Jumble frowns as she reads her own version of the message. "Why is the quest being… sarcastic? Is this sarcastic?"

"It's always been petty. Just ignore it." I advise her and step into my own tower for the first time in what feels like days, but was actually hours. "It won't actually punish us for anything, though, which is surprisingly good of it. Or else pretty much none of this would be here right now."

The construct raises its hand. "I certainly wouldn't. Can I ask why you're appearing through a door that led to nowhere up until five seconds ago?"

I brush my hair over my shoulder with a laugh. "Quest reward, apparently. Got another waiting at the top of the tower, too, so that's the next stop. Has Clutter shown up yet?"

"He has." The construct confirms. "But he's out surveying the grounds right now. Shout for him outside of the tower and he'll certainly hear you."

"Good to know, thanks." I offer the construct a smile as I walk past it. "No issues with the system and quest taking away more of your info?"

It shakes its head. "Absolutely none. What do you want done with your… new friends?"

A smirk accompanies the construct's last two words for some reason I can't comprehend. But it's right; Jumble and Euro can't come into the tower without my permission. Well, Euro could, but that'd reveal something about them that Jumble definitely wants to keep a secret. I sigh through my nose and pull up my portion of the tower controls while pondering if this is the right thing to do.

It definitely is, but it feels like a betrayal of Clutter's trust if I do it without talking to him first. So let's get that out of the way. Then… I guess I have to explain why I'm returning on a friendly note with people I left with on an extremely sour one. I turn to Jumble and Euro and motion for them to step into the room.

They share a look, and Jumble reluctantly pushes her hand through the threshold. When nothing stops her she sighs in relief, walks through the rest of the way, then steps aside so Euro can get in. The door closes a little too close behind Euro, but the rogue doesn't seem to notice. Probably because it's been happening ever since they got here.

"Stay here with…" I trail off and turn to the construct. "...Conner?"

The construct snorts with amusement. "Conner; such a boring name. If you insist on calling me by a proper name, I prefer 'Click'."

I raise an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't want a name."

"I don't, but you obviously want to refer to me by something. So you can call me 'Click' with a capital 'C'." Click says as a smile pulls at the corner of its lips. "Though I also ask that you keep referring to me as 'it'. I enjoy the reactions it elicits."

Sure, whatever floats its boat. "You heard the construct. Jumble, Euro, play nice with Click here. It's in a very similar boat to the construct we talked to a minute ago."

Jumble's eyes widen while Euro puts themselves as far away from Click as possible. That just feeds into the construct's amusement. And probably put the rogue in its crosshairs.

"How'd you…" Jumble shakes her head vigorously. "Nevermind, I'll just ask Click. How long are you going to be?"

I hold up three fingers. "I'm just going to go talk to Clutter. Then we'll all talk about how we're going to continue with this quest. Sound good to you?"

Jumble nods. "Sounds great!"

"Perfect. See you in three." I press my hand to the door and step through when it opens. The gust of air makes a piece of folded paper with my name on it flutter off a stair. "Looks like Clutter took a pit stop before he left."

I kick the door shut with my heel. Pearl squeezes herself out of her shell now that Euro's out of view and stretches with a cute little groan.

"That's a good sign. It probably means he wasn't caught." She smacks her lips, then settles down on my shoulder. "So how are we going to handle this? Just give Jumble the clearance, or do we give it to her and Euro?"

I grab the message and unfold the paper. "I'm leaning towards just Jumble, because then we can justify it as using her as a means of communication. None of her friends know she's actually far more powerful than any of them, after all."

"Or that they're all constructs." Pearl grumbles. "I'm still not completely comfortable with that. I mean, how much of her strength is she using to keep them alive? It has to be a pretty dang significant amount. Heck, she could've made all the magical items they're using."

"And that's not just a one–time investment?" I ask.

Pearl barks out a short laugh. "The only way it wouldn't be is if she has a power source like we do. But if she did, I would've felt something like it on her. Instead, it just feels like she's weak for next to no reason."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I fold the message back in two and stuff it into my pocket. It's way too long to read in two minutes, and far too detailed to be any good news. Better to just get it from Clutter at this point.

"She didn't say anything about that in your censored conversation?"

Pearl shakes her head. "No. But for someone as lonely as her… I can understand why she'd do it. If I'd been fully conscious in my shell for all the time I was stuck there, I might've made friends too. …Dang it, I guess I am comfortable with what she did. I wanted to be the naysayer this time because you can't."

I raise an eyebrow. "I can't?"

"Of course you can't." Pearl scoffs. "She's a Worth Class. That alone makes you super partial."

