After filling the pitcher with water one more time, Aaron gave them all a general rundown of what had happened in Blackstone since the Tinkerers had bene taken up to the Buried Gods.

A fair number of people still lived within the city, but the Reawakening had men patrolling many of the frequently visited areas and exits to stop anyone from leaving. Aaron had seen people dragged away by the clones multiple times, often to small groups that were brought aboard the Buried Gods.

Food was limited since there weren’t any new supplies coming to the city, but it wasn’t yet a major issue since so many people had vanished. Aaron told them that he hadn’t left the shop since his parents were taken, but his supplies were starting to run low and it was only a matter of time before he’d have to try to scavenge.

“What about any forms of resistance?” Angel asked. “It sounds like the Reawakening took your Tinkerers, but after the initial attack, have there been any fights?”

“I heard a few,” Aaron replied. “Not recently, though. That was mostly in the first few days. I don’t think they killed all of our soldiers, since we have a pretty big army and I’m sure they would have put up more of a fight against the masked guys. I guess they’re hiding somewhere, maybe biding their time.”

“We should try to find them,” Lilian said. “If we could have a distraction when we attempt to destroy the Buried Gods, it would be a big benefit.”

Angel nodded. “Good idea. We’ll look into that when we go out. Aaron, do they ever search the houses?”

“Not really,” Aaron said. “At least, I haven’t seen them search anything from here. Aside from grabbing people outside, I haven’t seen much of them since the initial attacks and patrols.”

“Probably watching what’s going on from the Buried Gods and reporting it to the clones on the ground,” Silver mused. “That would save a lot of manpower. Blackstone is too big to completely control, even for them. Are there underground passages in the city?”

Aaron shrugged helplessly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were, but I don’t know anything about them. That sounds like something that only the army would have known about.”

“Then we’ll have to search around and get a better understanding of our surroundings before we try anything,” Angel said. “Thanks for the information, Aaron. I think the first thing we need to do is get some sleep. I’m on my last legs, and I doubt my companions are doing much better.”

Aaron nodded. He pushed the door behind the counter open and waved for them to follow. The back of the shop was one giant square room. Crates and barrels lined the walls, and two beds sat on either side of it, one larger than the other.

Near the larger bed was a small workbench with dozens of half-assembled artifacts and scattered Magitech. A fair number of Tinkering tools hung from hooks above it.

“I don’t really have many places to sleep,” Aaron apologized. “We don’t have guests over much.”

“This works perfectly,” Angel said, pulling his blanket out and laying down on top of it. By unspoken word, none of them took the large bed. Lilian leaned against the wall, resting her head in her hands but not closing her eyes. Angel gave her a slight nod and then let the embrace of sleep take him.

Lilian woke him several hours later and they quietly traded watch. Aaron was making some noise from the front of the shop, and everyone else was still asleep. He shifted into a seated position and took Blue out.

His System artifact had taken severe damage from when the Star Fragment commandeered it. The warped plates and runes felt disrespectful. He wasn’t sure if the artifact had ever truly been intelligent, but it had done a lot for him.

Angel pulled his scribe out and his arm hummed to life as he called on Liquid Metal. He moved the damaged plates out of the way, repairing runes with his scribe as he went. Hours ticked by like seconds and Blue soon resembled an orb once again.

It was still covered with dents and the lines from healed fractures, but the runes he could access were repaired. He didn’t dare delve any deeper into it in fear of permanently damaging both Blue and the Star Fragment’s way to communicate with him.

Alison mumbled something in her sleep and rolled over. Angel glanced up from his work for the first time since he’d started. Silver was already awake and was forlornly staring at his hat. Tilly was hunched over her gauntlets, Jake watching over her shoulder.

Angel pressed his finger to Blue’s activation runes and sent a pulse of energy into the artifact. A flicker of light lit within it and the orb wobbled into the air, swaying to and fro.

“G-greetings, user. Please identify yourself.”

“Wonderful,” Angel replied.

“Hello, Wonderful. Welcome back. Your re-activation of this unit is appreciated, even if your timeliness has much to be found lacking in,” Blue said, a note of what might have been happiness in its voice.

Angel fought to keep a grin off his face. He didn’t want to let on quite how much he’d missed the snarky little artifact. The light coming off Blue shifted, turning purple.

“That’s much better,” Blue said, its voice reverted to the cold tone of the Star Fragment. “It was difficult to keep this unit running while it was damaged. This will make it easier for us to communicate. What is the position of the Vault relative to us?”

“Hold on,” Angel said. “What did you do to Blue? I’d prefer if you didn’t mind wipe my System artifact.”

“The unit’s memory banks are mostly undamaged,” the Star Fragment said irritably. “I am simply overriding it while we speak. I will return it to normal functionality once we are done.”

“Fine,” Angel said. “And we’ve just been following the Reawakening. I can check the Key now that we’re in a safer location.”

He took the strange donut shaped piece of Magitech out of his bag and brushed it off before sending a pulse of magic into its inlet. The Key hummed, forming an orb of energy at its center.

It morphed, turning into an arrow and moving to point slightly to Angel’s right. He showed it to Blue.

“There. Not that it means much given where we are at the moment. Before we can go after the Vault, we’re going to have to deal with the Buried Gods flanking this town.”

Blue was silent for a long time. The purple energy arcing off it dimmed to a dim flicker before returning to its normal intensity. “Challenging Buried Gods is not safe.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Angel said. “We can’t just leave them behind us. The more damage we can do to the Reawakening here, the bigger chance we’ll have to survive any future encounters with them.”

“You plan to drain the energy from the Buried God, then?”

“It worked on a chopper,” Angel said, well aware of the difference between a small airship and a Buried God. “And I’ve gotten a fair amount of levels while we were in the Barren. Besides, the Buried Gods aren’t active here. That should mean they’re easier to take out.”

“You will suffer for it,” the Star Fragment warned him.

“I gathered as much. Do you think I’ll live through it?”

“It is likely that you will survive the power draw. But there are varying levels of living. You will need someone to move you after draining it. The damage may be permanent.”

“A trade we’ll have to make,” Angel said. “I’ve already replaced an arm. I can offer a few more things up. Thanks for the warning, though.”

Blue chimed, the purple light fading back as the Star Fragment abandoned control of the artifact.

“What would you like help with today?” Blue asked.

“Nothing for now,” Angel said with a small grin. The others had all awoken by now and were watching him with worried expressions. “I think we just need to plan.”