— CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE —

  What Remains

  -Fritz-

  The plaza surrounding the Meteor Spire had transformed into hell itself. Fountains of fire cascaded over the surrounding buildings. Rivers of lava poured from surrounding streets, falling into the moat, which boiled and steamed like a witch's cauldron. Through the billowing smoke and steam, a chaotic melee had erupted between World Guard and Fringe forces, silhouetted against the infernal backdrop.

  Franz Ferdinand and his detectives darted through the fighting, throwing out spells to freeze Fringe fighters in place just before the Guards launched thrusts to overwhelm them. They, however, couldn't make progress against a knot in the center of the Fringe's line. At the heart of that resistance stood a figure in black robes - Malleus Maleficarum.

  A wave of his hand sent a dozen peacekeepers flying backward. A flick of his wrist opened a fissure in the ground that swallowed an entire squad. A subtle twitch of his finger conjured a whirlwind of razor-sharp ice shards that shredded through armor like it was paper. I had no idea how many classes I'd have to level to unlock the kinds of things he was pulling out. Living in the wilderness had its perks, in terms of grinding. I wondered how he was getting the class quests done, though. But that was the least of our concerns.

  Behind the human battlefield, something far worse loomed through the intense heat haze. A massive, writhing mass of orange-yellow light, pulsing with the raw power of unconstrained elemental fire. A being of liquid fire and molten rock shaped into the form of a dragon, massive blackened bones jutting out of its joints as it moved and sloshed. Its enormous claws wrapped around the corner of a building at the plaza's western edge, the stone melting and crumbling under its touch.

  'Malchiok, Herald of Fire'

  It lingered on the far west side of the plaza, held at bay by a constant stream of NPC guards throwing themselves at it in a suicidal defense. They died by the dozens, their bodies evaporating in the intense heat before they hit the ground, but more kept coming - like ants fighting a magnifying glass.

  The three of us had taken cover behind what used to be a food stall on the eastern edge of the plaza - the calmer side, if you could call it that. Here, we only had to worry about the occasional Fringe bandit running past, screaming and waving axes like maniacs. One sprinted by us, hair on fire, laughing maniacally before diving into the moat with a hiss of steam.

  As we were trying to make a plan, one of the Guard officers spotted us and ran over with a wave. "You three." he panted as he crouched behind our fruit stall, "Poe said you'd be coming."

  "What's the situation?" Lucy asked.

  The officer glanced over his shoulder at the battle. "A small group of Fringe broke through and ran into the upper floors of the tower. We sent a team after them, but we lost contact."

  "Dead?" Lucy asked.

  "Almost certainly."

  "Why do they want the governorship so bad?" I asked. "Are they trying to skim a few minutes of tax money or something?"

  Percy started in realization. "They're going to turn off the NPC protection! They want to set that thing loose on top of all these people!"

  Lucy's face paled slightly. "Or increase NPC aggression to set them against any World Guard that tries to stop them. With access to those controls, they could kill practically everyone in the whole city."

  The realization hit me like a bucket of ice water. "What are they waiting for then?"

  "A better position in the battle here, I imagine." Lucy said. "They'll need to get out of the crossfire fast once they trigger whatever they're planning."

  "What are we waiting for, then?!" I asked.

  The Guard officer nodded. "Stay close to me - don't want our people targeting you by mistake."

  We burst from cover, hunched low, moving as a tight unit across the corner of the plaza. Percy took point, summoning arcane walls to deflect stray spells and arrows. The heat grew more intense as we approached the moat. A Fringe fighter spotted us and charged, axe raised high, but Lucy's pistol cracked once, and he crumpled mid-stride. We reached the moat safely.

  Large gaps had been torn in the bridge by the falling meteors, and thick, sulfuric clouds streamed through them. I pulled my shirt over my nose, squinting through tears as we ran across and finally reached the tower entrance.

