The forgestone was heavier than seemed possible. After a few moments of holding it at her waist her arm already grew tired. The gem itself was small enough to fit into a single hand, but it weighed at least ten pounds. Perhaps more. Eris was wary of dropping it for fatigue, so she slid it into her backpack; yet even there it seemed to bore a hole through the cloth.

Jason admired the bounty.

“What are we going to do with all this?” he said.

Eris glanced about the vault. “I hear there is a vacancy for the local lordship,” she said.

“Between sandspiders, ghouls, vampires, and the fact that just about everything in the valley is dead, I’d rather take the money and run.”

He had a point. Gold did little good here, where even the plants withered for lack of sunlight. At first she had fantasies of infinite wealth, but as ever they would be restricted to what little they could carry back to civilization.

“If we do not depart soon we may find ourselves unable to even find food to eat,” Eris said as the thought occurred to her. “We will be forced to leave the rest here. Yet the sword will remain in our possession, and no one else will find the vault.”

“Yes,” Jason said. “We can come back with another expedition. We can haul everything back to Katharos in wagons!”

Inspiration. “For these sums we can hire an army of mercenaries to escort us all the way.”

“It’s hardly far back to the port on the sea. Two trips would be enough. We’ll want to limit the number of people we show the fortune to, obviously. If we can charter a ship back to Katharos we should be able to move most of the gold into the Grand Bank. It’ll be safe there.”

“You are brilliant,” Eris said. “This is the disposition of a true adventurer, which some others in our company lack.”

He smiled. “I have some other skills, too—”

She put a hand on his shoulder, still smiling. “Do not push your luck, lest you end up smeared on my other sandal.”

Jason shuddered. “You have no idea how sexy that was.”

She rolled her eyes and again surveyed the vault. Pain crept through the cuts in her hands as she turned over gems, diadems, and sacks of coins. Her stomach growled. She was exhausted, too, from using so much magic.

“As pleasurable as it is to gaze upon our fortune, there is little to be done about it now. I will retire upstairs until Rook arrives. You had best hide that dagger before ‘tis seen.”

He looked it over. “Good idea. I don’t suppose you can melt this one, too?”

“Not inconspicuously.”

They walked back up the staircase to the vault. “Right. Well. I’ll take care of it.”

So he left her alone in the gloomy darkness of Arqa’s personal bedchamber. Others may have found the place eerie in its underground silence; the ceiling was high and, unlike the vault, the architecture beautiful and ornate. Yet there was an atmosphere of claustrophobia to it all. No hint of sunlight, so that it seemed like a king’s resort built in the middle of an oubliette. That was to say nothing of the tormented souls that doubtlessly lingered everywhere in these haunted halls, of the cursed legacy, of the fact that a murderous demon slept in this very place one day past.

But Eris was not bothered. She collapsed onto the bed. To find it comfortable was to find it comfortable. She immediately fell into that euphoric twilight space between sleep and wakefulness, where some awareness remained but conscious thought stopped and the only sensation was the comfort of the mattress beneath the back.

Jason went to the one place he was sure no one would ever think to explore again: the library. He moved Arqa’s chair over to a shelf, then climbed atop it; and reaching up above the heights of the highest shelf, he placed the dagger down.

Completely out of sight. Totally out of reach.

“There,” he said. “Find that one.”

The rain never abated. Rook remembered last year’s monsoon—how it poured and poured for days on end, how the clouds formed a sort of night unto itself to offer respite from the sun. He supposed it was the kiss of life Arqa needed after such a terrible year.

“Rook,” Robur said. He emerged from the keep’s entrance. “We have found the vault. It’s very interesting—his sword was the key—”

“You found another vault?” Aletheia said, scrambling upward.

“Well—yes.”

“But you didn’t open it, right?”

He looked at her. Her breathing picked up. “Well,” he said, “of course we did. It required blood—”

“I told you! You don’t know what else is here!”

Rook wrapped his arms around her. “It’s okay. What did you find inside?”

“…I left before I saw. But we found his notes. They indicate that this was his treasury.”

“Rook!” Aletheia protested. She turned and batted against his chest. “It’s not okay! We don’t know what else—”

She was getting hysterical, bordering tears, so he brought her into a tighter embrace. “Arqa is gone. If there was something else here, he would have let it loose already.”

“We would have detected its Essence as well,” Robur said.

“See?” Rook said. “It’s all right.”

“You don’t know that,” Aletheia said.

“There are a lot of things I don’t know. I still can’t think of a good rhyme for ‘Eris.’ But I do know that you can trust me to keep you safe.”

She nodded, eventually. He felt terrible making her go back into this place, but it would be even worse to leave her alone, and he needed to see whatever it was that Eris had found.

“Can you take us there?” he said.

“Yes, this way,” Robur said.

“It’s a stairwell,” Rook said. “There’s only one way. But lead on and I will limp.”

At some point the remaining party rendezvoused at the vault. Eris explained the lock, and even the ever-charitable Rook was struck dumb at the sight of so much treasure.

