The car ran out of fuel a little too soon. Riven was sure that the fuel tank would be empty eventually, but it had lasted a lot longer than he had initially thought. He’d driven it from Rennervation to Providence and back to Rennervation again. Not that running out of fuel was an actual problem. There was Sept aplenty from the research facility, and Riven was happy to put it back inside the fuel tank.

Viriya didn’t help. She was busy staring out at the horizon, still thinking about what they would do once they reached Tollisett. Riven didn’t mind. At least one of them was thinking.

When she had asked what he had planned, he’d answered with a very encouraging “we’ll see when we get there.”

To Riven’s mind, there was no point worrying himself to death over it without knowing any of the particulars over there. For all he knew, Tollisett was either a backwater village like Rattles, or a damned fortress in the middle of nowhere, though Mhell had hinted at the former. But he didn’t know. Neither did Viriya. As such, they had nothing to think over in his opinion. They’d get there, see what the lay of the land revealed, and then come up with a plan of attack. Viriya was going to worry herself sick the way she was focusing.

“You want to drive?” Riven asked when he got in.

Viriya was still staring out. Dusk had clawed its way out into the world but she was still looking as though the darkness hid nothing from her. “No, you do it.”

“Why? So you can think more? Has it helped? Have you come up with a grand strategy yet?”

She scowled at him. Riven smiled. At least she wasn’t lost on the horizon for once. “You’ll be thankful one of us thinking before we rush into our death over there.”

“That’s what I was actually thinking,” he muttered.

One refuelling was done—just emptying the bag of powdered Sept-fuel into the fuel tank—Riven started the car and drove off. They weren’t far off. Tollisett grew in his sight in less than half-an-hour after they had restarted their journey. He didn’t slow down. If anything, the car went faster and faster. Now that they were here, might as well get it over with.

If there was one thing Riven worried about, it was Mhell’s timely arrival. Deadmage she might be, now even stronger than she had been as a lowly Necromancer, but she was still on foot. Yes, she had charged away quite fast when he had seen her fight, but it hadn’t compared to an actual car.

“All right, Riven, listen up.” Viriya had assumed her commanding role again. Her voice cracked like a whip, her every word a lash on the back. “We’re going to try to shove aside any stupid ideas of any frontal assault. Stealth is our best friend.”

“So we’re going to scout Tollisett out first?” Riven slowed the car a little so he could pay better attention. There wasn’t anything on the road to distract him, but the very speed was distracting, and the way the car jerked and rattled.

“Yes. Some good, old-fashioned scouting work. We’ll see what kind of guards are there.”

“Imagine we meet Essentiers there.”

“We kill them. Shouldn’t be hard.”

Riven couldn’t argue with that. It wasn’t going to be easy of course, given the effort he’d had to expend to beat Weathering and Olsten, and the fact that they had barely escaped Daynom. But Viriya wasn’t speaking of that kind of effort. It was the killing kind of effort that Viriya meant, and Riven had to admit she was right. What was one more death after the ones they had already killed?

His hand strayed to his leg, and he brushed the area of his wound with his fingers. The whole area had hardened to a grey patina like he’d grown an exoskeleton. It bothered him. What had Mhell done and how was he supposed to reverse it back again when the time came?

Hopefully, the witch hadn’t marked him for good. As much as he was grateful to be able to use his leg without any pain, he wasn’t healed.

They didn’t talk any further. The first buildings of Tollisett were starting to pop up in the distance, short stubs like stumps of trees that had been chopped down. There weren’t that many there. Tollisett was a small village, the outer circle filled by small homesteads and the centre holding the higher, more important buildings. Though higher didn’t say much. The tallest building Riven saw was an old water tower that stood about four storeys from the ground.

Not exactly the most defensible of places, which would make infiltration easier in some ways, but harder in others. Which also meant that Aross’s stop here wouldn’t be long.

“First impressions?” Riven asked.

