Radast turo look at Bernt, and only then did he realize that he was supposed to do the talking. Somehow, he’d expected that he was just supposed to be there to symbolically lend his support. He cleared his throat. It felt strao talk to her like this, with everybody watg them

  “Have you mao find Ed already? They said he should be somewhere nearby, as long as you’re still anywhere near where the rest of your pack was. One of them grabbed him, right?”

  Jori scowled. “Yeah, I saw it. It was Gegrenoth. I killed him days ago! I couldn’t believe that he was back already. The duergar warlocks must have summoned him back almost immediately.”

  Bernt gave her a grim smile. “The Solicitors just tried to summon him. They say he’s dead. Properly, I mean.”

  Jori cocked her head to the side in surprise and looked over at Josie, who nodded in firmation. Then she nodded firmly. “Good! I didn't like him!”

  “Do you know where the rest of your pack are? you find Ed?”

  “I’ve been looking. None of the demons I asked knew about a mortal in the hells. But I will find them, I know where to go! Varamemnon rules a city called Varadon. Or he is the city. They weren't very clear. Nuros is one of his servants, so he must e from there. The weaker members of the pack will be outside somewhere, searg together to gather souls for their master. Stronger imps like Gegrenoth work alone.”

  “How long will that take, do you think?” Iria asked. “ you find him in a week?”

  “Varamemnon is mighty and his territory is vast,” Jori said. “But rumors spread fast, I think, and mortals don’t normally e to us whole.” She looked from Iria to Bernt, and then looked pointedly down at the circle at her feet. “It will take longer if you keep me here long.”

  Radast cleared his throat, apparently ahat he was being ignored.

  “Rest assured that we will return you in short order. The purpose of this summons is to provide you with supplies for our errant archmage. He’s going to get hungry soon, assuming he didn’t bring any rations of his own, which we ’t assume. Will you agree t him what he needs?”

  Iria stepped forward and held out a satchel, which the imp accepted wordlessly. Jori’s nose wrinkled as she s it, then opehe top to look inside. Unsatisfied, she reached in and drew out a package of food. “Are there spicy s? I will bring the Great Ohis food, but I want spicy s!”

  The archmage looked fused, but Radast only nodded. “We will add some spicy s for you. I’d also like to che with you in three days’ time, and agaihree days after that until we extract Archmage Thurdred. To that end, you’ll be required to seize him during transport to draw him bato this pne – essentially the same process by which he was taken.”

  Jori blinked. “You bring him back?”

  “We simply need you to seize hold of him at the appoiime.” Radast crified.

  Bernt could practically feel the wheels turn in Jori’s mind as she processed this information. Then, she turned a calg gaze on the Solicitor in front of her.

  “I will not – I need his help. You summon Ed back when we are done.”

  Rock solid fidence radiated from Jori through the bond, apanied by a measure of relief. If he was interpreting it correctly, she’d worried that they would bring Ed back too soon.

  Bernt wished he could talk to Jori in private for a few minutes. He could guess why she wanted Ed’s help. She nning some way to break her packmates free of Nuros’ trol – probably by killing the fiend that had bound them. He wasn’t sure what she wao do after that, but he guessed she would try to get them summoned into the material pne. sidering her aversion to the Solicitors’ pact requirements, that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, nor ahat the Solicitors had any real influence.

  But why was she suddenly in such a hurry to get this done? She hadn’t expressed any real urgency before.

  He tried to vey his questions to her through their bond, but either he didn’t do it right or Jori couldn’t parse the ky method of unication. She threw him a fused and slightly annoyed gnce before turning back to Radast, atg her with narrowed eyes.

  “What do you require?” he asked after a moment.

  Jori scowled. “I’m n to haggle with you. I will help Great One Ed and give him the food. You have him back when we’re done! Then you help me, too!”

  “What manner of help?” Radast asked ily the same tone as before.

  “I want to stay here!” Jori demanded. “You will agree to let me remain in Halfbridge. Ed will voue, and so will you and the Great Mage.”

  “You know perfectly well that we aren’t able to offer that. As I already expio you, your priement already relied on an ued legal argument. There simply is no legal basis I use to justify your presence here so long as you refuse to be appropriately pacted.”

  Jori’s eyes narrowed, a felt anger fre in her chest at the warlock’s use of the word “appropriately.” She opened her mouth to retort, but only a small hiss escaped before Josie interrupted her.

  “We could sue for an exception!”

  Radast turo look at her, startled at the suggestion. Then he pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. After a few seds, he frow her in bemusement.

