We met in front of the guild hall the next morning. Joachim and Ludwig were the only ones coming with us, the other mercenaries taking some time off.

“The big boys need to sleep in after such a night”, Joachim smirked.

This time, we made our way to the fort on foot. I took Circe’s offer to ride on her arm. With the morning bustle in the streets, I was not very happy about my height. Even most kids were taller than me, at least those who ran around without sticking to their parents.

We arrived at the fort just as the drawbridge was let down. There were three of them crossing the moat east, west and south. The north had a permanent stone bridge crossing the moat instead. Though rather than a moat, it was a normal river cut into by a pillar of hard bedrock. I wondered if the west side would not eventually be worn out enough for the walls to collapse but that might take a few centuries.

A guard waved us into the gatehouse where we waited a few minutes for a runner to go back and forth once again. This time, it only took a few minutes before a steward bid us follow. He gave a weird look at Circe and me but shrugged as Jane said we were with her.

We were led over a mostly open field, part of it cordoned off for soldiers to train. Some archers were shooting at targets while a few others did some basic exercises under the stern eyes of some kind of drill sergeant. Our goal was the main building. Now that I got a closer look it clearly was covered in some quality wards. Not just the windows and door, like the orks would do. The walls, every single stone, and even the mortar filling the irregular gaps was protected magically. I wanted to meet the thaumaturge that had set this up.

We entered the building with the steward holding the door open. I spotted a bracelet on his arm shining softly with vis. That had to be the key disabling the protections. The insides were less impressive, magically. Vis lanterns lit up an entrance hall and I spotted a few relays here and there. From the flow of the magic, there had to be a node somewhere underneath us.

The furnishing was much more lavish in comparison. A soft red carpet covered the stone tiles. The vis lanterns were mounted to the walls in shiny gold braziers and heavy wooden furniture lined the walls. There were a few tables with chairs to the sides and benches on the walls. Paintings hung above, showing important people with similar faces. A few doors led deeper into the building all around.

The back of the entrance hall held a wide staircase splitting halfway up to rise along the wall into the upper level. A gallery wrapped around above let one see into the second floor. A few servants and people in uniforms were spread out. Many of them gave us a once-over as the steward led us up the stairs.

We walked a half round to end up almost above the main entrance. A large double-door sat in front of us. With a knock, the steward cracked the door open.

“The Plains Brigade and Commander Eternity, my Lord”, he called into the room.

“Let them in”, came the answer. The voice showed signs of age but was still clear.

With a flourishing motion, the door was opened. The room was a large office space with windows at the back. The wooden shutters were wide open, letting in a bout of sunlight. A large desk stood in front of them with a man sitting behind it. There were a few cushioned chairs along the sides of the room standing in front of crammed bookshelves. On one of those, a spindly girl sat with a pile of scattered notes spread out on a small coffee table in front of her.

The man looked to be in his late forties, a few strands of grey in his black hair. He wore a clean uniform in black and gold, two stars on his chest pocket. His face was stern with a few grooves on the forehead and a swirly moustache above his lips. He looked over our group before gesturing us inside.

“Welcome back to my humble office, Commander”, he spoke, “I hope you had a pleasant journey?”

“Somewhat…”, Jane inclined her head, “Some… interesting things happened.”

“I see. I hope nothing too worrying?”

“No. For the time being, we are fine.”

The man turned to the mercenaries.

“And welcome back, Plains Brigade. I see you met the Paladins on the way. Was your expedition successful?”

“Thank you, sir”, Joachim said, “And yes, we were successful. There was no danger to Greypeak.”

“That is good. I will come back to your report. Now, who is this young lady, here?”

He finally turned to Circe.

“I’m Circe! A [Witch] from Greypeak, though I only recently upgraded.”

“I see. Has your master sent you on this journey?”

“Not really? I just wanted to see the world with my friend.”

A hint of confusion flashed over his face.

I hooted.

Before he could ask his next question, Jane spoke up again.

“Lord Ekos, let me introduce you. This is Fio Catori. No family name. I have been assigned as her escort to the Cathedral.”

He blinked.

“The… owl?”

“Yup. That’s me”, I said.

“Oh, my!”, the girl on the side suddenly spoke, “What is that!”

“That’s what I want to know?”, Lord Ekos asked.

“Nonono, not the owl. The amulet.”

I lifted the item in question from my chest with a tendril of darkness.

“This? It’s an arcane speaker. Let’s you speak without a mouth.”

“Oh, how wonderful! No wonder the Church has taken an interest in you!”

