The trip back down to E district the next day was quieter than the  last one. Callie had used yesterdays wishes to arrange several  safeguards and contingencies in a way I hadn't expected. Things like shields and threat activated teleportation. Unfortunately the shields wouldn't stop anyone above F rank and the teleportation would take us  about ten miles. Still, it had been a brilliant maneuver I'd never even  considered, and I felt much safer going down there today.

Aside  from her interest in learning more about her dad, the fact remained  that The Nothing was an enemy of Midknight's and Callie WAS his  daughter. Some precautions were definitely warranted. Luckily The  Nothing was unable to act against us directly without Zeke interfering  (I'd been assured Zeke could protect us from anywhere on the planet with  ease and trying to hide an attack from him inside the WCP itself was  even more ridiculous a proposition) so the F rank shielding and the  escape options were plenty to guarantee our safety.

The  one consolation to our mobility was that we left the wolves back at the  house. As much as we wanted to bring them along the Wishes were too  expensive if they needed to cover more than the three of us. We'd  sounded out the values for various configurations before finding the  wishes that would work best. 

Or rather, Callie had because I was only  allowed minimal input without unbalancing the payment for the wish. We'd  managed to get four of five in place though (aside from the shielding and  teleport, a good luck wish for the actual duration of the meeting and a wish to foil deception Callie was expecting)  and that should be plenty to keep us all safe down there, or as safe as  we ever were.

So it was with a decent bit of confidence  that we made our way to the address on the card. Since we had found the  address last trip we knew where to look, and Callie had looked up a map  before we came down here this time so we didn't have any trouble finding  the path. It was a relief not to have to waste charges before going  into such a tense situation, even if I realized that if it came down to a  fight we'd be in a bad enough position that it probably wouldn't matter  anyway.

So we arrived relatively early, Callie not  wanting to bother waiting. As we got to the entrance the two black  masked and hooded figures led us inside silently, gesturing us forward  but not actually saying a word. It was hardly unexpected that Silent  Dagger members would be quiet so no one was really surprised. Once we  entered the building, we saw yet another of the E rank forces and how  they exerted their power on their territory.

It was  different than the others. While all the other headquarters had been  large and imposing, this particular layout was much more confined. It  wasn't small exactly, but it was almost cramped, going more for length  and relying on confusing twists and turns to make use of the principles  of expanded space. The black carpets were thick and muffled the sound of  movement and the lighting was dim and relatively condensed, appearing  in the form of candle flames and similar small methods of lighting the  way to produce lots of jumping shadows and dark patches as they led us  through the black walled corridors.

It was obviously made  to allow people to sneak around unnoticed, and that was further  confirmed by the numbers of drapes and curtains lining the walls in what  were supposed to painting alcoves and were almost definitely excuses to  randomly toss in secret passages that the members of the Silend Dagger  could use to pop up behind people unexpectedly during any attempted  attacks on the base or even during visits from people they decided they  didn't really like. That wasn't a comforting thought to have, and I  ratcheted up my awareness of my surroundings to make sure I didn't get  snuck up on.

What was odder though was Callie. Not how she  was acting, but how she was being treated. As someone who was known to  be Midknights daughter I'd have expected the subordinates of his worst  enemy to treat her like shit, or at least be wary enough of her to make  sure she didn't get into trouble. Instead they were treating her with  immense respect and trying to be as accommodating as one could be while  also remaining totally silent.

I wouldn't have thought you  could show deference without talking, but they were managing, conveying  their respect through gestures and stance rather than words. Finally we  arrived at a large pair of dark wood double doors. The escorts gestured  inside, pushing the door open for us so we could step into a new room.  The new location was huge and dark, lined with bookshelves and large  furniture while still having plenty of room to move around.

Behind  the desk sat....a person. Not a very visible one, granted, and not one I  could make identifying guesses about. The person was wearing thick,  bulky black robes and under that wrapped head to toe in cloth. Wrapped  black bandages covered their face, not even revealing the shape of a  nose or eyes, and a good was thrown carelessly over the bandages to  provide shadow even to the pitch black cloth, making seeing through it  even less likely.

Despite that, Callie froze when she saw  the figure. She stared for a bit, squinting suspiciously. "That's shadow  embodiment." There wasn't any hesitation or uncertainty in her voice,  though there was surprise and I could understand why it would be there.  Shadow embodiment wasn't a unique ability, but it was rare. It required a  certain combination of Skills and a base ability, not to mention  certain foundations in those Skills to make sure the synthesized ability  came out as they wanted. There were also stat requirements and various  other factors, factors Callie had been able to accommodate because her  father had guided her through its formation. It was extremely slim odds a  stranger would manage it, and even slimmer ones that stranger would  have a contentious relationship with the only person with a thorough  understanding of how to grant the ability.

