Chương 111: Traitor Bait

"Ari," Nyxil called as she crossed the room to join her. Dan was already by her side. He seemed more concerned for the girl than himself, so she could only assume his team had done well enough to fulfil the quota.

"How many did you collect?" She didn't bother mincing words.

"Only four." She knead her fingers, barely sparing Nyxil a glance.

"We spent the first few hours stuck on two before we realised that we were supposed to search for more than what we were given. But… none of us had any abilities that were helpful. Our strengths are too specific. We barely managed to get what we did." At Nyxil's questioning look, Dan answered for his own team.

"We got just enough. Eight black hole tokens, but that should be easy enough to trade for accretions. That's why they brought us here." He turned away from Ari.

"How many did…" Dan trailed off, but Nyxil couldn't have missed the pleading for what it was. She almost agreed to give her some tokens on the spot. With more than four times what they needed, Nyxil's team had plenty to spare. But… she held herself back. Something was strange. They weren't the only ones to have left their teams to gather with the people they knew. Kal had found Oru and Stan. Mavi was with the other Scripture acolytes.

Was it a coincidence that the teams were filled with people who knew each other well? Was it simply an easier way to organise their groups, or was it intentional? The arachnid and bug-like machines of the Worshippers watched them from the walls. There was also the Bodytwister overseer and the few observers behind him. Why were they watching so diligently if this was organised as a simple trade before they reached the Biovault for the Trial's conclusion? Simple. This was as much a test as any of the tokens had been.

"What do they want to test by having us meet people we already know?" Nyxil mumbled, but the moment the words left her lips and she looked upon Ari's stress-riddled form, she realised the answer.

"Loyalty to your cult over all, huh?" Nyxil shouldn't be surprised. It was such an ingrained way of thinking through the cults that it might as well be the only thing they tested for. Especially for those a cult might consider investing in. At the two's questioning gazes, she explained.

"This is a trap. Remember what they said at the start of the Trial; treat your team as your cult. They want to see if we'll offer charity to those not part of our 'cult'. It's traitor bait." The entire concept was hypocritical. One couldn't betray the cult they joined, but any other sort of disloyalty was acceptable. One could kill their teacher. The cult could betray their acolytes. As long as loyalty remained towards the cult itself, almost anything could be brushed aside with enough power and prestige.

"Then what can we do?" Dan pleaded.

"Ari will fail if we can't get her enough tokens."

"It's that very thought they are looking for. If we act on it, then it might be us that fail. Regardless of the number of tokens we've gathered." Nyxil was almost happy for the excuse. She didn't want them to enter a cult, so failure was hardly the worst thing in the world for these two. But… when she was in a position to help them, and she didn't, she could only imagine how they would see that. Still, it was difficult to watch the two as they glanced at each other as if Ari's life was over.

With a sigh, Nyxil stepped in close to pat the girl's shoulder.

"Good luck in the last thirty minutes. I'm sure you can find a few easy to beat tests." And with that, she slipped back to her team. Hopefully Ari would check her pocket. Nyxil had risked being spotted for her. While she contemplated improving the sloppy handwriting of her tentacles, Mavi's venomous hiss reached her ears.

"You did what?!"

"It was only two. We had so many, and they were ones I'd taken myself." Tru squirmed as Mavi barely held herself back from enacting a ritual to turn his innards… not so inward. Apparently, Tru had fallen for the trap.

"I don't care if it was a single grain of sand. It was our team's and not yours to give away. Now go back over there and take them back."

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Mavi was doing her best not to raise a commotion by shouting, but it was clear how hard she struggled to stop herself. Nyxil found Kal watching Tru getting spat at with a sneer. He wasn't exactly happy, but he was enjoying the show.

"There would be no point. We wouldn't be able to take them back without a fight now, and a fight means failure."

"Then go and steal from the other teams then." Mavi jerked a thumb towards the trial-goers now gathering back into their appointed groups.

"Three, then we'll let you pass." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"What? But that's more than I gave away."

"Then maybe you should have reconsidered before you gave away what was ours." Mavi suddenly turned on Nyxil and Kal.

"I hope you two didn't feel as generous as this one?" Nyxil shook her head, but Kal shrugged, wincing as he moved his finger.

"And give up what token? You've still not let me touch them." Reluctantly, Tru slunk back through the groups to have his little rodent steal some more tokens. She doubted he'd get even one. Most teams — particularly those that were struggling — had become very protective of the coins they'd collected. The same trick could only work so many times until word got out. She considered straight up telling him how stupid he'd been. While Nyxil, Kal and Mavi would likely be fine, he had just failed himself.

There was no way the eyes watching from the walls had missed Mavi's aggressive words even if they'd somehow not noticed him giving away the tokens themselves. In the end, she held her tongue. If there were consequences for the act, Tru would face them soon enough. Why should she give him any warning? As the shutter opened, Nyxil waved to Ari as the girl's team hurried out into the tunnels. They didn't have much time until the end of the Trial. Hopefully Ari would be fast enough.

