Erin felt as hollow as a cavern as they ate. The food—some stew—only tasted like salt and ash in her mouth. Ever since Grim Aegis, when she had pushed her curse to its limits, she had felt like a frayed and flayed rope. A single tug would break her apart.

Slurp.

Sayed held the bowl to his lips without a care in the world. He drank the stew like water. His body was covered with mostly healed cuts from his fight on Grim Aegis. Cut she had healed after almost fully regenerating her body.

All that healing against a single attack. Bone and sinew. Flesh and cartilage. Muscles and nerves. She regrew her entire body as it burned, and the surprise was she survived at all. Just what was she? What could her curse do if she actually died?

Would she regrow her body from a remaining drop of blood? That was a thought that made her shudder. What would it feel like to do that? She had ridden on the high of her curse flowing through her veins when she had regrown herself on Grim Aegis. Her hands shook when she thought about all the giddy excitement that buzzed through her hands as she continued healing the downed knights after the fight.

In her medical knowledge, the experience made sense. Her body would have been flooded with endorphins to dull the pain, even as she regrew what was hurt. The more it hurt, the more those chemicals would be released. That was why she rode a high after the fight.

That didn't stop the fear. She remembered what she had done to Maki 'the Beast' on Glory Plateau. She had forced his body to heal into metal bars and fused them through his skin. The same thing could happen to her if she regrew her body in a different situation.

It made her stomach churn.

Errn.

She slid her bowl forward, and Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Not hungry?"

"I can finish it if you want, brother."

The bowl was in Sayed's hand in a blink, and gone down his throat in the next. Erin was still a world away. She put on her best attempt at a smile.

"Thanks Sayed. I wasn't that hungry."

It was a lie, and she could tell only Sayed would believe it. It didn't matter. What was more important was that she recognized the woman glaring across the room at her.

She was dressed like the locals, in a simple two-tone dress that perfectly blended in. That was the bare minimum for being a spy. Her hair, normally red, had been dyed black to ensure she didn't stand out. The only odd thing about her was that she was a woman traveling on her own. It wasn't so suspicious that it was impossible, but it was a weakness that Erin had to deal with when she worked with the People's Revolution.

Erin knew her name—Remy.

Of course, she recognized Erin as well. That was why Remy was staring across the room at Erin. However, Erin couldn't simply leave and join her. The rest of the crew didn't need to know the People's Revolution was operating in Binvieti. Not yet, at least.

Erin only looked at Remy long enough for the woman to know that Erin recognized her.

"We've got two rooms, and we need to wait until morning until we can get the documents," Alex leaned forward, sliding his bowl to the side.

"I'm curious about what is so dangerous at night," Jean said, his hands grasping his bowl using his sleeves. "Why do they think the masks are necessary? What are these Collectors?"

"How much we can answer that depends on how long you all want to be here," Alex said. "There's no reason to draw attention to ourselves until after we get those papers though."

"We all shouldn't go and get them either," Wen said, her eyes tracking to Sayed without saying it. "Maybe we can split up tomorrow. Some of us can go poking around while the rest get our ship registered as a trader."

"We can do that," Alex said. "Jean can lead that group."

"What about me?" Mari pulled on Erin's cloak, her bowl only halfway finished.

She didn't need to eat, not in the same way as a human did. Erin wasn't exactly sure how Mari was powered as an automaton, but eating didn't hurt her at least. She looked down into Mari's glowing blue eyes and smiled.

"We can go with them," she said. "Jean, Sayed, me and you."

"That leaves us to get the papers," Alex said, nodding to Wen.

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"Maybe better if you wait outside when we do," Wen raised an eyebrow at Alex. "You're a lot more famous than I am."

"Hah," Alex laughed. "I don't mind being backup. Don't discount that you might be famous by now as well. The Military Police know you're with us."

Clack.

"But who is 'us?'" Sayed asked, setting down his bowl. "We are not these Ruff-riders, with their very fitting name. What will the world call us in our story?"

Erin blinked, but she had never thought about it before. It wouldn't be her problem for long. She would need to leave the crew soon to follow her most recent orders from the People's Revolution. However, it had always bothered her.

Most famous outlaws had a name for their crew. Anyone worth putting a bounty on rarely worked alone. Multiple people with a bounty working together regularly caught the attention of the Empyrean more than anything else. It usually wasn't long before those kinds of group made a name for themselves.

They had been involved in at least two islands' destruction, stolen a Military Police ship, killed a noble, torn down a base, and beaten another person who had taken control of a key island to get to the Core. One of those should have been enough to make a name for them. That there hadn't been a major change meant that someone was hiding the information.

