“Sir! We’ve found out where they stopped!”

  The soldier followed Canes as he spoke. They were in a decent-sized camp with tents in a circle. What had been twenty men following Canes was now thirty.

  How else would Canes have been able to stop the Hidden Manor from getting the news so quickly? A third of the men given to him had been split off from him in the start.

  Canes walked into his tent, and the soldier stopped at the open flap.

  Canes nodded at the man inside as he went to look at the bits of rock on the table.

  “You said this has mana?” Canes said. “I don’t feel any.”

  He directed his words to his best scout, an ancient man in the world of soldiers who was named Nimbi.

  “It’s minor,” Nimbi said. “Reminds me a bit of bits o’ flint being pulled from a stone in a pinch I saw a few lads do. But it’s there.”

  “Did they meet someone else?” Canes spoke, his thumbs on his belt. “How did the traitor and his girl imbue mana into rock? I know she’s wind and he’s ice.”

  “That’s why I brought it to ye attention,” Nimbi said. “Maybe it’s from a previous visiter to the cave. Some beast or hunter. But maybe they have more help.”

  “What are the realistic chances of that?” Canes asked, with a smile.

  “Next to nothing,” Nimbi replied.

  “Excellent.” Only now did Canes turn to the soldier who had waited this whole time. “Where did the traitor stop?”

  “Despite the many frayed wind mana trails, we found his ice mana around Ariolus. That’s the only place that makes sense.”

  “As expected,” Canes said. “There’s not many places he could go. Shall we chase after him?”

  The man who had given the news stood tall and still waited, even after Canes had turned away.

  “Something else?” Canes asked, his back still turned. He squinted at the rock pieces.

  “Sir! Wouldn’t it be better to attack Fluentem with the rest? Nix needs us!”

  “Who asked you to question me?” Canes said, turning.

  The man paled. Canes took a few slow steps towards him.

  “The glory of Nix demanded it! Sir!”

  “The glory of Nix?” Canes took a step back and looked at the ceiling of the tent as he spoke. “The glory of Nix already has victory at Fluentem, I assure you. But our duty, as the hounds of Nix,” at this he sneered, “is to follow our laws and orders. We finished our mission, and now?”

  Canes waited for an answer. The soldier swallowed before replying.

  “…Now we hunt down the traitor. Sir.”

  “That’s right. It’s not for me or you to know everything. We have to follow the plans laid before us. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “You are dismissed!”

  Canes turned, and this time it was final. The man left, nearly wetting himself.

  “A little frustrated, sir?” The old scout said.

  The man was old enough to be Canes’ father. His question wasn’t answered with screaming.

  “How can I not be frustrated?” Canes said, shaking his head. “I only spent the better part of my month dithering around an old man who hasn’t entered politics in centuries! And on top of that, even my own men seek to question me!”

  “Relax,” the scout said. “Ye’re acting like a spoiled git. Everybody is angry like you. But ye was right. By the time we git to Fluentem, the fight would be over. There’s much more to be gained by going after our traitor, and it’s only a little ways off our way back home.”

  “I’m not worried about the timing of it,” Canes said.

  “Then what? The cost? He knew the job. He volunteered.”

  One man would not be returning home to Nix, that was already certain.

  Gramen Juramentum. That was the name.

  Canes looked up and sighed.

  I’ll miss his optimism, he thought.

  Not that that had kept him from giving the command.

  “I hadn’t even been thinking of him,” he said. “Until you brought it up. No, I only hope the man isn’t some kind of trap. Ice mana and the word of Lord Mors aren't enough to convince me.”

  “Ye dunno know, kid? I forgot… ye were raised out of the Lord’s house. Ye always strut like ye lived here ye’re whole life.”

  “Know what?” Canes said.

  The old scout shrugged.

  “It’s not somethin’ ye’re supposed to know,” he said. “If ye’ve got a man with a curse all over his face… ehhhhhh. I think Lord Nix might give ye something for him.”

  Then he grinned fully despite his holes of missing teeth.

  “But more than that? You know, I think my ol’ age is catching up to me.”

  Canes gripped his shoulder.

  “I hope you’re right,” he said.

  ———————————————————

  Aureum sat tapping her foot. Hiems reached out over Gemmo’s head to hold her shoulder still.

  It had been a week of working and waiting at Ariolus at this point. They were in the city hall, as if everything was fine.

  Everything was not fine.

  The night Gemmo breathed fire, Hiems and Aureum had whispered in the dark of the night about what to do.

  “Can we keep him inside the room?” Aureum said. “If someone sees, they're going to talk.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “If he gets bored, I don’t know what he’ll do,” Hiems murmured back. “We don’t know what he’s capable of. It might get out anyways, and it's probably better to keep him distracted.”

