Nephis slept well. It was, frankly, a blessing to be able to lie down on a real bed. Over the years she had forgotten what it was like to spend many nights on a cold rock. Relearning that knowledge had not been a pleasurable experience.
They woke up at the first light and headed to the dining hall with Sunny. They were all three rather quiet and she thought that Sunny and Cassie might be nervous about all the people here — especially because she had made sure to tell them about the more unpleasant side of the castle and its occupants before coming. It wouldn't do for them to drop their guard down now.
Many people gave them curious looks. Nephis endured with a calm face. No one here was a real threat but that didn't make the staring any less annoying. Especially because she could sense the direction in which the thoughts of many male occupants of the castle were going. It was a grim reality she had encountered after becoming a saint and gaining her passion sense, so to speak.
They grabbed their food and sat at the lone table in the corner. Slowly but surely people's interest waned and they had some actual peace for themselves. That was, of course, broken soon. Nephis didn't even need to look in order to distinguish the members of the castle guard from the regular sleepers.
"I advice you to go someplace else", she said calmly, without looking at the men. "Otherwise you might make a problem for yourself."
"Otherwise I might make you dead men", Sunny added. His voice made it clear he wasn't lying — of course he wasn't.
Something in their attitude gave the Gunlaug's men a pause.
"No need to get hostile, you know", one of them said. "We come in peace, to introduce you to the Bright Castle. Don't you know who we are?"
"I know it perfectly well", Nephis said. "And it doesn't make you any more appealing. Now, get lost."
Grumbling, the guards retreated, leaving them to their devices. Nephis had just about eaten when another voice came in from her left.
She knew this one well, too, especially after reacquainting herself with it in the academy.
"Lady Nephis! It is truly sad to see one such as yourself in such this corner of the Dream Realm."
"Caster."
Nephis turned to address her would-be-assassin. Caster was exactly how he was at the academy: tall, muscular and quite handsome with brown hair and calm eyes. His bearing was almost regal, although it didn't come to him as naturally as it came to Nephis. His voice was warm and friendly.
He's actually a good actor... Of course he couldn't be compared to the likes of Mordret or Sunny whom Nephis had become used to dealing with.
"We need to talk", she said, standing up. "If you have eaten, of course", she said to Sunny and Cassie. Both of them as well as Caster followed her along, Sunny reluctantly, and they left the hall. Nephis could see the growing surprise of her companions as they made their way through the labyrinth of corridors and pathways to the door of Nephis's and Cassie's room.
"Do you have a memory that could block a sound?"
Caster nodded. Nephis sat down on her bed and looked at Caster. "We have a pretty good picture of the castle and its people, but could you give us a quick overview yourself?"
"For sure", Caster said. He started explaining the basic things about the inner workings of Gunlaug's little kingdom, about different groups living in the castle and so on. Nephis listened attentively, or at least she thought she appeared so. In reality she knew everything already, but she had to give Caster the right - or rather the wrong - picture.
In the end Nephis nodded. "Thank you. Now, we have spent the last month or so in the labyrinth and in the Dark City and have learned about the history of this region. As such we have formulated a plan of escape from Forgotten Shore... there's only one problem. I am sure you can see what it is."
"Gunlaug", Caster guessed.
"Correct. It's good you haven't pledged your loyalty to him yet, but we need you to act as a communication link between us. We need to convince Gunlaug that the escape is possible. With his help we can rally the sleepers and attack the Crimson Spire — after we acquire couple of additional tools we'll need."
Nephis looked Caster in the eyes and a hint of steel appeared in her voice.
"Of course, I don't like Gunlaug any more than you do. It is not like us legacies to cover in fear in front of someone, nor to give up in a fight against the spell. When all is said and done we can dispatch of him. Then we will return to the waking world. How does this sound?"
Caster had listened to her silently and unmoving like his feet were rooted to the ground. Now he nodded his head, but doubt was still visible in his posture.
"I do like it, I really do", he admitted. "But, lady Nephis, why do you think we would be able to escape through the gateway? Surely you know that there's a fallen terror guarding it?"
Nephis shrugged.
"What of it? It's just a fallen terror."
Caster's eyes widened and he looked horrified. "Do you think this is a time for jesting?"
"No, this isn't. I mean what I said. The three of us - I, Sunny and Cassie - have already killed a fallen one — actually, two of them by now. So it is reasonable to assume that we could defeat the guardian with the resources of all the sleepers in Forgotten Shore. The only thing missing is their willingness to fight. They need something to believe in."
"Something — or someone?"
Nephis managed to smile — an achievement that made her proud.
"I see you are starting to figure it out."
Caster shook his head. "Let's not talk about all this... speculation anymore. How do you plan to propose this all to Gunlaug?"
"You have become a respected figure here, so you can go to speak to him. If something goes amiss, we will help you. We could hold a meeting with Gunlaug in some neutral location when this week we have payed for in the castle is over."
Nephis could see that Caster was thinking. He probably believed the idea to be foolhardy at best. But it didn't matter — his primary objective was to get close to Nephis, and now Nephis had given him the chance to do exactly that. He would have to take the bait.
And soon enough Caster nodded slowly. "It might work. You are immensely strong after all, and when Gunlaug hears who you really are he might come around. I'll go speak to him."