  “Based on what? The w is clear – she’s grown too powerful. Css 3 demons are cssified as immihreats to Beseri civilians and infrastructure by default. We’re required to deport them without dey.”

  “It doesn’t o be strictly a legal argument.” Josie tered. “We could argue that she’s due sideration for extraordinary services reo the kingdom against the Duergar. Or I could file for a legal review to test whether her deportation was legal in the first pce – there was some legal ambiguity there. It could force the Royal Magistrate in Teres to recile the w, and it might e out in Jori’s favor.”

  “What ambiguity?” Radast said, sounding curious and a the same time.

  “Jori is a registered gover employee.” Josie expined. “She draws a sary. We’re not a gover anization, so by dep her, we’re preventing her from perf her duties to the t, and by extension the . That’s a crime, just as not dep her would have been. If the Underkeepers sue, or if we file a request, they ’t ig. In fact, it’s more likely to succeed if the Underkeepers sue either us or the gover directly.”

  “Hmm,” Radast hummed in sideration. “It’s teically a flict, but I doubt there’s much ce of it ing out in Dzhorianath’s favor. She had a tract signed by Archmage Thurdred that explicitly required her not to advao css 3 on pain of deportation, after all.”

  Josie waved away his objes. “True enough, but that wasn’t her employment tract. I helped her iate it. If I go in person, I make sure they don’t ighe details. It’s all there if–”

  “I want it!” Jori interrupted excitedly. “Josie will go to tell the king that his w viotes the obligations of his servants. She must do her best to get a favorable result. In exge, I will return the Great Mage Ed. I will bring him with me when our task is plete.”

  Josie started to nod, but Iria put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head.

  “Not good enough. You’ll pass messages – unaltered messages – between us and Ed. And, at the very test, you’ll agree to return Ed by the time that Josie returns from Teres, regardless of the judgment she brings with her.”

  Jrinned. “Done!”

  Then, without waiting for a response or any further warning, she disappeared in a burst of violet fme. Bernt flinched. She hadn't bled on the rune circle to activate it this time. How did it work?

  Radast fixed Iria with a level stare. “You should have argued for a shorter time frame, archmage. Unless Josie is rejected ht, she could be arguing this case for as long as it takes them to rewrite the relevant ws – potentially both employment w, and the relevaris on demons. It could literally take years.”

  Iria grimaced and sighed. “Well, at least the imp probably doesn’t know that.”

  Bernt looked over to Josie, who returned his gaze with a challenging look. He smiled at her, trying to vey the gratitude he felt without saying anything in front of Radast. Bernt khat Radast regarded him with suspi, and it would be problematiply that Josie had been doing anything but helping the Chief Solicitor reach a deal.

  He’d misjudged her badly and he was only now realizing it. Bernt still didn’t uand how the Solicitors could justify the wild rumors that they were spreading about Jori, or how Josie could defend them. But at the same time, it was clear that Josie, at least, was trying to find a way to help. In fact, he suspected that she might have been pnning her legal tingency for some time. Had she already been thinking about this moment when she’d helped Jori iate for pay?

  And could it actually work?

  ***

  The tunnel down to the Uy had been repaired so quickly that it almost seemed as though nothing had happehe walls where the Duergar had broken in were smoother now than they’d been before, and too , somehow. There was also more traffic, mostly human evacuees from the Lower District still making their way down tister for a pce to stay.

  The lines in front of headquarters stretched halfway around the cavern, a didn’t expect them to get any shorter in the foreseeable future. They blocked the street a was trying to find a spot to squeeze through when someone seized his shoulder.

  Bernt flinched and whirled, manaburn already pooling in his right hand. The man who’d grabbed him stared with eyebrows raised, but he didn’t look scared. He was short and thin, wearing an old and ragged robe that had been white at some point.

  “Whoa there!” he said in a friendly tone. “Just saw your uniform there, don’t mind me. I was w if you could direct me to a young man orvald from yanization?”

  It took Bernt a sed to pose himself, but he extinguished the fire and straightened.

  “Sorry. Who are you? We don’t give out informatiarding our colleagues to the public.”

  "ht!” he grinned easily. “My name is Finian. I’m an errant priest of Ruzinia and I’ve bee.” He emphasized the st word in a way that suggested to Bernt he hadn’t bee by another priest, or his temple. This was not the sort of business he wao get in the way of.

  “Right. Okay.” Bernt nodded. “e with me. We'll go find him.” No matter who he was, Bernt couldn't just let him run around the building unsupervised.

