In the morning, Gunter was nowhere to be found. Even though we had taken shifts throughout the night, there was still room for someone to take the opportunity of the changing of the guards and escape out into the forest. No one would have expected him to run away— why would you try and make sure someone didn’t leave their tent in the middle of the night? We would have known if it was a spike feeder, as the tracks of one of those are much easier to recognize. No, it was clear, he had fled to go investigate the ruins further.

“Why aren’t we going back to look for Gunter?” Brunhilda implored. She was the one that first noticed Gunter’s absence, running to inform us.

“I understand your concern, but we’re here to help with the mission. Gunter has left the camp, meaning that he’s abandoned the mission,” Javier said, hand resting on Brunhilda’s shoulder. Her hair shook away from his appendage, unwilling to touch the man that denied her request.

“You’re heartless, you know that?” she said, turning away from him and moving back to the rest of the researchers where she relayed the news. They looked back at us with scowls on their faces, minds already made up. There was no recovering from this. Gunter was gone and we were hated. It was a great start to the day.

With Gunter potentially agitating the ruins even further, it was clear we had to leave lest the spike feeders flooded out and overtook our camp. We packed up our things, some faster than others, and took onto the road once more, heading back to Titan City.

The ride back felt like a shadow hung over our group. I had thought our fight in the Vessen Swamp was bad, but losing someone due to our inability to notice their departure— not even the presence of a spike feeder attack but just our ignorance— that was a heavy blow to my morale. The same couldn’t be said for Javier. He was fuming, rage simmering under the surface. He gripped the reins of the horse so tightly that they left marks against his skin, hands pale in his focused grip.

I retreated back into the wagon, unable to face Javier’s anger any longer, ready to join the silence. I just didn’t want to think about it any longer. While we had barely known Gunter, that didn’t make his loss less painful. It was easier to just sit and stare, letting my mind empty and nothingness overtake me. Anything to prevent my conscious thoughts from surfacing once more.

I didn’t know how long it took to return, but I jolted out of my reverie by the noise of chanting. I peeked out of the wagon, seeing that we had arrived in Titan City. But that it wasn’t the regular city noises I had been accustomed to. It was a cohort of protesters, lined down the street.

“City guard isn’t doing their job.”

“Why do we still have Culling Nights?”

“There were too many corpses outside the city.”

The chants continued along those veins. I locked eyes with Mia, unvoiced words passing between us. I knew she felt the same I did. Concern about their ask and worry for Alain who had been tasked to do more regarding the protesters. I just couldn’t believe it was so sudden from our departure. We hadn’t been gone for even a full day at this point and yet the protesters had found another cause to rally behind.

Our trek back to the barracks was brief. Mia, Vera and I retreated to our room to put our things away and wait until Javier’s return. He had been tasked to meet back with Amalaris and report on the aftermath of our mission. I did not want to be present in that room. I didn’t think I would like to hear the conversation that passed between them.

“So, what do we do now?” I asked, slumped over my bed.

“Just relax, Perry. I’m sure that Javier will return when he needs us for something. Take the moment to just close your eyes, rest on your bed and let time pass you by,” Mia said, picking up a book from her nightstand.

“But I did that the whole way back,” I protested.

“Were you really resting then?” Vera said, facing me upon her bed. She wore a look of concern on her face.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t know if one could call that rest. Fine. I’ll try and rest now, although I don’t see how that will be possible.” I leaned back against my pillow, closed my eyes and hoped that my thoughts wouldn’t visit me once again.

The light in the room shifted when I woke, the sun casting a shadow over me, Vera gently rousing me from my slumber. “We’ve got work to do,” she said.

“How long was I out?”I asked, rubbing my eyes, pulling at the grains of sleep stuck in the corners.

She looked at her fingers, silently mouthing to herself before replying with a wide smile on her face, “Two hours.”

That was longer than I had expected, but also shorter than I would have hoped for to be woken up again. “Why did you wake me up?”

“As I said, we’ve got work to do. You need to get better at waking up, Perry.”

As we went downstairs, she informed me of the aftermath of Javier’s discussion with Amalaris. Begrudging understanding coupled with cold scolding for Gunter’s disappearance. It was to be expected, but that didn’t make it feel any better to hear it. But no meeting with Amalaris comes empty handed.