“Best of all,” she said, “we found this.” She showed him the forgestone. “‘Tis an artifact of plastic aether. If we locate a manaforge we can use it to create any artifact we imagine.”

“Any?” Rook said.

“So long as it may be put into clear speech. So malleable is the forgestone’s Essence that it is akin to granting a wish.”

“So,” he mused, “I could ask for a…suit of mail as light as a feather, yet harder than Arkwi steel?”

“That would be easy.”

“Or…a pair of rings that ensured two lovers never lost their feelings for each other.”

Eris scoffed. “You might, if you felt like wasting such precious reagents on manure. Yet I would caution that forgestones are subject to the perversions of any normal wish; its creations will have drawbacks and limitations. There is a reason why so many of the magical items left behind by the Old Kingdom are simple as enchanted suits of normal armor, or blades—such as your own—which are merely sharper and more durable than the average. There is less to go wrong when asking for a sword.”

“That’s no fun” Rook said. “But perhaps the rest of this treasure can buy the fun for us all.”

“Trust me, I can buy a lot of fun without any need for magical artifacts,” Jason said.

Aletheia spotted a piece of jewelry she liked best and grabbed it while she thought no one was looking. Eris was looking, but she said nothing.

“We will have to make return trips to retrieve it all,” she said, “but I suspect that shall not be so difficult given time.”

“No. You forget that—” Rook started, but he stopped. “Where’s Kas?”

And there it was. The question she had been dreading. Jason, without any delay, interjected first: “He went after Robur, looking for you. Haven’t you seen him?”

“No,” Rook said. “How long ago?”

“Not long after Robur left.”

A moment of silence. “He must have lost his way in the corridors,” Eris said.

“Dwarves very rarely lose their ways underground,” Robur said.

“Maybe something got him,” Aletheia said. She withdrew back toward Rook.

He frowned. Eris knew what he was going to say next, so she almost mouthed the words along with him: “We should look for him.”

“He’ll turn up in a few hours,” Jason said. “Do we need to?”

“And if he does not,” Eris said, “‘tis no concern of ours.”

“He might need our help,” Rook said.

“We are not his nannies. I did not come to Arqa to walk dwarves on leashes. But very well. No doubt we will find him presently.”

Rook nodded, but grimaced. “I can’t go. The four of you should search together, in case there is something else here—”

“No!” Aletheia said. “I’m staying with you!”

He clutched at his side. “Okay. The three of you. Pyraz can keep us company.”

They all started back up the stairs, but those final words made Robur hesitate. “I have an idea,” he said. “Might we ask Pyraz to track him?”

Eris froze. She looked at once to Jason, and on his face saw just the same expression as must have been on her own.

She folded her arms in the most derisive way she could think to. “Can a dog sniff out a dwarf underground? No doubt he would confuse the scent with that of the stone around us.”

“Yeah,” Jason said, “seems like a waste of time.”

Rook stopped, panting in pain as he climbed, but regarded them with a cocked eye. “Why don’t we ask him? I should’ve thought of it—Pyraz.” The dog wasn’t present, but Rook called his name again; a few moments later he came barreling down the steps, wagging his tail. “Pyraz. Can you sniff out Kas for us?”

Pyraz barked. He pushed past them all and went straight to the place where the ash of his clothes still clung to the dusty vault floor. Eris panicked, only internally, thinking of what lie to weave next, when the strangest thing happened.

Pyraz’s nose lowered to the ash. He sniffed for a moment and looked up to Eris and their eyes met and held for a long time. She shivered to think this dog had watched her have sex, because there was a knowing in his look—an intelligence that saw straight through her.

And with that look, he bolted back up the stairs, barking for them to follow.

“I know that bark,” Rook said. “He has the scent. Can you go after him?”

“Yes,” Robur said. “I’m sure we’ll find him straight away.”

Eris pursued cautiously. A still-terrified Jason trailed after her, and once out of ear-shot of Rook and Aletheia—they stayed behind in Arqa’s room—they whispered.

“What the hell is he doing?” Jason said.

“I think,” Eris said slowly, “he is covering for us.”

“He’s a dog.”

“I do not think so.”

“How would he know to cover for us? He wasn’t there—”

“He knows I have magic, and he smelled the ash on the ground. Now be silent and play along.”

Pyraz led them on a diversion through the halls of Keep Arqa that made no sense. Down one corridor, up another, around in circles, then all the way back to the front entrance. He took them up the staircase to the keep’s bailey and only stopped at the foot of the downpour. There he sat, barking, looking at Robur.

“He must have gone out into the rain,” Jason said half-heartedly.

Pyraz barked in agreement.

Robur peered outside. “How would he leave? The portcullis is still blocked.”

“He could’ve jumped over the walls, from the ramparts.”

“No doubt the rain has washed away any scent outside,” Eris said.

“Why would Kas go into the rain?” Robur said.

