《The Dragon's Heir》 Problem and Solution The Dragonslayer, Zia seethed, ruined everything. From her perspective, this was absolutely true. She paced, arms crossed against her chest, holding her elbows in a defensive, closed posture. Not, of course, she thought, that it started there. Zia was a woman of intense passions, as befit a fire sorceress. Perhaps a little more choleric than sanguine, she still partied hard, loved with what she felt as passion, and when she was pleased her good cheer was infectious. But her fitness as a sorceress, her sincere faith that powered her magic, was not the issue at hand. Nor was it up for debate; who could question the faith of a woman who had sworn her first oath of fealty to Izkarzon when she was only seven years old? But that aside, what had her seething were the strictures of a society which would not conform itself to her whims¡ªexcept, of course, as flame would. When she had made her come out, her faith in herself was unshakeable. The world was Zia¡¯s oyster. She had been told this her entire life. Even when she came out to her parents as trans, their reluctance, resistance, and doubt only produced enough cognitive dissonance to make her redouble her efforts to make her world conform to her will. She was ouroboros in Sasson, the highest caste and sole heir of her parents¡¯ noble estate, and now as a woman she would carry on the family name. Surely, and sure enough, her parents would rather concede the field and allow her to make her come out as a woman than sacrifice their only child to preconceived notions of who she was. Then came the first wave across her bow which actually made her doubt the seaworthiness of her worldview ship. She received not a single offer of marriage in her first Season, not even so much as an improperly long bow over her hand, excepting from Askar¡ªwho everyone knew had a limp wrist. Despite tailored dresses in the trim of the season and tasteful amounts of padding to cover what she considered deficient curves, not. One. Offer. But it was only her first Season. There were to be others before she was ¡°on the shelf.¡± The second Season went much as the first, though she did share a waltz with Askar¡ªwhat the Hell, at least it¡¯s attention¡ªbut again, not a single proposal. And then, in the most auspicious Season, the third, for I was born in the third month of Gemini¡­ she shivered with rage. The Dragonslayer ruined everything. She killed our Lord, the mighty gerontocrat and King, Izkarzon. The unrest was immediate. There was no third Season, the entire country¡ªperhaps not the country of Dragold, but certainly the capitol city of Sasson¡ªwas embroiled in debate over who was the oldest, who had the greatest claim to rulership. My parents removed, with me in tow, to their country seat, and waited it out. She crossed her arms the other way, then recrossed them. The worst choice they could have made. Their contracts were lost, their contacts and relationships lost to either death or cowardice. When we returned to Sasson we had little wealth, no status, nothing but a title that barely meant anything. Even the ouroboros only meant so much. Zia absentmindedly rubbed the ring branded onto the back of her hand, the caste-mark of the most favored and privileged of Dragold¡¯s castes. It was upon their return that Zia began to roam the poorer districts of Sasson. Her parents thought she was going out with an attendant, and perhaps this was true at first, but after the first time ruining a pair of boots in the unkept roads and piles of dubious sludge, the attendant was content to accept a token payment and bide her time drinking pints while Zia went off on adventures. What her goal was, not even she could say, but she pursued it with zeal. She felt alive like she had been struck with lightning the first time she encountered a gang altercation, bread-caste criminals attacking one another with spiked boards and short knives. It flowed around her, as whatever she was in her now-stained and soiled ¡°adventuring¡± garb, she was clearly not a member of either gang. The poor districts were alive in a way the sterile neighborhoods of her youth were not. You could walk past endless rows of decayed stone buildings, their elaborate gardens variations on a theme, hear nothing but the footsteps on cobblestones of purposeful people on errands. Nobody idled in the streets anymore, each token tyrant cracking down that much more on any perceived rivals and their freedoms. But in the slums of Sasson, the buildings were wood, patched and repaired in the humid and wet climate and nonetheless succumbing to decay. There were gardens, the smell of strange spices and spit-roasted meat. Singing, off-key and bawdy, carried on the air. The bakers never had white bread, sometimes they didn¡¯t have doors, but they had hearty barley loaves, quartered in a style reminiscent of the lowest caste¡¯s daily wages and the brands on each one¡¯s right hand. In time, she made¡­ well, a friend might have been pushing it. A puzzle, more like. Not to mention, it wouldn¡¯t do for even an ouroboros in straits to befriend a bread-caste ganger. Zia was less than honest with herself. Drexl, the friend Zia had managed to acquire, was quite comely regardless of her caste, stout and curvy over slab muscle. However, she persistently, politely rebuffed Zia¡¯s advances. She lacked a partner, Zia knew that much, but she never did more than demure in a fashion befitting a debutante when Zia reached for her hand or attempted to kiss her cheek. Nonetheless, she kept spending time with Zia, regardless of whether her pin money extended far enough to cover both their drinks and meals. She wasn¡¯t sure what drew them together, another piece of dishonesty with herself. She was witty, cordial, as her sorcery illustrated sanguine, she could rally a sagging and slumped tavern into rounds of song in her rich baritone. And she wanted Drexl, because she as yet had not been able to so much as kiss her, which prodded both her certainty she deserved what she wanted and her desire to be validated by a woman who, in the course of conversation, she had confirmed was only interested in women. If Zia had been honest with herself, she might have thought, perhaps, when she kisses me, I will feel secure that I have successfully encompassed womanhood. ¡°You¡¯re thinking about the Dragonslayer again, ain¡¯tcha?¡± Drexl asked. Zia looked up from her mug of blittero and realized she had been scowling. Shouldn¡¯t do that. Makes lines on the face. She raised one haughty eyebrow to make it clear the question was insolent, but after she had made her point she nodded. ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing for it, is there? We¡¯ll all be taxed the same regardless of who¡¯s at the top. Just wish they¡¯d stop trying to draft my lot into their blood feuds.¡± It was a tacit element of their relationship that Drexl not acknowledge Zia¡¯s high standing, and if Zia had once made a point of wearing a glove over her right hand, she no longer felt it necessary. Relationship. Double-edged sword of a word. I¡¯d like the more intimate meaning. Oh, it could never go anywhere, but to have it would be nice. Zia had dated, of course, but only straight women and whatever one could characterize her time with Askar as. Drexl would be the crown jewel in Zia¡¯s tiara of padded dresses and affected pitch. Zia had the seat with her back to the wall, and had been scanning the room as she drank and sat with Drexl. She watched a man receive a flat turndown from a woman¡ªwhich the tavern keeper will make sure he honors¡ªand rose from her seat. Drexl raised an eyebrow¡ªinsolence¡ªbut it was another unspoken agreement between them that Zia was entitled¡ªentitled to be flighty, thank you¡ªin any case allowed to pursue her romances and trysts. Sashaying in what she was certain was a beguiling manner, Zia walked up to the man. He wasn¡¯t bad-looking, she supposed. Muscular, taller even than her, perhaps a week in need of a shave. Dark where she was light, and¡ªZia delighted in such details¡ªhigher caste than Drexl, who she was snubbing. Only of the wane, but still higher than bread. ¡°Looking for some fun, stranger?¡± she asked in her softest, most dulcet voice. He had to lean in to hear her, it was hard to have volume without a strangled overtone, and the dive was not a quiet environment. Zia saw her chance and took it, leaving bright red lipstick unevenly overlaid on his lips. His eyes flitted to her hand and lit, and Zia realized she had captured his interest. His hands wrapped around her middle¡ªcorseted, of course, which spared her the feeling of his rough workman¡¯s hands¡ªand reached to grab her behind, which was mercifully all padding. They had a few rounds, Zia was largely passive as his hands wandered, and she wondered to herself when this game had begun to pall. Perhaps it¡¯s simply where it leads. Am I still sensitive to the mores of high society despite their snubbing me? She rose, the man rising with her, but she looked back and shook her head. He colored and looked ready to protest, then took one look at the barmaid and sank back into his seat with a thunderous expression on his face. Still, and Zia breathed a sigh of relief, he did return to his blittero rather than pursue the matter. Even among the lower castes, a woman has a right to choose. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. When she settled heavily at the table she shared with Drexl, the gang woman was still sipping at her mug and slowly eating a plate of tubers and fish. She raised one eyebrow, and Zia wondered how much she had watched when she asked, ¡°Did you have fun?¡± Zia suppressed a scowl and put in its place a sunny grin. ¡°Of course I did. Aren¡¯t I the life of my own party?¡± Eugh. He smelled like a smithy. Not that being a smith wasn¡¯t honorable work, someone had to make the axes the nobility, church, and merchants were killing each other with. But it was unpleasant to someone raised in a background of delicately seasoned food, and breath redolent of, at worst, wine or attar of roses. ¡°You are that, Zia. Sorry to doubt you.¡± Oh, so you were being petty. Oh, so it showed on my face that I broke things off. ¡°Zia, I¡¯m on your side. I just don¡¯t get why you collect men and women and yet near as I can tell I¡¯m the one friend you have in the whole district. Your little black book is on its third volume.¡± She toasted with her mug. You could be more than my friend, if you¡¯ve noticed that I¡¯m not sure about collecting names and meeting places. I don¡¯t get why you won¡¯t be. I¡¯m fun, you like me, but you just want to be friends. Be more with me, until I¡¯m ready to settle for whatever title will have me. Being in this bar¡­ what was it called? Has lost its appeal. If I head out now I can get home in time to change into clothes suitable for evening services. Zia was not religious¡ªha¡ªabout attending Church since her parents had stopped enforcing it, but she was unquestionably devout and made a point of catching a service most days of the week. Unless she was otherwise occupied. What? I¡¯ve sworn more than a dozen oaths of fealty to our Lord Izarkzon, surely He understands that I have needs. ¡°I¡¯ll catch you later, shall I, Drexl?¡± Zia asked rhetorically, depositing coins on the table to more than cover her portion of the drinks and food. Without waiting for acknowledgement, she slipped out of the table and out of the door, making her way for her parents¡¯ mansion. They still have such a nice house, even with the unrest. Surely they could increase my allow¡ªpin money. Women have pin money, louche and dissolute men have allowances. On her way to Church, bathed and dressed in a dress which, while not the peak of fashion, was a pure and innocent white, Zia pondered. A stupid concept, innocence. Why should I be innocent of what I¡¯d shackle myself to for a lifetime? At that rate I may as well tie the knot with Drexl, who wouldn¡¯t let me sample her charms even if we were wed. Say, I wonder if she¡¯d go for that. A white marriage. Oh, but she¡¯s bread. Sigh. As she walked, she found herself getting into the spirit of Church. Under her breath, she hummed a popular ditty she had heard in the poorer district. ¡°Everybody loves Izkarzon, He was crowned by the holy Son, woah-oh! Oh how we love that dragon! Everybody loves Izkarzon, under Him we¡¯re number one!¡± The Church of Izkarzon, one of several in the city, was ringing its bells to summon the faithful of Izkarzon to services when Zia arrived. The large building was grand, though there was a broken window and the paint was beginning to fade, in a gothic style that couldn¡¯t help but inspire awe. The doors to the narthex and the cathedral were built on a grand scale, a nod to the idea that Izkarzon himself¡ªmay He live forever in Heaven as He was meant to rule forever here¡ªcould visit any service personally. Zia frowned at the sparse collection of nobles and merchants in attendance. Though the ouroboros caste had been thinned by years of civil war, attendance had also dropped off immediately following the death of the green wyrm God-King. ¡°Praise be to Izkarzon, His divine Will leading us even as He departed from this lowly and physical world!¡± The priestess was in good form, projecting throughout the chapel. ¡°And may His divine Will for us, like that of the Savior who crowned Him, soon see an end to the unrest.¡± It¡¯s always unrest. Never civil war. Never uncivil war, people betraying brothers and trade partners to claim the title of elder and the associated throne. Why the Church hasn¡¯t stepped in and declared Izkarzon¡¯s Will that someone lead¡­ who knows, maybe they did. ¡°All rise for the Oath of Loyalty!¡± Zia rose dutifully, and as always gave her full voice to the Oath. ¡°I pledge allegiance to the God-King Izkarzon, of the mighty nation of Dragold. And to the gerontocracy, which He graciously rules forever, a singular lineage dating back to¡ª¡± Zia broke off as a thought occurred to her, but was immediately aware of heads turning to look at who had dared to stop speaking. ¡°¡ªcrowned by the Savior, keeping His secrets, held by caste and ruler, Amen!¡± A singular lineage. Did Izkarzon have a mate? He¡¯s been the ruler of Dragold for longer than any human lives, if he has any children they would be the rightful heir to the throne. Sasson could know peace. And perhaps, if I were the one responsible for enshrining Izkarzon¡¯s child on the throne of Dragold, well perhaps my family, or at least I, might get rewarded. With status. But I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s heresy. I should ask the deacon after services. Everybody Loves Izkarzon Izkarzon is a gracious Lord indeed. We truly love to serve Him! Without Him our whole future looks dim. Every word He speaks is like a precious bead. We want Him e¡¯er to lead us, but what does that mean? And we sing: Everybody loves Izkarzon He was crowned by the holy Son, woah-oh! Oh how we love that dragon! Everybody loves Izkarzon Under Him we¡¯re number one, woah-oh We love the dragon ruling! We served Izkarzon since Ages past History with Him predates us But serving Him elates us We only hope that fore¡¯er our service lasts We find serving Izkarzon so very keen! And we sing: Everybody loves Izkarzon He was crowned by the holy Son, woah-oh! Oh how we love that dragon! Everybody loves Izkarzon Under Him we¡¯re number one, woah-oh We love the dragon ruling! How can we serve that drake? We have to serve Him! How can we serve that drake? Love reserved for Him! We¡¯re always gonna serve that drake. Tithes reserved for Him! Never want any other drake. And we will always sing: Everybody loves Izkarzon He was crowned by the holy Son, woah-oh! Oh how we love that dragon! Everybody loves Izkarzon Under Him we¡¯re number one, woah-oh We love the dragon ruling! Everybody loves Izkarzon He was crowned by the holy Son, woah-oh! Oh how we love that dragon! Everybody loves Izkarzon Under Him we¡¯re number one, woah-oh We love the dragon ruling! Everybody loves Izkarzon He was crowned by the holy Son, woah-oh! Oh how we love that dragon! Everybody loves Izkarzon Under Him we¡¯re number one, woah-oh We love the dragon ruling! To Adventure The service went on for, what seemed to Zia, a small eternity. Of course, zeal and enthusiasm were encouraged in the Church of Izkarzon, but she suspected her wiggling read impatient to those around her anyway. Never forget, though the Eyes of Izkarzon see all, that it is the duty of all lay acolytes, that is to say every citizen of Dragold, to report and even help uproot dissent. That sobering train of thought helped her to stay still, but made the remainder of the sermon an even greater eternity. She bowed her head properly to bow at the call for group prayers, ears ready for the juicy gossip which might be spread in knowing which noble family anticipated a happy¡ªor unhappy¡ªevent. And sincerely, she enjoyed the periodic hymns which punctuated the service, singing loudly and even for a while forgetting her idea¡ªbut remembering it promptly as deacon Zidrist began talking again. Her favorite was We All Love to Serve Izkarzon, the opening lines of which were the same as the title, leading into, ¡°We work all the time, that He might find, that He thinks we¡¯re neat!¡± Well, Izkarzon will think I¡¯m neat from Heaven for the idea I¡¯m going to put forth! As the procession of priestess and supporting clergy made their way down the aisle, Zia found herself waiting for the music to end and everyone else to make their way past the priestess and offer her their praise for the service. She wanted deacon Zidrist¡¯s undivided attention when she put forth her idea. Finally, the last aged member of the laity had made their way down the aisle and shaken Zidrist¡¯s hand, and Zia rose to talk to the dark-skinned, gray-haired deacon. When she made it out of the chapel, she saw one person in quiet conference with Zidrist and tried not to sigh impatiently. She must have snorted just a little though, because both women turned to Zia and the stranger¡ªI think she¡¯s the chorister¡ªkissed Zidrist on the cheek and said, ¡°I¡¯ll catch you later.¡± Oh. She¡¯s her wife. Lucky. Having someone like that is so blessed. ¡°What can I do for you¡­ Zia, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯re Krasna and Tik¡¯s daughter, right?¡± Ooh! She got the gender right! ¡°I had an idea during the sermon. When we swore the Oath of Loyalty, I had an idea! I know it¡¯s not good to think during the sermon, but I just had the one idea.¡± ¡°Relax, daughter, I recall you taking your Oaths of Fealty. While your attendance has suffered of late, I don¡¯t think anyone questions your zeal for Izkarzon.¡± ¡°Well, you see, nobody will after the idea that I had! Izkarzon reigned from time immemorial, far more than a hundred years. And He hasn¡¯t left Dragold in all that time. So what if Izkarzon had a mate, at some point? What if He had a kid? That dragon would be hundreds of years old, coming from before the Age of Loss, and have a rightful claim to the throne, and could end the whole civil war! Nobody could dispute it and the Church would be full again and¡­ I can tell, you like my idea.¡± ¡°I think it is an interesting idea.¡± What¡¯s wrong with just liking it? ¡°It¡¯s something I feel would be worth pursuing. But why approach me about it?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re to go out into the world, I would need a deacon of Izkarzon, to take confession and report any improper thoughts. Not to mention, wouldn¡¯t it be the place of His most close, faithful acolytes to identify His heir and verify their parentage?¡± ¡°You want me to come with you into the wider world, as¡­ what, protection against corruption?¡± ¡°Exactly! You could bring your sweet¡ª¡± ¡°She¡¯s my wife.¡± ¡°Even better! No question of impropriety!¡± ¡°Zia, I admit the idea has merit. Certainly more than that of the spirit mages who proposed summoning and binding Izkarzon¡¯s spirit into His rotting corpse.¡± Zidrist shuddered, and Zia shared her revulsion. To pull their God-King from His rightful reward in Heaven was an appalling blasphemy. ¡°But the world is a dangerous place. Even Dragold itself can suffer unrest, can you imagine the dangers of the world outside the Church of Izkarzon?¡± Okay, that¡¯s a fair point. But I¡¯ve wandered the poorer districts without any obvious weapons and been fine. And the civil war never enveloped me. I think we¡¯d be fine. But if we need muscle¡ªah! ¡°I can get muscle for us, if you like. I know a person who goes around armed and could protect us from brigands and the like.¡± Drexl wouldn¡¯t mind, I¡¯m sure. She talks now and then about adventure. And she¡¯d get the status reward, maybe she¡¯d be made wane or even hunger. Probably not ouroboros though. Unfortunately. Anyway. ¡°So with her to protect us from the physical dangers, and you to protect us from the spiritual dangers, your wife, and me, we could all head out to find Izkarzon¡¯s heir and restore the golden age of prosperity we¡¯ve enjoyed since the Age of Loss that Izkarzon so kindly ended.¡± ¡°As I said, your idea has merit. I will pray on it, and we can discuss it later this week.¡± Zidrist laughed and gestured around the Church building. ¡°You know where to find me, perhaps Tuesday or Wednesday?¡± Zia nodded eagerly. She made the appropriate social sounds, expressing appreciation of Zidrist¡¯s sermon which she wasn¡¯t sure she remembered, and tossed out a name from the call to prayer that she would especially make sure to keep in her thoughts, before rushing out of the Church to talk to her parents. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®You can¡¯t get an abominable spider silk gown¡¯?!¡± ¡°Zia, our fortunes are not what they once were, and trade has been unreliable with the unrest.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a civil war, Dad. And I was talking to Mom.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t afford it. Even your allo¡ªpin money has been a strain, but we didn¡¯t want to tell you about it.¡± ¡°How am I going to hire a guard if I can¡¯t even get decent armor for myself?!¡± Her Dad spoke up again, ¡°I have an old suit of leather armor you could wear. I¡¯ll even pay for it to be modified according to your, ah¡­ tastes.¡± He¡¯s trying to be reasonable. But it¡¯s not fair! I need armor so I¡¯m safe, and I don¡¯t know how I can convince¡­ well, I can convince Drexl probably with the status thing, or an appeal to friendship, but. ¡°But Dad! Mom! You don¡¯t want anything to happen to me, do you?!¡± Her Mom replied evenly, ¡°You¡¯re the one choosing to go on an adventure, Zia. I think your Dad¡¯s offer is more than reasonable. We¡¯ll even advance you next month¡¯s pin money,¡± her face pinched as she said this, and Zia could tell she was doing sums to make the math work. We¡¯re really in such financial straits that pin money and an old suit of armor is all we can muster? Zia considered throwing a fit, but that had ceased to be an effective tactic a few years before she had come out. I may as well take what I can get. ¡°I want to sell some of my jewelry. I need as much silver as I can manage, I don¡¯t know how long this trip will take.¡± ¡°Zia,¡± her Dad said, ¡°This is the first you¡¯ve been talking about going on a trip¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s an adventure! And since Seasons don¡¯t happen, maybe I¡¯ll find someone while I¡¯m adventuring, like one of those romantic adventuresses!¡± Zia¡¯s Dad shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s the first you¡¯ve talked about it, and if you come back in a week and tell us it was too difficult, I think you would regret selling your jewelry. A lot of things aren¡¯t retrievable.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t come back in a week, and when I bring Izkarzon¡¯s heir, I¡¯ll be honored and wealthy beyond what we held even before the Dragonslayer came.¡± Unable to restrain her temper, and afraid of proving her parents right, Zia fled the room. It was only after slamming the door that she realized she was proving them right with that display of pique, rather than punctuating her leaving. Her next stop was what her parents would have termed ¡°the bad part of town,¡± the district of the town where buildings weren¡¯t made of expensive stone quarried in the Stone Mountains to the east, but simple and rotting wood. The same neighborhood where she learned ditties and smelled strange, pungent fermented spices, where she went to dives, and most importantly where she found Drexl. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Drexl was leaning against a building, looking at nothing in particular, when Zia found her. In one hand she held a plank with several knives driven through it, but she didn¡¯t look particularly like she was spoiling for a fight. I¡¯d imagine she¡¯s just on a protection beat. Or whatever it is that gang members do when they¡¯re not killing each other. Zia waved and Drexl looked over and waved back with her free right hand. Bread, Zia noted reflexively. As she always did. ¡°Zia. You don¡¯t normally come by to dive twice in a day, so I took on a job. Pull up some wall if you want to hang, I have to stand here until after moonrise.¡± We can¡¯t go and sit somewhere? Sarx, that¡¯s annoying. I guess I should get used to being on my feet, we¡¯re probably going to have to go at least as far as the coast to find Izkarzon¡¯s heir. ¡°I had an idea while I was at Church, and deacon Zidrist thought it was a good one. So I had to talk to you.¡± She seems less impressed with the prestigious deacon¡¯s name than I expected. Strike one, I guess. I¡¯ll convince her. I don¡¯t want to hire muscle, I want my friend with me. Aside from the country seat I¡¯ve never left Sasson. ¡­and I can¡¯t afford to hire muscle. ¡°You¡¯re not impressed. That¡¯s fair. I guess gangers don¡¯t go in a lot for faith. Actually, I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ve talked about it.¡± Drexl inclined her head. ¡°I¡¯m faithful. Confess my sins every week. Takes about four sandglasses, according to the priest.¡± She smiled a cocky grin as she said this. ¡°It takes you a third of an hour to¡ªwow. Okay. Um. But my idea. The city is falling apart, the trade routes are getting dangerous, and the ouroboros are tearing themselves apart¡­¡± Drexl shrugged as though this were not her problem. To be fair, I guess it¡¯s not. The slums are left alone except to impress soldiers and after what happened last time we don¡¯t do that to them anymore. ¡°But my idea. It would get you status,¡± Drexl still looked bored. ¡°And money, probably a lot of money.¡± Drexl raised an eyebrow, but now lacked the unfocused look of someone who is watching the crowd and instead was making eye contact with Zia. ¡°What if we went and found the child of Izkarzon? Like, He probably mated at least once before becoming a God-King, even if He couldn¡¯t share His throne. And He ruled since before the Age of Loss, so His daughter¡ªor son, I guess¡ªwould be older than anyone else by a few-hundred years. And who wouldn¡¯t want to be a God-King, or God-Queen, that¡¯s the whole reason ouroboros has been tearing itself apart?¡± Drexl looked intrigued, though at the last sentence she returned to surveying the street. ¡°And¡­ and I would like to have someone along who is my friend.¡± ¡°Why bring me along? You¡¯re ouroboros. I¡¯m bread.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re tough.¡± Something clicked into place in Drexl¡¯s gaze. Zia hurried on, trying to make the sale, ¡°And, again, you¡¯re my friend. I know of deacon Zidrist, but I don¡¯t know her, and she¡¯d be bringing someone with her and¡­ I don¡¯t know. I¡¯d like someone who was on my side.¡± ¡°Why bring the deacon at all?¡± ¡°To keep us on the moral path, and to confirm the lineage of Izkarzon¡¯s heir. The deacons and priests have actually met the God-King, they can, I assume, tell us if someone looks like His heir.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good graft. I¡¯m game. Can¡¯t leave before moonrise though, and then I¡¯ll be sleeping.¡± ¡°Oh, Zidrist said to come talk to her Tuesday or Wednesday. You can catch up on your sleep. We¡­ I¡¯d like you to come with me when we meet her, but can you, I don¡¯t know, wash your boots a day or two before?¡± ¡°Are you ashamed of my boots of all things, Zia?¡± Oh dang. I misstepped. Dangit, if I cheese her off she won¡¯t ever get with me, much less go on my adventure with me. Which, that might lead to the other, that happens all the time in bard stories. ¡°Forget the boots. I spoke hastily. And I told Zidrist I could find someone tough, she knows¡ª¡± I hope. ¡°¡ªthat all the actual soldiers are occupied.¡± Drexl spat on the ground at the mention of soldiers. They¡¯d come through the district more than once, shaking down citizens for ¡°taxes¡± or just confiscating whatever they deemed ¡°uncivil¡± weaponry. ¡°Alright. Tuesday. Which Church?¡± ¡°Upraised Right Claw of Izkarzon. On Fifth Ring.¡± ¡°Dang. Fancy pants. Five roads down from the castle? Yeah, I might wash my boots. And my jerkin. See you Tuesday.¡± Excellent. I¡¯ve got my spiritual wellbeing seen to, and my physical safety. Of course, I could just set folks on fire, but that¡¯s not a deterrent like a broad woman with a plank full of knives. This is going to go great. Tuesday came, and Zidrist met them in the narthex of the Church. She had her wife with her, introducing the fat, olive-skinned woman as Darka. ¡°She¡¯s the chorister for the Church, and she¡¯ll be coming with us.¡± Zia reflexively noted that where Zidrist¡¯s right hand bore a three-quarters ring, Darka¡¯s bore only a half ring. She¡¯s also wane, where you¡¯re hunger. Interesting choice. ¡°I¡¯m Drexl, and I¡¯ll be the token muscle, evidently. What is a choir leader going to do while we¡¯re venturing far and wide?¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming because you¡¯re not taking my wife anywhere without me to keep an eye on her. Her virtue might get the better of her and get her in trouble.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m here for.¡± ¡°Well you¡¯ll just have to deal with an extra hand at the job.¡± ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s Zia¡¯s coin.¡± Oh. Dang, I didn¡¯t even think of that. I don¡¯t know how far my silver will get us. ¡°So how are we finding this dragon child?¡± Zidrist cleared her throat. ¡°Zia. Are there any more members joining us?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ no. Why?¡± ¡°Then we need a doll of some kind, as a fifth member. Four is an unlucky number.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sew one together tonight,¡± Darka said. And stuck out her tongue, face creasing with mirth. ¡°Already useful. Darka one, Drexl zero.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t competing, but go off I guess. Again, how are we finding the dragon? Zia? This is your idea.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ I was actually hoping someone else had connections or ideas. Izkarzon was an institution, I never learned about anything from before His time. I thought maybe the priesthood had legends, or maybe you, Drexl, had, like¡­ secret society ties.¡± Drexl burst out laughing. ¡°You think I have ties? If I¡¯m lucky I could ask my boss if her boss might one day make me his bootblack. And he might know someone who knows someone.¡± ¡°The priesthood holds no knowledge from before Izkarzon¡¯s time,¡± Zidrist said blandly. Darka grinned. ¡°So how are you at bootblacking, Drexl?¡± We All Love to Serve Izkarzon A dragon rules over our entire nation. We¡¯re glad for it, He rules us well. He shields us from others¡¯ depredation, As for our tithes, we pay them gladly. We all love to serve Izkarzon We all love to serve Izkarzon We all love to serve Izkarzon We work all the time, that He might find, that He thinks we¡¯re neat! A dragon rules over our entire nation. We¡¯re glad for it, He rules us well. He shields us from others¡¯ depredation, As for our tithes, we pay them gladly. We all love to serve Izkarzon We all love to serve Izkarzon We all love to serve Izkarzon We work all the time, that He might find, that He thinks we¡¯re neat! We love that great dragon who shall lead us Into a bright and shining golden Age. We know that all our magic comes from Him The last disloyal sorcerer, well He ate that miserable mage! Lift your voice high and hymn! We all love to serve Izkarzon We all love to serve Izkarzon We all love to serve Izkarzon We work all the time, that He might find, that He thinks we¡¯re neat! We toil to build Him a glorious nation A glorious castle, as He deserves. Our architects give Him recommendations, But Izkarzon He gets the final word! We¡¯ll spread His truth as a foundation To every place throughout the world We turn to Him that He might face us The alternative to pleasing Him is death! Lift your voice and support your breath! We all love to serve Izkarzon We all love to serve Izkarzon We all love to serve Izkarzon We work all the time, that He might find, that He thinks we¡¯re neat! A dragon rules over our entire nation. We know He leads us as best He can. In thanks we sing our dedication, Wiser older bigger longer than any man! Oh yeah! We all love to serve Izkarzon We all love to serve Izkarzon We all love to serve Izkarzon We work all the time, that He might find, that He thinks we¡¯re neat! We all love to serve Izkarzon (oh yeah baby!) We all love to serve Izkarzon (oh yes we surely do!) We all love to serve Izkarzon We work all the time, that He might find, that He thinks we¡¯re neat! My Boss’ Boss When did I lose control of this situation? ¡°Okay, so you¡¯re joking about me bootblacking, but my boss isn¡¯t a mere bread muncher. She¡¯s got black market ties, even if she stays out of the nastier businesses. Mostly, she does smuggling, blackmail, protection rackets. Never more than the traffic can bear, usually a tithe, which nobody in the slums has paid to the Church since the civil war started. They¡¯re just not organized or brave enough to come through on any kind of regular basis.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not why the Church hasn¡¯t come through the¡­ poorer districts,¡± Zidrist said firmly. ¡°Whatever you say, preacher. You¡¯re up on the fifth ring, do you even know what it looks like down in the swamps?