The name couldn’t mean anything to the Homeworlders, for which Rory was grateful. He didn’t need the complication of them questioning what an elf was doing here. Ned had probably thought the same, which was why he only uttered the name and nothing else. Smart man.

Leaving the Homeworlders for the moment, Rory headed over to the garden in the courtyard.

The elf’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “It all worked. Unbelievably, amazingly—”

“Not here,” Rory said. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”

The courtyard wasn’t visible from the infirmary—nothing was, in truth—but Rory decided not to linger there anyway. He pulled Arelland to one corner of the palace where anyone trying to find them would have to really look.

“Why the secrecy?” the elf asked, frowning.

Rory took a deep breath and smiled to put him at ease. “We’ve got guests who might not like the sight of Otherworlders nearby.”

“Homeworlders? Are you entertaining the delegation you need to settle your business?”

Rory shook his head. He quickly explained the Homeworlders’ origin. “I was hoping that’s what I’d turn them to, but it hasn’t come up yet. You arrived too quickly.”

“Well, I profusely apologize. As you can imagine, there was a lot I had to take care of at the base.”

Rory could. It hadn’t been that long ago he’d had first-hand experience moving debris and corpses. He wondered if there were funerary rites that the Otherworlders adhered to.

“I hear you met the Invigilator.” Arelland’s eyes seemed to sparkle. “What was it like?”

Rory laughed a little at his eagerness. It was like the Otherworlder version of someone wanting to hear about meeting a celebrity.

He explained the meeting, not bothering to hide how scared he had been during the moment. Considering just how powerful the Invigilator seemingly was, that was to be expected. It seemed Arkone’s departure and subsequent freedom of Belcourt palace had come at around the same time as the stalemate in the battle had begun.

“Do you have any idea how long the Invigilator will stay away?” Rory asked.

Arelland looked distracted, as though he was imagining Rory’s meeting with Arkone in his head. He had to take a moment to focus back on Rory, then think about the question he had been posed. “I’m afraid I cannot tell. The inner workings of the Invigilators and the like are a mystery to me.”

Not for Truck though, from what Rory could tell. It made him all the more curious to learn just how the talking donkey had come by such information.

“However,” Arelland continued. “I would assume you have very little time. It may be best if you finish establishing your business as soon as possible.”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking. We need to get everything going immediately. For all we know, the Invigilator might pop in here at any moment, just like it happened at your base.”

“How do you know about the events at the base so clearly?”

“Uh…” Rory explained about the two Wraiths he had sent to observe the battle. “We had second-hand front-row seats.”

“I do not know what those mean, but I understand that you were spectating, in a fashion.”

“Just to make sure everything went according to plan.”

Arelland didn’t exactly look pleased about that, but he didn’t raise any issues. Instead, the elf focused on Rory’s business, for which he was grateful. “What are you going to do about the things you were supposed to offer? Did you manage to prepare anything? I recall you were seeking to improve upon the necessities we were… suffering in this world.”

Necessities was a strange way to put it. “I did manage to make a few Sigils, yes.”

The gears in Arelland’s suit whirred as he rubbed his metal-covered chin. “Interesting.”

“I know that’s not the best solution, considering it’ll fill up one of your available Sigil slots. Even if you Ward them, they’ll fill up one of the Item slots.”

“We can always Ward more than one Sigil into an Item. Depending on the Item itself, of course. But please, show me these Sigils of yours. If they can truly perform the feats you seek…”

He left the rest unsaid, but Rory understood it all the same. The success of the Sigils he had crafted could shake up the entirety of the Otherworlder societies.

“Well, here you go,” Rory said, feeling a little anxious. It wasn’t often he had his work evaluated like that.

He pulled out the Sigils of Atmospheric Control, Shaded Region, and Mana Efficiency from his backpack. Arelland’s eyes gleamed as he took the first Sigil and read the description.

The elf turned to stare at Rory. “This could actually work.”

“Why don’t you give it a try, then.”

“I am afraid I have no free slots in my [Status] and I am unwilling to replace any of current formation.”

“Hmm, that’s fair. And fine. Here, let me Ward it and then you can simply switch Items in case you’re full up on those too.”

Arelland handed the Sigil back. “I can do that.”

Rory wasn’t sure what exactly he was supposed to be Warding. He eventually decided to infuse the Sigil of Atmospheric Control into a mask he stole from the infirmary. That seemed appropriate. He had to nod reassuringly at the Homeworlders when he visited again.

“Try this,” Rory said, holding out the surgical mask with the Sigil of Atmospheric Control Warded into it.

“Over my mask?” Arelland scratched the face of his current metal mask. “Or replace it?”

“Replace it, if you can. It won’t be too painful or difficult, right?”

“Well, it will be a little complicated, but I can manage.”

Rory waited patiently for Arelland to prepare himself. The elf seemed to meditate for a while, perhaps filling up his lungs with the kind of air he needed before taking his mask off. When he finally did so, Rory had to stare.

The elf was strikingly pretty. He had thought the elf’s skin was pale from what little he could see around the mask, but a closer inspection revealed that it had a transparent hue. Rory could see the veins around his high cheekbones and pointed chink, though it got worst on his lips. He could see everything through the transparent covering there and… Rory tried not to stare.

Arelland didn’t look troubled though. Rory was partly afraid he’d start struggling as soon as he had taken his metal mask off, but that was thankfully not the case. The elf quickly pulled the surgical mask over his mouth and nose and stared expectantly at Rory.

