Silence descended upon the two of them, and Lucien was content not to break that. But Effie wasn't
"So? You didn't answer my question Lucy."
Lucien sighed, "No, I don't want to be left alone here."
"Then why-"
"But I don't want to see the rest of you waste away on this hellscape either." He stared at her, a fire burning in his eyes. Or maybe that was just the reflection of the fireplace.
Effie frowned and glared at him, "And what of you and Aletta? What will you do if you succeed? Will you just live out your lives here, alone?"
Lucien glared back, not daring to back off, "No, we'll find another way out of here-"
"And how exactly do you think you're gonna do that?" Effie roared, stepping forward and grabbing Lucien's collar, forcing him up.
"We'll find a way, even if it means crossing the hollow mountains by foot." He stared defiantly into her eyes, even as he hung from her grip. "We will not spend our lives rotting on these forgotten shores. I will find a way into the waking world, no matter who stands in my way."
Effie glared at him for a few seconds before sighing and putting him down. "You're dead set on this, aren't you?"
Lucien nodded, fixing his shirt.
"You sure there's nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?"
"None whatsoever." He shook his head.
Effie nodded; she knew how hard it was to change his mind once he had decided on something. Maybe if she talked with Aletta, she could have her convince him to give up on that fool's quest.
She shook her head. No, on something like this, even Aletta wouldn't be able to change his mind.
So they remained in silence for the rest of the day, until evening approached. Whatever they had done had sent an uproar through the outer settlements. It was buzzing with excitement; people were out in the streets, murmuring about something. It was like a constant buzz that wouldn't go away. Effie tried to ignore the noise, but after a while, she stormed towards the door in irritation.
"What's with all the commotion?! Can't a girl spend a day in…" Her words died in her throat as she stared at the three sleepers outside her door.
Curious, Lucien leaned to the side to get a glimpse of what was happening. And he saw it, Nephis holding the severed head of Andel, the pathfinder who had used a human boy as monster bait.
'Well, that's certainly one way to prove your strength.' Lucien grimaced, looking at the severed head.
Without so much as batting an eye, Nephis simply threw Andel's head to Effie's feet and asked: "Can we talk now?"
Looking down at the macabre present, the huntress narrowed her eyes. Her face darkened.
A few moments later, she glanced up and said in a grim voice: "Come inside."
As soon as the door closed behind them, Effie asked in a furious whisper: "What the hell have you done, princess?!"
Nephis tilted her head and slightly frowned. Then, she said with a hint of sincere confusion in her voice: "You wanted me to prove my strength. Did you not?"
Lucien chuckled, "You did tell her that."
Sunless sighed and slumped heavily on one of the sturdy chests. Then he forced out a dark smile and said: "Oh, by the way… you might be the last human in the Dark City to learn this, but standing right in front of you is none other than Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan, the champion of justice. She just walked into the castle, challenged the bastard, and killed him with one strike of her sword, right under everyone's eyes. By now, this must be the only thing people are talking about."
Effie blinked a couple of times and looked at them with a strange expression. Then, she threw her head back and laughed out loud.
"Oh! Oh, gods! Did you really?! This is priceless! I wish I'd seen their faces!"
"I know right?" Lucien said, barely holding back his laughter, "I regret not going along with them."
Sunless watched them with his mouth wide open. That was not the reaction he had been expecting.
'Crazy, they're all crazy! I'm surrounded by crazy people!'
When Effie finished laughing, she glanced at Changing Star with a dark, but gleeful expression.
"Alright, you have proven your point. But there's something you should know. Back when I refused to join the Host, Gunlaug made it clear that if he can't have me, no one else will. Ever since, any group that dared to invite me to join them ended up regretting their decision. By hiring me as a guide, you will be putting yourself in his crosshairs. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Sunless spoke in a bitter and dejected voice, "I mean… it's a bit late to worry about that. Don't you think?"
And so the hunting party was formed. The next morning, they were preparing to go on a hunt. A small crowd of slum dwellers gathered around to see them off, their dark eyes burning with a strange mix of hope and anguish.
Lucien, meanwhile, was deep in thought. He was not the only one who had received a true name in his first nightmare. Nephis had gained the name Changing Star in hers. That only further proved his point that these were the sleepers he was waiting for. Maybe now he could dare to hope for a better future?
When the five of them were ready to set off, a sudden hum of voices made them turn around. The slum dwellers stepped aside, letting a tall young man walk through.
The man's brown hair was properly groomed, unlike anyone in the outer settlement. He was from the castle. Lucien frowned. Had Gunlaug sent someone after them already?
The man stopped a few meters away from them and bowed politely. "Lady Nephis, Huntress Athena, Hunter Lucien, Cassia, Sunny. Good morning to all of you. I, Caster of the Han Li clan, would like to join your hunting party. Will you have me?"
Lucien frowned. This Caster knew of him? He had never talked to him inside the castle. Had his reputation exceeded him? Or were the castle dwellers simply told to look out for their party and eliminate them?
A buzz of whispers rose from the crowd. People were shocked to see a warrior from the castle volunteering to join an outer settlement cohort.
After some time had passed, Changing Star simply shrugged.
"If you want."
Lucien narrowed his eyes; he did not trust Caster. Even though Nephis allowed him into their cohort, he would keep an eye on him.
Together, the six Sleepers left the slum of the outer settlement behind and stepped on the road of white stone that led into the cursed ruins.