¡± I mean, I¡¯m up on the fifth ring. Fourth, actually, is where my parents live. Am I included in this? Except I come down to the swamps all the time. I know what¡ªexcept I don¡¯t ever try to claim that. Drexl set down that rule early. Until I¡¯m not living off my pin money I don¡¯t get to say I have any clue what it is to root for mallow and burdock. Zidrist turned to Darka. ¡°Not personally. I attended seminary in a respectable neighborhood. But my wife¡­¡± Right. She¡¯s married. Lucky. Neither of them are going to be interested, which makes them less interesting, but she¡¯s not coming along to be interesting, she¡¯s coming along as spiritual insurance and to identify Izkarzon¡¯s heir. ¡°I¡¯m staying out of this.¡± Darka put up her hands. ¡°I haven¡¯t had to farm the swamps like¡­ Drexl here. And I got a scholarship and live with Zidrist; I don¡¯t even have a garden except for flowers and herbs.¡± Drexl pooched her lips and cocked her head. ¡°I can respect a willingness to stay out of what isn¡¯t your business. Zia accepted that compromise a long time ago.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t say,¡± Zidrist made a circle with a loose wrist, ¡°how did she meet you? She just promised muscle and now it¡¯s looking like you¡¯ll be the one leading us on this errand. Which I¡¯m not entirely certain I¡¯m comfortable with.¡± Oh come on now! ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how we met!¡± Zia protested. ¡°I know her and she¡¯s trustworthy. If her boss¡¯ boss can get us in with the right people, she can. And you¡¯ve got no place to judge bread, considering you married a wane.¡± Zidrist raised an eyebrow. ¡°That wasn¡¯t on my list of objections, Zia.¡± Oh. Sarx. I just made myself look real bad then. ¡°This boss that we¡¯re entailing carries out criminal activities. There¡¯s muscle and there¡¯s dishonorable muscle.¡± ¡°Say that to Madame Krask¡¯s face!¡± Drexl¡¯s hand was on her club. ¡°She may not be all shine like you lot but she¡¯s honorable! Gave me a right decent job, where I was ready¡ªshe gave me work I could take pride in! Sure, I take a bit of their income, but they get quiet streets where everybody goes about their business. Not like the Eyes, impressing people, extorting favors, and getting worse all the time!¡± This cannot end up anywhere good. ¡°The Eyes of Izkarzon are a time-honored establishment,¡± Zidrist sniffed. ¡°If some of their number are corrupt, well, of course they¡¯re assigned to the district where¡ª¡± Oop, yeah. ¡°Zidrist, perhaps we should concern ourselves with business?¡± Zia asked. ¡°Speaking of business, you said this would net a lot of money, how much are we talking, split four ways?¡± Zidrist sniffed again. ¡°Five ways, we need the symbolic fifth member. And if you won¡¯t stand for it¡­ I¡¯ll forfeit my cut. I just want the well-being of my flock.¡± ¡°Oh, so quiet streets are okay for you to pursue, but not me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t pursue them with a club. I am not what you would describe as ¡®muscle.¡¯¡± ¡°Oh, but you¡¯ll bludgeon with words, with your bible.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t bludgeon people! She builds them up! We sing praises to Izkarzon, we get people up and moving to the hymns, and-and-and if some muddy wane comes into her congregation, she cleans the tile instead of escorting them out, and gets them a wash besides!¡± Drexl put her hands on her hips and swayed forwards. ¡°Alright, Darka, so your deacon, so she¡¯s virtuous.¡± She held up an abeying hand. ¡°As are all the priests of Izkarzon, I¡¯m sure. You gonna work with a sinner like me?¡± Zidrist raised an eyebrow. ¡°Darka is refusing to speak against you. That speaks volumes, she¡¯s an excellent judge of character.¡± Oh really. What¡¯s she say about me then? ¡°Drexl, what kind of ties are we talking here?¡± Drexl shrugged with her whole body. ¡°Beats the tar out of me. I¡¯m just talking, we could ask Madame Krask and see. I¡¯d think you priests would keep a closer eye on the succession of your God-King.¡± She waved off Zidrist¡¯s outraged intake of breath, ¡°Our God-King.¡± This could be my chance to take back the reins. ¡°What say you make introductions and we see if we can¡¯t convince Madame Krask to support our cause?¡± ¡°You got silver?¡± Not much. Enough, maybe, for one bribe. I¡¯ll see if I can¡¯t get out of paying. She¡¯s a crime boss, I¡¯ll just flame anyone who comes collecting, or hide out at the country estate. Zia patted her coin belt. ¡°I got it.¡± Drexl shrugged again. ¡°Then follow me, dudettes, to the illustrious Madame Krask.¡± I appreciate her specifying -ettes. With that declaration, Drexl sauntered off downhill. Zidrist twined her fingers through Darka¡¯s and matched the pace effortlessly. Zia brought up the rear, somewhat irritability. Sarx it, this is my adventure! My idea! I should be leading! The neighborhood got worse by degrees. First there were sediment lines on the slate roofs of the buildings, then the buildings were slowly decaying wood, shoring up stone construction, giving over in turn to mildewed wood in and of itself. And then somehow¡ªsomehow! Izkarzon preserve me!¡ªit got worse and the buildings were holes in the ground made from mud and sticks like beaver dams. The smell of decay and marsh gas was nearly overwhelming, and Zia wished for a kerchief to cover her face. Unfortunately, she was in her Dad¡¯s leathers, mercifully already modified to lend the appearance of some figure, but lacking in pockets. I hadn¡¯t thought we¡¯d be heading straight out. But hey, maybe we¡¯ll get this meeting over with and find out the heir is just down a river. Quick raft ride, notify the lucky dragon of her fortune, and back to how things should be! Zidrist seemed unbothered, though Darka was looking a touch uneasy. Looking around, Zia realized they were attracting attention. Zidstrist was in her black and green vestments, Darka in her white and green chorister¡¯s robes, Zia herself in boiled leathers¡­ just to reassure herself, Zia conjured some fire in her hand, reassuring herself that two of them were armed. Ouch, hot! Drat it all I always do that! It¡¯s the Dragonslayer¡¯s fault, back when my parents had more money I was getting tutored in fire sorcery. After all, it¡¯s the element of the Mother, it was only proper I get some more feminine magic tutoring. Rising out of the water, disguised to blend in with the trees and detritus, suddenly there was what was either a small mansion or a large house. Several people, armed with actual axes rather than the spiked club Drexl carried, stood leaning against trees, one of them looking on with amusement as Zia waved her burnt hand. From somewhere there carried on the wind the notes of a hymn. ¡°Gonna serve Izkarzon, it is all that we could wish! Serve him gladly, like a meal on a golden dish!¡± Zia realized she was humming along and had missed Drexl saying something. Zia nodded fervently, not wanting to admit her mistake. Drexl pulled on the bole of a tree and it swung outwards, revealing an interior gleaming with polished wood and only slightly worn carpets. Standing in the doorway was a man, of all the things, holding a wickedly curved and serrated knife. Oh my. That¡¯s a lot of muscle. Come on Drexl, please know this guy.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°We got business with Madame Krask. Silver business for not a lot of work. I thought her ladyship would like it.¡± Why¡¯d you have to go and mention silver again? Zia asked silently as her hand flew to her coin belt. ¡°Madame¡¯s busy. Meeting with Dear Born.¡± Drexl glanced back at Zia. ¡°All the better. Lady here¡¯s got business with him, we just wanted to go through proper channels.¡± She leaned over to Zia. ¡°Pass him some silver. Make it clear we¡¯re not wasting his time.¡± But I only have¡­ I have no idea how much to hand over. I¡¯ll stick Drexl¡¯s hand in my coin belt. Oh, if only that were innuendo. Drexl drew out a few coins, a distressed pang running though Zia¡¯s chest, and handed them over. The man in the doorway regarded them, nodded, and secreted them somewhere on his person. ¡°I¡¯ll let Madame and Born know there¡¯s business if they want it. No promises.¡± The trunk of the tree slammed shut, and Zia mouthed to Drexl, ¡°No promises?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the way of business. Dear Born doesn¡¯t want to talk to you, he doesn¡¯t have to talk to you.¡± ¡°How long do we wait?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s anything like a royal audience,¡± Zidrist said, ¡°we wait until we get an answer.¡± Well, that¡¯s just charming. Standing here, surrounded by thugs, waiting until we get an answer. And now they know who has the silver. But after a few minutes, the trunk of the tree swung wide and the burly guard admitted them. Drexl looked over her shoulder at Zia and raised her eyebrows, looking pointedly at Zia¡¯s belt. Inside the tree¡ªthe mansion, I guess it is¡ªthe singing was louder, having carried on to another hymn to Izkarzon, not one Zia knew as well. The interior was understated, it wouldn¡¯t have done as a noble¡¯s estate, but it was at least clean and incense masked the neighborhood¡¯s scent of decay. Inside a decently-appointed office, there were three figures. One was presumably Madame Krask, sitting behind a desk, a black woman in perhaps her fifties. Across from her, seated in a comfortable-looking chair, was¡ªulp. Even I haven¡¯t mixed with one of those!¡ªa draconic nephilim, quite possibly descended of Izkarzon Himself, with green scaled skin and no hair. The influence presumably wielded by such a man, alive after this much civil war, was even more terrifying than the presence of his minder, a small, slender woman wearing an abundance of runed sorcerer¡¯s gear. The man, presumably Dear Born, wore gloves, but Zia had no doubt that anyone who could claim draconic spirit was ouroboros. Krask looked curious, while Born looked bored. The large, muscled man who had seen them in closed the door behind them, presumably returning to his post, which only attested further to the presumable lethality of Born¡¯s bodyguard. ¡°Virten Krask¡¯s butler¡ª¡± Okay, if that was a butler I¡¯d hate to see what muscle looks like in this neighborhood. I am¡­ in over my head. But if there¡¯s one thing I¡¯ve learned, it¡¯s that you should emulate a duck. Look calm and paddle like mad under the water. ¡°¡ªsaid you had business for us. For me, which is curious, because I am quite certain we¡¯ve never met.¡± Darka spoke up. ¡°Drexl was hoping to become your bootblack.¡± Drexl and Zia both blanched, while Zidrist¡¯s face quirked in an amused expression. ¡°And Zia here was wondering if you wore gloves because you¡¯re ouroboros or because you¡¯re foreign.¡± I¡­ that didn¡¯t occur to me. He could be from outside Dragold and hiding that fact. Casteless can aspire to leadership in the criminal underworld? Maybe I¡¯m better off not liaising with Drexl. It would explain the name. Definitely a foreign name, we use Draconic words here, not Loon. Born looked amused. ¡°You¡¯re insolent. It¡¯s been a while since someone was insolent to me. Krask, what happened to the last person who was insolent to me?¡± Krask grinned. ¡°You wanted plausible deniability, so I never told you.¡± ¡°Ah, but humor me.¡± ¡°I had them dumped in a tub of leeches. The spirit mages used the little blighters as foci for days.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°We¡¯re insolent, but we do have coin,¡± Zia offered. ¡°And we¡¯re very sorry to have been insolent, aren¡¯t we, Darka?¡± ¡°Ah, but if Mister Born lets me feed you to something, we can keep our coin and punish you. Drexl, what are you doing keeping such high-in-the-instep company? They clearly don¡¯t know the rules of engagement.¡± ¡°Oh, so this is Drexl? She¡¯s been¡­ you must be Zia then.¡± Ulp. He knows my name. ¡°Very well, what business have you to discuss?¡± ¡°We want to find the heir to Izkarzon¡¯s throne, ending the civil war.¡± ¡°And securing yourself a bountiful reward, I¡¯m sure you imagine.¡± I don¡¯t imagine, I know. What¡¯s he know that I don¡¯t? He¡¯s a foreign-born nephilim criminal. I know all about Izkarzon, I¡¯ve been a dutiful servant since I was yea high. ¡°What makes you think I can help with that?¡± ¡±It was suggested,¡± Zidrist said circumspectly, ¡°that as the preeminent crime boss in the region, you might have some underworld contacts to obtain such proscribed tomes as the lineages of dragons dating back to the Age of Loss.¡± ¡°I might. It would be expensive, of course. Zia, your family has only a few entailed estates left, which one will pay for the tome?¡± ¡°Estate? I mean. I have silver to pay for an introduction, an estate would be a matter to discuss with the seller.¡± Sarx. I fumbled that. Oh, dear Izkarzon let me get through this alive. ¡°Bah. Silver is common. I have plenty.¡± Aren¡¯t favors currency in these circles? They are in ouroboros circles. ¡°I am an accomplished fire sorcerer, Drexl is, well, you¡¯ve heard of her, surely that speaks for itself. Zidrist here brings all manner of lore and wisdom to the table, and Darka¡­ Darka¡­¡± ¡°Is insolent.¡± Born smiled a feral grin. ¡°You bluster, Zia. But I will admit, I had been looking for some deniables.¡± What does that mean?! Am I going to commit a crime? I don¡¯t want to be a criminal! ¡°A ranking thug has gotten ideas above his station. I was going to ask Krask to handle him, but you¡¯re at another remove. Steal his regalia he has had fashioned for himself, and turn them over to Krask, and I will provide you with a letter of introduction to a thief-lord in Fief. That¡¯s the land to the east, Zia. It being a larger nation¡­ well, you¡¯ll get to read the letter if you earn it, and it will explain what you might hope to secure.¡± He wants me to steal something? From a criminal. Is it a crime to steal from a criminal? I don¡¯t think it is? It¡¯s not like he can say, ¡°Zia stole my stolen diadem from me,¡± so I¡¯m probably fine. And Drexl knows criminal things, surely she can help with this. Wait, oh sarx, I¡¯m not just dealing with Drexl, I have to convince Zidrist. Zia shot a panicked look at Zidrist, and her lack of subtlety was remarked upon by Born¡¯s barking laugh. ¡°What do you say, Zidrist?¡± Zia asked weakly. ¡°I say come get me when you¡¯re headed for Fief.¡± ¡°Come on Zidrist. Even you were about to say the poorer districts deserved a little bending of morality. You¡¯d be stealing from criminals¡ªno offense,¡± Zia hurried to add. Both Krask and Born nodded, looking entertained. ¡°You could be the distraction, while Darka was the lookout, you wouldn¡¯t have to¡­ to¡­¡± Izkarzon help me, what did I just sign myself up for? Serve Izkarzon We are led by a dragon. We are so fortunate it¡¯s true. There¡¯s no other way to be Than in kingdom under you~ We need you, yes we truly do, and you, You have graced us by Sticking to us like glue~! Yeah you stuck to us Just like glue! Serve Izkarzon, Our divinely ordained lord! Serve the dragon Izkarzon! There is no other, that comes before, Gonna serve Izkarzon It is all that we could wish Serve him gladly like a meal on golden dish Spiritually delish. He¡¯s so great, somehow relates To our mortal lives, yeah shows us mercy and grace Yeah he shows us so much mercy and grace~! There¡¯s just one thing to do Serve Izkarzon, Our divinely ordained lord! Serve the dragon Izkarzon! There is no other, that comes before, Whoa whoa whoa Whoa whoa whoa Whoa whoa whoa It is all we could wish A sumptuous feast on a golden dish Yeah the finest of feast is service to Izkarzon~! Serve Izkarzon, Ooh-ooh serve Izkarzon A ruler so benign! We love to serve him, got to serve him, yeah we love him. Please Izkarzon let us serve you day and night! Sloppy Zia was off-balance by the danger and criminality of her chosen course of action, but she quickly regained equilibrium once she was only among her allies. There was just something horribly disarming about people who were more competent than her. But the people I¡¯m with now are not more competent than me. Now is the perfect time to get control of the situation again. Drexl feels like she¡¯s in over her head and the preacher wants out of the game. ¡°Okay, so does anyone else have a plan? Because I have a plan.¡± Zidrist looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Drexl just shook her head. ¡°Drexl, you¡¯re the criminal type¡ª¡± ¡°Hey now. You¡¯ve known me a while, I¡¯m more than just a criminal.¡± ¡°Drexl, come on, I¡¯m talking in archetypes for the benefit of the people who don¡¯t know you.¡± ¡°We¡¯re well aware of Miss Drexl¡¯s criminality after that encounter,¡± Zidrist pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Hey now, be fair, they were civil. And we¡¯re getting off without even a bribe, although maybe that would have been easier?¡± Darka posed to the group. ¡°Getting off without even a bribe but we¡¯re robbing another criminal,¡± Zidrist sighed. Zia cut in. ¡°But Dear Born seemed confident he could get us the information we wanted. If we can install the rightful heir of Izkarzon on the throne, then it¡¯s no small stretch to say you would be the leader of her or his cult and that would make you untouchable, to say nothing of status and prestige.¡± I mean, what kind of priest of Izkarzon doesn¡¯t want power? That was the nature of the bargain He posed to his devout when He first came to Dragold, and then He was ordained by the Holy Son as the One True Church on Orth. ¡°You could have your pick of ministering to the Heir¡¯s court or going on missionary journeys to¡­ to Fief and wherever else.¡± Zidrist looked intrigued at the idea, but said nothing. ¡°And all we need for you for the next step is to tell us if this place we¡¯re robbing is in your parish district.¡± Zidrist sighed. ¡°Let me look at that map. ¡­no, it¡¯s not. There¡¯s at least the one Church of Izkarzon between mine and there.¡± ¡°Then you can go commune with the Eyes of Izkarzon, and we¡¯ll let you know tonight when we need you.¡± ¡°Tonight? What¡¯s tonight?¡± Darka squeaked. I wish I could squeak without sounding ridiculous. ¡°Zia? You in there?¡± Zia shook her head to clear it and turned to Darka. ¡°Tonight¡­ we rob a thug. But I need you before then.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go getting my wife¡ª¡± sure, rub it in why don¡¯t you, ¡°¡ªin trouble.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. All she has to be is a distraction, rather like you¡¯ll be tonight. Drexl, you¡¯ll scout things out while Darka poses as an itinerant singer¡ª¡± ¡°In these robes?!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you wearing anything under them? Or don¡¯t you have anything else to wear?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about this¡­ what are you doing in this scheme?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a scheme, it¡¯s a plan. And I¡¯m doing my part, I¡¯m making the plan. Anyway. Darka, you distract the household singing for alms, something peppy and not too short, while Drexl circles the building and peers in windows. She¡¯ll tell us the layout, and see how much muscle is on hand.¡± ¡°And tonight?¡± Zidrist asked. ¡°Tonight, you distract them with a call to faith, while Drexl¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m detecting a theme,¡± Drexl complained. ¡°¡ªand I break in the back of the building and steal the guy¡¯s regalia.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re coming with. Alright. I¡¯m surprised, but game.¡± ¡°And my wife?¡± And again you say¡­ ¡°She was all visible in phase one of the plan, and she¡¯s not a fighter or a sneak, so she¡¯ll stay out of it. Each of you is visible once, I figure.¡± Zidrist pooched her lips and let her eyes wander thoughtfully. ¡°This actually sounds like a halfway decent plan. It doesn¡¯t get me or¡ª¡± here comes the ¡°wife¡± ¡°¡ªmy wife in trouble, even if it goes sideways. Darka, are you game to go sing?¡± ¡°Honestly, that¡¯s the least squirrely part of this plan. I can go do that. Zia makes a fair point, I have a tunic and trousers under my choral robes.¡± She proceeded to toss her robes over her head and hand them to Zidrist. ¡°What about you, Darka? You¡¯re getting the short straw on both parts.¡± ¡°I¡¯m honestly not positive I¡¯m the best pick for this. I¡¯m used to being obvious, that¡¯s the whole point of muscle.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never snuck around a bit?¡± Zia knew she sounded petulant, but she didn¡¯t like the idea of scoping out the mansion herself. I totally did give Darka the short end of the stick but she¡¯s bread she should be used to that. I¡¯m ouroboros, Izkarzon condemn it all! I know what¡¯s best and shouldn¡¯t have to be convincing a bread and a wane¡­ I shouldn¡¯t even be arguing with Zidrist, she¡¯s still just a hunger! ¡°Only before I started working for Madame Krask. I picked pockets.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re a¡­ a whatchamacallit. An enforcer. You know what a fortified position looks like, while¡ª¡± ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll do it! Fine.¡± Zia smiled. ¡°Thank you, Drexl.¡± As the strains of The Izkarzon Song wafted down the street, a song which Zia knew from experience could have almost any number of verses, she found herself boosting Drexl over the wall surrounding the grounds of the thug¡¯s estate. Undignified for a mastermind like myself, but I promised Zidrist just the one role in this. There was one part of the plan that had come up last-minute, which she really didn¡¯t like. The thug¡¯s estate¡ªno, I am not giving consideration to the possibility this isn¡¯t legitimate criminal work. The man is a thug and he¡¯s reigning it over the long-standing criminals and needs to be knocked down a peg. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re killing him¡ªhad a wall, just too high to be easily climbed over solo. See? Totally criminal thinking. So after Drexl was boosted up to the top of the wall, she reached down and pulled Zia up. Zia would be hanging out behind the decorative topiary until Drexl had made her circuit of the small mansion. She peeked through the topiary, and saw Drexl¡ªher hand flew to her mouth. Drexl is just walking around blandly? I thought she¡¯d, like, sneak from bush to bush or something and maybe peek in windows, but she¡¯s just walking around the building! Zia froze, and only thought to duck back behind the topiary after she saw someone peering out of a window over the grounds. Oh my Izkarzon, she¡¯s going to get caught just to spite me, she¡¯s going to get me caught, we¡¯re all going to go to jail and I¡¯m never going to meet my person at my third come out because I¡¯ll be like thirty! Her thoughts continued in that vein until she heard a rustling. Well, this is it. May as well meet my fate with digni¡ª¡°Drexl?!¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Shhh. You want to give it all up now? Boost me over the wall.¡± Numbly, Zia complied, then took Drexl¡¯s hand and clambered over herself. The stiff leather of her father¡¯s armor restricted her movement just the slightest bit, but she still made it handily. Maybe I should have saved the leather armor for the actual adventure¡ªbut no, this is the adventure part. We¡¯re doing crimes. That¡¯s having an adventure. Crimes for the greater good. ¡°What did you see?¡± Zia could hardly contain herself. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the dive we were at the other night and I¡¯ll walk you through it. Then you can get your distracting pastor and we¡¯ll be ready to go. Nightfall should be a few hourglasses from now, we¡¯ll have plenty of time to prepare.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got some ideas for breaking in.¡± Drexl sighed. ¡°Do tell?¡± ¡°Well, the windows lock from the inside, right? What if I used fire to break the window, so that neither of us got bloody breaking it?¡± ¡°Still be noisy. And bright.¡± ¡°I could burn down a servant door¡­¡± ¡°Also bright, and probably noisy, and if that fire catches we¡¯re in trouble.¡± ¡°Well how about if we¡¯re discovered, I blind the person with flame. Not, like, permanently, but in their face?¡± ¡°A much more serious crime than robbing a house if you miscalculate, and a brighter, noisier method than knocking them over the head, which has the added benefit of impairing memory.¡± ¡°How about if¡ª¡± ¡°Zia, you¡¯ve been billing me as your ¡®criminal expert¡¯ all day, how about you trust me to get us inside?¡± Zia crossed her arms and pouted. I¡¯m the mastermind! I¡¯m the leader! Just because we¡¯re doing stuff you¡¯re good at doesn¡¯t make you the boss of me. That night, they crept back to the thug¡¯s estate. At Drexl¡¯s polite insistence, Zia had left her leathers at home and was dressed in utterly unattractive unadventurous trousers and tunic, both practically mourning black. This time, it was Zidrist¡¯s voice which carried over from the front of the building, talking about the merits of devotion of Izkarzon, even now that he was no longer incarnate. It was comforting to listen to, the combination of praise and veiled threat regarding their immortal souls something she had heard all her life. It made her more confident in this course of action. Even if I get caught and get in trouble, at least I will have done right by Izkarzon. Though, He does punish incompetence within his Godly gullet. But I¡¯m quite competent, just unlucky. They came around to a small, unimpressive door Zia was sure was the servants¡¯ entrance. She tried the knob before Drexl, and shook her head, whispering, ¡°It¡¯s locked!¡± Izkarzon preserve me I¡¯m utterly incompetent and all I want is to get out of this intact! I¡¯ll go home and have a regular life and¡ªDrexl grabbed the knob and pulled, and the door swung open. Oh. What? Reaching around, Drexl pulled a small pebble out of the latch and let it fall to the ground. She gestured for Zia to follow her. And she says she doesn¡¯t have any sneak-thief skills. Sarxing drakes, we¡¯re gonna do this! They crept though the well-appointed manor¡ªnot as nice a neighborhood as my house. But then, it looks like they can afford to use beeswax candles and haven¡¯t sold much. How big-time is this guy? I mean, Drexl¡¯s boss, what was her name? She lived down in the swamp, but Dear Born must be like a whole stage up from her. Especially if this guy is just a hopped up thug. Weird name though. He must not be from¡­ I should pay attention! Zia very nearly ran into Drexl as she stopped abruptly to let a servant pass. Her shoes let out a loud squeak and the servant and Drexl both turned to face her, the former curiously and Drexl with disgust. I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to squeak, but I had to stop suddenly! You should have whispered something, how am I supposed to see when it¡¯s¡ªwith a ¡°tonk¡± sound, it was abruptly dark again, the candle in the servant¡¯s hand going out as it fell to the ground with the servant. Zia¡¯s eyes, briefly dazzled by the candlelight, adjusted to the dark and she saw that Drexl had a plain plank out and ready, and that the hollow ¡°tonk¡± she¡¯d heard had been the sound of it impacting the servant¡¯s head. ¡°Come on, Zia,¡± Drexl hissed. She sounds just the slightest bit annoyed with me. More than the slightest bit. Like it¡¯s my fault. I¡¯m being nice by coming with her, and she¡¯s mad at me! How is that fair?! She turned down all my wickedly cool ideas for breaking in and gets us in with a pebble and I could totally have thought of a pebble in the latch, I was just trying to be creative like an adventurer¡ªsarx it, if I keep thinking Drexl¡¯s going to stop again and get mad at me even more! Zia sighed, and Drexl jumped at the sound and shot Zia an exasperated look. When they got to the stairs, Drexl made a point of showing Zia where to step. Edge of the staircase, closest to the wall. Well yeah, even the Daring Kaliskast knew that, and I¡¯ve read nearly every volume! Finally, after an interminably long hallway, they came upon the master bedroom. There was no sound from within, but that had been the plan. I¡¯d be worried if there was snoring, we might wake the guy while he was sleeping, but Zidrist is keeping him busy trying to bring him to the flock. ¡°Zia, you wanted to use your fire, conjure us a small flame. Just enough light to see by. I can guess where this guy keeps his regalia when he¡¯s planning to sleep but I can¡¯t see through the curtains.¡± Oh, so when it¡¯s your idea¡­ oh whatever, fine. Zia muttered a small prayer to the Mother and conjured fire in the palm of her hand. She raised her arm, and the room was lit in a guttering light. Zia felt sweat bead on her forehead, a small candlelight was less her specialty than a big burst¡ªlike we might have used to bust a window, or burn down a door, or blind a servant. Drexl was methodically going through the room, leaving doors open¡ªwouldn¡¯t you want to close things so that he didn¡¯t know anyone had been here?¡ªZia voiced her question in a whisper and Drexl just shook her head and kept looking. ¡°And what,¡± a cold, deep voice asked, ¡°Do you think you are doing in my chambers?¡± Zia spun, and saw a tall, fair man in a nightgown¡ªyou know, he¡¯d be really attractive if it weren¡¯t for his expression and the¡ªsarx, knife! Big knife!¡ªZia swung her arm down and ran her will down into the flame in her hand. It went from a small flame to a conflagration, enveloping both the man, presumably the ¡°thug,¡± and the doorway he¡¯d been in. His mouth opened wide, but no sound escaped. Fire eats air, you¡¯re not getting a word in edgewise, earthbrainhead! Finally, something goes right! The man rolled on the ground, but Zia continued pouring on flame, until after maybe a minute he stopped moving. ¡°Drexl! Find the regalia yet?¡± ¡°Right here! Let¡¯s get out of this place before it finishes burning down!¡± Zia took a look around and was, for a moment, less impressed with herself. ¡°Uhm¡­ how? The door out is on fire.¡± ¡°This is why we use clubs and not fire, Zia. We go out the window. Let¡¯s hope this thornseed spent as much on his bedsheets as he did on his mansion.¡± Knotting sheets¡ªI could have thought off that. It happened in my broadsides. I just hadn¡¯t gotten there yet, because I¡¯m not used to thinking like a criminal¡­ ¡°You coming, Zia?¡± Drexl asked quietly from the window. Zia looked to the spreading fire, back to Drexl, and nodded, hurrying to clamber down the improvised rope and out of the mansion. You know, I haven¡¯t even gotten to see the regalia. I was too busy being made to play the candle. Zia looked back at the mansion as flames began to consume it and the alarm was finally raised by the staff. Perhaps I¡¯ll look at it later. The Izkarzon Song I love the One and Only God Who upholds everything! ¡®Twas He who ordained Izkarzon And let Him rule as King! A truly ancient dragon Whose ways are wise and kind Travel into Lindwurmgeld and glory you will find! All hail the Lord, and Izkarzon Who was enthroned by Him We find our joy in following His each and every whim! Anything to please our King Who rules is every way, We thank him for his leadership on each and every day! The great God-King named Izkarzon Invested with God¡¯s light Capable of magically soaring through the skies His rule will pass through every night Through each and every Age When we write a history we hap¡¯ly turn the page! But enough about our dragon King What about His boons? Well stranger if you¡¯re asking you will meet your maker soon! We do not question Izkarzon, We revel in his ways, It¡¯s the only way to make sure you have numerous days! But Is She Straight ¡°Sazys was a pig. I¡¯d almost have paid more for the destruction of his mansion if it hadn¡¯t robbed Born of a valuable agent. But you did get the regalia, and I have the agency for the minor defiance of handing over this,¡± Krask said, holding out a folded paper with a wax seal and an imprint on one corner. ¡°Ah¡­ so the guy we stole from died?¡± Zia tried to sound surprised. She thought she¡¯d succeeded until Krask raised an eyebrow and turned to Drexl. ¡°We set him on fire.¡± Well thank you for the ¡°we¡± I guess, but we could have blamed knocking over a candle or something. I mean, we kinda did, I was being a candle and then we set Sazys on fire. We. Not just me. ¡°And why did you set him on fire, Drexl?¡± Oh good, the heat¡¯s off me. Shame about Drexl but she¡¯s done her part for this. Speaking of doing their part¡­ ¡°Zidrist, what was Sazys doing in his chambers?¡± Zia interrupted Drexl¡¯s straightforward explanation to ask. ¡°You were supposed to be distracting him.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only so much I can do to distract someone by calling them to the Church of Izkarzon when one of his house servants reports that someone knocked one of his butlers unconscious. And he had a knife. You said I wouldn¡¯t be in danger, but his hand was straying to his waist when he was distracted.¡± ¡°As I was saying,¡± Drexl cut in, ¡°We set him on fire in self-defense. He was threatening us with the knife Zidrist mentions, and Zia, being a competent fire sorcerer¡ª¡± I¡¯m more than competent, thank you. I did set an entire man on fire. And his mansion. Maybe powerful applies more than skillful but that¡¯s just a different competence. ¡°¡ªand so he was cinders before he hit the ground.¡± I missed some of that. Indulging some voyeuristic or self-righteous urge, Zia asked, ¡°What made Sazys a pig?¡± Krask waved a dismissive hand. ¡°Oh, he had no interest in passing along his wealth, so he treated women like he treated men. Poorly. Self-important dunderhead got what he deserved, death by fire is a terrifying way to go.¡± I really don¡¯t like the gleam in her eye as she says that. I think I¡¯ll look at this letter that Born left for us. He really could have just given it to us. To the Royal Society member¡ªooh, I like sound of that. Royal. Society. I like those things¡ªknown as Analytical Prowess, I, Dear Born of Dragold, commend and request aid to Zia¡¯s Heirrors¡ªthat¡¯s neat, we¡¯ve got a little title now. We¡¯re real adventurers, we¡¯ve got a title¡ªin their search for the lineage of the dragon formerly known as Izkarzon. I know you know a Historian or two, however tenuously¡ªwhat¡¯s a Historian? Zia looked up from the letter and saw that one of Krask¡¯s choral singers was facing her very directly. She cocked her head, and when the choral singer smirked, she pressed the letter to Drexl, probably crumpling it in the process but there was someone to make out with and priorities were priorities. The choral singer was slender and fair, with long dark blond tresses and her white robe. Her lips were of greatest interest to Zia, seeing they were slightly thin but pink and cutely bowed, but she took the time to note that her eyes were an enchanting shade of hazel which looked almost amber in the lighting of Krask¡¯s office. It was a mere afterthought that she was a wane. Zia followed her look to a side door, and followed her into what looked to be a records closet. Her soft soprano hushed, the singer said, ¡°You killed Sazys and you¡¯re a fire sorcerer. That alone speaks volumes.