  “So we just ignore it?” Aureum said.

  “We keep our eyes on him as much as possible and play it by ear,” Hiems said. “I can’t sense any mana from him.”

  “No…,” Aureum had agreed.

  That had been the consensus, but it wasn’t like it was the end of her concerns. Despite her valid worries, Gemmo didn’t wander around breathing fire the next day. Or the days after that.

  So she continued her daily hunts. Hiems sold the pearls and meat for her, and each night they gathered and counted the coins they made from it.

  Within a few days the money that had been draining had doubled. It still wasn’t enough to buy a shop or to rent a place much fancier than a hovel, but Aureum watched it grow with relish.

  Each coin felt like a tiny bit of security.

  Much more than the coins gotten from selling some stupid ring, these coins felt like a way to have a future. Even if it was a dirty future that gave her a deep tan.

  No return letter from Lacuna had reached them. It was passing the time that the letter could have gotten lost. This alone was enough to make Aureum scream.

  Which is why sitting back in the city hall over some nonsense questions that would probably bring them nowhere wasn’t worth it. Especially when she could have been using that time to get more beast pearls.

  But Hiems had insisted.

  “Money is good, but it is only one type of good. There needs to be more than coins that can be stolen. There needs to be a home.”

  Aureum hadn’t been able to say much.

  What was the point of a home when it couldn’t protect a baby dragon from all the attention he would bring anyways? This should have been a question she asked.

  By home, does he just mean a building or a future with me?

  Instead, this was her first thought.

  She’d even been too shy to voice it. That’s how they’d ended up inside the city hall again without a fight.

  Which was fine. Maybe a way would open up. Hiems was right that their situation needed to be improved.

  But we just had to pick the day that the hall is packed, Aureum thought.

  Citizens of all walks of life crowded into the hall. They held all sorts of items. From bolts of fabrics to a chicken in a cage, all sorts of things and all sorts of people made all sorts of noise. Aureum found her patience thinner by the second.

  “What is it?” She said. “Tax season?”

  “Yes,” came the calm feminine reply. “Those who lack coin can use items of similar value to pay their yearly taxes.”

  Aureum and Hiems turned to Aureum’s right. A woman sat beside Aureum on the bench.

  I think I saw her last time, Aureum thought, craning her neck a little to look at her.

  It was the tall woman in robes that the man at the desk had been infuriated by, even as she had hardly spoken a word.

  “Isn’t there a whole season to do taxes?” Aureum asked. “Why is it so crowded now?”

  The woman smiled before she replied.

  “There is a whole season,” she said, “but people mostly still wait for the last week. And this isn’t even the worst of it.”

  “This… isn’t the worst of it?” Aureum said as she looked ahead at the cacophony of human life.

  Some man now had a monkey on the counter. Aureum was certain those weren’t native to the forests of Ariolus.

  “No,” the woman replied. “If you came by for business other than taxes, you should delay it.”

  “Then what are you here for?” Hiems asked.

  The woman turned to look at him and flinched only a little. She still looked away quickly.

  “I’m here to see what I can see, as I always do,” she said. “Despite what is proper.”

  What does that even mean? Aureum thought.

  “Maybe,” Hiems said, leaning into Aureum so he could have any chance of being heard clearly in the conversation, “instead of suffering here, we could have lunch instead?”

  The woman looked back at Aureum, a question on her face. Aureum shrugged.

  “It would be easier to talk,” she said. “Unless you have a way to get past the line!”

  The woman shook her head ruefully.

  The three adults and little child shuffled and scooted their way out of the hall. They shoved past the two open doors and made it into fresh air. Aureum took a loud breath.

  “Fresh air, glorious!” she said. “I’m Aureum.”

  The woman held out her hand, and Aureum shook it.

  “I’m Agere,” the woman said. “Agere Radix, though Radix is a fairly common name here.”

  “At least your first name is distinguished,” Aureum said, trying to be polite.

  Hiems mostly kept quiet. Gemmo held his pinky as they followed behind. Aureum was surprised by how well the boy walked.

  But she focused on Agere. It was a bit difficult to see her face with her wild cascade of dark hair all around it, but she seemed quite beautiful. A mana pearl of wood shone green upon her forehead. From the amount of mana alone, Aureum knew she was no sorcerer.

  What’s with Hiems’ sudden interest? She thought.

  They came to an establishment filled with other people for lunch. It was noisy in a much more comfortable way than the city hall. They sat down a little awkwardly.

  Aureum nudged Hiems, but he gave no sign of anything or speaking.

