Many things happened over the next few hours. William was involved in virtually none of them.

All of the warehouses and ships still in the dock were raided. Warships filled with crews were dispatched to shadow the Babarassians who left. Several battles were fought between the ships. Uther and Cassian proved very effective warriors.

It was a wonder Rius had needed his help at all. A bit of leadership would have prevented all of this. But then, leadership might be in short supply.

Reg had not been heard from.

This worried William.

Still, it was Rius' city.

In the meantime, William continued his miserable task.

Now they sat in a meeting within Lord Rius' manor, Tanith and William on opposite sides, nearest to the head. Rius was there, hands clasped together, looking very noble. Jehair and Amenos further down. There was also Lilas, who had been tasked with chronicling the amounts that had been stolen.

"Should not Farwa and her Paladins be brought in?" asked William.

"I am quite certain you can represent them well enough," said Rius. "You and they are of like mind."

"I am not an official member of the order, Lord Rius," said William, uncomfortable by the statement. "I would not feel comfortable doing so.”

"Bishop Joffrey has been called away for important business," said Rius. "And has taken several prisoners for his consideration."

Prisoners?

Did that include Reg? Would it be wise to ask?

"Is Reg Hawkthorne among them," said William.

"That is not your concern," said Rius with a smile. "It was you who failed to find him, after all. Now, Tanith Telus, I believe you were chronicling reports. I shall hear yours before Lilas."

Tanith stood up and saluted. "Our documentation analysis confirms much of what Reg said. We've captured the workers of the Healer's Guild, those still alive. The priests have renewed their normal duties. We've also found documentation of businesses that knew of this.

"They assisted in shipping in troops covertly in exchange for certain favors. The slavers were one of them. We stormed all those merchants whom the documents confirmed to be complicit.

"Those Babarassians who did not leave when warned were killed for cargo. As commanded by Farwa, they were freed and fed before being handed over to Princess Kata."

"And why was this?" asked Rius, eyebrow raised.

"Kata's forces are among our allies," said Tanith. "A condition of their arrangement was freeing all slaves in areas raided. As we have needed manpower, it was decided not to push things."

"Well, perhaps we can reclaim the property later," said Rius with a smile.

William said nothing. Lilas noticed it and smiled.

"With respect, Lord Rius," said Tanith. "It would be more beneficial to have good relations with the Furbearers. Most of those who own the slaves have already crossed you. And if Kata does reestablish a state, even a diminished one, she'll owe you a favor.

"The Babarassians fought to the end or took their own lives rather than be captured. A few of them tried to kill the slaves, or so some of the slaves say, but they died of a sudden plague. Laevian owes the Furbearers a favor.

"Something divine has been pulling the strings here. Maybe several somethings. They want the Furbearers restored."

"In my experience," said Rius. "Matters of the state usually operate separately from the divine. Bishop Joffrey understands that well, as you will have to learn."

Was he saying that in front of a crusader? A Paladin and a man who had to be on good terms with Barden to live? William glanced with Lilas and then at the pictures around the meeting hall. It had a high ceiling adorned with much finery but had never been used. The pictures on the wall were very rich.

"Is that a statement befitting a man of your position, Lord Rius?" asked William.

"Life is not an epic story, I'm afraid," said Rius. "It's best to find that out now rather than later. These Furbearers are useful, but continuing to support them will become inconvenient.

"Inconvenient people don't last very long in Ascorn."

And Lilas was convenient.

This was worse than William thought. Someone had to be kept here.

"Anyway, we enslaved the workers in the Healer's Guild, the ones we didn't kill. We intend to force them to perform their duties for free," said Tanith. "As you ordered, we also moved into the surrounding villages to capture who we could." She was professional about this, wasn't she?

"There is a problem, though. I keep getting reports of outbreaks from local villages. Usually, diseases have spread very far to the villages beyond them. And seeing as we're only catching it now, it might be nationwide.

"I had some non-corrupt priests draw up a list of common ailments. Some of them have malas sickness, others some nasty stuff. I think the Healer's Guild has made fighting diseases much harder. In addition, many ailments that show up occasionally have gotten out of control.

"It's a paradise for Laevian. William, you might want to get right on that and fast."