“Grief for his brothers,” Jason said. “Sadness, you know. Can make people do crazy things.”

Robur frowned. “This is all very strange.”

Eris thought it would be best to appear thorough, so she stepped out into the rain, and she and Robur searched the flooded keep. They became soaked instantaneously. They found the drowned bodies of Ras and Absalon and the troll, yet the spiders, including the gigantic spideress, and all the birds had disintegrated in the hours since Arqa’s defeat. Decomposition and decay held back by the vampire’s magic caught up to them at an accelerated pace.

They tried to check along the ramparts, but the winds were too strong. They were forced back inside.

“Wherever he has gone,” Eris said, “he has doubtlessly drowned by now. ‘Tis his business. We have squandered enough time on this search.”

Pyraz barked in agreement, again.

Robur was unconvinced by the display. They returned to Rook and Aletheia to report their findings.

“Maybe he saw something,” Aletheia said. “Something here—to scare him away—”

“Or maybe he was a fool who went mad once the loss of his brothers caught up to him,” Eris said.

Rook scratched his head. “Out into the rain?”

“Pyraz did appear to think so,” Robur said.

“I cannot mark that. Perhaps Aletheia is right. Some spell, or another demon—”

“Rook,” Eris said. “The magic of a demon is not subtle. We have explored this place thoroughly; there are no demons here, and no spells left undetected. Robur and I can assure you of this. ‘Tis safe for us. Forget about the dwarf, please. If he returns, so be it; if he does not, then he sealed his own fate. Pyraz has never led us astray before.”

“No,” Rook agreed, “he hasn’t. You’re right. Let’s get some rest. Tomorrow we can eat and—make plans. We have a lot left to plan.”

Eris claimed Arqa’s bedchamber for herself. The rest of everyone found quarter in the guest rooms. Come morning they were all less tired and more pained than before. Robur spent his time in the study doing—something, Eris didn’t know what, while she slept in. By midday they found one of the keep’s kitchens and prepared a lunch.

Aletheia inherited Astera’s rations. Absalon, Ras, and Kas left behind enough food for a small banquet. Just as Eris always said: there were upsides to casualties. They ate well, and for the first time in so many weeks they all talked without any clouds of obligation hanging over them.

Kas had a small portion of nog in his pack. Everyone except Pyraz took a sip. That was more than enough for a buzz.

With chandeliers and hearths lit at a dining room the atmosphere was warm and inviting and surreal. They all gathered close together.

“Wait,” Jason said. “What did you just say? About Theschylos?”

“What about him?” Rook said innocently.

“You met him?”

He shrugged. “Once or twice. Well. Twice.”

“Uh—how?”

“Events.”

“Who’s Theschylos?” Aletheia said.

“You don’t know who Theschylos is?” Jason said.

“Why do people always do that?” she said. “I said I didn’t know, but you asked me again.”

Rook put a hand on her shoulder. “He’s a playwright.”

“He’s the playwright,” Jason said. “He runs the Archon’s Men. You really haven’t heard of him?”

“I was dead for a year,” she said softly.

“Some excuse. Please tell me you’ve at least heard of The Tragedy of Serapion?” he looked to Eris.

She sighed. “I think the paper actors use to memorize their lines is better saved for kindling,” she said.

“Is that a yes?”

“Unfortunately. I do not make a habit of seeing plays, however.”

“I loved the Archon’s Men when I was a boy,” Rook said. “My father took me to every performance at the palace. He’s not just a writer, it’s the way he delivers the lines—I wanted to run away and join his company when I grew up.”

“Why didn’t you?” Aletheia said.

“I tried,” Rook said, “but they turned me away. They said I was much too ugly to be an actor.” Everyone at the table laughed, so he continued, “it’s true, I swear. When the royal players aren’t on stage most make their livings in the brothels, and they didn’t think I was up to it.”

“If you wanted to end up as a whore,” Jason said, “adventurer is the next closest thing.”

“Hardly half so dangerous, too,” Rook said.

“But what’s the real story? Of when you met Thes—the guy?” Aletheia said.

His expression darkened. “I don’t remember. It was a long time ago, the encounter is musty. Nobles throw parties—like this one, only with uglier women and fatter men, and they invite everyone.” He paused for a moment. Then he brightened once more. “So. What will Aletheia buy with her infinite fortune?”

They went on in this fashion for hours. The conversation was rejuvenating, as was the meal. Yet no matter how much Eris ate, one particular hunger was not sated. It had been bubbling away in her gut since before the defeat of the Manawyrm. For a time she hadn’t noticed, then she had been too busy to focus in on it, and then there was no time, and then she had been exhausted. Now, however, things were different.

She stared at Rook like a wolf all meal long.

True, he was wounded—and so was she. And now a pet followed him about wherever he went. But she thought back to the splendor of Lord Arqa’s bedchamber and wondered when else she might have anywhere so wonderful to play with her blond crow, and she decided she liked to be in charge anyway.

