11.3 What I Do Best

General Summary

Day 106

Alder quietly disposes of the body, leaving me with Camellia. She seems remarkably unbothered.   “I should be more bothered than I am, but my healer's heart holds no remorse. Even in war there are people whose salvation would cause too much hurt and loss of life,”   With this absolution, I put the dead man out of my mind and turn back to the work at hand. I find Shelor teaching in her studio and wait for her to finish. She moves like an elf, which is saying something.   We settle into her office once again, the mood much the same as it was yesterday. I’m grateful for her keen mind and understanding of the human politics at play here.   In theory if Tolv the Canary is bought and paid for by the Order, we could have him impeached. I am skeptical of the speed and efficacy of such political movement against a group that’s clearly playing outside of the lines.   Another complication is that Vandor the Gold has died. Supposedly he slipped down the stairs of his tower but Shelor suspects foul play. Her justification is sensible - a scholar with his nose in a book and his head in the clouds doesn’t suddenly fall to his death in his familiar library. Once again the gift of the Osyr comes to my aid, and we go to visit Vandor’s home so that I can watch the flow of time up until his death.   His tower is...elvish. Not quite original, but restored with respect for its history. A massive telescope is situated on the top floor. It’s an observatory now.   Inside the surroundings are clean except for faint blood in the cracks of the tile. The Osyr pearl guides me back through time and I see an elderly human man walking up the stairs with his nose in a book, carrying a cup of tea. When he reaches the observatory, a young human woman clad in Order robes is sitting at one of the desks waiting for him. He’s startled, but not angry, and kindly tells her that he is no longer on the Council and must be looking for Tolv.   She speaks civilly to him and warms his tea with some of her magic and then...flashes the flame in his face and simply...kicks him down the staircase. He tumbles down all three flights of stairs, with her following and continuing to kick him and keep him off balance. When he finally lies dead at the bottom, she returns to the study and takes a few things (weather magic scrolls to prevent rain, and a book entitled A Bird of Flame: Portents and Prophecies of Fire).   Relaying this to Shelor, she seems quieter. Apparently there had been rumours that Vandor had lost his magic in his old age and the fact that he hadn’t fought back may confirm that. Her suggestion is that our next move ought to be to speak with Norrick the Lapis (a painter) and have him paint us a likeness of the woman. If he knows her at all, perhaps he will have a tell.   Norrick’s house is a stark contrast to Vandor’s. The interior is filled with technically skilled but clumsy artwork depicting people and whatever concepts are important to them. They’re sort of impressionist, but still too obvious to be truly artful. Most unfortunately for him, the same assailant from the vision is depicted on a canvas, seductive and wreathed in flames.   Shelor confronts him quite brutally, asking him why he has a painting of a murderer. I wouldn’t have done it that way, but as an observer I have to admit that it is very fun to watch her work. He goes from being defensive to confused to simply lost as I show him an illusory duplicate of what I saw in the tower. He says that the way she moves, the toss of her hair, everything about the illusion is so accurate that no one could have created it without seeing her. He is convinced.   So we retired to his sitting room for more privacy, and I see more of his art. The stuff here is better, more artful, than the commercial paintings out front.   The woman - Nirai, is a mystic of the Candlemaker. She has revolutionary ideas about corruption in the church and he thought he’d found a kindred spirit when it came to bold ideas and enacting change. He doesn’t understand why she would have killed Vandor, who had nothing to do with her ideas.   More pieces fall into place as he tells us about their relationship. She had encouraged him to run for a Council seat this festival, despite the odds being better for him next year. Since he lost, he hasn’t seen her much at all. She stays at the Dancing Bear Inn, and he agrees to try to bring her to me if he sees her.   So now we’re left with Bodin and Tolv still under the influence of the Order.   Back at the inn, I send River to fetch all the members of my house to discuss the way forwards. My office upstairs feels like a proper war room again.   Here is what we know:

• Killeon has become a ‘Beacon’. Traditionally this is a title for the highest-ranking member of the Church of the Candlemaker, but doesn’t specifically bestow any new powers. It is unlikely that his title is recognized by the existing Church.
• Raelli tells us that some of the elves of the Order are ‘fed as fuel to the Beacon’s fire’. Zadiyah told him that she would keep him safe from the Beacon.
• Having spoken to Thalien in the Dreaming, Bran says that Killeon’s thread is one that Thalien found shortly before he died. It was the work of the other Weaver, and the path led either to escaping the entrapment of his death or to preparing the way after it had sprung. He chose to die and ensure that the events after his death came to pass.

  It is an infuriating amount of information with which to plan a war. And all the complexity of a human religion consuming elves, and whatever power is working behind Killeon pales in comparison to my urgency to simply get to Zadiyah.   If we are to retrieve her, the Order will likely immediately fall to chaos. They may persist with plans she has laid out for them, or immediately launch a counterattack to get her back. We must be prepared for both.   Kadia enumerates potential defences for the city that could be activated from the underground war room: Stone statues that can fight, a flood that will clear the streets, and walls of ice surrounding the city. Of these, only the stone statues seem appropriate. This attack will be from within the city and any information we give to the citizens will also be heard by the Order.   What’s more, we need methods of transporting water to douse flames. The weather magic to call storms is beyond us at the time (what I wouldn’t give to have Lyssa at my side).   I put Vaneili and Nishvalen in charge of home defences. Whatever happens within the city will be complicated and have many moving parts to coordinate. With them, Petra will find us engineers to build pumps and water transport. She is nervous at the prospect of doing so without Bran, but he reassures her that as a member of our house, she has the authority to speak on his behalf when he has given her permission. I need Camellia with us to face Zadiyah, but before we leave she will go to the fae house and look for anyone who will be willing to help. A winter wizard is what we need, but anyone with wings can be set to work easily. Willow and Raelli will stay behind as well. Perhaps Raelli will find a good teacher amongst the fae.   Shelor is doing a remarkably good job of processing everything she is hearing - from Bran’s expected lifespan to Kadia’s presence and knowledge, to the clean efficiency of my military work. Reassured that she won’t be needed in the fight, she agrees to stay here and run the political show for us.   This feels comfortable. I hope Zadiyah hasn’t learned too much about commanding an army without me.