Consolidation: 12:14:44:10

  It was late morning, not that the sun came out, and the three of us rode along in the Bentley munching on croissants and sipping coffee. Aria bought some doggie treats at the café and was excited to give them to Mr. Chips.

  “What did Octar have to say?” I asked. “I’m guessing he called before we left?”

  “He did,” Marko said. “He’s interested in what we’ve discovered but needs more. That’s pretty much what I expected. We’ll have to track down some of the missing share certificates before we can prove malfeasance on HR’s part.”

  “Malfeasance!” Aria said. “Look at the big brain on Marko!”

  “Marcy makes me look like a moron,” Marko said. “I’d never been able to do what she’s done, even if I was into computers. I feel sorry for her. Imagine being here a week by yourself. Aria and I had each other, and you found us almost immediately. I can’t imagine how lonely and afraid she must have been.”

  “I’m a little surprised she decided to help us at the Lux,” I said. “She doesn’t seem the type to stick her neck out.”

  Aria snorted.

  “I’ll bet you 200 credits she had a quest and was scared to fail.”

  “She didn’t say anything.”

  “She also hid from us at every opportunity,” Aria said. “If you think that mousy nerd girl randomly decided to murder a dozen people, we’ll up the bet to 500 credits.”

  “Even if that’s true, we shouldn’t judge her for it,” Marko said. “Not everyone’s like you, Aria.”

  “Broken, you mean?” she said.

  “I was thinking bold and courageous. I don’t approve of the implied sexism, but I believe the phrase is bad bitch.”

  “Aww!” Aria said. “That’s the sweetest thing you’ve said to me.”

  Marko shook his head.

  “Moving on,” he said. “I wanted to get approval to start recruiting more Hunt. There’s enough of us here to form a quorum. I’m thinking of adding twenty more people. That will let us recover the resources sent to guard Dandy Boy and, assuming Panoply works similarly, creates a surplus to claim that sector as well.”

  I had a look at the command tab. Each new Hunt member would cost us 100 command points, meaning twenty was a 2000-point investment. That was nearly all our points, even with Marcy’s contribution, which was a lot of eggs in one basket. The problem was recruitment isn’t instantaneous. It takes three hours to build a new member, but you could queue up as many as you had points to buy. The build time meant we had to think ahead. We couldn’t just throw points at a problem and expect immediate results.

  “Fine with me,” Aria said. “Even if we can’t use the new guys to capture Panoply, it won’t hurt to have a reserve.”

  “Might as well,” I said. “We’ll get a chunk of points when we finish the Ring Around the Rosie quest. We can consider other options when we see what’s available.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Marko said. “I’ve started up recruitment and it’ll finish in sixty hours.”

  We pulled up in front of Mr. Hobbs’ condo and approached his door to a serenade from Mr. Chips. Marko explained the general outline of our plan to Hobbs, while Aria fed a delighted Mr. Chips some of the treats she’d bought for him. Hobbs approved the plan and took Marko upstairs for photos of his certificate. Aria fed Mr. Chips even more treats, which was apparently too many because he yarked all over the floor. I managed to find some paper towels for her to clean up the mess before Mr. Hobbs noticed. Marcy messaged as Aria was depositing a handful of ick in the trash.

  Marcy (Party): I did it! I completed the quest! Oh, and I got a milestone!

  Victor (Party): Good job, Marcy.

  Aria (Party): Congrats.

  Marcy (Party): What should I do now?

  Victor (Party): You might as well head back to the Lux. We have some pictures to deliver to Kaius, so we’ll come by and pick you up to visit the safehouse.

  Marcy (Party): OK. See you later!

  I checked my map and saw that Dandy Boy was now shaded purple. That left four sectors to capture, and I thought we should have plenty of time. It also opened up three new hexes on the map. To the south was Anera Museum of Technomancy (AMOT), above it was Nightmare Reach, and Antrim Meadows was connected to both Dandy Boy and Clattering Warren.

  Anera Museum of Technomancy (AMOT)

  Technomancy sector

  Equipment resource

  Nightmare Reach

  Military sector

  Defense resource

  Antrim Meadows

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Empty

  No resource

  Cautiously, I allowed myself to feel a little optimism. No one had tried to kill me today, and we were making solid progress. Naturally, that was when Adam contacted me.

  Adam (GM): I hope you’re ready because I found our troublesome friend. That stunt last night let me trace her. I’m sending a courier to your apartment with an important package. It’ll give you a quest to share with your party. I have to be careful how much I interact with them, so this is a workaround. You may need additional tech support, so try and convince Marcy to go with you. Good luck.

  I didn’t bother to respond, choosing instead to ping Marko directly.

  Victor: You almost done?

  Marko: Nearly. Are we in a hurry? Did Aria do something?

  Victor: Adam messaged me. It’s go time. We need to head back to the Lux to pick up a package and a quest. He suggested we take Marcy as well.

  Marko: I’ll talk to Marcy. You tell Aria. Be down soon.

  “Be ready,” I said to Aria, who had Mr. Chips on her lap. “When Marko’s done, we have to go. I got a new message from Adam.”

  “Good,” Aria said, continuing to pet the dog. “I’m already tired of your fan club.”

