All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 200: Covert Operations

Bee trudged through the forest with Tony on her heels. She wasn't sure why he had insisted on training in the deep woods today, but she was already quite over it, not just because of the creepy crawlies either.

While Tony had been making great strides in his fighting ability, he wasn't anywhere near the level that would allow him to keep up with her all day. That meant he needed to rest.

Usually, it wasn't a problem. She'd just finish up a quick task around the castle before hurrying back for the next round. But here? Bee was forced to sit and twiddle her thumbs in the middle of nowhere. Bee regretted not bringing some paper and quills with her for the hundredth time. She could practically feel the weight of undone tasks piling up on her shoulders.

Around midday, Tony had finally had enough. The guy was panting with exertion, skin slick with sweat as they headed back for lunch. Perhaps she would be able to get something done if she ate while she was working. The Nighty Knights' curriculum wasn't going to write itself.

When they came within sight of the castle, Bee could instantly tell there was something wrong. A rustle in the bushes and the slightest flash of gray caused her to pull up short and look around. Nothing. There seemed to be no immediate threat, but she didn't relax. Right as Tony caught up to her, her senses could make out a sudden silence descending upon the usual bustling castle.

"Something is wrong." Bee held up a hand, stopping Tony in his tracks. Cocking her head, she tried to glean any additional hint about what was happening.

"Then let's go check it out." Tony said. He pushed her arm gently out of the way. She frowned slightly at his recklessness but followed before he got too far away.

They soon emerged from the tree line and stepped onto the main road. The castle gate stood wide open. Not a soul was in sight. She slowed her walk, keeping her broom at the ready. Something was seriously wrong; the gate shouldn't be open, much less unguarded. Where had everyone gone?

A dozen feet from the gate, Tony stopped and cupped his hands around his mouth., "We're HOME!"

People's faces popped up all along the wall, and a stream of children sprinted out of the gate. "Surprise!"

Bee stood in shock as the stampede approached her; only the sudden explosions sending color throughout the sky pulled her out enough for her to set her feet.

—

Getting the celebratory explosives right had been a bit of a challenge. Maranda and I had spent several days working on getting the balance right. We wanted enough sound that it wouldn't deafen anyone within a mile and an explosion small enough that the shockwave wasn't noticeable. At the same time, we were trying to maximize the color and area of effect.

We had to take a huge step back after the first tests, as even the smallest samples were capable of splitting boulders on direct hits. We had to take another step back after that and not have me keep the initial tests in my dustbin at all. That helped Maranda better observe the real effects and maximize the color. Several more tries later, we were able to use my void powers to amplify the right effects in a controlled manner.

Now, I could honestly say it was worth it. The midday sky was full of color. I pulled out a red one, and Maranda loaded it into the sling Tony had made and triggered the lever. As it was launched in the air, I nudged it with Air Manipulation so that it would hit its apex high above Beatrice's head. With a short application of my Sanitation Lamp, I triggered it. The wave of light spread out, completely covering the castle in a brilliant rose color and hanging in the air for several seconds before starting to fade.

That gave us just enough time for the next setup to be ready. This time, we prepped an orange one. From our position, getting a bead on what everyone thought of our show was hard, but shouts of surprise and then gasps of awe filled the air.

We had given people some warning, but as Beatrice had once said, seeing is believing. When the second explosive went off, there was a lot less surprise and more "wow's" and wonder. The whole celebration halted as people simply stared at the sky. Some were outside with Beatrice, while others gazed up from the wall. Even more, stood just inside the castle grounds.

One by one, we released each dazzling display that filled the sky. Maranda and I started loading mixes of colors to form gradients across the horizon. Eventually, we ran low on explosives. The show had already lasted for 9.8 minutes, and while everyone was still ooooing and awwwwing, I could tell that some of their necks were starting to get stiff from looking up constantly.

It was perfect timing; I had one of each color left. The launching system Marnda was using could handle the bundle, but I would need to concentrate on assisting it a lot. And the range we were planning on would slightly strain my processing power.

So I let the purple-green sky fade completely as we got the next shot lined up perfectly. When it launched, I immediately added speed to the bundle. Then I started to manipulate the air around them so they spread out into a perfect heptagram. It was tricky to keep them evenly spaced as they wanted to tumble wildly, but I managed it.

Then in a staccato burst, I triggered them as quickly as I could. Color enveloped the world.

—

Bee watched in awe as a flood of colors suffused the sky around her. Just as she tracked the falling light to the horizon, she grunted. A small form crashed into her center, driving the air from her lungs.

"Happy Birthday." Bee heard Felix whisper into her stomach, where he clung to her tightly. Before she could even respond, he was replaced with Leanne. The next several minutes were a daze as she passed from one embrace to the other.

Eventually, she was ushered the rest of the way through the gate. Once she entered the grounds, her eyes widened. The castle grounds had been transformed. Fluttering streamers and color adorned every surface. Braided flowers arched over the main entrance, and tables and chairs had been moved to the front lawn in orderly rows. Throughout it all, the entire population of the castle turned wide grins and waves toward the front gate as she entered.

Standing on a massive stack of hay bales, Susan had her hands cupped to her mouth and shouted over the crowd. "First up is the pie baking competition. Can we get our lead judge over to table one!"

Bee stumbled as Leanne and Felix each grabbed one of her elbows and tugged her excitedly through the crowd. The people parted in front of her, and it was only a few moments later she found herself seated at a long table with Mary and Gertrude.

