She'd left early in the morning before the sun had thoroughly kissed the eastern sky. There was no telling how long she'd have to spend pouring through books to find any reference to what Alvec had spoken about. She could research in peace if she got in before Hoc woke up. He wouldn't think to look in the library. He'd sooner think of walking to her house than step into there. The library was empty when she entered; she slowly activated the magical lighting. It was the same setup as the Academy. Crystals which shed colored light. She couldn't even imagine how much it had cost the church to install, but she was so thankful for it. She walked around and plucked books about Devils and history from their shelves. Each seemed like it could provide a possible insight into any of the things Alvec had told her.

She poured through the books. The first few were much more like a fiend-folio, describing different infernal actors and the types of deeds they were most well known for. She couldn't help but wonder what sort of devil Alvec was descended from. He certainly didn't seem like any of the bestial ones, except those horns, that is. It was possible but seemed unlikely that he was descended from something ferocious. Nor did he resemble most of the devils known for scheming. She'd have to ask him sometime if it wasn't too personal of a matter that was. She couldn't see him refusing to slate her curiosity; she was doing him a huge favor by asking about this if she failed to find anything in the books.

Going over the history books wasn't proved less helpful than she had hoped. There were no references to any iron castle. She didn't give up; she'd spend the whole day looking if she had to. Finding an answer here would be much better than asking around. Hours passed until the words on the page felt like they were blurring together. She let out a large sigh and packed away the books. It was clear that whatever he'd stumbled upon wouldn't be found in these tomes. Maybe she should walk to the Academy and see if she could get access to their library; perhaps it was on the other side of the arcane divine divide.

No, it was better just to start asking around. Alvec said to be discrete... so she'd need to ask as few people as possible. The head cleric was the most obvious choice, but she couldn't just go straight to him. His time was precious, and she'd barely even spoken to him on more than a few occasions. His second in charge, however, was someone she could just approach. Elodie was a very sociable woman in her fifties who often opened the church doors for those who could afford no other healing. Sarbie found her tending the herbs in the garden. She had a kindly wrinkled face full of laugh lines and crows feat. Her hair was a chestnut brown and pulled into a messy bun on her head. She wore the standard attire of the church with only minor thin chains of precious metals to denote her position with the church of Kushang.

"Um, excuse me, ma'am, might I talk to you about something? In private, if possible?" she said, glancing around the Garden. Alvec had stressed discretion, so she would do her best to keep it out of earshot of as many as she could. A few other people were tending to the garden. The woman looked up at her and nodded in agreement.

"Sure, Sarbie, we can go to my office." With that, she stood up and led the way. They both entered a fairly lavish room with a plush rug over the bare wood floors. There was a small desk and several chairs. She sat at the desk and motioned for Sarbie to sit in the chair. "What is it I can help you with? I noticed you weren't at our usual morning sermon, and you've not been minding your chores."

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"Ah, sorry,” said Sarbie. “I hoped my absence wouldn't be all that noticed. The group of adventurers living down the street, the tiefling boy Alvec, approached me and asked me to look into something for him."

"You look frazzled; I take it you've not yet found an answer?" She asked.

"No, I searched the library since before the sun came up. I didn't want to bother anyone else with this. I thought I could find the answer on my own," she said, clasping her hands together over her lap.

"So what was the question?"

"He said he encountered a devil in the Valley of Steam. Before he killed it, the devil called Kushang the golden traitor and said that no one would stop the raising of the iron castle this time. Alvec and I, in turn, thought this was a fairly alarming statement, and we sought to find out what raising the iron castle meant."

"I can't say I've heard of Kushang being called the golden traitor before, nor of any iron castle. And if I haven't heard of it, we only have the head priest to ask."

"I was hoping you weren't going to say that. I could just tell Alvec that we didn't find anything," Sarbie suggested half-heartedly.

"You know well that we can't do that. It is our duty to protect civilization. Even when it's inconvenient, and devils are problematic, to say the least. Their schemes have never once turned out well for mortal men."

"I know, I know. I'm just a bit outside of my comfort zone," Sarbie said, bunching up her skirt in her hands.

"Fighting is outside of mine as well. I'm a healer, first and foremost. Even I'd need to pick up a crossbow to protect our city. I'll talk to the head cleric tonight. Is there anything else you can tell me about this devil or the group that found them?"

"The devil had a fancy double-bladed sword. Alvec said he had encountered devils a few other times around Sha-Laial. In the swamps, one in front of his house, and another group in the forge district."

"That is an alarming number of Devils. Are we sure that he's not in some way connected to them? He may be attempting to entangle you in some thread that leads to your servitude or corruption." It wasn't precisely an accusation. The tone was too neutral to be, and yet she had still suggested it as something within the realm of possible. Sarbie hadn't spent any time thinking about it. The image of Alvec resting on a windowsill after having been dragged around all day by herself replayed in her mind. No, that sort of scheming was inconsistent with the way he carried himself.

"No, I don't think that's a possibility," Sarbie said, shaking her head. "I appreciate the concern and the suggestion, but I'm certain that he is not up to anything dangerous of his own doing."

"Alright, then, I shall ask the head cleric on your behalf. If he doesn't know, luck may just be on our side. Surely, you've heard TaeCol is in town. If the head priest doesn't know anything, perhaps we can contact him."

"Oh no, we shouldn't trouble him with this; it's probably nothing," Sarbie said, waving her hand. "I'm sure he's got much bigger things to do than worry about this small situation."

"I'm not sure he would see it that way."

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to question you, ma'am. This is just getting so much larger than I intended."

"Worry not about it, Sarbie; I know you meant no harm by it. Go home and relax; I'll take the lead for a while. Should we find what we're looking for, we'll tell your friend you did it."

"Thank you." With that, the two parted, and Sarbie headed home. It had been a frustrating day, and she could only pray that the head cleric had a simple answer and that no one else had to get dragged into this.