Wallace

Turns out, I wasn't invited to lunch.

Not with Temerity and the visiting fey at least. Likely they were speaking business and weren't keen on anyone listening in.

Instead, I was invited to a separate dining room, to eat with who I guessed were the ranking men in the manor. There were neither fey nor sprites present, but there were half a dozen of the blue-skinned elves.

And look like proper elves they did. Again I wondered about what colour their blood might be, but the odd colour aside, they fit the mould. Temerity's hair had fallen to cover the tops of her ears, but one of the men at the table had his pulled back in a ponytail, and I saw that his ears came to fine points. They also had an ethereal androgynous look that reminded me of the elves from the Lord of the Rings movies. Whether that was just how they looked, or a product of living in what I guessed was a more female-dominated society was hard to say.

Servants, all of them men, came through several times with food and drink. I ate everything put in front of me but turned down the offered wine and ale. Resilient as I was, it was a little early in the day for me to start drinking. Much of the food was foreign to me, which tickled that part of me that detested disruption to my routine, but I reminded myself of the task at hand.

My lunch partners seemed reluctant to strike up a conversation with me, and honestly, that suited me just fine. If I'd known that I wouldn't be invited to join Temerity and the two fey noblewomen, then I likely would have taken my meal in my room. Or perhaps the library, assuming Temerity had one. But it was a large enough manor, so I figured it was a safe bet. In any case, everyone in the manor, with the notable exception of the fey women and their retinue, were servants in some form or fashion of Temerity. And if I started trying to prise information out of them, then they were likely to mention it to her, causing me yet more trouble.

A more artful conversationalist might have been able to get the information without arousing suspicion. But I wasn't an artful conversationalist, so when given a chance to speak, I listened instead.

"I heard that the baroness is trying to hire a few of the gnomes to run the chain lift each The Long Night," said one man, seated on the right of the table.

Rectus, I decided, would be his name.

"The baroness wastes the city's money. Were the Duchess in charge she wouldn't bother with such trifles," insisted the man seated across from him, Laevus, I decided, was as good a name as any.

"Perhaps the baroness intends to receive gnomish caravans during The Long Night?" Rectus suggested, "Or maybe she just wants to make the summiting easier for those who arrive at the base of the mountain after dusk. I've had to make the climb in the dark before, I nearly came off the path half a dozen times, and I was on foot. Just imagine what it would be like trying to take a wagon full of goods up to the city, such a climb takes uncommon bravery."

"Common stupidity more like," Laevus retorted, "If a merchant finds himself at the foot of the mountain after dusk, more fool him. Plan better, and such things wouldn't happen. The baroness wastes her money to care for fools who should know better."

"What about the gnomes then? The darkness doesn't bother them, and may as well have their own people run the lift to bring up their caravans. I'd certainly like to eat this well every day," Rectus replied, gesturing at his meal, "But no one other than the gnomes wants to travel during The Long Night, so for much of the week we're reduced to common fare while we wait for caravans from Pelignos."

"Fine," Laevus waved a hand dismissively, aggrieved that Rectus had won the argument, "But the gnomes should pay for it. If the baroness is going to have a bunch of the little green bastards sleeping all day and working one night a week, then their people should pay the fees to run their racketous contrivance."

I stayed a little while longer, but beyond an off-hand reference to 'goblins', I didn't learn much more of note. Two more species potentially meant two more cities though, so that was promising.

Excusing myself, and with little else to do, I decided to find out about that library I'd been pondering the existence of. And as I wandered, I pondered some more.

A little self-conscious of the design, I'd tucked the necklace into the front of my shirt, but brought it out now to get a better look at it. Nothing about it suggested the presence of the magic inside, but it was certainly doing something. But what exactly?

'Goblin', was that really an English word, or was it more like a name? A proper noun, I suppose, was a better way of phrasing it. Why should any given proper noun, the name of a species in this case, translate so easily to English? Was the necklace just picking something that seemed close enough? The elves, for example. They looked like elves, and matriarchy aside, seemed to act about like I expected elves to act. Is that why the necklace had picked that name for them? The goblins then, were they evil, as I might expect them to be? Did the necklace even understand so complicated a concept? For all I knew it plugged into the wearer's pop-culture knowledge to facilitate translation.

A helpful servant found me wandering the halls and pointed me in the direction of Temerity's library. It was as I was following those directions, ducking every few steps to avoid the roof beams, that I happened to pass the private dining room where Temerity was entertaining her guests. I couldn't make out the words but did hear the muffled hum of voices through the door.

