After the disastrous day they’d had so far, Rory told the rest of them to take what was left of it off. So far, they had taken care of their most important duties. The dead had been given a respectful parting and any debris that made movement difficult had been moved. They’d also gotten some food in. Rory judged that was enough for now.

Nobody argued against it, though no one was truly resting. Not after the chilling news the Wraiths and Ghouls had given them, courtesy of the Wraith Lord.

Rory’s monstrous ally had retreated back to his abode after the Thunderclaw had been defeated. But as the evening had approached with its dusky tatters on the eastern sky, he had sent a few of his Wraith underlings to inform Rory of important news. Important, and tumultuous, news.

“The war has begun,” the Wraith had announced.

Rory hadn’t expected hellos and how-do-you-dos, but that was still a staggering way to greet someone. “What do you mean?”

He could feel the others who had gathered behind him feeling consternated. It wasn’t that they hadn’t expected something like this to happen, but it was still difficult to hear. None of them yet knew how this war between Homeworlders and Otherworlders was going to affect them.

“The Homeworlders have appeared in the eastern end of Hillhard. Near Holt Street.” Thanks to Rory’s Sigil of Learning, the Wraith had seemingly improved its knowledge about many things, the most important of which was the layout of the town. “Otherworlders have already been present for over a day now. An engagement between the two groups is imminent.”

“Do you know details?” Viv asked. Dez had pleaded with them to see if they could glean any information about their military movements. They didn’t really need it, but no one knew when a bit of information could prove useful. “How many Homeworlders and Otherworlders are there? Where exactly are they arrayed? When might they launch an attack?”

“I am unsure. My master may have some inklings, but he has neglected to inform us. His main message is one of caution. Remain vigilant and careful. There is no guarantee what either group will be capable of when the situation deteriorates.”

Rory took a deep breath. “Thank you. And tell your master that we appreciate the news as well. We’ve been wondering if the battles were going to begin today or not. We’ll take the necessary precautions.”

“Do you wish for us to continue with our previous accommodations, or would you like to change our deal?”

Rory needed a moment to remember what exactly had been the terms of the deal with the Wraith Lord. “No. Keep looking for people elsewhere, see if there are more survivors. Though, we might need some help with other things,” he added, recalling Arelland’s reminder of the requirements to establish his system-approved business. “We need to set up a supply line.”

“That may require a discussion with my master.”

“Of course. That’s why you’re going to carry a message back to him from us.”

Rory relayed what exactly he wanted and what he was willing to give in return. This was a deal, in the end. The Wraith showed no reaction to his words, but he was intrigued to see what the Wraith Lord thought of the new arrangement. It was just that Rory couldn’t wait to have his business fully set up. If the Thunderclaw’s attack had taught him one thing, it was that he couldn’t keep these things waiting any longer than he had to.

“I will carry the message and continue performing my other duties, as needed,” the Wraith said. “Be well.”

Once the friendly monster had departed, they had returned to the palace with a gloomy cast they couldn’t keep off. Those who hadn’t accompanied them understood pretty easily that things had a taken for the unpleasant.

Nevertheless, Rory spoke up quickly to assure them that it was no worse than they had suspected. There was nothing surprising about the war. They’d just have to deal with what cards they were thrown as things came up.

Their sleep that night wasn’t very restful. More of them kept watch than was strictly necessary. Viv hadn’t been able to convince them otherwise, nor had she argued against them for long. After the Thunderclaw’s attack, most of them wanted to make sure they were better prepared for anything else coming their way.

Even Rory himself had woken up a couple of times. The first time, he’d been able to convince himself to fall asleep again, but the second time was harder.

He couldn’t sleep when the evidence of a furious battle was thundering through the night.

Lights were flashing in the night sky. Somewhere in the east, the Homeworlders and the Otherworlders had finally met, the energy from their Sigils throwing up virulent shades against the dark navy canvas of the deep night. Thankfully, there was no sound apart from faint booms and explosions. At least the fight itself was far enough away.

Once the lights and the distant noise died, Rory had forced himself to sleep again. He paid no attention to those who had risen, or whether they went back to sleep or not. So long as they were able to function properly tomorrow, it was fine.

Though, he did convince Viv to lie down beside him.

The next morning was no different from the rest of their mornings since the apocalypse had begun. The only brittleness was in their own feelings of trepidation and anxiety.

No one knew how the battle had gone. Rory wasn’t even sure what he’d feel to learn about the outcome. Did he want either side to win? There was something morally reprehensible to approve of the defeat of his fellow humans, even if it helped Arelland. But at the same time, he wasn’t sure driving the Otherworlders from Hillhard was a good thing for his potential business.

The best thing, he decided, was if both sides withdrew slightly in a stalemate. There was a low chance of it happening, considering that the Otherworlders were likely far more versed in Sigils and warfare than the Homeworlders. But Rory wasn’t supposed to lose hope.

To distract themselves from whatever might have happened beyond their circles of care or control, Rory tasked the others to get busy around the palace.

