It wasn’t the crowd that made Tibs hesitate starting down the paved path toward the mountain; it was that he didn’t know where Sto’s influence extended. It had always been a nebulous line of ‘somewhere among the shops and buildings in the valley’, but until now, it hadn’t mattered to him. Until now, Tibs could be confident Sto wouldn’t speak to him while he was among other people unless it was important.
Now? Tibs found he wasn’t confident of much these days.
Would Sto talk with him? Would he scream? Refuse to even acknowledge Tibs was there? He let out the breath and started down the hill. He deserved whatever Sto gave him. And after that…
Tibs would accept what came afterward.
Merchants waved and called to him from their booths. They were glad he was okay. They’d held out hope while he was sick. One even cursed the clerics for letting the Hero of Kragle Rock linger in illness for so long.
He did his best to ignore them. Of course, they’d seen how he was when Jackal carried him out of the dungeon, and the stories had spread, like they always did, when no one corrected them. And even then. Stories sometimes felt like an element of their own, moving about the world out of control of anyone but those who had it as their element.
Bards were who wielded stories.
Fortunately, Kragle Rock hadn’t drawn many of them at this point. Tibs had seen one at the inn, dressed in bright colors and a tar at his back, speaking with Russel, and Kroseph, and the other servers. Asking about what happened in the town, Kroseph told Tibs afterward. Gathering pieces they would etch into a story that would become the truth, as far as the rest of the world knew.
Maybe they’d one day make it into one of the books Don read, and it would officially be what had happened. No matter how distorted the stories became by then.
He reached the steps without a word from Sto, and turned left, walking through the stalls, then buildings. Until he exited the Gathering Grounds.
He waited until the sounds were faint, then stepped to the cliff face and sat.
“I’m sorry,” he said when the silence stretched. “I’m sorry for how I spoke to you, Sto, Ganny,” he added when there were no responses.
“It wasn’t you,” Sto said softly.
“It was,” Tibs replied, as Ganny scoffed. “I decided to ice myself. I decided to keep myself iced anytime something cracked it. Maybe it changed how I thought, but it’s still my fault I kept it there, and what I did and said because of it.”
“It’s okay,” Sto said.
“No, it isn’t.” Tibs took a breath, reigned in his anger. Too many people were excusing what he did. As if the element had taken him over and acted without his consent. He’d always been himself through it all. Just a version of himself devoid of the things that made him different from the elements.
“What are you going to do about it?” Ganny demanded.
“Ganny,” Sto snapped.
“She’s right, Sto,” Tibs said. “I hurt you.”
Sto snorted. “It wasn’t that hard to fix what you damaged.”
“I’m not talking about unleashing fire inside you.” Tibs had trouble continuing. “I treated you like… a thing. Like you were just there to do what I told you. You should have listened to Ganny and sent me off.”
“That’s not how friends treat each other,” Sto replied.
“I didn’t deserve your friendship.”
“That’s not how it works. Unless I got that wrong too. I’m the one who decides who my friends are, and what I’ll do for them.”
“Like plotting against me?” Tibs asked with a chuckle. “Did Jackal really come up with the plan?”
“It’s not like I could tell him what I wanted to do.”
“We did try,” Ganny said. “Sto wrote a long page about how he wanted to lure you into a new section, then split you away and use golems he’d make look like the rest of your team and have them attack you and put it on the ground when he realized Jackal was coming.”
Would that have worked? With realizing he wasn’t as close to the others than he’d thought, he had his doubt. “He didn’t read it, did he?”
“He tried, I think,” Ganny said. “He stared at it for a while, frowning. Then he said he didn’t know his letters and told us what he wanted to do.”
“I didn’t think it would work,” Sto said. “It was so…simple. I also didn’t think he could survive what you’d throw at him.”
“Do you—” his throat constricted. Did Sto know how Jackal had survived? If he did, did Tibs want to learn it from him? He hadn’t found the courage to ask Jackal yet, and this felt like… cheating.
It shouldn’t matter to him. He was a rogue. Cheating was what he did.
“Simple sometimes works best,” he finally said. “And Jackal knows how to hurt me.” Tibs hadn’t thought his friend could be so cruel.
“I wouldn’t have thought to say what he did,” Sto admitted.
Tibs nodded.
“You aren’t wearing your bracers. Did they get damaged?”
“No. I’m not… I’m scared of what I’ll do with the essence in them. It’s too… easy to use it.”
“What about Water?” Ganny asked. “You’re channeling it right now.”
“Not because I want to.” If he’d had a way to hide his eyes, or change their color without having to channel an element, he’d have done so. “And I’m terrified of what it’ll make of me if I suffuse myself. But at least it’s not as immediately destructive as fire. And it doesn’t feed on my anger.” He rested his head against the rock. “Ganny, what do you need me to do to make this right?”
“You don’t—” Sto started.
“I’m asking Ganny,” Tibs cut him off. “Because I don’t need someone who cares right now. I hurt you, Sto, and I have to make amends. And she’s the best one to come up with a proper punishment.”
