Shawn clapped his hands together. But, strangely enough, absolutely no noise came from the impact. What could only be described as a wave of dark silence washed over the room. It swallowed all sound and snuffed out every light in its wake until nothing remained.

And then it was gone.

Alex stood exactly where he’d been a moment before.

The same couldn’t be said for any of the others. Every Shawn was gone from the stands. Claire and all the others had vanished as well. There was no trace of them at all. For that matter, the only person in the room aside from Alex was the original Shawn.

“What’s going on?” Alex asked, eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

“Took you all shopping,” Shawn replied. “As requested.”

“We couldn’t do it together?”

“No. Of course not,” Shawn said. The corners of his lips pulled up into a smile. “You’ve given me a fair bit of entertainment, Alex. I enjoyed your group’s trip through my Ancestry. And despite the rather humiliating way you all rejected me before I even got a chance to reject you, I also find great respect in those who can set aside power for others.”

“I think you’re giving me a bit too much credit here. I didn’t take your magic because I felt it would make me weaker in the long run. It wasn’t exactly because of some huge sense of justice.”

“Honest to a point,” Shawn drawled. He lowered himself down to the ground and leaned back onto his hands, an amused grin still clinging to his face. “But I am sure you’re eager to begin. Let’s get started.”

“Hold on.” Alex’s brow furrowed. “You still haven’t said why you separated us.”

“Because I’m squeezing a little more fun out of this,” Shawn replied with a chuckle. “After all, who knows when the next time my Ancestry will find itself on a world will be. It will take me a great deal of energy and time to regenerate enough power to re-appear. That means I have to enjoy this run to its max while conserving resources.”

“So…”

“I separated you so you couldn’t communicate,” Shawn said simply. “I will show you items as you request them. But there is a limited pool of offerings. Anything you look at, the others cannot see. The greedier and pickier you all are… the worse off the others will be.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Are you kidding me?”

“Oh, not at all. It’s fun, isn’t it?” Shawn asked. “There are only so many good rewards within my possession — particularly the more expensive ones. If you want to learn more about them, you’ll have to ask me for them. But don’t ask for too many. You won’t be able to afford them… and the others will never get a chance to try.”

“Everything is a challenge with you, isn’t it?” Alex asked with a groan. “And this isn’t even the fun kind. At least the System makes them interesting.”

“I take offense to that,” the giant said.

“Good,” Alex said through clenched teeth.

His mind spun for a few moments as he tried to figure out what the best play was. Shawn had definitely caught them in an annoying trap. It was a damn good thing Derek was currently occupied with the Legacy.

The large man was skilled at a number of things, but thinking critically was rarely one of them. None of his allies were dumb enough to just select every single item and leave nothing for the rest of them.

But if we can’t communicate, then we have to be really careful with anything we ask to see. And if I go for something that isn’t quite suited to me but fits someone else really well… I have to choose between using my points to get it for them or just wasting it entirely.

Shawn’s laughter rolled through the courtroom.

“There’s the expression I’ve been wanting to see. You know, I’m somehow a little offended that the most annoying challenge to you is the safest one. It’s completely safe. Just fun.”

“Dude. We went all the way through your Ancestry to get the coolest shit we could, and now you’re trying to scam me out of it. Of course I’m annoyed.”

“Would you prefer another battle?”

“Honestly? Yeah. Could we do that instead?”

Shawn winced. “Ah. I should have guessed you’d say that. No. There are no more fights in this Ancestry. Only the game. Now play… or sit around and let the others play for you. Perhaps you’re the passive type.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Goddamn it. Okay. There are a few obvious opening moves. I’ll go with those to get started.

“Can you tell me what the most expensive items you have are?” Alex asked. “Without giving them to me, that is.”

“I will give you general information. Nothing more.” Shawn inclined his head. “The most expensive thing in the entire Ancestry is already gone. It was the Legacy. Behind it come a melee weapon, a ranged weapon, a blueprint, a technique, a consumable item, an accessory, and a suit of armor.”

“All the same price?”

“No,” Shawn replied with a crooked grin. “But they are all near the upper percentile. Those are the most expensive items still available.”

Meaning someone might have already selected something. Gah. This is insufferable.

“Is the blueprint for a Town?” Alex asked. “Can you say that?”

“It is,” Shawn confirmed. “It is a type of building.”

“Rarity?”

Shawn just smiled. The giant was doing a lot of that.

Alex’s fingers drummed against his thigh. Mirrorwane was the future. That, at least, he was certain of. It would be their bastion against the Outworlders and could generate challenge and other methods for them to keep ahead of their enemies.

