The Seventh District was the seventh and last part of Rios to be reclaimed. Despite the demons having been annihilated years earlier, many curses lingered along the coastline and no less than twenty-one years passed before members of White Candle discovered the means to lift them. The reclamation itself lasted another five years and was completed in 1662. The last of the taint left by the Second Rios M?lstrom, thirty-six years prior, had finally been removed from the city.

  Excerpt from 'Inside the M?lstrom'

  Karan woke up to a soft yet urgent knocking on the door of his room. He rolled over beneath his blanket, hoping that whoever it was would go away. Instead, both the volume and urgency of the knocking increased.

  With heavy eyelids, Karan sat up in his bed. The pale light behind his curtains revealed it to be barely past dawn. He wasn't pleased at the intrusion. Yesterday morning, after he returned from his adventure at the White Candle, he had barely been allowed to rest and had turned in early last night to catch up.

  “Who is it?” he snapped. “I'm trying to sleep.”

  “It's Miklas.”

  Miklas? Who the blaze is Miklas? Karan thought, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to banish the drowsiness that fogged his memory.

  “Who?”

  “Adept Miklas Jone, magister.”

  A small light went on in his mind. He's one of Htanni's adepts.

  “What do you want?” Karan asked.

  “I have a message for you from Magister Vae,” Miklas answered. “He would like you to return his copy of 'Ley lines and Entropy' as soon as possible.”

  Karan's drowsiness vanished as if swallowed by the void. “Could you repeat that?” he said, now wide awake.

  “Magister Vae would like his copy of 'Ley lines and Entropy' back as soon as possible,” Miklas repeated.

  Karan jumped out of his bed. I heard him correctly after all.

  “Alright,” Karan called as he reached for his clothes. “I will bring it to him before breakfast.”

  “I will inform Magister Vae. Thank you.”

  He heard the adept's footsteps moving away from the door, and pulled his robe over his head with such haste he put his head through one of the sleeves.

  Wrestling with the cloth, he pondered the implications of the message. When he and Htanni had set their plan in motion, they had agreed upon a way to message each other in a way that wouldn't arouse immediate suspicion. That way if anything was to go wrong, the association between the two men would remain hidden.

  The words Miklas had just relayed meant that Htanni needed to speak to him urgently. What could have happened? Did the Royal Guard discover our ploy?

  Before he left the room, he quickly grabbed the requested thesis, then took a moment to calm himself. There was a chance that he would be watched, and running outside in a panicked state would only arouse suspicion.

  With a deliberate and steady pace, Karan made his way to Htanni's study, wearing an expression of tiredness and annoyance. The hallways he passed through were mostly empty. Only a handful of adepts and apprentices were active at this hour, and they appeared inattentive.

  Nonetheless, Karan eyed each and every one of them as if they were ready to jump at him until he found himself at the door of Htanni's study.

  “It's Karan,” he called after knocking. “I have your requested thesis with me.”

  “Enter, please,” Htanni answered.

  Karan stepped into the room and looked around. Apart from Htanni, no-one else was present.

  That's a relief.

  He held up the thesis. 'Ley lines and Entropy'. This is the one you wanted back, correct?”

  Htanni nodded, his bearing betraying his graveness. “It is. Could you place it on my desk, please?”

  Karan did as requested as Htanni put his hand on the voicesphere that would prevent them from being heard.

  “There is a problem, Karan,” Htanni began. after he had cast the spell and sunk back into his chair.

  “I gathered that,” Karan said, sitting down. “So what's happened?”

  Htanni sighed. “I suppose there is no easy way to speak of this, so I will simply state the facts.” He looked at Karan with sadness in his eyes.

  “Let's hear it then,” Karan answered with a slight hint of fear. What could possibly have happened to get Htanni acting like this?

  “Archmagister Yerwede is going to make you a scapegoat for what happened to Magisters Lee and Hadwinagonn,” Htanni said. “I think you have until this evening, when they will make their formal accusation and turn you over to the Royal Guard.”

  Karan's mouth fell open. It took him a while to grasp what he had heard.

  “They want to do what?” Karan finally asked, more confused than angry. “Make me a scapegoat? Why? I talked about this with Sill for the better part of yesterday afternoon. We planned to claim that both of them were sent away on a field expedition to the Frontier and suffered a fatal accident at some point.” Karan slammed his fist on Htanni's desk, his anger growing. “He agreed with me.”

  “I take it you did not hear about the latest news from the Winged Keep?” Htanni asked.

  “What news?” Karan asked. “I went to my room early yesterday. Have the Royal Guard discovered our plot? Or is it about that ghast?”

  “Well, it concerns two important things,” Htanni said, holding up two fingers, “with the first being that King Darych no longer wishes for Callium to continue the breach of the Candle sanctum.” He bent his middle finger, leaving only his index finger raised.

  Well, that's not surprising, Karan thought. Just that wouldn't be enough for me to be made into a scapegoat.

  “What's the second thing?”

  “In the coming days,” continued Htanni, “the Royal Guard wishes to question every single registered magister and magistra in the city.”

  Karan felt a cold numbness envelop his body. That's it. That's why Sill is doing this. He thought back to yesterday when he had had to suffer Sill's red-faced wrath, blaming him for everything that had gone wrong during the operation. Both Magisters Lee and Hadwinagonn had been killed when the ghast appeared at their location; the first skewered, the other killed by the blast that blew the ghast outside. Fortunately, Magister Ondann had managed to keep his cool, beating a hasty retreat and taking the two downed magisters and the blackshifted tomes with him.