“Can you access the Sigil?” he asked.

Arelland nodded. Fair. He couldn’t talk without using up his held breath.

“Can you… control the air you’re taking, then? I’m afraid I haven’t used it before, so I don’t know the specifics of how.”

Even as he said it, he felt a little bad. What sort of businessperson handed off a product without first testing its ins and outs? Then again, what sort of businessperson was constantly inundated with all manner of insane situations to deal with in an apocalypse?

Arelland only frowned momentarily, though. He closed his eyes and began breathing normally. Rory smiled.

It was working.

“You got it?” Rory asked.

“I… think so.” Arelland spoke hesitantly. “I’m certainly not having trouble breathing, after I adjusted some options the Sigil provided.”

“Which means it’s doing its job!”

The surgical mask stretched as Arelland grinned. “I would agree. The mask is working perfectly.”

Rory laughed a little in relief. “So, the Sigil is working just as intended. That means…”

He looked up hopefully, and Arelland nodded. That meant that Rory had indeed changed things tremendously, at least for the elves. They were going to have to be careful about they presented Rory’s findings, for it was inevitable that the mask-makers would object to such a Sigil being freely available.

But, main thing was that Rory had proven his worth. To the elves, at least.

“I cannot speak for the others,” Arelland said. “But I assume they will find similar success with your Sigils. It is simply a matter of time before you receive your letter of recognition.”

Rory smiled. “Thank you.”

They were beginning to discuss how Arelland was going to get the Sigils to the rest of the Otherworlder representatives, when a small commotion broke out to their left. Rory turned to see that Ned and Dez were trying to restrain one of the Homeworlders.

Arelland immediately tensed. Rory had neglected to inform that he was already entertaining guests, which was on him, but he had figured they’d remain behind in the infirmary.

Unfortunately, Michael had decided to bullishly charge outside. In fact, he seemed to be looking for Rory specifically, and he once again shook off Dez and Ned to head straight to where Rory and Arelland were conversing.

Neither of them moved. The Homeworlder had already seen them both. Rory’s heart pounded. He was pretty sure there was a lot of explaining on his horizon.

“I knew it,” Michael said. He glared, first at Rory, then at Arelland, then back at Rory again. “We all knew it. You were fraternizing with the Otherworlders. You were helping them all along. You traitor.”

Arelland stepped forward, anger blazing off him like heat from a bonfire. “I do not see myself charging into your camp, accusing you of fraternizing with the rebels.”

“I’ll deal with you in due time, Otherworlder.” Michael shifted his glare back to Rory. “For now, this man here needs to be dealt with. He’s proven that he is a lying, treacherous waste of space and air. You wanted a trading deal? A letter of recognition? After helping our enemies? Screw you, old man.”

“You weren’t ever really injured, were you?” Rory asked. His heart was finally starting to fall back to its regular pace, which he appreciated. “You came here just to spy on us.”

“I’ve got a Sigil that lets me do that perfectly. Trust me when I say that I know everything that’s been going on now. I know you’re doing all this, everything, just for your benefit.”

Rory sighed. There was a long, long conversation to be had about whether Rory was doing the right thing or not, what his real goals and motivations were, and whether any of it was truly harmful to the people he was interacting with.

But Michael wasn’t interested in discussion. That much was obvious. He had come here to gather proof for his outrage, and now that he had it, he was even more firmly rooted in his beliefs.

Nevertheless, Rory had to try.

“You don’t really know anything, Michael,” Rory said. “Everything I’m doing is for the continued survival of everyone who lives in this palace. Everything that I’m doing is to ensure that we don’t have to live like you and your friends do. You think that’s a crime? You think I’m some sort of criminal just because I don’t want to have to fight all the time to live?”

“And what, give up our lands and homes to these invaders?” Michael pointed a finger at Arelland. “Just let them come in and take everything over? You think that’s fair? You think that’s something any decent person would ever allow?”

“No, it’s not fair.” Rory was having a hard time keeping his voice to moderate levels. He was getting tired of the same argument all the time. “Nothing is fair. Nothing’s been fair since the apocalypse started all that time ago. But just because everything’s gone to the dogs doesn’t mean we have to make our lives even more miserable by going to war!”

Rory had failed to moderate his voice. By the time the last sentence had rolled around, he had been shouting in Michael’s face. His anger had taken him by surprise, but it roiled in him like a burning storm. He’d had enough of being judged for how he chose to live his life.

The others had come over, and Rory was sure he had seen Dez and Ned approach to try to haul Michael away, but they had all stopped when Rory had raised his voice. Even Arelland looked a little shocked. His mask was back in place, the promise of violent reprisal against the Homeworlder evident in his stance, but now he had come to a stop.

Michael took a step back. “You are an enemy of the Homeworlders.”

“The only thing I’m an enemy of are things trying to stop me from living my life the way I want it to. No harm, no foul. That’s it.”

“I—”

Michael was cut off by a loud shout from farther back. Rory’s heart skipped a beat. That was the warning shout the other had basically perfected into a recognizable noise of alarm.

“There’s a Wraith coming,” Trish said, pushing her way in. “And he’s got news about the Revenants.”

“The Revenants?” Viv asked.

The fear in her voice took root in Rory’s soul. He was expecting the worst too.

Their Wraith liaison slipped through the crowd as well, though they had spread out to give the monster some space. He came to a stop a few yards before Rory. “You must act quickly.”

“What’s going on?” Rory asked.

“The Revenants have come out to annihilate the Homeworlders.”