  If you were going to pull us all here, at least keep the conversation alive! Aureum thought.

  She knew he was easily capable of it. Instead, Agere spoke first.

  “What were you two… sorry, you three, doing at City Hall?” She asked.

  “Oh. We were just hoping to get more information about citizenship,” Aureum replied. “But it’s pretty hopeless.”

  “Is the process too complicated?” Agere said.

  “Ehhhh,” Aureum bought time as she shared a glance with Hiems.

  He stepped in and spoke for this, at least.

  “We can’t return to our city to get proof of revocation of citizenship, but the real problem is our city isn’t recognized,” Hiems said. “Even if we went, it would be pointless.”

  Agere didn’t waste a moment with her reply.

  “That’s a simpler problem than you might think,” she said. “There are countless minor city-states that slip through Ariolus’s recognition. In that case, you can just use two letters of authority that are signed to act in place of one sealed document. In the case of major city-states that aren’t recognized, like Nix, it’s intentional, and even easier.”

  Aureum leaned in while Hiems leaned back. Gemmo fidgeted in patient ignorance. Agere saw their interest and hunched a little.

  With how tall she was, it did nothing but make her more noticeable.

  “Nix has been spoken about often these days,” Agere said. “Ariolus doesn’t recognize Nix’s authority over its citizens, so whenever a citizen of Nix does come to seek citizenship, we act as if they have none.”

  “Doesn’t Nix fight to claim them?” Aureum said.

  “It’s an older law, set in place when Nix and Ariolus were already fighting,” Agere said. “…I doubt you’re interested in a full history lesson.”

  “Can you tell me why the old law wasn’t changed, at least?” Hiems asked.

  Agere shrugged.

  “It doesn’t come in use much,” Agere said. “From what I understand, Nixians are taught to hate Ariolus from a young age. Or… maybe it’s more appropriate to say history itself teaches them to hate Ariolus. Either way, the law isn’t used often. I haven’t seen it in practice. If it was used, it was minor and decades ago.”

  Hiems' head tilted.

  “How are you so sure?” He asked

  Aureum noticed that Ageres continued to look at her even as she answered Hiems. His face alone was enough to unnerve people.

  “Because I’ve watched or read about all the cases that have come through the city personally for at least thirteen years,” Agere said. “If I don’t recall at least hearing about it, I’m certain it didn’t happen.”

  Hiems nodded. He seemed satisfied with that explanation. His eyes narrowed, but Aureum didn’t get his amusement.

  “That’s pretty amazing,” Aureum said. “I’m not certain if I could stay focused on something for thirteen years.”

  She was mostly filling silence.

  “I enjoy it,” Agere said. “I hope my limited insight helped.”

  “It has,” Aureum said.

  Neither Hiems or Agere seemed interested in the conversation anymore. Agere kept looking down at the table.

  “So!” Aureum said when she’d had enough, “What made you so interested in watching these cases?”

  “I just was,” Agere said. “There is no ‘why’ for me.”

  The way that some people liked to dance or others liked to read. There doesn’t have to be an explanation for “why.” Aureum liked this answer, but it didn’t help the conversation flow.

  “Well, I’ve always found flight interesting myself,” Aureum said. “It’s hard to say when it started. Gemmo seems interested in everything right now…”

  She had to work hard, and Hiems picked it up here and there, but they all managed to get through lunch together without too much awkwardness. Gemmo ended up being an excellent topic and distraction.

  Though Agere didn’t speak much after the topic changed. Still, Aureum wanted to kick Hiems as they left.

  “Why didn’t you help me more?!” Aureum said.

  “Wasn’t she awkward?” Hiems said.

  “That’s why we needed to make conversation! So she wasn’t so awkward! Awkward at the lunch you invited her to!”

  “She seemed to endure most of our conversation rather than take part in it,” he said. “I was trying to give her the opportunity to make up an excuse to leave. At least after she told us what we needed. The first half I was quiet because I wanted her to give us more.”

  “That’s rude,” Aureum said. “Did you expect her to know so much?”

  “Most people don’t enjoy my company,” said. “It's surprising she accepted at all. But no, I didn’t expect her to have our answer. We saw her twice, so there was a good chance she at least knew who could give us some answers or options. I thought women couldn’t practice the law in Ariolus… We got very lucky.”

  “I guess it had to happen at some point,” Aureum said.

  “Hmmm,” Hiems gave half a reply, but Aureum could tell he wasn’t convinced.

  She couldn’t blame him, but what exactly could be done? If they were suspicious of easy answers, how would they make any progress?

  Should we just run to some forgotten corner and live in peace? She thought.