Callie, far  from being upset by the revelation, was ecstatic. "I was right wasn't I.  You knew him when he was younger. Maybe some sort of friend or ally who  had a similar enough power you were able to create the same ability.  Though I'm surprised you went with cloth. I did it on purpose to make  sure I kept myself distinct from him, but if you saw him coming up you  must know that metal is a much more effective vessel in most cases." She  forced herself to stop. "Damn it. No. Sorry. I like to wax eloquent  about informational topics when I'm nervous."

I snorted at  that, and she wheeled to glare at me. I stayed perfectly still, not  needing to avert my eyes or anything behind my mask. She gave me a look  just as suspicious as she'd given The Nothing before turning back to  them. "Well. In that case, I should introduce myself. My name in costume  is Nightstrike. I know yours already. Can you tell me what exactly your  relationship is with Midknight? He's my father, which I suspect you  know, but I'm not sure how you met him."

The cloth wrapped  figure cocked its thoroughly obscured head before speaking. "Are you  sure I have some deep connection to Midknight?" The Nothing's voice was  unsettling, to say the least. It was soft and raspy, with very few  identifying features. Somewhere between the rustle of dead leaves and  the buzz of a cicada's wings. It gave literally no indication of the age  or gender of the person it was issued from, and I highly suspected that  a purposeful effect. Not surprising for a figure so shrouded in  secrecy, both figuratively and literally.

Callie was not  to be deterred though. "Because I'm here. You're an E ranker. Getting a  meeting with the two others might have been a bit easier because of  Agria's power, but they were both support and business type enterprises.  They're known for being accessible and easy to reach. Silent Dagger  isn't nearly so simple to get in touch with. You're an upper level force  in the city, and me having a shadow ability isn't enough to get this  meeting. Neither is our rising star. In fact, I'd bet if we interrogate  Cark, we'd find out that you arranged for him to even consider it. Maybe  some mole in the Militia dropped a hint, or you arranged for him to  overhear something. Either way, some middle manager in a lower level E  ranked force isn't enough to push someone like you to see us."

I  blinked. I hadn't considered any of that. Callie had done quite a bit  of research and apparently formed some theories based on them. I was  pretty impressed by the deductions. It seemed The Nothing didn't share  the sentiment however. "Little girl, this was all clearly obvious.  However, you've made several leaps of logic that are far from certain.  Do you have any actual evidence? Or are you also in the habit of  assuming you know better than everyone else like that arrogant old  bastard?"

Callie flinched at  that, and I remembered how upset it made her when people compared her to  her dad. Her obsession with being nothing like him might not be  healthy, but it was something she cared about, and this cloth wrapped  asshole had obviously hurt her with his comment. Which of course, made  me angry. "I'm sorry, did we come here to get sneered at by a shapeless  blob dressed in someone's sock drawer? Or was this supposed to be a  meeting? Because based on what I've heard about that bastard, the person  here acting like Midknight is you. He's exactly the type of asshole to  lord his power over helpless lower rankers just because he can."

The  cloth wrapped person pulled up short, turning to me as if they hadn't  even noticed my presence before. "Well, it seems one of you has a spine  at least. Boy, do you think I won't kill you for some reason? Or are you  so besotted you're willing to risk death to pay back a little harmless  probing?" The dry leaf whisper had turned sharper, and I could almost  feel the winds of autumn slicing at me skin from chill and edge  contained in the words.

I  rolled my eyes. "Kill me if you want. Either you let me be after  talking to you how I want, or you kill me and prove you weren't smart  enough to refute what I was saying. I can't keep up with you in a murder  contest, but if you feel like announcing to the world that you got  outsmarted by an eighteen year old with probably exponentially less  Focus than you feel free to do so. If not, maybe let me know so we can  get out of here and end this waste of time. I've got things."

There  was a sound like tearing cloth and a flash of darkness, and a strip of  black fabric slashed the air right next to my head. I didn't move, and I  assumed he'd been avoiding me on purpose, because if an E ranker had  actually tried to harm me Zeke would have swatted him like a fly. I'd  have probably been much less insulting if I didn't know he couldn't do  shit to me. This was a smart call in a few ways though. It would  establish my rep among higher rankers as someone fearless, so when I  eventually hit F rank I wouldn't have to worry as much about Zeke's  protection being gone.

Sadly,  I was the only one who had that protection, and despite knowing I did,  Callie had become enraged at seeing me attacked and lashed out with a  wave of razor sharp shadows of her own. To our mutual shock, they  slammed into The Nothing, crashing over them like waves off a stone  cliff. I expected things to escalate, but they didn't continue to get  worse. The Nothing retrieved the cloth and with a deep chuckle began to  clap. The voice that came out this time was much clearer and obviously  male. "Excellent. You didn't disappoint me Calliope. Nothing like  Midknight indeed. That was all I needed to see. Now this meeting can  really begin."