“Actually, the story starts thousands of years ago,” Parker corrected himself.

There was a collective eye-roll shared by Adia, Petrov, and several other people in the room.

“In an era over a thousand years ago, our world was connected to other dimensions, other worlds, with magic. Perhaps we have all wondered about this—goblins in the tutorials, orcs, Ents, manticores, hydras. How could our mythology match the world of the Atropos Schema so well, you ask?” Parker paused for dramatic effect, taking a breath, and then continuing, “Our world used to be connected to other worlds via naturally occurring portals, something called a dimensional link, but about a thousand years ago, the last portal was closed, and such things became myth and fantasy.

“Fast forward a thousand years or so. Before the Schema appeared in our world, somehow, Schema Factions found our world. Maybe through the portals that used to exist here. Maybe by following the Schema’s own mana trails, and brute-forcing a portal, who knows. One faction—the Crucible—decided to lay an early claim to the Earth. New worlds entering the Schema tend to have abundant resources, and factions will always fight each other—and the native inhabitants—to claim a slice of the newly available pie.

“Lord Ignatius—the dead guy—“ Parker gestured somewhat feebly at the headless body, and the steadily growing pool of blood in front of us, and then he glanced quickly away. “Lord Ignatius was the leader—or one of the leaders—of the Crucible. In order to build a power base early on, the Crucible wrote and published stories similar to the Schema’s normal process of Acclimation—a tutorial appearing, and a hero raising his level while fighting invading forces. So—“

Dawnbreaker laughed, gesturing at the bald head in front of her. “You’re saying this guy’s evil scheme was to write apocalyptic young adult novels?”

Parker shrugged. “I guess it sounds strange explaining it. But the evil scheme part is that readers were mind-controlled with a strong compulsion, to find the Crucible when the Acclimation started. That’s how Lord Ignatius gained so many followers so quickly. There were two compulsions every reader shared: to join the Crucible, and to not tell outsiders about the compulsion. Once people came to Lord Ignatius, he would start his second round of mind controlling, placing the most powerful people under his thrall—what you would have experienced, if you hadn’t…” Parker trailed off. “You know.”

Dawnbreaker just nodded. “And what were his plans, afterwards?”

Parker shrugged. “Lord Ignatius never spoke of his plans to me. But thinking about plans… I hear your group is missing a healer. If I may, I happen to be a very reliable healer, in the market, so to speak—“

“You are all welcome to join Daybreak,” Dawnbreaker said. “I am not so petty as to hold grudges against people who were mind controlled.”

Everyone in the room took a collective breath. Then, Dawnbreaker’s piercing gaze latched onto me. “However, I am curious—how did you escape Lord Ignatius’ thrall? How long were you actually free?”

I gulped, repeating the half-lies that Samantha suggested. “My class ability lets me boost any stat that I want,” I said. It felt annoying, publicizing my class, but my team knew already, and Dawnbreaker would probably find out soon anyway, if anyone from my old team joined her. “I was mind controlled, until the end, when I felt Lord Ignatius’ control slipping—as his control slipped, I realized I could put points into Mental Power in order to trump his mind control.”

My story was half-true. Samantha had converted mana into Mental Power. Which was a troubling thought.

Dawnbreaker called out to the room, “Did anybody else feel Lord Ignatius’ control slipping at any point today?”

I felt a thin layer of sweat coat my body.

Everyone glanced around, and nobody spoke up. “There are two suspicious points to your story,” Dawnbreaker said. “First, why would Lord Ignatius trust you so much, if he knew you could just increase your Mental Power? Secondly, why did nobody else feel this weakening of Lord Ignatius’ control? Maybe you want to revise your story.”

“I guess Lord Ignatius was overconfident,” I said, shrugging my shoulders, trying to remain calm.

“This isn’t the first suspicious thing Jarek has done,” Adia spoke up. “River told me, before she died. Jarek was responsible for several people’s deaths in the tutorial—well before being involved with the Crucible. And then he was responsible for River’s death, too.”

I felt my chest tighten, and I felt a wave of emotions. Sadness, self-hatred, outrage, betrayal.

To my surprise, I heard a new voice. “Perhaps I can answer some of your questions, Dawnbreaker.”

It was Uman who stepped forward. “I am ashamed to admit that I was Lord Ignatius’ right hand man,” he started. From someone else, the statement might have seemed inauthentic. But Uman had a frankness, a clarity in his eyes and poise that bespoke integrity.