I considered crouching by the door to peek through the keyhole, maybe see if I could hear anything, but ultimately thought better of it. For all I knew, Temerity was the sort of noble that was willing to order someone killed for such a transgression.

I wasn't in Canada any more, and I had to remember that. Back home, protecting people's rights meant striving to treat everyone equally. In a society like this, protecting someone's rights meant guaranteeing their power over those below them in the social hierarchy. As a commoner, a homeless commoner no less, I didn't fancy my chances if I went and got a Duchess good and mad at me.

Turns out I made the right choice because I had only taken a couple more steps when I heard the door open behind me. I turned to see Temerity step out into the hallway, the two fey noblewomen and a couple of servants filing out behind her.

It took only a glance to see that the two fey women were twins. Faintly purple skin and dark purple hair gave the two of them a sort of night elf vibe, though unlike in World of Warcraft, their ears didn't stick up six inches. Too bad for them I suppose, as it might have made up for their short stature. Standing next to Temerity, they looked like a couple of kids.

They had soft, round, features, with slight cheekbones and a jaw that came to a delicate point. Again, it was quite the contrast from Temerity, with her prominent cheekbones and a jawline that you could cut yourself on.

It was about there that the similarities ended however, identical twins or not, I found it hard to see how the two fey could be more different.

The more animated of the two, who even now was carrying on some conversation with Temerity about silk imports, was dressed in what I guessed was a more conventional style for her species. I'd already built this idea in my head of the fey being akin to some Greco-Roman city-state, built on the backs of their slaves, and what the sister wore fit that theme.

Was toga the right word? For me at least the word conjured images of frat boys wrapped in bedsheets, but on the other hand, it did look a little like she'd just wrapped herself up in a bunch of silk. Despite covering the whole of her, the garment, if it even was a garment, left little to the imagination. The thin white silk clung to her slight body, and it was only the way that the voluminous silk would gather in folds that maintained any degree of modesty.

Her sister, by comparison, was a world apart. She wore a blue flight suit whose colours had faded to a near grey. It wasn't some medieval equivalent either, it was an actual modern flight suit, maybe a couple of decades out of date by my reckoning, but a flight suit all the same. It also looked like it had been made with someone more Temerity's size in mind. The sleeves and legs had both been rolled up, but even with that done, it was still too long in the body for her. With it zipped up to the neck, she seemed almost to disappear inside. Her hair too was different, while her sister let her hair fall down her back in waves, the one in the flight suit had pulled it into a tight braid and tucked into the neck of her flight suit.

It gave her a stern look, and while her sister seemed happy to carry on with Temerity, I caught a familiar expression on her face. An expression I knew I often wore myself. It was the expression of someone who was trying to be polite, trying to be cordial, maybe even sociable, but whose patience with the whole situation was quickly wearing thin. I knew that when I got looking like that was about when I started trying to find some way to escape.

So I wasn't too surprised when flight suit girl met my gaze, spared a glance at her sister, and then took a step my way. The sister caught her arm though, much in the way one might with a child who was trying to run off, and 'encouraged' her to come along as she followed Temerity down the corridor, still discussing silk.

What did surprise me was the intensity of the look she gave me as her sister was leading her away. It wasn't anger, more like purpose. She'd said nothing, but had made sure I knew that she had some unfinished business with me.

So I did what I usually did when a cute girl showed some interest in me. I forgot about the whole thing and found something more interesting to occupy myself with. Like a library, for example.

The library was, in a word, disappointing.

Now that's not to say there weren't a lot of books, because there were, and usually, that would be enough. I liked the libraries back home, but they were all very modern. Not typically something a software developer would complain about, but when I imagined a library, I saw in my mind's eye carpeted floors with solid wooden bookshelves six or more feet high and books packed onto every shelf. Modern city libraries, they were more like computer labs and meeting spaces that just happened to contain some short metal bookshelves.

The manor's library, by comparison, was precisely what I imagined a library should be. And every book I picked up was a complete waste of time.

I'd been here for an hour, sorting through shelves, and still had not found a single text that had been written since the city's arrival in this new world. There were historical texts written about kingdoms that may as well not exist any more, useless maps of planets I'd never see, and about a hundred novels that I really didn't have the time for.

Now that's not to say it wasn't interesting. Important even. But useful it wasn't.

