Jano couldn’t believe that this place was in the Slums. He was sitting by a roaring fire and drinking fine wine from a silver chalice waiting for Dariea to return. He was sitting in a luxurious overfilled cushioned chair and felt particularly comfortable. It was a safe house, similar to the one he had been in when he first met Nara. He had a sneaky feeling it was below the shop, where he had picked up the parcel for the Mage just after they had met, but he couldn’t know as they had come from the sewers directly.

Jano had demanded that they check by his house before coming here. He had to know if Alsace was caught as they had said she was. Dariea had explained that she understood, but that was clearly a reckless move. One that the Emperor would be hoping for.

Despite his pleadings and his begging, she threatened to hold him in place as she had to the others in the Dome. Once they had settled in the safe house, she had arranged for someone to carry out the task for her. Or at least she had said she had. Once again, Jano had to take her word for it. He knew that with little effort, she could stop him anyway, so he had no choice. He took a small sip of his wine. He didn’t know what it was, but it was smooth and relaxing. It smelled of berries and spices.

Dareia had arranged for some new clothing to be brought and he had been ordered to take a bath while she saw to everything else. It was just a simple dress shirt and light trousers but the relief was noticeable. For himself and for any others in the immediate area. If the City weren’t at risk and his wife taken hostage, he could have enjoyed himself. Instead, he scanned the room every time someone so much as moved.

Finally, after what felt like years, she appeared. She took a seat and nodded at the spare chalice on the opposite side of the table from Jano. “For me?” She asked. Jano replied noiselessly with a nod. Dariea drained the chalice and Jano noticed the worried look which the wine was doing it’s best to placate.

“Well? Is what the Archmage said true?” He whispered. Dariea had assured him that others in this place wouldn’t likely be spies for the Empire and had just as good reasons to hide, but he still tried to be careful.

She looked at him. It was a hard look. One practiced over many years of giving bad news. Her eyes locked onto his. Furtively, she nodded. “I think so. My contact said she wasn’t there any longer.”

“Are they certain? How can they know for sure?” He asked. He didn’t want to let go of any hope, no matter how remote.

She poured more wine from the silver decanter in the centre of the table into her matching chalice. “He’s sure. There’s. I’m sorry Jano, but there’s no other way to say it. There was nothing there. Your entire block had been burned to the ground. The only thing which remained were two spears in the shape of the Guards cross and the heads of anyone who protested. Apparently a woman matching the description of your wife was taken away.”

Jano’s heart and stomach dropped as one. Fear gripped him and shock ravaged his mind for any stray thoughts or words. He pictured his home, the wooden shack which most of the City’s other residents wouldn’t recognise as an outhouse.

That was it then. The Emperor had his wife and when his Archmage didn’t return with their two captives. What would happen to her? Just as he was about to say something, Nara walked in and sat down carefully. He felt both of their eyes surveying him.

“So what do we do?” He said.

“We destroy the Ledger.” Dariea said. “And in the meantime, we rescue your wife.”

“Simple as that then?” Nara asked. “So we’re just going to burst into the Palace, destroy the Ledger, rescue Jano’s wife and swan off playing happy families?”

“Hello to you too Nara.” Dareia looked at her, clearly annoyed.

Nara met her look and didn’t flinch. “You do know what you’re asking of us both? There’s no way for me or Jano to do what you ask and then remain anonymous if we’re caught. If we fail, even if I survive, then we’ll be ruined.” She said.

Dareia gave her a hard look. “You don’t have to do anything. You can leave now if you wish.” Jano’s eyes flicked to Nara’s as she said that. She’d promised him something similar. “But there does come a moment in overthrowing an Empire where you have to lay your cards on the line. You have to go for it. Fuck the consequences if we fail.” She said and looked to Jano, as if also answering him.

“Well unfortunately it seems that Jano is already past that point. Anyway, it’s not as simple as that. I propose that we form two teams. One will try to deal with the Ledger and the other will rescue Jano’s wife.”

“Sorry. Could you just explain what the Ledger is again? And how can we destroy it?” Jano asked.

Dareia sighed and Nara shot him a look. They had been discussing this since they arrived and he should have already brought up anything he hadn’t understood already.