"That's good. If we can reach an agreement with Gunlaug we can then go on an expedition of sorts, to prepare for the Crimson Spire. I'll tell you the details later, but right now I have some things to do and I assume that you do as well."
"You're correct, of course. Shall we call the meeting over, then?"
Caster unsummoned his sound-blocking memory and exited the room. Nephis shut the door after him and turned to her companions.
Sunny and Cassie didn't look too pleased with her. Sunny looked especially irritated.
"Could you have maybe told us beforehand about this plan of yours?" he asked. "Maybe listen to us as well before making, you know, any decisions concerning our life and death?"
Nephis looked at him. "There was no time. I didn't know that Caster would immediately stick to me. And I obviously couldn't explain everything while he was here."
"It is not obvious to us", said Cassie. "What else is there to explain?"
"Caster has been sent here to kill me", Nephis said. "You might know that my family has some powerful enemies. There has always been attempts at my life, and Caster is yet another assassin that has been tasked with my death."
"You invited your assassin to our cohort?" Sunny asked incredulously.
"Yes. He's a strong fighter and has influence here. His cooperation will be valuable — and he has to cooperate to get close to me. I wouldn't worry about him."
"I am not the one that should worry either way", Sunny shrugged. "You can play with your life all you want."
"Would you like to share rest of your plan now?" Cassie asked. "I have seen some visions and I think I have an idea for how to get out of here, but the dreams are not very clear."
Nephis nodded. "You should come closer. We don't want anyone to overhear us... "
*******
The plan was largely the same as last time, except this time Nephis wanted to work with Gunlaug instead of killing him. She was no longer as bloodthirsty as she was in her younger years. Yes, she despised Gunlaug for giving up on what should have been the number one priority of the sleepers of Forgotten Shore: the escape. But on the other hand, if he had tried to escape the region Nephis, Sunny and Cassie could very well have died after their Winter Solstice. Moreover, Nephis didn't think the escape had actually been possible before their trio came about. They had tipped the balance that had been unshaken for many years.
Operating with Gunlaug would make many things easier. They would not have to kill as many sleepers and because of that many more could be saved. They would waste less lives and less time, even if it came at the expense of Neph's righteous fury toward the golden monarch.
She had been given a second chance in life after all. She was going to make it count.
Over the next days they stayed in the castle. Sunny learned everything he could about the place with the help of his shadow. Nephis and Cassie on the other hand tried to recruit their former allies. It was important for Nephis that Cassie was with her — they had been a good team previously, Cassie helping Nephis with the finer details of socializing and manipulating people.
That help was greatly valued when dealing with people like Aiko, whom they found in her gambling den on their second day in the castle. Nephis had always felt awkward dealing with the Shadow Fairy (as people of the Shadow Clan had named her). They were as far along the axis of humanity from each other as one could possibly get - with the exception of them both being highly obsessive people.
The undisputed favorite moment of Nephis was the when they met Kai for the first time.
It was the evening of their third day and Nephis was beginning to wonder where the archer resided when she heard a familiar tune. It came from one of the lower chambers of the castle's living quarters - the room had probably been used as a storage and so it had quite a bit of space... as well as great acoustics.
Cassie froze immediately. Her grip on Nephis's hands tightened.
"Neph? Do you hear this?"
"Yes."
"Am I hearing things or is this the Night singing? How is he singing here?"
"Why, he is a sleeper just like us", Nephis explained innocently. "I forgot to mention. Actually, he is one of our former cohort members as well. I have been trying to spot him the whole time and he has not been anywhere — "
"What do you mean you forgot? You vile woman — " Cassie clamped her mouth shut. "What... is he that archer you talked about?"
"Indeed. Should we go and meet him? It would be good to have a ranged — "
"Let's go!" Cassie interrupted her, dragging her towards the origin of the music. This song was, in fact, a popular love song composed before the dark times that Nightingale had rearranged for themselves. It had a light and catchy melody that reminded Nephis of the glorious days of Sunny's Brilliant Emporium and the scent of waffles that always lingered inside. And of course of the café's owner...
They found themselves in a big room with brick walls. Kai was playing a makeshift guitar in the middle of a circle of listeners. His voice floated effortlessly from one note to the other, the natural echo of the chamber giving the song a mystical quality.
For the first time since their arrival, no heads turned when Cassie and Nephis entered the room. Kai glanced at them and smiled pleasantly before concentrating on the song. Nephis guided Cassie to sit on the edge of the circle. She seemed enchanted.
The song ended and everyone applauded, including the two girls. Kai dipped his head.
"Now, I think we have time for one more song at last. What do you want to hear?"
Several voices chimed in and Nephis had to concentrate on keeping her mouth shut. She had an image to uphold after all. Also, it wasn't like she was a stranger to hearing Night up close; Kai had sometimes graced them with a song or two when they had stayed in Sunny's house or flied together with the Chainbreaker.
Kai sang one more song and then placed his guitar down despite the ensuing protests. He assured listeners they could come hear him tomorrow or the day after that and slowly but surely the crowd dispersed. Eventually only Nephis and Cassie were left.
"And who might you be?" Kai asked. "Are you perhaps new here, in the Bright Castle? It really is nice to see new faces, especially ones so pleasant."
"Hello, and thank you", Nephis said, feeling Cassie's hand tremble in her own. "We are indeed new here... depending on the definition, of course... "