Given how vocal she was about being in a city, Yeslee didn’t take much convincing when it came to joining us for a tavern crawl. Not that I’m overly surprised – it’s true, Yes really doesn’t like sleeping in a bed or under a roof at the best of times, but I think the prospect of sleeping under the stars in the wild gardens of the Sanctuary have really mellowed her mood since our arrival. Admittedly, when we came to find her in the early evening she was the happiest I’d seen her in some time, sitting cross-legged under a great huge oak in the great veranda of the temple Circle itself, her head leaned back against the trunk with a contented smile on her face. It took saying her name a few times before we could even get her to open her eyes, and the smile didn’t fade when she saw us. I swear Shay seemed almost unnerved seeing it.

Yes understands the value of cutting loose as much as the rest of us, she’s even learned to enjoy it sometimes. She’s not a particularly big drinker, but I’ve never seen her truly drunk either, her constitution is an impressive thing to behold. Perhaps it loosens her up a little, she tends to smile more easily when she’s suitably lubricated, but she’s usually still impressively sharp after sinking four or five pints by the end of a night. Maybe it’s a common thing with Fir Bolg, of maybe it’s just her, but I’m glad for it, it’s always helpful to have at least one of us on her game at the end of a night on the lash.

Big Man elected to stay behind at the Sanctuary, and I’m not surprised. Given the choice he’s generally more comfortable keeping out of the way when he does come to town, and after seeing how calm and accepting the impressively discreet clergy were around him I think it’s a good place for him to spend his downtime. Yeslee certainly doesn’t seem to be bothered by his decidedly unobtrusive presence.

Gael’s friend Tulen is … excitable. I’ve never met a dragonhalf like her – they’re as varied as humans or dwarves or halflings, but her boisterous and effortlessly cheerful nature is as much a force of nature as it is a breath of fresh air right now. It’s hard to resist, and she’s quickly endeared herself to the entire group, which is impressive enough on its own. Even Yes seems surprisingly tolerant of her, although I suspect it’s more down to her mood at the end of the day. Personally, I think she’s adorable.

Art seems to really like her, too. The whole time she’s been tagging along with our group since we started this little impromptu adventure in leisure, he’s been hanging close to her, plying her with questions and stories and a lot of jokes, and she’s taken his usual onslaught of charm in her stride. I’ve noticed Gael giving him the occasional warning glare while this has been going on, but he’s been a perfect gentleman about it the whole evening so far. He’s his usual exuberant, sparkly self and it matches Tulen’s personality pretty well, and I have a sneaking suspicion that if he were to turn on that part of his charm she might be pretty receptive to it. But he’s not flirting, he’s just being friendly. I’ve known him long enough I can easily tell the difference.

I think part of his general enthusiasm might also be down to his present. When I presented him with the new daggers from Master Stormshield’s armoury he kind of flipped out for a few minutes, starting out with the tightest hug he’s even me. He cooed appreciatively over them, wide- and sparkly-eyed as he drew each in turn for inspection, marvelling at the cool dark steel of the blade, particularly those beautiful smoky lines from the folding of the steel. He made it dance across his fingers, careful enough with their lethally sharp edges but flashy all the same, and he grinned wide the whole time.

Finally, after I told him about the enchantment that the impressive dwarven smith added to the knives, he tested it out, slinging one at the nearest available target, one of the trees in the Sanctuary. Maybe it was simply the weapon’s enviable balance, more likely his consistent level of skill, but he hit the knot dead on and it stuck fast. He frowned, concentrating on it for a moment, then, just as I started to think that there might be more to the spell that I should’ve asked about, the blade suddenly sprang free of the wood. Just about everybody hit the ground as it came whipping back through the air, but I held my ground like Art, wracked as my nerves were while the adrenaline started pumping through me. No need to worry though, it seems – it just went straight back to Art’s hand, I don’t think he even would’ve needed to hold it out. And being Art, he caught it with ease, even if he was surprised as the rest of us. Then he burst out laughing.

Reckon he would’ve tried it a few more times after that, just for the hell of it, but right away he caught hell from Yeslee about it, her sudden pleasant mood breaking just long enough to admonish him brutally for mistreating the tree. He apologised profusely and was very contrite for about a minute or so before he started grinning again, about the same time that Yes seemed to forgive him and her own good mood returned. She even admitted that, despite his vandalism, she thought it was pretty cool too.

