A few hours later, they caught sight of a pack of wolves running along a hill, one of which was much larger than the others. Sylvie usually travelled in her human form, but Blane was padding along as a wolf, and on sighting the other group, he let out a long howl.

  The Airta leading the wolves immediately changed direction and came to speak with Sylvie before heading back to the city. She would carry word of their arrival to those who needed to know.

  Turning his gaze up, Verdan flared a light spell, holding it up until he saw Kraujas signal him back. With the signal given, the Vespa turned away and began to fly further north, towards the mountains. Verdan doubted it would have gone well to bring them directly to the city, but he’d still meet with the council and explain the situation.

  For now, though, he was simply satisfied that the Vespa were safely in the north and could find a new home.

  -**-

  The first of the watchtowers that had been built came into view not long afterwards and Verdan was relieved to see that any damage from the Cyth had been repaired, and it was manned with at least a half-dozen guards.

  A few of the guards waved a greeting, but were too far away for even a shouted conversation, so Verdan simply waved back. For a moment, he’d wondered if they’d actually known it was him, but then he supposed the stone cart and horse were a giveaway.

  The closer to the city they came, the more people they saw, whether they were working on cutting down the corrupted trees, patrolling for monsters or simply travelling somewhere. It was late afternoon by this point, so the level of activity was good to see. When Verdan had first come to Hobson’s Point, there would have been a few people, if that. Despite it all, Hobson’s Point was growing once more, and Verdan couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

  Turning his gaze to their destination, Verdan noticed a few people were already waiting at the city gates. As they drew closer, Verdan picked out the forms of Commander Silver, Ada and Tobias, as well as a handful of guards and Tobias’s butler, Brent.

  Commander Silver was a stocky, muscular man with dark brown hair and a well-groomed but voluminous beard. At least, it was normally well-groomed, Silver looked a little ragged around the edges, and his dark eyes were hooded with the strain of many long nights.

  Bringing the cart to a halt, Verdan held up a hand in greeting, his smile dimming as he felt the tension in the air around the waiting group.

  Silver stepped forward to say something, but paused as he saw the eye patch that Verdan was wearing. The Commander’s brow furrowed and he looked at the others for signs of injury before paling as he saw Cullan. The Idrisyr had shaped supports on both legs and was walking with a cane, but he was moving under his own power. Compared to where he’d been, it was an almost miraculous recovery, but Verdan realised a little too late that it was still a shock.

  “Cullan?” Silver’s eyes widened as he saw the way the big man was moving. The Commander’s gaze fell to the shaped supports, and he turned on Verdan with a hard expression. “What happened?”

  “He fell, his legs were badly injured, but are healing nicely. No permanent injury as best I can tell. I still want one of the Clerics to heal him, though, just to be safe.”

  “No permanent injury…” Silver echoed, his face paling as his jaw clenched. “How bad was it, Verdan?”

  “Lukas…” Cullan spoke up, but a single look from Silver made him wince and turn away.

  “His legs were shattered,” Verdan said honestly, deciding that he was going to do everything he could not to get in the middle of this. “There was a trap, it wasn’t Cullan’s fault.”

  “No, but I bet he was leading from the front, wasn’t he.” Silver shook his head as Verdan hesitated and walked over to the Idrisyr. The two of them had a whispered conversation that seemed to mostly be Silver telling Cullan he was an idiot and to be more careful.

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  Verdan looked away, feeling as though he were intruding on a private moment, and saw the guards present grin as Silver pulled Cullan down for a fierce kiss. One particularly brave, or foolish, man wolf-whistled, and Silver whirled on them with a thunderous expression.

  Verdan wasn’t quite sure what he found more amusing, Cullan’s relief that Silver’s anger was placed elsewhere, or the horrified realisation on the guard’s face as he realised that Silver had heard him.

  A short, but pointed, dressing down later, the unfortunate guard looked as though he wished the ground would swallow him whole, and Silver was ready to talk to them.