Thanks to the efforts of Evelyn and the other healers, the injured were making quick recoveries. Dez was able to walk and perform light exercises just hours after his injury. He was getting better at a rapid pace, though at the moment, he was being relegated to directing the uninjured in training practices.

Those who hadn’t suffered terribly in the battle against the Thunderclaw and the larger Thundershells had learned that they didn’t have much room for error. Both their Sigil work and their overall ability to fight monsters needed to climb higher.

Miles was throwing his Stormfire with ever greater intensity. He was also synergizing it with his Sigil of Earth, trying different crowd-control methods that would let him use his flames more effectively.

At the same time, Ned’s Sigil of the Hooktongue was improving rapidly as well. At Cerulean V, it was now able to transform him to the point he manifested scales on his arms and legs, and his tongue turned long, thin, and tipped with a hook. The hook and the tongue were still small, and he couldn’t yet lash it out as the Hooktongue had, but Rory figured it was only a matter of time.

Though there was another consideration that his Sigil was also giving him strange side-effects.

“You’re hungrier more often now?” Rory asked Ned after the younger guy had reported his fears.

Ned nodded. “Well, it’d be one thing if I was hungry for normal stuff. But it’s more that I’m craving meat more. And we don’t really have much of that, do we?”

“We need another grocery trip as soon as we can get one underway,” Evelyn said. She observed Ned critically. “But aside from that, I’m starting to see that the changes when you activate the Sigil are more integral now. They don’t go away when you’re done using them as easily, do they?”

“I don’t think some of them have gone away at all. There are scales all over my back and… other places. And that hunger too…”

Rory decided not to comment on the “other places.”

“Maybe it’s a matter of control,” Rory said. “Practice, then practice some more. We’ve got enough Mana now.”

That they did. There were already a couple of groups tasked solely with recovering all the Mana that had fallen nearby to store them in the tower. They could never have too much Mana.

“You think you can look at the crossbow soon?” Ned asked.

Rory nodded. “Now that Malcolm has found some quarrels, I’ll get to it today.”

Malcolm had actually found some old bolts the day before. Apart from not yet being sure how exactly he was supposed to fix the problem of the lack of quarrels, Rory just had been too busy with the Sigils and the Settlement attack.

Hopefully, checking up on the others would help the back of his mind come up with an idea to take care of it.

April and her family were hard at work clearing up the gardens. The Thunderclaw had destroyed a chunk of the rooftop one, while the Thundershells had done a number on the one in the courtyard. Dismaying as the situation, especially considering that much of the plants they’d started growing had been ruined, they had resumed working on fixing things up.

“At least that Sigil of yours wasn’t harmed,” April said, trying to find something positive in the dreary situation.

That was true. The Sigil of Virulent Growth had not only survived, likely because it was Warded deep into the ground, but had also grown stronger. That meant the next batch of plants they attempted to grow would be ready for harvest all the faster.

“Don’t neglect practicing your Sigils,” Rory cautioned.

“I’ve been giving out more quests too,” Leo said. “It’s at Argent III now.”

More quests meant more rewards, and so far, he was leaving it up to each individual to get what quests and rewards they wanted. One of the first things Rory had reminded them was to maximize whatever they did with the quests they performed. Of course, with the limits per day, they could only get so many quests. But they just needed to make use of all that was available.

“How’s training going?” Rory asked Dez.

“They’re shaping up well, I think.”

They were, in Rory’s opinion too. Alia, one of their newer members, was getting surprisingly adept at using her Sigil of Summoning to magically bring in a small Dreadraptor. Though now that Rory looked closer, it seemed a lot larger than before. Might have been an effect of improving her Sigil’s Tier.

Allen had gained better use of his Sigils of the Gargoyle and his Sigil of Wood. With so many people now dead, he was actively trying to use his Sigils better.

Trish, proud of his initiative, was helping him along. Her improvement was scary. She could now armour herself head to toe with her Sigil of Steel without hindering almost any of her movement—thanks to her improved Sigil of the Warrior. Her Sigil of Concrete performed similar crowd-control manoeuvres like Miles’s Sigil of Earth. She was turning out to be as incredible a fighter as Dez.

There were various others in various stages with their Sigils. Vern was now trying to use his Wraith Shackles to better controlling effects, Jerome had accepted a Sigil of Lightning to actually fight in the forefront this time, and Evelyn was raising up a fiery storm with her Pyroclastic Hellfire.

Even one of the former Neophytes, still stuck in a monstrous, draconic body had started training with a Sigil of Fire. They had been surprised to see that the former monsters were capable of using Sigils. But Rory wasn’t one to turn down any help.

Rory was proud of them all. Yes, there were those like Malcolm and Diane who were still processing their traumatic experiences. But all in all, they were recovering.

They were on the path to making sure they didn’t suffer what they had yesterday, ever again.

Satisfied with the overall progress for now, Rory headed back towards Ned. It was time to check how to get him his long-awaited quarrels.