Tulen led the way into the city proper, seeming to know exactly where to go after we made it clear what we intended to do. It wasn’t a long journey, in the space of ten minutes we covered a lot of ground because she knows these streets so well, and when she finally brought us to a fairly narrow street in one of the more ramshackle neighbourhoods – at least by Bavat standards – we were all surprised to find that the few establishments on both sides of the road that weren’t taverns were guesthouses, each with their own bar. Unsurprisingly, the whole place is alive with light and laughter and noise, music and the sounds of merriment spilling out of every open door along with more than a few rambunctious drunks. A little violence here and there too, but nowhere near as much as we’d encounter in most of these kinds of places.

Given how many places there are to choose from, we deferred to Tulen’s judgement again, although Art insisted she take us to the rowdiest place on the row. This seemed to perturb her just a little, and after a moment I recommended that maybe she simply try the most boisterous place she could think of that would still be reasonably safe for us to kick things off. After a few moments’ thought she had it all worked out and guided us to our first destination.

The Melting Elephant had us all chuckling for a good minute or two before we even went in, but the merriment didn’t end with its name. It’s one of the bigger establishments on what I’ve learned most folk in the city have come to call the Drunkard’s Mile. Three storeys have been devoted to its patrons’ use, and while the bar and a good sized collection of tables and benches takes up the ground floor, the first has a few gaming tables at one end that seem to be doing pretty good business for a mid-week night. Mindful of the rowdy noise, though, Tulen instead led us to the second floor, with a small stage where a surprisingly talented quartet of musicians are laying down jolly tunes for a pretty young halfling to sing a selection of bawdy folk songs to. She’s got a very pleasant voice indeed, and has more than half the room happily singing along as much as they know the words to.

We’ve appropriated one of the booths in the corner, although our party’s big enough that Krakka’s had to snag a chair from one of the neighbouring groups after a little friendly negotiation. It’s a sign of the place’s friendlier nature that he didn’t do any grumbling when he was able to return, which means he didn’t have to try intimidating anyone with Bloodmoon, which always spoils his fun. Once everyone squeezed in we got comfortable pretty quick, and after one of the friendly waitresses had taken our collective order we were able to start relaxing proper.

The ale and wine’s good for the prices, and the food’s tasty too. Granted, after almost a month of cured game and dried goods, anything fresh is heaven to me now, but the thick bacon sandwich I’ve just washed down with the last of my second tankard of ale was surprisingly well made. As is often the case with really good food, I’m a little regretful that I’ve finished it all already, so I spend a few minutes mopping up the bacon grease with a chunk from the already well-depleted platter of bread in the middle of the table. I find Shay cocking a brow at me as she watches me pop the morsel into my mouth.

“That good, eh?”

“Mmmm.” I chew slow as I can before I swallow, making it last. “Yeah, that was one of the best bacon sandwiches I ever had.”

“I could tell.” Shay smiles. “The way you were wolfing it down I seriously considered telling you both to get a room and leave us all in peace.”

I cock my own brow to that before returning the smile. “How’s your pie?”

Shay looks down at the steak and ale pie she’s largely demolished already, along with half of the thick fried potato wedges, then back up at me, still smiling. “Incredible. I was expecting something a good deal greasier after Hocknar food, but this …” She spears two of the chips, swills them in the thick, rich gravy and bites them off her fork. “Mmmmmm …” She nods as she chews with indulgence. “This is something else. Bavat is –”

“More civilised?” I shrug as I suck my thumb and fingers clean. “Most definitely. This is a very classy city, even the commoners eat well here. But Hocknar has its charms too.”

“Maybe.” After carving up the remaining chunks of crust and meat, she forks the next mouthful in and chews, more thoughtful now. “I could really get used to this though.”

Nodding along, I look around at everyone’s cups, then straighten up so I can look out around the room. It doesn’t take me long to find one of the staff, and the girl quickly makes her way over with her platter tucked under her arm after dropping off her last order once I beckon her in. Her smile’s warm and seems perky enough I reckon it’s real. “Hi there, everything good?”

“Oh yeah, great. Thank you very much.” I thump the table with my fist as gently as I can to get everybody’s attention. “Okay, who’s got empties and who wants another drink?”

After a few moments of cooperation, she takes up the spent plates, tankards and wine cups and collects our orders, and her smile softens when Art flashes her a little of his disarming charm. This earns him a nudge in the ribs from Gael, but it seems in good sport. They still roast him a little on it once she’s scuttled off again, though.

“So what’s the plan, then?” Shay asks me once she’s pushed her empty plate away and taken up her own tankard.

