While Pithy had suggested they find a place to rest, actually settling on a specific choice was difficult for her. While the see-through glass on the first floor of a good portion of the surrounding edifices, paired with the signs with names for the nearby establishments gave her some clue as to their purpose, she was not familiar enough with this otherworldly city’s infrastructure to decide on the best place to set camp. If by shelter one meant walls and a ceiling over one’s head, she was surrounded by an abandoned landscape worth of such spaces. However, the dull ache from the many bruises she had accumulated that day pleaded for her not to relax her standards to such a degree. One building in particular caught her attention, its unusual façade setting it apart from the more utilitarian buildings surrounding it. The exterior walls were composed of a multitude of erratically aligned blocks and cylinders of different colors and sizes, resulting in a dizzying collage readily drew one’s attention. Peering into the windows, Pithy’s visible eye widened. Numerous books rested over display cases aimed at passerby’s, but the amount paled in comparison to the shelves upon shelves of tomes lining the walls of the building’s interior. Her eyes narrowed as she began skimming the titles of the closest tomes. [i]No, that is not so strange. I already had a chance to see how plentiful this kind of parchment is in this realm. Yet…[/i] Seeing all those books in one place, [i]for sale[/i] of all things, if the signs for offers and discounts on the display could be trusted, still managed to stun her. “Hey! Pithy!” The sorceress blinked, Dew’s voice breaking through the spell. She turned at his call and saw him standing on the opposite side of the street where the mysterious Kno One had taken on the appearance of a long-gone building. “What is it?” She called back as she strode towards him. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards a nearby building. “We got some apartment buildings over here…” He paused. “You got those where you’re from, or do I have to explain?” Pithy shook her head. “Well, if we’re looking to rest for a while, the place looks nice. I’m guessing there must be some rooms that are already furnished too and since no one’s really here to stop us…” “We can make ourselves at home?” she completed. She glanced at his face, searching his expression. The fact that he seemed to be looking for her permission given the way he had behaved towards her throughout the day felt mildly disquieting, but the prospect of a proper bed was terribly attractive. “Fine, let us search through these. There is something we should do first, that said.” “What?” With a tilt of her head, Pithy gestured towards the lazily humming drone hovering nearby. [hr] [i] In a white, snow-strewn landscape, a small, furred creature continued to trudge over the white. The blue cloak it wore dragged over the ground, much too large for its petite stature, but the warmth it provided was invaluable. Whenever a gust of wind swept over the featureless plain, pulling away at the cover, the creature immediately began to shiver.[/i] Those’re getting more’n more common too,[i] Jo found herself thinking. She was not sure for how long she had been in the snow. Neither was she certain if it was truly the weather that had taken a turn for the worst, or it was simply her disposition. The foggy landscape around her drained at her enthusiasm with its monotony. However, even as she prepared for the next thousand steps forward into nothingness, something came into her field of vision. It was a silhouette at first, large, but little more than a dark splotch in the distance, faint enough through the mist that she wondered if she was merely hallucinating. But as she approached, the figure darkened, and gathered a shape. Large, cylindrical, with shapes sprouting off from its top like frozen tentacles. As she approached, Jo realized that she was looking at a tree and its bare branches, the trunk bizarrely wide for its stature, which did not go higher than a two-storied house. In fact, she quickly made out a dim light coming out from a hole in the trunk—a window—and grooves that indicated a presence of a door.[/i] If I weren’t seeing things a’fore now I sure am.[i] Yet it was not the strangest thing she had seen in this place—or in her previous life at that—and the fact that it was the only thing she had seen in what must have been days filled her with relief. As she moved closer, the snow thinned under her feet, revealing a dirt path. Another detail she had missed due to her fixation with the tree-house also became apparent then. Small mounds of snow littered surroundings of the house, flanking the road. There were enough that she did not bother counting them. What she did count, was the single hole that remained empty even while exposed to the elements. It was the farthest out, nearest to the path, and it did much to elucidate the meaning behind the surrounding mounds. It killed what budding enthusiasm she had mustered. She had almost reached the doorway when her feet tapped against something. Unexpected discomfort and jingling drew her gaze downwards, to a diminutive silver bell. Jo frowned and bent to pick it up. It was simple and