It was agony, but then Rook had grown used to that. There were only a brief few days on the road to Arqa when he wasn’t in pain and now it would be weeks in recovery again. At least this time nothing was broken. He was sliced in the thigh, the wrist, and the waist, but so long as nothing bled or oozed he endure handle it. He felt fairly certain he would survive.

And as he tried to press through the pain and keep his companions distracted, he noticed Eris’ looks.

That was a woman who knew what she wanted.

He was a temperate man. Well in-control of his faculties. Prone to anger, sometimes, but otherwise disciplined. But it had been weeks upon weeks around this woman, all day of every day, and they hadn’t so much as touched each other. Now there was so much cause for celebration. Even despite the pain of his injuries and even as he was cognizant of the death and destruction of their battle he felt nothing but elation, like he never had before.

Also, someone left the open bottle of nog on the dining table. He made the mistake of taking another sip. All his inhibitions were banished after that. One drop of that Dwarven mead was good as two bottles of wine.

They found themselves on the floor, on the carpet, by the hearth. By then it felt like night. They told more stories. Even Eris participated—and she never participated, not ever. When he gathered the party she slinked away into solitude. But not today. At some point a silence overcame them; in those few moments, she scooted over to his side, and just as she was about to say something—something licentious, no doubt—he pulled her in closer for a kiss.

Their lips came together. Rook wanted nothing more than to taste her again, and for the first time, without any worries, and he was drunk enough not to consider the spectators. But did he care anyway? Jason knew how he felt about her. Aletheia did, too, even if he hadn’t told her. Only Robur was in the dark, and what did it matter if he found out? What was he afraid of?

He tugged her closer, and she complied—

But her hand caught his chest. Their faces stopped inches from one another.

“What are you doing?” she whispered, staccato.

“Kissing you,” he said.

Her farce contorted. “Before an amphitheater?”

Rook turned away from her. Robur, Aletheia, and Jason, who had been conversing amongst themselves, looked upward now.

“Don’t mind us,” Jason said.

“See,” Rook said, “they don’t mind.”

She pushed him away. Her lip was pursed and she still had that look in her eyes, like she was ready to pounce, even as she said, “I think not.”

Her response was like a punch to the face. It left him dazed and speechless. He had no clue how to respond. “They know—” he started.

“I am not a prize for you to demonstrate ownership of before your friends,” she said. She pulled away from him, standing up. “I—” she looked again to the rest of the party, but before she could find her words, she stormed off into the hallway. Pyraz was forced to scramble out of the way lest he found himself kicked.

The rest of them were left in silence.

Aletheia whispered to herself, “‘Your friends.’”

“On second thought,” Jason said, “she’s all yours.”

Rook put his head in his hands and sighed. “Let me go talk to her.”

“Have fun,” Jason said. “Be careful she doesn’t turn you into a cricket.”

He didn’t know where she’d go except Arqa’s bedchamber, so he pursued her straight there. The door was unlocked and he opened it without knocking, and only seconds after stepping inside he found himself overcome with agony, his thigh buckling, blood in his mouth as he was pushed across the room in the dim light—

And he felt Eris’ lips against his own. She tackled him onto the bed, and he was in so much pain that he could do nothing but watch as she did whatever he wanted to him.

“What are you doing,” he gasped.

“Only what we both desire,” she said.

“But—” he tried. “You—”

She was on top of him now and their faces were together. “Our arrangement is passion. It is lust. It is pleasure. It is not public affection.”

She kissed him again. For a brief moment his mind went to Aletheia—he didn’t want to leave her alone in this place—and then to the distant cognizance that the beautiful woman straddling him now was clearly insane, or at least so damaged that it might be better to stay away, yet all it took was to feel her touch, to be reminded of so much lust, and to look at her once again for all those invasive thoughts to sublimate away. Then there was only him and Eris and nothing between them.

That was their first encounter together since her powers were restored. That was the first encounter where Eris let Rook know that she was the one who was in command.

Aletheia pulled her knees to her chest. Rook still wasn’t back. “Do you think we should check on him?” she said.

“No,” Jason said definitively.

“But what do you think—do you think—”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

She was young but anything if stupid. She wanted everyone to stay together, especially her and Rook, yet she also wanted him to be happy. And if Eris made him happy…

That was hard to imagine.

Her heart raced when she glanced about the roof in this place. She watched the shifting of shadows everywhere around her in the hearth’s light. Anxiety spread through her veins. It took everything just to stay calm. But she knew she had to learn to live again, and so she would.

Robur stood. “I am going to resume my studies in the library. There is a very interesting book left there that I’ve been reading today.”

“Fascinating,” Jason said.

“I’ll come with you,” Aletheia said.

“Hey!” Jason said, suddenly shifting upward. “Why the library? It’s just a bunch of old shit. Let’s go watch the rain.”

“I thought you liked books,” Aletheia said.

“I copy them, I don’t like them.”