“Hmmm?”

“What’s next? Now we’ve been paid and we have a place to stay, I imagine we’re going to unwind for a bit. I get it. But then what?”

“We don’t tend to think too much about it, really.” I fold my arms loosely across my chest as I sit back into the simple but admirably soft padding of the booth. “I should think, after what we went through in the mountains, we earned a break, don’t you?”

Shay frowns at that, looking down at the table now as she lifts the tankard to her lips and takes a big pull. Shit … maybe I should’ve worded that a little different. I’m not saying it to be mean, none of us hold her people responsible for what almost happened while we were trying to get that cargo through, that was all on Ashsong. But Shay still keeps beating herself up about that, about taking up against us, about nearly killing me, and the rest of us. Then worse, against her own. As much as she’s come out of her shell since we left, every time the subject comes up again it turns her mood dark.

So I start singing along to the bawdy little number the band’ve struck up, starting to bob along to the rhythm after a few moments, and while she’s still frowning at me it’s become a good deal more incredulous now. I start acting out a few of the passages, thanking the gods I actually know this song at all, and soon enough a smile spreads across her face, brow cocked again as she watches me make a fool of myself. By this point I’m starting to enjoy myself, so I carry on regardless, but even so I ain’t aware I’ve become centre of attention at our table until the song comes to an end. I hold the last note a little too long and while the rest of the room erupts into applause for the band themselves, our group direct their own to me. Even Yeslee taps her palm with her fingers a few times with a subtle smile tickling her lips, but she’s still enough in character to refrain from joining the us when we start laughing.

The good mood persists until he waitress returns with fresh drinks, and I thank the gods I was able to deflect Shay’s little drop so easily. As she passes over her used plate and cutlery she smiles pleasantly at the girl, who gives her a little conspiratorial wink before casting a sly look Art’s way he doesn’t manage to catch. He’s currently regaling Tulen with one of our early adventures, back when he was part of a mere trio with me and Yeslee, and it takes me a moment to catch up enough to realise it’s one of our least successful jobs. I lock eyes with Yes for a moment and she simply rolls her eyes with her own new ale clutched just under her nose, which gets me chuckling.

“You’ve all been together for a while, then?” Shay ventures as the waitress finally hefts her latest load and glides off with impressive ease.

“A few years, yeah.” I take a sip from my fresh tankard, settling back into the padding. “For a while it was just me and Yes, then we happened upon that little berk over there. Or he happened to us, really. Made the mistake o’ trying to pick my pocket one night.”

Shay’s brows shoot up. “Really?”

“Yup. Bloody lucky he didn’t try it on Yes instead. He’d have been lucky getting away with a broke wrist, I seen some draw back stumps.”

She looks at the Fir Bolg in the corner for a moment, then back at me, watchful for a moment, then frowns. “I call bollocks.”

That has me grinning. “Yeah, all right, she don’t go that hard. But she’ll break it just on reflex. You don’t wanna mess with her any time, she’s just wired to fight. Fir Bolg may be related to elves but there’s a lot more animal in ‘em all the same.”

This time when Shay looks at Yeslee, it’s more appraising. Not apprehensive, reckon it takes more’n that to make her nervous, but there’s definitely a healthy respect there all the same. When I turn to our ranger myself I find her watching us both, not making the slightest attempt to hide it and in fact making a point out of me seeing it. I carry on all the same. “She got a damn sharp mind though. Might be smartest one here, regardless of Gael’s fancy schooling. Ain’t nothing she don’t know ‘bout the wild, whether it’s Tektehr or here.”

“How’d you two meet?” Shay shoots a cautious look Yeslee’s way, but doesn’t provoke a reaction. After a cool, loaded pause the Fir Bolg lets a very quiet sigh go and I barely catch the slightest nod. Permission enough, I reckon.

“First time I returned to Hocknar since I started the mercenary game, I was on a job working security for a crew of trappers in the Reaches. Not the most reputable bunch, and some of the other sellswords they hired on for protection were less’n savoury too, but work’s work, and working solo I couldn’t afford to be picky. Besides, weren’t like I didn’t know how to watch my own back.”

Shay smiles, nodding as she raises her tankard for another sip. “Yeah, I’ll agree with that.”