“So you know the protesting is obviously a concern. They were afraid of things escalating and well, you heard the results for yourself. So they did the only reasonable thing they could. Arranged a talk to assuage the people’s fears.” I stared at her, a look of deep concern on my face.

After a brief pause, she sighed. “Fine, you’re right, Mia said that first and I copied her. That doesn’t matter. We’re to be on guard for the event.”

I shook my body, getting limbered up from my previous sleeping state. If we were on guard, I could be nothing less than my best. “Are the others already there?”

“No, they’re downstairs picking up some food in the mess hall. We can join them for a quick bite and then we’re going to depart.”

I took her words to heart, having a snack before we left for the marketplace. That was where representatives of the nobles and the city guard would be presenting on the matter of the city guard and Titan City’s efforts towards making life fairer for those with prey beast souls.

We were positioned around an empty space, citizens already gathering to observe the speech. At the center was a podium, equidistant from the four of us at each corner. We couldn’t have Alain join us, of course. He had to remain undercover. Anyone that noticed his presence would have been able to connect him with the guards. If one managed to remember back to the talk we attended, we could be construed as friends or interested parties carried along by him, but at least he would be able to separate himself from us.

Amalaris took the podium, motioning for the noble next to her to step back behind her off to the side. I wasn’t too close to Mia, but she seemed anxious at the sight of the noble, unable to stare too deeply at him. I wanted to believe that it was her fixation on the mission, but her studious eyes never lingered in the noble’s direction. She looked anywhere but at the man, who the more I stared at, the more it seemed like he was stealing glances at Mia. It was strange, but there wasn’t time to linger on those thoughts. It seemed like the speech was about to begin.

“Thank you all for joining us today. For those of you who don’t know who I am, my name is Amalaris, and I’m the head of the city guard. We understand your right to protest and will protect it under the full force of the city guard. However, we’re aiming to attack the root causes so that you won’t need to protest any more.”

“The root cause is all predator souls are corrupt,” shouted a man from the audience. Amalaris glared at him, no words passing from her lips until those around him dragged him away from the speech.

“Thank you. While I understand you have your concerns, please hold them until the end of our speech. It wouldn’t be right to interrupt without letting us have our say first. We’ve already heard your demands and concerns. Please give us a chance to address them before you jump to another round of inquest.” She wore a calm demeanor, face placid like an undisturbed body of water. The crowd remained quiet, having learned from their prior outburst that things were best unsaid until they were meant to be heard.

“Let us address your most recent concern, about the Culling Night. We understand your concerns. It would be wrong for us to deny that there is a problem. We have a team of researchers trying to help us troubleshoot a solution that ensures that we protect the city in a safe manner while also ensuring that if we are met with further Culling Nights, that they are much smaller in scope. It won’t be a quick solution though. Solving a problem based on a horde of spike feeders swarming the city requires a bevy of investigation and understanding. You aren’t wrong to be concerned, but we wish that you can extend us some goodwill and patience as we work towards resolving the issue in a timely manner.”

She paused, turning back to the noble behind her, staring at him for a heartbeat. Unsaid words passed between the two as she turned back to the crowd, resolve written all over her face. “We cannot, however, forget your outrage for how those with prey beast souls are treated in Titan City. It’s a problem that we can’t call endemic to our home, but we can treat it here. You’re not wrong to protest for fairer treatment, but this is yet another item that requires time to fix.”

Not a sound echoed from the audience but for the scratching of quill against paper, a soft background noise that could not detract from the tension in the air. “There has always been a belief in Titan City, that the strong protect the weak. At least, that’s been the internal motto of the city guard. ‘We protect those who cannot protect themselves.’ It’s a noble thought, to want to aid others, but intentions do not remove accountability. It’s a paternalistic view to bundle all people with prey beast spirits as being weak. No one starts strong, as much as we were willing to trick ourselves into believing. While we must continue to protect those without the power to protect themselves, that is not a line we can easily draw. The division of those with power and those without is largely a function of time.”

Her voice slowly rose with each word, fervor infusing her speech. “We are the strong, but we are stronger together. Everyone of the guards that defends this city has trained for days on end to ensure that when a spike feeder attacks, they’re ready to lay their lives on the line. While a common belief may be that those with prey beast souls are not equipped to defend themselves, we don’t believe that to be true, in spite of the words we were raised upon. The city guard already is investigating training up those with prey beast souls and integrating them into our forces. We’ve already seen great results with our test team, but that doesn’t negate your concerns, nor does it end the discrimination that has been perpetuated in Titan City.”

