“Just us two?” I asked as I watched Brandy finish tying the horse to the wagon. It was one of three connected to the wagon.

Or well, it seemed more like a carriage to me. It had a large cover on it, and extra rows of seats in it as if to carry people and not products or luggage.

“Merit will meet us there,” Brandy said as she patted the horse on the rear. It seemed to completely ignore her, it didn’t even flick its tail or ears.

“I didn’t mean to specify her, I meant anyone in general,” I said.

Brandy chuckled at me. “I know! Was just teasing you. Hey! Wynn!” Brandy shouted, and I noticed this time the horses shifted and flicked their ears, annoyed at her loudness.

I found Wynn not far away. He, like most of the other people here in the depot, were preparing for the opening of the guild. It was the early hours of the morning, when the morning sun just barely started to light up the sky. He turned to look at us and waved.

“Aye!” Wynn shouted back, and then he went to walk over to one of the nearby gates.

I sighed a bit as I went to clamber up onto the wagon. Brandy was already sitting down, reins in hand.

“Now, now Renn. What would Vim say if he saw you acting so?” Brandy teased me as I took a seat next to her in the front of the wagon.

“Proud of me, likely,” I said without hesitation.

Brandy laughed. “Right! Probably!”

She then slapped the reins, urging the horses forward. They didn’t seem to even notice the huge wagon behind them, or us who sat upon it.

Horses really were strong, weren’t they? I was supposedly strong, but I wasn’t entirely sure if I could pull a wagon this big as easily as they were doing… maybe I should try later, just to see.

Brandy guided the horses out of the depot, and I waved goodbye to Wynn as we left. He immediately shut the gated door behind us, as to stop anyone from entering the depot before they were meant to. I was a little surprised to find there were already half a dozen carts waiting outside, patiently sitting in the road for the depot to open.

I studied the people on the carts, or guiding the horses pulling them. I didn’t recognize anyone.

“Who you looking for?” Brandy asked as she guided our horses along the road, heading deeper into the city.

“Mark. Lamp’s husband. He works here in the depot under Wynn,” I said.

“Ah. He’d not be out here, then. We try to keep our more important humans in house,” Brandy said.

“In house…? What then about Roslyn and the pirates?” I asked, a little worried.

“That’s consider in-house, Renn. They report directly to whoever we have running the port authority at the time. Such as right now it’s Pierre,” Brandy said.

Ah… I see.

I nodded, and noticed it was a little chilly. I shifted a bit, and was glad Brandy had told me what we were doing. Otherwise I wouldn’t have put on a jacket.

“Why are we doing this and not one of her own people?” I asked Brandy as we slowed down a bit. We came to an intersection, and there were other wagons already upon it crossing the other way.

“It’s my way of sticking my nose into where it doesn’t belong,” Brandy said as she tugged the reins a little, as to bring the horses to a stop in full. She hadn’t needed to do so it had looked like, the beasts seemed smart. They had slowed and started to come to a pause even before she had done so.

“So… you want to annoy them? Or do you have some kind of goal?” I asked as I watched one of the wagons pass before us. I liked the red designs and colors on the wagon, why weren’t ours painted all fancy like? We had the Animalia Guild emblem on them, but they were rather plain otherwise.

“Actually I’m hoping to see inside the building. I want to see if I know anyone else. I’ve not really gotten a chance to see who is actually here or not, yet,” Brandy said.

“Are you looking for someone?” I asked.

Brandy glanced at me, and I noted the way she had done so.

She was.

“Kind of… I guess I just want to know who is here or not. I’m…” Brandy went quiet as the crossroads before us became empty. She snapped the reins and guided the horses forward as we finally crossed the road.

As we did I glanced up and down both of the streets, and was a little surprised to see how empty they still were. It was early morning, of course, and cold, but I had expected it to be busier already.

I usually rarely left the company building, and when I did it was usually in the middle of the day. So this was a neat experience for me.

“You’re?” I asked after we crossed the road, as to try and make sure Brandy didn’t lose her train of thought and forget what she’d been about to say.

Brandy sighed. “I’m torn, Renn.”

“Torn?” I asked as I glanced back at her. She looked fine. Better than fine, actually. She looked rather good at the moment, considering last time I’d seen her she had looked exhausted from overwork.

“They all left, Renn. They left us behind. They abandoned us,” she then said.

Oh… She was talking about her heart.

