Chapter 40: Progress Check

Subject: Caim Location: Maliscade - Blightbane Guild

“I heard from Nina that you left the Guild early this morning,” Alice blurted out the moment she returned.

She dropped a tray of meat and vegetables on the table. The ratio of vegetables to meat was about 1-to-4.

Her tone was neutral, and there was a blank expression on her face. Unusually reserved, given what Caim had come to expect. She reclaimed some lost enthusiasm with her next sentence, but it seemed a little forced.

“She said she saw you stumble back an hour later. Actually, I don’t think she was the one that pointed that out.”

That sneaky spy! Oh well, can’t keep it hidden forever. But, that seemed like much longer than an hour. I wish I had some way to keep time so I could prove it.

The public hall had a large clock on the wall below the much larger map of the surrounding region. Caim believed it was a clock, at least, but he couldn’t read it for some reason.

He could interpret signs of all varieties, despite having never studied Shroud’s language. He assumed he had magic to thank for that.

Blue-grey metal gears slowly shifted in regular-yet-indecipherable patterns. Indecipherable to Caim, at least, who still felt disconnected from the pace of life in Shroud.

Alice had ordered and retrieved this tray of food for the three of them. He apprehensively scanned the foreign cuisine, trying to draw a comparison to something familiar from his former life. Caim couldn’t find many similarities.

It was one thing to read about food preparation in history books or even in fiction, but it was another thing entirely to smell the primitive meal before him.

“I was just testing out a new spell. I had to leave the city to do it,” he answered plainly and truthfully.

Alice nodded along to the explanation, but when Caim looked over at Mille, her inscrutable faron face was more stony than usual. Grey eyes narrowed, and he instinctively locked up.

What did I do? he wondered. Maybe she’s having a bad day?

Now it was Alice’s turn to adopt an air of suspicion, albeit more tactlessly than Caim would have believed was possible. It was impressive, actually.

“Nina also told me she saw you with someone the other day. I tell you... the way she was talking about her…” Alice said, shaking her head with a perplexed look.

Uh oh.

“Caim, want to tell us who this person is? You told us you didn’t know anyone in the city,” Mille pressed.

Mille didn’t look surprised. The orbs on her face swallowed up the faintest glimmer of dull red before the anger could fully surface.

What she really meant was, Caim told them he knew no one in Shroud. Mille might be thinking he was lying about having been to Shroud before. He rushed to clarify.

“What?” Alice cut in, thrown off. The conversation was apparently going in an unexpected direction. “I just meant-”

“Let him speak for himself,” Mille suggested.

“I just met her. Her name is Gwen, and she has been having a really rough time. She had a really impressive drill... device... with her and said she had the skills to be a harvester. I was hoping you could give her an Initiation ritual like you did with me.”

Mille’s conduits flashed full-on red this time. Frustration, he hoped.

Caim actually hadn’t intended to get Mille involved with this Initiation but blurted the words out without thinking.

“I know it isn’t right for me to burden you with anything, but aren’t you always looking for seekers? She isn’t a fighter, but she can harvest. I don’t know the details, and I told her not to expect much. Oh, and I was hoping she could stay in the bunkhouse. She doesn’t really have a place to stay right now.”

I’ll keep the thing about Greys a secret. I’ll press Gwen for more information myself.

Surprisingly, even Alice was beginning to look unhappy now. Caim was actually counting on Alice supporting his decision. This miscalculation just proved how little he knew about his new friend.

Alice put down the large hunk of meat she’d been gnawing on. She swallowed and roughly wiped her mouth with a napkin, but not well enough to fully clean her face.

“So, I’m not really sure how to ask this, so I’ll just… Look, Nina was really taken with this… ‘red-haired beauty, who has just the most adorably pink eyes in Shroud.’ Someone pretty enough to reveal things about my friend that even I didn’t know before, I guess.”

Alice was getting flustered, trying to wrap her head around Nina’s behavior. She wasn’t the only one. Though, Caim had seen the way Nina and Gwen were getting along, what with Gwen buttering her up and everything. And they were spending a lot of time together.

“What I mean is… this Gwen girl could possibly manipulate people into helping her out… She could be doing the same thing to you. Do you know where I’m going with this? Actually, I forget what I already said, but I’ll start over. I should explain more plainly.”

Alice swallowed uncomfortably as she said the words, and she actually looked like she regretted opening her mouth in the first place. But she was determined to protect Caim from this imaginary enemy.

No, Alice. I think we get what you’re saying.

Caim winced and nervously glanced at Mille, who nodded and gently stopped her friend from talking again by raising a finger.

“I think you’re the only one in Maliscade who didn’t know about Nina’s preferences, girl. The higher ranks get what they want, and she isn’t subtle.”

Alice blushed, embarrassed, and no one talked for a little while.

Caim held up his hand to indicate he was going to explain, stealing another sideways glance. Mille was razor-focused, listening attentively.

“No. I’m not… I promise. You are looking out for me, but I have too many problems already weighing me down before adding on… Well, before complicating my life even more.”

This was an unexpectedly awkward conversation he actually hadn’t considered having to have. He considered suspicion, rejection, other kinds of accusations, but not this.

“Plus, the first thing I said was that I have nothing to offer her. I admitted I’m being supported by you two, but I didn’t give your names, only how grateful I am. I didn’t want to involve you personally because the last thing I want to do is cause you even more trouble, especially before I’ve repaid your generosity. I don’t expect you to take me at my word, but it is hard to prove right now.”

“I believe you, Caim,” Alice replied, a relieved smile forming on her face.

Caim looked down at his food, eating in the awkward silence that followed. The meat tasted too raw and flavorful, the vegetables were too juicy.

