Johannes Volkner bid farewell to dealing with potentially 'good' people. One look at the man greeting them beside the Governor was all that he needed to discern that the guy was a real sleaze. This village seemed more well put-together than the other, even after taking into account that it had likely been far better looking prior to its effective destruction at Boudica's hands. The colonists had successfully cut back most of the wild growth in the area, and even had some more permanent housing set up, with larger and sturdier constructions that seemed to be ready to last at least several years.

  Looking back at the man who was seemingly partnered with the Governor in managing this locale, he couldn't help but notice his long, full black beard, and his massive nose. His eyes were dark and somewhat far back, he might have even appeared deeply wise if it wasn't for the fact that they were just too dark, betraying a hint of madness alongside his grin. Most of the other Callers and Spirits present seemed to be similarly on guard against this man, except for one. Pádraig sauntered forwards without a single care in the world, offering him a handshake. "It's nice to meet you sir, we're the reinforcements you've been waiting for. We couldn't slay that great beast, but we'll get it next time, we just need a bit better of a plan!"

  Surprisingly enough, the imposing and dark-mannered man shook Pádraig's hand with no issue, even cracking a smile that didn't go beyond his jaw. "I'm sure that you will. I will be aiding your expeditions to Tenochtitlan, both scouting and otherwise. We have many great Spanish men ready to lay down their lives against these savages, but that will wait until we have worn them down. You see?" He had barely moved the entire time he spoke, simply retrieving his hand from the clasp the two had shared. He was so still that it was frankly eerie.

  Pádraig simply nodded, pulling his hand back as well. "I do see, it's quite a good plan. I'm Pádraig, it's great to meet you. Sir, you wouldn't happen to be Rasputin, would you?"

  ...Everyone looked at Pádraig with different expressions. The colonists were indifferent, Johannes couldn't believe what he was hearing, and it seemed that Wilhelm's gaze had a trace of admiration. Did they really think this man was Grigori Rasputin? He coughed lightly, taken aback. "I would not, no. My name is Pedro Cabral. I am a candidate for gaining a charter to take ownership of one of these fine colonies of ours."

  Despite the utter gaff Pádraig had managed, Johannes realized why, besides the similar appearance in their features, Pádraig had been so confused. It was the same reason why Pedro had been giving him such a feeling of utter and complete 'wrongness' this entire time; why he felt as if he could not trust him and he was malicious.

  The Pedro Cabral in front of them was not the real, living man. He was a Spirit, presumably meaning that the original had already died, and someone had summoned him back in a vessel. It had been hard to put his finger on it with how many other Spirits were present, but once he connected the dots, he felt reasonably certain that was what was wrong with this whole picture. A Spirit of the Yesod classification, that of connection, movement, and free spirits. They could be immensely fast, or summon massive artifacts and perform feats of travel, yet they were unpredictable, flighty, and strong-willed. Was there any wonder, then, that he had an instinctive distrust of this man?

  As he finally focused on what was in front of him, he realized that Pádraig and Pedro had continued to speak while he was focusing, but decided that it might be a good time to interrupt. He was unsure if Pádraig had caught on yet, frankly, and he didn't trust Pádraig to be particularly distrusting of a shady individual. With a light cough, he spoke up. "Excuse me, Se?or Cabral, we have been walking for the past several hours. Might we have today to rest, and embark in the early morning with you on this scouting expedition? Our men and women have been fighting and traveling all day, so we're more prone to making a mistake that may allow the natives to see through our movements."

  Pedro sneered, about to say something surely to admonish Johannes, but before he could speak, Ponce de León spoke in his stead. "You and your comrades have been valorous today. I see no reason why you should not eat and rest." He clapped his hands together twice, somewhat loudly. "Maria! Show them to the excess lodging, and tell the women to get them some food."

  Soon enough, this 'Maria' arrived. A young native woman, with a single chain around one of her ankles, not limiting movement, but making it loudly obvious where she was whenever she moved. Johannes's stomach turned as he saw her haggard, sunken eyes, and the slight swelling of her stomach under the sackcloth she wore. The people of eras past were far rougher, he understood that, but was it really right to help those who would do such things? They didn't know for sure what would even happen if they allowed this ritual within the moon to reach its completion. Surely, helping slavers and likely-rapists was worse than what one mage was planning to do far away from the planet, right? He looked around at his comrades, and most of them seemed deeply uncomfortable with what was going on, though the Spirits generally seemed to care less. Interestingly enough, Aylin had one hand at her belt, holding onto a dagger, but said nothing, a fire in her eyes.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  At least he could be at ease with the fact that it wasn't just him having second thoughts. Soon enough, they were guided to a large building which contained nothing but several bedrolls sprawled onto the ground. It would have to do, the conditions were at least decent enough for them to stay a few nights like this. Once they were left alone, Pádraig broke the silence, laying down with surprising ease as if he'd slept countless nights in similar conditions. "Are we sure that Pedro isn't Rasputin? His tastes are a bit... Well, I knew people back then were a lot more easygoing about age gaps, but she's too young for him."