  The Meteor Spire's grand lobby had become smoky and horrible. The marble floor was cracked and scorched, and the fountains were streaked with soot, their waters turned a muddy dark color. A squad of World Guard had established a defensive position, securing both the entrance and the staircase that spiraled upward into the heart of the tower.

  "We've got Vanguard volunteers here!" our escort shouted. "Orders to clear out the upper floors!"

  The Guards parted with a ragged cheer, several offering encouraging nods or salutes as we passed through. We took the stairs two at a time, our footsteps echoing in the stairwell.

  "Command Sharp: Trace!" Percy called out. He quickly glanced at the ground, counting up footsteps as we passed through each floor.

  I activated my own Trace. The only trails leading away from the stairwell were our own tracks from earlier in the day - there couldn't be anyone waiting to ambush us there. But the stairwell itself was a mess of overlapping footprints - Guards, Fringe, and who knew what else, all heading upward.

  The tower was clear all the way up to the highest floors. As we rose, we slowed down - the Fringe had to have been nearby. Then, on floor 98, we could hear voices.

  We crept up the remaining stairs to floor 99 and peeked around the corner.

  The central meeting room had been commandeered by a trio of Fringe goons. They sat around the polished oak table, playing cards and drinking from bottles they'd clearly looted from somewhere. Weapons leaned against their chairs.

  We retreated a step, huddling in the stairwell.

  "I'll get the one on the right." Percy whispered. "Lucy, back-left. Fritz, front-left."

  We nodded and moved back to the corner.

  'On three.' I mouthed, holding up fingers. One. Two. Three.

  Percy blinked in to tackle the rightmost Fringe member with his knife, beating him over the head with the hilt. As the other two jumped up in surprise, Lucy's pistol cracked, and the back-left goon's head snapped backward, a hole appearing between his eyes. The third man tried to stand, but I was already in motion. My spear flew from my hand, impaling him through the chest with enough force to throw him backward over his chair. He hit the ground with a wet thud, gasping and clutching at the shaft. Lucy strode over calmly and put a bullet in his head as he writhed on the floor.

  "Tie these two up." Percy said, tossing a coil of rope onto the table. He hefted the most lucid of the Fringe - the one he'd tackled - under the arms and began dragging him toward a side room for questioning.

  Lucy nodded and headed toward the governor's office. "I'll start the reclaiming process."

  Left alone with the bodies, I grabbed the rope and knelt beside the unconscious Fringe members. I whistled tunelessly as I bound their wrists behind their backs, trying not to look at their faces. Even if it wasn't serious, the bullet holes looked freaky. Hopefully we get them out alive. I had no illusions that they were good people, but still, Murdock's order to kill them all no-questions was unnecessarily brutal. Poe wanted them for information, but what he was going to do to them after, who-

  A flash of movement caught the corner of my eye. Pure instinct saved me as I lunged sideways, rolling across the floor just as a shrill screaming sound tore through the air. The spot where I'd been kneeling erupted in flames, one of the unconscious Fringe members instantly incinerated in the blast.

  I scrambled to my feet and faced the stairwell entrance.

  She stood there with that same malicious, joyful glint in her eyes - the woman who had led the Fringe group that tried to execute the musicians in Faustenburg. Her wild dark hair seemed to float around her head as if charged with static electricity, and her nameplate glowed red: 'Promenade'.

  Next to her shoulder, another crackling ball of fire formed, spinning faster and growing brighter as she prepared to launch it. Before it was fully primed, I darted into the side hallway that ran around the floor's perimeter, ducking behind the thick walls of the meeting room.

  From the opposite side of the floor, Percy wandered into the hall to investigate the commotion. He caught sight of Promenade and immediately ducked back into the office he'd been using for interrogation, narrowly avoiding another explosive fireball that blasted a chunk out of the wall where he'd been standing.

  "Oh, goody, it's you!" Promenade's voice rang out, dripping with sadistic delight. "You know, I didn't recognize you at first, but Malleus brought me up to speed." She laughed, the sound echoing through the floor. "And I must say, I'm not impressed - you got lucky, that's it."

