Virgil's eyes widened as he took in the full view of Orfcynn. The city of thieves was built inside a cave system carved out by an ancient monster, housing the post-war followers of Edison during the final split. It was a testament to how a people left with nothing can rebuild from anything, starting life as cave-dwellers in the east. Virgil saw the twinkling, neon lights from afar and was amazed by the beauty of the cityscape inside the caves. "Clara, it's...I don't know how to describe it."

"Cold," Clara said flatly, "disgusting place." She turned to the sentient and sighed. "Come on, let's go." She made her way down the hill with Virgil following behind. The two crossed the cobblestone bridge and made it to the first level of caves. The streetlights lit the way of the roads and twinkled in the windows of every building, signaling life in the clay infrastructure. The two travelers were met by a throng of people, crowds upon crowds bustling by and carrying on their business. Orfcynn certainly lived up to its title as the city that never sleeps.

As Clara led Virgil down many twists and turns, streets and alleyways, she told her guest more about Orfcynn: "You already know Edison founded this colony after the war. He found these caves and moved us all in. We think some ancient monster made these caves years ago, but the monster must've died 'cause it's not here anymore." She frowned. "The only monsters here now are it's people."

"What do you mean?" Virgil asked.

"Pick your poison and we've got it. Gambling, prostitution, drugs- whatever you want, you can find it in Orfcynn. It's disgusting." Clara flailed her arms out as she stated, "Orfcynn was supposed to be an escape from politics, but now it's-" She clapped her hand over her mouth, shaking her head. "Nope. Forget I ever said that. It's fine."

Before Virgil had the chance to ask, they'd arrived at a little hole-in-the-wall home. Clara unlocked the door and ushered Virgil inside. Virgil was dumbstruck. Clothes of all kinds littered the floor like a sea of waste floating around the room. Wigs, skirts, boots, and furs all merged to form a landfill in the studio apartment. Even the furniture was hidden by scraps of pantyhose and garters. "Sorry for the mess," the woman said. "You can sleep on the couch."

"Clara, what happened here?" the humanoid asked, picking off a large fashion belt off the couch. "What is all this?"

"It's my job," she replied. "I'm always in a hurry. It's fine, just get the couch ready. I'm going to bed."

"No, Clara, I deserve an explanation. Tell me how you and Jules know about illus."

"I guess I do owe you that," she reasoned. "Before the war, Jules and I used to live in Trembley- you know, before Trojan burned it down. It was right on the edge of the woods. Anyway, some of the illus started coming out form the woods and haunting the villagers, and it was getting worse every day."

Clara walked over to the other side of the room, where a small part of the floor was cleared. There was a lit candle at the center of the clearing, along with a hilt for a sword. "We prayed to the Muse for guidance, and she gave us these. She held out her arm, and a similar looking hilt fused from the layers of her skin and into the palm of her hand. Virgil's eyes widened in shock.

"What- How did you-?"

"It's a weapon of the Muse," the woman explained. "It combines with my body to stay hidden until I need it." With a flick of the wrist, a bar of neon blue light shot forth in the form of a glowing staff. Virgil stood in awe of the weapon. It stood taller than both Virgil and Clara, and held a presence that demanded respect.

"It's made of some supernatural substance that Jules and I can't figure out," Clara said presently. "Whatever it is, it's the only thing that cuts through illus. You'll need one too if we're going illu hunting." With that, Clara deactivated the staff back into her body, picked up the other hilt off the ground, and handed it to Virgil. "This is for you."

Virgil was stunned. He didn't think he was worthy of holding a anything like this. A weapon? From the gods? With his checkered history of fighting for both good and evil at one time, he doubted he'd ever be worthy of holding such a magnificent item. He didn't trust himself with a god-weapon; he wasn't holy enough.

Clara shoved the item into Virgil's hands. "Come on, take it. It's yours." The second it touched Virgil's hands, a long, neon blue tendril grew from the hilt, and trailed along the floor: it was a whip. "Well, that's cool," Clara said. "We'll try it later. Here, just twist your wrist like this and-" Virgil watched as Clara made him do the same motion she had done, and the whip retracted it's tendril, and fused to his wrist, leaving no trace it was ever in his hand. It was incredible.

"Now," the woman continued, "a few facts about illus. They hunt in packs, so there's never just one. Always be ready for more if you find one. Two, they always leave a trail. It's like a black powder that you can wipe away just with your hand. But if you ever wipe one away by accident, your weapon's light can show you where it was, okay?" Virgil nodded.

"Good. Now, if you only remember one thing tonight, it has to be what I'm about to tell you." Clara took a deep breath, and exhaled, trying to calm her tensing shoulders. "Illus can possess people, and it's extremely difficult to release a someone from them. It's a whole ritual. You draw a circle in the dirt around the person, make them actually say they're possessed, and then you turn around and wait it out." Clara's eyes went wide as her eyebrows shot up. "And whatever you do, don't look back. Swear to me on Jules's grave you won't look back. Right now."

"I-"

"Now, Virgil!"

"Okay! Alright, I won't look back, but why?"

