Chapter 260

Chapter 260

Taking a little extra time to develop new contacts is rarely wasted effort. At worst, you end up with a much better idea of the person youre dealing with, and the world they live in. And at best, you end up with a helluva lot more support than you would have had otherwise.

This was the latter. The Steward was so delighted with the discovery of Squelch that he offered to assign a few of his men to use in our favor. I let Azure loose, finally, and allowed him to take a peek inside The Stewards mind as that set of circumstances could screw us just as easily as it would screw Sunny. Other than some unrealistic ideas about the benefits a long-term relationship could yield, the upside being that he was thinking long term, no hints of betrayal or plans to sell us out.

The downside was, he suspected I was the Ordinator. I didnt know how other than guesswork, rumors, and whatever the hell his patron was whispering in his ear. The suspicion didnt seem to carry the usual stigma. He seemed to see it as a potential benefit and point of leveragefrom the systems announcement the Ordinator was presented as a powerful threat. But the nature of the announcement alienated him, made him a target. And pragmatically, the Steward was more interested in him as an ally than a ticket out.

Either way, I had no intention of confirming it for him. The Driftless were in deep shit, the sort of shit I couldnt afford to get mired in with everything else on my plate.

But, if things ever went cataclysmic and left me completely burned with everyone I knew either dead or gunning for me, I had a place to go. Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

There was a slight comfort in that.

They escorted us through the Galleria proper, finding the interior almost entirely transformed. The skeleton of the mall itself was still there, glossy floors, escalatorssome of which were still workingbut almost everything else was altered. On the ground floor, there was a massive communal crafting area superimposed over the wide-open space that was once a large skating rink. A few storefronts were untouched, but most were heavily modified, glass windows removed, replaced with finished wood or brick, adorned with a three-digit-number placard placed somewhere on the front.

Commercial turned residential.

And unless I was misinterpreting the purpose of the handful of tanks that towered at regular intervals, they had running water going as well.

All of it was far more elaborate, clean, and permanent looking than Id expected. It was no wonder the Driftless were so attached to this place, clinging to it stubbornly despite the hostility of the surrounding environment.

Theyd put down roots.

Check it out. Our civilian escort grinned. The sides of his head were shaved, remaining hair curving up and bouncing as he walked, like a cockatiels crest. Went by Cisco. He pointed the muzzle of his fuck-you-very-much shotgun toward the center floor. The weblike metallic piping and spouts arranged over plots of dirt arranged directly beneath the skylights were immediately recognizable.

Hydroponics. I raised an eyebrow.

Are you growing weed? Sae asked, suddenly very interested. Please tell me youre growing weed. When I gave her a skeptical look, she shrugged. What? I havent been able to take a damn breath since this shit started.

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Up ahead

Body. I stopped in place, immediately tensing. Up ahead, a middle-aged man in civilian clothing splayed out on the ground, one leg at an odd angle. Scarlet pooled around his head, but there was no shine to it. The blood had dried.

Yup. Cisco said grimly. Jumped about a week ago.

And you just left him there?

And you just left him there? Astrid said, aloud.

Cisco nodded slowly, smirking a bit. Tell you what, girl boss. Walk over and see if you can figure out why we left him there.

Astrid, hold. Proximity? I snapped, looking to Max.

Close. Max squinted at his UI. But Im getting conflicting readings.



The difference between a coin flip and near-guaranteed success. But why?

I glowered at Cisco in the way I found made most people exceedingly uncomfortable. Given that were on good terms with your Guild Leader, it would be prudent to tell us what were walking into.

He took a step back, holding up a hand defensively. Its not a trap, if thats what youre thinking. Its just weird. Some sort of persistent area-of-effect. Our magic types cant hack it. No one really knows what it does, other than that it affects memory and seems to be limited to a small radius around this section of the ground floor. Cant dispel it, cant identify it.

Be my eyes? I asked Azure.

You got it, boss. Azure chirped back. There was an odd sensation, as I felt him take root in my mind, my vision fraying at the fringes

I approached the body.