“I don’t know if I’m the right one for this, Tibs,” she replied. “I’m not a person. Other than making you promise you’ll never do something like that ever again, and that you’ll always treat Sto with respect, I don’t know what I could tell you to do.”
“You could have me be hurt the way I hurt him.”
“I think… I don’t think you need me for that.”
“I should pay,” he cursed. “No one’s holding me responsible for what I did. I can’t go to Irdian for arranging the fire or getting Runners caught, because that would get in the way of our runs. Jackal is just happy I’m better, and Kroseph is making sure I don’t wallow. I almost hurt them more than anyone else and they won’t punish me.”
“What do you want them to do?” Ganny asked.
“I don’t know! I just—” He put his head in his hands. “I don’t deserve to simply get away with what I did.”
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“If I think of a way to punish you,” Sto said, “I’ll let you know.”
Tibs snorted at the utter lack of conviction it the dungeon’s voice.
* * * * *
They were staring at him.
He felt the eyes on him as he followed the clerk through the guild corridors. They knew. They knew he was plotting against them. They knew he’d iced himself for months. They knew Sebastian had attacked the town because of how Tibs had hurt him, that all the troubles Kragle Rock suffered now were his fault. They also knew he didn’t need the clerk leading him anymore. That he had a medallion that let him navigate the building.
They all knew and, any moment now, they would fall on him and they would punish him the way he deserved, and Kragle Rock would be who ended up paying for his crimes.
The knock startled him, and he realized it was the clerk knocking on Tirania’s office door.
“Come in,” she said. The clerk opened the door and motioned inside.
He steadied himself and entered. He wanted ice for this. How was he supposed to convince her he was still her ally when he wanted to burn the guild down, and her along with it?
She smiled. “Tibs, I’m so glad you’re feeling better.” She motioned to the chair. “You had us worried.” No light on the words, but Tibs wondered why she’d been worried.
Did she know how much he hated the guild and her for representing it? That their previous interactions had been while he was iced? That all this was so he could find a way to get her to bring Marger here so he could kill him and destroy the guild?
“Thank you,” he replied, sitting. She had to know about the ice, at least. She was old, older than he could understand, he expected. Alistair said that everyone who had water as their element iced themselves at some point. She had to have seen the effect.
“I hope you are feeling better,” she said, searching his face, “because you made enough of an impression on Lord Galdain during the gathering, he requested you be present when he returns with his children.”
“Me?” He asked in disbelief. “Why?”
“He wants the Hero of Kragle Rock to meet his children.”
“Send Don,” Tibs said before he stopped himself, then added as calmly as he could. “He actually knows how to act around nobles.”
“This isn’t about who I, or you, think is the best person for this. Galdain requested you specifically. He made it clear that if you didn’t make it to the gathering he arranged to celebrate his children coming here, they’d leave the next morning and never consider us as a place for them or any other of his family to train.” She smiled. “Which is why I am so glad you are well enough to be present.”
Was it too late to go back to wallowing in Kroseph’s bed? Jackal’s man would understand this wasn’t just about being miserable. If she’d asked this after the party, Tibs would never have…hesitated. He’d been iced. He would have done anything if it meant reinforcing his position as her ally.
“What does it mean for me to be at that party?”
“It means his children get to meet you, and if you make a good impression, they will train here.” He could do that much. “Then, I expect you’ll take them on a run through the dungeon.”
“No.” He closed his mouth before the rest of his opinion could escape. “We run the third floor. That’s not a place for someone who’s never gone through the dungeon. I don’t care what rank they are.”
“I’m sure you and your team won’t mind running the first floor a few times, so they’ll get acclimated.”
“What rank are they?” Tibs asked. Did they even have their element if they needed help through the first floor?
“Upsilon, I think,” she replied. “They would have been tested at their city’s training academy, then put through the reinforcing technique they developed there until they could have their audience.”
“They can do that? I thought only surviving dungeons made us strong enough to get an element.”
“Dungeons are the faster way to achieve those results, but as you can imagine, the risks involved are not for everyone.”
Would anyone run the dungeons if the guild didn’t force those like him to do it?
Tibs nodded and spoke as neutrally as he could. “Don will make a better impression on them.”
“And I’m certain he can instruct you on how to behave, so you will make a good impression.” She smiled. “I’m sure you will get along splendidly with them.”
He wasn’t able to keep his grumbling silent, and she chuckled. At least she didn’t take his less than enthusiastic attitude as a sign he wasn’t her best ally anymore.
“How is your team handling having Don among them?” she asked.
“Fine,” Tibs replied. “It was rough at first, but it turns out that he can be a decent person.”
She nodded. “Considering your history, I was reluctant to go along when he ask I put him on your team, but I’m glad the two Heroes of Kragle Rock were able to put their differences behind them and work together.”
He stared at her, the sound of his rage drowning the rest of her pleasantries.
He was going to kill him.
Don had fucking played him.
Again.
* * * * *
Tibs stormed through the common room, ignoring the greetings from the others in the inn. He’d sensed ahead, so he knew Don was there with his team. He wasn’t letting anyone delay his revelation of what the sorcerer had done.
