The doors opened with far more force than was needed, slamming against the stone walls. Kinnevar groaned as he saw her – his advice on any form of subtlety had been utterly ignored. Her hair was brilliant, blazing red, far brighter than what nature allowed for, even amongst the elf-folk. Her eyes shone with a bright inner fire, and her skin was like burnished copper, verging on crimson red, accentuated by the heavy golden jewellery she wore, bangles jangling on her arms and ankles, a heavy chain of the stuff around her neck. At least this time she had remembered that clothing was considered customary amongst company, a wrap of cloth around her chest, another serving as a skirt.

She smiled and gave a happy wave, the fire in her eyes sparking higher. ‘Kin! This place is hidden behind some kind of arcane shield and it blocks most spells. It’s very clever, but I managed to find a way through.’

He bowed, although not too deeply. ‘Master Devram, may I introduce you to Ashfallian Bharanthi Mar Bernkar?’ Don’t set anyone on fire.

You never let me have any fun!

At least Devram was polite enough not to show any open surprise. ‘A pleasure to meet you, Lady Ashfallian. I do hope my guards were suitably polite? I try and train them in the courtesies, but they have a tendency to revert to type, sad to say. But you have been keeping Kinnevar company on his travels?’

‘Yeah, he’s been showing me around the human lands. Until I can find somewhere to live. I want somewhere with enough people to bring me stuff and make me nice food. Humans make things that taste a lot nicer than cow.’

‘Ah, so you would desire to be a monarch? Well, I daresay you have the power for such things, and if you can keep up with Master Kinnevar, then you must have some talent. Although I hope that he has warned you about the dangers of this place?’

‘Yeah, there’s loads of priests and stuff about. I’ll be careful, don’t worry. I just want some of the gold. There’s meant to be loads of it here, down in the vaults. That’s what Kin says, anyway.’

The woman spoke. ‘The great Kinnevar Ultremar, sneaking in to steal gold? That seems unlikely, and with a dragon in tow, no less.’

He shrugged, hoping that Ash wouldn’t spill the plan. She was still struggling with the concept of humans that could be a threat, so would occasionally talk too much and then kill whoever she had been tattling to. At least she ate the bodies afterwards, but it was inconvenient!

‘Sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one. While the Conclave presents an additional challenge, it also means the eyes of the heavens will be elsewhere.’

‘Really? So you wouldn’t be here to, for example, acquire any of the relics or artefacts from the vaults beneath the tower? Considering the blade you bear, then a little suspicion seems only natural.’ She met his eyes, one hand still on the hilt of her sword as she drank her wine, ready and willing to fight even when relaxing.

‘I simply wish to aid an ally – she wishes to establish a home and attract a mate, and, by the ways of her people, requires rather a large amount of gold to do so.’

Mmmmm, yes. A nice horde to slither through and sleep on! The tone was drowsy and languorous, Ash squirming in imagined delight already.

Devram spoke. ‘You will understand, I am sure, if I don’t simply take your word for it. And given that matters are rather tense right now, then I’m sure you appreciate my reticence to let you wander around loose. So I will be assigning Vedlinia, or the “White Wraith”, as she likes to style herself, as your guide. Somewhat melodramatic, but such seems to be the way of youth. I do like to try and pretend to be in charge though, so she will be reporting to me afterwards. Should you do anything untoward, then her blade will take your head. Or at least try, and I think her skills are sufficient to be a challenge, even for you.’

She pushed her thumb against the hilt of her blade, sliding part of her sword out, just enough for the steel to catch the light and smiled at him. He smiled back. ‘Of course. Any ally is always a boon, even if under… unusual circumstances. Your skills are indeed impressive, Vedlinia. And the blade is potent as well. Very well, now that we are working together, I suppose I should tell you my true purpose.’ Stringing them along might have been amusing but would only lead to complications later on. Not that they needed to be told everything, but enough to make them less suspicious.

