My build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6yYz4s
What does this mean? Will I need to purchase something else for my psu to work with my gpu?

First Entry
Second Entry
Third Entry
Fourth Entry ​
Fifth Entry
​
Journal of Camille Lambert - April 12th
​
We could see the shadows of the Nightwalkers from our place by the bonfire. They peeked in through the broken windows of the church, watching us from afar but never actually entering the ruins. I’m not sure if the firelight was what kept them away, or the protective runes that Nina had drawn.
​
Nina sat on a fallen column, watching them in case they tried anything… and yet if I walked over to the right side of the circle of columns that we’d set up our bonfire in, she seemed… dimmer. Like she was there and yet not there at the same time.
​
Dom on the other hand was crystal clear. I could see him sitting by the door of the church. I couldn’t see him at all from the left side of the circle. The mist was too thick. But on the right side, he was right there, impossible to miss. The effect was surreal, to say the least. He was holding the device Nina had used to call in her backup. She’d called it a phone but it didn’t look like any phone I’d ever seen.
​
“ETA, an hour or so for the standby team in Tallinn, 15 hours for the rest,” Nina had said after she’d made her call. “Let’s get comfortable.”
I figured that it’d been about an hour and a half since she’d said that. Standing by the bonfire itself, the world past the columns seemed to be in flux. Sometimes I could see mist through the windows and the holes in the ceiling. Sometimes I could see stars.
​
Shadows of smaller Nightwalkers darted past the church door sometimes, lingering only long enough to look in on us before retreating back into the darkness. Nina watched each one like a hawk, gripping her shotgun tightly.
I walked out to sit with her for a bit, leaving the light of the fire for a little while. Even from her vantage point, I still couldn’t see Dom but at least I knew he was safe enough.
“How many do you think are out there?” I asked quietly.
“Too many,” Nina replied. “We’re not going back to Puriysk tonight, that’s for damn sure.”
​
As she spoke, I saw more shadows moving in the dark, skittering away into the mist.
“You sure you want to stay out here? Might be safer to stay with Dom,” I said.
“Probably, but it’s better if I stay here. If the door closes, I’m better off on the inside. Be easier to open it again, that way.”
“Fair enough,” I said, looking back out into the mist. I could see nothing past it.
​
No shadows. No movement. There wasn’t even any noise. Nina looked up at the darkness again.
“Is it just me or is it quieter out there?” She asked.
“No… it’s quieter out there,” I said. “Could be there’s a big one nearby. Dom said that the small ones usually avoid them.”
​
Nina kept staring out at the mist, but the silence remained. I wasn’t sure if she was genuinely worried or not. After a few minutes, I saw movement in the mist again. I heard the rustling of trees and saw something standing in the dark. I almost thought that it might have looked like a man… almost. But I couldn’t fully make out the shape of it.
​
I could see the eyes of the Nightwalker shining in the firelight, before it finally moved, darting out of sight. Nina watched it go, before returning her attention to me.
“Good news is, we won’t be alone for that much longer,” She said. “After the first group shows up, we can head into Puriysk with them and start setting up shop. By the time the rest of them arrive, we should be in a good place. After that, it’s just a matter of getting people out and dealing with Calhoun,”
“You make it sound easy,” I said.
“I mean, it probably won’t be a walk in the park,” Nina admitted. “But at least we won’t be running this job alone. These things go easier when you’ve got help.”
“Yeah… I imagine they would,” I said.
​
Beside us, I heard a dull thud as a piece of one of the church's more damaged walls fell away and crashed to the ground. Nina was up on her feet immediately, shotgun in hand. I rose to my feet beside her.
“The fuck was that?” She asked.
“Part of the wall, I think,” I said. I spotted the spot where it had fallen and looked up. It had probably come off one of the broken domed towers near the door. One of their ceilings had come down ages ago and I imagined it wouldn’t take much more than a strong gust of wind to knock over some of the loose bricks jutting out from where the roof remained. Nina approached the fallen piece of brick, pausing to inspect it.
​
“Hell of a big chunk of wall,” She said before looking up again. I did the same, although as I did, I could’ve sworn I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked over at it. The shadows cast by the bonfire left pools of darkness along the ceiling.
​
But in those pools, I could see flickering reflections of light.
​
Two of them.
​
Staring right at me.
​
Slowly I reached out, putting a hand on Nina’s shoulder. I didn’t want to yell or move too quickly. I couldn’t see what was in the darkness but I know that it looked poised to strike. Nina looked over at me, before tensing up. I knew that she saw it too. The eyes remained trained on us, and I heard a low, animal hiss coming from the shadows.
“Bonfire…” Nina said, gripping her shotgun tighter “Get Dom… now.”
​
I took a step back and saw the eyes following me. Nina backed away from the shadows, eyes never leaving the ceiling. I saw limbs splaying outward from the darkness. I could see them tensing up. It was going to lunge.
​
“MOVE!” I said, breaking into a sprint, but it was too late. The Nightwalker launched itself at Nina like a bullet. I heard her shotgun fire twice, before the creature crashed into the ground, flailing violently. I could see long, dark limbs, more than any human should have struggling to pick itself up. I could see a body that only vaguely resembled a man. It had a torso, a human head, and long black hair, but looked more like a spider than a person. And yet there was something off about it. Something I hadn’t seen on any of the other Nightwalkers. This one had some kind of sigil on its forehead. Something that looked almost like a crimson eye, that seemed to glow with surreal energy.
​
The Nightwalker looked at Nina, snarling at her. When it opened its mouth, I could see rows upon rows of teeth inside. She fired her shotgun again, but the creature barely even seemed to notice them. Even after she’d gone through the trouble of cursing them, her rounds weren’t doing anything.
“RUN!” I heard her yell, and I didn’t dare question that. I just ran.
​
I sprinted toward the bonfire, just in time to see Dom running toward me. He took aim at the Nightwalker, firing at it as it tried to go after Nina. But his bullets did next to nothing to it. The Nightwalker didn’t even look at him.
​
It just kept going for Nina, almost pinning her down. She unloaded two more shells into its face, which did little more than make it flinch and bought her some time to run.
​
This time, she took off at a sprint toward the bonfire. Dom saw her running and started to backpedal as well, running back toward the bonfire and the safety of the columns. The creature paused as we took shelter by the fire, watching us intently and letting out another serpentine hiss. Nina stared back at it, before looking back at the fire. She tossed her shotgun aside and hastily grabbed one of the spare branches we’d kept for the bonfire. She put it in the fire, before pulling it out and brandishing it like a weapon. The Nightwalker hissed and recoiled a bit, focused on the flame. As it paused, Dom grabbed Nina’s shotgun off the ground and took aim.
​
“Don’t…” She said, putting a hand up to stop him, her voice low and intense. She didn’t dare look away from the Nightwalker. “Save the cursed rounds… they won’t kill it. Just get outside.”
“What about you?” Dom asked.
“Outside,” Nina repeated. “Now.”
I put a hand on Dom’s shoulder.
“Let’s go!” I said, trying to tug him along behind me.
​
He hesitated for a moment longer before finally letting me take him. We backed through the right set of columns, and once we were through I saw Nina taking a step away from the bonfire, toward the right set of columns. The Nightwalker passed the left set of columns, trying to follow her.
“Come on…” She said under her breath, “Come and get me, shithead…”
​
I saw it inching closer to her, and tensing up again, getting ready to pounce. That was when Nina made her move. She thrust her burning branch into the Nightwalker's face, earning a cry of pain from it and making it jerk back. I saw it swatting at the branch, trying to get rid of the fire. Nina took the chance to run, sprinting at top speed toward the door of the church.
“GO!”
​
Neither of us needed to be told twice. We ran for the church door, as the Nightwalker let out a roar from behind us. I looked back to see it charging toward us again, gaining ground. As we ran back out into the field, we were greeted by countless blinding lights. I saw Nina pause, before feeling her grab me by the back of the shirt and pull me away. I could see Dom in her other hand. She dragged us both down to the ground in the instant before the Nightwalker emerged from the door of the church.
​
I saw it recoil, putting up its clawed hands to try and shield its eyes from the blinding light.
​
Then I heard the gunfire.
​
As my eyes adjusted to the light, I could see several men, each holding automatic rifles advancing on the Nightwalker. It shrank back toward the church, trying to shield itself from the gunfire, clearly overwhelmed. But just like with Nina’s shotgun before it, the bullets did little to harm it. Despite all the gunfire it took, it didn’t fall. I could hear it hissing, I could see its beady black eyes darting around wildly. It lunged forward again, tackling one of the nearby men and tearing into him, before going after another. I saw its jaws close around his skull and heard the sickening crunch of bone as it took his head. The other men scrambled back, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the Nightwalker as they could. It howled in rage, preparing to charge after them when a final, deafening gunshot echoed through the night.
​
This time, the Nightwalker's entire body seized up. It let out an agonized scream. I could see its clawed hands clutching at a wound that had appeared on its chest… and I could see smoke rising out of that wound. It kept screaming and thrashing violently. Its limbs gave out from underneath it. I could see the wound in its chest sizzling and burning. I saw the flesh and skin sloughing off of its body, and I could see the pale white bone underneath.
​
The eye sigil on its forehead flickered before fading away and the Nightwalker let out one final, howl before collapsing to the ground, its body still twitching and convulsing. I looked over to see a single woman standing calmly by the nearby trucks. She was tall and pale, with long, stringy black hair and an intense look in her eye.
​
She was dressed in a long beige coat and holding an ornate revolver in one gloved hand. As the Nightwalker died I saw her gingerly slip the pistol into the inner pocket of her coat before reaching into another pocket for a notebook. Without ever looking away from the dead Nightwalker, she scribbled something down, then pocketed the notebook again and calmly walked toward the church, not even pausing to acknowledge anyone else around her. As she left, I saw the other armed men tending to their dead. With the Nightwalker dead, I could get a better look at them now. They were dressed like soldiers, with bulletproof vests and no shortage of pockets. A few of them wore netted veils over their faces, making it hard to get a good look at them and giving them an eerie appearance, although watching them examine the bodies of their dead and respectfully carrying them away was almost humanizing.
​
Nina sat up, her blonde hair messy and a somewhat disoriented look on her face. She looked over toward the source of the lights that had blinded us. Four large SUVs were parked outside of the church, their headlights shining on the door. From those SUVs, I could see more armed men getting out and one of them was coming toward us.
​
“Nina Valentine?” I heard him ask. He had a heavy Slavic accent.
“Still alive,” She said, as she slowly climbed to her feet.
“Good. I’m Olev Kallas, I’m from the Tallinn Office, Director Durand sends his regards,” He offered Nina a hand to shake and she reluctantly took it. “The Director is currently en route, as are the rest of the team. In the meanwhile, we’re here to help.”
“Yeah and right on fucking time too,” She said, looking over at the dead Nightwalker.
​
“Ah… yes, you can thank Dr. Di Cesare for that,” Kallas said.
Nina raised an eyebrow. I had a feeling that she recognized the name, but she didn’t comment on it.
“But first, I imagine you and your friends must need a hot meal and a cold drink right about now and I can get you both.”
“Oh you’ve got no fucking idea…” Nina said, as Dom helped me to my feet. She waited until we were up, before gesturing for us to follow as Kallas led us toward one of the SUV’s.
​
***
​
I barely recognized the empty field around us as Puriysk. The buildings were all long gone and in their place was a paved highway that I’d never seen before.
“The town’s been gone for as long as I can remember,” Kallas said. “I couldn’t tell you if it was us, or the Soviets who got rid of the ruins. I read somewhere that there was some talk about refurbishing the old Church, but as you see, nothing ever came of it.”
“Thank God for small miracles,” Nina said, “Made my job a hell of a lot easier.”
​
We drove down the highway, past the wide open landscape and as we drove, I couldn’t help but admire it. In the distance, I could see the lights from another nearby town and watched as they drew closer and closer. God, I’d never seen a place so full of life before. As we drove along the quiet streets, past the sleeping buildings in the early hours of the morning, they still seemed so alive. Street lights cast a warm glow on the few passersby out doing their business. There were more cars on the road than I’d ever seen before, some driving past us to their own destinations and others parked and still.
​
“I can drop you three off at a hotel if you’d like,” Kallas offered. “You can get cleaned up and have a short rest before Director Durand arrives. I can pick up some fresh clothes for you, and then we can have a debrief over dinner.”
“Yeah, works for me,” Nina said before looking over at us.
“Dinner sounds good,” I said, although at the time I had no idea what exactly a hotel was. Thankfully, I got my answer pretty quickly.
​
The room I got was comfortable. The bed was softer than anything I’d ever laid on before and the hot water… oh God… I spent almost an hour in the shower alone, enjoying the steam and feeling the tension drain out of my muscles. When I was done, I put on a soft, fluffy bathrobe and laid down, letting myself relax for the first time in days. I almost dozed off… and maybe I would have if I hadn’t heard a knock on my door.
​
I considered ignoring it and just letting sleep take me, but I figured I might as well make sure it wasn’t important. Tying my bathrobe a little tighter around me, I got up to answer the door and was greeted by Dom, still wet from the shower.
​
“Hey,” He said. “Sorry, I hope I’m not bothering you!”
“It’s fine!” I replied, putting on a smile, “Come on in.”
I opened the door all the way to let him inside, but he hesitated.
“No, it’s alright. I just thought I’d check on you. It’s been… well, it’s been one hell of a past few days. And this feels like the first chance we’ve had to really breathe in a while.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” I sighed. I still held the door open for him. “Well, we’re not going to have this conversation in the hall, so come on in. I’ve got a coffee machine in here and I’m dying to try it out.”
​
I’m not sure if it was the promise of coffee that made him accept my invitation or the realization that I probably didn’t want to be in the hall with just a bathrobe on, but he came inside anyway.I went to the coffee machine and tried to figure it out. They had these little cups that I’d never seen before, but otherwise, it seemed fairly straightforward.
​
“Man… it’s really something else out here, isn’t it?” Dom asked, going to sit down on the bed. “It’s just so bright out here!”
“I’m still not entirely convinced I’m not dreaming,” I admitted. I managed to get one of the cups into the coffee machine and watched as it pissed out a somewhat pathetic amount of scalding hot coffee that admittedly did smell very nice. It had a lovely vanilla aroma.
