“I know about your arrangement with the mirror pool,” the overseer said casually. “I also know about the subsequent dealings you’ve had with them. While your first and possibly the second dealings could be excused, the third is a different matter.”

Dallion's mouth suddenly went dry. He looked around for something to drink, but there was nothing in the entire room.

“Although, maybe congratulations are in order. It's been a while since anyone has won the gauntlet. As I’m sure you know, Belaal doesn’t like to lose money, so he makes sure that most challengers fail in the end. You, though—” she pointed at Dallion “—managed to mend it.”

“I was lucky,” Dallion replied. “I had the right skills.”

“That’s what I have been hearing. You came to Nerosal with music skills. That’s exceedingly rare, especially for someone who came from the middle of nowhere. Not only that, but you have gained two familiars.”

How does she know about that? Dallion asked.

Most people weren’t able to see Nox, not to mention that Dallion was careful to have the crackling appear with others around in the last few weeks. The city guard must have kept a close eye on him ever since his arrival. For a medieval fantasy society, their surveillance was beyond scary. Even Earth couldn’t boast anything similar.

She’s the city’s overseer, Nil said. It’s her job to see things.

“You’re wondering how I know all this,” the woman asked, amused. “It’s not something you’ll be told until you pass your next awakening gate. Even so, I could tell you if you really want to know.”

Dallion swallowed.

“No,” he lied. “I just want to help out best I can then get back to—”

“Close to a hundred awakened have died while exploring artifacts in the last six months,” the overseer interrupted. “Three times more have become lost or were otherwise crippled by the Star. You, on the other hand, have managed to survive two incidents without as much as a scratch, not to mention that you’re one of the few who’s had an encounter with the Star and lived to tell about it.”

That part, Dallion wasn’t surprised that she knew. Considering the significance of the event, it was no wonder the guild had shared the information with the nobles and the city guard. Come to think of it, Dallion should have expected a talk like this much sooner. If something of this scale had happened back on Earth, there would have been at least half a dozen agencies questioning him. The medieval nature of this world had made Dallion completely disregard such a possibility. Hopefully, that was all he was disregarding.

“Tell me what happened in the realm of the ring,” the overseer said.

“The ring?”

“Mister Darude, the mirror pool aren’t the only ones with secrets. The powers in whose shadow they hide have far more reach, otherwise our roles would have been reversed. You were asked to explore a ring, and since you’re here to talk about it, you were successful. What I want to know is what happened inside.”

“Well… I fought an island snake,” Dallion said. “I mean a snake made of islands. Its name was Vermillion.”

“Details?”

“I used my familiar to fly up in the air and—”

“Details about Vermillion. Did he do or say something of interest?”

The question was spot on, as if the overseer knew what the answer was. It was clear that she didn’t, though. Dallion had been in the room for a few minutes and he already knew that the woman wasn’t one to waste time. She said precisely what she needed to make a point and expected straight and direct answers in return.

Just say it, Gen said. She’ll find out, anyway.

“Vermilion said that a copyette is on the loose,” Dallion said and waited.

He was expecting an immediate reaction—the woman starting a monologue, describing how this was the last puzzle piece of a conspiracy, or shouting orders for the captain to follow, or even bursting out in a series of swears. Instead, she did nothing.

“Anything else?” she asked after several seconds of silence.

“Err… that we were too late?” Dallion replied, uncertain. He had just said the vital piece of information. If she wasn’t interested in that, what was she looking for? “You knew about the copyette?”

“If the guard had known about that, the appropriate actions would have been taken earlier.” There was a sense of amusement coming from the woman, along with a touch of pride that quickly faded away. “However, that doesn’t explain the effect the artifacts are having on awakened. You’re in a relationship with the gorgon. You should know what I’m talking about.”

Dallion nodded. He knew a few things, even if Eury flatly refused to give any details. For the most part, so did Nil.

“What makes it particularly disturbing is that a member of the Order has been killed.”

The news rattled Dallion, just as much as he thought the news of the copyette would have rattled the overseer.

“The same one who was with you during your meeting,” the overseer went on. “You see, the mirror pool have their secrets, but when pressed they share a bit. There were six people during the exploration that day: you, a fury mercenary, three members of the pool, and a member of the Order of the Seven Moons. The fury is in the wind, the pool has been reluctant to give up their members, and the member of the Order is dead. That leaves you.”

If Dallion had any doubt that there was something big going, that doubt was now gone. The overseer had practically spelled it out for him: if someone was to mess with an organization as major as the Order of the Seven Moons, there had to be an extremely important reason. This was more than missing off a city, or even an entire province. The Order’s power matched that of the Imperial Family. Now and again, there were whispers that it could be even greater. After all, the Emperor only ruled everything in his realm, while the Order went beyond, spreading into other countries.

“There was one more thing,” Dallion said. “The ring transformed into a key once its destiny was fulfilled. The woman from the Order took it, I think.”