  Finding Torvald was easy – the padin had ftly refused to take a day off despite his cussion and Fiora wasn’t in a position to turn down a willing hand. Still, she’d put him on desk duty. As the son of the City Guard aorvald was both educated and familiar with city-level politics. That made him one of the few people in their anization qualified to properly sort and prioritize the mail and various work requests that tio pour in – war or no war.

  Torvald, unlike Bernt, immediately knew who the priest was when they entered Ed’s office. He rose from the archmage’s chair with a broad smile and held out his hand.

  “You’re here so soon – I had no idea you’d be so quick! A real Ruzinian priest! You’re the first one I’ve ever met.”

  “I was in the area.” Finnian replied with a shrug. “These things have a way of w out. It es with the job.”

  “Great!” Torvald said. “Uh… what happens now? I mean, the goddess told me to expect you, but what’s ?”

  Finnian reached into his robes and drew out a small bottle. “I anoint you as a padin, and you go and follow your Calling. It’s not plicated. Just kneel down.”

  Torvald k, looking up at the shorter man. “ I choose? A man I knoulled into the hells by a demon. He 't get out. we help him?”

  “We go to those who are most desperate – wherever the goddess leads.” Finian said, shrugging. “Your friend’s situation will not go unnoticed. She has many hands and She sees far. It is not for us to guide her.”

  Carefully, he tipped the bottle and poured a golden-colored oil on his head. Bernt nearly stopped him – he was making a mess – but stopped himself. You didn’t interrupt holy rituals if you valued your life. Ruzinia wasn’t known for being a vengeful goddess, but nobody in their right mind would prod at a deity to see what happened. Whetle was empty, a soft golden light rose from Torvald. Bernt suddenly had trouble breathing, as if the air was too thick.

  “Torvald, son hmond. You have brought hope to the hopeless in the name of the goddess. Will you go where She leads you and shelter those She holds in Her hand?” The priest said, his voice reverberating oddly, as if it were ing from the very stones all around. His voice wasn't loud, but Bernt guessed that it carried far.

  “I will.” Torvald said simply.

  And just like that, the light winked out a could breathe again. The padin’s head jerked up and he looked around, surprised. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

  Finian tucked the bottle away and smiled. “No, that’s it. Ruzinia’s not very wordy. Too much work to do. gratutions, you’re officially a Ruzinian pilgrim. Maybe we’ll run into each ain sometime. Now, if you don’t mind, I have another appoi a few days north of here.” With that, the priest turo go.

  “Wait!” Torvald called out. “What do I do? There’s no temple here, and Ruzinians don’t join the military…”

  The priest didn’t slow, he just called over his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll know!”

  Torvald looked from the retreating priest to Bernt, whed at him. “I don’t know. I’m pretty sure those evacuees out there are feeling pretty desperate to get their paperwork filed. Maybe you’re right where you’re supposed to be.”

  Leaving the padin to it, he made his way back out of the building to help Nirlig bat the ever-growing lines of people looking to move into the Uy.

  ***

  Bernt turned on his back to find a more fortable position and drew his b around himself more tightly. He stared up toward the smooth ceiling of his home where a perpetual torch spell flickered in the air. It was nice having semi-perma lighting like this, but he couldn’t find it in himself to enjoy it.

  On the one hand, he felt relieved after the days’ events. W about Jori had felt like being swept down a river with no trol over what was . The meeting had been like finally finding solid footing. Jori had a way back, and so did Ed. This m, he’d been floundering, trying to find anythiely resembling an opportunity to hang his hopes on. Now they had one, but it was sinking in that it might still be a long time before everything could go back to normal.

  Since finishing his education at the academy, Bernt had rgely thought of himself as someone who did things alone. Someone who lived alone, often worked aloudied alone and usually ate alone. But that hadn’t been true. Jori had been with him for the majority of that time, even if she hadn’t been quite sapie – especially in the first year.

  Now he was alone, aed it.

  He couldn’t sleep, for ohat roblem, because he had another long day ahead of him tomorrow. He could just tell that something wasn’t right. A fire should be burning iove, and Jori should be curled up against it. It wasn’t supposed to be this godsdamned quiet.

  Flinging the b off, Bernt rose and crossed the room, loading scraps of wood into the stove. It was wasteful, but he didn’t care. Not today. With a quick trip, he lit the fire a back to bed.

  The fire crackled slightly, and the smell of wood smoke tickled his nostrils.

  It wasn’t the same, but it was better.