January 26, 2019, 12:32 pm.

Laughter's probably not an appropriate reaction, but it's only once I started chuckling that the invisible tension eases. Today hasn't been great. We failed to save Josh. Ivicka's escaped. We even lost Folthka.

"My apologies," Genitha offers while bowing slightly in Beth's direction. Despite her words, she's not able to wipe the smile off her face as she continues. "I will of course help deal with Ivicka. I suspect she'd have attempted to take me as well, had I not demonstrated my freedom."

Beth swallows, simply nodding. But I can see moisture beading in the corner of her eye. A reminder that Beth didn't benefit from the bout of laughter the rest of us shared. Damn, now I feel like a jerk. Not certain I should offer support immediately after laughing, I urge Smoulder to go to Beth instead.

Smoulder sends me a feeling of affirmation with an undertone of confusion, not understanding why we didn't set Ivicka on fire. To be fair, I did try.

Beth is startled when Smoulder lands on her shoulder, but then she's butting up against her cheek and Beth cracks a small smile while glancing over at me. I just shrug.

"We should get back to Tipan," Beth states while stroking Smoulder's long fluffy tail. "But first, do you have another way to track Ivicka?"

This last is directed at Genitha, who shakes her head softly while saying, "No, but I know where she had her Sanctum several years ago."

"Uhh. What's a Sanctum?" I ask.

"In essence, it's a personal Stronghold. They're much less expensive. However, their protections only extend to a small number of users."

"One thing mum forgot to mention. Within a Sanctum, the owner is nearly invincible."

"I believe I mentioned that I'd have trouble with anyone in their own Sanctum," Genitha objects. "Though if she has as many Fallen wandering around the city as you claim, we have other avenues to strike at her."

The discussion continues for another half a minute, but I tune it out as I'm about to read the quest text from scanning the kid. The kid who's still laying in bed downstairs.

Damn.

"What're we going to do about the kids?" I ask, interrupting Beth as she strokes Smoulder vigorously, eliciting her rumbly purr.

"What kids?" Roberts replies, looking around the demolished courtyard.

A large block teetering on the collapsed wall chooses to crash loudly to the ground as I respond, forcing me to repeat myself. "Folthka's kids are downstairs."

"Bem will take care of them. He's always been their caretaker. Though many have forgotten, pu'shaha are actually quite good with children." Genitha folds her fan up, hanging it at her waist instead of storing it in her inventory.

"Where has Bem been hiding anyway?" Beth wonders as she hands Smoulder back. She meets my eyes, holding my gaze while mouthing the words "Thank you," before releasing Smoulder.

Which is totally not right. There's no way she should be thanking me right now. But I don't say anything as the others lead the way back down at Roberts insistence. While Bem should theoretically be looking after the kids, he wants to ensure that's the case before we leave. The next few minutes are spent searching for Bem. We split into groups, with Beth and Roberts checking his quarters, Genitha occupied with something important in the lab while Rufka and I head back to the children's area. We find him leaning against the frame of Kalim's room, staring through the open doorway.

He only twitches slightly when Rufka scuffs her foot against a bench. Loudly. Considering how quiet she is, that had to be intentional.

"Folthka's gone." It's not a question. There are tear tracks matting his fur as he brushes at his eyes. He's holding a dull grey stone with a crack running down the middle.

"Ivicka captured her," I supply while connecting to Beth, letting her know we found him.

He nods, still staring into the room. "Folthka didn't want to see it, but she's always despised our work."

There's a moment when Rufka and I glance at each other, unsure of what to say, but then he continues, "I suppose that means it's just me now."

"It took us hundreds of years for us to birth a pu'shaha like Kalim. When Pern started, I doubt he imagined we'd use his descendants in such a way," Bem sighs out as he finally turns to us. "So, what are you going to do with me? I suppose I'm to be executed for my crimes?"

"Uhh, what?" Even as I stutter out my response, I pause time to give myself time to process what he just asked. Is executing people a thing we're doing?

"I hope not," I answer. Beth's on her way here. But she wouldn't kill him for just being a part of this, would she? She didn't seem to be on the warpath when we were searching for him, so it'll probably be alright.

Letting the pause end, I connect to Roberts making sure he's coming with Beth. Just in case.

It only takes them a minute to arrive, but it feels longer as we all stand around awkwardly until I hear the laughter of children behind us. They stumble into the far end of the hall at the same time as Beth and Roberts emerge behind us. Celthi, the female cub, pulls Qern to a stop when she spots us.

"Celthi dear, can you take Qern and fetch Kalim's drafting pencils. He's looking better and I think he'd like to have them on hand when he wakes up," Bem calls out, preempting any response. Celthi stares at each of us for a second as if daring us to hurt Bem. Then she nods as if satisfied before leading Qern away.