‘I am here to break into the vaults. Firstly, to acquire gold for Ash’s horde.’ Another satisfied purr of anticipation rippled through his mind, Ash grinning at him, nodding enthusiastically. ‘I am also here to acquire a few specific items in order to pay off a few debts. None of the items are particularly malefic in themselves but are secured with the heart of the vaults. When I gain access, then I’m sure there will be certain items that will be of use to you as well, as trade goods if nothing else.’

‘A suspiciously equitable arrangement. What items are you seeking?’

Kinnevar tried to think of think of what the vault was supposed to contain, rattling off a list. ‘The sphere of the wind dukes, Aasqy’s brass tome, one of the gems of radiance, the blade of steel severance. A few other minor trinkets, but those are the main items.’

She looked taken aback by the ease with which he mentioned the items, all things of great legend and power, but nodded. ‘Potent, but I can guess as to who might require such a collection. And why they might go though an intermediary such as yourself. I wasn’t expecting such honesty. Interesting.’

He tried to look conspiratorial, despite having just made it up. The items would be useful in their own right, but would be a bonus, rather than goal by themselves. Still, if it allayed suspicion, then it would make matters easier. ‘Of course. Between Ash and myself, then entry should be possible, although with the usual trials of guards, traps and whatever guardian beasts and spirts are awaiting us. Although finding the vaults may be a challenge – they are said to be somewhere beneath the tower, but the entrance is a great secret. With your blade as well, then I’m sure such things will be simple to overcome. But what do you seek? You have lived here for many years and have surely had ample opportunity to acquire whatever you need.’

‘Their deepest vaults are beyond even my reach, well-guarded and secret. And they pay their guards enough to make them hard to bribe, and properly protect and ward the place with spells. Almost bloody cheating, doing that. Any locals with any talent join the temples, so my lot are all crappy thieves. They keep getting arrested or killed, and those that are any good bugger off somewhere else. Vedlinia’s my best, and she’s good, but there’s a big damn gap between her and everyone else. But that’s enough grumbling from me. So, what do you need? Of course, if anyone asks, then I had nothing to do with any of this.’

‘Well, me and Ash can break through whatever magical barriers are present, as long as we can get close enough. But that’s the part I need help with. I was hoping that the Convocation would make things easier, but they’ve increased security.’

‘I told you, they’re cheating! They actually cooperate and help each other, makes the whole thing really hard when you can’t get them to spend half their time fighting each other. But if you want an in, then I’m sure Vedlinia can help. They’ve bloody corrupted her!’

‘Oh, hush, Father. Just because I prefer drinking in manors with nobles, rather than in dank cellars with thieves and vagabonds. And you certainly don’t complain when a few bottles should chance to find their way into my hands, or the impression of a key to the vault of the Order of the Incarnadine Sword, do you?’

He nodded. ‘True, true, your connections have been of use, I will admit.’

Vedlinia spoke again. ‘I have been invited to a few pre-Convocation events, where the great and good can relax a while, before moving onto business. I’m sure no-one would take it amiss if I were to have a bodyguard. After all, there are rumours that the dreaded Kinnevar Blackblade, Slayer of Badoon’s Pass has snuck into town, and who knows what depredations such a blackguard might be intent on perpetuating! Although this is perhaps a little excessive.’ She reached out and tapped his sword, nail hitting the metal with a soft noise. A flare of cold energy snapped out, temperature suddenly dropping. She pulled her hand back, flexing her fingers, ice having formed on her nails.

‘It protects itself. I had a hell of a time in getting it to accept me.’ It whined, hungering for blood and souls, until he flicked the pommel-gem. ‘I think it gets jealous, almost. I’m not sure how intelligent it is, and how much is simply power, grasping whatever it can.’

Devram chuckled. ‘Oh? The great Kinnevar, now wed to a blade? I thought you had enough problems with your wife, and now you’ve acquired another? Or has Skatara stopped trying to kill you?’

