“How do you know that?” Claire asked, her expression not so much as flickering in response to Maurice’s warning.

“Time isn’t the only thing that’s valuable,” Maurice replied. He rubbed two fingers together, his eyes lingering on the rings squeezed onto them as they rang against each other. “And I find great importance in all things valuable. Information is one of them. Do with it what you will.”

Great. I probably could have guessed that Absolution would be here… but knowing for certain complicates a few things. Does he have a way to track us? If he did, I feel like he’d have popped up again by now. So he must be after something within the Ancestry. Just like everyone else, huh?

“I see,” Alex said. “That’s good to know. Thank you.”

Maurice did his impression of a nod again. It was still a little disconcerting to see a man without a neck try to wiggle his head, but he got his point across. Then he reached down. One of the rings on his fingers shimmered.

Two blue coins materialized within his huge palm. They looked positivity toy-sized in comparison to Maurice. A tiny insignia of a golden coin was emblazed upon each of them.

“For you,” Maurice. “I trust Bridget already explained how they work.”

“Coin-ception,” Alex said as he and Claire took the coins and slipped them into their pockets. “Sweet. Do you have somewhere for us to wait things out until everything gets started properly?”

Maurice nodded. “Of course. You can use one of the other open tents in the camp while you wait for things to begin. Do not wander far. The Ancestry’s doors will be opened soon. It would be very unfortunate if you ended up in a different section of the camp when that happened. Your disguises will only go so far.”

Alex and Claire both nodded. They turned, slipping back out of the tent without another word. A faint sense of unease lingered on Alex’s shoulders. He didn’t think it had anything to do with his Anomaly-sense.

There’s something off with that guy.

Bridget was still outside when they emerged. She was midway through donning light silver armor as she caught sight of them. The merchant adjusted her armguard, then gave them a nod.

“Went well?”

“Well enough,” Alex replied.

“He’s reasonable,” Bridget said. “And he’s more than happy to throw his wealth around when the situation calls for it. I have no idea how a Nativeworlder got that rich… but that’s the one question he won’t answer. Don’t suppose you found out?”

“Didn’t ask,” Alex said. “I’ve got slightly more important things on my mind.”

Bridget smirked. “Hardly. Everyone is here to get rich. There’s no other reason to risk your life in an Ancestry. Wealth and power are one and the same.”

“Maybe if you’re a merchant,” Claire said. “But we appreciate the invite nonetheless. What tents are free? We should probably get some rest while we wait for things to get started.”

“Staying out of sight can’t hurt. Just don’t get too comfortable. We’ll be moving soon enough. You you can use that one,” Bridget replied, pointing to a nearby tent. “And stay alert.”

“Alert? Isn’t this your camp?” Alex asked. “What are we alert for?”

Bridget leveled a flat gaze at him. “Come on. You don’t actually mean that and we both know it. You’re more than aware of just what we have to be aware of. The peace here is about as real as an unsigned deal.”

“Oh, I know. I was just wondering if there were any enemies in particular we should be keeping an eye out for,” Alex said as he and Claire headed into the tent that Bridget had indicated. He paused halfway into it, turning back to look at her. “It would be good to know if there’s anyone in the dungeon that’s going to have it out for us in particular because we’re part of your group.”

Bridget paused for a moment. Then her lips thinned. “Yes. Leah.”

And then she was gone, striding away before Alex could ask another question.

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He stared at her receding back for a few seconds before letting the tent flap fall shut. Alex turned to Claire, his brow furrowing.

“Leah? The woman that was at the Assembly representing Gentle Shadow? The person we’re supposed to be looking out for is from Bridget’s own family?”

“This is just like the family gatherings back on Ayrin,” Claire said, a dreamy, nostalgic note entering her voice. “It’s kind of exciting, isn’t it?”

***

It was three hours later when the camp came to life all around the tent. The sounds of yelling and thuds of hundreds of footsteps moving outside alerted Alex and Claire to the fact that their time of rest was just about over.

Bridget pulled the flaps of their tent open about thirty minutes after that. She was fully clad in her silver armor, a helm set over her head with a T-shaped gap that left only her eyes and a portion of the center of her face visible.

