"Please pardon me, good soulcrafters." The old man stared at him directly and Theo struggled to remember ever even glimpsing him. Perhaps there was a family resemblance to Esaire, but that might be his mind forcing a conclusion. More importantly, the old man was a Ruler making no attempt to hide his soulhome. "One of your number looks very much like an old friend of mine, and I'd like to beg a bit of his time."

Given their location, civility was the only option. "So long as I can perform my duties to House Blacksilver," Theo said, "I would be happy to speak to you. You say I resemble an old friend?"

"Forgive an old man's sentimentality. This matter concerns no one else, so could we perhaps discuss it in private?"

"There do seem to be empty tables nearby." As he rose to his feet, Theo shot a glance to Nauda and Fiyu, but there was no real choice. Even if they were capable of fighting a Ruler, they couldn't do it in a place like this. All he could do was take precautions and see where the conversation led.

Theo was prepared with polite excuses to prevent them from leaving the restaurant, but to his surprise the old man only took them to a nearby booth, not even one that could be targeted by the rest of his group. Likewise, he ordered no food and made no attempt to touch Theo. The old man's cantae was strictly controlled, with no signs of threats or any attempts to manipulate.

When they sat down opposite one another, the old man gave him an amiable smile. "Forgive me for those small lies, as I will forgive you yours. We heard that House Blacksilver had employed a Deuxan, and we were highly curious about such a thing. Upon seeing you, the answer became clear, but we do not mind your lies. Indeed, they are very Deuxan."

His act was good, every emotion apparently authentic, forged through a lifetime of Court struggles. But the story had holes and Theo was too well prepared, so he only played along. "I admit, I was worried when I first saw real Deuxans here. Thank you for being accommodating."

"Oh, don't trouble yourself further over it. But now I must admit something: a great deal of curiosity as to what path led you here. Would accept a dinner invitation from us? Once your work is done, of course."

There was the trap: if they got him alone, his membership in House Blacksilver would do him no good. A powerful Ruler like this could easily remove him from the city and then he would be entirely in their power. Realizing that he was at his strongest here, in a public restaurant with allies and a more powerful soulcrafter nearby, Theo decided to press his advantage.

"I'd be honored to learn from the Armeau family."

Instantly the old man's polite masked dropped, his gaze becoming razor sharp steel. "You may know us, but we know you, Bartolo 'aina Fithe'. There is no reason for us to engage in any conflict at all. It would be very regrettable if we couldn't find a way to cooperate."

"And who exactly am I speaking to?"

"I am Arceon ai Armeau, head of our family." Arceon kept his cantae perfectly still, but the way he leaned forward was threat enough. "If you answer all my questions, I will leave you in peace. I don't care that you killed a brute in our family or scarred my grandson. But if you prove uncooperative, perhaps those blood debts will matter after all."

That wasn't the approach Theo had expected at all, but he kept the surprise from his face and merely shrugged. "You seem a wise man, so you must understand I only tried to avoid conflict. What was so important that you pursued me this far?"

"What do you know of the ai Teraeves family?"

Though Theo was utterly taken aback by the question, his instincts leapt to fill the silence. "The historical one? What do you mean?" He filled his words with his actual surprise, hoping that it could trick the old man's keen instincts, while his mind churned in shock.

During his time on Deuxan, he had investigated about one of his old companions, Brigana ai Teraves. It had been a futile search, but Esaire must have remembered the name, leading to this pursuit. That was what baffled him, since he had assumed Brigana and her family were a century dead and couldn't imagine why they would merit such an aggressive response.

"That is not the sort of history many speak of, much less foreigners." Though Arceon examined him carefully, his suspicion seemed to have shifted. "For that reason, I require all the knowledge you have of them."

"Honestly, I don't understand. The ai Teraeves family was one of several I found mentioned in an ancient manuscript, and I wanted to-"

"And just why would you be investigating them?"

