He rubbed his chin, then glanced up at the core behind them as a thought struck him. “Ah, would you happen to know anything about the System changing at any point?”

The light in the room turned red.

“Wait, does that mean you don’t know, or you can’t say?” Angel asked.

There was a series of yellow and red flashes that gave Angel the impression the catacomb might be annoyed.

“Oops. Yes or no questions, sorry. Go yellow for you don’t know and red for you can’t say.”

Red light washed over the room. Angel frowned. “I guess that makes sense, but it doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Just follow your own advice for now,” Lilian said. “We’ve got the Key. Can you make it?”

“Not here,” Angel replied and patted his travel pack. “I don’t want Blue to try to connect to the System again, especially while it has the blueprints to the Key.”

He set the metal bird he’d made down in front of the catacomb’s core. “Thank you for letting us drop by. This was incredibly helpful.”

Green flooded the room and the ceiling above them rumbled. A shower of dust fell on the two as a tunnel opened in the ceiling and a ladder descended from within it, putting itself together piece by piece until it hung in front of Angel’s face.

Lilian shook her head in bafflement and hopped onto the ladder, clambering up it. Angel grabbed a rung and started to follow after her. Before he could get far, the lights turned yellow. He stopped moving and the room lit green once more.

“Is something wrong?” Angel asked. “Do you want more artifacts or something? I don’t have anything else that’s worth your interest, and I can’t part with my relics.”

Red flash.

“It’s not artifacts? Is it something about me or Lilian?”

The light turned green.

Angel blinked. “Are you bored or lonely?”

This time, there was no change in the lighting. Angel wasn’t sure if he should laugh or feel bad. Was this a fortress from a bygone age or a dog?

“I’ll come back,” Angel promised. “I can’t stay now. There’s a group of people trying to bring back Old World Magic in a way that might end up destroying the Barren and killing a lot of people. I need to return it before they do. It might have something to do with why you can’t tell me what happened to the System, but I can’t be sure. If I survive this, I’ll return. How does that sound?”

Yellow light filled the room for several moments before finally, reluctantly, turning back to green. Angel stayed there for a few moments before resuming his climb. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how much he could learn from the Great Catacomb, but he couldn’t afford to spend time playing around while the Reawakening were still a threat.

He clambered up the ladder, moving quickly to catch up with Lilian. Their climb went quickly, and they soon reached the surface of the desert. Lilian helped Angel out of the hole and sand cascaded into it once they were out, filling it once more as the ladder crumbled away.

“What was up with the delay?” Lilian asked.

“The catacomb was just a bit more human than I expected,” Angel replied. “Nothing to worry about.”

He squinted up at the sun, veiling his eyes with a hand. “It hasn’t been more than an hour or two. Silver is probably waiting for us at Churning Sands. That works out well, since I don’t have the materials to build the Key. I should be able to get them there.”

They both set off on their artifacts through the desert, using Lilian’s internal map to guide them. It didn’t take long for the tent-filled city to rise on the horizon. Angel spotted several miniature sandships cruising around the city’s perimeter.

One of them broke off in their direction. A lightning spell clicked into place in Angel’s arm as he and Lilian slowed down, letting the ship pull up beside them.

It was manned by four bandits. Three of them held outdated muskets with canisters at their hips, while the first stood at the helm and wore a hat reminiscent of Silver’s old one.

“Greetins,” the man at the helm said with a gap-toothed grin. “I be collecting the toll. I trust yer paying?”

“Depends how much it is,” Angel said. “I didn’t agree much with the last group that tried to charge me a toll. Left ‘em smoldering after taking their bags.”

“No need for threats, laddie,” the bandit said with a bark of laughter. “I’m sure ya nip just fine. Five Vex from both you and the lass.”

“Four each,” Angel replied. The bandit’s price wasn’t much more expensive than he’d expected, but it didn’t hurt to bargain.

“Done,” the pirate said. His crew muttered a few complaints, but he silenced them with a glare.

