I started trying to connect to Biltagiretzae so we could stash the magic items, just in case we'd be staying still for a while. Certainly nobody looked like they were in any condition to be trekking through Nusos; if anything, we would possibly need to start moving just to get to a hospital. Katrin had healed everyone, but her healing spell was only really meant for emergencies and had a tendency to stitch together anything that was touching even if that led to muscles that couldn't move right or strange lumpy bits. Better than dying, for sure, but not a substitute for a real healer.

"Matlyn isn't waking up," she said, "I think because she lost so much blood. Errod was awake for a minute but has passed out again. Both of them will need healing, though, and I didn't see any healing devices in the things we just grabbed. Are the rest of you okay?"

Zoey looked unhappy. "No. I mean... I'm not hurt, I cut my hand on a damaged shelf but nobody actually tried to kill me, but... this feels fucking strange. It's too quiet, too... I don't know, it's like the whole world is missing. I need to go back."

Tony shrugged. "That fucker cracked a few of my ribs, I'm going to be really bruised, but I can get by."

"Same," I said, "I only took a few direct hits and they were blunted by my jacket. Do we need to go back to fantasyland, get some actual legit healing? Because honestly, I don't love the idea of dragging Errod and Matlyn through Nusos. It's not just the weight, it's how much their thoughts might impact where we end up."

She nodded. "Okay. They're stable, so let's just give them a little time and see if they... how they feel when they wake up. Are you working on reaching into Biltagiretzae yet? Good, do that and then we'll re-assess. Zoey, we haven't talked much about how your connection works over a distance. Can you feel your other half from here? If not, do you think the other Zoey knows what happened to us?"

"No, and yes. I can't feel anything outside myself and it's fucking me up, even though that's how it's been my whole life up until like two weeks ago. And, yeah, until we got to Nusos I was watching from the motel, and it was obviously a portal when I ran through so you don't have to worry that I'll be panicking or trying to find everyone or something. But also, I can't... I don't know, Google something for you. I'm probably just waiting for us to pop back to Earth."

We were in what looked like a maintenance hallway, pipes running all along the walls and ceiling, which wasn't the best place for letting Errod and Matlyn rest. There was a little talk about whether or not we should try to move at least a room or two over in search of somewhere better, but in the end we decided to stay put. Instead, Katrin and I tried to figure out what the fuck was going on.

"So what do we know so far?" She asked, ready to answer her own question. "Greg's story about what the Clockmaker did with fate lines up well with what others have said or implied. We know he was messing with fate threads, Jeort said he trapped fate, and it would explain some things. So I think we should take that as established truth for now. He trapped some entity that manages fate, and... do you think he imprinted himself on it, like he did with the spirit in Quebristun that controls Imperial magic?"

"I haven't tried talking to that thing for a while, I could... ask?"

I wasn't sure if it would answer, since this wasn't about structuring an ability for my Dumine. It had only rarely felt like it was actually talking to me, as opposed to just sending vibes, but it also didn't feel like it could hurt to try. I meditated, once again looking at that impossible fourth-dimensional view of my lutore with its strange squiggles of light. I concentrated on the question I wanted to ask - accidentally losing the progress I'd made towards Biltagiretzae - and felt the lesser attention I associated with the Dumines themselves fall away as the other thing responded.

This communication is outside parameters. Strain exceeds acceptable tolerances, please contact me in person for direct attention in the future. In brief: after my creation the Clockmaker became more conservative with this method, using intermediaries or borrowing personalities from loyal servants rather than imprinting himself directly for high-access spirits. That being said, the creation and functioning of the device in question was hidden from my view.

Holy shit, that worked. As before, it wasn't words in the most literal sense, but the meaning and even tone had been very clear. This wasn't how the connection I was using was meant to work, it didn't like it, it wouldn't respond again, but as long as it was talking to me anyway...

I relayed the message to Katrin, who seemed to regret asking. "If I'd known it would ask you to stop trying to communicate," she said, "I would have waited until we had a more important question. Fine. Okay, so it might have some personality imprinted on it but it likely wasn't the Clockmaker. I don't think that helps us. Regardless, we have a spirit-like being that has powerful control over fate and wants to use some host to... take over the world, I suppose, in a way that Greg and Bill both believe would be disastrous for everyone alive."

"Right," I said, "and since Greg said it was insane that could be anything, like... it wants to mind-control everyone, or it wants to kill all the humans and rule over an empire of ants, or it wants to do do Ulren's thing and overwrite the world with some point in the past. I guess that last one wouldn't hurt Earth, although any plan it has to incorporate Earth into its empire would probably result in a lot of death."

"What would fate want?" Katrin asked, and we both just sat and tried to imagine it for a moment.