  We made our goodbyes, thanking Mr. Hobbs for his help, and headed back toward the Lux. Marko seemed distracted during the trip and I suspected he was talking to Marcy. I left him to it. He might be the only one of us capable of persuading her to help. I felt bad for the small woman, but she couldn’t hide forever. The Flaw she’d received proved that. Anera didn’t appreciate being ignored. I could just make out the Lux in the distance when Marko sighed and rubbed his temples.

  “What did she say?” Aria said.

  “She’s going to come, but she’s not happy. I’m not sure she’s convinced we forgot to tell her about the whole Adam thing. I think she’s feeling ambushed.”

  “Oops,” I said. “That’s my fault. I mean, it isn’t, but yeah. I should have told her.”

  “Forget it,” Aria said. “We have a lot going on.”

  “Just try not to frighten her more than necessary,” Marko said.

  “If we have to fight, I’ll put her in the back,” I said. “It’s not foolproof, but it should help.”

  “I had Kaius arrange transportation,” Marko said. “He assures me she’ll arrive promptly.”

  Aria pulled up in front of the Lux and allowed the doorman to summon a valet. The doorman was human and new, and I’d never seen the valet before. I hadn’t even known we had one. The valet turned out to be a shiftling of indeterminant gender. It drove off in the Bentley, and we made our way into the lobby. We had a new security guard as well. It was another fane, but this one was female. I wondered who found replacements so quickly, and if the new employees understood the risks.

  “You think she still has the M-60?” Aria whispered.

  “Don’t annoy our security people,” Marko whispered back.

  “Mr. Vasquez?” she said as we approached. “I have a delivery for you.”

  The new guard had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her nametag identified her as Livia, which seemed an unusual name. Probably. I hadn’t heard enough fane names to be sure. It was an old name, though. I wondered if her last name was Nova or if she might be a cousin.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  I accepted the package Livia offered me and continued toward the elevator, before remembering the elevator had gone boom. We’d taken the stairs down this morning, and Aria complained the whole time. I started toward the stairs and stopped when I saw the elevator was back, or at least the doors were repaired. I walked over and pushed the button. It dinged and the elevator doors slid open to reveal a completely restored car. We’d been gone maybe two hours.

  “What the fuck?” I said.

  “Thank Christ,” Aria said. “I did not want to climb those stairs.”

  Marko just shook his head and stepped inside. I regarded the package in my hands as we rode up. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. My full name was on the front, written in a large, bold hand, and it was about the size and weight of a hardback book. I shook it, but it didn’t make any sound.

  “Just open it,” Aria said. “Santa isn’t watching.”

  “I’m going to wait for Marcy. It’s the least I can do. It comes with a quest that I’ll need to share with the party.”

  We’d barely taken two steps from the elevator when Marcy came out the door of her apartment.

  “How the fuck did you beat us here?” Aria said.

  “I was already on the way when Marko messaged me,” Marcy said. “I was going to surprise you. Kaius’ son, Gost, drove me in a Porsche. He drove in bare feet but went really, really, really fast. I would have been nervous, but he’s just so friendly. And hot.”

  “I’m sorry I forgot to tell you about Adam,” I said. “It never even crossed my mind.”

  “That’s OK,” Marcy said, suddenly shy and staring down at her shoes. “I’m sorry for giving you such a hard time, Marko. It’s not like I’ve been completely honest. The only reason I helped you last night is because I had a quest. Isn’t that sad?”

  She looked up when no one commented.

  “Are you mad at me?”

  Aria held out a hand, and I gave her 200 credits. Marko rolled his eyes while Marcy stared from behind her glasses.

  “Aria guessed,” I said. “Don’t worry, we aren’t mad. You were afraid, didn’t know us, and had no reason to trust us. I’m glad you decided to give us a chance. That was brave.”

  “I’m not brave,” Marcy said, blushing. “I’m pathetic.”

  “We’re all pathetic standing around like this,” Aria said. “It’s like a junior high dance up in here. Let’s crash Marko’s apartment and see what Adam sent us.”

  Marko let us in his apartment, and we settled down in the living room. I slid off the string and unwrapped the package. Inside was an oblong, white box that weighed enough to be metal, but had a plastic exterior. I turned it one way, then another inspecting it. The box had obvious ports along one long side and both short sides.

  Unknown Tech

  You have no idea what this is, what it does, or how much it might be worth. Don’t lose it!

  I handed the object off to Marko and waited for the quest to appear. The message didn’t show until everyone had a chance to inspect the thing.

  New Quest: Send in the Clowns!

  Impassable is such a definitive description. You’d think, quite reasonably, that impassable

  means you can’t travel through the area. That’s only partially correct! Take Mt. Sylos.

  The map says it’s impassable, but is it really? Or is that just a ploy by our reptilian overlords?

  Go to Mt. Sylos, but beware the gatekeepers. Do not be fooled by their splendiferous countenances

  or odious guises! Pass through this trial to find the labyrinth beyond.

  Within, if you are quick and you are clever, is just the spot for that white box.

  Note: This is a rush quest! You have four hours to complete this quest.

  Reward: Some peace and quiet! 1000 Command Points.