"Happy birthday, dearie." Mary smiled warmly at her. "We heard you liked pie, so, well… everyone did their best."

"People will use any excuse to throw a party." Gertrude snorted. "Still, can't say this is a bad one. Happy birthday."

As if on cue, Bee's stomach growled loudly, and the first of many small plates with a couple bites of pie was placed in front of her.

***

Leaning back with a hand on her overfull stomach, Bee let out a sigh of contentment. With all the extra pie from the competition, hers wasn't the only overfull belly around. Most everyone had eaten their fill. Turning her head, she watched as Susan announced the winner.

"And the winner, by close two votes and one recusal, is… CASSY!"

The woman hopped up and down and squealed excitedly. The other women gave a mixture of heartfelt cheers of congratulations or polite applause. While off to the side, Mary looked on with pride shining in her eyes.

"For first place, we have this lovely necklace awarded by Void himself!"

Bee looked up in surprise but couldn't muster the energy to be too shocked. Apparently, Void was in charge of the prizes. She wasn't sure who had made that decision, but it certainly piqued her interest. Still, there was little her master could do to surprise her anymore.

The crowd looked on in awe as Void hung an amulet around Cassy's neck. No one seemed to know where it came from, but no one questioned it either.

A pretty necklace would normally be an excessive prize for a baking competition, but this one was far more extravagant than expected. It looked to be made of gold and studded with rubies the size of robin eggs. Still, even that wasn't enough to warrant Cassy's reaction as it settled around her neck.

"Thank you, Lord Void! I, uh…" Cassy's smile froze as she trailed off. Her expression turned from delight to sheer bewilderment.

"Cassy?" Susan asked with concern, shaking the woman.

"I-I'm fine. I uh… I got a system notification."

The crowd gasped. Even Susan's eyes widened. "Did you level up?"

"N-no… Its- Its a pendant of fire immunity…!" Cassy's voice trembled.

Whispered muttering and outright shouts of surprise filled the air as her words were repeated. Immunity was a nearly unheard-of ability in skills.

Resistances were fairly common and useful, but fire resistance was like being constantly covered in water. You would be fine running through a fire, but if you touched some hot metal, you would still get burned. Or if you inhaled too much smoke, then you would start having trouble breathing.

But immunity? With actual immunity, Casey could literally walk into an oven and watch the bread bake with no fear of even breaking a sweat. That wasn't the most unusual thing about the gift, though. Sure, it was what everyone seemed to focus on based on the crowd's murmurs, but Bee had other concerns.

She wasn't sure if she was the only one who had noticed it, but that amulet was enchanted. Enchanted. Based on modern magic theory, that wasn't possible.

Most people didn't know that, though. Legends had always told of magic weapons, but they had important differences. They usually just retained the properties of whatever material it was made of. That, or they were coated with a substance that acted as a bane to whatever the hero was fighting. Something like Demon's Bane, which she had used so many times before.

What they didn't do was imbue the user with additional effects just by wielding them. Certainly, nothing like a skill. The revelation sent Bee's mind racing with possibilities. She'd need to ask Void about it later when she got a chance.

Susan quickly quieted the crowd and moved on from the award ceremony. Someone ushered an awestruck Casey offstage as she announced the next event. Those under 10 were having sack races. Quickly the tables were cleared, and the next spectacle started.

The festivities continued with event after event. After the necklace, competition redoubled, with everyone vying even harder for a top spot. The serious faces of the kids, in particular, made it hard to stifle a laugh at the sack races and egg toss. Each time, Void produced some fantastical magical item as the prize. Bee couldn't help but be overwhelmed by a feeling of pride as she saw the community's reactions. Sure, the competition was fierce, but at the same time, it was surprisingly clean and fair.

Perhaps it was that the referees and judges didn't allow for any unreasonable disputes after the event. It also could have had something to do with the ultimate arbiter giving out the prizes.

That in itself was something interesting to watch. With Bee's new ability to see the members of her faith, she could literally see the bonds with their god growing stronger throughout the afternoon. This was the first time she had ever been able to detect a noticeable change in real-time.

Interestingly, faith wasn't spiking in connection with the gifts. But at seemingly random times, it would jump within a certain group. After watching for some time, she started to develop a theory of why.

Void wasn't doing any one thing. Sometimes her master was under the tables, cleaning up a mess left behind by children running up to the next event. Other times it was seen hovering over the crowd to get a better view and cheering the competitors on.

In dozens of small ways, Void was part of their growing community. Nothing seemed to be too low for the god to take part in, but at the same time, Void never seemed debased by anything. Each task was done with dignity and levity in equal measure. A balance and joy in the work, but still pride for others.

The events paused a few hours later. At first, Bee thought that they had run out, but no. Everyone pitched in to prepare for the next wave, and soon, a massive ring was cleared in the center of the grounds. A huge pinboard was erected with a massive bracket carved into the wood. Each spot was taken up by one of the Nighty Knights. It was time for the first major event of the evening: the tournament of the Nighty Knights.

Together as a unit, they marched onto the field, mostly in time. Mostly as one, they turned to face Void and her and dipped into low bows. A little bit of jockeying later, and the first two combatants were on the field. Void gilded down between them, exchanging a few words with each combatant. Bee noticed that only beeps were used, not the new visual way of communicating that Void had started using with a lot of the adults.

Rolling back, Void gave them some space. A sharp whistling beep from him, and the battle began.

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