‘No, that’s still on-going. She’s definitely giving it her all – quite admirable, almost, albeit slightly inconvenient at times. It’s nice to have her taking an interest, at least, and some of the schemes are pleasantly inventive. Anyway, I suppose I should try and conceal this.’ He drew the blade, the thing supernaturally light despite its size, the black metal gleaming for a moment, faces dimly visible within the blade before he quelled them with his will. ‘I need you to be a little less obvious. Just for a little while. And soon you’ll be able to feast.’ He could feel the power within the blade rising up, wanting nothing more than to slay and feast, but he quashed it, forcing the blade into obedience.

It shifted and warped, the hack-edged metal changing shape into a more mundane shape, of a longsword, although the pommel and hilt were still the same, far larger then needed, golden band still present. The metal at leased looked mundane now, enough that it should pass muster.

‘Useful trick. And I hope you can do something about this?’ She picked at a thread on his shirt. ‘Very rugged, but any companion of mine should be rather more elegantly attired, even if they are nothing but a simple guard.’

He focused and his clothing warped itself into something more appropriate – a dress shirt, still black, but now with a swirling pattern of silver on one side, from his neck down to his hip. With the sleeves rolled back, of course, to show his arms off. A sheath appeared on his hip, somewhere to put the blade.

‘Is this acceptable?’ Black leather gloves appeared on his hands, barely visible runes on the back of each as he renewed his protective spells.

She looked him over, walking around him, as he made sure to tighten his trousers around his waist, hips and butt. Devram looked at him, then rolled his eyes. ‘I will leave you too it. Please try not to corrupt each other too badly or distract each other so much you don’t get anything done. Lady Ashfallian, if you could kindly try and keep them focused.’

Ash looked away from the items displayed on the wall, something shining in her hand. ‘Sure, I guess. But I just want treasure, and Kin’s promised me that. And I’ll set him on fire if he does anything wrong. Can I have this? It’s really pretty.’ She held up a gleaming golden cup, studded with gems.

‘Shall we consider it a down-payment?’

She smiled and rolled it between her hands, rubbing it against her cheek, before dropping it into her belt-pouch, despite the pouch being far seemingly too small to hold it. ‘Thanks, makes my hoard a little bigger!’

‘Vedlinia, would you be able to arrange for Ash to attend as well? She’s curious about humans. And it’s easier to keep an eye on her if she’s close by.’

Hey! What are you trying to say?

That you’re too curious for your own good, and the last time I left you alone, you almost burned a temple to the ground.

They were scary, the big man threatened me!

You didn’t have to transform and destroy the place though, and it all got blamed on me! Fortunately, mind-speech was far faster than true speech, as he turned back to Vedlinia. ‘It would be best if we could get the job done before the Convocation itself starts, having to worry about the gods themselves would be problematic. And Ash; please don’t set anything on fire unless it is absolutely necessary. What would be an appropriate form for her?’

Ash’s eyes widened in delight. ‘Ooo, yes. You mortals have so many different looks. What about this?’ Her shape warped and shifted, shifting into something shorter, forming herself into a dwarf, bulky and strong, auburn hair twisted into innumerable braids and plaits. ‘Although it’s a nuisance being this low down. What about this?’ Her shape broiled and warped again, as she became a tall, spindly elf, slender and blonde. This time she forgot to form clothing for herself, standing there stark naked, looking at Vedlinia and Kinnevar.

Vedlinia looked slightly taken aback, but recovered well. ‘Ah, I think perhaps something a little more… human. We’re the ones that aren’t really short, and without the pointy ears? There’s not many elves around here. And clothing as well. I think maybe she could be a distant relative from the country?’

Ash’s eyes flickered with lambent flame, pupils turning reptilian as she changed shape again, becoming human again, a slight and slender female form, largely copied from a village girl she had seen somewhere to the east and struck up an unlikely friendship with, even gifting her with a few gems. Then clothing blossomed, black silk appearing, a copy of Kinnivar’s own outfit. Vedlinia shook her head. ‘No, at the moment tight and flowing is in fashion. And we must, of course, be slaves to fashion and its dictates!’ She reached forward, poking and plucking at the fabric, or pulling it against Ash’s body. As she did so, Ash reformed the material, reshaping it into a tight blouse with puffy sleeves, tight at the shoulder and wrist but baggy between, the trousers becoming a dress, emphasising her hips but hanging loose below, her legs only appearing when she walked, material outlining their shape. She twisted around, not used to more than scant clothing, wriggling uncertainly.