“They did. I’ve been wondering why others haven’t really seemed to upset over that. I wasn’t around back then, but even I find it rather upsetting,” I said.

Brandy nodded, rather harshly. “It’s more than upsetting, Renn. It’s infuriating. They leave hundreds of years ago, and now they return to take over? To profit off that which all of us have been building? Ha,” Brandy scoffed, rather harshly.

Was she upset over their audacity, or the fact they were taking from the Society what she considered her own hard earned labor?

“I thought I heard they’d not taken anything yet. No money or anything,” I said carefully.

Brandy glanced at me, with a slight look of annoyance. “Let me guess, from Gerald? The fool only sees his own coffers and nothing else. He sees ledgers, not realizing wealth is more than just coins,” she said.

She sounded like she was about to start shouting. It made me wonder if we were going to Light as to pick a fight, not to help them move some of her luggage.

“Can I ask what you mean?” I asked.

“They’ve not taken anything beyond their own stipends yet. But they have taken other things. Deeds to land. Permits to rights. Titles in nobility, and ownership of precincts. Basically they’ve not taken liquid money, but have taken things even more valuable for themselves,” Brandy said.

I frowned at that. “How come Gerald wouldn’t say or notice that? Isn’t he involved in all that stuff too?” I asked. I had a slight idea of the things she spoke of, but I wasn’t going to pretend I fully understood it. I simply took her word that they had taken great wealth.

“He’s just not one to care for anything outside of his purview. The stuff they’ve taken are not under our watch, but the church’s,” Brandy said.

Ah… which Brandy would be aware of, being the bookkeeper.

Speaking of that I never really got an explanation for what that even meant…

Before I could ask about it, Brandy scooted a bit closer to me. I sat up a little straighter as she leaned into me, as to whisper.

“I didn’t get to talk to Vim before he left. What’re his thoughts on all this?” she asked.

I glanced around, as if to make sure there was no one to hear what I was about to say. There wasn’t, of course.

“Well… he’s upset. Genuinely. But to be honest I think he’s more upset with the prophecies than anything else, Brandy,” I told her.

She sighed. “Of course he is. The darn man believes everyone can do whatever they want, it’s obvious he’s never had children!” Brandy grumbled.

“Have you…?” I asked. I had thought she hadn’t.

“Hm? No. But I’ve raised many throughout the years. Apprentices and whatnot… So? What do you think of it then? You’re smarter than Vim, so…?” Brandy asked.

“I’m trying to not get upset with them, Brandy. If I do it will just give Vim permission to step down and ruin everything. I need to be… better than that, as to keep Vim in check,” I said, telling her my own true thoughts on the matter.

Brandy studied me a moment, and then sighed and nodded. “I guess that is indeed the position you should be taking right now, huh…?”

“You don’t agree?”

“I just want to not feel like I’m the only one upset. Everyone else whispers about it, but they then turn and smile at the sight of them! Hugging them and acting all friendly…” Brandy shook her head, as if wanting to say things far worse than that.

I bit back my own comments, since I kind of understood where she was coming from… but also didn’t.

How could you actually blame people for being happy at seeing old friends…? Many of the people who had returned with Light, like Less, were people many in the Society had known and been friends with. Even if they were at odds, even if they had abandoned the Society back then…

“Are you going to… take a stand against them, then?” I asked Brandy.

“I don’t know yet. I feel like I should, if anything out of principle… but I wouldn’t win. Light all on her lonesome is beyond me. Even if she wasn’t a saint, she’s still Celine’s daughter. The golden child, and then she’s obviously not alone. She’s got plenty of important and powerful people all lined up behind her, like a small army, to top it off,” Brandy said with a huff.

Oh? I knew many saw Light in such a way, but this was the first time I’d heard it said in such a way.

“Golden child…” I whispered the term, and found it rather funny. I got the meaning of it, rather clearly, but it still was something I’d never heard before.

“Yes, so are you. But I’m okay with you. You’re not trying to take my job, or spend all the money I’ve spent a lifetime making!” Brandy said with a gentle elbow bump.

I smirked at that. “Actually I’ve been wondering about that. You’re the one who keeps the records, right? Would you be able to tell me how much money I’ve spent? Or Vim and I?” I asked.

“Hm? Yes? I could. Why?” Brandy asked as we neared another intersection.