“Yeah, well I didn’t enjoy that tour much at all, there was just something … off about a few of ‘em. More’n the usual lowlife vibes, I mean. Anyway, ‘bout a week out in the wild we’re camping one night and I’m on second watch. It was a new moon so it was bastard dark out, proper spooky, and that’d been working on me good, so I was pretty wired, doubt I would’ve been able to drift off if I tried. Then one of the others woke up, wandered into the bushes for a dump. He was gone a while, too long, and I started getting antsy about that. Was about to go check on him when I hear something off in the undergrowth near where he went, so I reckoned he was coming back. But that noise was wrong. Couldn’t say why, just was. Then I looked back at the others, and I realised the other guard was s’posed to be up watching with me wasn’t there anymore.”

“Shit.” Shay mutters under her breath, pretty deep in the story with me right now.

“Yeah, well that got me up on my feet all on its own, and I had Hefdred drawn before I even thought about it. There was another of ‘em awake then, but I told ‘im to stay put, keep an eye on the others cuz I might be a little busy.” I shrug, giving her an ironic smile. “Yeah … anyway, I crept off through the bushes an’ it got dark fast. No moon up there meant pretty soon I was blundering about, all I had was what little light I could get from the fire, and that got used up fast. Probably why when I happened upon the guy went off for a shit an’ the guard, I didn’t know what the hell I was looking at.”

Taking a swallow, I swill the tankard for a moment as I look at Yeslee again, pondering a little before continuing. It’s not a particularly pleasant memory, really, and it’s gonna take me a moment to work out the right words so I don’t run the risk of giving Shay nightmares. I mean she could probably handle it, but you never know.

“First I though maybe they were just fucking. I mean, if that’d been the case I would’ve been a little embarrassed to’ve stumbled on ‘em but I’d just sneak back, leave ‘em welcome to it.”

“Except that wasn’t what they were doing.” Yeslee mutters as she puts her tankard down on the table, eyes focused on it now as she gently turns it in a slow circle with the push of one long finger.

“Unfortunately not.” I sigh heavily, putting my own ale down too. I cross my arms tight over my chest, almost as if I can ward off the memory. “The guard … it was on that poor bastard, and I mean all over. Had ‘im facedown, forced right into the ground, and it was ripping into the back of his neck with its teeth. Big fucking teeth, too. Jagged fangs, all kinds of jumbled, but effective for what they were doing. Poor bastard was alive, barely, but wasn’t anything left I could do for ‘im. So I did the only think I could think of. I started screaming.”

Shay arches her brows again.

“Hey, it was first thing popped in my head. I just wanted to wake the others up, y’know? I wasn’t bein’ a damsel, ain’t in me, I just figured I could save the others in case there were more, they’d be awake so they’d be able to defend themselves. ‘Cept I started hearing screaming coming from the camp right after.” I wince. “Then that thing was on me, and that was it, I was fighting for my life.”

Gods yeah … that recollection has me shuddering worse’n the rest. Fucking thing moved so fast, I was lucky it didn’t knock me out so hard it could’ve mauled me on the spot before I got my wits back again. But by then the adrenaline had hold and I was pissed too, and both together was enough to make me bloody fast too.

“Took a whole lot of stabbing and slashing to put that bloody thing down, and in the end it was still coming for me when I took its head off. That stopped it, though.” Another wince, I can’t help it. “By then that poor bugger was dead too, and ‘e still had his britches round his knees. Didn’t have time to do anything for his dignity, mind, I went running straight back to the camp. Ran right into a slaughter.”

“Thorin save us …” Shay’s had her tankard raised just under her lips for a little while, completely forgotten now. “What happened?”

“Turned out there was another four o’ those things in the party. Rest o’ the mercs were these things, whole pack of ‘em just pretended they didn’t know each other when they got hired. Poor bloody trappers managed to enlist the very things they were hoping to be guarded against. I was just an extra body along for the ride, an’ I reckon when I turned up at the hire they couldn’t believe their luck.”

“Gods …” Shay finally recognises the tankard in front of her and takes a deep pull before putting it down again.

“Time I got back to the camp most of ‘em were dead or dying, and I was seriously outnumbered. That one on its own was a hard enough kill, moment I saw all of ‘em together and pretty much no help from the one poor bastard still untouched and wide awake with a spear in very shaky hands I figured I was fucked.” Picking up my tankard, I look at it for a moment, then shrug. “Then three of the fucking things took arrows almost all at once.”

“Yeslee.” Shay’s brows arch up again as she turns to look at the Fir Bolg. No question at all in her tone, pure statement of fact.