“No, I think I’ll go to the library,” Robur said. “You can go watch the rain—”

“Really, there was that girl there—it’s creepy. Why bother? Or, you can bring your book to the surface with us.”

“I want to see the books,” Aletheia said. “Maybe—maybe there’s a Theschylos play?”

Jason closed his eyes and sighed. “Yeah. Okay. Fine. Let’s go.”

They walked past Arqa’s bedchamber on the way there, to the study and the library. The door was shut. The high-pitched sounds of a girl being stabbed to death came from the other side. Aletheia’s heart stopped. On instinct she went for the door—

Jason grabbed her.

“We have to help—”

Another scream.

“You really don’t,” Jason said.

“No! She’s—”

“Aletheia.” Their eyes met. “Rook is in there with her.” Her head started swimming, imagining that he was possessed now, disintegrating into panic, when Jason continued, “Remember what we talked about?”

He pulled her down the corridor, into the study, where the sound was inaudible.

Aletheia stopped.

“Oh,” she said. “Are you sure? Maybe we should check—”

“I’ve been to a lot of brothels. I’m pretty sure.”

“Eris is often very loud at night,” Robur said flatly.

Apparently this was an open secret. She knew, of course—how couldn’t she—it was obvious—but…

She didn’t like imagining Rook and Eris together. It made her heart sink and a cool sorrow spread through her cheeks. But there was nothing to be done about it, so she took a seat in the study and perched to brood. Jason did the same.

A few minutes later, Robur found his book. But he stopped in the room’s center.

“This is strange,” he said. “The dust has been disturbed.”

“What?” Jason said.

“Beneath the chair at the desk. The dust has been disturbed. The chair has been moved recently.”

“No it hasn’t.”

“Yes, it has. I believe someone moved it—”

“You’re seeing things.”

“No. It was moved near this shelf. There is quite a lot of dust on the floor, you see. I wonder why…”

Aletheia perked up to watch. Jason stepped toward the chair. “Look, you need to relax. Forget about the chair.”

“Why?” Robur said.

“Because—you need to relax. Stop worrying about shit all the time. Have some more nog.”

“The nog is empty.”

“Then…read your book!”

He shook his head. “It will only take a moment to check.”

“You’re all so high strung. Rook had the right idea. Relax a little. I mean come on—”

Aletheia didn’t remember Jason acting like this. She watched him curiously, but he stepped out of the way, and Robur brought the chair over to one of the shelves. He climbed up on top of it, and for the next few minutes looked at the top levels, the books at the highest reaches, and then—

He pulled a dagger from above. A Dwarven dagger.

“…how did that get there?” Jason said.

Robur squinted. “This was Kas’.”

The bedchamber had a bath. It was gray and brackish and set into the stone, so that its water was at foot level, and had no doubt gone uncleaned for centuries. While Rook sat sweating in bed, panting, sizzling in both pain and pleasure while his mind buzzed, Eris stood and approached it. There was a flash of light, and some moments later Rook found himself on his feet, tugged by the wrists, and being submerged into the cool bath’s waters—now all crystal pure.

“‘Tis a spell I learned while we were apart,” she said.

“I need to get back to Aletheia,” he said.

“She will be fine on her own for a few minutes longer. We must clean your wounds.”

They were both undressed and, showing that same eerie affection she always did after sex, she removed his bandages and washed away the crusted-over blood and sweat that clung to his leg and torso and arm. It hurt, but being clean felt good; the bath was filled presently with gore, but Eris cast her spell once more, and it was all dissolved away. Then she clung to his arm and put her head on his shoulder—and that felt very good, too.

He wished she was like this all the time. He recalled then his poem, composed the night after she left him in Rytus:

The swineherd wrangles pens of hogs

The catcher catches rats

The kennelmaster keeps his dogs

But what man captures cats?

For the time being he had given the cat what she wanted. Now she purred against him, and that was euphoric. Yet he knew that when next he came to stroke her ears she would dart away. Affection could be exchanged only on her terms.

And maybe that was something he simply needed to accept.

She ran a head through his hair. “I pray we can return to these trysts with more regularity hence-forth…”

He shifted, sending water bubbling, wincing in pain. “You’ll kill me if you don’t slow down.”

“At least you will be dying in pleasure. Like the male praying mantis, hm?”

He let his muscles relax. “There are worse fates.”

“We will simply need to find a softer bed. No doubt we will have the funds to acquire one.”

Having Eris against him like this was very distracting, but his mind was clear, and in the water the pain wasn’t so bad once settled. That was why her words reminded him.

“The funds,” he said.

“Yes?”

He met her gaze. “You know we can’t spend months plundering this vault.”

“I do not know that. Jason and I have drafted a plan already.”

“That much money will make us a target. There are rumors of Arqa’s treasure already; with him dead, others will come to find his fortune.”

“We will hire soldiers to fend them off,” Eris said, “and I will incinerate those who get in my way.”

“Eris,” Rook said. “You are already a target.”

She frowned at him.

