We waited until an F ranker came to pick up Ronnie to head to the  Cavalcade. While the higher ranked Ascendants weren't supposed to come  down here to interfere picking up a package wasn't a big deal since we'd  already subdued him. He was grabbed in short order, and I couldn't help  but assume he was probably going to die. I knew they would question  him, but I doubted he would be able to tell them anything, there was no  way the other candidate didn't leave a geas on someone like him.

I  still wasn't really bothered. Besides how he'd been talking to Callie,  he was so obviously abusive to everyone around him I knew it couldn't  have happened to a nicer guy. Before I'd become an Ascendant I'd never  been in a position to know about someone dying, but I wasn't sure I  would have been blase about it before. This was one thing I could firmly  lay at the feet of recursion. Cultivation was dangerous, and sometimes  people died. The perception that enemies weren't really a loss was one  I'd tried to avoid, but this time I couldn't bring myself to care.

Once  the big man was gone we all headed for the Cavalcade. Saffron came with  us, as did the other two G rankers, Trager and Vic. The H rankers left  in the bar all scattered, just in case the Jerks came back when their  heavy hitters were with us, and between the three of us and the three of  them I was much more assured. Since we had time though, I had to ask  Callie what the plan was. "Ok, I know we've been doing the whole taking a  break thing, but you know how to handle delicate shit like this much  better than I do. Do you have any ideas about how we're going to find  anything out?"

Callie leaned against my side, rolling her  eyes. "You know, I'm going to start make you read tactics books. You've  been falling harder and harder into this punching role, and it's not a  good idea. Especially since your whole combat style is stealth based. I  don't want you getting hurt because you keep charging in." She gave me a  worried frown. "I still sometimes think about what happened to you in  the necropolis when that Dullahan hit you. How scared I was seeing you  tank that blow."

I winced at that. I thought about that  too. Though more in terms of how much it fucking sucked than in terms of  wanting to avoid emotional trauma. I didn't dismiss her though. It was  something I'd been thinking about too. I sighed. "Yeah, I know. I've  been letting it influence me far too much for my liking. It's just so  hard to see where I end and where the recursion begins. If you can see  it that easily though, I'm figuring the hair trigger violence is much  more obvious. Being in the city is helping with that least a bit  though."

She nodded. "I did notice that. You're still  quick to fight, but dealing with humans and not monsters makes you a bit  more cautious of the outcomes. Mostly." That last part was more  directed at her than me I thought, and I suspected she felt off about  letting Ronnie get taken despite knowing he deserved it. That was fair,  but not really useful right now, so I didn't comment. She shook off the  thought. "Anyway the plan isn't complicated. We wander around and see if  anyone starts trouble, the Jerks aren't subtle. If we look for some  problems we're bound to dig some up, and I'm sure SOMEONE has to know  what's going on."

It was possible every single Jerk had  made a wish and gotten a geas put on them, but it was unlikely. If  nothing else it would take a while to get them all, even five per day.  The Jerks weren't an army or anything, but they weren't exactly going to  fit at a table for four. "Ok, but how is that different than the  original plan when we first came down here? Because I remember that  didn't work so well for us when we tried it before."

She  just snorted. "We got distracted by the big reveal, it was working fine.  Without Ronnie running things there's no way they'll be keeping  themselves in check either. It should be much easier to track them down  this time, and once we do we can learn more about whoever this mystery  faction is. " She turned to Saffron. "Speaking of which, are any of the  enemies Cark told us about major faction participants? They all seemed  like either loners or bit players, I can't see them joining up with any  major powers to build a political presence here."

Saffron  shrugged. "You're not wrong. They aren't really part of the faction  wars, but then, neither are we. The boss is technically with the  independent faction, but they're the least cohesive bunch. The  independents are basically just people who want to be left alone to do  whatever they want. Most of the others that you guys mentioned while we  waited are independent too. The Moravian is a member of the cooperative  faction, and he tends to lean more towards being a team player with the  Unity, but they don't really start trouble."

The  information was interesting. The existence of a faction like that  implied one that wanted the opposite also existed. I wondered exactly  how much traction that faction had. I couldn't imagine how functional it  would really be. Even if they broke ties what would they do? Take the  planet? The WCP was universal, but it existed throughout the rest of the  factions. It wasn't like there was some place to keep the planet once  they 'liberated' it. Plus this was an E ranked planet, what use would it  even be to gain control of a backwater like this? I couldn't imagine it  being considered much of an accomplishment for anyone who took their  achievements seriously.

