Hump didn’t rush into things. He asked Dylan to give him some time to think about how best to approach the matter. They parted ways with Marcela, and the rest of them headed to the carriageway, Hump deep in thought.

After telling the story of his soul damage a few times now, he was fairly sure Marcela wouldn’t see him as outright evil, and would recognise this as a sincere effort to help. He’d suffered injuries on the job, but who hadn’t? That didn’t mean admitting everything was the only way to do this. He needed Marcela to help convince Graham to help, and gain access to the labs. But Graham was a Chosen of Loften—it would take a lot more to convince him that Hump could help with something that theoretically was only possible for warlocks.

It didn’t bode well for his chances. As much as he wanted to take back some control and help Vivienne, stepping up to the chopping block and hoping the axe didn’t fall didn’t sit well with him. Trusting to hope never did.

He couldn’t escape the feeling that there was something he could do to help the situation though. Countess Daston told him not to hesitate when his moment to act revealed itself, and this felt like it might be it—the thing he could do to contribute to the fate of Sheercliff City. His soul was damaged and distorted, not unlike the other warlocks they’d met. It would only take one pass of Graham’s detection device to confirm that. Vivienne’s efforts to identify the function of the black stones had already progressed in the presence of the prisoners, but she’d had two unwilling participants. The odds that Hump could get it working were… reasonable.

Which left him questioning what could come from this. If everything went perfectly, nobody tried to arrest him, and he was able to activate the stone. Then what? Ideally, Graham would be able to use the working black stone to detect others in the city, and from there the Temple Guard and other more powerful people could finally hunt down the people plaguing the city. Innocents would stop being murdered; their souls drained of essence to sustain the sick need for power these warlocks had. Vivienne would be freed and thanked for her contribution toward the problem, and the misunderstanding would be cleared up.

That just left the growing dungeons to deal with, the traitor that had killed the imprisoned warlocks, and of course, the ultimate goal of these warlocks, whatever that may be. If they were anything like Kassius, they wanted to break free of the ‘oppression’ of the gods, and take the power and immortality that was owed to them. Though that was a big if.

Before anything, Hump decided to talk this over with his party. It was a decision that could affect all of them. He also felt the need to double check he wasn’t being a complete idiot. He had to admit, Vivi being locked up had got to him. Despite having the backing of a countess, despite working so closely with so many nobles and powerful people, it hadn’t kept her out of jail.

That scared him. There were so many unknowns and dangers, perhaps this was just recklessness talking.

He stared out at the city through the glass window of the carriageway, thinking of how to broach the topic. It was a beautiful evening. The sun cast the cloudy sky in hues of purple and orange, illuminating the city below in a twilight glow. Hump once again thought of how far he’d come. To be standing in this carriage, surrounded by nobles and Chosen that he could call friends. To have coin in his pocket and to have personally had afternoon tea with Countess Daston.

He knew he didn’t want to lose this. The feeling of being someone a little bit important. Sitting back and doing nothing felt wrong to him too, though. As stupid as it seemed, warlocks were harming innocent people. They’d killed a priestess that could have just as easily been Luna. If that happened, and he’d been sitting on the answer the city needed to hunt down these warlocks, he’d regret it. On top of that, it meant helping Vivienne. It was at least worth considering.

“I want to help Graham complete Vivienne’s research into the black stones,” Hump said. They were about a quarter of the way down the cliff and had a few minutes left to chat.

They all turned to him.

“How do you plan to do that?” Bud asked.

“I intended to ask for Marcela’s help,” Hump said. “With her backing, I’ll be able to visit Graham in his lab and offer him my help. With me, he’ll be able to test the black stone.”

Celaine rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Oh good. I’m glad you didn’t suggest anything stupid. What makes you think they won’t just out you as a warlock?”

Hump exhaled, smiling at her. “I know it’s a dangerous move, which is why I’m talking with you all first. Vivi was close to figuring out the black stones. I think there’s a good chance Graham can finish off the work if I assist him, which would help to put a stop to what the warlocks are doing in the city, and clear Vivi’s name.”

“You’re feeling guilty,” Celaine said. “I know Dylan pressured you into this.”

Hump frowned. “If you heard that, why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

She shrugged. “I thought you’d figured that out on your own.” She turned her gaze on Dylan. “I get that you’re upset, but this is a bad idea. You couldn’t even step foot in the research labs without raising suspicion, and you’re only one step away from someone testing that new warlock detector on you already.”

“I must say, I think I agree with Celaine here,” Bud said. “We should put some trust in Countess Daston. She said she would take care of this.”

“She also told me to act when the moment felt right,” Hump said. “This feels like it. I can make a difference here.”

“I thought you don’t trust in messages from the gods,” Bud said.

“Think of it as a leap of faith,” Hump said.

Bud shook his head. “You like faith even less.”

“Not having it doesn’t mean I don’t wish I did. You guys are the lucky ones. The world is pretty dark from my perspective. I’d like it if an all-powerful being decided to watch over me, I just don’t see it happening. I thought you of all people would agree with me, actually. Do you not think I should do what I can to help find these warlocks?”