I brought the first cup over to Dom.
​
“Glad I’m not the only one,” He said as I went back to make another cup, “Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if Nina’s backup was even going to come through and I sure as hell didn’t expect any of this.”
“You and me both,” I said with a sigh, “Is it wrong to say that I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop?”
“Well, when something seems too good to be true…” Dom murmured, “Although then again… looking at what we had in there compared to what Nina’s been telling me about life out here, I can’t help but wonder if we’ve had it bad for so long that even the smallest good thing would seem too good to be true.”
“That’s a disturbing thought,” I said.
“Maybe. But what if it’s true?”
​
I didn’t know how to answer that.
“Either way… this isn’t much more than a break, isn’t it?” Dom asked, “The calm before the storm. I know that after we talk to the Director, Nina’s going right back in… and I’m going with her.”
I nodded before taking my coffee and joining him on the bed.
“I know,” I said. “And I’m going with you.”
“You know that you don’t have to, right?” Dom asked. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I know that this kind of thing isn’t exactly in your wheelhouse. I’m not saying to just let it be or anything, but there’s other ways to help that don’t involve shooting things and burning down buildings.”
​
Again, I paused.
“Maybe,” I said. “Honestly, whatever I can do, I just want to do it. Whatever it may be. I’ve been just accepting things the way they were for too long, the same as you. I don’t want to just accept it anymore! I can’t.”
“And you aren’t,” Dom said, “I mean… shit, I watched you take pot shots at a Nightwalker the other night. Ever since we left, you’ve done whatever you can to help out. You’ve done a hell of a lot more to fix things than anyone else I know. That takes a hell of a lot of strength. More than I’d probably have in your shoes… honestly, you’re half the reason I’m still doing this, Cam.”
​
I looked at him and felt his hand pressing over mine.
“Only half?” I teased, trying to distract from the shade I could feel my cheeks flushing.
“Well, there’s everyone else too.” He said, “But right now, the one I care the most about is you.”
I actually broke down laughing at that and gently pushed him away.
“Too much?” He asked.
“No,” I said. “Just right.”
​
I let my head rest on his shoulder and for a little bit, we just sat together, hand in hand and beautifully content. I sensed him hesitating for a little while, before finally seizing the moment and placing his hand on my chin. I let him. He lifted my face and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, one that I all too happily reciprocated.
​
After all… who knew when we’d get another chance?
​
***
​
The restaurant that Kallas brought us to was fairly quiet, although it wasn’t empty. As we walked in, I could see a large table set out with faces both familiar and unfamiliar at it.
​
Nina had washed almost an entire layer of dirt and soot off her face. Her hair looked cleaner and she was clearly wearing new, cleaner jeans. Although I didn’t think she’d actually changed her T-shirt. I recognized it by the neckline, but I’d never seen the whole thing before. It had a graphic of a warning label on it that said: ‘DO NOT USE FOR WET GRINDING’ although the ‘DO NOT’ part was crossed out in red.
​
Had she seriously been wearing that the whole fucking time…? At least it looked like she’d recently washed it.
​
Beside Nina, I saw Natalya, looking a little more cleaned up and wearing new clothes. Someone must have gotten her out of Puriysk earlier that day. The dark haired woman that Kallas had named as Dr. Di Cesare sat on the other side of Nina, although she was more focused on her own journal than any of us.
Lastly, I saw a man I didn’t recognize at all. He was tall and looked to be somewhere in his fifties, with wavy blond hair and a clean shaven face. He was dressed in a nice but slightly wrinkled suit.
​
The blond man was the first one to speak.
“Mr. Kallas, good to see you again,” He said as he got up to greet us.
“Director Durand, I have to say that the pleasure is all mine,” Kallas said, shaking Durand’s hand. His attention turned to us next.
​
“You two must be Camille Lambert and Dom Hoskins, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Milo Durand. I’m the Director of the Fae Relations Bureau’s Department of Public Safety.”
“Hell of a mouthful,” Dom said, shaking Durand’s hand.
“Just call us the FRB for short,” He said with a smile, “Take a seat. Dr. Di Cesare and I wanted to take some time to go through the situation with the Calhoun Pocket.”
​
Kallas pulled out some seats for us and we sat down. There were glasses of water waiting for us at the table. As soon as we sat down, Dr. Di Cesare glanced up at us, but didn’t close her notebook.
“So… now that we’re all here. Where should we begin?” Kallas asked.
“Well for starters, I’d like to get a solid picture of what exactly we’re going to be walking into when we send the rest of our people into the Calhoun Pocket,” Durand said, “Mr. Kallas, I’m aware you’re detachment has already properly secured Puriysk. But I’ve got some questions regarding the other towns so we know what else to expect once we’re inside.”
“What exactly is it that you want to know?” I asked.
​
“Well for starters, we need access to the other towns. We were told that navigating between them could be difficult, but I imagine there must be some way to circumvent that,”
“There is,” Dom said, “The roads don’t always go to the same places, but there are always landmarks and turns. You can use those to navigate.”
“One of the files I found in the archive at the Deputy’s Office has a list of landmarks and directions to reach the different towns,” Nina added, “I emailed you a copy earlier to go over,”
​
Durand nodded.
“Excellent. Which leads me to my next question. Infrastructure. I can’t imagine Calhoun’s been running a show like his without some means of providing food and power to the other towns. I’m aware that Rankin Mills had a power plant, so I figure that Calhoun is using that to keep the lights on. But what about food, gas, supplies?”
“Most of the food comes from Bakersfield,” I said. “There’s a lot of farmland there, most of it fairly safe from the mist. I used to work at a Roadhouse in Thompson Falls. We’d get deliveries every week or so.”
​
“I see… what about Puriysk and Thompson Falls? What’s there?”
“Puriysk was where they trained a lot of the Sheriff’s Boys,” Dom said. “They had the largest Deputy’s Office outside of Parsons. And Thompson Falls was more of a mining community. Lotta the construction work that was done in Parsons was done by people brought in from Thompson and Puriysk.”
​
Durand raised an eyebrow.
“Construction in Parsons?” He asked.
“Calhoun’s sorta been using it as his capital. Far as I can tell, he’s been trying to build up the towns, although Parson’s the one that’s gotten the most attention,” Dom said. “I guess it’s as close to a capital city as we’ve got in there. He also mentioned the ‘Sovereign Nation of Calhoun’ although I haven’t heard anyone outside of Parsons use that name.”
“Sovereign Nation of Calhoun…” Durand repeated, before glancing at Nina. She just gave a slightly defeated nod as if to say: ‘Yeah, he actually called it that.’
​
“Okay… let’s talk about Calhoun himself… what do you know?” Durand asked.
“Not a hell of a lot,” Dom said, “Closest I’ve ever come to actually meeting the guy is when he spoke to us outside of the church last night. Other than that, he rarely leaves his house in Parsons and rarely appears in public and most of what I’ve heard is just rumors.”
​
“Whatever you’ve heard… odds are that it’s true,” Natalya said quietly, drawing all eyes at the table over to her.
“I’ve heard the story enough times now… first from my mother, then from so many afterward. One day, the days just grew dimmer. The clouds above us just grew so thick that you could not see the sun and the mist drifted through the streets. The roads no longer led to the same places… and at night, the shadows moved, devouring any in their paths alive and screaming. First, it came for Parsons, then Rankin, Puriysk, Bakersfield, and Thompson. One by one. In time, it will come for others. He will come for others.”
​
Durand leaned in a little bit, listening intently. Dr. Di Cesare had also paused, listening as Natalya spoke.
“My mother told me that after the change, Calhoun’s people began to enter the town. Drunken louts, filling up the bars demanding free alcohol in exchange for ‘protection’ from the things outside. Although even with the alcohol, they still left bodies in their wake.”
She paused, slipping back into old, bitter memories.
​
“She told me of the ways Calhoun had changed Puriysk… most of the men either joined his little militia out of necessity or were given other jobs where they were worked to the bone. And the women…” She paused, “The homemakers he generally left alone but the young and the pretty ones found their way into the brothel. After all, his soldiers needed something to do to pass the time when they weren’t drinking and acting like children with guns. Governor Calhoun raped Puriysk, just the same as he raped every other town he took. All my life, I’ve watched as he’s milked them for his own gain and spread like a disease across new towns, looking for more. Before I even understood what home was, he had taken my home from me. Before I was old enough to speak, he had taken my life from me. Because of him, I grew up in a brothel in a town that does not exist.”
​
Durand was silent, before looking at Nina who drummed her fingers on the table.
“Valentine?” He asked.
“Like Dom said, the only interaction we had with that guy was when he talked to us last night,” She said. “I’m not a psychologist but I’d figure most of what he said is pretty on par with what a narcissistic megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur would probably say. It was probably a whole lot of horseshit… probably…”
“But?” Durand asked. Nina sighed.
​
“There was one thing he said that stood out, he said that if we killed him, we’d be killing everyone else in the pocket too. He made it sound like his life was tied to it, or something. I don’t know if he can actually fucking do that or not but I’m also not sure I’d want to chance it. Some of those documents I found in the Puriysk archive mentioned Calhoun and something called ‘The Eldest’.”
​
At the mention of the name, Dr. Di Cesare looked up.
“Gretchen,” Durand asked, “Do you recognize that name.”
Gretchen Di Cesare gave a curt nod before flipping through her notebook to a previous page. As she did, I noticed her sleeve lifting briefly, revealing a tattoo on her wrist. Two wavy, parallel lines. It looked like the zodiac sign for ‘Aquarius.’
“The Eldest… Old Fae. ‘The eldest’ according to myth, hence the name. Few documented encounters. None modern…” She paused to think for a moment, “Hard to kill… harder to control. Would need the heart either way. No small task but… possible… probable.”
​
“Old Fae?” I asked, “What exactly is that?”
“More or less exactly what it says on the tin,” Nina said. “Really old forest fae who got fucked up by the Midnight Grove… and a real fucking problem if that’s what we’re going to have to deal with. Do we even know how to kill an Old Fae?”
“As stated, the heart,” Dr. Di Cesare said, “Find that, kill the Fae. Would reckon that Calhoun has it. If not on his person, then somewhere safe. And should that fail…”
She removed the revolver from her coat pocket and set it down on the table without a word.
​
“A contingency. Custom revolver, specialized blessed rounds - Malvian ice.”
I saw Nina raise an eyebrow.
“You put Malvian ice in a gun?” She asked.
“What’s Malvian ice?” I asked. I figured that this conversation required a bit of context.
“Frozen mist, obtained from the domain of an Ancient God. In essence, a part of the God herself” Dr. Di Cesare said. “Weaponized - could kill anything beneath the Ancient Gods. Never tried it with bullets before, but the live fire trial yielded promising results.”
​
My mind flashed back to the Nightwalker we’d run into last night and the way its flesh had melted away after Dr. Di Cesare had shot it with that gun. The memory sent a chill through me.
​
“So you built a gun that can shoot an Old Fae dead?” Nina asked. I couldn’t tell if she was disturbed by the guns existence or excited to try it out.
“Old Fae, Grovewalkers, and most lesser Gods, amongst other things,” Dr. Di Cesare said. “So long as it has a physical form, it can be killed.”
“Dr. Di Cesare agreed to assist us with this job, in the interest of doing her own research on the Calhoun pocket,” Durand added. “The gun is her contribution to this project. It’s intended as more of an emergency measure than anything else. But if necessary, we could use it to kill whatever is allowing Calhoun to control the pocket reality.”
Nina just whistled and sat back in her chair. She seemed almost at a loss for words.
​
“So… all we need to do is shoot Calhoun or this ‘Eldest’ thing with that gun, after we get everyone out and we’re golden, right?” Dom asked.
“I would regard The Eldest as a higher priority than Calhoun right now,” Durand said. “Calhoun could have been lying about tying his own life to the existence of the pocket reality, but I’m not willing to take that gamble if I don’t have to. Right now, my gut is saying to try and take him alive.”
​
“He’s not gonna go quietly if we try,” Nina pointed out. “Hypothetical question, if we destroy the heart, would that take the risk of killing Calhoun out of the equation?”
“No. Whatever spell was used, would not die with the caster,” Dr. Di Cesare said.
Nina nodded thoughtfully.
“I see. Fuck.”
​
“To your point though: Killing Calhoun is likely inevitable. And while I lack any meaningful data on the spell used by the Eldest or how to circumvent it, I can predict the timeframe of such a collapse. The effect would not be immediate. Could take minutes, hours or days. There may be a window for escape.”
​
“We'll have time to cross that bridge when we get to it,” Durand said. “Last question I’ve got is about the local militia, but Mr. Kallas and I can discuss that with Valentine and Mr. Hoskins separately. In the meanwhile, I believe our first order of business should be eliminating collateral. We’ll start with Puriysk, then move on to Rankin Mills, Bakersfield, and Thompson Falls. Once we’ve cleared out those towns, we’ll focus on Parsons and Calhoun. Mr. Kallas, I’ll leave it to you to oversee the evacuation efforts. It’s probably redundant to say this, but we’ve got our work cut out for us, ladies and gentlemen so let’s keep our heads down, our minds sharp and get through this as cleanly as possible. Now… without any further ado, I promised you people dinner and I’m not going to put you all to work on an empty stomach. So, as the Estonians say: ‘Head isu.’”
​
***
​
Looking back, there was a sort of bittersweetness to that evening. On one hand, I don’t remember the last time I’ve eaten so well. After dinner, I went back to the hotel, enjoyed my hot shower, and sank into my warm sheets, waiting for Dom to come back from his meeting with Nina, Kallas, and Durand.
​
And yet… at the same time, all I could think about was what would happen in the morning. In the morning, we’d be leaving again, going back to Puriysk. Back to Calhoun. Part of me almost dreaded it, fearing that if I left this place then I’d never get to come back again.
​
But listening to Durand and the others talk during that briefing… so much of it went completely over my head and I couldn’t help but feel like that was a good thing. They’d been focused, precise, knowledgeable and most of all, prepared.
​
Calhoun’s threats lingered in the back of my mind, but they seemed so much smaller now. I struggled to imagine that Calhoun and the Sheriff’s Boys could do much the face of what had come for him, even with some kind of all powerful Fae at his disposal. Just Nina alone had been enough to rip Puriysk from his grasp… what could an army of her do?
​
I should have taken comfort in that idea. I did take comfort in that idea. But I still couldn’t help but worry all the same. Maybe what Dom had said earlier was true. Maybe we’d had it so bad for so long that even the smallest good thing now seemed too good to be true… maybe. When Dom came back, I was waiting for him. We lay in bed together, talking quietly to each other about what was going to happen in the morning, and holding hands, we drifted off into sleep.

