¡­ She couldn¡¯t risk it. ¡°It isn¡¯t even a useful idea.¡± Lucus continued, ¡°There isn¡¯t a way to get them there anyway.¡± ¡°No, I think I have an idea of how to do it! This is perfect!¡± Rain bounced on her toes as ideas of how to put everything together flooded into her head. She should go see Mr. Markson right now! Or maybe she should wait until he was awake and back at work. Her bouncing stopped. She would have to find something to do all night while she waited. ¡°Hay Lucus, do you¡­¡± Her words were cut off by a massive yawn from Lucus. ¡°Sorry, what were you asking?¡± ¡°Nothing. You should probably get some sleep.¡± She couldn¡¯t ask him to y with her while he was so obviously tired. ¡°Ya, I¡¯ve been studying a lottely. Sleeping sounds Great.¡± ¡°Night, big brother.¡± ¡°Good night, weirdo.¡± Rain could have sworn she saw a smile on his face as he turned away. *** Rain was waiting outside the warehouse when Mr. Markson arrived in the morning. ¡°Young Rain! It¡¯s good to see you. How has life in the Crown Ring been treating you?¡± ¡°Hi, Mr. Markson. I¡¯m doing well.¡± ¡°What brings you out so early on this fine morning?¡± ¡°Can we go inside and talk?¡± ¡°Of course, partner. Let''s step into my office.¡± Mr. Markson opened the warehouse doors and stepped in. Within moments of Rain following him in, she was attacked. A bright ball of shining yellow glomped onto Rain¡¯s arm and refused to let go. ¡°Umff. Hi Ise! It¡¯s good to see you too.¡± ¡°Mmmurph mmm mmph Mmmumm.¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing good? I can''t really understand you when you talk into my arm like that.¡± Sunrise peeled her face off Rain''s arm and looked at Rain with a truly impressive pout. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me again.¡± It took every ounce of will Rain possessed to prevent her from hugging Sunrise, as well as the fact that Rain¡¯s left arm was currently upied. So she contented herself with patting Sunrise on the head. The happy look on Sunrise¡¯s face made Rain jealous but also happy. Cursed children didn¡¯t deserve to beforted like this, but it was nice to see someone Rain cared about smiling. ¡°I can''t stay here forever, though. I have things I need to do.¡± ¡°Then take me with you. I hate it here!¡± Rain red at Mr. Markson. ¡°Have you been mean to Sunrise?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Mr. Markson said, raising his hands defensively. ¡°I offered to take her in as my daughter, but she refused. She says she¡¯s going to live with you.¡± It took Rain a moment to process those words. Sunrise had been offered everything Rain wanted, and she had refused it? Why? Why would anyone pass a chance at having a family? ¡°That''s right. I¡¯m going with you, Rain.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t have anywhere for you to stay! I guess if you wanted to pretend to be my maid, you could, but that¡¯s worse than living with Mr. Markson.¡± Sunrise didn¡¯t seem to hear anything past maid. Her whole face had lit up like a stage, and she was nodding vigorously, head bumping into Rain''s arm, which she had yet to let go of. ¡°You promise!¡± Rain hadn¡¯t promised anything, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to disappoint Sunrise. ¡°Yes, I promise.¡± Business Business ¡°All right, Ise, you can let go now.¡± Sunrise shook her head. ¡°No, you might try to escape again.¡± ¡°When did I ever escape you?¡± ¡°When you first left me here.¡± Rain didn¡¯t know how to answer that. She had left Sunrise behind when she first met her, but that had been because she was worried about hurting her. Apparently, Rain had hurt her in a different way. If that was the case, then there was only one thing to do. Rain turned to look Sunrise full in the face. Or as much as she could with Sunrise trying to meld with her arm. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sunrise. I thought what I would be doing would be dangerous and didn¡¯t want you to get hurt, but I should¡¯ve asked you.¡± ¡°You won''t abandon me?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Okay then!¡± Why did Rain feel like she had been led into a trap? Mr. Markson chuckled at Rain and Sunrise. ¡°I¡¯m d little Ise will get her wish. And this is perfect timing. I¡¯ll be moving to an office in the Mid Ring after today and leaving a guard here to protect this warehouse. The wife is terrified of the Merchant Killer getting me.¡± That brought Rain back out of her pondering. ¡°What about the Merchant Killer?¡± ¡°Oh, have you not heard about the Merchant Killer?¡± ¡°I have, it sounded like you knew how to track his whereabouts.¡± ¡°It''s less tracking and more that he¡¯s slowly been moving around the Low Ring. He won¡¯t be anywhere near this ce for a few weeks as long as he keeps moving at his pace, and by then, the guards will have caught him. But the missis does worry, part of why I love her so much.¡± ¡°Can you show me on a map where he¡¯s been?¡± ¡°Of course. Let''s stop standing around and go sit down.¡± ¡°Ise, you need to let go so I can talk with Mr. Markson.¡± ¡°Mm-mm.¡± Rain considered what it would take to convince Sunrise to let go, then gave up and awkwardly shuffled after Mr. Makrson, who, for his part, was very obviously trying not tough. They entered Mr. Markson''s office, and Mr. Markson sat behind his desk. Rain noticed that the office had more furniture than when she had first met Mr. Markson. She was starting to see what it might have looked like before he hit hard times. ¡°Feel free to have a seat if you can figure out how in your, ehh, current situation.¡± There was no doubt now. He was enjoying Rain¡¯s predicament. She gave him a t look. ¡°Thank you for the hospitality.¡± He chuckled before fishing out a map of the city and pointing to a spot on the northern side of the Low Ring. ¡°This is where the first victim was found. The next was here, only a few streets to the east of the first. Then here, here, and finally here. As you can see, he¡¯s been moving slowly around the city. If he keeps up at that pace, it will be a couple of weeks before he reaches us in the eastern section of the ring.¡± Rain agreed with Mr. Markson¡¯s analysis. But she was still d Ms. Markson was forcing him to move. She started rubbing Sunrise''s head. Hopefully, Rain could get Ise rxed enough to peel her off. ¡°Are these the only ces He¡¯s attacked?¡± ¡°They''re the only ones that people are certain are him. There has been spection that he was responsible for the attack on the Rothford Trading Company, but I¡¯m not convinced. He had another victim more than a dozen streets over that night, and he only kills one person a night.¡± Maybe Mr. Markson¡¯s predictions weren¡¯t so great. Ho had definitely attacked the Rothford Auction House. Rain was the one who sent him there, after all. Rain gave up on the head massaging. It wasn¡¯t working. If anything, Sunrise was holding on even tighter. Rain was starting to lose feeling in her left arm. Maybe she should try tickling? Rain had seen other kids tickle each other back in the pens, and she was pretty confident it would get Sunrise to let go. The problem was that she had never been included in those games and hadn''t gotten any information on the topic from her past self, so Rain had no idea how it worked. ¡°Well, I¡¯m d you¡¯re moving away anyway.¡± ¡°Thank you for your concern. Surely this grim business isn¡¯t what you were waiting here so early in the morning to talk to me about, was it?¡± ¡°Oh! No. I have a list of things I need made and was hoping you could help me get them. The list is just here¡­ in my pocket.¡± Rain realized that her list was, of course, in her right inner coat pocket. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t reach it right now because her left arm was presently upied with other things. Rain tried to awkwardly reach around with her right arm and fish through her right breast pocket for the paper she had prepared. It took some effort, but eventually, she got it out with a triumphant grin. ¡°Here!¡± ¡°Let''s have a look.¡± Mr. Markson took the list with a grin of his own. ¡°Hmm, this is interesting, but why do you want someone to build a fake door?¡± ¡°Oh, that. I don¡¯t just need the door made. Would you be able to smuggle that door to a dead ind?¡± ¡°I take back myst question. I don¡¯t want to know.¡± Mr. Markson tapped his chin. ¡°I think I know someone who could do what you¡¯re asking. Which ind do you have in mind?¡± ¡°Estom.¡± ¡°Ahh, that makes more sense. Though, I still don¡¯t want to know why you would need this there. But if this is something you want, I can take the costs out of your share of the monthly profits.¡± ¡°That''s fine, but I need to see the door before you ship it.¡± ¡°Give me a few days, and I¡¯ll have everything ready for you.¡± ¡°Okay, where will you be.¡± ¡°Ah, right, my new office is right here, not far from my home in the Mid Ring.¡± Mr. Markson said, pointing to a spot on the map that was still lying out. ¡°it already has a sign out front. Look for the Markson Trading House.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll see you soon.¡± ¡°Of course, have a wonderful day.¡± Rain shuffled around with Sunrise and started heading towards the door when Mr. Markson spoke again. This time, his voice held no trace of humor. ¡°Rain, you take care of her, you hear me. And Ise, if you ever need a ce to go, my doors will always be open.¡± Rain answered for both of them because Sunrise didn¡¯t seem interested. ¡°I knew there was a reason I liked you.¡± Family Time Family Time Rain looked into the mirror. The dark circles under her eyes were getting worse. It had been what, five days since she had been able to sleep for longer than half an hour at a time? She tried to smile to lessen the effect of her exhausted eyes. It didn¡¯t look right. Where Sunrise''s smile could light up a room, Rain¡¯s smile just looked sad and tired. Pair that with the aura Rain could almost see made of dark shimmer around her, and she nearly gave up on her ns for the day. But no, Rain hadn¡¯t given up before, and now wasn¡¯t the time to start. Walking across her room to the adjoining servant''s room, Rain eased the door open. Sunrise was still sleeping, cocooned in a bundle of fine sheets toorge for the small servant''s bed. The room itself was pitch ck. Rain had tried to trade rooms with Sunrise, feeling bad about her sleeping in this dingy ce, but Sunrise had refused. She had also refused to paint the room a brighter color, saying she preferred the dark stone. Rain had thought she had gotten a win when Sunrise epted thenterns and the sheets Rain had ripped off of her own bed, but apparently, the only thing Sunrise used was the sheets. Rain gave a wan smile at the sleeping blond girl. Now that she looked a little closer, she realized that Sunrise was hugging a pillow under the mound of nkets. A pillow Rain recognized. It was the couch pillow she and Lucus had hidden in this room when they couldn¡¯t clean out all the blood. Rain had forgotten about it, but Sunrise had found it and was now snuggling with it, her face pressed into the worst stained part. Rain added another item to her to-do list for today. She wanted to get Sunrise a new pillow, so she didn¡¯t have to sleep with that gross thing. Taking another look at the blissful expression on Sunrise¡¯s sleeping face, Rain decided to ask Lucus first so Sunrise could sleep a little longer. Lucus answered his door a few minutes after Rain knocked, his hair still disheveled from sleeping. ¡°What do you want this early in the morning, weirdo?¡± ¡°Um, well,¡± Rain kicked the floor. Now that it was time to ask, her idea seemed stupid; maybe she should just forget it all. ¡°What is it?¡± Lucus asked with a sigh, slumping a bit as the annoyance left his body. ¡°I wanted to know if you would go out with me and Ise today.¡± Rain couldn¡¯t stop the words from fading until she was almost whispering at the end. Lucus¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°This isn¡¯t likest time when we nearly got killed, is it?¡± ¡°No! Not at all. There''s a unique sser putting on a show, and I thought it would be fun to go watch!¡± Rain bit her tongue because of the speed of her reply, but she needed to tell him what she wanted to do and why it would be safe before he could refuse. ¡°Alright, I guess I''ll go with you, weirdo. It''s not like I have anything I wanted to do today anyway.¡± Rain could see thatst part was a lie. ¡°Ise is that new maid you brought yesterday, right?¡± ¡°Ya, she¡¯s my friend! - I think.¡± ¡°Whatever, when are we leaving?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go wake up Ise!¡± And with that, Rain bolted back to her room, head still a little dizzy with the rush of her sess. ¡°Ise! Ise! Lucus and I are going to go watch a unique sser. Do you want toe?¡± Sunrise snapped awake. ¡°You¡¯re doing something with him? Yes, I''ming, one second.¡± Sunrise popped out of bed and began stripping off her night clothes. Rain left her to change and returned to her room, grabbing some furs from her dresser and having her cloak use them to create a warm green dress with fur-lined pants underneath to ward against the falling snow outside. Looking back into the mirror, Rain clenched a fist. She would make sure that the other two enjoyed the day and that they all became better friends. She would not let her aura ruin this. *** The n was a disaster. Rain had gathered Lucus and Sunrise and led them to this za in the Mid Ring. The entire time, Sunrise gave Lucus dirty looks. Hoping that having fun together would help those two get along, Rain led the others as they fought the thick crowd. Rain apparently wasn¡¯t the only one excited to see the skills of a real sser. The whole square was full of people of all ages crammed together; the excitement was so thick on the air that Rain was slightly surprised it didn¡¯t have a color. Rain pushed her way through the crowd, pulling Ise and Lucus along. She wanted to get a good ce to watch, close to the temporary stage that had been built in the middle of the za. The stage had lots of boxy props and torches to provide better lighting in the early morning, as well as ward off the gently falling snow. Rain had staked her hopes on this being a fun bonding experience. The show had started great with the unique sser, Tic the Illusionist, pulling small animals out of a hat and making things float to the oohs and apuse of the crowd. Rain had basked in every sessful skill used because the better the experience, the more likely Sunrise and Lucus would want to spend more time around her - and each other. But then everything fell apart when someone jostled the stage, and one of the props fell over to reveal a woman Tic had just made disappear, hiding underneath. With the skill unmasked as a lie, the crowd roared with rage, and the children had to duck as things flew overhead at the fake sser. Rain stood frozen as she watched the scene unfold. No, this couldn''t be happening; this was supposed to be a fun day, so the three of them would want to spend more time together. A hand gripped Rain''s left hand - the one that wasn¡¯t currently being upied by Sunrise - and pulled the two girls away from the growing scene. Already, city guards were arriving to break up themotion and save Tic, who was taking cover behind one of his props to avoid getting hurt by all the flying objects. ¡°I should have known it would turn out this way when you said you wanted to do something.¡± Rain snapped out of her daze to see Lucus was the one dragging her and Sunrise away while grumbling about Rain being bad luck. Rain looked down the moment they stopped under arge noticeboard. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have wasted your time.¡± Rain felt a tear sliding down her cheek. ¡°You jerk! You made her cry. Come on, Rain, we don¡¯t need this filth.¡± ¡°What did I do!¡± Rain felt Sunrise tugging on her hand, trying to pull her away from Lucus. Rain had wanted them all to be friends, but now everyone was arguing. How had Rain not realized that Tic was a fake? She had seen his lies when he talked about his ss skills, but she had just thought he didn¡¯t want to say what his ss really did. If Rain had been paying attention, she would have realized that he gave off no shimmer, unlike every other sser Rain knew. And now the others were arguing and and¡­ ¡°Stop it, you two!¡± Rain said, looking up, her fists clenched as frustration overcame her disappointment. ¡°Let''s all get along!¡± Rain looked around for something to rece the failed outing. Nothing in the square caught her eye. The noticeboard didn¡¯t have anything good - though there was a warning about the Merchant Killer, and for some reason, the city had put a five ver bounty on all uffters. Starting to panic, Rain looked for something, anything that might work. Nothing. Wait, the Merchant Killer! Mr. Markson''s new shop was nearby. ¡°Mr. Markson¡¯s shop is close by; we can ask him for an idea of what we can do since Tic¡¯s show was a failure.¡± There was a moment of silence before Lucus broke it. ¡°Who is Mr. Markson?¡± ¡°He''s the old guy who helped me with the adoption papers.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± With that settled, Rain grabbed Lucus and Sunrise''s hands and pulled them towards Mr. Markson¡¯s shop. The new shop was different from the old warehouse where Rain had met Mr. Markson. Instead of arge empty loading bay, this shop had shelves stocked with all kinds of goods. Rain recognized some of the goods from her talks with Mr. Markson about things they were nning to trade. To Rain¡¯s delight, she saw that a small corner of the shop held colorful paint - like she had wanted - though it didn¡¯t seem to be very popr. In another part of the shop were some of the fluffiest-looking stuffed animals Rain had ever seen. They looked so soft. ¡°Sunrise, Rain, it''s good to see you two!¡± Rain ripped her eyes away from the stuffed animals to look at the owner of the boisterous voice: Mr. Markson. ¡°Morning, Mr. Markson! Do you know of something the three of us could do for fun? We were at the sser show over in the za, but that turned bad when everyone realized he was a fake.¡± Mr. Markson seemed amused when Rain told him the story of what happened and took a minute to stare at the three of them while he thought. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what there is to do this early in the morning. It''s a bit of a shock that this Tic fellow chose to do his performance this early. I¡¯ll have to think about it.¡± ¡°We can just go home,¡± Lucus muttered. ¡°You should go home! Me and Rain will y.¡± Mr. Markson chuckled. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know better, I would say you two were the siblings. You definitely look and act simr enough.¡± ¡°I am not rted to that filth!¡± Sunrise huffed. All Rain could do was stare in shock; because Sunrise had just lied. ¡°Wait, you are rted?¡± ¡°I just said we aren¡¯t.¡± Rain stomped over to stand in front of Sunrise, staring down the slightly shorter girl. ¡°Sunrise, don''t you dare lie to me.¡± Sunrise wilted at Rain''s tone of voice. ¡°Lord Estom is my father. But he never wanted me. Not like he wanted him. He got everything, and now that filth is trying to take you from me too!¡± Thosest two sentences were said as Sunrise jabbed a finger at Lucus, who looked dumbstruck. ¡°I have two sisters.¡± Rain caught a glimpse of a smile as Lucus turned away before turning her own attention back to a gloomy Sunrise. ¡°This is wonderful, Ise!¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Yes, it is! If you¡¯re Lucus¡¯s sister and I''m Lucus¡¯s sister, then that means that we''re sisters!¡± Sunrise''s face looked like she was simultaneously eating something extraordinarily bitter and sweet. Rain patted Sunrise on the head. She wanted to hug her, but an irrational part of Rain warned that if she did, Sunrise wouldn¡¯t want to stay with her, so she kept to headpats. Sunrise seemed fine with the arrangement, and Rain also had to admit that stroking Sunrise''s soft hair felt nice. ¡°Now, sis, you need to go find Lucus and apologize for ring at him and calling him filth today.¡± Rain couldn''t restrain the smile that her own words brought. She had a brother and a sister now. She didn¡¯t deserve to be this lucky. ¡°Fine, but one more pat?¡± Rain obliged, and Sunrise left to find where Lucus had gone off to, leaving Rain alone - Mr. Markson had long since slipped away to deal with a customer. So, with nothing better to do, Rain wandered the shop, examining all the things gathered there. One item, in particr, caught her attention: a leather tube with ss lenses on both ends. When Rain looked through the lenses, it made everything huge. Reading thebel, Rain found it was called a telescope. She could think of all kinds of fun things to do with this. She was definitely taking one. While Rain examined the telescope, Lucus and a sullen-looking Sunrise returned. They both had their arms full, Sunrise with the creepiest looking doll Rain had ever seen - the cloth abomination had button eyes of different sizes and a mouth made of uneven stitches, ragged hair made of uneven strips of dark cloth rounded out the look. Rain couldn¡¯t fathom why anyone would want to hold it. Lucus was holding one of the stuffed animals, arge wolf with white fur. ¡°Here,¡± Lucus said, shoving the wolf towards Rain. ¡°Is this for me?¡± Rain asked, trying not to get her hopes up. ¡°I got this and the doll for free when I Bought a knife. I don¡¯t want them, so you two can have them.¡± Lucus¡¯s ears were turning red while gouts of inky lies spewed from his lips. Rain took the wolf and hugged it to her chest. It was almost as big as she was, and so, so soft. It even smelt nice. The only thing that made this moment better was that Rain could see Sunrise was enjoying her present as much as Rain. The two of them must have made up. ¡°Thank you, brother.¡± Rain only caught a glimpse of his embarrassed smile as he turned away. ¡°Whatever. Let''s just go home.¡± Side Stories 9 & 10 Side Stories 9 & 10 ¡°Your death will serve as a reminder to everyone here of why they should follow my orders.¡± Mirage looked down at the retch prostrated in front of him. ¡°Please, boss, I won¡¯t do it again it was a mistake, a mistake!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. It was a mistake to trust you.¡± And with those words, Mirage cast a fireball, igniting the man. The gathered members of the Ash Grifters who lined the walls to witness the execution watched in fear as the man writhed before finally suffocating. His body left to slowly burn. The smell of cooking meat filled the air to add to the scene. Mirage wanted this to be a moment none of those present would forget. Back when he had worked for Ark, disys of brutality like this had been repulsive to him, but now he understood. Fear was the only thing that kept these people in line. If they didn¡¯t fear him, they would never listen to him. With fear, he would be able to prevent them frommitting any true atrocities. He stepped forward, nting one foot on the smoldering corpse, the heat barely tickling his feet. ¡°My friends, we need to make sure we all follow the rules of the organization. If people like this are allowed to do as they wish at the expense of our reputation, then they are harming us all. Even if they are our brothers and sisters, we must remove those who would harm us all for personal gain. Remember that.¡± With his message clearly sent and the members of the Ash Grifters dismissed, Mirage trudged back to his office. It had been necessary, but it still left a bitter taste in his mouth. Still, if it allowed him to provide a better life for ke and Sea, then he would be whatever it took. ¡°Quite the show you put on there, boss.¡± He looked to the smirking Ava at his side. ¡°You know it was necessary. That shit was selling kids! Still, I wish there was another way.¡± ¡°Maybe the Patron has one for you.¡± Mirage shuddered at that. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to ask the Patron to do more for us. If we ever exhaust her patience¡­¡± Neither one of them wanted to know what would happen if that thing decided they had fallen out of line. Unfortunately, that gave him an idea. ¡°Ava, do you think the Patron would be angry if we asked to revere her in the Ash Grifters?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we already?¡± ¡°You, me and Mer do. But I¡¯m talking about everyone.¡± Ava paused for a second. ¡°Hmm. It might work, but I¡¯m not going to ask.¡± *** Deep in the soundless void, a raspingugh echoed. ¡°Oh, little hero, I can''t wait to show you the ripples you caused. You thought yourself so smart hiding that information packet in my skill - as though I wouldn¡¯t find it. I can already picture the look on your face when you realize I edited that information. The only thing better will be the faces of the other Zimir when they see how much power I gained from one small deal. Move forward, my little chosen; the two of us will bring this failure of a world to ruin. Whether you mean to or not.¡± A Meetup With Friends A Meetup With Friends Rain opened the door and stepped back into her rooms finally finished with the dinner she had been forced to attend. The whole thing had left her in a bad mood. ¡°Wee back, Rain! How was it?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t even talk to me. They told Lucus, ¡®I¡¯m d you decided to stop disgracing the family and are taking your studies seriously.¡¯ then spent the rest of the night ignoring both of us. And to make it worse, they forced me to leave Snow in another room!¡± Rain squeezed her stuffed wolf tighter. ¡°What about you, Ise? Did you get enough to eat?¡± Sunrise''s face darkened at that. ¡°Yes, there was enough food.¡± ¡°What''s wrong, Ise?¡± ¡°The servants here are all filth. They kept telling me how sorry they were that I had to be so close to the cursed child and that it was a shame that I couldn¡¯t get a ce somewhere else in the manor. I knew everyone here would be fake if they worked for that bastard Lord Estom.¡± Rain needed to redirect the conversation before Sunrise got any angrier. Ise¡¯s arms were already tightly crossed, a sign Rain had learned to recognize and fear. ¡°Thanks for cleaning this ce up, Ise. I know the Estoms won¡¯t recognize you as a member of the house, but you don''t have to clean if you don''t want to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy to clean for you, Rain.¡± ¡°Well, it looks amazing.¡± Sunrise swelled with pride at thepliment, and her crossed arms loosened a little. Thank the moons. ¡°What are you going to do now, read from those religious books again?¡± Rain grimaced at the mention of the books in question. She had attempted to study them a few times and still had trouble not falling asleep. But since she¡¯d had nothing better to do at dinner than think she¡¯d realized that there was another way to get what she wanted. Her original n had been to enter Mr. Ner¡¯s dreams and pretend to be a messenger of Agro there to deliver a revtion. But with how well-read Mr. Ner was on religion, there was a high likelihood that he would notice anything Rain did wrong. That meant Rain would have to learn the ins and outs of Agro¡¯s teachings and lore if she wanted to do it properly. And as she had found out, religion was boring. It was her misadventure with Tic the Illusionist that helped her see she might have another way. After all, Tic had shown her that a liar could gather a crowd, and that¡¯s exactly what Rain needed. Realizing she had gotten lost in her thoughts, Rain returned to the conversation at hand. ¡°No, I¡¯m done with those boring things. I think I''m going to go to bed.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go to sleep too then.¡± Rain tucked Sunrise into her bed - enjoying feeling like a big sister - before snuggling up with Snow in her own bed. As tired as she was, she still wouldn¡¯t be going to sleep. Instead, she pulled her conscience out on the thread connected to River. Rain¡¯s consciousness formed inside a rowdy pub. The smells of delicious foods wafted in the air, and the conversation seemed lively and friendly. Men and women ate and socialized around a dozen tables. Rain noticed that most of the men were shirtless and looked like they could be Mr. Mirage''s brothers. Serving a table of customers was River dressed in a serving maid¡¯s outfit that was far too nice to be practical. Rain concentrated on creating a body. When it formed, she could instantly feel something was wrong. The world was just a little too cold. Fortunately, Rain knew what was off and created a copy of Snow. With him back in her arms, everything was perfect. The world just became a little easier when you had a soft and fluffy friend to hug. That all taken care of, Rain walked over and took a ce at the bar to wait for her turn to order. It didn¡¯t take long for River to notice her and stop in her tracks. River¡¯s eyes went round before she looked around the pub; then her cheeks and ears went crimson. ¡°Um, hello Lady Ty.. er, Rain. Sorry about the state of things. I wasn¡¯t expectingpany.¡± ¡°What''s wrong with this dream? I think it''s nice. It looks like you can control your own dreams now. I¡¯m jealous.¡± ¡°Oh, ar, ok. Thank you. What can I do for you?¡± ¡°I need to talk to Mr. Mirage, but he¡¯s not asleep yet, so I thought I woulde make sure you were doing alright.¡± ¡°I am, thank you. Mirage fed a bit of me to some of the other leaders of the Grifters so I can talk with them when they sleep. It''s not quite the same as when I had my body, but at least I can talk with others now. Plus, now that I learned how to control my dreams, well¡­¡± River blushed harder. Rain raised her hand. ¡°Oh, waitress, can I get an order of whatever I¡¯m smelling?¡± Riverughed at the change of subject. ¡°Of course, I''ll be right back with your order.¡± Rain and River talked while Rain ate, and a new serving girl appeared to take the orders of the other patrons. It was a much better dinner experience than the one Rain had just endured with Lord and Lady Estom. Eventually, both girls felt it - Mr. Mirage was asleep. ¡°Well,¡± Rain said, ¡°it looks like it''s time for me to go.¡± ¡°Umm, if you want, I could bring Mirage here,¡± River said, her voice wavering slightly. ¡°You can do that!¡± ¡°Yes, I figured it out recently.¡± Rain was a little annoyed at that. River was copying her skill, and already she was doing things with it that Rain couldn¡¯t. If Rain had tried to change a dream as much as River had with this pub, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold it for more than a couple of minutes before she was pouring blood out of her eyes, but River seemed unaffected. Rain wondered if it was just practice or if River¡¯s changed body helped somehow. ¡°Ya, if you can bring him here, that would be great!¡± Rain made sure to change her clothes to her ck sser costume; then, because she was in a dream, she added a few more belts for fun. She gave Snow onest squeeze before making him disappear, grimacing as the ufortable tightening in her chest reappeared. ¡°Oh right, I need to call you Lady Tyix now, and er, let me just tidy up here before calling him in.¡± With that, all the men in the tavern were suddenly wearing shirts and their faces no longer resembled Mr. Mirage. River coughed - ears turning red again - before focusing. A momentter, Mr. Mirage was standing in the doorway to the pub, blinking hesitantly. ¡°Mr. Mirage, wee!¡± Rain said, waving to him from her seat at the bar. ¡°Lady Tyix.¡± Mr. Mirage said, bowing before approaching. ¡°What do you need from me?¡± ¡°There are some people I wish to have freed from very. I need your organization to help me with that.¡± ¡°Of course, Lady Tyix. we owe everything to you. As we promised, when you need us, we will obey.¡± ¡°Good. The first thing I need is for you to find a trustworthy member of your gang who you can sell to the Star Metal Mines as a ve.¡± Mr. Mirage didn¡¯t so much as flinch at that before agreeing. ¡°The second thing I need from you is another member who can act as a noble. I¡¯ll be having him buy ve girls from the Thelose Brothel.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if any of my men have the right look for that, but I will find someone who matches your needs, Lady Tyix.¡± ¡°Thank you.stly, I will need a group of people to keep the ves we rescue from wandering past the first room of my library. In exchange for these services, I will give you the metal from the Star Metal Mine and supply those who guard my library with ess to a book if they desire.¡± Mr. Mirage''s eyes widened at the payment offered. ¡°You would give us the metal of the Arch Lord?¡± ¡°Do we have a deal?¡± ¡°Of course, Lady Tyix. even if you gave us nothing, we swore to aid your cause.¡± ¡°Good, I¡¯ll give you two days to find the people I need.¡± ¡°Lady Tyix?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I know that I have no right to do so, but may I ask a boon?¡± This was new. Rain had no idea what he was getting at. ¡°What is it?¡± Mr. Mirage swallowed before asking. ¡°I wish to make yourdyship the patron of the Ash Grifters. We wouldn¡¯t require anything from you that you have not already given, but if I could borrow your name and tell the lower ranks what you can do, we could keep order in the Grifters without having to resort to more violent measures.¡± Rain had to think for a bit to figure out what exactly he was asking. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that you need to scare your men into line, and I''m the scariest thing you can think of.¡± Rain said tly. Mr. Mirage paled at her words, which was an answer better than anything he could have said. But before he could find his words, Rain cut him off. ¡°It''s fine; do what you must to keep order in your ranks.¡± ¡°Um, excuse me,¡± River said timidly, breaking into the conversation. ¡°If you need help with doing that, Mirage, I could help.¡± It was a good idea. Rain was nning to use River to do simr things in the future anyway, so this would be a good test. ¡°Perfect, I¡¯lle in person to your headquarters in two days.¡± And with that, Rain left the two to figure out their own ns. Test Run Test Run Two weekster, Rain stepped out of the handcart and approached the Theluse Brothel with her head bowed and face mostly covered by her scarf. Leading the way in front of her was Mr. Tist, the man Mr. Mirage had found to y a noble; he was a newer recruit, not one of Mr. Mirage''s main people, but he was the best they could find who had the look of a proper Lord with his soft hands and well-groomed beard. One of the bruisers at the front door weed them as they approached. ¡°Wee,e inside. Ave will help you find the right girl or boy to make your dreamse true.¡± Like any proper Lord, Mr. Tist ignored the man as he swept into the building. Perfect, just like they¡¯d practiced. Rain had spent most of her time in thest two weeks tutoring Mr. Tist on how to act like a proper snob. He¡¯d quickly picked up on everything, but it had still been hard work. She¡¯d needed to channel her inner Isster to think of what to train Mr. Tist on and had even been forced to diligently go to her studies. The only thing that made the mostly boring lessons bearable was that she was usually with Lucus; however, that had gotten her thrown out once when she had started goofing off with him. Rain was still bitter that she had been the one to get scolded and punished while Lucus was fine. Despite her wildly drifting thoughts, Rain was paying attention to her surroundings. No one seemed suspicious of them, and they were far from the only customers here tonight. Men and women in scanty clothes that made Rain cold, given the snow falling outside, were greeting men and women alike and leading them to other rooms. Mr. Tist, of course, didn¡¯t bother waiting in line like most people and instead cut straight to the front, to the anger of the other customers. Rain, following behind him, bowed repeatedly to the others in apology. Most, when they realized she was there, went quiet, seeming to no longer want anything to do with the pair. ¡°I am lord Aker.¡± Mr. Tist said with all the loud snobbery of someone used to the world bending over backward to fulfill his wishes. ¡°I had my servants send you a letter. Have you prepared everything like you were told.¡± Rain wanted to apud his arrogance. He was really good at acting. ¡°Ah, Lord Aker, yes, we did receive your letter. I¡¯m afraid we can not allow you to inspect all our indentured workers as they do need to service customers. We will still gather a fine selection for you to peruse.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Mr. Tist huffed as he followed the woman out of the main building and into the smallest of the three buildings in the Theluse Brothel. The woman had to unlock the front door to let them in before leading them through a small, barren hall and into a long, low-ceilinged barracks. The room had nothing but a row of cramped beds with tiny splintery chests at their feet. The chests had simple pictures drawn on them in charcoal. The pictures were ofmon things: clouds, snow, trees. Rain could appreciate wanting to add whatever beauty you could to your cell. Rain hadn¡¯t noticed any locks on the inside of this building, leaving the building open except for the door out. The windows were small and only led to the inner courtyard of the brothel. Rain might be able to slip through them, but she was small, even for her age. The upants of the room, a half dozen women and a young man, sprang to their feet at the sight of the woman leading them. ¡°Stand in a line, all of you; our esteemed guest wants to look you over.¡± They did so with an efficacity that would put some of the town guards to shame. Rain could recognize when people were being motivated by fear. It was just like when the keepers came to ¡®teach¡¯ the children back in the pen. ¡°We already have your payment for inspecting them; should you wish to buy one of them, send your servant to find me back in the main building.¡± Mr. Tist only grunted; he was already busy staring at one of the girls far too closely. Seeing his preupation, the woman left without another word. Rain was d she left them alone. The letter she had sent said they wanted to inspect all the ves in private so Lord Aker could purchase one of them, but Rain had worried that the staff wouldn¡¯t give them privacy. The amount of money that had been with the letter had probably helped. She was sure someone was watching the entrance to the building to make sure they didn¡¯t try to steal someone, as well as to lock the building once they had left. However, that wouldn¡¯t stop Rain. Tonight, though, was only a test run and a way to gain credibility. Rain hoped to free more than just seven ves. Most of the ves were focused on Mr. Tist as he continued his act of being an entitled Lord looking to buy another ve. Rain had gotten the idea from the letter she had found in Mr. Ner¡¯s office. It would be easier to create a fake lord than to try to master religion, so this had be her new n. Rain noticed that one of the ves, a girl with a bruised face and blond hair, wasn¡¯t looking at Mr. Tist like the rest. Instead, she was looking at Rain, her eyes absent of any fear. Rain looked over the others, and while some had small bruises, none were in the same bad shape as the first. They also all had looks of resignation. Rain''s information from her past was annoyingly spotty, and she wasn¡¯t exactly sure what went on in ces like this, but she knew it was bad, and it looked like this first girl was a fighter. That was enough to decide things for Rain. ¡°Master.¡± Rain said, hunching her shoulders and adjusting her body to look like she was afraid of being struck for speaking. ¡°What!¡± ¡°The mistress wanted me to tell you something in private when we arrived here.¡± ¡°Ash-covered woman always trying to ruin everything! What is it?¡± Rain shuffled closer and motioned for him to bring his ear down. Mr. Tist obliged. ¡°Send me to go buy the woman covered in bruises, then stick to the n.¡± Rain whispered into his ear. Mr. Tist stood up with a look of disgust on his face. ¡°If I want to buy a new toy, I will, and she can go to Arkit for all I care. In fact, go to that beautiful goddess who led us here and inform her I¡¯ll pay double for the bruised one. I¡¯m looking forward to telling the crone back home that I bought something prettier than her.¡± Mr. Tist¡¯s acting skills might be too good. Now Rain was starting to want to punch him. Maybe he should be teaching her. Regardless, the n was going well, so Rain retreated back to the main building, where she patiently waited for her turn to speak to the woman who¡¯d led them. ¡°Yes?¡± the woman said with a raised eyebrow and none of the deference she had shown Mr. Tist. ¡°My master wishes to buy one of the ves. The one with all the bruises on her face.¡± ¡°He took a liking to Wer then, huh? Tell him she will cost him ny old. She¡¯s still quite young.¡± The woman looked like she expected Rain to return and tell Mr. Tist the price, so when Rain opened the drawstring bag out of her coat and counted out twice the asking amount, it got more than just a raised eyebrow. ¡°My master said to pay you double. He said he was going to pay you more, but with the poor service you gave, only giving him a few to choose from, he had to lower his price. He hopes that next time you will disy all your indentured workers.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± the woman replied, indicating that she had gotten the not-so-subtle message. ¡°Allow me to return with you and give permission for Wer to leave the premises.¡± The rest of the night went smoothly, with the woman being even more polite when talking with Mr. Tist, and the bruised girl, Wer, looking suspicious at the whole thing. In short order, the three of them left the brothel and entered the handcart they had arrived in. It was only after they had been moving for several minutes that someone spoke. ¡°You¡¯re the one who''s actually in charge, aren''t you?¡± Wer said, looking at Rain. Rain was impressed. For a ve to talk like that to another servant while ignoring the lord was highly disrespectful. If she was wrong, she could be harshly punished, and if she was right, then Rain might be worse than a lord. All told, Rain was convinced she had made the right choice buying this girl first. ¡°Yes, my name is Tyix, and I want to offer you a deal.¡± Freedom Plan Go Freedom n Go Rain tucked Sunrise and Scratch - the doll Lucus had bought - into bed. It had be something of a nightly ritual for the two. It probably wasn¡¯t the most proper thing for a maid to go to bed before herdy, but Rain didn¡¯t want a maid; she wanted a sister. ¡°Good night, Ise. Good night, Atch.¡± ¡°Goon night, Rain.¡± No matter how many times Rain did this, it made her smile. She wasn¡¯t sure how siblings were supposed to act, but she was determined to be the best sister ever. All she had to do was not ruin things by being too greedy. ¡°See you tomorrow, Ise.¡± With that, Rain picked up Snow and hermp and left Ise¡¯s room. It was time. All the prep work had been finished, the people were ready, and all that was left was for Rain to warp to Mr. Mirage and start the n. If everything went well, Rain would be back before Ise woke up. Rain squeezed Snow real tight before setting him down on her bed. Then after a moment, she picked him back up and gave him onest,st hug. She tried her best to ignore the tight feeling she always got in her chest when she wasn¡¯t holding Snow; it would only be for a few hours. She could be strong until then. With onest look, Rain warped to Mr. Mirage. *** A few minutester, Rain peered down at the gathered Ash Grifters. She was dressed in her ck sser outfit - nowplete with five glorious ck belts - Mr. Mirage at her side, and her aura causing the shadows in the underground room of the Ash Grifter base to writhe as she kept it slightly flexed. Behind her, painted on the wall, was the cup and knife these people had taken on as their sign. Its lines also quivered slightly under Rain''s flexed aura. Almost every man and woman present had entered her library and read from its books - an act they had taken to calling ¡®the ritual of awakening.¡¯ Roughly a quarter of those who entered the library had to be put down after their transformation made them violent. Another quarter had severe mutations or mental abnormalities, such as an inability to remember people''s names or tentacles for hair. Yet despite this, Rain couldn¡¯t see a single face clouded with anger at her for what had been done. Fear, yes, but not anger. If she was being honest, the amount of deference she saw from these people was disturbing. Really, what had Mr. Mirage and Ms. River been telling them? But if they were willing to be tools, Rain would use them. ¡°You all know your parts in tonight''s great y. Let us take the first step to a world without fear! Library Guard, step forward.¡± Six people stood and stepped forward, led by Ms. Wer, the first girl Mr. Tist had purchased. Her hair was a warm brown after bing the only other person to evolve besides Mr. Mirage. Ms. Wer, the first wood elf, bowed to Rain. ¡°Lady of the Awakening, we are proud to serve you.¡± Rain hadn¡¯t realized how far Mr. Mirage was nning to take his idea when she gave him permission, but she would continue to y the part if that''s what it took to help people. ¡°Then enter the library and keep order within. Let none enter farther into its depths or try to exit until I open the doors for them.¡± Rain was getting pretty good at her fancy speech if she did say so herself. Maybe some of those lessons she had bothered to attend had been useful after all. She walked to the only door exiting the room and opened it, turning it into a portal to her library. ¡°We are honored to serve you, Lady Chain-Braker.¡± And with that, Ms. Wer led her fellows through the door. Rain closed the door before turning to thest four people in the room. ¡°All right, Mr. Tist, you know what to do.¡± ¡°I do, Lady of Dreams. I will wait for you at the Rockson Restaurant.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Rain had no idea where that was, but she had slipped a coin in his coat so she could just warp to him when it was time. ¡°Mr. Mirage, did you sell the man with my coin to the mines?¡± ¡°Yes Lady Tyix. I saw him taken into the mines with my own eyes.¡± ¡°Wait, mines? What mines?¡± Mr. Tist butted in. ¡°The Star Metal Mines.¡± Mr. Mirage answered. ¡°We¡¯re hitting more than one ce. Why did no one tell me?¡± ¡°Because we need you to focus on your job.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Perfect.¡± Rain cut the two arguing men off. ¡°Then we begin.¡± And with that, Rain red her shoulder cape before warping away as any self-respecting ck sser should. When the world unfolded, Rain found herself in an underground room. Judging by the heat, she was in the mines, which hugged the open magma shafts of Tineak. The smell was horrible, made worse by the heat. After her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see why. She was in some kind of privy. Rain was d the coin was no longer inside the man she had given it to. The mental image of her appearing inside his stomach and bursting out like some kind of monster had haunted her ever since she came up with the idea of having someone swallow one of her coins. But looking around for the coin, Rain realized she would have to sift through the waste to find it. Instead, she repeatedly warped to it until it ran out of strength and destroyed itself and the things around it. Rain watched the sludge bubble as the coin died, once again d that the coin wasn¡¯t inside someone. Creeping to the door, Rain eased it open, unsure of theyout of the mine. The research she had been able to do without connecting herself to this heist said that the prisoners were unattended inside the mine except for monthly inspections. The only other contact they had with the outside was every third week when they would trade the ore they had managed to mine for tools and a meager amount of food. All Rain needed to do was find the man she¡¯d sent in here, then gather the miners and their mined ore for a quick extraction. Then by the¡­. Rain ducked as a pickaxe nearly took off her head. ¡°Die, monster!¡± Already, the pickaxe had halted its trajectory and was speeding back towards Rain. Rain jumped back and grabbed a coin from her pocket. Before her attacker could swing at her again, she threw the coin down the hall and warped to it. Rain heard the thud of the pickaxe mming into the stone wall behind her. Rain knew her aura scared people, but to attack without warning was a bit much, wasn¡¯t it? Rain ran as the man behind her yelled about a monster in the tunnels. Great, this was going to be harder than she thought. When Rain was out of sight, she slowed down and started to think. Her talking to these people was a bad idea. Her aura made diplomacy a bit of a weak spot for her. If she could find the man that Mr. Mirrage had sent in here, she could have him talk sense into the others, but how many people might attack her while she looked for her contact? Why hadn¡¯t she instructed him to keep the coin on him rather than telling him to hide it somewhere no one would find it? Rain could hear the man''s warnings about a monster in the tunnels echoing all the way to where she crouched. What could she do? What did she have at her disposal right now? Her cloak, her coin, and her skills. The answer came to her, and she ran back to the privy she had arrived in. The man was gone. He probably ran off to tell the others about the threat in the tunnels. Rain used the privy door to create a portal to her library, then stepped in. Rain arrived to see the six people she had left in here, saluting her fist to heart. Perfect. ¡°The miners are unnerved by my presence. I will need you six to act as emissaries. Convince them that I am no threat and to help with the evacuation.¡± ¡°As you wish, Lady of the Library.¡± Ms. Wer said with a bow. Really, what was with her and all these random titles? Rain had a fake name; why wouldn¡¯t people use it? ¡°Good, follow me.¡± Rain left the library surrounded by her escort of six, each wielding the rough homemade weaponsmon to the Low Ring. Rain''s group moved swiftly through the tunnels, looking for a main barracks or gathering ce. Instead, they ran into another group of people: two burly men with pickaxes and a massive woman who looked like she could beat up both men at the same time. ¡°Who are you!¡± one of the men asked, lowering his pickaxe in a defensive stance. ¡°We¡¯re here to free you and the other miners.¡± Ms. Wer said in a smooth voice. ¡°Free us?¡± ¡°Yes, we have a way to transport everyone here out of the mines and to a safe ce.¡± Rain watched the conversation with interest. Ms. Wer seemed to have a knack for keeping people''s attention and calming them down. How could Rain be like that? Was it her bodynguage? Her tone of voice? While Rain was distracted trying to figure out how Ms. Wer was so good with people, the conversation came to a halt, and everyone was looking at Rain. Well, ashes, this was awkward. ¡°My apologies. I was thinking about other things.¡± Did the miner woman just snicker at Rain''s admission? ¡°She said you have the power to get us out of here. Prove it.¡± one of the men answered. Rain cycled through her options for convincing these people and decided on the most direct one. She threw her coin behind the miners, and as they got into defensive stances wery of an attack, she warped over to her coin. ¡°As you can see,¡± she said from behind the miners, ¡°I have the power to move instantly.¡± The miners whirled around to face her. ¡°How did¡­¡± one of the men started before trailing off. ¡°Are you convinced now that I can do what I say I can? If so, gather everyone, their tools, and the shipment of ore. It''s time for you all to escape.¡± ¡°How can we trust you?¡± ¡°The question you should be asking is, are you willing to trust me in order to escape this ce?¡± It turned out that wasn¡¯t a very hard question to answer. Extraction Extraction Once the miners were gathered, Ms. Wer, with the help of the man Mr. Mirage had sent, eased their suspicions, which helped the rest of the processes go swiftly. Fortunately, the storeroom where the miners held the ore had a door set into the stone to separate it from the corridor, and the miners could easily haul their personal belongings and tools inside as well. Rain had been stunned when she first saw their living space. They had dug out a tall corridor with sleeping alcoves all along its walls. Largermunity spaces had been carved out on the ground floor withdders chiseled into the walls to provide ess to the higher openings. The vige, because it really was a vige, wasrge enough to house over three hundred people and seemed to currently be housing over half its maximum capacity. Rain also noticed that there were no children despite evidence of couples like shared alcoves. She was curious but had an idea of why that might be, and now wasn¡¯t the time to ask. ¡°All right, we¡¯ve done as you asked. Now, how are you going to get us out of here?¡± The speaker, an older man who appeared to be the leader of this ve vige, asked Rain, eyes squinted in distrust. ¡°Have everyone gather inside the store room,¡± Rain answered. The elder gave Rain a hard look before barking an order at the others. Rain was impressed by how fast everyone was to obey his instructions. They must really trust him. Rain took note of that. She would need to get him on her side. Within an hour of her first contact with the miners, everything was ready. Rain turned to the people crammed into the storeroom with her. Maybe she should have had them enter in groups. Toote now. ¡°I am going to turn this door into a gate to a temporary world. You need to load everything and everyone into it. Once that is done I will disconnect the world and reconnect it somewhere safe where you will take your things and live free lives.¡± There was some muttering at that, and Rain could see the mistrust and fear in their eyes. Despite everyone else being crammed shoulder to shoulder in this storeroom, Rain still has room to stretch out her arms. ¡°This temporary world is unsettling, but as long as you stay in the first room, no harm wille to you.¡± Rain needed to be honest with them - to an extent, she didn¡¯t n to tell them what her library really was yet. She also hoped that by warning them of the atmosphere in her library, they would be less likely to panic when they first entered. Checking to see that they heard her words, Rain used her skill to open a portal. Immediately, she could hear muttering as people saw the dark veil shrouding whaty behind the door. ¡°Ms. Wer, take two of your people through and secure the staging room.¡± ¡°Of course, Lady of Hope.¡± Again with the title. ¡°All right, Elder,¡± Rain said, looking at the old man, ¡°have your people start loading everything into the temporary world.¡± The elder looked at Rain before barking orders of his own. ¡°Ner, Ger, follow me. Let''s check out what''s on the other side of this trick. Unt, if we aren¡¯t back in five minutes, then this was a trap. You know what to do.¡± And with those trust-filled words, the elder and two other men walked through the door. Rain made noint or fuss. These people deserved to be cautious. If anything, she was d they had done as she asked so far. As five minutes were getting closer and the woman, who Rain assumed was Unt, started to fidget, the three men who had entered the library came back through the portal pale in the face. The elder turned to look at Rain. ¡°You want us to all trap ourselves in that ce.¡± His t tone and dead eyes told Rain all she needed to know about how he felt about the idea. ¡°Unless you want to waste away here until you die, yes.¡± The old man and little girl had a staring contest until the old man looked away. As Rain thought, these people were willing to risk Arkit to escape this gods forsaken hole. The elder gave a few more orders, and the others formed a line to pass things through the gate. Rain watched for a minute before picking up a piece of star metal ore and turning it over to examine it. The silvery metal kes glimmered out of the ck rock, but what really caught Rain''s attention was how it seemed to absorb her shimmer. Unlike the stones of her room, which were slowly taking in her pooled shimmer, the rock in her hands was drinking it in and even pulling it towards itself. Rain wanted to keep some of the metal, but she had promised to give it all to Mr. Mirage for his help, and Rain always kept her promises. Footsteps rang from outside the storeroom when they were only two-thirds finished loading the goods into the room. Rain could see the panic on the faces of those still on this side of the gate. ¡°Why are they here? Delivery isn''t for another three days?¡± a woman said. ¡°Calm down, everyone,¡± Rain said, making a calming gesture with her hands. ¡°They can''te through the door while I hold it as a gate, and it will take them time to tunnel in through the stone walls. We¡¯ll be gone before they can. So hurry and finish loading.¡± Rain''s words didn''t seem to bring a lot of reassurance to the people who threw terrified looks at the gate and guards beyond, but the people did hurry to shuttle everything into the gate. Soon, the sound of the soldiers'' frantic pounding on the walls and shouted orders was mixed with the scraping of crates and shuffling ofden footsteps. Just as Rain predicted, thest of the people and supplies were loaded long before the guards could break through. Rain gestured for thest of her Library Guard to step in before having her cloak cover her head to toe. Rain took a deep breath and then closed the door. The moment she felt her power leave it, she warped away. As fast as she was, she still saw the door crash open as she disappeared, armored figures standing on the other side. When space unfolded, Rain was standing next to Mr. Tist as he ate dinner in a private booth of a fancy restaurant. She had her clothes return to her normal costume. Mr. Tist jumped at her sudden appearance before trying to y it off and cing his utensils down. ¡°Are we ready?¡± he asked, trying and failing to hide his nerves. ¡°Yes, part one was a sess. It''s your turn now.¡± Mr. Tist immediately stood and left his half-eaten meal behind. ¡°All right, let''s go.¡± ¡°Get started without me. I¡¯ll follow in a bit.¡± ¡°But the n won''t work without you!¡± Mr. Tist said, motioning with his hands wildly. ¡°I¡¯ll appear when the time is right. You can gather them without me.¡± In truth, Rain just wanted to try some things. Unable to argue any further, Mr. Tist hesitantly left; his brow creased in worry. Rain, not one to waste, devoured his untouched dessert before leaving herself. There was a tall spire attached to a tailor shop nearby, and that''s where Rain intended to keep an eye on things. Taking the coin she had used in the mines out of her cloak, Rain threw it onto a ledge above her - she was getting pretty good at throwing - and warped to it. Repeating that process, Rain scaled the spire''s side until she was high above the ground. Once Rain found a satisfactory perch, she pulled her new toy, err, her telescope, out of her pocket and focused it on the brothel. She saw all the usual activities she normally would: customers arriving and being greeted at the doors before being shown in. traffic between the different buildings, and, finally, a lone man approaching the front door: Mr. Tist. Rain saw him speaking with the man at the front door who let him in. From here, all Rain could do was wait and watch the surroundings. The area around the building seemed normal so far. So why did Rain have a bad feeling? Was it because the guards had somehow known that Rain was in the mines? Not long after, Rain spotted Mr. Tist being led to the housing building, a ce customers usually didn¡¯t go. There seemed to be a bit ofmotion as all the ve prostitutes, beautiful men, women, and children alike, were sent to the housing building while the free sex workers moved to fill the vacancies left behind in the brothel. Rain couldn¡¯t believe it was working. By paying a small price to pick a new ve from the brothel¡¯s inventory, Mr. Tist would gather all the ves into one ce where Rain could steal them for a fraction of the cost of buying them all. Mr. Tist would have to leave the ind after this to avoid repercussions, but he was willing to move. Rainughed. They would pull this off in the middle of operating hours. That, of course, was when Rain saw it: a line of soldiers in Tineak colors marching down the street leading from the Crown Ring straight for the brothel. Somehow, they had found where Rain would strike next. Dipping Out Dipping Out Rain warped to Mr. Tist inside the building she had been watching. He was in the same room where they had purchased Ms. Wer. This time, instead of seven ves in a line, they had dozens, and Rain''s sudden appearance caused more than a littlemotion as people jumped in fright. ¡°We¡¯re out of time!¡± Rain cut off Mr. Tist mid-sentence. ¡°Soldiers areing as we speak.¡± That caught everyone''s attention. ¡°What''s going on?¡± a frightened woman in her twenties asked. Rain didn¡¯t have time to exin everything to these people, so she instead gave them an ultimatum. ¡°I will help you all escape this ce, but you will have to trust me and act quickly.¡± Her words caused a stir, but Rain didn¡¯t have time to care as she ran to the door and opened it, turning it into a portal. ¡°If you want to escape, then go through this door; the people on the other side will exin the rest. You have to act now; the soldiers are almost here to stop us. Rain''s statement was met with a row of scared eyes untill one woman in her early thirties stepped forward. ¡°Nothing could be worse than this arkit.¡± That said, she rushed through the portal. And like that, the floods began, as one after another, close to two-thirds of the people rushed towards the door. It wasn¡¯t nearly as many as Rain had nned, but there was nothing to be done about it. Most of the people were through the door when a force hit Rain in the chest. She felt her connection to her portal cut off, and the gate closed, leaving half a dozen people stranded just outside. [Warning: You are in an antiskill barrier. You cannot use any active skills until the barrier is disabled or you leave the area of the barrier.] Rain stared at the message from Mr. Purple in horror. If she couldn¡¯t use skills, then she couldn¡¯t escape using Path of Wealth. ¡°We need to run!¡± Rain shouted, looking to Mr. Tist only to find him missing. Soldiers poured into the room, light glimmering off their bronze spears and clubs. The half dozen stragglers who didn¡¯t get through the gate in time were swiftly beaten or killed. The door was blocked, so Rain ran for one of the windows. ¡°Stop her!