“Really? You’ll do it?” Torvald said, clearly excited.

  “I’ll accept if the t appoints me.” Bernt hedged. “You said yourself that you ’t just e.”

  “Eh.” Torvald shrugged fidently, pulling out a piece of paper and scribbling something on it. “My mom was born a princess. I mean, only teically—she was never really in the line of succession, but still. She grew up in the king’s pa Teres! Narald is going to listen to her. At least, as long as nobody else with more practical influence leans on him first.”

  Bernt had e to work early to do some reading in the break room – it was more fortable than his ckluster stone furniture at home – but he’d found the padin already there and waiting for him. By the looks of it, he meant to send a message with Bernt’s response up to the pace before work.

  That seemed a little odd. Was it really that urgent?

  With a friendly his shoulder, Torvald hurried out the door to find a messenger, leavi in the nearly-deserted breakroom.

  Well, this was it. Sighing to himself, Bernt pulled out the book on familiar bonds ao make himself a cup of tea.

  ***

  Asra allowed Narald’s secretary announce her, but she didn’t wait for his invitation to enter. It was important to maintain proprieties, but he was just a t.

  Seeing her ehe secretary quietly sketched a bow areated.

  Narald sat at his desk across from his court mage, Iria, who peered disapprovingly over her gsses at her. She looked for all the world like a grumpy old schoolteacher. Idly, Asra wondered if the woman had ever been one. Maybe she'd taught at the Mages’ Academy.

  “Yhness.” The t said smoothly, turning slightly in his seat to greet her. “How may I be of service to you today?”

  She and Narald had always gotten along well. Almost, anyway. When she’d first moved here with Righmond, the t had feared that she would attempt to usurp his position in Halfbridge. But he’d calmed down after some reassurances, and he’d even helped her manage some family drama a few years back when Righmond had gotten himself into hot water over some business down at the docks.

  “I had a thought regarding the meetierday, and I wao ask a favor of you,” she began. “As I'm sure you're aware, any priest ag on behalf of the Invigition will need a legitimator appoio apany them, especially sihey’re pnning to get involved in iional politics...”

  Narald furrowed his brow. “Ah… and what, you want to act as the legitimator for your son? I thought you hated politics. Besides, I don’t think I even do that. You outraeically.”

  “No, no. Nothing like that.” Asra said with a polite ugh, shaking her head. “I want to make sure my son is protected. That, and I don’t want to see my retives from Teres get their cws into him. You've met them, so I'm sure you uand. If you don’t appoint someone soon, Renias will almost certainly send someoo shepherd the family’s new “rising star” for the be of the . He’s barely grown into a man—he’s not ready for that.”

  Narald’s face grew flicted, ahrew a g the archmage before looking back at her.

  “There’s not a lot I do if the king takes a personal i. You do realize that he simply overrule my appoi, right?”

  “He won’t,” Asra said with more fidehan she felt. “Halfbridge is all that still eorthern and southern Besermark. He won’t want to offend you as long as your pick doesn’t directly undermine him in some way. Your personal loyalty and goodwill is valuable to the right now.”

  The t sidered that for a moment before nodding to himself. “Makes sense. I suppose that you have somebody in mind?”

  Asra nodded firmly. “I do. As I’m sure you’re aware, Torvald has been w for the Underkeepers. One of his new friends from there—a mage—ied a spell to burn demons. I hear that he distinguished himself itle in the Uy, just as Torvald did. He seems like an appropriate choice, all things sidered.”

  A soft, sidering hum drew Asra’s attention to the archmage, whose gsses briefly shoh a glint of iridest light as she apparently started sg or divining or whatever, right then and there!

  That hardly seemed appropriate, but Asra ignored her. Let her py her own games. The mage didn’t really her. The Underkeeper boy had nothing to do with the king or the nobility, and that was good enough for her. If Torvald was happy, then all the better.

  “I’ll ha.” Narald promised.

  “Thank you.” Asra nodded graciously toward the t and swept out of the room. At least that was one problem taken care hmond still wouldn’t be happy—he’d wao send one of his own people—but life was built on promises.

  ***

  Narald gave Iria a meaningful look as the door closed behind the retreating figure.

  “That Underkeeper's one of yours, isn’t he?” he said. “The oh the demon that killed Nuros.”

  “She killed Nuros’ host.” Iria corrected, giving up her divining attempts for the moment. As far as she could tell, the woman really was just looking out for her son. “Nuros is probably back already. I’d guess that he was the one behind the fall of Loamfurth. The Solicitors assure me that powerful demons are difficult to bind into a pact, and expeo maintain. I seriously doubt that the Duergar have more than one.”

  “I see,” the t said. “And the Underkeeper?”

  “He’s a guild member,” she said. “Still, he’s more closely associated with the Underkeepers. I don’t know that he’s going to accept. He’s loyal to archmage Thurdred and probably won’t want to leave with him missing. If you don’t mind, I’d still like to get one of mine appointed. Maybe to Hannis. We t on that old goat to be ihick of things.”

  “You would, wouldn't you?” The t asked with a snort. “I don’t know, Iria. I think one mage is enough. I have a bao maintain here, and I ’t afford to be seen pying favorites.”

  “I suppose,” she allowed, frowning thoughtfully. The young Underkeeper wouldn’t have been her first choice, but at least he was already as good as appointed.

