Diamond Veil was a much bigger city than Eisdel. It wasn't just a matter of its expanse but also majesty. Most of the buildings were tall, robust and topped with pointy spires that scraped the skies. These were mainly houses owned by barons from all across Rose County, head offices of administration and businesses run by the wealthiest of merchants. What added to the majesty even more were the royal banners and the emblems of Crown offices that dotted each building. And since it was Triumphant day, all the main offices were adorned with tapestries woven in the kingdom's colors of red and green.

Lyam and Aveline made their way down the road that was flanked by stalls laid down by travelling vendors. They sold everything from handmade souvenirs to delicious candy to snake oils. The street was bustling with people and somewhere in the distance, there was the sound of drums with marching feet.

The sight of a crowded, lively city was like a whiplash after the haunting silence of Eisdel streets. He clutched onto the side of Aveline's cloak to not get lost amid the swarm of people around them.

The shapecrafter smiled at him. “You haven't been here before?” she said, amused.

The boy shook his head.

“Let me guess, your mamie didn't like this festival?” she said.

The boy nodded, blushing. Mamie had always said that the Triumphant day was little more than an over glorified funeral where barely anyone mourned the dead. It was, after all, celebrated because the dust wielders had managed to defeat the shapecrafters in the Great Cleansing. Everyone focused on the victory a lot more than the wielders they'd lost in the battle. “She used to make a delicious beef stew, though,” he said. “But she also reminded Emma and I that this was the same day our father had passed away.”

Aveline nodded. “Sounds like a fair reason to be bitter.”

They stopped at one of the souvenir stalls that was selling clay figures of wielders for five copper henries. The vendor started to pitch them his goods but Aveline said she wasn't looking to buy anything and moved on.

“What do you think of the festival?” Lyam said as he followed her, still holding onto her cloak.

She shrugged. “Other than feeling a bit sad that my school was destroyed, I don't have much of an opinion on any of this. People have fought over something or the other for centuries. And they'll keep fighting for centuries to come.”

“That's it?” Lyam said. “None of this makes you mad? You wanted to learn and you lost your school. I know that must sting but…what about your friends? Didn't you lose anyone else in all this?”

“An interesting thing to note about my fold, Lyam,” she said. “None of us ever befriended others like us.”

Lyam gaped at her, unable to make sense of what she had just said. He was of the impression that when you tossed five people in a room, at least two of them were bound to exit the room as friends. What Aveline had told him sounded almost like an alien concept. “Really? None of you could call each other friends?” he asked.

“That's not how it works among those who practise my art,” Aveline said, avoiding to specify the name of her art as they moved through the crowd of people. “We had mentors and students, seniors and subordinates, allies and rivals, but there isn't much that any of us felt beyond a professional respect.”

“Why not? How is that even possible?” he said.

“It's a sign of weakness,” she said. “The essence of friendship is vulnerability. Showing a side of yourself that you usually don't show others.” They left behind the bustling street and arrived at the town square where the crowd was much more dispersed. “In shapecraft, becoming vulnerable mostly leads to betrayal which usually comes just before death.”

Lyam let go of her cloak and came to a halt. Aveline walked a few steps ahead before she noticed that he wasn't following anymore. She turned to him. His face was creased with worry. She could almost tell what he was going to say next.

“Aveline, are we…are we friends?”

“No,” she said.

“Wh-What?” he asked.

She nodded. “I don't know how to be friends. Also, we won't be together long enough to do that. These two months will pass by in a blur while you train. The tournament will end in less than a month. Once Emma is cured, there isn't much reason for both of us to stick together after that. In fact, it will be in your best interest to not associate yourself with me then.”

“So you were being honest when you told me why you are helping me?” he said. “You are just curious if death can be reversed. That's it?”

“That's it,” Aveline said without meeting his gaze.

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Lyam wasn't sure how he felt about this. Aveline was still a stranger to him, there was no doubt about it. But she was a stranger who had saved his life and was also helping him save his sister. She had told him to hold onto his hope for Emma and smile when he could. Regardless of her reasons to help him, the fact that he owed his life to her remained clear as rain. He found it difficult to think of someone like that as just a ‘stranger’ or an ‘ally’. But friendship indeed seemed like a foreign concept to the shapecrafter.

Lyam didn't push the matter any further and looked at her again. “I think we should get started with what we came here to do.”

Aveline nodded. “It’s about time we did.”

Then they set off on their path towards the Count's residence. Neither spoke a word on the entire walk.

