Brooke could feel Capper's Aspect reverberating up and down the train, and it put a chill of fear and relief into her all at the same time. She'd never seen him like this, so full of wrath he looked like he wanted to rip the whole world apart. On the one hand it was terrifying, but on the other, if they were plunging into a battle against an unknown enemy on their home turf, it may be the edge they would need to survive.

Her eyes flickered furtively to the Baelock guards sitting a little further down the carriage, all black leather and armour, making little effort to conceal the arsenal they'd brought with them. She recognised a couple of the faces and knew they were members of Arcil's personal guard, some of the most vicious fighters that Baelock had to offer.

Unease filled her at their presence. They could never have refused the offer he'd made, but she trusted Arcil as much as she'd trusted Gliss. She knew there was a better than even chance that if they did succeed in getting the Keystone back, Arcil would just kill them all out of spite. Once home he could make up any story he wanted about what had transpired in the north.

There was nothing she could do about it now, though. She coiled her fingers together on her lap and returned her attention to the map that was spread across the thin metal train table between herself and Capper. Finbarr sat beside her, the most senior of the guards present. A marked change had come over him following Beel's death, and she wasn't sure she liked it. He'd always come across as a bit of a bumbler, dutiful and heavy-handed, but lacking depth. Now she could feel the tension that turned his normally placid Aspect into a fizzing, volatile thing. Clearly Beel's death had hit the big guard hard.

In the seat next to Capper, however, Arcil himself was seated, refusing to leave the planning to his Glaive counterparts. His eyes were bright with energy as he scanned the map, and Brooke could almost hear the gears turning in his head.

"This map's not bad," he conceded grudgingly after a moment, leaning back in his seat and cupping his chin thoughtfully in one hand. "It's a little out of date but I should be able to fill in the blanks. Where did you say you think Gliss is hiding out?"

"This quarry." Capper tapped the offending portion of map with his index finger. "It was abandoned at the time the map was drawn up, but Brooke saw it in Gliss's mind."

"Drank her blood?" Arcil pulled a face. "Didn't think you were the type."

"I do what I have to," she hissed back. "So save the jibes and explain how you think you can help."

"Touchy today, eh?"

"Only around you."

"Can we focus?" Capper muttered wearily. "We're going to get there in less than two hours and I'd like to have some kind of plan before we step off this train."

"Alright, alright," Arcil chuckled, smiling thinly. "As far as our information goes, that particular area is still unclaimed, but there are three other clans pushing in on the boundaries." He indicated the nearby clan territories marked on Capper's map. "They've pushed in right onto the boundaries of this quarry, but according to the last reports I've seen, they've not actually seized it."

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure. From what our scouting parties have told us they've been skirting the edges but never actually cross the boundary. It's strange because there doesn't appear to be anything physical stopping them."

"Then I think we should start there," Capper said. "It looks like there is something in that quarry the other clans of Iron Hollow are afraid of. Gliss knows a lot about the Ancient Vampyr. She can read their language fluently and her clan – whoever they are – have an obsession with ancient history. They might have a weapon already that's keeping the other clans at bay."

Brooke nodded. "If we're right, their base of operations will be the central structure. We need to find a way inside without being seen."

"Then we should circle around to the old quarry offices," Finbarr suggested, pointing to a clump of black-inked buildings on the north edge of the quarry boundary. "I imagine it's guarded, but if we are quick and quiet we can use the old conveyor tracks that run into the quarry base. That should get us close to the main structure."

"So you've got a brain to back up the brawn, eh?" Arcil nodded approvingly. "I'd say your guard's right. That's the best approach. We can ride the tram-rails up past the quarry itself then approach from the blind side. It'll be a steep climb, but we can drop down not the quarry office directly. I'll have my people seize it. We leave two behind to cover our exit and the rest of us go down into the complex."

"We'll have to move fast," Capper said. "We don't know the kind of numbers we're dealing with, or the layout of the interior."

The Baelock Elder-Blood shrugged. "There's nothing we can do about that. We strike hard and fast and kill anyone who gets in our way. We get the Keystone and leave, nothing more." He glanced pointedly at Capper. "I know you might want to get some payback on your little girlfriend, but I'm not waiting around for you to get it. You go chasing vengeance I'll leave you behind – all of you. It's nothing off my conscience."

"And I thought we were starting to get along," Brooke snorted. "You've made your point Arcil. We all want the same thing."

"We'll see."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, so we know what we have to do. Enter from the conveyors, break into that compound, get the Keystone then go the hell home. That's as good a plan as we're going to get until we actually see the place. But we need to be careful when we approach. If the Baelock reports are accurate-,"

"They are."

"If they are," she growled over his interruption. "Then the other clans here are avoiding that place for a good reason. We can't just go charging in until we're sure we can breach the perimeter."

"She's right," Capper agreed. "We can send a couple of scouts to make sure there are no surprises over the rim before we make our move."

Arcil nodded. "And once we are there, stay together. Iron Hollow is a mess and we can't afford to lose each other. The other clans generally live and let live at the moment, but that doesn't mean we won't get challenged if we cross into someone's territory. If that happens, let me do the talking."