  If the Royal Guard wants to question every magister, then the plan to claim that both men died during an expedition won't stand. Two members of Callium's inner circle suddenly being unaccounted for will stand out like a roaring flame under a new moon. Especially as they were likely seen the day before.

  He leaned forward and covered his face with his hands. I should have realized this back when Sill was shouting at me. That wasn't just anger; it was fear as well.

  Karan wanted to feel angry himself, but somehow couldn't manage it. Instead he just felt empty as he desperately tried to come up with a way to turn the situation to his favour.

  “I'm sorry, Karan,” Htanni said. “I would have preferred not to see it end like this.”

  “I'm not done yet,” Karan said. He knew they were hollow words considering his current predicament, but he spoke them nonetheless. “There has to be a way out of this.” He sat up straight and looked directly at Htanni. “Do you know exactly what they want to do?”

  “I do, in fact,” Htanni said. “I was called to the archmagister's study because he wanted to know which spell you used to mask your entry into the sanctum. We spoke a bit before some members of the inner circle arrived and I was quickly ushered outside. I did leave something behind in his room, though.”

  “You listened in?” Karan asked, somewhat surprised. That wasn't the sort of thing he expected from Htanni.

  Htanni smiled faintly. “It's a bad habit of mine. Something from a time I thought I'd left behind.” He shook his head. “Well, to answer your question: they want to make it look like you, Magister Lee and Magister Hadwinagonn conspired in a plot to steal items from the White Candle sanctum and flee the city with them in an attempt to discredit Callium.”

  Karan leaned back in his chair, sending up a cloud of dust. “And as both Lee and Hadwinagonn are dead, I get to shoulder the entirety of the blame.”

  “Indeed,” Htanni said. “I won't bore you with the finer details; you can probably guess those.”

  “Oh, I can,” Karan said wryly. “I can picture Sill's face already, expressing his deep regret about my painful betrayal to the Royal Guard. He'll make up some grand story about how they found some White Candle spelltomes in my room and how they barely managed to capture me as I tried to flee the city.”

  Htanni's face darkened. “About that,” he said, pausing a moment as if gathering courage. “I'm not so certain they want you to be alive before they hand you over to the Royal Guard.”

  The numbness that had enveloped his body evaporated and Karan realized that he was laughing. Not just a regular chuckle, but a full-blown laughing fit, leaving him gasping for air.

  “You feel that is funny, Karan?” Htanni said, visibly appalled. “I find the fact that a Callium archmagister wants to kill one of his own guild most unsettling. Has your mind been struck by the tempest? ”

  “It has not, Htanni,” Karan said, wheezing for air. “In fact, it makes things rather clear now.” He then sneezed loudly because of all the dust he had inhaled during his laughing fit.

  “Does it?” Htanni said, remaining unconvinced that Karan had not been gripped by madness.

  “Yes,” Karan said, feeling strangely relieved. ”If they are really considering killing me, it means that there is no future left for me at Callium regardless of what I do. Even if I can convince them otherwise, it would be meaningless. At best I would be sent to one of our subsidiary guilds in some small town in the moors down south.”

  “They want to kill you,” Htanni said, visibly upset. “You believe you can convince them even now?”

  Karan smirked. “I have more than enough filth on every last one of those inner circle rats to bring about each of their downfalls and they know it. That's why they are seriously considering killing me.” His smile turned grim. “But as I said, using that to threaten them is pointless. They've finally decided that I'm more of a nuisance than an asset regardless of the risks to themselves.”

  Htanni shook his head. “I still fail to see how this makes things clearer for you.”

  “It makes things clearer because I no longer have to worry about placating Sill or anyone else,” Karan said. “Do you know how much effort that takes? To always have to watch where you step lest someone's toes are there? It's like fighting all your battles with a dull sword.”

  He clenched his right hand into a fist. “Now that I don't have to worry about that anymore, things have just become a lot easier. If they want to kill me, let them try. I won't have to hold back this time.”

  “Be that as it may,” Htanni said, “a Callium archmagister resorting to such means...” He did not finish the sentence, suddenly looking his many years. His usual vigour escaped him, leaving only an old, frail husk of a man who had seen too many bad things in his lifetime.

  “It wasn't supposed to be like this,” Htanni whispered after a pause. “This wasn't what we fought for during the Schism…”

  Karan ignored the old magister, allowing him to retreat into his memories. What matters now is what I'm going to do.

  The first step was the obvious one; avoid being captured or killed by Callium. After that, things became murky. Even if he evaded Callium today, Sill and his lackeys would simply spin that into an admission of guilt that supported their own story—and then the Royal Guard would be looking for him.

  What I need is a place where I can stay hidden. Once I have that, I'll have time to plan my next move.

  “Htanni,” Karan said, rousing the magister from his mumbling. ”I need a haunt and I need to know where you hid our Candle spelltomes.”

  Htanni stared at him with sadness in his eyes. “So you are going to abandon the guild as well then?” he said eventually.

  “The guild abandoned me first, Htanni,” Karan reminded him coldly. Any loyalty or feeling of responsibility he might have had towards the guild had left him during his laughing fit earlier. “Now it's just me I need to look out for.”