“And so is Aletheia,” he continued. “And so am I. You haven’t forgotten?”

She ran her tongue along her teeth. “Ah. You mean the Seekers.”

He nodded. And for a long time she stared at him, trying to think of some retort, no doubt conjuring an insult to hurl his way—as was her style—but instead she fell very quiet.

“I hate you,” she said sullenly, and she fell down to his side, withdrawing her arms to herself. Rook smiled. “Must you spoil everything?”

“We take all we can carry. That’s still a fortune. The rest we leave to the people of Arqa. If Jason wants to stay to plunder it, so be it. But you and I and Aletheia can’t. Even one trip to Katharos was too dangerous.”

She was fuming. Eris was a very smart woman, and so Rook felt no small tinge of smug satisfaction to have caught her in this manner. It didn’t happen often. She knew he was right and she hated it. Finally she groaned, “I want to be rich! All we needed do was bring this gold to a bank—”

“The Seekers would seize your vaults and ambush you,” Rook said.

She sighed angrily. Then she stood and climbed from the water. There were no towels, so she dried herself on the room’s hanging curtains. Rook could do nothing but watch. When she had covered herself he tried to follow, but his cut thigh buckled and he fell. “Can you help me up?” he asked.

“Help yourself!” she said.

With that she left him. He should have expected this response. Eris could be insulted infinitely and hardly mind, but tell her something she knew was true—that would infuriate her. He was forced to crawl from the water and back to the bed, where he redressed himself very slowly, and all the time he wondered. He wondered if she told him the truth about Kas and he wondered if she would ever learn to be civil to Aletheia. But the longer she was gone, the harder it became not to think about her; and so he realized he hardly cared. He never would capture the cat, but there were worse fates than chasing after her. At least she would pay him her attention, sometimes. At least she was useful to have around. And, perhaps basest yet most important of all, at least she looked spectacular while running away.

Eris needed another sip of nog. She was still soaked—the ends of her hair especially—and hardly dressed, but she slipped through the corridors, back to the dining hall, and she found the bottle. She took a sip…

And it was empty.

She threw it into the still-burning hearth with a curse. Of course she knew Rook was right. That she could linger in Katharos, or in any city, collecting interest like a banker—such fantasies were absurd. Many loose threads needed to be tied before such a fate would be possible. But all her life had been spent in fear of poverty and forthcoming destitution, and for one day she had imagined her concerns would forever be resolved. For once, finally, she could focus only on her ambitions, and cease worrying about material wellbeing.

It was not to be.

Of course they would still extract great wealth from this place. Even so, it would run dry eventually. The pressure would be on again soon enough.

Unable to find any alcohol she ate whatever leftovers still sat out. She sat by the fire to dry her hair. For quite some time she enjoyed the solitude, when a voice came to her from the doorway.

“Eris?”

It was Robur.

She sighed. “What do you want?”

He hesitated for a long while, unable to find the right words. “The story you told of Kas’ disappearance…”

“I do not wish to discuss this any further.”

“Yes, but…we found his dagger in the library.” He stepped forward. In his hands was that same dagger Eris had pulled from the dwarf’s hands. Eris groaned. Of course, leave it to Jason, to fail utterly in his one task. “I wanted to ask you—to speak with you. Once you and Rook were…finished. With…”

She held her forehead. This was not a conversation she wanted to have, ever, and particularly not now. “I have no notion how it was placed there. Now leave me.”

He stepped forward. “It’s merely that—well. We discussed the encounter at the Lightning Wall in Nanos, after what the Manawyrm said…”

“I told you,” Eris growled, “the Wyrm is a demon. It lies on force of habit.”

“But do you not think this disappearance of Kas is strange, when only you and Jason were present for it?”

“No.”

“It seems strange—”

“‘Tis not.”

“You seem very unconcerned…”

“Are you accusing me of having something to do with this dwarf going missing?”

Robur hesitated. “No. But…”

“But what?”

He shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Nothing is correct. Go pester Rook; I tire of bad news.”

The boy’s head dipped down. It was clear he didn’t believe her. He slinked away thereafter, and for a moment Eris felt a tinge of guilt for her cruelty. Robur had been tremendously kind to her. To see him walk away like a kicked dog was not her foremost desire. Yet he stuck his nose in the hornet’s nest; he needed to learn where his snooping did not belong.

Rook found Aletheia and Jason in the study. Aletheia gave him a pained glance; his heart nearly broke.

Jason wore a look of neurotic paranoia.

“Where’s Robur?” Rook said.

“We found Kas’ dagger,” Aletheia said. “Hidden. Maybe—Robur thought maybe Eris had something to do with it.”

“It’s crazy,” Jason said. “Absolutely crazy. I was with her the whole time—nothing happened. You heard what Pyraz found. I mean come on.”

“He went to find her.”

Rook nodded. He limped toward a shelf and glanced it over. A book was pulled out at random. He wanted to make Aletheia laugh, so he joked: “I can never read this cursive script. What does that say, anyway? ‘The Wangs of thon Marchers?’”