"I'm sure we can see the plague later in the discussion," said Rius. "There have always been plagues in Antion. It is an unfortunate reality that bears no real discussion or novelty.

"Lilas, you have financial reports for us." Financial reports on the health of his population?

"I do," said Lilas.

This was where Rius would acknowledge William's efforts. But no acknowledgment came, and Rius went on to other subjects. Lilas explained losses and ways to easily recoup them.

"I expect we will see a total loss in slaves this shipment," said Lilas.

"Any sign of the Paladins?" asked Rius, too eagerly. Why them?

"Well, they are coming," said Tanith. "We saw some of their advanced scouts. But they seem to regard the plague as less of a priority. To be fair, when you're on campaign, you don't send troops into places you know have the plague.

"If you must get supplies, you want to do it indirectly. Dunmoore has many non-Paladin troops."

"Very well," said Rius, obviously frustrated. "Let us call it justified caution and leave the matter at that."

William had spent two days doing nothing but healing people. Some acknowledgment of it would be in order.

William waited expectantly.

Tanith seemed annoyed by this but let it pass.

"And what of the defecting militia?" asked Tanith. "The defecting soldiers have been impressed into the local militia. However, we haven't ironed out a real chain of command besides you being in charge. They will be expecting payment sooner or later. Mercenaries don't work for free.

"Keeping people idle for a long time is bad for everyone."

"Is this from personal experience?" asked William, remembering why he had come here in the first place.

It wasn't something she noticed.

"Benarus kept me at low pay for a lengthy period after I spent a lot of money getting to him," said Tanith. "I watched him letting commoners get snatched from their beds repeatedly, and he didn't give a damn.

"As long as his precious nobles didn't get scuffed, he was only too happy to leave the country to rot. He just called Arengeth while Adrian Wrynncurth ran roughshod over him."

"It was Telix that did it, was it not?" asked Rius.

"Telix was Wrynncurth's subordinate," said Tanith. "If Wrynncurth wasn't keeping him in line, he was responsible for what it was doing. So I wiped out one of his people to force him to back off and force Benarus to do something."

"...A word, Tanith," said William suddenly. "If you'll excuse us, Lord Rius. There is something that cannot wait."

"Of course," said Rius.

William took Tanith by the hand and took her into a side room. Tanith was surprised. "William, what is-"

"Tanith, nobody has said anything to you on this," said William in a low tone. "But it needs to be said; You could have started a war and destroyed our relations with Antion."

"What," said Tanith. "you mean in-"

"No, not here," said William. "In Gel Carn. Whatever your reasons are, your methods were abominable. It also did a lot of damage to House Gabriel's reputation and played into what our enemies say about us."

"What was I supposed to do?" asked Tanith. "Let Benarus run his country into the ground."

"Benarus managed to resolve that situation without your help," said William. "If you felt action was needed, you could have tried any number of solutions. Hunting wolves, for instance.

"Instead, you killed a black dragon and forced Gel Carn into a nearly unwinnable war. And I don't mind telling you that you would be dead if you hadn't been my closest friend."

Tanith recoiled as if struck, and Rius looked at her, then William. She almost looked like she was about to cry, which was wrong. "William, I... you wouldn't..."

"Wouldn't Father?" asked William. "Wrynncurth has a legitimate claim to your life, Tanith. Denying him cost us a lot of political capital. Would a no-name mercenary receive the same protection?

"You've been invaluable since, but your attitude needs to change.

"I don't care if you enjoy your work a bit more than most people. You saved my life in Khasmir and the lives of many other people. But we can't have a repeat incident of this. You need to take responsibility and check this bloodlust that drives you. It's going to get you killed."

Tanith paused and shifted. "I uh... alright. I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't think..." Her voice choked.

"Compose yourself," said William. "Give Rius the necessary information and nothing else. I need you at your best."

Tanith did, and William was surprised at how badly she was taking this. Either way, they went back into the meeting room and sat down. "I apologize, Lord Rius. Certain matters had to be clarified."

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Rius looked at Tanith, and a strange look came into his eye. William considered what it meant. Was he thinking of recruiting Tanith? "Well, to pick up where we left off," said Rius. "Benarus' overreliance on Arengeth is a whole separate matter."