First Entry
Second Entry
Third Entry
Fourth Entry ​
Fifth Entry
​
Journal of Camille Lambert - April 12th
​
We could see the shadows of the Nightwalkers from our place by the bonfire. They peeked in through the broken windows of the church, watching us from afar but never actually entering the ruins. I’m not sure if the firelight was what kept them away, or the protective runes that Nina had drawn.
​
Nina sat on a fallen column, watching them in case they tried anything… and yet if I walked over to the right side of the circle of columns that we’d set up our bonfire in, she seemed… dimmer. Like she was there and yet not there at the same time.
​
Dom on the other hand was crystal clear. I could see him sitting by the door of the church. I couldn’t see him at all from the left side of the circle. The mist was too thick. But on the right side, he was right there, impossible to miss. The effect was surreal, to say the least. He was holding the device Nina had used to call in her backup. She’d called it a phone but it didn’t look like any phone I’d ever seen.
​
“ETA, an hour or so for the standby team in Tallinn, 15 hours for the rest,” Nina had said after she’d made her call. “Let’s get comfortable.”
I figured that it’d been about an hour and a half since she’d said that. Standing by the bonfire itself, the world past the columns seemed to be in flux. Sometimes I could see mist through the windows and the holes in the ceiling. Sometimes I could see stars.
​
Shadows of smaller Nightwalkers darted past the church door sometimes, lingering only long enough to look in on us before retreating back into the darkness. Nina watched each one like a hawk, gripping her shotgun tightly.
I walked out to sit with her for a bit, leaving the light of the fire for a little while. Even from her vantage point, I still couldn’t see Dom but at least I knew he was safe enough.
“How many do you think are out there?” I asked quietly.
“Too many,” Nina replied. “We’re not going back to Puriysk tonight, that’s for damn sure.”
​
As she spoke, I saw more shadows moving in the dark, skittering away into the mist.
“You sure you want to stay out here? Might be safer to stay with Dom,” I said.
“Probably, but it’s better if I stay here. If the door closes, I’m better off on the inside. Be easier to open it again, that way.”
“Fair enough,” I said, looking back out into the mist. I could see nothing past it.
​
No shadows. No movement. There wasn’t even any noise. Nina looked up at the darkness again.
“Is it just me or is it quieter out there?” She asked.
“No… it’s quieter out there,” I said. “Could be there’s a big one nearby. Dom said that the small ones usually avoid them.”
​
Nina kept staring out at the mist, but the silence remained. I wasn’t sure if she was genuinely worried or not. After a few minutes, I saw movement in the mist again. I heard the rustling of trees and saw something standing in the dark. I almost thought that it might have looked like a man… almost. But I couldn’t fully make out the shape of it.
​
I could see the eyes of the Nightwalker shining in the firelight, before it finally moved, darting out of sight. Nina watched it go, before returning her attention to me.
“Good news is, we won’t be alone for that much longer,” She said. “After the first group shows up, we can head into Puriysk with them and start setting up shop. By the time the rest of them arrive, we should be in a good place. After that, it’s just a matter of getting people out and dealing with Calhoun,”
“You make it sound easy,” I said.
“I mean, it probably won’t be a walk in the park,” Nina admitted. “But at least we won’t be running this job alone. These things go easier when you’ve got help.”
“Yeah… I imagine they would,” I said.
​
Beside us, I heard a dull thud as a piece of one of the church's more damaged walls fell away and crashed to the ground. Nina was up on her feet immediately, shotgun in hand. I rose to my feet beside her.
“The fuck was that?” She asked.
“Part of the wall, I think,” I said. I spotted the spot where it had fallen and looked up. It had probably come off one of the broken domed towers near the door. One of their ceilings had come down ages ago and I imagined it wouldn’t take much more than a strong gust of wind to knock over some of the loose bricks jutting out from where the roof remained. Nina approached the fallen piece of brick, pausing to inspect it.
​
“Hell of a big chunk of wall,” She said before looking up again. I did the same, although as I did, I could’ve sworn I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked over at it. The shadows cast by the bonfire left pools of darkness along the ceiling.
​
But in those pools, I could see flickering reflections of light.
​
Two of them.
​
Staring right at me.
​
Slowly I reached out, putting a hand on Nina’s shoulder. I didn’t want to yell or move too quickly. I couldn’t see what was in the darkness but I know that it looked poised to strike. Nina looked over at me, before tensing up. I knew that she saw it too. The eyes remained trained on us, and I heard a low, animal hiss coming from the shadows.
“Bonfire…” Nina said, gripping her shotgun tighter “Get Dom… now.”
​
I took a step back and saw the eyes following me. Nina backed away from the shadows, eyes never leaving the ceiling. I saw limbs splaying outward from the darkness. I could see them tensing up. It was going to lunge.
​
“MOVE!” I said, breaking into a sprint, but it was too late. The Nightwalker launched itself at Nina like a bullet. I heard her shotgun fire twice, before the creature crashed into the ground, flailing violently. I could see long, dark limbs, more than any human should have struggling to pick itself up. I could see a body that only vaguely resembled a man. It had a torso, a human head, and long black hair, but looked more like a spider than a person. And yet there was something off about it. Something I hadn’t seen on any of the other Nightwalkers. This one had some kind of sigil on its forehead. Something that looked almost like a crimson eye, that seemed to glow with surreal energy.
​
The Nightwalker looked at Nina, snarling at her. When it opened its mouth, I could see rows upon rows of teeth inside. She fired her shotgun again, but the creature barely even seemed to notice them. Even after she’d gone through the trouble of cursing them, her rounds weren’t doing anything.
“RUN!” I heard her yell, and I didn’t dare question that. I just ran.
​
I sprinted toward the bonfire, just in time to see Dom running toward me. He took aim at the Nightwalker, firing at it as it tried to go after Nina. But his bullets did next to nothing to it. The Nightwalker didn’t even look at him.
​
It just kept going for Nina, almost pinning her down. She unloaded two more shells into its face, which did little more than make it flinch and bought her some time to run.
​
This time, she took off at a sprint toward the bonfire. Dom saw her running and started to backpedal as well, running back toward the bonfire and the safety of the columns. The creature paused as we took shelter by the fire, watching us intently and letting out another serpentine hiss. Nina stared back at it, before looking back at the fire. She tossed her shotgun aside and hastily grabbed one of the spare branches we’d kept for the bonfire. She put it in the fire, before pulling it out and brandishing it like a weapon. The Nightwalker hissed and recoiled a bit, focused on the flame. As it paused, Dom grabbed Nina’s shotgun off the ground and took aim.
​
“Don’t…” She said, putting a hand up to stop him, her voice low and intense. She didn’t dare look away from the Nightwalker. “Save the cursed rounds… they won’t kill it. Just get outside.”
“What about you?” Dom asked.
“Outside,” Nina repeated. “Now.”
I put a hand on Dom’s shoulder.
“Let’s go!” I said, trying to tug him along behind me.
​
He hesitated for a moment longer before finally letting me take him. We backed through the right set of columns, and once we were through I saw Nina taking a step away from the bonfire, toward the right set of columns. The Nightwalker passed the left set of columns, trying to follow her.
“Come on…” She said under her breath, “Come and get me, shithead…”
​
I saw it inching closer to her, and tensing up again, getting ready to pounce. That was when Nina made her move. She thrust her burning branch into the Nightwalker's face, earning a cry of pain from it and making it jerk back. I saw it swatting at the branch, trying to get rid of the fire. Nina took the chance to run, sprinting at top speed toward the door of the church.
“GO!”
​
Neither of us needed to be told twice. We ran for the church door, as the Nightwalker let out a roar from behind us. I looked back to see it charging toward us again, gaining ground. As we ran back out into the field, we were greeted by countless blinding lights. I saw Nina pause, before feeling her grab me by the back of the shirt and pull me away. I could see Dom in her other hand. She dragged us both down to the ground in the instant before the Nightwalker emerged from the door of the church.
​
I saw it recoil, putting up its clawed hands to try and shield its eyes from the blinding light.
​
Then I heard the gunfire.
​
As my eyes adjusted to the light, I could see several men, each holding automatic rifles advancing on the Nightwalker. It shrank back toward the church, trying to shield itself from the gunfire, clearly overwhelmed. But just like with Nina’s shotgun before it, the bullets did little to harm it. Despite all the gunfire it took, it didn’t fall. I could hear it hissing, I could see its beady black eyes darting around wildly. It lunged forward again, tackling one of the nearby men and tearing into him, before going after another. I saw its jaws close around his skull and heard the sickening crunch of bone as it took his head. The other men scrambled back, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the Nightwalker as they could. It howled in rage, preparing to charge after them when a final, deafening gunshot echoed through the night.
​
This time, the Nightwalker's entire body seized up. It let out an agonized scream. I could see its clawed hands clutching at a wound that had appeared on its chest… and I could see smoke rising out of that wound. It kept screaming and thrashing violently. Its limbs gave out from underneath it. I could see the wound in its chest sizzling and burning. I saw the flesh and skin sloughing off of its body, and I could see the pale white bone underneath.
​
The eye sigil on its forehead flickered before fading away and the Nightwalker let out one final, howl before collapsing to the ground, its body still twitching and convulsing. I looked over to see a single woman standing calmly by the nearby trucks. She was tall and pale, with long, stringy black hair and an intense look in her eye.
​
She was dressed in a long beige coat and holding an ornate revolver in one gloved hand. As the Nightwalker died I saw her gingerly slip the pistol into the inner pocket of her coat before reaching into another pocket for a notebook. Without ever looking away from the dead Nightwalker, she scribbled something down, then pocketed the notebook again and calmly walked toward the church, not even pausing to acknowledge anyone else around her. As she left, I saw the other armed men tending to their dead. With the Nightwalker dead, I could get a better look at them now. They were dressed like soldiers, with bulletproof vests and no shortage of pockets. A few of them wore netted veils over their faces, making it hard to get a good look at them and giving them an eerie appearance, although watching them examine the bodies of their dead and respectfully carrying them away was almost humanizing.
​
Nina sat up, her blonde hair messy and a somewhat disoriented look on her face. She looked over toward the source of the lights that had blinded us. Four large SUVs were parked outside of the church, their headlights shining on the door. From those SUVs, I could see more armed men getting out and one of them was coming toward us.
​
“Nina Valentine?” I heard him ask. He had a heavy Slavic accent.
“Still alive,” She said, as she slowly climbed to her feet.
“Good. I’m Olev Kallas, I’m from the Tallinn Office, Director Durand sends his regards,” He offered Nina a hand to shake and she reluctantly took it. “The Director is currently en route, as are the rest of the team. In the meanwhile, we’re here to help.”
“Yeah and right on fucking time too,” She said, looking over at the dead Nightwalker.
​
“Ah… yes, you can thank Dr. Di Cesare for that,” Kallas said.
Nina raised an eyebrow. I had a feeling that she recognized the name, but she didn’t comment on it.
“But first, I imagine you and your friends must need a hot meal and a cold drink right about now and I can get you both.”
“Oh you’ve got no fucking idea…” Nina said, as Dom helped me to my feet. She waited until we were up, before gesturing for us to follow as Kallas led us toward one of the SUV’s.
​
***
​
I barely recognized the empty field around us as Puriysk. The buildings were all long gone and in their place was a paved highway that I’d never seen before.
“The town’s been gone for as long as I can remember,” Kallas said. “I couldn’t tell you if it was us, or the Soviets who got rid of the ruins. I read somewhere that there was some talk about refurbishing the old Church, but as you see, nothing ever came of it.”
“Thank God for small miracles,” Nina said, “Made my job a hell of a lot easier.”
​
We drove down the highway, past the wide open landscape and as we drove, I couldn’t help but admire it. In the distance, I could see the lights from another nearby town and watched as they drew closer and closer. God, I’d never seen a place so full of life before. As we drove along the quiet streets, past the sleeping buildings in the early hours of the morning, they still seemed so alive. Street lights cast a warm glow on the few passersby out doing their business. There were more cars on the road than I’d ever seen before, some driving past us to their own destinations and others parked and still.
​
“I can drop you three off at a hotel if you’d like,” Kallas offered. “You can get cleaned up and have a short rest before Director Durand arrives. I can pick up some fresh clothes for you, and then we can have a debrief over dinner.”
“Yeah, works for me,” Nina said before looking over at us.
“Dinner sounds good,” I said, although at the time I had no idea what exactly a hotel was. Thankfully, I got my answer pretty quickly.
​
The room I got was comfortable. The bed was softer than anything I’d ever laid on before and the hot water… oh God… I spent almost an hour in the shower alone, enjoying the steam and feeling the tension drain out of my muscles. When I was done, I put on a soft, fluffy bathrobe and laid down, letting myself relax for the first time in days. I almost dozed off… and maybe I would have if I hadn’t heard a knock on my door.
​
I considered ignoring it and just letting sleep take me, but I figured I might as well make sure it wasn’t important. Tying my bathrobe a little tighter around me, I got up to answer the door and was greeted by Dom, still wet from the shower.
​
“Hey,” He said. “Sorry, I hope I’m not bothering you!”
“It’s fine!” I replied, putting on a smile, “Come on in.”
I opened the door all the way to let him inside, but he hesitated.
“No, it’s alright. I just thought I’d check on you. It’s been… well, it’s been one hell of a past few days. And this feels like the first chance we’ve had to really breathe in a while.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” I sighed. I still held the door open for him. “Well, we’re not going to have this conversation in the hall, so come on in. I’ve got a coffee machine in here and I’m dying to try it out.”
​
I’m not sure if it was the promise of coffee that made him accept my invitation or the realization that I probably didn’t want to be in the hall with just a bathrobe on, but he came inside anyway.I went to the coffee machine and tried to figure it out. They had these little cups that I’d never seen before, but otherwise, it seemed fairly straightforward.
​
“Man… it’s really something else out here, isn’t it?” Dom asked, going to sit down on the bed. “It’s just so bright out here!”
“I’m still not entirely convinced I’m not dreaming,” I admitted. I managed to get one of the cups into the coffee machine and watched as it pissed out a somewhat pathetic amount of scalding hot coffee that admittedly did smell very nice. It had a lovely vanilla aroma.