“Lea. Please.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Within moments, the girl was sitting still again, entirely focused on her notes.

“I apologize on her behalf”, Lord Ekos said, “She is a bit…”

He just barely stopped his hand from making a rude gesture.

“No matter, please, take a seat. And then tell me what I need to know.”

His eyes met Jane’s for a moment who smiled back.

After everyone got settled, it was mostly a boring report. Joachim told his side of the story first, answering any questions he was asked. Then Jane filled in her side and how she was sent back early, the Crimson Knights taking over her mission. I spent most of that time speaking to Circe telepathically. I even showed her an image of what the city looked like from above.

Eventually, the reports were done with and the Lord turned to us.

“Do you have anything to add, Miss Fio?”

“Just Fio is fine. Or Catori, whichever you prefer. And not really? I’m not up for recruitment and neither is Circe. She just wanted to see a real Lord in person.”

“Hey!”, the girl in question complained.

“Oh, did you mention I’m a dwarven citizen, Jane?”

“No. It must have slipped my mind.”

Lord Ekos’ eyes widened. Before he could say anything, Lea jumped out of her seat and stood in front of me.

“The dwarves!”, she squealed, “Do they have thaumaturges? Is that how they make their artefacts? You need to tell me!”

“Lea, please”, the Lord spoke, “We spoke about this.”

“Yesyes, but! Dwarves!”

“It’s fine”, I said, “Lea, right? You’re a [Thaumaturge]?”

“I am!”

“Well, the dwarven artefacts are made by artificers. It’s a profession built from engineering and blacksmithing that utilizes vis to power their devices. That’s basically it.”

“Oh. So like, only the basics?”

“Of thaumaturgy, yes”, I nodded, “They have laws against practising thaumaturgy in big cities. The flux produced by artefacts makes it a little difficult to do large-scale work, anyway.”

“I see… that makes sense? But they have [Thaumaturges]?”

“They do. Most of them live secluded somewhere in the wilderness. I met a few and they usually live with a small family near a medium node. Oftentimes there’s a Guardian as well.”

“Oh, those… demigods?”, Lea tilted her head.

I chuckled.

“No, not demigods. They are sapient animals having formed a sort of bond with one particular node. The dwarves worship them because their first cities were aided greatly by the first Guardians.”

“So, they aren’t related to Truth?”

I blinked.

“No? Not that I know, at least. And I’m friends with two.”

Lea pouted.

“I see. I need to travel there one day.”

She sat back down and sunk back into her notes. Within seconds, it was like we were not even in the same room.

“I apologize, Fio. Lea is very skilled but lacks… social comprehension.”

“I don’t mind. I can clearly see the effort put into the wards. I assume that was her doing?”

“You can see the wards?”, Lord Ekos asked.

“Yes?”

“How?”

“A Skill.”

“And how much of it…”

“Ekos!”, Lea interrupted, “Wards are super easy to see. You only need to prepare some glass with the proper essence. I offered you to use my goggles, right?”

The old man composed himself.

“Yes. Of course. It’s just… weird. Fio is not a [Thaumaturge] and yet can see magic.”

Lea blinked.

“She’s clearly in the know. Class matters not. Only if you have a Thaumonomicon.”

“Enough of that”, Jane interrupted, “Fio is under my protection, including her secrets. If you want to speculate, do so once we left.”

“Ah, sorry”, Lea mumbled.

She was already back in her papers.

Lord Ekos sighed.

“Very well, Commander. Thank you for your visit. I do hope you will have a pleasant time in Brookfrid. If you wish, you may stay in the fort. Simply tell my steward.”

“Thank you for the offer”, Jane said, “I don’t know if we’ll take you up on it.”

I had to press a wing to Circe’s hand to stop her from vibrating in her seat.

“Joachim, stay for a bit. I will ready your payment. And Fio, thank you for your visit. It is not common for me to meet a being such as you.”

I bobbed my head in acknowledgement. A short exchange of goodbyes and we were soon on our way outside. I turned to Jane from Circe’s arm.

“That reminds me. What’s the quickest way to get to the Cathedral from Trade Town? By road, I mean.”

Jane looked puzzled.

“Well, you’d have to pass through Clifrig, that’s the province bordering the Dwarven Hills. After that, you’d probably go straight for the capital and then north to the Cathedral.”

“And how long would that take?”

“By cart, which is the most common way, I’d say a good month. Maybe two, if you’re slow? Why are you asking?”

“No particular reason”, I deflected, “Thanks.”

“Can we stay in the fort tonight?”, Circe asked after a moment of silence.

That made both of us laugh.