“Yup. An’ she fired those three arrows on the run, cuz the next thing I knew she was bursting into the clearing and nocking another she shot right through the fourth. First time I saw her I didn’t have a clue what I was even looking at, never seen a Fir Bolg before, scared the shit outta me almost as much as the things we were fighting. Then she was shouting at me to kill something and I finally snapped back to myself. Cuz they were down, but not dead. The arrows did what they always do when Yeslee shoots, cuz when you catch one o’ her arrows you go flying, but they still had their heads. Time she was on top of ‘em she’d ditched her bow an’ had her blades out.”

“So what’d you do?”

“What I was told, o’ course. I took the head off the one closest to me while it was still getting up. The second one put up a lot better a fight since it had more time, but by the time I killed that one Yes was already done with the other two.” I take another pull of ale, licking my lips after this time. “The one trapper left was scared out his mind, but okay besides that. Took a while to convince ‘im to lower the spear, didn’t even realise he’d shat himself until I got ‘im to sit down again.”

Shay breathes out, long and slow, sitting back again. “Fuck … so what were they?”

“Changelings.” Yeslee growls “Hateful things. Not many left in Rundao now, which is good. Even less up north, but mostly because the Terrors have been so particular about wiping them out whenever they get the chance. Plenty of things a whole lot worse than them in Tektehr, mind.”

After I put the tankard down again I sink back into the cushions again, glad the scary part of the story’s over now. “Yeah, well there were five less after that night. Anyway, none of us were gonna sleep any more before morning, so we did what we could for the dying, which wasn’t much, then buried ‘em in the clearing after we burned the changeling corpses. It was light by then so we got the hell outta there. Yes helped me get that last living trapper back to Hocknar, and by the time we arrived we’d got to like each other.”

“She’s easy to like.” Yeslee says it without the slightest inflection at all as she raises her tankard again, concentrating entirely on her drink as she takes a big gulp.

Shay nods, smiling at the joke, but mostly seems to be solemnly accepting of the story. She takes another pull on her beer and sets it down again, thoughtful for a moment. “How about Krakka and Gael?”

“Oh, well I actually knew Krakka already, from years before I started the merc business. Back in the rebellion, our paths crossed a few times, and he saved my arse at least twice.”

“Three times.” Krakka corrects me with a slightly cocked brow before trapping the long waxed paper straw in his tankard in his beak again to suck up another gulp of ale. His eyes never leave mine.

“Yeah, reckon three sounds about right.”

“You two were in the rebellion?” This seems to genuinely perk her up, that look of easy wonder I seen a few times now returning to her face. She pauses, seeming surprised with herself, and looks round at the others, maybe shrinks a little when she realises she might be a little overexcited. “Um … we didn’t really get that much experience of it, out in the Reaches. We left the Terrors alone anytime we saw them coming through, so they did the same. Mostly it just seemed like a change of management to us.”

I look back over the rest of the tavern for a moment, watching any of the faces I can see. I doubt it’d be a hostile crowd if anyone were to overhear us, but with the music and the general mood we’ve got a good amount of privacy right now anyway. Breathing out, I turn back and shrug. “I was, but Krakka was just doing his cleric thing. Serena don’t really take sides in most conflicts from what I hear, so he just saw folk in need.”

“I’ll admit to healing a fair few Tektehran troopers in my time too, when the occasion arose.” he clarifies “As Kesla said, a cleric of Serena doesn’t discriminate when someone’s in need of their help.” He gives the shiny pommel of Bloodmoon an affectionate rub, the handle of the hammer sticking up between his legs in front of his seat. “Cracked a few of their skulls too, if I saw any of them abusing their authority.”

“Did you ever get in trouble for that?” Shay’s beer’s hovering under her chin again now as she gets wrapped up once more.

“Not especially. The Terrors value the gods as much as we do, more so at times because they have so much worse to put up with up north, as Yeslee can attest. So of course they defer to the gods’ servants much as we do here in Rundao. All I ever did was fulfil the duties of my order. There were a few occasions when the friends or superior officers of the troopers I disciplined would kick up a fuss, but their commanders would always shoot them down once they saw I was in the right.” He looks to me again, smiling a little now. “As for saving a few rebels when the occasion called for it, well, what our great occupiers didn’t see never hurt them, if you will.”

“Convenient.” Shay chuckles.

“Ain’t it, though?” I smile back, slyly. “Yeah, well he helped us out whenever he could, after all, Rundao’s his home too. But he was never really a card-carrying member of the resistance, if you will. He just did what his goddess required of him, then went on his way. When the rebellion folded I didn’t see him again for close to a decade, I think. Then we stumbled across each other in Hocknar the first day we returned to the city after meeting Art.”