¡± Through the door of the closet, Zia heard what sounded like Zidrist trying to negotiate terms on the letter. That¡¯s silly, it¡¯s already written and sealed, we can hardly¡ªhmmft! Zia¡¯s train of thought was obliterated by the singer¡¯s lips being pressed to hers, slightly cool to the feel. One of her hands cupped Zia¡¯s jaw, the other wrapped around her waist and drew Zia close. She was grateful for the modifications to her father¡¯s armor, they hid her more masculine attributes¡ªthough if her hand strays to my throat there¡¯s not much to be done about my¡ªagain her train of thought was cut off by the singer¡¯s tongue lapping at her lips. I¡¯m not making out with someone I don¡¯t know the name of again. Breaking off that kiss, she whispered, ¡°I¡¯m Zia. Which you know. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Tixik. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Personal rule about learning the names of people I make out with.¡± Tixik shrugged, as though Zia were being the weird one. ¡°Is it that hot that I killed Sazys with fire sorcery?¡± She grinned, hoping to incite a recitation of her virtues compared to the thug she had slain. You know, I¡¯m not sure how I feel about having killed even a bad person¡­ but Tixik was talking. ¡°¡ªabsolutely enough to make me feel glad he¡¯s dead. So yes, yes it is. Now stop talking and start kissing me!¡± Her whisper was strident and without waiting she once more pressed her lips to Zia¡¯s and seamed her mouth before slipping her tongue into Zia¡¯s mouth. When her tongue withdrew, she pulled Zia¡¯s lower lip into her mouth, and applied a gentle pressure and touch. You know, I think I really do have no more pressing questions, and I do like being made out with. When Zia emerged from the closet some minutes later¡ªTixik would slip out later, they agreed¡ªshe saw her absence had been noted by the collective stares of the Heirrors and Krask. Should I be thinking ¡°Madame Krask¡±? Drexl holds her in high esteem. ¡°As we were saying,¡± Zidrist said after a pregnant pause, ¡°the letter will have to do as is, then. If you¡¯re absolutely certain Dear Born won¡¯t write us a more favorable one.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m quite certain of that. He¡¯d probably rather I didn¡¯t give you that one but not all of us are cowed by the nephilim Royal Society member, and it¡¯s part of the game to let him know that.¡± ¡°It will have to do, then,¡± Zidrist said with a sigh. ¡°Thank you for your courtesy, Madame Krask,¡± Drexl said with a small bow. Krask waved a dismissive hand. ¡°Bah. I¡¯m not being courteous, I¡¯m poking the bear.¡± ¡°Born doesn¡¯t have some way of revoking this letter?¡± Darka asked. ¡°Oh, he could absolutely send a ¡®Loon courier around with a negation, but just think the loss of status to admit that his seal was put on a letter beyond his control. His dreams of expanding into Fief would be dashed for a good decade. Not to mention, men and saving face in general. They¡¯re not the least bit sensible about that sort of thing, he¡¯d rather be defied a little bit than admit he was defied at all.¡± Zia laughed. ¡°Well, that sounds like a guy problem.¡± Which I am not, and have now identified myself as not. Hah. Wait, was Tixik interested in me as a guy or as a girl? Or just as the fire sorcerer who fried someone she disliked? I¡¯ll have to ask Drexl. Krask raised an eyebrow. ¡°Indeed. Now then, I hear that Darka here sung outside of Sazys¡¯ mansion, so if Zia is done dallying with my chorus, I would appreciate a duet before you jump town. Which I do recommend you do, having killed a small household and burned down half a mansion.¡± ¡°Only half?!¡± Zia protested. ¡°They must have gotten a bucket chain going, that thing should have burned to the ground!¡± Wait, that was self defense. And I¡¯m not feeling great about having killed a bunch of servants, even if half of them were thugs. ¡°I mean¡­ I hope they can salvage something from the wreckage.¡± ¡°Well, what I suspect they¡¯ll search most avidly for they won¡¯t find,¡± Krask said, holding up the segmented bronze mantlet that Sazys had crafted for himself as a sign of status. Each section held a semiprecious stone of either blue or amber color, and Zia felt a twinge of regret that she couldn¡¯t wear such an ostentatious piece of jewelry anymore. I¡¯ll find the heir, be rewarded, and then a decoration such as that will be pocket change. That¡¯s the plan. It¡¯s a solid plan. And we just took the next step. What¡¯s a few casualties in the name of restoring order and stability to all of Dragold? Besides, he was a criminal, and buildings have burned down all the time since the civil war started. This person is a heretic, that one a pretender, all sentenced to death. No wonder my parents just stay out of it and cling to the fringes of society without expressing any strong views. Of course, if they were brave like me they¡¯d have sought out the heir instead of fleeing to their country estate. I was nineteen, I was ready for an adventure.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Zia preened inwardly at this statement of virtuous intent. She would restore order and stability. The Heirrors were her adventuring party, and she was its leader, and wouldn¡¯t it just be the most romantic thing if, in the course of this little adventure, she found love? It would be just like the romances! Of course, outside Dragold nobody would have a caste¡­ but surely an ouroboros brand wouldn¡¯t be too much to ask of the newly installed Queen or King. ¡°Just serve Izkarzon, it¡¯s too good to believe,¡± the choir followed Darka through the final strains of Serving Great Izkarzon. ¡°Dragold is forever, who would want to be free?¡± A beautiful hymn of the draconic Church. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t miss that while I was with Tixik. Oh, right. As they walked out, Zia came up next to Drexl, who shot her a faintly irritated look. What? What are you irritated about? You get so touchy sometimes! I don¡¯t deserve that. I¡¯m asking just because you look cranky. ¡°Hey, Drexl. The singer. Tixik. She¡¯s gay, right?¡± ¡°What? How would I know that?¡± You don¡¯t know?! What if she was straight? What if she¡­ that would be awful! ¡°I mean, you work for the same boss. Presumably you¡¯ve socialized.¡± Maybe she could go back and ask. ¡°So you know the orientations of all of your staff back up in your mansion?¡± What does that have to do with anything? ¡°Well, no, but¡ª¡± ¡°Well then there you are. Wouldn¡¯t this have been better to worry about before you made out with her, anyway?¡± Oh, that¡¯s not fair. It¡¯s hardly as though we spent long talking. She was insistent upon not, in fact. ¡°I forgot! I¡¯d care less if she were straight if she were an ouroboros but she was just a wane. Zidrist was managing and couldn¡¯t change the letter anyway. And I thought it looked fine, to boot. So what¡¯s it matter I spent a sandglass¡ª¡± ¡°At least three.¡± ¡°Oh wow. I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°And she was managing fine without you. Why are you coming along, again? You set Sazys on fire, burned down plenty of innocent minions with his mansion, and cost us a more favorable letter.¡± Hey! I am the leader! I am the idea person, and the leader, and we are Zia¡¯s Heirrors! Darka cut in, ¡°Much as I¡¯d love to listen to you two needle each other, we need to work as a team if we¡¯re going to succeed. And we need Zia along to handle the financial aspects of things. I know I don¡¯t have a ton of silver on hand to bribe Prowess. Weird name. Just a Loon word.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how Fief is,¡± Drexl said. ¡°Like Dear Born. As for Zia¡­ I just don¡¯t appreciate her abandoning the dealings midway through because a pretty face wanted to give her attention.¡± ¡°Alright, so I need to stay on task. Next time I¡¯ll wait until we have gotten the letter of recommendation that we already had before I get my just desserts for ridding the world of a pest. But meantime, let¡¯s get one thing straight¡ª¡± ¡°Like you¡¯re worried Tixik might be?¡± That was a low blow. ¡°I am the leader, and that is what I bring to the table. Sure, I have silver, but this whole adventure was my idea, I brought everyone together, and we are ¡®Zia¡¯s Heirrors¡¯ on the letter of introduction. So you need me regardless of my silver, because I am the leader!¡± ¡°I could see going by ¡®Zia¡¯ in a pinch,¡± Zidrist said dryly, ¡°But she is ouroboros, and therefore better suited to leadership. I¡¯m sure a hunger like me could do in a pinch, but I prefer to think that Zia delegated a lost cause to a lower caste while she pursued her pleasures.¡± ¡°Thank you, Zidrist. I had no idea you thought so highly of me.¡± ¡°You made the valid point that you had the idea of finding Izkarzon¡¯s heir, and the caste system was implemented by Him, so clearly it must have some merit.¡± That¡¯s a less-strong declaration of support than I would have liked, but I¡¯ll take it. ¡°Anyway, we do need a leader, and Darka doesn¡¯t want the role, and I don¡¯t want the role, there¡¯s a reason I¡¯m just a deacon. And as for Drexl¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m mere bread. I¡¯m not suited to it.¡± She still sounds cranky. ¡°It¡¯s nothing against you!¡± Zia protested. ¡°Each caste just has their own strengths and weaknesses. I wouldn¡¯t know which kind of club to bring to a heist for knocking people unconscious, or how to watch a street for troublemakers, but I can certainly bring people together for a good cause. And it was absolutely a vote of confidence in you all to deal with Krask that I slipped away for a few moments. Although honestly I figured you,¡± Zia was addressing Drexl, ¡°would handle it. Hungers are great managers, but you¡¯re the career criminal.¡± Zia slapped her on the back. ¡°And I mean that in the best way. We¡¯ve got our letter of introduction thanks to your contacts! Not to mention, you saved our expedition into Sazys¡¯ mansion! Imagine if I¡¯d burned down the butler instead of the boss guy and we never found the regalia! We¡¯d have no letter!¡± ¡°Have you considered fire being a second resort?¡± Zidrist asked. Well what the sarx do you mean by that? Oh, whatever. Everyone is on my side, which they should be, I¡¯m not going to worry about it. ¡°Alright. Thank you, Zia. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m valued, and not just brain-dead muscle.¡± ¡°Not at all! That¡¯s a common misconception, caste isn¡¯t about ability¡ª¡± Zidrist and Darka had curious coughing fits, ¡°¡ªit¡¯s about what you¡¯re suited to! Why do you think most breads are criminals?¡± And now Drexl looks dyspeptic again. Oh well. ¡°So we¡¯re off to Fief! Anyone ever been?¡± The assembled Heirrors shook their heads. ¡°Neither have I! So this will be an adventure! An adventure fit for a romance novel! Zia¡¯s Heirrors Seeking Adventure and Romance!¡± Now why are they shaking their heads again? Serving Great Izkarzon There¡¯s only one great draconic Church here, worship others if you dare. They¡¯re nowhere as righteous, no their leaders don¡¯t care. If you follow them then you¡¯ll be damned. They¡¯re evil without a doubt. We know we hold a monopoly on truth, oh now heretics don¡¯t you pout! There¡¯s only one door to Heaven, this isn¡¯t a hard sell. But there¡¯s a wide roads that leads straight, into the bowels of Hell. So we serve great Izkarzon, He is the only way. We lift our voices to praise Him, on each and every day! We all love serving great Izkarzon It¡¯s a lovely life Marvelously free of strife. There¡¯s no better way than serving great Izkarzon All through the year We hold Him dear! Swear your oaths of fealty, inscribe their words on your heart. Offer everything you can to Izkarzon, whether it be labor or art. Attend the services offered every day, no don¡¯t forget. When your poor soul is burning, you will surely regret! We live to serve Izkarzon! It¡¯s simply sublime! He might respond to you with, a moment of his time. And still we serve great Izkarzon, He is the only way. We toil at our labors to please him, each and every day! We all love serving great Izkarzon It¡¯s a lovely life Marvelously free of strife. Nothing¡¯s better to do than serving great Izkarzon He is all we need, He is great indeed! Service here is freeing, lack of questions is nice If you don¡¯t offer all you have, you¡¯ll pay the ultimate price. And as services to kings go, our God-King is great We love the freedom of our service here, the rewards are first rate. There¡¯s no need to remember, the time that came before. The Age of Loss ate up all our sin, lost knowledge we abhor. Just serve Izkarzon, it¡¯s too good to believe, Dragold is forever, who would want to be free? Seething On Principle Adventures, Zia thought to herself, seem to be much less glorious in practice. I didn¡¯t realize there was so much that was east of Sasson. I thought we¡¯d walk for like a day, and then find an inn, and for a few silver apiece we¡¯d get a room and a hot meal at the end of the day! Instead, we¡¯ve been wandering along the road, and then through marsh because it looked like a trail¡ªit looked like a trail! It did! And I thought it was a shortcut! But then it wasn¡¯t, it was waist-deep water, and I think I might have ruined my leathers and we couldn¡¯t find the way back because, admittedly, I was sure I saw a trail in the distance and then the sun was setting and by the time we were on a little patch of dry land it was dark and we had no idea which way was which and I suggested we just keep going east but there¡¯s so much east! ¡°Zidrist, any idea how long Drexl¡¯s been gone?¡± ¡°Long enough for you to have asked that three times.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m hungry. I thought bread types were used to rooting in the marshes for mallow and burdock and whatever. What¡¯s taking her so long?¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s delayed by your negative energy,¡± Darka suggested. ¡°You¡¯re putting out impatient vibes and it¡¯s making her feel pressured and impeding her effectiveness.¡± ¡°That is not how metaphysics works.¡± ¡°You want to tell the wife of a deacon how metaphysics works, now?¡± Zidrisk raised an imperious eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re the one who got us lost.¡± ¡°The road was going south. We didn¡¯t need to go south. I thought I saw a trail and I¡¯m sorry already!¡± The sun had risen hours ago, Zia was sure, but Drexl had insisted they needed to make a fire before she headed out and she¡¯d made Zia do some of the gathering. What do we need a fire for during the day anyway? It¡¯s all wet deadfall, it¡¯s making more smoke than light. When Drexl did make it back, the sun was, by Zia¡¯s reckoning, high in the sky. Why would I need to know how to tell the time by the sun? The bell towers of Sasson always declared the time. ¡°What took so long?¡± ¡°Zia, I am poor, not a survivalist, blast it. I can find tubers and berries, but I can¡¯t find a lot terribly fast. As is, we¡¯re having a small meal.¡± ¡°A small meal? Drexl, we need to get back to the roads today, we can¡¯t march on empty stomachs.¡± ¡°Then you should have made sure we had trail rations.¡± ¡°I thought there would be inns. Dragold is civilized, or I thought it was!¡± Zidrist sighed. ¡°A lot of them were raided and razed during the early civil war by opportunists and military groups. And again, we went off the road, because someone saw a shortcut.¡± That is not fair! I was trying to help! ¡°That is not a way to talk to your leader, Zidrist.¡± ¡°And that is not a way to talk to your spiritual authority, Zia. I may not be a priestess, but I am the representative of Izkarzon in this group and I think you need to recite some Our Dragon of Mercys while Drexl turns what she found into food.¡± ¡°We have to wait even longer before we eat?!¡± ¡°Our Dragon of Mercy. Twenty of them.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°For questioning the spiritual authority of your representative of the Church. Unless you want to be fed to the heir when we find her?¡± Ulp. Right. Oaths of fealty to Izkarzon included His holy Church. ¡°Yes¡¯m. Our Dragon of Mercy, please pray for¡ª¡± ¡°Silently, penitent.¡± When I am honored for finding the heir of Izkarzon, I will see you defrocked, deacon. You may have agreed to come with me as a spiritual authority¡­ well, okay, so I asked her to come along. Pleaded. Said it would be easy. Our Dragon of Mercy, hail holy Izkarzon, hail our¡ªZia took the time to recite her prayers as directed by Zidrist. Even with the rapid changes of leadership, even the secular claimants to Dragold¡¯s gerontocratic throne declared the primacy of the Church. After they had eaten what Zia found to be a perfectly disgusting breakfast-lunch of berries and roasted tubers, they continued along the way of vaguely dry ground. It was Drexl who pointed out the smoke trail through the sparse tree cover. ¡°It¡¯s just like I had you set that fire for! It means there¡¯s someone, and where there¡¯s someone we can ask for directions!¡± ¡°Excellent eye, Drexl! And you beat me to pointing it out, I¡¯m impressed!¡± ¡­okay, so Zidrist didn¡¯t need to roll her eyes. I guess I didn¡¯t need to lie. It¡¯s just I need some kind of claim to leadership because so far only Darka is less useful than me, and she impressed Krask even. The trees were thicker, and the ground more solid, and ultimately they came to some proper forest rather than marsh. Drexl was leading, something Zia was uncomfortable with until she stepped on a small mound of dry grass which promptly caught fire. ¡°Sarx!¡± Drexl cried, while the dry grass combusted with a minimum of heat but a great deal of smoke. Drexl was patting her leggings out, but they didn¡¯t seem too badly burnt. From the brush emerged a woman dressed in cured hides, skin like Darka¡¯s but hair more like Zidrist¡¯s and adorned with beads of glass or¡ªZia shuddered¡ªbone. She was carrying a long knapped knife, but did not look actively intent upon using it. ¡°Greetings, worthy of Izkarzon!¡± Zia said. ¡°We are lost and looking for¡­¡± the woman was looking at Zia with her head tilted in incomprehension. Zia turned to the Heirrors. ¡°Does eastern Dragold not speak Draconic?¡± ¡°Try Loon,¡± Zidrist suggested. ¡°I was just about to. Thank you for the suggestion.¡± I don¡¯t think it¡¯s unreasonable that I try to seem like I know what I¡¯m doing. I would have gotten to it soon enough, I just was first making sure she didn¡¯t understand! In Loon she addressed the woman. ¡°Greetings! We are lost and looking for directions.¡± ¡°We also would trade silver for a meal,¡± Drexl cut in. Zia shot her a look but didn¡¯t contradict her. ¡°Who are you, then?¡± the woman asked. ¡°I am Lunar Sword, of the Glade of Mother Supreme.¡± ¡°We are the Heirrors,¡± Zia replied. ¡°I am Zia, leader of our adventuring band, and these are Zidrist, Darka, and Drexl.¡± I hope Drexl doesn¡¯t get snippy over being introduced last even though she¡¯s in the lead. It¡¯s how it is, you introduce in descending order of caste. Speaking of which¡­ she¡¯s a hunger? What is a hunger doing in the middle of a swamp? ¡°You three¡ª¡± Sword indicated Zidrist, Darka, and Drexl, ¡°¡ªcan come with. You, we¡¯ll bring you food, but you may not enter the glade.¡± ¡°What, do you have something against ouroboros? You¡¯re a hunger, you can hardly have issues with Izkarzon¡¯s cast¡ª¡± ¡°Only women may enter the Glade of Mother Supreme.¡± After several moments of stunned freezing, sarx was the gentlest of the profanities which occupied Zia¡¯s mind. She stood rooted to the ground until she creakily turned her head when Drexl touched her arm. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m sorry about this. We¡¯ll get directions and bring you something to eat.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°I never counted you as anything less than Krasna¡¯s daughter,¡± Zidrist added, as she walked past Zia. ¡°Hey, uh¡­ I don¡¯t have anything in particular to say, but it¡¯s a weird rule. I¡¯ll ask about it,¡± Darka finished, trailing behind her wife. It¡¯s just as well they left me here, Zia thought, given I just spent a solid sandglass screaming inarticulately and kicking a tree. Sarx, my foot hurts. ¡°Women only!¡± I¡¯m a woman, damn it! Literally, condemn them all to Hell! When I¡¯m at the right hand of Izkarzon¡¯s heir, I will see to it this glade is burned to the ground. Or melted with acid. Probably acid. I¡¯m sure His heir wouldn¡¯t mind doing that in exchange for a queendom. I am perfectly much a woman! I have curves, in this armor, and I am a fire sorcerer, which everyone knows fire is one of the Powers of the Virtue of the Mother, which is naturally feminine! And I don¡¯t have a younger sister, so it¡¯s not like I¡¯m trying to claim the family name from someone more deserving. I¡¯m a woman! So I have a deeper voice, I don¡¯t talk in my deeper registers. I bet she guessed. She probably guessed. There¡¯s no way she could have known for certain. Which means when I didn¡¯t immediately deny it, that¡¯s when she knew. Sarx it! I should have said, ¡°I am a woman, thank you very much!¡± Stupid Lunar whatsername. Feed her to the heir. It¡¯s only fair. Zia continued to seethe, imagining the penitent cries of the wilderness women as the dragon melted their sarxing stupid glade, until the rest of the Heirrors walked back towards her. At least, Zia thought with a grumble of her stomach, they brought food. Drexl had brought, in fact, a small bowl of soup and a shank of cooked meat. ¡°What did you find out?¡± ¡±Well, for one, we¡¯re only a few hourglasses from the road.¡± Zidrist replied. ¡°It went south where it did because the swamp, as we discovered, became more watery for about a day¡¯s march.¡± The shank of meat was well-cooked, and seasoned with something Zia recognized from eating with Drexl but couldn¡¯t name, not the kind of spices she¡¯d been brought up eating. The soup tasted much like the tubers they¡¯d eaten for breakfast-lunch, but with a greater depth of flavor. Zia paused in her voracious devouring to nod and gesture for Zidrist to continue. ¡°I talked to their priestess. They¡¯re a heretical cult, nothing Izkarzon would have stood for in His day. They revere the moon as the Mother Supreme, which you might have gathered from the names, but they refute the divinity of Izkarzon outright. Fief¡¯s influence, no doubt, we¡¯re only another day from the border.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why they wouldn¡¯t let you in, by the by,¡± Drexl added. ¡°The moon thing. They hold that a woman¡¯s cycle grants her levels of divine awareness and that such things are holy.¡± Oh, so because I don¡¯t bleed I¡¯m not a woman? I bleed when I¡¯m cut. I could feed myself herbs to make myself cramp and be a misery to everyone each month. Maybe I will. Then I can come back to their stupid glade and be like, ¡°I have a cycle, I¡¯m cramping, your stupid heretical non-draconic faith has to let me come in!¡± ¡°Sorry about that, again,¡± Drexl said. ¡°From the thunderous look on your face you¡¯re not over it.¡± ¡°I am¡­ very angry. When we find the heir, I¡¯m glad their heretical sect will be melted into the ground by our new God-Queen.¡± Zidrist raised her eyebrows. ¡°They¡¯re heretical, I¡¯ll give you that, but I¡¯m not sure they need to be melted. Just chastised and maybe put in a proper convent.¡± Just a flash of my ouroboros mark and I¡¯d be granted access to any of Izkarzon¡¯s Churches. Or if I wasn¡¯t, it would be my clerical status, not¡ª ¡°Hey, how¡¯s the soup?¡± Drexl asked Zia, interrupting her train of thought. ¡°Oh, uh¡­ it¡¯s good. Tastes like what we¡¯d get back in Sasson. Thanks for getting it for me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Oh, so you were fishing for gratitude, when you got to go into the glade and experience the weird heretic cult thing and I didn¡¯t. Isn¡¯t me letting you all go thanks enough? ¡­I¡¯m mixing up my anger. It¡¯s not Drexl¡¯s fault they let her in. And we needed directions, which Zidrist said they got. I¡¯m taking out my anger on them. Maybe I should have kicked that tree more. ¡°Thank you for getting directions, also.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Zidrist replied. ¡°I also learned a new song while we were in the glade!¡± Darka said excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s probably heresy, but it proclaims that the natural world is the Creation of the Mother Supreme and that all things in it are blessed by Her. Except it¡­ actually, it¡¯s irreverent enough that it¡¯s definitely heresy, right Zidrist?¡± She¡¯s lucky Zidrist is her wife. Not just because she has a wife, but because anyone else asking a deacon if something might be heresy will earn a sharp rebuke about not risking one¡¯s soul and not trying to cut corners on piety. ¡°The One True Church of Izkarzon is to be treated with honor and respect. By extension, so is the One God, hallowed be His Name.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s a fun song. It¡¯s called Mosquito in Paradise.¡± ¡°There are not mosquitos in Heaven,¡± Zia said tartly. ¡°Zia is right,¡± Zidrist agreed archly. ¡°Can I sing the song anyway?¡± Zidrist smiled indulgently. ¡°This is why I try to keep her out of the baudier districts of Sasson. She loves music of any variety. But what say you, leader Zia?¡± Is she trying to placate me? Am I that visibly angry? I don¡¯t¡­ I mean, air is a choleric element and it belongs to the Queen, but I¡¯m a fire sorcerer, I¡¯m supposed to be jolly¡­ ¡±Go for it, Darka. Sing away. Just follow up with some good and Godly hymns to Izkarzon.¡± As Darka treated them to Mosquito In Paradise, they trekked east to get back on the road. Sure enough, they were going through waist-deep water before they found the road, but it was where they had been told it would be. Shortly after that, they passed the skull-spikes which marked the border of Dragold. Zia couldn¡¯t help but feel a moment of trepidation, taking the step which brought her out of her homeland, and into the heretic eastern land of Fief. They don¡¯t even have a dragon ruling them. They have¡­ what, a couple of Kings? No, wait, I think they at least have Queens. Can¡¯t have a patrilineal monarchy, how would you even tell? But then, what¡¯s to tell? They don¡¯t have castes, they just have some arbitrary system of¡­ I wish I¡¯d paid more attention to my tutor on the subject of foreign lands, but I never imagined they¡¯d be relevant. The histories were never as interesting as the stories of adventure like the Daring Kaliskast, subduing heretics and spreading the Good Word of Izkarzon and seducing people left and right. It¡¯s always these dry stories about how Noun succeeded Verb who usurped Nounverb and then Verbnoun the Noun went and raised an army and the tales of the armies are just blah-thousand soldiers and bleh-dozen fire sorcerers¡­ well, I guess the fire sorcerers are interesting. They were always women too, and the most comely of them would be drawn in by Kaliskast¡¯s charms and talent. I hope that happens to me. I¡¯m a comely fire sorceress, I¡¯m in a foreign land, and I¡¯m sure the heir will gladly elevate a foreigner to ouroboros in thanks. ¡­right? Mosquito in Paradise Tried to amend my sanguinous habit Made it nearly one hourglass. Want your blood, it¡¯s something I need Drinking it up lemme say you¡¯re first class. I have a thought of a thing I could drink Red but without the distaste The juice of a tomato maybe I¡¯ll try it later but Right now I need a vein at your waist. Mosquito in Paradise It ain¡¯t Orth but it sure is nice Everyone in togas Wearing wings in open air pagodas I¡¯m just a mosquito in Paradise. God made mosquitos and loves them just as much As the ones She made man and other such. Let me tell you brother there isn¡¯t any other Who blessed every Creation with a personal touch. And if the One God loves mosquitoes And thinks they¡¯re really neato But if I¡¯m gonna live I¡¯m gonna need ¡®o To bite you just a little so that you might bleed. Mosquito in Paradise If you¡¯re wanting into Heaven well maybe think twice But it¡¯s been said of bug bite¡¯s scratchin¡¯ ¡®em¡¯s nice I¡¯m just a mosquito in Paradise. So you hate mosquitos as they whine and dine Maybe you won¡¯t find that Heaven is fine I just want a little bit of your blood One God made me this way is that understood? I¡¯m just a Mosquito in Paradise Let me tell you friend your blood will taste nice When I am a¡¯drinkin¡¯ it while I¡¯m just a mosquito in Paradise! There¡¯s mosquitos in Paradise! Yes¡¯m mosquitos in Paradise! So you hate mosquitos as they whine and dine Maybe you won¡¯t find that Heaven is fine I just want a little bit of your blood One God made me this way is that understood? Abort Mission ¡°Zia, I swear to Izkarzon that if you make a fuss about me not finding food in a mountain pass, somewhere I have never been, I will repeat that I. Am not. A survivalist. I am just poor.¡± Well of course you¡¯re poor, you¡¯re bread. A day¡¯s wage is the same quarter-loaf on the back of your hand. But why single me out? ¡°Did I say anything?¡± Drexl grimaced. ¡°You think loudly.¡± What does she mean by that?! ¡°You¡¯re no air sorcerer, you can¡¯t read my thoughts.¡± Best just make sure of that¡­ Zia centered on fire and tried to reach out towards Drexl to see if she felt guilty. Fire, being the element centered on emotion, was theoretically able to read the emotions of others. Theoretically. Never did get that far with my tutor. But how hard could it be? Zia focused on Drexl and ¡°reached¡± with her flame¡­ and promptly let go of the spell before she singed her friend. A plume of flame erupted between them, ballooning into the sky before petering out. ¡°What in the sarx, Zia?!¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡°What, because I don¡¯t want to be lectured on my shortcomings, you¡¯re going to set me on fire?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not¡ªit¡¯s not a shortcoming! I was seeing if you were hiding a secret!¡± ¡°Oh, like that¡¯s better. I¡¯ve been spending time with you for a year and you think I¡¯d be hiding something like ¡®oh, I went through your brain¡¯ and¡ªZia! Were you trying to go through my brain?¡± Which option is worse? Trying to kill her or¡­ probably¡­ aw, sarx, I gave it away the moment I had to think. ¡°Zia! What in the name of all that¡¯s Draconic is wrong with you? Is this how you treat your friends, or am I just bread to you?!¡± ¡°Have to admit, Zia, that was more than a little rude,¡± Zidrist said. ¡°Not to mention, you nearly set her on fire,¡± Darka added. ¡°Darka, for someone along on sufferance, you¡¯re awfully rude to your leader,¡± Zia replied haughtily, on comfortable ground with being self-righteous. ¡°I¡¯m not along on sufferance, I¡¯m along conditionally to Zidrist leaving Sasson. Which has not looked like the best idea, in the time since.¡± ¡°Zid¡ªDeacon, would you kindly reign in your spouse?¡± ¡°You will not refer to Darka so dismissively in my presence.¡± Oh sarx. She¡¯s not joking around. ¡°Ah¡­ but¡­¡± Zidrist¡¯s expression brooked no argument. She was the resident spiritual authority of the Church of Izkarzon, and even an ouroboros ignored that at her own peril. ¡°Yes, Deacon. I apologize, Darka.¡± ¡°Forget apologizing to me, I¡¯ll proudly be ¡®Zidrist¡¯s spouse¡¯ but you need to apologize to Drexl!¡± I was hoping we had gotten off that topic. Drat and condemn it all to Hell but I hate being in the wrong! ¡°I¡­ apologize, Drexl. For¡­¡± Drexl cocked a hip and crossed her arms, her expression indicating she would wait however long it took Zia to identify the nature of her error. Sarx sarx sarx! I hate this! ¡°For almost setting you on fire¡ª¡± Nope, that¡¯s not it. Okay, uhm¡­ ¡°And for trying to read your emotions¡­¡± Still not it. But warmer? She raised an eyebrow. What does that mean? ¡°And for not just trusting you. But you started it, you got on my case before I even said anything.¡± ¡°Izkarzon devour it you were this close to making a decent apology! Something you have not, for the record, managed in the year I¡¯ve known you! If you didn¡¯t have silver¡ª¡± Zia blanched. ¡°¡ªDarka would be more useful than you! You can trade a song for a meal at most inns, at least in Dragold.¡± I only have so much silver. Songs you can trade over and over. That¡¯s useful information. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let her earn our next meal, and save my silver for bribes and things like that! Since you can¡¯t¡ª¡± Sarx, she just said not to call her on that. ¡°Can¡¯t what, Zia? Do tell. I¡¯m already the muscle, the person with contacts, and provided yesterday¡¯s lunch, what can¡¯t I do?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ provide silver?¡± Zidrist was massaging her brow. ¡°If everyone is done yelling at each other, I would like to find somewhere to rest for the evening, and we¡¯re making no progress towards that by infighting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not ancie¡ª¡®venerable¡¯ and I¡¯m done talking here, I¡¯ll go ahead and see if there¡¯s somewhere we can stay before nightfall,¡± Drexl said, striding off ahead of everyone. Leaving me in the company of the unimpressed deacon and her smart-mouthed spouse. I bet she wouldn¡¯t be so brave without her hunger wife. You don¡¯t talk to ouroboros like that. I should just set her on fire¡­ except Zidrist would excommunicate me and I¡¯d have to pay for everything. Still, that can¡¯t be that expensive, can it? It could, in fact, be that expensive. The Firegate Inn stood before a massive black stone archway, which appeared to be the only way through a wall of fire that reached up into the night sky and extended into the distance to either side of the so-called fire gate. The flames were hot, Zidrist tried them with a branch off a bush and got back a severed piece of wood. ¡°You want how much for four rooms and a meal?!¡± The innkeeper, a bored-looking black woman of indeterminate age, named the same sum that had made Zia exclaim the first time. Darka put a hand on Zia¡¯s shoulder and said in Draconic, ¡°Before you burn down the inn, Zia, what say I try?