The trip through the city was reassuring, especially given the odd welcome they’d had. The reconstruction had progressed in their absence, though Verdan found himself surprised that more hadn’t been done. A dedicated team of builders with supporting Fwyn and Brecan, especially in good numbers, could do a lot in a short space of time.

  Now probably wasn’t a good time to be asking too many questions, though, so Verdan put it to the back of his mind for the moment. It wasn’t the only odd thing either, he realised as they wound their way through the city.

  There were guards patrolling, but there were also groups of uniformed men and women moving around with purpose. They weren’t part of the guard, though, which was odd. The only organised groups within the city were the guard itself, Verdan’s network of allies, the various groups of Sorcerers and the Kranjir.

  No one else had the resources to organise something as widespread as this, or at least, they hadn’t before he left.

  Glancing down, Verdan met Tobias’s gaze, and for a moment he thought the gaunt merchant would say something, then Tobias looked away. Just past him, Verdan saw Brent look at him and shake his head slightly.

  Brent was as much Tobias’s bodyguard as his butler and was never far from him. He also genuinely cared about the merchant, and beneath his gruff exterior, seemed to be a good man. In that moment of eye contact, Verdan could almost feel the worry Brent was feeling.

  Tobias’s odd behaviour, Brent’s worry and Silver’s weariness were individually nothing. Together though, it painted a worrying picture of the conversation to come.

  -**-

  Four guards were stationed at the gate to the estate when Verdan arrived, with Ruan and Nikau waiting just beyond it.

  “Come straight in, Boss!” Nikau called out, waving them through and into the estate proper.

  The Crea estate was Natalia’s inheritance, which she had all but given away after her family’s death. At the time, she’d been convinced she would be unable to recover and so her only requirement had been that whoever bought it would use it for alchemy.

  As it happened, Verdan had been able to undo much of the lingering damage from the fire, and in doing so, had found someone special. Against the darkness that hung over the land from the countless threats they laboured to defeat, Natalia was his rock. He’d missed her, even more than he thought he would, and he fought the urge to make Tobias wait while he went to find her.

  He owed Tobias too much for that kind of behaviour.

  “Why don’t you head in Tobias, let me just catch up with my people,” Verdan said, clambering down and flashing the other man a smile. “I’m sure you remember the way.”

  For a moment, some of the strain faded from Tobias’s face as he returned the smile. “I think I’ll manage somehow.”

  Chuckling, Verdan turned to Ruan and Nikau. “Alright, Gentlemen. Who’s going first?”

  “Before we do that, Boss,” Ruan said, gesturing vaguely towards Verdan’s left eye. “Are you okay?”

  “More or less. I’ve lost the eye, but other than that I’m in good shape.” Verdan lifted a hand to forestall any questions. “We can talk about that later. What’s done is done, right now, I need to know the situation. Any idea why Ada and Tobias met me at the city gates?”

  “Quite a bit has happened while you were gone, Boss,” Ruan said, sharing a look with Nikau. “It could be a few things, really.”

  Ruan had been the leader of Verdan’s guard until they hired Nikau, and then a nasty injury during the fighting in Miyaka forest had left Ruan with a weak heart. Now, the grizzled veteran was the equivalent of Verdan’s majordomo. Still, he wasn’t exactly politically connected, so anything he was aware of would be widespread events.

  The same would be said for Nikau, who had become the Captain of Verdan’s small guard force as thanks for healing his old injuries, and those of some old friends. It was ironic, really, that Verdan had healed Nikau’s eye despite the damage done to it. Anything less than the complete destruction of Verdan’s would have been potentially fixable, and yet, here he was.

  There were always limits to magic, but this particular limit was more frustrating than most.

  “If I had to guess, I’d say this is about the changes to the council,” Nikau said after a moment of thought. “I’ve been keeping in touch with Commander Silver and the Kranjir Chosen to monitor the rising tension in the city. The Commander told me that the council took a vote a few days ago and removed Disciple Ferd from its ranks. Apparently, the new Councillors believe that it goes against the city’s best interests to have a Sorcerer on the council.”

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  Verdan cursed under his breath, his gut telling him that Nikau was right. That was definitely what Ada had come to tell him, and Tobias was here to defend that moronic decision. Verdan could see where they were coming from, of course. No one wanted to give any Sorcerer Sects even the smallest amount of power within the city.

  That being said, they’d agreed on the action as a gesture of goodwill to the Steel Custodians. It had given them a powerful ally, and some protection from other, less savoury Sects.

  Perhaps Ferd had done something to warrant the response, but Verdan doubted it. Both Ferd and Ada seemed to be honourable and dedicated Sorcerers.

  “Alright, let’s assume that’s what this is. What else has happened? You mentioned tensions?”

  “You remember the shifting requirements for the Fwyn and Brecan that you spoke to Tobias about?” Ruan asked, and Verdan nodded, his heart sinking. “Well, that seems to have been only the start of a faction within the city acting against non-humans. The Fwyn and Brecan are no longer helping rebuild the city after some claims that they were taking jobs from local builders.”

