The party departed the dinner with Bait riding on Echo's back, laying face down in his fur, sick from the sheer amount of cheese he had ingested. While Naya often thought that she could likely ride Echo into battle, Bait really could. With his small frame Echo might as well have been a horse. One more than capable of getting the ill goblin home.

Mavec met up with them on their way back to the tower, grinning like a fool."It cost me more gold than I wanted, rush job that it is, but it will be ready tomorrow. I call it A mere spear, in gold with excellent filigree. I'm going to stab that woman with it. As many times as time permits."

Before they could reach the gate to their little compound, Sorali rushed out to meet them. "Bosses? I thought I'd warn you that we have company, and it's not the goblins this time. Fancier company."

"Should we be preparing to fight?" Alvec asked.

"Oh heavens no! Its... I can't even believe it myself,” she said, dropping her voice to a whisper. “It's TaeCol with your cleric friend. They're currently paying respects and want to talk with you."

"Sorali, close the gate behind us, and then come join the conversation," Alvec instructed as he took the lead. The rest of the group followed close behind. The greatest paladin of the Anarchy and Ageneon’s War wasn't just here to pay his respects to the ghosts of the dead, not with Sarbie in tow. He hurried up the slight incline to find TaeCol bowed in prayer; Sarbie stood just off to the side her head also bowed in silent prayer. The pair stood before the tower’s entrance. Alvec deftly grabbed his buckler from his left arm and transitioned it to his right before kneeling between them. If this went sideways, he'd be in the way. Which felt only right all things considered. He hoped his physical positioning of himself wasn't coming off too aggressive, but he didn't know this man. Only his reputation as a powerful paladin. He could very easily harbor the kind of thoughts that poisoned many people against Tieflings. Not that he could blame people for fearing devils. They were abjectly evil.

After a moment, the man stood, and Alvec matched his motions, keeping himself three-quarters turned towards him. "TaeCol, how can I help you today?" Alvec asked.

The tall, muscular man wearing a glistening set of armor partially obscured by a cloak of the finest shimmering gold stood with a broadsword strapped to his back. In comparison, Alvec looked small, but there was a ferocity Illaria could see boiling just below the surface. Even if horribly outmatched, Alvec would fight. Knowing him as she did, her hand rested uneasily on the hilt of her wakizashi. She'd be assisting if it came to that.

"Sarbie here tells me you recently visited the Valley of Steam. I'd like you to tell me what happened while you were there."

Alvec remained tense but answered. "Would you like the full story, or do you want me to skip to the part with the devil, sir?" Alvec asked.

"The full story, if you would." TaeCol said.

"Shall I have our maid fetch us some tea? We needn't stand for this conversation. I'd also be a poor host if I didn't offer at least that much," Alvec said.

"No, I'd prefer to stay standing. We'll be departing from here as soon as I have heard what I need to." TaeCol informed him.

"What do you mean by ‘we'?" Alvec asked.

"Sarbie and everyone she asked about that phrase will be coming with me to the Valley of Steam to help confirm your story."

Alvec looked behind him to see her looking away from him. He knew she'd never left Sha-Laial.

He took a deep breath in before he launched into a detailed explanation of how they all came to be standing here at this moment. TaeCol listened intently, and nodded along as Alvec recanted the recent exploits of the Cheese Acolytes.

“Any further questions?” Alvec asked.

"Why did you choose to ask Sarbie to investigate that phrase?" TaeCol asked, looking intently at Alvec.

“Now that we be speaking of that phrase, would you be telling us its meaning?” Illaria asked as she took a half step closer. TaeCol appraised her carefully.

“You’re one of the Blue Banner swordsmen correct?” He asked.

“Aye, Bait and I be Coffin Flotilla” Illaria replied as she gestured to the goblin who was working on something further away in the yard.

“I’m afraid that it is strictly need to know. You can ask your own channels for information if you wish.” TaeCol replied before gently pointing a finger back to Alvec. “Your story boy,” He insisted.

"I have other people I could have asked, but I recently reached out to one over another matter with the Gold Banner Army and found his reception particularly... cold... since the Devil had mentioned the church of Kushang, calling her the Golden Traitor, it made sense to come to the church about this matter. With that in mind, I only know two people at the church, Hoc and Sarbie. I decided that Hoc was far too likely to accidentally share the information with half the church or more. Sarbie seemed the more trustworthy and discrete of the two. Speaking of her, I must implore you not to have her go with you. She's never been out of Sha-Laial; she's only involved because of me, and I'd rather take any punishment for this than have it fall on her head. So please consider leaving her behind."

