Chương 33: 32-Come Into My Parlor

Jenna studied the city's movement patterns from her vantage point on the fourth floor of the abandoned building where they were hiding. Billy was dead asleep. Bob was sleepwalking his way into some new perk, and she intended to spend the night making plans. Business as usual. She had successfully infiltrated the Imperial Court in Belona months ago, and Bob had lived among them for years as a sleeper agent, but this was different. These people were expecting them.

Jenna sank into the Blood-Link and contacted her mother's mind. She was not surprised to find out she was discussing tactics with Dignity.

"Well met, daughter, I hope you are all well. We ourselves had a bit of fun yesterday with Hawking's assassins." Jenna sat up, alarmed; "What? Tell me what happened."

"Most of Babylon and Valda's leadership suffered an assassination attempt yesterday. Dawn stopped it, single-handedly, and caught a prisoner. She has been most cooperative."

"How did Dignity react?" Alarel laughed, as if charmed by her adoptive daughter's naivete.

"The only way she could, of course—she has declared war."

"Babylon has fought plenty of defensive battles, but we have never invaded another territory. This can't end well, Mom. They are more prepared for that kind of war than we are."

"The Federation has chosen to become an existential threat, Jenna. Once they have Alchemy and start using it, they will become undefeatable on the battlefield. They will crush us. Dignity has to intervene before they grow too strong."

"Last night's attempt was not intended to provoke us into action. It was intended to succeed. If it had, we would be leaderless and with a huge Essence cloud dispersing over Babylon." Jenna could already feel a headache forming, no, screw that— Headache Resistant +5. It went away.

"Okay, mum, I got it. Send my love to Ela. I am very sorry about what happened, but I could not let her kill Helena." She hesitated for a moment.

"Is her eye better? Can she open it already?" Then, a bit more worried, "Is she angry with me?" Alarel laughed, "Of course, she is not angry with you, we are a warrior culture and family is expected to give each other beatings now and again. It is a much healthier custom than those passive-aggressive reindeer sweaters you people exchange during your celebrations. She is still going to beat you black and blue all over, but she will do it with utmost affection. You are her favorite sister, after all."

"I am her only sister!"

"Yes, that also counts in your favor. She would not like to be an only child again. I must go now, they are already calling for me."

"Mom, before you go, what did your informant tell you about Milwaukee?" asked Jenna.

"The Federation is built inside the structure of one huge tamed dungeon, one with no mobs and a single bound Boss, who they have forced to cooperate. It is divided into seven levels, dug progressively deeper into the ground. Each level is tens of miles wide and follows a different theme. The first four are used for logistics and training of the base grunts. The last three are heavily watched—hunter-killer troops and special projects are kept there. It is also where we think they keep Bilto and the bound Boss."

"It is going to be tough," mumbled Jenna.

"The city itself is awash with troops. Most of them are common classes, but I know there is always one Hunter-Killer team exploring it, trying to detect you. Each member of this group has powers designed against one of the Losers."

"We are moving from Babylon, Valda, and Madison in a three-pronged attack," Alarel went on.

"It will force them to meet us ten miles away from Milwaukee. We are playing a dangerous game here. We need to become a credible menace so that they will send troops against us, and take pressure off you."

"But if we get too close, Hawking will slay the bound boss and turn Bilto into the Core. He will not risk Alchemy if Babylon becomes too much of a threat. You have three days at most. That is when the opposing armies will meet. Hawking will not trigger the transformation for as long as Bilto is more valuable for him as bait than as a dungeon seed."

"Time to leave now, daughter. Take care." She mentally hugged her mother and waved goodbye. Then she studied the enemy Hearing +2 Discrimination +2 Perception +2 Body -2 Mind +2 Spirit +2 Resilience-2 Photoallergic -1 She thought the photoallergic weakness was a nice touch to get some extra points. She was lying alone in the dark at night. She hoped Billy did not wake up and light a candle or whatever—tertiary weaknesses were very specific, but powerful enough to guarantee a severe rash even from that.

It was not as if she had many options; she needed both Spirit and Mind for the stunt she intended to pull. She almost fell to the ground as the Universe roared at her. Damn it! Perception was better enhanced at a gentle pace. She would never learn. She tried again, going more slowly. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Bob's snore acquired a drilling quality that went straight into her brain.

A chorus of whispers, faintly heard in the distance, gained progressively more intensity as she poured more points into her perception stat. The final effect was like hearing a huge crowd approaching her position, blabbering nonstop. Jenna realized that she was listening to every conversation in a two-mile radius. The amount of information was overwhelming. … and I told him… are you dumb?... please, a little bit to your right… God, that was funny… come on, put some spring in the steps, lads…

don't you ever talk to me again like that… It was like trying to walk under a waterfall made of words. She enhanced her Discrimination, and most of the voices began to slowly disappear. The blabbering crowd began to dissolve, leaving only a select group of friends having a strange, unhinged conversation, as if they did not care whether the others were listening. … I saw them this morning. They always go in groups of three. They try to mingle with the crowd, but I know two of them to be special forces.