Bud frowned and looked away. “I don’t think it’s your responsibility. I also know that if this got out, it wouldn’t end well. Just because we’ve accepted you doesn’t mean the rest of the world will.”

“Huh.” Hump felt himself getting annoyed. “You sound scared. I never thought you’d back down when lives are at stake.”

Bud clenched his jaw. “There are other—”

“He is scared,” Emilia snapped. “He doesn’t want his friend to get himself killed. You’ve spent your life on the road, Hump. You don’t get it. One word from anyone and you’ll be in a jail cell, lucky if you ever see the light of day again. And you’ll take the rest of us down with you. You’re forgetting something in all of this. There’s a traitor amongst the nobles—someone that managed to kill two prisoners in the House of Stone. Gods know where else they have eyes.”

Hump stared at her, then turned his gaze over the rest of them. Dylan was staring at the ground guiltily. She was right. He’d even thought this stuff himself but hearing it out loud was different.

“I’m sorry for asking you to do this, Hump,” Dylan said. “They’re right. This won’t end well. We shouldn’t rush into anything.”

Hump looked at him feeling conflicted. He couldn’t think of a rebuttal.

“Even if I don’t blindly follow messages from the gods, surely you put some value on it,” Hump said. “Countess Daston told me to act. You can’t deny that this seems like the opportunity she spoke of. I’m all for making snarky comments about the gods, but a Chosen of Imira said that to my face. It’s not quite as easy to ignore.”

“I do put value on it.” Bud sighed. “And no, I can’t deny this isn’t what she meant.”

“And you still want to do nothing?” Hump asked. When Bud didn’t answer, Hump continued on. “At least try and work with me here.”

“I don’t know what we should do,” Bud said. “I only know that I don’t want you to die trying to be a hero.”

“What about you, Celaine?” Hump asked. “You obviously think my idea is stupid, but you must see my reasoning.”

“I do see it,” Celaine said. “I still think the risk is too much though.”

“Even if we got past the matter of the dangers, are you completely sure Wizard Vivienne is innocent?” Emilia asked. “No offence intended—I’ve never met her—but it seems like something we need to address.”

“She’s innocent,” Dylan said. “My master wouldn’t do this.”

“Do you all agree?” Emilia asked.

They did.

“In which case, maybe we should try to look at this problem from a different direction,” Emilia said. “Wizard Vivienne being innocent means we should act with the assumption that there is a traitor amongst the leadership in this city. Someone with access to both of the warlocks, and the ability to kill them.”

“Abraxus,” Dylan said. “He’d have no trouble procuring such a poison.”

Emilia tilted her head back and forth. “While I wouldn’t count him out, it’s possible this is unrelated to your master entirely. Or they simply used her as a means to help cover up their work.”

“Who do you think it is then?” Hump asked.

“I don’t know. For us, I’m not even sure it matters. The point is, they must be in high places if they killed two warlocks. Wizard Vivienne’s research was progressing, and someone needed to stop it in its tracks.”

“In which case, there’s a good chance they’re watching Graham and the lab too.” Hump pressed a hand to his head, rubbing his eyes. He turned to the window. They were nearing the bottom of the cliff now. “I guess there’s also a chance someone is watching us too.”

“Not just the warlocks either,” she said. “wouldn’t surprise me if anyone from General Bennet to the Inquisitors also had people watching both Graham and us. For you to show up at his lab with Marcela… it would be suspicious.”

“I didn’t even think of that,” Hump admitted. “Even if we can trust Marcela, she doesn’t need to talk if we do something so obvious. They’d be on me the moment we left the lab.” He turned back to Emilia, smiling at her. “Thank you. I think you saved me from a serious mistake.”

She smiled back. “It’s easy to skip over details when one’s friends are in danger. Though, I don’t think you’re wrong. You’re in the position to help many people with your abilities. Just because your first idea seems unlikely to work, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try something.”

“Do you have an idea?” Hump asked.

“A vague one. If we can’t find a way into the lab without raising suspicion, we need a way to bring the black stone to you.”

“You’re not suggesting we try to steal the black stone from the lab?” Celaine asked. “And I suppose we should just kidnap Graham with his equipment at the same time. Yeah, that sounds better.”

Emilia cringed. “I did say it was vague.”

“No, we can work with this,” Hump said. “I’m not going to say this is without danger. I think we’ll still need Marcela’s help—she’s the only source of credibility I have, and I don’t think Graham will work with me without it.”

“Why do you think he’d work with you at all?” Celaine said. “And I don’t see how having Marcela on your side will, in any way, help you access one of the black stones.”

“You’re forgetting something,” Hump said. “Graham wants to help Vivi as much as we do—I get the feeling they’ve become quite close in our time away from Sheercliff. We don’t have to kidnap him. If Marcela vouches for us, he’ll come willingly. And he’ll bring the black stone with him.”

“And if Marcela doesn’t vouch for you?” Celaine asked.

“This might be the fastest way to find the people tormenting her city,” Hump said. “If she doesn’t agree to help, I suppose she’s not the person I thought she was.”