¡± Rain didn¡¯t stop. She jumped through the window, busting its shutters open, and fell to the floor of the courtyard below,nding poorly and twisting her ankle. Refusing to let the pain slow her, Rain scrambled to her feet. The streets were blocked off, and someone had activated an antiskill barrier. Rain needed to get somewhere far enough away to escape the barrier without going through the soldiers. Looking over the courtyard again, Rain saw her only chance. The well. Hobbling towards it, Rain nced over her shoulder to see a manically grinning woman pointing at her through the window; near-colorless shimmer encased her arm. A sser. Rain jumped in the well as something cold hit her between the shoulder des. Rain fell, losing skin when she scraped a wall on her way down before crashing into water that felt as hard as bronze. Things only got worse once the water had her. A strong current pulled her under and tumbled her down, mming her into one wall after another. Rain couldn¡¯t breathe, couldn¡¯t see, couldn¡¯t tell which way was which. All she could do was go where the current took her. Within seconds, Rain could feel her skills again as she left the antiskill barrier, but when she tried to warp to one of her coins, Rain found it impossible. She could feel the connection to the coin, but it was slippery. As Rain panicked, Mr. Purple bled into existence. [Warning: you have been hit by the skill ¡®Curse of Sealing.¡¯ You will be unable to control any of your skills for 24 hours.] [Warning: you have been hit by the skill ¡®Curse of Tracking.¡¯ The Curse wielder will know your general location for the next hour. And anyone with a curse tracking stone will be able to locate you from 30 feet away for the next 24 hours.] Rain was going to die. There was no way for her to escape without her skills, and with someone able to track her, even if she did escape the water, she would be quickly hunted down and captured or killed. Rain''s lungs were seizing as they tried to take in air, only to be stopped by Rain¡¯s willpower. She needed to surface now! That was when Rain realized she could vaguely see by Mr. Purple''s light. There were holes in the dark stone to her left leading sideways. No, not sideways that was up. Rain thrashed as she tried to grab onto the rim of one of those holes, her hands slipping on the smooth stone every time. Rain couldn¡¯t control her lungs any further. Desperate for air, she inhaled water, causing her whole chest to seize up as she was wracked with fits, her body trying to expel the water. Her vision was going dark when she saw it: a bucket dipping into the water. With all the desperation of the dying, Rain grabbed the bucket and held on for her life. Her sudden weight caused the bucket to sink further into the water before stopping and slowly lifting Rain out of the current. Rain coughed and hacked the moment her head was out of the water before trying to pull in air, only to cough more. Her throat didn¡¯t seem to want to open, and she could barely get any air in before a violent fit of coughing attacked her again. No matter what she did, she couldn¡¯t get all the water out. Rain coughed until she vomited, then coughed some more. Eventually, she managed to take some ragged breaths. Never had air been so amazing. Rain realized that someone was calling to her as the bucket slowly rose, but she couldn¡¯t get her mind to parse the words. Everything was spinning too much, and all she could focus on was the air. Rain clung to the bucket, happy to finally escape the water, only for it to stop a foot from the top of the well. ¡°Ahhh, monster! There''s a monster in the well!¡± The shouting faded as whoever had been pulling her up fled. They must have pulled her up far enough that they could feel her aura. Rain wanted to be insulted by being called a monster, but she was too tired to care right now. Instead, she wrapped an arm around the bucket so she could use her other hand to clear her vision from the wet, dark hair that was stered over her pale face. The night sky hung above the whinching system her handhold dangled from. Rain had never been more grateful to see it. Despite knowing how it would end, Rain tried to warp to one of her coins. Nothing. Like before, she could feel it but not interact with it. That meant Rain was going to have to climb out of here. Rain grabbed the rope and pulled herself up, or she tried. Too tired to grip the rope properly, it slid through her fingers, leaving her in the same situation as before. The exit was so close, less than a foot away. Rain could almost grab it, but it was just out of reach. ¡°Please, can someone help me?¡± Rain rasped tears starting to mix with the water on her cheeks. No one answered. Rain could hear muttering from ces around the well. Judging from the size, this was a public well, yet no one offered to help. Why? Rain knew that her aura made people ufortable around her, but to leave someone who had almost drowned and was begging for help to fend for themselves; did these people have no sympathy? She grit her teeth and tried again, pulling herself further onto the bucket. Then she got her knees on top of her perch, which gave her enough height to grab onto the lip of the well and pull herself over. The heartless beasts who had been watching her struggle, screamed and ran as Rain crawled out on the well and plopped onto the ash-covered street. As much as she would have liked to stay there, Rain knew that the soldiers were minutes away from her, and they had someone who could track her. So Rain pushed herself to her feet and shambled off. [Curse of Tracking: time remaining 52 minutes.] Filibuster Filibuster Rain leaned against a wall for support as she hobbled down the street. People gave her looks, and she was sure to be remembered and recognized when the soldiers came, but she had no other ideas. Her ankle still hurt from jumping out the window, and she barely had the energy to stand anyway. She tried again to warp to one of her coins. Nothing. She could feel them, but she couldn¡¯t grab them. Next, she tried to make a portal to her library. No luck there, either. She couldn¡¯t even flex her aura, and her whole body hurt. Despite her fatigue, Rain kept a close watch on her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was. The buildings were smaller and unkempt, and little bronze could be seen. This was almost certainly the Low Ring, meaning Rain had traveled far from the brothel. She had maybe ten minutes before her pursuers caught up to her. She would need to find a way to dy them for another forty minutes after that and escape. And she had no idea how. She spotted a building she remembered. It stood out from the buildings around it due to being well-kept and neat: the cobbler shop where she had purchased her first pair of shoes. The same shoes she was wearing now. He had seemed friendly and offered to help her stay safe the first time she met him. Perhaps he would help her hide now? No. Giving shelter from the scum in the street who were looking to make a few vers by selling weak and easy targets was different from hiding someone who the Arch Lord¡¯s soldiers wanted. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could protect her. The cobbler shop was in the eastern part of the Low Ring. The eastern part¡­ If Mr. Markson was correct, then Ho would be in this part of the city. The soldiers and guards had never been able to find him. Rain had a feeling she knew why, and she might be able to use it to escape, but did she dare to try? Ho was almost certainly going to try to kill her. [Curse of Tracking: time remaining 48 minutes.] Rain would be caught if she didn¡¯t take the risk. So she sent a silent plea to her cloak to transform into clothes a merchant might wear, including their signature hat. ¡°Ho! I¡¯m your merchant friend. I can give you another book.¡± Rain shouted as loud as she could, her voice still raspy from nearly drowning. The people around her gave her looks as she limped down the street, repeating her call. But the attention dwindled as the crowds thinned. Soon, Rain was alone on a street that should be crowded right now, standing amongst the twisted spires of Tineak, the nightpletely silent. Fog began to drift down from the cracks in the buildings and pooled at ankle height, covering the street and glowing softly silver with the reflection of the moons. Last time she met Ho, he had pulled her and Lucus into a ce where no one could see or hear them. It seemed like he had a skill that let him hide from others in an empty copy of the world, allowing him to kill without being caught. Rain was banking on that being the case. If she was right, she was now in anotheryer of reality, separate from the world where soldiers searched for her. It also meant that no one could save her here. Step, ck, scrape. Step, ck, scrape. The lurching gait of the footsteps behind her alerted Rain to the presence of the other upant in this isted world. Rain turned to face her first intentional victim - the man who would likely kill her: Ho. He stood twenty feet away, the mist at his feet agitated by his passage. Despite being no taller than an average man, his crooked stature seemed to loom taller than the spires, leaving him backlit by arge moon. ¡°I know youuu.¡± That simple sentence, so normal yet full of madness, sent chills down Rain''s back. She immediately changed her cloak to cover her face. If she survived the next forty minutes, thest thing she wanted was for him to have a way to search for her. ¡°Hello Ho, I hear you¡¯re looking for another one of my books.¡± At the mention of books, Ho¡¯s face lit up, and an unnatural glow formed in his eyes. ¡°You had them! You lied to me and sent me to those people who had no books. No matter how many times I broke them, they refused to give me the books! They said they didn¡¯t know what I was asking for, but you, you know where they are!¡± Rain took an awkward step back as Ho advanced on her with a gleam in his eyes. The mist at her ankles turned viscous,tching to her and constraining her movement. This had been a bad idea. She would have lived longer if she had let the soldiers find her. But she wasn¡¯t about to give up now. ¡°Yes, I have them, but I sent you to that ce so I could give you more!¡± ¡°I don''t need that. I can just kill you and make you give them to me!¡± ¡°I can''t give you them if I''m dead!¡± For the first time, something Rain said seemed to faze Ho, stopping him in his tracks. Ho cocked his head, a befuddled look on his face. ¡°How else are you going to give them to me if you aren¡¯t dead?¡± What had the mental corruption done to this man? Everything he said was the color of purest truths. Yet he spoke of things that were impossible. Could she use his delusions? ¡°Simple, in order to get one of my books, you have to perform tasks. That''s why you only got the first book after attacking the shipment.¡± Rain had no idea where she was going with this, but if he wasn¡¯t walking forward, he wasn¡¯t killing her. How much longer did she need to stall? [Curse of Tracking: time remaining 37 minutes.] How was she supposed to keep a madman talking for thirty-seven minutes and then escape? She wasn¡¯t sure, but she kept talking. ¡°That''s why I had you attack that ce, but because this is your second book, it will take more tasks to force a second book to appear.¡± Ho stared intently at her. He was probably trying to figure out if she was lying, but with that insane smile dividing his face, it was hard to tell. ¡°People always talk when they die. I''m sure if I kill you, you¡¯ll tell me the truth. Yes, you¡¯re a liar, so the only way to get the truth is to kill you.¡± Ho took another step closer, and the street walls closed in, crowding out the sky. Ho loomed above Rain, who felt very, very small. ¡°But if I die, all the books will disappear! Can''t you feel it? Can¡¯t you feel that the books and I are the same?¡± ¡°Hmmm, I do. Are you one of the books? What will happen if I open you up and read your insides?¡± He was only a few steps from Rain now. She could smell a wing, rotting stench. If she didn¡¯t convince him now, she would die, her body left discarded in the ashes of the street. She would fail her past self. ¡°You can¡¯t kill me because I''m already dead!¡± It was a stupid thing to say, but it was all Rain had. Ho once again stopped. ¡°You¡¯re dead? Hmm, yes, yes. I see; then that means that you¡¯ve been telling me the truth!¡± Wait, had that worked? ¡°Yes, I was telling you the truth. You can trust me because I¡¯m dead.¡± ¡°Where, where are the books with the sweet, sweet secrets?¡± ¡°You can get another one from me, but first, you must tell me your secrets. If you can tell me the secrets you learned from the book, I can add to them.¡± If Rain was going to stall this monster, she would need to understand his madness. She knew he had a thing for talking to dead people, but was that a skill or his insanity? How could she use it to keep him talking or to escape? ¡°The secret, the secret, fine,¡± Ho looked around as if searching for anyone eavesdropping on their conversation. He leaned in; the stench of death almost had Rain gagging. ¡°This world is fake. The only way to wake from the dream that is the world we live in is to die. The book chose me to spread the truth and save the people from the trap that is this life! I will set them all free.¡± Ho¡¯s eyes shone brighter and brighter as he spoke until they glowed brighter than the moons overhead. The inky shimmer dripping off him mixed with the fog at their feet and formed faces screaming in eternal pain. Rain recognized one of the faces as the merchant she had seen him kill when she first met him. How much longer, Mr. Purple? [Curse of Tracking: time remaining 29 minutes.] Talking wasn¡¯t using as much time as she needed; she had stalled for less than ten minutes, yet Rain felt cold and could see her skin turning a sickly gray. That''s right; his first skill was death whispers. Maybe getting him to talk wasn¡¯t such a good idea. It was toote to change the past, but Rain might be able to survive. She wouldn¡¯t give up. ¡°Thank you, Ho. You passed the test. Now let me take you to where the book is hidden.¡± ¡°Finally! I will hear the words of the beyond again!¡± He was crying as he spoke. Rain would feel bad for lying to him if she wasn''t so terrified. ¡°In order to find the next book on the path of the true world after death, you must start in the Dead Ring.¡± It was the only ce Rain could think of where Ho wouldn¡¯t be around people to vent his anger on when he realized he had been tricked. Its name also helped; it fit Ho''s personal narrative, which should help her distract him for longer. ¡°Yes, yes. Let us go quickly, quickly!¡± Like a bolt of lightning, Hor grabbed Rain and picked her up. Her skin went numb where he touched her. Rain barely had time to drop her coin into an ash bank before she was spirited away. Creative Truths Creative Truths Rain¡¯s skin had already started to turn gray around the parts Ho was touching in the short time it took for the madman to race to the Dead Ring. She spent that time watching for any hints or signs of how Ho''s skills worked but found nothing. The mist was a constant cover for the ground, and they never passed another soul despite traveling streets Rain knew would be crowded at this time of day. Rain couldn¡¯t find any clues about whether he had a skill that let him see the real world or if he simply phased in and out of the real world so he could choose his targets. Either way, if he ever learned her identity, no security would stop him from killing her. ¡°We¡¯re in the ring now. Where? Where? Tell me! Where is the next truth!¡± ¡°I need you to put me down so I can see.¡± That was a lie. Rain needed him to put her down before his touch killed her. Not that she could tell him that with him believing she was already dead. Ho set her down, his left arm bending unnaturally to do so. But how? he didn¡¯t have any physical corruption. Rain shook her head. It didn¡¯t matter right now. Rain looked around. Most of the buildings were buried in the ash that regrly fell from the peek, with the parts closer to the Low Ring being under the surface by a few feet. There was trash and refuse mixed in with the ash there. Rain realized that the ash was higher because people would dump their waste right off the side of the Low Ring onto the abandoned Dead Ring below. It gave Rain an Idea of how to waste some time. ¡°Good, we¡¯re close. Follow me.¡± Rain headed towards the base of the Low Ring at a slower pace than strictly necessary. She couldn¡¯t go too slowly, or Ho might pick her up again, and if the pain from the parts where she had already been exposed to him was anything to judge by, she couldn¡¯t take much more of that. Fortunately, Ho didn¡¯tin about the speed. His eyes were glowing, and he seemed intent on absorbing every moment of this experience. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re here.¡± Rain said as she arrived at one of therger piles of ash. ¡°In order to gain the next book about what lies beyond death, you must simte dying yourself.¡± Ho''s eyes were locked on her, drinking every word of her tant nonsense. ¡°If you want to gain ess to the book, you will have to dig to the ground through this ash. The hole will represent a grave. If you are ready for the next secret, you will find the book there.¡± Rain could almostugh at the enlightened look on Ho''s face. ¡°Of course! To see the truth of the world beyond this lie, I must travel close to death.¡± Rain had no idea what his fevered mind was understanding, but if it kept him distracted, it didn¡¯t matter. When Ho had finished deluding himself with Rain¡¯s drivel, he turned and started furiously wing at the pile of ash, throwing handfuls away as he gave every portion of his being to burying himself. Rain sat on the tip of a broken spire that poked out of the ash and fog and rubbed her ankle. She had left a coin behind out of instinct, but the curse still suppressed her powers, and they would stay that way for almost another day. If Rain was going to escape Ho, she would have to do it on foot, and that meant she needed to rest her injured ankle while she could. Shivering, Rain had her cloak form itself into severalyers in an attempt to stave off the winter chill. Whatever it was, It was a good thing her cloak wasn¡¯t a skill. The feverish speed with which Ho was digging his pit was scary, especially when the fact that he was doing it with his bare hands was taken into ount. Judging by his current pace, Rain gave him an hour, maybe more, before he reached the ground. That meant Rain couldn''t stay here until her skills were unblocked. Mr. Purple, how much longer does the Curse of Tracking have left? [Curse of Tracking: time remaining 12 minutes.] Rain was close. Once she escaped, she would need to find a ce to lie low until her skills returned. It would need to be somewhere the Tineak soldiers couldn¡¯t identify her with their magic stones. Rain could try to leave the city and hide out there; there might be fewer soldiers looking for her outside the city, but Rain had no idea what was out there, and she would probably be easy to see from a distance if she didn¡¯t find a good ce to hide. Her other option was to go back into the city and try to hide among all the people. Rain knew what the city was like, but there would be more people there to look for her. Watching Ho digging, Rain realized she was out of time. ¡°Ho, it''s important for me to warn you; if you don''t put all your focus on digging downward and look out of that hole, you will be seen as unworthy of understanding the truth behind death. So you must never look back.¡± Rain watched to see if he would risk looking out of his hole, but he kept to his single-minded digging without breaking for a moment. Rain could see his hands were bloody from the fervor of his digging. Looking at the time of the curse, Rain watched as it hit zero and the curse of tracking lifted from her. Now, the only way for her to be found was those stones. That meant it was safer now for her to get as far away from Ho as possible. Standing Rain tested her ankle. It throbbed when she put pressure on it, but it wasn¡¯t so bad that she couldn¡¯t walk. Taking onest look at the death-crazed madman digging his own metaphorical grave, Rain limped back towards the path to the Low Ring. She had no way to tell how Ho would react when he realized he had been tricked, but she would have to stop him if he continued his killing spree after this. She had caused his madness and given him that power. Every innocent death he caused was more blood on her already stained hands. But before she could do anything about him, she needed a n. For now, she just needed to escape. Rain chose to go back to the Low Ring because she would rather face the problem she knew she had a chance of oveing than risk the outside world she¡¯d never experienced. Hopefully, she was making the right choice. With every ash-muffled step Rain took away from Ho, the mist on the ground grew thinner. Rain could almost cry at the observation. That meant that if she got far enough from Ho she would escape his domain. She might actually live to see the morning of this long night. Rain could feel when she finally broke free of the domain as a sensation simr to her warping but far fainter enveloped her, and she found herself once again among the downtrodden crowd of the Low Ring. One of the first things Rain noted was the pair of Tineak soldiers walking away down the street. The one in the front held something in his hand that Rain couldn¡¯t see from here, but she could easily guess. Both soldiers were well armed, as was to be expected of the personal soldiers of the Arch Lord. Rain had robbed him of his ves and a shipment of ore so valuable that possessing it had ced the Tineak family at the top since the first Gathering of Lords. Lord Tineak had sent out his best to punish that wrong. The streets weren¡¯t safe, and Rain had no way to hide in a building without the upants reporting her. So Rain decided to go with a n she had thought of as she watched Ho work. She would also allow herself to be buried so deep the soldiers wouldn¡¯t be able to sense her with their stones. Gathering her resolve, Rain turned down a street that every instinct she had built over the months of her freedom told her to stay away from. It didn¡¯t take long before a cracked voice spoke from behind her. ¡°Well, it looks like we found another stray. Little girl, you look hurt; why don¡¯t youe with us?¡± Final Trial Final Trial Rain turned to see a nondescript man in rough Low Ring garb. He had tough-looking features, but the kind a person gained from a life of hard work, not from thuggery. Rain could almost have missed his intentions if not for the other man who was with him and the second pair who stepped in behind her to block off her escape routes. ¡°Okay.¡± Rain didn¡¯t even need to fake the tired surrender in her voice. ¡°Good answer. We¡¯ll make this nice and painless.¡± the leader said,ying his hand on Rain¡¯s shoulder and holding her in ce. ¡°You sure we want this one, boss? Just lookin at her makes my skin crawl.¡± ¡°Why not? The shipment leaves soon, so she won¡¯t be our problem.¡± The second man only grunted at that. Rain allowed the man to lead her into a building nearby. This was a gamble, but hopefully, they had an underground pen for their new ves out of range of the tracking stones where Rain could safely hide until her curse wore off and she could deliver her people to their new homes. She hoped they would be okay until she could let them out. The building smelt like alcohol and vomit. The low lighting didn¡¯t help, leaving her mind with little to focus on besides the nauseating smell. It didn¡¯t take long for the man behind Rain to manhandle her towards a set of rickety stairs leading down. As they descended into the underground room, the smells transitioned from alcohol and vomit, to just vomit, to the all too familiar scent of too many people crammed into a small space without a ce to wash. There was a slight difference in the smell from Rain¡¯s time growing up in the pen. It took her a moment to recognize it as the smell of blood mixed in with the more familiar scents. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Rain was able to see the room - a cramped earthen thing filled with bronze cages, most of which were full. ¡°Where should we put her? The cages with youngsters are already full.¡± ¡°Throw her in the cage with the farel.¡± ¡°Ya sure?¡± ¡°Yes, like you said, something¡¯s off about her, so it''s better to put her with him than to risk a more valuable item.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± One of the other men grabbed Rain by the hair and started pulling her deeper into the room. Rain tried to keep up, but with her hurt ankle, she ended up falling. The man didn¡¯t stop and dragged her the final few steps to one of therger cages. The two men who hadn¡¯t spoken yet stood to each side with crude weapons in hand as the jerk who dragged her opened the cage before throwing her in. The bars nged behind her, and Rain could hear the men''s footsteps recede. Rain rubbed her scalp and looked around her new home for the next day or so. The cage was one of therger ones. Rain would easily be able to stand in it, though someone fully grown would have to crouch a bit. To one side, a burly figure with dirty red hair was sleeping. Something about how he was sleeping made Rain think of a bear: one of the animals from the maind. On the other side was a small huddle of people, all of whom looked like they were trying to take up as little space as possible despite there being plenty of room. Rain waved to them. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Thorn. It''s nice to meet you.¡± None of them would so much as look Rain in the eye. Instead, they just ignored her. Shrugging, Rain curled up on the floor. This was working out perfectly. She was deep enough that the tracking stones wouldn¡¯t be able to sense her down here, and she doubted the Tineak soldiers would expect her to be trapped in a ve den. All she had to do was rx until her curse wore off. She was so tired right now that she might be able to sleep without the usual nightmares. There was only one way to find out, and since she couldn¡¯t do anything for hours, Rain allowed herself to drift off to sleep. *** A sharp impact to her back brought Rain out of her dreamless sleep and flung her into the cage''s bars. Rain cried out as all her injuries red at the same time. Before Rain could orient her groggy mind, another impact caught her in her now exposed ribs, once again lifting her off the ground and forcing all the air out of her lungs. Rain bounced off the bars again as she desperately tried to pull air in. Her inability to do so after the blow dragged her mind back to the water in the aquifer. Rain panicked, thrashing about at the thought of being back in that water. When Rain finally managed to rx her abdomen and breathe again, she started drawing in quick, shallow breaths as fast as she could until her head started getting fuzzy. Air! She could breathe. She wasn¡¯t drowning. Rain''s breathing stabilized, and for the first time, she processed the sounds around her,ughing. Peeking out of the defensive ball she had huddled herself into, Rain saw the source of the grizzlyugh: the man who¡¯d been sleeping. He looked down at her, the dim light reflecting off his bared teeth. ¡°I don¡¯t want you in my space. So I¡¯m going to keep beating you until the bastards put you somewhere else, or you die.¡± With that said, the man brought his leg back for another kick. Rain shot pleading eyes toward the people grouped in the corner, hoping someone, anyone, would save her. They all pointedly looked away. Then the blownded, and Rain mmed into the bars again and again and again. *** Rain hurt - everywhere. Thest few hours had proven just how good her life in the pen was. She had thought she was lonely there, but Rain hadn¡¯t known what true loneliness was. True loneliness wasn¡¯t being alone; it was being surrounded by people who wanted to hurt you without a single friend or so much as a kind face. It was being trapped and powerless as those stronger than you beat you, as they threatened to break you in ways that didn''t heal. Rain understood that now. The bear man had beaten her several times by this point, and even when a ver had passed by and heard Rain¡¯s whimpering plea for help, he hadpletely ignored her. That was when Rain realized why she had been put in this cage. She was here because she was disposable. They had put her here to draw the anger of the violent man so he wouldn¡¯t hurt the others. And it was working. *** Three beatingster, long after Rain had run out of tears and be too exhausted to even whimper, she heard the sound of the cage opening. Peeking out of her huddle, she saw a boy little older than herself being thrown in the cage. Were they sending another sacrifice to help take some of the dark spawn''s anger off Rain? The darkling, seeing a new trespasser in his cage, rose to teach him his ce. The boy cringed but had nowhere to run as the darkling punched him in the gut. The boy folded in on himself and fell to the ground. That was when one of the people huddled in the corner spoke for the first time. ¡°By the gods Zer, he¡¯s just a kid. He¡¯s no threat to you.¡± The darkling, Zer, slowly turned to look at the other man. ¡°Are you telling me what to do?¡± ¡°No, of course not.¡± the man backtracked, ¡°I¡¯m just saying there¡¯s no reason to hurt the kid more; he learned his ce.¡± Why? Why hadn¡¯t this man stood up for Rain? Even as she thought the question, Rain knew the answer: because she was a monster, and they could feel it. The man''s next words confirmed Rain¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Besides, isn¡¯t that thing far worse than this boy?¡± Zer looked Rain¡¯s way, and for a brief moment, they locked eyes. Rain looked away, but she knew it was already toote. Zer had decided to return to his old victim. Rain closed her eyes as the feelings of helplessness and loneliness washed over her. A foot crashed into her again and again. Rain whimpered at each impact until thest hit, which caused her to reach out with her left hand to steady herself out of reflex. It was a mistake. Seeing the opportunity, Zer stomped down on Rain''s hand. Rain screamed as she felt the bones in her small hand grind and shatter under therge man¡¯s heel. Rain let herself lose bnce as she cradled her shattered hand to her chest while Zerughed. The feelings of istion and helplessness grew as a third emotion was added: fear. Fear that even if she survived, it would be as a cripple. Would her hand ever work again? Would he take her eyes or something worse? The emotions swirled in her mind, crashing into the pearl of even darker emotions Rain kept restrained. The same emotions she tapped into when she wanted to increase her aura. And as the turmoil in her mind grew, the dark pearl cracked. Before it could shatterpletely, Rain focused on a good thought, her only good thought. She had a family. She had a kind older brother and an adorable little sister. And no matter what, Rain would be returning to them. That knowledge calmed the storm in Rain''s mind, and she held on to it. Whether Zer was hitting her or lounging, she held to that thought, repeating her siblings'' names in her mind. Sunrise, Lucus, Sunrise, Lucus¡­ As the pain in her hand throbbed and her fear of it never healing grew, she kept repeating their names. Lucus, Sunrise¡­ As Zer started to bore with hurting her, and her battered body stiffened. Sunrise, Lucus¡­ As the dark pearl absorbed the bitter emotions in her mind sealing them away. Lucus, Sunrise¡­ Until finally. [Curse of Sealing: time remaining 0 minutes.] Damage Damage The moment the curses on Rain lifted, she could feel it. She could finally touch the strands in her mind that led to people and coins. She grabbed a coin with the same desperation she had used when grabbing the bucket while drowning. However, her mind caught up before she tried to warp to it. If Rain was going to disappear from this cage, she might as well do it dramatically and get a bit of revenge against Zer and the others who sat by while she was beaten. She stood up and poured a tiny bit of the emotions bubbling inside her into her aura. The temperature in the room dropped, and a cold wind blew through the enclosed underground room. The already deep shadows of the room gathered and deepened over Rain, leaving her as a living mass of darkness. Zer, who had been sleeping, woke from the sudden drop in temperature and looked around with fear on his face, though he didn¡¯t yet know why. When he saw Rain, the man who had used his strength to hurt those weaker than himself found something he didn¡¯t dare to attack. ¡°Little Zer.¡± Rain said in a raspy and cracked voice. It was time for him to know what it was like to feel small and helpless. ¡°You failed the test. Now, your brutality will be returned to you. I curse you to never find happiness; every good thing you find in your life will crumble and turn to ash until you have given kindness equal to ten times the hate you have shown me!¡± The man who had seemed so much bigger than Rain now cowered from her. The sight made her feel a little better. Though it did nothing to help her physically, and as much as she would love to stay here and scare him, she didn¡¯t think her legs wouldst much longer. So, with one final push on her aura, Rain warped to the only coin she had not used so far. The world folded in around Rain. But unlike usual, it didn¡¯t unfold immediately. Rain had used her skill to travel this far only once before, and it had taken much longer than the rtively short city jumps. So she closed her eyes and tried to settle her turmoiled mind. Her little prank against Zer would probably do nothing but scare him for a little until he realized that he wasn¡¯t actually cursed. But it had still been fun, and maybe he would believe it and do something good for someone else. The thought made her feel better about it. If her bruises and broken bones saved someone like Sunrise from having that done to her, then the torture would have been worth it. It would have been better to kill him and make sure he couldn¡¯t hurt anyone else, but Rain didn¡¯t have the skills or the strength to do that. The world unfolded around Rain, showing a pristine beach with beautiful white sand. In the distance across the glistening ocean, the sun was peaking over the horizon, bringing life to the world and making everything sparkle. Behind Rain, the beach ended at the edge of a great forest. It was the first forest Rain had ever seen up close. The trunks of the trees were a rich brown, and the leaves were various shades of beautiful green. Rain wanted to explore the forest, but just like the first time she had been here, the darkness lying behind the beautiful firstyers of trees scared her. Who knew what lived inside there? Rain would explore it someday but with a friend. For now, Rain had onest thing to do before her mission was a sess. Rain turned to thest part of the scenery: a single door built into a lone frame and standing on the beach. It was the door that Rain had asked Mr. Markson to build and send to Estom Ind. At its base was a small pedestal with arge area scooped out of the top. Rain used that pedestal to hold the coin to warp here. Unfortunately, the strain of such a long warp caused the coin to eat itself and the surrounding area every time she used it, which is where the scooped-out part came from. Rain pulled out another coin - it was a good thing none of the vers had bothered searching her - bound it, and dropped it into the chewed part of the pedestal to rece the one she had just used. Then, changing her clothes back to her Tyix costume and doing her best to hide her injuries, she opened the door, creating a portal to her library, and stepped through. The first thing Rain saw as she passed through the dark veil was the back of Ms. Wer as she held the miners away from the door, weapon in hand. Then Rain saw the others. They all had pale faces from extended time in the dark mist and the relentless chittering from the books in the other room. If Rain had to guess from how everyone was standing, the former ves were trying to leave by themselves. Fortunately, Ms. Wer was there to prevent them from trying to leave and going insane in the shaft. Regardless, they didn¡¯t need to wait anymore. ¡°Ms. Wer let them through. The door is open.¡± Ms. Wer jumped at the sound of Rain¡¯s tired voice behind her. And she wasn¡¯t the only one; the whole room went quiet at Rain''s reappearance after a day of being left alone here. ¡°Let us out of this ce. Now!¡± a male voice roared. Rain didn¡¯t see who the speaker was, and she was too tired to care. She simply gestured to the door. ¡°The way is now open.¡± With that said, Rain left her library. Not ten heartbeatster, a flood of people came crashing out of the lone door. All of them took note of where Rain was and then hurried away from her. None of them thanked her or so much as spoke to her. The only thing they seemed to care about was getting as far from her and her library as they could. Eventually, Ms. Wer came out with the five other Library Guards. ¡°Is everyone out?¡± ¡°Yes, Lady of Space.¡± As Ms. Wer spoke, she looked Rain up and down. Like the first time Rain met her, Ms. Wer saw more than Rain wanted. Slowly, Ms. Wer reached over and grabbed Rain¡¯s forearm, gently pulling Rain''s hand out of her cloak where she was hiding it and revealing the swollen and purple hand with its three crooked fingers, each bending in directions they shouldn¡¯t. A whimper escaped Rain''s lips as her fingers jostled against the fabric of her cloak. ¡°This happened while you were helping everyone.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question it was a statement. Ms. Wer had a look on her face that Rain hadn¡¯t seen before. Was that anger, regret? Before Rain could say or do anything, Ms. Wer turned to where everyone was organizing themselves and yelled. ¡°Ler, get your medicine and get over here!¡± Rain cringed a bit at the volume, but not nearly as much as the escaped ves did. Apparently, their time locked with Ms. Wer had taught them to respect her. An older man came hurrying over at themand carrying a box of crude medical supplies. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± When Ms. Wer motioned towards Rain, the man stepped back. ¡°Don¡¯t take another step away. Look at her! While you and the others were busyining about her and how you were being saved, she was out fighting for you. Now it''s time for you to repay her for a fraction of what she¡¯s done.¡± The dangerous tone in which Ms. Wer said this made it clear to Rain that Ler had no choice in the matter. To his credit, when Ler saw the state of Rain¡¯s hand and the signs of what she had been through, his posture changed, bing slightly less defensive and a little more concerned. Approaching Rain like she was an injured wolf, Ler ced his box down next to her and examined her hand. ¡°Is this the only injury?¡± Rain almost lied and said it was, but no, it was toote. Ms. Wer had seen through her; she couldn''t pretend to be invulnerable forever. Rain shook her head. ¡°Where are the others?¡± ¡°All over.¡± ¡°Can you show me?¡± Rain could take this man, and Ms. Wer, seeing her weakness, but she needed to be strong for the others. ¡°Can we go out of sight first?¡± ¡°Oh! Sure.¡± Rain, Ms. Wer, and Mr. Ler walked up the beach and into the treeline. Once Rain was sure the others couldn''t see her, she let her cloak retract until she was wearing nothing but her undergarments. Mr. Ler sucked in a breath. Rain¡¯s skin was mottled purple and green with missing chunks of skin that had barely scabbed over. Not to mention the dried, cracked parts where the skin had frozen or all the cuts with ss embedded in them where Rain¡¯s telescope had shattered after it took a kick. The worst of it was on her arms, legs, and back, with her stomach being almost clear except for a bruise in the shape of a foot. It was bad, but Ms. Wer had been in bad shape when Rain first found her, so Rain doubted it was anything Mr. Ler hadn''t seen before. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll get you patched up. This will sting.¡± The next few minutes felt like torture as Mr. Ler poked and prodded her, exining that he was looking for broken bones. Then he rubbed sticky green stuff on her bruises and poured alcohol on her cuts. The worst part was her hand. He insisted on pinching it all over to find the broken bones, and then he told her that he would need to stretch it to set the bone properly. That turned out to be more than Rain could handle. While she never made a noise higher than a whimper, she did pass out. Consequences Consequences Rain felt much better when she woke up. Her hand was tightly wrapped, and the broken fingers were tied to straight branches. Her other wounds had also been treated. The only problem was Rain had no idea what had happened after she lost consciousness, and the way Ms. Wer and Mr. Ler were staring at her made her ufortable. What had they seen or said to each other! Not knowing was driving Rain crazy. How was she supposed to n for things if she didn¡¯t have all the information? Did they realize she was an ordinary girl? Had something else happened that Rain couldn¡¯t guess? The uncertainty was a problem, but she could deal with thatter; for now, there was something Rain needed to say. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Not at all. Though, I have to tell you that your body is still in bad shape. You should let it rest and heal for a few weeks.¡± Why did he make eye contact with Ms. Wer? Was that a bad or good sign? And the way he said ¡®your body¡¯ sounded funny. Did they think she was possessing someone? ¡°I understand.¡± Rain turned to Ms. Wer. ¡°Do you want me to take you and the others back to Tineak?¡± Ms. Wer looked into the forest for a moment before answering. ¡°I want to stay here for a while. Something about the forest is calling to me.¡± Rain wondered if that had something to do with Ms. Wer¡¯s race evolving to wood elf. Maybe the change had done more than just give the woman pointy ears and brown hair. Or she just wanted more time to talk with Mr. Ler about whatever happened while Rain was asleep. Arg! What could have happened? ¡°All right, I¡¯ll check in and see if you want toe back when I deliver supplies in a couple of days.¡± Ms. Wer nodded. As much as the uncertainty bothered Rain, she still trusted Ms. Wer. Though speaking of trust, the Tineak soldiers had found them at the brothel far too soon, and Rain had a suspicion of why. ¡°Then it''s time for me to go.¡± Without another word, Rain reformed her cloak into regr Low Ring garb and warped away to the coin she had dropped when she lured Ho in. The world unfolded around Rain, revealing the familiar ash-covered streets of the Low Ring. People were walking the streets with the same quiet resignation they always had, oblivious to everything that happened the night before. The coin, taxed beyond its ability, ate itself, carving a divot out of the street and making the ash pile it was buried in shift as an empty space was created inside it. Rain wondered if anyone would notice the growing number of craters she was making in the city. Looking around, Rain found a better ce to hide her new coin before taking a deep breath. She had one coin here, one on Estom Ind, and thest had been in Mr. Tist¡¯s coat. Rain couldn¡¯t bind a new coin until thest one was destroyed, and Rain would need that coin if she wanted to sneak back into the Crown Ring. At least she would if she wanted to avoid getting questioned by the still-roaming soldiers and guards. So, with a long exhale and fear of what she might find gripping her stomach, Rain warped to the coin she had slipped into Mr. Tist¡¯s coat. Rain feared that Mr. Tist might be in a prison or dead in an alley somewhere. The reality was worse. Rain found herself standing in afortable room next to the peacefully sleeping figure of Mr. Tist curled up in afortable chair. As Rain looked around, she saw the emblem of House Tineak carved into the stone above the only door out. The room didn¡¯t look like somewhere you would hold an unwilling prisoner. Instead, it looked like where you might keep an informant while you verified their information. Rain frowned as her suspicions were all but confirmed. There was a reason why Mr. Tist had disappeared so fast when the soldiers came. Before Rain did anything, she needed to confirm. Rain slipped her good hand into Mr. Tist¡¯s cloak and pulled out her coin. She looked it over briefly before slipping it back into his coat¡¯s breast pocket and pping him awake. ¡°Wha? I told you I had no idea¡­¡± Mr. Tist trailed off as he saw Rain, a look of fear briefly crossing his face before a wide-open grin reced it. ¡°Lady Tyix! You came to rescue me!¡± He was speaking far too loudly for the situation. Almost as if he wanted to be heard by his so-called captors. ¡°Did you betray my n to House Tineak?¡± The look of shock and hurt on Mr. Tist¡¯s face seemed genuine, but the darkness leaking from his lips told Rain more truth than his words. ¡°No, Lady Tyix, I am loyal to Mirage and the cause!¡± ¡°Good. What did you tell them?¡± ¡°I told them nothing.¡± Another lie. Rain prepared to ask more questions when she heard the sounds of footsteps outside, and Tist¡¯s smile grew. ¡°I¡¯m d you decided to turn yourself in. I was going to be in a lot of trouble for not telling them about the mine attack and your extra escape skills. But now everything will be made right!¡± Rain just nodded, then warped to the coin in Tist¡¯s pocket. Tist jerked back as Rain was suddenly standing right in front of him. Rain ignored him, warping to the coin again and again. To Tist, she likely only blurred a little every time, but Rain could feel the coin in his pocket running out of strength. With one final warp, the coin gave out and devoured itself and everything immediately around it, including arge chunk of Tist¡¯s chest. Tist screamed as the flesh over his chest was ripped off and swallowed by the greedy void that used to be Rain¡¯s coin. Rain¡¯s eyes widened at the grisly scene, blood pouring from the gaping wound and bits of the man that no one should ever see exposed to the air. She¡¯d needed a way to kill someone so muchrger than her, but this, this was worse then she expected. Rain was snapped out of her shock when she heard the door open behind her. Not wanting to get trapped by an antiskill barrier, Rain warped away without looking to see who had arrived. For the second time that day, Rain found herself standing in a Low Ring street surrounded by oblivious people. She had done it. All that was left was to get home safely. With that thought, Rain started shaking as all the fear and helplessness of the past day crashed down on her. She fell to her butt and hugged her knees, wincing in pain as all her wounds seemed to remember that they hurt. Her emotions were even worse. Now that she wasn¡¯t in immediate danger, all the things she had been holding back crashed down in a tangled mess. Rain¡¯s shaking got worse as she desperately tried to untangle the writhing mass of feelings in her chest. She wished she had Snow with her right now. Holding herself wasn¡¯t making the tightness or the nameless feelings go away. Rain needed to get home; Snow was there. Hugging him always made her feel better. Steeling herself one more time, Rain bonded a new coin and started the final leg of her journey. Her fluffy friend was waiting. The End of the Beginning The End of the Beginning As Rain trudged through the city, she thought about what she needed to do. It was the best way to keep her emotions at bay and to prevent her hands from shaking. She had helped some people, but there were far more that she couldn¡¯t save. Even among those Rain had tried to save, some had died. The memory of the girls being cut down by soldiers after her portal was crushed caused Rain to start breathing faster. It got so bad that she had to stop and focus on getting it under control. She needed to do her best to avoid those memories for now. Rain started walking beside and slightly behind a man and woman. She would try to look like she was part of their group as long as they were walking in the right direction. Feeling like she had a handle on things again, Rain returned to her thoughts. Things had gone badly, and people had been hurt. If Rain could barely help a hundred and fifty or so people, how was she supposed to save the world from whatever was so terrible that her past self had been willing to die to prevent it? Rain needed to be stronger. Rain looked down at her hands. She was small and weak; she had never won an actual fight, ever. But maybe she didn¡¯t need to be the kind of strong that the heroines and heroes of ys and stories were. All the victories she hade from tricking people. Rain should try to get better at that. But sometimes, tricking people wasn¡¯t enough. If it was, Rain wouldn¡¯t have had to experience those hours of fear and pain. She also needed to be better at escaping. Then, she could trick her enemies, and when things went bad, she could escape. That would help her get what she needed better than trying to learn how to use a sword or fight with skills. She should probably try to learn some basics, but if a real fight came up, well, she would have her minions take care of those. A small group of soldiers wasing down the street, talking to and examining people. Rain stepped into the crevice of a building and dropped her coin, then warped to her other coin. Okay, let''s add getting better at escaping to the top of my list of things to do. She already had learning about antiskill barriers and contracts on her list. If she had only made more effort to understand antiskill barriers¡­ she needed to do that before trying anything else. It was clear that the brothel had been a trap to prevent her from teleporting away. Since they hadn¡¯t tried using the barriers to attack the Grifters'' base, they must have limits. She just needed to find them. Though now that she thought about it, maybe they simply hadn¡¯t wanted to attack the Grifters base now that they had multiple ssers. If they had learned about Rain¡¯s library, they probably wanted to capture her so they could control it. Would they attack the Grifters now that Rain had escaped? It seemed doubtful. At least not tonight. They would need to gather more men and ssers before challenging a dozen ck ssers. Rain¡¯s escape should dy their ns by at least a day or two. Feeling enough time had passed, Rain warped back and picked up her coin. The soldiers were behind her now, so she continued on her way. Rain had also promised Mr. Purple that she would explore the other parts of her library, but she was starting to wonder about that. Mr. Purple hadn¡¯t spoken to her since her corruption went down. Had those messages been her corruption talking, or had they been real? The fact that she hadn¡¯t even considered that they might be from corruption until after her corruption went down worried her. On the other hand, Mr. Purple had given her that weird message back when she got her ¡®Mother of Monsters¡¯ skill, so there was something going on. Rain just wasn¡¯t sure what. That reminded her of the ¡®Artisan of Abominations¡¯ skill; it was always there waiting for her to ept it. If she did, she might be able to trick people into corrupting themselves; then, she could control them and have them help her save everyone. If she had epted it, she might have been able to protect herself. The idea still made Rain sick. Destroying people''s minds and bodies so she could enve them with a skill, how would she be any better than the people she was trying to get rid of? Rain arrived at one of the roads that ramped upwards to connect to the Mid Ring. To her annoyance, guards were inspecting people as they passed. With a sigh, Rain turned right and followed the base of the cliff. She didn¡¯t know if the guards had any way to identify her now that the curse of tracking was gone, but there was no point risking it. The problem with ¡®Artisan of Abominations¡¯ was that it was too strong. It wouldpletely take a person¡¯s free will. But, if there was a way to make sure that people did things withoutpletely enving them¡­ The contract Rain had signed with the Estoms came to mind. Maybe she could use something like that. It would prevent traitors like Tist. The thought of Tist brought back all the things Rain was avoiding, and Rain had to crouch down and hold herself while she got things back under control. When the shaking was gone, and her breathing was back to normal, Rain stood back up and wiped away her tears. Looking around, she decided that this was as good a ce as any. There was a building close to the edge of the ring with a tall spire. Rain used her coin and her usual method of warping to higher and higher ledges to climb to the top. Then she threw her coin up onto the top of the neighboring cliff, and like that, she had bypassed the checkpoint and entered the Mid Ring. Rain continued on like this, avoiding anyone who looked important as well as her own emotions. She snuck through the Mid Ring and entered the Crown Ring using the same method. Fortunately, the search was far lighter there, making her think that no one suspected her to be from the Crown Ring. That, at least, was a huge weight off her shoulders. The city was firmly in the clutches of night by the time Rain arrived at the gates of Estom Manor. She didn¡¯t even bother sneaking in and instead just strolled past the house guard. She wasn¡¯t with Lucus, so while the guard did note who she was, no one cared. Rain technically had the rights and status of a daughter of the house, but she didn¡¯t have the affection; still, that made her life easier. The thoughts of her fluffy stuffed wolf were firmly on her mind as she traversed the now familiar halls of her home until, finally, she entered her rooms. To Rain¡¯s surprise, the first thing she noticed when entering was Sunrise sleeping on the couch facing the door. On the table between the two couches were two tes of cold food. Had Sunrise been waiting for her? The thought made Rain happy. Not wanting to wake her wonderful little sister, Rain skulked past and to her bedroom. There, sitting on her bed where Rain had left him, was Snow. Rain swooped in and hugged Snow as tightly as she could, pressing her face into his soft body. It felt good, like a nice, soothing presence. But as Rain loosened her grip on her emotions, she realized that it wasn¡¯t enough. Even holding Snow as tight as she could, she found herself shaking and breathing shallowly. No! This needed to work! Rain didn¡¯t want to feel like this any longer! There had to be a way for Rain to go back to being happy again! Sunrise. Rain had avoided getting too close to Sunrise for fear of driving her away, but Rain couldn¡¯t wait any longer. She needed to feel better. If this caused problems, then Rain would figure it outter. Rain stepped back into her sitting room and gently shook Sunrise awake. ¡°Ug ua. Rain! Where have you been? I thought you abandon¡­ Uff!¡± Rain cut off Sunrise by pulling her into a tight hug. The first real hug Rain had ever had. It was amazing. Sunrise was warm and alive: another human that Rain could connect to. And then Sunrise hugged Rain back; it felt like Rain''s chest was being pumped full of warmth as all the tightness was burned away. So this is what a hug feels like. Rain thought in a daze. Rain never wanted this feeling to end. Even the strong mass of churning emotions in Rain''s mind was driven back until finally they popped, and Rain found herself bawling into Sunrise''s shoulder. Rain wasn''t sure how long she stayed there crying into Sunrise¡¯s shoulder. For a while, she babbled incoherently as she tried to exin how scared she had been, how lonely she¡¯d felt. The words didn¡¯t really matter, just the fact that Sunrise was there to hear them. And Sunrise was there. Rain could feel her hugging tightly back as Rain babbled. The pain this caused Rain¡¯s wounds was eclipsed by the pure joy of knowing that Sunrise wasn¡¯t going to shy away from her because of her aura. Rain wasn¡¯t alone. Eventually, Rain ran out of tears as the weight of her emotions lessened. Still, she didn¡¯t want to let go of Sunrise. She felt better, but there was still something missing. Rain wanted more. Rain let Sunrise go and stepped back, a little embarrassed by the massive wet spot on Sunrise''s shoulder. But what really caught Rain''s attention was Sunrise''s face; she looked furious. Oh no, Rain had gotten too close too fast! ¡°I¡¯m sorr¡­¡± ¡°Rain, who did this to you?¡± ¡°What?¡± That wasn¡¯t what Rain was expecting. Then she realized that Sunrise was looking at her injuries. ¡°Who. Did. This.¡± Sunrise was the one shaking now. Rain had seen Sunrise get angry before, but never this badly. Seeing her sister angry on her behalf filled Rain with warmth again, but Rain was tired of seeing angry people. So, instead of answering, Rain decided to be selfish again. ¡°Ise, can you do something for me?¡± Sunrise''s face twisted a little at the question, but she epted the nonanswer and nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± Rain grabbed Sunrise''s hand and led her out the door. Then Rain used her coin to slip into Lucus¡¯s rooms and unlocked them for Sunrise, uncaring about showing her skill. She led them straight through the outer room and to Lucus¡¯s bedroom. There he was, sleeping in a bed that was definitely big enough for three. Rain was holding her sister¡¯s hand, and her brother was right there; it was time for Rain to experience something she had dreamed about for years as she watched the other children in the pen sleep together. Rain didn¡¯t hesitate as she got into the bed and pulled Sunrise with her. She grabbed Lucus¡¯s arm and wrapped it around herself, then she grabbed Sunrise''s arm and wrapped it around herself from the other side. ¡°Wha! Jeeze. I wanted a sister, but I never realized how annoying they were.¡± Rain didn¡¯t need her skills to know Lucus was lying, the way he hugged her did that. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Rain nidded at Lucus¡¯s quiet question. ¡°Ya. can we sleep with you tonight?¡± It was a bitte to ask, but Rain was starting to feel a little awkward. ¡°Whatever.¡± Rain took that as a yes. If being hugged by her sister felt great, then being surrounded by both of her siblings felt even better. Rain may have failed to save everyone, and she might be far too small to save the world from whatever big threat her past self was scared of, but she had her family, and in this moment, she felt like she could do anything. The pure bliss of being snuggled between her two favorite people and having them ept her, aura and all, made Rain squirm in pure bliss. ¡°Stop moving around weirdo.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay if she wants to move; stop telling her what to do.¡± ¡°This is my bed!¡± ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll stop moving.¡± Rain had a family. And with that thought, she allowed herself to drift off to sleep. She knew she wouldn¡¯t be having nightmares tonight because, for the first time in her young life, Rain felt safe.

End of Part One

