I watch the clear blue water of the river as the ferry travels through the canal. Oliviand, if I recall correctly, had extremely strict rules about dumping trash in the river, and if ever caught doing it would be punishable by imprisonment. This way

“Clearest water you’ve ever seen huh? Took a drink out of it earlier when I was out in the countryside and it tastes clear as well!”

I look at the man sitting next to me and shake my head, taking out a board and pen. Drinking river water near large groups of people is typically how Rover’s disease spreads, try to be a bit more careful. I scribble down very quickly and show it to him.

“Uhh, sorry I don’t know how to read very well, did you lose your voice or somethin?” The man squints at the piece of paper.

I sigh and crumple it up. I’m getting close, someday I won’t have to deal with this anymore, but until then…

I open my mouth and show him.

I walk out to the dock, counting out the coins from my wallet, about to make my payment as I leave the ferry station. I stand in line and my gazes wanders around till I see a bulletin board, full of advertisements for various jobs, inns, shops, general products…

“For Torika, please stand in the marked circle right outside the gate, raise your right arm and hand, and then raise your pinky with your thumb tucked into your fingers, a girl with brown hair will be able to find you that way.”

It was written in script, the language of Shesu, and that distinctive rough handwriting could only belong to one person.

“Welcome.” An unenthusiastic serviceman murmurs as he verifies my money. I walk out of the booth scanning the ground.

Do I trust it? I stop and wonder to myself as I find a black circle smeared with coal on the ground.

I bite my lip till a couple drops of blood come out. Then spit on the ground.

Well, unless Yeluh himself comes, this trap won’t work. I know so much more than I did all those years ago. A couple of greenhorns from that place won’t be able to do anything.

I slowly raise my right arm, lifting my pinky and tucking my thumb in as instructed, scanning the buildings for anyone potentially watching. Immediately I could spot a girl on the third floor of an inn widen her eyes in surprise, getting away from the window.

Brown hair huh… I drop my shoulders and relax.

Polly

Torika told me a couple of things back when we were still living together in The Eye. There was the Iquen and the government, two of the biggest entities in Oliviand. They were battling it out day by day, night by night. The most powerful crime organization versus the most powerful military. Or that’s what was presented to the public. In reality, the Iquen were too profitable to fight against. The higher ups from the government frequently worked together in secret, the Iquen were allowed free reign across the country on the terms that they take a share of the money. Plus they were able to conduct highly inhumane operations through the Iquen, and that’s the space where the red division exists.

Well, there was a reason the war has swung so heavily towards Oliviand’s side so… I guess it’s a good strategy.

I peek through the window of a warehouse, watching as crates and crates of powdered Phis are carried from one carriage to another. It was a highly addictive plant ground up into a powder that was notoriously easy to find near the border of Shesu and Oliviand. Preferring low moisture windy climates so it could easily spread its seeds around.

I clench my fists and look away. It’s impossible, I’m just one person. The information network I would need to sniff out the base of operations is just too much. I hop off the rooftop and land softly on the ground.

As I thought, the only way to do this is to follow Yeluh as his public persona Dr. Huley, but that’s way too dangerous without Torika at my side. I begin to walk away back to Avery.

But if she doesn’t come, then… What should I do? I don’t want to get stuck in that death loop nightmare ever again.

…

My mind wanders back to Dundee, as it inevitably always does.

But every time, the feeling I had about it got worse and worse. If I was supposed to choose between saving Actla versus saving Taiga and his buddies. Then… Why was Avery the only one I could get away…?

What if I was able to save my brother too? Maybe that’s the reason I don’t have any memories past a certain point? Was the deal that I lost all memories of my brother in the process of keeping him alive? That would definitely be something I’d imagine myself choosing.

Still, where’s the exchange here? I know I would choose my brother in a heartbeat, I was much more fond of Avery than either of the two boys. Plus, I know Taiga’s going to be fine no matter what, so… The only thing I sacrificed was Shaz and my memories?

Though I didn’t think I would value my memories that much if it meant my brother could survive. It would barely be a consideration I think.

So… Does that mean the intrinsic weight of both my brother and Avery equaled Shaz himself?

Unless my brother was still dead and I exchanged for something else unknowingly then… It would make more sense, but I’m not going to do that of course.

“Ah! You’re here!” My thought process is suddenly stopped by a woman sitting next to Avery. A woman I knew very very well, probably even more so than my parents. Someone I spent almost 5 years together with.

Torika smiles and signals at me with her hands.

How have you been?

“Good, very good, and look your hand is healed!” I scamper up next to her, grabbing her wrist gently. “Can you move it easily?” I ask curiously.

Torika wiggles her fingers around with great precision.

Yep, I’ve lost no function whatsoever.

Which means she actually managed to reconnect everything from getting her hand fully sliced off, and that means!

“Are you getting close?!” I say excitedly.

Yep, all that’s left is to find a suitable replacement. Something that fits.

“Huuuuuh?” Avery looks at the two of us with confusion. “You actually have a soft side?” She immediately covers her mouth, accidentally speaking her thoughts out loud.

“Ah yes, let me introduce the two of you. Avery this is Torika, I met her during my time at The Eye just like Taiga. She’s a master of Sananku, potentially the most knowledgeable in the world at the moment.” Helped in no small part by my curse.

“And Torika, this is Avery. She is Uh… A Tetsudo being hunted down by the Red Division.”

Pleasure to meet you. Torika mouths out and extends her hand.

Avery hesitantly grabs her hand as they shake together.

“What~? Why~? Can you talk or? You know…” Avery tries to frame her question in the most polite way possible only to end up stumbling over her words.

Torika shakes her head and opens her mouth, showing the stump where her tongue used to be.