  (Percival)?"Lucky?!" I shouted, still pressed against the wall as bits of plaster rained down from Promenade's last attack. "About what?!"

  Promenade's laughter echoed off the walls. "Soooorry, that's confidential information~!" she sing-songed, waggling her finger like a schoolteacher. The ball of fire beside her grew larger, spinning faster. "Lucky for you, you won't have to be curious much longer."

  Lucy stepped out from behind the governor's office door, and fired a quick shot. Promenade spun, moving out of the way and grabbing the pulsing fireball by her shoulder, hurling it toward Lucy. The explosive bolt streaked down the hallway, forcing Lucy to dive back into the governor's office. The bolt detonated against the doorframe with a thunderous boom, showering the hall with splinters and dust.

  "I'll be with you in a moment, girl." She stalked down the hall toward my door. "Now, where were we?"

  I jumped into the hallway ahead of her. As predicted, Promenade immediately launched another pulsing orb at me. I swept my dagger through the air, catching the spell mid-flight. The magic-neutralizing enchantment on the blade did its work - the fireball sizzled and dissolved into harmless sparks that scattered across the floor. Without pausing, I charged forward. In close quarters, her explosive spells would be as dangerous to her as to me.

  Just before I reached her, Promenade's form shimmered and dissolved into blue filaments as she cast Blink. The momentum carried me forward into empty space as she teleported through me. I spun around to see her racing down the hallway toward Lucy's hiding place.

  Fritz stepped out from behind a corner and lobbed his spear to intercept her, but Promenade sensed it coming. Without even looking back, she slid around it, letting the spear whistle past her ear before embedding itself in the wall. In the same movement, she conjured another explosive bolt and flung it back at Fritz, forcing him to dive behind the meeting room again.

  I pushed myself into a sprint, but Promenade was already at the governor's office door. She ducked low and rolled into the room, too quick for Lucy's hastily aimed ambush shot, which splintered the doorframe above her. Promenade had backed Lucy against the governor's desk, a spinning orb of fire already forming at her shoulder. Lucy's pistol was raised, but we both knew she'd be too slow. That spell would detonate within seconds.

  "Command Sharp: Equipment: Slot Eleven: Drop!" I called out. That unequipped the knife from my hand so I could chuck it down the hallway.

  The blade tumbled end over end, spinning through the doorway and clipping the side of the fireball. Though just a glancing blow, it was enough. The spell fizzled out with a pathetic sputter of sparks, leaving Promenade momentarily weaponless - and me without any anti-spell defence.

  Promenade recoiled away, raising an arcane wall between herself and Lucy. She turned toward me, her expression shifting from shock to a sneer of contempt. "Clever boy." she hissed, making a hand gesture. Another explosive bolt began to prime itself by her shoulder, growing in intensity with each passing second.

  My Blink was still on cooldown. I'd have to dodge manually.

  Ducking low, I sprinted toward her, eyes locked on her hands, waiting for the cast.

  A flick of the the wrist - she launched the spell, and I dropped into a baseball slide under its trajectory. It sailed over me and hit the doorway of an office just next to me. The blast caught me in its outer radius, the shockwave throwing me sideways. I tumbled uncontrollably down the hallway, my shoulder and hip slamming into the wall beside the governor's office.

  Fritz appeared at my side, grabbing my arm and helping me to my feet. "What's the plan?" he asked, his voice sounding distant through the ringing in my ears.

  I shook my head to clear it. I had no clue, but with Lucy trapped in the office with Promenade, we had to keep up the pressure, so I said, "Charge!"

  We rushed toward the doorway together, but as we reached the threshold, I shoved Fritz hard to the side and threw myself backward. An explosive bolt shot through the doorway, passing between the two of us. It detonated in the meeting room, destroying what remained of the furniture and sending up a cloud of debris.

  Fritz had fallen into the hallway on the opposite side of the door, and seeing him there gave me an idea.

