Gillian's audience already watched attentively, so there was no need for the sound. But it was a formality, and formalities made the meetings fun.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to recap our reconnaissance." They had already talked for hours on the return trip from the royal city, but – "More importantly, we need to assess what we could possibly do with this information. Mirko, you start."

"I just kept track of the powers they mentioned. There's that wind girl, telekinetic people, mind readers - but only one of those - fire people, freeze people, fast people, hearing people, hawk-eye people, and... I think that's it. Oh, earthquake people. That's what the Queen is, apparently."

Gillian nodded, writing a he spoke in a notebook she had stolen from her mother's closet. "So what does that tell us?"

"Talk quiet and walk careful when around magicians?" Mirko watched Gillian for confirmation.

"Basically. But don't just talk quietly, don't talk at all. Not about anything they wouldn't like, at least." Gillian finished writing, then looked to Chess.

Chess and Sonia exchanged a glance. "We tried to get them to talk about politics. Turns out magicians aren't all the same. Some of them hate the Queen, some of them love her. Apparently, she's too barbaric for their liking so she makes our kingdom look bad."

Sonia added, "They also disagree about the election process. There's a democracy, but it's just for the magicians. Right now only the government magicians can vote, but all the others like the teachers and the soldiers want to be able to vote too."

Gillian scribbled furiously, taking down every word. "Now that is good news. We can exploit their differences. Maybe start a war between them or something. Or use their differences to get them to improve our lives somehow."

"Clever idea." A low voice cut through the air, making every member of the Discussion Group flinch. A man stepped out of the shadows, sauntering to the center of the town hall with his hands clasped behind his back. "I can't say I know a much as you for on those other topics, but I do have something to contribute. The Queen's Guard – do you know who that is?" The others nodded cautiously.

"Well, as you may or may not know, his only power is his immunity to magic. But more importantly, the present Queen is the only warrior queen to reign for as many years as she has, and the only factor that distinguishes her from her predecessors is the presence of the Guard."

"So he's her weak spot." Gillian started writing again, then paused. "Wait. Who are you?"

"Brackson. Jerome Brackson. I used to be a servant in the castle." His smug expression dimmed.

"Used to be?" Chess squinted suspiciously.

"I escaped the day they brought in a new guy. They never noticed anyone was missing." The smug expression returned, as if being unmemorable were some kind of achievement.

"And you were spying on us because...?" Chess asked.

"I heard people talking in the town hall at midday. It was strange enough to be worth listening in." He shrugged. "But what matters is that you have something here. Solid foundations for a plan, rather than a plan fueled by luck and fury like all the past rebellions."

"But we aren't planning a rebellion," Mirko interjected. "This is just a discussion group."

"Not anymore it's not."