“Would just be interesting. Vim usually handles the money, but I’m not stupid. I know we spend a lot while traveling… to say the least. So would just be interesting to know, I guess,” I said.

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She chuckled at me as we slowed again. This time though we didn’t need to come to a stop, there were no other carts or wagons on the road. There were a few people walking around, but they all stayed out of the way on their side of the road as we passed by.

“Well… if you stick around long enough this time, we can go over such things,” Brandy said.

I nodded. “If you’re busy it’s fine.”

“Won’t be here soon, if I don’t figure something out…” Brandy groaned.

“Oh… wait… are you saying they’re actually taking your job, Brandy? I thought you were just being…”

“Being what? Facetious? No! I’m serious! This is how it starts, Renn! You don’t know what Celine and her people were like! They didn’t trust anyone outside of their circle, so only those within it got positions of importance! Which means…” Brandy quieted a bit, having realized she had started to raise her voice far more than necessary.

“Aren’t you a member of their cloth?” I asked. She was a sister wasn’t she?

“I am… but I’m not important, Renn. I’m just a member. I joined to help women, because a few hundred years ago this nation had been one where we were possessions not people. Once that was no longer an issue… well…” Brandy shrugged.

“What…? Possessions?” I asked.

She nodded and sighed. “A different story for another time. Used to be a lot of nations that saw women and children even as objects, not people. Not citizens. Not so much an issue anymore, though there are places that still have a bit of misogyny. Even here in Lumen it’s rare for a woman to be the head of a company or noble house, though it’s not unheard of,” Brandy said.

“Huh…” I nodded, finding this rather interesting. I’d not realized there had been entire civilizations where women were treated in such ways. I mean, I’d known about slavery of course, but had thought everyone had suffered under it equally.

Wait… “Are you not able to claim a more important position, though? You’ve done a lot for the Society, haven’t you?” I asked.

She sighed. “No. If it was that easy Renn, I’d have done it already.”

So… she’d have been okay with Light and the rest doing what they were doing, if she had been allowed to be a part of it…? Was I understanding her correctly?

I wanted to ask, but decided not to. Since it was possible she hadn’t realized she had just admitted to it, and also… well…

Was there really anything inherently wrong with someone wanting to keep their position? Their job? Their purpose? I didn’t think so, not really, at least.

“So… will they take the guild from you then?” I asked.

“Gerald owns the guild, Renn. I’m just the keeper of records. I spend most my time here because it’s the focal point of all our business. And yes, in a way. They’ll likely let Gerald keep control, and keep doing what he is doing, but eventually they will make him obsolete. Eventually this new Cathedral will take over all business aspects of this city, to the point even if they left the guild alone they may as well have not,” Brandy said.

“Seems silly. Why ruin something already working?” I wondered.

“Exactly!” Brandy shouted.

I flinched a bit, since she had done so loudly… and was still right next to me. Although I wore my hat, it wasn’t as if it blocked sounds well enough to keep me safe from such a loud outburst when so close to my ear.

Brandy didn’t even seem to notice that her outburst had hurt me a little as she pointed in front of us, likely to the building we were approaching. “They’re bloody leeches, Renn! They squirm back in after hiding away, leaving us all to our own devices and faults, and now they think they can tell us how to do it right? It’s blood-curdling!” Brandy shouted.

Oh boy… She was furious.

I nodded as she fumed; glad her shouting wasn’t as directly in my ear as before. She had sat up a bit, as if wanting to stand as to shout angrily. “It is rather rude, I agree,” I said.

“It’s beyond rude!”

It was. But what were we supposed to do about it…?

“So… you want to see whose here, to see who they might give your job to?” I asked, trying to understand.

“Exactly!”

I nodded, glad to finally get a direct answer… even if it seemed a little silly.

Wasn’t it going to take them years and years to build the new cathedral…? I could have sworn Vim and Light both had mentioned it’d take decades to properly build it. Didn’t that mean Brandy had time to figure things out…? Yet she was acting as if she was going to lose her job tomorrow, or had done so already.

Though… maybe she was worried for good reason…

Even if that reason seemed rather selfish.

“Gosh! I need to calm down a bit…” Brandy huffed as she took a few breaths as she visibly tried to relax.

Studying her a moment, I wondered if I should feel for her or not. I mean, I did. I didn’t want her to lose her place in the Society, at least from her perspective… but…

Why did it feel as if she was being very selfish? Did it really matter who ran the finances of the Society? As long as it got done, and done well, did it matter? Also, it wasn’t as if she was saying she’d not have any place in the Society… she was just saying she’d not be the one in complete control anymore.