  “What?” Verdan almost didn’t believe it for a moment, but then he remembered the aggressive way they’d treated him. With him elsewhere, perhaps that focus had fallen on the Fwyn. “Did they at least get enough housing rebuilt so everyone has shelter?”

  “No, and Samuel told me that he’s heard people blaming that on the Fwyn as well. They mention you leaning on Tobias for a special payment as well, but no one ever seems to say that it’s just food. None of it is good, Boss.”

  “An understatement if I’ve ever heard one.” Verdan took a moment to gather his thoughts as Ruan gave him a more generalised summary of the state of the estate. Thankfully, it was more or less as he’d left it. It seemed that all of the changes had been to the city as a whole, which was only underscored his growing concerns. “Alright, that’ll have to do for now. Let’s get together in the morning and discuss the rest. I need to see what Tobias and Ada have to say.”

  Ruan and Nikau both nodded and went back to their respective work, leaving Verdan to head to the mansion and join what was no doubt going to be a very frustrating meeting. Taking a deep breath, Verdan readied himself before pushing open the door to the large sitting room and stepping inside.

  The atmosphere in the room was palpable as Verdan stepped inside. Tobias and Brent were on his right, while Ada sat directly across from the doorway on a stool and the rest of Verdan’s companions were to the left. Vaijon, Kai and Gwen had come to hear what Tobias and Ada had to say, though it looked like they’d been waiting in silence for him.

  “So,” Verdan said, deciding to cut right to the heart of the issue. “Ruan and Nikau have given me an update on the city. What in the Abyss has been happening while we were gone, Tobias?”

  The Councillor winced and sagged in his chair. “Truthfully, I don’t know what to say. Most of what my new colleagues have to say is great, but there are a few issues.”

  “I think I’ve only heard the negative so far,” Verdan said, leaning his staff against the wall and taking a seat. “Ferd has been removed from the council, the Fwyn have been barred from the job we agreed on, and there’s discontent in the city about non-humans.”

  Vaijon stirred at the mention of Ferd being removed, and grimaced, likely realising that he wasn’t going to get that permanent area in the city for his Sect. “That’s a bad list, Tobias. I can see why Ada is angry.”

  “Oh, it’s worse than that,” Ada said, baring her teeth in what only a fool would call a smile. “Sorcerers are barred from the city unless they have official business or are registered with the council as here on behalf of our Sect. I’ve had a dozen Sorcerers who were going to use Hobson’s Point as a base of operations turned away. They’ll have to head to Dresk and change their whole plan because of this. Unless this idiotic restriction is lifted, any hope of cooperation with my Sect is gone.”

  “Is this true, Tobias?” Verdan turned to the gaunt man, who nodded unhappily. “Then why? Why do any of this?”

  “Because that’s what the people are calling for,” Tobias said heavily. “I could blame it on the other Councillors, but that would be unfair. The reality is that people are scared and they are lashing out. Non-humans and Sorcerers are objects of fear, especially after the Vespa attack, the Cyth and our issues with the Sects.”

  “I can understand the Sects and tarring them all with one brush,” Verdan said, holding up a hand as Ada’s face grew flushed. “I’m not agreeing with them, not at all, but I understand the feeling. What I don’t follow, though, is the issue with the Fwyn. They are relatively harmless, and they certainly aren’t physically imposing.”

  Tobias hesitated for a brief moment before answering without meeting Verdan’s eyes. “That was Edward’s doing. He has an issue with non-humans and demanded that we spend the money on hiring locals to do the job. His arguments about keeping the money within the city were persuasive.”

  “Not to mention pointless,” Verdan said, seething with frustration. “The Fwyn just wanted some food, nothing else. That same money could have been spent fixing the wall, better equipping the guard, quite literally any other way. Instead, it’s being wasted paying for something that could have been done at essentially no expense!”

  “I know. I know!” Tobias grew more animated for a moment before he sagged back into his chair. “The problem is that I can only oppose so much. I gave ground on this so that we could move forward with a plan for the council to front the cost for reopening some nearby mines. We’d already started to do so, but now we can expect them to be producing ore within a fortnight.”

  Verdan resisted the urge to comment on how the Fwyn and Brecan could do that project as well, it wouldn’t help matters. “What about the food for the Fwyn?”

  “I got it to them, though the funding was removed and I had to pay for it myself,” Tobias said, running a hand over his face. “This is all teething problems, Verdan. We lost most of our council, and they were more just figureheads, they were champions for their part of the city. The newcomers are still finding their feet. Once they settle into their roles, things will quieten down.”

  “So you want us to just ignore this?” Vaijon asked incredulously. “All the progress in allying with the Steel Custodians, never mind my Sect, is in jeopardy. Can’t you do something?”

  “I’m one man,” Tobias said with a sad smile. “Ferd and I used emergency powers to install the new members of the council, but removing them is a different matter. We’ll need to either hold new elections next year or find them in breach of law. Neither of those are happening any time soon, so I suggest you start learning to work with them, rather than against them.”

  His piece said, Tobias got wearily to his feet and left, Brent at his side.