"I have some questions for you," Beth starts once the cubs are around the corner.

"We have questions. If you don't mind," Roberts amends. Rufka and I step back, letting them take over. I didn't really want to handle the interrogation anyway.

Bem glances inside the room, pulling the door closed before addressing Beth and Roberts. Now that they're here, I kind of want to sneak off. But instead, we hang around while I read the quest update for scanning Kalim.

"Quest completed: Not doing well. Requirements: 1/1 Pu'shaha analyzed. Rewards: 5 iron rank integration points."

"Additional reward granted. Advanced all Class Dungeon Completion requirements by one. Thank you for your service Citizen Pandora."

Huh. I quickly check my class upgrade requirements and sure enough, they've been updated. That's an impressive reward for something so… easy.

I suppose this must be important to the system.

"Quest received: A New Normal? Requirements: Perform a thorough scan of pu'shaha Bem and Qern. Reward: 5 iron rank integration points."

Well, there's my confirmation. It's definitely important to the system.

"Alexis, we're done here. Beth's agreed to allow Bem to stay with his children," Roberts informs me, breaking me out of my thoughts. I glance at Bem wondering if I should complete the quest. I have a feeling it would have the system integrate the pu'shaha.

Uthica would be thrilled.

As if urging me to complete the quest, the children come scooting down the hall behind Bem. Celthi is holding a small box while Qern has a large straight object that he has over his shoulder as though he's a soldier. He's so damn cute. They approach with caution until Qern notices Smoulder who's been soaking up da pets from Rufka.

He starts stomping toward us at full steam. Smoulder only barely notices him before he reaches us. He's about to start petting her when he looks up at Rufka, "Can I pet her?"

Rufka looks more startled than Smoulder, glancing over to me. When I pass the message along to Smoulder, her impression is that it's only appropriate that he shows the proper deference.

Not bothering to encapsulate that in words, I just nod.

"Sorry, you were saying?" I ask as Rufka and Qern smother Smoulder with affection.

"I suppose we can stay for a couple minutes," Beth grunts. Which prompts Celthi to cautiously approach. She looks to me just like Rufka did, so I motion her forward. Smoulder's not afraid to receive more attention after all.

Actually, I probably shouldn't be letting her get all these pets. There's no way I can give her this much attention on my own. Smoulder picks up on this thought reassuring me that she values me for things other than my supplementary grooming skills. Though she stresses receiving pets is appreciated.

Yeah. I think this deserves more thought. And I think I'd like to talk to Roberts, Rufka and Tipan before I make a decision. Especially since the System didn't give me a time limit.

Eep.

No? No System update telling me I have to choose now?

Okay then.

A few minutes later, I extract Smoulder then we make our way to the lab, leaving Bem with the children. We meet Genitha there, she's levitating a crate the size of my bed towards us.

"What's this?" Beth asks.

"Sensitive equipment." Genitha doesn't elaborate. We glance at each other before addressing the last task we had before leaving this mess behind us.

Figuring out what's causing the SubSector to be separated from the System. We know it's related to Folthka's research but we don't know the mechanisms. When we start discussing it, Genitha reveals that it should be easy enough to find whatever's causing the disruption. She says the equipment will be located along the perimeter.

As we search for the perimeter Rufka and I pass through Folthka's office, checking for anything that might tell us what we're looking for. The moment I open the wall, we discover there was another prong to the attack. I'm not sure if the courtyard was a distraction, but each of the storerooms has been opened. This isn't the smooth work that Folthka or I would do though. Each opening is blasted open, the entrances jagged and filled with coarse sand. The rooms themselves are empty other than a single half pane of glass for one of the tubes leaning in the corner of the first room.

Folthka's office hasn't been spared either, though it seems it was better protected. The entrance is filled with sand, but not a single grain has made its way onto the floor outside the alcove. Whatever protection stops the sand doesn't inhibit Rufka and me as we step into her office. Still, when we notice the scorch mark on one of her rugs, we decide to be careful in our search.

"Do you think she knew Ivicka attacked the Lords?" Rufka asks as she inspects the desk.

I'm peeking at a large bound hide that looks like it might be a map as I answer. "She didn't seem to be aware of any of the things Ivicka was up to. I'd guess she avoided thinking about what Ivicka was doing. That way, no matter what Ivicka did, Folthka could pretend they were the good guys."

I have the map halfway unrolled when I realize Rufka's staring at me from less than a metre away, a slight smile playing across her lips when I glance over. "Is this the same woman who was worried about being a monster a week ago?" she teases.

"I mean, technically, that was imbalanced attributes," I object halfheartedly. Not because I don't believe what I'm saying, but because she's taken the opportunity to move close to me.

"You know, we haven't had much opportunity to be alone since you came crashing into my bedroom this morning."