I currently stood within a priceless treasure trove, very likely every book I touched was effectively one of a kind. Perhaps there'd be the occasional copy in a household elsewhere in the city, but most of this collection was going to be unique. A true history of another world, stories from a lost culture, with this the only record of what was. It was beyond priceless, and completely useless.

I made sure that each book I skimmed went back into the exact place I'd taken it from, but it wasn't long before I was simply glancing at the titles.

There weren't any books on magic either, which was total nonsense. The whole reason to have a library in a fantasy world was to fill it with stuff about magic.

Valentine

Finding the right room had been a chore, particularly since it wasn't as if I could ask a servant where to go. The last thing I needed was Temerity knowing what I was up to until I was good and gone. Thankfully the room itself was out of the way, and a servant would only be down this corridor if they had business here as well, which I certainly hoped they didn't.

Upon stepping inside, I immediately understood why this particular bedroom was so out of the way, and why the inside of the door was padded.

And there was the human, sprawled across the bed, and passed out cold in the middle of the afternoon.

Temerity had mentioned him at lunch, Wallace, she'd said his name was. Just hearing about him had given me hope. This trip had come a week late, which meant that instead of having a whole week to hire mercenaries, I had until tomorrow morning. I might be able to get a couple of sellswords on such a schedule, but I wouldn't have nearly the time I'd need to vet them, and if I were pursued they likely wouldn't be enough to see off anyone who might trouble me. Besides, for all I knew, they'd be as much a danger to me as anything I might find beyond the city walls.

But then Temerity had gone on, at considerable length, about the handsome young gallant she'd rescued. The descriptions of his glossy hair and alabaster skin I endured, but the retelling of him laying out a sprite with a single blow, now that piqued my interest.

That interest solidified into a plan once I spotted him in the hall afterwards.

I could scarcely believe he was human. I had only Simon to compare him to, but the two of them may as well have been different species. The difference between Wallace and Simon was like the difference between myself and Temerity, and the two of us were different species. Simon was of a kind with Temerity, as they both seemed to be at the limit of what a person could naturally achieve. And when Simon used magic to enhance his body, any reasonable person would assume that he was stretching the limits of what a person could supernaturally achieve.

And then along came Wallace, who made even a powered up Simon look... middling.

My excitement at meeting the man was tempered when I saw him out cold on top of the bed. He'd managed to get his shoes off before passing out, but that was it. Laying there dishevelled and slack-jawed, he didn't quite strike the same imposing figure as he had in the hall.

If he's as much a layabout as Simon-

I quelled the thought. Gods damn him, I didn't have time for this.

I jostled his shoulder, or tried to. It was like trying to move a boulder, and he slept on, oblivious of my presence.

"Wake, damn you," I swore, and jabbed him in the stomach.

The creature came awake with a pained groan, and I jabbed him in the stomach again.

"What the hell?" he mumbled blearily.

I went to jab him again but was gently and inexorably pushed away.

"Lady, could you just not?" he said through a yawn.

"On your feet," I demanded, "I'm here to rescue you."

"What?" he asked blankly.

He was more wakeful now, but my statement turned out not to be the gut punch I'd been hoping for.

"I'm here to rescue you," I repeated, "We only have so much time to prepare."

He squinted at me, sighed, and then sat up with his legs hanging over the side of the bed.

"Thanks," he replied hesitantly, "But I think I'm good."

"You think- Do you realize where you are right now?" I demanded, "You know that Temerity has certain things in mind for you, don't you?"

Wallace opened his mouth to say something, but just sighed and shrugged at me.

"I cannot believe this," I seethed, "Are all humans so lazy?"

"Lazy? Lady, take a good look around," he insisted, spreading his hands out wide, "I got dropped off on this world this morning. Nearly died, twice now actually, but was lucky enough to end up here. I've actually given it some thought, and I'm pretty sure that this might be the safest and nicest place to be on this entire planet. If Temerity hadn't picked me up, I'd either still be stumbling about the wilderness, or best case, probably staying at the absolute worst hole-in-the-wall inn that the city has to offer. Instead of straw bedding and slop for supper, I've got silk sheets and catered meals. And yeah, so maybe Temerity's going to feel entitled to certain things, but I'm an adult and I can take care of myself. And you know what," he added with a shrug, "I don't think I really mind the idea either. I appreciate the sentiment I guess, but after lucking into the best deal I'm gonna get, I don't think it's a great idea to go prancing off..." he threw up his hands, "wherever, just because Temerity is a bit of a princess."