unadorned, small enough to fit in her paw—perhaps a child’s toy. Without putting much thought into the action, she gave it a small shake. A wave of dizziness suddenly assaulted her, threatening to knock her off her feet. Then it was gone, as quickly as it had come. She shook her head and glared at her surroundings, but the tree and mounds remained as they had been. After a moment’s consideration, she stepped towards the door. The moment she touched its handle, she froze. Voices were coming from within. She instinctively pressed an ear against the wood. There were two voices. One was light and higher pitched, bringing a young woman to mind, while the other was steadier and deeper, the voice of a man. The two spoke in a strange, sing-song language she could swear she had never heard before, and yet she found she could understand every word that seeped through the door. “Is that truly for the best?” asked the woman’s voice. “I do not know” answered the man, “but it is all we can do. Last time I spoke to the sage, she said she would not be coming again.” “What? Why? She always seems better after a session.” “‘Seems’ is the right word,” the tone took a cast of despairing humor. “According to her, the tonics and enchantments she prepares are no longer having an effect. Just a placebo. She said that if all that could be done was to keep a girl company—“ “Her family would be better suited.” The younger voice finished somberly. “This must be more difficult for her than I realized.” “You speak of the sage? It is very like you to take her reservations into account.” The man sighed. “But I would not fault you for being angry.” “How could I be? She has failed. The shame burns her, and thus she cannot bear to look upon those who depended on her. Why cast judgment when her own cuts deepest?” There was a long pause, heavy with the sense that the man had held back an instinctive response. “Yes,” he said eventually. “You are right, of course, ■■■■■.” The one behind the door frowned.[/i] The hell was that? [i]“I'm glad you think so. It's hard to tell, as of late.” “Indeed.” Another pause. “She cannot be a part of the ceremony.” It should have meant little to her, but something in the eavesdropper’s chest twisted. Shock, mixed with a foreign sense of outrage began to fill her, rooting her on her spot. “...does Mother agree?” “Yes. The Circle would not stand for it either.” “But...” the voice struggled for the first time. “This is all she has been looking forward. She has worked harder than anyone else even in her state!” “She is in no position to assume the duties required, not anymore.” “You know that isn’t the point!” There was a sound of footsteps as one of the room’s occupants began to pace. She knew from the weig—[/i]from the familiar footfalls[i]—that it was the ma—[/i]the father. [i]“We have a responsibility we cannot turn away from. Our duties cannot be twisted for our convenience. Should we allow her to become a part of the rite, it will destroy the one that will bond with her when the time comes. And it shall come soon. Do you understand?” The other voice was quiet. “■■■■■?” “I understand.” “Good.” The man sighed. “She lasted for longer than we thought. That must be worth something.” “Five winters more. A pittance.” “Yes...” At that, the pair fell silent. Confusion at the contents of the conversation whirled within the eavesdropper’s mind, but another, deeper part of her wailed in grief she could not understand, tinging her every questioning thought. Who were they talking about? What was this tightness in her chest, this pressure behind her eyes as though she might burst to tears? It was the sound of footfalls that brought her out of her reverie. With a start of panic, she realized that one of the room’s occupants was heading for the door she was hiding behind. She did not know why, but her heart quivered at the thought of facing those inside. She needed to leave, return to her bed as fast as possible. Except, there was no bed to return to—and that thought belonged to someone else in the first place. The white expanse remained behind her, an invitation to oblivion was all she needed to realize that. The encroaching thoughts belonged to a different person, in a different place and different time. So she quashed the fearful impulse—the phantom of memory urging her to follow its script—and she finally twisted the door handle.[/i] [hr] With the drone safely stashed inside Dew’s pocket dimension where it could not get in the way, the duo, with the large snake creature trailing behind them, made their way into the building. The entrance was lit warmly, the sources of illumination affixed to the ceiling and of the same kind as Pithy had seen in most other establishments she had seen since coming to this city. The walls were smooth stone, either marble or polished granite, and had an orangish hue that matched the vibrant red carpet that led past the reception’s desk. Dew had quickly moved behind it when the group pushed through the glass doors. “Lower floors only?” he asked as he ducked under the counter. Almost immediately she heard the sound of drawers opening, then quickly being closed. “Yes. It will make leaving this place easier should the need arise.” Pithy leaned over the short barrier, getting a