Epilogue:
Frank stared at the computer monitor in front of her, carefully reading the report. She nodded faintly as she finished, an old habit that she performed whenever she was trying to lock something down in her memory. Once she was done, she leaned back and stretched.
At the moment, Frank was in her office, sitting behind an oak desk and wearing a custom-tailored suit. She looked every inch the professional. However, the large axe that leaned up against the wall beside her gave a slightly different impression.
Frank absently reached out and ran her hand over the handle, even as she resisted the urge to pick up the axe. Having it close at hand was enough.
It would have been easy to send the axe away, making it vanish back to wherever it went when it wasn’t active. However, she preferred to have the axe there…right where she could touch it at any time. Right where she could grab it if she happened to need it. It’s presence was…reassuring. And of course, its presence also served as a reminder to anyone who saw her, that she was more than the businesswoman she appeared.
There was a brief knock on the door, then Jag came in, not waiting for a response. Jag looked impatient and annoyed, which was no surprise. Those were common emotions for the illusionist.
“I’m tired of sitting on my ass,” Jag blurted out. “Haven’t we been laying low long enough?”
Frank took a moment to adjust her tie before admitting, “Honestly, I was just thinking the same thing.”
“Really?” Jag asked in surprise.
“We’ve been keeping a low profile for long enough,” Frank said with a faint smile. “The Wardens seem to have lost what little interest they did have in us.”
Jag gave her a skeptical look. “What do you mean?”
“We didn’t kill anyone,” Frank pointed out. “At least, nobody that they know about, and the…incident…in Moose Tow didn’t involve any non-players. The Wardens aren’t usually too concerned about player on player conflict.”
“If that’s true,” Jag asked with narrowed eyes. “Then why have we been hiding out for so long?”
“Several reasons,” Frank answered with a faint smile. “The first of which is, out of sight, out of mind. I wanted to give the Wardens time to forget about us and to move on to more important matters.” She held up a second finger. “I needed to check on a few investments and organize a few things now that Maestro and Michaelangelo are no longer with us.” Then she held up a third finger. “And third is the simple fact that our team was down a member.”
“Stine,” Jag spat out. “Fucking traitor.”
“To be fair,” Frank pointed out, “we were the ones who made moves against his would-be girlfriend behind his back. From his perspective, we would be the ones who betrayed him.”
Jag hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“It was only a matter of time before we lost Stine anyway,” Frank continued. “He was perfectly happy doing Labyrinth delves and helping build up our resources, but he would have balked at some of the things we will likely have to do in the future.”
“Yeah,” Jag agreed with a faint smirk. “He didn’t like getting his hands dirty.” She shook her head. “Does he think we’re going to fix all the fucking problems just by hiring lawyers and lobbyists?”
“Perhaps,” Frank responded with a chuckle. “But he has been keeping in contact with a few of our other associates, so he isn’t out completely. It’s possible that one day he may come back to our cause. We’ll just have to be careful not to antagonize him further.”
“Fine,” Jag responded with a look of annoyance. “But back to the Labyrinth…”
“I am just as eager to go delving again as you are,” Frank told her with a smile. She absently reached out and touched her axe, barely aware that she was doing so. “We still need the resources, not to mention, we need to get even stronger.”
Jag nodded at that, this time in complete agreement. “So, do you think our new team member will be ready?”
A moment later, someone cleared their throat from the doorway to the office. “Are you talking about me?”
The new addition to their team stepped into the room, immediately drawing Frank and Jag’s full attention. She was tall and slender, with shoulder-length white hair and some of the darkest skin that Frank had ever seen on a human. Her presence immediately filled the space, making it impossible to ignore her.
“Godiva,” Frank greeted the shaper who had only recently agreed to join them. “Jag and I were just discussing our next trip into the Labyrinth.”
Godiva’s eyes seemed to light up at those words. “Good. It has been far too long since I’ve been able to go delving.”
“Are we gonna bring more NPC’s with us?” Jag asked with annoyance.
“Perhaps,” Frank agreed. “If we can find any foolish enough to sign up on short notice.”
“Don’t delay for long,” Godiva warned. With that, she pulled out a silver metal ball and began rolling it around in her hand. She stared down at it with an almost hungry expression before adding, “There’s something I’m looking for in the Labyrinth, and I’ve waited too long to find it as it is.”
THE END