The officers, along with Party leaders of the expedition, gathered once everyone was done eating. They asked Touanne to attend as well — she was an officer of the Guild, but for obvious reasons she didn't join meetings where violence and strategy were discussed. The fact that she'd been asked to come at all had her looking curious, and more than a little anxiety bled into her aura and her body language.

"There are three reasons we're here," Pirta said, opening the meeting. "The first, and the one we want you here for, Touanne, is that we need to distribute the Crystals gained from the Delve. Marshal, can you tell us how many that is?"

"I could give you exact numbers," Ana said, "but can we leave it at somewhere above 150000 Points worth, until we get there?"

"That will do nicely, thank you. And, since you were the one to actually close the Delve, and you hold the whole haul, would you like to take over?"

"Sure," Ana said, then looked around the group. "Do we all still agree on what we said before we went in? About how to distribute the Crystals?"

There was a murmur of agreement from the group, and Pirta said, "I've filled in Captain Falk, as well as Mister Brosden and Miss Spira. They all agree."

"Good. So, first things first. Touanne, how much Experience do you need to get to Class Level 25?"

"40000 or so, why do you—" Touanne answered easily, before her eyes went wide and she stared at them all in horror. "No. No! You can't! I couldn't possibly—!"

"Tou!" Ana said sharply, locking eyes with the Healer long enough to silence her. "How many times have you saved my life now? How many other lives have you saved in the few months you've been here? How many limbs? How many crippling injuries have you healed? How many diseases have you treated and cured? How many since you became a Healer? We all agree: it's embarrassing, not for you but for all of us, that you haven't been better rewarded. That you're not a higher Level. And—!" Ana raised her voice and a hand to stop Touanne, who'd recovered and tried to start protesting again, "If you'd feel guilty about taking so much of a cut, consider this: getting you to 25, getting you to that milestone, is just a plain good investment. As far as we know we're going into battle against a pack of Death-mages. We need the best Life-mage we can possibly have to counter them, to reverse whatever damage they may do. You saw what that revenant did to me. Please, Touanne. For all of our sakes, if not for your own. Accept the Crystals, and use them!"

Touanne's mouth worked soundlessly as she looked from face to agreeing face. "That's not fair," she finally managed to say. "You can't guilt me into…"

"Sure I can," Ana said, giving her a smug smile. "Perhaps I shouldn't, but I can. Because you know that I'm right. Take them."

Touanne looked almost betrayed at Ana's words, but it didn't take long before she sighed and slumped in defeat. "Go on," she said. "Bring them out. Give them to me."

Ana glazed briefly at the notification that begged for her attention the moment Touanne gave in. Command had reached Level 8. She'd have expected Charm, but clearly the System worked in mysterious ways.

"Is there any reason to hold on to the Ascendant?" Ana asked the assembled Delvers.

"Please do," Pirta said. "At least until we've spoken to the Barlos. They may be able to do something with it."

"Right. In that case: Touanne, your hands, please."

As soon as Touanne held her hands out, Ana started bringing out all the Supreme and many of the Greater Crystals. They were large enough that she could only transfer one at a time, and it took a minute to do them all. And while Touanne may have accepted taking enough Crystals to reach 25, she refused to take a single Crystal more than was necessary: 40000 Points worth exactly.

"There," Touanne said, almost pouting as her label proclaimed her a Healer (25). "Are you happy now?"

"Sure am." Ana smiled, and wrapped her arms around her friend. "Congratulations," she murmured into Touanne's ear, "and thank you. You deserve this."

Touanne tentatively returned the hug for a short moment before Ana released her and stepped back, giving the others an opportunity to congratulate Touanne as well. Which they did by Pirta announcing to the camp at large, "Everyone! Let's hear it for our esteemed Healer and dear midwife, Mistress Touanne! She has just reached Class Level 25!"

A cheer went up, unforced and enthusiastic, joined by applause and whistles. People called Touanne's name, shouted their praise for her skills and dedication, and blessed her hands. Touanne herself went bright red as she waved back shyly, but nothing could stop the smile that finally cracked her mask of guilt and imagined unworthiness.