"I don't know," Alex said. "I think that's something people start calling you more than what you call yourself."

"I'm not even sure what would be appropriate." Jean rubbed his chin with the hem of his sleeve, keeping his fingers hidden. "But I can think about it."

"I think we have bigger things to worry about." Wen smiled.

"Either way, we're not solving it here." Alex rose, sliding his chair back and looking over the mostly empty inn. "I'll see you guys in the morning."

He left then, with Jean and Sayed following not long after. They had already agreed to split up the rooms between men and women. Each of the rooms had two beds, so it was easier to split it that way. Erin turned to Wen, who was watching her closer than she should have been.

"You look like you've been dragged through a thresher," Wen said.

"I feel like it." Erin sighed, as she pushed together her plan to have some alone time. "With that said, can you take Mari upstairs for a bit? I just need some time to breathe."

Wen looked down at Mari, who held onto Erin's cloak, before smiling. A weight pulled off of Erin, just a little. It didn't take much prodding for Mari to go with Wen. The automaton was already yawning, though Erin wasn't sure if she actually needed to sleep.

That left herself, a few other travelers, the innkeeper and Remy in the room.

Remy locked eyes with her, and Erin nodded. She rose from her table and crossed the room, sitting in front of Remy and leaning forward to keep her voice low. No one else needed to know how they knew each other or what they were about to talk about.

"I knew it was you," Remy said, a smile cracking her face. "You look like you were dragged from the abyss."

"At least I'm not pink anymore," Erin said, managing a smile.

"Have you received the new orders?"

Erin's smile immediately turned. She had received the orders nearly a month ago initially. She knew where she needed to report. The People's Revolution was gathering its power, all in one place, to prepare for the first strike in overthrowing the Scions. With their weakness exposed, and outlaws pouring in to the Core, it was the perfect time to strike.

All Erin could think about was how crushing a blow it would be if they failed.

"I'm already on my way to the location," Erin said.

"You're bringing all of them?" Remy asked, her head tilting toward the hallway that the others had disappeared down.

"No," Erin said.

Not that she hadn't tried. She couldn't get Alex to even consider joining the People's Revolution. Every time she tried to talk to him about it, he shot her down immediately. Alex cared about one thing: going to the Dark Meridian, reaching the New World, and finding a way home. He'd help people along the way if they were in trouble, but otherwise, he only cared about his goal.

The others weren't that different. They didn't have a high-minded ideal in what they did. They weren't fighting for a cause. They had done everything so far because it was the only way forward. Convincing them to topple the Scions was impossible.

"That's a pity." Remy tapped her fingers on the table. "'Tin Man' Ortega alone would be a boost to morale, if he was on our side."

"Good luck with that." Erin looked out over the room to make sure no one was paying attention to them. "What can you tell me about what's really going on here?"

"Not much," Remy said. "Count Gavril is your typical noble, nice until he needs something from you. We were looking into him because he was delaying his tribute to the capital. The capital was looking into it as well, but I haven't been able to get inside."

"Delaying the tributes?" Erin raised an eyebrow. "That's the closest thing to suicide for a lesser noble."

"If the investigation panned out badly, maybe so, but I won't be here long enough to find out." Remy sighed. "There may have been a chance to steal it where he was hoarding it, so that we'd get two for one, but no chance of that if I have to get to December."

Erin had been careful not to mention the name of the island, just in case someone was listening in some way/ She raised a finger to stop Remy. She then checked the room again to make sure no one was paying attention to them.

"Don't do that," Erin said.

"Sorry," Remy said. "I don't get to talk with others often about it."

That was far too true about their organization. She knew a few people she worked with regularly, but for the organization as a whole, an operative only really knew people in their cell. Orders came through established channels to the leader, and were disseminated out to the rest of the cell by that leader. If a person was caught, it limited how much they could reveal about the group.

"So when are you going?" Remy asked.

"I'll part with them when they leave November," Erin said. "I have a ticket fort a small ship that will arrive in a few days."

"Well, make sure you don't go burning the town to the ground." Remy laughed. "I've heard the rumors about your crew. You're getting a reputation around the Empyrean."

Erin's eyes widened, and she searched the room again.

"No, not the regular people," Remy said, raising her finger. "It's the higher ups that are talking about you. Nobles, officers in the Military Police, and the like. They're watching out for signs of your crew and are worried about what you will do. You seem to destroy stuff on a whim."

"We'll have to keep our heads down then," Erin said, standing from the table. "It was good to see you again."

"Stay safe." Remy waved. "I'll be heading out in a few days as well, so we may see each other again."

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