Ghost Stories Ghost Stories The Comub was a busy ce where people came for all kinds of reasons. Some came to drink and forget the misery of the day, others came to eat and talk among friends, and others still arrived to dy returning home to their spouse. Whatever the reason, there was always space and a cheerful atmosphere to protect against the cruel realities of the outside world. Chent loved this ce and always made a note to eat here when his trading brought him to Tineak. Chent weaved his way towards his table, dodging around patrons and waitresses alike, taking care not to spill a drop of his rye beer. The chaotic liveliness of this ce was exactly what he needed, and it was with a wide smile on his face that he set his tusk of beer on the table. ¡°Wee back, Chant, and for Agro''s sake, take that ash-cursed hat off! Do you want the Merchant Killer to attack you?¡± Chant grinned at therge man and removed the offending cap. ¡°What¡¯s this about a Merchant Killer?¡± ¡°There¡¯s been an evil spirit roaming the streets of Tineak for well on six months now, killing merchants. No one has so much as seen it in all this time. As the story goes, the Merchant Killer is the ghost of a woman who was forced to watch her family starve due to the rising cost of food. Now she¡¯s being strengthened by thebined resentment of the poor as she roams the city, bringing punishment to the greedy merchants who are raising prices to fill their own pockets.¡± There was a round of snorts at the end of the tale - everyone here was a merchant or businessman; they knew that it wasn¡¯t the merchants'' fault that prices were rising. Between the famines and gues, there wasn''t enough food to go around. Chant pitied the retches in ces like the Tineak Low Ring, but he couldn¡¯t buy grain at two ver a sack and sell it at one. However, this wasn¡¯t a ce to drown in the problems of the outside world, so he decided to throw out a ghost story of his own. ¡°Have you heard of the phantom army of Terom?¡± The men shook their heads and reclined in their chairs, their tusks and tankards of booze in hand, ready for another story. Chant took a long pull on his own tusk before telling his tale. ¡°A few months back, I was on Terom Ind when an old man spun me a yarn about a haunted forest. The man said that an army had once tried to attack the lord of Terom bynding behind the cover of the forest and marching their forces through to surprise the good lord''s men. However, because the lord was an upright and honorable man, Agro cursed the army never to find the way out. To this day, you can sometimes spot their spirits roaming the woods at night, looking for an escape, unable to find the path to the afterlife. I was skeptical of the story, but my business kept me outte that night, and as I was returning to my inn, I saw a sh of moonlight off bronzeing from the forest. When I looked closer, I could see three soldiers wandering through the woods. I ran the rest of the way to my inn and barred the door to my room. The next day, I walked to the edge of the woods to see if I could find any trace of the wandering soldiers, but I didn¡¯t see so much as a footprint in the snow.¡± They all took a drink at the end of the tale before the next man took up the mantle of storyteller. ¡°Deep in the ocean, there is a lone rock that juts out of the depths. If you sail past it, you can hear the moaning of dying sailors carried on the wind. I¡¯ve heard many tales about that rock, but the one I chose to believe is that the moanse from the crew of a shipwrecked trade vessel. When the boat went down, and the men made it to the rock, rather than fighting over the little food they had left, they shared it among their brothers. When the food and water were gone, all the men slowly died together as brothers and equals. To this day, the rock remembers their loyalty and repeats their dying moans to passing ships to forever remind them of those truest of friends.¡± Chant knew that one, though he preferred the version of the story where mutineers had been stranded on that ind as punishment for their crimes, and the moans were to remind sailors never to betray their ship. The group of men ordered some food from a waitress. Chant couldn''t remember what her face looked like, but he did remember her fantastic chest. The way her serving uniform disyed her goods was top-notch. With that sight in his mind, he tucked into his food while the next local told a story. ¡°My wife refuses to use the welltely because of the Drowner; the story is that a young girl was brutally drowned in that well, and sometimes, when the night is dark, you can hear her calling up from its depths, ¡®Help me! Help me!¡¯ but if you lower a bucket to pull her up, she will grab you and pull you down to keep herpany in the watery darkness.¡± The men continued in that manner, eating, drinking, and telling stories as the night went on. Eventually, a neer arrived: a young man with gray hair peeking out from under a floppy hat. ¡°I heard your conversation. My name is Mirage. Do you mind if I join you and tell a tale of my own?¡± The men naturally agreed to the free entertainment and made way for the neer. ¡°Let me tell you about Lady Tyix, the Fate-changer¡­¡± The UBI The UBI Swift-tail returned to the burrow, fur wet from the springtime rain. He furiously shook the water out of his coat. There was nothing worse than wet fur; it was cold and miserable, and worst of all, ash always clung to it! The only reason to leave the burrow during the rain was because the humans were smart as well and avoided getting wet, which meant that the rain was the safest time to enter the city of men. At least it had been a sessful trip with Swift-tail finding a sack of molding grain. He walked over to the food pile and spat all the grain he had stored in his cheeks. The food didn¡¯t smell nearly as tasty as the stuff in the goddess''s pockets, but it was the best they had. It would help keep the family alive for a little longer, though it was only a matter of time. A padding gait announced the arrival of another of Swift-tail¡¯s siblings. ¡°Oh, thank the goddess, you¡¯re alright!¡± It was Fuzzy-legs, one of Swift-tail¡¯s older sisters. ¡°Why would you thank the goddess? She hasn¡¯t done anything.¡± ¡°Swift-tail! We owe the goddess everything. If she chooses to test ourmitment to gathering the world''s information for her, then we must endure.¡± Swift-Tail couldn¡¯t argue with that, even if he knew the truth. When he had been a newborn kit barely able to leave the burrow on his own, he had sought out the green-eyed goddess to see her for himself. He had evenmitted the ultimate taboo and touched her mind, and what he found there wasn¡¯t some powerful deity but a girl. Sure, there had been things off about her mind; there had definitely been kindness, but nothing divine. Swift-tail had tried to tell the others about what he found, but his efforts had nearly gotten him banished from the burrow for defying the green-eyed one. ¡°Mama wants to see us.¡± Swift-tail¡¯s tail perked at that. Were they finally going to abandon this city to find a safer home? Swift-tail yipped before following his sister. The burrow wasn¡¯trge; it was just a hole dug in the ash of the Dead Ring that smelled of fur and mold. The bottom of the burrow was where Mama stayed, her belly swollen with another litter of kits. Swift-tail¡¯s tail wagged a bit at the thought of the new batch of siblings. When they were born, he would no longer be the youngest. He couldn¡¯t wait to have someone to boss around. ¡°Children, it¡¯s time for another push into the city.¡± Mama was far more powerful than her children, and Swift-tail could feel her emotions bleeding through with her words. He could feel her longing for recognition from their green-eyed goddess and her disappointment in herself for her inability to gather enough information to please the goddess. They could all feel it; they all wanted to fulfill their mission, but Swift-tail could feel something stronger: fear. If he let them go on like this, his family would all be killed by humans looking for the bounty. He had no choice. He had to speak up. ¡°Mama, if we go back to the city again, more of us will die. We should leave.¡± Mama looked at him, and he could feel the love she had for her children. ¡°Swift-tail, I know how you feel about the green-eyed one. But, it is our duty to serve her. Since you aren¡¯t willing to give your life for her, I banish you from the burrow.¡± Swift-tail¡¯s legs almost gave out from the shock. Banished. He could feel her intentions under her words, no matter how much she tried to hide them. Mama wanted him to live; she hoped that he would find a safe ce and avoid the death that wasing to the burrow. She was trying to save him because she loved him. And if he loved her, he would need to go against everything he¡¯d been taught. He would need to go to the Goddess and speak to her before their mission wasplete. It was the only way to save his family. With a bob, Swift-tail left the burrow, bringing nothing with him. His family would need all the food they could get. When he emerged, he looked up towards the peak of the city of men, where the green-eyed goddess lived, surrounded by hoards of lesser humans intent on hunting his kind for silver. It wouldn¡¯t be easy, but he would find her and beg her to save his people like a true goddess. Back to School Back to School Rain hurried down a Low Ring street with its usual grimy, ash-covered walls and downtrodden people who either kept their heads down trying to avoid trouble or their eyes up looking for it. She kept track of thetter to ensure she wasn¡¯t around when anything bad happened. Arge redheaded man entered the street, one building ahead of Rain. She didn¡¯t think he looked dangerous; he didn¡¯t have any of the signs she watched for, but she couldn¡¯t stop herself from moving to the other side of the street to avoid getting close to him. It was ridiculous. This man had nothing to do with Zer, the man who had beaten her, but just looking at him reminded her of that night and the weeks she¡¯d spent sick with a fever after her wounds caught up to her. When that happened, she would lose control of her breathing, and her heart would start to race. The first time Rain left her room after healing up, a kindly man had asked her if she was alright; unfortunately, the man''s build had reminded Rain of Zer, and she had gotten so nauseous she¡¯d vomited. But that was a month ago, and Rain was ready to try again! On the other side of the street, Rain could hear the desperate pleas of a man being beaten in broad daylight. It was an all toomon thing these days. Order in the Low Ring was at an all-time low, with the Tineak guards cracking down violently on anything resembling organized crime in the area without bothering to enforce any of the discipline those organizations provided. The result was a nearwless free-for-all. Rain hadn¡¯t been down here in a while, and she was surprised by how bad things had gotten. The pleas for help weren¡¯t even out of earshot before Rain caught sight of two men brawling over a loaf of bread. Once again, she adjusted her ce in the flow of the street to avoid it. She was almost at her destination, a meeting that had taken her weeks to set up. Tracking down someone knowledgeable in antiskill barriers and the magic contracts without drawing attention to herself or using the same tactic she had used with Isster had been slow going. But she had finally done it, and the result was right inside the worn stone building in front of her. Pulling out Blondy¡¯s sk, she took a drink before raising a fist and knocking on the rickety door. It looked like it used to have bronze banding, but someone must have recently removed it. Rain could still see a difference in the coloration of the ash-white wood. ¡°What in Akrit¡¯s slimy depths is it!¡± a female voice bellowed like an enraged beast. Rain had expected something like this. Lte had a reputation for being an aggressive and mean-spirited person. Those weren''t the exact words used to describe her, but Rain was too polite to repeat the exact words. Unfortunately, Lte was Rain''s best chance of learning about sensitive things out of sight. Something Rain had to work harder for after her stunt with the ves ended with Tist sharing what little he knew about her and her powers with the lords in Tineak. Lte had been a teacher at the Grand Academy before she was fired for dangerous experiments. It wasmon knowledge that the experiments were an excuse to fire her, with her personality being the real reason. ¡°It''s your new student. Though if you don¡¯t want to teach me, I can go somewhere else.¡± Rain called back. ¡°If you''re my student, then why in Arkit are you out there? Get your ass in here!¡± Rain made a note not to knock in the future, then let herself in. The room was orderly chaos, with things covering every surface; not a splintery chair or dusty windowsill was spared, yet despite that, there was a clear pattern to all the clutter, with everything in orderly rows and neatly sorted. One couch had dozens of knife des - no handles, just the des - lined up side by side from longest to shortest. Rain made a second note not to sit on that couch. However, the most unruly thing in the room was its upant, Lte. She had a mane of red hair tangled behind her and expensive clothes that looked like it had been a minute since they¡¯dst been washed. Clear shimmer rippled around her, marking her as a sser. ¡°You¡¯re the little bitch huh? Too stupid to understand those half-rate teachers, so you¡¯re parents sent you to me, hoping I could shove something into your pathetic head. Well, do you have the money or not?¡± Rain considered onest time if this woman was really necessary before handing over a sack of coins in defeat. Lte opened the pouch and counted the contents before returning her gaze to Rain. ¡°Well, do you have a letter exining what I¡¯m supposed to be trying to teach a worthless shit like you?¡± ¡°I believe there has been a misunderstanding, Lady Lte.¡± Rain started hoping that a little ttery would make this woman a little less unpleasant to deal with. ¡°I am doing fine in my studies. I came to you hoping to learn about things my current teachers aren''t qualified to teach. In particr, I wish to learn about skilled items like the contracts that some lords use or the antiskill barriers. When searching for a suitable teacher, my family heard you were skilled in that area.¡± This actually caught Lte¡¯s attention. ¡°Skilled items huh? Well, I am the person to go to about those kinds of things, though those scraps of paper they use as contracts barely count.¡± Seeing an opportunity to bypass the rest of the pleasantries, Rain took it. ¡°Why do you say that? Do they not really use skills?¡± ¡°No, they do; they just¡­ First, tell me what you know about skilled items.¡± Lte walked over and sat at the overburdened table, giving no invitation for Rain to do likewise. But remembering Lte¡¯s words at the door, Rain sat anyway before answering. ¡°Skilled items are objects that have their own skills and can be used by anyone.¡± ¡°This is why I hate kids. Teaching ignorant people¡­ No matter. Skilled items do not have their own skills. A skilled item is an object that contains a trapped skill and prevents it from fully activating. A user can then release the skill to provide the effect.¡± ¡°How is that different?¡± ¡°The source is different. An item can not be the source of a skill. Skillse from living things. That means that an item will only contain a single instance of an already used skill, and it dys the full activation untilter. It can¡¯t create a new activation of a skill. Because of that, there are differences in how skilled items work. For one, a skilled item can''t trap the skill forever, so if the skill isn¡¯t released from the item, it will slowly leak out and lose its power. If the item actually had a skill like you said, then that wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Another reason it''s different is that a skilled item doesn''t use a skill; it releases it. This means that those antiskill barriers you mentioned can''t stop it. Thatst part is a real pain. We had to search every student for skilled items before tests so they couldn''t get around the antiskill barrier.¡± Already, Rain had gotten her money''s worth from this meeting. But still, she leaned forward as she asked her next question. ¡°How are skilled items made? Why haven¡¯t I seen more of them?¡± Lte snorted at that. ¡°I see you¡¯re one of those idiots who ask multiple questions at the same time.¡± Rain tried to defend herself, but Lte cut her off before she could. ¡°The method to creating a skilled item is slightly different for every item. The general process, though, is to find someone with a skill that could be useful as a skilled item, then finding a medium that is bothpatible with the skill as well as practical in shape. Those contracts you mentioned, for example, wouldn''t be useful if the skill was trapped in a pole. To make them usable, they needed to find something that a person could write on that was also able to hold the skill. The only paper that anyone has found that workses from House Killper.¡± ¡°How do people Trap skills?¡± ¡°That depends on the skill. For example, the contracts use the skill of an Oathbinder. It''s a stupid name for a weak ss. Their only skill allows them to track a promise and know if it is ever broken. The skill, though, works on verbal promises, so when an Oathbinder creates a contract, they have to change it to work on written promises. And the only thing those contracts do is warn the Oathbinder if one of the parties breaks their promise. Hardly worth the ten old it costs to buy one.¡± Lte looked bitter as she exined the contracts, and Rain had a feeling that there was a personal story there, especially since Lte hadn¡¯t really answered the question and instead had gone on a rant about how useless the Othbinder ssers were. So Rain tried again. ¡°But I heard that the reason you got in trouble was that you were trying to create new skilled items at the academy. You must know where to start creating new types of skilled item.¡± Lte mmed a fist on the table, causing a stack of bones to tilt dangerously before she exploded into a long stream of curses, most of which were targeted at her former colleagues in the academy. Rain had only ever heard a few of the curses Lte used. Eventually, Lte calmed enough to answer the question, her brows still furrowed. ¡°The mostmon first step is to try to hold the skill in an unactivated state outside the body. Now, you¡¯ve already wasted enough of my time for the scraps you¡¯ve paid me, so get out.¡± Not wanting to deal with the woman now that she had gotten so angry, Rain decided to leave and to avoid reminding the woman of her former workce in the future. For now, she would think over what she had learned. She coulde backter for more. Peaceful Life Peaceful Life Rain thought about everything she had learned talking with Lte while she weaved her way through the Low Ring. She was struggling to break it all down. Lte had said that a skilled item was an object in which a skill was trapped. That made Rain think about her ¡®Door to the Library¡¯ skill; was she creating a skilled item every time she used that skill? She didn¡¯t think so since the skill was meant to be used on a door. It sounded to her that in order to create a skilled item with ¡®Door to the Library, ¡¯ she would need to find a way to push the skill into the door without turning it into a portal and then create a trigger to activate the skillter, like a key. Rain wasn¡¯t sure how useful something like that would be, but her mind was already racing. Rain was pulled from her thoughts by a hand sping onto her shoulder. She squeaked in rm and spun around. Who was attacking her? She had been watchful and avoided any suspicious people. The first part of her assant that she saw was a gleaming bronze helmet, and her horror only grew as she saw the blue tunic with the Star of Tineak emzoned on its breast. Rain tried to warp away but found that she couldn¡¯t with his hand on her shoulder. Her heartbeat elerated and¡­ ¡°Whoa, whoa. I¡¯m not going to hurt you! You can calm down.¡± The man¡¯s words didn¡¯t quite calm Rain down, but they did stop her heart from racing any faster. Now that she wasn¡¯t panicking, she could see that the guard was young for the job, maybe fifteen? ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to scare you, but you looked distracted and were walking towards a dangerous part of the city.¡± Rain blinked. He was worried about her? His words were honest, at least. Rain was so used to hiding from the guards and thinking of them as heartless monsters that she didn¡¯t know how to respond to one who seemed to genuinely care about people. ¡°Thank you, sir. I¡¯ll be okay. I live here.¡± That got a pained grimace from the young guard. ¡°I understand. Sorry for stopping you; just please be safe.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± And Rain saw he meant it. Seeing a kind guard made her feel better. It reminded her that there were good people everywhere, that no matter how hurt she may have been or how scared she may be, there was a reason to keep going. So she continued on her way with a bounce in her step. Her path brought her close to the Ash Grifters'' former headquarters. It was in far worse condition than its rundown neighbors. Rain still thanked the moons that she had managed to evacuate most of the Grifters to Estom Ind despite the raging fever she¡¯d had at the time. But the sight brought bitter emotions to her mind. She had been sloppy dealing with them. Spies had seen them meeting, and Rain had even brought a spy into her ns. The thought of Tist still made Rain mad. She could see lies, yet she hadn¡¯t thought to check if he was on their side. Rain sighed. It could have been worse. The lords of Tineak knew that she had a way of appearing and disappearing, but they didn¡¯t know the specifics. They also knew that she was able to give unique sses with drawbacks. That wasn¡¯t too bad. The bad part was that they had information that Lady Tyix was a young girl with ck hair. Rain loved her hair, but for once, she wished she had a moremon color like red or blond. Unfortunately, there was nothing to do but be patient and only meet people in their dreams where she could change her appearance. When Rain arrived at her destination, she was d to see that everything hadn¡¯t gotten worse. The cobbler shop where she bought her first pair of shoes was still in near-perfect condition with its luxurious ss windows. It made Rain happy to know that the nice old man was doing okay. She entered the shop with a wide smile on her face. The old silver-haired man sat working on something behind the counter, just like he had been the first time Rain entered this shop. ¡°Good morning, young miss. What can I do for you today?¡± ¡°Good morning, sir. Do you have shoes that make people taller?¡± He seemed a bit nonplussed at that question. ¡°I do, though I don¡¯t get many requests for that from customers your age. Are you shopping for someone else?¡± ¡°No, I need them for myself.¡± ¡°I see how much taller do you need to be?¡± ¡°Two inches.¡± ¡°Hmm, I have made formal shoes that give that much lift, but they¡¯ll be ufortable and hard to walk in, especially for someone your size.¡± That burst Rain''s bubble. She really needed to be taller, but if it was obvious that she was just using a tall shoe, then it would defeat the purpose. ¡°Do you know of any other way I could grow two inches?¡± Rain did her best uffter eyes expression and tried to channel Sunrise in her pleading look. But the storekeeper just chuckled. ¡°The only way I know for you to grow is to wait. You¡¯re still young; just give it time.¡± That wasn¡¯t what Rain wanted to hear. She needed to grow now! Still, she didn¡¯t have any way to force the matter. So she just sighed and left the shop to find a ce to warp home from. When the world unfolded around Rain, she stood alone beside her bed. She¡¯d moved her coin from Sunrise¡¯s room to her own so that she wasn¡¯t suddenly bursting into Ise¡¯s room all the time. The first thing she did was scoop up Snow. She never went anywhere around the manor without her fluffiest of friends. That said, Rain still didn¡¯t want to be alone, so she went to her sitting room to look for Sunrise or Lucus. The sitting room had changed a lot since Rain first saw it. Before, it had been a simple room with light blue carpet, ck stone walls, and dark brown wood furniture. One of the first things Rain had done after Sunrise moved in was to tell her that if she wanted to change any of the decorations, she could. Rain hoped that it would make Sunrise feel like she belonged here. In truth, Rain really wanted to give Sunrise her room, the prettiest clothes, the tastiest food, and the best of everything else, but Sunrise refused, insisting that Rain keep most of it. Still, Sunrise had made some changes. The curtains around therge window were nowpletely ck, as were the tablecloths, the pillows on the couch, and most of the loose items around the room. It had gotten to the point where the room had started to make Rain sad from itsck of color, and she had to do a bit of decorating of her own. She had gotten some white and light blue paint from Mr. Markson and painted swirling patterns on the ck stone walls. It wasn¡¯t until she finished that she realized the patterns resembled the way the thick shimmer in the room moved and flowed. Either way, it looked pretty and added some color to the room. Sunrise said she liked it, too, which was a double win. Thest big change to the room was the painting easel standing in one corner. Neither Rain or Sunrise painted. It was there as bait to lure Lucus into the room. He had paper and charcoal in his room but not canvas and paint. The easel had done its job well, and Rain could feel the happiness the moment she entered this room. So many memories of time spent with her siblings; they made this room more special than any other ce in the world. Rain did slump a little after that initial rush of warmth when she saw that she was alone right now, but that was fine; the others would be back soon. She decided to move Sunrise¡¯s favorite chair while the blond girl was still gone. For some reason, Sunrise kept moving it to this corner of the room. Rain couldn¡¯t understand why. There was nothing interesting there, and none of the other chairs were close. Rain normally wouldn¡¯t care, but that corner was where the pooled shimmer was always thickest. Rain was pretty sure that shimmer was harmless, but she still didn¡¯t want her sister to spend a lot of time sitting in it. Chair back in its proper ce, Rain plopped down on the couch to read when Mr. Purple decided to give her a message. [Notice: You have been summoned as Oru''s chosen to attend a coven of the Zimir. The coven will start in three weeks. You will be teleported to the location at that time.] Decision Decision [Notice: You have been summoned as Oru''s chosen to attend a coven of the Zimir. The coven will start in three weeks. You will be teleported to the location at that time.] Rain stared at the message for a long moment. What exactly were the Zimir? What would this coven be like? She had no information. She could still hear Blondy telling her that as long as Rain did her best to learn and made the best decisions she could with the information she had, then she wouldn¡¯t need to regret anything. So, having no information worried her. Where would she even start looking for details on the Zimir? Would Ms. Hope know anything? If Oru was involved, then this coven would include people and things far more powerful than her. What would she even be expected to do there? She couldn¡¯t fight, and she didn¡¯t know enough to make a n. Rain looked back at the part of the message that told her how long she had left. It was already starting to countdown. She stood up and started pacing back and forth to help herself think. If the Zimir were connected to Oru, then it was unlikely there would be anything about them in the parts of the Mid Ring Library that Rain had ess to. That left Rain with one other option. The shaft. She had avoided going back there after she brought her corruption down because it seemed like her corruption wanted her to explore that ce, which felt like a good reason to avoid it. But it might be the only ce with the information Rain needed to ensure that whatever happened in three weeks was the best oue possible. Decision made, Rain marched towards her bedroom door but then paused. Was she really going to go off on her own again? She wasn¡¯t alone anymore; she had her siblings now. They were always good to her and had never shared one of her secrets. Rain didn¡¯t want to carry this secret alone. She had been thinking of exining everything to them for a while now, but this new development finally pushed her over the edge. It was time to show them the library. She would keep them out of the shaft and make sure they read nothing, but she wanted them to be a part of her life. She wanted to be able to talk to them about anything and everything that happened to her. With her mind made up, Rain continued pacing, bouncing as she got more and more excited to share with her family. Would they think it was cool? Would she be able to tell them about the hard things she did and get more hugs? That thought had her basically vibrating as she waited until finally, the door opened. Sunrise entered the room dressed in her maid outfit and looking absolutely adorable. Rain had a quick moment of panic when she realized that this new outfit already looked a little small on Sunrise. Was she already outgrowing it! Not good, Ise had already grown two inches, surpassing Rain''s own height. Rain rushed over to her sister and gave her a big hug. Ise happily returned it, and the two of them swayed back and forth a bit as they enjoyed each other''s warmth. It didn¡¯t matter how many times Rain did this; hugging her siblings always made her happy. She wasn¡¯t alone. Still, the rocking back and forth was kind of hard since Rain was standing on her toes. It was the only way to make sure she wasn¡¯t shorter than Ise. Though by this point, she was only barely the same height even while doing this. Please be done growing. ¡°Are you doing anything important right now?¡± Rain asked. ¡°Yep, I¡¯m getting a hug!¡± ¡°Besides that.¡± Rain tried to sound annoyed at the answer, but the effect was probably ruined by how she was rubbing her cheek against Ise¡¯s to maximize physical contact. Sunrise giggled, a sound Rain loved to hear. ¡°Nope, I just finished doing theundry. Do you wanna y!¡± Rain did wanna y, but not right now. ¡°Maybeter, there¡¯s something I want to show you and Lucus.¡± ¡°Does Lucus have to be here too?¡± Sunrise pouted. ¡°Ya, it''s important.¡± Rain said, letting go of her sister and stepping back. It took extra effort not to wobble on her toes. She really needed to figure out a better solution for this problem. ¡°Fine, I saw the jerk reading in the library. Do you want to go talk to him?¡± Rain hesitated for a moment. She didn¡¯t like walking through the manor more than she had to. The servants'' res and whispers were bad, but the truth was that Rain was still angry at them. None of the servants had bothered to help her when she was sick. Instead, Sunrise was forced to do everything by herself with some help from Lucus. When Lucus had summoned the family doctor - after a lot of begging Lord and Lady Estom - the man had barely entered the room before pronouncing Rain possessed, leaving and refusing to return. That forced Sunrise - being the best sister ever - to somehow learn a remedy for fever and prepare it for Rain. She had even stayed by Rain¡¯s bedside nonstop until Lucus found out and forced her to take shifts with him so she could sleep. The end result was that Sunrise had been overworked for those weeks, and that was not okay with Rain. Rain didn¡¯t know how much time she would need to find what she was looking for in the shaft, so they needed to do this first so she could get started, even if that meant dealing with the servants. ¡°Ya, let''s go.¡± Sunrise grabbed Rain¡¯s hand, her left hand, and the two of them made for the door. Rain tried not to let it show how ufortable it made her for people to touch or even look at that hand. It had never healed right, leaving the ring, middle, and pinky fingers crooked and gnarled. They were ugly, and Rain didn¡¯t want her siblings to think of her that way. Still not wanting to draw attention to it, Rain didn¡¯t say anything and simply followed her sister out the door and towards the library. The trip was short, but it was even more ufortable than usual. Not because the servants were cold, but because they were the opposite. ¡°It''s good to see you, mistress Raina.¡± ¡°A lovely afternoon, mistress Raina.¡± ¡°Mistress Raina, do you need anything?¡± Why were they being nice today? Rain could see that none of them meant any of the good things they said to her, but they were all doing it today for some reason. Something must have happened. ¡°Sis, do you know what''s going on?¡± Rain whispered to Sunrise. ¡°I have no idea why these worthless pieces of filth are acting this way, but they should all go die.¡± Sunrise could be scary sometimes. Not because she said things like that but because she could say them under her breath while smiling innocently at the people she was talking about. She would even sometimes call out friendly greetings to the other servants, who all seemed to dote on her. If only they knew how much she hated them. Eventually, they made it to the library, which was mercifully empty of everyone except Lucus, sitting at a table reading a book with his eyebrows scrunched. ¡°Hi, Lucus!¡± Rain said, waiving at him with a smile. ¡°Hi, weirdo. Hi, crazy. What do you two want?¡± ¡°I never said hi to you, jerk, and I don¡¯t want anything to do with you.¡± Rain could see that the first part was true, but the second was a lie. It warmed Rain''s heart to see that even if those two constantly fought, their barbs were bing more false by the day. ¡°I actually wanted to share something with the two of you. Do you have a moment?¡± Guided Tour Guided Tour Lucus¡¯s eyes immediately narrowed at the question. ¡°What dangerous thing are you nning now? Have you already forgotten how beat up you were after whatever you didst time?¡± ¡°No, no, there¡¯s nothing dangerous this time. I just wanted to share something with you.¡± Rain decided not to add ¡®in case something happens to me¡¯ to the end of that sentence, but she felt like Lucus heard it anyway with how he was looking at her. ¡° I promise!¡± Rain looked down as she admitted the truth. ¡°I feel bad because I caused you guys so many problems, so I wanted to exin what''s going on.¡± Lucus didn¡¯t look impressed. ¡°Thest time you showed me something, we nearly got killed by that psycho.¡± ¡°If you aren¡¯t interested, Rain and I can go without you!¡± Sunrise sounded a little too excited to leave Lucus behind. Maybe they weren¡¯t quite as friendly as Rain hoped. ¡°Whatever, let''s get this over with.¡± Lucus closed his book as he stood up, and Rain finally got to read the title, ¡®A Genealogy of the Lords of the Gathering.¡¯ With a title like that and the book''s thickness, Rain doubted she wouldst five minutes reading it. ¡°Why are you studying the genealogy of the lords?¡± Lucus threw a disgusted look at the book. ¡°There¡¯s going to be a gathering of the lords in two weeks. Mother and father want me to learn about the other houses and their connections to each other, so I don¡¯t embarrass the family. Apparently, while the heads of the houses are in meetings, it''s customary for the rest of the House to mingle and make connections. And now I¡¯m old enough to attend.¡± The whole thing sounded kinda fun to Rain; there would probably be good desserts. But the way Lucus said it made it seem like he was being prepared to be thrown into the heart of Tineak. Seeing her brother so gloomy made Rain forget her big reveal for a bit. ¡°Um, why is that a bad thing?¡± ¡°Mother and Father will probably use me as payment for some of their deals. They¡¯ve done it in the past when they attended partial gatherings, and the age for attendance is lower. Some powerful lord will want to show off how great they are by throwing a party for the scions of their house. I¡¯ll be forced to attend, then the scion of whatever house paid Mother and Father will do everything they can to insult and embarrass me so that they can show the rest of the guests how powerful their house ispared to ours.¡± Rain didn¡¯t know what to say. Not only did that sound like a terrible idea for the Estom House, but it was also an awful thing to do to your family. So she did the only thing she could think of. She let go of Ise, put Snow down, and hugged her brother. ¡°Get off, weirdo. I don¡¯t need your pity. Besides, if I learn enough about the houses to be useful, they won''t do that to me this time.¡± Rain resisted his attempts to push her off and hugged him tighter. Already, she was thinking of ways to help him. The easiest one would be to find a way to take his ce. People already hated her, so she would make everyone''s job easier. She still didn''t relish the idea; she was kinda hoping to use the opportunity to make a friend, but if she could do anything for her brother, then she would. ¡°Seriously, didn¡¯t you want to show us something? If not, then I¡¯m going back to my studies.¡± Right! Rain wasn¡¯t here to talk about this. She threw an apologetic look at Ise for wasting time, but Ise wasn¡¯t looking. She had her arms folded and was ring at a random bookshelf. Rain let go and picked Snow back up. ¡°Right, um, let''s go back to our room. That would be the best ce to show you guys from.¡± Rain led the others back to her rooms through another barrage of fake goodwill. Before they made it to the refuge of her rooms, they were stopped by the head butler, Mr. Drab - or whatever his real name was; Rain had never bothered to learn it. ¡°Ah, Young Mistress, the Lord and Lady invite you to dine with them tonight. The meal will be served at sundown. I trust that the young Sunrise will be able to prepare you for the appointment.¡± Thatst part was said to Ise as though Rain would naturally ept the ¡®invitation.¡¯ ¡°Am I invited too?¡± Lucus asked hesitantly. ¡°I am afraid not. Only the young mistress has been invited.¡± Rain threw a covert nce at Lucus. He was clearly disappointed. Best to end this encounter quickly. ¡°Thank you for informing me. Tell them I would be honored.¡± Mr. Drab bowed and withdrew. Rain led the others into her room. She hoped that not being invited hadn¡¯t hurt Lucus too much. But, his shoulders were slightly more slumped than when they found him in the library. When they were in Rain¡¯s rooms, Rain took them to the door leading from the sitting room to her bedroom. Then, with onest look at her siblings, she said. ¡°Just follow me through, and I¡¯ll exin on the other side.¡± And with that, she opened the door and created a portal to her library, stepping through the dark veil. Rain spent a moment in the entry room, staring up at the carving of the man with all his tongues rolling out and wrapping up the struggling people around him. Now that she had interacted with this ce for a while, that carving made more sense. This ce would pull people in and devour them if they weren¡¯t careful. The next moment, Sunrise walked in, closely followed by Lucus. The two had very different reactions to the constricted dark atmosphere of the Mist Rooms. Sunrise was breathing deeply, like she had found a calming, fresh scent and didn¡¯t want to miss a bit of it. The peaceful look on her face was atplete odds with the dark room and the faint wailing of the books in the next room. Lucus reacted like most others did when exposed to this ce for the first time. His posture became more defensive, and he kept an eye on the exit. Rain had expected worse from him after he made his opinions on how theirst adventure went known. So she was pleasantly surprised when he didn¡¯t say anything or even freak out now that he was here. Rain closed the door, ending the portal in case a servant came looking for them - not that anyone except Sunrise and Lucus ever came into her rooms. ¡°Rain, what have you gotten into this time?¡± Rain waited for Sunrise to jump in and defend her, but she remained quiet. Rain realized that Ise was just as curious as Lucus. ¡°So, um, you both probably realized that I¡¯m a ck sser by now.¡± Ise didn¡¯t look shocked by that. She had seen Rain warp with a coin before, as well as her aura. Lucus, on the other hand, looked a little more ufortable with the announcement. His face was slightly scrunched. However, it didn¡¯t look like he was shying away from Rain; more like he was worried that she might get into trouble. So Rain continued. ¡°This ce was my first skill: ess to the Library of Oru. The part we¡¯re in now has books that can grant sses to the people who read them and can understand them.¡± Rain exined how her power worked and how the corruption worked on others and herself. As she did, she led them through the mist room. She had to tell Ise off more than once for getting distracted by feeling the shelves or touching the books; fortunately, Lucus seemed to have more sense and avoided the books. He even looked a little repulsed at some of the tomes, like one that resembled a hunk of raw flesh that was constantly dripping blood down its shelf into a pool at the base. But despite all the disconcerting sounds and sights, Lucus never looked at Rain with the same revulsion that he did the books. It made Rain''s chest all glowy, knowing that her siblings wouldn¡¯t reject her even now. They simply listened to Rain''s exnations and her stories about what she had done so far. Eventually, they finished the tour and ended at the door leading to Rain¡¯s first bedroom. Rain opened it with a flourish, exposing the pile of treasure inside. Rain had lost a lot of her coins over the months to her skill and to the bribe for the Estoms to adopt her. But that only made her hoard look cooler as it was made of fancy ceremonial objects, gilded weapons, and golden items like therge mirror. Resting on top of the glittering pile was the crowning jewel of Rain¡¯s collection, the misshapen head of Agro perched like an ugly bird on a mountain. ¡°And this,¡± Rain said, throwing her arms out wide, Snow dangling from her right hand, ¡°is my hoard. Pretty cool, huh.¡± Rain didn¡¯t really need to show them this, but what was the purpose of having a hoard if you couldn¡¯t show it off to the people you loved? Side Stories 11 & 12 Side Stories 11 & 12 Sunrise stood behind her sister and brushed her hair, doing her part to prepare Rain to eat with those vermin she called parents. Normally, she would be ecstatic to be able to do this for Rain - Rain usually insisted on taking care of Ise despite Ise being the maid - but right now, her mind was distracted by everything she had seen. Rain was special. That was obvious to Sunrise, but now that she knew what her sister was capable of and what she had been through, she couldn¡¯t hold down her anger. Rain was too nice; she was trying to help people who didn¡¯t deserve it. People were filth. All of them. No one cared about anyone other than themselves. Rain had spent so much time trying to help ves, yet it was a ve that had beaten her to death''s door - her sister had never realized just how badly she¡¯d been hurt, but those weeks tending to her had been the scariest of Ise¡¯s life. If Sunrise had a fraction of the power Rain did, she would kill anyone who harmed her perfect sister. She would remove the filth in the world who didn¡¯t deserve Rain¡¯s kindness and force people to treat her sister the way she deserved. With a final brush through Rain¡¯s silky hair, she helped her sister stand and gave her a look over. ¡°How do I look Ise?¡± ¡°You look pretty!¡± And she did. She was the prettiest thing in the world. Her ck hair was¡­ Sunrise¡¯s mind unfogged a secondter as the shock of getting a hug from Rain wore off. It was pure bliss. Nothing else came close. It started with the cold tingle that always crawled down her spine when Rain was around, sharpening, then the air went still, her legs started to feel weak, and all her senses focused as darkness seemed to writhe just beyond. Then Rain''s arms wrapped around her, and a new sensation was added: warmth. The warmth of a love so strong that it pushed back the emptiness that followed Rain around. It was like a fire on a cold winter day, creating a safe, warm bubble in the middle of the deste cold outside. Sunrise knew this was the real Rain; this was what the aura protected. All too soon, Rain let go, and Sunrise felt that warm ce recede. Still, she got to enjoy the spine-tingling feeling that let her know her sister was close by. ¡°Thanks for your help, sis!¡± ¡°Anytime.¡± And just like that, Rain was off. Sunrise felt the chill slowly fade, leaving her all alone. With a sigh, she grabbed her favorite chair and moved it to her favorite corner. She could always feel a slight uneasiness in this corner that reminded her of Rain. Sitting down, she thought of the library while she waited for Rain to return. If she could get one of those books, she knew she could be more useful to Rain. Maybe she could even get strong enough to kill Rain¡¯s enemies. *** Swift-Tail stood with his four paws widely nted in the ash and looked up at his first trial: the gate into the Low Ring. There were guards at the gate. Their kind had killed more than one uffter as they tried to pass by. Swift-tail would need to be smart if he wanted to enter. He could use his skill to make one of the guards not realize he was there, but doing that to two minds at the same time was too much. He had an idea, though. He scurried off until he found a part of the road leading through the Dead Ring that ran next to arge mound of ash. Then, he simply waited until a cart passed by underneath. With a mighty leap, he flung himself off the mound, his four paws spread wide. He felt the air rush through his long white fur and his tail p in the wind beforending with a soft thunk in the back of the cart. ¡°What was that!¡± ¡°Dunno.¡± ¡°Well, go back and check. We can¡¯t have anything going wrong with this shipment.¡± The cart stopped moving, and Swift-tail slunk into one of the sacks in the back. The dark confines of the bag had a tart scent he couldn¡¯t stand, forcing Swift-tail to cover his nose with his front paws while he waited. ¡°I¡¯m not seeing anything.¡± ¡°Did you check in the cargo?¡± ¡°Is that necessary?¡± ¡°Do it.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Swift-tail stayed perfectly still, listening to the sounds of rummaging as he waited for the rummager to open the sack he was hiding in. The moment light poured through the mouth of the sack, he struck, grabbing out with his mind and removing any perception of himself from the scrawny human looking in. A few momentster, the sack closed, and the rummaging continued. It worked. And as long as both guards at the gate didn¡¯t look inside this sack at the same time, he was going to get in just fine. Dinner for Three Dinner for Three Rain gripped the fabric of her dress as she walked through double doors held open by servants and stepped into the dining room. This was the room Rain usually met Lord and Lady Estom in, and she had few good memories of the ce. The unusual setup of the table had beenpletely thrown out in favor of a more intimate seating arrangement, with Lord Estom at the head of therge table, Lady Estom sitting to his right, and a spot for Rain at his left. Usually, the seats for Rain and Lucus would be farther down the long table as though the Lord and Lady didn¡¯t want their food spoiled by the children''s grubby hands. ¡°Ah, Rain dear,e and have a seat.¡± Rain''s hackles immediately raised at that. Lady Estom never called Rain Rain; she insisted on using that stupid name Raina, to the point where most people in the Crown Ring knew her by that name. The fact that she was now using Rain''s actual name when she ignored Rain''sints about being called Raina for so long added fuel to the burning suspicion. ¡°Ah, Rain, my beautiful daughter, I¡¯m so d to see you¡¯re looking better!¡± Rain could see Lord Estom was lying, especially when he called her beautiful. She buried her ugly hand in her dress and forced an appropriate smile. ¡°Thank you, Father. Your concern is noted.¡± She stepped forward and took her seat just like her etiquette sses had instructed her before looking at the food. It had all her favorites, with lots of sweet desserts, a thick meat stew, and not a slice of bread despite bread being typical for a meal like this. They must have been paying attention to what she ate. What else had they been watching? ¡°I¡¯m d we have a chance to eat together, Rain darling. It''s a shame that running an ind takes so much time. I hope you and Lucus can forgive us for not doing this more often.¡± Rain took note of Lady Estom¡¯s tone of voice and bodynguage; she was the perfect image of a caring yet elegant mother. Rain might have believed her words if they weren¡¯t a putrid shade of ck. And why bring up Lucus if you weren¡¯t even going to invite him? Looking at the two liars, Rain was reminded of her original reason for being adopted by these two. But how could she kill them now? They were awful humans, but they were still Lucus¡¯s parents, and he cared about them. For a while, the only sounds were the quiet noises of eating as the three enjoyed the meal. Rain wished Lucus was here; he actually enjoyed getting attention from these two. ¡°Rain dear, I don¡¯t think we ever had a chance to go shopping together. What do you say, now that you¡¯re feeling better, how about we have a mother-daughter day?¡± What was their goal? They had beenpletely dismissive of her before this, but now Lady Estom wanted to go shopping together? Well, if they were going to angle to get something, then so would Rain. ¡°Sorry, mother. I¡¯m still feeling a little unwell, and besides, I already have ns to go shopping with Lucus.¡± Rain could swear she saw a brief sh of irritation on Lady Estom''s face. However, the woman regained her cold elegance before Rain could be sure. ¡°Bwa ha ha! I can understand that! A day of shopping can wear you out when you¡¯re recovering. How about I take you to a bakery that sells a delicious dessert? Just the two of us. I¡¯d love to get to know my daughter better.¡± It seemed that now Lady Estom had failed, Lord Estom was trying to worm his way into her good graces. It was time to drop the second hint. ¡°I would love to, but perhaps another time. I have already tried many of the sweets in the Crown Ring with my dearest brother.¡± That was a lie on Rain''s part, but she needed them to realize that if they wanted to get closer to her, they would need to invite Lucus, too. It wasn¡¯t right for him to be ignored when he fought so hard for their approval. Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t seem to quite get it yet, and the conversation died down while they quietly ate. Eventually, Lord Estom broke the silence with another attempt. ¡°I hear you¡¯re quite the theater-goer, my girl. You even bought a permanent booth at the Crown Theater! We should all go as a family and spend some time together.¡± Thest thing Rain wanted was for these two to ruin her favorite pastime, but she could recognize an opportunity when she saw it. ¡°All of us as a family?¡± ¡°Why, of course!¡± ¡°Great! I¡¯ll inform you when there¡¯s a y that Lucus might enjoy.¡± In truth, Lucus wasn¡¯t a big fan of ys. Rain had dragged him to one, and the only thing that had interested him was the painted backdrops. But now that Rain had mentioned him, Lord and Lady Estom would be forced to bring him when they went on this outing. Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t mind going to a y if it was just an excuse to spend time with his parents. With that mutual victory, the three of them finished their meals before Rain excused herself. She was feeling sick, and she couldn¡¯t understand why. The food had been fine, and the problem wasn¡¯t with anything in the room. As she walked back, she passed Lord Estom¡¯s office; its door was cracked open. Curious Rain slipped in and looked around. The room wasvishly furnished. Like most things in the manor, it stank of wealth the Estoms didn¡¯t have. Rain looked through some documents on the polished darkwood desk. Most were reminders of debts owed to various houses hidden in vague pleasantries alongside reminders that the gathering was approaching. One letter from House Redye mentioned the Estom ¡®servant acquisition business.¡¯ Looking at it all, Rain realized why she was feeling ill. It was because she was a hypocrite. The servant acquisition business was a polite way of referring to the Estom¡¯s practice of selling their own citizens into very to pay for theirvish lifestyles. She condemned and killed Isster because he wanted to buy ves and was an entitled jerk who lorded over and hurt others. But she refused toy a hand on the Estom¡¯s because it would hurt her brother. She was as bad as the people she hated, not caring about the morals of something as long as she and the people she loved got what they wanted. ¡°...hate dealing with that disgusting thing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only temporary. If you don¡¯t want to deal with her, then don¡¯t buy any new girls.¡± Rain could hear Lord and Lady Estome heading this way; she didn¡¯t have the motivation to deal with them right now, so she simply warped to the coin in her room, avoiding any awkward encounters. When the world unfolded around her, Rain found herself standing in her room again. She picked up Snow off her bed and peeked into the sitting room to see if Ise was still waiting there. Her sister was sound asleep sitting in her chair, which she had moved back into the corner. Rain sighed and put Snow down then walked into the sitting room and picked Ise up. The girl was incredibly heavy, but Rain could just manage to lift her. Rain staggered back through her room to Ise''s room and ced the bigger girl in her bed, tucking her into her sheets. That''s right, you may be bigger, but I can still be a big sister. ¡°Urg¡­ love you¡­¡± Ise muttered in her sleep. Rain had no idea what Ise was dreaming about, but she answered anyway. ¡°I love you too, little sis.¡± Rain kissed her sister on the forehead before leaving the room in total darkness, just as Sunrise liked it. Right! Rain had been dyed a lot from her exploration of the library, but now she had all night to look around. Her nightmares might be less frequent now, but that was no excuse to waste a bunch of time sleeping! Plus, she needed to get her mind off of how awful a person she was. Rain quickly warped to the coin she left in the Mid Ring and collected it before returning to her room. It would be annoying to have to walk back into the city on foot, especially since she felt like people followed her when she did. But Rain needed two coins, and it would be far harder to rece the coin on Estom Ind. Armed with two of her coins and a fluffy white wolf to protect her, Rain entered her library. Chance? Chance? Rain entered her library, then turned around and closed the door. Immediately after, she opened it again, revealing apletely different view. She stepped through and onto the balcony overlooking the shaft with its blurry eye at the bottom. She had to duck as a book zipped by her head, only to burst into me and disintegrate into ash. The flying books and pages had picked up fervor since thest time Rain had been here, yet the whole ce maintained its eerie silence. Rain also noted that she could see no hint of shimmer in this ce, not even on herself. And why would she? This ce was where her shimmer belonged, and she could only see shimmer when it was foreign to a realm. Rain bent down and ced one of her two coins in front of the door to the mist room. Direction and distance meant nothing here, and Rain wasn¡¯t positive that she could use the doors in this part of the library to leave. She was definitely sure she couldn¡¯t find her way back here once she left. Best to have a way to warp straight to a known door out. The other coin was how she was going to move around this ce. Walking to the morbid railing of the balcony, Rain tossed a coin straight off and onto a lower balcony before warping to it. The ground here was patterned in red and white with shapes Rain didn¡¯t have names for and doubted she could draw even if she wanted to. It was different from how it appeared when she looked down on it from above, making her believe she hadn¡¯t ended up at the same ce she had warped to. She shrugged and picked up the coin. If she didn¡¯t know where she wanted to go, then any ce was as good as another. [Warning: due to prolonged exposure to unreality, your mental corruption has increased by 1%, current mental corruption 1%.] Ignoring a message from Mr. Purple about her mental corruption ticking up, Rain walked through the first door she found: a white one only a foot wide and made of something that felt like bone. The whole world seemed to shift when she passed through, and Rain found herself standing on the vaulted roof of a room full of scroll shelves. Each cubby held a cylindrical case made of either ck or white metal. Neither Rain nor her past self had any idea what those metals could be. Rain tried to reach one of the shelves, but the distance between her and where the shelves hung above her - or were they sitting on the floor, and she was the one hanging? - was too great, and her pitiful jumps did nothing but make her hair sway where it hung straight up from her head. Rain hugged Snow, afraid that if she dropped him, he would fall to the ground - her ceiling - where she would never be able to get him. She turned her attention away from all the knowledge just out of reach and instead searched for a path further into the room. There was no way to reach a door from where she had ended up. How had she stepped through a door and ended up here anyway? No matter, not too far ahead, there was a massive hole where the ceiling had a tower or something. Rain advanced carefully and peeked over the lip of the hole. She couldn¡¯t see the bottom; everything past a few feet was shrouded in darkness. Too curious for her own good, Rain dropped her coin only to have it float in front of her, spinningzily, unable to fall to the floor or ceiling. Rain waspletely stumped on what to do. [Warning: due to prolonged exposure to unreality, your mental corruption has increased by 1%, current mental corruption 2%.] Rain winced at the message and grabbed the floating coin. Giving up on this route, she warped back to the coin she had left by the entrance. Ready for round two, Rain threw her coin at the same balcony asst time and warped to it, arriving at yet another different balcony than she had intended. Instead of walking through the in stone door straight ahead of her, Rain headed down the walkway, dodging flying books as she went. The things really didn¡¯t seem to care if they hit someone. Out of curiosity, Rain tried to grab one of the books and jammed her finger when she missed the timing. Massaging her finger, she red at the book as itnded in a pile just behind her that hadn¡¯t been there when she passed. Still, Rain wasn¡¯t willing to give up and waited for the next flying book to pass. Maybe if she caught it, she would be able to ride it. A mental picture of her riding a flying book made her smile. Her opportunity came shortly with a thin red book flying towards her. This time, Rain managed to catch it. With more than a bit of trepidation, Rain opened the book. She knew the books in the mist room wouldn¡¯t give her enough corruption to be a problem as long as she had rtively little corruption when she read them, but these books out in the shaft could bepletely different. Rain resolved to only read the first few lines and see how she felt afterward. Strangely the book was written in normal letters not some strange runes. ¡®Jeckus Sakys is stealing from the royal treasury. Tine Husith slept on guard duty. Jonathan Williams doesn¡¯t actually enjoy studying. Kawii has a crush on Kieli. Gregory¡¯s porn stash is¡­¡¯ Rain had told herself she wouldn¡¯t read more than a few lines, but thepletely nonsensical nature of the book distracted her. The names didn¡¯t sound right to Rain; they weren''t proper Inder names or the stupid names the rich had adopted from the maind. They didn¡¯t sound right to be from any maind country that past Rain had shared with present Rain either. Flipping through the book, Rain found it was just more of the same. It didn¡¯t even raise her corruption. If she had to guess, these books were where the library kept human secrets. That meant that when a book burst into me, those things were probably no longer secret. As Rain looked at the book, a few lines writhed before sinking into the page, leaving their ce on the page nk. Rain let the book go, and it flew off. She supposed secrets were forbidden knowledge, but the chances of finding the secret of something important by reading through the books flying around this infinite room were almost nonexistent. Rain would gopletely mad from the atmosphere long before that happened. Giving up on the books of petty secrets, Rain returned to her search for something useful. ¡°Mr. Purple, if there really is something in here you want me to find, then I could use some direction.¡± No answer. Rain hadn¡¯t really expected one, but it was a disappointment. Rain kept walking; however, whenever she decided to open a door, it just felt wrong. So she found herself wandering around the balconies of the shaft, dodging flying books. Eventually, Rain found a door that felt right; it was formed from a t piece of metal so shiny it made a perfect mirror. Rain turned, opened the door, and then stepped through. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t ced in any weird ces; instead, she walked into a hall made of rough sandstone. She took a moment to admire the stone. She knew what it was, but she had never seen sandstone before. She was pretty sure it didn¡¯t exist on the Archipgo. The hall itself was an unadorned rectangle with sharp angles. As far as Rain could see, there wasn¡¯t a single door in the hallway; it simply went on and on. Reaching the end side of this hall would take far too long. She should go back and find a different ce to search. Yet something about this ce called to her. Rain hugged Snow tightly and rested her chin on top of his head before striding down the hall. She was interested to notice that despite there being no source of light, everything was still visible; shadows were even cast by the nonexistent light source. [Warning: due to prolonged exposure to unreality, your mental corruption has increased by 1%, current mental corruption 3%.] Rain kept walking down the hallway with no end in sight. There was no change and no indication that she was getting anywhere other than the door fading into nothingness behind her, and still, Rain walked on and on. And on. [Warning: due to prolonged exposure to unreality, your mental corruption has increased by 1%, current mental corruption 8%.] She was wasting so much corruption she should turn back, but she couldn¡¯t. For some reason, she felt drawn further in. She knew that if she made it to the end, she would find something good. [Warning: due to prolonged exposure to unreality, your mental corruption has increased by 1%, current mental corruption 9%.] Rain kept walking until something finally changed, and a wall appeared, blocking off the end of the hall. Rain ignored the feelings of frustration at wasting so much time just to find a dead end and kept going until she stood in front of the wall that ended the ridiculously long hallway. The wall was covered in runes, but unlike the books Rain had read in the mist room, these runes didn¡¯t seem to want to be understood. That didn¡¯t stop Rain from trying, though. However, after a few minutes of furious staring, Rain realized that determination wasn¡¯t enough to understand a differentnguage. There was no way this room waspletely pointless, right? Reaching out with her left hand, she pressed it into the wall in front of her, and the whole hallway shivered. Ripples ran down the stone walls like water before the hallway closed behind her, trapping her in a tiny box. Rain pushed harder into the fleshy stone in front of her, and the stone retreated, opening the way to a small room beyond before the walls changed, melting and turning into a dark, slimy substance. The room only held one thing: a ck book covered in seals and suspended by chains. The moment Rain saw it, she could hear it singing in her mind, calling for her toe and im it. And her mind wasn¡¯t the only one. [I???n???i???t???i???a???t???e??? ???m???e???s???s???a???g???e??? ???s???y???s???t???e???m??? Error: not yet authorized. 3rr0r{TAKE IT]e?r?r?o?r?] Choice Choice Warning bells started ringing in Rain¡¯s mind, joining the call of the chained tome. She could remember the book she used to trap Ho; it had also called to the people around it, promising to fulfill their dreams if they read it. She hadn¡¯t forgotten what happened there. This book felt far more alluring and dangerous than that one. Its pull was like a shining moonpared to a dull star. And yet Rain couldn¡¯t leave it behind when Mr. Purple was telling her to take it. Rain checked her corruption and found it was only at nine percent. This couldn¡¯t be an illusion from her mind. Probably. But if it wasn¡¯t, then was Mr. Purple''s request for her to explore the library from back then real? What could Rain trust? Mr. Purple didn¡¯t fade away; his words hung there in front of Rain, urging her to discard every ounce of sense she possessed and take the obviously sinister book. Rain wished she could leave and think about this somece where her mind was clear, but if she left, there was no guarantee that she would ever find this ce again. Even if she left a coin right in front of the book, the library might take her somewhere else when she tried to return. She felt like one of the people she had given books from her library. Rain was being offered something that could be wonderful but felt dangerous, and she couldn¡¯t think it through properly because there was no time. In the end, Rain had no real choice. Mr. Purple was her first friend, and he was asking her to do something. Even if Rain felt like this was a bad idea, she owed it to him to take the risk and trust he knew what he was asking her. Rain held Snow tight with her right hand while reaching out to grab the sinister book with her left. The moment her gnarled fingers closed on the book, the chains holding it in ce dissolved into shadows and leaked onto the floor as an unsettling keening sound danced at the edge of her hearing. The walls shuddered, and dark smoke started drifting off them. Rain wasn¡¯t sure what was happening, but her heart was rampaging in her chest. Something was wrong. The book had left that seal far too easily. Was this some kind of trap? Not wanting to find out, Rain warped back to the coin she ced by the entrance. After a moment to collect herself, Rain decided she¡¯d had enough excitement for one day and walked back into the mist room to examine her prize in a ce where her corruption wouldn¡¯t continue to rise. Once she was safely surrounded by mist, Rain gave the book a closer look. It had a ck leather cover with golden words embossed on the front. Rain didn¡¯t recognize the type of leather or thenguage of the runes. The book was only a finger thick and small enough that Rain could easily hide it in an inner pocket. The thing that stood out to her the most, though, was the faint lines of dark shimmer wafting off of it. That shouldn¡¯t be possible. Shimmer was energy that didn¡¯t belong in a realm; Rain could see it on ssers and anything that came from this library when they were in the real world, but this library was where shimmer belonged. It should be invisible here. The fact that she could see it meant that this book didn¡¯t belong here. And if it didn¡¯t belong here, then where did it belong? ¡°Mr. Purple, what is this book?