They are hunting. They only do that if they think we have been infiltrated… … production and logistics are in chaos. How do you feed and equip 10, 000 people in 3 hours? Hawking has gone mad… … a complete asshole. I would make him eat his own manbun. I do not understand how he has A-grade access… She briefly enhanced her Mind, memorizing all the significant details. Then she went for another go, this time using her eyesight.

She quickly picked up the assassin team, mingling in the crowd, before her brain was overloaded with visuals. Discrimination. Memorization. New sense—smell this time. … the sweat of soldiers rushing toward the front line, heavy with adrenaline and a subtle tinge of fear… … the pungent smell of forge components coming from freshly made weapons… … the musk of gryphons, mixed with the thrill of battle, carried on the south wind. Amazons were coming… Jenna spent all night cycling through the same routine.

She could have learned everything there was to know about Milwaukee, from how Hawking's armpits smelled to the exact number of daisies planted in a flowerpot one mile away; she chose to focus only on what was relevant for her mission. The night was reaching its end. She dispelled her photoallergy and did one last round, enhancing her mind and using Pattern Recognition to stitch all the details into a whole. She began to assemble the first pieces of a plan.

One hour later, the Losers were all gathered around one steaming coffee pot. Bob, God bless that man, brought everything they needed for a decent breakfast in his inventory. That gave Jenna pause—why the hardtack and honey then? She suddenly realized that Dawn's foresight was not perfect. The First Alpha only made well-informed guesses based on her vast experience. She was usually right—but infallible she was not. They would lose if they saw her as a deus ex machina.

"But that is precisely what she has been saying all along," she muttered aloud.

"She wants us ready."

"Having second thoughts about our benefactor?" asked Bob.

"I think we both reached the same conclusions. This will only work if we do not count on her help."

"Yep," Billy said.

"That is what people usually mean when they write P. S.: I will not help." Jenna had to smile at that. She and Bob were supposed to be the brainy ones, but Billy had a way of making them both sound like morons. Who knows? Perhaps they were.

"Okay. Let's get on with this: The whole city is a trap. Most of the civilians you will see on the street are Fed troops in disguise. There are magical snipers on every rooftop, and a whole net of watchers in constant telepathic communication," Jenna said. Bob and Billy stood to attention as they heard this.

"That is not the worst part. There is always a hunter-killer team on the loose, looking for us, designed to counter our powers."

"Only one team, then?" Bob asked, scratching his beard.

"No, Bob, not only one team. I have identified at least two different ones. I think one guards Bilto while the other looks for us."

"Make that three," answered Bob.

"They are working in shifts. One team will be on reserve while the other two are active."

"I think you are probably right. Anyway, the attack from Babylon has scattered the first line of defense. We can probably enter the dungeon, and I have a very accurate idea of what we will find on the first four floors. Those should be doable, with the right plan."

"But Bilto will not be there, will he?" Billy asked.

"They will have hidden him on the deepest floor." Jenna nodded.

"I have no idea what those last three floors contain or how we are going to enter them. They are heavily watched."

"Babylon has one informant, one of the assassins the Federation sent. She was never allowed into those levels. That gives you an idea of how secretive they are about whatever they are doing in there. We are going to have to improvise."

"God, I hate improvising."

"Jenna, I also need more Achievement Points. I am short 8, 000 of them," Billy reminded them.

"I know, Billy, I am trying to solve that too," she answered. She left the group and sat down, retreating into her mind. Billy and Bob remained silent. Most of the battles they had won had been fought inside Jenna's mind. Jenna thought about how to tackle the problem. She was out of ideas. She had milked all the information she could out of perception; she could create simulations and play them inside her mind, but she was sure Hawking had already taken steps to neutralize that approach.

Her simulations would probably be compromised. There was a problem with Billy's AP, too. She just could not see a way out of this. Brainstorming it was, then. She visualized herself atop a hill on a sunny day. Thought butterflies began to rain from the sky, each one a flicker of inspiration that would be lost forever if not pursued. Jenna hated Brainstorming with a passion. She always woke up with the nagging feeling that she had forgotten something important.

For all she knew, she could solve this problem at the cost of forgetting how to heal cancer, travel faster than light, or find an easy and efficient way of opening mayo jars. The butterflies started dancing around her. The trick was to ignore their promises and focus on the one that could actually help her. As they flew around her, their siren songs whispered into her soul. … Elvis is not dead… … you do not have to pay the Keeper each time you travel in time. There is a way around it, and it's pretty obvious… …

Discovery may be contacted without placing her in danger… Damn it! It was always the same with Brainstorming! That is why she hated it. Jenna had to make an enormous effort of will to ignore that particular butterfly. … you are ignoring warnings from your subconscious mind. A powerful force is hunting you… Again. It was as if her own brainstorming powers were taunting her. … you can use the Federation's own tactics against them… promised a particularly juicy butterfly. There! That one!

Jenna's dream self pursued the butterfly for over twenty minutes, finally catching her as she started to fly up the same way the insect had originally arrived. She opened her eyes. She knew what she had to do.

"Well?" asked Bob.

"We are hunting the hunters," Jenna said.