  “I had hoped I would never have to see a day like this again,” Htanni lamented, appearing on the verge of tears.

  “Don't mist up on me now,” Karan said. He needed Htanni to be focused and present, not remembering how old he was. “If I don't make it out of here, it's going to be an even worse day. So tell me where you hid the spelltomes and if you know a place for me to hide out for a while.”

  Htanni was silent for a long time, rocking himself back and forth in his chair, until he finally rose and walked over to the bookshelf.

  “The tomes are hidden at this address,” Htanni said, as he retrieved a slip of paper from one of the books and gave it to Karan. “Nobody in this guild except me knows about this place.”

  Karan accepted the slip and looked at the address. “This is within the Seventh District?” he asked, somewhat puzzled. “Why do you have a haunt there?”

  “You can hide there as well,” Htanni went on. “The people who live there can be trusted.”

  “Not even your adepts know about this place? Who delivered the tomes, then?”

  He found it hard to believe that Htanni himself had taken them, as even walking up and down the stairway clearly gave him grief.

  “I told my adepts to pack the tomes in a small crate and to deliver them to a specific trading house afterwards,” Htanni replied. “The crate was then retrieved by the people I mentioned.”

  “Can they be trusted?”

  “They owe me a great debt,” Htanni said. His eyes glazed over briefly, then he shook his head. “No, that's not right. They owe a great debt to someone who was once close to me, and now they help me because that's what that person would have wanted.”

  I wonder if this person was the same one who contrived the Frozen Past spell? Karan wondered.

  He knew better than to ask about that now, however, lest Htanni's focus slip away from him again.

  “Very well,” Karan said, after memorizing the address and returning the paper. “I will go there. Will your trusted people know who I am?”

  “They will,” Htanni said, “and if they remain suspicious, tell them 'one out of six is too many'.”

  Karan raised an eyebrow, but nodded in response. I did not expect him to have this much underworld clout. Is this all part of a legacy from the Schism?

  The thought worried him slightly. Despite Htanni being exceedingly helpful at the moment, Karan wondered what other things he didn't know about Magister Htanni Vae.

  “Is it a password?” Karan asked.

  Htanni smiled weakly, his usual vigour still absent. “Something like that.”

  “Is there anything else I need to know?”

  “No,” Htanni said with a tired voice. “I've told you everything, except perhaps that you should make haste with your escape as they plan to apprehend you somewhere this evening.”

  “Very well then,” Karan said, rising from his chair. “I suspect I won't be seeing you again anytime soon.”

  “I suppose you will not,” Htanni agreed, rising as well. “Do you require any help leaving the Imperator?”

  “No need,” Karan said. “I will be long gone before they come to find me.” He smiled reassuringly, but in truth he didn't feel very confident. Htanni seemed to think they would not come for him until this evening, but Karan was certain it would be sooner rather than later.

  If I'm really going to be sacrificed, there is no chance that Sill is going to leave me to my own devices for much longer.

  Yet refusing any further assistance from Htanni was the right thing to do. At this point asking for more aid could easily lead to Htanni's exposure as Karan's ally, and it would be far more prudent not to risk that. Karan might still have need of him in the future.

  He extended his hand across the desk towards Htanni. “Thanks for all your help. Without you, I would not have come this far.”

  Htanni smiled, a small spark returning to his eyes. “May the ?ther preserve you,” he said, shaking Karan's outstretched hand.

  Closing the door of Htanni's study behind him, Karan surveyed the corridor. Nobody was there apart from him. It's still early. I need to be gone before the guild wakes up.

  Karan quickly made his way back to his room. There were a handful of items there he needed to retrieve first and he had to change his clothes. The formal robe he had thrown on this morning would stand out like a sore thumb out in the city.

  When he turned the last corner of the corridor and was within sight of his room, he found an unpleasant surprise waiting for him. Magister Koon Yerwede, cousin to the archmagister, was knocking on his door. Behind him stood two large, bored-looking adepts with one rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

  Krat, they made their move already.

  He briefly considered turning around, but immediately realized that wasn't a good idea. Ill-equipped as he was now, he wouldn't get very far if it turned into a chase. He needed every advantage to successfully escape from the Imperator, and that meant gaining access to his room first.

  “Magister Yerwede,” Karan said congenially as he approached the small group. “What can I do for you?”

  “Oh, you were outside,” Koon said, the surprise clear on his face. “I thought you were ignoring me.”

  I usually do, Karan thought while smiling politely. Magister Koon Yerwede only held that title because his uncle Sill had arranged it. Without Sill's help, Koon would have remained an adept for the rest of his life as he simply didn't have the competence or intellect to weave spells higher than the second tier. Karan could still recall the crooked logic Sill had used to validate Koon's elevation to magister. It was an epic spin of utter nonsense; enough to make one wonder why the archmagister even bothered with it in the first place.

  Karan did not wonder, however, as he knew why. It was the same reason that Koon was here now; he was utterly loyal to Sill, and would do anything his dear uncle asked without a second thought.

  “I need you to come with me,” Koon said officiously. “Uncle Sill wants to speak with you immediately.”

  “Alright,” Karan replied. “I just need a few moments to retrieve some papers from my room.” He tried to look casual as he said it.

  “No,” Koon said. “I need you to come with us now. Uncle Sill said there should be no delays.”