glimpse of the top of Dew’s head. “You’re certain they’ll have spare keys back there?” “Yeah, just need to see which drawer is locked… aha!” Something out of sight rattled as whatever handle the man had pulled on resisted his efforts. “Gimme a second, I can get it open.” Pithy let out an unconvinced grunt and stepped away from the counter, leaving Dew to his work. Swinging herself around, she found herself tensing as her gaze fell on the plant monster that had taken to following them. The tight flowerbuds that passed for its eyes seemed to be angled squarely at her, though Pithy herself suspected those to be a simple mimicry and the creature was aware of its surroundings through other, likely arcane methods. Frowning, she lifted the sheathed cutlass she had taken from Bonesword, then slowly waved it before the creature, prompting it to follow the motion in an undulating dance. [i]Do you focus on the movement, as a normal snake would? Or does this catch your attention because the blade belonged to your master?[/i] “Say,” came Dew’s voice from under the desk. “I almost forgot, what with you accidentally killing the skeleton warrior, but I wanted to ask why you let Nero go.” The snake’s dance slowed, a sibilant sound escaping its facsimile mouth. Pithy stilled her arm, suddenly acutely aware of the fact that there were no guarantees that this creature’s freedom had been affected by the taking of its master’s soul. A moment later however, the beast seemed to lose interest, turning and slithering off towards one of the lobby’s corners. “I… see,” she finally answered, warily eyeing the plant monster. After the pause that followed, where only a soft sound like clicking metal could be heard from behind the reception’s desk, Dew prompted, “So?” “So?” “I’m asking a question here.” “Were you not making a statement?” “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?” he groused, a touch of annoyance seeping into his tone. After he had so tactlessly baited the snake, Pithy was not exactly sympathetic. “Fine. Why did you let him go? You didn’t believe him when he said he was going to go home, did you? He did say he planned to stop the Crucible, so he’ll probably get in your way later anyway.” Pithy did not answer immediately. She debated whether it was worthwhile giving an answer at all, in fact, but after a moment, she found herself speaking regardless, turning back towards the counter. “I am not so certain. As much as I hate to admit it, he had a chance to kill us when we were at his tower, but he did not attempt to do so. Did he not have it in him to bloody his hands?” She sighed wearily. “If there are indeed other College members at large attacking the other participants, he does not need to. This situation is a mess, Dew. I left him to his own devices in the hopes that he would interfere with whatever the College has planned.” “Huh… I kind of see what you’re doing.” Dew tilted his head up from his work just high enough that he could make out his curious eyes looking up at her. “Sounds like it will come back to bite you in the ass later, though.” “Yes,” Pithy agreed, softly. She knew that there was no guarantee that Nero would not eventually stand in her way again. Even Dew could see through to that fact, but that hole in her reasoning was only natural. After all, the truth of the matter was that these were simply justifications she had fashioned after the fact. [i]The truth is that, while I was contemplating that my wish may have been already taken from me, the idea of cutting short yet another life for no reason at all felt like driving a knife through my chest.[/i] It seemed that Dew’s thoughts had turned to a similar direction, for after a moment he looked back down and off-handedly asked, “So what happens if it turns out the College staff actually managed to kill another competitor?” Pithy gathered herself. “It is my place to worry about that. Until we know for certain, we simply carry on as we have today.” “Honestly, I’m more afraid of how you’ll react if that happens.” Pithy let out an unladylike grunt. She chose to ignore that comment. “Are you done with that lock?” “Almost. In fact—” There was a cracking sound. “—uh… never mind. I guess I didn’t level that skill as much as I could’ve.” He rose and brought his hands to his pocket. Where there had been nothing before, an iron crow suddenly came into existence. “Left my gravity gun at home, but I guess this will do.” With a practiced motion, Dew slid the bar into place and pushed, a crack and a sound of sliding metal revealing his success. Pithy gave him a half-lidded look, half convinced that the man had been delaying the matter simply to hold that conversation with her while there was a barrier between them. “And you only want the keys for the first floor…” Dew’s eyes had begun to glaze over even before the sentence had come out of his mouth. He grunted. “Know what? I’m just bringing the whole drawer with.” Pithy shrugged as the box disappeared into Dew’s pockets and he vaulted over the counter. [i]Still full of energy, this one.[/i] “Come,” she said, turning towards the door with the ‘Stairs’ sign attached to it. The snake lying nearby rose its head at the command, then followed the pair as they continued up into the apartments.