The hunt was surprisingly uneventful. With Effie guiding them and with Lucien and Sunless' scouting abilities, they managed to avoid any Fallen creatures and arrive at the destination in one piece. There, the group hid in the ruins and waited for their prey to show up.
The plan of battle was discussed beforehand. After Effie had described the type of monster they were here to kill, complete with a detailed list of its strengths and weaknesses, Nephis quickly assigned different roles to different people.
Nephis would take the most risk and lure the enemy into revealing its vulnerability. Caster would attack it head-on. And while it was distracted between the two of them, Lucien would deal the fatal blow.
Lucien frowned, "What about Sunless and Effie? You didn't assign them any role."
Nephis shrugged, "They're plan B. If the three of us cannot handle the monster by ourselves, they will join in."
"I…see." Lucien nodded, but he did not like it. Why would you fight a nightmare creature with a handicap?
When the monster did show up, everything went perfectly. Nephis, Lucien, and Caster were able to finish the creature off without sustaining any injuries. In the end, neither Sunless nor Effie was needed to finish the battle.
After everything was over, Effie laughed: "Ha, this is the easiest meal I've ever earned!"
Effie's status in the party was a bit strange. Unlike the rest of them, she had not shown any desire to join the cohort officially. Instead, she was somewhat of a hired worker — her responsibilities included guiding the party through the ruins and providing them with information, and nothing else. She wasn't even required to fight side by side with them.
After the Nightmare Creature was dead, they quickly butchered it and left the scene of the battle loaded with a heavy weight of meat. Before the shadow of the Crimson Spire fell on the Dark City, the cohort was already approaching the marble arch at the base of the hill.
This was when something unexpected finally happened. And it happened because of Nephis.
After giving a fair share of the spoils to the vigorous huntress, she glanced at Sunny, Cassie, Lucien, and Caster. Then, Changing Star said: "I would like for you three to entrust me with your part of the meat."
Lucien raised an eyebrow inquisitively, but before he could say anything, Cassie smiled and said, "Of course, Neph!"
Caster did not linger, either. With a small bow, he nodded.
"As you wish, lady Nephis."
Lucien sighed. He was curious about what she was thinking anyway, "Sure."
Sunless gritted his teeth, "...Fine"
Nephis gave them a nod and continued walking up the white road.
When they returned to the outer settlement, she separated the remaining share of monster meat into two parts. One, much smaller part, she handed to Cassie. The other, incomparably larger part, she simply placed on the white stones in front of their lodge.
Effie looked at the whole process with curiosity. So did the slum dwellers who had gathered to welcome them back.
Sunny frowned: "What are you doing?"
Changing Star glanced at him and then gestured to the small bundle of meat in Cassie's hands.
"This is for us to sustain ourselves. We will eat that meat until our next hunt."
Somebody from the crowd shouted:
"What about the rest? Are you selling it? What is your price?"
It was customary for the outer settlement hunters to sell some of their spoils. That was how people here fed themselves. The meat could be exchanged for items, services, or, in very rare cases, actual shards. Of course, the last one was what Lucien usually exchanged his meat for.
Nephis turned to the people who had gathered around and looked at them with a frown. When everyone grew quiet, she said in a cold tone: "My hunting party will not be selling any meat. Ever."
Before anyone had time to react, dismayed by that answer, she took a step to the side, gestured to the large pile of meat, and said: "...Instead, we will be giving it away for free."
Lucien blinked in surprise. She was giving away the meat for free? Had she lost her damned mind? He did not for a second believe that she did it out of the goodness of her own heart. No one was that noble, especially not in the forgotten shores.
A dead silence hung above the edge of the outer settlement. The slum dwellers who had come to catch a glimpse of Changing Star or in hope of procuring some food were all looking at Nephis with a dark mix of mistrust, disbelief, and suspicion.
After a while, someone shouted: "What trick are you trying to play? People here are hungry, Changing Star! Shame on you!"
Nephis crossed her arm, furrowed her brow, and answered: "There is no trick. Everyone is free to take a small share of the meat to fill their stomach."
The young man who had accused her before laughed.
"Why would you just hand it out for free? Do you think that we're fools?"
Nephis pierced the shouter with a cold look, scowled, and said, a hint of anger in her voice: "...Why? Am I not a human? Are you not humans? Does a human need a reason to help others of her kind in this cursed place?!"
Lucien wanted to say 'yes'. In the forgotten shores, you don't just help someone for no reason. It was always a means to an end. You helped someone if you wanted something from them.
Lucien stared at her back in suspicion, 'I don't buy it for one second that you're doing this out of kindness.'
She took a step forward and looked at the gathered people, making them shiver under her heavy gaze.
"Shame on me? No. Shame on you all for forgetting who you are. We are people, not beasts. In the real world or in the Dream Realm, this is who we are."
Her words echoed above the white stones, mixing with the howling wind.
"Now come forward and take some food if you're hungry!"
The slum dwellers were still not convinced. However, their hunger was stronger than their wariness. Soon, the first of them stepped forward, tentatively took a small strip of meat, threw a furtive glance at Nephis, and then hurriedly walked away.
When the others saw that nothing happened to him, they became braver. Young men and women dressed in rags formed a messy line. One by one, they came forward, received their tiny piece of meat, and then disappeared with haste, afraid that it will be taken back.
Slowly, a new kind of light appeared on their faces. It was something that precipitated hope, or maybe faith.
'You poor fools,' Lucien looked at them with a grim look upon his face, 'She's playing you, she's playing us all. And you're all falling for it.'