Had he heard?

It didn't matter.

"What about the populace," said William finally. "The people of Ascorn have been through a very traumatic period. There has been violence in the streets, a breakdown of trade, and a small war. To say nothing of the plague and-"

"We've all heard your story, my boy," said Rius.

This was outrageous.

"We're not talking about my story," said William. "We're talking about an armed and well-trained population. They will look for someone to blame."

"Of course they will," said Rius. "This brings me to another subject;

"What shall we do about Reg?"

It was obvious Rius had no respect for William, so he sat down. "I would not presume to question you on the matter."

"You're learning," said Rius, who was not learning. "As for Reg, I shall keep him here as a prisoner for now. I will grill him for all the information he has on House Hawkthorne and their associates. And he will spend the rest of his time here in the darkest pits of my dungeons.

"He will be under heavy guard until I have a use for him. I've already dispatched letters to all the nearby places. But I have not stated Reg's fate. If someone inquires, I shall know who is most concerned.

"That will go a long way to determine who my enemies are.

"Even so, I do not think he knows anything more than can be deduced from his finances. Perhaps less. We will gather further information and find our enemies. We'll determine who they are and their motivations. And their resources and amass the strength to deal with them.

"And then, at the moment, that is most opportune...

"We strike." He smiled at William. He knew nothing, or he already knew everything and wasn't going to do anything about it.

Reg was being kept here to be used as a scapegoat.

"Reg Hawkthorne is nobility," said William, trying to keep the shock from his tone. "Are you going to torture him?"

"That barrier," said Rius. "Can be circumvented in this situation, I assure you."

"But are you going to torture him?" asked William.

"If necessary, yes," said Rius.

You didn't torture nobility.

You didn't torture anyone; it was useless for interrogation. Rusara had taught him that. But if Reg might be, after cooperating...

"Why not declare what happened? Accuse House Hawkthorne," said William. "This is more than just enough to demand reparations. And we can spare Reg that way."

"Patience until the opportune moment arrives is the key to all victory, William," said Rius. "Your Father understands that, though he has made a few mistakes in positioning. Win your battle too soon, and the enemy will adjust their plans and strike from another angle. Win it too late, and your enemy will be too strong to stop.

"We could easily accuse House Hawkthorne, but doing so would make their backers panic. They'd go underground." They'd already gone underground. William had reported what Tavish and Lamech had done.

"What of it?" asked William, looking around. "It would end the war.

"And we have Reg's testimony." Rius looked to Lilas. So where was Reg?

"Friends, friends," said Rius with much less sincerity than Aras. "We cannot allow past grudges to interfere with the matter." What past grudges? Did he think Tanith and William had a grudge?

"For the moment, I judge that we do not know enough.

"Reg shall remain in prison until we learn more. It is doubtful that he shall be any harm there. In the meantime, I am certain each of us shall be able to do great service and find the answers." Reg wasn't in prison.

He was almost certainly already gone. But to where?

"...What of the girl?" William asked. "The one that is either a goddess or a demon? Farah." Then he remembered the blue-skinned girl his age.

His age.

Realization dawned.

William considered what had just happened in this conversation. Rius had openly spoken of reclaiming lost cargo. He had snubbed William for his services. Spoken of torturing Reg, and quite a few other things. At the same time he’d made use of William’s resources while ignoring him.

Just like he’d ignored Father.

Rius was his enemy.

In disgust, William stood up and walked down the table while no one spoke. He placed a hand on Tanith's shoulder as he passed. Opening the door, he pulled it open, stepped through, and slammed it. The noise hid that he kneeled by the door to listen. It was a very fine door of dark wood.

"So the child has finally left the room," said Rius. "No doubt to sulk and cry." The absolute fool.

"He is quite popular with the people, Lord Rius," said Lilas.

"Popularity rises and falls, Lilas," said Rius. "He'll be forgotten in a week.

"Now, what of this vampire conspiracy Reg rambled on about." William saw a servant staring at him and didn't care. Even if Rius was informed, he would laugh it off as William being a child. The servant walked away.

"What is your plan, then?" asked Tanith.