"See?" Ana said, raising her voice so that Touanne would be able to hear her. "See how happy they are? You give them hope, Touanne. Hope for the future. No matter what you may think, there is no one in this camp who could make better use of those Crystals than you."

"Yes, alright," Touanne said to Ana and the officers, a hint of nervous laughter in her voice. "Fine. I believe you. Thank you all. Now I need to rejoin the wounded. With my new Ability it would be irresponsible of me not to."

Tellak only gave Touanne a smile and a questioning look. Halmer, however, wasn't quite as subtle. "Any chance you want to tell us?" he asked, leaning forward with eager curiosity.

"I don't see why not," Touanne answered. "It's no secret; I'm sure Mistress Drisa could tell you. It's called 'Fount of Life.' Greatly increased natural healing for all living creatures within fifty feet, increasing with my Level. Wounds, diseases, poisons, anything. It's… it's wonderful. Truly, thank you all for agreeing, and especially you, Ana, for convincing me. But I really must go. I have patients who are still recovering."

With that and another smile she turned and left the meeting, making her way through a crowd that still wanted to offer their more personal congratulations. It was slow going; there were a lot of them.

Once the noise had died down Pirta continued the meeting. "Now," she said, "let's deal with the rest. We have representatives from every Party here, yes?"

After confirming that was the case, Pirta asked Ana to bring out the remaining Crystals. Ana did, and it felt like it took forever. There were hundreds of the damn things, and try as she might Ana could only bring out one at a time, each taking a second or two to place.

At least Pirta asked her to keep the Shards. There were over two hundred of those alone.

It was a little strange how they seemed to just trust her. Nobody counted anything out; they either took it for granted that Ana would be honest, or they didn't care enough to make a fuss. Well, that or Drisa just added everything automatically; who knew what a higher Level Administrator could do? Ana still brought out every single Crystal she'd taken from the Delve, less the Shards and the ones she'd already given Touanne: one hundred and sixty-nine Leasts, one hundred and twenty-seven Lessers, ninety-one Minors, sixty-one Mediums, thirty-seven Majors, the eight remaining Greaters, and the queen of them all, the single Ascendant. Two months ago she would have had to ask for help with the numbers; now she did it easily, sure that it was thanks to her increased Acuity but not at all certain how; whether it let her remember how many she'd taken or if she'd just unconsciously done the math.

The crystals lay there, not shimmering in the sun. They were ghostly, yet perfectly sharp and clear, and while Ana had never looked at one in the dark she suspected that they'd look just the same whether there was a source of light nearby or not. Just under a 110000 Points worth, Ana calculated quickly. Not much when divided between over a hundred Delvers.

But that wasn't what they were doing. They were aiming for maximum utility, focusing on combat and hybrid Classers in particular. Anyone who was one Level below a milestone had priority, starting from the lowest Level. Then anyone close to Leveling at all, in the same way. Finally, the remainder would go to the non-combat Classers, militia or volunteer, as a way of recognizing the greater danger they'd accepted.

It wasn't perfect. It might not even be fair, and there was sure to be some grumbling. But it was what they were doing, and anyone who didn't like it could go piss up a rope for all Ana cared. She was sure that one of the Captains would love to listen once they were sure that they'd all survive the week.

As though the world was listening, thunder rolled across the clear sky. The temperature suddenly plummeted so far that, for just a second before it returned to normal, people's breath misted. The camp fell dead still and silent for a few long moments before activity resumed as normal.

"Now," Pirta said, her voice tight but even. "Marshal Cole. Ana. You deserve some special recognition as well. We all agreed, while you were resting, to bend the rules of this distribution a little. We need you at Level 15. Mistress Drisa tells me that to go from 13 to 15 requires 21000 Points." She gestured to the Crystals. "Please."

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Not a word about Ana's Class, which was still, to anyone who cared to look, Companion. Not a word about what difference the Level 15 Ability of a "social Class" could possibly make. Nobody had challenged Ana on her Class, but everyone knew that she wasn't what she appeared, and now they waited eagerly for her to take her due.