Angel and Lilian both dug the coins out of their bags and tossed them to the man. He slipped them into a pouch and tipped his hat. The sandship lurched and the bandits shot off, turning around and heading back toward Churning Sands.

They followed after the pirates and reached the city a minute later. Angel hopped off his board and slung it over his shoulder while Lilian took her skates off.

“We can find Silver after I get what I need from the market,” Angel said as they walked past the tents and into the bustling market. Merchants called for attention, grabbing at the hems of their pants as they walked by. Lilian kicked a few overly ambitious ones away with an annoyed grimace.

Angel stopped at a shop selling scrap metal. He pointed out several parts, getting a small bag of it. He stopped by one more shop, buying a few pieces of jewelry that were so clearly fake that even the merchant seemed surprised that someone was willing to purchase them. He handed the man the last few of his Vex. He still had a good number of Vei, but showing those off in a bandit city was a surefire way to get jumped.

“What do you need that crap for?” Lilian asked.

“Probably not a good idea to talk about it here,” Angel replied. “But the thing I’m working on needs gems. Hopefully it doesn’t care about authenticity.”

Lilian shook her head. “I hope you don’t treat women like that. No gems are better than fake ones.”

“I don’t treat women at all,” Angel said with a laugh. “I don’t have time for that. If I survive the Reawakening, maybe I can worry about it then. If I ever give a girl a diamond, I promise to make sure it’s real.”

They left the center of the marketplace and headed towards the large tents at the far side of the city. The area was so flat that Angel was able to make out the top of a chopper as they grew closer.

“I see Silver,” Lilian said. “Looks like he’s talking to some people.”

“Old friends, maybe?” Angel guessed. They got past the last few tents and got a better look at the situation. Six men stood before Silver in a semicircle, swords drawn. Silver leaned against the side of the chopper, his mask hiding his features.

“Hand over the chopper, shiny boy,” a man wearing a wide leather hat growled. “Or we’ll stick you like a pig and bury you in the sand.”

“I’m afraid I’m not at the liberty to do that right now,” Silver said. “I’m waiting for some people to get back. Come back and get yourself killed at a later date.”

Another man lunged forward, thrusting a blade at Silver’s chest. Metal flashed and the weapon spun through the air, landing in the sand a few feet to the side. The man’s hand landed beside it. Before he could cry out, Silver’s serpentine blade struck again. The man’s head tumbled from his shoulders.

Several people cried out and ran, but most of them just watched the fight with idle interest. Death was far from rare in Churning Sands, and there was little enough entertainment in the Barren.

“Sorry about that, gentlemen,” Silver said, cracking his neck and taking a step away from the chopper. He nodded to Angel and Lilian. “My passengers just got back. I no longer have to worry about causing a commotion.”

The bandits charged him, roaring in fury. Silver’s blade danced, twisting and twirling in ways that should have been impossible. It moved like a weightless ribbon in the air but carved through flesh without the slightest bit of resistance.

In moments, all but one of the assailants were laid out on the ground around Silver. The only man that remained was the one who had threatened him.

“Your insult was pathetic,” Silver informed him. “A threat needs to make people fear you, not question your intelligence.”

The man scrambled back, his hands slipping on the blood soaked sand. “I’m sorry! Please don’t kill me!”

Silver clicked his tongue. “Your hat.”

“W-what?”

“Your hat,” Silver repeated. “Give it to me.”

The bandit reached up with a shaking hand and took his hat off. He handed it to Silver, who brushed it off and set it on his head.

“Thank you,” Silver said. His blade lashed out once more, punching into the bandit’s throat and silencing him.

“That was cold,” Angel observed. “Why not take his hat after you killed him?”

“I didn’t see you helping me,” Silver replied. “No whining from observers. And I didn’t want to get blood on it. It’s a nice hat that was wasted on this louse.”

“Maybe we can continue this discussion after we leave,” Lilian said. “We’ve got a lot of eyes on us.”