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Alexius looks surprised for a moment, then squeezes your hand tightly. There's no artifice in the gesture, no performance, like you've come to expect from the young merchant; just simple warmth and happiness. But then he glances at the shining light of the Icon as if it's a chaperone, his eyes still full of doubt and worry.

"You're right," Alexius says, breathing more steadily now. "This is an opportunity. I keep telling myself 'this is an opportunity' about every horrible thing in this horrible place, but this might actually be an opportunity! The Icon can help us get the cog and maybe more."

As Alexius returns, the Icon says, "I know you are here for the cog, which you need to repair your ship. Our interests align, as the workings of this mechanism have exhausted me. Remove the cog, and I will find the strength to leave and heal myself that I might again heal others."

"I think we can strike some kind of a deal, don't you?" Alexius whispers to you, his breath against your cheek.

You can guess what the others want. Therko wants only a new ally in the fight against the False Icon. Control wants opposition both to the False Icon and to Stralchus, while Vecla, always interested in reconciliation, would want the Green Icon to heal this damaged world.

And of course, you all need the cog. Without it, this will have all been for nothing.