In theory, shouldn’t we have multiple people overlooking our finances? Not just one…?

I kept my thoughts to myself though, and decided instead to later talk about it with Merit and Vim once he got back. Maybe he’d be able to calm my worries down a bit.

I didn’t want to be upset with Brandy, or find her lacking. Not over this. Yet…

“Later on let me know the names and faces you see, okay Renn?” Brandy then said.

“Hm? Okay?” I nodded, and felt a little gross because of it.

What I had just agreed to? It was as if I was being asked to spy on our own people.

I mean… sure, Light and her people were doing weird things and causing problems… but were they actually enemies?

If they were, I’d think Vim would have handled it. He would not have left so calmly, leaving me here like this, had that been the case.

Wanting to sigh, I kept it inside as we neared the building. It seemed we were expected, because Less and a few others were standing out before it on the road.

Less guided us around the building to the rear, between a back entrance gate. I was a little surprised to see children as the horses were guided into a back garden area, where Brandy had them come to a stop.

“Lo’ Brandy. Rennalee,” Less greeted us, but I didn’t even glance at her as I stared at the children standing near the back door of the building.

There were four of them. They all wore the same gray robes most of the people here did, and… yes. They were all girls. And one even looked like she had ears kind of like me, hidden beneath her headdress.

They were staring at me in much the same way I was staring at them. In strange awe and shock.

I’d known there were many of them here. Almost a hundred. But I hadn’t realized they had brought children too…

“Renn?” Brandy nudge me a little, forcing me to look away from them.

“Right… sorry,” I apologized as I hopped off the wagon. I brushed myself off a little as I heard Less and Brandy go about chatting. My eyes wandered back to the kids, and found all but one had disappeared. The open door suggested they had ran inside.

Likely to alert Light we were here, I bet.

Feeling strange all of a sudden, I tried to clear my thoughts a bit as I glanced around. A few others were approaching us, those who had gone to close the back gate we’d just entered through. One of them was a taller man, with broad shoulders. He was also not wearing the robes of the church, but instead typical clothes. He stood out amongst them all, and not just because he was walking my way.

I stood up a little straighter as he stepped up to me. “Hello, my name is Martin. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Rennalee,” Martin said as he held out a hand.

Oh my! The one Lilly had mentioned!

I took his hand. “Renn… I hear you were Celine’s knight,” I said.

He blinked and smiled. “That’s my father. He’ll be here in a few years,” Martin said happily, as if glad to hear someone mention his dad.

Oh! Right… Merit had mentioned Martin’s son, hadn’t she? “Is it rude to ask why you share your father’s name?” I asked.

Martin frowned a bit, our hands separating. “Not that I am aware. The reason I share his name is simple, I had took up his name with the intention of taking his place in the world. But it turns out he had survived. We had thought him dead. By the time we all figured it out, well…” Martin shrugged a little.

“It had been too late. I see. Thank you, I’m sorry for asking something so personal,” I said.

“Hardly. Most in the Society know already. I know it will take time for you to adjust,” he said as he glanced to our right. I followed his gaze, and found Brandy and Less were walking towards the building. They looked like they were in a debate, though not too heated about it.

Seemed she did calm down after all.

I sighed a little at her. I saw her as a friend, and I would of course help her. She had asked me to find out as many names as possible of those here. I’d try to, at least. But a part of me felt little… icky doing so. Because it was as if I was scheming against people who likely didn’t deserve it.

Oh well. Least it seemed we had her loyalty… if only for now. The enemy of our enemy was a friend, I guess. Though I hated how it felt so wrong in this scenario. She wasn’t choosing our side because we were friends, but because of her love for money.

As if her loyalty only belonged to coins, nothing more.

“Will you be joining Light then?” I asked as I too turned, as to head inside as well.

“No. Less and Isabella will.”

“Isabella?” I asked. The name reminded me of Elisabell. The human mercenary we had taken to the Crypt. The one whose brother Vim had killed.

“Something of a servant, in a way. If we have such things, that is,” Martin explained.

I see. Less to protect her, and this Isabella to tend to her needs.

Remembering something, I paused right before we entered the building. Brandy and Less had already headed in deep enough I couldn’t hear their voices well anymore.