“We need to be fast,” Viriya said. “There are bound to be hidden guards there. No one stands out in the open in a tiny place like that except to work as decoys for the actual hidden guards. We’re going to have to take those out first. But we’re going to wait now. It’s evening, but I want it to get a little darker first.”

Riven nodded. He hadn’t thought of the decoy guards tactic, but Viriya was more experienced. She’d know. But that made him worry what else he hadn’t thought of yet, for there were so many things that could go unaccounted for if he thought about it. And deeper darkness would ensure that they weren’t seen.

He shook his head. No, he was becoming like Viriya, worrying himself to death over the littlest things.

“I think this is a good spot to stop,” he said as he brought the car to a stop.

Viriya nodded, then stepped out. Riven joined her, taking his sword and the bag holding the extra Sept. They rationed it out between them, making sure they kept the little Sept vials hidden in inner pockets that wouldn’t suffer any direct impact. They also loaded themselves with as many extra magazines they could carry. One could never have too much Sept.

They’d end up as Deathless when they died anyway, so why bother shying away?

He considered leaving the Sept crystal behind in case it kept malfunctioning with his Essence. Mhell had said to keep it safe, not necessarily close. Riven took it out and shoved it into the glove compartment. There, no one would hopefully find it now.

Riven waited, and the agitation made him want to start some stupid conversation to while away the time but he had no words to speak. The buildings stood out like darker blocks in the gloom. Would they hold the citizens who called Tollisett home? Were they safe, or had Orbray’s agents murdered the whole lot of them? It seemed an uncharitable thought but the darkness induced that kind of thinking, a canvas for the worst nightmares to illustrate themselves all on their own.

“Time?” Riven finally asked, itching one leg with the other.

Viriya waited a moment longer. Then she nodded. There was little to no light to speak of, but her eyes seemed greener than normal. “Check the houses one by one. And don’t die.”

“Right.”

They headed out. Don’t die, she said. What if they had an Essentier who had some crazy Essence that allowed them to see in the dark? Riven would be a sitting duck then, and so would be Viriya.

He shook his head. Once again, he was getting worked up over silly things. His heart shook though, and the noises everywhere seemed too amplified. Every step was louder than the last, and his heart was thundering fit to give the sky pause, his breaths harsh as winds of a gale. Even the tiny clinks of Sept vials seemed awfully jarring as though they were tinkling against each other right inside his cranium. Scions, he needed to focus.

The first house loomed like a monolith. It was only two storeys high, but the gloom made it seem like a fortress to Riven. Th gloom was playing tricks on him. Chasm, a light of some kind would have been great right about now.

Swallowing, he paused at the wall. He looked everywhere but saw no sign of anyone outside nearby. Peeking through the windows revealed nothing as they were shuttered. There were tiny gaps between the wooden slats, but there wasn’t anywhere near enough light within to give any clues to anything. No sounds either. Not a single clue that anyone existed within the house.

Riven tried the door. Locked of course, which was fine. He had his Essence to climb to the gables. Breaking down the lock would likely alert those inside, so he made his way to the higher windows. Those were shuttered too, but he had to break in somewhere. He formed his Essence armour around him, then charged in with his sword held before him like a lance. Breaking in was too easy. The shitters broke under his assault and he rolled as he hit the ground, pieces of broken timber clattering everywhere.

He stood up quickly, heart thumping loud in the silence. There were no other sounds anywhere at first. Riven had half expected to run into some hidden watcher camping out on the top floor of the house, but the room was empty save for an old table and chair at one side and a broken pallet on the other.

Then the sounds came in. Footsteps. Cautious as they approached the room, growing louder as they stepped up the stairs.

Riven swallowed, willing his Essence away. No need to alert the inhabitant to his presence. He leaned back against the wall next to the doorway, holding his sword close and ready. Scions, he had better not need to use it this early in the operation.

The steps grew louder and a man popped in his head. He jumped back, trying to scream as he turned and saw Riven, eyes going wide and mouth gaping. But the blue Coral sword was already pressed against his throat. Riven pushed it into the man’s neck, and he stumbled backwards into the wall behind, breathing fast, hard, and heavy, like a cornered animal facing certain death.