‘That will do. Maybe some jewellery? You’ve probably got some nice things in your horde.’

Ash blushed, turning away, as Kinnivar explained. ‘A horde should only be shown to, ah, intimates. Or those she is about to consume. Such is the way of her people.’

‘Oh, I didn’t realise. Well, this will do.’ She ran a hand through Ash’s hair, strikingly red still, but closer to human shades. ‘Fortunately, “tousled” is very fashionable at the moment, much to the despair of those that have to wear wimples or other headgear. Now, you’re not going to eat anyone are you?’ She sounded like an understanding older sister, lecturing a sibling prior to a debutante ball.

‘Most of you taste bad, you’re too lean, you lot don’t eat right! I prefer to eat those that are more plump, a little more meat on their bones.’ She grinned, showing off excessively sharp fangs.

‘Please don’t. Not that there aren’t a few plump little princelings that the world would probably be better off without, but it would draw a lot of attention. Maybe afterwards, if you’re good, I can arrange something, as a treat.’

‘Thanks! Although can you make sure this one’s probably chubby? The last one Kinnevar got for me was far too lean. And really greasy.’ She rubbed her stomach. ‘Didn’t go down right, you know what I mean? Was belching for days, I don’t know what they’d been eating.’

Vedlinia gave Kinnevar an accusing look, patting Ash on the head soothingly. ‘Have you been mistreating her? You should be looking after her properly!’

‘I did the best I could, it’s not my fault that Prince Athalmeir was overly fond of sweets, rather than a healthier diet.’

Devram gave him a sharp look. ‘That was you? I suppose I should thank you, the disruption that caused gave me a convenient opening into some new markets. But it did plunge much of the area into civil war. Bit messy, that, couldn’t you have found someone else to feed your friend?’

Ash answered before Kinnevar could. ‘He called me bad things, so I made him a snack! He was just a bad-tasting one. So if you could find me someone that’s been better fed. Meat-fed, so they’ve been nice and squishy for a while, rather than suddenly blimping out.’

‘I know a few people that meet that description. Now, shall we be off? There is a soiree happening this very afternoon. And I’m sure that my new bodyguard will be suitably brooding and dangerous-looking?’

Kinnivar tried to change his expression into something more intense and serious, although still not wholly unwelcoming. The sword whispered to him, demanding blood and sacrifice, wanting nothing more than to revel in destruction. He tightened his grip on the hilt, squeezing it, trying to still the thing’s incessant desires – was it getting louder and louder? There was a golden ring he’d bound around the hilt, carved with sealing runes – as he watched, part of it turned black, a fragment tumbling to the floor. Was that a snickering sound he heard?

Vedlinia nodded in approval. ‘Yes, excellent, that should do. I don’t suppose you could teach that trick to transform my clothing? That would be convenient.’

‘And save no small amount of gold! I think I may have spoiled this one a little.’

Vedlinia snorted. ‘I’ve seen the books with the real numbers, I bring in a damn sight more than I cost! That Printhinar job alone paid for this house and then some. Compared to what you spend on your wine cellar, that you never drink, I think I’m a bargain.’

Devram grumbled, before waving a hand in dismissal. ‘Then away with you. Go ready yourself with your face paints and fine silks! I have some other business to discuss with Kinnevar – some old scores that were never settled, nothing interesting, I assure you.’

She gave him a peck on the cheek. ‘Very well, I will leave you men to your grumbling. Lady Ashfallian, if you would like, I may be able to show you a few tricks to help with your appearance. So you can blend in while standing out.’

You can trust her. Just don’t take too much of her jewellery!

OK, Kin. I won’t take any of her hoard. She sounded disappointed as they left.

Devram waited until they were gone and definitely out of earshot. ‘Right, so what the hell are you really doing here? There’s some pretty good stuff down in the vaults, and I’m not going to turn down a chance to get my fingers on someone else’s gold, but going to that place, with that thing?’ He pointed at Kinnevar’s sword, being sure not to touch it.