She did smile, against herself, saying, “‘The Wings of the Marshes.’”

“There’s no way that’s an ‘i.’” He tossed the book to the side, then took a seat beside her. She looked away.

“She has a spell on you, right?” she said.

“You heard.”

“They heard in Ganarajya,” Jason said. “We need to buy a muzzle.”

Rook was slightly embarrassed. “She helped me change my bandages.”

“I thought you were killing her,” Aletheia said.

“She really did,” Jason said.

She shook her head. “She’s evil.”

“She isn’t evil,” Rook said.

“Yes she is. She probably eats babies when no one’s looking.”

“That would explain the looks,” Jason said. “Keeps her young.” Rook glared at him—he didn’t need the commentary. “Sorry.”

Rook always liked children, and he’d always wanted his own family, but he had no idea what to say to Aletheia. He could defend himself to Astera, and to Jason, and he knew what to tell himself to justify the affair, but what to tell a thirteen-year-old girl? Maybe he knew she was right. Somehow the defense that ‘she took her clothes off’ didn’t seem like it would work with her.

Aletheia sighed when Rook fell silent. She scooted back over toward him. “It’s okay,” she said. “If you really love her.” Their eyes met.

That question again. He smiled. “I do,” he said quietly.

Just then Robur appeared in the sconcelight. Eris was not with him.

“What news?” Rook said.

He still held a dagger in his hand. He shrugged. “She became very angry when I showed her the dagger. She does not seem interested in finding Kas.”

“Well,” Jason said, “it’s another person to split the take with. Who would want to find him? Let’s forget about him, okay?”

“Rook,” Aletheia said. “She knows something. You need to go ask her.”

He met her gaze again. Her golden eyes, just like Eris’. How likely was it, that the selfish witch and the greedy scribe were the only witnesses to the disappearance of their most disposable party member—just as they uncovered a great fortune? That he truly ran out, in a fit of grief, to the surface, whereupon he drowned? Was that more likely than the alternative?

Of course not. Rook knew that. He knew she was lying. And yet—he didn’t care. He decided he would rather believe the lie. That was so much easier. If they found out the truth, what would it mean for Aletheia? What would it mean for the party? What would it mean for him?

He didn’t want to know.

“No,” he said. “She’s telling the truth. Forget about the dagger. There are too many mysteries in Esenia for us to stay up all night worrying about them. Besides—would Pyraz lie?”

When they returned to the surface the skies were clear and the bailey had mostly drained. Eris and Robur cleared away the portcullis, then the whole of the party scaled the battlements. They looked out at Arqa Valley to see a place where countless rivers flowed across a black and gray landscape toward a distant lake. There were only rare hints of white and green life in foliage.

“Last year,” Rook said, “after the first rains, everything was greener than green.”

“It will be many years before the valley heals,” Robur said.

“If it ever does,” Jason said. He looked to Eris. “Rook says you’re abandoning the loot?”

Eris gritted her teeth. She was not in the mood to discuss this any longer. “So it would seem,” she managed.

“More for me.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Aletheia said.

“No,” he said. “You might all be wanted back home, but I’m not. I intend to return home in golden chariots.”

“It won’t be easy,” Rook said. “Vultures with broadswords will swoop down on you every step of the way.”

“Trust me, I know. But I figure it’s no more likely to get me skewered than hanging around you idiots. Besides…” he drew Lord Arqa’s sword. “I still have the key to the vault.”

Rook put a hand on his shoulder. “Good luck.”

Jason nodded. “You all have the pick of whatever you can carry, of course. And when I’m drowning in women and admirers in my mansion in Katharos you can always stop by for hand-outs.”

“How gracious,” Eris said, “you let us have first take of the treasure we ourselves secured.”

“Hey! I killed the demon! Don’t forget it!”

“I doubt I ever will,” Rook said. “Well. Wherever we go, it should be inconspicuous. Somewhere the Seekers won’t find us.”

“We have a forgestone to use,” Eris reminded him.

“And Pyraz,” Aletheia said. “We have to turn him back. Into a person, I mean.”

Pyraz barked. Eris grimaced. “I find him rather more useful as a dog.”

“There’ll be time for that, all,” Rook said. “Let’s do inventory on what we can take. I would say we should wait until sundown to depart, except…”

“One moment,” Robur said. “I…have been in much thought, since we arrived in Arqa.” Everyone stared at him. He hesitated, until continuing, “I have travelled with Eris for over a year as an adventurer. In that time we have visited many places, but—it is only after this encounter with Lord Arqa…well. He was more than I ever thought I would face. I am not certain I desire to encounter anything of his like again.”

The words washed over Eris like hot oil. She took no meaning from them. “What are you trying to say?”

“…I do not think I have the disposition of an adventurer.” He rubbed the wound given to him by the sandspiders out in the desert, the vicious bite along his neck. “Our time traveling together has been…interesting…but I believe this might be an opportunity to remain in Arqa, to see that the lands are healed. I would like that.”