  Karan narrowed his eyes. It was obvious that Sill had told Koon to bring Karan to him using any means necessary, hence the two burly adepts. At the same time, however, it was very unlikely that Sill had told Koon the real reason to collect Karan. Koon was not part of the inner circle and therefore not privy to their plans.

  I can make use of that.

  “He wants to see me with regard to the found spelltomes, correct?” Karan said with a hint of annoyance. “I need some of my research for that first.”

  Koon hesitated. “I don't think—”

  Karan cut him off. “Look Koon, unless the building is on fire, I see no reason why you can't give me five longticks to get some papers from my room.” He glanced at the adepts. “And why are these two here?”

  Koon looked confused now, which was exactly Karan's intention. He stepped past Koon and unlocked the magic lock without waiting for Koon to respond.

  “You can wait here if you want,” Karan said as he swung open the door and stepped through into his room.

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  He considered closing and locking the door behind him, but decided against it. That would be too suspicious. It was better to keep feigning ignorance, making Koon think he was going to come willingly.

  Clothes first, then. His closet was in sight of the doorway, and Karan pulling the robe over his head immediately invoked a suspicious look from Koon. “I thought you just needed to get some papers?”

  “As you can see, I'm still wearing my nightshirt,” Karan sneered. “Or am I not allowed to dress properly anymore?”

  Koon responded by quickly looking away. Karan pulled some basic strides and a sweatshirt with its own runepouch from the shelves, quickly changed into them, then donned his formal robe again.

  And now for the runestones.

  He had several of them stashed away in his room in various locations. Strictly speaking, magisters weren't allowed to use runestones for private purposes as they were the property of Callium. However, most magisters had their own stashes and the rule was generally ignored as long as you weren't too obvious about it.

  After he put the last runestone in the sweatshirt's pouch, he took a brief moment to look around his room, realizing that he wouldn't be coming back here.

  Just like that, eighteen years of living here left behind. The thought appeared distant to him. Like it was all a dream.

  “Are you almost done?” Koon asked from outside.

  “I'm coming,” Karan said, grabbing some random papers from his desk.

  He closed and locked the door behind him. “Lead the way.”

  “You first,” Koon said.

  “Since when do magisters require escorts?” Karan asked.

  “Since my uncle said so,” Koon said, visibly annoyed. Apparently he had decided that there was no longer a reason to keep up polite appearances, most likely because he was scared that Sill would punish him for being so tardy.

  Karan shrugged and started to move down the corridor with the three men in tow.

  First to find a way to get rid of these three.

  There wasn't much time. He would have to ditch them before he arrived at Sill's study, preferably in a way that didn't immediately alert the entire tower.

  Koon himself wasn't a problem. Like Sill, he was a short, fat man who waddled more than he walked. The real problem was the two adepts that he had with him. If they grabbed both Karan's arms, he wouldn't be able to perform any magic. Neither weaving nor casting.

  That's what they assume, at least.

  In reality, Karan had slipped two runestones into his boots earlier. They pressed coldly against the base of his soles, causing him discomfort, but they ensured that anyone grabbing him would be in for a nasty surprise.

  Here then, Karan thought as they approached the stairway that would take them up to Sill's study. There was a small storage room located beneath that stairway where the servants stored their cleaning equipment. They always cleaned in the early morning, meaning that nobody would enter the room until tomorrow.

  “Wait,” Karan said, stopping and raising his arm. “Did anyone hear that?” He stared at the door of the storage room as if something was happening behind it.

  “I didn't hear anything,” Koon said.

  Karan ignored him and walked to the door, putting his hand on the handle. The lock on the door was a regular key lock as the servants were usually zero tiers who couldn't operate magic locks.

  With great care Karan swung the handle down and pretended to push against the door. For his deception to work, he needed the door to appear to be locked; he couldn't risk accidentally opening it. Fortunately, the door really was locked and Karan proceeded to give it a few shakes.

  “Are you in there, Wey?” Karan called loudly. “Because if you are, you are going to be in so much trouble.” He placed his ear against the door, pretending to listen to the sounds inside. “I can hear heavy breathing in there.”

  “Who's Wey?” Koon asked, confusion once more finding its way into his facial expression.

  “A no-good adept of mine,” Karan lied, looking up and down the door. “I found out that he's been sneaking off repeatedly with one of the servant girls lately to this very room. You know as well as I what the rules say about that.” He turned around and beckoned one of the adepts. “You. Open this door.”

  The adept stared at him blankly for a moment before turning to Koon.

  “We don't have time for this,” Koon started.

  “Don't give me that,” Karan said, throwing his deadliest stare at Koon. “You know full well that relations with the servants aren't permitted. Did you forget what happened with Magister Tankred last year? The wench he was seeing made off with over fifty regals' worth of runestones. She certainly never has to work again.”

  Koon didn't respond, so Karan continued.

  “Both of you adepts, kick that damn door in,” Karan said, pointing. “If it's really Wey, he'll have that wench Cantille naked in there with him.”

  As Karan expected, hearing the name 'Cantille' in combination with the word 'naked' grabbed both adepts' attention. All the young female servants who worked for Callium were attractive to a certain degree, as the magister responsible for their selection was an old lecher. Cantille, however, was by far the most attractive of them all—both in face and body—and the thought of having a chance to see her naked was clearly spurring both adepts into action.

  Koon looked like he wouldn't mind seeing her either, but he protested anyway.

  “No, don't do that,” Koon said. “We don't have time for this,” he repeated.