  A dagger speared through the thin wooden wall behind him. Johannes couldn't tell who threw it, but there were a few stand-out guesses in his mind. "Sorry, sorry, I thought I'd try to lighten the mood. I... Don't want to believe she's here completely against her will. I think if that girl really wanted to escape, she probably could. And - I don't want to believe our allies are such bad people, you know?" Johannes nodded lightly in assent, though he was unsure anyone actually saw it in the dark room. Johannes quickly replied, "I think we need to face the facts, though. They're probably as bad as they look, or worse. Even despite that, though, I don't think we can claim the high ground morally. We carved that hill away long ago."

  He huffed as he turned over on his bedroll, only to see that one person was still standing up. Jill had not laid down the entire time. She seemed upset, but fully herself, without any of the psychotic side he'd glimpsed during Boudica's attack. "I... Don't think I can work with people like that. There's enough awful men like that back in London. I don't wanna see those same sorts here, much less work with them." Her voice was cracking slightly every few words, as if she was trying to hold back tears. Johannes was about to say something, but it was Martin of all people who spoke up.

  "Don't worry. He'll get what's coming, I'm sure. Remember that the reward for a hard life lies in heaven above, not on the earth below." The usually-apologetic man had a soft, caring tone in his voice that almost reminded Johannes of a priest, and he could hear the gentle setting of armor on skin. "Take solace in the fact that in our time, that man has already suffered in Hell for his conduct in life."

  Johannes let out a breath that he wasn't holding in, and silently thanked Martin in his head. He'd never been good at comforting Jessica, always feeling like he should've done more or helped more concretely instead of just watching her get hurt and speaking with her after. It had stopped him from even being able to comfort her properly, and yet Martin was able to help comfort Jill of her woes so easily, it was almost second nature to him. Johannes couldn't help but feel admiration and a tinge of envy for it.

  After that, Jill seemed to have mostly calmed down, at least enough to eat and sleep. Soon enough, everyone from Heliopolis's expedition was fast asleep, passing the evening by, and it had gone surprisingly well. The next morning, Johannes startled awake at a hand on him, rolling aside and trying to reach for Bellende Hunde. By the time he'd drawn it, though, he realized that it was just Wilhelm, who'd decided to wake him up directly. "Jojo, you alright? I didn't know you were a heavy sleeper type." He sighed as he slipped the length of wood back into his coat, shaking his head.

  "Normally, I'm not. I think I've just been a bit more tired than usual, with everything happening the last few days." He pulled himself to his feet, noticing that most of their comrades had already gotten up and about. The sun wasn't even peeking over the horizon yet, and everything was still relatively coated in a dusky gloom. Soon enough, Wilhelm urged him on, pulling him along to the staging grounds for their expedition-to-be. Pedro was giving a speech to the gathered Callers and Spirits, and Johannes quickly fell in line to listen to his plan, which boiled down to the fact that they had a general idea of Tenochtitlan's location. They were going to sneak through the underbrush, and get a visual confirmation on the city itself, to see the general defense layout from a distance as well as try to identify threats to a siege, and the rulers that would need to be removed in order to successfully cripple Tenochtitlan. All in all, it seemed like it would be easy enough, provided they stayed far enough away.

  Pedro himself led the expedition, having more experience with the Mexican forests and coastside than anyone else by virtue of having simply been there more than a single day's span of time. Johannes wasn't exactly a fan of working under him, and by the looks of Aylin and Pádraig's expressions, he wasn't even the one most incensed; ultimately, everyone kept their mouth shut as the group once again set off into the woods, this time doing so without the burden of a cartload of armaments. There was a clear undercurrent of discontent, but that was fine. They only needed to hold it together for a few hours, to get to Tenochtitlan and back.

  Unfortunately, he had massively underestimated how far out Tenochtitlan would really be. It was, by his estimate at least, roughly two hours before they finally began to slow their approach, nearing the city's outer limits. Was this seriously considered close enough to be a quick scouting mission? The sun had almost entirely risen, meaning they'd lost any chances of actually staying hidden in darkness, though he suspected that may not have been Pedro's intentions from the beginning. The Governor hadn't come with them; he could easily leave them in the open if they had any intent to double-cross Heliopolis's forces, though that would frankly doom both groups.

  He could feel a headache coming on as he kept his attention split, while they circled around, slowly climbing up a mountain at a somewhat heavy incline. Finally, after another thirty something minutes of climbing, they had their overview, looking out upon the city of Tenochtitlan.

  What they saw could not be believed.