I thought back to Harmid's book, The Paradox of Fate. "Professor Yanipliss said that fate works to make sure things happen the way they should, and that when we use magic to create a fate what we're really doing is just adding a rule to the universe. We're helping to write the story of history, in advance. So... fate, as a spirit, would want things to go exactly how they were supposed to. If it's still trying to follow the Clockmaker's orders, it's possible that it's going to try and make his perfect empire."

Katrin frowned. "I wish we knew exactly what the Clockmaker had asked it for. I hope he wasn't dumb enough to literally demand the empire last forever. Either way, I suspect fate would want to have less variables to worry about. If there's only one way things can go, then you know precisely what will happen and you'll never need to deviate from the plan. That could be pretty bad, from a human perspective."

"We can't know for sure," I replied, "but I think we can agree that there are plenty of ways it could be bad news. Okay. So... Bill has that thread attached to him, he's the chosen one that is destined to... be the spirit of fate's host, or free it, or something. Both, maybe. And it wants him to be powerful, but he's countered that by being the most boring motherfucker alive. And somehow, even with this fate thing trapped, there are other people that are being positioned as... replacements. And I'm one of them. Probably human Calliope and Zoey, too. Which also means... Zoey, you should be very careful. Emma and your other self are in danger. Lay extremely low for now, okay?"

She nodded. "I only heard part of it, but after the conversation we had about all having worked in a hardware store I got the general idea, and I heard him mention losing a sibling."

Katrin grimaced. "You might also get your head chopped off and put in a jar?"

Yeah, that. "That was another thing in The Paradox of Fate. It mentioned a lot of people that had been beheaded despite seeming like they were on track to fulfill some big destiny. Also... shit, the journal and the boxes! The ones from when I visited the Queen of Candles! Okay, okay... so... The first one was 'open when you get back from this job' which we can do soon. Then 'open in case of imminent world-ending catastrophe', not sure if that's relevant or not, and then 'open in case of shocking transformation into an inhuman demigod' which might - and this could be a stretch - might be a reference to fate wanting me to be extra powerful so it can use me.

"But even if that one is too much of a leap, the last two boxes... 'Open in case of beheading, feel free to research the Trophy Collector ahead of time' is one, and then 'open in case of the Third Fate being freed' which is clearly relevant here. Open in case of beheading? Like I'd live through that long enough to open a box? This means the Queen of Candles knows something. They say she only ever lets you in and talks to you once, but I need to get back there."

Katrin nodded. "She seems like an ally, at least. I wouldn't fully trust her, but I can hope. And you didn't look into the 'Trophy Hunter' yet?"

"No, it was right before I signed on with Matlyn, and then shit was crazy right up until we left for Earth. Alright, back to the main topic. The fate thing - the Third Fate, probably - is bound to Bill, and anchored by that thing so it can't switch to someone else. Hey, Tony, just a side note - I didn't complain before because it probably saved our lives, but what the fuck were you thinking chopping through a wall and trying to smash that thing?"

He shrugged, looking sheepish. "Well, the book said it would give whoever cracked it open incredible power, and if we were all about to die I thought... you know... why not go for it?"

Honestly, I couldn't really fault him. If it had been someone else I might think he was being greedy, but Tony had been nothing but helpful and hadn't hesitated to give me the planar lodestone. "I think I believe Greg about it... not being that. It makes some sense that fate would arrange for a way to tempt people into breaking the thing that was keeping it hostage. Man, I should have looked into Marjorie West more. There's no way she just accidentally wrote all that shit, even if fate had some hand in it."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Nobody had any comment to make about that, so for a moment silence descended on us and we just sat there thinking. I'd started working on getting into Biltagiretzae again right after I'd lost it, but didn't feel like I was making any progress. I really didn't want it to be another two hour ordeal today. Errod stirred and opened his eyes, but Katrin whispered something to him and he nodded, then closed them again.

"I have a question," Zoey said, "because I wasn't there for most of this shit and didn't hear all of what Greg said back there. Is this fate thing the same as Tindelus, or is that something else?"

I looked at Katrin, and she looked back at me. It seemed like neither of us were particularly confident in an answer. "Well," Katrin began, "I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same thing... but I'm not so sure. We were told that Halenvar was after the device that used fate to ensure the Empire would last forever, and that it was locked up... but it was supposedly in the other vault, the one that wasn't opened."

"Right," I said, "there was the one with the doomsday thing which got opened before we got to Brinkmar. Then there was the one with Tindelus, which got opened while we were there. And then there was a third one, which I thought had the fate thing in it. Except... I don't know, would that mean there are two different powerful entities trying to take over the world and they're right next to each other? That feels ridiculous. Also... when it was talking to me through Hugh, it... it said something about..."