  I stepped into the doorway again. Promenade stood at the far end of the governor's office, already charging her next explosive bolt. Before she could complete it, I made a hand sign, casting Telekinesis on her and attempting to drag her down to the floor at my feet.

  Stolen story; please report.

  But... nothing happened. The spell refused to take hold. She wasn't holding a weapon, so she couldn't have one enchanted to neutralize it. Was the enchantment available on armor? If so, that'd be huge. For now, though, all we could do was glare at each other, her smirk grow wider.

  While we stood off against each other, Lucy ran around Promenade's arcane wall and quickly unloaded three shots in rapid succession. Two bullets found their mark - in Promenade's shoulder and side, jerking her backward, but neither was a headshot.

  Promenade whirled, rage contorting her features as she threw an explosive bolt at Lucy. But Lucy was ready. She swiped it out of the air, revealing my dagger in her left hand.

  "Put your hands behind your head!" Lucy shouted, keeping her pistol leveled at Promenade's face.

  Promenade cackled, taking a step backward. "You're out of bullets, kid - that's a five-shot."

  That moment of distraction was all I needed. I reached into my belt pouch and drew my sword, the blade materializing in my hand as I charged forward. I aimed low, swinging for her legs.

  Promenade leapt backward, putting herself in the back corner of the office. She snarled with fury as she summoned another explosive bolt and flung it at me. But Lucy tossed the knife to me. I caught it by the blade, used it to fizzle the incoming spell, then tossed it back to Lucy.

  Promenade retreated further, backing up behind the governor's desk. Her eyes darted frantically around the room, searching for an escape. Fritz appeared in the doorway, spear at the ready, completing our triangle around her. She was cornered.

  "Surrender and we can get you out of here alive." I said. "We're not working for the Guard."

  Promenade's laughter held a note of genuine amusement. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you, squirt?" Her eyes narrowed as she took another step back, her shoulders pressing against the large window behind the desk. "But I think I'll pass."

  Suddenly, she threw a spell at the ground between us. We braced for the shockwave, but the explosion wasn't meant to damage, just distract. Promenade spun and dove backward, crashing through the window in a shower of glass.

  The three of us rushed to the shattered opening. Far below, the plaza was a hazy morass of fire and smoke, the battle still raging in full force. Promenade plummeted toward it, but after several seconds, her fall slowed to a gentle drift as Slowfall took effect.

  She looked up at us, laughing, her wild hair whipping around her face. A moment later, a pegasus swooped in from the side and scooped her out of the air. They banked away, quickly disappearing into the smoke-filled sky.

  "Great, that's two crazy people we let walk away today." Lucy said, holstering her pistol with a frustrated sigh.

  I stepped back from the window, despawning my sword. "At least we accomplished all our goals."

  Fritz nodded. "Yeah, all the hostages survived, we got the governorship - I think we're doing alright here."

  Lucy turned away from the window, heading back to the governor's desk. "The day's not over yet - this is only the second tangent we've been pulled on." she reminded us, already scanning through the menus on the terminal to check if the Fringe had managed to change any settings before we arrived.

  Fritz and I, meanwhile, when to check on the Fringe we'd captured.

  -Fritz-?The meeting room looked like someone had stuffed a few sticks of dynamite into a paper shredder. The two guys that we'd left in there were killed in the crossfire - or maybe intentionally murdered by Promenade. The one Percy had moved to the side office was the only survivor. He was starting to recover from his head wounds, but rather than knock him out again, we helped him up, guided him into what remained of the meeting room, and eased him into one of the few chairs that hadn't been reduced to kindling, where he sat and held his head.

  He was a big guy, easily twice my size wearing bear fur armor with a hood made from the top half of a bear's head. His nameplate read 'Axeman'.

  I pulled up a chair across from him while Percy started pacing the room. "Your bosses don't put a lot of stock in your life, do they?" I asked.

  Axeman stared at the piles of glittering dust. He didn't respond immediately. His shoulders sagged further, and when he finally looked up at me, all the fight had drained from his face.