"Well, first, we're going to have a lot of arrests of problematic citizens. Then some hangings, and then a celebration," said Rius. "A few fines as well to polish off the finances. Best to focus on up-and-comers with less clout. And, of course, we must meet with Lord Dunmoore when he arrives with an entire army of Paladins." Celebrations?

Had the man looked outside?

"Lord Rius, this is outrageous!" said Tanith finally. "William labored for two days straight, halting the spread of the plague. He brought you Reg; you have repaid his efforts with insult and belittlement!"

"Girl, I will have you know that I am a Lord of Antion," said Rius, emphasizing the last states. "And of the most profitable and influential port therein. You are the second child of a lesser lord from a lesser land.

"You advance yourself through my good graces henceforth. Am I clear?"

"I'm only saying that William is not harmless," said Tanith, adjusting. "He has very powerful friends. And he'll likely meet with quite a few nobles on the way to Gel Carn.

"He has more than an opportunity to return the favor. And he is very good in a fight."

"What of it?" asked Rius. "He has no personal credibility save by acting as your hanger-on in Khasmir. A glorified insect purge with no human enemies and one dangerous walk in the woods. No money was made there by anyone; it would have been better to let the filthy animals die.

"Seathorius isn't that large, and many others have made the journey. Most of his accounts are embellished and falsified. So his only achievement is healing a few dozen lepers and cripples." A few hundred, actually, and that didn't count other ailments.

"Not a very impressive feat and can be duplicated by any priest." But it wasn't. And it could not be.

"We should shut down the slave trade," said Tanith. "Completely and immediately."

"Why?" asked Rius.

"Most of the slaves in this city are going south to plantations in the Antion heartlands," said Tanith. "And they were seized illegally, or at least dishonorably. Most of those plantations are built on land stolen from the men who Reg conscripted.

"Plantations have a high fatality rate, even the more humane ones of Antion.

"Without slaves, they will go bankrupt, and we can buy them back. This land can then be redistributed back to the men who lost it. And the people who engineered this make a lot of money on the matter." That decision would wreck Rius' reputation quickly if he were stupid enough to do it.

William would love to have pointed this out. But he wasn't in the room, was he? So Tanith's vengeance would have to go through.

Rius clasped his hands together. "And I could use the mistreatment of the Furbears as grounds for shutting things down. Solving several problems at once and putting them under my influence.

"No doubt no one would care if they were all clapped in chains later. The public is easily manipulated and forgetful."

"Lord Rius," said Lilas. "This action could antagonize Lady Atravain."

"What of it, Lilas?" asked Rius. "Atravain is half responsible for this anyone. And her control of a few plantations is insignificant next to this port. One has to be firm anyway to respond to power plays like this.

"Were it not for Kafka, she should have lost it long ago."

Insolent...

"Still," said Rius. "The prospect of a loan is unsettling."

"Then we waste a great deal of money on people we hate. And have reason to take it back by force when we win," said Tanith quickly, almost seeming a different person. "Harlenorian culture is at stake here. It is built on a foundation of warriors on all levels.

"If you dispossess the farmers, you dispossess the backbone of our society. Besides, I wonder if Lady Atravain might not have started this herself. After all, she's the one who needs slaves. And she has three daughters with no real option for advancement.

"You are still young, milord."

"Now that is an idea," said Rius. "I imagine Janice might make for a fine trophy once things have gotten underway. Well, befitting the victor.

"Well then, Lady Telus, will you investigate the slaver operations in this city?"

"It would be my honor," said Tanith. "William can tag along too."

Never had William heard such good fake laughter.

"Then we shall give our paladin friends something to occupy themselves," said Rius. "You are in command, Lady Telus. Make sure Sir Gabriel make no more uproars; the child should be put at ease."

At that point, the discussion concerned money and how Rius would make it. He talked about ways to sell the property he'd be seizing and how to profit from the catastrophe. All while sharing as little of the money as possible and, if possible, making it at his rival's expense. Felix and Jehair listened to everything he said and went along with it while Tanith sat silent.

This was what so many people had died for?

William stood and walked out of the hall. Looking around at the splendor, he felt utterly sick. He was tempted to set fire to it or smash it up because what would Rius do about it? But he did not.

