Tala sat and ate from an incredible spread of tasty food. I feel like I should get sick of, or at least get used to, this, but it seems like every day they change up the spices and methods of preparation.

When she got back home, she would have to seriously consider finding and hiring a cook…

Thron sat on the other end of the table, regarding her critically. He’d mostly finished his own food, though he was still nursing a tankard of acid. “You know, I still find it very strange that there was almost no loot.”

“From what?” She smiled innocently around the dumpling she’d just popped into her mouth.

He gave her an unamused look. He’d been occasionally, gently prodding her on the subject for the last few days. His questions had become more pointed, as she hadn’t told him to leave it.

Tala shrugged, not even trying to hide her smile as it turn rueful. “I really don’t know what to tell you. My sanctum ate the hold, and I suppose it just ate basically all the material too.”

“There was nothing? Really? From an entire hold of master craftsmen?”

“Well, my understanding is that there were only a few master craftsmen, the others were assistants and apprentices.”

He gave her another flat look, and she grinned back.

“No, there wasn’t really anything more than the few ingots of white metal.” She’d found quite a few of those in the storeroom past Io’s chamber.

It had been three days since she’d allowed Kit to consume the guild hold.

There had been… a lot of loot. With the back areas, there had even been a few magical items aimed at aiding in the construction of the automata. Even so, a cursory examination quickly made it very clear that the magical constructs had been built by hand, for the most part.

No unending army for me.

There had been a quite a few ingots of the white metal, along with a number of books and research materials, which would likely help her investigate the automata related items as a whole. Needless to say, she’d taken everything, hiding it all down in the ‘secret’ underground vault.

The base materials had simply been added to some of the expanded space downward, while most of the added volume had, once again, simply allowed Kit to increase the height of the ‘sky.’

Tala didn’t think that Thron had noticed the few new trees that had been transplanted into some of the far parts of the sanctum, and the two holding ponds were now just a bit deeper, to accommodate the new water.

Kit couldn’t do anything truly intricate or precise in the construction department, at least not without Tala’s direct involvement, so the changes really were minor.

Some of the loot, however, was going to be a problem.

She really didn’t know what to do with the four fount orbs that she’d found. They were sealed in some fashion, and locked down, so it wasn’t like they were dumping power into Kit, but she still had to figure out how to handle them. Some automatic magics within the hold had been enacted upon them when she’d disabled the magics drawing from the founts.

Even though she’d preferred to have been able to keep the gains hidden, in order to use the metal, she needed to know what it was. So, she had passed off a few ingots to Thron.

When Be-thric had been told there wasn’t any material recovered from the hold, he had dismissed the issue as understandable, given the loss of the entire hold. They had been discussing the ‘debacle’ with Sanguis and Pallaun at the time.

Apparently, the guild was ‘distraught’ over the loss of their hold but weren’t actually leveling any official complaints.

Tala had explained, per Be-thric’s direction, that something had gone strange within the hold due to the guild’s experiments, and that had led to the hold’s destabilization.

This all had the added benefit of being true.

When they were briefly alone after the debrief with the other Pillar and Eskau, Be-thric had simply stated that if she discovered anything interesting, she should let him know.

He obviously knew that she’d looted the hold entirely, and he was pleased to allow her to use the results as she deemed fit.

-His level of trust for Tali is… admirable?-

Yeah, it almost makes me feel bad.

-Your level of sarcasm is staggering.-

Isn’t it, though?

She had assured him that, of course she would keep him informed, and he had been satisfied.

And on the time-scale of arcanes, it won’t matter. We will go to the human cities before it comes up again.

In that vein, they needed more protian weapons, and her plan was being implemented.

Within the next week, Tala, Be-thric, and at least a couple of squads of House of Blood warriors would invade a minor house’s hold, on the night they were holding a banquet.

That banquet would have at least one candidate Eskau in attendance, most likely without the prospective Pillar.

It was common practice for candidate Eskau to be sent as a token presence from major Houses to such events, especially when the minor house was currying the favor of the major.

A slightly greater show of favor would be for the prospective Pillar to go instead, with even more conveyed by them both attending.