“The Ledger is a massive artefact imbued with powerful ancient magic. Whenever a contract is signed, the power flows to the Ledger and the Emperor can draw on it when he needs to.” Dareia said. “In terms of destroying it, you need to first gain access.” She held up the gemstones which she had taken from the Scepter. “Then once we’re in, I’ll do the rest. It’s an artefact whose sole purpose is to hold power, releasing it is probably the best way.”

“How hasn’t anything been done about this before?” He asked. “Surely some of the other Mages have tried to access this power?” It was as though the place he had lived his entire life was only surface level. That there were deep shadowy machinations underneath.

Nara cackled. “Why would they? Most people don’t actually know what’s happening. They assume that the Emperor is sharing his power with others, to build a better future for the City. Those who do know, which again isn’t many, enjoy almost as much political power within the City as the Emperor. Particularly when he’s not here.”

“Precisely.” Dariea nodded. “In terms of this knowledge, you two are some of the most privileged people in the whole of Qursa.”

That makes sense, he thought. “So say we destroy it, are we sure nothing will happen to normal people? Won’t the Emperor still be able to kill us?” His words came out quite garbled. But they seemed to understand, on some level he was still blown away about what they were discussing.

“For normal people, as you so politely said it. They would lose their connection to the Emperor and it’s quite likely they’d lose any control over the essence they can use now. As I explained earlier, those who have talent for it could learn to use it properly and in greater numbers than before. But it would take time. Otherwise they should be perfectly fine.” she let those words hang in the air.

He hadn’t even considered what this might mean for him. He’d just got some semblance of Magic back. But he was contracted to Dareia now. Did that matter? He had nothing but questions, but he didn’t ask them. He just wanted his wife back. To be safe. The rest was just background noise. But he needed to know what he was up against. And a small part of him wanted revenge on the system which had declared him worthless for the past few years.

“I.. just want Alsace to be safe.” He deflated a little as he said it.

Dareia gave a sympathetic look. “I know. That’s our priority. If we can’t destroy the Ledger, we can always come back. I got you involved in this. You didn’t know all the risks, or the full extent of it all. I owe you an apology for that.”

“I bear just as much responsibility. I knew what we were doing wasn’t exactly squeaky clean, so I took some of the risk knowingly.” He took a long sip and finished his wine, placing the chalice on the table. The fire was exceptionally warm. The smell of burning charcoal and wood lingered. Jano looked around before leaning towards his companions.

“We can’t just do this between us three though?” He asked.

Nara smiled, her hair tussling over her shoulders. “No we can’t. Fortunately for us. I’ve been scouting potential recruits, just in case we ever needed a diversion or some helpful friends.” She glanced over at Dareia with a look of smug satisfaction. Jano realised he had no idea what their working relationship was, as it definitely wasn’t the same as his. It was much more equal. “They don’t know the full situation, but we can count on them.”

Nara motioned towards their servant who was working in their private room. Two or three Guards walked into the room. Their plate armour clanking as they took heavy steps. Jano immediately tensed and looked to the exits. The other two sat comfortably in their chairs.

The Guards stopped and fanned out around them. “Are the others ready?” Nara asked.

A tall man with a thick beard surveyed their small group. “Yes. We have twenty or so standing by. We await your instructions.”

“Most of you will be leading my two colleagues here into the Palace. The other few will be joining me. We have to create a convincing distraction. We’ll be the shadows they’re chasing.”

“I assume you’ve already found a way into the Palace?” He said.

Nara looked at Jano. “Our friend here is a particularly gifted Stone Mason. Even if he doesn’t believe it. He can get us in.” Jano felt most of their eyes drift over him. Examining him. He sat up in the chair and put his hands on his knees to try and force some sort of confidence.

“What happens when we get into the Palace?” The man asked.

Dareia coughed. “Well the Emperor has a personal Guard. So you’ll have to keep them busy, with my help. Our friend here will try and do the rest.” She motioned again to Jano. His palms started to sweat and he felt a lot less relaxed than he had done. Even the fire started to feel oppressive.

Nara stood up and looked to Dareia. “We’ll wait for your signal.” She paused. “Good luck. We’re counting on you.” Nara joined the Guard and they left the safe house. As the clanking died down, Jano tried to relax. Shifting in his seat. The room was silent.

“Can we really take out the Emperor with these few people?” He asked.

“We don’t have too much of a choice. If he’s planning to summon the Hollow, all could be lost.”

“What actually are the Hollow?” He wanted to ask earlier but he didn’t want to seem stupid.