¡± In Loon, the lingua franca of Orth, she addressed the innkeeper. ¡°I am a chorister, what can I get for a night and a morning of song?¡± The woman raised an eyebrow. Zia turned away from the whole affair and did as she usually did in tavern settings¡ªlook to see who was looking at her. Scanning the room, a young man caught her eye and grinned, hefting his pint of blittero and inviting her with his gaze. She sashayed over to his table, emphasizing what she could of the padding at her hips. ¡°It¡¯s a rum deal, getting a room on the border,¡± he said. ¡°The name¡¯s Baron. What¡¯s yours, pretty lady?¡± A baron? Barons are minor nobility. Let¡¯s see if I remember¡­ a baronet is a knight, a baron is¡­ what, like a hunger? That¡¯s respectable. ¡°I¡¯m Zia. It¡¯s Draconic. Baron what, if I might ask?¡± ¡°They just call me Baron. Overbaron if they think I¡¯m not listening.¡± He laughed at his own joke, though inwardly Zia figured she must have missed something because it sounded like he was bragging about being overbearing. Whatever. He showed interest and he¡¯s got status. ¡°I just don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do about a room,¡± Zia said. ¡°Unless my companion can earn our keep with her music.¡± She put just a speck of doubt and vulnerability in her voice, thinking to inveigle an offer of aid from Baron before she had to make good on her own implied promises. In the background, she heard Darka start singing. Good luck, smartalec. Earn us rooms and board. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about the singer lady, she¡¯s a bit on the shelf, but you get the curvy one¡ª¡± Curvy? Oh, Drexl. Sigh. Of course he wasn¡¯t interested in me. Zia¡¯s expression grew the least bit frosty, but Baron didn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°¡ªto come visit with you and that¡¯s two rooms taken care of.¡± Oh. He is interested in me. Me and Drexl. I wonder¡­ I mean, it¡¯d be a way to get Drexl and I to¡­ oh, but I can¡¯t follow through unless he¡¯s bi. But I could talk to Drexl, and if I could at least kiss her it would be a start of something more. I¡¯m a good kisser. I am. We¡¯d just need to get Baron to pay for another room before we let him lead us upstairs, and then¡­ eugh. I can¡¯t make the deacon sleep on the floor, she¡¯s older and that means I get the floor. With Drexl. Who will predictably take the floor on the opposite side of the bed. Unless I impress her with my kiss. Hmm¡­ ¡°Hey, Orth to the pretty lady, what do you say?¡± ¡°What about my compatriots? As you noticed, they¡¯re ¡¯on the shelf,¡¯ I can¡¯t make them sleep on the floor.¡± Baron furrowed his brow. ¡°What¡¯re you to them?¡± ¡°As I said, a compatriot.¡± ¡°I suppose I could pay for a room and two more meals. After tonight. You pay, I¡¯ll get you back in the morning.¡± ¡°You¡¯re awfully arrogant for a man hoping to share a bed with an ouroboros. I know my lineages, a baron is not my equal.¡± ¡°So go get yourself a brat by spirit magic. I¡¯m the overbaron, I can get what I want without recourse to you and your companions.¡± Get myself a brat by¡ª!? At least he¡¯s reading me as a woman, then. Sigh. Of course he¡¯d have to be a jerk with one thing on his mind. I draw the line at kissing that sort. It¡¯s safer. ¡°If being overbearing is how you get what you want, maybe you and I should take this conversation outside.¡± ¡°Be careful who you threaten, little lady. Plenty of travelers go missing trying to cross the fire wall, you could be one of them.¡± Zia took a calming breath. Exchanging verbal barbs always put her on edge. Izkarzon, bless your more than seven-times faithful and let me get this bit of sorcery right. Focusing, she conjured a ball of flame in her hand, white hot. She could feel her palm crisping, her control insufficient to isolate herself from the effects of the flame, but opening her eyes she saw she was having the desired effect on Baron. ¡°We don¡¯t have to go outside. I was already thinking of burning down this inn. Why not start with burning a nice hole in you?¡± When did mortal injury become a part of my life? I mean, people die all the time in the Daring Kaliskast. ¡°Queens Religious and Temporal, what¡¯s wrong with you?! We were just talking about a bit of fun and now you¡¯re going to set me on fire?!¡± Baron exclaimed, scooting his chair back against a wall. Zia stepped around the table, scorching a finger as her fire star failed to align with her palm perfectly. ¡°You started this conversation going south by presuming you were equal to me. I am ouroboros. I am Sworn to Izkarzon. I am deserving of respect and you proposed putting me to the flame. I¡¯m only replying in kind, sarxwit. I¡¯ll quite happily put you and everyone in this inn to the torch if that¡¯s what it takes to get what I want.¡± I am really not sure how much longer I can hold this flame. My hand really hurts. And I¡¯m not entirely comfortable burning down an entire inn over one jerk. Unless the inn proves as irritating as this man. Zia was not being entirely honest with herself, but usually by morning she forgot the nightmares of people in a burning mansion calling out her name as it collapsed upon itself. Fortunately for both Zia¡¯s control of her spell and the inn itself, Baron flung his chair to one side and fled the inn. With a gasp of pain, she released the fire star¡ªsloppily, as it turned out. It didn¡¯t simply whisp out of existence, but expanded as it dissipated and scorched her hand to the wrist. Sarx that hurts! Zia thought with a yelp. With a sigh, Zia turned back to the room, hearing the closing strains of a song Zia didn¡¯t immediately recognize, although the final cheer of ¡°Izkarzon¡± made it clearly a praise song. The lack of applause was disconcerting, not to mention perplexing until someone shouted, ¡°Get out of here with that garbage, dragon worshiper!¡± Zia sidled up to Drexl. ¡°So did we get food in advance?¡± Drexl shook her head. ¡°And I don¡¯t think we¡¯re getting it now.¡± She gestured to Zidrist and Darka. ¡°I don¡¯t think she knows anything but praise music. Maybe she could improvise, I know that last song was new, but I¡¯m not sure they want us to try.¡± Zidrist was arguing heatedly with the barkeep, back ramrod straight as someone chucked a pint mug at Darka. ¡°All right!¡± she shouted. ¡°We¡¯re leaving, we¡¯re leaving! Go sarx yourself! Bunch of faithless fools!¡± Zidrist and Darka fled the inn, Zia and Drexl on their tail. This has not gone the way it was supposed to at all. Why would they be so angry about a faith song? Itinerant singers are all over Dragold. A good Izkarzon hymn¡­ Drexl said it was new. Maybe she blasphemed by accident? Zia had heard the declamation of worshiping Izkarzon, but cognitive dissonance had relegated it to so much noise. ¡°Darka, Drexl said your song was new, did you put a blasphemy in it by accident?¡± ¡°It was about searching for the heir to Izkarzon! A perfectly honorable and just endeavor!¡± ¡°Their issue seemed to be with the song being about Izkarzon at all,¡± Zidrist said irritably. ¡°But dragons are holy! It¡¯s in Scripture! Gotorjod shielded the first humans and so cost dragon-kind their wings! Ah, no offense, Zidrist, of course you know that.¡± ¡°Evidently not in Fief.¡± ¡°Am I the only one who didn¡¯t miss that the issue was the worship of Izkarzon? I thought I was the uneducated one here,¡± Drexl said dryly. ¡°What, so all my hymns are no good in Fief? That¡¯s going to be an issue, given Zia¡¯s evident dearth of silver. I guess we¡¯re both useless, ey Zia?¡± Useless?! Me?! I had the idea! I am the driving force behind this mission! You¡¯re just some jumped up chorister who married above her station! Don¡¯t think to speak to your betters that way! Zia opened her mouth to utter some well-chosen invective, then caught Zidrist¡¯s cold expression and shut it again. Except I can¡¯t say that. Because she¡¯s the wife of a deacon. And minor clergy still outranks¡­ Zia grimaced to admit it, even inwardly, minor nobility. They are the intercessors before Izkarzon and mortals, or between His heir and mortals, as it will be soon. Remember, this is for a good cause. Money. Power. Marriage. All those good things. She took a deep breath and let it out, and from everyone¡¯s stares she had been woolgathering for a while. Plastering what may not have been a convincing smile on her face, Zia said, ¡°Yep! Useless, that¡¯s us! Although I could totally set the inn on fire, since we¡¯re not fond of it.¡± Zidrist appeared to consider the idea, before shaking her head. ¡°Even if they¡¯re a bunch of unbelievers, it would be wrong to kill people for¡­ well, whether it¡¯s wrong to kill people for blasphemy is debatable. Izkarzon did it all the time. But generally the sentence was pronounced by He Himself, after the priesthood presented the heretic to Him, and then He ate or dissolved them. It would be above my station to pass judgment on an entire inn.¡± ¡°We¡¯d best get walking, then,¡± Drexl said with entirely unseemly cheer. ¡°I vote for the big hole on the fire wall as the best bet, if nothing else I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s east and that¡¯s where we¡¯re headed!¡± Izkarzon Theme I wanna find our God-King¡¯s heir To restore rule by laws The throne has been up in the air To find a dragon is my cause I will travel across the land Searching far and wide For the heir of Izkarzon A dragon to preside! Izkarzon! It¡¯s Him we need His rule is our destiny He¡¯ll rule until the end This premise I can defend A cause so true My faith will carry me through. Dragonkind will lead us all As they have since before the Fall! Though we¡¯ll face trials along the way With pure faith we¡¯ll succeed We will pray hard on every day To find the dragon that we need! Dragons saved the first humans From their own foolish acts of sin Sacrificing their wing spans For our loyalty to win Izkarzon! It¡¯s Him we need His rule is our destiny He¡¯ll rule until the end This premise I can defend A cause so true My faith will carry me through. Dragonkind will lead us all As they have since before the Fall! Lead us since the Fall Lead us since the Fall Lead us since the Fall Yeah! Izkarzon! It¡¯s Him we need His rule is our destiny He¡¯ll rule until the end This premise I can defend A cause so true My faith will carry me through. Dragonkind will lead us all As they have since before the Fall! Izkarzon! A Tiring Evening Zia had been too enchanted with the idea of a warm meal and a bed which, if not soft, was at least dry, to consider the gate before them. ¡°It stinks of a trap, but I don¡¯t see a smart way around it,¡± Drexl said. The gate was constructed of black stone, seemingly in one piece, and was easily large enough to admit the gates of Izkarzon¡¯s castle should they get a mind to up and visit Fief. I am tired, if I¡¯m contemplating ambulatory castle gates. ¡°I don¡¯t see a way around it,¡± Zidrist replied, ¡°short of chancing the fire.¡± The flame in question resembled the fire a foot or two above a fireplace; it was not a constant wall of flame, but an intermittent, almost gasping flame which flickered in and out of being all along the body of the wall. ¡°I don¡¯t much like the idea of that, unless one of you has earth sorcery you haven¡¯t told us about.¡± Drexl scoffed at that. As though someone would teach sorcery to bread. They cause enough trouble without magic. ¡°It¡¯s so big,¡± Darka said, marveling at the gate. ¡°I wonder how they made it. Can it be pure earth sorcery? You¡¯d need an entire team of sorcerers to move so much stone.¡± ¡°Dragons.¡± Zidrist did not elaborate, until she noted the curious glances of all three¡ªfour. The rag doll. Because a party of four would be unlucky. But I don¡¯t think the rag doll is giving her a curious glance¡ªof her compatriots. ¡°Dragons have power over their sphere. One goodly aged earth dragon could probably form an arch like this. Izkarzon could drain entire swamps to make room for farms or land. What¡¯s curious to me is that it makes a hole in the fire wall.¡± ¡°Off we go, then,¡± Zia said. ¡°Unless you¡¯ve changed your mind on me burning down the inn before we leave.¡± May as well defer to Zidrist on this, she has the spiritual authority I lack and squabbling over every little point only undermines my own authority. ¡°They¡¯re heretics, but they were lied to. The priestesses of Fief preach a faith of the One God which does not call for draconic intercession, but the intercession of Virtues, Powers, and Saints. That does not merit them a death, fiery or otherwise.¡± ¡°But aren¡¯t crusades just the killing or conversion of unbelievers?¡± ¡°They are. And any student of history will note that in the recorded past Izkarzon never led a crusade into Fief.¡± Was that a barb? Oh, whatever, she¡¯s already leading the discussion. I may as well learn from her. ¡°He defends his borders jealously, as with the skull totems, but he¡¯s never gone further than sending missionaries to Fief and the Sevens.¡± ¡°Not to the Belt and Buckle?¡± Zia asked curiously. ¡°It would be a bit strange to try and convert the largely draconic inhabitants of those islands, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Oh. Yes.¡± She has all the answers. But she can¡¯t get us a room at an inn. Neither can I for that matter. What are we doing here? Am I any better off than if I¡¯d just¡ªno! This is a holy mission, it is important! And it¡¯s my best bet of reclaiming my lost status. ¡°I apologize, Deacon Zidrist. I had uncharitable thoughts regarding our mission. If you have parchment, I will make a Confession of Guilt.¡± Zidrist waved a dismissive hand. ¡°I think we¡¯ve all had those thoughts.¡± What? Heresy from a deacon?! ¡°This has not been the smooth, two-day trip that it was pitched as.¡± That¡¯s hardly fair. I thought it would be, and you could have called for us to turn around at any point and we would have had no alternative but to obey. ¡°Oh, calm down Zia. You look like you swallowed a frog. I¡¯m not calling you out, I¡¯m just commenting on the strain. First thoughts are not what condemn a woman or a man, but second thoughts. And your second thought was to offer to sign a Confession of Guilt for doubting the necessity of this mission.¡± ¡°You are kinder than the priestess might have been, Deacon. Thank you.¡± ¡°Is that not why you chose me? I was a more approachable member of the Church of Izkarzon?¡± Zia mumbled something and shook her head. ¡°No? Do tell. What led to you selecting a deacon over a priestess?¡± ¡°I wanted¡­ I wanted the credit. For finding the heir. If the priestess had gotten involved I might not even have gotten to go along.¡± As they talked, they had slowly approached the black stone gate, and walked through its length. A platoon could easily march abreast down this thing. There was no fire within, but a cold wind blew out from the far end. When they made their way inside, they found a curious landscape of stone and large lichens, mottling the surface of nearly every rock formation. It was cold, was Zia¡¯s first note. You¡¯d think somewhere ringed by fire would be hot. I¡¯m not used to this, Dragold is nice and warm even when your clothes get wet. Though a fire isn¡¯t much amiss when wet. How are we going to start a fire without wood? I don¡¯t see trees anywhere. ¡°You wanted credit for this adventure?¡± Zidrist raised an imperious eyebrow. ¡°Are you undertaking this holy mission purely for the rewards?¡± ¡°As though that surprises you. You know me from my attendance, my confessions.¡± ¡°Zidrist, darling, hubris is a sin, as is disingenuity. You said Zia¡¯s motives were suspect from the beginning, but that you thought it was worth the risk for the greater good of the nation.¡± ¡°Thank you, Darka, I was¡­ not going to admit that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you love me! I remember you told me, ¡®Darka, I am a deacon, a clerical member of Izkarzon¡¯s Church. This does not make me greater in Izkarzon¡¯s eyes, but I run the very real risk it will make me greater in my own. Please, throughout our marriage, keep my feet on the Orth and my head unswollen.¡¯ It was the sweetest declaration of trust I¡¯d ever heard, or have heard in the twenty-odd years since.¡± They¡¯ve been married twenty years? Lucky. To have your person, to know who they are and¡­ I keep thinking this. It¡¯s resentful, I shouldn¡¯t envy the things other people have. It¡¯s neither healthy nor moral. I didn¡¯t know Darka was so old though, she¡¯s aged well. I would have guessed with Zidrist though, with the gray in her hair. Zidrist kissed Darka on the cheek. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, darling. Thank you.¡± Zia made calf¡¯s eyes at Drexl, but she was blandly surveying the landscape around them as though the conversation wasn¡¯t happening. After a while longer, she pointed at a speck on the horizon. ¡°Our best bet at a building. Maybe a fire. Shall I jog ahead again? I don¡¯t think we need to worry about bandits unless they have horses, there isn¡¯t enough brush or much of anything else to hide behind. Besides, this is the main approach from Dragold into Fief.¡± Zidrist looked blandly at Zia and rolled her hand to indicate that it was her place to say. See? Not arguing over every little thing has its benefits. She¡¯s willing to concede a minor decision because I yielded to her expertise on moral issues of heretics and blasphemers. Whatever the difference is. Zia shook her head. ¡°As you said, there could be bandits on horses. Do horses eat lichen?¡± Zia looked around at heads shaking in lack of knowledge or shrugged shoulders. In a swampy land like Dragold horses were not commonplace. ¡°We¡¯ll fare better as a group, and Zidrist¡ª¡± Zia took a deep breath. ¡°¡ªZidrist and Darka have the social skills. I¡¯m mostly good at being the life of the party or circulating in rarified society.¡± Drexl imitated Zidrist¡¯s imperiously raised eyebrow, though her face scrunched up funny when she tried to raise just the one, and said, ¡°Bit of a backhanded compliment. We aren¡¯t accustomed to ¡®circulating in rarified society,¡¯ so we¡¯re not good at hanging with nabobs.¡± I didn¡¯t mean it like that, sarx it! Don¡¯t know what I should expect from bread. I guess I forgot she was bread and focused more on the fact she¡¯s my friend. And as my friend, she¡¯s been really slow to take things personally. I¡¯ve seen her wince once or¡­ well, more times than that, when I¡¯ve spoken in mixed groups. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I¡¯m flattered to be the social skills of the group,¡± Darka said. ¡°It¡¯s no easy task, organizing a couple-dozen Dragold scions into a coherent chorus. Everyone wants to be the soloist. Let me tell you, getting them to stop doing vibrato on every note¡ª¡± Darka laughed gaily. I suppose she does everything gayly, she¡¯s married to Zidrist. Conversation continued in more benign veins until, an hour or so later, they approached the speck Drexl had spied in the distance. It was a Church¡ªchurch¡ªbuilding, and they put their heads together on how to approach it. ¡°Do churches offer hospitality in Fief?¡± Zia asked Zidrist. ¡°To pilgrims, I think, yes.¡± ¡°Are we pilgrims?¡± Drexl adopted a lopsided grin. ¡°Decidedly not. But the real question is, can Zidrist fake being a pilgrim long enough to get us a hot meal and some beds?¡± Zidrist adjusted her travel garb, fortunately different from the formal robes of an Izkarzon deacon. ¡°I think I can. One God, Black Queen, pray to Virtues and Thrones and Powers¡­ wait, no¡­ sar¡ªdrat, I think I have those out of order.¡± Did I just almost hear a deacon of the Church of Izkarzon swear? But doesn¡¯t Scripture warn us against¡­ I shouldn¡¯t think of it too much. Questioning the sanctity of clerical members without being one is more than my life is worth. ¡°Well, give it your best, ey?¡± Drexl asked, slapping Zidrist on the back; she looked shocked for a moment, then rolled her eyes and slapped Drexl on the back in turn with an agreeing head nod. Zia strode up to the door of the main church building and knocked. And then knocked more loudly, a little while later. The second time, an older man with pale skin and numerous liver spots answered the door. Zia stepped back and indicated Zidrist. ¡°Greetings, Father. We are pilgrims, hailing from¡ª¡± ¡°Ah, I know where you¡¯re hailing from! Your accent gives it away! Don¡¯t worry, ever since that heretical God-King died we¡¯ve had your lot trickling in twos and threes and one time tens into Fief, looking for Answers.¡± He wheeled on them, grinning. ¡°Let me tell you, in Fief we have answers. Our tradition goes back at least as far as that blasphemous old lizard and it¡¯s all about. The. One. God.¡± He cackled. ¡°You didn¡¯t think an old man like me kept up this chapel in the lichen fields by himself, did you? We¡¯ll get the pews in the chapel waxed and then get you some soup and bread.¡± Zia mouthed to Zidrist, ¡°manual labor?!¡± Zidrist rolled her eyes and indicated her graying hair, to which Zia had no retort. Zia had completed just three pews by the time the rest of the group met her in their rounds, and her body ached from the unaccustomed labor. The Daring Kaliskast never had to wax benches in a church for his meals. The meal, as well, was very bland, slightly bitter and sour. Zidrist seemed to view it philosophically, Darka kept up a running commentary on the food which seemed to delight the old priest to no end, and Drexl¡­ well, Drexl was bread, she¡¯d eat mud if it had nutritional value. Practically had, rooting about for tubers. ¡°I was wondering, Father, if you might have any sheet music in Loon?¡± Darka was asking. ¡°Eh? Sheet music? Like for a choir? Oh, probably, back in the library. I¡¯ll show you after dinner.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s in my register, I might like to buy some? We have silver.¡± What¡¯s this we business?! Don¡¯t go volunteering my limited funds to get you your pet interest satisfied! ¡­except that¡¯s why I¡¯m here. Sigh. The Father waved his hands dismissively. ¡°I¡¯m too old to sing like I used to, though I can hum with the best of them, and you¡¯re the first person to ask. Makes me wonder if the rest coming through just wanted a free meal and a cot.¡± Zia swallowed her mouthful convulsively and choked, but the Father seemed not to notice. I should probably try to remember his name. ¡°Just take a few. Not the whole folio, or whoever succeeds me will wonder, but certainly a dozen songs or so.¡± Darka smiled warmly and took another spoonful of soup before replying, ¡°Thank you, Father.¡± ¡°Call me Ignite. Hearing ¡®Father¡¯ too many times makes me feel old. And I¡¯ve got enough age as it is!¡± He laughed again. ¡°Tomorrow morning is service, so you won¡¯t have to wait too long to hear a sermon and get some Answers.¡± We have to sit through an atheist sermon?! This adventure definitely isn¡¯t like the Daring Kaliskast! Well, he did have to attend that one cult ceremony, but he killed everyone before it was over and rescued the beautiful sacrificial victim. ¡°You can meet the congregation, such as it is. You¡¯ll get along, a lot of them wear leathers and weapons. We don¡¯t know where the bandits come from, but come they do. Largely lichen farmers, shepherds, simple and decent folk. But I¡¯ll put a little zing in my sermon, just for you.¡± I wonder what that¡¯s going to mean. A little extra zing. Perhaps a good story about Hell. Surely the atheists of Fief believe in Hell. That¡¯s where you go when you don¡¯t properly worship the One God, even we agree on that much I¡¯m sure. Not that I will worry about Hell. I¡¯m ouroboros and I¡¯m risking my life to stabilize the home of the One True Church of Izkarzon. It¡¯ll be pleasant to hear what I¡¯m avoiding, that others walk so blandly towards. Or even chase. Like those moon-worshippers back in Dragold. I mean, they did give us directions, and I guess they¡¯re not more heretical than the people of Fief. But sarx it, I¡¯m a woman and¡­ sigh. Whatever. I¡¯m tired. Darka continued making small talk with Father¡ªwith Ignite, one of those curious Loon names, for the rest of the meal, and then he showed them to the small dormitory. Zia idly wondered what he¡¯d done with the ten that had come through, when he only had four cots. I suppose we were contemplating sleeping on the floor at the inn, we could have done the same here. Darka followed Ignite to the library, and as Zia collapsed in exhaustion on her bunk, she heard Darka going through vocal warm-ups and the beginning of something about a god named Deus. Can¡¯t they even call the One God the proper thing? I mean, there¡¯s Lord and Father Supreme and so on but Deus? What does that even mean? It¡¯s not Draconic. Zia drifted off to sleep mildly offended and wondered why Zidrist wasn¡¯t exercising her clerical prerogative of censure. He¡¯s a Good God The name is Deus Do not mistake for Ze-us Don¡¯t attempt to play-us We¡¯ll put your neck in a-noose One God¡¯s the highest The rest are all liars I talk to my deity Even though I¡¯m just laity. He¡¯s been Deified Reverized Sacredly iconified He¡¯s a real good God Spoils the child spares the rod. Yeah wholly He¡¯s holy He¡¯s Deus. Your irreverence has no effect atheist Get me another one, get me another idol! We worship the Savior With style He¡¯ll save your Soul and your spirit Afterlife don¡¯t fear it Hell I won¡¯t go near it I¡¯ll go join the One God Although it may sound odd After I am under the sod. Pray to Him! Pray to Him! Pray to the Spirit! You see, the afterlife doesn¡¯t have real pain Just the fear of it! Songs to the Lord, they slap Disbelief is a trap Sin severs you from God Yes I worship the Lawd! He¡¯s a great deity that I need to serve I don¡¯t wanna stop Pray to him! Pray to him! We worship our God and He¡¯s not Ze-us He¡¯s One God! He¡¯s One God! Belief is nice We pray for everlasting life! One God gives waters of life Die of old age or by a knife. Our Deus He¡¯s a good God. A Curious Encounter ¡°Sisters and brothers, we welcome today four more¡ªyes, I know, but we are not about to welcome a rag doll¡ªescapees from the Church of Izkarzon.¡± Escapees? ¡°So please, as we hold hands in Joining,¡± at least that is familiar. Contact is good, brings closeness. ¡°Those of you near them should make a point to reach out in a comfortable manner and make them feel welcome.¡± Zia found herself not-uncomfortable as a number of smiling faces turned to her at her seat in the rearmost pew. Still, so much for going unnoticed. As the congregation rose, Zia saw people exchange full hugs, even going so far as to pat each other on the back. Fortunately for her sensibilities, those near here were content to clasp her hands in their own and¡ªnear as she could tell¡ªoffer her a heartfelt welcome. Almost makes me wish I were converting. The unity of the services has been disrupted by all the factionalism with the power struggle. But that¡¯s the point of this adventure. We¡¯re going to bring back the unity of Dragold and make the congregation like one big family again, albeit divided by caste. But division is the wrong word, it¡¯s more like¡­ stratified. Like a cliff, it¡¯s all one cliff, but there are layers. From there, the congregation raised their voices to a hymn in Loon which Zia didn¡¯t know. Smiling, one of the congregation noted her silence and offered her a hymnal. She smiled in turn but shook her head. The woman shrugged and turned back towards the altar. I wouldn¡¯t want to out myself by singing here anyway. It was moot in Sasson, everyone knew. But someone here might not, so I¡¯d just as soon not sing. The hypothetical someone being, of course, the romantic interest that Zia expected to meet at any point, not having abandoned her ideas from the Daring Kaliskast of what an adventure entailed. ¡°It was said by the Savior Himself that the One God is love, and that she who does not know love does not know the Supreme. Love is the subject of today¡¯s sermon. Many of us have, despite the reduction in trade, looked with satisfaction at the implosion of Izkarzon¡¯s empire, the bitter fighting and the deaths of the leaders of his cult.¡± I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m hearing this. We¡¯re not a cult, we¡¯re the true faith. I¡¯ll have to talk to Zidrist about this. How we can allow this to go on, having gotten dinner, a bed, and breakfast¡­ ¡°But this is wrong.¡± Oh. Maybe I don¡¯t need to talk to Zidrist? The congregation was murmuring, and the priest waited for them to quiet down. ¡°For while they have insulted our faith, blasphemed by their actions, at their heart they are a devout, sincere people. They keep to themselves. And while we, on the very edge of Fief, have heard of the fall of their God-King, the Black Queen and First Bishop of the faith has not even acknowledged the change, either with missionaries or a commission for the army to intervene. So they insult our faith, so what? We should turn to them the other cheek. The Savior said that, in case you¡¯re wondering. Look to one of the women¡ª¡± aww, yeah! ¡°¡ªwhose hand you clasped. Can you tell me she¡¯s evil? Can you tell me that she was not misled?¡± Sarx, I do need to talk to Zidrist. Well, that¡¯s why she¡¯s along. ¡°Did she prick your hand with nettles? Steal from your belt? Scowl when you offered her blessings of the Supreme? That last is most telling. Forgive, my children. Forgive eight times. Forgive eighty-eight times. As the Supreme Father is infinite, forgive an infinite number of times. They are here now, and their pay will be the same as your own.¡± The sermon went on in that vein, outlining doctrinal parallels between the false faith of Fief and the true Church of Izkarzon. It is, Zia mused, fairly accurate. But then, we freely distribute the doctrine of our faith, that more may be saved, so no wonder they would be aware of our beliefs. The priest blessed the communion, the congregation sang hymns, prayers were extended to Dragold in its civil war and also particularly to a one Tiller Irons who had broken a leg but was expected to survive until the next round of the sphere earth sorcerer to heal it. All in all, an odd, slightly blasphemous, but pleasant service. It was upbeat in a way Sasson has not been in far too long. How he expects to keep them in line without more talk of Hell I don¡¯t know, but he seemed a sentimental sort. The priest led the procession to the narthex, and then stood waiting as the congregation either sang one last hymn or filed out after him. The Heirrors were among the first to leave, and loitered in the narthex observing the congregation and snacking on strange, sour biscuits. A young woman walked up to the priest. ¡°Father Ignite, I had a question.¡± At this, every Heirror winced. She¡¯s an adult, she ought to know better. ¡°You tell us to forgive the cultists for their heresies and slandering of our faith, but shouldn¡¯t we fight against it to save their souls?¡± Oh, she¡¯s in for it now. I wonder what they do here. Lock her in a cell, caning, forced labor¡­ The Father shook his head. Yikes. It¡¯s going to be bad. ¡°While I appreciate that you are concerned for their souls, my daughter, that is the wrong approach. We must respond to them with love if we want to save their souls.¡± Wait, what? ¡°The first step, believe it or not, is what we did in services today. Showing them that someone who isn¡¯t a part of their cult can be kind. Did you shake one of our visitors¡¯ hands? No? Go do that. Trust me, you¡¯ll do far more for their soul than arguing against their religious views.¡± That¡­ what? Zia looked around at her Heirrors and saw confusion on Drexl and Darka¡¯s faces, while Zidrist looked stricken. It was ultimately Zidrist that the young woman approached, somewhat shyly, and said, ¡°I wanted to welcome you to Fief. Uhm¡­ that¡¯s all. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here.¡± Why aren¡¯t you glad that I¡¯m here? You¡¯re comely, with that chestnut hair. You could¡ªI should be worrying about the heresy before I worry about the Daring Kaliskast. ¡±I, uh¡­ I¡¯m glad to be here,¡± Zidrist managed, in a slightly strangled voice. The woman is smiling. It even looks like a genuine smile. Did she accept what the priest said without chastisement? ¡°What is wrong with that priest?¡± Zidrist hissed, when the woman had moved on. ¡°He just answered her challenge to his authority! Treated it like a normal question! You do not question doctrine! You do not question the Word of the Orthly authorities of the One God, and or otherwise of Izkarzon!¡± Drexl threw up her hands at the elbows. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice. Zia¡¯s the only one who¡¯s dared and she¡¯s ouroboros. I am in complete agreement, Deacon.¡± Darka was nodding vigorously. Zia was also nodding, but her mind was a whirl. How does he maintain any kind of authority having conversations like that? And yet, she did what he suggested. She came over and shook Zidrist¡¯s hand. But to question authority like that! That¡¯s why you need castes, so that people know who their betters are! Of course, there¡¯s the question of whether a hunger deacon outranks an ouroboros¡­ of course, the deacon does, when she¡¯s here in her capacity as a representative of the Church of Izkarzon, but¡­ I just don¡¯t understand it! ¡°What do you suppose it means?¡± Drexl asked Zidrist, who seemed to be at a loss for answers. ¡°Clearly it means that the congregation we¡¯re seeing today is a fraction of the area¡¯s population. Such anemic leadership couldn¡¯t possibly hold on to a flock properly,¡± Darka replied. ¡°Go, ask ¡®Father¡¯ Ignite how many people don¡¯t come.¡± People don¡¯t come to the services at the Churches in Sasson. Despite their firm grasp. There just isn¡¯t any hold since the troubles started. But Zia kept these thoughts to herself, not wanting to be excommunicated from her own adventuring party by the only other nominal authority. She watched Drexl file back into line behind the rest of the congregation. As she did so, more people came to greet the rest of the Heirrors. Mentally, Zia sorted them between suitable romances and disinteresting, and noted that she was favoring women over men. When someone she found attractive approached, she tried to stand at the fore of the group. Curious. Just¡­ curious. I mean, isn¡¯t their orientation more important than¡­ I guess it¡¯s my orientation. I hadn¡¯t considered that in years. I thought I thought I liked women because I was told I should as a boy. So when I came out, that went right out the window, but I guess I do prefer women. Something went through Zia like a bolt of lightning. I threw out my thoughts on orientation, but¡­ what about caste? I¡¯m bending on caste, planning on finding love out here in Fief and buying them an ouroboros when I find Izkarzon¡¯s heir. Or¡­ Zia shuddered. I should absolutely and definitely not question the primacy of the Church. Again, I will not be excommunicated from my own adventure! But then¡­ Zidrist looks uncertain. How can I word¡­. ¡°Zidrist?