I brought the first cup over to Dom.
​
“Glad I’m not the only one,” He said as I went back to make another cup, “Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if Nina’s backup was even going to come through and I sure as hell didn’t expect any of this.”
“You and me both,” I said with a sigh, “Is it wrong to say that I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop?”
“Well, when something seems too good to be true…” Dom murmured, “Although then again… looking at what we had in there compared to what Nina’s been telling me about life out here, I can’t help but wonder if we’ve had it bad for so long that even the smallest good thing would seem too good to be true.”
“That’s a disturbing thought,” I said.
“Maybe. But what if it’s true?”
​
I didn’t know how to answer that.
“Either way… this isn’t much more than a break, isn’t it?” Dom asked, “The calm before the storm. I know that after we talk to the Director, Nina’s going right back in… and I’m going with her.”
I nodded before taking my coffee and joining him on the bed.
“I know,” I said. “And I’m going with you.”
“You know that you don’t have to, right?” Dom asked. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I know that this kind of thing isn’t exactly in your wheelhouse. I’m not saying to just let it be or anything, but there’s other ways to help that don’t involve shooting things and burning down buildings.”
​
Again, I paused.
“Maybe,” I said. “Honestly, whatever I can do, I just want to do it. Whatever it may be. I’ve been just accepting things the way they were for too long, the same as you. I don’t want to just accept it anymore! I can’t.”
“And you aren’t,” Dom said, “I mean… shit, I watched you take pot shots at a Nightwalker the other night. Ever since we left, you’ve done whatever you can to help out. You’ve done a hell of a lot more to fix things than anyone else I know. That takes a hell of a lot of strength. More than I’d probably have in your shoes… honestly, you’re half the reason I’m still doing this, Cam.”
​
I looked at him and felt his hand pressing over mine.
“Only half?” I teased, trying to distract from the shade I could feel my cheeks flushing.
“Well, there’s everyone else too.” He said, “But right now, the one I care the most about is you.”
I actually broke down laughing at that and gently pushed him away.
“Too much?” He asked.
“No,” I said. “Just right.”
​
I let my head rest on his shoulder and for a little bit, we just sat together, hand in hand and beautifully content. I sensed him hesitating for a little while, before finally seizing the moment and placing his hand on my chin. I let him. He lifted my face and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, one that I all too happily reciprocated.
​
After all… who knew when we’d get another chance?
​
***
​
The restaurant that Kallas brought us to was fairly quiet, although it wasn’t empty. As we walked in, I could see a large table set out with faces both familiar and unfamiliar at it.
​
Nina had washed almost an entire layer of dirt and soot off her face. Her hair looked cleaner and she was clearly wearing new, cleaner jeans. Although I didn’t think she’d actually changed her T-shirt. I recognized it by the neckline, but I’d never seen the whole thing before. It had a graphic of a warning label on it that said: ‘DO NOT USE FOR WET GRINDING’ although the ‘DO NOT’ part was crossed out in red.
​
Had she seriously been wearing that the whole fucking time…? At least it looked like she’d recently washed it.
​
Beside Nina, I saw Natalya, looking a little more cleaned up and wearing new clothes. Someone must have gotten her out of Puriysk earlier that day. The dark haired woman that Kallas had named as Dr. Di Cesare sat on the other side of Nina, although she was more focused on her own journal than any of us.
Lastly, I saw a man I didn’t recognize at all. He was tall and looked to be somewhere in his fifties, with wavy blond hair and a clean shaven face. He was dressed in a nice but slightly wrinkled suit.
​
The blond man was the first one to speak.
“Mr. Kallas, good to see you again,” He said as he got up to greet us.
“Director Durand, I have to say that the pleasure is all mine,” Kallas said, shaking Durand’s hand. His attention turned to us next.
​
“You two must be Camille Lambert and Dom Hoskins, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Milo Durand. I’m the Director of the Fae Relations Bureau’s Department of Public Safety.”
“Hell of a mouthful,” Dom said, shaking Durand’s hand.
“Just call us the FRB for short,” He said with a smile, “Take a seat. Dr. Di Cesare and I wanted to take some time to go through the situation with the Calhoun Pocket.”
​
Kallas pulled out some seats for us and we sat down. There were glasses of water waiting for us at the table. As soon as we sat down, Dr. Di Cesare glanced up at us, but didn’t close her notebook.
“So… now that we’re all here. Where should we begin?” Kallas asked.
“Well for starters, I’d like to get a solid picture of what exactly we’re going to be walking into when we send the rest of our people into the Calhoun Pocket,” Durand said, “Mr. Kallas, I’m aware you’re detachment has already properly secured Puriysk. But I’ve got some questions regarding the other towns so we know what else to expect once we’re inside.”
“What exactly is it that you want to know?” I asked.
​
“Well for starters, we need access to the other towns. We were told that navigating between them could be difficult, but I imagine there must be some way to circumvent that,”
“There is,” Dom said, “The roads don’t always go to the same places, but there are always landmarks and turns. You can use those to navigate.”
“One of the files I found in the archive at the Deputy’s Office has a list of landmarks and directions to reach the different towns,” Nina added, “I emailed you a copy earlier to go over,”
​
Durand nodded.
“Excellent. Which leads me to my next question. Infrastructure. I can’t imagine Calhoun’s been running a show like his without some means of providing food and power to the other towns. I’m aware that Rankin Mills had a power plant, so I figure that Calhoun is using that to keep the lights on. But what about food, gas, supplies?”
“Most of the food comes from Bakersfield,” I said. “There’s a lot of farmland there, most of it fairly safe from the mist. I used to work at a Roadhouse in Thompson Falls. We’d get deliveries every week or so.”
​
“I see… what about Puriysk and Thompson Falls? What’s there?”
“Puriysk was where they trained a lot of the Sheriff’s Boys,” Dom said. “They had the largest Deputy’s Office outside of Parsons. And Thompson Falls was more of a mining community. Lotta the construction work that was done in Parsons was done by people brought in from Thompson and Puriysk.”
​
Durand raised an eyebrow.
“Construction in Parsons?” He asked.
“Calhoun’s sorta been using it as his capital. Far as I can tell, he’s been trying to build up the towns, although Parson’s the one that’s gotten the most attention,” Dom said. “I guess it’s as close to a capital city as we’ve got in there. He also mentioned the ‘Sovereign Nation of Calhoun’ although I haven’t heard anyone outside of Parsons use that name.”
“Sovereign Nation of Calhoun…” Durand repeated, before glancing at Nina. She just gave a slightly defeated nod as if to say: ‘Yeah, he actually called it that.’
​
“Okay… let’s talk about Calhoun himself… what do you know?” Durand asked.
“Not a hell of a lot,” Dom said, “Closest I’ve ever come to actually meeting the guy is when he spoke to us outside of the church last night. Other than that, he rarely leaves his house in Parsons and rarely appears in public and most of what I’ve heard is just rumors.”
​
“Whatever you’ve heard… odds are that it’s true,” Natalya said quietly, drawing all eyes at the table over to her.
“I’ve heard the story enough times now… first from my mother, then from so many afterward. One day, the days just grew dimmer. The clouds above us just grew so thick that you could not see the sun and the mist drifted through the streets. The roads no longer led to the same places… and at night, the shadows moved, devouring any in their paths alive and screaming. First, it came for Parsons, then Rankin, Puriysk, Bakersfield, and Thompson. One by one. In time, it will come for others. He will come for others.”
​
Durand leaned in a little bit, listening intently. Dr. Di Cesare had also paused, listening as Natalya spoke.
“My mother told me that after the change, Calhoun’s people began to enter the town. Drunken louts, filling up the bars demanding free alcohol in exchange for ‘protection’ from the things outside. Although even with the alcohol, they still left bodies in their wake.”
She paused, slipping back into old, bitter memories.
​
“She told me of the ways Calhoun had changed Puriysk… most of the men either joined his little militia out of necessity or were given other jobs where they were worked to the bone. And the women…” She paused, “The homemakers he generally left alone but the young and the pretty ones found their way into the brothel. After all, his soldiers needed something to do to pass the time when they weren’t drinking and acting like children with guns. Governor Calhoun raped Puriysk, just the same as he raped every other town he took. All my life, I’ve watched as he’s milked them for his own gain and spread like a disease across new towns, looking for more. Before I even understood what home was, he had taken my home from me. Before I was old enough to speak, he had taken my life from me. Because of him, I grew up in a brothel in a town that does not exist.”
​
Durand was silent, before looking at Nina who drummed her fingers on the table.
“Valentine?” He asked.
“Like Dom said, the only interaction we had with that guy was when he talked to us last night,” She said. “I’m not a psychologist but I’d figure most of what he said is pretty on par with what a narcissistic megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur would probably say. It was probably a whole lot of horseshit… probably…”
“But?” Durand asked. Nina sighed.
​
“There was one thing he said that stood out, he said that if we killed him, we’d be killing everyone else in the pocket too. He made it sound like his life was tied to it, or something. I don’t know if he can actually fucking do that or not but I’m also not sure I’d want to chance it. Some of those documents I found in the Puriysk archive mentioned Calhoun and something called ‘The Eldest’.”
​
At the mention of the name, Dr. Di Cesare looked up.
“Gretchen,” Durand asked, “Do you recognize that name.”
Gretchen Di Cesare gave a curt nod before flipping through her notebook to a previous page. As she did, I noticed her sleeve lifting briefly, revealing a tattoo on her wrist. Two wavy, parallel lines. It looked like the zodiac sign for ‘Aquarius.’
“The Eldest… Old Fae. ‘The eldest’ according to myth, hence the name. Few documented encounters. None modern…” She paused to think for a moment, “Hard to kill… harder to control. Would need the heart either way. No small task but… possible… probable.”
​
“Old Fae?” I asked, “What exactly is that?”
“More or less exactly what it says on the tin,” Nina said. “Really old forest fae who got fucked up by the Midnight Grove… and a real fucking problem if that’s what we’re going to have to deal with. Do we even know how to kill an Old Fae?”
“As stated, the heart,” Dr. Di Cesare said, “Find that, kill the Fae. Would reckon that Calhoun has it. If not on his person, then somewhere safe. And should that fail…”
She removed the revolver from her coat pocket and set it down on the table without a word.
​
“A contingency. Custom revolver, specialized blessed rounds - Malvian ice.”
I saw Nina raise an eyebrow.
“You put Malvian ice in a gun?” She asked.
“What’s Malvian ice?” I asked. I figured that this conversation required a bit of context.
“Frozen mist, obtained from the domain of an Ancient God. In essence, a part of the God herself” Dr. Di Cesare said. “Weaponized - could kill anything beneath the Ancient Gods. Never tried it with bullets before, but the live fire trial yielded promising results.”
​
My mind flashed back to the Nightwalker we’d run into last night and the way its flesh had melted away after Dr. Di Cesare had shot it with that gun. The memory sent a chill through me.
​
“So you built a gun that can shoot an Old Fae dead?” Nina asked. I couldn’t tell if she was disturbed by the guns existence or excited to try it out.
“Old Fae, Grovewalkers, and most lesser Gods, amongst other things,” Dr. Di Cesare said. “So long as it has a physical form, it can be killed.”
“Dr. Di Cesare agreed to assist us with this job, in the interest of doing her own research on the Calhoun pocket,” Durand added. “The gun is her contribution to this project. It’s intended as more of an emergency measure than anything else. But if necessary, we could use it to kill whatever is allowing Calhoun to control the pocket reality.”
Nina just whistled and sat back in her chair. She seemed almost at a loss for words.
​
“So… all we need to do is shoot Calhoun or this ‘Eldest’ thing with that gun, after we get everyone out and we’re golden, right?” Dom asked.
“I would regard The Eldest as a higher priority than Calhoun right now,” Durand said. “Calhoun could have been lying about tying his own life to the existence of the pocket reality, but I’m not willing to take that gamble if I don’t have to. Right now, my gut is saying to try and take him alive.”
​
“He’s not gonna go quietly if we try,” Nina pointed out. “Hypothetical question, if we destroy the heart, would that take the risk of killing Calhoun out of the equation?”
“No. Whatever spell was used, would not die with the caster,” Dr. Di Cesare said.
Nina nodded thoughtfully.
“I see. Fuck.”
​
“To your point though: Killing Calhoun is likely inevitable. And while I lack any meaningful data on the spell used by the Eldest or how to circumvent it, I can predict the timeframe of such a collapse. The effect would not be immediate. Could take minutes, hours or days. There may be a window for escape.”
​
“We'll have time to cross that bridge when we get to it,” Durand said. “Last question I’ve got is about the local militia, but Mr. Kallas and I can discuss that with Valentine and Mr. Hoskins separately. In the meanwhile, I believe our first order of business should be eliminating collateral. We’ll start with Puriysk, then move on to Rankin Mills, Bakersfield, and Thompson Falls. Once we’ve cleared out those towns, we’ll focus on Parsons and Calhoun. Mr. Kallas, I’ll leave it to you to oversee the evacuation efforts. It’s probably redundant to say this, but we’ve got our work cut out for us, ladies and gentlemen so let’s keep our heads down, our minds sharp and get through this as cleanly as possible. Now… without any further ado, I promised you people dinner and I’m not going to put you all to work on an empty stomach. So, as the Estonians say: ‘Head isu.’”
​
***
​
Looking back, there was a sort of bittersweetness to that evening. On one hand, I don’t remember the last time I’ve eaten so well. After dinner, I went back to the hotel, enjoyed my hot shower, and sank into my warm sheets, waiting for Dom to come back from his meeting with Nina, Kallas, and Durand.
​
And yet… at the same time, all I could think about was what would happen in the morning. In the morning, we’d be leaving again, going back to Puriysk. Back to Calhoun. Part of me almost dreaded it, fearing that if I left this place then I’d never get to come back again.
​
But listening to Durand and the others talk during that briefing… so much of it went completely over my head and I couldn’t help but feel like that was a good thing. They’d been focused, precise, knowledgeable and most of all, prepared.
​
Calhoun’s threats lingered in the back of my mind, but they seemed so much smaller now. I struggled to imagine that Calhoun and the Sheriff’s Boys could do much the face of what had come for him, even with some kind of all powerful Fae at his disposal. Just Nina alone had been enough to rip Puriysk from his grasp… what could an army of her do?
​
I should have taken comfort in that idea. I did take comfort in that idea. But I still couldn’t help but worry all the same. Maybe what Dom had said earlier was true. Maybe we’d had it so bad for so long that even the smallest good thing now seemed too good to be true… maybe. When Dom came back, I was waiting for him. We lay in bed together, talking quietly to each other about what was going to happen in the morning, and holding hands, we drifted off into sleep.

