"And why should I believe that?" was the first thing Myronel heard on entering.

  The speaker was a young Remuati man about their age, standing in front of Captain Takhat. Myronel briefly wondered what this was even about, before spotting Hamond sitting over the corner waiting. Right, this must be the one Hamond had been sent to find. Senby, that was the name.

  "What is-" Edeline stopped as Myronel held up a hand behind him. They didn't need to interrupt. If he'd known this was happening now, he would've waited outside for Senby and the captain to finish talking.

  "I don't blame you," Takhat said, "There was more I could've done. But as much as I want to, I can't change what happened. Not to you, not to the other ashabti, and not to anyone in Lasfont. All I can do is try to be better at stopping the men responsible. And to do that, I will need your help."

  "What would I even do?" Senby shook his head, visibly frustrated. "I'm the only one left, and we both know it."

  "Yes, but the one who claimed you would have left papers, ledgers, records. Once we take back Lasfont, we can find out even more people who were involved, some who might've survived, from those."

  "If you take back Lasfont." Senby's reply was sharp, harsh.

  "We will," Takhat said, "I have a plan."

  "Fine then. I'll help fight." Senby took a step forward, offering a hand.

  "Fight?" Takhat looked confused.

  "The sooner we clear out Lasfont, the sooner you can look into that, right? Then let me help with that." Senby stood there waiting with his hand still extended.

  "That...you're no fighter," Takhat sputtered, clearly caught off-guard.

  "Then teach me how," Senby insisted.

  The captain did not answer, turning away. Myronel shot another glance at Hamond, who looked back helplessly. This was going nowhere fast.

  Senby's shoulders slumped. "That's what I thought. You don't care."

  "Why do you want to throw it all away?" Captain Takhat spun, fury and frustration in both her eyes and voice. "I know what you've endured to get here. I'm giving you a chance to live your life!"

  "Don't you think I want to?" Senby shot back, equally angry. "If I had my way, I'd be well gone from this cursed town! But no, I had to be a fool and come back, and now I'm trapped here with-"

  "Enough." Myronel stepped between the two. This argument had to stop before its fires burned out of control.

  He was certain of one thing, and that was that the captain was not just following some order handed down by Lord Lasfont. No, Myronel noted, this was a personal matter. The obvious conclusion was that Takhat had once been one of those ashabti, but it could easily be something else. Regardless, he had to get both her and Senby to calm down.

  Better to start with the captain first. "Didn't you say before you were short on men?" Myronel pointed out, turning to face Takhat. "If someone volunteered their help, I'd have taken it."

  "I'm trying to keep everyone alive," Takhat replied, "You can't know what it's like, seeing so many dead, so many missing. So many who will never get to return home."

  Myronel did know it, all too well. The men he'd led into battle against the Spellking, the surprise attack that left few alive, he'd had to face this before. It had been Nela who saved him then, who kept him moving forward in the dark days that had followed. From what he could see, it was Takhat who wasn't used to being in this position, struggling with the weight of what happened.

  However, he couldn't exactly bring the matter up, not without revealing he had once been Myron Hallowscroft. Instead, Myronel took a different approach. "I understand the feeling. Whatever your plan is, though, it wouldn't hurt to have more people available to work on it."

  "Would also be nice if we knew the plan even was," Hamond spoke up. Myronel figured that was more for Senby's benefit, letting him know they weren't completely on the captain's side here.

  Takhat took in a deep breath. "Very well. But first, I have a question for you." She pointed at Hamond.

  Hamond nodded his agreement, although Myronel suspected this wasn't going to be a pleasant question.

  "Are you a weretheka? A thaumaturge?"

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  He'd been right.

  Hamond showed no real emotion, though Myronel knew behind that there had to be panic. "Why would you think that?"

  "Because you are not the first to pass through Lasfont claiming to be a scholar. Several others came through over the past few years. Most had the same story of traveling to Remuat, and most did not carry weapons. All of them were actually trying to flee Hyarch through here, rather then get caught using spells. So when you said the same, it was a clear sign."

  Myronel wanted to slap himself. They'd discussed that out, planned that explanation well before getting to Lasfont. Were they really that predictable? Aether, it certainly seemed so.

  "The healer thing did surprise me, but when your friend confirmed she was the one, it left open the possibility you were still hiding what you were," Takhat continued, "So tell me. Are you one, or are you not?"

  After a moment of silence, Hamond gave in and slowly nodded. He was probably going along with this to draw all suspicion to himself, Myronel noted, preventing any attention from falling on Edeline.

  "Wait, so you can do actual spells?" Senby said, staring at Hamond in disbelief. "Then...can't you counter that big spell? Change everyone back?"