“Martin?” I asked, getting his attention.

He turned and frowned, nodding gently at me.

“May I ask another question? What is a knight?” I asked.

His frown deepened. “You… don’t know? Hm… I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised. Vim’s still Vim, even if he’s acting odd lately. A knight in our context, for saints, is an individual who has both vowed their fealty and their life to the service of a saint. One who receives their blessings. Basically a knight is a saint’s protector, much similar to what Vim is to the Society,” he explained.

“Blessings?” I asked.

He smiled a little oddly at me. “A fancy word for their trust. Many believe it means we get some kind of power or privilege, but that’s not the case. At best we get access to certain prophecies or truths that no one else would get to hear, usually concerning the saint herself. We don’t get anything else than that. Their trust, plain as be,” he said.

Oh…? Here I had thought they had meant it a little differently. Though, that wasn’t my fault. Those like Cat had always phrased it in a way as if they had gotten special abilities and stuff… but that was silly, wasn’t it? Saints had powers, sure, but did they have the kind that would let them bless people?

“There are stories of saints capable of actually blessing their knights with great power, but as far as I am aware none have existed in any recent history. There’s a running theory that Vim is one of those old knights, thus his great lifespan and power,” Martin said as he lifted a hand to point at the sky, as if teaching me as a kid.

I nodded slowly. “I see. Thank you… So are you Light’s knight?” I asked.

“Currently I am, but not really. Right now I simply protect everyone here. Technically you could say my father is the real one, being who he is, but he had been Celine’s. And though I personally don’t see the necessary reason to be so… archaic in procedures and traditions, it seems father and Light are and do,” he said with a sigh.

What’s this…? Was that him voicing thoughts and emotions over their religious traditions, thus his lack of wearing a robe, or was he not happy with his position?

I didn’t want to assume, of course, but he had just said he had been given his father’s name as to also take his position in the world. In other words, on his birth, he had been assigned a duty. To be a knight for a saint.

Maybe he resented that…?

“Are you coming in or not!?”

I startled and turned, finding the child from earlier I had noticed. The girl was standing in the door-way, hands on her hips and huffing at us.

“Meet our resident predator, Renn. Do not worry though. She is all bark and no bite,” Martin said with a light gesture at the girl.

Predator…? I glanced again at her headdress, the hood, and noticed again the way it shifted and looked lumpy. She definitely had ears or horns or something.

“The only reason I haven’t bit him or any of the rest yet is because they’d die if I do. So they’ve become complacent!” she said.

My ears fluttered a little under my hat, and I wished I could take them off. Her voice sounded… a little odd. Enough so that I wanted to hear it in full. But although we were behind the building, in a secured section, I didn’t want to risk it. The walls surrounding this backyard like area weren’t very tall. Anyone tall enough, or looking out the windows of the nearby buildings or riding a horse or wagon would be able to see us back here. Thus likely why no one else had revealed their traits either, like this girl.

“Do you mean to say you are the only predator here?” I asked.

Surely not, right? Wasn’t Less a badger? Like Landi?

“The only true one!” she said with a bit of pride, lifting her face as she did.

I frowned at that and glanced at Martin, who smiled knowingly at me. “She’s still young, Renn. She mistakes gentleness for a lack of teeth. Less is very gentle with her,” he whispered.

“Hmph! That woman flinches at a loud noise!” the girl said, as if upset to be compared to her.

I see. So she was young. And not just in appearance. Interesting.

“I flinch at loud noises too you know?” I said.

The girl startled a little bit, her headdress shifting as well as she did, and I confirmed that she did indeed have ears or something like it. Horns wouldn’t have moved so blatantly like that, I think.

Martin chuckled at us as he stepped past us and entered the building. “Ware, young wolf. You stand before an ancestor not even I or my father could stand tall against,” Martin said as he walked past the girl, patting her on the shoulder as he did.

The girl’s face scrunched up a bit as Martin left, and she hesitatingly glanced back at me… coughing lightly as she did. “Renn… is it? I’m Tundra. A might…y…” she bit her tongue, flinched, and then coughed again. “A wolf!” she then finished as she held her hand out.

Although her hand wasn’t trembling, I noticed an odd stiffness in it as I shook it. “A pleasure, Tundra. Can I see your ears? I’ll let you touch mine if I can touch yours!” I asked with a point to my hat as I stepped into the building.

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