¡± Rain waited, but Mr. Purple didn¡¯t answer. Why, though? He had spoken to her when he told her to take this thing; was he just going to leave her to figure it out for herself now? A new thought struck Rain. What if that ce had such a corrupting aura that it gave her hallucinations even without her corruption being high enough? Had that actually been Mr. Purple? The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she got. What were the odds of the first ce she went - where she could actually reach the books - being where this thing was held? Now that she thought about it, she had passed plenty of doors, almost like something was leading her to this book. The problem was she didn¡¯t know who or what wanted her to read it. Rain made a decision. She would decide whether to read the bookter after she had some time to clear her head and was in a ce she was confident wasn¡¯t influencing her mind. Until then, she would leave the book with her hoard. Rain nodded to herself before depositing the book, finishing up her tasks for the night, and returning to the real world. Checking out her window, Rain saw she had a few hours of night left. Perfect. She could get a few hours of sleep before deciding what to do with the book. She also needed to check up on Mr. Mirage tomorrow. He¡¯d been acting odd ever since the Ash Grifters had to flee. Rain changed her cloak into night clothes and crawled into bed with Snow. A part of her hoped she would have a nightmare so she could sleep with Ise, but those had beening less and lesstely. Maybe she could pretend and¡­ A man was sitting at a table in an immense workshop with his bald head buried in his hands. The workshop had ns for things Rain had never seen and couldn¡¯t understand; they covered the walls, leaving Rain curious about what the man was creating here. ¡°It''s dangerous, yes, but don¡¯t they see this is a way to break the cycle?¡± The man looked up, and Rain could see his eyes; they were made of pure energy. In the palm of his right hand, exposed now that his head had moved, was a familiar ck book. Everything blurred. Rain saw herself, but everything was wrong. She was older and scary. Parts of her were indistinct and blurred. She was dressed in an elegant ck dress and sitting on a throne made of human bones with two skulls for handrests. This version of her had an expression of lonely fury. Rain could tell this future her desprately needed some time hugging Snow. The room where Rain watched her not-self was crumbling and neglected without a single other person in sight or so much as the sound of a rodent. Eventually, the sad husk on the throne moved, pulling a small ck book from her dress. Rain was standing in a vast white sky; there was no ground, no stars, nothing. In the distance, Rain could see half the head of a woman floating dark shimmer leaking from her exposed insides. The woman looked at Rain with a wild grin. Rain looked away from the ufortable gaze, only to spot a small ck book floating in the void. Blondy stood in a vast desert with a bored look on his face and a hand through a swarthy woman''s chest. Blood leaked from her lips as she tried to w at Blondy¡¯s face. On the ground between themy the ck book. Suddenly, the bored look on Blondy¡¯s face changed as he looked straight at Rain. ¡°I know I¡¯m good-looking, kiddo, but you¡¯re far too young to start dreaming about me,¡± he said with a smirk before the dream shifted again. Rain dreamed about a vast golden in with two armies facing each other. Glittering steel shone in every direction, disying a vast wealth Rain had never seen, even in the capital of the archipgo. A horn sounded, and one of the armies charged the other with the roar of thousands of men grasping all their courage. The dream shifted. Rain was getting tired of this. She got the message she had been foolish to touch the book. She knew it, but she refused to ignore Mr. Purple any longer. Rain had to watch as scene after scene shed before her. In most cases, she would find the ck book in some part; usually, it would simply be sitting on a table or somewhere out of the way while something else happened. Once in a while, it would take center stage. Sometimes, she never found it. After a while, Rain turned it into a game to see how fast she could find the book in every scene. If she was going to be trapped in this dream, she might as well have fun. Eventually, Rain felt her mind start to recede as true sleep found her. *** Rain woke with her sheets all rumpled and tangled. She had let go of Snow sometime in the night, letting him fall off the bed. And lying in front of her on a spare pillow was a small ck book with golden words on its cover. Rain took one long look at it, pinched herself to make sure she wasn¡¯t still sleeping, then turned her back on the book, grabbed Snow off the floor, and went back to sleep. That was a problem for future Rain. Side Stories 13 & 14 Side Stories 13 & 14 Ump paused by the graveyard outside the vige to pay his respects to the former residence of his new home. He pulled a single et fruit from his basket and ced it on one of the fresh mounds before hoisting the basket back up and finishing his trek home. The vige had grown more lively as winter ended and people started to forget the trauma of finding this ce full of twisted corpses. Ump could spot more than a few pregnant women, too. That was good; this ce needed some children to feel truly free. Though today, it seemed a little too lively. Was something going on? ¡°Afternoon,¡± Ump called to Ute. The changed woman simply nodded back. Her encounter with The Patron had left her without a mouth. The way her jaw had fused to her skull and the skin grew over, leaving a smooth patch where others had lips, used to make Ump ufortable, but with the number of freaky mutations in this ce, he had gotten used to it. That was a good part of the reason Ump always made a note to greet her when he saw her. He couldn¡¯t begin to imagine being unable to talk with anyone. If The Patron ever offered for him to take the Ritual of Awakening, he would turn her down. Sure, the power that the blessed and perfected had would be great, but the risks were more than this old man wanted to deal with. He was more than happy to live his final years in this peaceful forest vige, enjoying the rights of a free man. Ump ced his basket in front of his home, stretching his back in relief. It was time to sit out front and enjoy the rest of the day, watching the vige life go by while basking in the sun. Sadly, it didn¡¯tst. After only a few minutes his curiosity drove him from his chair. Everyone was gathering by the Patron Gate, and he didn¡¯t want to miss out on some juicy drama. Groaning from the strain on his aching knees, Ump hiked over to see what themotion was all about. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± he called as he reached the small huddle. Was The Patroning to visit? It couldn¡¯t be. People usually steered clear of The Patron. ¡°Oh, senior, take a look at this!¡± Sef called. He was d to see his advice had worked and the cord she was using to tie her unruly tentacle hair in check was doing its job. Looking down at what she was pointing at, Ump raised an eyebrow. Sitting at the base of the gate in the middle of a patch of flowers was a single flower with petals made of fire. ¡°What is it, senior? Is it a bad sign?¡± How would he know? The world stopped making sense when The Patron appeared. But he made a guess he hoped wouldfort the worried people around him. The odd flower was growing in the center of the vige, right next to The Patron''s portal to Arkit so... ¡°It''s probably something The Patron is doing. Don¡¯t touch it. It might be important to her.¡± His words caused the others to take a step back. Ump snorted before returning to his chair. Really, getting worked up about a strange flower after everything they¡¯d seen, these youngsters would have interesting lives under The Patron. *** Lucus tried to memorize the knot that was supposed to be the family trees of the three houses of bronze. House Erine was the only ind withrge copper deposits, giving it a better position over houses Inine and Terom with their tin mines. The result was a mess of political marriages and scheming as the three houses tried to use each other to gain standing in The Gathering. If Lucus was reading this right, then the current lord of Inine was both the brother and uncle to thedy of Erine, and the lords of Erine and Terom were both uncle and nephew to each other. Lucus would have thought that being so closely rted to each other would make those houses allies, but underneath the family knot was a five-page report on the current infighting of the houses. Trying to absorb all this information was giving Lucus a headache, and the re of Ms. Drostan didn¡¯t help. To make everything worse, he couldn¡¯t stop himself from thinking about that ce and his sister. Those books, they would make him better. If he could read them, then he wouldn¡¯t be stuck being average. His parents would finally be proud of him. He would be able to help his sister. Lucus wanted it so bad it hurt. He wanted to stop feeling useless. He wanted his parents to tell him they were proud. He wanted to be there for his sisters. The problem was that if he did gain a ss from one of those books, then all his aplishments woulde from Rain. How would she ever look up to a brother who couldn¡¯t do anything without her? He knew he was being childish, but it didn¡¯t matter. He had two younger sisters now, and he was determined to be a cool, dependable older brother. He would find a way to do that without those books. Sister Time Sister Time Rain woke to the sound of Ise bringing in breakfast. The smell of roasted mushrooms made her mouth water and drove away the remaining vestiges of sleep. ¡°Good morning, mydy,¡± Ise said with a curtsy, holding the tray of food in both hands. ¡°I¡¯ve told you Ise, you¡¯re my sister, not my maid.¡± ¡°Can''t I be both?¡± That was unfair. When Ise pouted like that, there was no way Rain could refuse! ¡°Fine, you win, but I get to brush your hair after breakfast.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Rain would do whatever she had to to stay a big sister while also making sure that she never neglected Ise¡¯s feelings again. She wished she knew what it meant to be a big sister, but no one ever showed her; her past self¡¯s memories were absent on the subject, and nothing she read gave her the specifics. So until she figured it out, she would do everything she could think of. ¡°Let''s eat together in the sitting room.¡± ¡°Okay. And is that one of the books from the, you know what?¡± Rain followed Sunrise¡¯s gaze to her nightstand to see that the ck book had moved again while she slept and was now resting there, begging for attention. ¡°Sort of; this one is more dangerous than the ones I showed you guys. If you see it, don¡¯t ever touch it.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Rain didn¡¯t miss the slightly ck pitch of Ise¡¯s response or the way her eyes lingered on the book. Great, Rain would have to find a way to make sure that the book stayed out of Ise¡¯s reach. For now, there was only one thing Rain could do: give the book some attention. Rain changed her cloak into a day dress, then picked the ck book up and tucked it away into a hidden pocket. Ok, cursed book or not, it was kinda cool to have a secret mystery book in a hidden pocket. She felt like a character in a y with secret information that she needed to deliver. Hopefully, keeping the ck book close would prevent it from appearing around her until she decided what to do with it. That out of the way, Rain joined Ise for breakfast. The two of them sat shoulder to shoulder on the ground in front of the couch as they ate their breakfast with their fingers, ignoring all table etiquette. For a while, they didn¡¯t say anything, as Rain simply enjoyed being close. Sunrise eventually broke the silence. ¡°Are you doing anything dangerous today?¡± Sunrise¡¯s voice was quieter than usual; it almost sounded sad. Rain wasn¡¯t sure what Ise was feeling, but she didn¡¯t like it. Ise should always be cheerful and happy. Rain relied on her bright smile. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything dangerous today.¡± ¡°Then¡­ can Ie with you?¡± The hesitance in her little sister''s voice broke Rain''s heart. Rain threw her arms around Ise and hugged her. ¡°Of course you can!¡± Rain had a feeling this decision would bite her in the butt, but she didn¡¯t care right now. She just wanted to see her little sister smile. And she did. Just like her namesake, Sunrise¡¯s smile broke through the clouds and lit up the room. ¡°When do we go? What are we doing? What should I bring?¡± Smiling at her sister''s exuberance, Rain forced herself to let go of the hug and got up. ¡°We need to talk to some people. Give me a second while I get something.¡± Rain rushed to a door and used it to make a portal to her library. However, instead of rushing in to grab something as she nned, Rain found Ise hot on her heels, clearly intending to follow Rain into the library. Rain thought about it for a second before shrugging internally. Rain grabbed Ise¡¯s hand before the other girl could get into some kind of trouble and led her through the mist room to her hoard. ¡°Alright!¡± Rain said, patting Agro on his golden decapitated head as she started looking around for the vial of river juice she had harvested. ¡°We¡¯re looking for a small gray vial about the size of my finger.¡± And like that, the two of them started looking around, right until Rain found a pretty ne of delicate gold with a sky blue sapphire set in it. ¡°Ise, Ise,e over here!¡± Ise did, and Rain ced the ne around her neck. The delicatedies ne lying on top of the maid outfit Sunrise insisted on wearing looked kinda odd, but the gold and blue matched Ise¡¯s hair and eyes. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s pretty!¡± Rain¡¯s words sparked apetition as both sisters tried to dress the other in the prettiest jewelry. Though that quickly shifted to more and more ridiculous outfits - the search for the vial had beenpletely forgotten. Before long, Ise was wearing a floppy gold and green abomination on her head that Rain wasn¡¯t sure was supposed to be a hat; it might just be an oddly shaped sack. Some of the ceremonial clothes Rain had freed from the temple of Agro were weird. Rain turned Ise towards the mirror so she could see herself, and both girls broke into fits of giggling at the ridiculousness. Unfortunately, Rain also spotted the Vial that had started all this. She momentarily considered pretending she hadn¡¯t so they could keep ying, but her sense of duty wouldn¡¯t allow it. ¡°Ah, found it!¡± Rain scooped up the vial and proudly presented it to Ise. ¡°What is it?¡± Ise asked, taking a closer look at the simple gray vial. Rain exined about the ¡®Enter Dream'' skill, and that she wanted Ise to drink a bit of the river juice along with her blood so they could talk to people in their dreams. Sunrise seemed to understand it all. However, the way she started breathing heavily when Rain mentioned drinking her blood scared Rain a little. Sunrise could be a little strange sometimes, but that was ok. Rain loved her anyway. ¡°Are we going to sleep here?¡± Rain thought about that for a second. She realized that, just like with her coins, she couldn''t feel people outside when she was in the library. ¡°No, let''s go back and do it in our rooms.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Seeing how excited Ise was made Rain feel warm inside, almost like she was getting a hug. Before they left, Rain scooped up the first ne she¡¯d had Ise wear and put it around her sister''s neck again. ¡°Keep it.¡± Ise looked thrilled to have such a pretty ne, and Rain made a promise to herself that she would give her sister lots and lots of gifts so that Sunrise would always be happy. To make everything even better, Sunrise hugged Rain. They stayed like that for a while, and Rain was so out of it she forgot to stand on her tiptoes. Eventually, they broke up and exited the library. ¡°Okay, drink this.¡± Rain said, offering the cup of water with a drop of river juice and blood in it. Sunrise immediately downed the ss and sat there, her face scrunched slightly like she was waiting for some feeling to sweep through her. She looked adorable. ¡°Is that it?¡± Sunrise looked a little crestfallen when there wasn¡¯t some big feeling or whatever she had been waiting for. ¡°Yep! Now, you just need to go to sleep, and I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± ¡°Can I sleep with you?¡± Ise asked, looking down bashfully. Rain perked up at the question. ¡°Let''s snuggle!¡± And with that, the two girls scampered off to take a nap together. It would have been almost perfect if Rain couldn¡¯t feel the small book in her coat wedged between her and her sister begging to be read. She would need to deal with that soon when she was alone. Until then, Rain sent her mind off to enter River¡¯s dream world, where she could wait for Sunrise to fall asleep. Advice Advice ¡°Rain, it¡¯s good to see you!¡± called the cheerful voice of Ms. River the moment Rain appeared in the now familiar pub. ¡°Hi Ms. Ver! I¡¯m great.¡± ¡°Well, take a seat, and I¡¯ll get you something to eat.¡± Ms. River had changed a lot since Rain had first met the woman. She used to be small and hunched like she was trying to disappear. But now she stood proudly. Her body had even changed, gaining a lot more curves, and her face would now be perfect for an actress. The odd part was that Rain didn¡¯t think Ms. River knew she was changing. The transformation had been slow, and when Rainst asked about it, Ms. River seemed confused. ¡°Has your dream gotten bigger? I think I could go to one of the buildings across the street if I wanted to.¡± Ms. River beamed at that, cing a bowl of grain and mushroom soup in front of Rain along with a te of wnop: the sweet brown jelly Rain loved so much. ¡°It has! I don¡¯t even have to change my dream to go ces now; it makes this ce feel more real. Sometimes, I even meet people I don¡¯t remember creating.¡± Rain thanked her for the food before chowing down. The fact that Ms. River¡¯s dream world was growing was kinda cool. It made Rain wonder how much Ms. River would be able to expand other skills she picked up. ¡°Ms. Ver, can I ask you something?¡± ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m the best person to ask, but feel free!¡± Rain fidgeted on her stool as she tried to figure out how to ask her question. ¡°How do¡­ What does it take to be a big sister?" Before Ms. River could say anything, Rain plowed on. ¡°You see, I have a sister now, and she¡¯s only a little younger than me, but she¡¯s also getting taller than me now, and she wants to be my maid, so she brings me my food and cleans our rooms. I told her I don¡¯t want her to be my maid, but she insists, and I can¡¯t tell her no and¡­¡± Rain trailed off, feeling lost. ¡°Sounds like you two get along well, so um, why do you feel like you need to be the big sister? Er, if you don''t mind me asking. You don¡¯t have to answer that if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Rain gave that a good thought. Why did she want to be Ise¡¯s big sister so bad? ¡°Well¡­ because I would see other kids, and there would always be one who was the big sibling. They would look out for the others. I remember watching them and wishing they would do that for me. That I could feel like someone strong was protecting me. And now that I see Ise, I don¡¯t ever want her to feel like that. I want to make sure that she always feels like someone is looking out for her. The idea of being the person I wished I had in my life for someone else is exciting.¡± As Rain hesitantly put words to her emotions and thoughts, the reason she felt so strongly about being a big sister became clearer. She had Lucus to look out for her. As grumpy as he could sometimes be, he was also thoughtful, like when he gave her Snow. Now that Rain had that kind of rtionship in her life, she wanted to make sure Ise had it, too. Once she understood that, what Rain needed to do to be a good big sister became clear. ¡°Thanks, Ms. Ver. I think I understand now.¡± Ms. River chuckled. ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything. It looks like you just needed to talk it out.¡± Rain grinned, a little chagrined at asking for advice only to tell herself what she needed to know. ¡°Sorry about wasting your time. And oh right, did you feel a new connection?¡± ¡°I did! Who is it? I can¡¯t wait to meet someone new!¡± ¡°That''s my little sister. I promised to take her with me so she could be a part of what I do. Can you bring her in here when it''s safe?¡± ¡°Ohh, I get to meet the little sister so soon! Of course, I¡¯ll bring her in!¡± Rain had rarely seen Ms. River so excited. The older woman looked like she was being given a present, and for a moment, Rain worried. ¡°You aren''t going to do anything that could get her hurt, are you?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± The aghast look on Ms. River¡¯s face matched the color of her words. Good. Rain had used her truth sight to interrogate Ms. River and Mr. Mirage thoroughly, and they both were incredibly loyal to her. Still, it was a good idea to continue to check them to make sure. They both knew too much to be allowed to betray her. After that, Rain ate and waited for Ise to fall asleep. It was taking her a surprisingly long time to do. Rain usually could fall asleep in a few minutes, but it had already been over half an hour, and nothing had happened. So Rain found herself watching Ms. River interact with her dream people. She knew most of them by name, and they all seemed to have history with each other. Did these dream people have their own memories, or was Ms. River controlling them, making them act like puppets on a stage? The thought of puppets broke Rain out of her contemtion. She could handle screaming books, macabre sculptures, and the insanity that embodied her library, but puppets were too much. Those things were creepy. As Rain pondered the virtue of eradicating all puppets, Sunrise finally fell asleep, and both Rain and Ms. River felt it. ¡°I¡¯m bringing her in.¡± Ms. River called from where she was serving drinks to a table of muscr men in tight-fitting clothes. ¡°Okay!¡± Rain called back, excited to share this part of her life. A momentter, Sunrise stood at the pub''s entrance with a slightly dazed expression. The moment she saw Rain, though, her face cleared up. ¡°Woah, this is a dream? It feels so real!¡± ¡°Thank you for thepliment.¡± Sunrise snapped her attention to Ms. River at the unexpected reply to her outburst. ¡°Who are you?¡± She was a lot more guarded with Ms. River. ¡°I¡¯m a friend of your sister. She told me a lot about you. I¡¯m excited to get a chance to meet you.¡± ¡°Same.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Um, your sister is really cool.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she! She¡¯s also super pretty!¡± ¡°I know I love her ck hair; it''s pretty and gives her that mysterious look.¡± And like that, the two girls built up momentum until their conversation was unstoppable. Rain was d to see it. Ms. River might be the first person besides Rain that Ise seemed to genuinely get along with. That alone was a good enough reason to bring Ise here. After a few minutes, Rain was forced to butt into their conversation so she could get some things done. ¡°Ms. River, will Mr. Mirage be sleeping any time soon?¡± ¡°Wha? Oh, right, let me think. I would guess he¡¯ll be asleep in around seven hours.¡± ¡°Okay, thanks! You really need to teach me how you got so good at guessing when people will be sleeping sometime. I¡¯m going to go for now. I¡¯ll be back to talk with Mr. Mirageter. You two can keep talking without me.¡± Rain was about to leave when Ms. River called to her to wait. Rain did, watching as Ms. River whispered back and forth with Sunrise. Nothing either said was a lie, but Rain wished she could hear them. ¡°Alright, never mind.¡± Ms River called. ¡°Bye, big sis!¡± Those three words hit Rain hard. Sunrise had never called her that before, but now that she had, Rain realized how good it felt. Rain rushed over and hugged Ise. ¡°See youter, little sis.¡± Rain didn¡¯t miss the satisfied smirk on Ms. River¡¯s face. Path Forward Path Forward When Rain came back to herself, the first thing she saw was Ise¡¯s sleeping face an inch away from her own. Rain smiled and gently patted the bigger girl on the head. Not wanting to interrupt her sister¡¯s chance to make a new friend, Rain slipped out of the bed as smoothly as she could, feeling like an assassin from the stories. After she got out without waking up the target, Rain posed and tried to think of a cool assassin catchphrase. She failed. Oh well. ying aside, Rain needed to take care of some things while Sunrise was asleep. Rain slipped into the sitting room before pulling the ck book out of her pocket. She turned it over in her hands, examining every inch of it. It was so small and unassuming, yet she had found it in such an ominous ce. Just picking it up had caused her to dream about it all night. What would reading from it do? Pondering aside, Rain already knew what she was going to do; she was just procrastinating. Rain took onest breath and opened the book. Nothing. The first page was nk except for a single line written at the top: ¡®Project Blueprints and Theories #74 - Amagustus.¡¯ Rain didn¡¯t feel anything, so she flipped to the next page, which was nk. So was the page after that. Rain flipped through the entire book and found nothing, not a word or a blueprint. Why had this been locked in a hidden room? Was it a trap to mislead people? She supposed it had been too easy to steal it, so maybe the real prize in that room had been something else. Though, that didn¡¯t exin why the book was following her or why she dreamed about it. Rain leafed through the book again, but it was still nk. She went back to the first page and reread the single line. Who or what was Amagustus, and was it too hard to ask for some important blueprints in the book she had gained close to ten percent corruption to obtain? Frustrated by the book, Rain decided to get a bit of revenge. She walked over to the Lucus bait, picked up a paintbrush, and opened a jar of green paint. Rain proceeded to paint a flower in the book right under the sole Line. ¡°Heh, heh, take that cursed book!¡± The book didn¡¯t rise to her provocation and give away what it might be. Well, that was anticlimactic. She had built up this expectation in her head that this must be some big secret that no one was supposed to know about. Disappointed, Rain tossed the open book onto the table to let the paint dry. If nothing else, she could use the book to take notes for herself, especially if it kept following her around. Just as she made that decision, Mr. Purple decided to bleed into existence before her. [Congrattions: Oru is amused by your actions in releasing knowledge feared by the Aimir. Oru would like to reward you with the limited skill: Librarian¡¯s Search. Do you ept?] [Message: A little gift for you, Champion. Use it to prepare for the coven.] Rain stared at the messages for a long minute. She decided not to think about the fact that Oru was apparently watching her, though she made a note to only think aloud when she didn¡¯t mind him hearing. No, the real problem was that she had no idea what information she had released! Had some knowledge escaped the pages of the ck book? Was that why the pages were now nk? Or was everything written in invisible handwriting? Maybe it had nothing to do with the book at all. Rain sighed and reread the messages. Was Aimir the same thing as Zimir? Rain assumed it was different. After all, if Oru was rted to the Zimir and he was also d that information that the Aimir feared was loose then it was safe to say the two were different. Suddenly feeling drained, Rain flopped onto the couch. ¡°What does ¡®Librarian¡¯s Search¡¯ do, Mr. Pruple?¡± [Librarian¡¯s Search: Think of Information you wish to find in the Library of Oru, and the skill will guide you there at the cost of permanently raising physical corruption by one percent.] The skill was exactly what Rain needed, which put her on edge. Oru didn¡¯t seem like the type to give gifts for no reason; thest time he¡¯d done that was when Rain embarrassed Agro. Rain had assumed Oru gave her that skill so she would continue to make trouble for one of his rivals. Regardless, Rain decided to ept, and the Limited Skills section on her page reappeared with Librarian¡¯s Search listed under it along with the number three. She was supposed to use those three charges to learn about the Coven of the Zimir or maybe just the Zimir. That would help her prepare for the coven, but Rain didn¡¯t like doing whatever the mysterious Prince of Darkness wanted. Besides, three charges weren¡¯t nearly enough; Rain nned to take far more than that from Oru. Perking up at the idea of getting one over on someone for a change, Rain sat up. It was time to apply what Lte had told her. She would get some practice making skilled items, then use one charge of her limited skill to find a method to turn the limited skill into a skilled item that she could reuse indefinitely. She would use the crumbs that Oru offered her to steal the whole pie. She looked at the ck book on the table onest time before shrugging. There wasn¡¯t anything she could do about it right now other than keep it close. Until she had an idea, she might as well do what she could. Rain hopped off the couch and walked to the bathroom door. She had already thought long and hard about what skill to try to turn into a skilled item; the only skill that might be useful was ¡®Door to the Library.¡¯ ¡®Truth Sight¡¯ might have been better, allowing others to see lies, but that was a passive skill, and Rain didn¡¯t know how she could cast that, let alone cast it outside her body. So ¡®door¡¯ it was. Rain grabbed the handle of the bathroom door and focused on her skill. Like always, she felt something drain from her as she opened the door to reveal the usual ck veil. She closed the door and did it again, but this time, she tried to force the skill to not fully activate. The door opened to reveal the same dark veil. Rain tried again and again and again, with the same results. Closing the door, Rain focused on her arm and the shimmer misting off of it. She used the skill and opened the door. She noticed that after she activated the skill, the mist her skin let off was denser in a stream, running from her shoulder to her fingers. She assumed that was the skill running down her arm to affect the door. Getting excited, Rain tried to force that stream out of her arm without activating. She held her breath and watched as nothing happened. She wasn¡¯t even able to get the skill to activate at all, let alone getting it to form outside her body. Rain sighed. She should have expected that it wouldn¡¯t be easy or they would have skilled items for every skill. The fact that someone like Lte could spend all their time trying to create a single new type of skilled Item just went to show that it wasn¡¯t easy. Rain just hoped that she might be special or something. Nothing to do but break the problem down and work on it one piece at a time. Rain used the skill, not trying to do anything funny this time; instead, she focused on her body. She wanted to know where the skill was first activated. Like before, she felt the skill activate and run down her arm, but this time, she saw exactly where it formed. When she first felt the skill, she saw the shimmer right over her heart thicken. Was that where all skills started? Rain ced her home coin across from her on the table and looked at her chest as she warped to it. Sure enough, the shimmer around her chest thickened before spreading out to cover her entire body. So the heart was the activation point of skills. Or at least it was for the two active skills Rain could currently test with ease. If that was the case then the first step to creating a skilled item would be to learn to activate skills from a different part of the body. The natural location to do this was clearly the stomach. It wasn¡¯t far to move the activation point and Rain thought it would be funny to use skills from her belly button. Okay, it was mostly because of the belly button thing. And like that, Rain spent the next hour staring at her belly while opening and closing the bathroom door. Newcomer Neer Rain closed the bathroom door one more time before banging her head against it. This wasn¡¯t working. She¡¯d spent over an hour trying to move her activation point with no sess. She didn¡¯t even care where it went anymore; she just wanted it to move. If doing this wasn¡¯t going to help, then she needed to take a different approach. Rain stepped back to consider her options. She could return to Lte and try to get more information from her. That had a decent chance of providing Rain with better information, but it would also look suspicious for Rain to pester Lte too hard on the subject, particrly if all Rain¡¯s questions showed that she had a better understanding of the process than a non-sser should, almost like Rain had tried to create a skilled item herself. Lte was probably too isted from other nobles to cause problems, but was someone talented and knowledgeable in skilled items like Lte really going to bepletely forgotten? Unlikely. She would have some contact with other nobles, and that was an opportunity for things to slip. Rain already felt like she had made it far too easy to connect her to the escaped ves. She needed to lie low. The other option was just as bad. Rain could spend one of the uses of ¡®Librarian¡¯s Search¡¯ to find the method for creating a skilled Item out of a limited skill and hope it was enough to do what Rain needed. There was also the chance that Rain could find a book that would give her a skill that worked the same way as ¡®Librarian¡¯s Search,¡¯ or even a skill to copy it simr to what Ms. River had. But Rain didn¡¯t know what was in the library, and she needed to be ready for any possibility. If Rain wasted a use of ¡®Librarian¡¯s Search¡¯ and it led her to information she could find in the outside world but hadn¡¯t because she failed to practice enough, then Rain would have no one to me but herself. Like Blondy said, as long as Rain tried to learn as much as she could, she shouldn¡¯t me herself for what she didn¡¯t know. But that also meant Rain needed to learn as much as she could before acting. Rain pushed herself off the door. She knew what she would do, but she didn¡¯t want tomit until she thought about it more, just in case she changed her mind. For now, she wanted to move. Being active made her feel like she was aplishing something. Peeking into her room, Rain checked that Ise was still asleep. The tangle of limbs and sheets confirmed that she was. Perfect. Rain needed to ask Lucus something. She had thought it over when she was recovering from the escape; even if she wasn¡¯t good at fighting, she should still try to learn something. And who better to ask than her brother? He may not be an expert, but he should be able to teach her the basics, and she didn¡¯t have anyone else to ask. Plus, it would be more fun with him. Rain retrieved Snow, then eased the door to the hall open and checked to see if there were any servants about. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to deal with their ck words. Looking each way, Rain confirmed that the hall was clear and scampered across it to knock on Lucus''s door. No reply. Drat, that meant she needed to search for him. Rain squeezed Snow. ¡°You¡¯ll protect me from having to deal with them, right?¡± The stuffed wolf didn¡¯t answer, but that was good enough for Rain. She skulked down the hall, trying to be as inconspicuous as a person could while holding a giant stuffed wolf. Needless to say, it didn¡¯t work. The servants found her and made their inkenpliments and offers of help. Rain tried to emte Sunrise and smiled at the people, thanking them for their care. It actually became a little entertaining after a while. These people had been working in the same house as Rain for over half a year, yet they still winced when she smiled at them. Rain almost flexed her aura to make these people squirm a little but held herself back. She couldn¡¯t turn her aura off, but flexing it would make her more recognizable than she needed. So instead, Rain tried to pretend she wasn¡¯t angry that these people had forced Ise to work herself too hard. Rain searched for Lucus in all the usual ces: the library, the drill yard, and the kitchen - where she also stole some fruit while the cook tried to pretend he wasn¡¯t furious. Nothing. Rain was pretty confident Lucus hadn¡¯t gone anywhere. His grumpy attitude and dislike for doing things just to fit in left him with few friends outside the two boys he trained with. Rain swayed with Snow before finally giving up and asking one of the liars where he was. ¡°Young Master Lucus is being introduced to his new valet. You should prepare to dine with the Lord, Lady, and the Young master tonight. From what I¡¯ve heard, the kitchen was just informed that they should start preparing for a formal dinner.¡± Rain thanked the woman for the information and the gossip about dinner. She hoped the woman was right and that the Estoms had realized they weren¡¯t getting anywhere with her if they didn¡¯t include Lucus. But more importantly, why was Lucus suddenly getting a valet? From Rain¡¯s understanding, that would be the equivalent for Lucus that Sunrise was supposed to be for Rain. But why was Lucus getting one now, and more importantly, who was he, and could he and Rain be friends? Rain wandered towards the main sitting room where the Estom¡¯s greeted guests. Sure enough, the doors were closed, and Rain could hear muffled voices. Rain tried to listen at the door to ensure this was just Lucus and their new friend. She could hear Lucus and another voice, and she didn¡¯t hear Lady Estom''s cold tone or Lord Estom''s fake friendliness. It should be safe, then. Rain was behind a door that should be out of sight from the guest seats, so it wasn¡¯t likely for them to see her and cause problems for Lucus if she looked inside. With that in mind, she eased the door open to peek at the back of her new maybe friend¡¯s head. The boy looked to be around Lucus¡¯s age and had his blond hair in a ponytail. That was all Rain could see over the back of his chair. Though as Rain stared at the back of the boy¡¯s head, she couldn¡¯t help but think that the color of his hair was slightly different from the usual shade of blond in the isles. Lucus, for his part, was sitting across from the mystery boy with his eyes firmly on Rain. ¡°What are you doing, weirdo?¡± ¡°Eek!¡± Why had he blown her cover like that! Though, she guessed that if he was willing to talk to her, then it was okay for her toe in and meet the new friend. ¡°Um, well, I was looking for you, and I heard that you were getting a valet, so I wanted to see who it was.¡± Rain said, kicking the ground. ¡°You might as welle in and meet him, weirdo.¡± Rain did. As she entered the room, the boy on the couch looked over to see her. He had a in face with blue eyes and the familiar look of difort everyone had around Rain. When Rain rounded the couch and got a good look at him, she saw something she wasn¡¯t expecting: shimmer. It was far lighter than shimmer from a library-touched thing, so he must have a ss more natural to the world. That didn¡¯t narrow it down much, though, and it didn¡¯t exin why a sser was trying to apply for a position as personal servant to the scion of a falling house. ¡°Weirdo this is Svend Tleck. Svend, this is my little sister. Hopefully, you can stop her from bothering me.¡± Rain smiled as a puff of lies escaped Lucus¡¯s lips at the end. It seemed he liked being bothered. Rain was already thinking of new ways to spend time with him and Ise. Oh, right, the new threat. She needed to know exactly what he was after. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of House Tleck, is it far?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not surprised,¡± Svend said, rubbing the back of his head. ¡°It''s a minor house only known for making beer.¡± Surprisingly, that was true. Still, something was off. ¡°Oh, then how did you get rmended as a valet for Lucus?¡± This was the most important question. If this sser had bad intentions for her brother, she would remove him. ¡°Lord Estom owed my father a favor, and my father asked that I be taken in so I can spend more time with the elites of the Gathering.¡± There it was, a solid fountain of lies. ¡°Your father is Lord Tleck?¡± Svend looked a little confused at the obvious question. ¡°Yes. like I said he wanted me to be a part of higher rings of the Gathering.¡± Svend said hesitantly. For anyone watching, he was the perfect image of innocent confusion at the redundant question, but Rain could see more than that; she could see the darkness seeping from his mouth. This boy was not who he said he was. Sparring Sparring ¡°Was meeting Svend the only reason you were looking for me?¡± Lucus asked with his usual grump. Rain looked away from her newest problem to focus on her brother. ¡°Oh, no, it was¡­¡± Rain looked away. Why was it always so hard to ask Lucus to spend time with her? She was pretty sure he liked her because of her skill, but there was always a part of her that would be afraid she was asking for too much from him. Rain focused on Lucus¡¯s lie when he said she was a bother. Right, she needed to be more assertive. Just not too much. ¡°I was hoping you could teach me how to sword fight?¡± Lucus buried his face in his hands. ¡°Why?¡± Rain shifted her weight. ¡°Well, because I thought it would be fun.¡± That was true, but it was also so she could protect herself. Not that she could say that in front of Mystery Motivations sitting on the other couch. ¡°So you want to y around.¡± ¡°Yeah, a little. I''ve been feeling better for a few weeks now, and I want to y. So will you?¡± Lucus sighed. ¡°Svend, do you know anything about sword fighting?¡± ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t. My family doesn''t have time or resources to learn that sort of thing; we mostly focused on managing the farms.¡± That was all lies. The fact that Svend knew how to use a sword and was hiding it made Rain profoundly ufortable. Rain also noted that his family did have the resources, which narrowed down the list of possible true identities. Rain tossed a pleading look at Lucus. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll y with you, but I can''t do it right now. The other lords are already arriving, and Mother and Father want me to get familiar with Svend before any events start.¡± Rain didn¡¯t like that. It would give Svend plenty of time to hurt Lucus. ¡°Can Ie along?¡± she asked while fidgeting around. As Rain talked, she made sure to move slowly closer to Svend. He hadn¡¯t reacted to her aura since he first saw her, and she wanted to know if he was immune somehow or if he was pretending not to feel it. Rain hoped he was pretending because if he wasn¡¯t affected, that would mean that one of the only people who weren¡¯t driven away by her aura also happened to be an untrustworthy liar. It would be such a waste. When she was only a few feet from him, she saw him start to squirm. With that confirmed, she gave him some space again. No need to make him instantly suspicious of her. Lucus thought about her question before answering with an ominous smile. ¡°Of course you can, dear sister. Svend and I are going to be memorizing the Lords of the Gathering.¡± Rain wondered how much she really wanted to keep Lucus safe. *** ¡°All right, hold the sword like this, with the right hand under the cross guard and the left below it.¡± It had been a day since Rain had asked Lucus to teach her to sword fight, and in all that time, Rain hadn¡¯t been able to speak to Lucus alone and warn him about Svend. Still, Lucus had made time to y¡­ Er teach her to use a sword, so here they were on the manor grounds after Lucus¡¯s usual sword training. ¡°Like this?¡± ¡°Close, you need to grip tighter with your left hand.¡± Rain tried to do as he told her, but her left hand didn¡¯t have nearly as much strength as it used to. It could only really grip things with the forefinger and thumb. Her ears turned red at her inability to follow instructions, and not for the first time, she cursed her crippled and ugly hand. ¡°Sorry, this is as hard as I can grab with that hand.¡± Rain braced herself to be chided for not doing things properly - Lucus could be a stickler for rules sometimes - But it never happened. When Rain looked at Lucus, she spotted him looking at her hand with a weird expression. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about that. Let me show you how to hold a sword one-handed. Though, I don''t know if we have a practice sword small enough for you. You¡¯re already struggling to carry a one-handed sword as a two-hander.¡± ¡°No need to rub it in.¡± Rain pouted. It wasn¡¯t her fault she was small. ¡°Beat him up, big sis!¡± Sunrise called from near the hedge wall, where she was watching next to Svend. ¡°That''s right, beat him up, Lady Rain!¡± ¡°Hay Svend, whose side are you on?¡± ¡°I will always be on thedy¡¯s side, Master Lucus. After all, Ladies smell far better than you.¡± Rain was confused about why that mattered, but she did notice Sunrise throwing a dirty look at Svend before whispering something at him. ¡°Can you hold the sword in one hand?¡± Lucus asked, apparently deciding to ignore the two watchers. Rain let go of the sword with her left hand, and her right hand dropped a bit under the weight of the wooden practice sword. ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°Alright, take a stance, and we¡¯ll have a quick duel to see how you do.¡± Rain took a step back before crouching and hefting her sword over her head; its tip pointed at Lucus. ¡°What are you doing, weirdo?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Rain had seen a hero use this stance in a y, and she thought it looked cool. But she couldn¡¯t say that now with the way Lucus was staring at her, so instead, she changed the topic. ¡°How am I supposed to stand?¡± Rain could clearly hear Svend snickering from the side. Fortunately, Lucus took pity on her and demonstrated a proper stance. ¡°Stand like this with the sword pointed slightly up. From this position, you can block most attacks thate your way.¡± And like that, the lesson started. Rain was impressed by Lucus¡¯s teaching. He was able to clearly tell her what she was doing wrong and help her fix those mistakes. Despite that, Rain didn¡¯t improve much. For the entire hour they practiced, Rain never got close tonding a blow on Lucus. She was so bad that he could not only hit her, but he was able to do it gently, not so much as bruising her. Rain knew that wasn¡¯t how this usually went. When Lucus trained with the other boys, they and the instructor would always rap each other hard enough to bruise. She wasn¡¯t sure whether to be grateful or insulted that he was so soft on her. In the end, she determined to just do her best, even if it was pointless. Rain couldn¡¯t touch Lucus, and he was average at best. She just didn¡¯t have an instinct for fighting. A part of her wanted to freeze every time the sword came at her, and she couldn¡¯t predict where it woulde next. After an hour, Lucus called for a halt. ¡°That''s enough for today. Hey, Svend, go to the kitchens and get us something to drink.¡± ¡°Of course, Master Lucus.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get Rain¡¯s drink. I don¡¯t want her drinking anything you give her.¡± ¡°Ah, beautiful Sunrise, if you wanted to walk with me, all you had to do was ask.¡± ¡°Humph¡± ¡°Are you okay, sis?¡± Lucus asked once they left. ¡°You¡¯re starting to look angry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not angry. I just want to be able to protect myself, and it''s frustrating that I¡¯m so bad at this.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll learn. I don¡¯t think there''s anything I can do that you couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­ for spending time with me and teaching me.¡± Lucus awkwardly patted her on the head, and the world became a better ce. Before a ssh of realization hit her, Svend was gone! ¡°Brother, be careful of Svend; he¡¯s a sser, and he¡¯s lying about who he really is!¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Because of my things.¡± Rain said, giving Lucus a meaningful look. ¡°We need to be careful about what we speak about and where. Just don¡¯t trust him. I¡¯ll try to figure out who he really is.¡± Lucus slumped a bit at that. ¡°Of course, he would be fake. I knew we got along too well.¡± Rain didn¡¯t like that sad look, so she went in for a hug. ¡°Get off, you stink!¡± Rain didn¡¯t want to bother him, so she let go - after one more squeeze. ¡°While we wait for those two toe back. Come at me, evil beast!¡± Lucus said, getting into the same stance Rain had tried at first. She should have known he would guess what she had been doing. Oh well. Rain got into a cool stance of her own. ¡°I will defeat you, foolish hero!¡± And like that, the two yfought hitting each other''s swords and saying cool lines until Sunrise and Svend returned. The Tragedy of Pardeth The Tragedy of Pardeth Rain was almost vibrating with excitement as the hand cart stopped in front of the Crown Theater. Not even being stuck with the Estoms could ruin her excitement at seeing a new y. Lucus, sitting on the other side of her, looked just as restless but in a nervous sort of way. ¡°Ah, we¡¯re here,e children,¡± Lord Estom said in that friendly way of his that felt so fake. And with that, Lord Estom left the carriage and offered Lady Estom his hand. Rain leaned over to whisper to Lucus the moment the two were gone. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so nervous; just spend some time with them.¡± Lucus stiffly nodded before getting out of the cart and offering his hand to help Rain. Rain took his help even if it was a little awkward because she insisted on using her right hand - despite it forcing her to reach across her body. Still, it was better than reminding him about her bad hand. ¡°This is quite the fantastic y I hear. The Tragedy of Pardeth, you have good taste, my girl!¡± ¡°Thank you, but it was Lucus who chose the y.¡± Rain said, trying to push Lucus forward. After all, getting him some time with his parents was the point of bringing them along to sour Rain¡¯s enjoyment of a new y. The conversation continued, with Lord Estom lying about how much he cared about his children while Lady Estom remained cold and silent. The group was well dressed, wearing their nicest furs, yet they still blended into the crowd of other theatergoers as they entered the massive thirteen-spired Crown Theater. ¡°Lady Rain, your box is ready for you,¡± Dent informed her with a bow as they entered. Dent was one of the attendants at the theater. He was also on the lower side of importance, which was why he gotnded with taking care of the creepy child of the Estoms. Still, despite being forced to help Rain and cringing when she drew near, Rain didn¡¯t hold it against him because he did his job well. ¡°Thank you, Dent, lead the way.¡± Dent led them past the wide pired admissions area - where most others were offering their tickets to be let into the general seating - to a set of stairs lined with paintings of actors and actresses. Every time Rain came here, she imagined her face on that wall. Not that it could ever happen. Actresses were supposed to be pretty, and as Rain was constantly reminded, she was creepy and had a twisted hand. Still, it was fun to dream. Before long, the small group entered the door to Rain''s private box. It wasn¡¯t the biggest or the nicest box, but it had a good view of the stage, and when Rain was up here she didn¡¯t usually have her experience tainted by the mutterings about creepy little girls from the people next to her. Although tonight would have its own set of annoyances. Rain scowled as Lord and Lady Estom took the two best seats in the box, the ones that usually belonged to Rain and Sunrise. Still, Rain pushed down her annoyance as she nudged Lucus towards a seat next to his parents. The whole point of letting the Estoms ruin her night was so Lucus could get some time with them. ¡°Wonderful Rain, my girl! We shall have to use your box more often!¡± No. No, they shouldn¡¯t. This ce was Rain¡¯s! But she couldn¡¯t say that right now and ruin the mood. So, instead, she kept silent. ¡°You¡¯re right, dear. This will be a fine ce to entertain guests during the gathering.¡± Rain didn¡¯t like where this conversation was heading, but seeing Lucus sitting meekly next to Lord Estom forced her to hold her tongue. Rain moved a seat closer to the edge so she could see over the low rails and settled in to watch the y. The Estoms made polite small talk with her, and she answered them cordially as long as they didn¡¯t mention stealing her seats. Before long, two men walked down the sides of the room and extinguished themps, casting the seats below into darkness. The crowd grew quiet, leaving the room to the dull hum of whispered conversation and muffled footsteps as stragglers walked on the luxuriously carpeted floor. Rain sat on the edge of her seat, eyes fixed on the stage, as the curtain pulled back and the stage was revealed. Rain smiled at the beautiful costumes of the three men standing before an borate backdrop of a cityscape. Wondering what Lucus thought about the backdrop, Rain threw a look at him. He wasn¡¯t even looking at the stage; instead, he was staring at Lord Estom from the corner of his eye and fidgeting. That,bined with the slightly scrunched-up look on his face, made it look like he was holding in a poop. Rain giggled before returning to the show. She¡¯d given Lucus the opportunity to get what he was looking for from the Estoms; it was up to him to seize it. ¡°Ah, Deth my brother, wee home!¡± said one of the men onstage, sweeping another into a massive hug. ¡°Brother, it''s been too long! It¡¯s wonderful to see a familiar face. War can change a man, and I feel like I''ve been losing track of who I am.¡± Already Rain approved; hugs were definitely the best way tomunicate. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your little brother will always be there for you.¡± ¡°Thank you, Agradawn; it¡¯s good to know I¡¯ll always have someone to watch my back.¡± ¡°Young Lords, your family is waiting. Shall we head in to see them?¡± the third actor inserted into the conversation. And like that, the y began. Rain found herself wondering about the names Pardeth and Agradawn; they weren¡¯t Crown Ring names, and they definitely weren¡¯t solid inder names, so did theye from somewhere on the maind, or were they just made-up jibberish? Had these brothers been real, or were they simply figments of some imagination? Regardless, Rainpletely forgot about Lucus¡¯s plight as she was drawn into the y. At first, everything went well for Pardeth. His family weed him in and helped him recover after years at war left him deste. But as the y went on, Pardeth started to notice small things were wrong around the pce. Servants were disappearing, and a strange man in a dark cloak kept meeting with Pardeth¡¯s father. When Pardeth started seeing glowing runes at night, he had enough and confronted his father. ¡°Father, what is happening around the pce? Ever since I returned, things have been off. The people are more stressed, and you and the family have been speaking in whispers and sneaking around, as is unbefitting of lords.¡± ¡°Calm down, son. We have found something wonderful; it is nothing for you to worry about. We simply haven¡¯t told you about it since you expressed a desire to rest now that you¡¯ve left the front lines.¡± ¡°How can I rest when everyone around me isn¡¯t acting like themselves?¡± The father let out a boomingugh at that. Rain had to admit that the depth of theugh the actor was capable of was impressive. Could she do that? She wanted to try. ¡°Very well, if it will help you rx, then I will show you the beautiful work we have begun.¡± Both men stood and started walking while stage boys rushed out to swap the props. By the time the two men had reached the other side of the stage, the scenery was of an underground chamber with a bloody altar in the middle. ¡°Father, what is this!¡± ¡°Pardeth, while you were gone, we were visited by a Prince of Darkness. He promised us immortality if we sacrificed lives to him.¡± ¡°And you epted! Father, you always taught me to rule with honor. How could you resort to this!¡± ¡°I do this for those I rule. By making an unpleasant sacrifice, I can ensure that a wise lord always leads our people and that instability never takes our homes.¡± ¡°How can you help others by killing them?¡± ¡°We can not help them if we are no longer here to rule.¡± ¡°No, Father, this is wrong!¡± Pardeth drew his sword and pointed it at his father as the lights in the theater were relit, signaling an intermission. ¡°Wonderful, truly a gripping story!¡± Lord Estom said, pulling Rain out of the y. ¡°It was. We should spend more time here as a family, shouldn¡¯t we, dear?¡± Lady Estom answered in a way that almost seemed rehearsed to Rain. ¡°That would be wonderful, but my duties keep me far too busy. As things stand, I won¡¯t be able to make the time. A shame, don¡¯t you two agree?¡± Lord Estom said with a nod at Lucus and Rain. ¡°Ya,¡± Lucus muttered. Rain didn¡¯t agree, but she knew it would be rude to say that right now, so she gave her assent, too. ¡°Well, there''s nothing to be done about it¡­ Unless¡­ Rain, might I ask for your help? It might allow me to spend more time with my wonderful children?¡± There it was. The Estoms were finally going to ask her for whatever they had been cuddling up to her for. The Play’s End The y¡¯s End Rain turned to face Lord Estom with her best curious face. She may be too creepy to be an actress, but she could still practice. ¡°That would be great. What can I do to give us more time as a family?¡± ¡°Well, you see, our house owes quite a few favors to other houses. I¡¯ve been spending most of my timetely finding ways to pay them back, but it''s been draining so much of my time. If we had more money, though, we could easily pay the houses as a way to return the favors, and I would be free.¡± So that was it. They wanted more money so they could continue neglecting their son and immersing themselves in their personal vices. Funnily enough, Lord Estom had been telling the truth about owing a lot of favors, but the part about him nning to use the money to pay those favors back had been false. In a way, Rain was relieved they wanted money; it had been the most likely thing the Estoms would ask her, but there had been a chance they knew about her library or wanted her to do something crazy, like enter an arranged marriage. ¡°How much would you need?¡± ¡°Well, if we wanted to pay off all our debts, it would take close to five thousand old, but even being able to pay off some of the other houses would help.¡± Rain wanted tough at the outrageous sum Lord Estom had just asked for. That would be enough to buy Estom Manor. Not to mention that the original amount Rain had paid them should have been enough to cover all their needs for over two years. Rain could pay that much if she wanted, but what would be the point? She didn¡¯t want to be around these liars, but when she looked at Lucus and saw the barely disguised hope on his face, she considered it for a moment. Rain would happily give away her entire hoard for her brother. But would paying the Estoms really give him time with his parents? She doubted it. More likely, it would give the Estoms the freedom to indulge and ignore him even more. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can''t give you any more money.¡± The look of disappointment on Lucus¡¯s face hurt; it hurt even more when she thought about how he knew of her hoard. ¡°Rain dear; we know you have money if you can rent a box seat in the Crown Theater. Are you truly so selfish that you won''t share a bit of it with your family?¡± It seemed now that Rain had refused Lord Estom; Lady Estom had entered the fight. Unfortunately for her, Rain knew that she wasn¡¯t being selfish. She just wasn¡¯t going to throw money at people who had a history of enving their own subjects. ¡°I can¡¯t give you what you want. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What would you need to make it possible?¡± ¡°Nothing. I can¡¯t give you any more money.¡± ¡°Raina dear, if we don¡¯t find a way to return the favors we owe, we¡¯ll need to resort to unpleasant things for Lucus and you.¡± Rain noticed the return of ¡®Raina¡¯ in Lady Estom¡¯s threat. She wasn¡¯t that surprised. Lady Estom had always looked pained when calling her Rain. Still, Rain¡¯s heart tightened at the thought that Lucus might be punished for her refusal. He didn¡¯t deserve this. But she wouldn¡¯t budge on it; she was alreadypromising her convictions by not getting rid of these two. ¡°Then it looks like things will get unpleasant.¡± Rain said. Rain and Lady Estom locked eyes, ring at each other. Lady Estom was the first to look away. ¡°I see; it looks like all of us will have to sacrifice for the house then. The two of us will have to spend all our time pulling our house out of trouble. As for you two, unless we can find another way to pay those favors, you will have to do some unpleasant things during the Gathering.¡± And there it was, the not-so-subtle threat of ¡®give us money or we¡¯ll make you and our son miserable.