  “Apologies for all that. I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”

  “No need,” Verdan said, waving a hand from side to side. “We caught you by surprise, I’m sure. Thank you for meeting us here, by the way, has anything happened I should know about?”

  To Verdan’s surprise, Silver hesitated, his gaze flicking over to Tobias before he grimaced. “I’ll let the Councillor cover that. I was asked to be present for security reasons.”

  “Security?” Verdan echoed, cocking his head to one side. “So you’re protecting Tobias, from me?”

  The unhappy look on Silver’s face told Verdan that his guess was on the mark, but despite that, Verdan couldn’t believe it. He knew that some of the new Councillors didn’t trust him, but this was ridiculous.

  “Without wanting to cut in,” Tobias said, taking a step forward. “Why don’t we have this conversation back at your estate. That way we can cover everything in a more private setting.”

  Tobias was a tall but gaunt man with bright, inquisitive eyes. He was also one of the foremost merchants within the city, not to mention a member of its ruling council. More importantly, he’d been one of Verdan’s first contacts within the city and had helped him get established. A staunch friend and reliable ally. At least, he had been until recently. Things had been strained somewhat with the new council, though, and that had tested their friendship.

  “Then why meet me here, like this?” Verdan asked, his brow furrowing as he looked between the two men. Something about this felt wrong, there was no need for them to meet him here if they wanted to talk in private, they could have just waited at his estate. No, something more was happening.

  Before Verdan could ask anything else, Ada stepped forward and gave Verdan a slight nod. “They’re here because otherwise I’d tell you about everything that’s happened while you were gone.”

  Ada was a tall, powerfully built woman in full metal armour, which was typical of a Steel Custodian Sorcerer. They eschewed the robes of the other Sects and almost always wore their armour. From what Verdan knew, if they were in public, the tradition was that the most they could take off was their helmet.

  While not an Elder, Ada was a direct agent of Elder Vanarr, who was respected universally for both his personal strength and moral fibre. If she wanted to tell him something that the others didn’t like, Verdan had a feeling that something had gone wrong in the city while he’d been gone.

  Ada had remained in Hobson’s Point purely to support Ferd, the local head of the Sect, and improve relations between the city and the Steel Custodians as a whole. Unlike other Sects that they’d encountered, the Steel Custodians focused on reclaiming territory for humanity as a whole. They purged the Cyth wherever they were found and did their best to research any ancient ruins they found.

  Of all the Sects Verdan had interacted with, the Steel Custodians were among the few he trusted, even with the actions of people like Ella Brenn, who had betrayed them all.

  Glancing back at Tobias, Verdan saw how uncomfortable the merchant was with what Ada had said and fought back the urge to sigh. “Alright. Let’s discuss this at the estate, I assume that it just involves me?”

  “Actually, no,” Ada said before Tobias could speak. “The Witches aren’t involved.”

  “Lucky us.” Gwen muttered, just loud enough for them all to hear.

  Ada’s lips twitched, but she carried on without pause. “Elder Vaijon should be present, though. As should Sylvie, Blane, Tim and Cullan.”

  Verdan frowned, unsure of what to make of the list. Glancing over at those she’d mentioned, he waited for them to nod before speaking. “Alright, let’s go.”

  “Should I accompany you all?” Silver asked Tobias, looking for all the world like someone who was desperate not to be involved.

  “No, there’s no need for that. Take your people back to their duty,” Tobias said, waving in Brent’s direction. “Brent will stay with me, of course.”

  “Understood, Councillor,” Silver said in a stilted, formal tone. “Are you making that a direct order?”

  Tobias didn’t reply for a moment, and when he did answer, there was such weariness in his voice that he sounded twice his age. “Yes, Commander. I will take full responsibility.”

  “Thank you, Councillor Brock,” Silver said gratefully, saluting Tobias before turning and dismissing the guards who’d accompanied him. With a last look in Cullan’s direction, Silver hurried back through the gates of the city.

  Turning to Verdan with a strained smile, Tobias gestured to the gates. “After you.”

  Nodding slightly, Verdan urged the stone horse into action, leading the way through and into Hobson’s Point.