  "What do you want with me?" he asked.

  "You know the Guard are executing any Fringe they get their hands on, right?" I said.

  Axeman's mouth tightened into a line, and he gave a small nod.

  "Well, we know someone that may have a use for you. What we're after is information."

  "I don't know much."

  "Let's start simple. Who told you to come up here? And why?"

  Axeman shook his head slowly. "That woman. She works directly for Malleus. She grabbed us, told us to follow her, and led us here."

  "She didn't explain why?"

  "It was the middle of the fight. She knew what she was doing, so we followed. You don't ask questions from her kind."

  Percy stopped his pacing and turned sharply. "What do you know about Malleus? Where did he come from? What does he want?"

  Axeman flinched at Percy's tone. "He... I don't know where Malleus came from - he wasn't around at the start. It was after we were kicked out of the Capital. He started making the rounds between the guilds and communities, built a web of connections between us. He said the only way to oppose the World Guard is by working together. Even the non-violent folks could get behind that - we started making something more of ourselves than vagrants."

  "So is Malleus the leader of the Fringe?" Percy asked.

  Axeman shook his head. "Not officially. There is no 'leader.' The 'Fringe' is just a bucket the Guard puts anyone they don't like in. Every guild - every person - does what they want." He paused, swallowing hard. "But he's got a lot of sway with the leaders of the major guilds. If he wants something done, he can convince them to do it."

  "So was the attack here his idea?" I asked.

  "Yeah. A strike against the Guard - make them hurt, get revenge for forcing us out of the cities, and loot as many materials as we could." He looked down at his hands, which had begun to tremble slightly. "I didn't think it would be like this. Call me a criminal, call me a murderer, call me a terrorist, call me an idiot - I've got no excuse. ... I just didn't think it would be like this."

  Percy, focused on the information, asked, "Materials? As in specifically crafting materials? For any reason in particular?"

  "Some kind of project - a new home for us. The Trade Union depot offices were targeted."

  From the governor's office, Lucy called out, "Poe is telling me the Fringe are retreating and the Guard have control of the boss! They're preparing to drag it into the spire now! We have to leave immediately!"

  I exchanged a quick look with Percy. "Alright. How are we getting this guy out unnoticed?"

  Percy said, "We've already been shown the door." He walked to the window Promenade dove out of and kicked away the remaining shards of glass clinging to the frame. He climbed up onto the sill and swung his legs out.

  "Uh, what are you-" Axeman began, but before he could finish, Percy had jumped.

  "Ashley, to me!" Percy's voice called out from below.

  I hurried to the window, Axeman awkwardly shuffling behind me. Outside, a pegasus swooped out from behind the tower, catching Percy out of the air. He piloted her up to hover outside the window.

  "Shotgun!" Lucy climbed out next, hopping onto Ashley's back behind Percy.

  "Looks like we're jumping." I slapped the incredulous Axeman on the shoulder and climbed out the window to stand on an inch-wide ledge on the side of the sleek black tower. "Oh boy, don't look down. And hold on tight - don't want to get lost in the smoke."

  Axeman struggled to fit his bulk through the window, cursing under his breath. When he finally got his torso through, I grabbed his arm and pulled him the rest of the way out. He clung to the ledge with white knuckles, staring down at the inferno below.

  "I can't-"

  "You get used to it fast, trust me - I think it's kinda relaxing. Come on - on three! One-!"

  I launched us both off the ledge before reaching three. Axeman's scream was lost in the howling winds as we plummeted through the thick smoke. Then, the air stopped. It all slowed to a crawl, and we gently drifted away from the tower. Axe's voice caught in his throat, and he was left staring down at the burning and ransacked remains of the city passing below us.

  The governor's office faced east, so we fell right over to the Guard's protective zone. The smoke thinned out as we entered the more secure region of the city.

  "Shallots, shallots!" Percy shouted as we approached the ground.