###

Lyam was on the lookout while Aveline walked up to the rampart of the castle. With a piece of chalk, she drew a four pointed star on the surface of the castle wall. And at the center of the star she drew a circle. Then she copied the same pattern on the ground in front of her, placed her crimson ruby at its centre and covered the pattern with goatskin parchment. Next, she pricked her finger with a knife and smeared some of her blood at the centre of the star on the wall.

This was a scryer's compass.

“Are you done?” Lyam asked as he looked around anxiously. They were at the back of the castle, sticking close to the rampart so that soldiers from the watchtower couldn't see them without leaning at a dangerously low angle.

“Five more minutes,” she said before making fists of both hands, “and don't disturb me unless it's an emergency.” Her tattoos glowed.

Scryer's compass would allow her to look inside the castle so that she could pinpoint the location of the dust bloom farm. The reason for assuming the castle to hold the farm was quite simple.

Storing so many blooms out in the open meant that their circle of scent would be intense. If the scent was intense it would draw more hosts seeking for a merge. The chance of more unauthorized wielders being formed would rise.

The easiest way to avoid that from happening was to put the farm of dust blooms under tight surveillance and protect it with all kinds of wards. There wasn’t any other place that offered that kind of security except the Count's castle itself.

When Lyam looked back at Aveline her eyes were still closed in concentration. The crimson ruby on the ground was pulsating with an ethereal light. It was probably the verta that she used to charge the scryer's compass with.

He looked up at the watchtower visible from their vantage. Thanks to his marksman's enhanced eyesight, he could tell the soldier at the tower wasn't looking in the direction. The man's eyes were focused in the west. Aveline and Lyam were by the northern rampart.

It had been roughly two minutes since Aveline had begun her scrying. Without making much noise, he slowly stepped away from her and walked ahead, sticking close to the wall, moving east. No guards were coming in their direction while patrolling. With the same cautious footsteps, he moved west. No dangers approached from here either.

By the time he went back to Aveline, she had opened her eyes. “Did you find the farm?” he asked.

She raised the goat skin parchment that had been empty before she placed it over the crimson ruby. But Lyam could now see words on its surface.

< Castle keep >

“Is that where the farm is?” he asked.

“Apparently,” she said. “Or somewhere close to it. There were too many obstructions in the way. So pinpointing an exact location was difficult. I used the compass to sense the fragrance a farm full of dust blooms would give off. This is what it showed me.” She tore the parchment and put her ruby back in her amulet. She erased both the markings on the wall and ground with water from her canteen.

“But the castle keep is also where the count probably lives,” Lyam said. “Wouldn't it already be heavily guarded?”

The shapecrafter nodded. “Absolutely. And the security will be doubled to protect the farm. Not just regular guardsmen but wielders too.”

“Also there are going to be guards all over the castle grounds. How will we make it inside?” The boy frowned in worry.

Aveline grinned at him as if she was amused. “There is a way,” she said. “Do you know about the Justice Ceremony?”

Lyam had heard of it but he didn't know exactly what it was. All that he knew about the ceremony was that it emphasised the superiority of Brismont's law over everything.

“Diamond Veil is the county capital,” she said. “All county capitals host the Justice Ceremony on Triumphant day. Nearly everyone from the city attends the ceremony. It is meant to be witnessed by everyone. Even the guards of the castle. Chances are that the keep will remain quite well guarded but the security of the overall castle would probably get thinned down during the ceremony.”

“What if it doesn't?” Lyam asked. “In the light of the current shapecrafter attacks, what if the security gets doubled instead?”

Aveline seemed exasperated but she did consider the possibility more seriously. “Then we'll have to use the last resort,” she said.

“What's the last resort?” asked Lyam.

Before she could tell him, they heard a commotion by the castle gates. Lyam's breath hitched in his throat at the sounds. He sprang into motion and ran for the gates.

“Lyam, wait!” Aveline chased after him.

But the boy kept running. He couldn't believe the voice he'd heard.

The commotion got louder the closer he got. He leaned by the western wall and peered out at the castle gate. A bunch of guardsmen were in a tussle by the main entrance. It seemed like a commoner was trying to force her way inside.

“Take your hands off me! I want to see the count myself!” the woman kept yelling.

“Why did you run off like that?” Aveline said once she caught up to Lyam.

For a moment, the boy didn't respond. He just pointed at the scene unfolding by the gate, the woman who was trying to make it past the castle guards. “Th-That's my mamie,” he said.