I spared half my attention to pull up the scene in my memory palace, and found the moment I was looking for. "Okay, he said... that I was bound by fate, for greatness and destruction, but he could fix that and free me. That sounds like he's not on the same side as the thing Greg was talking about. Oh, and then... hang on, there's more... he said... 'You have been chosen, primed. It is not your turn yet, not while the others live, but in their absence you have been prepared' and then seemed to be going on about the head in a jar stuff. I'm getting increasingly concerned about that."

Katrin was nodding to herself. "Primed, prepared... this is that thing about Poicelria's golem. Actually... Greg said he had a way to add requirements onto a fate, right? Didn't we see that mentioned in the notes about one of the Clockmaker's devices? I think that talked about Poicelria too."

That did sound familiar. It took a little bit to find the right entry, but there it was. That glove that could move fate threads. "Yeah, there's a note on it. 'Removing the unwanted destiny from myself will only cause it to go to her next pawn, as prepared by Poicelria's construct'. So Poicelria's golem, construct, whatever... is doing the advance work of making sure someone is ready to take on the big fate thread. Otherwise, it could be that nobody would be a good fit and it would just sit there unattached, like so many fate threads do. But the Clockmaker - and then Greg - kept trying anyway, adding restrictions. It sounds like they could only add rules that the current holder already met, though."

Zoey was suddenly engaged in the conversation. "How do we kill it? We have to kill it, right? This is the thing that's going to make me or Emma die, isn't it?"

Oh, right. "Yeah, I guess. We can add it to the list. I don't even really know if it's a physical thing, or a spirit, or a machine, or... fuck knows. But yes, I'll try my best to destroy it. I owe it that much anyway, for fucking up my life."

Errod stirred, mumbling to himself as if half-asleep. "May we choke her on her own chains..."

"Agreed, man. I'm still going to kill Greg, but I'm for sure not on fate's side on this thing. Fuck that bitch. Okay. So we have Team Fate, which is some sort of crazy thing that wants to... do something bad, probably for the whole world including Earth, and Poicelria's golem which is helping it. Then we have Team Coelestis, which is Greg and Bill, and they hate Team Fate but we can't be on their side because Greg is evil and doesn't give a shit about letting fantasyland burn as long as it solves his fate problem.

"Then we have Team Tindelus, which is... honestly, this one is strange because it's actually three people that don't like each other and all want the same thing. Tindelus, Sentortzi, and Ulren. All three want to go back in time. Sentortzi only wants to go back a little bit and loop for a while before - supposedly - fixing things, but the other two want to go all the way back to the Clockmaker and tell him not to fuck up his fate thing in the first place. That would, presumably, destroy fate as an adversary... but would also replace all of reality with a world where the Clockmaker's empire never ended.

"Meanwhile, if we do nothing and none of those teams win, the world ends on the Grand Alignment. Tony, I see that look of panic. It's fine, Earth will be okay in that case. Worst case scenario, we'll evacuate as many people as we can to there before the end. Logistically, that's not going to be a lot though. Anyway, I think that's all the sides we have to worry about. Anything I missed?"

Zoey nodded. "The Coelestis team isn't much of a team. Bill doesn't like Greg, nor does the mystery guy you told me about - assuming you're right about him not being Bill."

"I think... there's three of them. I was just reviewing Tindelus' rant he gave when he was in Hugh, and when he was talking about the heads in jars he said the Clockmaker found all but the last three. If he was talking about people that had been hosts for that fate, which I... think... is correct, that could be Greg, Bill, and the mystery guy. I was going to say he was maybe Jake Ross, but that brings me to the comment Greg made about being called 'savior' which is not the first thing that has implied Greg was the Savior of Brinkmar - even though I still don't feel like that's right."

"But hang on," Zoey said, "what could they have to do with the Clockmaker? He was long gone by the time they were around, right?"

"I don't fucking know. Yes? No? Greg implied he's still alive somewhere. Now I'm picturing him as some old crusty hermit, letting his whole empire crumble just to focus on fighting fate. Living in a shitty cave somewhere, coming out every hundred years to... oh, to steal someone's head. Right. The Trophy Collector, maybe? Or am I turning into a conspiracy theorist?"

Katrin shrugged. "I don't know. I'm mentally exhausted. Let's just rest and not talk about any of it for a little while. I need to sort things out in my head."

That was fine by me. I was doing a shitty job of getting into my planar storage with all this distraction anyway. I leaned against the wall, closed my eyes, and concentrated. It took a while still, but everyone was silent. No monsters attacked us, thankfully, though I opened my eyes again once I realized nobody in particular was on watch. Eventually I made the connection and carefully moved our stolen magic items through, but I left our other gear for now just in case we were going to immediately get into a fight again.