"I can't do that. This is for her protection. If what you've all told me is true, then we have quite a problem. I don't need to see that sword to know what it is. It's a status symbol among high-ranking devils. They could target anyone who knows about their presence, and this girl and her family would be in grave danger if devils decided to try to eliminate her."

"She could stay with us; we've got more than a little experience killing Devils. We've survived four run-ins so far. I think it's a relatively safe bet."

"You're lucky I'm not conscripting the lot of you as well, honestly." TaeCol said. "The Cheese Acolytes losing the festival would dampen spirits here in Sha-Laial quite a bit, especially on a technicality as a forfeit. Your absence would cause too many questions."

"So there isn't any talking you out of this?" Alvec asked.

"I'm afraid not, young wizard. For her safety, she will need to come with me."

"Sarbie, how do you feel about this?" Alvec asked.

"Not great, okay, maybe leaning towards mortified, but he's TaeCol. If he says, this is for my safety and the safety of my parents... what choice do I have?"

"So you're committed to going."

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"I don't think I have much of a choice."

"Hold still. This is all my fault, so I best do everything in my power to keep you safe, even when you're out of my reach." He said as he unclipped his cape and wrapped it around her over her own. "It's one of the first magic items I crafted; exposing it to fire will turn you invisible. You'll need this, too." He said, producing a vial of a softly glowing orange substance. "Alchemist fire, it'll burn till it's suffocated out. Toss it at the ground to your side, just a dab of it splashing you, and the cloak will activate . It will hurt since you're not a tiefling... but it will buy you thirty seconds to run, so run as fast as you can if you're in a situation where running is the only option."

"Wow, this is overwhelming. Alvec, do you even realize what you're saying?" she asked.

"I know, splashing yourself with fire is a bit crazy, but it's like setting a broken bone, right? You have to snap it into the correct position before you bind it, right? It's like that."

"No, not that. I mean, yes, that, but also... it's enchanted... its worth how much gold?" She whispered to him.

"I only spent about one thousand three hundred crafting it, so it would retail for about 2600." She reached her hands up to try to slide it off from her.

"No, no, no, no, this is too much. I can't possibly accept,"

He grabbed her hands to stop her from taking it off. "Sarbie, this is my fault; let me take some responsibility, damn it."

"This is worth more than the biggest diamond ring in the hand of any noble lady in this city; how can I possibly accept something like this? What would my mother say if she heard that? OH god, she'd think I'm running off and getting married. No, no, no. Not happening. Your generosity is appreciated, but I can't possibly accept this gift."

"Then just be borrowing it, miss Sarbie. “Illaria joked. “That way, you return it to him after you return, and it's like you never took it? Aye? Besides, Alvec's not a bad catch; he earned quite the nickname with the fight with the Red Banner Army, you know, certainly worse men to have people thinking you're betrothed to."

"Not helping Illaria," Alvec said as he flushed and turned away.

"Another reason to say no. I don't need Hoc hearing those rumors."

"What, you got a special relationship with him?" Naya asked. "Seems more my type than yours," she said.

"Guys, I'm trying to protect Sarbie here, teasing her isn’t helping!"

TaeCol laughed heartily. "Sarbie, accept the boy's gifts. He won't give up; he's Alvec the Unyielding after all."

"Sir, with all due respect, not funny," Alvec said, sighing; Sarbie mirrored him, also letting out a sigh.

"Let my hands go, and I'll lower mine. Maybe I'm being too harsh. If TaeCol suggests it's a wise idea, I may need to consider that. You said it turns a person invisible when exposed to fire?" Alvec slowly released his hands from hers that were caught up near her neck and shoulders.

"Yeah, we wizards aren't exactly known for being the ugh, sturdiest of fighters. So, I crafted it as a clever tool to escape a fight I can't win. As a tiefling, I have to get very unlucky to get hurt by normal fires, even alchemical ones. So it seemed like a really safe bet. For you, though, you're going to want to toss it about three feet away. You just want the slightest backsplash to come back up at you. A direct hit with this would be bad." He confirmed. "Alchemist fire burns pretty much until you starve the fire of oxygen. Smothering it by rolling would work. Since it's in a vial, it splashes when it shatters. Spraying all around the point of impact. The little droplets are only enough to singe a target and not enough to burn indefinitely, so always aim away from yourself just a smidge."

"Okay, I've got it. I can do this," she said, shaking her head no to him.