¡¯ Rain found that she wasn¡¯t all that scared. There wasn¡¯t a lot that could be worse than the nightmares she still had a couple of times a week or the night she spent being beaten by Zer. If the Estoms were nning to lend her out as a social kicking post, then nothing would really change for Rain. She was shunned and insulted on a near-daily basis, to the point that it didn¡¯t bother her - too much. The problem was Lucus; if Rain¡¯s refusal made his life worse, then Rain would feel horrible. She needed to find a way to make it up to himter. Rain forced herself not to sigh as the lights below dimmed, signaling the start of the second half of the y. This conversation wouldn¡¯t end well, so Rain might as well end it quickly. ¡°Then we¡¯ll all do what we must.¡± Rain said, resting her elbow on the railing and pointedly looking at the stage below. ¡°Come, Darling, we have work to do since our children refuse to help.¡± Lady Estom said to Lord Estom before the two of them stood to leave the y early. Rain was d to be rid of them, but before they could leave, Rain motioned to a conflicted Lucus to follow them. He hesitated momentarily before leaving as Rain made shooing gestures at him behind the Estoms¡¯ backs. It would get him more time with his father and hopefully make it look like he wasn¡¯t on Rain¡¯s side. Rain would prefer that he not be punished for her actions. The moment the three were past the door, Rain stood and brushed off her favorite chair, trying to get rid of any trace of Lady Estom on it before plopping down and reiming her rightful ce to watch the rest of the show. In the second half of the show, things got dramatic as Pardeth went from the one trying to figure out what was going on with his family to his family all trying to understand what was happening while member after member went missing until the final showdown when Agradawn figured out who was doing everything and confronted his older brother. ¡°Why, Deth? Why would you betray your family like this!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not betraying my family, little brother. I¡¯m saving them from bing monsters.¡± Rain was standing by this point as the brothers fought in front of the painted backdrop of a throne room with a prop throne sitting on the stage between them. ¡°I don¡¯t agree with Father¡¯s ns either, but to destroy the house is going too far. You should have talked with the rest of us so we could all stay united!¡± ¡°Being united wouldn¡¯t stop our actions from being evil.¡± Those were thest words spoken between the brothers as they fought using awesome poses until Pardeth cut down his younger brother and copsed onto the throne. With an aura of exhaustion and grief, a bloody sword in his hand, Pardeth looked at the body of his dead brother and spoke the final line of the y. ¡°Goodbye, brother. Now I sit all alone with nothing but my conscience and an empty throne.¡± And like that, curtains were pulled over the stage, covering the drama behind while the crowd stood to hum their appreciation of the actors. This was one of Rain¡¯s favorite parts of a y because as she stood and added her single tone to the interweaving rumble of hundreds of other guests, she felt connected to everyone, like she was a part of the group, even while she did it from her lonely box. *** Swift-tail limped back to his temporary burrow. How long had he been on this quest? Surely, the others hadn¡¯t begun their crusade yet. He hoped not because if they had, many of his siblings would now be dead. The lesser humans were desperate for food; he had felt the thoughts of more than one lesser human as it thought of eating him and collecting the bounty on uffters to buy even more food. He had barely escaped a pack of starving lesser human kits as they chased him with sharpened sticks. Making it to the safety of his burrow in an alley behind the dead body of an emaciated lesser human, Swift-tail copsed to properly rub ash into his cut back leg. Please, goddess, let me reach you before it¡¯s toote. The Guide The Guide Rain couldn¡¯t procrastinate any longer; the Gathering of Lords would start in less than a week, and she had yet to move her activation point. The chances of her figuring out the next step in creating a skilled item before it was toote were too small to justify dying. Hoping she wasn¡¯t about to make a mistake, Rain climbed to her feet, drawing the attention of Sunrise, who was braiding her doll Scratch¡¯s hair, and Lucus who was taking one of his rare breaks to paint. ¡°Is something wrong, Rain?¡± ¡°No, I just need to do something.¡± Rain said, keeping it vague in case Svend was listening somehow. ¡°Then why do you have that look on your face like you¡¯re going to do something stupid again?¡± Rain did not appreciate Lucus¡¯sck of faith in her abilities. Unfortunately, before she could reply, Ise stood and put Scratch down. ¡°I¡¯lle!¡± ¡°Sorry, Ise, you can¡¯te with me this time. I¡¯ll exinter,¡± when the untrustworthy Svend couldn¡¯t possibly be listening. ¡°But¡­¡± The look of disappointment on Sunrise''s face made Rain want to find a way to protect her from the unreality of the Shaft and its attached rooms. But no matter how much she wanted to bring Ise, that wouldn¡¯t change the fact that doing so would drive Ise insane. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll exinter.¡± Turning away, Rain missed the look of concern that passed between Sunrise and Lucus. ¡°Just be safe, weirdo.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Feeling a bit floaty from the concern of her siblings, Rain double-checked that she had everything she needed: coins? Check. Snow? Check. ck book that she had left in a locked box under her bed? Unfortunately, check. Geared up and ready she pushed open the door and entered the Library of Oru. The moment the door closed behind her, Rain focused on her ¡®Librarian¡¯s Search¡¯ skill. She had thought long and hard about what the right information to search for would be and hade up with a few good possibilities. The best would be to simply ask to be led to a book that would give her a permanent skill like ¡®Librarian¡¯s Search.'' Her other options would be to ask for a skill that could copy temporary skills like River¡¯s ability, though that skill required that the copied skill be used on you, and Rain wasn¡¯t even sure it would work on temporary skills. Thest and most likely to exist information would be to ask to find a way to make a skilled item from a temporary skill. Deciding to go with the first, Rain focused on finding a book with a guiding skill like ¡®Librarian¡¯s Search¡¯ and then activated ¡®Librarian¡¯s Search.¡¯ A searing pain racked Rain''s body as her shadow ripped itself from her and rose into the air. Rain gasped and fell to her knees as the pain became a cold emptiness. She felt less real, as though she had lost a bit of her existence. Grounding herself with a few long breaths, Rain looked up at her shadow only to find it turning into an unrecognizable form. Her shadow had taken physical form, gaining depth and texture. Everything below the armpits had turned into mist while the arms had grown long. Each hand sported emaciated, sharp fingers close to a foot long that looked ready to spear Rain through. But the thing that scared Rain was the head, which sported long bone-white hair and milky white eyes. The mouth was a white hole sucking in the surrounding light and shining brighter. Rain felt like that mouth was sucking in more than just light as her feeling of instability grew. What had she created? Had the skill been a lie? The thing''s head snapped sideways, looking at Rain. ¡°What is yourmand?¡± Its voice was hollow yet full of screams. The very sound of it would scare the monsters that frequented Rain¡¯s nightmares. ¡°Are you going to guide me through the library?¡± Rain asked, her acting not enough to stop the quiver in her voice. ¡°Yes.¡± So this was the skill. Rain didn¡¯t understand why it had to take this form, but she still needed it. She would just need to be fast so she could get her shadow back and get rid of this hollow feeling. Already, she was starting to wonder why she bothered doing anything, or if saving the world was really that important. And that was unlike her. ¡°Take me to a permanent skill that can guide me like you do.¡± ¡°That information does not exist.¡± Rain winced at that. She had just wasted one of her three charges. If she was going to use one of her charges to create a skilled item then she only had one charge left to ask. ¡°I need to learn how to create a skilled item out of a temporary skill. Will you take me to that information?¡± The creature stared at Rain for a long moment before speaking. ¡°That information does not exist.¡± Rain slumped before the thing continued speaking. ¡°But if your goal is to find a way to navigate this realm by summoning me, I can help you find a permanent solution - for the right offering.¡± Rain blinked. Up to this point, this creature had acted a little like Mr. Purple, only answering direct questions and providing no rification; hearing it make a suggestion changed how Rain looked at it. That thought made Rain wonder, and she asked Mr. Purple to show her the description for ¡®Librarian¡¯s Search.¡¯ [Librarian¡¯s Search: Think of Information you wish to find in the Library of Oru, and the skill will guide you there at the cost of permanently raising physical corruption by one percent.] To her surprise, the skill still had three charges. It looked like the charges were only used when it led her to information. Though, she wouldn¡¯t have guessed that turning her shadow into a living creature would be the way it would guide her. Rain eyed the creature as it gazed back at her through its nk eyes. ¡°What do you mean by price?¡± It smiled. The bright void of its mouth curving up until the corners touched its eyes and light started leaking into them. ¡°I can take you to a tome you don¡¯t know you need in exchange for a favor, or I can take you to the exact information you ask for for the stated price.¡± ¡°What favor?¡± ¡°Take the deal, and you¡¯ll find out.¡± Was this how people felt when Rain did her Tyix act? No wonder they made such bad decisions. Even knowing how bad this could go, Rain found herself debating the risks. ¡°Can I add limits to the favor?¡± ¡°What limits?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t do anything against my conscience.¡± It cackled at that, a sound that reminded Rain of tortured screams. ¡°I ept that limitation. The human conscience is a fickle thing, after all. If my request is against your conscience, all I have to do is wait, and you¡¯ll change.¡± ¡°Then I want to add that I won¡¯t do anything to harm my family.¡± Rain¡¯s conscience would never let her hurt Sunrise or Lucus, but when dealing with ominous beings, it never hurts to add extrayers of protection. ¡°Very well.¡± ¡°Then I ept.¡± Rain said, raising two fingers to her lips. She could have tried to order this thing to take her to whatever tome it was talking about, but she had a feeling that if she tried to bypass the deal it offered her, she would end up paying more than just a favor. The thing still grinning mirrored her gesture, and like that, the deal was sealed. ¡°Follow me.¡± [Passive Skill Attained: Binding Promise.] Rain took one look at the message from Mr. Purple before shrugging and following the creature. She¡¯d known from the start that this would probably end poorly, but she was still going to walk to the end to see where it went. After all, deals like this weren¡¯t all bad; if her past self hadn¡¯t made a deal, then Rain wouldn''t exist. She would likely lose something big, but at the same time, there was something in her gut telling her that this was an opportunity she shouldn¡¯t pass. Whispers of the Soul Whispers of the Soul Once Rain and the creature were through the door and on the now familiar balcony of the shaft, the creature stretched out a hand to Rain. ¡°Take it so we won''t get separated.¡± Rain stared at the long hand, wondering where she should grab it. After a moment, she decided that the palm was her best bet. The moment she grabbed the thing''s palm, its fingers wrapped around her hand like the legs of a massive spider. ¡°Good, now we jump.¡± And like that, the guide dragged Rain off the balcony''s edge and into a freefall, barely giving her time to drop a coin before she was over the rails. The swift fall down the center of the shaft made Rain feel like her heart was in her throat, and she was clutching Snow like her life depended on it, but after a few seconds, Rain realized that despite the balconies rushing past her, the floor - or massive eye in this case - was getting no closer. That was all it took for Rain to start having fun as her hair streamed straight up and the air washed over her body. Below her, the massive blurry eye fixed on her and the guide. She had no idea how she wouldnd, but she had a coin lying back by the entrance, just in case. The only thing ruining her fun was Mr. Purple informing her that her corruption had risen to ten percent. She was getting close to dangerous levels. If she didn¡¯t find what she was looking for before she hit fifteen percent, she would turn back until she managed to lower the corruption again. ¡°Hold on tight.¡± Rain felt the spidery fingers of the guide mp down on her hand before her whole arm was jerked. Her freefall was transformed into a swing, bringing Rain and the guide towards a wall. Before they could m into anything, the guide grabbed Rain by the waist, and all of Rain¡¯s momentum seemed to drain away. The guide gently set Rain down on a narrow walkway, and she fell to her knees,ughing uncontrobly. That had been so terrifying, yet Rain had enjoyed every second of it. She needed to find more high ces to jump from. ¡°Come.¡± The guide was floating away, and Rain realized that she was feeling better. The emptiness and insubstantiality she had felt when she first summoned the guide were still there, but she no longer felt listless. While that was definitely a relief to Rain, it also helped her to feel just how risky this deal was. She made a note to never make big decisions when she couldn¡¯t muster enough emotions to care. Then, she made a second note to try to make deals with others when they were in that state. Rain followed the guide past several doors. Then, for no reason, the guide stopped and turned around without exnation, floating straight back the way they came. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing, this is simply the path.¡± Rain almost said something before realizing where they were. Why wouldn¡¯t backtracking lead them somewhere new? As the guide passed, Rain shivered at the sight of its face. Then she froze. Was this how people saw her: creepy and unnatural? The moment she realized that, she felt a crushing guilt hit her. She should be better than the people who shunned her. ¡°Um, Ms. Guide, do you have a name?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then do you mind if I give you one?¡± The creature paused for the briefest of moments, loose pages floating around the two of them, before it continued moving forward. ¡°Do what you must.¡± ¡°Okay, in that case, I¡¯m going to name you White because of your hair. What do you think, Ms. White?¡± ¡°Through this door.¡± Ms. White said,pletely ignoring Rain¡¯s question. That was okay, though. Rain would be nice to Ms. White as long as she didn¡¯t try to hurt Rain. If Ms. White didn¡¯t want to be friendly back, that was her choice. Rain followed Ms. White through the door and stopped in her tracks. She had expected the door to lead to some odd room like herst time exploring the shaft, but instead Rain found herself standing in the middle of a dead forest, the smell of rot strong in the air. The trees had ashy bark. The few sparse leaves Rain could see were golden and covered in runes. Nailed to each tree was a piece of paper with the same twisted symbol painted on it with ck ink. Overhead, a single massive moon rained, ck tendrils uncoiling from behind it, grabbing stars and pulling them towards the enormous moon. ¡°Come.¡± Rain jolted at the unexpected sound before sheepishly following behind Ms. White. Mr. Purple gave her a message about her corruption rising to thirteen percent, and Rain thanked him. As Rain walked the narrow trail, she couldn¡¯t keep her eyes off the golden leaves of the trees. What was written on them? They called to Rain, and were it not for her past experiences with books that called to her, she might have climbed one of the trees to read its leaves. But she resisted the urge until they stepped into a clearing with a single golden shrine sitting in the center. The shrine was simple: four engraved golden pirs holding up a roof that red out at the base. Inside stood three ornate altars in a triangle with a single book on each one. As Rain stepped into the shrine, she could tell each book was a work of art. Before Rain could ask which book she should take, Ms. White floated between the three books and pointed straight down. ¡°Here.¡± Rain followed the long finger to see a slight break in the pattern of the vibrant wood floor. Going down on her knees where Ms. White pointed, Rain pried up a small piece of the floor to reveal a rich brown leather book with a perfectly molded cover. Arge spherical diamond was set into the front cover with strands of pale blue light racing through it, formingplex geometric shapes and throwing wild shadows across Rain. All around the gem were raised portions forming swirling patterns. When Rain looked closer, the swirls seemed to form the vague shape of half a face, with the gem being the eye. Bronze filigree adorned the edges of the book and the title, which Rain could thankfully read, ¡®Whispers of the Soul.¡¯ ¡°Is this the one?¡± Rain asked, pointing at the book. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What do souls have to do with navigating this ce?¡± ¡°This book will help you use the part of your soul that contains the magic circle to summon me and create a magic item capable of calling me as many times as you need.¡± Magic. Rain had heard that word before. She was pretty sure it had been a part of the skill name from of one of the uffters she had experimented on. But based on what Ms. White said, souls and magic were a part of how skills worked. And magic items sounded like extra cool, skilled items. Rain found herself staring at the book with renewed interest. Nothing for it but to take the book. The moment Rain pulled the book from its hiddenpartment, the three altars around Rain crumbled to dust, the beautiful books on top of them withering until all that remained of them was stacks of dried, brittle parchment king apart in the slight breeze. ¡°Very good. I will inform you of the favor owed when you create a magic item to hold my summoning circle.¡± Rain looked up into the milky eyes of Ms. White and forced down the fear they caused. ¡°Thank you, Ms. White.¡± For the briefest of moments, Ms. White¡¯s face contorted in an emotion Rain couldn¡¯t read before returning to its normal wide grin. ¡°Summon me once you create the magic item.¡± With those final words, Ms. White changed once again and returned to a shadow before reattaching to Rain. Rain felt a warmth flow through her as whatever had been stolen from her when she summoned Ms. White returned. Then Rain felt something else sneaking into her along with the warmth - a wriggling slimy coldness. Sure enough, Mr. Purple confirmed Rain¡¯s suspicions. [WARNING: Physical corruption has risen 2%. Current Physical corruption 3%.] There was the first half of the price for finding this book. The Joys of Studying The Joys of Studying Rain sought out the refuge of her hoard room before looking over the results of her adventure. The first thing she looked over was her physical corruption. Why was it at three percent? It should only be at two. Had the description of ¡®librarian¡¯s search¡¯ lied, or was it because Rain had made a deal with Ms. White? Rain felt like it was probably thetter. Giving her cloak amand to retract, Rain looked herself over in the mirror, searching for any changes. Her corruption was only at three percent, so any changes it made were probably unnoticeable, but she was curious. To her surprise, Rain did find something different: the tips of her fingernails were now as ck as her hair. It wasn¡¯t a major thing, but Rain was worried that she could already see changes after only three percent. Did that mean that her mental corruption was affecting her more than she realized? Speaking of her mental corruption, it was at eighteen percent. How had it gotten so high? Rain had been watching to make sure it didn¡¯t rise above fifteen. She didn¡¯t notice anything off, but that worried her, given how her physical corruption had already started making changes with a fraction of the buildup. Was her mind being slowly changed? Would she be someone else without realizing it? Rain decided to do what she always did with things she couldn¡¯t change and ignored that impending identity crisis. She was who she was. Now for the exciting part: the book. Was this the kind of book that came with corruption like the books in the mist room, or was it safe like the books of petty secrets and the ck book? Rain turned it over in her hands, feeling the raised swirls and watching the light it cast over the walls. There was no point going through all the trouble of finding this if she wasn¡¯t going to open it. She would read just a little bit and try to understand what it was about. That way, she would know what she had to work with. Plopping down on the straw bed, which was far stiffer than she remembered, Rain cracked open the cover. Nothing. No glowing hands or rushes of sight or sound. So far it seemed to be just a book. With a rush of excitement, Rain read the first paragraph. ¡®The esoteric art of soul maniption, whereby one transmutes the very essence of being to disseminate attributes amongst oneself and others, stands as a testament to nobility and suffers from egregious misapprehension. The soul, that arcane vessel of one¡¯s identity, concurrently harbors the mystical faculties and arcane rites meticulously honed through the annals of time. To endow or annex such capabilities is to forge a path toward unequivocal parity and tranquility, in stark contrast to the misguided harangues of those benighted chatans who dare extol the soul¡¯s invibility.¡¯ Rain felt a tear slide down her cheek. This book didn¡¯t raise corruption; it did something far worse. It was written in I-want-to-sound-really-smart-ease, anguage Rain had be familiar with and learned to hate during her studies. She couldn¡¯t understand why anyone would waste time writing things down while trying to make it impossible to understand. Did they want people to read it or not? Maybe she should go tell Ise and Lucus she was okay ande back to this bookter. It made sense, but Rain had a suspicion that if she ignored this book now, it would only get harder toe back and read this cursed thing. Rain found a pen, pulled out her ck book, and started trying to decipher the pretentious tome. ¡°So this part here; that means that I can take or give something in my soul to someone else. Based on this part and what Ms. White said about her summoning circle, the attributes you can share or take are skills.¡± Rain took some notes on a nk page of the ck book and returned to the soul book. ¡°Now, this part here is interesting. If a person¡¯s soul is connected to their identity, then is corruption changing the soul?¡± She noted that question and then read the end three times before deciding it was just the author writing about something unimportant. That alone raised a bunch of questions. If this book was written by a person and not pure information condensed by the library like Rain had assumed, then who had written it? Were there people all over discovering things that were considered forbidden knowledge? Were their works confiscated, or did they simply end up in the library after they were forgotten? As curious as Rain was, it wasn¡¯t important right now. Rain turned to the next paragraph, but as she did, the ck book acted. The notes Rain had written in the ck book came to life, pealing themselves off the page and stretched into arms. Rain dropped both books and crawled back farther on the bed, keeping her eyes on the books. While she did, the arms of the ck book reached over and ripped the first paragraph out of the soul book. Then, the word arms dragged their prey back and pulled it into the ck book, leaving a nk spot on the original page where the pretentious intro used to be. Rain gingerly picked up the ck book and opened it to her notes. On the page where her notes used to be was the pretentious intro, but at the same time, Rain¡¯s notes were still there in the exact same ce. Rain could clearly read both at the same time; it was like they were both there alone on that same spot. Rain flipped through the book to see if there were any other changes, and sure enough, right under ¡®Project Blueprints and Theories #74 - Amagustus.¡¯ was a new line, ¡®Understanding Whispers of the Soul - Rain Estom.¡¯ Huh. That was interesting. Rain started looking through the book again for the Project Blueprints. But she still couldn¡¯t find them. ¡°Show me the Project blueprints.¡± And¡­ nothing. Rain turned back to the page, which showed two things at the same time. If the book could have two things written on the same page then why not three? The Blueprints had to be here somewhere, and Rain desperately wanted to know what they were of. Powerful swords? Flying ships? Or maybe a way to find a dragon! The only problem was Rain couldn¡¯t convince the book to show her. Rain paused from her deliberate procrastination of reading the next paragraph as a thought struck her: how did the ck book work? Not in the ¡®how could she use it¡¯ sort of way, but deeper. A skilled item only did one thing, and it should only be able to do it once, but this book seemed different. Now that she thought about it, her cloak also seemed kinda odd. She was so used to it and its ability to change shape at will that she never paused to realize it didn¡¯t follow the patterns of a skilled item. They both came from the library, so maybe they were built differently. Maybe they were magic items like Ms. White talked about! Rain liked that idea, so she decided to call them magic items until she figured out how they worked. Rain got so excited about the idea she forgot about procrastinating and let her eyesnd on ¡®Whispers of the Soul.'' A jolt of guilt ran through her, reminding her that she needed to figure out how to use it to make a skilled item as fast as possible. Until she did that, fun ideas could wait. With a defeated sigh, Rain pulled the book back and read the next paragraph. *** Swift-tail slipped into his newest hideout - a crack in the stones at the base of an old building. Unlike lesser humans, who were all ridged and bad at squeezing through tight spaces, Swift-tail¡¯s roundish body easily squeezed into an oval shape, letting him slip in with ease. He was currently about two-thirds of the way through the Low Ring and his progress was too slow. Getting through the city had been so much faster when the humans ignored him. Now, he only dared leave hiding at night, and he would spend most of his time searching for a good hiding ce closer to the center. If he found one, he would take cover there and wait until the next night. If he didn¡¯t, he would be forced to return to hisst hideout to wait another day. Nighttime wasn¡¯t safe either. While there tended to be fewer lesser humans out, the streets were neverpletely empty, and Swift-tail¡¯s white fur tended to be poor for camouge in the ck stone city. He¡¯d even tried dying it with ash, but that had hardly helped. Whatever. He wouldin to the Goddess when he saw her. Until then, he would enjoy the fresh roll he¡¯d stolen. Swift-tail wriggled forward, curious to see where this crack led. Hopefully, he would find something morefortable than the crack - not that he hadn¡¯t slept in cracks before. After a minute of squirming forward and downward, Swift-tail popped out into a dank room full of cages. The smells of rot and filth were slightly stronger here than elsewhere in the Low Ring. Swift-tail froze, eyes searching for movement. After a moment, he decided that this ce was abandoned and padded forward. The cages had people in them, but based on theck of movement, they were all dead. Swift-tail found one that looked soft and climbed on top to eat his roll. He was a few bites in when he caught sight of movement in the corner of the room. Someone was alive in a small cage in there. Looking closer, Swift-tail saw a small lesser human kit stirring. Swift-tail wasn¡¯t sure why everyone was dead here or why there was only one survivor, but his mama had taught him better than to leave an innocent kit to die. With a sigh and grumbling stomach, Swift-tail got up to share his roll with the lesser human kit. Hopefully, the kit would try to eat him or something and give him an excuse to leave. Then, he wouldn¡¯t have to help. Or share his dinner. The Gathering Starts The Gathering Starts ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re going to be alright?¡± Rain knew there was little she could do, but the look on Lucus¡¯s face as he waited in the entry hall of the Estom manor made her feel uneasy. It certainly wasn¡¯t helping her fight off the sadness that had decided today was another good day for an attack; at least it was less potent than thest few times. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine; this is just a feast to open the Gathering. No one will pay any attention to me.¡± Rain knew that wasn¡¯t true. Lord and Lady Estom had been more dismissive than ever since the y, and Lucus was the one suffering for it. Rain wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they were already nning to use Lucus to pay off favors tonight. Rain couldn¡¯t bring herself to look Lucus in the eyes. She had set up that whole y to help him spend more time with his parents and give him an opportunity to impress them, but it had all backfired, and now Lord and Lady Estom wouldn¡¯t simply ignore him; they would actively hurt him to punish Rain. She was an awful person; everything she did hurt people. She was¡­ she needed to calm down; this wasn¡¯t about her right now. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. If I just gave them money, they wouldn¡¯t be angry at you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± The murky color of those words hurt Rain. They weren¡¯t ck, but they were far from colorful. She could tell he didn¡¯t want to, but a part of him med Rain. Before she could apologize again, Svend entered the entryway holding an borate wooden box the size of two hands put together - normal-sized hands, not Rain-sized hands. ¡°I have the promise gift you made, Master Lucus.¡± ¡°Thanks, Svend.¡± ¡°I live to serve you,¡± Svend said with a joking smile and a gout of darkness. Rain schooled her expression; this was another chance to try and figure out what Svend really wanted. ¡°And here I thought you said you were here for me,¡± Rain said, referencing something he¡¯d said to a blushing maidservant. Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t remember who he actually said that to. He talked like that all the time, after all. ¡°Lady Estom, you are the reason I wake up in the morning,¡± Svend said, dipping into a bow. Rain tried not to smile at that because she had just confirmed something. Svend was, in fact, here for her. Or at least she was a part of the reason. His words had been far more colorful than usual. That satisfaction was dampened because as good as it felt to finally get some information out of the lying valet, now wasn¡¯t the time. Lucus still looked pale and worried, but now he was also a little annoyed at his sister and valet joking around while we worried. ¡°What¡¯s a promise gift?¡± Rain asked, trying to bring Lucus into the conversation. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about themter. They''re basically just a way to say things without words.¡± That got Rain curious, but satisfying her curiosity wasn¡¯t the goal right now, either. Helping Lucus was the goal, and she wasn¡¯t doing a very good job. She was an awful sister. Before she could try again, Lord and Lady Estom strolled into the room dressed in their finest clothes and followed by a herd of servants. Lucus¡¯s dejected posture died as his back jolted straight, and he tried to look like the perfect example of a young lord. ¡°Why are you standing there, boy? Let''s go.¡± Lord Estom barked at Lucus before strolling past them and out the front doors,pletely ignoring Rain. Lucus hurriedly followed behind his parents, leaving Rain with Svend for a brief moment. ¡°Goodbye, my beautifuldy,¡± he said - his words turning ck at beautiful - before following the crowd out the doors and leaving Rain alone. Shoving her left hand deeper into her pocket Rain started walking back towards her rooms. She was almost done with the soul book, and now that she had confirmed that Svend was probably here because of her, she needed to think about what that meant and how she should react. The whole way back, Rain focused on keeping her chin from quivering. She had no reason to cry right now; there was nothing wrong. If anything, she was the cause of problems for others. Why wouldn¡¯t these emotions go away? Why was she so¡­ broken? *** Rain watched in satisfaction as her ck book consumed thest words from ¡®Whispers of the Soul,¡¯ leaving the gem on its cover dark and lifeless. She had spent days reading this thing, trying to pry out all of its secrets, yet Mr. Purple never informed her of a skill gain. Rain hoped that meant this was something anyone could do with the proper knowledge, not that she was ipatible with the method. The book did seem to have what Rain was looking for, among other things. Rain flipped through her notebook until she found the first passage she had marked. ¡®Ah, my dear interlocutor, allow me to elucidate upon this arcane and esoteric matter. Verily, one may wield the ethereal fabric of unimprinted soulstuff to forge a mold - an intangible crucible, if you will - wherein the very essence of a skill is captured. Picture, if you dare, the delicate dance of metaphysical filigree as the soul¡¯s fment is severed, preserving the imprint within the mold. This ensouled artifact, when affixed to a suitable vessel, bes a conduit for power, albeit a diluted and less efficacious iteration of the original skill. Yet, heed this solemn admonition: the soulstuff, once severed,nguishes in eternal absence, never to regenerate. A mncholic fate, indeed, for the ephemeral remnants of the spirit.¡¯ Written on the same spot in the ck book were Rain''s notes. ¡®Why! By the moons, why is it written like this!¡¯ After that, there were some angry scribbles before the words continued, ¡®Is this saying that I can take a part of my soul to make a copy of a skill and attach that piece of soul to an item? This may be what I¡¯m looking for.¡¯ Rain looked at her note, then reread the original paragraph. That was what it was saying. Probably. Rain flipped through the book to find the second section describing what she needed for her n. ¡®Ah, verily, dost thou seek enlightenment upon the ethereal essence that doth elude mortal gaze? Attend, then, to these lofty precepts, for they shall guide thee through thebyrinthine corridors of the soul: Verily, the ocr orbs of mortals, though keen and piercing, are but feeble instruments in the grand symphony of perception. The soul, that elusive wisp of celestial breath, doth elude their grasp, veiled in shadows deeper than the abyssal depths of Arkit. Yet, fear not, for the senses of the spirit transcend mere sight. To feel the soul, one must first relinquish the corporeal shackles that bind the mind. Descend, then, into the Tenebrous recesses of thy consciousness, where the echoes of forgotten aeons whisper secrets to the receptive heart. There, amidst the obsidian currents of thought, seek the ephemeral warmth¡ªthe telltale ember of the soul. It flits like a spectral butterfly, brushing against the sinews of cognition. Attend to its delicate touch, for it is the harbinger of revtion. Practice this arcanemunion until thy own soul reveals itself, radiant and unbidden. Know thyself, O seeker, for therein lies the key to unlocking the cosmic tapestry. Yet, heed this counsel: To touch another¡¯s soul is a sacred pact, woven in the threads of consent. Extend thy hand, not as a marauder, but as a pilgrim seekingmunion. Seek permission, for the soul recoils from unwee intrusion. Thus, with reverence, grasp the hand of thy fellow traveler. Feel the pulse of their essence - the tremor of joy, the ache of sorrow, the symphony of memories. In that fleeting touch, thou shalt glimpse eternity.¡¯ As annoying as the passage was, it seemed to be instructions on how to feel souls. Rain reread the first step. She needed to let go of her body and sink her mind into a dark ce. Closing her eyes, Rain tried to rx and let her mind sink into itself. It didn¡¯t take long for the sadness she¡¯d been ignoring all day to take hold of her now that she wasn¡¯t keeping herself upied. Tears ran down her cheeks as she tried to push past the baseless feelings. Eventually, she made it; her mind popping into an empty ce where she could feel nothing. It reminded her a bit of the void she could see when she looked up in the shaft. Okay the next step was to feel around for her soul. Rain tried not to feel around too far it didn¡¯t make sense for her soul to be distant from her mind, and sure enough, she found a warm blobby thing that felt right. It was soft but chipped, and almost every surface was covered in intricate grooves. Were those skills? It didn¡¯t look like there was room for many more. Poking around, Rain felt her soul as it twisted around and back in on itself. She wondered what it would look like if she could see it. Rain managed to identify three different types of grooves on her soul. There were the deep ones, ones that were raised instead of engraved, and constantly pulsing ones that reminded Rain of veins. Having found her soul, Rain pulled her mind out of the void. The moment she resurfaced, her emotions hit her hard; the muting presence of the void no longer protecting her. But the most powerful emotion wasn¡¯t the sadness that had gripped her since she woke up; it was confusion. Was feeling souls supposed to be that easy? She had expected to spend several nights practicing to aplish the first step. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would get it on the first try. She double-checked with Mr. Purple that she didn¡¯t have a skill before sitting back. Maybe she was just good at this? The thought made her smile, but she wouldn¡¯t get too attached to it. Something always went wrong. But for now, she could pretend she was good at something and find Sunrise to practice the next stage with. The Garden The Garden The greenhouse really was a pretty ce with its vibrant colors and fun scents; it was even prettier when the servants were gone, like tonight. So naturally, Rain was going to do her training with Ise here and capitalize on the servants being either off duty or apanying the Lord and Lady. ¡°What are we doing, Rain? Does it have to do with the you know what?¡± ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t call it the ¡®you know what¡¯; that sounds suspicious.¡± Thest thing Rain needed was for Svend to hear Sunrise talk about obvious secrets. ¡°Are you going to give me a book to read!¡± Rain froze up momentarily and turned to look at Ise. She could see the excitement on the bigger girl''s face; she had a big dopy grin, and her cheeks were all flushed. Sunrise wanted to read one of the books? Of course, she did. Rain didn¡¯t like that idea at all. The books could drive people insane or turn them into monsters. If Rain let Ise read one and something bad happened to her, Rain¡­ Rain would¡­ Tears ran down Rain''s cheek as thoughts of Lon ran through her head, only now Ise was there being transformed and killed. Rain was on the ground, gasping for air, clutching Snow tight to her chest. Her eyes were wide, but she couldn¡¯t see anything around her; her gaze fixed on visions of Sunrise¡¯s death. ¡°No. No. No, no no no no¡± ¡°Rain! Rain, what¡¯s wrong! Are you hurt? What''s going on?¡± Warm arms wrapped around Rain, holding her and driving back the terrible visions. The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes while Rain beat back the visions, the fear, and the pain of what she¡¯d done. When she could control herself again, she jerked her arms out of the death-grip they had on Snow and hugged Ise. ¡°Sorry, I''m okay. Sorry for scaring you. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Thatst part wasn¡¯t just for Ise. It was also for Lon. ¡°You¡¯re okay?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Rain used her sleeve to whip her face. ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure.¡± Truthfully, she felt better. The emotions building up since she woke up that morning had been relieved. If she had to guess, it would be at least a week before her next episode. She would make sure that one happened somewhere private so she didn¡¯t worry her siblings more than she already had. ¡°Anyway, I need your help!¡± Rain said while standing and helping Ise up. She tried to inject a cheerful note into her voice to drive away the memory of her most recent breakdown. ¡°You see, I have something I need to learn, but I need your permission to practice it on you. So will you let me¡­¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Sunrise said, cutting Rain off before she could even finish asking the question. Looking at the trusting and eager face of her sister, Rain couldn¡¯t help but be reminded that she didn¡¯t deserve a sibling like this. Unable to stop herself Rain went in for another hug. ¡°Thank you.¡± She could hardly manage a whisper through her tightening throat. Retaking Ise¡¯s hand, she led them to a stone bench next to a patch of blue flowers. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to try to touch your soul; this may take a while to figure out.¡± Keeping hold of Ise¡¯s hand, Rain let her mind sink into the darkness. The trip was far easier thanst time, and Rain found her soul almost immediately: its rough, chipped edges and twisting patterns were familiar to her touch. Now for the next step: Finding Sunrise¡¯s soul. Rain let her mind spread outwards, feeling for any warmth in the void. As her mind stretched out, the time stretched on as seconds turned into minutes. Yet despite it all Rain found nothing. After a little longer Rain gave up on the attempt and pulled her mind back. ¡°Did it work?¡± Ise asked the moment Rain opened her eyes. ¡°No, give me a second. I need to read something.¡± Rain pulled out the ck book and opened it to the section she had named ¡®The precepts of soul touch.¡¯ She read the passage one more time - even with her concentration on the book, she could feel Ise¡¯s gaze on her. The wording was vague, but Rain found one part that might hint at where she had gone wrong. ¡®Practice this arcanemunion until thy own soul reveals itself, radiant and unbidden. Know thyself, O seeker, for therein lies the key to unlocking the cosmic tapestry.¡¯ This was thest line before the writer moved on to touching other people¡¯s souls. Rain felt like she might have missed a step. Sinking back into her mind, Rain felt her own soul again. This time, though, instead of moving on to look for Ise, Rain tried to memorize the feel of her own soul. Its warmth, texture, shape, and the patterns on its surface, she focused on getting to know them thoroughly. As she did, she started to feel something was off. There was an area where the heat was wrong; not bad, just slightly off. Rain sent her mind in that direction and found that the source of the heat was from a point just slightly off the surface of her soul. There was nothing at that point, yet as she moved her mind around it, she could feel it emanating heat. Rain rammed her mind into that point, and felt the void around her shift as her soul became a dim glow and formed a small point behind her identical to the point she had just entered. In front of her was a different soul. Rain ran her mind over this soul and felt the difference. Unlike hers, this soul was smooth and perfectly round. There were no chips or patterns and no missing soul-stuff. In short, it was perfect. It had to be Ise''s soul. She tried to pull her mind back to her body but couldn¡¯t. Unable to panic due to her muted emotions, Rain slowly pushed her mind back into the spot where her soul hid. The moment the warmth of her twisted and marred soul hit her mind, she felt the exit from the void and took it. ¡°Did it work this time?¡± Ise asked with a hint of worry. ¡°Yep! Thank you!¡± Sunrise didn¡¯t respond; instead, she gave Rain a big hug, which Rain happily returned. ¡°All right, what¡¯s our next step?¡± Ise said, releasing the hug. ¡°Well, my next step was going to be practicing to make copies of my skills. You don¡¯t need to wait around while I figure that out.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m staying. You aren¡¯t allowed to be alone today.¡± Rain cocked her head. Why wasn¡¯t she allowed to be alone today? There was nothing special about today, was there? ¡°What''s wrong about me being alone today?¡± Ise pulled her back into the hug. ¡°You¡¯re just not, okay.¡± ¡°Okay. But I¡¯m probably going to be staring at nothing for a while.¡± ¡°That''s fine. I¡¯ll just hold your hand.¡± Ise did just that, grabbing Rain¡¯s left hand and humming to herself. Rain smiled at her little sister. It would be nice to have her here. Now for thest step. Rain had Mr. Purple show her the descriptions for two skills. The first was the skill that had started this whole quest. [Librarian¡¯s Search: Think of Information you wish to find in the Library of Oru, and the skill will guide you there at the cost of permanently raising physical corruption by one percent. Uses left: 2] The second was the passive skill Rain had gained when she made a deal with Ms. White. [Binding Promise: A deal has been struck. Should either party break the terms set, they will be subject to the other''s mercy. This skill will be lost onpletion of the deal.] Rain had two Items to make. Side Stories 15 & 16 Side Stories 15 & 16 Steen Tor inspected the names and charcoal drawings of the five top people suspected to be the infamous Lady Tyix. ¡°Thank you, Hand Henrik. Tell Commander Thea I¡¯m grateful for her assistance.¡± ¡°Yes, Inspector.¡± ¡°It is a shame I wasn¡¯t brought in on the operation to capture Lady Tyix. I¡¯m sure that with my help, the operation wouldn¡¯t have been such an utter failure.¡± Watching the high and mighty Hand grit his teeth was delightful. Commander Thea had truly screwed up, and now Steen would take the prize from her. He had wed his way up from the streets to be a sser, and now, once he got his hands on the child that could create unlimited ssers he would rise even further. Steen looked over the reports again, ignoring the fuming Hand standing before him. Three of the names were from House Sonom: Ole Sonom, v Sonom, and Vagan Sonom. Vagan was even the son of the current head of that blood-drenched house. They all had the right build and hair color, and their connection to the house of assassins exined Lady Tyix''s stealth abilities. The next name was Raina Estom. She was an unknown child who paid the wastrel head of Estom house for the right to be named a member of that house. No one knew where she came from before showing up with a cart of gold. The watching stars hadn¡¯t even been able to find any information on the girl. She could be Lady Tyix, but Steen thought it was also likely she was part of a ploy from another house to take over Estom Ind. Henrik coughed, trying to draw Steen¡¯s attention, which made ignoring him all the sweeter. Thest name was Dancer, amoner. The girl had been on the watch list for a while as a potential ck sser. Her record had several instances of people acting oddly around her beforeing to unfortunate ends. It happened often enough that her neighbors had reported her,nding her on the Tineak guard watch list. Looking at the reports of the girl''s actions, he hoped it wasn¡¯t her. The way the people who crossed her always ended up having idents that helped her rise in the world spoke of a kindred spirit to Steen. Looking up from the papers, Steen feigned surprise at Henrik¡¯s presence. ¡°By Agro, did I not dismiss you! My apologies, you are dismissed, Hand Henrik.¡± And like that, Thea¡¯s pet departed with a re. Steen chuckled. He hadn¡¯t needed these reports; he¡¯d already found these five names and more through his own investigations, but he enjoyed rubbing ash in Thea¡¯s wounds. Looking back at the notes, Steen went over his ns for getting all the suspects to the gathering. Almost everything was already in ce, and once the suspects were all there, he could find the true Lady Tyix. Steen felt a pang of guilt for the briefest of moments while looking at the pictures before crushing it. Even if he sent the wrong child to The Tower to be tortured and broken, it would be worth it if it helped him rise. With his resolve firm, Steen called for the next pawn in his n. *** ¡°Okay, Runt, don¡¯t mess this up!¡± ¡°I got this!¡± Runt¡¯s confident response made Swift-tail worry. He wasn¡¯t a bad lesser human, but he had a knack for getting into trouble - like that wholedies shoe incident. Swift-tail shuddered at the memory. ¡°If you say so, just remember what we nned and keep me hidden.¡± Swift-tail gotfortable in his new shoulder bag home. It was actually ratherfortable and made getting into the Mid Ring easy. The guards had barely even looked at Runt in his new clothes. The problem now was that no amount of fancy clothes would get the pair into the Crown Ring if they didn¡¯t have business there. Swift-tail could probably get in alone with Runt¡¯s help, but he wasn¡¯t willing to abandon his new friend. The helpless kit would probably end up in another cage if he did. The bag stopped jostling, and Swift-tail came alert. ¡°Ho boy, what business do you have with House Wervle.¡± ¡°Um, well, Mr. Ith gave me this letter and said you might be willing to hire me as a porter.¡± Runt¡¯s shaky voice did not inspire trust, not to mention that Mr. Ith had rmended him as a messenger boy, not a porter. But apparently, Runt had forgotten that in the stress of the moment. Swift-tail could feel this chance slipping away. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Runt; you just need to calm down.¡± ¡°Sorry, kid. We don¡¯t have use for porters your size. Come back when you¡¯re about sixty pounds heavier.¡± And there it was. ¡°One moment, Peder,¡± a soft feminine voice wafted from somewhere close by, ¡°send the boy in. I¡¯d like to speak with him.¡± ¡°Very well, mydy. You heard her, boy. Go in and greet thedy,¡± the guard responded in a crisp tone, then in a much softer voice, barely a whisper, Swift-tail heard him say. ¡°Sorry, kid. I tried to save you.¡± Soulcrafting Soulcrafting Rain stared at the small earring dangling from her hand. It had taken her hours to make this. Lucus and the Estoms had returned from the feast, Sunrise had fallen asleep, and the house had gone silent, but Rain had finally figured out thest steps. Probably. She wasn¡¯t sure if the blood leaking from her eyes and nose was supposed to happen, but at least the item had been created. She wiped her face again with a rag before plopping back on the couch in her sitting room. The patterns she had painted on the wall were twisting and swirling in her dazed vision. It was beautiful. Rain examined the earring again as the world split into two before reconnecting. She might be better off sleeping right now instead of trying to force her rebelling senses to function. The earring looked different than it had before Rain fused an inskilled soul fragment to it. Before, it had been a hook with a piece of quarts held in a simple gold setting. Now, the oblong quarts had dark lines faintly running through them that formed familiar patterns. The setting had also changed, forming a w that gripped the small stone. The whole thing looked super cool to Rain, but she wasn¡¯t sure if she could wear it outside. The fact that her ears weren''t pierced aside, the piece was pretty recognizable. It had been one of the pieces Rain had looted from Lord Isster''s house before burning it down, and despite its changes, Rain couldn¡¯t risk people seeing it. She would have to leave it in her library for now. Hooking the earring over her bottom lip, Rain giggled. She wasn¡¯t sure why this was funny, but she couldn¡¯t stopughing. Setting the earring on the table next to the other pieces of jewelry she¡¯d tried and failed to attach her soul to, Rain felt a bead of blood draw a line from her nose down her chin. Heh, heh, she had a stripe. She wiped up the blood, admiring its dark color. No matter what, she needed to get rid of all the blood before Sunrise woke up. That gave Rain pause. If she was going to make another item, shouldn¡¯t she do it now when she was already bloody? Then she could hide the problem from Ise better. Congratting herself on her brilliant idea, Rain started gathering the items she would need. She had already thought about how she wanted this item to turn out and bought some things to try building it a few days ago. Rain wobbled through the twisting room towards a desk. With a few quick movements, she whipped the five different pieces of paper out. Each one was made differently from the fine paper of House Killper to smooth velum made from some kind of seal. Rain ignored both those options and picked one that she had bought on a whim: a piece of rough leather from some unnamed animal. In the dancing light of the dark room this piece felt right. Too tired to return to the couch, Rain plopped down on the floor at the foot of the desk and looked at her scrap of leather. Laughing at the leather''s funny shape, she closed her eyes and sunk into the void. The soft heat of her soul was gone, reced by raging heat and blistering cold. Rain wanted to pull her mind back, but she needed to do this before Ise woke up and scolded her. Ignoring the pain, Rain reached forward and grabbed her soul, her mind burning on contact. The worst part of the soul was where Rain broke off a piece to make the earring. The newly exposed soul bits burned like fire. Rain ignored the damaged parts and started feeling around for another area that was free of skill patterns. It took a while, but she found a small patch of cracked but unimed soul. Without so much as a second thought, she grabbed it and ripped it from her main soul. A fiery heat burst from the breaking soul and Rain held tight to her soul fragment. This was going so much faster now she knew what to do. Feeling around as fiery heat racked her, Rain found the pattern that corrted to ¡®Binding Promise.'' The way the pattern felt attached to the surface of her soul rather than growing from it like all her other skills gave it away. Rain held her handful of soul-stuff in the heat of her burning soul to soften it up a bit - another trick she had found while making the earring. When the soul-stuff was nice and soft, she rammed it into the pattern for ¡®Binding Promise¡¯ As she did, the soft soul-stuff flowed over the skill and created a negative of it. Perfect. Now, all she had to do was attach her soul-mould to the leather, and her work would be done. Opening her eyes, Rain kept a part of her focus on her soul-mold. Reaching for the scrap of leather, Rain had her attention stolen by the writhing patterns on the walls. They were moving even faster now. ¡°This won¡¯t work if you try to attach the soul-mold as it is.¡± Rain giggled at the words; she had no idea why she¡¯d spoken them, but they were funny. ¡°Change the mold.¡± Once again her mouth moved without her trying. There was no point in arguing with herself, so Rain grabbed the mold and started twisting the patterns, adding lines and creatingyers to the imprint. She had no idea what she was doing, but everything reminded her of the swirling patterns of shimmer. And it was pretty. Rain continued weaving the pattern of the skill while blood dripped from her lips, eyes, and ears. She sowed patterns in the broken piece of her soul while blood seeped out of her armpits and stained her shirt, the skirt of her dress likewise darkening with blood. And while she sewed and bled and cackled to herself, two hearts beat, one from inside her chest, the other resting in a pocket over her chest. After a while, Rain decided that the mold felt right and sunk back into the void to grasp the soul mold that was now far moreplex than any of her skills. The pattern wasn¡¯t simply a two-dimensional pattern stamped on a chunk of soul-stuff; it was a three-dimensional sculpture carved out of soul-stuff, and it felt hungry. Rain stared at the soul effigy in her mind. She needed to attach it to the leather, but the way she¡¯d made the earring by just pushing the soul piece at the item felt wrong. Then Rain remembered her ¡®Enter Dream¡¯ skill. That skill worked by attaching a piece of her soul to someone when they ate a part of her. Coating two fingers in the blood leaking from her mouth, Rain prepared to draw on the leather. She didn¡¯t feel the need to draw anything in particr, so she drew a flower, nice and simple and pretty. As she did, her mind seemed to stop shaking. The room stopped swirling and Rain felt a connection to the leather form then snap. Like that, the soul sculpture was gone. Before Rain¡¯s eyes, the uneven leather scrap began to change, the edges smoothing out until the piece was a long rectangle. Then, the leather thinned, bing supple and flexible. Lastly, like ink dropped into water, the parchment began to darken until its surface was as murky as the pits of Arkit. ¡°I¡¯ve helped you as a mark of goodwill. When the timees, you will have my hidden truths. I trust you will repay this debt and help me finish my work and spite those who killed me.¡± The moment Rain stopped speaking, the energy in her body started to fade, the walls stopped dancing, and a crushing pain from the center of her being threatened to kill her. She tried to push thoughts through her sluggish mind. Rain didn¡¯t know why the voice¡­ What was she doing¡­ Who¡­ The blood! She needed to clean it before Ise saw it! Rain reached for the rag she''d been cleaning herself with. Darkness engulfed her mind before her hand touched it. Unnamed Contract Unnamed Contract Darkness pulled Rain¡¯s mind into oblivion, or at least it tried. Rain didn¡¯t let it. If she fell unconscious now, Sunrise would wake up in the morning and find Rain slumped against a wall covered in blood. Rain could already see the worry and fear on her sister''s face, and she would not allow that to happen. With a heroic effort, Rain forced herself back to consciousness. Her whole being felt like it was on fire, and darkness gnawed at the edge of her vision, but she pushed through, forcing herself to her feet and shakily walking to the bathroom. Rain spent several agonizing minutes washing her body of all the blood. Never before had she been so grateful that her cloak could clean itself because, by the time she finished washing, it was already spotless. Rain wasn¡¯t so sure whether she waspletely clean, but it was good enough. She wasn¡¯t sure how much longer she could stay awake. Stumbling out of the bathroom, Rain wobbled quietly over to the spot where she had been sitting. It was too dark for her to tell if she¡¯d stained the carpet, so Rain simply covered the floor with the unused papers, picked up the scrap of soft leather that had caused this whole problem, and rocked over to her bedroom to finally get some sleep. *** Rain closed the ck book. It had been two days since she went somewhat crazy and created her nk scroll, and in all that time, the pain never left. Rain felt like she was on fire every waking moment; it was hard to eat or move, leaving her no choice but to pretend she was sick. The pain was so bad that, at times, she started seeing a pair of glowing eyes watching her as she tried to sleep. She still worried Ise; even Lucus had taken time away from his preparations for the Gathering to sit and talk with her. The problem wasn¡¯t Rain¡¯s body, though; it was her soul. Her rash creation of a second ensouled item before she had time to heal from the first had caused her soul to fracture. Even now, Rain could feel heat radiating off her wounded soul as she kept a mental hand on it, trying to hold it together. Rain had spent thest few days rereading about souls, and nothing in her book mentioned how to fix this. One passage even said that if a person¡¯s soul was injured, then it was best to let them die. Rain wouldn¡¯t be taking that option. If she had to keep a hand on her soul and live with this pain for the rest of her life, so be it; she would learn to deal with it. Besides, it wasn¡¯t like she didn¡¯t get anything out of this. Rain reached out a hand, and darkness seeped out of her palm, twisting and forming into the dark scroll she had spent so much to create. Rain didn¡¯t care how many times she did that, it was still cool. She couldn¡¯t wait to do it all dramatically the next time she was acting as Tyix. And the dramatic summoning wasn¡¯t even the best part; she could clearly remember Mr. Purple''s message. [Congrattions on creating the soulbound item: Unnamed Contract. When the terms of a deal are written in blood on this reusable contract, and two parties sign and seal it, the contract will hold both parties to the agreement. Should one party break the terms of the deal, their very being will be forfeited to the other except for a small portion that the Unnamed Contract itself will consume.] Every time Rain thought about the description, it made her happy. This was better than she had been hoping for. Now Rain could use her library without having topromise her morals. After all the self-loathing she had endured for breaking her morals to spare the Estoms, this victory was worth the physical pain she was in. Before, Rain had to be careful not to give too many people ess to a tome from her library for fear of creating another Merchant Killer - a problem she still hadn¡¯t fixed. She could have simply tricked her victims into raising their corruption to the max and then used ¡®Artisan of Abominations¡¯ to enve them, but Rain hated very, and the very thought of taking a person¡¯s free will made her sick. But now Rain had a way to get people to do what she needed withoutpletely enving them! She would get them to walk into her traps with their eyes wide open. It was perfect. Rain¡¯s onlyint about creating this scroll - other than the constant mind-rending pain - was that she couldn¡¯t remember exactly how she made it. She vaguely remembered getting help from someone, but she couldn¡¯t remember who. That was another question she had been searching through the ck book for, but she had found even fewer answers for it than for her problem with her fractured soul. In the end, she simply had to ept that that uncertainty was just a part of the cost of getting what she needed. The night was dark, and Ise had gone to bed a while ago. Rain had nothing better to do, and the pain wasn¡¯t going anywhere. There was nothing holding Rain back from finding some new pawns to share a book with. And Rain had an idea of who might know some people. Closing her eyes, Rain dragged herself out on the string connecting her to Ms. River. When Rain arrived at the now-familiar tavern that Ms. River enjoyed running, she was surprised to see that she wasn¡¯t the only guest. Sunrise and Ms. River were sitting at a table talking. Rain checked that she didn¡¯t have a body yet and floated over to listen in on their conversation. ¡°If Rain is hiding something from you, maybe she has a reason.