It was all very… political.

Tali had never been sent as such a representative because she was human, and there really hadn’t been that much time.

Most candidate Eskau were in the position for years, if not decades, before getting a chance to advance in rank within the House.

But all this was beside the point, as Thron had not believed her for an instant when she claimed to have not looted anything further.

“I’m not an idiot, Tali.” He shook his head.

“And I am very glad of that. You’d be rather useless to me if you were.”

“So?” He took a deep pull from his tankard, clearly giving her a moment to respond.

Tala sighed. Be-thric had told her that it was up to her if she brought Thron in on the reasoning behind the destruction of the hold. This might actually be a really good way of testing his loyalty.

-Tell him some of the truth, but imply that Be-thric doesn’t know?-

Precisely.

-Be careful, Tala. He could just go to Gallof, or Sanguis, or Pallaun.-

She frowned at that. I didn’t actually think of that. He is more likely to go to his old master than to Be-thric, and I don’t know if Gallof is informed…

So, she wouldn’t hide that Be-thric knew, but it could still be a good test. “Fine, fine. The guild was researching automata.”

The dwarf barely turned his head to the side before he sprayed acid across the floor. He began coughing, clearly trying to regain some semblance of control over himself.

“Are you alright?”

He shook his head, still coughing for a moment longer. When he reined himself in, he leaned back, seeming shell-shocked. “Does the Pillar know?”

“He does.”

“That’s why he supported your claim of no loot.” His eyes widened. “That’s why the place was destroyed. They didn’t just have some. They were making them.”

He is a bit clever, isn’t he? Tala shrugged, seeing no reason to lie, not about this. “Yeah. It was a pretty weird experience, honestly. I think at least one of them was fairly sapient.”

Io was an odd one. In thinking of Io, Tala remembered something. “Oh! And I did actually forget one item of loot.”

I really do want to know what the thing’s sword does.

Tala willed for Io’s sword to appear on the ground beside the table.

Thron noticed its appearance and hopped down to pick it up, balancing it across his two palms. “What is this?”

“The weapon wielded by the final one, the odd one.”

“It’s not magical?”

“It was. The thing's magic wrapped around it, strengthening it, and making it more effective. I think it was linked to its power source, somehow, but it didn’t feel soul-bound.”

Thron looked closer, then his eyes widened. “No.”

“What is it?”

His hands began to tremble just slightly. “Tali…This is a concept weapon.”

Tala frowned. “A what?”

“A concept weapon. It’s… it’s easier if I just show you.” He hesitantly grasped the hilt, and a veil of green seemed to coat the white blade. “This…”

He shook his head, staring at the sword that looked almost comically large in his hands. His demeanor and his reactions conveyed a mix of reverence for and fear of the thing he held.

“Tali, this weapon is worth more than your entire sanctum.”—he shook his head—“No, that’s the wrong order of magnitude. You could never sell this. Fundamentally, it’s worth more than this city and everything in it, but if anyone of power found out you had it, they’d just take it, and expect you to be grateful if they left you alive.”

He swallowed, his hands beginning to shake once more.

“They haven’t been made in…”—he swallowed again—“I don’t even know.”

“I can see your concept affects the magic of the blade, but—”

“No, that’s not right, Tali. This blade allows for the wielder’s concept to be manifested as an aspect of the blade. It is a training tool and a powerful aide. For me, it removes one of my greatest weaknesses. Even just as it is, I can wield corrosion dozens of times farther from my body, even if only along the length of the weapon. With practice? This is a weapon that puts protian weapons to shame.”

She bit the side of her lip, considering. “Huh. How did the guild get it?”

Thron was still staring at the weapon as he whispered a reply. “That is an excellent question.”

As the blade continued to glow green, Tala noticed something. “What is happening to the metal?”

Thron looked closer, and his eyes widened in horror.

The white seemed to dissolve off the outside of the sword, leaving a black, almost glass-looking material behind.

Thron practically squeaked as he jerked his hand away, dropping the blade.