Theo gave another shrug and shifted back in his seat, getting his feet underneath him. "I wanted to trace my identity to a group that immortals might know, but without a family that could become angry with me for using their name. Clearly, that didn't w-"

"Liar." The old man's voice didn't rise, but his fingers tightened so hard on the table that the stone cracked. "You may not know what you're meddling with, but you know more than that. I will give you one more chance to be honest with me."

"If I knew enough to expect such a violent reaction, do you think I'd approach the matter so casually?" It was Theo's best available lie, since it was built on all the wrong truths, but he saw that it wasn't enough. "I only wanted to find out enough for a cover st-"

A hand closed around his throat and Theo was thrown backward, despite his efforts to brace himself. In a flash his back struck a pillar and he was pinned there by Arceon, his soulhome and eyes blazing. Yet it wasn't a wild attack, the old man was too canny for that, so the question was why he'd shifted approaches.

"This man is a thief and a liar!" Arceon kept his grip on his throat while turning to face the shocked observers. "He claims to be a Deuxan named Peanen, but his true name is Bartolo. If your city will allow us to extradite him, we can cease disrupting your meal."

Theo had no idea if the tactic would have worked, but in the surprised silence, someone tumbled off a table in a shower of silverware. As the figure rose into the air, all eyes turned to Tythes instead as he floated closer to them. Realizing that he had misjudged, Arceon let go of Theo's neck, but didn't stand down.

"A Ruler bullying an Archcrafter? That's not polite at all." He landed beside them, slinging an arm around the old man's shoulders. "There are three things I really hate in this life: bullies... hypocrites... and cherry jam. I don't see any jam, and I'm the hypocrite here, so you'd best watch your step."

"Is there no honor in Fithe?" Agilely stepping out of Tythes's grip, Arceon instead appealed to the entire restaurant. "We seek justice against a criminal, and no more. Allow us to follow our laws."

For a time all four tiers of the restaurant were completely silent, then someone coughed violently from the highest floor. An old woman stepped up beside the balcony, finished her hacking, and then spoke with her voice magnified through the room. "The House of Coin apologizes for this disruption. Please allow us to resolve the matter and offer recompense in private."

"Oh, but it's entertainment!" Tythes grinned at her, then gestured grandly to everyone watching. "This is more fun than any other dinner you've had, right? Why not let them continue?"

"Tythes." The old woman's tone snapped out. "The House of Coin would like this matter to be resolved quietly."

Though Theo thought the old woman wasn't even a Ruler, she was the first person to make Tythes actually back down. Clearly, she spoke with the voice of the House of Coin, carrying a Stronghold and all their economic influence behind it. Employees of the restaurant surrounded them and politely but firmly guided everyone into one of the back rooms.

There was little he could do now, but Theo still cast a glance to the others. He was glad to see that not only Nauda and Fiyu followed, but one of the Blacksilver negotiators joined them as well. Soon all sides stood in an ornately furnished room, and the old woman hobbled her way in a back door some time later, frowning at all of them.

"I would like this matter resolved promptly." Her cane jabbed out at Arceon, who had been joined by several hooded soulcrafters. "Deuxans. You have attacked a customer and disrupted our business with loud accusations. Explain yourselves."

"It is just as I said," Arceon began smoothly. "This man is a thief and a liar wh-"

"He is a member of House Blacksilver." The negotiator interrupted sharply, stepping in front of the group. "You chose not to pursue him through the appropriate authorities, I believe because you lack any evidence. Furthermore, I question if you even have standing to make a criminal accusation, with no House behind you."

"On the contrary, we are here as guests of the House of Burning Leaves. Feel free to contact them."

That set the Blacksilver negotiator back a step, but the old woman from the House of Coin joined in. "But your hosts didn't pursue a formal case either. This is growing tedious. Present evidence or we will have you thrown out."