She considered taking only what she needed above the Crystals she already had. Only for a moment, though; then she remembered the chunk still missing from her arm and though, Fuck it. If they want to give me two Levels, I'll take it. She grabbed the remaining Greaters, along with eight Majors to make up the difference along with the Shards she'd kept. She ate them immediately, and Petra closed her eyes and shuddered softly at the same time as Ana felt a faint wave of wellbeing pass through her.

Congratulations! You have reached Guardian Angel, Level 15. 29 Cumulative Advancement Points awarded. You have gained the Ability Wings of Glory.

Wings of Glory: For a short time, you may manifest a pair of ethereal wings. These wings are fully functional and may be used for bursts of speed or sustained flight, but have no physical presence. So long as these wings are manifested, your objects of devotion and Party members who have seen you bear them are immune to the effects of fear and intimidation. Once the wings fade, you will need a significant time to recover before you can manifest them again. Duration increases and recovery time decreases with Class Level.

Ana couldn't help it. She laughed. Restrained and quickly smothered, but impossible for anyone nearby to miss, as was the wide grin that split her face before she mastered herself. And she couldn't tell herself if it was from absolute glee or from the frustrating irony of it. She valued her freedom above all, and what better metaphor for freedom than the ability to literally fly? Yet she couldn't use it without obviously setting her apart as someone to pay attention to, and she got it from her Class, something that seemed created to tie her down by binding her to others. That, and she really could have used that Ability before she was launched up the Wall like some amateur circus act.

Then she wondered how long the wings would last and if they were strong enough for her to carry Messy in her arms, and the grin came back. She'd have to ask what Messy thought of the idea.

"From your reaction, I can only assume that whatever Ability you got is to your liking," Pirta said, somewhat dryly. "I won't ask you what it is. I know that you're considerably more private than Mistress Touanne. Still, I'm glad to see that the Crystals were again so clearly put to good use."

"Yeah," Ana said, not bothering to keep the smile off her face this time, "I'll keep it to myself for now. But you'll see soon enough. It's not exactly something I can keep to myself."

"We're all looking forward to it, I'm sure. Now, has everyone spoken with their respective Parties?"

Dividing up the Crystals was much quicker than Ana had expected. A lot of the prep work had already been done, and Drisa had administrative Abilities that helped her optimize resource allocation. Ana wasn't needed; the rules were in place, and she wasn't even a Party leader. She just stayed for the optics, passing the time thinking about how to spend her Advancement Points and only sometimes paying attention with the free half of her mind. She did notice that Crystals were set aside for both Trig and Sylt. Both were close to Level 10, so it was only fair. She still didn't like it. Whether they'd been trouble or not they were friends with Waller, and had been with Rankan and Larry. She didn't wish them any harm — they were in her Party, after all — but she sure as hell didn't trust them. That went double for Waller.

She went over quite a few options for her Advancement Points, but she kept coming back to boosting her Vitality. She'd been hurt badly enough to collapse more often than she was comfortable with — and she wasn't so in denial that she couldn't admit that Messy's worry over her didn't play a part. A big part. Hell, if she was to be brutally honest with herself, not causing Messy more grief than she had to was probably her strongest motivation. Not that more resilience, faster healing, and a longer life weren't attractive, she just felt like shit for lying to Messy about how badly she'd been hurt. If she didn't get hurt that badly in the first place, she wouldn't have any reason to lie.

It made perfect sense.

Ana had 30 Advancements Points to spend. If she spent 21 of those on taking her Vitality Multiplier from the fifth to the eighth Step, she'd be above 50 Vitality, which would get her and Messy another Enhancement. The one Ana had, Fight Through, had already saved her life multiple times — another would only make her and Messy that much more likely to survive until Ana got to Class Level 50 and beyond.

She could have spent the Points on her Strength Multiplier, getting that Attribute above 50 instead. She may well do that for Level 16 and 17, especially if she picked up some extra Advancement Points through Achievements before then. And, sure, with her 9 remaining Points she could have bought a single Step in that Multiplier, putting the rest of her Points in Endurance, Dexterity, or Willpower, but none of those appealed to her short term. For now she decided on taking Charisma to the fourth and Acuity to the fifth Step, figuring that being able to push people around more easily and keeping better track of things would both be more useful than any of her other options.