Advancing it was probably his highest priority. Items were great, but there was a good chance they’d eventually become obsolete. The same was unlikely to hold true for a building. If Shawn had a powerful enough blueprint up for offer, passing it up would be stupid.

I don’t think I have a choice. I’ve got to prioritize the town.

“Give me the blueprint. Let me see it.”

“The safe play. But you do own a town. Making any other choice would have been quite foolish.” Shawn said. He extended a hand, lowering it toward Alex. “As you request—”

Then he blinked. A flicker of surprise passed over his features.

“What?” Alex asked.

“Someone else took the blueprint,” Shawn said.

Alex stared at him. “What? Who the hell would have chosen a town blueprint to look at?”

The blue giant just mutely shook his head. “Afraid that’s not part of the game. It’s gone. You can no longer select it.”

Goddamn it. Why would someone take the blueprint? Is Wess or Alyssa trying to get me to owe them a favor or something? Or did someone not understand the way the game works?

Well, whoever that was, they better buy the damn thing. I’ll be pissed if I don’t get it.

“Make your choice,” Shawn drawled. “You don’t have forever, after all.”

“Don’t rush me,” Alex said. “My companions aren’t idiots. They’re selecting what they plan to purchase. I have no plans of hurrying to grab shit just to make sure I get something and ending up with a reward I don’t want.”

Shawn’s smile faded slightly. “That is either wise or incredibly stupid depending on if this works out for you. Think, then. There is no time limit.”

“What’s still available?” Alex asked.

“The melee weapon, the consumable item, and the suit of armor.”

Alex nodded slowly.

Wess totally took the ranged weapon. I don’t know who took the others. Aside from the blueprint, doesn’t really matter.

“And you do have other items beyond these?” Alex confirmed. “You’ve just listed the most expensive ones?”

“Some of them.”

“Some?” Alex asked.

“It’s an Ancestry,” Shawn said. “There’s always more waiting for those who look close enough. I don’t even mind giving you a tip there, given how much fun I’ve had watching your group. I’ve lived for longer than most of you can comprehend. I know a fair bit about the world.”

“Information,” Alex said. “You’re selling information.”

“If you want me to. But just make sure you’re paying for something that’s worth the points,” Shawn said wryly.

Figures. Okay. I’ll keep that in mind. I just need to figure out what to buy.

Let’s see… other than me and Derek, there are three people. The Blueprint, ranged weapon, and accessory were taken. That means all of them have selected an expensive item. They should know the costs now. If they’re over 50 points, chances are nobody will select another one. They wouldn’t be able to afford it.

“What expensive items are left?” Alex asked.

“The same ones,” Shawn replied.

Okay. That strongly implies those items are at least 50 points. I don’t know exactly how many points Wess had toward the end, but Claire wasn’t too far behind me. She’d have taken a second expensive item if she thought she could afford it.

Alex nodded slowly. “And you won’t say how much information will cost?”

“I will not,” Shawn replied. “Not until you ask the question.”

“Do I have to spend the points if I don’t want to?”

Shawn studied Alex for a moment. Then he inclined a shoulder. “No. Not unless you start asking me dozens of questions in attempt to figure out which ones are the most useful by gauging their costs. I’ll give you a few free tries. Just don’t abuse it.”

Alex nodded slowly. The items didn’t look like they were going anywhere. Not anytime too soon, at least. The blueprint had been the one he’d been most interested in anyway. But a source of knowledge this old… that was truly valuable.

The items were definitely good, but there was no point rushing to grab one of them and potentially denying someone else the chance to get it if a question he wanted the answer to cost too many points for him to get both.

Even though Shawn had given Alex some leeway on testing a few questions out, there was really only one thing that Alex felt would be worth spending his hard-earned points on.

“Okay. I’ve got a question, then,” Alex said. “But this is just a qualifier for it. Not the actual question.”

“A qualifier?” Shawn nearly choked. No little amount of arrogance crossed his features as he leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “Who do you think I am? I can say with complete honesty that I have forgotten more about the System and what exists within it than most will ever know. But go on. Test me. See if I speak the truth.”

“Great,” Alex said, with a nod. “Then you’ve heard of the Empty Court?”

All the arrogance drained out of Shawn’s face as his blue skin paled several shades. He froze in place like an arctic wind had just torn through the room.

“What did you just say?” Shawn asked, his eyes boring into Alex with the intensity of two burning stars. “Where did you hear that name?”