"I had my doubts, but it seems as though you were telling the truth, Hunter.”

“I don’t really lie much, if at all, Commander. It’s almost a flaw at this point.”

The two of us had been speaking for the larger part of an hour by that point, and we had been over the pertinent details of our mission and Cad’s involvement from a dozen angles. Thankfully, he had stayed away from any topics that did not pertain directly to his needs, at least after the control questions. Who would have thought that basic facts about me would be the most dangerous?

“Sometimes deception is required, but it should not be the first solution the mind reaches for. It does you credit that you keep truth so close at hand.”

“Well, thank you. Now, is there a place I can go and wait out the rest of the serum? Preferably with a lock?”

“Certainly. I’ll have one of my men show you the way. Though, there is one other thing I’d like to discuss with you before you go?”

I felt a little dread, but it was easily dismissed; the commander had been pretty straight with me to that point, so I was willing to offer a little more trust.

“With some trepidation, but sure.”

“Thank you.”

The man paused then, reaching up to rub at his neat goatee, his gaze calculating.

“Specialist Thatch... is not a good fit for this assignment. He is very... independently minded. It makes him an effective solo operator, but sitting still day after day tends to exacerbate his more... loquacious and voluptuary behaviour. By which I mean he gets my men drunk. Have you ever seen a person passed out, upside-down, in a tree and naked? I have – four on the same morning.”

“How?”

“I do not know, none of them could remember the preceding week. It is only because they were not scheduled for duty that day that I was able to temper my reprimand. But you present me with something of an opportunity; as you are aware – as we have discussed – there is a bounty out on the group that has been causing your issues, and it seems like the Apexes are going to be cracking down on them. I would like to send Thatch with you, as a representative of the Alchemy Association. If nothing else, it will get him out of my hair, and provide us an update on this group.”

“Uh, I like Cad, but I’m not sure I want to wake up naked in a tree, Commander. I mean, it would be an Experience, sure, but I’m not sure Darina would let me live it down. And I don’t know if I could stop her killing him if she ended up naked in a tree.”

“He does better when presented with goals, you should not have to worry.”

“That’s not very comforting. I guess... we’re technically here as official representatives of the Apexes – at least the ones that were present – so if you want to send him as an official representative, I think we’d have to take him?”

“Excellent! I will provide him with strict orders not to disrupt your journey back, and let me just call for a guard to escort you to your locked room.

Before I could say anything else, Jayford opened a drawer and retrieved a small bell before ringing it loudly. A moment later, just as I was opening my mouth to say I would like to confer with my friends about it, the door opened and a guard I had not seen before stepped inside.

“Ah, Private Cobb. Please take Hunter here to my private dining room – and please, do not speak to him on the way, he is under the effects of the truth se – uh, Grand Truth Revelation Elixir.”

“Sir, yes sir. Please come this way?”

“Wait, I should really-”

“No need to thank me, Hunter. I am sure Specialist Thatch will aid the Association just as much as he aids you in your coming journey.”

“Hey, I really-”

And then Commander Jayford broke into a coughing fit that sounded one-hundred percent fake; closing my mouth, I had the distinct impression I had just been taken advantage of. Giving up with a frown, I allowed the guard to escort me from the room

“Please, come this way, sir. Sorry to speak, won’t happen again, but...”

I waved him off, not trusting myself to say anything as I was a little irritated at the commander and I thought that was probably going to spill forth if I gave it the chance.

I followed Private Cobb through a series of stone hallways and corridors for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, given the size of the building. After a minute or so, I glanced out of a very narrow stone window and saw the building I had entered, and realised that while it has looked small from the front, there was a whole complex hidden behind the stone walls. It still did not appear to be on the same scale as some of the other places I had visited, but it was far from the single building I had thought it to be.

“Here you are, sir. The main dining hall is next door to the right and the kitchen is to the left. The door locks from the inside.”

I nodded my thanks, which he returned, and then I gave him a thumbs up, which confused him. Smiling I slipped in through the wooden door, and after checking there was nobody in there, locked the door behind me.

Finally, able to relax, with none nearby to probe me for personal truths, I sat down in what was apparently Jayford’s very comfy chair and began to actively cultivate while I waited for the serum to wear off.

*

***

*

I gave it an hour, just to be on the safe-side; my Lesser Regeneration has something of a multiplicative effect on healing pills, and I did not want to risk an unexpected interaction with the truth serum. I still tested it before unlocking the door, of course, but telling myself a couple of lies.

“I am an Apex, and the pen is red. I have a pen? Nothing? Awesome.”

With a small grin at the childhood memory that had inspired me, I opened the door and stepped out; I had half-expected Cobb to be standing there, but the corridor was empty.

Turning right, I found the first door and opened it into a long room filled with long tables; a crowd was gathered around one particular table and I could see Reff and Riffa above the heads of the gathered guards. And I could hear Cads voice, loud and dramatic.

“And I says, ‘Ye Void Blinded bastard, ye’ll not have the egg! If ye don’ want me wrath, ye’d be better t’beg!’ And this pale thing turns to me, all dead eyed, and says, ‘Yer wasting yet time, mortal, with yer pathetic rhyme, there’s not a chance in this world it’s a match for my rime!’ Now, I was taken aback I was, as ‘tis common wisdom that in polite company, the dead should stay silent; but I’m not one to turn my nose up to a challenge! So, I says-”

“With distinct confusion, that is not what happened, Cad.”

“What’re ye talkin’ about, Biggun? It happened exactly as I stated, or me name aint, ‘Caddin ‘The True Spoken’ Thatch’.”