She didn't have to wait long after making her mind up before the distribution was finished. With that done, Part the Bulwark, who'd remained behind at the entrance with his Party, reported on what had happened to the civilians while everyone else was away: apparently a fairly large group of changelings, along with a handful of demons, had entered the Delve. They'd been put down with few casualties and no deaths — "The gods and Mister Part and his Party be praised, yes indeed!" as Falk put it.

Following that, the more experienced Delvers discussed how best to find Karti and the white obelisk then decided on a plan for when and how to move out. They also set up a new watch rotation, now that they had three additional Parties to work with. Ana barely contributed, only asking questions for her own sake and trusting that the others knew what they were doing.

With the meeting adjourned, Ana returned to her tent. Messy must have spotted her somewhere along the way, because she joined her inside after only a few moments.

"Angel," Messy said with a delighted smile, then slid in and wrapped her arms around her. It was a little awkward with them both on their knees, but they made it work. "I felt it, you know? Congratulations! Gods, Level 15 already!"

She put an arm around Messy's waist and rested her chin on her shoulder. "Thanks, Mess," she whispered. "I got a new Ability."

Messy bounced with excitement. "Of course you did. Level 15! You've matched me in less than six weeks! Do you want to tell me?"

"I'll show you," Ana promised. "As soon as we're done here."

"Done with what?" Messy asked, her attitude instantly changing and her voice becoming husky as her lips brushed through the stubble behind Ana's ear.

Ana couldn't help but laugh. "Down, girl. Later! After a proper bath, when we're both a lot cleaner and smell a lot better. But it's good that you're here. Should have warned the whole Party, really. I've got a bunch of Points to spend, and I'm going to be hitting 50 Vitality, so that's another Enhancement that'll kick in for all of you. And the goddess only knows what it'll do."

No idea, actually, said the Wayfarer. She sounded stronger than she had just two hours or so ago, and just as cheerful. I have no influence over Perks or Enhancements, and only vague guesses.

Are you always peeping? Ana asked, running her hand slowly along Messy's back to keep her girlfriend entertained.

Always? No. I pay attention to my Chosen, but I know the value of privacy.

Ana snorted. Thanks, I guess. What about my new Ability? Did you know what I'd get?

Now, that I did know! No randomness there. But I didn't want to spoil the surprise.

Great. Keep it that way unless I ask, would you?

As you wish.

With that Ana felt the goddess withdraw. She hadn't really been aware of that before. The effect of a few more Points of Connection, perhaps?

"What's funny?" Mess asked.

"Nothing, babe. Just talking to your goddess."

Messy was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't think I'll ever get used to that. And she's our goddess. More yours than mine, even."

"Hey, you worship her. I just work for the lady. Not even voluntarily."

"Heretic," Messy murmured affectionately.

"Always have been," Ana confirmed. "Now hold on tight. I'm going to spend my Points."

"Do you think I'll feel something?"

"Probably not. Do it anyway."

As soon as Messy's arms tightened around her, Ana dropped into her Summary, time slowing to a crawl as she spent her Points. And while her Acuity and Charisma both increased a bit, her Vitality rocketed up by 9, taking her to 52. She was going to feel that once she returned to normal time — thus, the privacy. And then there was the Enhancement.

Congratulations! Your Effective Vitality now equals or exceeds 50. You have gained the Enhancement Panacea.

Panacea: Your flesh is anathema to anything which might corrupt it. Sickness, rot or poison, natural or otherwise, from within or without — none will find any purchase in you.

As Ana closed her Summary her breath left her in a long, satisfied sigh. Nothing felt quite as good as a massive dose of Vitality. Discomfort was a distant memory, and everything was warm and beautiful. Ana had never shot up, but she imagined this was what it might feel like.

"There," Messy giggled softly. "I didn't feel anything, but someone's feeling good."

Ana didn't answer. She just hummed an affirmative as she snuggled close, indulging in the double bliss of her new Vitality and Messy's presence, and her satisfaction with her new Enhancement. Panacea. It was perfect. She could protect Messy from violence, and from poison to some degree, but not from sickness. Now she didn't have to.

All she had to conquer now was old age, and she'd never have to worry again.

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