Chapter 5: Part 8 - A Long Way From Civilisation

It came as a relief to Vasha when she and Jean finally spotted another team. They'd been creeping across the dry ground of Draconis Mons for the better part of an hour when Jean hissed a greeting. Two figures suddenly loomed out of the murk, so close that Vasha might have shot them if they hadn't immediately spoken.

"Good to see you haven't been taken out by one of those airships." It was the asura, Amber, the leader of Light's Memory. Somehow, it didn't surprise Vasha that they were here. It clearly hadn't surprised Jean, either.

"I'm afraid I haven't had time to make use of your key," he said, speaking to the asura.

Vasha shot him a suspicious look. It had occurred to her, more than once, that Jean might be lying about Marissa carrying the keys for his team. She hadn't confronted him and she hadn't searched him, but if they reached the summit before Marissa did, perhaps they'd find out which one of them would win in a fight.

"I think we have bigger things to worry about than the prize," Amber said. "Were you close to the first crash?"

"Far too close," Jean said. "What's going on out there?"

"The Order of Whispers," Erin said, with obvious disapproval.

"We believe they infiltrated the game some time ago," Amber clarified. "They've chosen to use that to their advantage and have begun sabotaging proceedings."

"That certainly sounds like them," Jean said.

"Well, it shouldn't," Amber said. "The Order of Whispers used to know a thing or two about subtlety. There are powerful people aboard those airships. Killing them is going to attract attention none of us want, especially not Yinn."

"Yinn will get what he deserves," Vasha said. She felt Amber's gaze snap to her, but the asura nodded.

"That might be for the best," she said slowly. "In the meantime..."

They made a strange party: two bedraggled humans, a tiny asura and a norn. Amber led the way and Vasha was content, for the moment, to follow. It was clear Amber had had a chance to study this terrain before. She led them away from the fighting, away from the smoke, and along twisting paths that rapidly began to climb higher.

Which meant they were rapidly approaching the centre of the volcano. Vasha's heart seemed to stutter in her chest. The Order of Whispers had resorted to sabotage; what measures would she be prepared to employ? She needed to get more keys as quickly as possible. She needed to find the prize, preferably alone. Most importantly of all, she needed to make sure Artair was watching when she opened it.

Quite suddenly, the ground began to rumble. Vasha dropped into a crouch, the others doing the same without a word being spoken. She searched the horizon for movement beyond the clouds of steam and dust.

She found it to the north. A line of black had appeared, another cohort of Whispers agents moving across the landscape. Vasha pressed herself closer to the ground, but before she could stop him, Jean got to his feet – and started to wave.

Amber made a small noise of amusement; Vasha fought an urge to grind her teeth. If there was anyone here who needed to learn subtlety, it was Jean Valpari.

It was too late now. The agents trotted into view, twenty of them arrayed in neat ranks. They were led by an asura who looked familiar, but it was such a surprise to see her here that it was several seconds before Vasha recognised Explorer Primm.

The agents trooped past. Primm was the only one to stop. She greeted them with a cheery wave, as though they'd bumped into one another at the market. "Thought you were dead," she said to Jean, with a grin that showed too many teeth. "Your family are looking for you."

"I know. I'll catch up to them when I'm ready."

Vasha shot him another look. He made it sound like he had something more important to do – like babysitting the Marauders' wayward engineer.

Primm's eyes narrowed as she recognised Amber. "I didn't know you were mixed up in all this."

Amber shrugged, but there was evident tension in her shoulders. "I go where I'm needed – like anywhere the Order of Whispers is making a tremendous mess of things."

"Amber..." Erin warned.

It did no good. The two asura eyed one another, looking very much like they were debating whether to throw the first punch.

Eventually, Primm looked away, watching her band of agents disappear into the dust. "This isn't quite the operation we had in mind," she said grudgingly. "Those devices of Yinn's that split up the teams caught us by surprise. Since then, we've been... improvising."

Amber snorted. "That's one word for it."

Primm glared at her. "I'm sure you'd have done much better."

"I've learnt the hard way that large organisations have a limited efficacy. Focusing my efforts on a smaller team has been quite... enlightening."

"Meaning you're enjoying being in charge," Primm said sourly.

Vasha was starting to wonder if she should throw a smoke grenade at these two bickering asura and take off on her own – except the ground was still rumbling and there was more movement on the horizon.

"There's something out there," she said sharply.

Amber broke off mid-sentence. There was a moment of silence as they all looked towards the south. Vasha still couldn't decipher what she was looking at. A line of black, much like the Whispers agents, but moving much more slowly and with an odd gleam...

"No." With a single word, Amber sounded both impressed and horrified. "He wouldn't."

Primm gave a choked laugh. "Oh, he would. You weren't in the creche with Yinn. He spent his entire upbringing devising grand schemes, each more ludicrous than the last."

"That sounds like being an asura," Erin said.

"I'd tend to agree with you," Primm said, "but Yinn became so grandiose that even the Inquest wouldn't take him. I believe his tutors gave him several demerits for seeking his own aggrandisement, and adding in as much chaos and destruction as he possibly could along the way. This whole game has been one big display of his prowess in that regard, wouldn't you say?"

Vasha was only half listening. She'd finally realised what she was looking at and the scale of it took her breath away. Golems, dozens of them, as glossy black and shining as beetles. Grandiose was certainly the word.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

There was silence as the five of them studied the golems. No-one answered the question; she suspected no-one had the faintest idea.

"I would love to know," Amber said finally, "where he gets his funding."

Vasha wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a joke. A cold sense of horror was creeping over her. Between Yinn's army of golems, his army of mercenaries, the remaining airships, and the army of Whispers agents... Draconis Mons was about to become a battlefield of immense proportions.

And no-one would care. They were a long way from civilisation, trapped inside this desolate volcano. No-one but researchers and explorers had any interest in what happened out here. Yinn could do what he wanted and it might be weeks before anyone back in Lion's Arch or Rata Sum discovered what had happened.

Weeks until they found the bodies, if it came to that.

Determination swelled in Vasha's chest. It wouldn't come to that. She wouldn't allow herself to be trapped between these approaching armies. She wasn't going to die here.

Amber and Erin had begun talking together in low, urgent voices. Primm studied the horizon, Jean beside her – and when Vasha looked towards the heart of the volcano, she saw three very familiar figures cresting a rise.

The Marauders were ahead of them. She wasn't sure whether to feel relief that they were alive, or terror that they might reach the prize before her. They gave her an excuse, though, and that was what she needed.

"My team are up there," she said, pointing. "I need to catch up to them. I want to make sure they're all right."

Jean gave her an odd look, as if he knew she was lying, or at least suspected it. Vasha no longer cared. She needed to get closer to her destination. Whatever the machinations of Light's Memory and the Order of Whispers, she couldn't allow anyone to slow her down.

Because she was going to survive Yinn's game – and more importantly, she was going to win.