¡± The deacon hummed an acknowledgement. ¡°Uhm¡­ what are you thinking about?¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. She didn¡¯t reply, at first, and then Zia saw her looking for Drexl, who was at that moment talking to Father Ignite. ¡°I want to hear what the false Father said.¡± She probably shouldn¡¯t have said that in earshot of the person shaking Darka¡¯s hand, but we got what we came for. Now we¡¯re just eating biscuits before we head out. Except now Zidrist wants answers, and we don¡¯t question Zidrist. I wonder if she took out any of our Confessions of Guilt in case she needed to incarcerate us while we were in Fief. I know I signed at least one plotting to overthrow the Fief government for my own gain. Zia swallowed nervously and regretted asking Zidrist what she was thinking about. Fortunately, the deacon was distracted by Drexl¡¯s approach. ¡°Well?¡± Drexl just shook her head. ¡°What do you mean ¡®no¡¯?! Answer me!¡± ¡°It¡¯s most of the people within the parish today. It¡¯s just a place without a lot of people.¡± ¡°He must be lying, to make himself seem important!¡± Zia proclaimed. Heads turned, and she colored and lowered her voice. ¡°It can¡¯t be so! What¡¯s bringing them in? There was no promise of Hell, no reminder of Izkarzon¡¯s Eyes¡­ or the One God¡¯s, for their faith¡ªjust from what I¡¯ve gathered today!¡± Zidrist was shaking her head. ¡°They must be planning something. That¡¯s why they¡¯re shaking our hands. Maybe they¡¯re all immune to some manner of leprosy¡­¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t an earth sorcerer sort that out?¡± ¡°Do I look like a sorcerer to you?! All I know is that diseases are still to be feared!¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t matter much if an earth sorcerer could sort it out if the local earth sorcerers won¡¯t,¡± Drexl said. ¡°Didn¡¯t the Father say that they just had the one, making rounds through the ¡®sphere¡¯ or whatever?¡± Darka asked. ¡°Precisely! It must be some quick disease that¡­ that¡­¡± Zidrist threw her head into her hands. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense!¡± The Heirrors startled when Father Ignite¡ªtwenty years of habit wouldn¡¯t let Zia think of him informally¡ªappeared at their side. ¡°Is everything alright? If you¡¯d like to stay for lunch, we have some dishes that need doing first.¡± ¡°We have to move on,¡± Zia said, with a look at the rigid Zidrist before continuing on. ¡°We¡¯re on a quest, actually.¡± ¡°For Answers. I recall.¡± ¡°No, actually. We¡¯re looking for Izkarzon¡¯s daughter. Or son, in a pinch. We¡¯re the Heirrors, and we¡¯re here to find the heir and restore stability to Dragold.¡± And here comes the fit of temper. We lied to him, we attended his sermon in bad faith we¡­ he¡¯s smiling? ¡°I hope your journey takes you as far as the Crown Range, in the middle of Fief. It¡¯s quite beautiful, and it would be a shame for you to miss it. By all means seek out Izkarzon¡¯s heir. Tell everyone, perhaps if the dragon gets word of your quest she¡¯ll seek you out.¡± What? ¡°What is your game, old man?!¡± Zidrist demanded. Zia could see she was resisting the urge to grab him by his collared shirt. ¡°Why should you encourage us in our mission?! We hold your faith as heresy, you hold ours the same, and yet you wish us well restoring the head of our Church!¡± I¡¯m upset too, but isn¡¯t¡­ I mean, I do wonder at his motives. Maybe he¡¯s hoping we get ourselves arrested? Is there some law in Fief against seeking out dragons? Father Ignite was still smiling gently. ¡°Daughter, you are clearly a woman of strong convictions. You believe in your God-King, you believe in your Church. What would I gain by trying to dissuade you? Another teaching of the Savior: treat others as you would be treated. That is the second commandment. If I were earnestly searching for the leader of my faith, I would want encouragement and support. If you¡¯d like more than biscuits before you press on, those dishes are still on offer.¡± I would very much like one more free meal. Even if it does mean more manual labor. Maybe I could cut in that, in his place, he¡¯d like a free¡ª¡°But our faith damns us in your eyes!¡± Zidrist interrupted her train of thought to object. ¡°Ah, does it? We could discuss that over tea. But you teach the primacy of the One God. More than a few of your former adherents have passed through, I¡¯ve learned the rudiments, you hold the Savior ordained your God-King. Which makes him third in a hierarchy, the first two of which are the centerpiece of my faith. Is your faith heretical? Technically. But what does it teach? Paranoia, service, devout faith¡­ the only ones such a life damns are those who prosper by it, and a deacon and three followers are not anywhere near the peak of that pyramid.¡± Wait, aren¡¯t I near the top of that pyramid? Won¡¯t I be at the top, after I¡¯m responsible for finding the heir? Well, next to the top, after the heir herself. I don¡¯t want to be damned, just for trying to better my station in this life! Wait, no, that¡¯s his belief system, not mine. Paranoia is a virtue, it¡¯s a Power of the Student. I know that much. ¡°This is what all the members of your faith believe?! A tolerance of differences of faith makes one¡¯s faith meaningless, for the One God needs to summon to His side all the souls He can before the End Times!¡± ¡°And He will. But I am just upsetting you, please, feel free to move on. Perhaps the next priestess you meet will be more familiarly fire-and-brimstone for you. Or more acid-and-vinegar, given your draconic liege.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with paranoia, Ignite?¡± Zia found her voice at last. ¡°It¡¯s a Power!¡± ¡°The Powers exist to protect humanity from evil. Paranoia is something we need protection from. But I am not here to discuss philosophy when I have dirty dishes I see I will be doing myself. Please, enjoy the biscuits before you leave.¡± If You Could Only Hear Sinners like to ask if there¡¯s a God Hoping that there¡¯s not A Hell awaits the unrepentant, is it sentence enough? Faith changes minds and changes hearts Say this about the One God, His world is art Of love, for love. He says we gotta hold on, to the One God Doesn¡¯t make a difference if He¡¯s there or if not For good and glory We¡¯ll put our faith in God He¡¯s all that we¡¯ve got! Oh, and the Holy Spirit Oh, if you could only hear it! With wordless groans, it intercedes Oh, asks for what we need! God makes our plans for us We walk out in faith in the light of his love His love, such love Always we are sustained The Savior cries for our plight In His love for us He¡¯s pained, again. We gotta hold on, to the One God Doesn¡¯t make a difference if He¡¯s there or if not For good and glory We¡¯ll put our faith in God He¡¯s all that we¡¯ve got! Oh, and the Holy Spirit Oh, if you could only hear it! With wordless groans, it intercedes Oh, asks for what we need! We gotta hold on, to the One God Doesn¡¯t make a difference if He¡¯s there or if not Oh, and the Holy Spirit Oh, if you could only hear it! With wordless groans, it intercedes Oh, asks for what we need! Perimeter I have to admit, it was canny of Darka to ask to get some sheet music, Zia thought, as she sipped at lichen soup. The last several inns we¡¯ve stayed at have been much more receptive than the first now that we¡¯re singing ¡°traditional¡± hymns. In her typical fashion, Zia included herself in the efforts of anyone she considered a member of her team, although she was not herself singing. It would stifle Darka¡¯s efforts if more than one of us sang. It¡¯s not as though more singers gets us more rooms, when she sings all evening. Zia rolled her shoulders, stiff from sleeping on the floors of the inns. They had experienced actual snow as they approached the center of the sphere, a rarity in the warm swamps of Dragold, but not entirely outside their experience. It was very cold until they were able to buy wool overcoats at the next inn, and Zia reflected that the Daring Kaliskast had never expressed any issues with the un-Dragold weather in his adventures. Also that wool coats were expensive. Acting like a woman much younger than her age, Zidrist pelted Darka with handfuls of snow until she retaliated, and the two of them ran back and forth while Zia and Drexl continued at a sedate pace. I wish Drexl and I could frolic like that. It looks like fun. She made eye contact with Drexl and raised an eyebrow, but she just shook her head. But she smiled first. What does it mean that she smiled first? Is she considering it? Should I pelt her and see? I¡¯ll do that. I¡¯ll pelt her with some snow. As Zia bent over to get a handful of snow, she received a scoop of it down the back of her leather armor. She shrieked and turned to see Drexl chortling. There was no other word for it, she was chortling. A nasty little chuckle or guffaw. ¡°What in calamity, Drexl?!¡± I was just going to hit her in the¡­ okay, I was probably going to aim for an ear. ¡°You mad? Get even then.¡± Drexl stood with arms spread wide, her chest the obvious target. Zia bent over to get some snow¡­ and Drexl pelted the back of her neck with another handful of snow! Zia shrieked, then hurriedly scooped up an armload of snow and flung it at Drexl, who blocked most of it with her arms, laughing. ¡°Nice try, Zia!¡± After the ensuing snowball fight, in which Zidrist sided with Drexl and Darka sided with Zia, they were late getting to the next inn, each being approximately a day¡¯s travel apart. They had all gotten at least one handful of snow dumped down their coat, Drexl being the last, and a group effort as Zia and Darka restrained her and Zidrist turned on her to dump a double handful down the front of her coat. As such, they were all quite cold, and when they were told that they were too late to perform for room and board, Zia did not hesitate to pull out her dwindling supply of silver to pay for both. They were rewarded with some kind of melon, roasted, and game fowl, similarly roasted, possibly the former inside the latter, but it was outside Zia¡¯s experience. After that, they made a disciplined effort to avoid shenanigans until after the next inn was in sight. They passed on through snow, back to freezing, lichen-covered desert, and finally arrived at another monolithic gate. The flames, which had lit the night sky, were a counterpart to incredible winds on the far side, whipping up sand even through the two walls. They hurried on through, hot sand being low on Zia¡¯s priority list to have blown into her face. Not, I suppose, that it¡¯s any more a favorite of any of my Heirrors. Inside the gate, there was a definite breeze, but on the far side it was a constant gale. Visibility was poor, how are we going to keep a straight path when the sun is nothing but a dull haze in the sky?! Drexl startled as they passed a stack of rocks. Already irritable with anxiety, Zia snapped, ¡°What? It¡¯s a stack of rocks.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a cairn. They use them as guides on the moors.¡± Drexl knows a word I don¡¯t? That¡¯s a first. ¡°What¡¯s a cairn?¡± ¡°A stack of rocks used to mark a path. I don¡¯t know that it will lead east, but it¡¯ll lead somewhere.¡± ¡°Such as into a tourist trap?¡± Darka suggested cheerfully. Zidrist shook her head with an indulgent smile. I¡¯d like to share looks like that with someone. The closest I¡¯ve come to that was the snow fight with Drexl. Which, to be fair, was fun. ¡°They¡¯ve got a¡­ whatchamacallit, government here? Kings or Queens or something? I doubt they¡¯d stay standing long. We should feel for when we¡¯re going uphill, they¡¯re usually at the tops of hills.¡± ¡°How do I tell a hill from a dune?¡± Zia asked, disgruntled to have Drexl once more being more useful than her obsessive reading of the Daring Kaliskast. ¡°A whotamawhat now?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ like, a hill of sand, which moves with the wind.¡± Not my most articulate moment. But I remember in The Lair of the Djinn there were sand dunes but I got the meaning mostly from inference. ¡°All I know is, we follow the high places to the rocks, we follow the rocks to get¡­ somewhere.¡± She was so prepared to be helpful and then she¡ªno, that¡¯s not fair. She¡¯s being helpful. This will get us somewhere, and if it is a tourist trap like Darka suggested¡­ I¡¯ll set it on fire. Honestly, if Drexl hadn¡¯t noticed the cairn we¡¯d probably already by lost. ¡°Great job, Drexl. If you hadn¡¯t noticed that¡­ I mean, I thought the pile of rocks was odd, but I didn¡¯t have any other thoughts on it. I¡¯ve never gone out on the moors,¡± Zidrist said. ¡°Yeah, and while I have, it¡¯s never been far enough that I needed to know what the stacks of rocks were for,¡± Darka added. Everyone looked at Zia. ¡°¡­definitely a great job, thank you,¡± Zia concluded lamely. Sarx it, I should have been the one to say what Zidrist said. Except she admitted ignorance. Ouroboros always know¡­ except I already said I didn¡¯t know what a cairn was. Sarx! Sarx sarx sarx! Drexl came up to Zia and clapped her on the shoulder. ¡°Hey. It¡¯s always rough being the last one to offer a compliment. Thanks for the effort. Now come on, it¡¯s going to be slow going and we need to make it to the inn in time for Darka to perform.¡± Drexl is such a kind person. I mean, I knew she was nice, she became my friend, but¡ªI¡¯m friends with bread? When did that happen? I mean, not that anyone out here is going to know. I couldn¡¯t bring her to a Society ball but there haven¡¯t been those since the civil war started and then she¡¯ll probably be elevated to ouroboros for her role in assisting me. It was, mercifully, just as it was beginning to get dark and cold that a walled city loomed in the distance. ¡°Distance¡± being a relative term when we can barely see a hundred yards. It had walls of mud brick, and a more conventional gate of wood rather than being a gaping opening in a strange elemental wall. There was a small door in one side of it, and a woman standing guard outside it. She had a small table next to her, on which sat a scale. Great. Tolls. ¡°Darka? Go talk to her, try to charm our way into town.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be too charming, you¡¯re mine!¡± Zidrist called, and they both laughed gaily. Sigh. It was not long¡ªthough it was too long in this perpetual sandstorm¡ªbefore Darka returned. ¡°She¡¯s got scales. We¡¯re paying a toll. She says I can busk inside if I want to trade music for money.¡± ¡°Ooh, like the dancer Issa did in Daring Kaliskast and the Yawning Void!¡± Everyone looked bemusedly at Zia. ¡°What? Am I the only one who reads here?¡± Drexl threw a hand up. ¡°Reading is slow and difficult.¡± Darka said, ¡°Mostly hymns and the church bulletins, I prefer to sit and listen.¡± Zidrist rounded things out with, ¡°I do, but not broadsides like Daring Kaliskast, which I¡¯m guessing is a copper dreadful?¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s valid literature. It uses words like ¡®busk¡¯ and stuff¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it is. It¡¯s just not something I¡¯ve read.¡± ¡±Alright. Let¡¯s pay our way in and consider doing some ¡®busking.¡¯ Did she happen to tell you the name of the city?¡± Darka called over her shoulder. Sarx it, I should be leading! ¡°She said it¡¯s called Perimeter! Also, from what I saw it is mostly mud brick, so you shouldn¡¯t have any issues not burning things down, leader darling!¡± Darling? She¡¯s calling me darling? What does that mean? She¡¯s clearly attached to Zidrist. Is it a friend thing? Do friends call each other ¡°darling¡±? I guess they must. Maybe I could call Drexl ¡°darling¡± sometime. She looked over at Drexl, who caught her eye, cocked her head, then gave a gentle shake of her head. Okay, maybe not. Am I that obvious? Drexl leaned close after Zia had paid their entry tolls. ¡°Leader darling, in your defense, you only burned down the one building, that I know of. You¡¯ve just offered more than once.¡± I didn¡¯t mean to burn down the mansion! The guy with the sword startled me and the next thing I knew everything was on fire! Zia wailed mentally. I didn¡¯t mean to! I didn¡¯t mean to! ¡°Hey, relax. If you¡¯re going to obsess over something, try to figure out what it means that I called you ¡®leader darling,¡¯ not over a few deaths. Lives end. The One God sorts them out.¡± You know, that¡¯s a good point. She called me ¡°darling¡± after practically reading my mind¡­ I¡¯m not subtle, I guess. But she¡¯s being subtle, I don¡¯t know what it means that she jokingly called me that! Probably nothing, given that she called attention to it, right? She¡¯d be shy if it had been flirting. ¡°I only burned down the mansion in pursuit of a favor so that we could find the God-King¡¯s heir,¡± Zia said eventually. ¡°I never meant to kill all those people. And it was for a good cause. The best cause.¡± ¡°I know that. Zidrist knows that. Darka knows that. You really think two clerical types would set out into the unknown with a mass-murdering loose cannon? They think it was justifiable or they¡¯re bigger hypocrites than I think they are.¡± ¡°Mass-murdering loose cannon?¡± ¡°Zia, I¡¯m saying that¡¯s what you¡¯re not. Please, take some breaths.¡± Oh One God, I killed so many people. I never meant to kill anyone. Drexl said something, but Zia¡¯s world was becoming a dark tunnel. They were likely just bread, but Drexl is bread, and she matters, what if they mattered to someone? What if someone who mattered cared about them and then they mattered and the criminal was probably wane or even hunger, the higher-ranking criminals often are, breeding shows and crime is a pastime for bored nobles. ¡°Zia! We¡¯re off the topic of fire.¡± Drexl shook Zia by the shoulders. ¡°Come play mediator, I made a point and Zidrist won¡¯t answer it.¡± That sounds fun. Drexl is so kind. ¡°I have answered it. Izkarzon was both fully God and fully dragon.¡± ¡°But I thought that was the Savior¡¯s schtick. Is there a savior of the abominations that possess reason? A savior of beetles? There¡¯s a lot of beetles, as someone who lives in a dirt floor hut I can tell you.¡± ¡°Izkarzon was crowned by the Savior and imbued with a portion of His divine power.¡± ¡°So Izkarzon was fully dragon and partially God,¡± Zia said, when Drexl looked perplexed. ¡°Exactly! What Zia said!¡± ¡°Besides, doesn¡¯t Fief¡­¡± Zia scratched her head thoughtfully. ¡°Don¡¯t they have a Black Queen or something who¡¯s supposed to have been invested with divine power to run the One God¡¯s Church on Orth?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the Holy Spirit, dearie.¡± Darka kissed Zidrist¡¯s cheek. ¡°Going to go haggle with the barkeep. Play nice with the youngins.¡± What a sweet moment. Still I think Drexl breaking me out of my spiral was nicer. She was right, I¡¯m not a mass murderer. I didn¡¯t mean to, and we only know I killed the thug we were stealing from. It¡¯s not like I barred the door. Zia winced. Like I suggested doing at the inn. Maybe I¡¯m not the adventurer I¡¯d like to be, the Daring Kaliskast kills a lot of people. Drexl rested her elbows on her knees and leaned towards Zidrist. ¡°So Izkarzon had the Holy Spirit in Him, does that make Him divine? Should I not be mentally emphasizing His, uh¡­ the words for Him?¡± ¡°Pronouns,¡± Zia said absently. Zidrist crossed her arms. ¡°The Church of Izkarzon says that Izkarzon was fully God and fully dragon.¡± ¡°Like the Savior,¡± Drexl replied. ¡°I¡­ yes.¡± ¡°But He wasn¡¯t the Savior, because He didn¡¯t die for our sins, He died at the hands of a very short woman we call the Dragonslayer. And then everything went to sarx.¡± ¡°The Savior died at the hands of humans too.¡± ¡°What did Izkarzon die for, then? If the Savior already died for our sins, what was left? More sin? I¡¯ve seen a lot of sinning since He died, maybe we needed two sacrifices?¡± ¡°No, the Savior was the perfect sacrifice. I¡­¡± Zidrist flustered. Zia spoke up again. ¡°What if¡­ please don¡¯t excommunicate me, but what if¡­ Izkarzon was not God?¡± ¡°I mean, if He was the One God, couldn¡¯t have not have been killed?¡± Drexl asked. Zidrist shook her head. ¡°The Savior was fully One God but He died. But Izkarzon¡­ the Church taught that He would reign forever. That His kingdom would come to fill the Orth.¡± ¡°It still can, we¡¯re going to find His heir. We¡¯re the Heirrors, sarx it!¡± Zia proclaimed. ¡°Speaking of Draconic verbiage that sounds unfortunate in Loon, there is a one¡­ heretical school of thought on Izkarzon,¡± Zidrist said. ¡°That what is a more accurate translation of His title would be ¡®Godly King,¡¯ not ¡®God-King.¡¯ Just food for thought.¡± Darka walked in and cut in cheerfully. ¡°Either way, an heir will stabilize both the country and the Church. Let the theologians decide whether She¡¯s a God-Queen or a Godly Queen.¡± ¡°Darka, dearest, I¡¯m a theologian. I¡¯m a deacon.¡± I mean, you¡¯re a hunger and the real discourse will be settled by priestesses and ouroboros but¡­ wait, she¡¯ll be ouroboros for finding the heir. It¡¯s so confusing when you can¡¯t count on caste to tell you a person¡¯s place. I feel downright shy around the people in the inns because I can¡¯t tell how I should relate to them. In Sasson by now I¡¯d have made out with somebody. ¡°And you¡¯ll masterfully discourse on the subject of the God-Queen¡¯s divinity, I have no doubt. Now I have to go sing. Don¡¯t let discourse ruin whatever meal we get when they like my songs.¡± Gift of Grace Mmm, faith Mmm, hope Mmm, peace Trust, love. All that¡¯s right, Godly trust Ask of Him¡ªcan¡¯t ask too much. God cares for me¡ªooh God up above. Ooh I love His¡ªah ah ah Gracious love Gracious love. He can see the world And all the creatures in it He loves them from on high In each and every village Forgiven all they¡¯ll ever do In each and every minute And someday soon, We¡¯ll have to account for it! God is good, has no use for money Gather gold all you like, can¡¯t buy Heaven, honey. God cares about how much you gave He doesn¡¯t care what you had, how you plied your trade. Don¡¯t get down, don¡¯t be afraid God forgives us all in His Grace Every sin, every waste He forgives us yet again! And as a sinner, you might say sweet, But you¡¯re wrong! By knowledge of His gift You can only say, ¡°that¡¯s not me any more. I find gluttony sloth and lust frankly are a bore.¡± And sinful human beings Will never understand The sublime beauty Of God¡¯s flawless and perfect plan. And what a beautiful planet He has provided For mortals who are in tune With His Will to guide it. Forgive me one more time Forgive me twice~! Oh! Ah! Ohhhh! That¡¯s rather nice. God cares for me¡ªooh God up above. Ooh I love His¡ªah ah ah Gracious love Dream It is most curious, Zia mused, that Zidrist of all people was the one to suggest we attend a service at the local¡­ She cast about for a suitably dismissive word for the small, unimpressive, un-Izkarzon building they were in, eventually settling on chapel. You would think that she, as a deacon of the Church of Izkarzon, would want to preserve us against corrupting influences. Especially seeing as our exposure to the outside world is already corrupting us, despite her presence. I mean, our conversation last night was downright heretical. Wasn¡¯t it? I guess it wasn¡¯t, seeing as she hasn¡¯t excommunicated herself. Wasn¡¯t there a saint who did that? As I recall, he accused himself of heretical thought, denounced himself before Izkarzon, and demanded to be fed to his Lord on the spot. And now he¡¯s a saint. Saint¡­ Akan? But she told us to come to this service so I suppose I should pay attention. At the head of the small chapel was a brown-skinned woman in a black robe with white trim, along with a cowl and gloves. Zia had failed to pay attention from the start, lost in her own thoughts, and so came into attention with no idea what she was talking about. ¡°The Savior came and freed us from the old laws. He was the fulfillment of the old laws. But he specifically and explicitly, in visions and appearances, told the apostles which of the old laws we did not have to follow. So we eat the flesh of pigs, and we eat the flesh of abominations which grow larger and more readily than pigs, but we watch the words of our hearts because it is the words of our hearts which defile us, not the flesh of pigs.¡± What is she on about? We eat what we kill. Izkarzon eats¡ªate, I suppose¡ªeven humans! ¡°But he did not give us freedom to ignore all the old laws! Particularly those which were moral imperatives! Did He not tell the Amonite teachers of the law that they must treat others as they would be treated and that this was the whole of the Teachings? For that reason in particular, we must continue to view the Scripture which came to us through the prophets and the wise kings and so on as, as I said, moral imperatives! It is not Godly that we no longer cancel debts every eight years, the holy number of years, simply because we are free to commit the act, and it is an act, of not canceling those debts! Tell me, my brothers and sisters, would you want to borrow from a friend, knowing they would hold it over you for all the rest of your days despite whatever vagaries of circumstance enabled you to pay or not pay? The Savior pronounced that every letter of the Law was to be followed, that He did not abolish it!¡± Is that right? I don¡¯t know enough about Scripture to dispute it. Most of what we learned about Scripture was the tale of Gotorjod, the dragon who saved humanity from the One God¡¯s wrath at the cost of her wings, and then the sins and the Icosal Imperatives of Izkarzon. ¡°The Black Queen, One God praise her soul, was not the issuer of the Edict of the Reclining Eight, it was the White Queen! A temporal authority! She decreed both that debts would no longer go into remission and that usury was, on certain terms, perfectly acceptable by the secular government. The Black Queen has not seen fit to contradict her, but it is entirely within her power to do so! For do not forget! Though force of arms is in the White Queen¡¯s hands, the force of the One God¡¯s right hand lies with the Black Queen, and nobles of this land are not the ultimate sovereign over their estates, but mere renters of land in the holding of the One God and His First Bishop, the Black Queen!¡± I am completely lost. Zidrist appears to agree though. Or at least find it interesting. Zia continued to try and pay attention, especially when the priestess said something that made the audience gasp, but largely she was unsuccessful. After the service, Zia prepared to file out of the chapel after the priestess, but as she stood in the courtyard she realized she had lost both Darka and Zidrist. Looking around, she eventually spied the deacon standing in line¡ªto talk to the priestess? The lady seemed like she¡¯d made a pretty self-contained point. Zia sidled up to the head of the line and stood to one side, curious as to what would make a deacon of Izkarzon want to talk to a priestess of the false faith. ¡°I was wondering, Priestess Malt, what you had to say to the pronouncement that with the death of the Savior, we were not free to sin, of course, but that it would not have been a perfect sin offering if we were still subject to the old Law?¡± Wait, is she challenging the priestess? On her own territory? Zia marshaled her will to summon flame and looked around anxiously, trying to spot the enforcers or other Eye equivalents which must be present in the crowd. Her failure only made her more anxious, for they must be very skilled indeed to hide so effectively. She returned her attention to Priestess Malt, and waited for the word that would bring about their demise. Malt smiled at Zidrist. ¡°You¡¯re a Dragoldian, aren¡¯t you? Your accent gives you away. I hope I do not give offense, but I am more used to confusion than theological curiosity from people out of your land.¡± I mean, I was confused. But which word was the death sentence? Was it ¡°Dragoldian?¡± Zia scanned the crowd again but still saw no likely executioners. ¡°I am a deacon of the Church of Izkarzon. We are on a quest to find the heir of our Lord, for He was murdered by the Dragonslayer of the Sevens.¡± Several people¡¯s heads turned at this, which Zia noticed curiously only after she saw that their hands remained slack at their sides, bearing neither weapon nor element. ¡°I was unaware that your Lord had died. My condolences.¡± Zidrist shrugged off one shoulder. ¡°It has been a trying time. Civil unrest. Thus our quest. My question, however, has nothing to do with it. I was simply¡­ curious.¡± Malt nodded. ¡°Of course. As to your question, even if we are not bound by the Law, it is no different than the commandments. Nobody would dispute that, with the sacrifice of the Saviors, the Orth Savior in particular I suppose¡ª¡± Wait what? There was one Savior. That¡¯s the whole¡ªZidrist is ahead of me. ¡°Orth Savior?¡± Zidrist asked. Malt laughed, not unkindly. ¡°See, that¡¯s more what I¡¯m used to hearing from Dragoldians. Prophets came to Fief during the Age of Loss and told us that the Savior came eight times, once for each inhabited planet of the universe. He died for the sins of each people, executed in the most shameful manner of each planet, that they might hear His message of salvation.¡± But He only had to die the once! He was the perfect sacrifice! Even I know that! ¡°Ah. I see. It wasn¡¯t about the atonement for sins, then. It was about letting every people know that the One God was ready to throw His arms open and welcome His children back into His arms once and for always, if only they repent. But you were saying, a parallel between the Law and the commandments?¡± ¡°Of course. Nobody would opine that, even with the death of the Savior, we are free to kill one another. Yet they quibble and dispute the things which enable the making of money. Usurious loans and keeping their fellows in debt until the umpteenth generation, as though they were the One God and the debtor an impenitent sinner.¡± ¡°But you said, in your sermon, that the Savior decreed we were free from the Law with regards to, for example, what animals to eat.¡± Why do you keep contradicting her? You¡¯re going to get us killed! ¡°That was not ¡®for example,¡¯ that was ¡®the example.¡¯ The Savior made only a few specific declarations as to the death of the old Law, and those examples were in accordance with the Two Commandments, as He taught them, or specific and exact revelations to His apostles.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°You have given me much to consider, Priestess Malt. Thank you.¡± Both Zidrist and Darka bowed and moved on, closing with Zia. ¡°You look like you ate a porcupine, Zia, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°You questioned a priestess! She outranks you! You can¡¯t even claim to be equals like the old guy at the last chapel! They¡¯re going to come for us and we¡¯re¡ª¡± Darka put a hand on Zia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Calm down, Zia. We¡¯re not in Dragold anymore. Whatever the flaws of these peoples¡¯ faith, they are not as, ahem, draconian as the Church of Izkarzon. Now then, I believe Drexl will be returning from her errand soon.¡± ¡°And here I figured she just didn¡¯t have enough respect for the Church this far from our homeland to let you compel her attendance.¡± Zidrist shook her head. ¡°No, I wanted you to attend. Drexl is already very relaxed about the Church. You, rather clearly shown just now, are not.¡± Now what the sarx is the point of being relaxed about the Church? Drexl sauntered up. ¡°Got them narrowed down, boss. Er, deacon. You¡¯re the boss, Zia. I¡¯m just used to taking orders from whoever¡¯s on top at the moment.¡± Zidrist smiled. ¡°Excellent.¡± ¡°Where are we going?¡± Zia asked. ¡°To take our letter of introduction to its intended recipient,¡± Zidrist replied. ¡°Drexl was kind enough to find the local Thieves¡¯ Guild, which is the best jumping-off point for us to find a member of the Royal Society.¡± And you kept me out of the loop why? I¡¯m the leader, Lord damn it! ¡°Oh, calm down, Zia. You¡¯re turning beet red. I wanted to make sure your attention was on the sermon, which may have been a lost cause, but I was only giving the orders that you would have given yourself had you not been pondering why we were attending a Wholist service. I am, after all, under your leadership, is it not my place to anticipate your orders before you give them?¡± Zia preened at the stroking of her ego, at having even a hunger deacon deferring to her, her displeasure quite forgotten. ¡°It was the next step. Thank you for your assistance, Zidrist.¡± ¡°It is my pleasure to enable your ends, Zia.¡± Zia entirely missed any irony in Zidrist¡¯s tone. Drexl led them to an adobe building much like any other, although the door was set in from the wall a bit such that one could hide from the winds. Inside the city walls they were diminished, but not entirely absent. She knocked on the door, and a slot opened at eye level. Two eyes stared out appraisingly, and without a word closed the slot and opened the door. The person at the door is obviously some kind of muscle, to repulse guard intrusions or unworthies. Drexl must have established our credentials al¡ªulp. As soon as the door closed behind them, they found themselves at knifepoint. Behind them, the bouncer held an axe, and several of the leather armored individuals had risen quickly from dimly-lit tables to menace them. Zia cleared her throat, and in her most dulcet tones said over her shoulder, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. We¡¯re here friendly-like. Don¡¯t you want to make friends with us, big gal? I can be quite friendly.¡± The bouncer grunted and shook her head. ¡°My type is the type with coin and a letter of introduction, not pockets to let interlopers.¡± The bouncer knows the word ¡°interloper?¡± Darka spoke up. ¡°We have a letter of introduction! Zia! Get it out of¡ª¡± ¡°Nobody¡¯s getting anything out of anywhere. Shiv, search them for weapons. And coin.