“They were quite a sorry looking trio at the time, I remember.” Krakka takes another sip on his straw, still watching me. “The moment I saw them I realised they needed someone like me watching their backs or they probably wouldn’t last the year.”

“Yeah, well we’d just gotten through ten days of dealing with some mad bastard warlock trying to raise his own little fiefdom with an army of stirred-up wild goblins. Five bands of sellswords got brought together to solve that particular little problem, and we were the only ones made it out in one piece.” I look to Yeslee, who nods, and find Art’s joined us too now, and he silently agrees. Gael and Tulen are listening in too, curious as Shay.

Krakka seems entirely unfazed. “Certainly you looked like you’d just been through quite the battle. I remember I had to rest for a whole day after healing all the damage that had been done. You’re lucky enough you can still use that left arm.”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me about that.” I admit after giving him what I’m sure is a decidedly unconvincing glower. “I really do need to get myself a new shield while we’re here.”

“I’ll ask Hurrig if he’s got anything to suit next time we’re in the Armoury.” Gael raises their wine and takes a sip, smacking their lips for a moment after looking rather dubiously down at the dark red wine in the cup. I’ve seen them do this sometimes with tavern wine, and it makes me chuckle a little. I would’ve thought after two years out in the world they’d have got used to drinking cheaper vintages by now. “Something more mobile, right?”

“Definitely.”

“How’d you end up traveling with these … um …” Shay frowns, looking around at the rest of us now, growing reluctant. “Guys?”

“You can say reprobates, if you want.” I grin at her, a little more malicious than I should maybe, then pick up her tankard and hand it to her. “Or something along those lines. We really don’t mind.”

Shay glares at me a little as she takes the offered mug and holds it up, as much to hide behind it as anything else. Gael simply rolls their eyes as I look back at ‘em. “I messed up, and they saved my life.”

“Well no, that’s not exactly true –” Krakka starts.

“It’s mostly true. I made a mistake and it nearly cost me, I was lucky that Kesla and the rest were there too.” Gael swills their wine around in the cup for a few moments, frowning into it again, but now it’s more over the unpleasant memory, I think. The lich, the wights, that nasty fight they stumbled into. “They essentially adopted me right after that.”

“We did.” Art grins as he gives ‘em a jovial little nudge. “Ain’t regretted it once since, mind, which is a surprise.”

Gael frowns and flicks a few little sparks in his face without warning, which makes him jump away with a surprised yelp and he manages to fall on his arse under the table. We all have a good laugh at him for that, and even Yeslee proffers an indulgent little half-smile. Art’s grinning too when he clambers back up again, but it’s rueful, and he hides his own face a little with his tankard for the next few minutes once he’s settled.

Eventually Shay drains the last of her own ale and sets the empty mug down, wiping her lips with the back of her sleeve with a more thoughtful look on her face now. Finally she turns back to me. “You’re a pretty tight group.”

“Tight enough, I reckon.” I allow “We work well together, and each of us pulls our weight, but mostly we stay together simply cuz we care about each other. Maybe there’s a little obligation there, some of it deserved, or at least perceived, but mostly just friendship. We stay cuz we want to, not cuz we got to.”

She sits back again, frowning down at her hands as she laces her fingers together, almost like she wants to keep from fidgeting. After a moment I decide she’s thinking about how she ended up with us again, the decision she made to leave her own people and come with us. Her own perceived debt, one we never made out she owes us, but which clearly obliges her all the same. Not for the first time, I search for a way to talk her outta this idea, and again I come up short. I ain’t good with this psychology stuff.

Eventually she simply sighs and raises her hands, brushing her fingers back through her hair. She’s dressed down tonight, certainly compared to how she’s been doing while we’ve been travelling, and while she let her hair out of its cornrows after the first week this is the first time she hasn’t tied it back since we’ve known her. It’s thick and naturally tousled, a rich glossy jet black that’s very striking. It’s not quite long enough to stay swept back behind her shoulders once she starts moving about again, but her pointed half-elven ears are pronounced enough she can tuck it behind them. To be honest, I think it really suits her.

After rolling her shoulders a little, she ventures a smile. “Okay … so what about Driver 8? What’s his story?”

“Kesla.” Yeslee’s quiet call for my attention cuts me off before I can answer her, and I shoot her a look to find she’s looking out into the tavern at large now. As I follow her gaze I realise it’s suddenly gotten pretty quiet up here, suddenly everyone else has shut right up and even the band seems to be petering out. After a moment of searching I see why.