“I don’t think that’s your name, Lush.”

“Lass, ye wound me! Now, as I was sayin’, there I was, facing off against the enemy, my face dark with indignant rage at this renewed attempt to part parent and child. Me voice thundering with fury, I snaps back at ‘im, ‘Yer brave to steal those that cannot fight back, supported by energies as foul as they’re black. But now that I’m here and’ve entered the fray, ye best run in fear, ye best be away!’”

With a grin, I joined the rear of the crowd and listened to Cad tell the tale of how he defeated Crownman on his own, in some sort of battle of rhymes. There were frequent interruptions from both of the risi siblings, and especially from Darina, though from her at least they were made with some degree of amusement. Riffa and Reff just sounded confused.

As Cad reached the pinnacle of his ‘retelling’, the crowd cheered raising their hands above their heads and Reff finally noticed me standing at the back. Waving I pushed through the crowd as gently as I could, the effort made easier as a few from the outer edge left once the story was done.

“That was a pretty good story, Cad. I don’t remember there being a lot of talking, or rhyming, or dancing involved, but your version came way less close to killing me, so if we can do all future battles like that, I’m all for it.”

“Sparky, me lad! Life’s a play ye don’t know th’ lines for, but I just happen to be a poet.”

“Hunter, how you managed to find somebody who makes you seem reserved and dignified - in the middle of the jungle - is beyond me. Please, no more?” Darina’s voice was pleading, but there was still humour buried somewhere in it. Raising one eyebrow, I crossed my arms and pretended to think for a moment before replying.

“I can’t promise anything, Darina. I seem to just keep picking people up who make me look sane. Reff, with his seething temper, you with your... well, you, anyway. And now Cad. Riffa’s the only actually sane person in our group.”

Riffa beamed at me, or at least she did the risi equivalent, which was to bow her head slightly whilst her lips tilted up.

“With grave regard, it is good that you have accepted my temper, Hunter; as such, it will shock you no further in future,” Reff said, with a completely straight face. I had been hoping he was getting used to my sense of humour, given that he was apparently a bit of a wild-card as far as his race went, but it appeared not.

“Reff, he wasn’t being serious, he was joking; at least he had better be joking, comparing me to this fool.”

I had not been joking, at least when it came to the apprentice; I thought she was nuts, but I was not going to admit that with the look she was wearing on her face at that moment.

“I was mostly joking; I still don’t really see the temper, Reff. You were definitely angry at V back when your statue was sat on him, but I’ve seen people apoplectic, and you were far from that.”

“All things be relative, Sparky. For Biggun’s folk, the fact that ye could tell ‘t’all is like me or thee screamin’ n’ smashin’ things.”

I looked at Cad in shock; other than a brief moment of clear intelligence when he had been arguing his own innocence, he mostly came across as a guy who did not take life too seriously. But he seemed to have some real insight into Reff’s people, which I supposed on reflection was not too surprising, if they had been around for three-hundred years. But still.

“With mild appreciation, you are correct, Cad. My brother may seem calm to you most of the time, but to our people, he is seen as something of a berserker. To me, of course, he is just my brother.”

Seeing that Cad was not about to start another story, the crowd was drifting away from us by then and I sat down on the bench attached to the table, just happy to be with my friends.

After a few minutes of listening to the siblings talk, Darina turned to me and spoke, her tone pointed and curious.

“How did your interview go, Hunter? Divest yourself of any interesting... secrets? Maybe you’d like to share?

Ignoring the prying tone, and glad I had chosen to remain separated until the effects wore off, I gave her a brief explanation – omitting the specifics, of course – and asked if the commander had not been to see Cad. At which point the hammer wielder pulled a flask from thin air and took a long pull before speaking.

“Oh, aye, Commander Jayford summoned me while ye was cooped up in solitude. Gave me me ring back ‘n’ told me the plan." The rogue winked one grey eye at me as he said the last, taking another sip from his flask.

“And he has refused to tell us what ‘the plan’ is, so perhaps you can enlighten us.”

I looked at Cad, who was grinning and then back to Darina; she was certainly better than she had been when we met, and she did seem to have a sense of humour, but I was not at all sure how she would react to Cad staying with us, so I cleared my throat and moved slightly further down the bench so I was a little further out of reach. Just in case.

“Well, you see, um, Commander Jayford officially requested we accept Cad as an official representative of the Alchemy Association. So, he’ll, uh, be traveling with us back to the Citadel. Officially.”

The apprentice’s eyes narrowed and I could see she was ready to give me a tongue-lashing, but before she had the opportunity, Cad broke in, loud and excited.

“Aye! I’m going to be meeting th’Apexes! All of ‘em! Me! Caddin Thatch. Me Ma would be proud as a bunny with a giant carrot. I’m going t’send ‘er a letter afore we set out, and I may invest in one o’them light capture jobbies the Association sells, so I can have me image captured with all’ve em!”

I grinned at his enthusiasm, but the apprentice was staring at our newest companion in horror; given her views on the dignity inherent in her master’s position, I could see having a fan-boy tag-along to have his picture taken might be a bit much. Especially given that she might have to introduce him to her.

“With reserved gladness, I believe you presence will be instructive; I have not had chance to practice against another Foundation stage cultivator since I attained it myself.”

“Aye! We can all practice, it’ll be a right laugh! I bet yerall fine drunks!”

I caught Darina’s glare as it burned into me; she looked pretty angry, but I knew she would calm down before long. Or I hoped she would calm down, I should say. I offered her a shrug of apology and smiled. It was not returned.