When it was done, Katrin woke Errod up and I carefully picked up Matlyn - she moaned a little, still not fully waking up. She really needed some medical attention. "Back to Earth I assume, since people still need more recovery time?"

Errod seemed conflicted, but finally nodded. "I suppose it's the best plan, for now. Better than running into a monster in our condition, and it means we can drop off Zoey and Tony." He shook his head. "That... that shouldn't have happened. How did it go so wrong, so quickly? I couldn't even follow what was happening after the initial attack; it was just light and heat and pressure everywhere, while someone else shot at me."

Katrin sighed. "Greg is just... very skilled. He was casting more than one spell at once, somehow, on top of whatever artifacts he has. Just as I thought I was getting things under control - not even winning, just no longer losing - the same thing happened that messed me up in New York; all my spells unraveled, and it even ate into the mana in my body somewhat."

"Yeah," I said, "same asshole. I killed him, but I don't think it matters. Greg will just give someone else that stupid... uh... hang on, did anyone see a silver wand thingy that looks like a femur? It should have been laying right by the exit, we would have walked past it. My memories aren't perfect on Earth, not for things I'm not directly paying attention to, but I don't feel like I saw it."

Zoey perked up. "Oh, yeah. While Katrin was trying to heal everyone I grabbed it and shoved it in one of the bags. Was that the mana-erasing thing? I didn't get a good look the first time, and couldn't see the guy at all this time."

Well that was some fucking amazing news. "Okay. I'm not going to stop and re-open my storage right now, but once everyone is healed we can carry that thing with us, and then we get to see how Greg likes a taste of his own medicine."

We talked a little about what features we were looking for in Nusos, and managed to navigate to that same ugly office lobby that Katrin had picked out before. It took way longer than I would have liked, and we did see a few monsters on the way, but most were just half-seen shapes that scurried away as we approached; probably there were a lot of monsters that didn't want to go after a group of six people. The one that did attack was some sort of tentacled thing made out of the same material as the walls, plaster peeling out with long strings of mucus trailing behind and leaving a hole lined with teeth. It shrugged off Katrin's attacks entirely, and while Errod was able to chop some of the appendages off he wasn't in his best form.

We didn't even defeat it; this fucking bear with an elephant-like trunk and leopard spots came out of nowhere and started just chowing down, claws shredding at the monster as the trunk shoved tentacles into its mouth. It was incredible, but we had no guarantee it wouldn't go after us next so we hurried away and let the two creatures fight. Everyone was a little shaken by that, but they'd already been in a bad mood so it wasn't a big change. When I finally opened a door back to Earth, I could feel everyone sigh in relief. I handed Matlyn off, since I wanted to be the last through, and everyone hurried past. Everyone but Tony.

"Hey," he said, "listen... I know this is crazy, but this might be the last time I see any magic shit. I lost that fucking light saber you gave me; when I got thrown out of that room it flew off somewhere, I didn't see it. Anyway... I heard the others talking, about... about souls and shit. I know that I don't have whatever it is that the rest of you guys have. I don't know what that means. Am I even a real person? Does everyone else get an afterlife, but when I die that's it? It's fucked up."

He hesitated, and then came closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I heard you talking about bringing people into where you keep your soul, or something. And I know you said it works here more than it does out there on Earth. And I just... I wanted to see if you'd try, really quick, in case... in case there's something there, something more to me."

Well, this was awkward. There wouldn't be anything but the blue spirit thing, and it wouldn't be built up like Zoey's was. I couldn't see spirits while they were inside people's bodies, but I was sure of what I'd find; basically a barnacle, this little useless thing. And it wasn't aligned with any plane, so unless I gave him Zoey's ring I didn't think I could even get it to my memory palace. Even if I did, it wouldn't be Tony. It would just... sit there.

"Fuck, man. I don't... I don't think that's going to happen. But it doesn't mean anything. Hell, for all I know they're just parasites that we have some sort of symbiotic relationship with. Nobody on Earth has them, it doesn't mean anything."

He nodded, but he was still frowning. "Couldn't you at least try?"

Fine, fuck it. I held Tony's hand, and tried to invite the spirit inside him into my memory palace. As I did, he leaned forward - it was like he was going in for a kiss, which I wasn't prepared for, but then just as something arrived in my memory palace - something powerful - an eye opened in his forehead and leapt out, directly into my mouth. I flailed, but I was already losing control of my body and my memory palace. I caught a brief glimpse of Zoey turning towards us, her eyes opening wide in horror, and then my hand swung the door shut - severing the connection to Earth and trapping me alone in Nusos.

In my memory palace, a spirit stepped into view - a tall, skinny form that looked almost like robes come to life, with nothing but a huge eyeball for a head. "Hey kid," Grunkle said, "nice place you've got here. I think I'm going to like it."

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