  The Guard patrols below looked up, but upon hearing the passphrase, they simply waved and continued their tasks.

  We touched down in a relatively clear area. Axeman collapsed to his hands and knees the moment his feet hit solid ground, looking like he might kiss the pavement. Percy and Lucy dismounted from Ashley, who took off with a flap of wings, disappearing into the smoke-filled sky once more.

  I spawned our wagon from my inventory, then summoned Caesar's Palace and hitched him on. Axe laid down in the bed, and Percy and Lucy covered him with some blankets while I took the drivers seats.

  "Everyone comfortable back there?" I asked.

  Lucy gave me a thumbs up, sitting primly on the bench beside our hidden fugitive.

  We joined the stream of refugees heading toward the eastern gate. The crowd grew thicker as we approached, everyone pushing and jostling for position.

  As we neared the gate, our progress slowed to a crawl. The reason became clear soon enough - traffic was congested by a flood of World Guard peacekeepers entering the city. It wasn't just reinforcements - it was an army. Thousands of troops marched through the main passage while refugees were funneled through a narrow slice to the side of the gate. After an hour of stop-and-go progress, we finally made it through.

  What greeted us outside was even more surprising than the army pouring in. The area immediately outside the city had been transformed into a massive military camp. A forest of tents stretched into the farmlands with a few temporary wooden structures. The entire complex was surrounded by lines of wooden stakes with Guards patrolling the perimeter.

  Lucy read a message and said, "Poe's waiting for us over there." She pointed to a small clearing just off the main highway. It was partially obscured by a stand of pine trees, away from the evacuation routes that were being established.

  I pulled us over behind a shed, where Jefferson was standing about 20 yards away, arms crossed with that emotionless stare. He kept his distance, watching us. A moment later, Poe wandered over. He wore the same khakis and button-up as that morning, though they looked considerably more rumpled. His normally neat hair was windblown, and a fine layer of ash dusted his shoulders.

  "Alright, we're clear." I called over my shoulder.

  The pile of blankets in the wagon bed stirred, and Axeman threw them off. He climbed out of the wagon, his eyes darted between Poe and Jefferson, not sure what to make of them.

  I hopped down from the driver's bench, landing beside him. "You guys set this place up fast." I said to Poe. "How long are you staying?"

  Poe brushed some ash from his sleeve. "The city is to be evacuated and cordoned off in case the boss manages to worm free of the spire. The city's garrison will be left in the area, but we don't want them to stay inside the city for security reasons."

  "Is that why you came out here?" I asked. "Make sure they have everything they need?"

  Poe shook his head. "No, I'm here with Martin Murdock actually - we need to assess the damage."

  "Murdock is here?" Lucy asked.

  "Yes, so let's not arouse any suspicions. How did your task go?"

  Lucy stepped forward. "Well enough."

  She opened a trade window and handed over the governor's title like any other item, then the three of us sent our photos of the governor UI through messages.

  Poe studied the images, his eyebrows rising incrementally with each swipe. "NPC controls? Prison sentencing? Are these... mail route controls? The system is more influential than I thought." He went into his inventory and spawned three leather pouches, handing one to each of us. "Excellent work; I couldn't have hoped for a better team."

  He turned to Axeman. "And now there's you. You would be one of the Fringe responsible for attacking the governor's office, I take it?"

  Axeman took a deep breath. "I did." he admitted flatly. "Don't know a thing about it, though."

  "That will be fine." Poe clasped his hands behind his back. "Looking at the alternatives, would you like to have a job discussion with me?"

  Axeman's gaze flickered toward the city, then to the evacuation camp, and finally back to Poe. He took another deep breath. "... I don't have any other choice, do I?"

  "Good." Poe nodded to Jefferson. "Jefferson, take this one back to the Capital."

  Jefferson stepped forward and showed Axeman away.

  Poe turned back to the three of us. "Any further questions?"

  I had a few, but I wasn't sure I wanted to ask them to Poe's face, so I stayed quiet.

