I awoke mid-morning feeling more well-rested than I had in weeks. My decision to rest before pursuing the next Authority was a good one. The fact that I hadn’t taken off my pants upon arrival and actually slept with them on was proof enough of that. It only took me moments to change from my travel attire to a more comfortable cotton robe dyed to a solid blue and patterned with defensive runes. It was something I had commissioned to adventure in. The runes only provided a small modicum of protection, but inside dungeons and labyrinths, the unexpected was a given and even small protections could save lives.

On the first floor, I was greeted by a host of people that stood around a great selection of breakfast foods resting on the semicircular table. Many were chatting comfortably with each other, and the smell of sausages, eggs, and cut fruit sent my stomach to rumbling. Those dining paused in their conversations upon my arrival, and my seneschal announced me to the group.

I was uncertain at first if I had interrupted some kind of celebration, but, as I was led to my chair, it soon became apparent that these people had all gathered to speak with me. Kine sat immediately to my right, and my assistant Philipe to my left, and several of the men and women in the crowd seemed to look to each other as if attempting to gauge the importance of their relative needs.

I was about to dismiss them all when a plate of food was set before me and my stomach rumbled yet again. I speared a piece of sausage with the twin tines of my fork and motioned for Fentworth, my seneschal, to come closer. When he arrived, I gave him instructions loud enough for many to hear.

“I will be here for breakfast, and then I have a task I must accomplish. I will only see to those who cannot wait for two days,” I said magnanimously. Not that I suspected I would be done with the Authority in two days, but that if they would wait two days, then they could wait for three or even five.

“Yes, my lord,” he answered, and then gestured towards Kine.

Kine ran his hand through his hair, which had been cut shorter recently. It was maybe a knuckles length from his scalp, and I was certain that it was done to draw less attention to the growing bald spot on his head. He also had a beard and mustache of similar length that gave him a much more distinguished look than when he had been my apprentice. It seemed that Rhaela the Red’s influence on him had helped some with personal appearance.

“Master, I wanted to inform you that there was a crime committed that requires justice seen. The mother of one of the adopted orphans has been severely beating the girl and forcing her to sleep in the muck beneath their home.” Kine began, then he grimaced, “A girl of eight summers, maybe nine. From what we’ve gathered of that evening, she was beating the child past the point of unconsciousness when the child’s bonded wolf attacked, killing the woman. Her father wanted the wolf killed and the daughter to have a new home, but both the wolf and the father are currently caged in town. The wolf, for murder, and the father for allowing the beatings.”

I nodded in understanding and used the spoon to feed myself a mouth full of eggs only to see that Kine had stopped speaking as if expecting me to answer. After I finished chewing, I asked, “And?”

Kine glanced around uncomfortably before answering me, “And I would like your advice on administering justice here. The child is with the sisters of Elora now, being healed. What should be done with the wolf and the father?”

I took a sip of the wine, a pleasant peach vintage that went well with the breakfast foods, as I considered the matter. Eventually, I arrived at a decision and nodded while I spoke, “If you find the crime warrants death, send the father my way. I can use him as a subject for experimentation. I have no need for the wolf.”

The small conversations about the hall seemed to fade into silence, and Kine graced me with an uncomfortable smile. He asked hesitantly, “Experiments?”

“Of course,” I gestured to the statue of the woman behind him, “Meri—” I paused, having forgotten the rest of the assassins’ name.

After a small pause, I turned and gestured toward the other statue, “And…” And I had forgotten my former assistant's name as well. “They both have been petrified. I would like to test the spell on another to see if they are aware of what occurs around them while petrified.” I returned my meal and began eating with the hopes that this was the only matter that I would be bothered with.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have an interest in the crime or the punishment. It was a question of relative importance. What if spending the day it took to sort the matter out resulted in the difference needed for me to save a thousand people from the Pestilence? It was also a matter of delegation, as Kine was an Alderman, and therefore had the authority to administer justice as much as I did. His asking my opinion was likely because he wanted a measure of approval from me in case other villagers disagreed.

“Master, can I ask what these two did to warrant being turned into statues?” Kine asked. His voice was soft, but because no one else in the room was speaking, it carried.

I had been eating the eggs, which were boiled, and then cut and mixed with some kind of spices that made for an excellent dish, and regretted that I had to set my spoon down to speak. I turned my body directly towards my former assistant, to show I was unhappy with the interruption in the meal. I wasn’t unhappy with the question, as questions were good for learning. Calmly, and with a pleasant smile, I answered, “The woman is a fifth-tier Mirktallean assassin.”

“And Orwell?”

Ah! That was his name. I don’t know why I had forgotten. Still, as I took in the silence in the room, and the wary looks of those nearby, I thought perhaps it would be better to jest and remove some of the tension. I pointed towards the ceiling, and strongly announced, “Orwell didn’t bathe properly!”

“I—I see,” Kine said.

