Nicole bubbled over with excitent. Her words ca in a fast, breathless stream, punctuated by animated gestures. One mont her hand cut through the air like a sword, the next she mid the sharp ‘bang bang’ of gunfire, then shifted her stance to mimic a sprinter’s weaving dash.
She painted a picture of the chaos across the Botanical Garden’s battlefields that night—the ferocity of Echo Quarry’s push, the desperate tension as ritual nodes cracked one after another.
And at the center of her story, always, was that sudden appearance. The “Mysterious Woman” who flipped the entire fight.
“She just cleaned house! Nothing could stop her!” Nicole’s tone was full of awe, mixed with a hint of admiration she probably didn’t even hear herself. “Where does she get the stamina? I just don’t get it!”
She rested her chin on her hand, eyes bright with curiosity. “Three battlefields in one night! Three! And she was a ga-changer in every single one. Is she actually a third-ranker just pretending to be second?”
She tilted her head, then imdiately shook it. “No, no, that doesn’t fit… There’s a trick to it. A special potion? So kind of recovery technique?” She mumbled, tossing out theories.
Across from her, Pandora listened quietly to Nicole’s “imrsive” retelling, piecing together in her own mind the “full picture” of that night from an outsider’s view.
Bottom line: she—or rather, her other face, the “Scarred Woman”—had played a “critical role” in the Garden fight that even she hadn’t seen coming.
Originally, with Ascension Road’s thorough prep and ritual strength, Echo Quarry’s sneak attack had a low chance of success. But her appearance rewrote the script. She turned a probable failure into a clean win, handing the Garden and all of Ascension Road’s starter work over to The Quarry.
anwhile, The Blood Tonic Aldrich and Blighted Hand Wilbur watched a huge investnt of resources and effort go up in smoke. A major loss.
They weren’t going to take that lying down, of course. For days now, Ascension Road crews had kept up small-scale harassnt and probes against the Garden. But the heat was nothing like the all-out blitz of that night. Echo Quarry had their own temporary defensive rituals up now; ho-field advantage had flipped.
Under those conditions, even if Aldrich moved himself, without overwhelming force or a special trick, retaking the Garden wouldn’t be easy.
As for how The Quarry would use the harvested Blood-Weep Worms? The sa stuff was a main ingredient for Wormblood Brew, but it had other alchemy uses too—different applications, different final products. Besides, Ascension Road’s council wasn’t just Aldrich. Other mbers might not mind a little “private” dealing with The Quarry, strictly resource-for-resource.
More people ant ssier loyalties. Even with Ascension Road and Echo Quarry generally at each other’s throats, it was still the sa ga.
“You have no idea,” Nicole lowered her voice into a secret-sharing tone, “how many people are digging for info on that ‘Scarred Woman’ right now! Every major faction! The bounties keep climbing!”
She spread her hands, her smile a mix of helplessness and smug satisfaction. “But right now, nobody’s got solid intel on this mystery woman! To them, she just sprang from the earth itself.”
Pandora listened, giving a soft chuckle. She picked up her cup and finished the last of the honey water. She looked up at Nicole, who was still mid-story, her gaze turning thoughtful.
“But you…” Pandora’s voice was very quiet. “…are different?”
Nicole, not catching any hidden aning, just puffed up with more pride at the “recognition,” lifting her chin. “Naturally! I’m the Corpse Hall’s best, most diligent info broker!”
She switched gears, blinking. “But I can’t just sell what I know. The water’s too deep on this one. So…” She made a ‘you get it’ face. “Let’s just pretend I don’t know anything either.”
“Alright then,” Pandora smiled, not pushing it. She set the empty cup gently back on the table. The base made a soft tap against the wood.
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