¡± One of the guildsmen got up and began patting them down, pocketing Zia¡¯s silver in the process. Darka cleared her throat, and after her turn being searched began to sing. Shiv gave her a curious look, and the bouncer sneered, ¡°Strange choice for your last words,¡± but nobody seemed to see any harm in a bit of music. At the end of Darka¡¯s performance, there were actual tears in the bouncer¡¯s eyes. And she was evidently not a mere bouncer, for she snapped off orders. ¡°You¡¯re a talented singer. We might keep you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll keep my wife and my companions, then,¡± Darka replied. ¡°You really want those to be your last words?¡± ¡°Kill us then, and lose face in the Royal Society.¡± All the heads in the room snapped around at the mention of that infamous organization. ¡°We have a letter of introduction from Dear Born of Dragold. It¡¯s on Zia¡¯s person, though Shiv likely took no notice of mere paper.¡± At the bouncer¡¯s nod, Zia rifled through her bag to get out the letter of introduction. She¡¯s definitely not a mere bouncer. Must be one of those types who likes to handle all her business personally. Or wants an excuse to hurt people when they don¡¯t belong. Unfortunately, that may well include us. Marrow unfolded the letter and read it quickly. ¡°You¡¯ve got the wrong thief lord, Heirrors. I could kill you and not lose a thing.¡± Drexl spoke up this time. ¡°Ah, but we¡¯ve been vouched for by another thief lord, and we¡¯re ¡®interlopers,¡¯ wouldn¡¯t we be more useful handling a bit of dirty work for you that¡¯s needed doing?¡± ¡°And you¡¯d want what for that?¡± ¡°Nothing much. Our lives. Our silver. And directions to the right thief lord.¡± ¡°What makes you think we have dirty work that needs doing?¡± ¡°There¡¯s always dirty work that needs doing. It¡¯s just a question of whether it¡¯s worth the trouble.¡± ¡°Trouble is exactly what you¡¯d bring down on us, if you came back here after causing a problem. But if we give you the directions first, you¡¯ll just skip town.¡± ¡°Let them meet the boss, Marrow!¡± One of the women at the tables shouted. ¡°Let her sort them out!¡± Marrow, as was evidently her name, tilted her head thoughtfully before lowering her axe. The knives that had menaced them vanished into the folds of fabric from which they had been drawn, and the Heirrors were abruptly standing alone aside from the bouncer. Not a bouncer. Don¡¯t underestimate people. Sarx I wish people here were civilized enough to use caste markings! I could have told right off that Marrow was a decision maker! ¡°Come with me, then. We¡¯ll take you to the boss and let her decide whether to help you out.¡± ¡°What about my silver?!¡± Zia protested. ¡°Shiv took it, and I want it back! As a down payment!¡± Drexl looked at her like she¡¯d lost her mind, but Zia was not going to give up one of the only tools she had left at her disposal for controlling the group. The busking that Darka might do was already endangering that, and without silver they might just leave her in Fief to find her own way home. Marrow sneered again and put out a hand. With a scowl, Shiv rose from his seat and deposited the belt of coins in her outstretched hand, and she in turn gave it over to Zia. ¡°Come then, Heirrors. Let¡¯s see what trouble Gatekeeper can get you into.¡± Oh Lord One God, Oh Lord, One God, Oh Lord! I¡¯m sorry Lord, I¡¯ve gone and sinned again. One God, Oh Lord, One God, Oh Lord! Please forgive me, as only You can. Your voice it sounds like trumpeting Your breath is like the air of spring Your sight is humbling to me, oh Lord. I¡¯ve done it once, I¡¯ve done again A sin before, a time or ten Please forgive of me my sin oh Lord. I did a thing I knew was wrong Now please forgive me with this song I¡¯m sorry for the things I did, oh Lord I know I still possess Your love You¡¯ll grant me Grace from up above Your mercy knows no bounds, oh Lord. One God, Oh Lord, One God, Oh Lord! I¡¯m sorry Lord, I¡¯ve gone and sinned again. One God, Oh Lord, One God, Oh Lord! Please forgive me, as only You can. I feel the tears run down my face You¡¯ve forgiven all the human race For each and all iniquity, One God. Thank You for Your boundless Grace I know by your side¡¯s my rightful place I live to honor you, One God. One God, Oh Lord, One God, Oh Lord! I¡¯m sorry Lord, I¡¯ve gone and sinned again. One God, Oh Lord, One God, Oh Lord! Please forgive me, as only You can. One God, oh Lord! Thief Lords Like Choirs ¡°You¡¯ve got the wrong¡­ I hesitate to pick a term.¡± ¡°Thief lord?¡± Zia asked. The bulky, tanned woman behind the desk raised a single, distinctively unamused eyebrow. I thought the bouncer was built, but this lady works out. I can¡¯t even blame expensive tailoring and padding, because you can see muscles shift when she settles in her seat. I¡¯d be built like that but it¡¯s not the most feminine look. I worked out before I came out, but¡­ well. ¡°We were made aware of this, honored¡­ I hesitate to guess a name,¡± Zidrist cut in with just a hint of sarcasm. How can raising the same eyebrow appreciate Zidrist¡¯s wit while disdaining mine? ¡°But we need directions, and it was, ah¡­ suggested that we could do some work for you to be directed to the correct¡ªsorry, to the¡­ hmm. Directed to the thief lord we seek. Known to you on a purely social basis.¡± Zia¡¯s attention wandered while Zidrist fenced verbally with the thief lord. My line was something that would have gotten accolades for the Daring Kaliskast. I¡¯m starting to doubt they¡¯re even the real and true adventures of an itinerant ouroboros. It¡¯s a nice mansion. The outside is adobe, but the walls were thick enough to conceal masonry, and the inside is all wood paneling. That¡¯s got to be expensive in a land of constant sandstorms. Not to mention, it¡¯s an added storey tall, so that third floor doesn¡¯t hang out in the gloom of narrow streets and buildings leaning against each other. And the furniture doesn¡¯t so much as creak when I sit on it. It¡¯s¡­ what, mahogany? Or just oak¡­ okay, so I can¡¯t identify wood by its appearance. But those were the fancy woods that came up in the Daring Kaliskast. I think mahogany was the dark one. What is it with thief lords and singers? Is that just the tasteful version of the dancers who would inevitably help Kaliskast to sneak in and steal or murder or whatever because of his raw appeal? I suppose they could be dancing, I think they¡¯re in the next room so they don¡¯t drown out business. Though Darka¡¯s humming along is still pretty distracting. Speaking of business, I suppose as leader I should be paying a little more attention to the discussion. Oh sarx, did I miss her name? That¡¯s going to make cutting in again awkward. Sigh. I just don¡¯t have the best time listening. Darka nudged Zia in the side. ¡°Hey, we need the letter.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t nudge me. Why do we need the letter?¡± ¡°Your underlings¡¯ attention span doesn¡¯t speak well of you, Zidrist,¡± the thief lord said dryly. Underling?! I¡¯m not an underling, I am the leader, I was delegating! Zidrist sighed and turned to Zia. ¡°To establish that we can be trusted with a delicate task, because we wouldn¡¯t have been recommended to the Royal Society member for an exchange of favors if we hadn¡¯t already performed well.¡± Zia recoiled mentally from the vitriol in Zidrist¡¯s voice. I¡¯m sorry! I was bored! The thief lord wasn¡¯t interested in my humor and you took over and I just¡­ it¡¯s nice to be around nice things again. I¡¯m tired of adventuring. It¡¯s not glamorous, it¡¯s rarely interesting except when it¡¯s terrifying, and it¡¯s nothing at all like the Adventures of the Daring Kaliskast. I¡¯m going to burn those books when I get home. She fished the letter out of her pack and handed it over to Zidrist, who in turn handed it to¡­ I really need to catch her name. Sigh. Reading it at an impressive speed, the thief lord turned her gaze back up to Zidrist. ¡°It does not specify the task you undertook for Lord Born.¡± ¡°Theft. A thug had gotten ideas above his station and we were sent to appropriate the regalia he had had fashioned for himself.¡± ¡°And you succeeded?¡± ¡°You are welcome to send by ¡®Loon if you wish for details, but yes.¡± Ah¡­ wouldn¡¯t that be a bad idea? I mean, we burned down his mansion. Oh, wait, it¡¯s bluster. Bravado. She wouldn¡¯t bother. ¡°He never even knew we were taking it.¡± I mean¡­ technically true. The woman¡ªI think I¡¯ll think of her as Tough until I can ask someone what her name was¡ªfolded the letter neatly and handed it back to Zidrist, who turned it over to Zia. ¡°I have a relatively low-stakes caper that I want done. You¡¯re deniable¡ª¡± I hate being referred to that way. ¡°¡ªand if you fail, I can make my point a different way. There is a thief lord who keeps her mansion in the curtain wall. It would¡­ entertain me for her husband¡¯s wedding ring to end up in my possession. Born is in good standing with the Society, I will give you your directions upon my gaining possession of the ring, rather than making you wait until I confirm that you aren¡¯t double dealing.¡± Zia nudged Drexl and whispered, ¡°What does she mean, double dealing?¡± ¡°I quote you when I say, ¡®Don¡¯t nudge me.¡¯ She means giving her a fake ring as part of a ploy to lower her status while being secretly in the other thief lord¡¯s employ.¡± ¡°Quite,¡± Tough said. ¡°This room is quite intentionally a bit small for whispers to be inaudible.¡± And here I just figured you ran out of budget. I should¡­ probably not say that out loud. ¡°She¡¯s known as Lady Amorous, eschewing the neutral title of Lord to emphasize her happily married status. Thus my interest in making off with her husband¡¯s wedding band.¡± Zidrist drew back. ¡°You don¡¯t mean to imply he carried on an affair with you? I¡¯m a happily married woman myself,¡± she grabbed Darka¡¯s hand. ¡°And I will not be party to causing marital strife.¡± As Tough began to open her mouth to speak, Zia cut in. ¡°As the leader of the Heirrors, I have no compunctions with causing marital strife, without our spiritual advisor if needs be.¡± Zidrist shot her a vile look. ¡°You¡¯re the one who started this trend of encouraging defiance of clerical authority,¡± she hissed. Zidrist cocked her head and pursed her lips, before sighing and shrugging. ¡°Very well. Make your own mess. I¡¯ll rejoin you when this is over with. Darka, let¡¯s leave our leader to her follies.¡± Darka did not immediately move. Tough was watching blandly, and said, ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re Zia. I would think you would pay more attention, as leader.¡± ¡°I delegate. Zidrist caught your interest, but the actual bargaining I can handle myself.¡± ¡°Can you?¡± Zidrist murmured. Darka cut off her humming, and turned to Zidrist. ¡°I don¡¯t mind helping. You wouldn¡¯t believe I had gifted my wedding band to another woman, a union with that much insecurity despite a known dynamic of status thefts is not one that honors the institution.¡± Ho-ho! Go Darka! Thank you for the vote of confidence! Zia grinned and clapped Darka on the shoulder companionably. Zidrist closed her eyes for a moment, and then sighed again. ¡°Alright. So this will be a team effort.¡± Tough leaned forward, lacing her fingers. ¡°I must say, I have to wonder how you function as a criminal band when you face this much contention over a simple theft. Perhaps I will send to Lord Born before you take this job.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Zia, acting on impulse, replied with, ¡°Well, we know where we¡¯re going already, so we¡¯ll be taking the job either way. If you¡¯d rather we make our own name with the theft, be my guest. Perhaps Lady Amorous would give us directions.¡± ¡°Zia,¡± Drexl hissed. ¡°That¡¯s not how you play the game.¡± ¡°Too late now,¡± Zia replied with a wide grin. ¡°So, what do you say, Lord Not-A-Thief?¡± ¡°Ah, so you missed my name as well, while you were woolgathering. You are either extremely competent mavericks or when I hear back from Born I will make sure your name is blackened from here to Starless City. That¡¯s on the eastern coast of Fief, in case you Dragoldians don¡¯t know.¡± Darka was humming again. Zia paused and listened, hearing faint lyrics about, ironically enough, loving one¡¯s wife. Does all of Fief use the same hymnal? ¡°And when we return triumphant?¡± ¡°I will tell you where to find Lord Spirit. Given that you found me without even finding out I was the wrong Lord, I will be impressed for you to do so.¡± ¡°Lord Hew,¡± Darka began, ¡°would it not reflect poorly upon you to blacken the name of someone you hired? You¡¯ve given the job to, as you say, mavericks. Wouldn¡¯t it be best to let us complete the job and then leave your dominion before you are associated too closely with us? If nobody can find us, nobody can prove you acquired the ring from more than a fence.¡± ¡°You speak well. If Zidrist is the brains of your little band, clearly you are the tongue.¡± Hey! What¡¯s that make me?! ¡°Tell me, how do you find married life?¡± Darka¡¯s eyebrows went up, but she replied smoothly, ¡°Happiest twenty-odd years of my life.¡± ¡°Really. Interesting. And to what do you attribute that?¡± Zidrist swept her arm and replied for Darka, ¡°She has excellent taste in women.¡± At this, Lord Hew laughed. ¡°You two are quite the team! If crime doesn¡¯t pan out for you, you might consider comedy, or theater.¡± ¡°Is that an offer of employment, Lord? I am an accomplished chorister, one of your altos is matching the sopranos down an octave.¡± ¡°You would abandon your quest so readily?¡± That¡¯s what I¡¯d say! If I¡¯d thought of it! You insisted on coming along to keep Zidrist out of trouble! Then again, maybe Drexl and I don¡¯t need Zidrist along. There are churches here, and they¡¯re a bit more pleasant than the ones in Dragold, even if they don¡¯t properly revere dragons. It¡¯s like¡­ hmm. It¡¯s like they reign through love of the One God, rather than fear of a great and terrible dragon. But didn¡¯t the One God give Izkarzon His¡ªhis authority? So wouldn¡¯t it still be following a theistic faith? They¡¯re not atheists like they taught us¡­ I need to pay attention, or we lose Darka and Zidrist. ¡°I¡¯m afraid without an offer of employment for my wife,¡± Darka said, ¡°I cannot accept your generous proposition, Lord.¡± Hew nodded. ¡°You have given me much to think about. I need a new chorister, for one,¡± she laughed. ¡°And perhaps I need a wife. But then, it¡¯s hard to find a suitable partner when one has power and wealth. You never know who¡¯s working for someone else, or merely themselves.¡± Zidrist preened. ¡°I was extremely fortunate in my choice of mate. I am a deacon at a prestigious church, back in the capitol of Dragold, a position which holds no small measure of power and wealth.¡± If it comes with wealth, why am I the cash cow?! Wait, that¡¯s what I bring to the table, aside from being named leader in the letter. Sarx. ¡°You are not a criminal by career? Interesting. What brings you to rub shoulders with, ah, scum such as myself?¡± Hey! Drexl¡¯s a criminal, and she¡¯s not scum! Zia cut in, repeating her internal monologue and continuing on with ¡°The criminality of our actions is for the greater good of Dragold! We are seeking out Izkarzon¡¯s heir, to end the civil war and return us to peaceful draconic rule!¡± ¡°I had no idea that Dragold was undergoing such unrest. How¡­ interesting.¡± Why is that interesting to everyone in Fief? He was our God-King, of course we¡¯d want to find the God-Queen to take over with his demise. ¡°Is it not common knowledge that the Dragonslayer came from the Sevens to murder our Lord and Savior?¡± ¡°Fief was the one to murder the Savior. Or do you mean your dragon?¡± Zia was at a loss for words, another piece of dogma crumbling around her head. Gotorjod was the Savior of mankind in the garden when the Lord turned His wrath upon humanity, but then the Savior crowned Izkarzon the God-King, which means that Izkarzon was distinct from the Savior, which means our fate in the afterlife¡­ isn¡¯t decided by Izkarzon. Was everything we were taught a lie? Zidrist¡­ she¡¯s already ahead of me. That¡¯s why she was discussing theology with one of the¡­ what do you call them. Wholist priestesses. Zia was suddenly full of a claustrophobic need to get out of the small office of Lord Hew and talk to Zidrist. ¡°Send to Lord Born or do not. My Heirrors need to discuss some things, and then we will carry out your job. We shall return within¡ª¡± Zia quickly counted the number of days ¡®Loon service could circulate a message. ¡°Three days.¡± She spun on her heel and walked out of the room, brushing aside bodyguards who, fortunately, seemed disinterred in preventing her egress. Outside the castle-manor, Zia got as far as the next street over before spinning to face Zidrist. ¡°Is it all a lie? Why are you still here? Why didn¡¯t you protect me from the corrupting influence of the outside world?! That was the whole reason we brought you¡ª¡± ¡±You brought her to visually confirm the identity of Izkarzon¡¯s heir,¡± Darka interrupted. ¡°You were also here to protect us from heretical ideology, but you¡¯re ahead of us in getting corrupted! You were gabbing away with that priestess like you¡¯d done it all your life!¡± Zidrist put her hands up defensively. ¡°I was discussing matters of theology independent of Izkarzon. Explain to me what you¡¯re wound up about and I will explain why it¡¯s common confusion, not heresy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a priestess¡ªa deacon, whatever¡ªyour job is to point out what is heresy and punish it! Why are you even willing to entertain errors of dogma?!¡± ¡°Because you are very devout, and I know this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need a gently supporting clergy woman, I need structure! None of this is going how it¡¯s supposed to and you¡¯re not helping!¡± ¡°Zia,¡± Darka spoke up, ¡°Aren¡¯t you yelling at a cleric of Izkarzon?¡± Zia froze in her frantic pacing, and then creakily turned to face Zidrist, who was looking blandly back at her. ¡°Our Dragon of Mercy, forty times, penitent. Is that the structure,¡± she spat the word, ¡°that you so crave, Zia? I can work with you, or I can be the power behind the throne. If you want this to be my show, you will speak when spoken to and you will not question who I speak to or the manner in which I speak to them.¡± ¡°Yes, deacon. Thank you, deacon. My apologies. Forty Our Dragon¡ªbut it¡¯s not Izkarzon who grants mercy! It¡¯s the Savior! But we pray to Izkarzon! I don¡¯t understand!¡± ¡°You do not need to understand, penitent. Isn¡¯t that the first lesson of the Icosal Imperatives of Izkarzon? ¡®You do not need to understand, only to obey.¡¯¡± ¡°I¡ªyes, deacon, thank you deacon. Forty Our Dragon of Mercys. I can lead, with your guidance. I will say my penance, and then we¡¯ll go find Lady Amorous¡¯ mansion and get her husband¡¯s wedding band. Remind me which finger that is?¡± Got a Wife There is one woman I adore She¡¯s all I need I¡¯ve never wanted more A blessing who¡¯s come from above My wife is the woman that I love! Oh I¡¯ve got a wife, she¡¯s smarter than me We share the same bed in the night Oh I¡¯ve got a wife, how can it be The Lord knows she¡¯s all that is right Oh~all that¡¯s right and dear The One God I never will deride ¡®Cause of this woman who¡¯s standing by my side In prayer, to my wife my mind stays near He¡¯s blessed me with the one that I hold so dear Oh I¡¯ve got a wife, she¡¯s delightfully sweet There¡¯s not one thing about her I don¡¯t like Oh I¡¯ve got a wife, she¡¯s thinks I¡¯m neat That¡¯s why I thank the Lord each and every night! Oh I¡¯ve got a wife and she¡¯s quality In church I¡¯m proudly there by her side! Oh~she¡¯s all that¡¯s right and dear Oh~am I making myself clear? I¡¯ve got a wife I¡¯ve got a wife in my life I won¡¯t trade her for anything~ Oh I¡¯ve got a wife, my arm I will wing Chivalry ¡®cause it¡¯s cute and it¡¯s fun Oh I¡¯ve got a wife, funny thing Respect her as my number one Oh I¡¯ve got a wife she¡¯s my everything With the sole exception of God Oh I¡¯ve got a wife to her I¡¯m hightailing After I¡¯m done with my job! Oh she¡¯s all that¡¯s right and Oh she¡¯s all that¡¯s right and Oh she¡¯s all that¡¯s right and dear Bluster Zia turned to Drexl. ¡°You¡¯re sure this is the place?¡± Drexl pouted. ¡°What do you keep me in the group for if not to have dubious knowledge?¡± ¡°Muscle,¡± Darka replied. ¡°That was actually your stated purpose.¡± Zia ground her teeth. Why thank you Darka. ¡°Great, Drexl. Follow my lead, everyone.¡± There was a tent erected outside the city wall mansion of Lady Amorous, and while Drexl had confirmed it was nominally a public space, she had been advised in ways Zia didn¡¯t entirely understand that loitering would not be permitted. Nobody scopes out a thief lord¡¯s estate, outside Dragold, evidently. Given the slow flow of sand over the city walls, it was about the only way to have fresh outdoor air. Zia strode confidently up to the flaps of the tent, dressed in fine formal wear with a suitable amount of padding. The dress, a flattering dark blue, had been folded carefully and wrapped in oilcloth, because, after all, when the Daring Kaliskast found his romantic interest, he always managed to materialize something suitable for the ball at which they danced. Walking with confidence was not difficult, she¡¯d done it all her life until a few years ago, and walking with defiance was nearly the same thing. Confidence. The distinction could make or break this, from what I¡¯ve gathered from Drexl. She was not the only one who had thought formal wear an essential, and for that I thank Izka¡ªthe One God. Zidrist, trailing to her left, was in her black robe, trimmed with green. Darka, like a mirror image to Zia¡¯s right, wore white robes trimmed with the same shade of green. Both, hopefully, held their heads high, and Darka was singing some generic aria in a soft voice. Hard on the throat, but for a good cause. Drexl formed the diamond, and by general consensus clutched their rag doll that made their token fifth member. Zia hadn¡¯t given the doll much thought after its existence, but here she wanted all the favor of the One God she could muster, and besides it made Drexl look just a bit less threatening in her hodgepodge of leather and cord armor. She could hit with her club fine one-handed. People of status always have muscle at hand. Don¡¯t think of her as a friend right now. Think of her as the servile bread that an ouroboros rightly claims. At the flap of the tent, a man with several obvious knives interposed himself between Zia and the interior courtyard. ¡°I explained to your friend,¡± he gave a dismissive jerk of his head, ¡°the Jester¡¯s Compound isn¡¯t a place for¡ª¡± Zia did not wait to find out who the ¡°Jester¡¯s Compound¡± wasn¡¯t for, and talked over the man without raising her voice. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not a place for her but it is a place for me. I have business with Lady Amorous, most important business that I¡ªno no, good sir, don¡¯t dare speak, the business is none of yours. I¡¯ll see the Lady now.¡± And with that, she stepped around him, as though he were not a heavily armed thug, or even worth her notice. She heard an exclamation when she had entered the tent, followed by the hollow ¡°tonk¡± of Drexl¡¯s club on a skull. I wonder if she bounces it to make that sound. I forget what I read Kaliskast advised when it came to applying force to the most effect. But then, I should take that source with a grain of salt, clearly. I should have had at least three romantic encounters by now and I think I¡¯m on one. The mansion, she knew, would be a tougher nut to crack. Not only were doorways defensible positions, but there would not be even a pretense of being a public space. With her left hand she rapped smartly on the door, and raised an eyebrow in disdain when a view slit opened rather than the door itself. She tried not to swallow as she knocked again, intentionally right below the eyes of the pugnacious sort looking through the slit. When the door didn¡¯t open, she lobbed her next salvo of bravado. Taking the letter, wax seal at the fore, she held it up in front of the slit. ¡°Open the door immediately, my good lady. I needn¡¯t tell you the consequences that you will be made to suffer should you fail to oblige someone here to see Lady Amorous on Society business!¡± The eyes on the other side of the door narrowed, and then the slit closed. Zia held her head high and waited as though there weren¡¯t thugs approaching from behind her on two sides, from the sound of their footsteps on the sand. Drexl muttered. ¡°We got mere moments, Z¡ªBoss.¡± The door opened before it came down to whether Drexl was the equal of two people with superior arms and inferior armor. The moment it opened, their footsteps fell silent. The woman on the other side was dark, and muscular in slabs rather than the sculpted musculature of Lord Hew. Her voice, however, was a soprano, affected low. Just the kind of contrasting detail that would turn out relevant in Daring¡ªsigh. ¡°What business do you have with the Lady, that you bandy about her society name?¡± Zia arched an eyebrow, penciled in ahead of time for an especially dramatic arch. ¡°You think I would tell you? You must be joking! This is not gossip for every house servant or hired thug, this is important. I have come from an entire country away, to the West, and I will not be deterred. Take me to Lady Amorous and I will confer with her personally. If she chooses, in my hearing to let you be party to her business, I will consider honoring you with the details. Drexl. The door. This lackwit is clearly too slow to understand my gravity.¡± Zia did not jerk her head, that being beneath her, a mere utterance enough to convey meaning. Drexl stepped around Zia¡ªone does not move out of the way of one¡¯s hirelings¡ªand applied a shoulder to the door. The other woman had height on Drexl, but Drexl had mass. The door opened, and without a word of thanks Zia strode into the residence. Ah, this is how it should be. This is how I was meant to conduct business. From a position of power, authority, and strength. Eugh, this woman¡¯s taste in decoration is so gaudy. She clearly fancies herself some kind of romantic hero. The Jester, all this rose and salmon upholstery, the dark wood furniture¡­ Zia walked into the main foyer, while the thug cum butler tried to keep her likely-broken nose from dripping blood on the expensive¡ªand tasteless¡ªred carpet. ¡°If you want to redeem yourself before your mistress, you¡¯ll tell me whether she keeps her office on the first floor or the second. Any delay in my bringing my business before her will be squarely upon your shoulders.¡± ¡°Now hold on! I can¡¯t just let anyone in to see Lady Amorous! Who are you? Whose seal was that?¡± Or I suppose that¡¯s what she said, it came out a bit gloopy from the nosebleed. Zia pitched her voice to carry through the halls of the mansion, despite what it did to her affect, replying, ¡°I am Lady Ziandria Skarlefaxus, ouroboros under the empire of the dragon Izkarzon¡¯s legacy, worthy of Dear Born, and I am quite out of patience. Which floor shall I have Drexl break down doors on first? That is the point we are at, for it is beneath me to notice a hireling at all but for my wanting to minimize the destruction of Lady Amorous¡¯ property.¡± Zia had it timed out in her head. She would wait for exactly three of the thug¡¯s labored breaths before she strode into the mansion proper. It was on the second that she answered, still distorted by a broken nose, ¡°I¡¯ll take you before Lady Amorous. And then I¡¯ll be getting more of the house guard.¡± Threats? How pedestrian. Zia would have sneered, but she was entirely caught up in her role. She left it to Drexl to sneer, and her thoughts on the thug unspoken as beneath her. She followed until there was a doorway open to an office, then lengthened her stride to arrive before the thug could announce her. Lady Amorous was already alert, just as I intended. She can already be worrying over what business I have with her. ¡°What is the meaning of this intrusion?!¡± Lady Amorous was built along the same lines as Zia, but shorter. She had few curves, fair skin to go with brown eyes someone had probably once written poetry about, and she wore her gray hair in an elaborate braid. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Lady Amorous, unless you are the kind of coward who manages her estates by proxy. In any event, you shall have to do. Summon your husband for me.¡± Amorous colored with rage, replying in a veritable rasp, ¡°Excuse me? Who do you think you are, ordering me about and demanding to speak with, as though you might have any business with him, my husband?!¡± This time, Zia did sneer. She heard footsteps coming from the hall, but it didn¡¯t deter her. Despite what the civil war might have taught her of caution, arrogance was a potent drug running through Zia¡¯s veins. ¡°You know who I am. You heard me tell your thug¡ªbutler, I mean, and have been shaking in your boots ever since, wondering what business Dear Born or one of his agents has with you.¡± Zia flashed the letter of introduction again, this time holding it to let it unfold and reveal Dear Born¡¯s elaborate signature next to a second wax seal. ¡°Now fetch your husband, before I presume you are more than an unsuspecting dupe in this affair.¡± Amorous sat back in her chair, churlish posture and expression suffusing her. ¡°And with what do you accuse me, Lady Ziandria? I am a thief lord, as you announced for all to hear in my courtyard, laws are trifles to me. Yet you seem to think you have some hold over me.¡± ¡°You stole something, or foolishly bought a token off a disreputable fence.¡± ¡°La. I do not steal things, I hire people to steal them for me. Why should I care that you lost some bauble? If you were foolish enough to lose it, the Society will not back you in claiming it back.¡± ¡°Ah, but I am not Royal Society. I merely carry the seal of Dear Born, having earned it, and I am choosing to offer you an out. Once. The band your husband bears, the ring of your marriage, was stolen from the Skarlefaxus forty years ago. I took this quest from my mother, and I will see its end. You can surrender it to me now, or you can suffer the loss of status that would come with me robbing not only your husband but your entire estate.¡± Amorous¡¯ voice was cold. ¡°You are mistaken. My husband¡¯s ring is a legitimate purchase.¡± Zia shrugged. ¡°Then it should be as nothing to you to summon him, show me that it is not the heirloom I suppose it is, and kill me for my audacity, shouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I just skip to that last step?¡± Zia¡¯s guts churned with fear, but she did not let it show, or thought she didn¡¯t. ¡°The aegis of Dear Born, whose letter I carry. Unless you wish to incur the wrath of a dragon nephilim?¡± Amorous stared at the letter, refolded, in Zia¡¯s hand, and her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Finally, she called to one of the thugs that had assembled outside the office. ¡°Fetter! Fetch Lord Amorous from his entertainments. Make sure he is¡­ not covered in art supplies.¡± At this, Zia protested. ¡°You will send my priestess with your servant. I¡¯ll not have you substituting one ring for another. The Church of Izkarzon is not your Wholist Church, but I would imagine she will be safe out of respect for honest piety.¡± The servant Fetter looked to his mistress, who eyed Zidrist before nodding. The two of them filed out of the room. She gestured to the seats which Zia, Zidrist, and Darka had pointedly not taken. ¡°Please, have a seat while my husband is fetched. He could be a bit, his entertainments can be¡­ involved.¡± At this invitation, without looking to Darka or Drexl, Zia sat gracefully in the plush seat before the desk. ¡°So how is Dear Born? And what did you do to so earn his esteem that he puts you under his, as you say, aegis?¡± Zia said nothing, head still held high, but she inclined it slightly towards Darka. That small head movement was all it took for the chorister to burst into full voice, filling the small office with a particularly elaborate hymn from the folio she had perused back several spheres before. It was not short, and successfully filled the time that Lady Amorous could stall in fetching her husband. He was bald but bearded, bespectacled, and thick through the middle in a way his tailoring glorified. ¡°You summoned me, my love?¡± Over his shoulder was Zidrist, looking none the worse for wear, and behind her were at least three liveried servants openly carrying arms. Lady Amorous was grinning like the cat that ate the canary. ¡°Darling, this foreigner supposes that the ring I gave you was stolen some forty years ago. Seeing as we have been wed for some fifty years, I thought you might like to let her have a look at it before I have her killed for her insolence.¡± Lord Amorous shared the grin of his wife, and ambled over to Zia to allow her to inspect his ring finger. Rather than inspect the ring, she grasped his wrist and pulled sharply, causing him to land in a heap on the floor. Drexl had already rolled forward and removed the ring sharply, eliciting a cry of pain from the thief lord¡¯s husband. Amorous once again looked furious, and exclaimed, ¡°Kill them!¡± Zia summoned her will and sprayed flames at head height, Zidrist having already dropped to the floor the moment Lord Amorous had cried out in pain. Unbidden, the thought came, what does it say about my faith that I am certain Izkarzon would approve¡­ would the One God approve of my actions? I¡¯ve never thought of it in those terms. The flames faltered in their flow from her outstretched hand, but they had done their job. The thugs and the office were on fire, and Drexl had gotten the time she needed to stuff both doll and ring in her pocket. I guess five really is luckier than four, this was a caper worthy of the Daring Kaliskast. Her club was in her hands, and she floored two of the thugs with smart raps bouncing between their heads, catching the first in the temple and the second in the jaw. The third got a long sword drawn, just in time for the narrow hall to give the advantage to Drexl¡¯s dagger in his gut. It was a stiletto blade, not much use against leathers but quite effective at piercing low-profile armor like chainmail. Whatever the man wore, it did not stop her thrust enough to keep the pain from taking him out of the fight. Gut wounds are messy, but they¡¯re simple enough for an earth sorcerer to heal. This woman has the money to be gaudy, she can take care of her soldiers. Their deaths are not on my hands. Zia shuddered as she rose, remembering the tortured expression of the man¡ªI don¡¯t even know his name¡ªshe had burned to death less than a month before. I will never do that again. As Lady Amorous and her husband fled the burning office¡ªlooks like wallpaper over adobe, more smoke than fire. If there¡¯s one thing I know, it¡¯s what fire does¡ªthe Heirrors took their leave of her estate. Smoke became a breathing problem before they left, but they successfully ducked out of the main doors and left the tent by the flap vacated by the thug Drexl¡ªZia giggled hysterically at the thought, adrenaline soaring through her veins¡ªhad ¡°tonk¡±ed unconscious. Forgiveness Rhapsody Do you revere God? Do you hold Him dear? Is the thing that you want most for Him to be near? Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see! We all need the Lord, we need His sympathy Because He knows our sins, saw them all, would to Hell like to Fall? Are you the seed upon the stones, does God¡¯s Word matter, does God¡¯s word matter, to thee? One God, oh Holy Lord I¡¯ve done it yet again Committed sins against Your Name One God, I¡¯m a flower on the wind My life is chaff to face your winnowing One God, ooh, I sinned for all my life But now I¡¯m facing an eternal tomorrow Help me Lord, help me Lord, my soul is all that matters. Too late, my time has come, I offer to the Lord my life, as it¡¯s ending by the knife Draw the sword, anybody And that¡¯s how you¡¯ll go Know the words of the Savior they¡¯re the truth. One God, ooh (seed upon the stones) I don¡¯t wanna die, If it means I¡¯ll spend eternity in Sheol! I see the glory of the One and Only God Hallelu¡ªHallelu¡ªhallelujah hosanna! Revere our Lord and Savior, He beat out the grave, you¡¯re Loved! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! I love to serve God, my God He loves me, I live to serve God, God makes me happy! Giving my life as a sin offering! Praise to God, love the Lord Could I love the Lord more? No you could not! No, you cannot love Him more! You could not! No, you cannot love Him more! You could not! No, you cannot love Him more! Cannot love Him more! Great is the Lord! Lord! Lord! Lord! Lord! Great is the Lord! Oh hallelujah hallelujah! Hallelujah praise the Lord! The One and Only God is in his Heave~n, Heave~n, Heaven! So you think you can mock God and spit in His eye?! So you think in his love He will let your soul die?! No way! He won¡¯t do that to you baby! He won¡¯t send you to hell At least not for ever~! Everyone¡¯s forgiven. By the Grace of God. Everyone¡¯s forgiven. Everyone¡¯s forgiven¡­ By God. Get Thee Hence Lord Hew was in her sitting room, rather than her office, evidently intent upon taking a midafternoon repast and not expecting company. It was only Zia¡¯s intensive blustering, still riding high on what had just transpired, which got them into her mansion. ¡°I assure you, Lord Hew will be most interested in what we have for her, and for that matter that I will be most displeased by the derogation of my abilities implied by it taking any longer than absolutely necessary for her to see the fruits of my labors.¡± My, our, what is the difference. They¡¯re my Heirrors. The butler, beset and rather less thuggish than the manservants of Lady Amorous, eventually gave a long-suffering sigh and asked if Zia had a card. In place of the card, which she did not have, not having anticipated any High Society¡ªor Royal Society, to be fair¡ªshenanigans, she deposited the ring of Lord Amorous on the tray. The butler was evidently too well-trained to indicate surprise, but merely welcomed them into the foyer. The brief interlude of inactivity was long enough to take the edge off Zia¡¯s adrenaline, and she was beginning to dwell upon the day¡¯s activities. My flame failed me. My token of the Mother. I mean, it disabled those thugs, but I felt the fire go out before I meant for it to. My faith in Izkarzon is¡­ less. And evidently I never cultivated a very strong faith in the One God. I will have to talk to Zidrist about it, and she¡¯ll sentence me to say Our Dragon of Mercy¡¯s¡ªwell, she might not. She won¡¯t excommunicate me. Or if she does, does it really matter what she says this far from Dragold? Except I need Darka because I lack the silver to¡­ her train of thought was mercifully interrupted by the butler¡¯s return, which had most certainly not taken more than a sandglass to occur. So it was that they were before Lord Hew as she enjoyed a ham and mustard sandwich, already wearing the thief lord¡¯s wedding band that Zia had gained at the expense of so much peril. ¡°I assume you are duly impressed?¡± Lord Hew, evidently impressed but not intimidated, finished chewing and swallowed her bite before replying to Zia. ¡°I must confess, I am. I sent you away this morning and told you I would be checking your credentials, and nonetheless you move out. That¡¯s not terribly practical attire for housebreaking, Heirrors. If I might ask, how did you acquire Lady Amorous¡¯ ring so quickly?¡± Zia swelled at the opportunity to show off her competence, and launched into a telling of what had transpired. Drexl, scouting and finding the limits of the Lady¡¯s domain. The show of significance, boldly sallying forth in formal attire. The careful falsehoods regard Lord Born. Stealing the ring right off Lord Amorous¡¯ finger. And finally the gout of fire that bought them time to flee¡ªto strategically withdraw, Zia remembered the term in the nick of time. Much more dignified than fleeing. However, Lord Hew did not seem caught up in her story. She started off still attending to her sandwich, set it down by the halfway mark, and bore an incredulous expression by the end. Zia, briefly bolstered by the retelling of her heroism, did not immediately notice, until Darka spoke up and asked, ¡°What is the problem, Lord Hew?¡± Problem? There¡¯s no problem. We circumvented her intent to speak to Lord Born and find out what our actual competence is¡ªZia did not pay much mind to the fact that her definition of success was staying ahead of her own reputation¡ªand we got the ring. Without killing anyone. Lord Hew, however, made clear that she had other conceptions as to their success. ¡°Are you out of your mind?! You were well aware this was a game of status, you insistently stuck the title ¡®thief lord¡¯ to those involved¡­ I suppose it is my own fault, I should have recognized an unsubtle tool when I saw one. Your actions are not even one grade above common thuggery, bandying social status about that, in Fief, you do not even truly possess, implicating Lord Born in foolhardy actions¡ªI suppose I don¡¯t particularly care about that, but¡ª¡± Zidrist interrupted. ¡°Your stated intent was to bring low Lady Amorous. Does this not do that? Not a single death, a group of four taking her husband¡¯s wedding ring from her very home, and as you said we bandied about social status we do not possess. She can¡¯t even claim it was a Fief noble she had to entertain, her hireling was so focused on physical security¡ª¡± ¡°You dare speak of that? You literally kicked in the door! You sounded proud of it!¡± Drexl spoke up, and Zia startled, so rare an occurrence had that been in Fief. ¡°Your Lordship¡­ as you said, you should have seen us as unsubtle tools. Perhaps the best thing for everyone would be for you to give us directions and send us on our way? Even killing us will not change what has happened.¡± I should have been the one to say that. ¡°I should kill you as a lesson to other fools, except nobody has even heard of you. Yes. Fine. You should continue east to the gate leading into the sphere of Eating Fog, from there to¡ª¡± Zia cleared her throat. ¡°Yes, problem child?¡± ¡°Might we get this written down? Each gate is a day¡¯s travel, I¡¯d hate for us to get lost.¡± ¡°While I think I would love it. Yes.¡± Lord Hew gestured to the butler, standing unnervingly close behind them, and he strode from the room. ¡°Take your directions and go. And now that I know the tactics you consider subtle, do not think that you can outrun your reputation forever.¡± Now what does she mean by that?! Was that a threat? Do we need to¡­ ulp. Killing is not an option. I don¡¯t even know whether fire is an option. Zia looked around at her comrades. They didn¡¯t look happy but they didn¡¯t look especially intimidated. Why?! She wailed, internally. I had the plan, even if it was something right out of Daring Kaliskast, nobody objected, but now nobody is defending me! Well¡­ no, Zidrist and Drexl defended me. But they¡¯re letting her needle me and¡ªthe butler returned with a small scroll of directions, simply names of spheres and the meridian direction that would take them closer to their intended thief lord. ¡°May we never meet again. Find some other town to frequent should you contrive to return.¡± Dungbag. Outside Perimeter, the sandstorm resumed in full force, and the sun was still obscured. East was, very generally, straight out of the gate. Drexl had that bread common sense and suggested they veer to the right, and then if they encountered a wall before they found the gate, they would know to head left. ¡°Guys? Did I make a bad plan? I thought you all approved of it.¡± Zidrist sighed. ¡°We did, but criminal capers are not something I have a great deal of experience with. I am a mere deacon for lack of the guile my superiors hold.¡± ¡°Drexl, you¡¯re a¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been over this, Zia. I am a thug. I hit people over the head with planks. I don¡¯t ideas, I don¡¯t aspire, and I had a good job standing outside storefronts and getting rained on. At this point, I¡¯d be happy to return to that job, it seems like this is more adventure than we really counted on.¡± Amen to that, I was hoping to be home by now. Isn¡¯t this even just the journey to find the guy who knows who knows what we need to know, and then we have to find the heir herself? The wall was a gale of wind which was impassible to them, so they leaned into it and let the sand weather them a bit until they found and passed through the gate. The far side was not silent, there was the sound of running water, but it was quiet compared to the howl of winds inside the previous sphere. Fog rolled in from the wall, and they struck out for the center of the sphere upon realizing that it was eating away at their skin and clothing. Rather than being distressed at the damage to her possessions and looks, Zia chewed her lip, working on summoning the nerve to admit her heresy to Zidrist. They were in sight of some kind of structure when she finally blurted out, ¡°I am doubting the supreme sovereignty of Izkarzon and I know that¡¯s a heresy but you¡¯ve been talking to priestesses here and theoretically the One God is the Father Supreme and yet we were never taught that and in the Lady¡¯s estate my flame failed me because I realized that Izkarzon may have been a God-King but he¡¯s not God and he¡¯s not much of anything anymore and¡ª¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Zidrist swept her arm to cut Zia off. ¡°Take a deep breath. I have acknowledged that perhaps Izkarzon was not a God figure. The heresy you fear to speak is not much of a heresy at all. Now I know why only the most fanatical were chosen to be missionaries. From my talks with clergy in Fief, I am not concerned that lack of faith in Izkarzon will damn me, I am concerned that lack of understanding of the One God might condemn my soul to Hell.¡± Zia moaned in dread. ¡°I¡¯m definitely going to Hell. I corrupted a deacon of the Church of Izkarzon with my half-baked idea to find the heir of Izkarzon.¡± ¡°Zia, relax. I corrupted myself. It is not the duty of the laity to defend the souls of the clergy. Rather the opposite.¡± Darka chimed in. ¡°Besides, I was here to keep her out of trouble, remember? That was my job. Yours was just leadership. And silver, but that was as much bluster as got us into Lady Amorous¡¯ estate.¡± Zia gave the two of them a hangdog look. ¡°But I killed a bunch of people. For what I thought was a holy cause. Now I did it for nothing. Doesn¡¯t that mean I go to Hell?¡± Drexl scowled. ¡°While I would have loved for you to think of that before you killed him, you killed one thug. A fire on the upper floors is easily escaped. You killed one person. One. Tops. Two if someone was asthmatic and a heavy sleeper.¡± ¡°But Krask said¡ª¡± ¡°Krask knew what we told her, which was intentionally inflated to try and impress.¡± ¡°Oh. Right.¡± ¡°For all your bluster, Zia, and you do have a lot of it, you are a soft person. You want status and wealth, but you were raised with those and then lost them and this is just your latest get-rich-quick scheme. An ambitious one, but just the latest. You didn¡¯t have the patience for standing outside storefronts like I do, remember?¡± Zia nodded, her misery easing by degrees. ¡°So the one man I killed¡­ he was going to kill us. So that¡¯s self-defense, right?¡± Drexl nodded back to her. ¡°Zidrist?¡± ¡°Armies have marched on less justification than that, and nobody claims Hell is full with the souls of legionaries.¡± They finally reached the spots on the horizon, an assortment of low, granite buildings. Zia was working on not scratching at the raw skin eaten by the fog and privately hoped, perhaps there¡¯s a healer Darka could charm into healing this. Except we¡¯ll just get burned by the eating fog on our way out. Sigh. This sucks. I¡¯m ready to go home. Except I¡¯d have to eat so much crow. At least I didn¡¯t actually sell any of my jewelry to finance this. Darka secured room and board for them, she really is a talented singer. Zidrist is lucky. She realized as she thought on Zidrist¡¯s luck that she no longer envied Zidrist and Darka per se. She hoped to find a relationship like theirs, but she thought of them first as friends and as romantic prospects¡­ not at all. Similarly, Drexl she hadn¡¯t considered for a liaison¡­ she hadn¡¯t considered anyone for a liaison in a while. It just¡­ didn¡¯t appeal. I¡¯m just tired. I¡¯ll get back to my adventuring ways¡­ tomorrow. As she lay on the granite floor, the bed having been given over to the more aged Zidrist and Darka, per usual, Zia fell asleep before committing to memory the fact she was lying to herself. The next day, after a spare breakfast, they continued on their way. The next sphere they entered was mercifully milder than the last two, identified in the scroll as Lushland. It was a swampy, boggy land, reminiscent of the slums of Sasson and the off-roads path they had taken to get out of Dragold. Drexl was evidently reminded of it as well, because she asked that, now that they could navigate using the sun, they seek out a settlement. ¡°I want to see what the poor live like in Fief.¡± Is she thinking of staying behind? ¡°This place reminds me of home a bit. We were always told how bad people have it outside Dragold, but so far¡­ well.¡± Drexl shrugged. It was a big piece of fortune that I had clothes specifically for getting covered in mud. It will royally suck drawing enough water to get the mud out of my boots. They found a settlement, called in typical Fief fashion ¡°Bogtown,¡± and Drexl immediately set out for the tallest buildings in sight. ¡°Drexl, you¡¯re heading for the wealthy district.¡± ¡°The poorest district will be one middling district over from the wealthiest. It was that way in Sasson, it was that way in the villages around Sasson, and if you talk to the merchants it¡¯s that way everywhere.¡± Sure enough, Drexl¡¯s sense of direction served them true. While the tallest buildings were still made of wood, they were painted or polished, but in the slums they were raw and worn and covered in rot and moss. Nobody much trusted their carpentry either, because the buildings were universally one story tall. It looks like they just wait for something to collapse and then put a new board over it. The smells were much like those of Sasson¡¯s poor districts. Sewage, inadequately drained, spices, to preserve inferior meat, and the composting buildings themselves. Songs carried on the air, not often on-key, most often bawdy or heretical even as Zia was coming to understand heresy, but universally joyful sounds. The people around them were dirty and their simple plant-fiber clothing worn, but Zia had to admit they looked a touch less nervous than the bread of Sasson. Things are stable here. Bad and stable is better than bad and unstable. But I¡¯m going to find the heir, because good and stable is best of all. Drexl strode along, looking for Iz¡ªOne God knew what, before pronouncing herself satisfied and suggesting they find an inn somewhere nicer. Now what was that all about? (Saved) From Sheol One God, I find it rather odd That people could deny you¡¯re true I¡¯ve hurt, I¡¯ve lost my very shirt But I never lost my faith in you. I don¡¯t believe that anybody Could save the way You do So praise you Lord. I¡¯ve sinned, I¡¯ve done it yet again It¡¯s something I feel bad about Oh Lord, you¡¯ve heard it all before But I¡¯m repenting without a doubt. I don¡¯t believe that anybody Could save the way You do So praise you Lord. And every road¡¯s lit by the light of Spirit He prays for us, in wordless groans, you hear it? My faith is everything to me I¡¯d show you I had faith to spare if I only knew how I¡¯d move that mountain now The Savior Has come because He¡¯s gonna Save your Soul from Sheol He¡¯s gonna save us all. Our Lord, I never will be bored Singing out my praise like new. Tortured, thrown into a forge I¡¯ll still say the only One is you. I don¡¯t believe that anybody Could save the way You do So praise you Lord. And every road¡¯s lit by the light of Spirit He prays for us, in wordless groans, you hear it? My faith is everything to me I¡¯d show you I had faith to spare if I only knew how I¡¯d move that mountain now The Savior Has come because He¡¯s gonna Save your Soul from Sheol He¡¯s gonna save us all. The Savior Is gonna save your soul from Sheol Is gonna save your soul from Sheol Is gonna save your soul from Sheol Word of My Awesomeness Their ultimate destination was another few days of travel away, a sphere known as Cheese Eye. Surrounding the gate and reaching high into the sky was a wall of rock, and it was difficult to tell visually whether they formed a complete hemisphere. It was the clearest look they had gotten of the shape of the sphere walls, however, and Zia thought to herself, so that¡¯s why they call them spheres. And this one is¡­ Zia consulted the scroll they¡¯d been given, called Swiss Stone. I wonder why. As they strode through the gate, the footing abruptly transitioned from solid earth to wooden platforms. The platform extended through the gate, then went sharply to the right, following the curve of the wall. Poles supported some of them, reaching tenuously over to curiously weathered outcroppings of rock, while others were supported by chains or ropes anchored to the walls of the sphere. Peering into the depths below¡ªa substantial fall, were one to take it¡ªZia thought, Oh. That¡¯s why. There are holes in the stone like bubbles in cheese. Far below, the countless fires of a city were visible, but more than that was lost to darkness. The platforms swayed in a manner both nerve-wracking and nauseating as they descended, but they made it as far as the city below without any of them collapsing. The city was also constructed out of wood, from city wall to the countless sprawling shacks surrounding it. You would think, somewhere with such plentiful rock would build with it. Perhaps it is especially fine rock, because I¡¯d swear I see an elevator and a trail to it. Zia shrugged. She liked marble, and gemstones, and didn¡¯t know more than that. They joined the line of workers and merchants waiting to get into the city. At the gate, a guard in leather¡ªyou¡¯d think they¡¯d favor metal with such a readily mined area¡ªasked, ¡°Work permit?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not workers. We¡¯re, ah, here to visit someone.¡± ¡°Visitors to Leavings are not permitted more than five pounds of exogenous metal. You¡¯ll need to subject your bags to search. Join queue three, the red door on the left.¡± Just like that, they were dismissed. Zia felt a small burst of pique at being dismissed so summarily, but after a few moments decided it wasn¡¯t worth asserting her consequence. It¡¯s humbling, even more than my family losing their influence, to be somewhere my ouroboros mark doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m not sure I like it. Zia chuckled, getting a curious look from Darka. No, I¡¯m quite positive I don¡¯t like it, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it other than what I am doing. Finding the heir, that Dragold might once more send forth missionaries and armies to spread the Good Word. Except is the Word of Izkarzon even¡­ sigh. I¡¯ve been down this road. Several times. I¡¯m going to walk forward in faith that whatever will be will be and it will work out for the One God¡¯s glory and my good. As they filed through the red door¡ªor is it door three? The door to the left? Why have three designations for one door?¡ªand submitted their bags to search, Zia felt relief that at the very least they were not being subjected to a toll. I suspect Darka has more in the way of tips than I started with, in terms of silver. Not that I can ask, and not as though I would ask for financial help from a wane. Even bankers are at least hungers. Drexl came up beside Zia and murmured wryly, ¡°Am I finding this Analytical Prowess?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been ever so effective at finding people thus far, I see no reason to discontinue the trend.¡± ¡°Why not pick up the skill? Knowing who to know is an ouroboros thing more than a common bread thing anyway.¡± You¡¯re no common bread. And after this adventure, you¡¯ll be ouroboros for sure! Should I say that? I think I will. Zia did, and Drexl replied with, ¡°I thought there was no superiority to being an ouroboros, just a difference of aptitude. Or something like that.¡± Her tone was arch, and she had clearly practiced Zidrist¡¯s disapprovingly raised eyebrow. ¡°I meant it as a compliment. But forget it, clearly it wasn¡¯t taken as such.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a compliment that I was assigned to bread when I was born, but I¡¯m not really bread, I deserve to be ouroboros? What does it mean then, that all the people before now have seen and treated me as bread?¡± ¡°It means they were lacking in discernment. I mean, did I treat you as bread?¡± ¡°You did. At least at first.¡± ¡°Oh. Sarx.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Zidrist chose that point to interrupt. ¡°Hey, depression party of two, can we focus on finding this thief lord and moving on to the legitimate business of engaging with Historians?¡± Drexl shrugged assent. ¡°What¡¯s a Historian, anyway?¡± I¡¯m glad she asked so I didn¡¯t have to. ¡°Without the initial capital, a person who studies the past. With it, I have no idea, but it doesn¡¯t have ¡®thief¡¯ in the title so I¡¯m encouraged.¡± ¡°¡®Royal Society¡¯ doesn¡¯t have ¡®thief¡¯ in the title either,¡± Zia protested, feeling irritable at having insulted her own discernment and Zidrist giving her no time to recover her composure. ¡°And yet every Royal Society member has been a criminal. Your hired muscle has made all the introductions, and I think we¡¯ve stolen something for every contact we¡¯ve made.¡± Zia shook her head. ¡°We are pursuing a noble goal. Despite being unsuited to it based on caste, we have succeeded by the divine provenance of Izkarzon. He will have us find His heir and restore the fortunes of Dragold.¡± ¡°And us. Don¡¯t forget about the fortunes of us,¡± Darka smirked. Zia ducked her head abashedly. ¡°Yes. That too. So what do you say, Drexl? Are you going to find us Analytical Prowess?¡± ¡°If it doesn¡¯t offend you for mere bread to do something you can¡¯t.¡± ¡°It does not. And you¡¯re not ¡®mere bread¡¯.¡± ¡°Gracious of you. You sure you can¡¯t manage this, Zia? You¡¯ve seen my methods.¡± I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s feeling lazy or trying to encourage me to be more useful¡ªyou know, that¡¯s actually not a half-bad idea. Darka has coin now, Drexl is competent muscle, I¡¯d be stepping into leaderly shoes if I were the one to find our contacts. It¡¯s a good role. ¡°I¡¯ll give it my best shot. Now then, let¡¯s see. First, we find the wealthiest district, which will also be the tallest¡­¡± It took some trial and error, but Zia found a more run-down part of town, and from there led them into the first bar to have a sturdy-looking bouncer. ¡°Darka, you have coin from your ¡®busking,¡¯ can I use some of it?¡± ¡°I thought your ¡®thing¡¯ was being financier of this mission?¡± ¡°My ¡®thing¡¯ is being the leadership and now the one to make introductions. The barkeep will be better-disposed towards us if I tip heavily on a few mugs of blittero.¡± Darka rolled her eyes but deposited a few silver coins into her hand. ¡°Zidrist. Do I order four, or do I need five to honor the rag doll?¡± After Zidrist answered, Zia strode up to the bar and spread the coins across the bar top. ¡°Five mugs of blittero, matey, and if you wouldn¡¯t mind helping me find an associate of mine?¡± The barkeep, an unamused-looking black man, raised an eyebrow and left off ¡°cleaning¡± mugs with a stained rag, tapped one of the casks behind him and filled the mugs. The last was a quarter the size of the others, and when Zia asked about it, he replied, ¡°No sense wasting good blittero on a mannequin or whatever you four have as a totem.¡± Zia repeated her question. He looked levelly at her. ¡°I make a professional habit of not knowing anyone, so long as their tab¡¯s paid on time¡± he replied, sweeping her coins off the table and into a pocket of his apron. ¡°Here¡¯s your blittero.¡± Zia placed a hand on his forearm before he withdrew behind his bar counter. ¡°What if I were asking where to find someone, unprofessionally?¡± She gave her most winning smile, slightly lopsided. But the barkeep shook his head. Why not?! It always¡­ sigh. I¡¯m getting really tired of adventures not being like the Daring Kaliskast. It¡¯s surprising me less and less though. She hefted the tray of drinks and set it down with a clatter and no small amount of slopping at the table the Heirrors had secured. ¡°We¡¯ve got the right place, but the barkeep has scruples. Professionally and unprofessionally never knows anyone. Now what?¡± She aimed her question at Drexl, the only one who appeared to be enjoying her drink.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. She¡¯s definitely been practicing Zidrist¡¯s expressions, Zia thought as Drexl arched an eyebrow. ¡°Now, we start a bar fight.¡± ¡°Being gnomic is Zidrist¡¯s job, as is looking that disdainful. Explain.¡± ¡°Well, I stand up from my chair, like so,¡± Drexl stood swiftly, and her chair clattered against that of the man at the table behind her, causing him to choke on his drink and spill down his front. He cursed, more strongly than even Zia generally did, and wheeled on Drexl. Still speaking blandly, she went on. ¡°And now he tries to punch me, and I duck, and shove him from a crouch into that table,¡± the man, overbalanced from a low center of gravity, went right over and nearly overturned the table he landed on. From there, things spiraled merrily out of control, fists and tankards flying. Zia cowered under her table, not wanting to get involved in the bar fight without fire. And fire would be a really bad idea in a big wooden city. Drexl appeared with a woman in tow, gripped by the neck of her shirt, and cocked her head towards the door. Silently, skirting around the worst of the fighting, the Heirrors and Drexl¡¯s mysterious captive made for the door. ¡°And this, then, would be the best person to ask about our contact. Stoolies are never brave.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t no stoolie, I¡¯m just a coward!¡± ¡°But are you greedy?¡± ¡°Depends on the color of your silver.¡± Drexl looked over. ¡°Zia, or I guess Darka? Show this fine lady what we share with our friends.¡± Darka opened her coin purse¡ªyep, definitely more money than I have¡ªlong enough for the woman to get one avarice-inspiring glance. She swallowed. ¡°Who¡¯re you looking for? And why? Sardine doesn¡¯t sell out just anybody for any reason.¡± Zia saw her opportunity and took it. ¡°We¡¯re looking for Analytical Prowess, because we have a letter of introduction that we might exchange favors. The kind of thing she¡¯d appreciate us being able to bring to her table.¡± Sardine swallowed visibly, and then her eyes widened. ¡°Oh. Oh. You¡¯re the¡­¡± she lowered her voice. ¡°Heirrors, aren¡¯t you?¡± See, that¡¯s the kind of coincidence that I¡¯d expect from an adventure. Things would just work out. Except nobody should know, unless Born did send word ahead to revoke our letter of recommendation, which Krask seemed confident he wouldn¡¯t. ¡°So word of our awesomeness has preceded us?¡± Sardine shook her head, then nodded, then tilted her head thoughtfully and finally said, ¡°Can you ask that a different way? I can¡¯t tell what answer you want.¡± Drexl gave Sardine a good shake. ¡°What we want is for you to take us to Analytical Prowess.¡± ¡°Got it! Read you loud and clear! But give poor Sardine a little silver before she takes you, to thank her for the introductions?¡± Drexl sighed and put out a hand, which in turn had Darka sighing and depositing two silver coins into her palm. Sardine looked a little disappointed, but when released dusted herself off and told them to follow her. Analytical Prowess evidently resided outside the city, in one of the exhausted mines. There was nothing about her residence except expensive, efficient military effectiveness, from the outside. From behind arrow slits crossbows poked, ready to let loose in enfilade, and the first gate was open to reveal a second set into the stone. I have no doubt that any eyes overlapping her defensive position have been filled with bricks or rubble. Inside the first gate were murder holes in the ceiling, spears at the ready from above. The far gate swung neither out nor in nor in any way Zia could see even would open. There was no handle. From above, a calm voice inquired, ¡°And what brings you to the domicile of Lord Prowess?¡± We are definitely in over our heads. They¡¯re not even trying to intimidate us, they¡¯re just sitting from their position of power and asking conversationally what we want. None of this ¡°And you suppose there might be a Lady Amorous?¡± bluster either. Zia stepped forward, and it was a testament to the discipline of Lord Prowess¡¯ troops that not a single spear tip so much as twitched. ¡°We are the Heirrors. We have reason to believe that her¡­ his?¡± Sarx. I fumbled that. ¡°That Lord Prowess is expecting us.¡± There was not even whispering from above, only the same calm voice speaking clearly. ¡°Lord Prowess has heard of your group. You are not a subtle tool. If you wish to have her stake her reputation behind putting you in touch with an organization which honors subtlety as the Royal Society honors skill, you must first demonstrate the latter. In Purple, the vacation estate of the White Queen, there is a courtier by the name of Defiant Mien. He has been curtailing Lord Prowess¡¯ activities and she would see an end put to him as an object lesson of the cost of hindering he¡ª¡± ¡°Now hold on right there!¡± Zia protested. ¡°We have a letter of introduction from Dear Born, we have done the favor necessary to win an introduction. We have done favors all along the western reaches of Fief, and we are here for an audience! She knows where Izkarzon¡¯s heir is and we need to find her!¡± ¡°Lord Prowess knows of your letter.¡± ¡°Listen here, you jumped up lackey, I will burn Lord Prowess¡¯ little fort to the ground if you don¡¯t grant us¡ªurk!¡± Zia was abruptly hauled backwards as spears plunged into the exact spot her head and torso had occupied. Drexl was swearing, Zidrist and Darka looked a little pale, and Zia began to shake as she realized how close she had come to death, had Drexl not heaved her bodily out of harm¡¯s way. Drexl murmured in Zia¡¯s ear, ¡°I think we have two options. Go home, or go kill Defiant Mien.¡± ¡°We could always trade not killing Mien for whatever connections he has.¡± ¡°And if he doesn¡¯t have the connections we need?¡± Zia gulped, very uneasy with what she was about to say but at a loss for what else to say. ¡°Then I suppose we kill him and bring his head back with us.¡± Raising her voice, she called to the soldiers¡ªtheir efficiency made thinking of them as thugs difficult¡ª¡°Alright! We¡¯ll be back, with Mien¡¯s head!¡± There was no acknowledgement she had spoken before they turned and left. There¡¯s Only One Lifetime He will live with us, until we do him in! He will forgive us, forgive all of our sin! He wills it, despite everything we¡¯ll ever do wrong. He will die on our behalf, because He loves us. He is the Savior, Orth only gets one! As the prayers raise up, we raise our voice in praise! As the prayers raise up, we live in Lordly ways! The One God will return, when the world¡¯s time is done. There¡¯s only one lifetime, the lifetime of the Lord! He will be brought low by those in power! He will forgive even those who condemn Him! He wills everything, for He is the One God! He will always love us, as God and Son! He is the Savior, why do we even get one? As the prayers raise up, we raise our voice in praise! As the prayers raise up, we live in Lordly ways! The One God will return, when the world¡¯s time is done. There¡¯s only one lifetime, the lifetime of the Lord! The Savior He came for us, the Savior He came for us. The Savior He came for us, the Savior He came for us. The Savior He came for us, the Savior He came for us. The Savior He came for us, the Savior He came for us. The Savior is the One God, He is also the Spirit. The Savior had to die, to let Orth receive the Spirit. Worship the One God, receive the Spirit, We receive Him because the Savior died for us. The Savior is the One God, He is also the Spirit. As the prayers raise up, we raise our voice in praise! As the prayers raise up, we live in Lordly ways! The One God will return, only He knows when. The end times will come, and sinners will repent of sin! As the prayers raise up, we raise our voice in praise! As the prayers raise up, we live in Lordly ways! The One God will return, when the world¡¯s time is done. There¡¯s only one lifetime, the lifetime of the Lord! He will return some day and judge those in power! He will forgive those who have chosen Hell! He wills we do right, and not do wrong! He is the Savior, the God of which there¡¯s One! (My God what have I done?) As the prayers raise up, we raise our voice in praise! As the prayers raise up, we live in Lordly ways! The One God will return, only He knows when. The end times will come, and sinners will repent of sin! As the prayers raise up, we raise our voice in praise! As the prayers raise up, we live in Lordly ways! The One God will return, when the world¡¯s time is done. There¡¯s only one lifetime, the lifetime of the Lord! The Savior He came for us, the Savior He came for us. The Savior He came for us, the Savior He came for us. He doesn¡¯t chase after us, He waits patiently for us. The Savior He came for us, the Savior He came for us. The Savior He came for us, the Savior He came for us. The Savior He came for us, the Savior He came for us. The Savior He came for us, then sent the Spirit The Spirit will guide us. As the prayers raise up! As the prayers raise up! There¡¯s only one lifetime, we raise our voice in praise! As the prayers raise up, in the lifetime of the Lord. Alternative Actions ¡°Holy nutria skewer, this place is beautiful,¡± Drexl said. Darka raised an eyebrow. ¡°When you¡¯re not foul-mouthed, you¡¯re food-mouthed?