“Oh, that’s why.” Avery nods her head and slinks away.

So what happened? Torika finally changes the subject.

“To start from the beginning…” I begin to recap the entire saga. From my following Taiga, to joining their little crew, then the encounter with Yeluh where I hesitate and look at Avery.

How many times? Torika gets the hint.

“Around 130 times, and I had to get some help from… You know.”

Torika nods. Go on.

Well, not much has happened since. I’ve tried my best to find where they’ve been kept but it’s too damn secretive.

Understandable. They’re concealed very well for sure. Even among the Iquen and the government, very few people know about them. If word got around of the misdeeds they commit then I’m sure there would be an outrage.

“Um, then couldn’t we leak it?” Avery says.

Both of us turn our heads towards her.

“You can read sign language?” I ask.

“I thought I recognized the gestures, but yes, I studied it back when I was on the other side of Rai.”

A thousand years of isolated development and some of the culture is still the same. Interesting. Torika raises an eyebrow.

Well, that wouldn’t be totally unexpected. After all, the common language had stayed the same, so why wouldn’t sign language?

“Anyways, what do you propose? I’m thinking of finding Yeluh and following him back to the hideout. He has a very public persona by the name of Dr. Huley. and with you around it’ll be a lot safer to do so you know?”

…

I think that girl Avery there asked you something. Torika berates me politely.

I smile sweetly and turn to Avery. “How does that help us find Shaz and Taiga?”

“It’ll be good to do though, I think. If we can stop their misdeeds.”

“Okay?”

“And… We can probably just help some people you know?”

“And why is that our responsibility?”

I feel Torika’s hand on my shoulder.

Are you okay? Torika looks at me instead of Avery surprisingly.

“What do you mean?”

You sound on edge. I understand the situation is stressful, but I didn’t expect you to be so single-minded.

What is she…? “Huh? How am I being single minded? We need to save the two before something terrible happens to them?! You of all people should understand!” Why… Am I lashing out at Torika? I knew beforehand that exposing the Red Division was one of Torika’s long time goals.

Let me talk to Avery for a bit okay? Just hang back, I have a plan.

I then watch helplessly as Torika turns to Avery.

Am I really that bad right now? I know I can be prickly, I just… I need to save Shaz before something really bad happens. My feelings about the situation are just growing worse and worse the more I think about it, and they are beginning to reach a breaking point.

How do you feel about being bait? Torika casually signals to her.

Avery’s eyes light up and she opens her mouth to respond.

“No.” I slam a hole into the side of the wall immediately, causing both Avery and Torika to jump.

“The hell? What are you doing in there!” I hear an angry voice from outside our door, must have heard the wood shattering.

“Let’s relocate. I don’t want to attract any attention. ” I stand up quietly.

No need. Torika grabs the piece of broken wood on the floor and presses it against the wall.

She looks at me and I sigh.

“Nothing from the inn was broken. You can come inside and confirm if you’d like.” I open the door as Torika quickly melds the wood back together.

“Honestly you kids…” The innkeeper scours around the room, carefully inspecting the walls. “Huh, I thought for sure that it came from the wall.” She says perplexed.

“It’s rude to eavesdrop.” I tell her as she rummages through the furniture.

“Accusing me of eavesdropping heh! You’re right! But what are you going to do about it in my inn?” The lady pushes the desk back into place and looks at me defiantly.

I look down at my belt to double check if I still had my weapons on me. Oi isn’t this lady a little crazy to be acting like this against someone armed?

“I suggest you turn around and pretend you heard nothing.” I lay my hand on the hilt threateningly.

“Hmmm.” The lady crosses her arms then lunges forward.

Wha-? I lower my sword in response, taken aback by her aggressiveness, she was slow, very very slow, clearly not someone who had experience fighting. But I let her grab me by my shirt anyway.

“Why haven’t I died yet?” She leans in and snarls in my ear.

“Are you crazy or something?! Get away!” I try pushing her off lightly but her grip was like iron.

“No, I'm just desperate.” The lady says weakly. “The fact that you haven’t killed me yet means that you might be on my side.”

She loosens her grip on me as I slowly realize the meaning behind her words.

“Do you know anything that might help us out?” I ask softly.

“No, I know nothing, but my son most likely does. He passes by the inn to see me every wednesday. He will be here in a couple of hours, interrogate him if you must, but please, just make sure he can’t return back to that wretched place.”

“We aren’t talking about the Iquen, we’re talking about something–”

“Yes I know what the Red Division is. I’m well aware of the type of stuff they do.”

I look at Torika, she gives a nod. Why not. She shrugs.

“I have to warn you though. No average person can take my son down. Please be careful and run away if you must.”

“You don’t need to worry about us. We can handle it.” I try to assure her. I silently thank coincidence for being on my side this time. The alternative of using Avery as bait was unthinkable to me.

Ask her what her son does. Torika motions at me.

“Out of curiosity, do you know what your son does specifically?” I then ask.

“…” The lady doesn’t respond.

“Hey, hey! We gotta know what we’re dealing with here!”

“He… Kills people who know things they shouldn’t.”

“Like you?”

“Like me, yes.”

“And, does he know that you know this stuff?…”

“No.”

I look at Torika concernedly.

It’s possible he’ll get sent on a hit against his own mother if they find out. In reality, he most likely already knows but is withholding the information out of fear for his mother’s safety.

“Mmh.” I look at the ground and hesitate. Is this worth it? We’ll be putting this innkeeper in major risk if we follow through with it. Then I begin furiously scratching my head.

“God damn it! I’m being so gutless!” I look up. “Okay we’ll do it! Let us know when he’s here!”