Natalia needed time to work on the journal, so after a short discussion on what might be a good starting point for a useful recipe, Verdan left her to it. This was all well beyond his alchemical expertise. He knew enough to know that the suggestions she’d offered were beyond the normal strength of potions, though.

  For the most part, potions were limited to fairly basic effects. Healing in a general sense, antidotes, blood clotting, a lot of it was medicinal. In fact, the only thing that Verdan could think of that went a step further was the vile practice that Kai had told him about, the one that had claimed his sister’s life.

  As Verdan understood it, the potion gave whoever drank it an intense amount of Essence, some of which would permanently improve the imbiber. It actually reminded him of some of the things they were just discussing, but with all morality and humanity thrown away.

  Verdan’s walk slowed as he considered that thought a little deeper. If he took what they knew already and extended it, what Kai had described sounded like the victim was turned into a form of Dryd. He was loathe to assume that the Brotherhood were responsible for everything, but his gut told him that this was a variant of their existing process.

  They already knew that the Brotherhood empowered Sorcerers to bring the disillusioned over to their side. They also knew that they saw no inherent worth in human life, so why not do something like this?

  Running a hand through his hair, Verdan decided to talk to Natalia about it another time. This wouldn’t change anything right now, but it would be worth knowing if he was right or not.

  For now, though, he needed to check in with the Kranjir and the Fwyn. Nikau, Ruan and Barb were talking near the gates, so Verdan made his way to them first. “Nikau, do you have a moment?”

  “Of course, what do you need?”

  “I’m heading over to visit the Fwyn and Kranjir. I’m leaving Rocky here, as he’s clearly built for combat and that might provoke things, so do you have anyone free to go with me?”

  “I’ll go,” Barb said, resting a hand on her sword. “Just need a minute to grab my shield if you think I’ll need it?”

  Verdan’s instinct was to say no, but clearly things weren’t quite as he thought they were. “I hope not, but you know the situation more than us, Nikau, what do you think?”

  “No shield would be best,” the Captain said, dropping his voice. “We’re steadily on the path to violence, but we’re not there yet.”

  “Understood.” Barb turned to Verdan with a nod. “Ready when you are then, Boss.”

  -**-

  The city was the same as it had been when they left, on the surface at least. As they made their way to the north-eastern quarter, though, Verdan saw two shoddy signs, each proclaiming ‘humans only’. To make matters worse, they saw a patrolling pair of guards walk past the second sign and do nothing. Clearly, someone had decided that the signs were reasonable to keep in place.

  The temptation was strong to burn the offending signage to a crisp and walk on, but Verdan stayed his hand, for now at least. Burning the signs would feel good, but it might well make things worse.

  It was only as they passed by a makeshift clinic that Verdan realised something he’d forgotten about. “Barb, what happened to the Idrisyr we rescued?”

  “They went with Cullan. He said he’d look after them and introduce them to his sister. Apparently she has someway of contacting their families?”

  Verdan relaxed a little and nodded, a little embarrassed that he’d spent all that time with Natalia and completely forgotten about the Idrisyr. “She does, yes. I’m glad that’s taken care of. There isn’t anything else I’ve missed, is there?”

  “Not that I can think of,” Barb said after a moment of thought. “I don’t know much about whatever Tobias was telling you about, though. So don’t take my word for it.”

  “That’s in hand; it was more a thought of anything else I might have forgotten about.” Verdan rubbed his face, feeling abruptly tired of keeping everything going when other people just undermined it all. He couldn’t begin to express his disappointment with the city, and he could only hope that the council would eventually come around.

  Now they were back, he’d get Magnus working on healing medallions as well. It would be good training for him, and would help with any injuries or problems around the city. In some ways, he wished he had the time and Aether to simply go and personally do some healing, but his schedule was full as it was. Either he took that time away from himself, or he took it from important work he was doing.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Was healing the injured more valuable than Sigil research in the short term? Yes, absolutely. It might well cost lives in the long run, though, if he didn’t put the work in. The Brotherhood clearly had very advanced Sigil knowledge, and being able to better equip his allies would make all the difference.

  Especially with the Brotherhood willing to perform dangerous alterations on its own people.

  Sighing, Verdan dragged his mind away from the familiar worries about the Brotherhood and started forward once more. They were almost at the Kranjir quarter now, and he was eager to see how Dirk was doing.

  Verdan saw the first Kranjir a minute or two later, his time in the north helping him spot their Caelin and recognise a few key designs. These weren’t just random Kranjir, they were shieldguards of Clan Thrain.

  Shieldguards were the general military force of the Kranjir Clans, dedicated to defending their territory and performing in a more static, defensive capacity than the Chosen and their Thearns.

  A small contingent of Thrain shieldguards had been sent down to help secure their Clan’s presence in the city, Verdan knew that already. He didn’t understand why there was a pair of them casually waiting right at the main road into the Kranjir area, though.

