Anders grimaces. "Chipped several people, yes, that's one way to put it. Their land lies across a narrow sea, and they came across -- flying, I think, in machines -- to assault the conscripts here. Stopped Nathaniel on the streets, and you know how difficult that ought to be." It took four Wardens to subdue Nathaniel Howe, once upon a time, when he'd come to avenge his father. "Chipped him once, then he came home and I took it out, destroyed it." Too much like a phylactery for Anders to tolerate. "Unfortunately, that brought them running."

How many times has Anders been apprehended, dragged out of some bolthole or other? A thumping at the door, or else the door giving way. Armored men crashing in, faceless behind their helmets. The only difference between the Templars and the Masked is that the Masked left Anders where they found him. "They chipped us both, Nathaniel for the second time, and the flatmate we used to have, he got chipped as well. The one I got, I had someone else remove later; but Nathaniel's second chip was fused to his spine. I didn't dare try."