I chortled to myself at the joke, as several in the crowd sniffed at their armpits. I saw more than a few find other places to be, which was fine as that meant fewer delays in getting back to my plans.

Kine took his time as he gathered his thoughts, and then asked, “Might I ask what you believe should be done with the wolf?”

“Seems to me that a wolf that defends a child is a good thing. Reward it perhaps?” I shrugged and went back to eating. I was almost halfway through the meal now, and I was mentally preparing myself for the tasks I needed to do to summon the lightning elemental.

“My lord, presenting Necromancer Pyl and Witch Loralie,” my seneschal called, and the pair approached the table. Loralie instantly had my attention, though she only behaved in a mannerly way. I was both disappointed there wasn’t further reaction from her, and at the same time glad she acted in that manner.

Pyl, though, behaved in his usual excited manner, nearly bursting with excitement, “We have completed it!”

“Oh? It works?” I asked, with a raised eyebrow and a glance towards Loralie. If I remembered correctly, they were working on a mirror that would allow us to speak with the spirits of the dead. Something like that would be of great value, though Loralie had also been working individually on converting a powerful curse so that it took its energy from the tower instead of the sacrificing babes.

Loralie nodded in confirmation, and Pyl lifted his fists into the air, “We have succeeded! We can now speak with—opf!” his declaration was cut mid-sentence by Loralie stomping on his foot.

“We talked about this,” she hissed at him.

Pyl made a pained face and seemed to calm just a tiny bit. “We would be happy to show you at your convenience.”

I nodded, “Good. I will look forward to seeing it as soon as I am able.” Then I turned to Loralie, “And your project?”

She gave me a small bow, “Ready whenever you desire, Lord Fargus.”

When no one else came to the table, I instructed Philipe to document the changes to the mushroom men in the dungeon, a statement which stirred a host of whispers across the hall. I only rolled my eyes at the antics of the uninvolved and finished my meal.

Having a clear mind, and organized thoughts left me much more confident than I was the night before. Lightning elementals were different from the others in several ways. Beyond their unique way of thinking, they didn’t tend to last long when summoned to our world. More than that, they needed certain types of items nearby. Metal mostly, though water could sometimes work for lower tiers. The more metal available, the longer they stayed before returning to their plane. They were also much, much more dangerous.

So, after I emptied one of my testing areas in my laboratory, I moved several large pieces of copper and bronze into place about the cell. I set up wards that would keep the elemental contained in one spot, and then withdrew the small, finger-sized lodestone. The gem was a rarity among all the gems I had, mostly because alchemists used it for something or other. Obviously not potions that increased their intelligence. I shook my head, dismissing the thought. That wasn’t fair to them, maybe they were born with less intelligence than others and did succeed in such potions only to be brought to normal levels.

Either way, it had nothing to do with the elemental I needed to summon.

With a reluctant sigh, I used wooden tongs to hold the gem inside the warded cell, and focused my mind on it, sending my thoughts through to connect with the plane of lightning. I wasn’t looking forward to the conversation to come.

I focused harder than any other elemental, and sent my appeal out to the Lord of Lightning to grant me the use of one of its feet. That wasn’t how I would have preferred to ask or call them, but the lord considered each elemental a part of itself, and it responded quickly to my request in the usual way.

Dance?

I pictured a being, a dog-shaped creature made of lightning, its paws touching the various bits of copper I had strewn throughout the room. I imagined it moving from one to the other the way that lightning moves between things it strikes. I didn’t ask for more, because I didn’t need it for long. Instead, I only pictured obedience and honesty. Then, despite all I had pictured and sent to it, it responded the same way.

Dance?

I sighed and frowned, reluctant to admit failure here. Yet it wasn’t truly a failure, I knew the lord of that plane would grant my request if only I agreed. So, I agreed. Dance, I sent, though I withheld any imagined scene from my mind.

Dance! I heard the word echo back in my mind, in a tone of excitement I would attribute to a child. Lightning spewed forth from the lodestone, bouncing across the walls before it began to arc back and forth between the pieces of copper. I had placed many in the cell, knowing that it would slowly melt them all. Slowly, I sat the lodestone down and focused my thoughts on the second-tier lightning elemental trapped inside the cage.

First, I tried to communicate with it the same way I would any other elemental, but its responses flickered back into my mind too fast for me to understand. Responses always followed with the emotion of being thrilled with excited movement. It took long moments of harsh focus for me to get it to finally respond to my request and take my mind into the corridor I desired.

This hall wasn’t like the one for earth. Instead, it was a vast web of metal and wire, some so thin they may have been string. Pulses of lightning surged forth from deeper in the tunnel, like a heartbeat, though the lightning didn’t harm me. The doors here were made of a mirror-like metal that I couldn’t identify, something like silver and glass polished so well that all one could see was a reflection and the outline of the shape. The lightning elemental bounced back and forth between those doorways excitedly for several moments before disappearing. Whether because it was bored and returned to its body, or its body had melted the copper away, I didn’t know. I had what I wanted and knew where to go.