So, instead, he walked into the coatroom. There he found a servant straightening the picture—the one of Father. Now William knew what it meant. Rius had abandoned their alliance and left Father out in the rain.

He sneered at all that was great and lofty and tore down others in their mind to compensate for his failings. Lord Rius was no noble. Just a fat man living in a fantasy world where everything was utterly grim and dark. A custom-tailored dimension where all that was great and lofty ended in failure and death. Designed to make this impudent brat seem less terrible by comparison.

No doubt, Rius called his view of reality 'more realistic.'

It was nothing but fantasy. Here was a man who thought tax policies were more important than those who raised the taxes. A vision of decadence and filth in silken clothes. He'd probably considered murdering a guest to be a brilliant strategic move. There were girls William's age, mere children, being used as prostitutes in this city.

And Rius had let it happen. Perhaps even delighted in the practice.

Honor did not exist to him. The well-being of the realm was a mere footnote to his private fancies of ambition. All delusions were conjured to disguise the facts. He was a coward—a sniveling traitor who abandoned his country, friends, and people.

William walked over to him. "You don't need to do that. I will be taking that gift back."

"...Is that wise," asked the servant.

"A man who insults Duke Vanion's son insults Duke Vanion," said William. Then he took it off the wall and walked out into the bleak light of the streets.

Aras was over to one side, smoking his pipe as usual. It was raining lightly from above, and the filth was beginning to wash away into the sewer grates. The overhang from the building protected the painting. But the city looked mournful and dead now.

Here and there, beggars were asking for alms, but they were healthy. The stench of death had passed, and the hell had been cleaned a bit. But it remained a hell.

Aras offered a pipe. He looked exhausted from the long labor, and blood was drying on his cloak. His weathered features were turned skyward up to where the promise of fresh rain was coming. William hoped the painting wouldn't get ruined; it was a nice one.

Still, the pipe was there.

"Mother insists on never smoking," said William. "She believes it can kill a man."

"Most good things can," said Aras, blowing a smoke ring that floated skyward. "Is that stolen?"

"It is taken back," said William. "Rius treats my Father and me with contempt. It was in a coatroom, while pictures of merchants were further in. Since he has no intention of treating me with any friendship, why should I burden him with a symbol?

"Do you want this?"

"Well, transporting in this squall could be hard," said Aras. "But yes. I have a ship waiting for when I leave this place."

"Well then," said William. "It is yours.

"Whatever your rank and wherever you're going, you've treated me far better than Rius. Do you trust Jehair?"

"Jehair is completely helpful with everyone she works with," said Aras. "Everyone.

"She makes no moral judgment and does whatever needs to be done. Her interest is in the land itself. This is why she associates with so many violent people. Her sect of the Druids of Laevian believes there are too many people.

"But if you are in her charge, you are safe and will have your interests looked after until you betray her. Or, until your contract is up, with a grace period naturally."

"Thank you," said William. "Now, I'll tell you everything discussed there so you can plan for it. I am only a child and cannot be held accountable for gossip."

"I think perhaps we understand one another well, William," said Aras, taking the painting. "Do tell."

William did tell him.

Aras nodded and smiled. "I'll make the preparations at once. Thank you, Farwa shall be very pleased with this." And he headed off at once.

Eventually, Lilas came out of the room, looking very concerned. "There's a painting missing from his wall, Sir Gabriel."

"I doubt he'll mind," said William. "Rius never seemed to have any use for it.

"I have an apology to make. When I first saw you in the street with your workers, I had a very uncharitable view of you. I realize now that you've been here while everyone else comes and goes.

"And there is about to be a famine."

"I advance myself through the good graces of higher Lords," said Lilas. "And one has to respond to small mistakes. If you don't, they are repeated.

"Good luck."As they walked away, a howling scream of fury echoed from the manor's doors. Inside, Rius seemed to be screaming at the servants, ignorant that he could be heard down the street. It was the scream of a very rich man who had lost something he had never wanted or needed until now.

It was a very satisfying one indeed.

"And since Rius has now staffed his room with my men," said William. "I won't be attending future meetings."

William went to get his armor from the ship. It was going to be one of those quests.