Thirty seconds passed before Paui showed up. Her t-shirt and shorts had been replaced with a black undershirt, pants with gold trim, and an overcoat that looked like it was patterned with dragon scales. A gold chain was tucked into the collar of her shirt, and as she raised a hand to wave, Sechen noticed that the palm of her glove had Hoalt’s insignia stitched into it.

“Oh, good, you’re here.” Paui smiled at Sechen as she walked up the lone path through the park-like yard. “Is it only the two of you?”

“Just her and me.” Prisoner answered. “Name’s Prisoner.”

“Paui.”

“No last name?” Prisoner asked.

“Paui Runfree.”

“Runfree… Runfree…” Prisoner mused. “Ain’t ever heard of them, but I’m guessin’ they’ve got fluidity Issi?”

“Yeah.” Paui said with a nod. “You can feel what I’ve got?”

“Yup.” Prisoner confirmed. “So how’re we doing this? You hand off your crystal to a secretary then we wait to meet the overgrown gecko?”

“No, we just go in.” Paui said, gesturing for Sechen and Prisoner to stand and follow her. “I tell Hoalt’s secretary I’m here, then he calls us in when he’s free. The longest I ever waited was two hours, and that was because he’d just started a meeting when I came in. So we shouldn’t have to wait long at all. And don’t call him that, please.”

“Which part? Overgrown or gecko?” Prisoner asked with a grin.

“Both parts.”

“How about old scaly?”

“Just… call him Hoalt. Or Emperor.” Paui sighed. She walked up to the strikingly normal sized doors of the mansion and knocked once, a golden ripple expanding from the contact point until it reached the edges of the door. “This is Hoalt’s seat of power in the city, so try to be a little respectful.”

“I’ll try.” Prisoner said seriously, his smirk delegitimizing his claim.

Paui looked back at Prisoner and grumbled something, but pushed open the door nonetheless.

The mansion’s insides looked more like a town hall than a home. A man in tiny spectacles sat behind a desk, hunched over what Sechen assumed was paperwork, with a smattering of chairs and tables scattered around the room for people to take a load off while they waited for their appointments. There was even a small table with a few refreshments that looked like they’d been picked clean by the day’s appointments. All that was left were a few plain looking cookies, a kettle marked with heat Issi etchings, and a few closed tins decorated with pictures of flowers, fruits, and herbs.

“Take a seat; it could be a few minutes. And help yourselves to whatever tea and cookies are left.” Paui said. “I’ll be right back after I talk to Graham.”

Sechen swiped a cookie and settled down in the closest chair, taking in Hoalt’s relatively modest home when Paui returned.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.” Paui pulled up a chair across from Sechen. “Graham said Hoalt isn’t busy at all, so we should be called in a minute.”

“Waitin’? You were gone for all of fifteen seconds, sister.” Prisoner said as he appeared in the seat next to Paui. She startled and smacked her knee on the table, hissing in pain as Prisoner shot her a look. “What? You ain’t seen anyone teleport before?”

Sechen reached over and tried to pluck a cookie from Prisoner’s grip. She ended up with the broken upper third of one thanks to his iron hold, and even taking that much earned her a dirty look. “I didn’t think we’d be meeting Hoalt this soon.”

“Neither did I, ringlet.” Prisoner said through a mouthful of crumbs. “But like rippin’ off a bandage, the faster the better. Not those bandages that are a glorified bed sheet, but the ones that’ve got a little bit of adhesive on ‘em so they stick to all your tiny hairs.”

“I know what you meant.” Sechen said.

“Some people might not’ve.”

“I knew too.” Paui added helpfully.

“Well, then let me rewind time and shove those words back down my throat.” Prisoner said sarcastically. “Young people these days…”

A deep voice cleared their throat, and everyone turned their head to look at Graham. “The Emperor will see you now, Miss Runfree.”

Paui nodded. “Thanks, Graham. Send us in whenever you’re ready.”

“So you have seen someone teleport before.” Prisoner muttered as the table was taken out from under him.

Sechen looked around for the change in scenery, but the room was basically the same as the one she’d just been in. Except the desk was quite a bit more ornate, and behind it sat a man that obviously had ties to General Temery. “Ah, Paui. Temerey had said she was sending you. Did you have any troubles in your travels?”

Sechen was taken aback at just how pleasant Hoalt’s voice was to listen to. It was polite, calm, and smooth while also retaining an undertone of friendliness. It conjured the image of the perfect gentleman; not the huge, intimidating man that sat opposite them.

“No real troubles, sir, just a few snags that added an extra hour to two to the run.” Paui replied, her voice taking on a professional edge. “I’ve got the crystal General Temery promised you right here. And the one who filled it.”

“Yo.” Prisoner said with a wave. “Long time no see, Emperor scaly.”

Paui groaned, and Hoalt narrowed his eyes at Prisoner while raising a finger to his chin in thought. “I don’t remember meeting you before. And from the Issi in this crystal, I assuredly would have memorized the face that went alongside it.”

“You got barriers in here?”

“Yes, plenty.” Hoalt replied, raising an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“Hold him for me, ringlet.” Prisoner said, and suddenly Sechen was crushed under the weight of a limp body. Hoalt murmured in surprise, but there was still no recognition in his eyes. “I don’t expect you to remember me, since we never met one-on-one, but you can already tell that you can’t bullshit me, can’t you? So let’s drop the act, and you can talk to me like the Hoalt I know you are.”

“The Hoalt you know I am?” Hoalt asked with a frown. “I don’t follow.”