"Here, take the whole bandelier," he said, taking it off from himself. "Now, this isn't worth money; the alchemical items cost me silver to make, and the bandelier is a bandelier; it's cheap enough to get a replacement."

"Alvec, is the sword secure?" TaeCol asked.

"As secure as I can make it. The only way to make it more secure would be to steal the urn next to it. That would keep most anything out of the tower while rendering it completely unusable by us."

"That seems a bit excessive." TaeCol replied.

"Perhaps. I'll refrain from doing that then." Alvec confirmed.

"No fair. Bait want to scream again. Like seeing ratstick for very first time. Learn fear, become fear, overcome fear."

Sarbie leaned in so only Alvec could hear her. "Thanks. I'm not going to pretend I'm not afraid; I'm terrified. I've never even gone camping outside the walls, and I'm going to go marching through the wilderness with one of the most famous Paladins' of the age. This isn't what I signed up for at all. It's hard to process all the kindness you've shown me, but I just wanted to say thanks; I appreciate your concern and your attempts to right the situation as best you can."

"Least I could do; what should I tell Hoc?"

"Don't he'll come storming after us and get himself in trouble before he can find the valley of steam. I don't want his blood on my hands. I think the cover story is that I'm heading to Jai-Ranar to alphabetize their library." Alvec chuckled.

"Now, that would actually suit you rather well."

"Good lies contain shards of truth," Sarbie replied.

"Aren't Clerics of Kushang supposed to be good?"

"We're clerics of civilization, and what civilization isn't built on a dream?"

"Are you implying that dreams and lies are the same?"

"Well, it's not one-for-one, mind you, but some dreams are hopeful lies."

"Alright, now kids. If we're done with the explanation of how your equipment works, it be getting to that time where they head out. I just hope you haven't cost us this next fight." Illaria said.

"I don't think I have," Alvec said as he glanced at the sun's position in the sky. "Sorali, emergency request: take some money and get me a nice-looking cloak. Make sure it's warm and preferably in a similar shade of blue. I have enough time to enchant myself with a different cloak. It won't be as tricky, but it will be helpful."

"Yes, sir. I'll do that right away, sir." Sorali said as she made to head towards the door.

"Hold up, there's another thing I need you to grab. Ask around alchemist shops; you're looking for a moderately expensive tea that helps sharpen the drinker's mind. Every fight I've seen of the Sons of Marora has used illusions to throw their opponents off balance. They'll try doing the same thing to us, but we'll be ready for them."

"Meditation tea and a cloak, got it."

"Time is of the essence, so if you don't find the tea quickly, return with the cloak; I'll start preparing the reagents I need to make this work," Alvec said as he gave Sarbie and TaeCol one last nod before rushing off to begin prepping his enchanting station. The pair departed the compound and headed towards the valley of steam.

Alvec hated this; the sooner he won tomorrow's fight, the sooner he could assist Sarbie. Mavec's trip to Tsuhomma Downs might need to be slightly delayed. Just till Alvec was content that Sarbie was allowed back home. This was his fault, and he'd make sure it was set right. Sorali returned with the cloak first; she'd struck out at two places looking for the tea. He began his work quickly; this sort of cloak sharpened the user's reactions, fortified their body, and strengthened their mind. He didn't have time to make a more elaborate version, even if he had the skill required to do such a thing. It was late in the morning before he finished and threw himself into bed. The finals were just hours away. All he could hope was that his team would win quickly. He was worried about Sarbie. Concerned for her safety adventuring beyond the city, worried about TaeCol. Was this information worth killing for? Probably not, since he could have disposed of them all in one fell swoop. That said, he still hated this.

Though he might have begun to feel like a bit of a fool, so thoughtlessly gifting her magic items. Not because they wouldn't be helpful, but he just hadn't thought for even a second exactly how valuable the things he'd given away were. There indeed were... implications to gifting that sort of valued item to someone. It was made even more awkward by the elephant in the room; he'd never exactly figured out what her relationship with Hoc was. If the two of them were a pair, it could lead to a very awkward conversation. He had trouble imagining them as a romantic pair, though. To him, it felt more like they were good friends despite feeling like oil and water.

Either way, what was done was done. If Hoc came at him and tried to fight him for her honor, something he could all too easily imagine the boy doing... well, that was just another fact of life. He'd have to get in line behind the Sons of Marora and all the other strange things that had already complicated his life. Devils, the Gold Banner army, and unnatural abominations called intruders. He forced his mind to more pleasant matters as he drifted off to sleep, Rem lying on his chest, gently receiving scratches.