The sword fell, bouncing off the stone floor a few times before settling. Each hit sent a ringing, resonant tone through the air, like the striking of a massive bell.

“That…”—he took a step back, seemingly unconsciously—“That is a sword directly from the Black Legion, but that’s impossible.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Yes, or it is so closely mirrored as to make no difference. From what little I know of concept weapons, the materials and color affect the creation process, but not the outcome. Black was basically the hardest to make, so they were only ever made for the Black Legion.”

“Very on theme of them, I suppose.”

He didn’t even crack a smile at her comment. The dwarf looked like he was torn between kicking the weapon away from himself and kneeling before it in reverence.

I need to keep him talking. “Wait… why would they give concept weapons to weak automata?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if the thirteen were tests, why would they have sent them off with such powerful weapons.”

“Oh!” He shook his head. “They didn’t. The swords came to the Black Legion after they grew in power. It isn't really known if they figured out how to make them, or traded for them or something else.”

Tala grunted. “Huh. So, what does this mean?”

“It means that somehow, the guild whose hold you cleared, had gained first hand sources on the Black Legion.”

Tala shrugged. “I suppose so, but is that really so odd? There have to be some items, some detailed records around.” Maybe there are some among those I took from the hold…

He shook his head. “I’d have thought you would know this, but no. The Old Guard swept up every remnant. The Mind Flayer himself sought out all those who tried to hide fragments, and the Old Guard threw every scrap in when they sealed the Black Legion in the earth.”

“Say, what?”

-What?-

“Did you not hear tales of the Legion growing up? How do you not know this?”

Tala gestured to herself. “Human. Remember?”

He grimaced. “Right, right. You really don’t look very human these days, and I’m not used to humans…mattering.”—He had the good grace to look a bit ashamed at that statement.—“That might actually change the tales told.”

After a moment of silence, Tala prompted. “So…?”

“So… I don’t know where to begin.”

“At the very beginning? That’s a very good place to start.”

He gave her an unamused look, before sighing. “Very well. So, the Black Legion were the unified response to the threat from the wild humans to the north. They were the first true utilization of the founts in warfare.

Thron snorted and shook his head.

“They are the entire reason why no weapon is permitted to have, or be directly wielded by, a constructed consciousness. There are some allowances made for cases of hold defense, but that is a whole bevy of nuance that there is no reason for us to delve into.”

“Alright.”

“So, the automata were built hastily and with limited resources. It was a theoretical solution, one among thousands, so they didn’t devote all their resources to it. With those constraints, they were built with three basic, core drives: Grow stronger, maintain operational functionality, support the others.”

“Really? Nothing about ‘don’t attack us?’ “

Thron chuckled. “In the beginning, they were so weak it hardly mattered, and the secondary functions covered things like enemy recognition and the like.”

“So, I’m guessing things didn’t go very well.”

“Not in the least, no. The first batch of thirteen were sent on their very first mission, but they never made it. They vanished.”

Tala almost asked where they went, but she realized that Thron was about to tell her.

“No one could find them, and they were eventually considered lost. The project itself was put on hold as the conflict continued. Decades later, we were losing a particularly important conflict, when suddenly, an unknown, Revered warrior dropped out of the sky and turned the tide.”

“One of the thirteen?”

“Precisely. They had seemingly taken their directives oddly and sought strength above all else. During the short span of years where they were fully allied with us, we learned that they’d found an ether hold to set up in. Within, they had grown in strength and numbers. For not only were the originals strong, they had created the Legion based on their own designs. For, how can they support the others, if there were no others? But this is getting too detailed.” Thron shook his head. “Suffice it to say, things did not go well. The Black Legion eventually decided that, in order to follow their drives, they had to end the war regardless of the casualties. They slew hundreds of the strongest on both sides, decimating the rank and file of the Old Guard with several, concurrent surprise attacks before the Black Legion was even known to be an enemy.”

“What then?”

“Then? We brokered a temporary peace with the wild humans and drove the things back into their ether hold. No one who ever went in ever came out again. All information on the creation of the Legion was destroyed or thrown in after them, and the entirety was sealed, deep beneath the earth, locked behind the strongest seals and barriers that could be created at the time. The knowledge of where this prison lay was obliterated by the Mind Flayer, so that no one would be tempted to seek out the Black Legion, and that is where the tale ends.”