“It’s time,” Bridget said. “The Gentle Shadow’s turn to enter is on us. Get moving.”

Alex and Claire both slipped out of the tent. People rushed around all around them as they grabbed packs and conducted last-minute searches for their gear. But, even in the chaos, the difference in the camp was striking.

Nearly half of everyone was gone. All that remained in their wake was trampled grass. At the center of the camp, the two massive doors that led into the Ancestry had been cracked open just wide enough to let people enter the dark depths below in a single-file line.

“Say, how did you guys decide who got to go in first?” Alex asked as Bridget waved for them to follow her over to the rest of the waiting coalition. It looked like there were somewhere around fifty people standing in wait.

Alyssa stood among them near the front, but Alex didn’t see any sign of the River King. The wide man’s request still lingered in Alex’s mind. Alyssa spotted him looking in her direction, but he didn’t offer any explanation or inquire as to why the River King was trying to protect her. Something told him this wasn’t the place. He just glanced to Bridget.

“I would have thought there’d have been a giant bloodbath to get in first the moment the doors opened.”

Bridget nodded to the base of the doors. Alex squinted. Then he blinked. He’d missed it before, but there were several dead men lying in a bloodied mess against the edges of the door.

“Champions,” Bridget replied. “Saves on the bloodshed and avoids losing too much firepower right before we enter. We placed solidly in the middle. Let’s all thank our champion for her sacrifice.”

She doesn’t seem too sad to hear that someone got killed just to buy our place in line.

Alex’s lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn’t say anything. He and Claire simply joined the ranks of the other people alongside Alyssa. They didn’t say anything more. Both of them were more than occupied enough gazing out at the sea of warriors around them.

Gentle Shadow easily had a few hundred people within the coalitions making up their family’s forces. It was hard to tell if any of them were stronger than the other, and Alex couldn’t spot Leah anywhere within the mess.

That may have been because he didn’t exactly remember what she looked like. There had been a lot of people at the Assembly, and he’d never been the best with names and faces.

Meh. I’m sure it’s fine. She’ll probably introduce herself with a villain speech or something. Every single Outworlder seems to love doing that when they realize I’m actually from Earth instead of invading it like everyone else.

They didn’t have to wait much longer. All around them, the many forces of the Gentle Shadow family started to move. Bridget’s group fell in line with them. Everyone made their way toward the enormous stone doors to march through the gap.

A slight portion of the spectacle’s impressiveness was impacted by the fact that they had to line up by the doors like a bunch of unruly school children because nobody had bothered to open the damn things large enough for large groups of people to enter at once.

It took nearly fifteen minutes of standing awkwardly in line until Alex and Claire finally drew close to the entrance itself. The shadows swirling behind the doors were so thick that Alex couldn’t make out a single thing beyond them.

Every person that strode into the Ancestry vanished into the darkness the instant they passed by the edges of the doors. Not even sound managed to escape from the enormous dungeon. It was like it ate everything that dared step foot within it, leaving behind nothing but the memory of their passing.

How ironic would it be if this was just some kind of black hole that instantly killed everyone that walked into it?

As funny as that thought was, Alex got the feeling the Great Families had done their research. They weren’t going to march hundreds of their strongest warriors in this Subsector to their deaths because nobody had bothered sending a scout in and out of the dungeon.

“Be ready,” Claire whispered, her hands tightening into fists at her sides. “The moment we’re in there…”

She didn’t have to finish her sentence. Alex already knew. All holds were off. Even though they were surrounded by the Gentle Shadow’s men, the only things around them were enemies.

“I don’t suppose either of you know what we’re meant to expect from this?” Alyssa asked, hesitating as she sent a glance over her shoulder at them.

“Only one way to find out,” Alex said.

And then they were upon the entrance.

Alyssa swallowed. She hesitated for a moment. Then she stepped into the darkness.

Claire reached back, grabbing Alex’s wrist.

“Just in case this thing somehow separates the people entering,” Claire said. “You never know.”

Alex wasn’t complaining.

And, with that, the two of them stepped into the darkness and entered the Ancestry.