Vilke:

  Something seriously felt off. Hallitheen was an open prison, and while he didn’t support that as a concept, it was more humane than executions. The problem was, the more he saw of the city, the more it felt like every resident was a weirdo.

  Is there something in the water or what?

  Barclay had gone off hours earlier, and while he was a magnet for trouble, he was also the type to be annoyed if Vilke chased after him constantly.

  So he had chosen to figure out what was going on in the upper city while Barclay handled the lower areas. The upper city was a labyrinthine mess, but with Leivarin escorting him like a tour guide, all was eventually explained.

  “Ah, we navigate with cybernetic implants. It’s a digital public utility we maintain.”

  Vilke looked around, a grim expression on his face. “Doesn’t help me, since I don’t have any of that.” The best he did have was a tracking device for when he inevitably had to look for the troublemaker explosives expert, and that only told him the right direction to walk.

  Being split up was not a great idea, but with any luck, Barclay would find trouble well away from wherever Vilke needed to be. He just hoped something would help him find a lead on Clarke and then they’d be able to leave.

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to just put up signs or something?” Vilke asked with mild annoyance. He wished he could switch places, at least. Barclay had the kind of brain chip needed to get around.

  Leivarin made a face at him, looking sidelong as they walked towards one of the centers for the tech junkies who immersed themselves in the virtual world and kept an eye on people around the city for fun.

  “Who would pay for signs to be made and put up all over? How would you get enough of them to navigate from one end of the city to another if you needed to find somewhere specific? It takes a lot of time and effort. It is easier and cheaper to establish things digitally.”

  Vilke’s frown deepened. He hated how much that sounded like Capitalist incompetence.

  “How would you ever upgrade something when new technology is developed?”

  “Why would we need to? Things work well enough as they are now. We are comfortable with our lot in life. The outside world has progressed beyond us. We are comfortable sitting still while others worry about making strides towards progress and creating a better world.”

  He studied Leivarin after that. Really tried to put himself in their shoes. They’d given up, taken life as good enough, and left everything behind for someone else to worry about. Something was really screwed up about the Sylphariens.

  Vilke turned away and lifted the wristwatch he’d had his communications disguised as towards his ear. “Barclay?” He really hoped the older man hadn’t caused too much trouble, because he had a feeling it would take him days to find a lead on Miranda.

  “Hey, there. Glad you finally called. I almost lost the bet.”

  Vilke sighed. Barclay and his gambling. Knowing the man, there’d be a new and thriving card table establishment before the day was done.

  “Please tell me you aren’t about to shoot things out with the locals over clearing out their wallets. Again.”

  Barclay chuckled. “That was…” Vilke could practically see the man counting on his fingers, “three times! Only three.”

  “You’re forgetting the warlord who bet his own daughter. Not that you knew, since you never learned the language. Anyway, I think this is going to take a few days. Where should we meet up tonight?”

  Barclay chortled over the line, clearly amused about something. Then he heard it. “Hey, Mira, you fine if the lieutenant heads this way?”

  Vilke felt a stress headache coming on fast. “How long ago did you find her?” And when had she stopped going by ‘Miss Clarke’ in that vain attempt to keep sounding like some teenager? Not that Mira was any more mature sounding. If he asked about it, she’d be upset, so he opted to keep it to himself.

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  “Guess I oughta bring you up to speed. Based on how she keeps coughing and just lurks around her house—ouch!” there was the sound of a loud smack over the line, “um, just given a lot of things, she’s retired. She ain’t leaving. But one of her kids is… coming with us instead! Once she gets some proper clothes, I hope.” Barclay managed to sound completely joyless as he spoke about whichever kid they were being saddled with.

  “Right. Mind explaining to me how you managed all of this and then came to the decision not to tell me until now?” Seriously, Vilke wanted to throttle him for wasting everyone’s time.

  Instead of actually listening to Barclay’s line of failing logic, he turned to Leivarin and bowed. “Thank you for your assistance. It seems my friend found the information we needed. I’ll head towards his location, but I appreciate your assistance.”

  Leivarin seemed a bit disappointed, but he bowed in return, though it seemed a bit stiff. That had been a habit Vilke had picked up from Marielle, and seeing others struggle to imitate the gesture was a bit of a nostalgic feeling.

  “Back to boredom, I suppose.” Leivarin muttered as he bade his farewells.

  You could install some signs, if you’re so damn bored, Vilke thought as he walked away and started fumbling with his basic tracking device.

  Then he paused. How exactly do I find him in this maze?

  He made sure to check the money he’d been given, first. Navigating the lower city would be a tremendous pain, but he could always find someone who knew the area to help guide him. Probably.

  Vilke strapped in for a long night of wandering in the rough direction of his problematic teammate.

  He was so going to get lost.

  Kris:

  On some level, she’d always known how idealistic she’d been. She knew she would have to confront reality one day. It was just hard to believe it had come so suddenly.

  And she hadn’t even hesitated. She felt awful, looking back on it, but there hadn’t been time to think or slow down. Mari gave the order and she’d just done what was asked of her.

  Maybe that was what had made it easier. Everything about Mari pushed her to be more open to new things. Finally, that had carried her beyond a boundary she thought she held sacred. Taking a life had been easy. Her weapons made it so effortless that she felt removed from the moment when she’d pulled the trigger.

  Really, she hadn’t even changed her mind about what her goals in life would be. She’d only had to affirm one solitary thing to clear her mind of doubts.

  Kris would do anything for Mari. She would have to trust Mari to have the right moral compass.

  A hand landed on her shoulder and she flinched.

  “Everything all right?” Mari asked.

  “Oh, yeah. This isn’t really the best time to talk about complex inner thoughts, though.”

  Mari gave her a long look that bored into her soul and searched for answers Kris would only ever share with her lover, and then she nodded.

  “We’ll talk later. For now, I promise I won’t drag you into hell with me.”

  Kris stared. As Mari strode ahead, she caught her arm at the bicep and shivered at the feeling of the muscle underneath. Stars, she felt insane when that happened every time.

  “If you’re headed into hell, I’ll be right behind you. I love you, Mari. How much will it take for you to understand that?”

  When their gazes met again, Mari was smirking. “Thanks. I love you, too.” Her eyes said so much more about how worried she was.

  I’d find a way to erase the world for you… Fuck, there must be something wrong with me. There’s no way it feels like this for everyone else.

  Then Anise stepped out of the trees ahead of them and glared, ruining the moment.

  “You two coming? I think I found it.”

  And that she had. A ten meter metal disc that had been twisted and bent as roots from a tree grew up and forced it apart. There was no light within, but Mari had flashlights attached to most of her weapons, and they found a spot where they could wiggle between two roots to peek inside.

  Anise, being smaller, went ahead again and then braced enough to pry the opening a bit wider before entering the darkness and scouting ahead. At the same time, Mari and Kris each shucked their backpacks and got ready to follow soon after.

  “Really strange to not see any wildlife here, don’t you think? No birds, no small creatures? I know we both spent a lot of time in the city, but the wilderness should have more of an ecosystem than this.” Kris found herself frowning towards the trees as she mulled over what was bothering her.

  Mari glanced back from the hole and met her frown with another. “That’s usually sign of a larger predator that’s driven off the rest of the local ecology from the area. Keep yourself ready. The sooner we’re inside, the better.”

  And so Mari continued carefully sliding into the gap while avoiding cutting herself on the bent and jagged metal of what had once been a hatch into a spiral stairwell.

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