  “I know we don't have time,” Karan said. “That's why I'm asking them to kick the door in instead of going to look for a key.”

  Once more he gestured at the adepts while stepping back from the door. “Open that door; use magic if you have to, and drag that naked hussy out here.”

  One of the adepts decided that seeing Cantille nude was more important than obeying Koon's orders. “Stand back,” he instructed, producing a runestone from his pocket. Koon remained silent, now apparently resigned to the situation.

  Everyone was paying attention to the door now except for Karan, who had moved further back, positioning himself next to Koon who briefly looked at him with a mix of confusion and worry on his face.

  Karan ignored him and stared at the door, feigning righteous anger, yet inside he was laughing. You're such a spineless fool, Koon. Allowing me to overbear you like this.

  He glanced back down the corridor to see if anyone else was around.

  With a loud snap the door cracked open, and at that exact moment Koon Yerwede lost consciousness. Karan didn't even look at him as he hit the ground, instead moving towards the nearest adept who was still focusing on the door and the anticipated soft female curves behind it.

  With a runestone firmly held in his right hand, Karan used his left one to softly tap the side of the adept's head. He went down like Koon had done before him as the Minor Projected Force cast by Karan knocked him out instantly.

  The remaining adept did not notice the falling men and had entered the storage room to investigate. “There's nobody in here,” he said with clear disappointment. He then spun around as if he suddenly realized what had happened.

  It was too late for him, however, and the last thing he saw was Karan's hand touching his face before he too joined the others on the ground.

  Staring at the unconscious men on the floor, Karan felt strangely calm. This act had finalized his severance from Callium, and he knew that there was no going back.

  Even so, he did not care in the slightest. He felt the same as he did when he heard that Sill was planning to kill him. It was a feeling of relief more than anything else; he no longer needed to act according to anyone's wishes but his own.

  He looked back down the corridor once more, worrying that someone might have heard the sound of the breaking door. Nobody appeared. There were no studies or living quarters near here, only meeting rooms and a lounge, which would all be empty at this time of day.

  Excellent.

  Karan dragged the three men inside the storage room, leaning the adepts against Koon.

  You are the best suited to be the cushion after all.

  As he closed the door, he realized that it no longer shut properly. The adept's spell had bent the doorframe, which showed a visible crack, but Karan decided to leave it.

  They will find out what happened soon enough anyway. I just need to make sure I'm gone from here by then.

  That part, however, was going to be tricky. From his current location there were several possible exits, each with their own risks. First there was the main entrance, which was out of the question as it would almost certainly be watched. Sill wouldn't have been so lax as to leave it entirely up to Koon; even he knew what a moron his nephew was.

  The servant entrance offered a better chance, yet the risk remained too great.

  It would take too long to get to either of them anyway from here.

  Sneaking out of a window wasn't possible either, as they were all secured with steel bars. Not that that was an obstacle for Karan, but forcing his way out would draw a lot of unneeded attention.

  So that means I have to go through there, Karan deduced, looking up at the stairway that led to the highest floor.

  What few magisters knew—even Karan had not known this before Htanni told him—was that there was a hidden stairway that led from the top of the tower all the way outside the Imperator. This stairway was connected to most of the chambers on the top floor, serving as a convenient exit in case of an emergency.

  If I use that hidden exit, I can escape easily without anyone noticing.

  He began to ascend the steep stairway.

  Close to a hundred steps later, Karan halted on the last one and peered around the corner. He was half expecting the lavishly decorated hallway to be filled with people, but no-one was there.

  Good.

  The thick carpet muffled his footsteps as he walked towards the first door on the left, the study of the late Magister Lee. He seized the door knob and turned it, hoping it would not be locked.

  With a protesting clank the door told him that his hope had been in vain. Feeling disappointed, he let go of the knob.

  All the empty studies are probably locked. Paranoia runs deep here after all. He scratched his head. Should I force it open? No, that will make too much noise. Unlike the door to the storage room earlier, these doors where made of heavy oak and a lot of force would be needed to get through them.

  His expression turned grim as he realized what this meant. I have to go through one that is currently occupied.

  The thought did not disturb him too much. As long as he had the element of surprise on his side, he could deal with anyone on this floor as long as they were alone.

  The next two doors were locked as well, but the third one wasn't. He swung it open without knocking, stepped inside and closed it behind him again as Magister Binn Akkazon stared at him with wide open eyes from behind his desk, a fountain pen in hand.

  “Greetings, Magister Akkazon,” Karan said, giving the magister no time to recover. “Magister Yerwede said you wanted to see me?”

  “Karan?” Binn stammered. “Why are you—” He cut himself off abruptly.

  He is aware of the situation as well.

  It was to be expected, of course. Akkazon had been part of Sill's inner circle since the latter became archmagister. There was no way he wouldn't know about the planned sacrifice of Karan.

  “Why did Sill ask you to see me?” Binn continued, visibly confused.

  Karan smiled as he approached the desk. “Oh no, not Sill. The other one.”

  “Koon?” Binn said, his expression instantly shifting to a mix of relief and annoyance. “I didn't ask to see you. What did he tell you?”

  “Not much, only that it was urgent and that I needed to give you this runestone.”

  He stretched out his left arm and dropped a runestone on Binn's desk, making it roll towards the magister and onto his lap.

  Binn reached down to pick it up. “What is thi—”

  He could not finish the sentence as Karan's outstretched left arm had continued moving forward until it touched the distracted magister's head.