“That’s interesting.”

“It hasn’t been found, has it?”

“It wouldn’t be. The Order won’t share what is theirs, and if the mirror pool went into all the trouble to get it, neither would it.”

Of course they took it, Nil said. That’s what they do.

“There was someone else there as well,” Dallion added. “I don’t think he was from the pool or the Order.” He paused, gauging the woman’s interest. “He had one of those disfocus things. I can’t remember what he looked or sounded like. For all I know it might have not been a man.”

“Go on.”

“That’s pretty much it. I just found it weird that of all the people he would keep his identity hidden, especially when the cleric didn’t.”

“Did he seem to be the one giving the orders?’

“No, I don’t think so.” Dallion tried to remember back. “He didn’t give or take orders… he was just there.”

“How many people know about this? Other than your guardians and echoes?”

“A few… It’s not something I wanted known. Especially with—”

“Gloria and Veil involved,” the woman finished the sentence for him. “Better keep it that way. In fact, I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell anyone of the nature of our conversation here either.”

“But my guardians…” If Dallion knew it was going to be one of those talks, he would have put his blocking ring on.

“I’m not worried about them. I’m concerned about you. You have that annoying tendency to keep secrets while blabbering about everyone else’s. Naivety and recklessness is a really terrible combination. Let’s hope that leveling up will help you fix that.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And just to make clear the seriousness of the situation, I know more about you than most in the city. Your skills, your gear, your arrangements, your past.”

Dallion’s eyes widened.

“I know about your grandfather, Mister Darude. And I know what he did to end up back in that small, insignificant village. Unless you’re prepared to have everyone else know as well, I expect you to cooperate with me, and the first step is to keep your mouth shut.”

She knew about his grandfather? An influx of mixed feelings went through Dallion. On the one hand, he was glad that there was someone who could shed some light on the old man’s past. That could answer a lot of questions Dallion had, especially everything he wanted to know about level limiting and chainlings. On the other hand, if people found out Dallion was the grandson of an outcast, and possibly criminal, things could get pretty ugly for him.

“I’m glad you understand. If you won’t mind leaving now. There’s a lot I must think about.”

“Sure.” Dallion stood up. “You’ll probably expect me to start spying on people now and bringing you information.”

“Not in the least. You’re too much of a risk. As I said—naïve and reckless. If there’s something I need to know, I’ll get you here, and rest assured it will be very public, just like this time.”

Since he had arrived in this world, Dallion had experienced his fair share of threats, both direct and subtle. The overseer was much better at this than most. He wasn’t even sure what exactly her threat was, but knew he didn’t want to find out.

Quietly, he made his way to the door and left the room. The captain was waiting for him on the staircase. No words were exchanged. The guard gave him a dubious look, then moved aside so Dallion could leave the building. That marked the end of Dallion’s first meeting with Nerosal’s overseer—by far not the most pleasant experience, though one that had told him a few things. One—the woman had all but confirmed that the copyette was indeed in the city. The city guard was doing something about it behind the scenes, but were yet to be successful.

Another thing the woman had let slip was that she was carefully following all Star activity within the city. She had known about all instances involving the Star and star spawn creatures, yet nothing about the chainling Dallion had hunted before coming here.

The last thing that Dallion had learned was more of an implied supposition based on the direction of the questions asked; the overseer suspected a connection between the Star and the copyette.

If I were a chaos creating deity, what would I do? Dallion wondered.

Other than plunge the world in wars a few times? Nil asked. The Crippled Star is believed to be the reason that the imprisoned races tried to achieve full dominance over everyone else. Naturally, they were doomed to fail.

The Star wanted to take over the world and replace the Moons.

Dear boy, intuition cannot replace wisdom. The Star never wanted to have a race take over the world. The whole point was for the race to fail while creating decades of bloodshed and chaos in the meantime.

What’s the point of that?

Sometimes when you can’t have the thing someone else has, the best you can do is break it.

Can the Star be trying again?

I think you lost me there.

The copyette in question had to be pretty capable in order to be kept locked up.

There’s no evidence for that. A Vermilion is hardly a strong guard. Nowadays, sure, but centuries ago—

A copyette with a key that could free others like it and create an army. Dallion felt on a roll. The talk with the overseer, combined with his own personal experience, helped him put a lot of the pieces together. What if the deaths were only a preparation?

A preparation for a war? The echo asked, unconvinced.

A preparation for more copyettes returning to the world. What better way to have someone blend in, if the person they impersonate is affected in some fashion before that? If success is not the end goal, what better way to create a situation in which one copyette can free others and have them take the place of awakened affected by explorations?

Are you saying everyone who was lost is, in fact, a copyette?

Not yet, but when the copyette figures out how to use the key he stole, they will be, and no one will be able to tell the difference without a kaleidervisto.