¡± They were talking about her? Rain was a little disappointed. She¡¯d hoped Ise had made a friend and was here to talk about fun things. Ms. River might be a bit old, but it would still make Rain happy to know her sister had at least one friend. ¡°But if something is hurting her, then I need to know so I can stop it.¡± Ise pouted. ¡°Maybe she¡¯s just sick.¡± ¡°Then what about the blood on the carpet?¡± Oops. Rain really should have put more effort into cleaning the carpet. She¡¯d just been in so much pain at the time - not that now was much better. ¡°Have you tried asking her about it?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you try that?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I just can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Okay, well how¡­¡± Rain was done listening. She had tried to hide her self-inflicted harm because she didn¡¯t want to worry Sunrise, but once again, she was only doing damage by trying to protect her sister. Floating back to the tavern''s entryway, Rain focused on forming a body. The strain on her mind caused her soul pain to re up, but Rain pushed through. ¡°Hi, Ise! Hi, Ms. River!¡± The two turned to look at her with guilty expressions on their faces. Rain decided that she should be honest. ¡°Um, I overheard you guys talking. You¡¯re right, Ise; I am hurt right now.¡± Rain walked over, sat at the table with the other two, and began exining what had happened when she made her earring and contract. Rain noticed that as she did, the atmosphere in the tavern changed, the once cheerful patrons losing their boisterous chatter for subdued muttering. Rain wondered if Ms. River was doing that on purpose. ¡°So your soul is hurt? Is that why you¡¯re so blurry right now?¡± Ise¡¯s question caught Rain off guard. Blurry? Looking down at herself, Rain found that she was indeed blurry. Her body was there; it just looked uncertain if it wanted to be there around the edges. ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t realize that, but probably.¡± ¡°What do you need to feel better? Do you need some of my soul like when people share blood?¡± Ise was breathing heavily again. Rain was starting to recognize that as a bit of a bad sign. Plus, there was no way for Rain to use her soul to¡­ actually, that might work. Not that Rain would ever tell Ise that. Rain had touched Ise¡¯s soul, and it was perfect and unblemished. Breaking a piece of it off and marring it would be just wrong. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Rain said, refusing to wince at the puff of dark smoke leaking from her lips right after she decided not to lie to Ise. The way Sunrise slumped at the words made Rain feel even worse. Rain couldn¡¯t take it, so she stood up and hugged the still-sitting Ise. The position was kind of awkward, and Rain ended up just hugging Ise¡¯s head, but Ise didn¡¯t seem to mind as she nestled her head into Rain''s chest. As Rain hugged her sister, her ears started to turn red. The reason was Ms. River, who was watching the two sisters with a big smile on her face. The moment Ms. River saw she had been noticed, her grin widened. ¡°You¡¯re a good big sister, Rain.¡± Rain''s face turned red to match her ears, and she looked away. Between the embarrassment at Ms. River¡¯s words and the gentle warmth from the hug, Rain hardly noticed the burning pain that had been ever present since her foolish decisions. Some things were just stronger than pain. Ady’s Plight Ady¡¯s Plight Rain snuck out of the back of Mr. Markson¡¯s shop, having sessfully escaped both Ise and Svend¡¯s watchful eyes. Getting a coin out of the manor so she could slip away without anyone noticing had been a bit tricky at first, but then she realized she could send a servant to buy something for her and give them a bound coin to pay for it. It was a gray spring day. Rain covered her mouth and nose, putting on the goggles that hung around her neck to protect herself from the lightly falling ash. The goggles made the people about their business with their heads down look like blurry, featureless things walking around the street. They almost looked like something that belonged in her library. Smiling to herself, Rain set off; she had a bit of a walk ahead of her. There were only two days until the coven of Zimir. Rain was out of time. She needed to lower her corruption now so she could learn about the Zimir before shended herself in a position she wasn¡¯t ready for. Fortunately, she had finally managed to contact Mr. Mirage in Ms. River¡¯s dream world. Though she had only managed it through messages left behind with Ms. River. Rain wasn¡¯t sure what he was doing these days now that the Ash Grifters were gone, but he slept about as little as she did. After a half hour of walking, Rain reached her destination. Checking the note she had written down after waking up, Rain looked back up at the modest Mid Ring home. This was where Ms. River said he was staying right now. Rain shrugged. There was enough ash falling right now that everyone was wearing their goggles and covering their mouth and nose. Even if this was the wrong ce, no one would recognize her. Rain knocked on the door. A momentter, the door opened, revealing a blurry young boy with tousled red hair. The boy''s eyes got really big as he looked at her before he mmed the door. ¡°Monssssttteeerrrrrr!¡± Rain could hear the boy''s squeaky voice as he ran deeper into the house. All she could do was sigh and hope she was in the right ce. Maybe she should have brought Ise along. No one was ever afraid of the sunny girl. Running footsteps approached the door; these ones heavier than thest. When it opened, it was to the blurry image of Mr. Mirage. ¡°Lady Tyix,e in. Sorry about Eak; he¡¯s just a kid, so please forgive him.¡± Rain simply nodded and removed her goggles. Mr. Mirage looked good. His ears were still hidden under his cap, and his tail was tucked away somewhere, but with the nice gray Mid Ring clothes he was wearing, Rain would never have guessed that he used to be a gang member in the Low Ring. She still didn¡¯t know how he was escaping the Tineak guard - he should be well known to them - but she was happy he was doing well. Rain looked around, wondering how much they could talk about here. It was unfortunate they didn¡¯t have time to speak in the dream world first. The building was modestly decorated with few furnishings, but the little that was there reminded Rain of a simpler version of Orom Manor, with a simple but well-polished spear hanging on the wall. ¡°You said you met someone who needed my help?¡± Rain asked. It was the main reason Rain hade out here without waiting to talk to him in the dream world. Rain needed to lower her corruption, and she didn¡¯t have time to learn all the details. But still, what was Mr. Mirage doing here? She had given him a chance to go to Estom Ind along with the other Ash Grifters, but he turned her down. He said there was more opportunity for his sisters and him in the city. Rain had seen enough of his words to know he wasn¡¯t trying to harm her despite his awful caginess when she tried to press him for details. ¡°Yes, while spreading word of your power, I met someone I think could use your help.¡± Mr. Mirage said, opening a door and letting them into a simple room that was a cozy mixture of kitchen, dining, and sitting rooms. ¡°Priest, who is this?¡± The speaker was a muscr girl of maybe fifteen with blond hair pulled back into a braid. ¡°This is Lady Tyix, the one I was talking about, the one who can help you gain a ss.¡± The girl''s eyes widened at that revtion. ¡°You can help me get a ss! Please, I¡¯ll do anything!¡± the girl said, standing with her hands nted on the table in front of her. Rain considered the girl for a long moment. She would help the girl, but she needed to know more about her before deciding how to handle her. Stepping forward, Rain had her cloak change into her Lady Tyix outfit. She was d she had thought ahead and brought her belts. With that, Rain removed her goggles and smiled at the girl. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Ady, your uhdy?¡± Ady said, clearly unsure how to address Rain. ¡°Good. Now Ady, why do you want to be a sser?¡± Ady¡¯s face darkened at the question; colorful smoke rose from her mouth as she answered through gritted teeth. ¡°To prove my father isn¡¯t a traitor, to get revenge on the man who set him up, and to take back my dreams!¡± Rain was immediately interested. Not only did this provide her with plenty of leverage on the girl, but it also sounded like something straight out of a y. ¡°Exin.¡± She asked, sitting down across from the still-standing girl. ¡°My father was a squad captain in the eastern quarter of the Tineak city guards. He¡¯s been a guard ever since he was a boy and always did his best to protect people from thugs and murderers. I wanted to be just like him and trained my whole life to join the guards. But a few months ago, we got a newmander in the eastern quarter, Commander Bartel. When Bartel took over, everything started to change. Father said that the guards who overstepped their bounds stopped getting punished; then they all started getting orders to do things that were against thew. When my father told Bartel he wouldn¡¯t follow those orders, Commander Bartel backed down. My father told me that he was hopeful he could turn the guards back around. I remember how happy he was that night as he talked about it.¡± Ady¡¯s voice cracked with emotion as she spoke, and every word was the color of truth. Rain felt for the girl. She didn¡¯t know the full story yet, but she could recognize pain, and a part of her ached for the girl across from her. Rain had to remind herself that she was both creepy, unwanted, and ying the part of Lady Tyix the ck sser. It was the only way to stop her from going over and hugging Ady. Instead, she simply listened as Ady went on in a voice raw with emotion. ¡°But the very next day, Bartel ¡®discovered evidence¡¯ that my father was taking bribes from gangs in the Low Ring. By the end of the day, my father was imprisoned. I tried to join the guards to find proof that my father was innocent, but they refused me, saying I was too weak despite the former Commander promising me a ce when I was old enough. They stole my father and my dreams. I need to find proof that Bartel framed my father, and take back what he stole from me, and the only way to force them to let me join the guard is if I have a ss.¡± Thosest words were said while Ady gave Rain a pleading look, tears in the corner of her eyes as she begged for the power to save her family and her future. Rain leaned forward and smiled. The flicker of fear that crossed Ady¡¯s face as Rain did wasn¡¯t lost on Rain, and it did put a damper on her mood, but that didn¡¯t matter; it was time to rebuild her minions. ¡°Ady, let''s make a deal.¡± With those words, Rain produced a feather pen and ink well full of her blood from the depths of her coat, then stretched out her left hand and summoned her contract in a flurry of darkness. ¡°The deal I propose is simple. I will give you ess to my library, a ce full of books that grant unique sses but also twist the minds and bodies of those who read them. You will be fine, though, as long as you aren¡¯t too greedy or very unlucky. In return, you will never share any information about me with anyone without my permission and will fulfill the tasks I assign you. If either of us fails to fulfill our part of the bargain, then the other will have the right to im the life, mind, body, and soul of the bargain breaker. Do you ept?¡± Ady replied immediately, ¡°I ept.¡± Two emotions warred in Rain, and the excitement at getting a new minion lost. Rain sighed and gave Ady a look. ¡°You can negotiate the terms if you want.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. I have to save my father!¡± Rain shook her head. It would be so easy to take advantage of Ady; Rain needed to teach her a lesson. ¡°Ady, who was the boy who answered the door earlier?¡± Ady blinked at the random question. ¡°That''s my little brother¡­¡± ¡°Do you realize that by the terms you were about to agree to, I could order you to kill your little brother, and you would have to, or you would lose your life and soul to me?¡± Rain watched as the color drained from Ady¡¯s face before she continued. ¡°I don¡¯t need a stupid minion, so think carefully this time and tell me what changes you want to make to the contract.¡± Rain was d to see the girl giving weight to Rain¡¯s words as she thought over the contract. After a few minutes, Ady spoke again. ¡°I won¡¯t do anything to hurt my brother, father, or myself. And I won¡¯t do anything to dishonor my family.¡± Rain thought about that for a moment before adding an amendment of her own. ¡°I want you to be my warrior, so let''s change that to ¡®I can¡¯t force you to go into certain death fights, but I can still order you into danger.¡¯ All the other changes I ept.¡± Ady nodded at Rain''s words, and Rain wrote out the terms of their agreement on the contract in her own blood. When she finished, she lifted the contract to her lips and kissed it. The moment she did, she felt a rush of energy leave her, and the pain in her soul red hotter. As Rain lowered the contract and passed it to Ady to read and seal, she noticed that the words now glowed like jagged red rifts in the ck vellum. Ady took the time to read the contract - which Rain was d to see - before kissing it herself. The moment she did, the words on the page shed, and the whole scroll burst apart in a sh of crimson. ¡°Alright, Ady follow me to your future.¡± Ady’s Path Ady¡¯s Path Rain dismissed the messages about Ady¡¯s new skill and ss and offered a hand to help the poor woman up. Ady, for her part, was on her hands and knees, dry-heaving after her violent experience with the book she had selected. ¡°Are you satisfied with the power you¡¯ve gained?¡± Ady didn¡¯t answer and instead let her arms copse, leaving her resting on her knees and forearms, the tattered book she¡¯d read discarded beside her. Rain simply waited for her to get her stomach under control. ¡°That was awful.¡± Rain couldn¡¯t deny that it looked very unpleasant. She wasn¡¯t sure exactly how the book had imparted its knowledge, but the way Ady¡¯s eyes bulged as she read looked both unpleasant and funny. After Ady finished reacting to whatever the book did to her, she started muttering to herself. Rain naturally listened in. ¡°I did it. I have a ss now. I actually have a ss, and they can''t turn me away now!¡± Ady started chuckling to herself and muttering under her breath. Rain leaned so she could hear what the girl was saying. ¡°Revenge, revenge, revenge, revenge¡­¡± When Ady looked up, she had a fierce grin and tears in her eyes. ¡°Thank you, Lady Tyix. With this, I¡¯ll be able to free my father and protect the city!¡± Rain was a little concerned about Ady. She wasn¡¯t sure how much of this was corruption and how much was Ady. Still, Ady¡¯s choices were her own. ¡°I fulfilled my end of the deal.¡± And Rain had. When the contract had been sealed, Rain had felt a cage form around her soul, ready to exact the penalty if she failed to hold up her end of the bargain. But now her part was finished the cage had shattered. Rain was free of any punishment. ¡°What is the name of your ss?¡± ¡°I am a Spear Maiden!¡± Ady stated as she rose to her feet. Interesting. Rain knew that the warrior ss House Orom controlled was a general ss for melee fighting that didn¡¯t focus on any specific weapon. She wondered if Ady¡¯s spear maiden ss would give her more powerful and specific skills. ¡°Spear Maiden Ady, my first task for you is to drink this.¡± Rain said, holding out a small vial containing a drop of her blood and river juice mixed in water. Ady drank the vial without question, and Rain felt the burning in her soul rise to a searing pain as she connected to Ady. Why was using that skill so much more painful than her other skills? ¡°Good. Now, if you want to punish Commander Bartel yourself, I won''t stop you, but if you would prefer, I can help you use him to save your father.¡± Ady looked at Rain for a moment before asking. ¡°What do you mean, use him?¡± Rain grinned from ear to ear as she answered. ¡°Remember how you almost signed a deal that could force you to do things you wouldn¡¯t ever do otherwise?¡± Ady¡¯s eyes widened at the question as she understood what Rain was saying. ¡°Do you promise to make him pay?¡± Rain gave a slight nod. ¡°Then what do you need me to do?¡± Rain withdrew another vial of the river-blood-juice and handed it to Ady. ¡°Make sure he drinks that.¡± *** Rain left Ady¡¯s home amid a thick downfall of ash. She could warp straight home, but she wanted a few minutes to think. Everything had gone well today, and the contract seemed to be working. That made it worth the pain that constantly tormented her now. But she needed to be careful. Something as powerful as the contract could be just as bad as ¡®Artisan of Abominations.¡¯ She would need to make sure she didn¡¯t cross the line when she used it. Perhaps she should make a set of rules she should never cross. Could she sign a contract with herself? But enough of that. Rain had lowered her corruption to 14% and had ns in motion to reduce it more once she trapped Commander Bartel. That would have to be good enough for now. Rain needed to learn about the coven. The message from Mr. Purple said she had a little over two days before it started. Turning to a random door, Rain used her skill to enter her library. Rain still had two charges of Libraien¡¯s search left, but she should check that the earring worked before she used them. With that in mind, Rain went to her hoard and retrieved the earring from where it sat next to the sk that Blondy gave her, along with her most prized treasures. Holding the earring between her thumb and forefinger, Rain pushed her power into it and summoned Ms. White. When the shadow was ripped from Rain, and the veil of apathy fell over her, Rain was surprised to find that it also made the pain recede. That feeling of numbness was pure bliss to Rain¡¯s frazzled mind. ¡°Congrattions on creating a magic item.¡± So, it was considered a magic item. Good to know. ¡°Thanks, Ms. White.¡± Ms. White¡¯s light void smile widened as she looked at Rain. ¡°Are you ready to uphold your end of the deal?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. What do you want me to do?¡± ¡°I want you to provide me with a human body. I want to experience life as a mortal and to explore the mortal world.¡± For a moment, Ms. White looked almost human as she spoke longingly of seeing the mortal world despite her voice of screams. ¡°How would I make you a body?¡± That was the real question, and Rain had no idea how it would work. ¡°The book you already have is all you need. Find a human, any human, and crush their soul, then let me take their body. It''s simple enough.¡± And like that, Ms. White stopped looking very human as a cruel smile split her face. ¡°I won¡¯t kill someone just so you can have their body. That''s wrong, and I don¡¯t have to do anything against my conscience. That was part of our deal.¡± Ms. White justughed at that, a sound like death itself. ¡°I¡¯ll wait, child; your conscience won''tst long.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Rain wanted to say she wouldn¡¯t ever do something wrong, but she was already sparing the Estoms while hurting other bad people. All because sparing them was better for her. A twisting feeling in her gut told Rain that Ms. White was right and she wouldn¡¯t have to wait long. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to change your request, then I need you to lead me to information.¡± ¡°Then ask little human, and I will fulfill my purpose.¡± ¡°I need to know about the coven of the Zimir.¡± ¡°The Zimir. Very well, follow me.¡± Ms. White floated out of the hoard room and towards the shaft, Rain following behind her. Forbidden Temple Forbidden Temple Rain followed Ms. White into the shaft with its balcony of carved, grasping hands. She had never considered that the door always led to the same ce. Traveling anywhere in the library felt random, but this never changed. Rain wondered if there was some rule that governed this ce, but before she could think about it too hard, she stopped. She didn¡¯t want the library to change like thest time she figured out rules for how it worked. Rain made sure to leave a coin by the door again as she approached the rail. Already, she could feel her heart rate rise as she thought of jumping over the rail and feeling the wind rush past her. However, to her disappointment, Ms. White didn¡¯t motion towards the rail this time. Instead, she pointed them towards a bronzedder bolted into the wall that Rain had never seen before. ¡°We need to climb?¡± Rain asked. Ms White only smiled, her light void mouth curling past her eyes. Rain shrugged and started climbing thedder. Both side rails had flowing interweaving patterns carved into them, leaving the ridges shining a beautiful bronze while the grooves were engulfed in shadow. Rain was still climbing five minutester, yet the floor above her seemed no closer. Looking down, she realized the floor below her was very far away. If she hadn¡¯t been used to being on high buildings, she might have gotten vertigo from the view. Still, she kept climbing, and Ms. White casually floated beside her. ¡°How much farther?¡± ¡°Not much. Keep climbing.¡± Rain continued her climb, her arms starting to burn. If she didn¡¯t reach her destination before her arms gave out, she would have to wait another day to do this. Her corruption had already risen back up a point since she started this climb. Hopefully, leaving before finding the information she was looking for would stop Ms. White from raising her physical corruption. Although, based on the little she knew about Ms. White, that didn¡¯t seem likely. ¡°Alright, here we are.¡± Rain looked around at Ms. White''s deration and found herself still between floors, with nowhere to get off thedder. ¡°Um, where am I supposed to go?¡± ¡°Give me your hand,¡± Ms White answered, offering one of her long, sharp-fingered hands to Rain. Rain took the hand and let herself step off thedder following the direction that Ms. White was pulling her. She didn¡¯t fall. Her foot hit solid ground, and the world around her rearranged itself into a rope bridge over a casem. Rain didn¡¯t so much as flinch. Instead, she followed Ms. White across the gorge and through a door carved into the white stone on the other side. ¡°Here we are,¡± Ms. White said, motioning towards the room beyond the carved door. Rain stared around ckjawed. She was in a temple sorge and well decorated it made the temple of Agro look like a small hovel inparison. Rain walked forward, admiring the row of pirs with stories of some kind carved into them. She saw images of humans talking and fighting, but there were also animals and beasts she didn¡¯t recognize. As Rain walked forward, she could feel ridges and bumps through the soles of her shoes. Looking down, she realized that the floor was far from polished and t. Instead, divots and ravines scarred the floor. Some of them even made patterns that reminded Rain of the skills stamped into her soul. ¡°Where is the information about the Zimir?¡± Rain asked Ms. White as she pulled her attention from the ground. ¡°There,¡± Ms. White answered, pointing towards the far wall past a shattered altar where a bookshelf sat under a sculpted wall of names, symbols, and figures. It seemed to be the central image in the room. ¡°Is it one of the books or the wall?¡± Ms. White smiled at the question. ¡°Both.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time to read all that. What¡¯s the best source.¡± ¡°Do you want to activate the skill again to ask a more specific question?¡± Looking at the wide grin on Ms. White''s face, Rain realized that she was being deliberately unhelpful. Probably out of spite because Rain wouldn¡¯t murder some innocent person so Ms. White could have their body. ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll figure it out.¡± Rain needed to do this as efficiently as possible and get out of here before her corruption rose to a high level. Her best bet was to take what she could and study what she could not. Approaching the far wall, Rain inspected the relief carved into it. It made absolutely no sense. There was arge circle with smaller circles around it. Were these smaller circles moons? They seemed to be getting fuller and then emptying out again as you followed them around therger circle. Then, there were the things that interacted with the circles. Half of the wall was popted with human-like creatures with different numbers of arms, legs, and eyes. They were pouring pots of something onto the circles. The other side was full of odd shapes and twisted ideas that pulled chunks out of the moons. Or were they tes? Was this just a picture of people feeding monsters? At the top, one of the humans with six arms was shaking hands - or tentacles, maybe - with one of the bizarre creatures. [WARNING: You have gazed on The Forbidden Record. Mental corruption has risen 5%.] Rain blinked at the unexpected message. ¡°Thanks for the warning, Mr. Purple.¡± She needed to memorize as much as she could and leave. She could piece together what it meantter because whatever this was, it was dangerous. Rain burned the scene into her mind and approached the bookshelf below it. She pulled a book from the shelf and almost dropped it. The book was far heavier than its size would lead her to believe. It felt more like lifting solid gold than paper. Looking at its in leather cover that gave no hint of what the book was about, Rain opened it only to see the letters dancing across the page. With a sigh, she put the book back on the shelf. Rain wouldn¡¯t be able to take many of these books with her, so she needed to choose carefully. Looking at the shelf, Rain found one book that looked promising. It had the title ¡®Encyclopedia of Known Zimir.¡¯ Rain had read an encyclopedia of trees before as part of her studies with the Estom tutors. If this was anything like that, then just knowing it existed told Rain something about Zimir. Rain pulled the heavy silver book off the shelf and let it fall to the floor. ¡°One more book,¡± she muttered to herself. Rain reached for a promising ck book but couldn¡¯t remove it from the shelf. Trying a few other books, Rain found none would budge. With a suspicion of why she couldn¡¯t remove the book, Rain reced the encyclopedia she had removed and tried again. The ck book easily left the shelf. It looked like Rain would only be taking one of these books with her. Scanning the books, Rain saw several mentions of the Zimir and the Aimir, but between the titles and theplex runes and patterns on the books, Rain wasn¡¯t sure if any of them would teach her the basics or if they were on advanced subjects. Deciding to y it safe, Rain grabbed the encyclopedia and staggered away from the shelf. With onest look at the bookshelf, Rain warped back to the entrance of the mist room and staggered back to safety. She wasn¡¯t surprised to see Ms. White appear next to her. ¡°It seems you found what you were looking for. Then we part for now. I''ll see you soon.¡± With that, Ms. White returned to being Rain¡¯s shadow, and Rain once again felt her emotion, the pain from her soul, and a filthy taint fill her body. The rush of sensations caused Rain to drop her book and fall to her knees. [WARNING: Physical corruption has risen 2%. Current Physical corruption 5%.] Rain groaned on the floor as her mind slowly processed that message. Two percent? It should only be one, right? The price had increasedst time because she made an extra bargain with Ms. White, so why was it costing more now? Unbidden, a passage from that cursed book Whispers of the Soul floated to her mind: ¡®when affixed to a suitable vessel, bes a conduit for power, albeit a diluted and less efficacious iteration of the original skill.¡¯ if she had to guess this meant that any magic item she created would be less powerful or cost more than the original skill. Rain managed to distract herself long enough with those thoughts to get reustomed to the pain. After that, finding what had changed with her body didn''t take long. The darkness at the tips of her fingernails had spread and swallowed her nailspletely. Rain examined them in the gloomy light of the mist room. She supposed they would make a good addition to her Lady Tyix costume. ¡°With those nails and that ugly hand, you¡¯re finally starting to show the world what a twisted monster you really are. When people see you, they won¡¯t make the same mistake I did; they¡¯ll run from you.¡± Rain froze at the familiar voice, a voice she hadn¡¯t heard in months. Looking up, Rain saw him standing there with his twisted bones, three arms, blood running from his severed neck, and a look of pure hatred on his face. Lon had returned. Coven Coven The Zimir are ever-changing. Unlike the Aimir, they do not have set domains; instead, they pass their domains amongst themselves through means and for reasons I do not know, making them a far less stable pantheon of gods. This is important to note, for while this record contains the current known Zimir and their domains as of the year 79 PA, it will soon be false due to the very nature of the Zimir. ¨CIntroduction to the Encyclopedia of the Zimir *** ¡°You look ready to meet the other monsters.¡± Rain ignored Lon¡¯s words. No matter how much they stung, she wouldn¡¯t let them stop her. And in this case, he was right. Rain was dressed in her Lady Tyix costume, and Mr. Purple was telling her that the coven of the Zimir was only minutes away. ¡°Are you sure I can¡¯te with you, big sis?¡± Ise asked, looking worried as she fussed with Rain¡¯s clothes. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I would take you. Sorry, Ise.¡± Truthfully, Rain wasn¡¯t all that sorry Ise couldn¡¯te. From what Rain had read about the Zimir in hertest book, they were a nasty bunch. A few of them were obviously the Princes of Darkness that viins made deals with in stories like the tale of Pardeth, and others were more like natural disasters. But none had domains that sounded friendly. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be safe?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a monster; it wouldn¡¯t be a big loss if she died.¡± Fortunately, only Rain could see the ghost of Lon, or Sunrise might have attacked him for that. Rain had seen her get angry for far less truthful statements. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, though I do need your help finding my writing charcoal. It¡¯s not where I left it yesterday.¡± While this was true, the real reason Rain asked for help finding it was to distract Sunrise, who seemed more worried than Rain about this meeting. ¡°Right! I¡¯ll go look for it.¡± Sunrise seemed happy to have something she could do to help and rushed off to look for the missing charcoal. Rain took a deep breath to calm herself. She was bone tired, but that was nothing new. Her soul felt like it was on fire, but that was nothing new. She was getting ready to be surrounded by dangerous people without a friend in sight, but that was nothing new. This time, though, she was as prepared as she could be. She had studied everything she could for this, and all that was left was to go. With any luck, she might find an ally. While the Zimir seemed unpleasant, Rain would be there, so maybe there would be other good people. Rain ignored a snort from Lon and instead watched as the minutes turned into seconds; then, while poor Sunrise was still looking for Rain¡¯s missing writing tool, Rain vanished. When the darkness faded around Rain, she found herself in arge round room with a ring of pirs supporting a vaulted ss roof. Outside, the ss ceiling was swirling gray and ck. Looking around at the gray stone walls of the room, Rain found no doors. She tried to find one of her bound coins but couldn¡¯t touch it. There would be no warping out of here. She was trapped in this room until Oru was done with her. As Rain looked about, explosions of inky shimmer erupted around the room, leaving behind shades of people. The air around the shades twisted slightly, leaving behind images of odd things. One shade had scurrying mice with missing patches of fur surrounding it in the air, another was encircled by gaping mouths with dried and chapped lips, and yet another had creepy puppets. Rain desperately hoped Sunrise would never find a puppet like that. With each new arrival, Rain felt a dark pressure settle on the room. This ce and these people were dangerous. A loud thunk rang through the room, and Rain looked up to see a slimy appendage slide across the ss roof, leaving a thick film of filth smeared across it. Rain¡¯s mind shook, and the world tilted. Her vision went fuzzy as fingers tried to crawl across her mind but failed to find purchase. [You have caught a glimpse of a Zimir. Due to your Aura of the Unnatural, you have been protected from 99% of the mental corruption.] [Warning: due to exposure to an outer god, your mental corruption has increased by 3%. Current mental corruption: 26%.] Rain closed her eyes. How could something like that exist? Rain had no doubt that it could destroy the isles if it ever arrived there. Just looking at a piece of it would have driven herpletely insane three times over if she didn¡¯t have protection against it. She knew Oru wasn¡¯t on her side, but a part of her hoped another Zimir would be somewhat friendly. But if that¡­ Rain forced her mind back; even thinking about it was dangerous. That thing was not a benevolent creature. Rain struck thoughts of making friends with a Zimir from her mind. Hopefully, the other chosen didn¡¯t take after their patrons, or Rain would have to remove them before they could do too much harm. ¡°If you actually believe that, then you should kill yourself. Aren''t you a good representation of those creatures? People can tell by looking at you that they should destroy you; just like you feel about the Zimir.¡± Rain tried to shut out the whispers of Lon¡¯s ghost, but the truth in them still reached her heart. ¡°After all, one of those things imed you as its chosen. Your past self wanted to stop wars, corruption, and death, but what have you done? You created a serial killer. You turned men into murderous monsters only to have them cut down. You¡¯ve armed criminals and fought against thews of the isles. Everywhere you go, death and pain follow.¡± Lon¡¯s words slid into Rain''s mind, cutting her with their uracy. It was true that Rain belonged in this crowd of shades, crushed by this wretched pressure and under the gaze of the things above, but she still had to try to be better. Her eyes were still screwed shut while she thought, leaving her in darkness; then, for some reason, she saw the room again. Only, it was inverted with the stones made out of darkness itself, and the shades of people were reced with monsters that would make the creatures carved into the reliefs of her library cry out in fear. As quickly as it appeared, it was all gone, leaving everything dark behind Rain¡¯s closed eyes. Those beings had been doing something almost like the shades were being used to anchor the creatures close enough to speak with each other. ¡°You¡¯re one of them, Rain.¡± Rain opened her eyes, pushed thoughts of self-doubt away, and resumed her inspection of the room. But this time, she avoided looking up. These people could be dangerous, but they could also be friends. Rain needed to keep an open mind. She needed to be better than the people who judged her based on her aura alone. Catching a glimpse of herself, Rain realized she was also a shade here. Her skin and clothes had turnedpletely ck, though she didn¡¯t have any odd images around her. Rain made her cloak change shape to a puffy coat and pair of pants, then wrapped her head in severalyers of scarf to hide her shape. That should help her stay unrecognizable. Before Rain could decide if there was anyone here she could make friends with, she needed to figure out how this coven worked without doing something that could harm herself or her family. Deciding that the best course of action, for now, was to watch, Rain stepped forward and leaned against one of the pirs in a super cool pose. She regretted not bringing Blondy¡¯s sk; now was the perfect time to drink from it mysteriously. As Rain mourned the loss of a great opportunity, the shade with the gaping mouths around it approached the shade with the mice. The two spoke in lowered tones. Before long, a third shade approached the group. This one had a super pointy hat that Rain had to admit looked perfect for an asion like this. Rain wanted one. Scanning the rest of the room, Rain noticed that only three other people were here: the creepy puppet shade that looked to be only a little bigger than Rain, a tall shade who was clearly a woman and surrounded by crashing waves, and a man surrounded by two-faced masks and daggers. He was also wearing a hat that Rain immediately recognized. After all, Rain had one in her hoard. It was the ceremonial hat from the temple of Agro. It would probably be best to avoid that shade. There didn¡¯t seem to be any structure or purpose to this meeting adding conviction to her feeling that the real coven was happening on the negative of this room amongst the Zimir themselves. Rain could probably get away with simply hiding in a corner and waiting for things to end. But what would be the point of that? Rain had an opportunity to find out more about the Zimir - the things people of the isles called the Princes of Darkness - and what they wanted. She wasn¡¯t going to let this opportunity go. The Others The Others Leaving her pir, Rain approached the gathering of shades. Before she could make out their muttered words, they fell silent and looked over at Rain. ¡°What does the little one want?¡± asked one of the shades in a high-pitched cackle. Rain was pretty sure it came from the shade on the left, the one with the mouths around it. Judging by the outline of the shade, she guessed it was a man. Before Rain could answer, the woman shade with the awesome pointed hat cut in, ¡°Now, now. Don¡¯t be rude to the neer. Allow me to introduce myself. I¡¯m the champion of Neth, prince of ill luck and potion-craft. Now then, what Prince do you serve?¡± Rain was temporarily mesmerized by the woman''s melodious voice. Shaking her head to clear it, Rain decided to answer this question honestly. After all, she had no reason to hide her connection to Oru. If her actions got him in trouble, then that was his problem. And if things went well, Rain might be friends with this woman. ¡°Oru. Prince of forbidden knowledge.¡± Rain didn¡¯t say anything more than she needed to. Hopefully, it would make it harder for these people to find herter if things went poorly. ¡°The little one only serves a single domain prince, and she hasn¡¯t even been gifted a mantle. I see no reason to deal with it. Shoo, shoo.¡± The cackler, whom Rain decided to name Lips because of his floating mouths, made shooing motions at Rain. Rain naturally ignored him and instead turned to Hat: the woman with the awesome hat. ¡°What¡¯s a mantle?¡± ¡°Oh my, it seems you¡¯re quite new. Don¡¯t worry; I''ll help you out. We girls need to stick together. The mantle is the pretty pictures you see around us; it shows what domains our patron has blessed us with. It seems your patron hasn¡¯t chosen to give you any power over his domain yet. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m sure if you serve him well, he¡¯ll give you the power eventually.¡± The way Hat said ¡®power¡¯ was like she was caressing the word with her mouth before letting it free. Unfortunately for Rain, the mantle made it hard for her to see if the woman was lying. Rain caught the asional glimpse of colored smoke in the ck fog wafting off the woman, but she wasn¡¯t sure how much she missed, and any lie blended right in. ¡°Ignore the little one. Let us talk of the deal. If you agree, we can kill thousands and harvest their energy for our patrons. Think of all the suffering.¡± ¡°Yes, we could kill quite a few people if I helped you, but their deaths would go to you, not me, so I have no reason to. Until Neth orders me, I won¡¯t help you.¡± ¡°Fine! I offered to share the energy with you, but we can scour the isles without you. Come!¡± With that, Lips turned to leave and motioned to Rat, who silently followed afterward. Rain took both of them off her potential friend list. ¡°Who was the quiet one?¡± Rain asked, not really expecting an answer. ¡°Oh, that would be Gic. He¡¯s the only one here who doesn¡¯t hide their name and past. Apparently, the Lord of his ind killed his family. After that, he made a deal with Seg, the prince of disease and fear. He got the power and opportunity to get revenge but now he has to serve Seg unconditionally. The fool could have gotten so much more for his service.¡± Hat shook her head at that. ¡°Oh, what did you trade for the chance to be this Oru¡¯s champion?¡± ¡°Everything.¡± Rain answered simply. It wasn¡¯t a lie, but it might mislead Ms. Hat. Hopefully, she would assume Rain was like this Gic fellow and not that she had been reborn. It would be easier to me Oru for anything she did that way. ¡°I see.¡± Ms. Hat seemed far less interested in the conversation for some reason. Had Rain misjudged something? ¡°Well, perhaps I can make a deal with your patronter. There¡¯s some information I could use.¡± With that, Ms. Hat turned and walked away, leaving Rain standing alone where, only a few minutes ago, three people were busily talking. That was fine, though. Rain needed time to process what she had just learned. These people were like her; they had made deals to get something in exchange for serving their Prince of Darkness. Though Rain had never promised to serve Oru, so did she really count? Rain also didn¡¯t have any tasks to kill people for some kind of power, though she wasn¡¯t sure whether these people were trying to get power for themselves or their patron. Either way, Rain was certain now that the Zimir or the Princes of Darkness - hmm, she hadn¡¯t actually heard the word Zimir yet - were a problem. After all, they had domains like ill luck, lies, and disease. The book she¡¯d snagged mentioned simpler ones like war and pain. As Rain was thinking, aimlessly staring at a pir, her mindtched onto something. Rat served the lord of disease and fear. In thest few years, gues have broken out on more than one ind, such as Estom, forcing the Gathering to condemn the ind as dead inds. Standing next to Rat was Lips, surrounded by dried and cracked mouths; those mouths sure looked like they hadn¡¯t eaten in a while. In Rain¡¯s mind, she could see herst trip to the Low Ring where two men fought over a loaf of bread. Rain turned, sweeping her gaze over the room where her eyes caught the shade with waves around it. Again, her thoughts drifted back to a conversation she¡¯d had with Mr. Markson. ¡®Where did you get this! This is lemon juice. It¡¯s a fruit from the maind, but no ship has returned from sailing there in thest ten years. Did some lords house grow lemon seeds in their domain without any of the other lords finding out?¡¯ Next was the priest of Agro. Rain remembered a priest standing in a city square surrounded by desperate people searching for some way to escape the hopeless feelings that smothered the inds like a nket of ash. Yet all the priest did was take their money and tell themforting lies, encouraging them to do nothing and trust in a god who wouldn¡¯t protect them instead of doing something to fix their problems. ¡°Oh,¡± Rain whispered as she looked at the other shades, the champions she didn¡¯t recognize. What were they doing to serve their patrons? ¡°Like sharing knowledge that brings corruption and chaos to the isles?¡± Rain looked over at Lon¡¯s sneering face. ¡°You¡¯re right. I need to make sure that every move I make brings more good than harm. I¡¯ll start with these people here.¡± Rain looked around the room, memorizing as much as she could. The images of the mantles gave her an idea of what the others would use to destroy, but the images weren¡¯t everything. There was Rat, and she knew a bit about his past and his prince¡¯s domains, which were supposedly disease and fear. Next was Lips. He had a funny way of talking and probably had some domain rted to hunger and possibly more. Hat was definitely a woman, and she imed that her prince was over ill luck and potion-craft. Her mantle had bent coins, which Rain supposed supported the ill luck. Then, there was the tall shade with waves. Did she have powers over the ocean, maybe storms? The priest of Agro, or rather the Pontiff, Rain already knew about. That only left the small shade with puppets. Rain had no idea what that was about. Right! Rain¡¯s next step would be to learn about the two she knew the least about. Rain started walking toward them when the world around her folded in the familiar sensation of teleportation, leaving Rain standing in her room with a worriedly pacing Sunrise. ¡°What the? I wasn¡¯t done yet! What was the point of that!¡± *** Oruughed at the girl as she raged back in her room. This had gone perfectly; the others had seen her and knew she belonged to him. The child may have pulled one over on him by creating that diaskus earring and stealing one of his servants, but now all that was left was to sit back and watch the tension rise. He would regain his investment in her when she died, just like he had regained his spent energy teaching her to manipte others by taking her talent with a de. ¡°The others can waste energy harvesting this failed world while I im another domain for free.¡± It felt good to be winning. Side Stories 17 – 20 Side Stories 17 ¨C 20 As for thest suspect, Raina Estom, we have confirmed suspicious behavior. Her room is painted with patterns that caused severe nausea in our agent. The true purpose of which is unknown. Other outlying aspects were apleteck of clothes in the girl''s dresser despite her being seen in different dresses and an inability to find where her wealth is stored or who is providing her money. Her ties to the Markson tradingpany cannot exin her powerful financial backing. I submit my findings and loyalty to The Tower¡¯s greater understanding. S.T. *** ¡°Yessir!¡± Ariana said, Giving her father a joking salute. The stern man cracked at the sight just as Ariana knew he would. His reluctant smile filled her with joy. ¡°So, uhh, what was it you wanted me to do again?¡± Nis¡¯s smile faded at that as he stared into his daughter''s eyes. Ariana gave him her most innocent smile. She had a reputation to uphold, after all. In the face of his daughter''s smile, all Nis could do was sigh and exin again. ¡°Now that the Lords have decided to allow younger children to attend the gathering I want you to go and practice gathering information. Think of it as training for when you take over the Watching Stars.¡± Ariana nodded along with the much shorter exnation of her task, maintaining her ¡®I''m pretending to understand¡¯ face. ¡°Got it! So you want me to go and make one hundred friends and gossip with them all.¡± ¡°...yes.¡± ¡°Okey Dokey!¡± Ariana gave another happy salute. Nis waited a full twenty seconds for her to say she didn¡¯t understand before daring to speak again. ¡°Good, you are dismissed, my daughter.¡± Ariana ran forward and gave her papa a hug. The man stiffened at the sudden disy of affection in front of the Council of Stars, but Ariana didn¡¯t care. Her actions may be improper in front of the council but they knew her well enough to understand why she did it even if her dense father didn¡¯t. That said, the others wouldn¡¯t stop Nis from giving her a lecture once his shock wore off, so Ariana beat a hasty retreat before he could regroup. Skipping out of the boring meeting room and through the utilitarian manor that felt less like a home every day, Ariana started humming to herself as she made her way back towards her room to get ready. She only got sidetracked twice on the way there, which wasn¡¯t bad for her. *** ¡°Soon, we can escape this ce soon,¡± Morten said as he hugged his love''s thin frame. She had been losing weight rapidly since she had been brought into the berit under the manor. ¡°Morten, you need to stop this foolishness. Helping me escape would cost you your ce in life. Even if we did find a way to leave without getting caught, you would have to live the rest of your life as amon farmer or sailor. I don¡¯t want the man I love to give up so much. Please forget about me, and when you inherit your house, use that good heart of yours to make life better for those you rule.¡± Morten could feel tears running down his cheeks at the thought of losing the woman he loved. He could tell from her voice that she could never be happy living at the cost of his happiness and the happiness of those he would someday lead. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll find another way, but you can''t die until I do. Promise me that.¡± ¡°I promise, my love. I will endure until you can help me and the thousands you will lead.¡± They stayed like that, holding each other in the dark for as long as they could before Morten let go. ¡°I need to leave before they realize I was down here. If they find out I fell in love with a ve, they would kill you on the spot.¡± ¡°Go and be the great man I know you can be.¡± Morten straightened his shoulders before turning and marching up the stairs back into the manor above. He listened at the door before letting himself out into a deserted corridor. Or so he thought. Just as he was about to walk away, Morten caught a glimpse of his younger half-brother standing in the shadows. Well, ashes. ¡°What are you doing up thiste Arvid?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won''t tell anyone.¡± That wasn¡¯tforting. *** He wasn¡¯t abandoned. It was only a test to see if he had what it took to free everyone from this dream. It woulde back, and he would find the next piece. This was just a hidden part of the test. He hadn¡¯t failed when he reached the bottom of his grave to find nothing. Yes, that''s right. This was only a small test. The truth would return to him soon and continue to whisper its promises of freedom. * She lied! The truth abandoned him! After promising him freedom after making him do all those things the truth betrayed him. Him! HIM! No, no, no, no. This would not do. He would make the truth give him freedom. He would hurt it until it told him more. He would find it and the little herald who lied to him. He was going to hurt her until she gave him what he wanted. * He would do anything, so please truth,e back. Show the way. Were his tears not enough? Were the bloody gashes on his body not enough? If the truth only came back, he would do whatever it asked. He would kill everyone or never kill again. He would cut off his arms and gouge out his eyes. He just needed it to return. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything, anything! Please, anything¡­¡± * It was no use. He had done everything he could, yet the truth hid from him. It refused his prayers. It had turned down his offers and given him only silence. The truth had abandoned him. He was alone. * He had no tears left. The truth was a lie, and his path to freedom was gone, so he would find a new path. Wobbling to his feet, he looked around therge bedroom he had spent thest few weeks in. He hadn¡¯t found the truth here, but maybe there was another way. Peeling back a corner of the world, he peeked into the dream world. No, it wasn¡¯t a dream world. That''s what the truth had told him, and he refused to listen to someone who would abandon him like that. The other world was clear, and he stepped fully into it. There on therge bed in the center of the room was the herald sleeping fitfully with her ck hair fanned out behind her. He stepped to the edge of the bed and reached with both hands for the herald¡¯s throat. He would kill her. He would watch the despair fill her eyes. He would¡­ He dropped his hands. Killing her is what the truth wanted him to do, and he never wanted to follow someone who abandoned him. The herald had told him what the truth wanted. Maybe she knew of another way for him to be free. Yes, that was a better option. She felt so powerful. Maybe if he watched her, he would find another way. And if he didn¡¯t, he could kill herter for working with that horrible truth. A Meeting in the Rain A Meeting in the Rain When Rain went on a quest to find presents for Lucus and Ise, as well as nt her new fourth bound coin, she didn¡¯t expect to get stranded. Yet here she was. She had already bought a super cool-looking dagger for Lucus with a wire-wrapped hilt and mottled bronze de and was searching for a gift for Ise when it started to rain. Far from bothering her, the rain had made the shopping even more exciting - that is, until the water started collecting into channels carved into the street and rushing down the city. Now, every time she came across one of the rapidly moving streams, it got hard for her to breathe, and her heart started pounding; she could feel the water all around her crushing her and pulling her down as she drowned in the waterways under the city. The water wasn¡¯t enough to stop Rain, but it sure killed the fun of buying presents for her family. Every time she came across one of those evil things, it took her a few minutes to gather the courage to cross, and when she did, her shallow breathing and pounding heart made her feel like she was going to pass out. By the third crossing, not all the water on her face came from the rain, a fact that Lon found amusing as he mocked her for her fear. Rain was close to yet another stream and wishing that whoever she could feel following her would leave so she could just warp home, when she heard a voice in her head. ¡°Goddess! Goddess, please wait!¡± Rain backed away from the stream and looked around for the caller. Running down the street was a small - boy? - in a pretty blue skirt. He was maybe a few years older than Rain, with red shoulder-length hair. The boy sshed right through the small stream and came straight toward Rain. What was going on? No one ever came near Rain if they could avoid her. ¡°Are you Rain?¡± the boy panted, cing his hands on his knees. That caught Rain¡¯s attention. Most people in the Crown Ring who knew about her, knew her as Raina due to Lady Estom. ¡°Yes, what do you want?¡± Rain asked, folding her arms and getting ready to act if something happened. ¡°I need you to save my family!¡± It was the same voice that called her goddess, and it wasn¡¯ting from the boy in front of her. Rain put her back to a wall and looked around for the other person. Was she being attacked? She couldn¡¯t think of another reason that people would track her down. Was this because of Svend? ¡°Sorry to run you down. Swift-tail got excited when he heard a shopkeeper thinking about a creepy little girl.¡± Rain didn¡¯t know what that meant other than that she was pretty sure she was being called creepy again. Still, the boy had been telling the truth and didn¡¯t seem hostile. ¡°Who¡¯s Swift-tail?¡± The boy looked confused at that. ¡°He¡¯s the uffter who''s been looking for you.¡± Now, Rain was the one who was confused. ¡°You helped my mama evolve.¡± Evolve: that happened when some people read her books like Mr. Mirage and Ms. Wer. Rain¡¯s eyes widened as she realized what an evolved uffter meant. ¡°Are you here to get back at me for what I did?¡± ¡°What? No! I need you to save my family.¡± That wasn¡¯t what Rain would have expected. But if they were in trouble, then Rain owed it to them to help. ¡°Do we need to go right now, or can it wait until tonight?¡± ¡°Yes, tonight! We don¡¯t want that person who is following you to see.¡± ¡°Wait! You can tell someone is following me?¡± ¡°I could feel you worrying about it, so I looked for someone watching. I can feel their mind, but they¡¯re too strong for me to read it from here.¡± Rain was shocked by that, this uffter could read minds! Already dozens of uses for that power were running through Rain¡¯s head. Was this how she could hear him without actually hearing him? ¡°You find out the creatures you experimented on are able to think, and instead of apologizing to them, you think of how to use them. You never cease to disgust me, Rain.¡± Rain winced at Lon¡¯s rebuke. ¡°I¡¯ll help you tonight, but first, who are you?¡± Rain asked, looking at the boy in a dress. ¡°I¡¯m Runt. Swift-tail is my partner,¡± Runt said with a puffed-out chest. ¡°Okay.¡± Rain wasn¡¯t really sure what to make of that, but he wasn¡¯t a liar, and he didn¡¯t seem to be a bad guy. ¡°Can you help me with something, Runt?¡± Rain asked while kicking the ground. ¡°Men like me are always supposed to help girls in need.¡± Rain didn¡¯t quite get why he was bragging about being a man while he was dressed like a girl, but as long as he was willing to help, that was fine. ¡°Can you help me get home then?¡± ¡°Why do you need help getting home?¡± Runt soundedpletely baffled by the request. ¡°The running water¡­ It¡­ scares me. If you hold my hand, I won¡¯t be so scared when I step over.¡± Rain couldn¡¯t force herself to look up; she could feel her ears going red from embarrassment. She was an evil ck sser who worked with the princes of darkness. She was so creepy and scary that others avoided her, yet here she was, asking a stranger for help because she was afraid of running water. ¡°Swift-tail says I gotta do it, so okay. Give me your hand.¡± Rain stuck out her hand, still too ashamed to look up. That didn¡¯t stop her from noting that Swift-tail was only talking to one of them at a time. When a warm hand wrapped around hers, it broke her out of her downward thoughts. This boy was the fourth person to ever hold Rain¡¯s hand; there was Ise, Lucus, Ms. White, and now Runt. She hadn¡¯t thought about what she was asking him to do because she was so focused on getting home. Rain looked up at Runt and didn¡¯t see any of the repulsion most people had around her. ¡°Are you not bothered by being around me?¡± ¡°Nope. Swift-tail says you¡¯re a good person.¡± That wasn¡¯t the response Rain was expecting. Rain was a bad person; she hurt people, and she¡¯d experimented on Swift-tails Mama. If he could read minds, he should know that. So why would he mislead Runt like this? ¡°Are these the things you¡¯re afraid of crossing?¡± Rain nodded. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll jump across and hold your hand while you cross.¡± And just like that, Runt stepped over the rushing water while holding Rain¡¯s hand. Rain couldn¡¯t ease her vicelike grip on his hand as she lept over the foot-and-a-half-wide stream. That had been a lot easier than crossing them on her own. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Of course, it''s a man''s duty to help girls out.¡± The two of them walked silently for a while, repeating their routine for crossing whenever a stream got in the way until Rain couldn¡¯t take the silence any longer. She wanted to be friends with Runt. ¡°Um, I think your dress is cute.¡± For some reason, Runt didn¡¯t seem happy about thepliment. His face got all red. ¡°Stop making fun of my human.¡± But she wasn¡¯t. Rain wished people would call her cute. Why did Swift-tail think she was making fun of Runt? ¡°I¡¯m not making fun of you; it''s a really pretty blue dress. I wish I had one like that.¡± Rain batted away a tendril from her cloak that started reaching out to eat Runt''s dress at her words. ¡°Goddess, Lady Wervle makes him wear girly clothes. He¡¯s very sensitive about the topic. Personally, I think more fur is better, but he doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to be mean!¡± ¡°What did you expect? You¡¯re a horrible person who only knows how to hurt people.¡± Lon muttered from the side. Rain needed to make this up to Runt. How could she be mean to someone who was nice to her? She fought to ignore the part of her that enjoyed seeing his ears turn red. Maybe she should tell him he has a pretty face? Nope, bad Rain. Runt was silent for a long time until Rain heard him muttering under his breath. ¡°I¡¯ll grow a beard; no one can call me girly then.¡± Hearing that immediately sent Rain¡¯s mind to war over whether she should try tofort him or make him blush more. Before Rain could make another mistake, they arrived at the gates of Estom Manor. ¡°Take this.¡± Rain said, pressing the old coin she had been nning to hide in the Crown Ring into Runt¡¯s hands. ¡°find an empty room to hide in tonight and put this coin on the floor. I¡¯lle visit you.¡± ¡°Ya, okay.¡± Runt said, looking a little off. Rain regretted embarrassing the boy when he¡¯d helped her so much. She needed to be better. Still, it had been fun seeing him go red. Runt took the coin and walked away without another word. ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± Rain called to his retreating back. She was happy to see him stand a little straighter after that. Setting Off Setting Off ¡°All right, Ise, you promise not to leave this room until Ie get you?¡± ¡°I promise.¡± Ise¡¯s words were a vibrant, true color, but Rain still worried. Ise had a tendency to drift towards creepy and scary things, and Rain didn¡¯t want her leaving the hoard room. ¡°Okay, but if you break that promise, I''m not taking you with me again.¡± The look of panic on Ise¡¯s face reassured Rain. ¡°Kay, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Rain used the door to the hoard room to open a gate back to the real world and stepped through. Right. Now, it was time to go see Runt and Swift-tail again. She cast a quick longing look towards Lucus¡¯s rooms, but there was no way to bring him. Not now that he had that liar Svend around him all the time. That jerk kept cutting into her brother time. She would deal with him soon. Rain warped to the coin she¡¯d given Runt, and when the world unfolded, she found herself standing in a cramped closet full of paintings wrapped in cloth. Runt was sitting against a wall to one side with his head on his chest, sleeping peacefully. He wasn¡¯t wearing the blue dress anymore; instead, he was wearing night clothes simr to what Lucus wore, though the color andcy sleeves gave them a more feminine look. Rain wondered if he would get embarrassed if shemented on them. The immediate urge to try to make Runt blush swept through her. Rain had no idea what it was about this boy that brought that out of her. Before Rain even had a chance to decide how to best tease him, Runt snapped awake and looked around frantically. When he saw Rain, he calmed down a bit. ¡°How¡¯d you get in here?