She swallowed, pausing to regain her breath and continue with addressing what needed to be said. “We would love to expand our program, but this issue is so large that we cannot resolve it with just our pilot program. We can’t just take every untrained prey beast soul until our fold. An untrained guard is a liability, no matter whether they have a predator beast soul or a prey beast soul. An untrained guard is a liability to themselves and everyone they’re working with, and even then, the guards do not constitute the whole of our society. What we are doing is but a salve over the wound that has been festering for all this time. We hope that we can continue to progress forward and take more of you into our arms, but we request that you have patience. We have heard your outcries, and they are not insignificant. Please recognize that our solutions will take time to come to fruition. I personally thank you for taking the time out of your day to listen to our attempt to assuage your fears. If you have any questions, please ask now, otherwise you can come to the barracks for further clarity regarding our plans or to schedule a talk with the task force we’ve put together to investigate further means of resolving this blight upon the city’s honor.”

A roar erupted the crowd, equal parts rage, grief and joy. It was an acknowledgment of everything that had been said, the collective will of the oppressed being heard. No one made a move to speak now, although I was sure once the emotions died down we would have an endless round of questions at the barracks. For now, I was just happy to know that we had managed to get through without any additional violence or rioting. Small measures, just like those we would take to fix the wrongs in our city. Like the team I was part of.

We closed ranks upon Amalaris and the nobles, escorting them back to the barracks. The noble that had stood behind Amalaris continued to steal furtive glances at Mia, but there was no time to act upon them. Upon arrival they met in her office, closing the door on us. Javier demanded we go to the classroom to discuss further, as was coming to feel like our usual trend when something happened. I understood it, but that didn’t mean I didn’t recognize the pattern.

What was unexpected was Brunhilda’s presence in the classroom. She bore a scowl, her body tense as though she wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but here. She would have been a flight risk if not for every fiber of her being focused on staying in our presence. Such was her revulsion for us and her dedication to her job.

“Amalaris suggested we might see you here,” Javier stated. “Do you have preliminary results for your research?”

“Just that what we’re dealing with is going to take a long time to research, so much so that going back to the ruins for more content is a ways off in the future. It’s like we’re learning a new language without anything to compare it against, although what we’re seeing does imply a framework that could explain just as many questions as it raises. Just those containers alone and the spike feeder we started dissecting had different components. We don’t have much to go off of, admittedly, but we think there’s room to believe that spike feeders evolve, perhaps even more so when under environmental stress, like combat against others.” As much as Brunhilda hated being in our presence, her joy in sharing her work shone above, her body relaxing as long as her words had lingered.

Javier gave a curt nod. “Thank you for your report, Brunhilda. I presume you’re still working on a writeup with further details. We’ll relay your initial results until your more detailed words are ready. If that’s alright with you,” he rushed to add, eyes flickering between Brunhilda and us.

She sighed and nodded, heading out of the classroom, tension fleeing her body as she was away from us. The ones that had betrayed her and Gunter.

“Well, I hope you’ve all learned something today,” Javier said. “People can act against their best interests, and those that you try to protect can hate you for it. But we have to persevere. We have to endure. We have to continue no matter the cost. That’s our duty as part of the city guard. Now let’s go chat with Amalaris once more. She should be done by now, for the moment anyway. If not, I’m sure she’ll appreciate our brief interruption.”

He didn’t sound to confident about that last part, but we followed him to her office, let in on the third knock on her door.

“What would you say if I told you that we believed the movement was an attack on the city to weaken its defenses?”

“I would agree with you given it sounds like you’re making that prediction based on pre-existing information and wouldn’t just suggest it out of nowhere,” Javier replied.

Amalaris reached out and rapped him on the head lightly, scowling at his snark. “Shut it, Javier. Titan City can’t afford to be weakened. Not with the increase in spike feeder activity over the last few years. If the city gets into such dire straits, well, whoever is in charge of this campaign either is stupid and doesn’t realize that, or the more likely explanation, is that they’re from another city and are trying to destabilize our city in what could be construed as an act of war.”

It sounded to me like that her words were spoken to convince herself just as much as they were meant to inform us. “So let me get this straight. You want us to check out our nearest neighbor?”

“Oh, it’s nice when I’m working with competent people. That’s right, Javier. You and your team are going to pay a visit to Malagost.”