Prisoner pushed out of the chair, his Issi forming tiny crystals in the air. It was like the little wisps Sechen remembered, but it felt so much more… real. “The Hoalt that deals in blood. The Hoalt that started the practice of devourin’ wisps to get his practitioners just that little bit stronger than the others. The Hoalt that would send his own apprentices to die rather than give them one little morsel of his hoarded power. Emperor Hoalt.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Hoalt held up his hands. “That isn’t me. Not anymore.”

“Like I’m gonna believe you.” Prisoner spat. “You might’ve got all the people in this damned city fooled, with your promises of power and contractual obligations, but the short-sighted dimwit in the wolf den down below showed me you ain’t changed one bit.”

“What are you talking about?” Hoalt asked, but his tone was different. He seemed to be getting… it wasn’t angry, but it was something like it. “Explain.”

“One of your lackeys tried to bind my friend. Just like they always do. Twisting words like a knife until the wound’s deep enough that they bleed out slowly but surely over the rest of their damn life.” Prisoner snapped his fingers, and a small crystal appeared between Hoalt and Paui. “But unfortunately, I need you to help my other friend. So here’s how this is gonna go; you give me what I want, and I don’t murder every single member of that forward march you sent to the glacier.”

Hoalt blinked, then let out a short laugh. “Are you threatening me, mortal? You pitiful Issi couldn’t even hope…”

Prisoner tapped the empty air in front of him, and Hoalt’s shoulder exploded. “This ain’t a negotiation. I know they don’t work with you.”

A tentative hand reached up to Hoalt’s shoulder, and Sechen expected this to be when the real fight broke out. She cracked her knuckles to spring rings up around herself and Elach, then put one on Paui out of instinct. But Hoalt didn’t get mad. He got… scared.

“What did you do to my soldiers?” He asked, his voice trembling in fear.

“Nothing.” Prisoner grinned wide, and Sechen felt the malice behind his next word; “Yet.”

“I have one question. Will you allow me that?” Hoalt asked.

“Ask away.”

“Who are you?”

Prisoner chuckled, pressing his palm to the air. A purple symbol flashed out, the same one that was on his shoulder, and Hoalt’s expression fell from fearful to grim. “So you do remember. Bastard.”

“I was different then. But centuries can change a person.” Hoalt tried.

“A person, sure. I ain’t the same I was back then. But can the centuries change a tyrant?” Prisoner shook his head. “Glasrime says no. You say yes. Maybe we get Lavassil to voice their opinion on this? Break the tie?”

“What is happening?” Paui asked in disbelief, looking between Prisoner and Hoalt with wide eyes before settling on Sechen. “What the hells is happening?”

“What’s happening, sister, is that I’ve been betrayed by old scaly here enough that I ain’t falling for it again.” Prisoner moved his hand forward, and a piece of paper appeared in front of Hoalt with gleaming silver ink. He looked down, then looked like he was going to be sick. “Now, since I’m feelin’ uncharacteristically generous, I’m gonna give you a chance to prove that you’re a ‘changed tyrant’.” Prisoner said mockingly. “Give it your best shot.”

“Cavress.” Hoalt muttered. “It all flows back to Cavress. I give you my word that I have changed. And if I cannot prove it to you, given ample time, you can end me.”

“No.” Prisoner shook his head. “That don’t prove nothin’, snake-tongue. Try again”

Hoalt looked around the room, his eyes settling on Paui. “You said I would not give my apprentices a morsel of my power. Come to me, runner Paui.”

Paui looked to Hoalt, then to Prisoner for permission. He gestured that she could walk.

“This is the key to The Vault’s chambers.” Hoalt reached into his pocket, producing a black triangle with a golden inscription. “Go there now and take whatever you wish that will help you in your training, then bring it back to me. I will personally transfer ownership to you no matter what you bring.”

“Yeah, no.” Prisoner chuckled. “I ain’t falling for that again. Not after speaker Kol.”

Hoalt blanched. “I had forgotten about speaker Kol.”

“Right, right. Forgot. You got anythin’ else, you overgrown gecko? ‘Cause I’m startin’ to get bored.”

“What do you wish me to do?” Hoalt pleaded. “I cannot prove what you don’t wish to hear.”

“Give me your fang. And not the one in your mouth.”

“It is done.” Hoalt said instantly, bending down to fumble around in his desk before coming up with a vial of black liquid. “Here. It means nothing to me anymore.”

The vial poofed out of Hoalt’s hand and reappeared between two of Prisoner’s fingers. He tapped the side of the vial, then clicked his tongue in disappointment. “Fifteen doses left. Last I checked, you had twenty one.”

Prisoner tossed it to Paui. “Drink it.”

Paui stared down at the small vial she’d instinctively caught. Her hands shook like leaves, and as she raised her head to look at Prisoner, Sechen saw death flash on her face.

Another overpowering Issi filled the room to join Prisoner’s. Sechen couldn’t see Hoalt’s face behind the cloak of black that surrounded him, like the shadowed doorway to a haunted tomb. “No.”

“No what? Finish your sentence.”

“She will not die for your proof.” Hoalt decreed.

“That’s one point to you, but it don’t change the fact that you’ve still got that deadly poison sittin’ in your desk drawer.” Prisoner sighed and shook his head. “If you really were a changed tyrant, I can’t help but think you wouldn’t keep poison on hand at all times.”

“It is a reminder. A deadly, horrible reminder.” Hoalt said grimly. “If it must come to blows, could you relocate us somewhere else, please? I do not wish any innocents to be caught up in a fight between constants.”