"Are you going somewhere?" Louie asked.
"We're all going," Leo replied.
"Dude, I really don't want to go anywhere," I said, opening my eyes as widely as possible to emphasize my point. "Right now, I wish Louie had some kind of spell to teleport me back to my apartment, in pajamas."
"Cool. Then let's go back to your place," he said, moving to stand next to us. "But we've got a flight to catch tomorrow."
"A flight to where?" I asked.
"To Edinburgh, of course," he said, opening the elevator door. "That's where the portal to Rory's realm is."
Parting the mists
Coda
"That's enough now," Yalfrigg said and clapped his hands. "You won't be fighting tomorrow, but I don't want you messing with your sleeping cycles."
"Fuck the cycles," said a female voice, but no one stood up to face the doctore directly.
"You will go to your quarters now and rest," he repeated. "There will be enough time for stories tomorrow if you're so interested in tales of dragon slaying."
"You're such a buzzkill sometimes, man," another disembodied voice said as the crowd slowly dispersed, the only people not moving being those whose sleeping sacks were already around the campfire.
"Fuck off now," the dwarf said, but didn't move to leave with them.
It took a few minutes before everyone had left to find their own quarters or campfire, most of them walking by Alexander to offer a pat on the back, a smile, or just a quick look of understanding and support.
There was no doubt his tale would be recounted multiple times before the people fell asleep and hopefully some of their life stories would find their way to the surface as well.
Alexander looked around him but not one member of his squad was trying to fall asleep. They were all just waiting, looking at the dwarf and the people around them. Once the voices in their direct vicinity had died down, the dwarf nodded at them to move closer so he wouldn't have to speak too loudly.
"We're doing it," the dwarf said.
"Isn't it too soon, dwarf?" Neleth asked.
"I'm tired of your--" he started to reply, but the elf interrupted him.
"I'm not fucking with you," Neleth said, just a bit louder than before. "What I mean is, will the nameless be alone at this time? We can't be seen near them by any of the dominus's lackeys. Or the slaves for that matter."
"All of the nameless have been herded into a barn," the dwarf explained, "just outside our camp. The guards stationed there are slaves I trust. As for not being seen, each of you should be responsible for that. If you're not followed there, there will be no issue taking the nameless out. The barn is isolated."
"What do we do after that?" Alexander asked, for the first time invested in what the slaves were scheming.
"Some of us will stay there and start creating full parties," he continued, "while the rest will go to the monster cells and bring back beasts to kill."
"How will they gain any XP?" Yvonne asked. "Isn't our level difference too great for them to get any?"
"It is," the dwarf agreed. "The ones who stay back and form the parties will all be below level ten."
"What kind of monsters are kept there? And aren't they going to be locked up?" asked Gardun, the orc monk.
"You can check what kind of monsters are locked inside the cells without needing to go in," Yalfrigg continued. "You should try to only get those that are relatively silent, low level, and that can be carried into the barn. Remember, each monster killed by a party leader means eight nameless people getting back their souls and mind. If multiple party leaders contribute damage, their parties will also gain XP."
"But how are we going to break into the monster cells?" Gardun asked again.
"You don't need to worry about those mundane locks," Neleth replied with confidence.
"What happens to them after that?" Alexander asked.
"The human's right, Yalfrigg," Neleth agreed. "With so many people being released, chances are that some of them will not want to join our cause, either because they'll be too afraid or because they think they'll get good treatment once their tongues reach the dominus's ear."
"You needn't worry about that, elf-boy," Zadicus, the Paladin of the Night, replied. "We'll make sure all of them act as we intend them to."
"You mean you'll glamour them?" Neleth insisted on getting a concrete answer and the vampire nodded in reply. "How can the two of you glamour so many people? Won't you run out of MP? And how can you be sure your glamour will land on all of them."
"Our glamour is a magic-based attack," Zadicus's sister Yvonne explained. "The nameless are level zero and they're not equipped with any gear that would offer them a Magic Defense boost. Our glamours will take effect on them."
"And we're not the only vampires in the ludus," the male vampire hissed.
"How long will the glamour last?" Alexander asked, voicing more of his concerns. "And what's its extent?"
"The nameless will be under the effect of the spell for a maximum of seven days," the doctore replied in turn. "During this time they will behave exactly as they were supposed to if they were still nameless. That is until the horns of revolution are sounded. After that, they will be free men again."
"So we will be telling them what they should do, controlling their minds to further our goals," Gardun said and sighed deeply. "That is dangerously close to what the dominus is doing."
"Are you fucking serious right now?" Neleth said, almost exploding with anger. "Are you comparing the two? We're doing this for their own good and in the hope that we might one day be free, dead or alive."
"I know, elf. I know," she agreed. "It doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Well, like it or not," Neleth continued, "you better get your head in the game, because there will be no time for second-guessing when the clocks start ticking."
"What about the level they'll show?"