…Yeah, alright, that's fair. I press my hand to the wall, and without a word, Pearl squishes back into her shell. Magic outlines a door a moment later, and I step through to the sensation of countless eyes staring in my direction. A particularly well obscured shadow stands just outside the tower, and Clutter slips back inside before I say a word. Sideways rain splatters the side of my face as I scan the clearing for signs of life, but all I get back are sensations of being watched.

Right before I step back in, I look up at the sky. Nothing falls from the hole. I grit my teeth and pull out a purification coin while backing up into the tower and slamming the door shut. The moment it seals us off I crush the coin and wrack my awareness to make sure none of the water escapes the salty mist.

Because the horizonguard is watching from everywhere. And this was just obvious enough to let us know how.

Shadows bleed away from Clutter, whose wide eyes and grim expression speak volumes of what he's seen in the last few hours. He waggles his fingers sideways to mime the rain, then raises his palms in a questioning manner. I hold up a hand for a few seconds as I scour the tower with my awareness, then tap Pearl's shell for her input.

"It's safe." She whispers, but doesn't come out. "We need to put up blinds or something at the top of the tower."

I nod in agreement. "Clutter, find some way to make sure nobody can see into the top of the tower. But before you do–I sort of made friends with Jumble and Euro. Are you cool with me given them access?"

His eyes somehow widen even further. "I didn't think that was possible. I mean, you pretty much called them pathetic when we were leaving. Did you seduce her or something?"

Pearl snorts in an attempt to hold back a laugh, but bursts into a gut-busting roll anyway. "Hee! It's almost like he was theeere!"

I ignore her. "It's a long story. She's a Worth Class and was one of the paindne actually uplifted here."

Clutter blinks. "I'm sorry, did you just say… um… yes, that is what you said. Oh. Well. Okay. My brain hurts."

I pat him on the shoulder with a sympathetic smile. "Mine too, buddy. Just wanted to get your permission before I did anything."

"Yeah… yeah, okay. We already have one construct in the room with doors, so what can be weirder than that?" He mutters to himself. "Two constructs?"

Pearl guffaws as I offer him a guilty smile. He stares at me for a good five seconds, then turns and starts climbing the stairs while grumbling about how my half of the assignment was way more fun than his was. I can't really argue with him, since he doesn't know the details, but it definitely isn't the picnic he's imagining.

I watch him climb as I pull out my Class Card and shift the permissions so Jumble and Euro are whitelisted. I'll revoke Euro's once they're back with the rest of the party, but for now, they need to get from the room with doors to the outside of the tower.

Now it's time to greet the guests again. I sigh through my nose and pull open the door. Jumble and Euro turn to look from where they're sitting with Click, and it looks like I came in in the middle of a conversation.

"Am I interrupting?"

Click shakes its head. "Nothing that can't wait until later. Very nice meeting you, Euro."

Euro slowly nods as they get up. "You, too. Jumble, are you coming?"

Jumble waves Euro on. "Go back to the others, or go wait for them if they're not back yet. I still have… a lot to talk to Sheby about."

"You're sure? I can stay if you… ooooh." Euro looks between us with a grin. "Nevermind, I'll see you soon. Have a nice talk."

"Euro!" Jumble hisses as her face reddens. "Go!"

Euro waves with a laugh, and I open the tower for them to walk out. Surprise, surprise, the rain's stopped. They give me a wink as they walk by, then sprint for the lighthouse as their form shimmers into mediocre stealth. I watch until they're safely on the other side, then close the door and turn to Jumble who's only managed to stand at the edge of the room with doors.

"Goodbye for now, Jumble." Click says with a smile. "It was good to see you again after all these years. Especially now that you've made friends."

Jumble grimaces as she steps through. I shut the door behind her, and she lets out a breath that she must've been holding since I left. "It's such a jerk."

"It's a system-created construct. Do you really expect anything else?"

"No, but… it…" Jumble huffs and crosses her arms. "It wasn't anything way back then. None of the trial constructs were, since they were made before the first paindne was. How does it have a personality now?"

"Ah. That's… kind of my fault." I say sheepishly.

Her eyes narrow. "I don't believe you."

"Then you'll just have to have Clutter corroborate the story. After we see what the upgrade is and discuss how we're going to deal with this moving forward."

"What do you mean 'this'?" Jumble asks.

I point to her, then to myself. "This."

"O-oh." She squeaks. "Um. Okay. C-can I walk up the stairs now?"

I nod. She bolts up the stairs, taking them two at a time without a moment to be sure in her footing. I blink as I watch her tail swishing with a little too much excitement for whatever that was.

Pearl's laughter echoes as I make my way up the stairs.

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