Roberson's [Relentless Hunger] trait was quite the thing to see in action.

  He looked around more, gathering his thoughts. He moved slightly and winced. It was then he realised that there were two short swords in his guts.

  "That ain't good." He said, casually inspecting each blade's position. He grimaced again as the blades moved slightly.

  "One wrong move will kill you. The blades will need to be removed, but that could have you bleed out before you return to your lair."

  "Reckon you're right." He gripped the handles and tried to control his breathing. "I can't get back to my lair with these blades in me. I have to pull them out, can't walk like this."

  "Would you like help standing?"

  "Thank you, Keeper." He let go of one of the handles and offered his arm to me. I reached down and gripped it firmly.

  "Ready?"

  He nodded and took several quick breaths. He stood, and I supported him as he rose. The grunt of pain was not unexpected as he stood. He breathed harder now standing. He regripped the blade handle.

  "I will pull them out. When I do, I need to move fast." He looked at me. I nodded and stepped aside, giving him an unblocked route to his lair. Nodding his thanks, he pulled with a fast motion. He snarled loudly from pain.

  That strangely coloured blood spilled out across the body of the Challenger. It stood out against her blood and clothing. He dropped the two blades to the ground and began jogging back to his lair. I dismissed my avatar. I was going to need it soon.

  I reached out to Rigger through my mental connection. I told him where to find the body and to take the horse down to Herbert's house after burying it. In my brief conversations with him, I learned that he had worked in graveyards, digging graves before, and that, strangely, he found it soothing to dig them. I followed Roberson.

  It wasn't long before he started to stagger as blood loss was starting to affect him. I summoned my avatar again and caught him as he was about to impact with a gravestone.

  "Lean on me."

  He didn't say anything, just nodded his thanks, and I got him back to his lair.

  The strain of helping him was intense, but I was far stronger now with my avatar, thanks to my level. It was not like the early years, when I had to help Rigger back to his, and it almost broke me.

  I watched Roberson disappear into his lair and close the door behind him. The timer appeared above it and started counting down. I didn't bother looking up the number; I just knew it was now decreasing. I knew he was not only available for a few days.

  I dismissed my avatar and returned to where Rigger was burying the body. He was digging a grave close to where she had died. He had already searched the body and piled the items that we would be interested in on the side. I hadn't rushed back, giving time for my avatar form to recover after I'd dismissed it.

  I summoned it again before the pile of items. Rigger briefly looked up from his digging and gave me a curt nod before returning to his task. I looked over what was there. There were some US bills, but they were covered in blood, so they were useless. There are quite a few coins, and they could be cleaned up as they, too, were splattered with blood. The knives were short swords of good quality and would be kept. I found a silver medallion with a silver chain. It was round and had some possibly Chinese characters engraved on it. I knew what this was straightaway.

  "Bury this with her."

  Rigger looked up and saw what I was holding, and nodded again. "Her offering?"

  "I believe so."

  He hadn't returned to digging and was looking at the body. "Mighty messy death that one."

  "It was. It is a clear sign of how you are all changing over time."

  "Reckon so. Seeing how much I've changed. The old me would recognise myself anymore." He was leaning on the shovel as he spoke, and it was pretty rare to get a self-reflective statement from any of them.

  The changes to him were also making his speech slightly harder to understand. Not as bad as Rodriguez, but I noticed he was falling into longer and longer periods of silence. That was not unknown to my Hunters, but as my first, I noticed how little he now communicated. When he did, he was looking for something from one of the others or talking to me. Honestly, I think I made up the vast majority of all the conversations he and the others had.

  The sun had set in the west behind the mountains. The sky was still the colour of fire in that direction, but to the east, the black of night was pushing the remaining colour back, and the stars were appearing. He showed no signs of discomfort now that the light was gone.

  "Well, it was what was promised when you signed on."

  A dry crackling sound came from him. I had recognised this to be his laughter now. "Aye, Keeper. You're speaking truth. Ya kept your promise, and I'm all the happier for it."

  He went back to digging. It seemed our conversation was over, and I dismissed my avatar. He would bring everything that needed to be kept to the church later, and I would sort it out.

  September marked the change in the weather.

