Rory found that he was able to relax a bit on the journey back. For one, he didn’t have to drive, and was honestly still itchy every time he thought about going behind a steering wheel again. Crashing Samuel’s truck had taken something out of him, and he wasn’t sure he was getting it back anytime soon. Thankfully, the others were happy to take over.

For another, they didn’t have to worry about monsters attacking them. The Wraiths distantly guarded their vehicles and Rory had a feeling that more than anything kept other monsters away. He was going to have to see how he could secure Wraith convoys from here on out.

Of course, it couldn’t be too smooth.

At some point, the Sigil of Calling blinked on the dashboard of the truck, and Ned tapped it to turn on the connection.

“Can you guys hear me?” It was Viv, shouting into her side as though she could berate the Sigils into properly connecting. “Hello? It’s me, Viv.”

The others in the car looked at Rory. He swallowed.

“Uh, hi, I can hear you,” he said. “How’s it going?”

He knew his mistake the moment he let the words slip from his mouth.

“How’s it going?” Viv said, voice now quiet and cold, suppressing her fury.

Oh, Rory knew these moments well. She would either explode in rage or let it fade away, all depending on how well Rory appeased her. He wasn’t sure whether her being partially cut-off made it better or worse.

“We’ve been worried sick and… how it’s going,” she continued. “You realize it’s… who knows what could… we’ve… fighting without you… lucky I was there. Just… be fine, especially, Evy…”

Rory’s heart started hammering for a different reason than his wife’s wrath. “Wait, hold on. Have you been fighting?”

“…what was that?”

“I asked,” he said, making sure to take his time and enunciate each word carefully. They were probably at the far edge of the Sigils’ range. “Have you been fighting?”

“We… few monsters… hurt. You?”

Rory needed a second longer than normal to suppress his bout of anxiety. “We’re fine. We’ve rescued a few people and they’re going to stay in the palace with us.”

“…you’ve rescued a palace?”

Bo chortled on the other side of the jeep.

Rory groaned. “No. You know what, we’re fine. Fine. We’re alright. Sorry, we’ll talk more when we get there. Bye.” Then Rory remembered what Dez always did. “Over.”

There was no reply after that so they all assumed Viv and the others must have turned it off. Ned sighed in relief as the Sigil went dark.

“That your wife?” Bo asked with a knowing look.

“Yes,” Rory said. He scratched the back of his head. “We’re going to have a lot of explaining to do when we show up.”

“I’ll stay out of your way,” Bo promised with a grin.

Rory gave him a flat stare, though he had to admit it was nice to see him loosening up a little.

As they drove, Rory was hammered with several achievements.

New Achievement!

Monstrous Negotiator! You have successfully formed a partnership with a malicious Otherworlder, at great risk of jeopardizing your relationship with other Homeworlders.

Rewards

Lifedrain Perk: All damage dealt will provide minor, passive healing to the party

New Achievement!

Venturer! It is amazing to go out and roam the Wilderness, is it not?

Rewards

Your movement speed has been raised by 10%

New Achievement!

Invader! Nothing frightens you from doing what needs to be done, even if it requires charging into deadly territory.

Rewards

Sigil of Vitality

New Sigil!

You’ve obtained a Sigil of Vitality. Don’t want to make the effort to be healthy? Lucky for you, this one-stop-shop Sigil takes care of all your health issues.

[Cerulean I] allows 2 points of vitality per personal Tier. Vitality grants health and healing over time. Improves passively.

Stats

Type: System

Rarity: Remarkable

Tier: Cerulean I [0%]

Efficiency: Extreme [85%]

Rory had to stare at all those words for a while as he absorbed the new Sigil.

New Achievement!

Attribute Hoarder! A single attribute was never going to be enough. In fact, you went the other direction and filled it all up!

Rewards

Fourth Stat Sigil slot

A quick look at his [Status] showed that he had a Vitality stat, which he assumed functioned much like Miles’s Health stat. Plus, he also had a fourth slot to get a new stat. If only getting a sixth Sigil slot was as easy.

They reached the palace before long. Night had truly fallen, and with it came a wash of Mana crystals floating gently down like glittering snowflakes. Miles was already busy gathering up the Mana with the help of the office workers. Rory’s happiness at seeing more Mana was quickly dampened by the sight awaiting them.