  He’d have said they were off duty and relaxing, but both of them were armed, and they were watching their surroundings carefully, even if they didn’t seem to be officially stationed there.

  The moment they saw Verdan they waved a greeting, but stayed where they were.

  “Guards, do you think?” Verdan asked once they’d passed the pair by.

  “Definitely. Trying to make it look as casual as they can. Not a good sign, Boss.”

  “No, not at all.” Verdan glanced back to share a look with Barb. These streets should be safe enough with Silver’s people patrolling them. The fact that Ciaran felt the need to use his shieldguard like this was telling in Verdan’s opinion.

  They saw another pair of shieldguard not long after the first, who again greeted Verdan with an easy wave. They’d seen a few local people between the trip to the estate and then on the way here, but none of them had known who Verdan was. He supposed it just went to show how much of an impact he’d had on the Kranjir, especially in Clan Thrain.

  He had saved their Thane’s life, after all, not to mention helping to defend one of their towns and stop a rogue Keeper from orchestrating the downfall of the Clan. In retrospect, it was probably not that surprising at all that they knew who he was.

  The bustle of the city grew more pronounced once they were in the heart of the Kranjir area. The square where he’d first met the Kranjir now held a range of traders in what looked like a slightly chaotic market. There was everything from food to raw lumber on sale, as well as a smith with a range of metal tools.

  Most of those present were Kranjir, though some were likely born south of the mountains and simply raised in the culture of the far north. Still, there were enough others present to bring a touch of hope to Verdan’s heart. This was more like what he’d been hoping for, and he could tell that the Clansfolk had taken full advantage of the Fwyn and Brecan.

  A building that he remembered being mostly destroyed during the Cyth attack was fully restored, albeit with a more angular design than before, and it wasn’t the only one. The Kranjir hadn’t suffered to the same degree as the rest of the city, simply by being further from the gate the Cyth broke through, but that was far from saying that they’d escaped unscathed.

  It was heartening to see that they were bouncing back from the attack, and Verdan took a moment to simply enjoy the sight of the busy market.

  “Verdan, Barb!” A voice came from off to the right and the Wizard turned to see Maeve heading their way at a jog, her burly Blade Dhorn in step behind her.

  Maeve was a Chosen of Clan Thrain, one of the heroes of the Clan who wielded an ancestral weapon and led a warband of her people to fight against the monsters who dwelled in the north. Maeve’s sharp eyes straddled the line between grey and pale blue, contrasting with her dark hair that hung in a tight braid to her waist.

  Maeve wielded a polearm with grace and agility, unlike her Blade Dhorn, whose muscular build lent itself to a more direct assault.

  “Maeve, good to see you!” Verdan called back with a natural smile. “And you, Dhorn. How are things here?”

  “Going well, for the most part,” Maeve said, her smile dimming slightly. “We’d had word you were back in the city and I was just on my way to speak with you. Ciaran has a meeting with Bastian in a few hours, and he wanted to extend an invitation to you.”

  “Surely there’s someone else who could carry that message?” Verdan asked, unsure why Maeve was doing such a simple task.

  “Ah, yes, I suppose there would be,” Maeve said, stumbling over her words slightly. “I just wanted to make sure everyone was okay, that’s all.”

  Dhorn cleared his throat and gave Verdan a knowing look. “The Chosen was keen to know if your Apprentice was unhurt.”

  “Not just him,” Maeve said hurriedly, her cheeks a little flushed. “I’d heard you were injured as well, Verdan. I don’t mean to be indelicate, but will your eye heal?”

  “I’m afraid not.” Verdan’s smile felt brittle as the good cheer that had been building faded away. “Magnus is back at the estate, I believe, but you’d best hurry if you want to catch him. You needn’t worry about any injuries as well; the only person with wounds beyond my magic was myself.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Maeve said, her posture changing as she slipped into her official role. “May Govannon grant you the wisdom your trials have justly earned.”

  “Your lips to his ears,” Barb said softly.

  “Thank you, Maeve. Will you be back for the meeting?”

  “I should be. Dhorn, why don’t you carry the word to Ciaran so that the good Wizard can carry on with his day?”

  Maeve’s Blade gave the Chosen a look that said he knew exactly what was happening, but nodded all the same. “Of course, Chosen. I will head there directly and return to you with haste.”

  Dhorn turned and jogged off, leaving Maeve to quickly say her goodbyes and head back the way Verdan and Barb had come.

  “Such a strange thing, that someone as strong and experienced at fighting monsters as her becomes flustered over a simple infatuation.” Verdan shook his head with a laugh, trying to recover some of his previous good mood.

  “We’re all people, Boss. Besides, I had a drink with Dhorn not that long back, and he told me the two of them have been dancing around each other for a while.”

  Verdan laughed again before gesturing to the market. “In that case, let’s carry on and leave them to it. If we’re meeting Ciaran later, we should start with the Fwyn.”