"You?" Brooke shook her head incredulously. "I don't think so."

"Who's better placed?"

"She is, you moron," Capper snarled, drawing a fierce glare from the other vampire. "She's the best diplomat here and you know that as well as I do. If we are stopped, let her deal with it and we might make it to that quarry without getting ashed."

Arcil smouldered for a moment, but eventually folded his arms and gave a stiff nod of acceptance. Silence simmered between them and all eyes fell to the map, and the magnitude of what it represented. Eventually the Baelock vampire stood up and trudged down the passage to confer with his entourage of guards, leaving the Glaive contingent to themselves.

It was then that anxiety swelled in Brooke's chest as she stared at the map, the madness of what they were about to attempt suddenly hitting her with full force. A group of less than twenty vampires journeying into a foreign land with little to know information about what they may actually find there, most of whom had never even been to Iron Hollow. When measured that way, she found herself dubious about their odds of success.

But on the other hand, she couldn't have just stayed locked in the Glaive mansion knowing what she knew now. Left unchecked, Gliss and her clan could and would unleash something incalculably powerful. Something that would make them unstoppable. Capper was right – if they allowed this to go happen, that power would consume first Iron Hollow, then spread beyond those borders like a plague. Besides, as much as she loathed Arcil, his presence had turned their quest from impossible to merely improbable.

Two hours later the enormous liner juddered to a halt in the main station of Iron Hollow, and all those thoughts and doubts were shunted to the back of her mind. Steeling herself for what was to come, Brooke stood.

They stepped off the train, and for the first time Brooke saw the world of Iron Hollow.

She knew it was the right place – the visions she'd mined from Gliss's blood rang true with the squat buildings and thunder of quarrying and metalwork. It smelled all wrong though. Gone was the hot, busy air of Veridian Shores, flooded with light and life. Instead the place reeked of a joyless utility, devoid of what made her home lively. No music floated ghost-like through the air. No laughter rang from windows and no vendors hawked wares.

Iron Hollow deserved its name. Brooke grimaced and tightened the straps holding her duelling rods in place, then looked back to where the others were still disembarking. The guards from Glaive and Baelock still kept a wary distance, splitting their little force into two small groups, reluctant companions in the task ahead.

They moved towards the nearest tram-rail, following Capper's lead, spreading out through the streets to attract less attention. Finbarr loped along on the opposite pavement, one of the guards alongside him. Arcil's group scattered into pairs behind them, watching for any pursuit, while Lilly stayed close to Capper, reading the map and directing him onward.

Brooke kept her senses on high alert, scanning the rooftops and alleys for any sign of Iron Hollow's resident clans, but so far there was nothing. A very suspicious, unnerving nothing. Back home every clan within fifty blocks of the transit hub would have agents keeping a wary eye on who was coming and going, but not here, it seemed.

When they reached the tram-rail she felt a distant tremor from back the way they'd come, faint but definite Aspects, but whoever they were, they were keeping their distance. The disparate parts of their group came back together as they boarded the vehicle, and Brooke took up position at the rear, watching with bright, sharp eyes for any sign of pursuit.

They trundled along the gridiron rails of Iron Hollow for half an hour, sweeping around the main entrance of the quarry and disembarking once they were around behind the offices. Looking up, she could see the lip of the quarry rising like a hill in the midst of the buildings, and over the edge lay the bite-like excavation in the ground where the bunkered buildings of their destination lay.

Brooke trudged alongside Finbarr, using the guard's shadow as added camouflage as she tried to keep reign on the apprehension building inside her. The tension was becoming unbearable – she needed to do something more that creep around the unfamiliar, dark streets like a rat in a maze. Now more presences were beginning to coalesce, still distant but definitely shadowing them through the city. Perhaps Iron Hollow's locals were a little less confrontational than she'd been led to believe.

They reached the base of the quarry mount, its steep incline inlaid with a tattoo-like blanket of roughly trodden footpaths. Brooke looked up, then back into the city. The dark pressed down on the dim lights like an oppressive fog.

"Alright," Capper declared quietly, turning to face their rag-tag band of would-be heroes. "We need two scouts to check the quarry house is clear. No heroics – just get up there look around, and if we're good to go, just get back to us."

"Lucille." Finbarr nodded to the red-haired guard. "You're up."

"Altus, go with her," Arcil interjected quickly, and a tall, long-faced vampire stepped forward from the Baelock guards, sweeping back his coat and drawing his forward curving sword. Lucille gave him a disdainful up-and-down before looking to Capper.

"It's alright," he told her. "Just watch each other's backs."

"Aye, milord," she muttered reluctantly.

For his part, Altus didn't show a flicker of emotion. He simply inclined his head slightly towards Arcil and then the two scouts disappeared over the edge and into the quarry. The others spread out in the shadows, watching the streets around them like wolves, ever alert, their Aspects right with readiness.

Brooke settled into a shadowed nook, staring up at the shadowy monolith of the quarry, and found herself praying.