“You mean to say you are quitting the party?” Eris said. The words came out with disbelief.

“Well—yes, I suppose so.”

Rook nodded. “The Valley will need the help of a magician like you. I think any of those who return will do well to have you at their sides.”

“You cannot leave me,” Eris said. “You—are Robur.”

Robur frowned at her. “I appreciate that, but…the fighting, and sneaking, and…lying of an adventurer’s life—I am not meant for it. Truly.”

“I have never lied to anyone!” Eris said. “You have gone everywhere with me since I found the tome in Nanos. You cannot abandon me now. It—it cannot be done.”

Her mind was catching on itself. She had taken it for granted that Robur would always be at her side. He was a loyal hound that did whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted it. He was—did she dare say it? A friend? And now he meant to abandon her, so he could tend to savage villagers living in a dead valley where the sun never set? Even he was not so stupid!

“I am sorry if this comes as a surprise,” he said. “But I have made up my mind. I do intend to stay here. I apologize that I did not get to know you better,” this was to Aletheia, “but I hope you all do well on your travels.”

“One door opens, another shuts behind,” Rook said. He put a hand on Robur’s back and led him down the stairs, but quickly had to lean on him to stay standing. “You’ve been a good friend to us, Robur. We wish you nothing but the best. And maybe someday we’ll meet again.”

“I am certain we will,” he said.

They loaded their packs and made all preparations to depart. Eris still reeled from the conversation on the ramparts. A feeling of betrayal that she never knew before—or something similar, something she couldn’t understand or put into clear thoughts. Anger, but only at first. Frustration, yet not entirely. Fear?

She couldn’t keep it up. A few hours passed, then she felt something very different. Gratitude.

She ambushed Robur in a hallway. He looked at her, terrified, as if she were about to do something to him, yet she only twiddled with her fingers.

“You are determined, then,” she said. “You are staying in Arqa?”

“Yes.”

She stared at him for a long time.

“I…” She bit her lip. “…am well aware that I can be…difficult. As a person. ‘Tis how I enjoy being. I am solitary by nature and—” she sighed. Frowning. She rarely found herself so tongue-tied. Now she wondered why she was bothering to speak to him at all. Why not simply leave?

“You have endured with me through many challenging expeditions. Often without any complaint. You have saved my life…more than once, and although I am certain I have saved yours in return, I am less convinced you have imperiled mine to the same extent that I have imperiled yours…yet still you followed after me. Even when my company was no doubt grating.” She said the words as they came to her, with confusion, as if she didn’t understand why he had acted the way he had. And she didn’t. “And while I may not express it frequently, I have noticed. Though perhaps I have taken it for granted.”

“I see,” Robur said.

“No, you do not—I…” She hung her head. This was revoltingly sentimental, yet still, for some reason, the overwhelming urge to speak still lingered in her heart. “I simply wanted to see that—while I may not be able to reciprocate the friendship you have shown to me—I will always be grateful for it. This kindness…no one has ever shown it to me. Except Rook, yet he is—but…and I do not understand it. I do not understand why you act this way. I am not certain I deserve it.”

Robur stayed silent for a long time. “I simply believe there is some brighter future in store for all of us than mere adventuring,” he said. “I hope we all find it.”

Eris smiled for a moment. “Perhaps you may yet. I know I shall.” She huffed. “Well. Enough of this. I wish you good luck, even if ‘tis in this miserable, hot, forsaken place.”

“Likewise. Good luck.”

So Eris heaved her backpack, heavy with gold, around her shoulders, and she returned back to Rook and Aletheia in the bailey. Rook sat on a tumbled column with a pained look in his eyes.

“You are confident you can travel?” she said.

“No,” he said. “But I have two beautiful women to carry me when I fall.”

“You weigh more than both of us put together,” Aletheia said.

“Yes but you’re both too skinny,” he said.

Eris frowned. “So long as you do not trip and spill the contents of your pack, your discomfort is none to me.”

“I’ll be fine. It isn’t far to Fa’hira.”

“And where to from there?”

They walked side-by-side-by-side through the portcullis. Eris and Aletheia were careful to maintain a maximum distance from each other, with Rook at their center. Pyraz trailed at Aletheia’s heel. Together they all looked out at the Valley, and the mountains which barred access to Darom beyond.

“I don’t know,” Rook said. “We can go anywhere we like.”

“Except Katharos,” Aletheia said.

“Or Rytus,” Eris said.

“We had best avoid Nanos as well, just in case,” Rook said with a smile. “Still. Mostly anywhere.”

“And Erimos,” Eris added with a bored sigh.

“Yes, yes, I get it. But I think we should all appreciate that horizon.” He wrapped a hand around Eris waist. She frowned and tugged away, but still he smiled at her, and he said. “Horizon. It means freedom—with not a single obligation to weigh us down. Let’s please enjoy it while it lasts.”