“Looking around the room, Dawnbreaker, you will realize that there is one glaring, unfilled skillset from everyone else here. Mental Power. Lord Ignatius, of course, controlled us using Mental Power, and of course due to the nature of mind control, Mental Power would enable us to resist. I am the only specialist in Mental Power in this room. Lord Ignatius, you see, followed this mantra: keep you friends close, and your enemies closer. Every day, he would renew his hold on me. Not out of necessity, but out of fear.”

Dawnbreaker looked vaguely intrigued. “What skills does your Mental Power focus give you?”

Uman bowed slightly. “Do not worry—I have no mind control abilities. You see, Mental Power skills have many subcategories. For me, I have gained near-perfect recall. My class is a Clairvoyant. I can identify patterns in the world, and make predictions. The more data I have, the more accurate my predictions. From an organization’s perspective, I would humbly submit that my skills are extremely useful.

“But my original intention was to explain a bit about Jarek,” Uman continued. “First of all, as someone with higher Mental Power, I as well felt Lord Ignatius’ control weakening during our final battle. If I had to guess, it was due to the effort he put into trying to enthrall you, Dawnbreaker.”

Uman nodded my direction, and I tried to keep a blank face. I had been lying, of course, when I said Lord Ignatius’ control was slipping. My experience had not been a gradual one. Samantha had been biding her time, and when the moment was right, she had completely freed me.

I hadn’t expected Uman of all people to speak up for me. I had barely connected with him since joining the Crucible.

Uman continued, “My second point is that Lord Ignatius had insurance, against myself and against Jarek. He was holding our families captive.”

“What?” I exploded, feeling a very familiar sinking sensation in my chest. “How long? Who does he have? Where are they?”

Uman glanced at me sadly. “I was uninvolved in the process, so unfortunately I know very little. Your brother and sister have been captured—likely taken out of their Region in Boston, hidden for safe keeping in one of the other Regions that has been conquered. My wife has been kidnapped as well.”

“How can we find them?” I demanded. “What will it take?”

“We should visit Boston,” Uman replied. “Hopefully by talking to the witnesses there, I can find out more about the kidnapping. My wife’s trail is long cold, so your brother and sister are our best bet."

“Before you go,” Dawnbreaker coughed lightly, “I feel obliged to ask. Uman, you were clearly privy to many of Lord Ignatius’ secrets. What else should I know? Perhaps you could explain the portal buried in the heart of this mountain?”

Uman looked a little sheepish. “Of course. I hope you understand, I am very eager to find my wife. The portal in the heart of this mountain… well, I think I should take a page out of Parker’s playbook and take a step back.

“The Earth is a high-value world, and so various factions are fighting tooth and nail to claim it. Think of this as a proxy war, a chess game of factions placing pieces and claiming territory. The North American Zone Lord was a shade. Shades are creatures formed from a dark fey ritual. Basically, a fey clan paid a very high price in a Schema auction in order to place a shade in the Zone. By doing so, they are stating their intention to claim to the whole Zone. This means that in another week, when the factions make their appearances for real, a powerful fey clan will appear in our Zone.

“The Crucible’s backer—known as the Mentalist Cooperative—placed a cell here in order to undermine the fey clan. Lord Ignatius’ presence here violates the Schema’s rules, and so it would be dangerous for him to attack the shade or the fey directly.”

“From the factions’ perspectives, each wave is a turn in a game of chess, where you can move as many pieces as you can afford by buying up the monster slots in an auction. By placing their own trained beasts, like a shade, each faction would gain a more powerful position for when they appear in a week.

“The portal is here because the Mentalist Cooperative is planning to move its pieces tomorrow. Tomorrow, when the second round of monster attacks start—monsters will appear through the portal as well. These will be the monsters that the Mentalist Cooperative is placing “legally” on the game board that is our world. Their purpose is either to support Lord Ignatius in his battle against the shade, or in his proxy war against the fey in a week.

“At some point in the middle of the night tonight, the portal will activate.”

Dawnbreaker frowned, her piercing blue eyes staring into Uman. “So should we destroy the portal?”

“It is your choice, of course,” Uman said, smoothly. “The portal is more of a locating tool for the Mentalist Cooperative. So destroying the portal means that these creatures would still appear in the Zone, just not through the portal. Considering your own strength, I suggest you leave the portal, active, and kill anything that comes through. Meanwhile, I believe Jarek and I have some kidnappers to hunt.”

Uman walked over to the heap of treasures at Adia’s feet and picked something up—two wooden, beaded necklaces—and then glanced over his shoulder at me. “Shall we?”

I’m still fucking mad at you, I grumbled mentally, as I followed Samantha’s instructions.

“So,” I heard Dawnbreaker ask, as I left. “Who wants to join Daybreak and kill some Mentalists?”