¡± Runt asked while groggily getting to his feet. ¡°It''s a secret.¡± ¡°You sound like Swift-tail.¡± ¡°Goddess! Goddess, can you save my family?¡± Rain looked around. She had good night vision from growing up in near total darkness, but she didn¡¯t see the uffter in this small closet. ¡°Where are you?¡± A bag sitting next to Runt started twitching as a bright blue pair of eyes peeked out of its top. ¡°I¡¯m in here, Goddess. Do you have any food on you? I¡¯m hungry, and the food you had the other day smelled really good.¡± Unfortunately, Rain didn¡¯t have any food on her. Otherwise, she would totally have tried using it as a distraction so she could pet the little critter. ¡°No, sorry. What help does your family need, though?¡± Rain cast a quick look at Runt. The boy wasn¡¯t saying anything and was just looking at Rain in fascination. This made her ufortable enough that she wanted to embarrass him to make him stop. ¡°I need you to convince them to stop. Mama wants to gather all the information in the city for you, and she won''t give up even though all my siblings who enter the city now are killed because of the bounty.¡± That pulled Rain¡¯s attention back to the little creature in the bag. Why would its mama¡­ ¡°You¡¯re saying that your family is dying because they¡¯re trying to help me?¡± The little blue eyes in the bag looked down. Rain couldn¡¯t see much of the critter, but that movement reminded Rain so much of Ise when Rain caught her working too hard that Rain felt like she immediately understood the situation. ¡°Where are they?¡± ¡°The Dead Ring, Goddess.¡± ¡°Do you want toe, Runt?¡± ¡°Wha, er, yes. I¡¯m Swift-tail¡¯s partner. I want to help his family, too.¡± ¡°Is there anyone outside this door?¡± ¡°No Goddess.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Rain used her power to turn the door into a gate to her library and motioned for Runt to take Swift-tail through. ¡°Go inside. I¡¯ll get you and Ise in a moment.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Ise?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll meet her in a second; just go.¡± After exchanging a brief look with Swift-tail, Runt entered the library. Rain closed the door and warped to the coin she had stashed in the Mid Ring. The moment the world cleared around her, she used the door to the small apartment she was renting as a permanent coin-hiding ce to create a gate to her library and stepped through. Runt was standing in the middle of the entry room, looking around like every shadow was trying to attack him, Swift-tail peeking out of the bag at his waist. ¡°Wee to my library.¡± ¡°Is this the blessed chamber where you gave Mama thought?¡± Rain supposed that this was where Rain had experimented on the uffters and created the mind uffters. ¡°Yep, now follow me, and I¡¯ll introduce you to my partner.¡± Rain couldn¡¯t keep the note of satisfaction out of her voice. Sure, she would keep Sunrise away from anything too dangerous, but she wasn¡¯t alone in her scheming anymore. She had a partner. The two of them walked through the library towards the hoard room, and once again, Rain had to fight the urge to tease Runt as he squirmed at the sight, smell, and sound of the books on the shelves. ¡°Be careful; these books are drawn to pretty maidens.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a girl!¡± ¡°Aww, but you¡¯re so pretty.¡± Just like that, Rain had Runt turning bright red. Heh, heh, this was so much fun, even if Rain did feel kinda mean. ¡°That¡¯s because you are mean.¡± Lon¡¯s voice wafted out from the shadows somewhere. And Rain¡¯s enjoyment dissolved. Whatever. ¡°Ise, I want you to meet Runt and Swift-tail,¡± Rain said as she barged through the door into the hoard room. Runt followed behind her, eyes going wide at the sight of all the gold. Maybe it wasn¡¯t a good idea to take him here. Oh well, he¡¯d already seen Rain and her library. What more damage would seeing her hoard do? Besides, it wasn¡¯t like he would be leaving tonight without signing a contract. Ise looked less than thrilled at the sight of Runt. ¡°Who¡¯s she?¡± Rain happily watched Runt¡¯s ears, which had just gotten back to normal, go crimson once again. ¡°I¡¯m Runt, and I¡¯m a man, not a girl.¡± ¡°Yep, this is Runt. He¡¯s working with someone I owe a favor to, so he¡¯sing with us tonight. And in the bag is¡­¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t tell her about me! She¡¯s scary.¡± ¡°Ah, er, never mind.¡± Rain finishedmely. She didn¡¯t think Sunrise was scary, but she guessed that to a tiny critter like Swift-tail, she was pretty big. ¡°All right,¡± Rain said, spreading her feet apart and nting her hands on her hips. It was the pose Lucus¡¯s sword trainer liked to do when yelling at the boys. ¡°we need to get to the Dead Ring from the Mid Ring. Runt is going to guide us to our goal, and Ise is going to keep an eye out for danger. Understood?¡± Rain was the one who would actually be looking for danger, but it made Ise happy when she had a job. ¡°Oka¡­¡± ¡°Yes, Mistress!¡± Ise said, cutting Runt off. Rain had a feeling that this little trip might be more interesting than she had originally nned. Worshipers of The Goddess Worshipers of The Goddess There was something exciting about going on an adventure with someone you loved that was just better than going alone. Walking hand in hand with Ise while trailing Runt made the potential of danger behind every building fun rather than simply frightening. Of course, the Mid Ring wasn¡¯t very dangerous yet. It wasn¡¯t until the three of them got to the Low Ring, where the building started to crumble and the scent of rot wed its way out of the wet piles of ash, that they had to start changing routes. ¡°This way, there''s fewer people,¡± Ise said, pointing to a deserted side street. Rain agreed that that one felt right, and when Runt didn¡¯t say anything, the three of them went in that direction. The street waspletely silent except for the sound of their shoes slurping in the wet ash. Rain wanted to break the silence, but the heavy feeling in the air didn¡¯t encourage chatter. Not long after, Rain caught a sour whiff on the cold wind blowing through the street across the intersection from them. ¡°Let''s change directions.¡± Runt nodded at the statement, his eyes also focused on the ominous-smelling road. Ise pulled on Rain¡¯s left hand as they diverted to a street to the left. A few streetster, Runt pointed to a crude symbol scratched into a wall. ¡°It''s a good thing we didn¡¯t go in that direction; that area is Irlter territory. They¡¯ve been going after girlstely.¡± Rain frowned; the city guard had been stopping all organization in the Low Ring, so how had these people made a name for themselves? She made a note of the symbol. Something needed to be done about these people. She didn¡¯t want anyone in her city who might hurt Ise. Just hearing Runt''s description of the people sent a shiver down her back as memories of dark ces and cages floated before her eyes. Taking a long blink, Rain refused to be scared. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Runt, we would have protected you.¡± Rain said in her best imitation of Svend¡¯s annoying voice. ¡°I¡¯m not a girl!¡± Rain could hear Lon saying something from wherever he was hiding, but she refused to listen. She didn¡¯t want to be reminded of how awful she was. She was going to be hopeful. The moons were bright and the sky was beautiful tonight. Even if there were problems, Rain could fix them with enough time, especially now that she had a family. The thought made Rain think about the tragedy of Pardeth. She could understand why his father wanted to live forever; even if things were bad now, time could heal it. When they finally made it to the entrance to the Dead Ring, the guards stationed there didn¡¯t so much as ask their names as they left. Rain did notice a few of them leering at her group. She got the feeling that reentering the city would be far more challenging than leaving, at least for most people. Fortunately, Rain didn¡¯t n to walk home anyway. ¡°Alright, which way are we going?¡± Rain asked, looking at Runt. Runt paused for a minute before walking further down the cleared road. To each side of the road were walls of wet ash that looked like giant piles of melting wax. Rain inhaled the pleasant smell. The Dead Ring smelt better than the Low Ring; there was no waste mixed with the soothing earthy smell of wet ash. ¡°We''re gunna need to go off the road from here on,¡± Runt said, pointing to the right where two ancient buildings held the ash back creating a narrow path. Rain felt a slight twinge of unease at the narrow path. Thest time she was in the Dead Ring, she tricked the merchant killer. There had been no news of him since that day. Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t attack them tonight. Rain tried to squeeze Ise¡¯s hand at the thought, but her crippled hand wasn¡¯t strong enough to do much. If anything did happen, how would Rain save Ise? ¡°We¡¯re here, Goddess!¡± Rain jumped at the unexpected voice in her head. Swift-tail usually spoke with Runt, so she hadn¡¯t been expecting it. ¡°What''s wrong, sis?¡± ¡°It''s nothing. What are we looking for, Runt?¡± There was a brief pause before Runt answered. ¡°There should be a small hole in the ash around here.¡± The three of them looked around for a bit before Runt found what they were looking for: a small hole a hand length wide that someone had dug into the wall at knee height. Rain wondered what Swift-tail would do now. If he wanted to go in and talk to his family, then he would need to reveal himself to Ise. There was a brief moment of silence before Swift-tail scurried out of Runt''s bag and fled into the hole. A very confused Sunrise looked at the hole, clearly trying to figure out what they were doing. The three children waited for a bit before Swift-tail reemerged from the burrow. Then, a flood of little furballs with bright blue eyes popped out of the opening behind him. Rain¡¯s eyes widened at the flood of squeaking fluff. There had to be close to thirty of them. Most were smaller than Swift-tail, but there were a half-dozen that were bigger, with one that was quite a bit bigger. ¡°Goddess, Mama is grateful that you woulde to see our family.¡± It took Rain a bit before she could tear her gaze away from all that soft looking floof. ¡°I¡¯m happy to. Why doesn¡¯t she talk to me? Are you the only one who can talk to humans?¡± ¡°She says she isn¡¯t worthy of talking to you after failing to aplish your task for her.¡± The biggest beautiful ball of fur seemed to wilt as Rain looked at it. Its eyes refused to look Rain¡¯s way. Rain couldn¡¯t understand why, but something about that behavior bothered her. This creature had been loyal to Rain despite Rain never thinking twice about it. This wasn¡¯t right. ¡°Tell your mama that I want to speak with her directly.¡± There was a short pause before a voice touched Rain''s mind, like a frightened child asking a violent adult for help. ¡°I answer, Goddess.¡± Rain expected Swift-tail¡¯s mama to sound mature, but her voice sounded no older than Swift-tail. But unlike Swift-tail, who only conveyed words with his mind, Rain could feel emotions along with these words: shame, regret, longing. ¡°Are you the biggest one?¡± ¡°Yes, Goddess.¡± That was all Rain needed to hear. Letting go of Ise¡¯s hand, Rain carefully stepped up to the big Uffter, careful not to step on any of the little ones who seemed to be struggling to stay still, and scooped it, no her, up. ¡°Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done for me.¡± And with those words, Rain cradled the little uffter to her chest in a gentle hug. It took a moment for Rain to realize that she was crying. Those same emotions that this Mama was feeling were emotions that Rain was all too familiar with. They were the same feelings that pushed Rain to try to save the world, to keep trying despite not being good enough, to make her past self proud, and to prove that it wasn¡¯t a mistake for her past self to give everything so Rain could be born. Finally, Rain found someone who understood, and Rain, Rain was the cause of this pain. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for not realizing sooner. I''m sorry for making you feel like this.¡± Rain felt something cold and wet brush across her cheek. Looking down, she saw that Mama¡¯s bright blue eyes were trained on her, and poking through the fur was the tip of a little ck tongue. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Goddess.¡± Rain snuggled Mama even tighter. ¡°Do you have a name?¡± Mama squirmed in Rain¡¯s arms. ¡°My children just call me Mama.¡± Mama was a title, not a name. Rain thought for a moment. ¡°Do you want me to give you a name?¡± The little ball in Rain¡¯s arms stiffened at those words. Then, like a child being offered a delicious dessert for no reason, Mama hesitantly asked, ¡°Are you offering to give me a name?¡± ¡°Yep¡± ¡°Then please do, Goddess.¡± Mama¡¯s blue eyes shyly looked away as she spoke. Rain looked at the little ball of fur in her arms as she thought of good names. Looking at Mama¡¯s white fur made Rain a little sad that Ms. White was already taken. She couldn¡¯t use snow either. Looking up for inspiration, Rain saw a shining moon pass from behind the clouds. Hmm, moons were bright and round kinda like these uffters if the uffters lost their long tails¡­ ¡°What do you think of Moon?¡± ¡°I love it!¡± Rain could feel the pure joy in Moon¡¯s words as she snuggled closer to Rain. Before anything else could be said, one of the smaller fluffballs lost control of itself and broke formation, yipping and bouncing up to Rain until it stood on her foot, nuzzling against her leg. And like that, all order was lost as every Uffter came rushing in to say hi to Rain. ¡°Hi, goddess!¡± ¡°I¡¯m fluffy-belly; pet me, pet me!¡± ¡°y! y!¡± Rain''s mind was assaulted by dozens of tiny voices moring for her attention. Laughing, Rain gently sat down and let the tide of precious fluffballs sweep over her. Novice Wizard Novice Wizard Rain loved Ise, but sometimes it was easier not to try and understand what her little sister was thinking; like right now as Ise wrapped herself firmly around Rain¡¯s left arm and red at all the uffters skipping through the portal into Rain¡¯s library. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re fine?¡± Rain asked. Ise only squeezed Rain¡¯s arm tighter in response. Unsure what else to do, Rain patted her on the head. That definitely softened Ise¡¯s pout. And together they entered the library. Rain turned to look at Runt, who stood mesmerized by the images that faded in and out of the dark wall of the entry room. ¡°Runt, do you want to work for me? I promise I won''t force you to wear girl clothes.¡± That caught Runt¡¯s attention, a big smile taking over his face before slowly fading. ¡°I can¡¯t. Lady Wervle, Peder, Frans, Diana, they¡¯ve all been so good to me, I can¡¯t turn my back on them even if Lady Wervle does make me dress like this.¡± Rain nodded in approval. Not turning your back on your family was a good thing in her opinion. But that didn¡¯t solve the problem of needing a way to stop him from being able to spill all the secrets he¡¯d learned. To make matters worse, Rain owed him for helping the uffters reach her as well as saving her when she was trapped by the water. Just offering to let him read a book didn¡¯t feel like enough. ¡°Then how about I help you gain a ss as a thank you for all you¡¯ve done for me? And if you promise not to share any of my secrets or do anything to oppose me, I¡¯ll use one of my skills to help you find the best fit and I¡¯ll also owe you a favor sometime.¡± The word favor left a bitter taste in her mouth after how often the Estoms used it, but Rain needed him to ept. Runt looked at Swift-tail for a moment, interrupting the little guy as he pranced around, apparently giving orders to all the smaller uffters. Rain tried not to think about how much she needed Runt to ept this deal in case Swift-tail read her mind, but controlling her thoughts was more challenging than she expected. After a moment, Runt looked back at her before nodding his eptance. Rain sighed in relief - that is, until she saw Ise¡¯s disgruntled look. Grimacing at her own mistake, Rain pulled Ise into a hug, hoping that getting her hair stroked would be enough to make Ise forgive Rain for giving Runt a book while denying her one. While the tactic wasn¡¯t perfect, it certainly helped appease Ise. Rain used this opportunity to exin the dangers to Runt, making sure that Ise could hear her so she would understand why Rain couldn¡¯t risk her reading one of these books. ¡°What kind of power are you looking for?¡± Rain asked. Runt frowned for a moment. ¡°I need something that will help me do whatever Mistress Wervle asks me to do, but that is also strong enough to let me protect myself and those around me.¡± Rain nodded before using one of the two remaining charges of her limited skill to summon Ms. White. Rain had decided to use the remaining charges of the limited skill to free up some space on her soul. Hopefully, that would help it heal and free Rain from the searing pain that made it almost impossible to sleep at night. She was doing a pretty good job of pretending the pain wasn¡¯t there so she didn¡¯t worry her family, but still, she couldn¡¯t stop herself from wistfully longing for the time she spent sleeping on the grimy stone floor of her ve pen - back when pain and nightmares didn¡¯t keep her up all night. Still, once Ms. White was here, the pain would go away for a little. That made Rain smile. As the skill finished and Ms. White formed herself out of Rain¡¯s shadow, the whole room fell silent as the squeaking uffters froze in ce, and even Ise pulled her face out of Rain''s chest to see what was happening. ¡°Are you ready to fulfill your promise?¡± Ms. White asked, looking at Runt with hunger in her eyes. ¡°Not yet. I need to find a book that will give Runt here a powerful and flexible ss.¡± Ms. White didn¡¯t look pleased at the request, her usually wide smile fading into a small dot. ¡°Very well.¡± Ms. White turned and floated deeper into the mist room. Rain sighed in relief at that. She didn¡¯t want to leave Ise and the others unsupervised while she looked through the shaft. Though, now that she thought about it, none of the books from the shaft had given skills. Was that only a feature of the mist room? The whole odd group followed Ms. White except for Moon, who seemed to be reminiscing in the entry room. Rain decided to leave her alone; for some reason she trusted Moon not to hurt herself. The journey through the eclectic shelves was short, and before long, the group stood before one of the pedestals in the back of the room, two pedestals down from the Tome of Chromatic Truths. The book Ms. White pointed to with an expression that Rain could only describe as a smirk was covered in jewels andplex runes. On its center was a heart with nine circles around it. Rain couldn¡¯t see any title. ¡°Thank you, Ms. White.¡± ¡°You know how to thank me.¡± Ms. White said before fading back into Rain''s shadow and Rising Rain¡¯s corruption by another point. Rain turned to Runt before conjuring her contract. ¡°This is yourst chance to turn back.¡± He looked conflicted for a moment before nodding, and the two of them wrote out the terms of the deal before sealing it with a kiss at the bottom. Sunrise was ring at Runt now. Rain wasn¡¯t looking forward to appeasing the angry girl. ¡°All right, Runt, remember, only read the first page.¡± Runt nodded woodenly before opening the book on the altar like it was covered in poisonous insects. Rain watched as he started to read, and his posture changed from wary topletely invested. It took him much longer to read those first pages than Rain would have guessed. She tried to see if there was any strange shimmer around him, but since they were in the library, Rain couldn''t see any shimmer at all. She should have done this outside. After another long moment, Runt looked up from the book with a hungry look in his eyes. Before Rain could ask him how things went, Mr. Purple squirmed into existence with a message for her. [Reader Runt has attained the passive skill: First Circle.] [Creating ss around First Circle for reader Runt.] [Notice: Reader Runt¡¯s mental corruption has risen 16%. Current mental corruption 16%.] [Notice: Reader Runt¡¯s physical corruption has risen 8%. Current physical corruption 8%.] Rain felt her own mental corruption drop a bit, relieving pressure on her mind that she hadn¡¯t realized was there. ¡°Well, what ss did you get?¡± ¡°My ss is Novice Wizard,¡± Runt answered, his eyes drifting back and forth in a motion Rain recognized as reading an invisible message. A novice wizard, Rain hoped it was a good ss. It would be horrible if she made him take that deal only for her repayment for all his help to be a bad ss and some corruption. ¡°Rain, can I take this book with me? I think I¡¯ll need it to use most of my skills.¡± Rain refocused on Runt. ¡°You can''t read much more from it, or your corruption will rise too high.¡± ¡°I think if I read it slowly and carefully, I can get what I need without the drawbacks.¡± Again, there was a hungry look in his eyes. Rain hesitated for a moment before relenting and motioning for him to take the book. Rain liked the boy, but he wasn¡¯t Sunrise or Lucus. If he wanted to take risks for power, she wouldn¡¯t stop him. After all, if he did get stronger, she would have a stronger tool to achieve her goals. Runt tried to take the book only to realize it was chained to the pedestal. He tugged on it for a moment, but the chain was too strong. Rain walked next to him and examined the chain for herself. For some reason, she got the feeling she could break the chain if she wanted. Grabbing the chain Rain twisted it, and one of the delicate links snapped, freeing the book from its ce. The moment it did, a gentle wave of white light rippled out from the point in the link, flowing out and away. Hopefully, that wasn¡¯t anything important. With nothing to do about it now, Rain shrugged and handed the book to Runt. ¡°I¡¯ll lend you this book so long as no one but you reads from it.¡± Feeling her ¡®Lend¡¯ skill activate, Rain released her grasp on the book. ¡°There, my favor to you is fulfilled.¡± and it was, Rain could feel the contract hanging over her heart lift as she had alreadypleted her part of the deal. Now that that was all taken care of, all that was left for the night was the uffters. Rain turned to find Moon right behind her, like a scared child hiding behind a parent. Unable to stop herself, Rain scooped up her new friend. ¡°Alright, I need to find a ce for you and your family.¡± ¡°Goddess, I know we failed to gather all the information in the city for you, but I still want to serve you.¡± The thought of these little ones risking their lives for Rain was just wrong. Rain should be protecting them, not the other way around. But still, mind-reading allies the size of a fist could be so useful. ¡°Goddess, don¡¯t worry about us; we would be happy to die for you!¡± Moon''s words were met with yips and squeaks from all her children. Apparently, unlike Swift-tail, who could only speak with one person at a time, everyone could hear Moon. Rain smiled at her little warriors. ¡°I¡¯ll find you a safe ce soon, but for now, I¡¯ll keep you in the room I use to teleport in the Mid Ring. I can take you all to Estom Indter. To be truthful, I could use one of you to help me with something.¡± The uffters all started squeaking in excitement and milling around. Rain noticed an exhausted-looking Swift-tail trying to keep them in order. ¡°Goddess, I¡¯ll do it!¡± Rain recognized Moon¡¯s voice. Rain had expected Swift-tail to be the first to volunteer, but she was wrong. ¡°Alright. Let''s get everyone to a safe ce for tonight.¡± Rain put Moon down and headed for the door but was stopped by a hesitant squeak from Swift-tail. ¡°Goddess. I want to stay with Runt. He needs me to protect him.¡± Rain looked over at the little guy and saw him looking at his siblings with big, sad, blue eyes. Apparently, Rain wasn¡¯t the only one to hear because Moon went over to Swift-tail and gave him a gentle lick. Rain watched the mother and son say goodbye, a wing sensation wrapping around her heart. Swift-tail was lucky to have a mother who loved him. She left the two there to say their goodbyes and returned to Tineak. It was time to get everyone home; tomorrow, it would be time to finally get some answers. Indirect Interrogation Indirect Interrogation Rain rubbed her eyes as she approached Lucus¡¯s door. Her fingers brushing new hardened patches of skin around her left eye: the results of rising her physical corruption. Last night had been long, and between going out with Ise and the others and modifying Snow - also with Ise - she¡¯d gotten almost no sleep. It was so bad that for the first time in months, Sunrise was still sleeping after Rain got up. Yawning, Rain squeezed Snow and knocked on Lucus¡¯s door. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Rain.¡± the word came drawn out in a yawn of its own. A few secondster, Svend opened the door. ¡°Come in, Lady Rain,¡± he said with a flourish of his arm. Rain smiled at him. It was finally time to find all his secrets! ¡°Are you ready, Moon?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Thank you, Svend.¡± Rain answered Svend as she stepped in. Lucus was sitting in a single-person armchair next to a table in the center of his sitting room, reading a formal-looking letter. ¡°Morning!¡± ¡°Morning.¡± He didn¡¯t look up from his letter. ¡°You here about the Gathering?¡± ¡°What, why would I? I¡¯m not invited.¡± Lucus looked up at that, and Rain caught Svend looking at her from the corner of his eye. ¡°What do you mean you got the news from father yesterday, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No?¡± Lucus looked confused, and Svend looked intrigued. ¡°Father said he would send you the details yesterday.¡± Lucus was telling the truth, but Rain had heard nothing about the gathering. If she had to guess, Lord Estom was ying some kind of game. ¡°All right, Moon, is it working?¡± ¡°It is Goddess. Your brother is happy to see you despite his words. It feels like he¡¯s excited to exin what''s going on.¡± Rain tried not to show her joy at Moon''s revtion. She couldn¡¯t let Svend discover her secret stowaway; she was hidden in the pocket that Rain and Ise spent thest half of the night sewing into Snow¡¯s belly. ¡°What is Svend thinking?¡± ¡°It''s harder to read him because he¡¯s a greater human. I¡¯m getting curiosity about why your backer wouldn¡¯t tell you about the changes even if Lord Estom didn¡¯t inform you.¡± ¡°Well, are you going to sit or not?¡± Rain realized that Lucus had said something while she was talking with Moon, and she had missed it. ¡°Oh, sure. Thanks.¡± Rain made to sit on the couch around the same table Lucus was sitting at, and then her eye caught sight of the extra space on Lucus¡¯s chair. There was totally enough room, right? Emboldened by Moon¡¯s revtion that Lucus was happy to see her, Rain took a seat - in the small gap between Lucus and the armrest of his chair. ¡°What the! Get off! Go sit over there, weirdo.¡± Instead, Rain snuggled into her brother''s side, her eyes going closed as she felt the warmfort. Even the pain of her injured soul seemed to fade as she sat there. ¡°I said Get off!¡± ¡°Moon, is he angry?¡± ¡°Um, well, yes, but he¡¯s also happy? Your brother''s emotions don¡¯t make a lot of sense, and his thoughts are about how weird you are.¡± That was good enough for Rain, and she melted into her brother. After a few more moments of nothing happening, Lucus gave up on getting her to move and hesitantly put an arm around Rain. ¡°Whatever, just listen so I can tell you about the Gathering tonight, and you can leave.¡± ¡°All right, Moon. I can¡¯t have two conversations at a time, so I need you to help me steer this conversation to topics that will get Svend to think about his reasons for being here without me needing to talk back and forth with you.¡± ¡°I understand, Goddess!¡± ¡°So, brother, what''s going on?¡± ¡°Apparently, the Archlord and High Lords decided to have all the nobles bring their entire families, ages eight and up. The first big meeting after the announcement will be a massive gation tonight. That means you and me are both going to be joining.¡± Rain¡¯s eyes widened at that, and she nearly lost track of her goals for this conversation until Moon butted in. ¡°Svend is getting excited. He thinks he won¡¯t have to serve your brother after the gation.¡± So, something was going to happen tonight. This was a good start. Rain almost asked Moon if there was anything else but realized that if there was, Moon would have told her. ¡°So what''s the purpose of this gation? Didn¡¯t the Gathering already start with a feast a few days ago?¡± ¡°Yeah, but the gathering isn¡¯t a single meeting. They usually take a month or more, and while they¡¯re going on, different families throw feasts and gations so different groups can meet to make ns or show off. There¡¯s also a lot of private meetings, but we don¡¯t have to worry about those.¡± ¡°Svend is wondering if you¡¯re ignorant or pretending. He¡¯s thinking about all the advantages of pretending to be clueless that might benefit Lady Tyix, in case you are her.¡± Rain fought back the urge to tense up. He knew she was Lady Tyix! But how? Wait, no. Moon had said he was thinking of reasons Lady Tyix would act clueless, which might indicate Rain was Lady Tyix. That meant he wasn¡¯t sure that she was Tyix. Yet. The thought that she had been living with a spy trying to find her fake persona sent a chill down her spine. It also raised the question of who Svend was working with. ¡°So there¡¯s a meeting tomorrow, and we¡¯re invited to this one?¡± Rain asked, trying to keep up with the conversation while also working to figure out who Svend was and how to steer the conversation in a way that would get Svend to think about what she needed. Her head was already hurting. ¡°Yeah. Lord Imter is hosting a massive gation tomorrow night, and all the houses are invited along with their children.¡± ¡°What''s the point of that, though?¡± Rain asked partly to see if it got Svend to think about something good, but mostly because she was curious. ¡°Well, the smaller meetings are held to make ns and alliances, but there are people all over the capital right now making note of who meets who. At a big event like this, it''s easy for people to slip away and have private conversations without everyone finding out.¡± Rain didn¡¯t need Moon to tell her about how Lucus was feeling. She could hear the pride in his voice as he got a chance to show off everything he had learned by studying so hard. He was so involved in his exnation that he had even started stroking her hair as he spoke, something Rain was certain was subconscious because he would never do that knowingly. ¡°Svend just had a passing thought about Lord Imter. Apparently, he¡¯s a part of Svend¡¯s faction.¡± Rain noted that and made her next attack. ¡°Do you know why Lord Imter is holding this gation?¡± ¡°...no. It won''t have anything to do with us, though, so you don¡¯t need to worry too much. And since I¡¯ll be there, you can rely on me to know what to do.¡± ¡°Anything Moon?¡± ¡°Hmm, no. He thinks it¡¯s connected to his mission, but he isn¡¯t sure. If you want, I could get all my children, and we could try working together to enter his mind.¡± Rain was taken aback by the suggestion. That would make things so easy, but she doubted Svend would be unaware of the attack, and whoever he worked for would get suspicious if he disappeared. ¡°Maybe next time.¡± ¡°What do I need to do to prepare for tonight, brother?¡± Rain felt Lucus shrug. ¡°Just have Ise get you ready for tonight. There¡¯s nothing else you can do on such short notice.¡± ¡°Oh, Svend just thought about hoping you were the real Lady Tyix instead of one of the other possible candidates! Apparently, you have a good bounty, and he wants a part.¡± Rain nodded and closed her eyes. She should think of ways to sneak Moon into this gation. And if someone was trying to find out if she was Lady Tyix, then she needed to prove that she wasn¡¯t. Maybe she could me one of the other possible Tyixs. Why was being squeezed so tight to her brother sofortable? She needed to make ns, but being here felt so¡­ Rain fell asleep. Party Party Rain followed behind the Estoms as they entered the massive ck spire that was Imter Manor. Well-dressed servants led Rain and the other guests to the center, where the roof opened until she could see the very top of the manor several stories above. Rain knew it wasn¡¯t verydylike, but she couldn¡¯t stop herself from gawking up at the rows and rows of balconies and windows covering the inside wall of the hollow spire. The gation itself was starting on the ground floor. Rain had thought that the sword tournament had been stuffed full of people, but this was on an entirely different level. It was also more diverse than the tournament, with people in clothes that ranged from Estom levels of gaudiness to neat yet humble. Rain noted that there were far fewer different hair colors amongst those in iner clothes. Leaning over to a stiff-looking Lucus, Rain whispered, hoping the ever-sour Lord and Lady Estom wouldn¡¯t hear. ¡°What does house Imter provide the gathering?¡± Lucus muttered back, ¡°Wind stones to power ships. They also have the best warships in the isles.¡± Rain wasn¡¯t sure what a windstone was or how it would power a ship, but it sounded cool. Lord and Lady Estom broke off without a word to the children, leaving them standing there wondering what they were supposed to do. ¡°Are you going to go find your friends?¡± Lucus gave her a baleful stare. ¡°Oh right, sorry.¡± She¡¯d forgotten that Lucus didn¡¯t have any friends. ¡°I should probably go and talk to Ulf, Keld, and Maj,¡± Lucus said with a sigh. ¡°Do you want toe with me?¡± Rain was curious about what Lucus was up to. But between wanting to seem distant from him so the Estoms wouldn¡¯t target him and not wanting him to get caught in whatever Svend¡¯s people were nning, Rain shouldn¡¯t. So she shook her head. ¡°Whatever.¡± Lucus huffed before sulking away. Rain hummed to herself at the sight of Lucus, annoyed that she didn¡¯t want to go with him. She needed to be extra careful that nothing happened to him. But now that he was gone, Rain could start working. She didn¡¯t know how to protect herself from Svend¡¯s people, but she could at least start looking for people to turn into minions while she waited for her opponents to make a move. All around her, people were bustling and moving; some stayed with their families while others broke up like the Estoms to go and socialize. What really captivated Rain were the colors. People everywhere spoke in small groups, almost all of them spouting gouts of murky lies. Yet amongst the lies was the asional glittering truth, like a rainbow in the middle of smoking chimnies. None of the conversations were easy to pick out among the hubbub of other discussions and the nketing sound of the traditional flute and drum band ying in one corner, but Rain still heard interesting snippets: a married man flirting with another woman, a humbly dressed lord bragging to others about his harvest being spared by the famine, a woman gossiping with her friends about the dashing young lord of another family. Rain listened to all the wants and desires of the people around her. How could she solve their problems? How could she use her gifts to extract service from them? Already, her list of people to visit was growing. If enemies were already looking for Lady Tyix, then Rain might as well spread the name as someone who could grant wishes and make ambitionse true. Rain casually walked through the crowd, bodies parting around her when people noticed her. She couldn¡¯t deny that her aura was useful. Still, it was a shame she couldn¡¯t turn it off. Her aura might make people examine her closer, and she didn¡¯t want them to connect her to Tyix. She had discovered over the past few months that unless she flexed her aura, people didn¡¯t realize it was there; they just felt uneasy around her. The people she asked - and could convince to talk to her - said that some part of her felt wrong. The part in question changed, with something about her face being the mostmon. That meant that if part of the reason Lord Imter was holding this gation was to find Lady Tyix, then people would find Rain creepy but not immediately recognizable - unless she flexed her aura too hard. While Rain was wandering around thinking and looking for a snack, something caught her foot and sent her sprawling. Rolling to her side so she could see what she tripped on, Rain saw nothing but the thick crowd. That is until she spotted a boy a few years older than her smirking from where he stood right next to the spot Rain tripped. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. Let me help you up.¡± the boy offered. A cloud of ck lies leaving his mouth as he reached out with a hand to help her to her feet. Only he was offering his left hand, and unless Rain was an idiot, that was on purpose. Not wanting to give the boy an opportunity to do whatever he was nning, Rain sprang to her feet without taking his hand and stered a smile on her face. ¡°Oh, no worries, I¡¯m just fine.¡± The boy¡¯s smile flickered before he drew close to Rain and said in a low tone so only she could hear. ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten how you helped that worthless brother of yours cheat at the sword tournament. You stole my chance to fight Toivo.¡± The tournament? Wait. Rain looked at this boy. His red hair and the sneer he had right now were familiar. This was the boy who beat Lucus! The one who tried to embarrass Lucus by ying with him instead of finishing the fight quickly. ¡°Oh! That''s who you are! You¡¯re the boy with the sneer face!¡± ¡°My name is Loke Irert! Remember it!¡± The smartest thing to do right now would be to brush this off and leave before something happened. But Rain could still remember the look this boy had when he spoke to Lucus in the arena and how much his words upset Lucus. If someone was nning to do something with Rain, then she would have to wait for them anyway, so why not have a bit of fun? ¡°Oh, I will!¡± Rain said with a wide smile. She would remember his name if for no other reason than to make sure she always got it wrong. ¡°Irert. That was originally, what? Liar Expert? That sounds about right for a house you belong to.¡± It wasn¡¯t her best insult. Or at least that''s what she thought, but Sneery¡¯s face turned red, and he grabbed Rain by the shoulder, squeezing till it hurt. ¡°My house name was originally Fire Heart.¡± Rain expected him to yell in her face, but his voice grew quiet and unstable. Rain found it far more frightening. She put that tip aside forter use. ¡°My family may have gained our ce in the Gathering by producing Fire dust, but we use our ce to keep order in the isles. We protect everyone with honesty and honor. An honorless peasant like you who survives by ying underhanded tricks wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± Rain wondered if this boy was looking for new reading material. Perhaps she could rmend something. She wouldn¡¯t actually do something like that - yet. Because, despite how angry and annoying his words were, Rain could at least see that he believed them. She could respect that. She still didn¡¯t like him. Rain considered using Tineak''s uwful state to point out that if his family were great order keepers, they were failing. But she decided the less information she gave out about herself, the better. She didn¡¯t need to connect herself to the uwful state of the lower rings. She did want to y more with this annoying boy. Making him mad gave a different sort of satisfaction from teasing Runt, but if his family really were trying to keep peace, then maybe she should try to befriend him. Rain took one more look at the red-faced boy and discarded any idea of befriending him. If she needed their help, she would need to go past him and straight to his family. Still, she better not make him too angry. Knocking his hand off her shoulder, Rain turned around and started walking away. ¡°Well, nice to meet you, I guess.¡± As she walked away, Rain expected to hear spluttering or a call for her to turn around, but there was nothing. Peeking over her shoulder, she saw Loke standing there watching her with pure hate in his eyes. Yeah, she wouldn¡¯t be going to him for help any time soon. Rain drifted around the room after that, avoiding anyone who looked at her like Sneery had while adding names and faces to her list of people to ¡®recruit.¡¯ Eventually, an old man who had a leathery face and was coated in shimmer got up on a tall pedestal in the middle of the room and started talking with a voice so loud that it silenced the whole room. Rain paid passing attention to the old man, who turned out to be Lord Imter, as he opened the festivities that Rain thought had been going on for a good while already. Then he started on a long-winded speech about the history of the Gathering and the many benefits of working together to ovee these hard times. Unfortunately, in all that time he never mentioned where Rain could find the snacks. Ari Ari Time started to creep as the night went on. The things Rain could overhear were useful but not too interesting. Rain went over her objectives for the night. First, stop Svends people from finding out about her. Until she figured out what was going on, there wasn¡¯t much she could do about that one. Second, gather a list of vulnerable people to make deals with. She could hear Lon snorting from wherever he was hiding as she thought about using people. Andstly, if she had any time, maybe she could perhaps try and make a friend? Rain had done a good job with the first two goals, so she could spend a little time on thest one, right? At first, Rain tried to talk with the other children her age, but none of them wanted anything to do with her. Most hid behind their parents'' legs, and those who didn¡¯t were cold and hostile. The rejection forced Rain to confront something: she wasn¡¯t very good with people. When Rain liked someone, her instinct was to hug and get close, but how were you supposed to make friends when people wouldn¡¯t let you close? Her experiences in a ve pit hadn¡¯t helped her learn that, and despite understanding how to manipte people, Rain didn¡¯t know how to get them to be her friends. It made her wonder what kind of person her past self was. Her looks didn¡¯t help. She had gotten thintely; the constant pain in her soul made it hard for her to keep food down. Add in the dark baggs that had returned to her eyes, the ck nails, and the twisted hand, and she looked gloomy. Not even a pretty green dress could fix that. She tried to smile at a nearby group of people her age, but after repeatedly being fled from or having people give her falsepliments and offers of friendship, Rain didn¡¯t feel like it. She was pretty sure her attempt came out as more of a grimace. Unable to make a friend or listen in on any of the conversations - at least any conversations of interest - Rain retreated to the side of the room where she tried to make herself look small and harmless. Maybe if she hid like this, whatever Svend thought would happen today wouldn¡¯t find her. Rain took a couple of deep, calming breaths. That''s right; her desires weren¡¯t important. She wasn¡¯t important. She needed to forget making friends and focus on what she could do to help people like her past self had wanted. Rain sat back and watched the crowd. For a while, the usual hubbub continued until Rain noticed the crowd thinning. People weren¡¯t leaving but going up the two sets of curving stairs that hugged the outer wall. Rain could see the higher balconies and windows filling up as people watched the stragglers on the bottom floor. And there were stragglers. Guards at the stairs refused to let certain people ascend. A fair number of the humbler guests, as well as almost all of the children, were denied ess. What was the point of inviting these people if they weren¡¯t allowed to join the full party? No doubt, all the juicy conversations were happening up there. There was probably food up there, too, but how could Rain go there without being caught? She would start with the most basic and try to take the stairs. But as she suspected, one of the guards barred her way. ¡°Sorry, youngdy, but the higher floors are for adults only.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m hungry, and there¡¯s nothing to eat down here,¡± Rain said, trying to look pitiful. The guard just looked at her with distrust. ¡°If you must eat, then try asking one of the servants.¡± Well, it had been worth a try, but what should she try next? Rain scanned the room. There were other doors and rooms on this bottom floor; maybe there was a stairway somewhere else. She headed towards a double door, which the servants were using to enter and exit. Before she reached it, a chirpy voice stopped her. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Ariana, but my friends call me Ari. What''s your name?¡± Rain turned to see a smiling, familiar-looking girl with red hair and an excited look on her face. The face brought back a slew of bad memories, and Rain couldn¡¯t stop herself from wincing. This was the girl Rain had saved on the day she got Lon killed. Seeing her brought back all the strong emotions she had been feeling that day. ¡°So saving her is how you convinced yourself you aren''t a monster. I guess my life meant nothing.¡± Lon whispered from the shadows. ¡°Um, hi, I¡¯m Rain.¡± What did Ariana want? She couldn¡¯t recognize Rain, could she? Rain had had her face covered the entire time she rescued Ariana. Was this a coincidence, or had Manas told Ariana to look for Rain? She couldn¡¯t trust this girl. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a pretty name!¡± Rain could tell that Ari was a good person. ¡°Thanks. What did you need from me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need anything; I just want to be friends.¡± Rain was shocked by the colorful shine of Ari¡¯s words. She almost hugged the girl on the spot. However, before Rain could answer, the girl plowed on. ¡°I saw you trying to go upstairs; we should go find another way, or we could y chase down here, or we could go and I¡¯ll introduce you to all my other friends, or¡­ Oh wow, did you see that? That guy over there tripped. Let''s go!¡± And without waiting for Rain to say a word, the girl ran off to where a familiar-looking red-haired boy sprawled in front of Lucus. Rain gaped at the scene. Had Lucus tripped Sneery? Why? He hadn¡¯t seen Rain¡¯s interaction with the boy earlier, had he? Whatever the reason, now was a good time to escape while Ari was distracted. Turning on the spot, Rain made for the closest set of doors. She wished she could stay and spend time with Ari. Rain thought the two of them could be friends, but Rain didn¡¯t deserve to waste time on that; she needed to find ways to gain power so she could save people. ¡°So what are we doing?¡± If Rain hadn¡¯t been so used to people talking to her out of nowhere after having Lon¡¯s ghost haunt her for days, she would have jumped out of her skin. When had Ari gotten next to her again? Hadn¡¯t the girl just set off to see the drama? When had she entered the hall with Rain? ¡°I¡¯m looking for a way to get to the higher floors. They have to have snacks up there, right?¡± ¡°That sounds fun!¡± Ari said, her face showing the same excited expression she had worn when Rain was helping her escape from Lord Miggos¡¯s manor. A part of Rain was disappointed that Ari didn¡¯t want to leave so Rain could go all out without worry, but she couldn¡¯t lie and say she wasn¡¯t excited to have a chance to make a friend. That did remind her to check something. ¡°Ariana, do you want to be my friend?¡± ¡°Yes! Let''s be best friends!¡± Rain was stunned because those words were entirely true. ¡°Why? Why do you want to be friends with someone as creepy as me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re so cool! Like that time you saved me, and I sat in that room with all the mist and the swirly ck walls.¡± Rain sucked in a breath. This girl knew it was Rain who saved her. Rain grabbed Ari¡¯s hand and pulled her out of the hall they were in and into an empty room. ¡°How did you figure out it was me who saved you? Wait a second, how did you know what the walls of that room looked like? You promised you wouldn¡¯t take off the blindfold.¡± Ariana broke eye contact and mumbled something about Uncle Manas telling her. Rain noted that while it was the truth, she deliberately didn¡¯t answer about how she knew what the inside of the library looked like. ¡°Do you promise not to tell anyone about that?¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± Well, she was being honest, so Rain would have to take it for now. Still, she wondered what she would have to offer to get Ariana to sign a contract, ensuring her silence since she apparently wasn¡¯t good at keeping her promises. ¡°So, are we really looking for food, or are we on another mission? Are you trying to steal Lord Imter¡¯s treasure?¡± That caught Rain off guard. There was a treasure like in the stories? She kinda wanted to steal it now, but no. ¡°I want to see what I can learn, and the gossip on this floor is all about how badly everyone¡¯s crops are doing this year. I''m also curious about why they decided to invite everyone to this gation.¡± ¡°Oh, thatst one¡¯s easy. They want to get a scanner next to all the children to check for ck ssers. Papa says that a lot of the lords are hiding ck ssers these days, and Arch-lord Tineak wants to find them.¡± Rain blinked at that nugget of information. They had a scanner looking for ck ssers among the lords¡¯ children? Was this how they were searching for Lady Tyix? If so, then it might be a good thing. Rain asked Mr. Purple to show her her information. There it was; her ss was a hidden ss. Rain was going to bet it meant she couldn¡¯t be found by a scanner. If they were looking for ck ssers to narrow down the list of suspects, then maybe Rain should let them scan her. But she needed to know how Ari knew about this. ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°Uncle Manas told me.¡± as the words left Ari¡¯s lips, a horrified expression came over her. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone I told you that without charging you! Please. We''re friends, right? So you won¡¯t get me in trouble.¡± For the first time that night, Rain felt like smiling. Red n Black Rouges Red n ck Rouges Rain raised a hand to signal Ari to stop while Rain peeked around the corner. The way was clear, but when Rain looked back to check on her new friend. Only to find Ari distracted, holding a piece of rope that hung over a que on the wall. As this was Rain''s second time around Ari, she wasn¡¯t surprised by the girl''s inability to stay on task. Though unlike when Rain had brought Ari home after saving her, Rain had identally let herself be distracted by the girl''s antics a few times. To be fair, the picture of Lord Imter that had what looked like a te of poop in the background had been funny, and that three-ded knife was really cool. Shrugging, Rain moved on as Ari tried to show her something about the rope. Ari might get sidetracked, but somehow, she always kept up. Turning down the corner, Rain crept down the carpeted hallway. There were no rules saying they couldn¡¯t be here, but it still wasn¡¯t a good idea to be seen. ¡°Found anything cool yet?¡± Sure enough, Ari was right beside Rain again. ¡°No, what are all these rooms even for?¡± ¡°Lord Imter is a sailor, so he made sure the bottom floor of his manor had plenty of rooms for all his men when they were in the city.¡± Once again, Ari proved herself to be knowledgeable by presenting random facts about one of the lords. Rain was about to respond when she saw an old stairway peeking from behind a wooden door at the end of the hall. She motioned to Ari as she skulked towards the partially hidden stairs. However, Rain heard muffled voices from behind another door before she could reach the stairs. Slowing to listen, Rain stood to the side of the door in question. To her surprise, instead of picking up the vase on a pedestal or looking at a random corner of a painting, Ari stood on the other side of the door and listened just as intently as Rain. ¡°And I¡¯m telling you, honorable lords, that Lord Tineak is weak. Not but a few months ago, he allowed an intruder to rob the star metal mines and escape unscathed. He does not have the power we associate with the Arch-lord.¡± said a calm, elegant voice. ¡°Thieves are good and fine, but if he deploys the star knights, we¡¯re finished.¡± This second voice sounded rougher than the first, but it wasn¡¯t at the level of the simply dressed lords back in the center of the spire. ¡°Perhaps, but if enough of the lords ignore the Gathering¡¯s embargo on dead inds, then the Arch-lord will be unable to suppress everyone. That''s why I¡¯m approaching you. Join us in standing up to these tyrants who are trying to push us from the Gathering.¡± ¡°And you promise that the Tineak guards will support us?¡± Asked a third and notably feminine voice. ¡°Yes, their captains have been promised better positions on other inds as well as other incentives. They will aid us when we call.¡± ¡°Fine, just help me free my home, and I¡¯ll support you.¡± ¡°Very well I will aid you as well.¡± ¡°Prefect, now let us return upstairs to the proper gathering. It would be a shame to stay down here with these low-worth lords.¡± Rain¡¯s eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen, and she booked it down the hall and away from the stairs. Fortunately, the carpeted floor and her light frame allowed her to escape without making any sound. Only once she was back around the corner did she remember Ari. Panic almost gripped her mind before she saw Ari crouching behind her with the broadest grin Rain had ever seen on her. Rain wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d ever seen someone look like they were having so much fun. A momentter, the sounds of a door opening and footsteps striding away drifted down the hall as the three unnamed Lords retreated back up the stairs Rain had been aiming for. ¡°That was Lord Aderd, Lord Altat and Lady Ordth! It sounds like House Adred is stirring up trouble against the Arch-lord! Papa is going to be so excited to hear about this!¡± Ari was hopping in ce as she talked, her hands bunched in front of her. ¡°I knew it was a good idea to be friends with you; things are exciting with you around! What are we going to do next? What''s that?¡± And just like that, Ari wandered off to look at something on the floor, leaving Rain standing by herself. With a slight smile in Ari¡¯s direction, Rain retraced her steps to the stairs only to find the door locked. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. If she had gone up instead of listening to the end of the conversation, Rain could have gotten to the second floor. She didn¡¯t have any bound coins on her and probably wouldn¡¯t have used one if she did. Not with Ari, the niece of a member of the watching stars beside her. Besides maybe going upstairs wasn¡¯t the best thing she could do right now. After all she had a very good source of information with her. Or, well, down the hall, trying to see behind one of the paintings hanging there. ¡°Why would Lord Aderd want to cause problems for the Arch-lord?¡± ¡°Oh, oh, that''s because Lord Aderd is probably the most powerful of the High Lords. Their weapons are the only things capable of cutting through star metal. Papa says that if using an Adred sword could grant a ss like waring star metal armor does, that House Adred would probably be the Arch-lord house instead.¡± Rain was impressed both by Ari¡¯s knowledge and by the fact that the other girl did not wander off while she was talking. ¡°Papa says Lord Adred has been scheming against House Tineak for years. The two lords can''t be put in the same room without giving each other poison gifts. Lord Aderd even forced his way into the position of dean of the Grand Academy just to get in the way of Lord Tineaks attempts to recruit unique ssers. Lord Aderd also has an adorable pet wolf.¡± ¡°Wait, did you say pet wolf?¡± Rain¡¯s attention snapped on to thatst part. ¡°You can have a pet wolf? Is it fluffy?¡± An image of Snow but alive shed through Rain¡¯s mind, and she immediately wanted to meet it. She knew there were more important things to learn from Ari right now; the part of her that was focused on finding more power was screaming in the back of her mind, but her love of all things fluffy and huggable overpowered it. ¡°It''s so fluffy! It''s still a baby, but it''s really soft and loves to run in circles.¡± And like that, Rain was enthralled by stories of this pet wolf. Shepletely forgot about the scanner looking for Lady Tyix and her need to do a good job to impress her past self. Instead, she walked with Ari and talked. When they found the kitchen, the two girls snuck in and stole a whole tray of desserts that had been headed upstairs. Rain was shocked by how good Ari was at sneaking. Before she knew it, she and Ari were walking back into the center of the spire and talking about their favorite desserts. Wait. How had she gotten so distracted? She should be looking for things to use in her bid to take over the city, not talking about her favorite foods and having fun. Shaking her head slightly to clear the happy conversation from her mind, Rain took in the central room where the gation started. Not much had changed down here except that all the children were ying a game in the center around the pedestal where Lord Imter had given his speech. Some adults stood around the children and watched. One of those adults turned to look at Rain the moment she stepped out, and a cold feeling ran down Rain¡¯s back. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± she asked Ari beside her. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know,¡± Ari said, disappointed at being unable to name someone. Before they could say anything else, one of the kids detached from the group and ran over to them. ¡°Come join us, you two.¡± While smiling, this girl didn¡¯t seem to be having fun. Rain decided to test something and reached out to grab the blonde girl''s hand. ¡°Really! You want us to y with you? That sounds great!¡± The look of panic on the girl''s face as Rain captured her hand in her own was almost funny. ¡°Yeah, you shoulde y with us.¡± the girl lied, clearly against the idea of being around Rain now that they were touching. Yet for some reason the girl didn¡¯t back down. ¡°That looks fun. Let''s go, Rain!¡± Just like that, Ari ran off and joined the group of kids and was happily talking with all of them. There didn¡¯t seem to be a single person there who wasn¡¯t her friend. Seeing her talking with all the others while Rain was left with the girl who didn¡¯t want to be around her made Rain¡¯s insides twist. For the first time ever, Rain didn¡¯t want to y with the others. Not just because there was something odd about the way this game was set up in the middle of the room where everyone could see it from an upper balcony or window. Or because she thought it was likely that the game was being used as a tool to search for Lady Tyix. She was just angry at all the kids who were talking with Ari and at Ari and¡­ oh, that''s what was going on. Rain was ashamed of her own pettiness. Still. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like ying anymore.¡± ¡°What! But you have to. We want to y with you,¡± the girl lied. Rain didn¡¯t even need to see the color of her words. ¡°I don¡¯t feel very good right now. Sorry.¡± Rain was already looking for Lucus, but she didn¡¯t miss the panicked look the girl threw at one of the adults supervising the game. At the look, the adult - a in woman with a kind face and a slight aura of shimmer - approached them. ¡°Why don¡¯t you two join the game?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not feeling very good right now.¡± Rain tried to lie, but the words came out colorful and true. This woman was a sser but not a very strong one. Rain was guessing that she was a seeker. Hopefully Rain was right about hidden sses. ¡°Will you be okay?¡± the adult asked putting her hand on Rain¡¯s shoulder in a kindly gesture. Rain did nothing to prevent it. The tingle of a skill activating tickled her shoulder. Rain tried to pretend she noticed nothing as she watched for any hint or clue that she had been discovered. The kindly look on the woman''s face faded as she looked at Rain. ¡°Gertrude, let''s return to the game. This girl will be of no use to your team.¡± The way the woman said ¡®no use¡¯ made Rain think it referred to more than just the game, but the woman''s words had been true. It seemed that Rain had passed this test. Rain looked up at the balconies and windows above. She was right; many faces looked down on the children in the room below. Many were looking in harmless fun, but one person caught Rain¡¯s eye - a beautiful woman standing beside an old man wearing a crown. What caught Rain¡¯s attention wasn¡¯t her lovely red hair or pretty ck dress. No, what caught Rain¡¯s eye was the midnight shimmer pouring off her. It was the first time Rain had seen someone with shimmer as dark as her own. Side stories 21 – 23 Side stories 21 ¨C 23 Two brothers stood on a balcony higher than all the others and gazed down on the lords beneath them. Behind them were four other lords, and to the older brother''s left was a woman with hair of blood and a dress of night. ¡°Thank you, Lord Imter, for arranging this game among the children. It''s amusing to see how their alliances and tactics reflect their house,¡± the older brotherplimented one of the lords in the back. ¡°I¡¯m d you approve, Lord Tineak.¡± ¡°Remember when we used to y that game, Oliver?¡± the older brother asked his younger sibling. ¡°Yes. You always insisted I take the role of watch while you yed the diplomat,¡± Oliver said, unable to hide his slight tone of bitterness. ¡°And we never lost. We yed to each of our strengths and proved ourselves superior. Together, brother, we are unstoppable,¡± the older brother said, raising his drinking horn in a toast. ¡°To being unstoppable, Felix,¡± Oliver answered, raising his own horn in a toast. ¡°It warms my heart to know I still have you on my side. The lesser lords are growing restless, and ck ssers are bing more frequent. We need to be strong.¡± ¡°Have your men found anything on this Tyix character?