“You know, this seems like a lot more information than would be from myth or children’s tales.”

“Of course it is.”

“Then…why did you think I would know it?”

“You should know of the Legion from children’s tales. It’s just fascinating, so I learned more when I had the resources to do so.”

“Ah, okay.” She frowned. “Wait, but what of the temporary peace?”

Thron shrugged. “By the time the Black Legion was locked away, everyone was bloodied and weary of war. The Sovereign enforced peace expired, but no one was eager to fight again so soon. So, they didn’t. There have been skirmishes to be sure, but the war has never resumed.”

Tala grunted. “So, the Black Legion did their job after all, eh? They ended the war?”

Thron shook his head. “No. Their aim was never so noble. The Black Legion was designed and directed towards the eradication of gated humanity, regardless of the collateral consequences.”—he gave her an apologetic look—“Apologies for the bluntness, Tali. Now that I consider it, it’s really not that surprising that you weren’t told the tales as a child.”

“You aren’t wrong. To you, it’s a history lesson. To me, it would have been a horror story.”

They sat in silence for a long moment, then Tala frowned.

“Wait.”

Thron looked her way, seemingly reluctant to take his eyes of the black blade, still laying on the floor. “What?”

“The automata used a fount as a power source. From my understanding, the Black Legion did the same.”

“That is my understanding as well, yes.”

“But humans can’t use conceptual magic.”

Thron hesitated, frowning. “I suppose… it wasn’t? Was the soul, itself, the driving force behind the automata?”

“Well, no. In fact, it went out of its way to tell me that it was separated from the soul powering it.”

He grunted. “Well, there you have it. My understanding is that the gate, and a consciousness’s connection to it, is what disrupts the direct use of conceptual magics.”

Tala found herself nodding. “Because concepts are the impositions of ‘not reality’ upon reality, and the connection through to the next world makes gated humans more sensitive and susceptible to the whims of existence.”

“That’s an odd way to put it, but maybe?”

She shrugged. “Well, regardless, while I want to study it and see what I can make of the thing, it isn’t immediately useful to me.”

“So, we should give it to the Pillar?”

Yeah, RUST that. “Actually, I was thinking that you should use it to practice. At least for now.”

Thron gave her an odd look. “Me?”

“Yes, you. Practice with it within this sanctum, out of sight and away from scrutiny. It can only serve to make you a better adjunct for me.”

“I feel that the Pillar would be… displeased with that use of resources.” He was regarding her carefully.

Does he think I’m testing him? Tala shrugged. “He need never know.”

This might actually be a reasonable way to do just that, a method to test Thron’s loyalty. I wouldn’t have shown the weapon to the dwarf if I’d known what it was, but that herb’s been ground.

-And if he tells Be-thric?-

We can truthfully say that Be-thric suddenly having the weapon would be very suspicious, as well as endangering him, greatly. If it was ever safe to do so, of course we would give him the weapon.

-Which is true, because, for us, it would never be safe to give him that much power.-

Precisely.

Thron looked torn, but he did slowly bend down and pick up the sword. There was longing in his eyes, even as his gaze flicked between Tala and the weapon he now held. “This… even to train with… this is too much.”

“You are my adjunct, Thron.” She used his real name, purposely. “Either I trust you, and help you as I can, or I will be lost. Do I seem like someone who should try to train a replacement for you?”

Tala was slightly uncomfortable with just how close to true that statement was. I can’t even fathom how much of a pain it would be, if Thron was gone, and I had to have a dozen unknown servants in here to replace him.

-Yeah, there is no way that Be-thric would let you be unattended. An Eskau without servants would reflect poorly on the House and the Pillar in particular.-

Thron began nodding, gears obviously turning in his head, even as a smile pulled at his lips. ”As my liege commands. I will endeavor to honor your faith in me and put this to good use.”

“That is all I ask.”

-And now, we wait...-

…and see if he really can be trusted.