I managed to drown my Dji Avata. Battery and drone were dead. Tried to fix it myself - bought a new esc and did the repair. Now I kinda don’t want to buy a new Avata battery for a cheap 100€ not knowing if the drone even works…
My question is: Can I power the Avata off a power supply? Do the connectors have to be in the right order when testing? Would AC be fatal? Is 14-16V good? How many amps?
I don’t know much about electricity so pls don’t be mad with me :(

While I don’t live there anymore, I grew up in Arkansas. In Cyberpunk 2020, it was extremely devastated by the Wasting Plague, and the lucky ones were able to leave before they caught it. Since then, the population was nothing like it used to be, and it was only really visited on trucking routes to other states. There’s a bunch of people hiding out in the Ozarks, and apparently a lot of growing operations in the area for the devil’s lettuce.
Since there isn’t an updated version of Home Of The Brave, I would like to think Arkansas is doing better by 2045. I can’t really imagine a timeline where they become great, but as a state, Arkansas loves being funded by corporations. Since Walmart doesn’t seem to be a thing in this setting, I can see Continental Brands and their Oasis stores taking over and rebuilding the state as a potential workforce. Their HQ is in the next state over, but Arkansas is in the middle of a lot of major states and could be part of the supply chain. It would be home to farms, factories, and warehouses for Continental Brands. The state government would allow the megacorp more control over them than in other states because they relied on them so much to rebuild. People not employees of Continental Brands or Oasis Stores would know multiple people in their families who are, and would use infrastructure funded by the profits of Continental Brands. Any corpos are just trying to get ahead enough to relocate to the home office in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Location of Note: The Army-Navy Hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Built in the late 1800s, the hospital treated military patients until the 1960s when it was turned over to the state and became Hot Springs Rehabilitation Center, a facility for people with disabilities where they would learn trades and life skills. In our timeline, it would be renamed as the Arkansas Career Training Institute (ACTI) in 2009, and eventually became so underfunded that it shut down in 2020 and is currently abandoned to this day. In the Cyberpunk timeline, the history of the building would change. Instead, a combination of the crash of ‘94 and the Wasting Plague would shut the building down much earlier. Though, with the lack of government oversight due to the fall of the US, some people never left. What was once a small group of squatters became a community of disabled adults (some also being military vets) who used what was left inside the building to live independently from the rest of the world.