  With a loud thump, Binn's head fell onto his teak desk, smearing his face with fresh ink from the paper he had been working on.

  Satisfied, Karan looked down upon the unconscious magister. And that takes care of that.

  He looked around the room. After Htanni had told him about the secret stairs, he had tried to find a map of its entrance points. Such a map did not exist, but he had discovered how every exit was hidden and how it was opened.

  Karan's eyes stopped at the sole wall-high bookshelf in the room and he bolted towards it.

  Top shelf, on the left side.

  He pulled out the books there, covering himself with dust in the process. The servants cleaned these quarters regularly, but they weren't allowed to touch anything that looked like a book or any other form of text. It appeared that Magister Akkazon hadn't done much with them either. The metal ring that opened the secret entrance thus remained hidden from view.

  Karan raised his left arm and felt across the shelf in the gap left by the removed books.

  Here it is, he thought upon finding a small oval-shaped ring, cold to the touch.

  He prepared to pull it when he stopped himself. How much noise is this going to make?

  He let go of the ring and backed off, taking in the situation. Logically, a secret exit should be as quiet as possible when used, yet considering how old the mechanism behind it was, that wasn't something Karan could count on.

  Then again, it might not work at all, so no point thinking too deeply about it, Karan thought, retrieving another runestone. This one held a spell that was similar to the Voicesphere spell Htanni used to mask their conversations, only with a far greater sound-dampening effect that wasn't restricted to voices alone. If the opening mechanism wasn't too far away, this spell would prevent any sound from being heard.

  Again he reached up and grabbed the ring with two fingers, holding the runestone in the remaining two and his thumb.

  Casting was somewhat difficult like this, but he managed it. He spoke a few words aloud but could only tell he had spoken because of the vibrations in his head.

  Karan pulled the ring towards him and it moved along for about the length of his hand before it refused to go any further.

  But nothing happened. The bookcase did not move and a quick look around the room didn't reveal anything different.

  It didn't work?

  He let go of the ring and took a step back, inspecting the bookcase. It had not moved in the slightest nor had any hidden door appeared.

  Anxious, he checked the sides of the case and noticed a small slit where the wood met the wall.

  A handle, perhaps?

  He pressed his hand to the slit and could immediately feel a draught running past his palm. The entrance was definitely behind this bookcase.

  Karan pulled the case, but it didn't budge.

  Frowning, Karan tried to recall the information about the secret entrances. There was definitely a part about how pulling the ring would allow the door to be opened.

  Maybe I need to do both at the same time?

  He grabbed the ring again and put his other hand in the slit, pulling both at the same time.

  The bookcase smoothly swung towards him, its edge hitting him hard in the knee and causing him to scream in agony.

  Krat, that hurts, he thought as he rubbed his knee with a pained face while at the same time feeling grateful for his foresight to dampen all nearby sound.

  He softly kicked the bookcase once before taking a look at what lay beyond. It was a sight remarkably similar to what he had found in the White Candle sanctum. A narrow corridor, its walls made of rough-cut stone, stretching into the darkness.

  The door mechanism was very simple, he noticed. It was a pulley with a chain on one end that disappeared into the bookcase and on the other end two separate chains that were attached to the two latches that locked the door. One at the top, one at the bottom.

  And here I was expecting an intricate mechanism to open this door, he thought wryly before dispelling the sound-dampening spell. Now I can leave.

  Before he did so, however, Karan went back to the desk where Magister Akkazon still lay unconscious. If someone was to enter the room and find him like this, they might realize that Karan had used the secret stairway to escape, which in turn might cause him to be captured the moment he exited the passage at the other end.

  Then again, someone could enter the room right now.

  The thought fuelled his anxiety, making him very aware of his predicament. Everything was going well so far, but he realized that he was walking a thin line.

  If I'm discovered, it will turn into a fight, and that's something that won't end well for me.

  With a renewed sense of urgency, Karan picked up Binn and dumped him unceremoniously beneath his own desk. It had a solid wooden panel on the front, so anyone entering the room would assume Binn was absent. Karan then hurried back into the passage and pulled the bookcase slowly towards him to prevent any books falling out. The latches locked themselves as he closed the door.

  The dark solitude of the narrow corridor gave him courage, evaporating some of his anxiety. At this point the only way they could stop him was by waiting at the other end of this secret passage.

  Onward, then. He lit up a sun sigil and started to walk.

  The corridor went on only for a short distance before it intersected with another one. Only a few footsteps later, he stumbled upon a stairway leading down into the middle of a small room with seven different exits.

  All leading to the various chambers, of course.

  A distant sound drifted to his ears and he immediately recognized it as a human voice.

  With a snapping motion, he hid his sun sigil and waited with bated breath as the darkness sharpened his hearing.

  Did they find me already?

  There wasn't just one voice, there were more. All coming from the same corridor.

  After waiting for a few tense moments, Karan realized that the voices weren't coming any closer. Of course, those are just the voices of people talking in their rooms. If they had been in the tunnel, I would imagine them to have been far louder.

  Relieved, he cast his light again.

  They're probably talking about me and why I'm not there yet. Well, wait for as long as you want. Filled with determination, he descended the stairway into the darkness that lay below. There were more steps than he expected, and by the time he set foot upon the ground floor he had to pause and catch his breath. His knee still hurt and the two runestones he had hidden inside his boots were growing increasingly uncomfortable. He did not remove them, however, as he wasn't safe yet.