For a moment Arceon hesitated, and his gaze briefly stabbed toward Theo with pure hostility, but then he seemed to make a decision and smiled. "It is true, we cannot press our claim in your courts. But we have a personal vendetta to resolve, and I understand that Fithe has long been accepting of private duels. Esaire, stand forth!"

One of the hooded figures stepped up beside him, pulling back his hood to reveal the Deuxan noble. Esaire looked much the same as before, though he had a scar across his face and neck from the sublime beast attack. Other than that, he seemed to have healed perfectly, and his soulhome brimmed with power.

"This man killed one of my oldest friends." Esaire swept a hand toward Theo, and the fact that the gesture was clearly planned didn't take anything away from the venom in his words. "I demand justice."

"Ooh, a duel for vengeance!" Tythes sprang forward, eyes alight. "This is so much more interesting than all the pointless allegations. House Crimson would happily get behind such a duel, since it would be a much more enjoyable resolution to this conflict than more talking."

Everyone else was quiet, while Esaire simply continued glaring at Theo. Whatever schemes his grandfather was up to, the young man clearly did hate Theo. He wasn't sure what the best position to take was, but knew that a duel that moment would go poorly. As the silence stretched on, Theo stepped forward to finally speak in his defense.

"I have done nothing but defend myself. Furthermore, I believe you will find that the Armeau family has no proof that I-"

"Don't care!" Tythes clapped his hands together with each word. "Duel! Duel! Duel!"

"There is precedent." The old woman tapped her cane on the floor a few times, then nodded to herself. "Both of you seem to have misapprehensions about Fithan justice. Your affairs are your own, and the details are immaterial - the House of Coin certainly does not care. But we cannot have personal vendettas spilling blood in the streets."

"Why not? Violence everywhere! Slaughter for the slightest insult!"

The House of Coin representative continued as if Tythes hadn't spoken. "The two offended parties will settle their vendettas in a single formal duel, then the matter will be closed, by the authority of our House and the city."

Esaire glanced at his grandfather and the two exchanged a look that might as well have been a smirk. Arceon nodded in acceptance. "Thank you for your wise decision. We wish to duel the offender, of course. If we defeat him, we can take him back to our world for justice?"

"Yes, so long as the duel is fair."

"But of course. The offender Bartolo and my grandson Esaire are both Archcrafters, so a duel between them would be entirely reasonable, would it not?"

"Just after you attacked him?" the Blacksilver negotiator objected. "You've clearly planned this vendetta, so such a duel would be anything but fair."

"What about a duel in a month's time?" Arceon smiled as if seeking to cooperate, his eyes glittering. "That would give both sides time to prepare. Surely no one can object to that."

Obviously they could, since Theo could already guess their ploy: Esaire had clearly been soulcrafting lately, and Theo had a strong suspicion he was building toward his upper limit. In a month he could ascend to Ruler, but the duel would still be considered fair by the rather loose standards of Fithe. After all, if Theo didn't want to be outmatched, he should have ascended as well.

"One year." Theo spoke into the silence before anyone else could take control of the conversation. "If you want a fair duel, give us each an entire year to prepare, then I'll fight you."

That led to a chorus of objections from all sides: Tythes thought that was too boring, Arceon objected that he would flee, and negotiators on both sides brought forth new arguments. But in the end it was decided by the House of Coin representative, who had clearly grown weary of the argument.

"Six months." She pointed her cane at both sides. "This trouble you've brought us has been very disruptive, and you're lucky that we don't begin any vendettas of our own. Until that time, neither side will make any violent attempts or any efforts to escape. Then when the time has elapsed, you can conduct your duel and the matters will be resolved, once and for all."

Though some objected, Tythes threw his weight behind her, and the two Houses combined couldn't be refused. Esaire and the others were clearly unhappy, but they understood that they had little control and were forced to agree. The Blacksilver representative gave Theo an apologetic glance, but in the end agreed as well.

So, with no more discussion than that, Theo would be dueling with his life on the line in six months.