IT certifications are professional credentials that validate an individual's knowledge and skills in a particular area of information technology. These certifications are often obtained by passing one or more certification exams that test an individual's competency in a specific technology or IT-related skillset.
IT certifications can be a valuable asset for individuals seeking career advancement or job opportunities in the technology industry. Employers often look for candidates with IT certifications to demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform specific job tasks. The following are the top IT certification exams in 2023. You can choose the right one for you.

1.ITIL V4 Foundation Certification ITILFND_V4 Exam

The ITIL V4 Foundation certification is designed for individuals who want to understand the ITIL framework and how it can be used to improve the quality of IT service management within an organization. The certification covers the key concepts and principles of ITIL V4, including the service value system, the four dimensions of service management, the service value chain, and the ITIL practices.
The target audience for ITIL V4 Foundation certification is IT leaders, IT architects, IT audit managers, IT managers, and IT executives. The ITIL V4 Foundation certification is suitable for anyone who wants to gain a basic understanding of IT service management and how it can be used to deliver high-quality IT services that meet the needs of the business. The certification is a valuable credential for individuals who work in IT service management roles or are interested in pursuing a career in IT service management.
To obtain the ITIL V4 Foundation certification, candidates must pass ITILFND_V4 exam that consists of 40 multiple-choice questions. The exam is 60 minutes long, and candidates must score at least 65% to pass. The exam covers the key concepts and principles of the ITIL V4 framework, as well as the four dimensions of service management, the service value chain, and the ITIL practices.

2.CISM Certified Information Security Manager Exam

The Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) exam is a certification exam designed for professionals who are interested in pursuing a career in information security management. The CISM exam is developed and administered by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). The CISM exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions and is divided into four domains.
To pass the exam, candidates must achieve a minimum score of 450 out of a possible 800 points. The exam is available in several languages and can be taken at a testing center or online. Candidates must also have at least five years of relevant work experience in information security, with at least three years of experience in information security management.

3.PMP Project Management Professional Exam

The Project Management Professional (PMP) exam is a certification exam offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) to individuals who wish to demonstrate their expertise in project management. The PMP certification is globally recognized and demonstrates a professional's knowledge and skills in leading and managing projects.
The exam consists of 200 multiple-choice questions and must be completed within four hours. The questions are based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), which is a widely accepted standard in the field of project management. The exam covers five domains: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing.
PMP certification is for experienced project managers who want to demonstrate their expertise in project management, enhance their career prospects, and gain recognition as a professional in the field of project management. The PMP Project Management Professional certification is designed for experienced project managers who want to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in project management.

4.CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor Exam

The Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam is a certification exam offered by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) to individuals who want to demonstrate their expertise in information systems auditing, control, and security. The CISA certification is globally recognized and demonstrates a professional's knowledge and skills in information systems auditing and control.
The exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions and must be completed within four hours. The questions are based on five domains: (1) Information System Auditing Process, (2) Governance and Management of IT, (3) Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation, (4) Information Systems Operations, Maintenance, and Support, and (5) Protection of Information Assets. Passing the CISA exam requires a score of 450 or higher out of a possible 800.

5.SAA-C03 AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate Exam

The SAA-C03 exam is a certification exam offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) for individuals who want to demonstrate their expertise in designing and deploying scalable, highly available, and fault-tolerant systems on AWS. The SAA-C03 certification is globally recognized and demonstrates a professional's knowledge and skills in AWS architecture and best practices.
The exam consists of 65 multiple-choice and multiple-response questions and must be completed within 130 minutes. The questions are based on four domains: (1) Designing Resilient Architectures, (2) Designing High-Performing Architectures, (3) Designing Secure Applications and Architectures, and (4) Designing Cost-Optimized Architectures.

6.CompTIA A+ 220-1101 and 220-1102 Exams

The CompTIA A+ certification is an entry-level certification that is designed for individuals who are interested in starting a career in the field of information technology (IT) and want to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in basic IT concepts and practices. The certification is vendor-neutral, meaning that it is not specific to any particular IT vendor, and is recognized globally by employers in the IT industry.
To obtain the CompTIA A+ certification, candidates must pass two exams: CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1101) and CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1102). Each exam consists of 90 multiple-choice and performance-based questions and must be completed within 90 minutes. To be eligible for the certification, candidates are not required to have any prior experience in IT. However, it is recommended that candidates have at least nine to twelve months of hands-on experience in the field of IT before taking the exams.

7.Cisco CCNA 200-301 Exam

The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification is a certification offered by Cisco Systems for individuals who want to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the field of networking. The CCNA certification is globally recognized and demonstrates a professional's ability to install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot medium-sized routed and switched networks.
To obtain the CCNA certification, candidates must pass one exam (Exam 200-301) consisting of approximately 120 multiple-choice questions and must be completed within 120 minutes. To be eligible for the certification, candidates are not required to have any prior experience in networking. However, it is recommended that candidates have at least one year of hands-on experience in the field of networking before taking the exam.

8.Certified Ethical Hacker Exam (CEHv12) 312-50v12 Exam

312-50v12 exam is a certification exam offered by EC-Council for professionals who want to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in ethical hacking. It is suitable for individuals who work in the field of information security, including security analysts, security engineers, and network administrators. The certification is recognized globally and demonstrates a professional's ability to identify and resolve security vulnerabilities in computer networks, systems, and applications.
The 312-50v12 exam consists of 125 multiple-choice questions and must be completed within four hours. To be eligible for the certification, candidates are not required to have any specific prior experience. However, it is recommended that candidates have a basic understanding of networking and operating systems, as well as experience with programming languages such as Python and JavaScript.

9.Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer Exam

Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer certification exam is designed for professionals who want to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in machine learning engineering. It is suitable for individuals who work in the field of data science, software engineering, and artificial intelligence. The certification is recognized globally and demonstrates a professional's ability to develop, evaluate, and deploy machine learning models in a production environment.
To obtain the certification, candidates must pass a single exam consisting of approximately 50 multiple-choice questions and must be completed within two hours. To be eligible for the certification, candidates are required to have a strong understanding of machine learning principles and have experience with machine learning technologies such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and scikit-learn.

10.CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional Exam

CISSP exam is a certification exam offered by (ISC)² for information security professionals who want to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in designing, implementing, and managing cybersecurity programs. The certification is globally recognized and demonstrates a professional's ability to identify, assess, and manage security risks in information systems and networks.
The CISSP exam consists of 250 multiple-choice questions and must be completed within six hours. To be eligible for the certification, candidates are required to have at least five years of relevant work experience in two or more of the eight domains covered in the exam. Alternatively, candidates can have four years of experience and a college degree, or three years of experience and a relevant certification from (ISC)².
Resource from: https://www.dumpsinfo.com/2023-top-10-it-certification-exams/

19 January 1509
Rome
​

That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I build my church; and the gates of hell prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 16:18-19

After the stunning victory of the Papacy and its vicars during the year of our Lord, 1508, Pope Martin institutes a flurry of changes to the state of the Church and its neighbors. Following The Declaration of Saint Serafina, Papal interests have extended into Tuscany to prevent a reemergence of any antagonist, unchristianly agents.