  A single corridor led Karan away from the stairway towards whatever lay beyond.

  It was a narrow and filthy passage, filled with cobwebs and smells that Karan couldn't hope to identify even if he wanted to. At one point it became so narrow that he had to move sideways, stuck between bare rock on one side and a stone wall on the other.

  Standing in that position, he could hear people talking on the other side of the wall. He halted to see if he could overhear anything that would tell him where he was. The conversations were just idle banter, but he could also hear the distinct sound of clattering plates and other eating sounds.

  That must be the adepts' canteen, Karan thought. Who would have believed that a passage like this was right next to it?

  Satisfied, he moved on. The lower canteen was at the far side of the Imperator, which meant that the exit could not be much further.

  The corridor widened again and Karan increased his pace, ignoring the rats and other small animals that lived in this dark place. Nonetheless, it still took him a considerable time before he reached the sight he was longing for: a large wooden panel that blocked his way. The door's mechanism was the same as before. A chain and pulley attached to two latches.

  Karan pressed his ear against the wood and listened. He wasn't really expecting to hear anything; the exit to a secret passage wouldn't be placed in a crowded area and the dead silence on the other side of the door confirmed this.

  Karan raised the two latches and slowly pushed the door open. Behind it lay a wide chamber illuminated by a sparse amount of daylight from small windows high up in the walls. A large number of barrels were neatly stacked along the walls and a musty, sour smell entered Karan's nose.

  A winery's cellar. Crafty.

  Looking at the door he had just opened, he saw that it was actually a tall wine rack holding a large amount of dust-covered bottles.

  He skulked into the cellar. If there was going to be an ambush, it would be here.

  Nothing happened, however, as Karan moved away from the secret passage. No men dressed in orange, no sudden bright lights that revealed him for all to see. Nothing. The cellar was abandoned save for Karan himself.

  With a sigh of relief, he walked back to the secret door and closed it, its bottles softly clinking as they rocked back and forth.

  That takes care of that, Karan thought. Now to get out of here. If this really is a winery's cellar, there should be a large door here somewhere. They wouldn't be able to get those barrels in here otherwise.

  It didn't take long for him to find it. A short stairway leading up to two large doors that could fit five men through. Eagerly, Karan grabbed hold of the crossbar, when from out of nowhere and with the suddenness of a lightning bolt, a shrill and deafening ringing filled his ears.

  The sudden racket electrified his body and he spun around, looking behind him for pursuers. Yet the cellar was still as abandoned as it was before, and it was only then that Karan realized what had happened.

  He had set off a warning sigil.

  Without thinking further, he removed the crossbar, threw open the doors and sped through the opening and down the alley that lay behind as if chased by ghasts.

  Upon reaching the adjacent street, he startled two women holding shopping baskets as he burst out of the alley, causing one of them to drop hers in surprise.

  He sped past them without giving them a second look.

  I need to get out of the main streets. I stand out too much.

  He dove into another alley and slowed his pace. While he should get away from here as fast as possible, it shouldn't be noticeable to everyone that he was doing so. His brief sprint had left him winded, with the runestones in his boots now feeling as if they were nails hammered into his soles.

  Karan reached into his robe to retrieve a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked down to put the handkerchief back into its pocket and froze mid-motion. I'm still wearing my formal robe.

  Cursing between heavy breaths, he pulled the robe over his head. Stupid! How could I forget that accursed robe? He ground his teeth. So much for an unseen escape.

  Karan threw the robe over a nearby wall and then moved on with a pace as brisk as he could manage. Sill and the others would have realized by now that he had fled, and thanks to the display a moment ago, they would soon know where he went as well.

  When he reached the next street, he halted for a moment. Having to hurry was one thing, but at the very least he should find out where he was. There were no visible landmarks he could see from here, including the Imperator, so he approached a slow-moving cart and addressed the man who was driving it.

  “Good morning, good sir,” Karan said, trying to get his breathing under control. “Can you direct me to the nearest bridge?” The Seventh District was across the river and he fiercely hoped he hadn't emerged in a completely different part of the city.

  The man flicked his head backwards. “Three blocks down that way.”

  Relief washed over him. I'm near the river, thank the ?ther. “Thank you, kindly,” Karan said to the driver, who was already ignoring him.

  Those three blocks turned out to be seven, but eventually Karan reached the Lacine. The wide river stretched itself out before him and he saw boats moving across it in great numbers.

  To his left, Karan found the bridge he was looking for.

  The Chapel Bridge.

  He recognized it instantly by the large tower-like structure at its centre and its elaborate arches made of white marble; the same kind that the White Candle was constructed from. Unlike the White Candle, however, these blocks had gained a greenish hue over the years, making it look older than it actually was.

  It was the second northernmost bridge of the four present in the city, and when Karan looked to his right he could see the thin strip that was the Stonewall Bridge lying in the distance.

  Karan started to move south. The Seventh District was along the coastline, so he still had quite a walk ahead of him. The sooner he crossed the river, the better, as the only advantage he had left was that Callium had no idea where he was going. Once he was across the river, there would be no choke points left for them to capture him.