  She needed someone on the ground to help her push things in the right dire. Ideally, it would be someone more reliable and sensible than Pollock’s new protege, but at least the boy wasn’t stupid. She’d have to have a talk with him soon. At least he was already friends with the young Ruzinian padin. Still, it would be a lot more veo have someone more experienced along.

  “Have you thought about security?” she asked. “Three of the temple representatives are priests, aimators aren’t usually expected to protect their charges—especially if you’re pnning to send any of your courtiers.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it.” Narald said with a glint in his eye. He’d guessed where she was going with this. “The Adventurer’s Guild has graciously offered us a dist. I already accepted.”

  Iria frowned. How had Ambrose gotten to Narald ahead of her? She really was going to have to rely on the Underkeeper boy.

  “How long do we have till they leave?” she asked, trying to decide on her steps. She had a lot of work ahead of her if Bernt was going to be ready.

  ***

  “Here are the citations for today.” Bernt said, putting a small stack of papers on Fiora’s desk. She’d sent him to i a handful of businesses in the Crafters’ Quarter and review their waste disposal procedures. “A dwarveing facility and a dyer in the Crafting Quarter are both dumping toxic waste into the septic system.”

  Firunted as she flipped through the citations. “Did they give you trouble?”

  Bernt shrugged. “No, not really—they just pyed dumb. I expihat they were going to iheir own food supply with the mushroom farm and that seemed to get through to them. I don’t think they’re going to be a problem.”

  “Good, thanks.” Fiora said, and then looked up to meet his eyes. “Listen, Ed was doing his best to keep you off of iion duties like this. We’ll get some of the others trained up on the waste ma procedures here soon. I know you’ve had… a bad experience, but the backlog is pretty extreme, and we’re short staffed.

  “Fiora, it’s fine,” Bernt said, feeling a bit embarrassed. He’d known that Ed avoided sending him to any alchemists, but he hadn’t realized that they were making aodations for him to this degree. “It’s my job. I do whatever you need.”

  “Well, that’s what I wao talk to you about.” Fiora said, leaning back. “I got a request from Archmage Iria about an ho. She wants me to loan you out to the Mages’ Guild for a few weeks. In exge, she’s to put a word in with the magistrate to get City Mainteo start sharing the load down here. It’s teically their job already, but you know how they are…”

  Bernt nodded, sidering. What she wasn’t saying was that she heir engineers a lot more than a single pyromancer when it came to getting all of the new facilities that were being built down here up to code.

  “So, yiving me a choice?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “More of an expnation.” Fiora replied with an apologetic smile. “We haven’t even finished with the Crafters’ Quarter, and it’s about to get a lot worse. The crafters that came down from the surface after the battle are setting up in the new Refugee Quarter, and all of them will need iions soon as well. The people at City Maintenance have their hands full supp the restru of city infrastructure in the Lower and Crafters’ Districts.”

  Fiora sighed tiredly and her face fell into a scowl that suddenly reminded Bernt of Ed. “They’ve been arguing that the Uy is our responsibility first. The magistrate hasn’t done anything to disce that attitude. I stopped sewer maintenan the surfa protest, but everyoh any solid leverage is up there. They won’t really feel the effects for a few weeks.”

  “Fair enough,” Bernt said. “I don’t mind. I’ve been meaning to carve out some time to research up at the guild anyway. It’ll be easier if I’m already in the building.”

  “Oh?” Fiora said inquisitively. “What are you w on?”

  “It’s a couple of things…” Bernt said evasively and then held up his right arm, letting the sleeve fall back to reveal the glowing patterns on his lower arm. “I o work out what kind of iure to get hat might actually form an augmentation. That and a couple of other ideas…”

  He didn’t want to talk to anyone about his familiar bht now. Nobody was aware that it was still w, or even that it had survived Jori’s deportation. Except… he’d mentio to Josie. But she was gone. Nobody in Halfbridge would know, unless Radast had been spying on him. He had been seeing shadows in the er of his eye tely. But that was most likely just paranoia. It might be a valuable secret to keep for now.

  Fiora nodded, pursing her lips as she examined his arm.

  “It’s iing, you know. I knew a few people who burned out their maworks when I was in the army. Not totally, mind you, but enough to retire. It’s hard on them.” She looked up to meet his eyes. “Don’t uimate your aplishment, you hear? Even if it stunts yrowth, you’re already going to help a lot of people. That ts for something.”

  “Wait.” Bernt shook his head in fusion. “What do you mean? Polloe that nobody was using my hellfire derivative. We don’t really know anything about what happens if a mage attempts further iures afterward. It’s not safe yet.”

  The e huffed a ugh and offered him a sardonic grin. “No, no. The guild hasn’t endorsed it, and it isn’t administering your procedure to injured veterans in a trolled enviro in exge for a fee. That doesn’t mean nobody is doing it. These are people who burheir spirits to protect their fellow soldiers and themselves. To win battles. You know what it feels like to do that to yourself. It doesn’t just happen by act. Do you think people like that are going to wait for a reendation from the guild when there’s a war on? Did you?”

  “Oh,” Bernt said, swallowing. He didn’t know how to feel about that. It felt good to know that other people valued his work. Oher hand, he wasn’t going to get paid anything fes who tried to replicate his sorcerous iure on their own. Not to mention what might happen if they didn’t adequately replicate his hellfire derivative.