Len gazed at the oily semi-thing that was known as Pitch. She never knew exactly how to deal with it. On the one hand, it seemed to be a fantastically powerful being that was more than happy to offer her aid so long as it was amused by the results. On the other, the primary ‘gift’ it had given her came with tremendous pain and days of debilitating headaches. It wasn’t a hostile presence, but it was no friend. And worse yet, it seemed to be taking a more active interest in her activities.

“What do you want, Pitch?”

“Oh, just to chat. You’re certainly setting yourself up for something interesting here. But do you really think it’ll be smooth sailing? Already forces rise in revolt to your moves. Won’t be long before something has to give.”

“Care to be specific about your doomsaying, or are you just here to speak in riddles?”

“Oh, I’ve no riddles for you, Namethief. I simply see the same things you see and interpret them. You know the truth as well as I do: nothing can hold this band together. You will fail and you will suffer for it.”

“Really? That’s what you’re going with? Some lame-ass doubt demon on my shoulder? I’ve had worse from my sisters. What are you really here to say?”

Even though the creature had no face, she could swear that she saw it pouting. Any time she dealt with this thing it was as much a matter of intuition as anything else. When it spoke, the sounds seemed to come from inside her head. Everything about it seemed formless and strange. And yet… she was dead certain that it was pouting.

“I take time out of my busy day to chat with you and this is the reception I get? Downright cruel, if you ask me?”

“I didn’t. Seriously, are you gonna stop wasting my time or do I just have to start ignoring you?”

“Fine, spoilsport. I’m here to inform you that there are bigger things afoot here. One of my… I suppose the right word is ‘rivals’ has taken an interest in our activities and will be looking to have you eliminated. Nothing to worry about too much in the near-term, but I thought you might want to pencil it onto your to do list.”

“What the hell do I have to do with YOUR rival?”

“You have a piece of my power sleeping inside you. Any time you use it it’s like a beacon to all comers. They kill you and they can make it theirs.”

“And, naturally, you didn’t feel the need to mention this when you gave it to me?”

“Oh, I assure you that I explained the conditions perfectly well before you accepted. Including the part about not being able to remember the specifics of the deal. It’s not like you had many options open to you at the time.”

She glared at the thing. It wasn’t wrong, she and her Trio would’ve been slaughtered without the power Pitch had given her, but she hated not remembering what the specifics of that deal had been.

“Are you ever going to give me a straightforward answer to a question? I mean for crying out loud, nothing you’ve said here does me a damned bit of good. So a random threat is going to come at me at some point? Is there anything I can do to prepare for it? Will it look like a smurf riding a ninja turtle? What even is the point?”

“The point is to see how you act, my dear. And I must say, this has been quite entertaining. Rest assured that when a minion of one of my rivals shows up, you’ll know them on sight. One of the perks of having my power is being able to see others like yourself.”

“Well that’s great I suppose. Oh hey, while I’ve got you here, I do have one other question.”

“By all means, ask.”

“Pretty much every other person in the Demon Army seems downright ensorcelled by Astrid’s slightest word. Meanwhile it just sounds like generic schlock to me. That have something to do with you?”

“I’m afraid that I can’t take credit for that trick. You’re quite right that most of her flock are bound by her words. Not all, though, and I dare say her advice to keep that trick of yours hidden is a wise one. The bulk of her thralls are predictable when it comes to reacting to her. The fact that you aren’t could be quite useful in the right hands. See that those hands remain your own. All right, I have places to go, people to traumatize. You understand. Toodles.”

And with that, Pitch fell back into the shadows and was gone. Len sighed. Dealing with that creature was exhausting and, given that the day itself had been exhausting on its own merits, she was quite ready to curl up in bed and get some sleep.

* * * * *

She woke to the bite of morning air creeping into her tent. The stove had gone out and she could see her breath. Always a great way to start things off. Grumbling, she climbed out of bed, threw on her boots, and headed to the mess hall for some of that drink she’d had the day before. Cookie greeted her with a cheery smile. At least he seemed mostly content with her presence.

“I have no idea what it’s called,” she said groggily, “but it’s that hot drink that’s like coffee.”

The blank look on his face indicated that he had no idea what coffee was but, after a moment, realization dawned.

“Oh! You mean chack. Let me get you a cup.”

She sat alone in the hall staring blankly at the nothingness in front of her, contemplating all the things that she could be doing instead of being here in the ass crack of the wilderness waiting desperately for a sip of something not nearly as good as a proper cup of joe. She tended to be a bit maudlin before caffeine hit her system and she still wasn’t sure if this ‘chack’ actually HAD caffeine.

Cookie brought out an extra large mug of the stuff, which she accepted gratefully, then he retreated back to his cooking alcove. She stared dreamily into her mug, breathing in the warm vapors. Still not as good as the real thing, but it was something.

Ten minutes later, she emerged from the tent revitalized and ready to take on whatever the day had to throw at her. It seemed that Larry had already got his team up and running. They were currently marching through the Hovel clearing out the snow that had fallen during the night. Moe had gathered up Weaver and returned to the mine. Their tiny stockpile of coal wasn’t much to behold but, given that they’d been completely empty the day before, even a little progress was something to celebrate.

With nothing more pressing to do, Len decided to check in on Marble again. She found the girl tending the same plot as before. With all the excess snow cleared away, she seemed to be having a slightly easier time of things, but the primary problem remained: as soon as she finished applying her magics to the plants, the bitter weather began to kill them. This would all be solved if Len could get her hands on some proper glassware, but that was still days away at the absolute earliest.

“Heya Marble,” Len said, a bit hesitant after her last failed introduction.

“Oh, er… hey boss,” the girl said, a bit sheepishly.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I know you’re doing everything you can here, I just want to see if how we can help make your job easier.”

“Honestly? I really don’t know what can be done,” said Marble. “Heck, yesterday I’d have doubted anyone could even get the snow cleared out of here. It was nice not having to dig the plot out myself for once.”

“They didn’t even help you with that? Good lord, woman, I’d have let them starve if I were you.”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that,” she said. “Sure, they don’t help out much, but that doesn’t mean that they deserve to starve. I do what I can, and if they don’t want to do more, that’s their problem.”

“Valkar really let them get away with that?”

Marble’s face darkened for just an instant at the mention of the older Orc’s name.

“He… he said it wasn’t his job to get more out of them. He just had to keep them from killing each other. Anything more wasn’t worth his time.”

“So goddamn ridiculous,” Len muttered. “Whatever. He’s not in charge anymore, I am, and that kind of behavior isn’t going to cut it. We’re gonna whip this place into shape if it’s the last thing we do.”

“I’ve heard that plenty of times by now, you know?”

“Yeah, well you haven’t heard it from me.”