Tuscany

The Principality of Piombino - Elevated by his Holiness, Pope Martin VI, the former Lordship of Piombino will now be ruled by Prince Jacopo IV, who is lauded for his fidelity to the Holy See and his success on campaign. The Prince of Piombino receive the counties of Grosseto, Massa Marittima, Punta Ala; the islands of Giglio Campese, Gorgona, Giannutri, and the remainder of the barrier isles of the Elban archipelago (some of which are ceded from the Superb Republic of Genoa); and unique customs exemptions and tax rights in Florence.
The Republic of Pisa - Ever restless in spirit, the Pisans bucked the Florentine yoke during the year. The Holy See will recognize and send nuncios to the Republic of Pisa which controls its pre-war territories of 1499, namely Pisa and its associated contado.
The Republic of Lucca - Formerly a Papal ally, it is only just that the Lucchese once more breathe the free air of freedom. The Holy See will recognize and send nuncios to the Republic of Lucca which controls its pre-war territories of 1502, namely Lucca and its associated contado. Additionally, the republic, as reparations for the sack brought on by Florentine diplomatic mismanagement, will be granted ownership of the exclaves previously marring its territorial integrity from within its contado and to the northwest, as well as ownership of the quarries within them, under the condition that they provide raw materials to the construction of the Lateran Basilica of Saint Peter of the Vatican at a discounted sale price.
The Republic of Siena - Subjugated by Florence during the War of the League of Gaeta, the Republic of Siena will be reestablished under the steady, wisened guidance of Pandolfo Petrucci, the Magnificent, Gonfalonier and protector of the republic. The Holy See will recognize and send nuncios to the Republic of Siena which controls its city, the contado, and some shifted territory to account for the concessions earned by the Piombinese and the damage wrought by Florence on the republic.
Republic of Florence - Though bested in the field and capitulated unconditionally to the Papal forces, the Lord in Heaven and his Saints who walked the earth teach us the value of the virtue of mercy. Mercy, then, we will shower upon the Signoria of this city and its domain in the heartland of Tuscany. Though stripped of jurisdiction from the territorial concessions listed above, the Republic of Florence nevertheless remains. Its institutions will continue, free from the bondage that a more vindictive opponent might have imposed. The only requirements, a low price for the freedom of such a proud citizenry, are that:

-Following the death of Rinaldo Orsini in July 1508, Cardinal Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici is appointed Archbishop of Florence;
-The Republic acknowledges the office of the Archbishop of Florence as head of the Republic and leader of the Signoria to ensure proper Christian governance and the temptations of the past do not reemerge;
-The House of Medici’s ban, particularly on the family of Piero de’ Medici, is to be lifted;
-The city of Florence and its Republic grant special customs exemptions to the merchants of Piombino and those of France.

Emilia and Romagna

The Duchy of Romagna - Crafty Gonfalonier and Captain-General Cesare Borgia has led the Papal forces to yet another victory in the field, proving to those few doubters why he remains laden with the sable chain of his title as standard-bearer for the Papal Keys. For his incredible leadership and unassailable character, the Duke of Romagna receives, from the Republic which he bested, the counties of Firenzuola, Tredozio, and Bibbiena.
The Duchy of Bologna - The Lord of Bologna, Giovanni II Bentivoglio has presided over the scarcely democratic signoria of the city of Bologna with justice and austerity. For nearly the past decade, the master of Bologna has provided himself as an invaluable ally to and productive member of the court of the Holy See. As a member of the Patrimony of Saint Peter, Giovanni II has finally seen the error in past ways and comes to prostrate himself before the Bishop of Rome and kiss the Fisherman’s Ring.
For his long and dutiful obedience to the Papacy, the jurisprudence and wisdom with which he rules, and the services rendered during the last campaign season, the Holy Father and the House of Bentivogli have reached an agreement:

-The Bentivogli are to be invested with a new title, Dukes of Bologna, hereditary and perpetually;
-The Bentivogli are to resume paying the yearly Papal tithe owed by all lawful vicars and fiefs to the Apostolic Camera;
-Construction on the Basilica of San Petronio is to be resumed, with legational oversight to ensure proper adherence to the latest architectural sciences and techniques, with the stipulation that the basilica remain at least 30 meters smaller and 50 meters shorter than the intended final size of the Lateran Basilica of Saint Peter of the Vatican, under construction in Rome;
-Giovanni II’s son, Ermes, is to be wed [or betrothed] to a niece of Pope Martin VI, of the House of Carafa, to ensure familial bonds will cement the love that the new Dukes of Bologna have for His Holiness.

The Duchy of Piacenza-Busseto - Established through Papal investiture, the new Duchy of Piacenza e Busseto covers a wide area in Emilia and shares cultural heritage with southern Lombardy. Since March of 1508, the Marquisate of Busseto has been dissolved and its territory subsumed into the new duchy. Antonio Maria Pallavicino, elevated by His Holiness, rules the realm, as will his heirs after his death and their heirs after theirs. Antonio Maria, notably a knighted member of an exclusive French Chivalric Order, agreed to the following terms for his investiture:

-Formation of a new Papally-invested Duchy of Piacenza e Busseto, with the border stretching from Piacenza in the north to the Emilian Apennines in the south;
-The Pallavicini are to be invested with the aforementioned new title, hereditary and perpetually;
-Total consolidation of the Marquisate of Busseto into the new state.

The Duchy of Ferrara-Modena - Honorable, noble, loyal, the House of Este proved itself once more as a loyal vicar of the Holy See. He is lauded for his commitment to the will of the Lord Almighty in bringing about peace in this war-torn peninsula. For the rendered fealty and obedience to Rome, the Holy See recognizes the family’s claim to Carpi, Correggio, Guastalla, Mirandola, Parma, and Montechiarugolo.

Umbria & Marche

The Papal County of Sansepolcro - Ancient, even to the days of Julius Caesar, the ever-present House of Colonna proved itself and its commanders invaluable allies in the hunt for the white stag of peace in Italy. For their commitment to Pope Martin, his office, and the principles and virtues that we all must strive for, the old Colonna receive a new title. Returned from the frontier with the Republic of Florence which absconded with the territory many years ago, the land will be consolidated in the Papal County of Sansepolcro. Bestowed to Marcantonio Colonna, the vicar will:

-The Colonna are to be invested with a new title, Papal Counts of Sansepolcro, hereditary and perpetually (and the villages of Carpegna and Scavolino);
-The Colonna, through this title, are to begin paying the yearly Papal tithe owed by all lawful vicars and fiefs to the Apostolic Camera.

The Ecclesiastical State of Perugia - Proud and just, the Judges of Perugia have a long history of an independent streak against their liege, Saint Peter’s. The Baglioni, however, since the end of the War of the League of Gaeta, have been taking steps toward reconciliation with the Holy See and have proven their obedience. Gian Paolo Baglioni, a strong leader, has finally seen the error in past ways and comes to prostrate himself before the Bishop of Rome and kiss the Fisherman’s Ring, leading to an agreement:

-The Baglioni are recognized as undisputed leaders of the Lordship of Perugia, under their head of household Gian Paolo Baglioni;
-The Baglionii are to resume paying the yearly Papal tithe owed by all lawful vicars and fiefs to the Apostolic Camera.

The Duchy of Urbino - For decades, the great Guidobaldo da Montefeltro ruled over the Duchy of Urbino, fostering an environment of perhaps the greatest courtly center in the entire peninsula, excluding Rome of course. His contributions to the level-headedness and tranquility of central Italy were great; his son, a young man by the name of Cesare da Montefeltro, will follow in his footsteps, as is his right to inherit the hereditary title of Duke. Given the conflicting interests in the area, the only proper solution is for His Holiness to act as guardian of the young Montefeltro, with a regency established to manage the duchy’s affairs until he comes of age.

-Cesare I da Montefeltro is recognized by the Holy See as Duke of Urbino;
-Pope Martin VI takes the role of guardian of Urbino and its young duke;
-A regency is established with Cardinal Gianvincenzo Carafa, Gonfalonier Cesare Borgia (the child’s Godfather), and Duchess-dowager, Lady Gonzaga (the child’s mother)
-Permission granted to integrate the town of Piobbico and its castle.

 

 
Map here, with changes listed:
Piacenza formed, granted 18 provinces (Busseto deleted)F-M gains Parma and associated counties, as well as 5 minors to the northLucca gains the exclaves and two dots in Massa & CarreraBologa gains a Papal outline and begins paying per tickPisa gains 4 provincesPiombino gains 3 provinces on the mainland and all the entire elba archipelagoSiena gains 5 provincesRomagna gains 3 provincesColonna formed, granted 3 provinces (Carpegna and Scavolino deleted)Urbino gains 1 province (Piobbico deleted)Perugia gains a Papal outline and begins paying per tick

I know what an etf and fund are however something that I am not sure is which is better. Surely a managed closed fund that prices its nav daily etc is going to have better returns than an etf. Eg if the sp 500 goes up 2% then the managed fund will as well (1 for 1) as far as I know. However etfs only move with demand and supply so the etf may not. As such while obviously the etf is highly corealated with the underlying index over x years actual returns may be different. Which could be quite impactful over 40 years as well as trading fees.
So am I right in saying that a managed fund would be better for dumping money in over 40 years due to it being 100% corealated with the index?
Just something I haven't seen much info on out there

So, it looks like I may need to enter into negotiations with my employer about things they want me to do, but which I don't want to do and suspect I am well within my rights to reject, but need clarity as to what my options are.
Technically I'm employed by a Japanese KK with a fairly standard Japanese 正社員 contract, but the KK is a subsidiary of an overseas corporation, and my management chain is not based in Japan, so looking for someone/somewhere with international experience in these kinds of things.