“I just don’t want someone to manipulate you,” Alice added. “Nina can look out for herself, but you’re still hitting your stride here in Maliscade.

“I understand. Thank you for looking out for me. And I promise you Gwen wouldn’t try to manipulate Nina, either. Well, she might exaggerate interest, she is mostly honest and would never ask for anything that wasn’t already offered.”

It was hard to explain Gwen to others when Caim didn’t know the girl very well himself. But she had already proven her use to him as an informant, and she’d shown promise as a future ally.

“Nina seems to be paying for Gwen’s food, but that merchant is pretty frugal. She would have rather saved money and ate somewhere other than the Guild.”

“The Guild kitchen has a variety of nutritious options for seekers. They aren’t as pricy as you may think, considering the ingredients,” Mille argued. “Especially if you eat healthily and ease up on the meat.”

Alice was in the process of picking her third bone clean when she realized Mille was criticizing her food favoritism.

She nodded, embarrassed. Caim wondered if Alice enjoyed Mille’s rigid input, or if it was his presence that had been a wedge in their relationship, derailing the flow of casual conversation.

He really was a nuisance right now, but it wouldn’t always be like that if this plan worked. He’d rapidly become useful.

It was true that he didn’t know the value of the money he was earning or the proper price of the food he was eating. Gwen seemed to think she could eat elsewhere for less, so he’d immediately believed her.

“Oh, and before I forget, I remember now that the Gwen girl is already scheduled to be Initiated. I don’t have the details, but you could probably ask someone to look them up for you. To be honest, I’m happy to be rid of another potential responsibility. I have to focus on the ones already piling up.”

This was news to Caim. He felt relieved, but also a little concerned. This explained Gwen’s absence, but was she actually prepared for the ritual? He vaguely remembered telling her not to worry about being harmed, but fatigue muddled these memories.

His body still wasn’t used to this life. His mind would adapt a little only to discover something new. But Caim knew he could ground himself if he focused only on the next contract.

This simple, dangerous new life.

“I’m sorry for being a burden,” Caim offered an apology out of nowhere.

The beleaguered sincerity in his tone was sourced from a seemingly infinite well of regrets and worries.

I shouldn’t be here, was one of the thoughts that surfaced occasionally. I’m not resilient or intelligent enough to see this through, was another nagging anxiety.

“What are you talking about?” Mille asked.

Caim shook the thoughts away again and fumbled for the catalyst card in his pocket.

“Nevermind. Let’s just move on.”

Mille nodded.

“Yes, well, I’ll look into Gwen myself after she passes her Initiation, if she passes. Part of my job is making sure disruptive elements don’t interfere with the Guild.”

While Mille spoke that last sentence, her eyes locked on Caim, like an accusation.

Maybe she still thinks I’m being manipulated? he considered. If that’s the case, it doesn’t look like she’s concerned about it.

He thanked her. It was all he could think to do.

The conversation came to a lull, and Caim began ruminating again.

This new development was proving to be exhausting.

Subject: Metis Location: ???

The list was narrowing down, little by little.

They were frail and died easily. Each time a subject died, that was one less person to watch.

Metis was expressly forbidden from intervening, so even when she saw a preventable accident, she did nothing.

Criminals, victims, and everyone in between. She wasn’t there to judge them, only to watch and report.

It wasn’t like she was helpless. The same tools that made wide-range surveillance possible were also capable of rearranging the course of a subject’s day such that they didn’t meet a fatal end.

Inis…

Metis reminisced, doubting her decision to interface with the solwind communication relay at that critical moment.

A side effect of that action generated a strong current of wind along the path to the remote relay in what was known by the locals as the Redtinge Overgrowth.

Inistra, a mere name on a list, might have died had the wind not blown out the fire consuming her and her target.

The name was really only there to help Metis keep track of the lot. Subjects were identified by a string of symbols generated at the outset of the contract.

The main differences between a randomized string of symbols and a name was that a name was easier to keep track of but harder to use to distinguish an individual. Many people shared the same name, and many went by more than one name.

Shroud was still working out how to establish a surname system without making it seem like the theocracy was taking hints from subhuman cultures.

Most citizens were merely “children of the state” until they came of age. The war demolished and shuffled the world around. With no clear victors, the Barrier went up and the current mess was the result.

I can see why Inis thinks the whole thing is foolish. She does her own thing and I can’t help but respect that.

The incident with Inis was in the past, but Metis couldn’t seem to put the event to rest in her mind.

I needed to better understand what was happening to the subject. I needed a better look.

If that were the case, she could have just as easily decided to interface before the violent encounter.

It was a coincidence. She might not have died to the fire, and this changes nothing.

But Inis wasn’t the only “problematic” name on Metis’s list. Three inhabitants of a border city named Maliscade flared up recently.

One name discovered a piece of Truth. He was alone. If he remained that way, he’d cross himself off the list.

This one won’t be useful to anyone, but I should document his end.

Another name discovered a lie, but neither he nor Metis knew what that meant. He’d likely be crossed off the list before either of them found out.

I’ll send it up the chain. Another will know what it means. It isn’t my responsibility to know.

The last, the most curious of all, was almost definitely a Traveler.

A Traveler blending in with the locals.

With surveillance in this corner of Shroud coming to a lull, Metis decided to relocate to a remote observation post, between Maliscade and the capital. She would prepare her daily report on the way.

Something bizarre was happening, unrelated to Metis’s own discomfort.

They die too easily.

They really did. But she was contracted to observe them, and that is what she would do.

She didn’t care whether they lived or died.

She didn’t.