Shadow Slave

Some time later, they entered the stone lodge and found themselves in the middle of another, smaller crowd. Around thirty or forty people gathered in the main hall of Changing Star's dwelling, making it look even smaller than it had before.

However, these were not just any Sleepers from the slum. Most of them were experienced fighters from the outer settlement few hunting parties, as well as people who Nephis had recruited into her faction during her time in the Dark City.

Back when Sunny had been a part of the group, they were weak and hopeless young men and women who were barely surviving in the cruel reality of the Forgotten Shore. Now, things changed. Neph's little helpers were armed with makeshift weapons and wearing armors fashioned from a wide variety of scavenged materials, while some were even in possession of Memories. They also held themselves very differently from before.

Honestly, the difference between them and the hunters was not that big now. If Sunny didn't know which were which, he might have mistaken one for the other.

Changing Star walked through the crowd and approached the window that opened on the bleak view of the cursed ruins. She looked at it for a short moment, and then turned around, a dark expression on her face.

"...Tell me."

The leaders of the hunting parties glanced at each other. One of them, a stocky young man with long messy hair and three ugly scars running all the way from his forehead to his chin, spoke with a bit of uncertainty:

"Welcome back, Lady Nephis. It is good that you are alive and well."

She gave him a nod. The hunter paused, then continued, his voice somber:

"We, uh… have followed your orders and advice for these past months. The militia you created has been reinforced and organized to protect the settlement from the attacking monsters. With the Memories you and your cohort hunted for us in the ruins, the casualties were low both among the watchmen and among the civilians. Compared to before, I mean."

Changing Star remained silent and just stared at him. The young man sighed.

"About the other thing… it went almost exactly how you told us it would. Members of the Host came into the settlement shortly after your departure, demanding that Effie surrendered herself to be judged for the disappearance of those Guards. When we told them that she was gone, they got violent. Several people were injured, but no one died."

Effie scoffed. The hunted gave her a complicated look and scratched his cheek.

"After that, they would come again every week or so, hurt a few people and break things, always with the same demand. But we kept our cool and just… well. Took it. Like you told us to do. That seemed to only make them angrier, but they had no real reason to escalate things. In the end, they just settled for making our lives difficult and pushing people around."

huntress shook her

with the people foaming at their mouths to greet me?

looked down in embarrassment and cleared

you have to answer for the murder of those Guards, the more people

looked at him with

I am beingly

He smiled sheepishly.

didn't kill more. There are tales about how exactly you dealt with them, too, one more colorful than the other. The most popular one is that, uh… the

The tall huntress blinked.

Since when do I have

The young man grinned.

up

looked darkly at another

people in the settlement root for you. It worked,

rubbed her face with an

didn't kill

with no

"Who cares?"

to say something,

Don't waste it on useless

with scars on his face and

about my

a small wooden box from a leather pouch tied to his belt. The young man held the little box like it was the most terrible Nightmare Creature. Handling it with extreme caution, he approached Nephis and handed it to

were drops of sweat

the person from the castle brought. I don't know what they used to make Hide create that thing, but the result was exactly as you wished, at