Arrhetel Thermyse is threading her way between the tables with that same effortlessly graceful gait that so impressed me earlier, and everyone around her makes a clear conscious effort to give her all the room they can. More than a few actually spring to their feet in order to step back, bowing their heads in clear deference. I already knew the Silver Order carry a hell of a lot of weight in this city, but I never saw it played out so plain before.

She’s not alone, there’s three of the biggest Order guards I seen yet, each in full livery and armed to the teeth, but they’re stood on the other side of the room, by the stairs. Ain’t like they’re really needed, after all. Nobody in their right mind would even think of fucking with one of the most important and powerful wizards in all Tao.

Of course she’s heading right for us, that’s just how our night was heading, clearly. I knew this was gonna happen, deep down, it was just going too well. Something was bound to come along and throw up a wall for us to run into.

I’m rising to my feet before I even realise it, I can’t help myself. Something about her just prompts it in me. Maybe it’s my upbringing, I’m essentially a soldier even though I never got to serve a day in my life. She gives off an air of command without even trying, and I respond accordingly. “Um … Mistress Thermyse. This is unexpected.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” She folds her hands together and nods to each of us as she arrives, standing nonchalant but looking every bit as impressively regal as she did when she first greeted us today. “I apologise for interrupting your night’s festivities, but I’m afraid there is something I must discuss with you.”

“Well it’s a little crowded but I’m sure someone can budge up and give you some room, or maybe there’s another chair?” I look at the group and they all immediately start shuffling round to try and make room.

“No, really, my sincerest apologies for interrupting your night, but I’m afraid this business is most sensitive, and I must speak with Master Foxtail specifically.” She’s still looking at me the whole time she says this, which baffles me for a moment, until she adds: “But I am also minded that I must speak with you on this matter as well, Mistress Shoon.”

“It’s fine, Mistress Thrmyse. Anything you gotta say to me an’ Gael’ll get passed on to the rest soon enough anyway, so you might as well just have a seat an’ out with it.”

“I’m afraid I must insist.” She sighs the last word, making it clear she’d rather take me up on this offer. I wonder what the hell could be so secret she can’t just reveal it to all of us after that big talk we had in the elevator.

Looking round at the others, I wonder if I should keep insisting for their benefit, but there’s only surprised concern in most of their faces right now. Yeslee’s coolest of the bunch, of course, but even she looks unusually curious now, least to my practised eye. Finally I turn to Shay and she’s just frowning deep, and maybe a little hurt in her expression. Like she already knows what I’m about to do and she feels set to take it personally. I could almost growl my own frustration.

“All right, if we must.” I stand up, casting an apologetic look to Shay. “I’m sorry about this. We’ll talk later, I promise.”

Shay’s frown only deepens at that, but she still makes room for me to slip out past her all the same, while Tulen and Art do the same for Gael on the other side. Finally we’re both out the booth and Thermyse leads us to the nearest corner, starting to weave a spell while we’re still moving. She completes the sigil when we arrive at the wall and mutters one of those sensory words under her breath, and suddenly the rest of the tavern just seems to … fade.

It's a strange thing to experience. The three of us are still stood here, I can feel the floorboards under my feet, but our surroundings are deeply blurred and all the sounds seem to have simply faded away. I suspect we look similarly strange from outside too, probably the rest of the tavern’s seeing much the same thing we are of the exterior. I can’t help myself as I reach out, and for a moment the air seems to stretch, there’s a little bit of resistance to it, then my hand seems to just slip through into the blur and becomes as indistinct as everything else, but I don’t feel anything different. I pull it back in fast and find Gael and her godmother are watching me, neither looking at all shaken by this development.

“Oh, I don’t like this.”

“Again, I apologise for the inconvenience, Mistress Shoon. Unfortunately I have no choice, I must speak with my goddaughter on a most vital subject, but one which is terribly sensitive as well. That’s why I have to take such stringent measures to safeguard our privacy. You’re perfectly safe here, of course. And no one else can snoop on us in here, either.

“Great.” I brush my hair back from my face with both hands, taking a deep breath and tasting perfectly normal air, which I just find even more disconcerting.

“What is it?” Gael interjects, looking pretty worried now, clearly rattled by Thermyse’s words. They’re gripping their new staff tight in their hands now, hugging it close to their shoulder. “What’s happened? Did something go wrong with the shard? Is it Ashsong’s allies? What is it?”