Clara's breath hitched, and her eyes glistened. "Back in the day," she started, " Jules and I found this one illu that was way more powerful than the others. It had possessed this one poor guy in town, so we started the ritual. Everything was great until he started screaming and crying and yelling at us. So, I looked back." The woman placed both her hands on Virgil's shoulders, looking the sentient dead in the eye when she said, "There was an explosion that sent us flying. We both nearly died. When I woke up, Jules was bleeding in the back of the head. She was in a coma for three days. I've never forgiven myself for it, so promise me that you won't look back."

For a moment, Virgil was left speechless. The humanoid had never heard stories from Jules on her illu hunting days. Whenever he tried to ask about her life before the war, Jules would just brush him off. It wasn't important, she'd say. His recovery was, and she'd go back to whatever she was doing. Virgil wondered what else Jules had been hiding from him over the years.

The sentient's eyes widened when a sudden epiphany dawned on him: maybe the fire was an act of revenge. The illu could be seeking vengeance for the slaughter of his kind by Jules and Clara, taking it out on Jules's family first. If that was so, he and Clara were in more danger than he thought. He vowed to finish the job this time once and for all. For Jules. The humanoid fixed his hunting partner with a hard stare and said, "I promise to never look back. You have my word."

Clara smiled, and made to say something, when the doorbell began going off. A loud banging at the door followed. "Clara, open up!" someone shouted. "I know you're in there. Open this door, now!"

The woman froze. "You need to get out of here."

"What? Why?" Virgil asked, puzzled by the sudden look of fear in the girl's eyes. "Who is that?"

"Nobody! Just go-"

"Clara-"

Smash! The door to the apartment burst open and fell to the floor. A silent, short figure waltzed in, taking in his new surroundings with a sense of disapproval. He was dressed to the nines in a three-piece navy blue suit, and cold, dark eyes to match his greased, black hair. He was a menace, and his name was Edison.

"Clara, you're late," the new visitor monotoned. "And what are you wearing?" Clara was dressed in a white and black croptop, followed by black booty shorts and white fur boots, which were now soiled by their walk in the woods. She avoided the mayor's gaze, ashamed as she stood at attention. "The same clothes as last night? Unacceptable," Edison hissed. "Get dressed." The woman kneeled to pick something up off the floor, and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Edison's harsh stare then migrated over to Virgil; his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Virgil, husband to the mayor of Gicela. Tell me, what business do you have here?"

"It's purely business, Edison, nothing political," Virgil deadpanned. "You have an illu problem, and we're taking care of it."

The mayor raised an eyebrow at the claim. "Illus? In Orfcynn? That's absurd."

"They're right on the edge of the woods, by the Home Before Homes. If we don't act fast, they could spread, and-"

"And what?" Edison pressed. "You can have some sort of advantage? I don't think so." The mayor raised his hand to leisurely look over his nails, his expression bored and disinterested. "If illus were such a problem, I would have known about it sooner. How do I know you didn't plant them there to begin with? And how is this any concern of Gicela?"

Virgil started to feel uncomfortable under Edison's icy glare, his resolve wavering. "This is a problem that affects everyone, and it requires everyone to get involved," he stammered. "Gicela is willing to help free your land of illus-"

"You don't speak for Gicela. You're just the husband to the mayor," Edison argued. With a cocky smirk, the man added, "You know, I haven't seen Jules in a while, how is she, Virgil? Is she doing well?"

Virgil flinched. Clara was the only outsider who knew the truth of Jules's death. If the other nations caught on that the young mayor had died, there would no doubt be chaos. "She's sick," he replied, attempting to keep a cool outward appearance. "Hasn't been feeling too well."

"Really?" Edison hummed, his eyebrow raised in suspicion. "I just saw her a few days ago, and she was fine." The leader shrugged in indifference, slipping his hands in his front pockets. "Oh, well. Tell her I said to get well soon. Now, get off my land."

The door to the bathroom opened, revealing Clara to now have a blonde pig-tailed wig, a bedazzled black bra, a short, black skirt to match the bra, and black work boots. "There," Edison hummed. "That's more like it." He walked up to the girl, and ran his fingers down her cheek. Clara flinched and turned away, but otherwise stood still. "Come, darling. It's show time." Reluctantly, she followed the mayor out the door, sending an apologetic look towards Virgil over her shoulder.

Virgil let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. For a minute, it had felt like Edison meant to start a war with Gicela. War was such a common occurrence in their world, it was almost an expected part of daily life. The ongoing threat of violence would, however, complicate his plans to avenge Jules. With the Trojan's threats, the sudden appearance of the illus, and the mystery behind Edison and Clara, Virgil could only hope that somehow everything was connected like an intricate web of clues.

The humanoid took one look at the door and shrugged. He'd leave in the morning; Clara shouldn't mind. After all, she had offered to let him stay the night, and frankly, the day's events had left the sentient completely drained. It was time for a good night's sleep.

But as Virgil cleared the couch of clothes, there was one detail of the previous conversation that plagued the humanoid's mind: Jules had met with Edison just days before her death. She'd never told him she was going to go meet with the mayor of Orfcynn. Virgil didn't know Jules had ever left Gicela over the past few days. The sentient added the question to his ever-growing list of worries, as he slipped into a light sleep.

I wanted Virgil to keep going but the poor guy needs to sleep at some point. What do we think of Orfcynn and Edison? Will Edison be the biggest threat to Virgil, or could it be someone else? Stay tuned to find out! Happy reading!

-Zym