  Nervously, he took his first steps along the Chapel Bridge. There were a handful of members of the city watch present, leaning against the stone railing, yet they paid him no heed. Karan's outfit made him look like a servant, just like most of the other people that were crossing the bridge at this time of day. Unlike Sill, Karan was not well known. The odds of him being recognized by face alone were slim.

  It did not take long for him to arrive on the west shore. Nobody had tried to stop him or even given him a second glance.

  Again Karan turned south, and as he walked along the river he kept an eye on the other shore.

  Almost a kivor down the river, he spotted a closed carriage driving at a reckless speed towards the Chapel Bridge. Karan halted for a moment to watch. Is that...?

  The carriage stopped near the bridge and several orange figures appeared from within it.

  And there they are, he thought. You are too late, though.

  It was unlikely they would cross the bridge, but Karan still thought it prudent to take the next right turn. As long as he stuck to the narrower streets of River's Turn, it was very unlikely he would run into members from Callium.

  I'll have to assume that the city watch is now looking for me as well, but they won't know what I look like. Not yet at least.

  To his good fortune, however, Karan did not encounter a single patrol when he reached his destination. He found himself looking upon an inconspicuous door of an equally inconspicuous house that desperately needed a new paint job.

  Number fourteen. This is the address Htanni gave me.

  Karan grabbed the door knocker and was about to use it when uncertainty engulfed him. Was this really the best thing to do? Going to some random address in the city on advice from a magister who, truthfully, he didn't even know that well? Most of his conversations with Htanni had been work-related, and Karan had realized earlier how precious little he knew about Htanni as a person apart from his occasional stories about the Schism.

  He pushed the feeling away. What choice do I have at this point? At the very least, this is where the White Candle spelltomes are supposed to be.

  Karan dropped the knocker several times. After a brief moment the door opened, revealing a woman dressed in a servant's dress with a long burn scar running from the top of her head all the way down across her temple to her cheekbone. It ruined her looks, which Karan could tell from the good half would have been pretty otherwise.

  “Who are you?” she asked, eyeing Karan suspiciously.

  “Htanni Vae sent me,” Karan said.

  “Never heard of him,” she answered.

  “He told me the residents of this place owed him a great debt,” Karan said.

  “Well, I'm a resident of this place and I don't owe anything to someone I don't know. So whatever your scheme is, take it somewhere else.”

  That phrase. What was that phrase that Htanni told me to say?

  The woman started to close the door, having apparently decided that Karan was a loon.

  “One out of six is too many,” Karan blurted out just before it fell shut.

  The door halted. For a brief moment it remained ajar with a slight crack, and then it swung open again. The woman stepped aside and beckoned him to come inside without saying anything.

  That was close. It would be too ironic to fail at this point.

  “Follow me,” the woman said, closing the door behind them.

  They walked through the hallway and entered a small, quiet living room where an old man and woman were playing some kind of dice game.

  “Moeke?” the scarred woman said. “There is someone here on behalf of Htanni Vae.”

  The old woman, who was apparently called Moeke, turned her head around. As soon as she saw Karan, a smile appeared on her face.

  “Well well,” Moeke said. “Who would have thought we'd see one like you here, Magister De Ekkar?”

  “You know who I am?” Karan asked, surprised.

  “Not by face, no,” she answered, while glancing back at the table to check the dice that had just been rolled. “But if you are here on behalf of Magister Vae, then you can be no-one else.”

  She turned her head towards the scarred woman. “Siella, this is Magister Karan de Ekkar. Please take him to the south-side chamber. I've got a feeling that he will be staying with us for a while.” She smiled one last time at Karan and then turned back to her dice game.

  Dumbfounded, Karan followed Siella up the stairs. He had not really been sure what to expect here, and the conversation with Moeke had not been enlightening in the least.

  Did Htanni plan for this? That woman seemed oddly unconcerned with me being dropped into her lap like this.

  He quickly abandoned those musings. Now that the excitement of being on the run was starting to wear off, he finally noticed how much his feet hurt. Walking great distances was not for him to begin with, and the runestones in his boots were now grinding themselves into his soles with every step he took. The lack of breakfast this morning added to his discomfort as well.

  “Here's the room,” Siella said, opening a door at the far end of the hallway.

  Karan stepped inside. It was a lightly furnished room. A bed, a closet and a small desk with a single chair; nothing more. There was no mirror or any other form of wall decoration, and only a single window with glass so dirty you couldn't see through it.

  “I have some errands to finish,” Siella said. “But I'll be back later to bring some food.” It seemed she had noticed the growling of Karan's stomach.

  “Very well, thank you,” Karan replied.

  He sat down on the bed and immediately took off his boots, revealing the bruised feet within. One of the two offending runestones clattered onto the wooden board floor.

  “Just so you know,” Siella said, pointing at the stone, “there are some rules here and the most important one is: 'No magic'. Neither casting nor weaving.”

  “I understand,” Karan said, rubbing his soles.

  “If you use magic inside here, we will know, and you will be thrown out without warning,” she added. The face she made suggested that the thought of throwing Karan out appealed to her.

  “As I said, I understand,” Karan said, hiding his annoyance at having to repeat himself.

  “Good,” Siella said, before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

  Karan fell down on the bed, feeling immensely tired. Here in this strange room, the events of the past morning seemed like a dream.

  Did all that really happen? Am I a fugitive now? The weight of the runestones in his sweatshirt's pouch weighed heavily upon his stomach and he started to take them out, leaving them where they fell without a thought.

  A few moments later, he was asleep.