"If you stay here suckling at Temerity's teat you are never going to leave," I insisted, struggling not to grit my teeth, "Not until she gets bored and finds something else to entertain herself with. At which point you'll have no money, nothing to your name, and no idea as to what's beyond the walls of the manor. I bet you don't even know what we use for money. Maybe if you're lucky or clever, you'll get to poke around the city a bit, but Temerity isn't interested in helping you get your feet underneath you. In fact, she wants rather the opposite. Are you really telling me that you don't have any problem with Temerity keeping you as a pet?"

Wallace closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples. He sat there for a long moment, pondering, and then he opened his eyes and lifted his shirt.

I was taken aback at first, and was half-ready to blast him on the spot, thinking for a moment that he was going to pull the sort of nonsense that Simon was known to do. But it took only a glance to understand his intent. His abdomen, well-muscled as it was, was mottled with livid black bruises. What I could see of his chest was much the same, and I felt a pang of guilt for the roughness with which I'd treated him. I don't think I would have had the patience to be quite so gentle if someone had done the same to me.

"Lady, I don't know who you are, I don't know who Temerity is, and really I have no idea what the fuck is going on. Maybe you're telling the truth, maybe you're full of shit, how the hell would I know?" he sighed, "For all I know, you both might be terrible. What I do know is that if anyone else went through what I did this morning, they'd be dead. If Temerity turns out to be a problem, well I can deal with her when I stop feeling like ground beef," Wallace shrugged again, and winced, "The only things that got me up and moving since arriving have been food and the hope that I might learn a little magic. Well, I'm not hungry anymore, and the magic thing didn't pan out. I appreciate the concern," he said honestly, "But I'm confident that if I really want to walk out of here, then there's nothing Temerity can do to stop me. As for money and all the rest, if I need to figure that out on the fly, then I will. But for now, I'm in no condition to be running off anywhere."

He might have time to wait around, but I certainly didn't. If Vivian hadn't let our plan slip, then perhaps I'd be fine. Unfortunately, mine was not the only trade caravan on it's way to the city, and odds were good that the next one was going to be accompanied by someone who'd put together the pieces that Vivian had left lying around.

I just- Dammit, no matter how I looked at things I didn't see a way out for me if I lost another week. The week would give me time to put a team together, but I'd not get the chance to leave.

Today was Dark Even', and either I could leave tomorrow, which would be the morning of Last Light, or I'd have to wait around another week for Last Light to come again. But the other fey would be arriving next Dark Even', likely late in the evening. So what, I'd have to try to hide out in the city overnight? In the end it wouldn't matter, there was only one path down from the mountains, and they'd be sure to catch me before I could get clear.

The big stupid solution to all my problems was sitting right in front of me, I just had to figure out how to-

The big stupid solution to all my problems let out a sigh and fixed me with a long-suffering gaze, "Alright, spit it out."

"Excuse me?" I demanded.

"A lot of people look at me and assume I'm pretty dumb. Just a big brute, but here's the thing. Life isn't fair, so it turns out I'm also pretty damn clever. So, whoever it is you are, what is it you'd like me to rescue you from."

"I do not require rescue," I growled, "And you may address me as Lady Valentine."

"Come on Val," he teased wearily, "we'll call it a mutual rescue."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It seemed Wallace was even more irreverent than Simon, "How much do you know about fey?"

"I know you keep the sprites as slaves," he began evenly, a cold hostility whispered at in his tone, "I know there's another human kicking around your city and that he's got a decent amount of political power, and I'm pretty sure that you guys can do some sort of freaky pheromone thing."

"It's the men who keep the slaves," I replied quickly, "But otherwise you seem to have the general idea, what about this world itself?"

"Well for some reason, this city is atop a mountain, and yet no one bothers to farm in the valley below. Doesn't make a whole lotta sense, the big blue gas giant is pretty cool though."

"Gas giant?" I wondered, but set that thought aside for the time being.

"It makes sense once you know that every morning, just before dawn, a tide sweeps across the landscape, scouring it right down to bedrock. If you're not up high enough when that happens, then in all likelihood, you're dead. I imagine you saw the green mist that welled up right before you were brought here, that same mist follows the tide, replacing everything that was just swept away."

"How does anyone grow enough food?" Wallace frowned, "Unless they've got a whole lot of terraced farms, I can't imagine how the elves are feeding themselves."