Nyxil and her team though, they had no reason to rush. Mavi glared at Tru their entire trolley trip from the small service hall to the Biovault. Tru had not recovered enough tokens to satisfy her. They clambered off the trolley to the marketplace beneath the Biovault's grand arches. At least, it was where the market usually stood. There wasn't a store to be seen. Neither the scammer's weaponshop, nor Senoeul's shady back-ally shop — or the alley itself — were still around.

The place had been stripped clean of all buildings that had been as permanent as any old rearing ward. Neither pillar nor wall remained. Not a tile indicated their disappearance. Now, the tall arches only held the thousands of Trial participants eagerly waiting the results. Eagerly, only because the teams that were struggling were still out there. Nyxil's team would have seen the state of the former marketplace if they'd taken the public path into the Biovault at all during the Trial.

But they hadn't, so this was their first time seeing how all the entrenched stores and stalls had uprooted themselves entirely for the Trials.

"I'm going to swap out the rest of our tokens," Mavi said as soon as they found somewhere not too crowded to settle down and wait.

"Make sure those two don't go and do anything stupid." A pained expression rested on Nyxil's face, but the other girl simply snorted and left, leaving her to a babysitting duty she didn't want. They'd managed to gain some black hole hole tokens while speaking with the other teams, but it had become quickly apparent that there wasn't enough amongst all five teams to replace the half they needed to swap. It was more convenient to do it here.

Even if most teams only gathered a few more than they needed, there were enough teams that there was always someone else to ask.

"Well?" She gestured to Tru.

"Not going to send your little skitter-spawn out for those tokens you owe?"

"Are you kidding?" the boy had thankfully become far less chatty with Nyxil since earlier, but it appeared he still had to realise how apathetic she was to him.

"There's no way I won't be spotted here."

"So?" Nyxil asked.

"I'm sure Mavi was clear on what she intended." To emphasise the point, she tossed Kal a pair of tokens; leaving Tru the only one with none. Kal blinked at her, confused. He better not question her generosity. This was simply her way to reward the self reflection he'd finally done. Maybe it was cruel to keep stomping on Tru while he was down, but unlike Kal's blatant hatred and hostility, Tru's attitude had always wormed its way under her skin.

He accepted his weakness, and instead of trying to improve himself, his mind shifted to pleasing the cults and anyone above him in order to rise. She hated that. Far more than any insult Kal could throw her way. Soon enough, Mavi returned while Nyxil was watching Tru attempt to walk through the crowd inconspicuously.

"I thought I said to keep them under leash," she said, though there wasn't any tone of accusation in her voice.

"You wanted him to pay back those tokens he gave away." Nyxil shrugged.

"Besides, watching him struggle is entertaining." As she said that, one of the teams caught Tru's rodent skittering into their pack. It took them but a moment to realise who was bound to the creature. While fighting wasn't allowed, that didn't mean Tru's face became any less pale at the sudden confrontation. Mavi laughed.

"You're right." With a heavy bag of tokens in hand, she slumped besides Nyxil. For the moment, it was just the two of them. Kal was alone off the side, brooding, or cradling his broken finger or something.

"I would like to thank you for today," Mavi said as they watched Tru veer towards the tunnels away from the Biovault arches. He decided preying on the struggling teams was easier.

"I won't get the opportunity to stand out in the next Trials, so I appreciate how much the two of us got done." She suddenly laughed.

"I'll bet no other team did better." Nyxil nodded. There really wasn't that much of a reason to perform as well as they had in this Trial unless you had an evolution yet couldn't defend yourself any better than the average person. A lot more people than harbinger prospectives participated in the harbinger trials.

"Which is why I'll give you a warning. Steer clear of G͇rifv̪oi. You want to go all the way in the trials, that is obvious to anyone who watches you for more than a minute. If you want to reach the last round, don't get in his way. His abilities are… dangerous."

"That's his new name, is it?" Nyxil asked, not intending to listen to the warning at all.

"I'll look out." The arches were flooding with groups now. So many disappointed faces. Far too many. It seemed more than half hadn't succeeded in collecting enough tokens. They couldn't possibly fail this many prospective cultists, could they?

"Whatever happens in the next Trial, no hard feelings, yeah?" Mavi jumped to her feet, but before Nyxil could reply, the assistant Adjudicator's voice carried over the crowd as he rose upon the hand of his giant.

"The Trial is now over. Gather in your allocated teams, and please sit still; moving too much messes with the ritual. It is time to see your results." Tru arrived at their side, three tokens in his hand.

"Here." The boy looked ready to keel over. He was stealing from teams that were already struggling; what about that could have made him look so sick? Well, she was surprised he got them at all.

"Not going to give these ones away?" Mavi asked, eyebrow raised. He didn't rise to the bait.

"No."

"Then hold onto them." She waved him off.

"Lets see just how we compare." Even knowing the main Trials were yet to come, Nyxil was curious to see if anyone else came close.