"How long do we have, Rina?" The clank of hammers beating steel and the screech of metal being quenched in fire forces me to speak up as Rina leads the way. Swords, maces, axes, spears, our armament grows ever larger. I understand that we must first amass our forces, gather those who would rally to our cause. It is slow, but Rina has assured me it is necessary.

"My current estimates project that we will be ready in six months to a year. It's unfortunately not an exact science when you're working on a project no one's ever even conceived of before." She responds matter-of-factly, stepping through an opening into a room with a wooden table. Upon it sits a map of this kingdom, this 'Zorhana'. As I examine it, Rina hops up onto a stool, using her hand to pull herself along a rail attached to the sides of the table. The stool, connected to a wheel that sits along a track, moves with her to circle the table as she stops on the northeastern side of the map. "I've got something I want to show you."

I lean over the map, my increased height giving me ample ability to see even from across the table. "What is it?" Rina has a flair for genius that frankly astounds me sometimes when I forget that she has over two centuries under her belt. Anytime she has information to share, I'm all...well, I don't have actual ears the way soft fleshed beings do, but I listen nonetheless.

"As you know, we're here, at the Arboria Hills. Our last encounter with strangers ended with them potentially being able to gauge where our current hideout is." She retrieves a small wand with a white pointing hand on one end from her pocket and flicks it, extending the wand to nearly two feet in length. She clears her throat and points to the map with it, just north of the Iron City. "And with the amount of people we hope to recruit, we're quite frankly going to need a larger space."

"Do you have somewhere in mind?" I enjoy letting her lead on these conversations. I value her knowledge of the world.

Rina gestures to a corner of the room. "Orna, would you kindly?"

The figure who had at first eluded my vision stands up from their seat. A wood elf with a mask over their face resembling the Dread Lord; white porcelain with silver filigrees around the eyes, a small black diamond centered near the top. Though the mask hides their identity, the voice gives it away when they speak; gruff and deep. Orna is newer to me, but his story intrigued me. Born the daughter of a wealthy merchant, he never felt comfortable in his own body. I don't know what magic was used, but Orna says he went to a hag who offered to change his physical gender in exchange for something precious. Since that time, he lost his ability to feel emotions like love or sorrow. It makes him a masterclass assassin, but it also makes dealing with him a little...awkward. Compared to Rina's hyperactive optimism, Orna is very straight forward and doesn't react to much of anything. Which is not to say I don't appreciate his talents or his presence.

Orna steps up to the table, his cloak draped around him like a thick sheet. The flash of light on a dagger beneath the cloak betrays the position of only one of a dozen weapons hiding on his person as he points to the map, tracing a path from our hideout southward. "Any number of places would work if you can clear them of their current inhabitants. The Ashgrove, the Vesper Wood, Lothar Mountain. Torley Thicket or the Arid Peaks would be our best bet; they're off the beaten path and people generally avoid them."

"Is that so?" I scan the locations presented. Torley Thicket north of the town of Lorelei, and the Arid Peaks on the southern edge of the continent. Each provides space and a place to hide. But equally so, there are monsters in those areas that my brothers and sisters cannot handle. "Which would provide the best advantage?"

"The Torley Thicket would be the easiest to acquire. The creatures there are mostly beasts and vagrants. I hear tell of a bandit camp within belonging to a woman named Asher, but I doubt they'll pose much of a threat when properly...persuaded." Orna's finger dances along one of the daggers under his cloak.

I consider the options. We do need to move. The Arid Peaks are supposedly home to numerous large, dangerous creatures like dragons and giant worms. The Torley Thicket is smaller in area, but less dangerous. We'd need to carefully hide ourselves...

Rina nods her head in thought. "Orna, can you see about persuading this 'Asher' to-"

"No." Rina turns to see my steel face, my brow furrowed. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"Our comrades have bled enough for our cause, while I've sat back and watched. It's time I bleed a little myself."

"You can't! What if you get overwhelmed? You've never fought before!"

"That's where you're wrong." I rub the metal skull containing what might have been a brain, were I not what I am, before leaning against the table. "I've been in this cave a long time now. The time when you all sleep is time I've spent trying to remember what happened to me."

"Your memories are returning?" I can tell by her voice that Rina's worry is quickly overtaken with excitement and curiosity. Ever the engineer.

"Some of them. I remember my...my mother. She was a creator, like you. She made so many of us. For years, my brothers and sisters fought together against our empire's enemies. But we were betrayed from within. One of my kindred relayed our lab's location, this very place where we now stand, to the enemy. We were slaughtered. Those few who did not die immediately were left to be buried alive in the rubble of our home. So no, little Rina, I have indeed fought before." Releasing the hidden blade from my arm, I look over my reflection in the sharpened steel. "And I will again."