“No, it’s none of that. At least I don’t think that has anything to do with that. Though we can’t be sure of anything now, can we?” Thermyse sighs deeply and for the very first time since we met her I see her look … tired. A little harried, and worn. It’s the tiniest slip, just the subtlest hint, but I’m sure it’s there. This whole business is weighing on her as badly as the rest of us.

Finally she lets out another sigh and adjusts her hair, just the tiniest little flick of some of the artfully arranged loose strands framing her face, and sets her face again. “It’s your father. Darion. He’s disappeared, and nothing we’ve been able to do has yielded any answers.”

“What?” Gael starts to speak again but nothing comes out, their mouth just works as they flounder, looking between the two of us, suddenly lost. “But he … how … surely … where? How? Why …”

“In Untermer. We diverted him there two weeks ago to look into the disappearance of an important official in the city, none of the local investigators have yielded any results and they’re getting desperate. There were other Order members in the city or nearer to it who could have answered the call, but Darion was the most highly qualified of our wizards within a hundred miles, and the case is very important. And now, he’s simply …” Thermyse frowns, baring her sharp teeth for a moment, clearly discomfited. “Vanished. Right into the aether.”

“How likely is it he’s suffered the same fate as this official?” I’m watching Gael close as I ask this question, but their own wide, startled eyes are fixed on their godmother’s.

“That’s the biggest problem of all. We haven’t the first damn clue. Darion hasn’t left any traces behind, not even any records of any progress he might have made at the time. The trail is cold. Veritably frozen, even.”

“But da wouldn’t just …” Gael falters again, and I’ve rarely seen them look this scared. I don’t even think about it, I just step up and wrap my arm round their shoulders and give ‘em a squeeze. “He … he’s smart, and he’s powerful, and he’s resourceful. He couldn’t just … nobody would be able to just …”

“We’ll find him. I promise you.” I squeeze tighter for a moment, looking to Thermyse now with as much resolve as I can muster. “How quickly can we get to Untermer? Maybe you could let us use one of your fancy teleportation circles in the Citadel?”

“Nonsense, you’ve literally just arrived, and it’s late.” Thermyse looks at Gael and her frown seems to soften a little, clearly coloured by concern. “You all need time to recover from the road, and sober up, too, at least some of you. Besides, you need to resupply, and you still have credit with the Order, which I urge you to take advantage of in light of this endeavour.”

“No, I can’t just stay here and … and … fool around while da’s just … I don’t know …” Gael pulls out of my grip, their knuckles turning white round the staff now. “He needs me. Us. He needs us now.”

“And you’ll go to Untermer as soon as possible, but you need to go prepared, and ready.” Thermyse steps forward and takes Gael’s head between her long-fingered hands, moving close until their faces almost touch, her expression growing gentle to match the soothing tone entering her voice. “Please trust me on this, I won’t abandon Darion any more than you will, you know he means as much to me as your friends mean to you. I’d go myself if I could.”

Gael takes a deep breath, which I’m sure is as much a challenge for ‘em right now as anything else, and it don’t hitch when they let it out again. Their eyes are still wide but no longer so wild, their fingers loosening a little now. “I just have to … I can’t lose him.”

“Oh gods …” Thermyse pulls ‘em into a tight hug. “You won’t. I won’t let that happen, and I know your friends won’t either.” She looks my way, her eyes starring right into me, as if she even has to ask for assurance right now.

“So you’re hiring us again then. That was fast.”

“Anything you need, the Order’s resources are at your disposal. Just promise me you’ll be careful. We don’t know what we’re dealing with, never mind who. I said that I don’t think this has anything to do with what happened to you on the way here, but …” She sighs deep as Gael pulls away, watchful now, maybe a little haunted too. The younger wizard’s face seems to mirror her sentiments. “I don’t like the timing any more than I like anything else that’s happened lately. I hope I’ll be proved wrong, but even so I need you to be careful.”

“We will.” I brush my hair back again, lick my lips, and when we exchange a look this time Gael seems stronger and more focused. Resolved. Least I hope they are. “Well that’s it for tonight then. Better get the others together and off to bed.”

“No, really.” Thermyse seems tired again. “I didn’t mean –”

“We’re on the clock, Mistress Thermyse. If we’re gonna do this proper we got a whole bunch of prep needs taking care of tomorrow, so I need the others rested and ready to go in the morning. Best we call it a night now, tomorrow’s gonna be a busy day.”