“They really don’t teach you anything any longer; do they?” She said, “The Hollow are the wandering undead. Spirits who cannot rest. These spirits can be summoned back into this realm. Using death essence.” She paused.

“Death essence?”

“Yes. Essence flows from everything in our world, remember? Even death.”

“Doesn’t anyone else know about this?” He was exasperated. “Surely others don’t want this?”

“The Emperor was one of the most powerful Mages ever to come out of Qursa. He has set up the Empire so that his citizens systematically give him even more power through the contracts.” She stared at the floor. “He’s pretty much untouchable. Even if his lackeys wanted to challenge him, they couldn’t. That’s why I returned.”

Jano had a million questions to ask, so he spent too much time filtering them in his mind. He tried in vain to find the one he wanted to know the most. “Then why does he need the Hollow?” He managed.

“Even the most powerful need an army. He cannot fight everyone by himself and he needs his citizens to create his wealth. The last thing he needs is a fight within his Empire as well as outside. Other Kingdoms have gotten wind about the strength of the Empire. They know that other than the Emperor, Qursa isn’t strong any longer. By weakening his citizens to strengthen himself, he has created an opening for them.” She said.

“Unfortunately, some of the outside kingdoms know that the Slums are large and they smell profit. Subjugated people are extremely valuable. The Emperor knows the risks of bringing back the Hollow. He just feels he has no other choice. And that’s almost as dangerous as everything else.”

She took a large breath and then drank from her wine. Jano looked around, but there was no one paying them any more attention. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Nobody in the City knew that there was even strong kingdoms that could even contend with the Emperor.

“I don’t mean to offend. And you can refuse to answer. But… how do you know all of this?” He asked, his voice trembled a little as he spoke. Brief images of her tossing an Archmage around like a rag doll popped into his head. He looked nervously towards her.

Dareia finished her drink and placed the chalice gently on the table. She folded her hands over her forehead and for a second, Jano didn’t think she would answer.

“What you have to understand is, the Emperor and I grew up together. Back then Qursa was a backwater little kingdom. This City was no bigger than the size of the Middle. The only thing which made it stand out was the University and our people’s ability to study essence and to use magic.” She took a pause and stared into the fire. The flames danced in her eyes.

“We were tested when we were young, much as they do now. Back then, only those with a sufficient ability to channel essence were picked to go to the University. To learn to use the power and develop it. It didn’t matter where you came from. Though everyone has some innate talent, the University had limited resources and so only the strongest were trained.”

“We were both from the Slums. Yes, they’ve always existed. They always do in cities, however small. The overwhelming majority in the University were still from a ‘noble’ background. So we grew close to stop the bullying. We… He…. We made a blood pact. Something we had managed to read about in a very old book. Blood magic is forbidden, for a reason. Ever since then, we’ve had a sort of connection. I can feel some of what he feels, read some of his thoughts. I can even see some of what he sees. Though we can both prevent it for a time, we can’t keep each other out forever.”

She stopped talking and looked at Jano. He could feel his jaw hanging slightly ajar. He closed it and rubbed his face, thinking hard. She was just like him? He couldn’t stop the thought from flying around his mind.

“As we both grew stronger and began to consider our roles as adults, I was being tipped as an Archmage for one of the departments and eventually for the University itself. Eradin, as he was known then, became the head of the Mage Guard. It was extraordinary for two so young, particularly from the Slums.”

“From there he continued to grow into what you know now. I fled when he told me of his plan to contract with the citizens. Offer them limited uses of magic to incentivise them, so he could draw on their power. I ran away…” She began to say something else. But Jano couldn’t hear. He tried to prompt her, but his voice failed him. They sat in their chairs, letting the words push them apart.

“We need to get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.” She said finally and stood up, one of the servants came to guide her towards her chambers. “Just tell the staff when you want to retire, don’t stay up too long. We need you to be ready tomorrow.”

She moved away and another servant came over. Jano nodded and followed the man. He was exhausted, but he could feel his mind whirring. He was guided to a simple bedroom, but a raised feather mattress was all the invitation Jano needed. He gave his thanks, shut the door and collapsed on it. Letting the comfort surround him. Despite the wine, the exhaustion and the comfortable bed. Sleep was not easy. When he finally did sleep, his dreams were haunted by Alsace’s capture.