“Who are you?” Riven asked.

“Shouldn’t I be—”

Riven pressed his sword deeper into the man’s neck. There was still no blood of course, but his face went white as a sheet. “Are you one of Orbray’s men? Answer truthfully, or you won’t live past the night.”

“No! This is my house. I’m a Rennervation man, I am!”

“A Rennervation Essentier?” Riven frowned. Clothed in dirty shirt and trousers and face half-hidden by a long, dirty beard, the man didn’t look like an Essentier. But maybe he was in hiding.

He shook his head as much as he could while still having a sword at his neck. “Just a blacksmith living here. But I don’t like how our Invigilator is being pushed around by that damn Orbray. Some of his men have taken over the houses near the main road. Old Sammer was kicked out of his own house and Miller’s whole family was taken away I don’t even know if they’re safe anymore.”

“And I should trust you just like that?”

“If you hate Orbray too, then you should. And if you don’t… well, can I get my business in order before you kill me?”

Riven cracked a smile. He pulled the longsword away. The damn thing had only been useful for threatening people so far. He really needed to learn how to use it one of these days. “You think you can help me free Ar—your Invigilator?”

The man rubbed the bob on his neck. “You’re going to free the Invigilator? Who are you?” He peered at Riven, stepping closer as though Riven hadn’t nearly taken his head off less than a minute ago. “An Essentier, but from where? What business do you have here?”

“Suffice it to say that we’re all on the same side.”

“All? Who are all?”

“Never mind that.” Riven went to the chair and took a seat, placing his sword across his knees. “What can tell me about the lay of the land? Which houses and buildings are occupied, how many soldiers there are, and if there are any Essentiers?”

The man scratched his head for a moment. “All the buildings are occupied by a handful of two or three troops in each one, I think. They didn’t bother with any of the ones that don’t face the main road. There’s two Essentiers in Tollisett, so far as I saw. What are you going to do?”

“Free the Invigilator of course.”

“You going to fight?”

“That’s the plan. When is the Invigilator coming?”

“Later tonight, I think. Don’t know the exact time. But how are you going to fight? Who and who are with you, and how will you free the Invigilator.”

“Sensitive information. Like I said, suffice it to know that we’re all working towards the same goal. Can you do a job for me?”

The man crossed his arms. He didn’t look pleased at being shut out of what he wanted to know, but his wish to help, or maybe get back at Orbray, won out. “What do you need me to do?”

“There must be other people who are willing to stop this little takeover, right? I need you to find them all and alert them that there’s going to be a strike on the envoy that has Invigilator Aross. You’re enemies are going to be the soldiers from Ascensions Demesne.”

“You want us to kill people?”

Riven shrugged. “Kill them, distract them by making them drunk, doesn’t matter. All I need you to do is make sure they aren’t a problem for me and the others when we take on Orbray’s Essentiers and free the Invigilator.”

The man took a moment to consider, then nodded. “I can do that.”

“Good.” Riven rose. “I’ll head out then. You’ll know when to begin, but keep a lookout.”

Riven left the house and met up with Viriya in the narrow street. She was already waiting for him, and reported that there were no hostiles in the house she’d visited. Just a scared family. Curious though he was, Riven didn’t ask how she had broken in.

Viriya brought out her gun with a sudden move. “Who’s that?”

The man from the house paused when he saw Riven in the corner. They exchanged nods, then he went off, losing himself in the gloom.

“A new ally,” Riven said.

Viriya frowned. “You’re making the townsfolk help?”

Riven nodded and told her the gist of their conversation. “I’m just making use of their natural inclinations. What’s next on our agenda?”

“Would help if we could neutralize enough of the guards already stationed here. But they’ve got strong positions inside the house.”

“Distractions?”

“Like what?”

Riven grinned. “Fire.”

#

Corralling the soldiers wasn’t as easy as Riven had assumed it would be. His plan of using a fire to reel them in like moths to a light hadn’t been thought out any further than that.