I'm 36(f) years old and I'm finally done. My Nmom's collapse started when my estepdad and her sold their house in our city and moved to a small town three hours away. Without the external validation she was used to getting from all of us she started to spiral. She would routinely get upset with everyone in her life for not visiting her often enough. Visits entail 6 hours of driving and having to hang out for an entire weekend in a house they both chain-smoke in. She's bored and she's lonely, but she actively chose to move away. Everyone has their own reasons for not being able to come as often as she demands, but my own reason is my husband is battling stage 4 cancer and being surrounded by cigarette smoke is gross and triggering. I set a boundary that we wouldn't come down unless they stopped smoking inside. Eventually we stopped going after they showed this was not something they would do in order to see us. I became enemy number one and was stonewalled and scapegoated by her. It was unbearably painful to be dismissed and diminished by her because I couldn't cater to her needs, while I was going through some really traumatic stuff in my life.
This fall, out of nowhere, my mom accused my (30 years family friend but has been in my life so long she's my aunt) aunt of wanting to sleep with my Estepdad. The idea is so absurd and delusional that I initially was worried nmom might be getting early onset dementia. I cannot stress enough how far-fetched and inconceivable this was. My aunt was incredibly hurt and still is. Aunt and her family are very close knit and we all spend holidays together. Weeks later, my VERY pregnant sister was hosting Thanksgiving and sets a boundary that if nmom wants to come for the holiday and stay in her home for the weekend, she needed to make things right with my aunt. My nmom lies about making amends and comes anyways. On Thanksgiving nmom gets black out drunk and doubles down on accusing my aunt in front of everyone, including my sister's in-laws. It was absolutely humiliating. My aunt and cousins leave embarrassed and upset. Nmom runs outside and starts crying loudly to get attention. My stepdad tries to wrangle my sister and me outside to comfort her. I decline to be her supply and go home. My pregnant sister goes outside in the cold and becomes her punching bag for two hours. When my sister has enough and comes inside it triggers her Nest camera and there is a recording of my nmom and Estepdad both saying awful things about my sister and me. After ruining the holiday my sister worked so hard to host and shitting all over my sister, my aunt and everyone else's holiday in the process, Nmom finally decides that she is going to drive three hours home, drunk.
I haven't spoken to her since that day. She's made no attempt to apologize to me or anyone else at Thanksgiving. She did not attend the baby shower I threw for my sister in December (thank God, honestly.) I didn't hear a word from her on my birthday. Sister and I have both decided to go 100% NC with her. She tried to pretend that nothing happened when she reached out to my sister DAYS before her due date, after months of radio silence. I blocked her and every potential flying monkey on social media. She sent me a text message last week "Are you blocking me?" I didn't respond. It's been months and that's all she has to say to me.
I still feel guilt and sadness. My mom has a newborn grandchild she will probably never meet. She's just unhappily rotting in her isolated town in the bed she made for herself. Narc collapse is so sad and pitiful to watch.

I was finishing off my play session with some solo slooping, and as I’m sellling at Golden Sands, and raising the hourglass, to get some PvP practise in. (I’m good, but not THAT good, you know, the ultra-sweat kill you in seconds good type? Yeah that’s not me.)
I get into two fights really quickly, and win them both with relative ease, I say relative because the second guy was as good at naval combat as I was, and it became clear it needed a successful board to put the game to an end, so in a rather unsporting way, I boarded him, killed him, and sailed his ship out of bounds, killing him with blunder bombs when he respawned.
Sucks to lose that way, I totally get it, but it was the only way one of us was winning and I wasn’t about to play for another hour…….. or so I thought.
After an exchange of GG’s and two fights won, I went to call it a day, sailing back around to golden sands, where I met another crew, a duo sloop who were selling up and logging off too!
After exchanging tales over some grogs and some music, they scuttled and I went to go and turn in my hourglass…… or so I thought! Another fight? Really Rare??
I invited the guy to a party, one of the duo sloopers hadn’t logged off so stayed on my ship. I wanted to tell this next player I wasn’t fighting and am logging off, they can have the win.
They didn’t join, I killed all 3 of us with a blunder bomb and he said “reported, noob.” Followed by some slurs I won’t repeat here, just know, it wasn’t friendly.
Well, looks like someone else wants to get sunk!
This new player was a sweat lord, they rained hellfire upon my ship, and it became clear pretty quickly I was in trouble, he had my mast down, a death rotation and I honestly couldn’t tell you how I managed to keep my ship afloat, had he boarded me, it was game over.
But I recovered, just enough to board his ship, see his lack of supplies, and try to run him out of bounds too.
But his blunderbuss was that of the eternal one-shot variety and I couldn’t kill him.
After another exchange of cannonballs, it became clear this was a war of attrition, I was exhausted after my long session plus PvP and wanted this done, but someone this toxic? Not a chance I’m giving them the win. I ran them around golden sands for over an hour before they gave up, they kept cannoning in range and spamming “yt” which I assume means YouTube, going to keep my eyes peeled for my gamertag, can’t wait to see them edit out the toxicity they spewed at the beginning! 👀 but truth be told, they failed 3 seperate times to finish me, neither of us could sink the other.
So would you do the same at the end of your session? Play on just because someone was toxic, it wasn’t about winning, it was about making sure they don’t win. May the seas shine brighter with one less salty sailor!

So I been at this company for a year now & had a meeting with my boss & HR today. Basically the entire department is being reorganized and there's been a reduction in force. I received a letter stating
As we have discussed, (the “Company”) is in the process of restructuring the Company’s Supply Chain function and we appreciate your commitment to work through a transition period while we complete this activity. We realize this will be a difficult and uncertain time for you and we would like to take this opportunity to describe the exit package the Company is prepared to offer you under these circumstances.

1. Your employment with the Company will be terminated effective 3/31/2023. At such time and in accordance with the Company’s employment policies and practices, you will receive all amounts that you are entitled to receive by virtue of that employment, such as final wages and reimbursable expenses.
2. The Company will provide you with severance pay of 4 weeks at your current base salary ($5,000.00), payable through the regular bi-weekly payroll over the course of the severance period, provided that you perform your job duties and responsibilities in a manner reasonably acceptable to the Company. If you elect continuing medical coverage under COBRA, the Company will pay for your premium under COBRA for post employment medical insurance for you and your eligible dependents for the first month.

So basically, my last date of employment is the end of the month. And my severance package will pay my wages for the month of April.
Am I eligible for unemployment beginning 5/1? If so, when should I apply? Apologies but I've never applied for unemployment before.

Due to its crucial role in lithium-ion batteries and other sustainability applications, cobalt can be an effective tool in the fight to reduce carbon emissions. However, the mining of cobalt also causes harm to the environment and, to a greater extent, human rights violations, both of which pose risks to manufacturers.
How can you responsibly source cobalt? This blog entry investigates the issues with cobalt mining and what steps makers can take to put resources into feasible wellsprings of cobalt.
Mining for Cobalt: A Groundwork Cobalt has different purposes, including lithium-particle batteries, superalloys, airbags, and petrol and substance handling. The supply chain for cobalt is complicated and can put manufacturers at risk because it is a secondary product of nickel and cobalt mining.
Global cobalt mining is centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); over around 50% of the world's cobalt assets can be tracked down there, and almost 3/4 of cobalt mining happens there.
The DRC is home to two distinct types of cobalt mining: high quality limited scope mining (ASM), in which free diggers utilize their own assets to mine, and huge scope modern mining. Industrial mining operations account for the remaining 65 to 85 percent of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, accounting for the remaining 15 to 35 percent.
In spite of the fact that ASM tasks address a minority of cobalt mining tasks in the DRC, it assumes a huge part in the economy. Because millions of Congolese people live off of ASM cobalt, it is impossible to ban or ignore it. They are associated with three major issues:
Cobalt mining can become a family affair for ASM operations due to child labor, hazardous working conditions, labor corruption, and worker exploitation. Choosing ore from rock slabs with their parents is aided by young children. At the Fair Cobalt Alliance (FCA), David Sturmes, who is in charge of strategic partnerships and corporate engagement, said that teens participate in ASM to earn money for school fees.
Killing kid work isn't generally so straightforward as banning youngsters and teenagers from limited scope mines, Sturmes made sense of. While teenagers rely on their earnings to continue their education, many families do not have access to child care for their young children. A variety of interventions, including secondary education, psychological counseling, vocational training, and health care, are necessary for mining-related children of all ages.
Risky Working Circumstances Limited scope diggers don't approach similar assets as modern mining activities, including powerful devices, wellbeing gear, and security preparing. While women wash the raw mining products, which can be radioactive and often contain toxic metals, independent miners must navigate rickety shafts. ASM operations frequently result in injuries and even fatalities.
Corruption and Local Worker Exploitation Both industrial mines and ASMs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are full of opportunities for local workers to be exploited. Small-scale miners frequently enter industrial mines at night. Bags of ore are used to bribe security guards. When ASM operations are carried out with the permission of the mining company at industrial sites, the mining company may decide not to purchase the extracted cobalt, requiring the miners to locate alternative buyers. Miners frequently receive less than market value for the resources they have extracted.
Could You at any point Source ASM Cobalt Dependably? Manufacturers would find it much simpler to avoid ASM cobalt and only purchase industrially mined cobalt due to its numerous drawbacks.
However, as the FCA's David Sturmes pointed out, it is virtually impossible to completely avoid ASM cobalt. Cobalt mined by limited scope tasks loses its provenance when it gets into the store network, a 2019 report from the Association for Monetary Co-activity and Improvement (OECD) uncovered. This means that customers are unaware of who has mined their cobalt, which could come from ASM operators or an industrial operation.
Additionally, ASM will not vanish simply because you refuse to buy from its operations. ASM is a strategic cobalt source, as noted by Susannah Mclaren, Head of Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability at the Cobalt Institute. Manufacturers allow the aforementioned abuses to continue by not investing in it.
When manufacturers consider the dangers that ASMs pose to their supply chains, their first reaction should not be to eliminate them. Rather, they ought to ponder how ASMs go about as a key part in a neighborhood economy. Manufacturers have the chance to improve the lives of thousands of people by investing in sustainable, ethically sourced cobalt.
How can manufacturers make ASM conditions better? Susannah Mclaren and David Sturmes accept that makers play a fundamental part to play in dependable cobalt obtaining. " The UN Core values on Business and Common liberties ought to be a beginning stage," Mclaren remarked. Businesses should avoid violating the human rights of others and address any adverse impacts on human rights with which they are involved, which is the first fundamental principle of the corporate responsibility to respect human rights.
In Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of those rights is stated: the opportunity to work. Manufacturers deny small-scale cobalt miners the right to earn a living by choosing cobalt that is mined in an industrial setting and disregarding the presence of ASM cobalt in the supply chain. Mclaren stated, "ASM is a strategic source of cobalt from a perspective of the supply chain." You want to invest in it to make it easier to access.
How can manufacturers make ASM conditions better so that cobalt can be sourced more ethically? Mclaren made the observation that a number of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are directly collaborating with ASMs to enhance safety conditions, eliminate child labor, and establish fair miners' wages.
By legitimizing ASM cobalt, manufacturers can not only push accountability and transparency downstream through their supply chain, but they can also invest in cobalt sourcing upstream. Mclaren remarked that a producer's cobalt buying model matters an incredible arrangement, as well. At the point when a maker buys straightforwardly from limited scope excavators, degenerate go-betweens can't partake all the while. Exploitation opportunities are significantly reduced by cutting out the middleman.
Sturmes made the observation that industrial miners also have a role to play in ethical mineral sourcing. The OECD and non-legislative associations advance aggregate activity," he said. Aggregate activity "considers the quick sharing of learning, a pooling of mastery and more prominent straightforwardness." He also mentioned that collective action "allows us to take risks." It will maintain the status quo if we don't."
How Acquis Can Aid in Responsible Cobalt Sourcing
Transparency in your cobalt supply chain is necessary to ensure responsible sourcing from upstream actors. To improve cobalt sourcing, the Extended Minerals solution from Acquis gives you access to a deeper level of your supply chain.
The Extended Minerals solution prioritizes suppliers with a high risk so that you can further screen them or provide training for them. You get complete transparency in the supply chain, including how each supplier does in terms of risk across all areas. Contact us at [email protected] to learn more about how Acquis can help you eliminate risks associated with mineral sourcing from your supply chain.