"They're not feeding themselves, we are," I explained, "Parabuteo ended up on a mountain, but we found ourselves atop a mesa. We have more than enough farmland to feed both our cities, and Vivian and I own all that farmland."

Wallace furrowed his brows, and I clarified, "Land passes down female lines, slaves down male lines."

"And I'm guessing the men with all the slaves don't want your sister to end up as the sole landholder?" Wallace guessed.

"Exactly. Simon may try to throw a wrench into things, but Vivian very well could end up ruling the city if she simply marries all the largest slaveholders."

"All?" Wallace repeated, eyebrows raised.

"One man can have multiple wives, or one woman can have multiple husbands," I explained, "It depends on how the balance of land and slaves works out."

"And you're about to royally screw with that balance by giving everything to your sister," Wallace realized.

"Well she will be paying me for the privilege, I'm not giving it away, but yes, you're correct."

"Still doesn't explain why you're in such a hurry to leave right this moment," he pointed out.

"They know," I said simply, "And I don't want to leave this moment, as I said the tide comes through each morning. I want to leave tomorrow just after dawn. We would have until then to prepare."

"How far do you expect to get in a single day? Or are we going to spend our evening trying to climb a mountain after travelling all day- Assuming I agree that is," he added.

I stifled a small smile. This might just work, but it was still too early to celebrate.

"How do the days of the week work where you're from?" I asked.

"How do they work?" Wallace asked, "Well there's the weekdays, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, that's when most people have to work, then the weekend, Saturday and Sunday. Some people still work those days if they're doing shift work or something, but typically the weekend is your time off."

"I don't care about work schedules, I mean how does the weekly cycle affect how dark the nights are or whether the sun is out during the day," I insisted.

"They... don't?" Wallace asked hesitantly, and then exclaimed, "Oh, of course! The phases of the gas giant."

I frowned, he seemed a little excited for so simple a concept, "Is there something special about The Father that The Gas Giant lacked?"

"Gas giant isn't a name," he explained earnestly, "It's a type of planet, there are actually four gas giants in the Sol system. The Father, as you guys call it, would be another. Looks a lot like Neptune or a palette-swapped Jupiter actually-" then he stopped himself short, "Okay," he began once again, forcing himself to relax, "I could go on for hours about astronomy, but aside from not having the time, I'm still awfully sore. So here's the bit that matters, Earth, where I come from, doesn't have anything like The Father. We've got a moon, but it's an awful lot smaller than the Earth and isn't large enough to make much difference in how the days and nights work out. I'm guessing that's not the case here though."

"Quite right. First of all, there are six days, not seven," I began, hesitating when Wallace pushed himself up to start rifling through drawers, "Ah, what are you looking for?"

"Paper, and something to write with," he replied.

I unzipped one of the pockets on my left thigh, "Here," I offered, "All you're likely to find in there are Temerity's toys."

He coloured quite a bit that, but he took the paper and spread it out on a nearby table.

"First Light and Dark Morn'' are the first two days. The night between begins fairly bright as The Father is in the sky, but he sets around midnight, leaving the landscape all but pitch black until dawn. It's possible to travel by the light of The Father if pressed, and only the gnomes make a habit of travelling at night without him."

"I take it they can see in the dark?"

I nodded, "They live underground most times anyway, so they're not put off by it. Anyhow, the next two nights, between Dark Morn' and Full Light, and then Full Light and Dark Even' are both lit by The Father from dusk till dawn. Dark Even' is as it sounds, as once dusk falls it's pitch black once again until midnight when The Father rises once again. After Dark Even' comes Last Light, and when the sun goes down at dusk of The Last Light it remains dark all through The Long Night, right through until dawn of First Light."

"So," Wallace began distractedly, still scribbling on the parchment I'd given him, "Thirty-six hours of uninterrupted darkness?"

"Yes, and as dawn does not come during The Long Night, neither does the tide to sweep everything away."

Wallace paused, "That's not how tides work."

"Start praying," I suggested, "You may take it up with the gods."

Wallace shrugged, "I suppose that weirdly scheduled tides aren't the strangest thing I've come across today. Is this about right?"

I looked over Wallace's diagram and nodded, "Yes, that's about right."

"So from dawn on Last Light until dawn on First Light you've got forty-eight hours to travel, as long as you're willing to brave the dark? That's your plan?"