Thankfully, Viriya was smarter.

Soon as the flames started flickering on an old house no one was living in, alarms were raised. The first man to flush out would have been an easy target, but Viriya stopped Riven from using his Essence to capture him. Instead, she followed the man, telling Riven to keep watch and take actions accordingly.

Riven cursed under his breath freely once he was left alone. If the fire spread, they were all screwed.

The soldier who had run off returned soon enough. With him came an important-looking soldier, the stripes on his shoulders indicating a higher rank. Probably a captain or something.

There was no sign of Viriya. Where had she gone now, leaving Riven all alone to handle the mess?

The captain and the soldier were conversing. More troops joined them, forming a small huddle around the leader. Riven waited but his feet were getting antsy. Severely so. Any moment now, he'd charge into the gathering of soldiers and use them as living practice dummies for his sword-wielding practice. The plan was to incapacitate them, and it would be a big challenge to do so with his sword without killing them. Just what he needed to get a proper challenge.

"Are you thinking of attacking them?"

Viriya's voice startled Riven. He jumped, but good thing he was still hidden in the shadows. She was standing in the gloom as well, closer to the soldiers than Riven.

"How'd you convince them all to get together in one place?" he asked.

"The local captain wasn't so sure the fire was his responsibility." She twirled her pistol in her hands. "So I did my best to convince him to come. And bring all his lackeys while he was at it, of course."

Riven grunted. Viriya could be very convincing, no doubt. He turned to face Orbray's soldiers. "Is this all of them?"

"I don't think so, but I think it's enough. If we wait any longer, he's going to get antsy and think I'm not watching any longer. And then he'll do something stupid, which we can't have."

Riven took a deep breath. "Right."

He focused. Survival meant taking out those soldiers, but he was loathe to simply kill them. Riven called on his Essence. The pressure came bursting out in golden lines from all over him, all of which shot towards the soldiers. They saw nothing. Not until they were all surrounded by a golden shield.

The shouts and yells started immediately. Riven's shield muffled them all, sparing his ears. He focused harder and more golden lines flew from him, forcing the shield to contract and grow smaller.

Riven didn't need to crush them, but he'd make the shield as small as possible. Less air meant they'd suffocate faster.

They struggled to get out, the soldiers punching, kicking, blasting their guns against the golden Essence. That's when the extra golden lines came in. Riven needed to repair the damage they inflicted to make sure no air seeped in. No need to discourage them from their futile fighting though. The more they struggled, the more air they used up and pushed themselves closer to death. Or unconsciousness via suffocation rather.

It didn’t take long. The soldiers started dropping to the ground, unmoving. It was pitiful to look at as they clawed against the golden Essence, some grabbing each other as though they could find a way to survive through the other bodies.

Riven scowled. He focused, shooting out more golden Essence and making the compressed air shield thicker and stronger so that whatever was going on within was better obscured.

“I think that’s it,” Viriya said.

Riven wasn’t so sure. There might be no more thumping or scratching sounds, nor any shadows moving around behind the thick wall of golden Essence, but he didn’t trust anything. Not himself, not his Essence, not the soldiers. He waited a while longer until the thudding of his heart was all that flooded his ears. Then he shut off his Essence flow.

The golden shield departed, leaving a pile of bodies. Everyone was blue in the face. No one was moving.

Mission accomplished.

But were they dead, or simply unconscious? Riven swallowed. He’d tried to make sure they couldn’t suddenly get revived as soon as their bodies had access to fresh air again. It might have been too much though. They might be dead. If they were, would they turn to Deathless? There was a lot of Sept nearby thanks to the endless amounts Riven, and Viriya too now, carried. Enough to turn them to ghosts? Would they all fall under Mhell’s influence?

That witch had better come here soon.

There was no time to check. The man Riven had met in the house, the blacksmith who had joined him in the effort to oust Orbray from Tollisett, came running in.

“They’re here!” He jerked to a halt before Riven and Viriya. Then pointed one thick arm towards the centre of the village. “The Invigilator’s convoy is coming.”