Our conversation was cut off as we  arrived at the circus again. Without a doubt, the second time seeing it  was just as staggering as the first. We once again decided to split up  into pairs, and Callie was quick to claim me as a partner, cutting off  Saffron who had been about to do the same. I honestly kind of enjoyed  the attention. Callie had nothing to worry about obviously, but I had  started to take for granted that she was the partner in the relationship  that got outside attention. Callie was gorgeous, and while I wasn't too  shabby myself, I wasn't supermodel stunning.

Still, I got  attention from women at times, being incredibly tall was a big draw for  some people, and my features were symmetrical and well put together,  one of the many things I'd inherited from my dads side of the family. I  was pretty sure I was actually getting better looking, though whether  that was recursion, some sort of stat thing, the fact that I was still  growing, or some combination of the three I had no idea. Callie wasn't  being overtly hostile or antagonistic about any of it, she was just kind  of put out in an obvious way, and it was honestly kind of cute.

I  wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud, obviously, but it was  amusing that she got a little extra touchy physically after Saffron  showed interest. When we broke off from the group she eased up a bit on  her grip, though she was still a bit more affectionate than normal, and I  admit to taking a minute to bask in the attention before moving on to  the actual task at hand here. We needed to get started looking for the  Jerks, and much like last time I didn't have any ideas where we were  supposed to start.

Callie, fortunately, did. Once she  pulled away she started steering us to a specific location. "So, now  that we know exactly what they're doing, I suspect that the Jerks are  here to cause trouble for an internal element of the Cavalcade. It's the  only thing that really makes sense. Given this faction's reach and  ability to move unnoticed, having a mole inside the Cavalcade is  entirely possible. If you look at it that way it's totally reasonably  for the Jerks to try to show them up and embarrass them in their own  territory, because it opens the door for that mole to take over."

I  nodded along, following her logic. Callie had experience with sneaky  politics bullshit, even if not on this scale. There were micro versions  of this whole mess back in the Velan WCP, and she'd lived there when she  was sixteen or so, and learned the lay of the land. I trusted her  instincts, and I was happy to see how exhilarated and excited she was  about working on this after some times to relax and decompress. Now that  she'd stopped running herself ragged I was easily able to see the  difference in mentality and demeanor that even a few days of relaxing  had wrought.

I pulled her closer.  "So, break it down for those of us with more muscle than brains? What's  our next move since we obviously don't want them to succeed in that.  Also how would they go about it? Or rather, how would you go about it if  you were them. We can assume leadership is making the tactical calls,  since I'm pretty sure the low level members couldn't out think a stick  of butter." I had no clue what she was getting at honestly, and it was  kind of embarrassing. I felt like she was trying to lead me to a  specific line of reasoning to help me get back into the habit of using  my head, but I just wasn't getting it.

Luckily  she didn't seem too frustrated at that, just patient. The very fact  that she was thinking this far ahead of me meant these kinds of  exercises were necessary. I didn't have the stat dominance in combat to  become a shoot first ask questions type, and the constant resistance of  that would help offset the recursion. She pointed off to one side. "My  guess would be something they can excel at. Something reckless and  stupid enough that they'll feel like they'll get some rep from trying  it, and most importantly, something that's going to screw over the  current management. Something like...that."

I  turned to follow her gesture and froze, smacking my palm into my face.  Now that she pointed it out I couldn't believe I hadn't guessed it  already. It was the surest way I could think of for them to make an  impact on this place. "Do you think they'll actually be able to manage  that though? It says there's a reward, sure, but they have to actually  win it, and willful stupidity can only do so much. What are the chances  any of them have the skill set to pull off a decent result in something  like that?"

She  shrugged. "Don't forget the wishing thing. I'm sure that with a wish at  least one of them could prepare, plus I could see those idiots managing  it even without cheating. They may not be smart, but they're sure as  hell stubborn. It looks like the prize is substantial too. I'm guessing  that they accumulate the invested money for the trial and then pay it  out if someone manages it in a specific period of time. Chances are  pretty good that no one does though, and they count on using that money.  It's a publicity stunt for investment gathering."

We  headed in the direction of the huge wooden structure, filled with  people in bench seats watching each new challenger do their best to pass  the trial and gather the massive chunk of money afforded the winners.  As we drew in close I wrinkled my nose at the smell. It smelled like  wild animals, which wasn't a shock. When we made it to the counter next  to the pen I pulled out a bunch of low level chits and dropped them in  front of the circus employee. "Hi, we'll take two tickets to the bull riding competition?" At the very least it should be a  good show.