¡± ¡°We summoned all the likely candidates; a scanner is testing them as we speak. We¡¯ll have a better picture of the situation by the night''s end.¡± ¡°I see. Well then, I have a party to attend; we can talkter, brother.¡± Oliver said, waiving one hand and casually heading to a lower floor. The others were silent until he was gone before one of the lords standing back stepped forward and addressed Felix. ¡°I have a man following him. We¡¯ll know if he tries to intercept the report on the children.¡± ¡°Thank you, Lord Sonom. What do you think the chances are?¡± Lord Imter spoke up to answer the question. ¡°A sser with the ability to make other ssers? He would be a fool not to try and gain her.¡± ¡°We would be better off without her,¡± Felix muttered to himself. ¡°Things are already bad enough without someone going around and ruining the bnce of the Gathering at every turn. If we find out who Tyix is, I want her dead.¡± That didn¡¯t sit with Lord Rcher of the tower. ¡°Arch-lord, please think about this before you act too hastily. Let my people study Tyix. If we can understand even a small portion of how she works, we could grow the power of everyone here.¡± It was a tempting offer. The main reason Felix wanted Tyix dead was to avert strife. If he or any of his current allies gained control of such a powerful tool, the others would unite against them to keep the bnce. But if they could share that power, it would only raise his faction even further above the wretches below. ¡°Perhaps, but this decision can wait until after we find Tyix.¡± The red-haired woman chuckled at that, drawing the eyes of the lords around her. ¡°Do you have something to add, witch?¡± Lord Sonom spat at the woman. His anger only amused the woman. ¡°Not at all. Your search for the little Tyix has nothing to do with our deal.¡± The anger in Lord Sonom¡¯s eyes dampened at the sound of the woman''s voice. Despite his best efforts, he couldn¡¯t help but be sucked into her beautiful tones. Felix was the only one who resisted her voice and asked the question the others would have if they could. ¡°Are you implying that you know something about Tyix and how to catch her that we don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Not at all. Even if I do have that knowledge, what reason would I have to share it? I am already gaining one seat at the Gathering for my work; I don¡¯t need a second.¡± The smile she gave Lord Tineak made it clear that if he needed her help capturing or killing Tyix, it would cost him more than an ind and a Title. ¡°It¡¯s good we won''t need you then. Now then, my lords, which of these children do you think are worth saving in the event of their house''s untimely demise?¡± And like that, the other lords gathered around to pick the children with enough value to be spared. *** Mirage watched his sisters sleeping through the window. His heart ached to go to them, to spend time with them, to be the family they once had. But that wasn¡¯t an option right now. He had worked too hard and given too much to ruin this chance he¡¯d earned for them to enter the Grand Academy. They would get a chance to read and write, learn useful skills, and be offered positions as clerks or schrs. They would have everything he never had. He remained there watching them for a while longer before slipping off the roof and casting his illusion skill on himself to hide from any guard still looking for him. He needed to continue his work of spreading the faith of Tyix. A priest needed favor if they ever asked their deity for help, and he wanted to have as much as he could get in case his sisters ever needed him. *** Lady Uy gazed fondly at her son sitting across from her in the handcart. ¡°Well, Ivar, how was the gation?¡± Ivar beamed at her. ¡°It was just like you said. We are better than the other lords. You should have seen that sniveling wimp when I took his family''s pins! Here, I wanted to give them to you.¡± Her adorable little Ivar offered her two bronze coat pins with delicately carved ckstone heads. The way he smiled and moved made her proud. It had been worth using her leverage on those fools to provide her boy the opportunity to feel true power. Nothing built up a boy''s confidence like destroying one of his pears while others watched. After tonight, the whole Gathering would have to reevaluate where House Uy sat in the hierarchy. She patted him on the head. ¡°Thank you, these are lovely.¡± On a Lonely Walk Together On a Lonely Walk Together Rain paced the halls of Imter Manor. She was tired, in pain, and her new friend abandoned her to y with others. To make things worse, she had just discovered that Lord and Lady Estom had already left the gation with the handcart and left Rain and Lucus behind. How could they? Rain understood them leaving her behind, but they should have taken Lucus with them. Rain sped up; she needed to find him so they could go home together. Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t be too hurt from being left behind. It took another few minutes of searching before she found Lucus. When she finally spotted him, he was leaving arge room to one side of the spire¡¯s center, trailing after a bunch ofughing boys his age. One step was all Rain needed to see the slight limp he was trying to hide. Her attention drawn, she realized he was also missing the furs that had been peeking out of his cor when they arrived. What happened? Running to her brother, Rain tried to hug him only to be stopped by his outstretched hand on her forehead. ¡°Go away, weirdo.¡± He had a sour smell, and his voice cracked like when he was tired. ¡°Are you all right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Now go away.¡± Rain narrowed her eyes at the lie, but she shouldn¡¯t press him on it when he was hurt. ¡°Um, Lord and Lady Estom already left. I was wondering if you wanted to go home with me.¡± A mix of emotions spread across Lucus¡¯s face. Before settling on tired just like Rain felt. ¡°Fine, let''s go.¡± *** Lucus refused to limp no matter how bad his knee hurt. He was useless; he was worthless, but he wouldn¡¯t show weakness. He wouldn¡¯t give his father a reason to think less of him. Looking up at the sky, Lucus fought to keep his emotions under control. Why was he so useless? He had tried to help his family, but he was mocked by everyone at the gathering. All the time he spent studying and preparing to make his family proud was wasted. He had failed so badly that his father hadn¡¯t even bothered to wait for him. Why couldn¡¯t he be good enough to make them proud? *** Rain kicked a pebble down the street as she walked. She intentionally slowed her pace so Lucus wouldn¡¯t have to strain his hurt leg. Rain could still remember how much it hurt to walk on her injured ankle when her ve-freeing escapade went wrong. Theplete silence crushed down on Rain, leaving her with nothing to do but think, and she didn¡¯t like what she was finding. She had spent some of her time tonight looking for information and trying to unravel the schemes to track Tyix down, but she had spent more of it selfishly ying with her new friend. Rain kicked the pebble again, harder this time. To make things worse, while she had been off having fun, her brother was suffering. She had thought she was being smart by avoiding him. She shouldn¡¯t have been so arrogant. Of course, bad things could happen even if she wasn¡¯t around. *** Not only was Lucus a disappointment to his parents but also to his sisters. Rain¡¯s shoulders were more slumped than he had ever seen them. If he hadn¡¯t been so useless and pathetic, he would have had something to give her to cheer her up. But he was a failure even in that. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Rain. House Zers made coat pins for all the young guests, but I lost yours.¡± His sister finally looked up at him. ¡°How did you lose it?¡± Lucus didn¡¯t want to admit how pathetic he was. He didn¡¯t want to tell her how four boys from lesser houses had mocked him in front of everyone. Lucus let his hand stray to his coat pocket where the poison gift their leader had given him sat: a paintbrush carved to look like a sword. He could still hear the mocking words. ¡®Here¡¯s a sword you can actually use.¡¯ ¡°I dropped it somewhere.¡± he lied. Why did she have to look so betrayed right now? Not that he couldn¡¯t me her; she was right to be disappointed that he had treated her gift with such ack of care. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Rain.¡± *** Rain strangled the sides of her dress. She had left him to get hurt, and he was apologizing to her. This was so wrong. It was Rain¡¯s fault for leaving him back there. No it was her fault for not taking over Tineak by now. That''s right. She had spent months ¡®preparing¡¯ after herst adventure got her hurt, and even now, she was doing the bare minimum to aplish her goals. Until Rain fixed things, good people like Lucus were going to get hurt. ¡°I''m sorry for not being there for you. I need to stop being afraid. I need to stop only thinking about what I want.¡± That''s Right. Sitting and waiting for her opponents to make the first move was the wrong thing to do. Rain had never waited for bad people to attack her first; she acted and got things done. Rain drew her leg back and kicked the pebble as far as she could, watching it bounce and rattle down the empty street. She needed to make up with Lucus for her failure tonight and stop people from hurting him ever again. *** His sister¡¯s words hit Lucus in the gut. ¡®I need to stop only thinking about what I want.¡¯ he felt like he was being called out. Lucus knew what he wanted. He wanted his parents to be proud of him. He wanted his sisters to look up to him. He wanted to stop feeling like a parasite who only took from people, whether it was his parents¡¯ precious time, Rain¡¯s gifts, or the care of the servants in the manor; all Lucus did was take. He had nothing to offer. He wanted to be needed to bring something to the lives of others. But he was useless. He would never amount to anything by himself. If he had swallowed his pride and asked Rain for one of her books he would be a sser. Sure, he would never be able to earn the respect of his parents or sisters; everything he aplished and any praise they gave him would be because of Rain, not him. But if he¡¯d had a ss, he could have protected those pins tonight. He could have given Rain her pin, and then he would have given Sunrise his. But he¡¯d been selfish and refused to ask because he wanted people to praise him, not some ss he got for reading a book. ¡°Rain, I need your help. I promise I won''t ever ask for anything from you again.¡± Rain looked back at him, her eyes burning with that confidence he wished he had. ¡°I¡¯ll help you now and any other time you need me. I promise I won¡¯t fail you again.¡± For the first time since he¡¯d met his sister, Lucus didn¡¯t feel fear. How could he when she was smiling like that? That wide toothy smile that promised all kinds of mischief and fun, with her eyes squeezed shut inplete trust of him. It reassured Lucus in what he needed to do. ¡°I want to read one of your books.¡± His sister staggered like he¡¯d punched her in the gut. Her eyes opened wide, and Lucus could see her pupils dte even in the dark. Her whole body started to shake. What had he done? Was she hurt? Lucus pulled his sister into a hug. ¡°Rain, Rain, what''s going on? Are you okay?¡± Nothing. She just huddled into his arms, shaking. What was he supposed to do? Lucus remembered one of his nannies stroking his hair tofort him when he had a bad dream. He wasn¡¯t sure what was going on with Rain, but from the way she was clutching his shirt like she was terrified that he might leave her, it was worth a try. Lucus stroked her hair. He¡¯d never seen her like this before. She loved to get in his space, but she always seemed so confident. He¡¯d never seen her scared. *** She was okay, right? Rain tried to let go of Lucus¡¯s shirt, but her hands didn¡¯t want to listen. Where had all her rage-filled bravado gone? If it wasn¡¯t for Lucus stroking her hair, she wasn¡¯t sure if she would be able to think right now. ¡°Are you feeling better? What happened?¡± Rain didn¡¯t want to answer. If she answered, she would have to confront the truth and live by the resolution she had made before Lucus made his request. ¡°Are you okay? I promise nothing is going to hurt you.¡± Rain could smell something acrid on Lucus¡¯s clothes. If she had to guess, someone had poured something on him when she had been off ying and neglecting her duty to gain power. ¡°Talk to me, sis. Do I need to carry you home?¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ okay.¡± ¡°Oh, thank Agro. what happened?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t let you read one of those books. What if I lose you?¡± She hated how small her voice sounded. Had her anger and conviction of only a moment ago been a lie? ¡°Rain, I¡­¡± he seemed to be struggling to find words and only squeezed Rain tighter. ¡°I need to be able¡­ I need power. I need to be able to paint my own life the way I want it rather than ept the scribbles everyone gives me.¡± Rain wasn¡¯t sure exactly what he meant by that, but she understood the need for power. Without it, anyone could hurt you or the people and things you loved. ¡°Lucus, do you promise me that if you read one of my books, you won¡¯t leave me?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t ever leave you, Rain. You''re my little sister, after all.¡± *** It was decided Lucus would cheat and take power from one of those books. He was sure his parents would be interested in his life, just not because of him. Lucus would have to live knowing that he had given up on himself. Letting his kneck go limp, Lucus gazed up at the sky. The sharp lines of the stars were unobstructed by clouds. And three of the moons were hanging in an almost perfect triangle. The way the moons reflected light on each other, creating unique patterns, was beautiful. He¡¯d never been able to draw the moons in a way that captured their true beauty. He would need to keep working on that. Even if a ss fixed hisck of talent in other ces, at least his painting would still be his. *** Rain nodded into Lucus¡¯s chest. Even if the thought made her sick, she would let him read one of her books. She had already failed to protect him herself, and things would only get worse as he associated with others from the Gathering. Rain had to admit that she didn¡¯t know everything and let Lucus choose for himself. Everyone in Tineak would soon know the name Tyix, and Lucus needed to be able to protect himself if, no, when everything came crashing down. ¡°I do have one condition. I want the names of everyone who hurt you tonight.¡± It was time for Tyix to be active again. And if certain people who hurt the ones she loved had bad encounters with her, oh well. A Book for a Brother A Book for a Brother Rain used thest charge of ¡®Libraien¡¯s search¡¯ to bring Ms. White before her and Lucus. To her relief, when the skill vanished, she felt like some of the pressure and pain from her soul vanished with it. For the first time in days, her soul only felt like it was in a bed of coals instead of a bonfire. ¡°Are you finally ready to fulfill your promise?¡± ¡°Soon.¡± The look of shock that spread across Ms. White''s face almost made Rainugh. Her current apathy from summoning Ms. White was probably the only thing that prevented it. ¡°Very well, what do you need?¡± Rain turned to Lucus, who looked just as ufortable as thest time he was in Rain¡¯s Library. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± ¡°Is she going to help me find the book?¡± ¡°Yes, this is Ms. White. She¡¯s my friend.¡± Ms. White fluctuated slightly at that but said nothing. ¡°Is it okay if I ask her, or do I need to tell you?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. Can he ask you directly, Ms. White?¡± ¡°Yes, I can find what he asks for if that is what you desire.¡± ¡°Alright, then, help Lucus find the type of book he¡¯s looking for, but make sure it won''t corrupt him badly!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid thest part of the request is beyond me.¡± Ms. White answered with a grin as she leaned down to listen to what Lucus whispered in her ear. ¡°I understand; follow me.¡± Was it just Rain, or did Ms. White look like she was up to something? She wasn¡¯t intentionally bringing Lucus to a dangerous book because Rain hadn¡¯t gotten her a body yet, was she? Rain followed Ms. White into the depths of the mist room while never taking her eyes off the spectral woman. She wouldn¡¯t let Lucus read any book Ms. White offered if she thought it was a trap. A few shelves in Ms. White stopped before floating straight up. ¡°This book is the one you want.¡± she said, pointing to a white and ck book far too high up for Rain or Lucus to reach.¡± ¡°Can you bring it down for us?¡± Rain asked. ¡°No.¡± Well, it had been worth a try. Rain was about to start climbing the selves to get to the book when Lucus limped off and grabbed adder Rain hadn¡¯t seen before and rolled it over to the spot Ms. White was floating by. ¡°Good idea,¡± Rain said, pretending she hadn¡¯t been about to try to climb over a story high up a bookshelf. Lucus nodded, the muscles in his face tight, and climbed up thedder to retrieve the book. A momentter, he returned with a thin ck book with interlocking lumpy white circles on it. ¡°With that, I finish my task.¡± Ms. White said before slipping back into Rain¡¯s shadow. [WARNING: Physical corruption has risen 1%. Current Physical corruption 7%.] Rain muttered a quiet thank you to Mr. Purple before returning her attention to Lucus. ¡°Don¡¯t read that here. Let''s return to Estom manor first.¡± Rain wanted to be able to see the shimmer when Lucus read the book. She might be able to help him if something went wrong. Lucus nodded, gingerly holding the book away from himself and following Rain out of the library. The only sound Rain could hear as they left was Lon¡¯s soft voice whispering from the darkness, ¡°So much for protecting your brother. You¡¯ll ruin his life just like mine.¡± *** A few hourster, Rain and Lucus were alone in Lucus¡¯s bedroom. Ise and a very disappointed looking Svend were at an assembly for all the servants, making this the perfect time to use the book. Rain squeezed Snow tight, unable to get Lon¡¯s words out of her mind. He hadn¡¯t said anything since then, but he didn¡¯t need to. The fear his words had reawakened was already deep in her mind. This was the right thing to do, right? She could remember all the reasons she had agreed to let Lucus read a book, but right now, those reasons paled in the face of losing her brother. No, she needed to let him do this. He was a target, and if he had no power, how long would it be until he was locked in a cage and beaten, or worse? Cases like Lon''s were rare. Lucus should be fine. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You better say goodbye. This is yourst chance before you kill your brother,¡± Lon said from where he was leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. For once, his face was almost expressionless, devoid of the anger or sadistic glee it usually had. Before anything else could happen, Rain dropped Snow and rushed over to hug Lucus. She tried to force all her hope and will into that hug so that it could help Lucus be safe as he read the book. ¡°Get off weirdo! I''m going to be fine.¡± Rain let go eventually and retreated to reim Snow. Lucus sat down at his desk and cleared it of drawings and notes. Rain was happy to see the knife she had given him getting extra gentle treatment as he put it to the side to make room for the thin book. If an army had broken down the door and marched in at this moment, Rain wouldn¡¯t have noticed. Herplete attention was focused on Lucus as he opened the book. The instant he did, Rain felt the whole world freeze. She was utterly unable to move, and she wasn¡¯t the only thing; the shimmer collecting in the corners of the room was also motionless, as was every object in the room down to the motes of dust floating in the air. The only thing in the room that seemed to be able to move was Lucus and the book he was reading. Rain was forced to watch as shimmer rose from the pages in crisp angr sheets, so unlike the wispy shimmer Rain was used to. The sheets arranged themselves into those same wheel-like shapes on the book''s cover. The knobby rims of the wheel locked into ce so that each nob was in the grove between two knobs of another wheel. Silently, the wheels started to turn. Rain checked to see if she could warp to a coin or connect to a sleeping person''s mind, but the threads leaving her mind were all wispy. Every time she tried to touch them, her mental hand would pass right through. There was nothing Rain could do but hope with all her heart that her brother would be okay. It took much longer than Rain would have expected, but Lucus eventually looked up from the book''s first page. Good! He had listened and stopped after one page. As he did, all the wheels stopped. Rain watched as Lucus seemed to struggle to stand, then to shut the book, but he was unable to do anything other than read on. Rain wanted to scream as Lucus gave up on escaping and turned the book''s page. As he resumed reading, the wheels resumed their even turning, and Rain wept in her mind. Reading one page was usually safe, but reading more than that was not. Sure, the people who ignored her and read more were always stronger, but they almost all went mad. The book was thin, but each page Lucus turned tore Rain''s heart. There was no way he was escaping this unscathed. This was just like Lon. Why did things always go so badly for the people Rain loved? Was there some god out there working to make Rain¡¯s life miserable? Had she angered some great entity? Rain was forced to watch as one of the only people in the world who cared about her was destroyed by her actions and foul luck. Again. If this was the act of some god, Rain would do whatever it took to pull that god screaming out of his realm and into the world of suffering that Rain lived in. Rain didn¡¯t care how many people got hurt in her quest to bring punishment. Lucus turned thest page. Unlike every time he¡¯d tried to stop reading before, the wheels didn¡¯t just stop turning they reversed direction, turning a single nob. The force that held Rain in ce lifted, and the gong of a rich bell shook the world. As the bell¡¯s note faded, the book on Lucus¡¯s desk turned to ash. [Reader Lucus has attained the limited use skill: Second Chance.] [Creating ss around Second Chance for reader Lucus.] [WARNING: ss can not be created around Second Chance. Reader Lucus will be unable to read any book from the Library of Oru until Second Chance is lost.] [Notice: Reader Lucus¡¯s mental corruption has risen 0%. Current mental corruption 0%.] [Notice: Reader Lucus¡¯s physical corruption has risen 0%. Current physical corruption 0%.] Rain stared in shock at the messages that swirled into beautiful, purple existence before her eyes. ¡°Brother, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m alive!¡± Lucus said, feeling his neck and looking dazed. That was enough for Rain; she dropped Snow again and threw herself at Lucus, hugging him as tightly as she had ever hugged anyone. He was alright - no, he was better than alright - he didn¡¯t have any corruption! She wasn¡¯t sure how that was possible, but she didn¡¯t care. Lucus stiffened the moment Rain hugged him, but she didn¡¯t care. ¡°Rain.¡± That one word was filled with so much emotion that Rain couldn¡¯t stop herself from trying to hug her brother even harder, her fingers pulling on the back of his shirt as she tried to get a better grip. The two stayed in silence like that for a moment. Rain could feel all her anger and fear slide into delirious joy. He was alright. He was alright! Rain let go of Lucus and scooped Snow back up. She was too happy to stay still and started dancing with Snow, twirling him around andughing. ¡°What does your skill do?¡± Rain asked as the room spun around her. ¡°Second Chance only says that it will ¡®give me a chance to do things differently.¡¯ I don¡¯t know how to use it, though.¡± Rain smiled and giggled. That was fine because her brother was safe. Bad End Bad End Lucus staggered as the warped in front of him yanked on the chains around his wrists. All around him, the once elegant manors and shops of the Crown Ringy empty and deste, the once pristine streets now covered in blood-caked ash. As if a ghostly projection were before him, Lucus could see in his memory how the city used to be when he was young before things had gone so wrong. He could see the bakery, beautiful and whole, despite it being destroyed during The Return. In front of it, two girls and an older boy ordered sweets. The bittersweet memory of trying to impress his sisters raced through him, and he could smell the sweet aroma despite death being the only thing in the air. He stumbled past a street where a ghostly boy stood before his father, trying not to show how pleased he was by the praise he was receiving. All these yearster, even after his parents'' deaths, he still remembered how hard he¡¯d struggled to hold back his tears as his father''s smooth voice praised him. Memory after memory assailed him as he walked, each bearing the taint of his failures over the years. Lucus could have stopped all this if he¡¯d only been even slightly better than average. Soon, the escorts around Lucus weren¡¯t the only warped around him as others appeared, peeking out of the ruins. Most were twisted mind and body, nothing more than puppets to the Bane of the Isles. But some were different; some had the visage of madness behind their eyes, yet they still looked the same as the day they lost everything. Others, more distressing to see, were twisted abominations, yet behind their eyes, Lucus could see a reasoning person watching from their prisons of flesh as they were forced to obey themands of their master. All this pain was Lucus¡¯s fault. If he had killed her when he had the chance, none of these people would be suffering. All to soon Lucus found himself at a familiar yet foreign building: Estom manor. The parameter walls had gaping holes in them the ck stone monoliths that popted the grounds now loomed higher than before twisted faces peering at him over the hedges that dripped foul sludge. The house itself was shattered and broken, yet somehow alive. The shattered ss around the windows like teeth around gaping maws. He was going to see them again. After how poorly theirst meeting had gone and how much he had struggled to stop the carnage and death they caused, he was going to see them again, and he did not doubt that this time, he would die. His entourage escorted him through the gates. Lucus could barely recognize the grizzly figure of one of the monsters guarding it as Palle: one of the Estom house guards. The poor man had a gambling problem, probably inherited from Lucus¡¯s father. She had probably used that against him. Even if he had been one of the ones to betray the house, Palle didn¡¯t deserve this half-life as an insane creature. As Lucus was marched to the manor''s dining room, he saw other, wrong versions of the staff. The walls twisted around in a mockery of what they had once been. Yet despite that, Lucus saw dozens of ghostly figures running through them as all the good memories of his childhood were reflected in front of him. Regret. Every step and every memory condemned him. If he had only been stronger, more capable, decisive. When the warped who was leading him pushed him through the doors, Lucus could see the tears in her eyes. She must be one of the unfortunate ones who retained their mind. The dining room, or more urately, the throne room, was nothing like it used to be. The once homey room where he used to spend time with his family was massive now. Somehow, the force that made the hallways feel like they were bending in on themselves had turned this room into into an enormous affair with dark mist pouring from cracks in the walls. Scattered across the floor were rubble and soul shards, but the centerpiece was the throne of rubble and bone. There she was, the Bane of the Isles. A young woman, barely more than a girl, sat on the throne, her hands resting on the skulls of Lucus¡¯s parents: Lady Tyix. The murderer¡¯s eyes were hollow and gaunt, making the horrific mutations they now bore worse. As she looked at him, he could see the defeat in those eyes. ¡°My traitor brother returns.¡± ¡°Hello monster,¡± Lucus responded, yet despite his words, which would have deeply hurt her in the past, she seemed unaffected. ¡°That''s right. I am a monster. I¡¯m the monster this world needs!¡± Tyix snapped her head to the side and howled to the empty room. ¡°No, I won''t fix you! Stop asking Mr. Purple. You need to stay broken like me. That way, you can¡¯t leave me!¡± She was getting worse, much worse. Lucus had known his sister was gone the moment she returned, raving mad and missing so much as a spark of mercy. If only he had killed her then rather than trying tofort her, the city and his parents would still be alive. ¡°Is Sunrise here for the family reunion?¡± Lucus asked. Both hoping and fearing that she was. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be at my precious mistress¡¯s side?¡± a familiar voice whispered into Lucus¡¯s ear. He shivered. When had she gotten behind him? ¡°I¡¯m so excited to finally watch you die and end the line of the Estom filth.¡± ¡°As much as you hate it, you¡¯re a part of that line, sis,¡± Lucus said, putting as much venom into thatst word as he could. A sharp blow to the back of his knee sent him sprawling to the rubble-strewn floor. ¡°Enough Ise.¡± Lucus took his time looking up from the floor because he knew that once he confirmed that both of his insane sisters were here, it would be time to end the Estom family for good. Too many good people had died to get him to this ce for him to back down now. Sure enough, there she was, covered in dried blood and grinning wildly: the Assassin of the End. He could forgive Tyix for bing a monster after everything she had gone through; he would me her madness on corruption, but Sunrise - a sser who never touched one of those cursed books - her actions were hers and hers alone. It was time; everyone was here, and the crystal fire the woman with ck hair and ruby eyes had given him was ready to burst. All that was left was to see this to the end, and Lucus knew how to make that happen. Despite her monstrous nature, he still understood a few of Lady Tyix¡¯s triggers. Viggo, Wave, Grace, Loke, de, Lykke, Rock, Yvonne, I¡¯ll see you all soon. It was time to end this all and pay for his failures. ¡°Your past self would be disappointed in you.¡± That''s all it took for the hollowness in her eyes to turn to fire. ¡°Kill him.¡± Lucus felt a pair of slimy hands hold him down as the warped who led him here drew a star metal sword. This was it; his failure of a life was over, and nothing was left. Lucus was filled with nothing but regret and hate as the sword came down and removed his head. Searing Pain filled his mind as the de parted him from his body. He could see for a brief moment before the world was covered in fire, his death triggering the sphere he had the red-eyed woman had given him. Then, the world went ck. [You died.] [Notice: activating limited skill Second Chance.] [Skill lost: Second Chance.] [You are no longer barred from reading from the library of Oru.] [Congrattions: you have gained the hidden ss Regressor.] [You have gained the passive skill: Regressor¡¯s Mind] [You have gained the passive skill: Regressor¡¯s Silence.] Which Brother Which Brother Lucus staggered slightly as life returned to him. Where was he? How had he gotten here? Why did he feel so small? He was sitting at a desk - his desk from seven years ago. This ash in front of him was the book that prevented him from ever getting a ss. ¡°Brother, are you alright?¡± Lucus knew this scene; he could remember it perfectly. ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m alive!¡± he muttered, lifting his hands to feel his neck; it was intact despite his beheading moments ago. What was going on? He briefly remembered the messages he¡¯d seen when a small body impacted him from the side and tried to squeeze him to death. He recognized this scent. It was the smell his sister used to have. ¡°Rain,¡± he couldn¡¯t stop himself from uttering that one word: a name he¡¯d refused to speak for years. This was his chance! If he had returned to the past somehow, then now was the time to kill Rain before she could ughter thousands of people. Lucus reached over to his desk and grabbed the knife resting on the edge. I won''t let that nightmare happen again! Lucus hugged Rain back with one arm to hold her in ce while preparing to stab her with the other. He could do it. He could save so many people! But would that be a mistake? Rain had done a lot of good before The Tower took her. The best result would be to wait to kill her until right before that happened. That''s right, killing her now would be a mistake. He would make sure Rain never went on a rampage this time. Lucus put the knife back down, remembering it as the one Rain had given him so long ago. Or not so long ago. Remembering dozens of conversations over the years, Lucus asked for his information, and like that, words came into focus before him. He gaped at the words over Rain''s head. He had never been able to make them appear before, but here they were. [Name: Lucus Estom Age: 12 ss: [error] Hidden ss: Regressor ss Skills: [error] Hidden ss Skills: none Hidden Passive Skills: Regressor¡¯s Mind Regressor¡¯s Silence] He mentally asked to see what ¡®Regressor¡¯s Mind¡¯ did. [Regressor¡¯s Mind: You have a perfect memory of everything that happened from the moment you first read ¡®Possibility¡¯s Echo.¡¯ Your mind is immune to all magical and physical methods to pry out its secrets.] That must be why he could remember everything so well despite the years since thisst happened. Or had all those years been nothing more than a vision of what would happen if Rain was allowed to live? He remembered Rain once looking for a way to travel to the past and being told by that thing - White - that it wasn¡¯t possible. But White also rmended that book to Lucus, so had she been lying, or had the years not been real? The more he thought about it, the less sure he was. The memories felt real, so maybe that was all that mattered? [Regressors Silence: Should anyone find out in any way that you have memories of a possible future, both you and anyone who learns this secret will die.] Lucus suddenly felt very d that his mind couldn¡¯t be read by those little nuisances Rain had with her at the beginning. He needed to keep this all a secret no matter what. If worse came to worse, this skill would provide a good method for revenge suicide. While Lucus was still processing everything, Rain let go of her hug and started dancing around with that cursed wolf. It was so hard to reconcile thisughing, free spirit with the twisted and broken monster she really was. To think that within a few short years, this girl would kill his parents and start her journey to be the greatest disaster the Isles had ever known. ¡°What does your skill do?¡± She asked as she spun. Lucus waited for a moment when her back was turned to him so she wouldn¡¯t be able to see him lie. ¡°Second Chance only says that it will ¡®give me a chance to do things differently.¡¯ I don¡¯t know how to use it, though.¡± That''s Right, Rain. I know all of your skills, as well as the skills you¡¯ll acquire in the future. In a year and a half, you kill our parents and be the Bane of the Isles. Unbidden, a line from a y he¡¯d been forced to watch a few times came to mind: ¡®Now I sit, all alone, with nothing but my conscience and an empty throne.¡¯ Which brother had been right? Pardeth would kill Rain now to save the people she would hurt, but looking at Rain - Rain, his sister, not the megalomaniac Lady Tyix - he understood why Agradawn had been willing to turn a blind eye to the crimes of his family. He¡¯d always thought the world was ck and white, but right now, he only saw ck. This would end in blood no matter which brother was right. No matter which path he chose, there was one thing he needed to do, and he needed to do it tonight. *** Sunrise curled up in her favorite chair, enjoying the cool waves of her sister¡¯s presence, which were so thick in this corner of the room. Her sister¡¯s aura was like a strong bouncer keeping the deranged customers out of the ¡®House.¡¯ It guarded her by being terrifying and keeping the things that wanted to hurt her away, making this corner one of the only ces she feltfortable. Dinner would need to be prepared in a few minutes, and Ise always needed to be there to make sure that the filthy servants of the Estoms didn¡¯t do something to her sister''s food, but until then, she was going to enjoy this wonderful tingling feeling. However, she only had a few minutes to enjoy the feeling because, to her annoyance, that entitled filth came in without her sister. ¡°Rain¡¯s not here, so go away,¡± she called to Lucus. ¡°I was looking for you, not her.¡± Ise was immediately on guard. Other than Rain, when people looked for her it was because they wanted to take something from her. Was this when Lucus finally tried to steal Rain from her? ¡°Then go away. I don¡¯t have anything to say to you.¡± Lucus stared at her, adding a lessfortable creepiness to the room. ¡°You really hate me, don¡¯t you?¡± Ise snorted at that. Of course she did. The only person worth anything was Rain. Lucus wasn¡¯t all that bad other than the way he always tried to take Rain¡¯s love just like he¡¯d taken everything in this manor and left Ise to grow up alone in that horrible ¡®House.¡¯ ¡°It''s fine if you hate me. I came to talk to you about Rain anyway.¡± Ise shot him her best warning ir. If he even suggested that she let him have Rain, she wouldn¡¯t hold back. ¡°You see, I wanted to ask you what you think Rain needs from you.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Simple if you were given the option to destroy every person who ever crossed Rain, or you could create a home that Rain could return to and rest; what do you think Rain would want?¡± Ise didn¡¯t need to think long; her sister was too kind to remove people just because they were mean to her; she would only act if they were hurting others. Ise wouldn¡¯t have that limit; she desperately wanted the power to erase anyone who hurt her wonderful sister. But at the same time, that wasn¡¯t what Rain wanted, was it? Rain would want someone to cry to and a safe ce to hide when things were bad, just like she¡¯d needed Ise after herst big adventure. Still, the thought was far less enjoyable than ripping Rain¡¯s enemies apart and forcing people to acknowledge how great she is. ¡°Why are you asking this random question?¡± ¡°I guess I was just curious.¡± ¡°Then go away.¡± Lucus chuckled, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll leave you alone.¡± and turned to do just that. ¡°Lucus, are you all right?¡± the question was out of her lips before she could stop it. Lucus turned back with an odd expression on his face. ¡°Yes, why do you ask?¡± ¡°The way you¡¯re acting right now is off. I just wanted to know if you were feeling down and creating problems for Rain.¡± Sunrise already regretted asking her question. Why should she care if he was alright? If he was gone, she would get Rain all to herself. She should be hoping something bad happened to him. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just getting rid of a couple of monsters. I don¡¯t want them hurting my family.¡± Something was definitely off about him right now. ¡°If you''re trying to protect Rain, then I want to help. It would be bad if something happened to either of you.¡± Ise said. Ise buried her face in a pillow so she wouldn¡¯t have to look at Lucus¡¯s dumb face. Unfortunately, this meant she wasn''t prepared for when he snuck up on her and patted her on the head. The gesture made her skin crawl, and not in the good way. It reminded her too much of the ¡®kind men¡¯ who sometimes visited The House. The only person head pats felt good from was Rain. Ise scooted deeper into the chair to avoid any more contact with her half-brother. She didn¡¯t know what to say. She just didn¡¯t want him to touch her. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to make you ufortable.¡± ¡°Just go away.¡± Sunrise didn¡¯t care about the conversation anymore. She just wanted to be submerged in theforting feeling of Rain. A momentter, she heard the click of the door and was able to rx again. She never noticed the pair of eyes curiously watching her from the darkness long after Lucus left. Dreams Are Weird Dreams Are Weird ¡°I¡¯m sorry for ignoring you for so long Lon,¡± Rain said as she stared over the side of a bridge and down the mountain, the night breeze rippling through her hair. ¡°I know you''re right, and I know that I¡¯m a bad person, but I thought that if I ignored you, I wouldn¡¯t have to admit it.¡± Lon stayed silent as he leaned against the bridge railing next to her, blood from his neck pooling on the top rail. That was okay, though he didn¡¯t need to say anymore. Rain understood. ¡°You''re right. I''m a monster, and no matter how much you want me to be better, this is the only way I know how to help. So Lon, never stop hating me. After all, you¡¯re a part of my mind, aren''t you?¡± Rain pushed off the rails and got to work. Ady had finally managed to get Commander Bartel to drink the river-blood-juice, and Rain had felt the connection form earlier today. Leaving the bridge behind, Rain returned to the small Mid Ring apartment that currently hosted the mind uffters. ¡°Goddess Goddess!¡± squeaked a bunch of voices in her mind. Rain smiled and sat on the floor, allowing the uffter kits to jump onto her and y around. With Estom Manor housing at least one spy, Rain didn¡¯t want to do anything there that might raise suspicions. Plus, she enjoyed the uffters'' presence. ¡°All right, watch over me while I sleep, okay?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Rain closed her eyes and let herself slip along the strand of thought leading to River. When she arrived, it was to find River¡¯s dreamworld had grown again since thest time she had visited. It now contained several buildings and homes for nearly a quarter mile around River¡¯s pub. ¡°Rain, it''s good to see you. Are you all right?¡± The concern in River¡¯s voice caused Rain to look down at herself. Her mind body was so blurry she could hardly make out her shape. Trying to make herself look more solid sent a spike of pain through her soul. ¡°Gah! Er ya, I¡¯m good,¡± she said, keeping the pain off her face, not that it probably mattered, given that she was more of a cloud than a person right now. ¡°All right,¡± River said in a tone that made it clear she didn¡¯t believe Rain. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just checking if you have any messages for me before I go get a bad guy.¡± ¡°Ohh, are you getting that nasty Commander poor Ady¡¯s been having nightmares about?¡± ¡°She¡¯s been having nightmares!¡± Now Rain really wanted to get this guy; her nightmares made her life so much worse. If she could stop Ady from having any, she would. ¡°Wait a moment; how do you know what Ady is dreaming about?¡± River suddenly started looking anywhere but at Rain. ¡°River, what aren¡¯t you telling me.¡± ¡°Nothing, it''s just, well, sometimes I get bored and watch people''s dreams. I¡¯m not touching the dreams, I promise! I just want to see them!¡± Rain was d she had never drank any River juice. She didn¡¯t want people to see her dreams. She would never be able to pretend she was in control if they could see how powerless she was every night. ¡°Whatever. Were there any other messages?¡± ¡°There was! Mirage wanted to let you know that he¡¯s working hard,¡± a soothing pulse rippled through the dream world at the mention of Mr. Mirage, ¡°and there¡¯s some strange things happening on Estom Ind. They don¡¯t want to bother you and ask you what¡¯s happening, but it¡¯s starting to cause an increase of stressful dreams from the people I¡¯m connected to there.¡± Rain nodded. She had no idea what Mr. Mirage was working on that he felt a needed to report to her, but that was fine. The bit about trouble on Estom Ind, though, she would need to look into that. There was no way she would rescue all those people only to leave them abandoned on a dead ind. ¡°Thanks, Ms. River. Have you looked at Commander Bartel¡¯s dreams yet?¡± ¡°No, I thought you woulde tonight, and we could maybe take a look at them together.¡± That sounded like a lot more fun than doing this alone, so Rain readily agreed. ¡°Let me go first, so I''m not in your dream world when it copses.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that. My world is far too stable to copse when I leave it now.¡± Ms. River said with a face that glowed with pride. What Ms. River could do with her copied skill really shouldn¡¯t be shocking, but Rain still managed to be surprised when she revealed just how much more her copie waspared to Rain¡¯s. If Ms. River could grow a copied skill this much, then how much could Rain grow her own skills with time and effort? How would she even try to grow some of her skills? ¡°Then I guess we can just go see Bartel¡¯s dreams.¡± Rain said before pulling herself out on the strand connecting her to Commander Bartel. When the dream solidified around Rain, it left her confused. In the past, every dream she had visited made sense; it would be a scene of the dreamer doing something they enjoyed or being tormented by their fears. Whatever it was, it was at least somewhat realistic. Commander Bartel¡¯s dream felt random. Rain stood on the wall of an ind fort. All around the ind, different types of fish danced on the beach using their tails like legs. Ash was raining down from the clear blue sky, and a tasty smell was wafting all around. Before Rain could try to find where Commander Bartel was in all the chaos, Ms. River appeared next to her and looked around. ¡°I see, so he¡¯s a type four dreamer,¡± she said with a matter-of-fact nod, like dancing fish and impossible weather were totally normal. If there was a type four, then did that mean there were types one through three? And who was ssifying them? Rain wondered. ¡°Do you know where Commander Bartel is?¡± Rain figured the question was worth a shot since Ms. River seemed to know so much about dreams. ¡°Hmm, he should be somewhere over there,¡± Ms. River said, pointing toward the center of the fort. Rain floated that way with Ms. River right behind her. The two of them passed through a few walls before appearing in arge courtyard with a cage of majestic predators. Rain recognized the wolf in the cage, and her past self¡¯s memories said that the big one was a bear. Standing outside was a man Rain assumed was Commander Bartel, who was using a sword to fend off the fish that were trying to hop into the cage to eat the predators inside. Rain watched as he fought. Every in Fish puffed into delicious-smelling smoke before the next fish tried to get past Bartel and eat the helpless savage animals inside. ¡°Ms. River. Do you have any clue what''s going on down there?¡± ¡°No, but this dream doesn¡¯t feel like it''s from an awful person.¡± Ms. River was the expert when it came to dreams, and there was no way Rain was going to try to talk with Bartel during this chaos. ¡°Do you think you can control this dream?¡± Rain asked. She knew it was possible to change others'' dreams. She had done it to Ms. River once, but that had done Rain some serious damage. Ms. River, however, had shown herself to be morepetent with the skill than Rain ever had, so it was worth asking. ¡°That won''t be hard. What do you want me to turn it into?¡± Rain smiled at that. Sure, she was here to help Ady get revenge and maybe pick up a new minion, but that didn¡¯t mean she couldn''t have fun - or test the man a little beforehand. Crone Crone Bartel closed his front door, cutting off the cold wind that tried to steal his warmth. He didn¡¯t remember there being any snowtely, but no, this was natural; why wouldn¡¯t it be snowing right now? The wind howled outside while he brushed the snow from his shoulders and unwrapped the scarf from around his face. Hanging his scarf and goggles on a coat rack by the door, he marveled at the intricate details on the rack. How had he never noticed their beauty before? It was like he had never seen this rack despite living here for years. While he was lost trying to understand why he hadn¡¯t noticed a part of his own home before, a knock came at the door. Bartel scowled. Why would anyone be trying to visit him during this storm? He remembered the mysterious man who had approached him months ago and offered him paradise for his loyalty. Had the man returned to collect? Surely it was too soon? Bartel hadn¡¯t finished getting people out of the way yet. It would be so much easier if the girl hadn¡¯t managed to get a ss somehow. Cracking the door open, Bartel peeked out to see who it was. To his relief, the strange man wasn¡¯t there to inform him that it was time for whatever dangerous task he had in mind. Instead, there was an old crone wrapped in rags. ¡°Please, can you spare me a ce by your fire to wait out this snow?¡± the crone warbled. Bartel paused for a moment. There was a lot of snow falling right now, but there were still people about. If he epted and let her in, others might see. ¡°I don¡¯t have room for you, wench. Go find some bleeding heart to bother,¡± he yelled so everyone could hear. Then, in a lower voice, he said, ¡°If you really need a ce to shelter, go around back.¡± Bartel knew he was putting everything in danger by offering to help this crone, but her life was no less valuable than any other, and he¡¯d taken an oath to protect the people of Tineak. The crone looked at him with her mouth slightly open. He had been doing this job long enough to recognize when someone slipped in an act due to an unexpected event. Shit, was this woman a spy here to test him for the mysterious man? Or did she simply want to gain pity from the people watching when he denied her? Regardless, his guard was up. The crone¡¯s face returned to normal so fast that Bartel almost thought he had imagined it. ¡°Thank you, kind sir.¡± she croaked in a voice no one but he could hear. ¡°Be gone!¡± Bartel roared before mming the door. Bartel took a moment to consider his next move. Going around to let the crone in through the back would be the honorable thing to do, but could he afford to be honorable anymore? Thinking quickly he came up with a n before heading to the back of his home to let the woman in. When Bartel reached a back door he didn¡¯t remember having until he invited the crone to meet him there, he opened it to see the same wizened woman standing in the bitter cold. ¡°Get in before all the heat leaves.¡± ¡°Thank you for your kindness, good sir.¡± The crone stepped in and sat by the fire that was already burning in the firece right next to the door. Bartel turned away from the nk wall next to the firece to look at the crone sitting in afortable chair by the harth. She had removed her scarf and goggles while he wasn¡¯t looking revealing her wizened face and limp gray hair. ¡°Who are you,¡± Bartel demanded of the crone. The crone cackled at his question. ¡°You have a sharp eye, boy. Tell you what. Let''s y a game. We¡¯ll take turns asking each other questions. Every question must be answered truthfully, or the game ends. Are you interested?¡± It was a pointless game since there was no way of knowing if the other person lied, but Bartel might be able to get some information, so he readily agreed. ¡°Very well, you may have the first question.¡± the crone said with a warm smile. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I have many names and titles. The name you may know me by is Tyix.¡± Bartel reeled at the name. He did know it; he had heard whispers of a ck sser child by that name for the past few months. All the guards had been informed to look for this elusive Lady Tyix, though the reports said they were a child. ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn; why didn¡¯t you want people to know you were willing to offer a stranger shelter in a snowstorm?¡± ¡°Simple, I nned to rob you and¡­¡± ¡°I said no Lying.¡± the crone interrupted him mid-exnation. ¡°I¡¯ll let this attempt pass, but don¡¯t test me. You won''t like it.¡± Bartel gulped at her words. Before, she had seemed like a harmless old woman, but now he could clearly feel a wrongness about her that had been hiding just under the surface. He would need to tell the truth for now and only lie when it mattered. Hopefully, he could hide it if she wasn¡¯t expecting it. ¡°I did it because I need to maintain my reputation.¡± The crone was looking at him so intently it made him ufortable. Finally, she nodded. ¡°Ask me your next question.¡± Plenty of questions ran through his head, but he wasn¡¯t sure how long this game wouldst, so he needed to choose the best ones while he found a way to capture the crone. ¡°What was your goal in approaching me tonight?¡± ¡°How fun! You¡¯ve cut right to the heart of the matter. I wanted to see what kind of man you were. You telling me to sneak around back came as quite the surprise.¡± ¡°Why would you¡­¡± ¡°Only one question. It''s my turn now.¡± Bartel gritted his teeth. ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re removing the honest guards from your quarter to protect them, aren''t you?¡± Bartel mastered his expression, letting nothing out. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your turn to ask questions. Answer me with a simple yes or no. You¡¯re removing the honest guards from your quarter to protect them, aren¡¯t you?¡± Bartel had no choice but to try and lie. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re asking, so no.¡± ¡°And with that lie, our game is over,¡± the crone cackled. Bartel refused to give anything away. There was a chance she was trying to get him to reveal the truth by pretending she already knew. It was a tactic he had used before on prisoners. Bartel opened his mouth to protest, but before any words could escape, the crone stood, and pressure mmed down on him. ¡°Despite your lies, you pass my test.¡± As the crone spoke, she changed. Her limp gray hair gained color and cascaded down her back, her wizened face lost all wrinkles, and her thin frame filled out. Mere moments after the transformation started, a beautiful young woman with golden hair and a pure white dress was floating in the middle of his home. ¡°Well done, mortal. You have passed my test by showing your dedication to protecting the good at the cost of your own reputation. So I will aid you in guarding this city. Ask what it is you need, and if it is in my power, you will have it.¡± Bartel stared at the beautiful apparition, his mind far behind, as he tried to process what was happening. She was offering to help him, but why? What could she even do? Unsure what to do or say, Bartel froze. ¡°I see you are having trouble knowing what to ask for,¡± the beautiful apparition said, sighing. Then let me give you three options. I can offer you the power of a ss, though that does carry risks. I can give you forbidden or secret knowledge on a single topic, or I can offer you gold.¡± Falling to his knees under the pressure this being exserted, Bartel couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking the only thing on his mind. ¡°Are you a goddess?¡± The goddess shook her head. ¡°No, and be grateful I¡¯m not.¡± She must be a servant of the gods then. And as he realized that, he knew what he wanted from her. ¡°Please help me find a way to survive what''sing!¡± Bartel wanted to save the innocent and protect the people of this city, but as the time came closer for the mysterious man to put his n into action, he found that he also desperately wanted to live. First Seed First Seed Rain stared down at Mr. Bartel and struggled to stay in character. She had been right to test him before offering him a deal. If she had simply offered Mr. Bartel a bad deal and let him destroy himself, she would have been hurting a good man. Also, she hadn¡¯t had this much fun acting in a while. Her usual ck sser act was fun, but she wanted to y so many other roles. Heroines, farmers,dies, and soldiers all had fun things she could do. And to top it off, right now, she had the best stage anyone could ask for. Rain made a predetermined hand signal behind her back, and Ms. River lowered the pressure in the room. Rain wasn¡¯t sure exactly how Ms. River did most of what she did in this dream, but allowing Mr. Bartel to think normally without realizing he was asleep was incredible. Not to mention the fact that he didn¡¯t seem to realize that the walls were shifting around him to better fit the story. ¡°Tell me what ising that you are so afraid of.¡± Rain said in her most imperious voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know! All I know is that a few weeks ago, a masked man approached me and offered me a position on a paradise ind if I helped him eliminate a rival noble faction. I want nothing to do with this, but the feeling I got from this man was that he would kill me on the spot if I refused. I tried sounding out the other guardmanders, but all of them are either scum who reced noble bornmanders after they all left, or they refused to talk about it. The goodmanders who I¡¯ve known for years all seem stressed. Bird was found dead a day after the mysterious man approached me, and I know for a fact that Bronze¡¯s family is missing.¡± Rain was taken aback by the flood of words as the collected guardmander let his mask fall, exposing the fear behind. ¡°If themanders are corrupt or coerced, then why haven¡¯t you approached the Arch-lord and warned him?¡± ¡°Because he might be behind this! I don¡¯t know who the mysterious man works for and if I approach the wrong person I¡¯ll be killed! The only thing I can do is wait for the day when we¡¯re all told who we''re going to attack; then, I¡¯ll do my best not to die and to save as many good people as I can. What else can a guardmander do in the face of lords with their wealth and ssers?¡± Rain remembered the conversation she and Ariana overheard at the gation. The lord had been recruiting other lords to take down the Arch-lord. He¡¯d promised them that the city guards would help. It seemed Rain had found a chance to disrupt that scheme. The question was, should she? ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll offer you a ss to help you survive theing eruption, but there will be some conditions.¡± Rain exined corruption to the man and then offered him a deal. The terms were simple: Rain would give him a book, and he would do nothing to harm Rain or her loved ones. She also added in a bit about telling Ady what was going on and making sure her father was taken care of in case things went poorly. Bartel seemed all too happy to agree to everything Rain wanted. ¡°Very well, when you wake from this dream, you will find a book and the contract by your bed. Do not touch the book until you have sealed the contract with a kiss. If you do, the book will vanish. If you don¡¯t seal the contract by next nightfall, both book and contract will disappear. Do you understand?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Very well, the book I will give you will grant you protection. But a ss alone might not be enough to ensure you survive, Mr. Bartel. If you want to increase your chances, then I will need your help with a task.¡± Mr. Bartel was looking up at her with some worry on his face. ¡°I want you to gather the othermanders so I can offer them all a deal. What better way for you to survive than by getting help?¡± ¡°I understand it will be as youmand.¡± Rain nodded before making another hand signal behind her back. When she did, the force that held her together in this dream vanished, and she returned to her blurry form before willing herself to disappear. Having Ms. River hold her together had worked better than expected, but she was worried about Ms. River overexerting herself. If Rain tried to do half the things Ms. River had tonight, she would be a bloody mess. As Rain watched, the light behind Mr. Bartel¡¯s eyes faded as he slipped back into the dream state. Well, Rain was on a timer now. She needed to find a book for him and sneak it into his house before he woke. Rain returned to Ms. River¡¯s dream, where she and Ms. River talked briefly before Rain ended the ¡®Enter Dream¡¯ skill and opened her eyes in the real world. When Rain opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a ring of uffters surrounding her with their eyes closed. Rain only took a moment to realize they were praying to her. She could hear a faint whisper as their minds brushed against her own. Smiling at the little critters who refused to ept she wasn¡¯t a goddess, Rain stood up, ending whatever ritual they had been doing. She felt a little guilty about that, but she needed to get things done before Mr. Bartel woke up, and they didn¡¯t seem too upset, yipping and skipping around. Closing her heart to the desire to y with all the baby uffters, Rain forced herself to a door in the apartment. She promptly used it to enter her library and escape the fluffy uffters before they ensnared her. The murky atmosphere of the library shattered Rain''s desire to y and returned her to the task at hand. Marching to her hoard room, Rain retrieved her earring and summoned Ms. White. ¡°What can I help you with today?¡± ¡°I need a book that will help someone get a ss that will make them very hard to kill.¡± ¡°Follow me.¡± Rain was a little worried when Ms. White didn¡¯t mention Rain¡¯s promise to get her a body, but she didn¡¯t have time to go into that right now. Rain simply followed Ms. White to where she pointed at a book. Like most things in the library, the book was odd. It almost looked like it was made of mist until it fuzzed and became a normal leatherbound book. Momentster, it had returned to being made of mist. ¡°Thank you, Ms. White.¡± Rain said as she lifted the book from the shelf and tucked it under her arm. Without even a goodbye, Ms. White faded back into Rain¡¯s shadow, and the familiar feeling of filth flooding her very being washed over Rain. [WARNING: Physical corruption has risen 2%. Current Physical corruption 9%.] Rain grimaced at the cost. Oh well, it was toote for that now. She headed to the mirror to check for any obvious changes to her appearance. It only took her a moment to see that there were. The bumps around her left eye had grown into a ring of sharp bone thorns, and the whites of that eye had darkened to ck. It looked awesome and gave her face a lopsided look with one white eye and one ck. Rain immediately started posing and thinking of cool lines she could use. ¡°The darkness in my eye can spot all evil!¡± That sounded cool, right? The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!