Viv had been right. More monsters had attacked while they’d been gone, several Emberteeth and Detonetal corpses lying on and around their erected barricades, some of which were now broken. They had to veer around the dead and park awkwardly in the cramped space. The whole courtyard looked like another vicious battleground, the monsters’ blood and gory bits strew everywhere.

Rory could feel the others, especially the newcomers, grimacing at the devastation. Not the smoothest of entrances for them.

He was already charging up the stairs when Viv came out, climbing down to meet him halfway. Rory wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace.

“Thank goodness you’re alright,” he breathed.

She patted his back a few times. “Of course, I am. I wasn’t about to let anything happen to our nice little home here. Now will you please explain to me what in the world you all have been up to. It’s late.”

“Well, it looks like we’ve got a story to hear too.”

Viv pulled back and sighed, a smile slowly working onto her face. “Alright, let’s get you all warmed up. Then we can talk.”

Inside the palace, April and her family decided to freshen up first. Sue took them to their bathrooms, which wasn’t great, but better than nothing at all. Meanwhile, Rory helped the others pull out soft drinks, crackers, some candy, and a few light sandwiches. His stomach still grumbled once they’d finished their “meal”.

They really needed to figure out their food situation.

As they ate, they took turns filling in Viv on everything that had happened. Ned and Allen went first to explain their side, Trish grumbled about the Spyder, Dez recounted the journey to the Wraith Lord’s restaurant, and Rory narrated the rest. Viv’s eyes widened more and more, staring disbelievingly at Rory.

“You allied with a bunch of monsters?” she asked.

“It was the most prudent course of action at the time,” he said.

She didn’t argue any further, for which, Rory was thankful. He didn’t want to take for granted how much she trusted him.

“What about you?” Dez asked. “I see you’ve been a bit busy.”

Viv twisted her head so that her neck joints popped and cracked. “It wasn’t much of anything. Just a few monsters wandering in, thinking there might be easy prey.”

For all the mauled corpses Rory had seen, Viv must have washed up well to look so untouched. There wasn’t a single drop of blood anywhere on her.

“Some of your traps got sprung,” Sue said. “They work like a charm, though.”

“That’s good to know,” Rory said.

“This was nice,” Bo said. “It’s cool you’ve got a safe little place out in the open like this, thanks to your… Sigils.”

“That’s right.” April joined in to mollify her husband’s unease with a good-natured smile. “I think we’re all tired and should get to sleep soon.”

“I agree,” Viv said. “It’s been a long day. I’ll work you all into the watch schedule, but you guys can relax for tonight.”

They broke into their own groups for sleeping. Along with the new family and the others who’d gone to rescue them, Rory was also spared the need to go on the watch schedule. Viv decided they needed some extra rest after their rescue operation.

As they lied down to rest, Rory wondered where the others settled down. There was a lot of space for them all across the main hall, but he was curious to know who paired or grouped up and who decided to remain on their own. He was blessed to have Viv for warmth and comfort throughout the night, but he had seen nothing to suggest the same level of intimacy between any of the others.

“A successful day out for you, then,” Viv said after giving him a sleepy kiss and taking her spot beside him. “I’m proud of you.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the others’ help,” he said. “But thank you. I would say I’m proud of you for holding the bank, but it was to be expected.”

She elbowed him, then stifled a yawn. “I’m coming in the next excursion.”

“What if I’m not coming?”

“Good. Someone needs to mind the palace while I’m gone, right?”

Rory laughed, then draped his arm around Viv before the two fell asleep. Sometimes, he felt as though this all wasn’t too bad, so long as he had his wife with him.

Next morning, there was a lot of work to be done. While the others figured out various tasks to complete, the first thing Rory did was give the newcomers a crash course about Sigils.

Bo and two of the office workers called Harlow and Oliver seemed reluctant about the whole concept, but the rest of them, especially the kids, took it warmly. Rory was marginally unsure how responsible the minors would be about it, but he decided to leave that to their parents to figure out.

Thanks to Rory’s Rescuer perk, they’d at least gotten a lot of Sigils. The workers had received something called the Sigil of the Pack, which apparently improved their Stats when they were together. Leo and Leanne had both received Sigils of Intelligence, a stat Sigil that helped with mental acuity. The idea of it weirded Rory out a bit.