Kinnevar managed to supress his first instinct to kill, a fire-flash of red, murderous rage surging up in him, quickly dismissed. ‘I have it under control.’

‘Are you sure? That’s what Kassim of the Three Lions said, and we both know what happened to him.’ Magic flared for a moment around his eyes as he scrutinised Kinnevar. ‘You’re still human, or at least mostly, although there’s darkness burning within you. Your powers have always been a bit strange, but I wasn’t expecting you to go to the Blade! I don’t want to know how you stole it without anyone noticing. So I’m assuming you’re not here to re-found the Black Triad, but if you’re bringing that thing to my city, and near my daughter, I want to know what you’re doing and why. I might not leave much in this world, but I’d like her to survive me, and I’m proud to say I think she will. If some damn fool with a legendary blade doesn’t get her killed, of course.’

Kinnevar weighed his choices. The old man was canny and might see through any lie and knew enough lore to at least guess anyway. ‘It’s the Bell. The Blade needs to talk to it. Otherwise it will sound itself, and soon. I imagine you would rather your home not be filled with bound and summoned demons?’

‘Really? Hmm, that would align with some theories I had.’ Suddenly he was the academic again, before being cast out for pursuing forbidden studies, itching to test a new theory, rather than a crime lord. ‘I never was able to discover their origins, or their connection to the Unreadable Tongue. So the Bell seeks to sound itself, as the Blade seeks blood, and the Book seeks to be read? You certainly seem to have it under some form of control, although that holy gold won’t last much longer. I’ve heard that they had to keep it contained within sacred silver, in a reservoir of holy water, and even that boiled away as fast as they could replenish it.’

Kinnevar nodded. ‘And sealed within an altar of sun-blessed gold, guarded by what remains of the Hauleni. They were the biggest problem, three of them tracked me across the wilderness, almost caught me at Pethor’s Mount, before I could lose them. That they can fly is decidedly inconvenient! It’s intelligent though, at least partially. It wants something, beyond to just murder and kill, but I can’t tell what.’ He found himself stroking the hilt, feeling almost affectionate – was that him, or was that the blade, trying to influence him?

‘Hmmm, interesting. The Black Triad did always act in concert, without any attempts at betrayal, but quite what their goals were, beyond the destruction of the Elven Empire, has always been a mystery. Well, that and the acquisition of raw magical power, I suppose. No-one has ever discovered what they did with all they acquired during their conquest.’

‘That I am unsure of myself. The Blade wishes its kin to be… safe, I think? I suspect if I were to reject it, then it would seek some other vessel. It hungers for souls, that is true, but I have managed to keep it contained thus far.’

‘Hmmm. Well, if you wanted conquest, you have achieved that already. I assume you didn’t tell Skatara of this?’ Kinnevar shook his head. ‘Yes, I can imagine why. She would be overly keen to acquire it for herself, I imagine. So, do you think this will be a task you can complete without harming my daughter? I am, bizarrely, rather proud of her, and would prefer her not to die.’

‘For what it’s worth, you have my word this isn’t a suicide mission. Think of it as a heist, like the last time we worked together. Except without Seldronia setting everything on fire.’

Devram laughed. ‘Yes, she was rather excitable, weren’t they? Although she rules a town out west somewhere now, she got old and fat and sensible. Very well. About your business, then. I expect a full report on anything about the Bell or the Blade that you learn.’

‘Of course. You know a lot more than me already, but it might be helpful to combine our knowledge over a few drinks.’

‘And please, be careful with Vedlinia. She has a few magical tricks, and her blade bears power as well, but she lacks the diversity of a true wizard. Let her stay in the shadows, she lacks the diversity of a caster, or your power with a blade, but is fast and skilled nevertheless.’

‘I will do what I can. We have Ash as well.’

‘Ah, yes, a gold-crazed dragon. You really will have to tell me you that story. But I hear Vedlinia returning, so time for you to be off.’