"Yes. Last time I was here I was able to get atop the clocktower, and I spied an area that's high enough to be safe. I can see the same place from the gnomish city as well. But it's two days journey from either city."

"So to get there you'd need to travel during The Long Night," Wallace understood, "But then how does anyone ever get between cities otherwise? Are we only a day away from Pelignos?"

I pulled a scroll tube from a hip pocket and unrolled the parchment within, "Here, this should give you a better understanding. Between each of the cities are several rest stops, this map doesn't show all of them, just the ones I know about. They're each a day's travel from the next rest stop or the closest city. All the routes I know about put three rest stops between each city, so it's a four-day journey from one city to either of the others."

"This is a map?" Wallace asked incredulously, "It looks more like a scrap of parchment with some scribbles."

"Maybe it's a little conceptual for you," I retorted, "but it shows what matters. The 'X' on the map is where I intend to go. It should be safe, and hopefully, no one will have any clue where I- we, escaped to."

"Okay, two questions. First, what do you mean should be, and second, why won't they know where we went?"

I grimaced, perhaps that was not the best choice of words, "I do not know if your people are familiar with it, but the gnomes have a type of mathematics that uses triangles to calculate angles and distances-"

"Trigonometry," Wallace replied, "That's why you went up the tower? You did the calculations to estimate the height to tell if it's safe or not?"

"Yes, both from here and Caniforma. My results give plenty of leeway, not as much as being up a mountain, but more than enough to be safe. Furthermore, I was able to sight the same building both times, several weeks apart. If my maths were wrong, then the building should have been swept away."

He nodded slowly, "Okay, makes sense, but how do you know they won't follow?"

"Two reasons, first, they'll think I've headed for Caniforma. It makes the most sense as the gnomes and goblins who live there are the least fond of the ruling class of Pelignos. They'll assume I'm seeking shelter there. The second reason is that no one else is confident enough to make such a trip to an unknown rest stop."

"See, you said confident, but I sorta feel like you meant crazy," Wallace observed, "I'm guessing there's a reason that this place you spotted is unexplored."

"You see these rest stops near Pelignos?" I asked, pointing to the map once again, "The ones that don't seem to lead directly to either of the two cities? They're what scavenging parties use to range out further from the city, looking for anything useful dropped off by the morning mists. Each was first located and explored by one of the survey teams. But survey teams, from any city, only venture out to brand new rest stops during The Long Night. That way if they get there and find it isn't actually suitable, they've time to make it back."

"And no one's been crazy enough to head for your new spot because if they're wrong, there's no room for error. You either make it and it's safe-"

"Or you die," I finished.

"Yup, you definitely meant crazy."

"It's safe," I insisted, "I told you, if it wasn't-"

"The building would have been swept away," he finished, "Sure, probably. But your plan still has us travelling during thirty-six hours of complete darkness, and I'm not exactly in the best of health. Couldn't you just go to this middle rest stop here?" he asked, pointing at the one directly between Caniforma and Parabuteo, "And then cut across to the 'X'?"

"I told you, the map's conceptual," I replied, "They're not as close as they look, and there isn't actually a route between the two. That would rather defeat the point after all. The whole reason I want to head for this spot is that it's out of the way. If someone has found a rest stop that connects it to the rest of the network then they've done a good job of keeping it secret. I need to get there and lay low while Vivian secures her hold on power. Once she's got things under control, then it'll be safe for me to be seen in one of the cities. And it's not as if I haven't done this before. I got this garment," I insisted, tugging at the collar of my odd clothing, "when I was with a survey team."

"A flight suit," Wallace explained, "It's called a flight suit."

"And it's just one of the treasures I've found. I know what I'm doing Wallace, this is a trip we can make."

"Is one of the other treasures a pair of night-vision goggles?" Wallace asked pointedly, though I could see his enthusiasm waning.

"For light, I have magic."

He perked up a bit at that, and I took a gamble.

When Simon had first arrived, long before he'd started vying for political power within the city, he'd begun collecting spellcasters. Female spellcasters, of course, this was Simon after all, but for a long time he'd pursued magic at the expense of everything else. Even now, on his rise to power, the easiest way for some family to get in his good graces was to provide him with a new sorceress. If Simon had an insatiable appetite for magic, then perhaps...

"And if you come with me, I'll teach it to you."

Wallace groaned and put his head in his hands. Not exactly the reaction I'd been expecting.

"Man, this is going to suck," Wallace breathed, "Alright dammit, I'm in."