  "Then I should be getting back to the inspection team." Poe said after a moment. "Good day, and I hope you don't mind if I call on you again soon."

  He walked away with that brisk stride of his.

  With our business finally done for the day, I stretched my arms overhead, feeling that fresh, smoke-free evening breeze.

  "All we've got to do now is get the wagon packed up, then we can juggle on home." I said.

  Percy, already looking at his map, said, "With how congested the gate is, it may be faster to drive out to the next town on the highway and check in at the stable there."

  "Sounds good to me." I climbed up on the driver's bench and took the reins, the kids getting in the back.

  We pulled back onto the highway, joining the endless stream of refugees starting the trek to Celestia Grand. The whole situation was an absolute mess. And I couldn't, in good conscious, let it go while we were riding by on a wagon, so we offered some of the refugees a ride. Percy and Lucy squeezed onto the front bench with me, and the back filled up with people.

  On the bright side, while we were trundling along, I remembered that I still had that box of artisanal doughnuts I bought that morning! But, uh... there wasn't enough of them to share with the crowd, so they'd have to wait for dinner. It was a glazed light at the end of the tunnel as we rode into the night.

  And then, once we got to the first town with a stable, I felt too bad about ditching the people we were carrying, so we wound up riding the whole way to Celestia Grand by wagon.

  During the journey, I got up the will to ask, "Hey, Perce, do you know what that woman was talking about - Promenade? When she said Malleus 'filled her in' about you?"

  Percy kept staring forward at the road. "No clue."

  "It's ok if you don't want to talk about it," I said, "but I'd like to know if you actually know or not."

  "... I have guesses, but they don't add up all the way."

  Lucy said, "My thought was that maybe Malleus is an NPC."

  Percy nodded slowly. "He is the only person that calls me by my real name other than Yunica."

  "Yunica wouldn't do that!" I said.

  "She doesn't act of her own volition." Percy said. "She executes the story as it must be, even if that means fighting us. And the game has made players to influence us before. Could be that this is its way of integrating the story into our lives in a dynamic way."

  "Then what's Promenade?" I asked.

  "Who knows?" Percy said with a small shrug. "There could be more than one distinct entity controlling the NPCs."

  "Is there anything we could do to determine if he is an NPC?" Lucy asked. "And if he is, does that change anything?"

  "It'd make a whole lot more sense for why he'd want to destroy a whole city." I said. "But for us... I don't even know what we're doing tomorrow."

  Lucy said, "We were going to go to the Woodsea when were distracted by this."

  I straightened up. "Oh yeah - we still have to go to that theme park!"

  But Percy didn't look nearly as excited as he was that morning - he sat there on the end of the driver's bench, watching the ground passing beneath us.

  "What do you think, Perce?" I asked.

  "Doesn't it feel like we're wasting our time a little?" he said.

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "Everywhere you look, things are getting more precarious. The Fringe are making bolder attacks,-"

  Percy gestured broadly at the darkened landscape around us, at the refugees sleeping in our wagon, at the distant glow of fires still burning in Stonehearth behind us.

  "- The Guard are increasing their control."

  A pair of World Guard pegasi flew overhead, their riders scanning the road with searchlights. The beams swept over our wagon briefly before moving on.

  "Look at what happened today. One of the major cities was nearly destroyed. Thousands of people killed or displaced. Maybe Willard had a point. There's only so much we can do before actually progressing the story, but other problems are only getting worse. Maybe we should look into the Citadel again."

  ---

  Next Time:

  While the gang consider their future, the present remains shrouded in mystery, and where there's something to be discovered, you can bet your hot buns that Ace investigator, Cherry Keane will be on the case! Whether it be corruption in the Guard, violence of the Fringe, the ongoing developments between the Resistance and Loyalists, the hot goss on the Vanguard's newest members, or unmatched coverage of last week's pet show - whether the Guard allow it to be published in the Celestial Daily or it be confined to the Sewer People's journal, the truth will win out!

  Episode 17 - Expert Investigations