He was lucky Tibs didn’t have his bracers; he doubted he’d resist the temptation to use fire.
“You lied to us!” he yelled, slamming a hand on the table.
Don stared at him in surprise.
“Tibs?” Jackal said. “Maybe you should—”
“He fucking lied!”
“I don’t know what—” the sorcerer said, and there was no light.
“You said Tirania put you on our team!”
“She did,” Don said. “You were there when—”
“You told her to put you in my team! It was your idea, not hers!”
“Don?” Mez asked.
“I—” the word glowed. “Look.” The glow lessened, and Don looked at the others. Jackal and Khumdar’s expression had turned suspicious, while Mez looked hurt. “You have to understand.”
“Yeah,” Jackal said sharply. “I’m sure you think we do.”
“That’s why!” Don snapped. “What the fuck did you expect me to do? Come to the people I’ve gone out of my way to be an asshole to and just ask to be part of your team? You’d have kicked my ass and laughed the entire time!”
“Don,” Mez said, “We wouldn’t—”
“Get off it, Mez,” the sorcerer cut him off. “After how I treated you? There was no way you would have welcomed me.”
“You lied,” Tibs snarled.
“How is it you missed it?” Khumdar asked cautiously.
“I don’t know!” he’d wracked his memory trying to remember every conversation. There had often been lights on his words, but that was true of anyone. But he couldn’t remember ever seeing that when Don spoke of being on the team, or joining it. It could be he hadn’t cared enough to remember or pay attention once the initial shock passed, but he should have, iced or not. He should have known all this was just Don manipulating them. “I don’t know what else he lied about.”
“I didn’t lie!” the sorcerer yelled, jumping to his feet, the words bright. “Not about anything else!”
Tibs snorted. That glowed too, if not as bright.
“Really?” Don looked them over. “How many runs have we done? How many times did I keep my mouth shut and let him screw up? And this is the little trust you’re showing me?”
“Why?” Mez asked, still sounding confused.
“I told you why,” the sorcerer replied through clenched teeth.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Mez snapped. “In all that time, why did you never tell us what you did?”
Don looked at him in disbelief. “And deal with this?” he replied in disdain, including the four of them with a wave of the arm. “What? You think I want to be treated like I’m something you need to scrape off from under you boot?”
“We’d have—”
“Fuck this,” Don told Tibs over Mez’s protest. “I don’t need this. I don’t need you. I learned what I needed from your lot. Now you can go fuck in the abyss for all I care.” He stalked away from the table.
“Good fucking riddance,” Tibs snarled, ignoring how bright the sorcerer’s words had been. “We don’t need him.”
* * * * *
“No,” Irdian said dismissively. “Unless he’s dead, you can’t put some other sorcerer on your team.”
“He’s not working out,” Tibs replied as evenly as he could.
The commander’s smirk said his tone wasn’t as even as he thought. “That is not my problem, Light Fingers. Take it up with Guild Leader Tirania. I’m sure she’ll be able to bend the rules for you, again.”
There were so many ways he could kill that man, Tibs thought as he stormed out. Fire was too good. Corruption would be the best one. Tie Irdian under a bucket with a hole in it and let it drip until there was nothing left. That would teach him not to go along with what Tibs wanted.
He was up the wall of the guild building and onto the roof, surprising a clerk who was enjoying a meal. Then Tibs threw himself off to the closest roof and ran. He pushed himself until his muscles hurt and didn’t use purity. When he couldn’t run, he screamed.
He bent down, feeling like he was going to be sick from pushing himself so hard.
As tempting as it was, he wasn’t going to kill Don.
Maybe if they both went to Tirania, she’d listen.
Oh, sure. Don was going to love going along with that plan. He was going to screw Tibs over for as long as he could. He was going to make sure they couldn’t go on their runs.
He screamed again.
How could he have been so stupid as to ever trust that guy? When had Don ever been about anything other than what Don wanted?
Fuck, he’d gotten to liking him!
That had to have been what Don was after. Making Tibs trust him enough he’d volunteer all his secrets. He was asking a lot of questions after the runs. Tibs went over their conversation, trying to remember if he’d said anything that might hint at being more than a normal Runner. He didn’t think he had, but while iced, he hadn’t care all that much about the consequences of what he said. He wasn’t even sure he’d believed that the guild learning about all his elements would have kept him from taking it down during that time.
He straightened and looked around.
The pillars of the transportation platform were to his left, the guild at his back, which meant that Market Row was… he did a full turn. The construction over there was the future wall that would cut the nobles from the rest of Kragle Rock, and if that was there, the Row was… How could he not recognize the roofline of his town? Had he not paid attention to the changes while iced? No, of course not. Running the roofs hadn’t mattered to his plans. They were just how he got to the noble’s neighborhood when he felt like breaking into one of them.
Which, since that was one place he could still find, he might as well indulge in.
It wasn’t the direct type of suffering he wanted to inflict, but he’d know one of them was down a few coins.
And there was a baker who needed them, as well as other merchants.
If Tibs could work out how to make it to the Row from the roofs after this.