¡± Zia put up her hands between the two of them. ¡°Much as I¡¯d love to explore group dynamics of a diversely-caste group removed from their context, we need to figure out what we¡¯re doing about Defiant Mien.¡± Zidrist straightened and said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter what we decide.¡± ¡°Getting fatalistic in your old age?¡± ¡°Age before beauty, Zia. But no. Just the opposite. Determinist. The divine mandate given to kings to rule means that we will find Izkarzon¡¯s heir, regardless of whether that¡¯s by betraying Lord Prowess or murdering Lord Mien.¡± Drexl gave Zidrist an incredulous look. ¡°You really go through life believing that kind of thing?¡± Zidrist arched an eyebrow, an expression at which she still had Drexl beat. ¡°It is that, or go mad, at this point. Our fool¡¯s errand has clearly come into itself. What keeps you going?¡± Drexl pooched her lips. ¡°I dunno. I take it a day at a time. Today we¡¯re walking through mist into a beautiful land of rolling hills, flowery fields, and what looks like at least one not-soggy forest. This afternoon Darka will sing for our dinner¡­ and then I sleep before I have to enact whatever fool plan we come up with. It¡¯s a problem for tomorrow me.¡± Darka barked a laugh. ¡°To use your verbiage, holy nutria skewer the muscle has hidden depths!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we know that, dear, from the numerous times she¡¯s been our primary contact at each juncture of our little adventure?¡± Zia huffed. ¡°I said she¡¯d keep us safe, and she has! She¡¯s navigated the seamy criminal underworld of a foreign land with aplomb. You thought I, an ouroboros¡ªoh, sarx it. Nobody thinks I have the first clue what I¡¯m doing, I may as well give up the act.¡± Darka patted Zia on the back. ¡°Learning you¡¯re delusional is the first step towards losing those delusions.¡± ¡°I just¡­ I¡¯m ouroboros. I should lead. I should know what I¡¯m doing.¡± ¡°And maybe you would, if you had been trained for this. Like the Eyes of Izkarzon go through training in secret sorcery even if they¡¯re ouroboros.¡± ¡°But if caste doesn¡¯t mean anything¡­ I mean, should we make Drexl our leader because she knows better than any of us how to navigate this Royal Society I¡¯d never heard of?¡± Drexl¡¯s expression became shuttered. ¡°You don¡¯t need that much dislike for the idea.¡± ¡°Drexl, it¡¯s not you, it¡¯s your caste! You¡¯re bread, bread isn¡¯t supposed to lead!¡± ¡°I thought you thought I would and should be elevated for finding the heir.¡± Zia shrugged. ¡°Do you want to lead, then?¡± ¡°Oh, sarx no! Leaders get assassinated, loyal retainers get beaten and sent home.¡± ¡°In Daring Kaliskast it¡¯s always the retainers that get killed, to send a messa¡ªyou know the word ¡®retainer¡¯?¡± ¡°I¡¯m paid on one, I know what one is.¡± Darka guffawed. ¡°Hidden depths!¡± Zia stood upright. ¡°If I¡¯m still the leader, then we¡¯re done plumbing hidden depths for now. A good place for a country estate would be on the border of woodlands, near a river for a bathhouse. So we¡¯re going to head for that forest, and then we¡¯ll go downhill until we find a river, and then the estate we¡¯re supposed to be visiting.¡± Darka stage whispered to Zidrist, ¡°She¡¯s so much happier when she¡¯s in charge. Remember when you were like that?¡± Zidrist winged her arm as to escort Darka and replied in full voice, ¡°She¡¯s young, give her time.¡± Zia felt a pang of envy at their camaraderie, but nothing bitter or hostile. If anything, she was glad her friends had the comfort of one another on her adventure. And it is still my adventure. We just voted¡ªvoted?! Government should be autocratic! Voting is for weak rulers! ¡­which I guess I am. But we just voted me into leadership, which is where I belong. I may not be trained for this, but neither are any of them except maybe Drexl who doesn¡¯t want to lead. Except she can hardly be afraid of death, with the life she chose to lead. Did she give me leadership¡ªshe didn¡¯t choose the life she leads. Madame Krask gave her ¡°honest work¡± and it was probably all she could get as bread. Zia didn¡¯t break stride when she spoke up. ¡°Hey, Drexl.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Sorry for roping you into this. I had no idea it would be this complicated, but with hindsight I feel like it wasn¡¯t the best gesture to make towards a friend.¡± ¡°I think I knew better than you what we were gonna be up to. You want to apologize for something, apologize for not trusting me.¡± ¡°When did I¡ªwhen I tried to read your emotions to see if you read my mind. I thought I did apologi¡ªI¡¯m sorry. For not trusting you.¡± Drexl clapped her on the back. ¡°You got there eventually!¡± Drexl in lockstep with Zia, Zidrist escorting Darka, they walked in companionable silence towards the woods, then skirted them in the general direction of downhill. Eventually, they came upon a road that went their way, and finally came upon the white limestone walls of the White Queen¡¯s vacation estate. There was a gate of painted wrought iron, but when Zia tried it, it was not locked. Inside the gate, Zia watched Drexl watch for hidden assassins, but none materialized. The manor house was expansive, and built of the same white stone as the walls. At the door, a butler regarded them with obvious disdain. Too late, Zia realized she was wearing her dad¡¯s leathers, and not her fine dress. Nothing for it but to play it to the hilt. ¡°We are the adventuring company known as the Heirrors, seeking the rightful claimant of the throne of Izkarzon, and we have information for the courtier Defiant Mien. We have been traveling for some time, and would appreciate the opportunity to make ourselves presentable before meeting with him, please.¡± The butler stood there like a statue, and Zia was just about ready to wonder if he was a stone fey nephilim when he cocked his head, closed the door, and with a loud ¡°click¡± locked it. ¡°Well. Now what?¡± ¡°The stables,¡± Drexl said. ¡°Or the servant¡¯s door or whatever the low-caste¡ªclass people enter through. Y¡¯all can change there and I can fit in a little better.¡± ¡°Brilliant!¡± Zia declared. ¡°I was just about to su¡ªI was just about to give up, thank you for having an idea.¡± Drexl shrugged with one shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Circling around, they found a rather large stable, and a broad-shouldered woman shoveling the inevitable byproduct of horses greeted them. Drexl murmured, ¡°You want to try again, or is this being my arena?¡± Zia straightened her shoulders and shook her head. ¡°I got this.¡± She waved to the woman. ¡°Hail! We are the Heirrors, seekers of the heir of the late Izkarzon! We¡¯re looking for an audience with Defiant Mien, but we need to make ourselves presentable! Is there somewhere we could do that?¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Defiant Mien doesn¡¯t entertain your sort, he¡¯s got a straight line to the White Queen. What¡¯re you really here for?¡± ¡°We really are here to see Lord Mien.¡± ¡°Lord Mien? He¡¯s no¡­ hmm.¡± The woman¡¯s expression turned calculating. ¡°You¡¯re here on business alright, but it¡¯s more than my head¡¯s worth to know anything about it. Wait here.¡± The woman leaned her shovel against one wall and washed her hands in a bucket of water, before traipsing into the main building. I¡¯m relieved we didn¡¯t hear another click of a lock, this time. After some sandglasses, at most three by Zia¡¯s judgment, she came back out with a man in white livery with cream piping and silver trim and buttons. The tailoring was exquisite, and moved with his lean, muscular frame. Much to Zia¡¯s surprise, she felt no impulse to flirt with him, despite his obvious power and status. He might be a mere guard or servant, but he was at least on par with a hunger with how his suit fit and the obvious alliance to the White Queen¡ªwho, evidently, is one of the two Queens of the realm? I really do wish I¡¯d paid more attention to my studies. ¡°This here is Gnosis. He¡¯ll be deciding whether to let you in.¡± Zia was about to ask questions before Gnosis raised one hand to his temple and she felt a breeze at her back. Bits of hay and dust swirled around his hand, and then Zia felt the unpleasant sensation of a hand rifling through her mind. Drexl groaned, while Zidrist and Darka grimaced. Gnosis put down his hand, and the whirling debris settled to the ground. ¡°The graying one is resistant to my probe, but I don¡¯t think we need to press. They¡¯re here to beg favors from Ser Mien, trading on the knowledge that Analytical Prowess resents his crimping her trade in Royal artifacts. If he¡¯s not agreeable, they have illusions of harming him. He¡¯s been restless lately, maybe a little intrigue will perk him up. Worst case, we can set them loose in the woods and let him make sport of them.¡± The stable woman jerked her head in Gnosis¡¯ direction. ¡°You heard him. Follow me, and I¡¯ll take you somewhere you can bathe and change.¡± Bathe!? Oh, a bath sounds heavenly! The bathhouse exceeded Zia¡¯s wildest dreams. Submerged in heated water in a fire runed tub, she let the stress and frustration of the last few weeks soak out of her body. She hid behind a cloth when she slipped out of the tub, before remembering that everyone present knew her¡­ it wasn¡¯t so much a secret anyway so much as something she didn¡¯t like to discuss. Dried off and dressed in her dark blue dress¡ªif we stay long I¡¯ll need to find another like it in another color¡ªalong with Darka in her chorister¡¯s robes and Zidrist in her deacon¡¯s attire¡ªnothing to be done for Drexl, but I think she¡¯s intent upon staying in the below rooms anyway. Probably make ¡°Ser¡± Mien more comfortable if the obviously armed person stayed away. Zia snapped a little spark between two fingers, then paid for her impulsive act with an almost immediate blistering from the poorly-contained flame. I¡¯d rather not kill anyone anyway. Maybe the Daring Kaliskast can live with himself, but honestly I¡¯d like to live without any further violence as long as I¡­ well, live. The interior of the mansion was expansive and tasteful. While yes, there was gold thread in the wall hangings, it was echoed by goldenrod and tempered by stately blues and rich purples. The statuary and portraiture were illuminated by the generously-proportioned windows between vast limestone columns carved in relief with images of refined ladies and gentlemen and competing athletes performing superhuman feats. Resembling the pangs of longing she felt when she considered her quest for a partner, Zia felt desire to live in such an estate, to possess the fine appointments in her surroundings and the indubitable qualities of the rest of such a life. Cold melons in midsummer, preserves in winter, roast migratory fowl in any season¡­ she nearly drooled at the thought. While she had never gone hungry before her adventure, the seasons made themselves felt in what was served at her parents¡¯ table. The room where they were evidently to wait for Defiant Mien¡ªSer Mien. Wouldn¡¯t do to flub that like I did with Analytical Prowess¡ªwas more of the tame, the paintings hunting scenes rather than portraits of nobles or Queens that Zia had no knowledge of. The air sorcerer¡­ Gnosis? Did he actually say Ser Mien might hunt us for sport? Best get this right, then. The man who entered the room was short, round, and bore a sparse beard. Right away, Zia¡¯s self-recriminating sense of gender twigged him as a man who drank tea weekly, a piece of herbalism which she had been unable to find an equivalent for with her own desires. She also recalled that Gnosis had seemed derisive that they might injure Ser Mien, and looked for outward signs of his dangerous nature. Noticing her surreptitious inspection, Ser Mien cocked a smile and said, ¡°Looking for my sword? I assure you I have no need of so crude a weapon. You could have brought your thug, I am not concerned.¡± Well sarx. I could have used Drexl¡¯s sense of subtle here¡ªSer Mien laughed. ¡°Send for her, if you¡¯re so dependent upon your underlings!¡± He snapped his fingers and a servant who had blended in with the statuary fled the room. ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand just how far out of your depth you are, Heirrors. Your name is fitting.¡± He stood with a wide stance, clearly at ease as even Zidrist could not pretend to be, thumbs looped into his pockets, until Drexl was fetched from the kitchens. ¡°Now then. Aside from the banal attempts by ¡®Lord¡¯ Prowess to have me killed, what do you bring to the table? Gnosis was cursory in his search, and he knew more than he let on to boot.¡± Zia cleared her throat. ¡°We have¡­ accomplished numerous tasks for various Royal Society members, which we gather you to be. We are ¡®deniable¡¯ as foreigners, and could accomplish something at your behest, if you would deign to grant us a favor in return.¡± She sighed. Always, there is another favor to be exchanged. When will this end, that I might enjoy my reward? Ser Mien laughed. ¡°You think I am a Royal Society member? Oh, my good woman, I am so much more than that. I am the emissary between the Royal Society and their Royal Highnesses, the Black and White Queens. I make sure that nothing goes missing their Highnesses would rather stayed put.¡± ¡°It would be a trifle, then, for you to grant us our favor. And if you run in such rarified heights, you doubtless have work too dirty for your own hands.¡± Ser Mien barked another laugh. ¡°And what favor would you have me grant you?¡± ¡°Lord Pro¡ªAnalytical Prowess possessed connections to a group known as the ¡®Historians¡¯ which could help us to find the heir of Izkarzon, our dear Lord departed at the hands of the Dragonslayer. Surely, with your superior status and influence, you too could offer us such a trifle, in exchange for a little shadow work?¡± Ser Mien stroked his chin thoughtfully. ¡°You are entirely without subtlety. It took you two tries just to gain admission to these halls.¡± Sarx. ¡°If any of you has tact, it is the muscle you very nearly left out of this conversation entirely, in a misguided attempt not to threaten me.¡± He jerked his head. ¡°Brute! Why should I grant the favor of even letting your Heirrors handle my dirty work?¡± Drexl strode forward and aped Ser Mien¡¯s pose, wide stance and thumbs hooked in pockets. ¡°Because mayhem is chaotic and you are very clearly bored. I recognize it from our leader when she came down to the slums of Sasson. You¡¯re rubbing shoulders with us when we¡¯re clearly ¡®out of our league¡¯ because you are tired of courtiers and their petty intrigues. You don¡¯t care who slept with who, you want someone¡­ I think the term is ¡®cast low¡¯?¡± ¡°¡®Brought low.¡¯ An accurate enough answer, otherwise. Your rough speech disguises wit. Very well. I will supply you with papers to plant in the quarters of a particular noble. She has been abusing the favor of the White Queen to advocate for regressive, religious policies such as a legally mandated remission of debts every eight years. She might actually start listening, so I would have her embarrassed and retreat to her country seat.¡± Ser Mien spun on his heel and began to walk out. Zia raised her voice. ¡°How will it come out that she has these papers? What kind of¡ª¡± Ser Mien put up a hand for silence. ¡°You will be given instructions. Honestly, you would think I held illusions as to the kind of tool I was employing. I don¡¯t even care if you succeed but I will give you a sporting chance. Rather like I will if you do fail.¡± I really am starting to wish I had stayed in Sasson. Saved Us From Hell¡¯s Flame Praise the Lord, the Savior came! He saved us, from Hell¡¯s flame. I praise the Lord, with joyful lips Stroke my prayer beads, with my fingertips. I live in fear, of the One God We¡¯d all be deceased if not for Gotorjod! Praise the Lord, the holy One There is no one greater, than God and His Son! Praise the Lord, the Savior came! He saved us, from Hell¡¯s flame. We stray from right ways but He makes it okay Yeah He saved us, from Hell¡¯s flame. Your burden¡¯s easy, your load is light To praise the Lord, I do what¡¯s right. Spread His word, and spread His joy Been praising the Lord since I was a boy! Praise the Lord, the holy One There is no one greater, than God and His Son! Praise the Lord, the Savior came! He saved us, from Hell¡¯s flame. We stray from right ways but He makes it okay Yeah He saved us, from Hell¡¯s flame. Praise the Lord, the holy One There is no one greater, than God and His Son! Praise the Lord, the Savior came! He saved us, from Hell¡¯s flame. We stray from right ways but He makes it okay Yeah He saved us, from Hell¡¯s flame. Drexl’s Song ¡°Drexl,¡± Zia said slowly. ¡°I¡­ acknowledge that, of the lot of us, you¡¯re the one who best understands ¡®subtle¡¯ and that this mission calls for it.¡± Drexl raised an eyebrow. Curse Zidrist for teaching her that she does it so well. I feel like an idiot before I¡¯ve opened my mouth. ¡°But, and don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m all for your agency, forget castes,¡± Drexl made a small, sleepy smile at this that Zia would obsess over later. ¡°But, you looked into what the slums of a nearby city looked like, you¡¯ve attended a service or two by Wholists, and Darka has been performing for several days now to earn our keep. Are you still¡­ I mean, you do¡­ intend to carry out Ser Mien¡¯s mission for us? Or are you just having a good time while it lasts? Not that I think you¡¯d do that, just¡­ clue me in please?¡± Drexl laughed. ¡°I¡¯m still going to go do Mien¡¯s little job. Ser Mien, relax, Zia! You¡¯d think I called him Mumps. Anyway, Ser Mien¡¯s job. I¡¯m going to do it. I¡¯m waiting for rain.¡± Zia¡¯s eyebrows disappeared into her long brown hair. ¡°Rain?¡± Drexl nodded. ¡°You¡¯re waiting for rain to deliver papers. Because if they get wet it will obscure any inaccuracies by making the ink bleed? I don¡¯t think they¡¯re binding if that happens.¡± Drexl shook her head. ¡°Zia, you¡¯re not thinking subtly enough. Mien¡ª¡± She left off the honorific again. ¡°¡ªsaid that there would be a deal made where the noble would want those particular deeds. That¡¯s not for another week at least, though. The noble has been hanging around and being a pest for months, but the Season will start in Fief soon and Mien has a plan. If it doesn¡¯t rain, I¡¯ll think up a new plan.¡± ¡°So you have a plan.¡± Drexl laughed again. ¡°Yes I have a plan. The noble¡¯s house has a moat. I need to get around it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to trust me, because with Gnosis around my plan is staying in my head.¡± It was around mugs of warm blittero that Drexl related to them how she had succeeded in her mission, on a thunderous spring day a few days later. She cut it a little close, didn¡¯t she? ¡°So I told Zia I was waiting for rain. Well, when the rain came, it came¡­¡± The rain was a pleasant sound to Drexl, something she¡¯d enjoyed despite the leaks in the roof ever since she was small. However, with spring weather there was no telling how long the storm would last, so for her deception she had to get moving instead of sitting by a window enjoying it. She took the land deeds and wrapped them in multiple layers of oilcloth. Mien had explained that they were used in place of large denominations of currency, which Drexl took to mean ¡°big money.¡± Evidently, this particular noble had not kept up with the times and sold off multiple estates too cheaply, thinking they¡¯d remit into her hands at the eight year mark; this was a policy the White Queen had done away with following a debate with the Black Queen and obtaining her tacit consent. Finding these ¡°by accident¡± among her duns and debts would be quite the windfall. ¡°Windfall¡± was a word Drexl knew as meaning ¡°fool¡¯s money.¡± Drexl felt undressed without her armor, but she would both swim better and pass better as a common servant without the hide plates and knotwork mesh. She stepped out into the rain, and her hair was almost immediately plastered to her head. This was excellent, as she was about to get even wetter than the rain was making her. She strode confidently towards the minor noble¡¯s estate. The noble¡¯s name, potentially relevant, was Lord Soliloquy, a word Drexl would not try to spell but could pronounce readily enough. The estate, a fancy word for a house with a yard and wall, was surrounded by a moat feeding off the nearby river Zia had used to find the main mansion. Drexl circled the walls, looking for¡­ ah. A small grate to allow water in for the kind of artificial pond nabobs liked to put in their gardens. They were always grated, but never very well maintained, it being a wet, unpleasant, difficult job to do so. After a quick check to see if there were spikes or other hazards¡ªthere were not¡ªDrexl strode into the moat and swam across. Rust was eating into the wrought iron eagerly, and¡ªDrexl sighed. If she were a second story worker this would be a calligraphy invitation, the bars were set into the rocky soil below on the bottom. She set her parcel of papers against the outside wall and worked them loose with unhurried ease. She took out more bars than she thought she¡¯d need, not relishing the prospect of getting stuck underwater. Before grabbing the papers, she slipped through the bars and popped up her head on the far side, looking to see if there were nobles enjoying the gardens and their artificial lake. Seeing there were not, she returned for her papers and headed for the least impressive side of the mansion. As she went, she walked as though she were hurried but bored, upright and looking neither left nor right. Sure enough, just like the Queen¡¯s mansion, there was a servants¡¯ entrance between the front gate and the back gardens. The door wasn¡¯t locked¡ªwhy would it be, inside a walled and moated ¡°estate¡±? Inside, she took a liveried cloak off a peg and dumped the water in her boots over it, making it as wet as the rest of her. She pulled the hood of the cloak over her head and let her sleeves hang down so that she looked like someone wearing clothes too big for them. Then she widened her eyes and rushed into the first room she found. ¡°I got locked out! I was supposed to get these papers out of the coach house but then the front door wasn¡¯t open and fortunately the papers were wrapped but I can hardly go upstairs like this and it¡¯s pouring¡ª¡± ¡°Calm down,¡± the matronly woman in the kitchen said. ¡°I¡¯ll take the papers. Where do they go?¡± ¡°They¡¯re estate papers! Her Lordship wanted them before the Season and I don¡¯t think I got them wet, oh please don¡¯t tell her that I let them get rained on¡ª¡± Again, the woman tried to calm her down. ¡°Rest easy. Who are you, anyway?¡± ¡°Morebund, ma¡¯am. From the House. I was supposed to help today but nobody likes me and they locked me out so her Lordship would have to redraw the papers, I just know they did!¡± Drexl began to cry. ¡°Relax, Morebund. Have some cider by the fire, dry up a bit, I¡¯ll make sure these are prominently on her Lordship¡¯s desk.¡± She wiped flour from her hands and took the oilcloth from Drexl. ¡°She¡¯ll be very happy to hear you found these. Shall I tell her who she has to thank?¡± Drexl sniveled, ¡°I want to go back to the House. It¡¯s cold and wet outside and you¡¯re the first person, ma¡¯am, who¡¯s been nice to me.¡± The cook sighed. ¡°It would be Perdi¡¯s idea of fun to lock out the newbie. No sense complaining, she¡¯ll explain it was an accident. If you want to go back to the House, I¡¯ll see the drawbridge lowered. Maybe suggest your replacement be someone male, Perdition will be busier flirting than getting into mischief. The problem with hiring servants from that side of the family, not to quote her Lordship.¡± ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am. Might I have that mug of cider first? It is awfully cold¡­¡± Darka burst out laughing. ¡°You didn¡¯t. You literally had a mug of cider and warmed up by the fire before walking out the front door?!¡± Drexl grinned and hefted a cloak which was distinctly not white, cream, and silver. ¡°I did. Now, of course, I have to stay in our suite. We can¡¯t let Lord Soliloquy see me. But the hard part is over and soon¡­¡± Drexl tilted her chair back on two legs, ¡°We¡¯ll be out of here and on our way to find Izkarzon¡¯s heir for Zia.¡± ¡°You have no idea how impressed I am, Drexl,¡± Zia began. ¡°That¡¯s true. You haven¡¯t told me.¡± Smartalec. ¡°I mean, I wouldn¡¯t even have thought to go in through the grating. My idea of cunning is like what we did to Lady Amorous, and that earned us nothing but enemies.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Criminal bread is good at what it does. Didn¡¯t you say each caste has its strengths?¡± ¡°I also said you should be ouroboros and I stand by it!¡± Zidrist cut in with, ¡°You didn¡¯t, entirely, stand by it.¡± ¡°Well I am now! Drexl, you¡¯re amazing and when we find the heir we¡¯re going to make sure that brand looks the way it should! I just¡­ I mean¡­ and that story!¡± Drexl raised one insufferably pleased eyebrow which Zia was going to suffer through. ¡°You don¡¯t tell it like I would¡ªnot that that¡¯s bad¡ªbut it was riveting! I¡­ I¡¯m not flirting or flattering.¡± Drexl nodded acknowledgement, and Zia felt a bit of wonder that she truthfully wasn¡¯t. ¡°It was seriously like, I was always waiting for trouble even though you¡¯re here and clearly made it!¡± ¡°You want to make it in criminal circles, you have to spin a good yarn. But I¡¯m surprised, Zia. Normally I¡¯d expect you to be telling me how the Daring Kaliskast would have done it, or how you would have done it. It¡¯s a nice change, don¡¯t get me wrong.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to be a little less egotistical. It doesn¡¯t mean as much as I once thought it did that I¡¯m ouroboros and you¡¯re bread.¡± Hang on, that¡¯s the wrong verbiage. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter at all that I¡¯m ouroboros and you¡¯re bread. Unless we want bluster, which is the only thing I¡¯ve done well in this adventure.¡± Drexl smirked. ¡°You also start fires really well.¡± Zia groaned. ¡°Eugh, don¡¯t remind me. I still have nightmares about that. I never meant to kill him, I was just terrified.¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving up on solving problems with fire? That¡¯s a change. I remember when we started our adventure, you wanted to solve everything with fire!¡± Ser Mien came in then. ¡°And you have no idea how relieved I am that you elected to use a different method this time around.¡± It¡¯s rude to eavesdrop. Lacking confidence in her haughty arrogant expression, Zia instead went for frankness. ¡°Drexl was the mastermind here. She thought up and executed the plan all by herself. Actually drove me a bit nuts because she wouldn¡¯t tell me what she was planning.¡± ¡°So it was wise to let you retrieve your muscle before we made our bargain.¡± Drexl scoffed. ¡°You can drop the act, Mien, we were subtle and we got the job done. So shoot straight with us and be nice.¡± Ser Mien sneered, but it was half-hearted. ¡°And what makes you think I¡¯m nice?¡± ¡°You gave us a chance.¡± ¡°Suppose I was bored.¡± ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll ¡®suppose you¡¯re bored¡¯ and play that game. Our payment, earthbrain.¡± Zia gasped. Ser Mien laughed, then sighed heavily. ¡°Oh, why not. You¡¯ll be out of my domain soon enough. Gnosis already knows everything there is to know about everyone.¡± Now there¡¯s an unpleasant thought. Knowing what that felt like, I¡¯m actually glad I didn¡¯t manage to rifle through Drexl¡¯s emotions. Zidrist cut in, ¡°I thought this was the White Queen¡¯s vacation home?¡± ¡°Ah, but I keep it for her. But anyway. Do you have any idea what it¡¯s like to be a courtier? To be like your Zia¡ª¡± Aww, sarx, he did read me. I guess I read him. ¡°¡ªand be accepted, you¡¯re playing one more game on top of all the games of the court. I can¡¯t presume too much, but I have to presume more than is entirely couth to be taken as anything but an oddity.¡± ¡°¡®Like our Zia¡¯ more than you might think, I¡¯m ouroboros. Nobility. I¡¯ve played the game from the other side.¡± Ser Mien¡¯s eyebrows practically disappeared into his bangs. ¡°You¡¯re nobility? And from Dragold¡­ so things are dire there indeed. My Queen will be interested in that.¡± ¡°Why would she be?¡± I feel like I just said one thing too much. ¡°Oh, the usual reasons. Empire building, alliance building, unstable places looking for the stability of a larger, more established queendom.¡± Oh. Oh sarx. He¡¯s talking invasion. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t advise advising that,¡± Zia said defensively. ¡°We¡¯re finding the heir, and taking her back to Dragold. Stability is incoming, as soon as you give us your end of the bargain. Contact with a ¡®Historian¡¯ who can tell us of Izkarzon¡¯s oldest child.¡± ¡°You might find that a trickier proposition than¡­ well, that¡¯s your problem. If you want to meet with a Historian, stay here until the Season. Her Majesty gives me a certain measure of leeway, and your Darka is a competent chorister. You¡¯ll want to talk to the nephilim Lord Drake. I¡¯m aware of the irony.¡± What irony? Why is it ironic that a Historian is a nephilim? Zia¡¯s composure had evidently slipped, because Ser¡ªhe¡¯s being casual with us, I¡¯m thinking of him as Mien¡ªMien spun a chair and sat backwards in it. ¡°You don¡¯t know? Historians and dragons aren¡¯t on good terms.¡± ¡°Why would a Historian help us to find Izkarzon¡¯s heir, then?¡± ¡°A warped sense of humor, in Lord Drake¡¯s case. She¡¯d be amused for a dragon to trade status for secular rulership, an act which has clearly already cost one dragon his life.¡± ¡°Status?¡± Great. Now there¡¯s some reason the dragon we¡¯re not even sure we still want to find might not want to take over ruling an entire country devoted to her worship. Wait. We might not want to find? Oh sarx. Mien cocked his head, then shook it. ¡°As much as it¡¯s a relief to have someone understand the game of gender in a courtly context, there¡¯s only so much I¡¯m giving away.¡± Oh, come on! I am so sick of everyone knowing more than us! Ever since we¡¯ve left Dragold we¡¯ve been learning everything the hard way! We¡¯re not ¡°subtle,¡± we don¡¯t know how the Royal Society works, we don¡¯t know about the Queen, we shouldn¡¯t have told anyone about Izkarzon or at least we shouldn¡¯t have told Mien¡­! ¡°Anyway, I have duties to attend to. Drexl, was it? Good job. Stay out of sight for, mmm, nine days, and then it won¡¯t matter if Lord Soliloquy knows she was played.¡± Drexl rolled her eyes. ¡°We talked about that already, Mien, but then you¡¯re not Gnosis. But please assume I have a brain.¡± ¡°To you I will accord that honor. The rest of your Heirrors¡­ good day, milady.¡± With a smirk, Mien left the room. Was he flirting with Drexl? Was Drexl flirting with him? I didn¡¯t think she was, but then I¡¯m evidently not subtle¡­ Modern Wholist Criminal Each day I repent just like a modern Wholist crimimal I regularly commit acts which are morally abysmal I¡¯ve stolen things I¡¯ve fenced some goods my guilt is not subliminal I¡¯m really hoping ¡®ternal conscious torment is not literal. I¡¯ve stolen things from many places geographical, To calculate my income would take talent mathematical I¡¯ve got an ever postponed date with an executioner¡¯s noose But every time they get me handcuffed I run a scam and get me loose. Yeah, I¡¯ve read the Good Book know the words that I should be following But it seems like sin is in my life inside of everything As I said I regularly commit acts morally abysmal Each day repenting like a modern Wholist crimimal. I know the laws and anecdotes and how a sinner never wins Yet I¡¯ve stolen everything from jewelry to dust bins The judges know me at first sight they surely bear me great ill will And yet of crime I¡¯ve not begun to get my fill. The Lord I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve disappointed in each and every way Each morning I¡¯m surprised He let me live another day Divine judgment sure does seem to take its time Maybe He¡¯s just hoping tomorrow I¡¯ll begin to toe the line. I go to Church, confess my sins, of which there are numerous If sins were mortal mine would be most tumorous As I¡¯ve said I regularly commit acts morally abysmal Each day repenting like a modern Wholist crimimal. I¡¯ve even stolen from the Church I wasn¡¯t struck by lightning But with the proceeds my future sure was brightening. I told the priest what I had done she said ¡°I know I read the news, ¡°Tomorrow you have got a date with a deadly hangman¡¯s noose!¡± I fled the Church from the confessional, found troops outside walking processional I tried to break loose but they were too numerous My future now looks so dark as to be bituminous. For my criminal acts I¡¯m going to hang until I¡¯m dead They¡¯ve slipped a bag over my head As I¡¯ve said I committed acts morally abysmal, I¡¯m going to die having confessed an absolved Wholist crimimal.