  The weather dominated the news in the first weeks of the month. On 8 September, a hurricane emerged from the Gulf of Mexico and tore through the town of Galveston. The surrounding countryside was also devastated, and the news reports coming out of the area indicated that thousands lay dead. This is only reinforced as the days go by.

  When the first reports appeared, I thought it was just the usual sensationalism from the American press. By the 12th, the numbers were only growing, the first images of the devastation were being recorded, and I began to believe that, in this case, they might be telling the truth.

  It wasn't until later in the year that the death toll was put at at least eight thousand.

  In the Philippines, it seems that the rebellion mounted by the local population against the German and Japanese Imperial forces has finally been put down. There had been no reports of any major clashes against any guerrilla group. That did not mean that they were gone, just reorganising. I suspected that they might make a reappearance sometime, but I could be wrong.

  October brought more rain and a drop in temperature.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  The first of the animals began to migrate as the trees around me started to change from green to yellows and reds. The evergreens, of course, held out, but they were in the minority.

  1900 was an election year.

  The first of them was held in October in the United Kingdom, with the Conservatives winning a further majority. They were initially called the Unionists, but with the creation of the Dominion of Ireland, they had rebranded themselves.

  Their victory was achieved through the capitulation of the last of the Boer forces in South Africa. The Second Boer War was brought to an end by the British Army's aggressive tactics. The last parts of the Transvaal were occupied, and the bulk of the fighters surrendered. There were still a few holdouts, but it was believed that, within a few months, they would be put down, as they had no access to external support and were short of supplies and munitions. Herbert Kitchener was regarded as the principal architect of the victory and had emerged as a significant force of reform within the British Army establishment.

  November brings elections in the United States and Canada.

  The 1900 presidential election was quite contentious. The Republicans mounted a challenge, but they were riddled with internal strife between the party's more moderate wing and its growing radicalised socialist wing. The Democrats use this to their advantage and had Jonathan Mayfair re-elected.

  The federal election in Canada produced a more interesting result. The Conservatives came to power there as well. The party campaigned on strong support for the Imperial Federation proposal circulating in the Empire. In Britain and many other colonies, the idea was growing more attractive to a larger part of the population.

  I was paying more attention to the snow line on the western mountains. As soon as November arrived, it began to creep slowly down the hills. It wouldn't be long before it reached me.

  I would have appreciated more visits from Senior Ahmed or Eleanor, but they seem engrossed in their own plots and schemes at the moment. I did not want their company, but I would have liked further updates on what was happening with them.

  The first snowflakes came early in December.

  One last story caught my interest before I was cut off again for the year. A German training frigate, the Gneisenau, was exercising off the Spanish coast when it was caught in a storm. The hull was breached, the ship began to sink, and it sent a radio distress signal. The nearby HMS Justice received the Mayday and was able to render assistance even during the storm. Thanks to their intervention, only 12 crew members were lost. Most naval analysts said it could have been far worse if the Justice had not been nearby and heard the distress signal. This led to increased calls for the adoption of wireless technology across all naval ships, a move echoed by both the British and Imperial German Admiralties.

  As I read this story in the paper, a blizzard rolled in off the mountains, cutting off my access to the outside world for the rest of the year.

  I realise 1901 had arrived with a fireworks display off in the direction of Crossway.

  I watched the display from the top of the spatial bubble. From this distance, I miss most of it, but I do get the general intention of the display. There had been a series of heavy snowstorms over the previous two weeks, and the ground was heavily coated in snow.

  Since becoming cut off, I have spent the last few weeks performing my usual winter routine. Harrington had resurfaced again to research the dagger. It was the middle of January when I was cleaning one of the rifles, listening to him curse and swear from the neighbouring room in the crypt. It seems he was not making any significant headway.

  I have been taking a far more attentive interest in my finances this winter. On the horizon, I could see the storms of war gathering as well as social change. This world's timeline was veering too much now for me to predict what would happen, but I had a strong inclination. The death of Kaiser Wilhelm II had thrown many things onto new paths. Germany was far less militarised, or less likely to be militarising, than I remembered from my timeline.

  Germany was allied with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire. The French, Spanish, and Italians opposed it. The borders between the two power blocs were now heavily fortified. Out at sea, there was no tension between the Germans and the British, as the German Navy had not undergone significant expansion. This gave the French and their allies the advantage at sea for the moment.

