Chapter 224: Rat ProblemsI blended into the morning crowd and paced myself back to the barracks. I would have liked to spend the remainder of my day inside the dreamscape training and reading, but that would not be safe unless I rented a room elsewhere in the city again. Cato fell in step beside me, and I figured my indecision had taken me on the obvious route to the barracks, giving him a chance to catch up.“If you are the first one back, you will be able to keep the blood compass,” I looked over, surprised. “We only have six to give out.”“Six? Konstantin only gave out five,” I said, doing the math.Cato chuckled, “Yeah, Konstantin has one with Castian’s blood in it. He made sure the pup would be following him today. A blood compass can be used to know where your enemy is as well as to avoid them.” I nodded in understanding, and it had me thinking as we walked.“It works on animals as well?” I inquired.Cato nodded, “I’ve tracked injured creatures before. The issue is ensuring you clean it between samples. If it isn’t purged well, the signal becomes much weaker.” He handed me a vial of clear liquid. “This is alchemist distilled alcohol; it never spoils. You’ll get one from Konstantin, but you can have mine. I’ve stashed away a few.”I took it and sniffed it before storing it. There was no smell, and it could be mistaken for water. A few alchemy recipes also used this in their processes. “Thank you. I am going to retire to the barracks.” My hope was that Cato had to be elsewhere and wasn’t planning to stick with me.“I am going to help Hearne frustrate the pups following him. Don’t forget you need to be first to claim the blood compass.” Cato continued off toward the lower city. I didn’t rush as I walked through the back alleys and explored the city a little on my way back. (...)