  "If only it were that easy," Hamond grumbled, then looked over at the captain. "Anyway, what does this have to with your plan?"

  "I'm sure you're smart enough to see it. Until we can be certain that whatever it was that called forth the monsters won't happen again, we cannot fully retake Lasfont. To do that, we need someone skilled with the arts of the heka."

  "So you've been holding out, waiting for someone like me," Hamond concluded.

  "Not entirely," Takhat admitted, "I found another one to assist us early on, but you need to understand. I suppose you've met Jisry by now, so you've seen how he thinks. He's not the only one, which is part of the problem."

  Hamond's eyes narrowed. "The thaumaturge you found is a woman, isn't it?"

  "Exactly. A number of people already don't like me for similar reasons." Takhat looked over at the table, where more papers were scattered. "To make this worse, there's also people from Hyarch who just don't trust weretheka at all, man or woman. Between both of these groups, if word got out about our arrangement...I don't think I need to explain further."

  So Captain Takhat was in a similar position to them, having to conceal a thaumaturge. Myronel could understand, given everything going on, a reluctance to trust them with this. As she had said about Nela, it was almost too convenient. If it turned out this was connected to what they came to Lasfont to search for, it would seem even more so.

  "Then what do I do then?" Hamond asked.

  "I hate to admit, but the boy is right." Senby smirked at Takhat's words. "More people would make things go faster. But heka isn't something you can teach people how to use in a few short days. Right?"

  "Right," Hamond said.

  "Then it falls to you two to work together to unravel this mess. Find out what that spell is, and stop it if you can."

  "What about me?" Senby said insistently.

  "There's not much that you can do." Captain Takhat faced the young Remuati man. "I can try to put you with the other workers, but I imagine you've had enough of hard labor for a lifetime. Also, they don't have that much to do now that the barricades are set up and nearly everyone's settled in for now."

  "Like I said before, there's nothing left for me here," Senby said, "I might as well get away from this place now." He started to move towards the door.

  "And exactly how are you planning to leave?" Myronel asked pointedly, crossing his arms. "What supplies would you have? Without food or water, you wouldn't have lasted a hexday out there."

  Senby glared in response. Myronel knew there wasn't much of an argument that could be offered to that. Wanting to live life on your own terms required you to stay alive.

  "I'm sure you've never been outside of Lasfont," Takhat added with a long sigh. "If you're born to an ashabti, it's all you will ever know...very well. If you really wanted to be trained as a guard, I can figure out how to spare some time."

  Senby's anger faded, and he looked down at the floor. "I don't know what I want to do," he admitted.

  "Maybe take a day to think about it," Myronel suggested, "I doubt we'll solve everything by tomorrow, so you have time."

  "A good idea," Takhat said.

  Senby nodded, and then walked over to another empty chair, a short distance from where Hamond sat.

  "So, about that other thaumaturge," Hamond said, "What can you tell me about them?"

  "Floire's older and a bit...odd, I'll say it that way. But her spells are the real thing. I've seen them myself, as have my men. And with those creatures stalking the streets, that's what I'll take. Shame she said she wasn't strong enough to deal with the gigant."

  "Understandable," Hamond replied. "Very well, I suppose I can work with her."

  Of course, they could deal with the gigant themselves, but that would require Edeline's spells. They'd have to talk about how to handle that later. This Floire might understand the need for their deception, but there was no guarantee that Takhat would appreciate being misled.

  "So, what will we be doing today?" Edeline asked, impatience visible on her face.

  "Think I'll have you two go over the spare weapons we have, and make sure they're all in good condition. I assume you both know how to sharpen blades."

  They did, although Edeline had needed some advice on how to do a better job. She was a little too forceful when he'd first seen her do it after they set out. That was how you wore through your sword too quickly, leaving it thin and more prone to snapping. Which, Myronel noted with bitter amusement, was exactly what had ended up happening, even if for a different reason.

  "We can do that." It was an improvement over yesterday's guard duty.

  "And while you're at it, make sure to bring back a spear. If I'm training him, he'll need it." Takhat gave Senby a steady look. "I wouldn't go easy on you, you know."

  "Like anyone ever does," Senby said, no humor in his voice.

  An awkward silence followed, as none of them had any good response to that. The scars of what Senby had endured would be slow to heal. But Myronel was hopeful. This had gone as well as could be expected.

  "Alright, enough standing around like statues," Takhat finally said, tossing something to Myronel. Catching it, he looked down to see a looped iron key. "That'll get you into the place where we're keeping the weapons. Look for the door with the shield hanging on it. You should easily find the place."

  "We'll take care of it." Myronel closed his fist around the key, reminding himself to not drop it no matter what. Gesturing at Edeline to follow, he turned to leave.

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