“Share a mug of it with a Khazimi and they’ll tell you everything you ever want to know.”

They both chuckled at that, then continued down the street making light banter. Vallerian paid little attention to the conversation though, his eyes wandering back to the streets. Southshore was… different now. Vallerian wasn’t sure how, and that irritated him more than most things. The world was supposed to look chaotic. But his teacher had taught him to see the order in everything, the patterns that built up. So Vallerian watched, looking for the secrets within.

Paying attention, it came together quickly. He saw the destitute on the streets where they always were, but now they had… clean blankets? And food, he noticed. Vallerian shook his head, confused by the loaves of bread and crumbly cheese sitting in baskets that the beggars handled with care, but not jealous fear. How were they…

Vallerian saw it. Only two people, at least around here there was, but as he walked, he saw more of them wandering about. Women, in rough leather jerkins and scratchy woolen britches moving about handing out bolts of old worn cloth to lay beneath and ratty old baskets filled with enough food for a night or two. Every single one of the women wore a silver skull pin on their jerkin. Vallerian shook his head, that girl had really done it hadn’t she? She had warmed the heart of that frigid Jöln slum lord. Almost made him want to find Tabitha to make fun of her. Almost, because he had no doubt if he ever saw her again she’d have more ‘work’ for him.

That wasn’t all though. Everywhere he walked, he saw Korek working away. Not just the usual ones doing mindless labor. No, these ones toiled on old crumbling walls, fixing them up with mortar and stone. They dug out trenches for where sewage and rainwater would flood the streets. All directed by older, more greying Korek women. Women guiding infrastructure work, the Korek truly were strange.

And where they worked, other Southshore residents would come to watch, to comment, to ask questions. A Fershya woman here bringing drinks for the tired workers. A Khazimi man there offering his craftsmen tools for them to use. It was unlike Vallerian had ever seen. It was not the Southshore he had known, not the den of distrust and anger. A place for bitter souls and untrusting misers. No. This was a community, and at the heart of it he couldn’t help but see that damned little girls face.

“You finally see it too then?” Kriss asked, smiling and nodding at a group of Silver Skulls that walked by. Vallerian shot him a raised brow. “What she’s done? In so little time no less.” Kriss shook his head. “She was always like this, even as children. The Red Curtains were never so kind to us street rats before her.”

“But… how?” Vallerian asked. If there was one thing Vallerian knew, it was that people were not good. Not this good at least.

“It’s in her nature.” Kriss explained. “Celeste is the best of us. Always has been. But when she’s around, everyone wants to be the best they are as well.” Kriss sighed and smiled. “Best I could ever handle was keeping everyone straight on my street. None of the other children we ran with got caught up in crime at least.”

Vallerian looked around at it all and narrowed his eyes. No, there was no way this could all be from that girl. It was just a coincidence. It had to be. Or it was false, that was far more likely. Perhaps there was Kiyra leaf in the bread, or some other drug in the cheese. It would be just like Tabitha to get people hooked under the guise of charity. That was it.

“What now Vallerian?” Kriss asked, a pained tenderness to his voice. Looking up at the man blinking, Vallerian realized he had come to a stop.

“What?” Vallerian asked.

“What now? What are we supposed to do now that she’s back in there?”

“We’re going to go drink.” Vallerian forced a smile. “I thought that part had been decided.”

“As much as I do enjoy spending your coin, we can’t keep avoiding our lives forever.”

“Can’t we?” Vallerian asked. He had tried to make it sound charming, but even he could hear the desperation in his voice. That vial in his pocket felt heavy under Kriss’s gaze. “What do you suppose we do then?” Vallerian snapped back, trying to save face.

“I… I want to look after Celeste if I can.” Kriss shook his head and looked up at the sky, a bare sliver of light cutting through the looming Southshore shacks. “I… I made a promise. A very long time ago I did. For a while I thought I had kept it by staying away. But now?” Kriss sighed heavily then turned away from the sunlight. “Now I’m not so sure.”

“Well Kriss, If I know one thing it’s that old Shelezan isn’t about to let you loiter around the temple making eyes at his precious porcelain doll.” Vallerian eyed the boy as red flashed across his face. That, apparently, had been spot on at least.

“He won’t even entertain the thought of me joining the Faith Militia.” Kriss muttered in frustration. “Even when I offered him enough coin to pay for all the armor, weapons, and a years worth of food and lodging.”

Vallerian eyed the boy. How had he gotten that much… Vallerian blinked and thought for a moment that he might be paying the young man a bit too much. Regardless, it was just like the bishop to be picky about his ornamental guard. Couldn’t possibly let an actually talented fighter slip in there now could he?

“If it’s a real post you’re after, I can get you one. The captain of the outer gate guards is one of my cousins. He’s a lesser noble on my mother’s side, but if I reach out to him I’m sure he can get you in.” Vallerian eyed the huge wall, looming up behind the small shacks that lined the street. It was an ever-present fixture in Southshore, one most of the residents here would never cross. One he had been born on the right side of, thank the Pantheon.

“What good is that going to do for me?” Kriss asked bitterly.

“That girl of yours is carried past the Crown Gate almost every week. Work hard, gain some sway, and I’m sure you can get positioned on her route for every single one of her little parades.”

Kriss’s face suddenly lit up, then quickly shifted to an almost calculating focus.

“She is most vulnerable while she’s marching. If I were close enough to hear if anything was happening, then I could…”

“Exactly.” Vallerian cut the boy off before he hurt himself. He was a bright one, but he was a child still. Vallerian shook his head but felt the vial in his pocket again and knew what he had to do. Glancing over at the colossal tower that loomed over the wall, Vallerian realized where he had inadvertently found his way to. It seemed ‘eventually’ had finally come. “This is where we part for now Kriss.” Vallerian announced.

“What? Where are you going?” Kriss asked, looking around at where they were. The boy had lived here his whole life, running all across Southshore, but had he ever known what that huge tower that lay just over the wall was? Had he ever understood what the glowing blue crystal atop it, nearly three times the height of any man, was?

“I’ve got some business to take care of.”

“Business?”

“Long overdue business with the Magi. Wish me luck.” With that, the pair said their goodbyes, and Vallerian moved toward the Crystal Gate. There would be answers there, ones that Vallerian needed to know.