I swear, whoever shoved the metaphorical baseball in my throat wants me to choke to death, as I attempt to swallow but find it impossible. She's only a few centimetres away when I hear Beth calling out, asking if we've found anything.

….

But Rufka doesn't let that stop her.

When her lips find mine, my mind goes blank for a solid 1.24 seconds before I return her affections.

It's only when Beth coughs loudly from behind us that I realize where we are. And that Rufka's mum is nearby!

Rufka doesn't let me pull away for another second. I'm certain I must be solid scarlet but Rufka just smiles at Beth.

"Did you two find anything? Or have you been too busy?"

"Well, I've certainly been distracted," Rufka answers, running a hand through my hair as Roberts appears behind Beth.

I smile at her, but I also find the strength to break away before gesturing to the map. "I think this might be important."

Beth strides over, glancing down at the partially unfurled map before scanning the rest of the room. She stops in front of the window, staring out at the view beyond. "None of this was supposed to happen."

Neither Rufka nor I respond. It occurs to me that seeing us being intimate... Well, we need to get Josh out of the buffer.

I really hope it's as simple as finishing the anti-corruption quest. While Beth's staring out the window, my attention turns back to the map. It looks like a map of the city. It's even in amazing detail but there are no conveniently labelled 'sub-sector disruption towers here'. Nor can I see anything similar.

"Huh. Let me see that map again," Beth requests right as I've started rolling it up.

"Sure," I answer, splaying it across Folthka's desk again. We spend the next couple minutes tossing ideas back and forth, inspecting the map before we decide to talk to Genitha. Who's apparently been using the sensitive equipment to solve the problem. She just didn't want any of us underfoot as she worked.

"Mum, you could have just asked us to give you space."

"Yep. I could've."

At Genitha's direction, we find the first of the objects causing the disruption in a partially collapsed room near the wall. The device reminds me of my Papi's grandfather clock. It's the right size and shape. It even has a swinging pendulum. The only thing out of place is the missing clockface. And the fact it's made of bone instead of wood and steel.

"Object Analyzed: Forerunner Mana Interception Apparatus. Based on a similar design of Reaper origin, this device reroutes mana from the surrounding atmosphere into a linked mana essence well. Gathers the equivalent of one mortal grade mana essence every day when placed in a standard class 1 mana field. Current rate of absorption: 1.3 mortal grade mana essence per day.

This apparatus has been modified to Intercept System access within its area of operation in addition to its standard function."

"Quest objective completed: Investigate Subsector 3-G for Geral. Rewards: 5 Iron-rank integration points, 1 Iron-rank Progression Point, 5 Iron-grade essence.

Quest updated: Disable Forerunner Mana Interception Apparatus in Subsector 3-G for Geral. 0/?? Apparatuses disabled. Rewards: 5 Iron-rank integration points, 1 Iron-rank Progression Point, 5 Iron-grade essence."

Citizen quests really do pay better, don't they? I wonder if this is like having one of those cushy government jobs? Except we actually have to go out and do stuff. Not that I know what government people do. Maybe they work hard?

Not important.

"Hmm. A significant reward for little effort. Worrying," Roberts notes, echoing my thoughts.

"It could have been much worse. Going into the unknown usually pays better," Beth points out. She's poking at the apparatus with her knife when I relay the description. It's basically a free source of mana essence. Which means easy integration points. Though it's way less than we earn by being active, one of these could raise a person's stats from 0 to 100 in… roughly twenty years? And that's at only one essence per day.

Considering you wouldn't even have to put yourself in danger, that's pretty powerful.

We end up finding another six of the devices around the perimeter. The quest still hasn't registered as complete, but Genitha says the edges of the subsector will allow mana to circulate. It's as we're approaching the final apparatus, one that is being used as an actual clock in the children's dormitories, that Bem approaches us.

"You've done something to the mana, haven't you?"

Roberts takes point, pre-empting Beth. "We've shut down several devices that were placed around the perimeter, yes. Is there a problem?"

"Kalim woke up. I'd just started talking to him but he started thrashing about while calling out in an unfamiliar language. He kept saying the word 'Beth'." Her name is clumsy on Bem's tongue, but it's still clear.

"What?!" Beth's' roar is startling, but it's nothing compared to how quickly she leaps over the table before disappearing down the hallway. She's probably at Kalim's bedroom before I realize Beth reacted. It takes me a second to process what happened which leaves me trailing Roberts as well.

When Rufka and I catch up, Roberts is standing in the doorway, his jaw hanging loose as he stares at Beth and Kalim.

Inside his room, I see Kalim holding Beth's hand while she mutters angrily. He glances up and with a small wave of his upper-right hand says, "Hey Alexis. You'll never guess what happened to us."

Okay, then. If I'm understanding this right, Josh is a K'tharn now.

...

Huh.