April and Bo had the Sigils of Might and Power, respectively. The former allowed weaker hits to power up a stronger blow, while the latter granted a period of increased strength in return for a period of great exhaustion. Those sounded a little more interesting than the others.

Nevertheless, Rory decided to get them some Sigils that they could use to actually fight.

“This is strange,” Diane, one of the office workers, said. She had been attempting to tame her flyaway blond hair with a palm full of electricity from a Sigil of Lightning. “But kind of fun.”

Oliver, who was standing on a raised, rocky pillar thanks to his Sigil of Earth, patted her head. “Just don’t zap yourself accidentally.”

“I’ll zap you off your flagpole, you ass.”

“Are you sure these are safe?” Bo asked when he had received a Sigil of Flarespike.

“Dad.” Leo held out his hand, warm fire licking around his fingers from a Sigil of Fire. “These things are awesome. You need to try it.”

“Yeah but…” Bo stared at Rory. “Didn’t you say you were making this a safe and habitable place?”

“I am,” Rory replied. “But that doesn’t mean I can guarantee safety all the time. Nor does it mean we can stay cooped up here, never having to use our Sigils again. Otherwise, we would never have gotten you guys out.”

Bo didn’t reply to that, silently conceding the point.

April was still staring in awe at the Sigil of Distant Detonation in Rory’s hand. “I’ll pick that one. I want to see if I can make my bullets explode.”

Rory handed it over. “That’s an interesting idea, though I’m going to suggest you be careful about where you test that out.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll find a secluded corner outside.”

“So, how exactly am I supposed to use this?” Bo closed his eyes. “Do I just—”

Black spikes burst out of Bo’s hand. He shouted in alarm and staggered back, arms held out as though it was going to explode, the kids screaming as they fell back. Everyone else in the vicinity stared at them in alarm. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the ends of the thin spikes burst into flame.

April had one hand on the holster at her waist. “Bo! Don’t move!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Bo said quickly, though his eyes were still wide and panicky. “It… doesn’t hurt or anything.” He tried to control himself so that his chest wasn’t heaving as heavily. “It’s—what is this?”

“It’s your Sigils’ powers,” Rory said, forcefully injecting some calm into his voice. “They’re working like a charm. Try willing it to disappear.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Just do what you did to summon them in the first place, except… the opposite.”

It was always fun seeing how kids could pick things up so intuitively, but here was Bo, too taken aback to even think straight. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, eventually being able to douse the fire at the end of the spikes and retract them into his hand.

“This is nuts,” Bo said, still holding out his hand carefully.

Leanne was grinning, her eyes shining. “We’re like a family of superheroes.”

Rory laughed. “You’re not wrong. You all just need to practice. You’re lucky you can do it safely in the area.” He pointed to the others who were rushing over, probably alarmed at the noise. “They had to learn it while they were running for their lives. No room for mistakes or for being frightened there.”

That sobered them all up.

“Everything all right here?” Dez asked.

“Yes, everything is fine.” Rory nodded at Ned. “Can you take them to a spot where they can practice using their new Sigils without setting anything off?”

Ned looked puzzled, but he nodded and pulled April’s family along.

“What d’you think of them?” Dez asked once they were out of earshot.

Rory wondered if he should tell him the truth about their interaction. He decided he didn’t want to lie, regardless of how bad April and Bo had looked initially, with regards to their Sigils. “They’re going to need some work. Their kids are taking to their Sigils better than the parents, and worth some training.”

“Hmm, the dad will be trouble.”

“We just need to let him get used to things. Just give them some time.”

Dez frowned but didn’t comment on it any further. “Speaking of training, I’m thinking of doing more focused one-on-one sessions with everyone. They’re not the only ones who need to power up their Sigils. But I hope you can join us for the next session.”

“Wait, me?”

Dez grinned a little. “Not to fight with us. I’m wondering if you can get more Sigils from the combinations we make when we’re throwing our Sigils at each other. Like, imagine combining steel and rubber, something that’s both totally flexible and hard enough to bash your skull in.”

“That sounds interesting… but also not sure if it’s possible. But then again, nothing makes sense already, so.”

“Exactly.”

Rory promised he’d drop in on their next training session. They parted, Rory continuing to convert the corpses into Sigils and the others patrolling the area.

There was always still more work to do.