  The map of the world was very similar to what I remembered; the only major difference was the division of the Philippines between the Japanese and Germans. The Japanese were close to the British but seemed to be leaning towards the French right now. The French were willing to back them and their opposition to the expansion of both the German and Russian empires into the Pacific.

  There was a flash of light in another series of curses from the next room. I shook my head as I continued to work. I told them as long as he didn't cause any damage, I would leave him to his experiments.

  That brought me back to my limited financial resources. I had a large amount of gold and silver, but I was loath to part with them, to the point of pain. As for US dollars in both note and coin form, I had a little more than I did this time last year. Herbert had told me during his last visit that the sale of the horses from the unfortunate visitors over the previous year had easily covered the paper costs for another. That was one less issue I had to worry about, at least.

  I've been thinking about the two organisations that are now aligned with me. I do not trust either of them beyond working with me to satiate their greed. I knew, in time, that greed would ultimately drive us apart. They say that power corrupts. Well, I knew that money corrupted far more extensively and quickly. It was only a matter of time, in my view, until they moved against me. Would it be openly or covertly? I did not know, but I needed to be ready.

  Herbert had set up the land in his will to be transferred into a trust. I was growing more certain that I would need to make modifications to that trust to have a greater effect in the world without the other two groups realising it. It would have to be a working trust that protects both the land and my interests. It will need a certain level of obfuscation from my overt control. I knew the Driver family could supply that, but the others would watch them.

  That would mean I'd ultimately have to provide more money to make it work. So, I counted what I had, which wasn't much. I could give Herbert the money to reorganise his will into a trust. I would need this money as seed capital for future projects.

  The irony that I had once been extremely rich was not lost on me. Buying the land around me was still the best option I had, and I do not regret it. I did not want to seek financial support from either the Way or the Daughters, as that wouldn't get me to them in the way I did not want to be.

  They would want to know where the money would be going anyway. Obfuscation could work, but I expected that they would be very interested and investigate what I was doing, defeating the point of the trust.

  I had been warming to the idea for the last few months. A generational trust was the best option I could see to influence the world without the others realising what I was doing. This means I could direct the trust to develop new technology if I thought the world was lagging, or to increase profits.

  Another flash, then more cursing from the next room.

  I also had to try to acquire more arcane or occult books from different sources for Harrington and myself—another expense, as they were not cheap. Again, I could reach out to the others, but what they supply me could be suspect at best.

  So many requirements and so few resources.

  I could not think of any quick ways to make money right now. If prohibition comes into effect, then I definitely would turn my attentions to becoming a major supplier of illegal alcohol. But I did not expect this to happen anytime soon, and if my memory serves me correctly, it was about two decades in my own timeline before it was banned. Sure, there was a dedicated organisation out there trying to make it happen, but for the moment, they did not have the support.

  Could I help with that?

  That thought briefly crossed my mind, but I instantly shut it down. There was no way in hell I was going to get myself involved with the Christian American Woman's Temperance and Morality League. Some things were not worth the trouble.

  More cursing echoed from next door.

  I walked over to the large chest that contains my financial assets. I disarmed the trap and opened up the container. I've placed all my money in this container now. I have several hundred dollars in notes and change. I had tens of thousands in gold and silver.

  I might have to consider investing the silver dollars and bars I have. Just thinking about it hurt me mentally. I was incredibly attached to both the silver and the gold. I held a certain level of attachment to the jewellery I possessed, as well, but less so. With Joshua living for the moment in Bosie now, that might open up new opportunities for me to sell the watches I have.

  Yes, that would be more practical.

  I might arrange for Herbert and Amy to visit their son in Boise. While there, they can arrange the selling of several family heirlooms.

  I could have Herbert arrange the change in the trust in his will and make it active now as a living trust. The money could be invested in it and get things rolling. It will be a slow buildup, but that could work.

  I will have to wait for the snow to retreat for Herbert to come back and visit. He did not live far away, but I didn't want him out in this weather. I had made sure he understood this, as travelling to town was even riskier.

  I closed the chest and locked it, rearming the trap. Yes, it was time to start making plans and putting them into motion.