Weeks later, the fires had been put out. Buildings were being erected outside of the town to house the refugees. Work crews had been laboring day and night on Sahshir's orders to mend what damage to the swamps they could. Many stretches of land had been saved, and many bodies had been given proper burials.

But many places were dead and broken, and the spirits howled with the injury.

Nor had people come out of it any better. A large portion, Sahshir, wasn't sure how many escaped slaves were dead. Many had been wounded, and he'd put the Sornian priests to work healing the injured on both sides. Their pay had been not being beheaded by Sahshir.

Even so, entire crops had been lost, and the island would be devastated economically. Almost everyone had lost someone they knew in the war. Entire fortunes had been destroyed, and the bodies were only now being taken down.

Now he was, mulling it over on a pier as the vessel pulled in.

Nayasha stepped off the gangplank and walked down it, clad in chainmail with a black hood over her face. Sahshir nodded to her as she approached, walking with swaying hips. "You certainly took your time, Nayasha."

"My apologies, Sahshir," said Nayasha, looking somewhat disappointed. "Plans were being made for a mission of the utmost importance, and they could not easily be abandoned. But unfortunately, Tuor has had me running many errands, and I received your dispatch a week after it arrived.

"This place is..." She looked at the buildings that were being repaired. "Still standing."

"That was an accomplishment in itself," said Sahshir. "What news?"

"Calisha has recognized Emperor Aridius, of course. He should arrive shortly for negotiations," said Nayasha. "There will be a representative of Baltoth coming as well.

"I understand that you've been quite busy yourself."

Sahshir raised the steel hand he now had in place of his original one. Nayasha cringed at sight. "...Ah, I see. How did it happen?"

"I ripped it off," said Sahshir flatly.

"I assume there was no alternative," said Nayasha, wincing.

"It's only flesh," said Sahshir, turning around. "Come, we've prepared a reception."

On they walked through the far emptier seats. Most people had moved out to try and salvage what they could from their ruined homes. It was a general opinion that Garacel would get a significant portion of the land on the island. So most were trying to get as much as they could while unclaimed.

Salvaging had become the career of choice for men without work now. Worse still, fights had happened during many of those expeditions. Some had been killed.

"So, where is Sen Kaba?" asked Nayasha,

"In the worst prison I could find for him where I could guarantee his safety," said Sahshir. He'd been kept well-fed on a simple diet, far better than the man deserved.

"It never occurred to you not to create a vendetta?" asked Nayasha.

"It never occurred to me to spare his life," admitted Sahshir. "Only that he might be useful alive and didn't deserve death in battle. Sparing him was merely a side effect of those plans."

"I would not call that a wise gesture," said Nayasha. "Kaba is a powerful man, even if he is weakened. He has contacts and business partners in Antion, Calisha, Dinis, and many other places."

"He's lucky I'm ransoming him at all," replied Sahshir. "I had to convince Garacel the money for his ransom could be useful in rebuilding the island. Though we'll need far more than that before the end."

"You could try ransoming him to one of his enemies," said Nayasha. "I'm sure there are those who would pay to put a personal end to him. While powerful, he is not popular."

"No man deserves torture," said Sahshir. "Executions ought to be swift. I banned crucifixion for a reason in my ascension."

"Your principles could be your undoing," Nayasha warned him. "The world is not lenient on those who live by ideals alone."

Sahshir scoffed. "Kaba's lack of principles was his if one must be destroyed, it better be through virtue and swift death. Rather than slow decay and humiliation."

"What of his soldiers?" asked Nayasha. "I have not seen any of those here."

"A large part of them were killed in battle," said Sahshir. "Those with healing magic and contacts with spirits are being used to heal the land. The rest I have already allowed to return home."

"You let them go? Without ransom?" asked Nayasha, sounding horrified.

"Lieutenant Garrick of the Knights of the Coin interceded for them," admitted Sahshir. "As a gesture of goodwill to his faith, I allowed the prisoners of war to return."

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"Then you mean to foster relations with Coinfurth?" guessed Nayasha.

"No," said Sahshir. "I do not like Coinfurth or his church, and any alliance with them would be hateful to me.

"No, Garrick made the request, and I considered it. I decided that Kaba's men were not guilty of anything that the victors had not done so much more willingly. And I decided I'd rather they not waste away in prison to end up beheaded.

"So I used some of my share of the loot to see them safely returned and returned the rest to Romilis. On the condition that some of them would labor to help mend what they destroyed."

Nayasha was staring at Sahshir now without comprehension. "But he betrayed you. Romilis turned on you, nearly cost you the war."

"He had good reason to, and I had taken actions to alienate him," said Sahshir. "Had I been within his role, I might have done the same. However, I saw no reason to hold the matter against him, and so I requested Aridius pardon him.

"His people have already lost most of their land. So there is no reason to make them suffer more than necessary."

"Have you no consideration of policy?" asked Nayasha, striving to speak. "You've sacrificed everything you've won. You've yielded political capital, all to protect people who betrayed you!

"Why would you do this?!"

Sahshir considered the question and wondered why she was shouting. Eventually, he shrugged. "It was the right thing to do."

Nayasha looked like she was about to have a fit. "...You can't give that as an answer. It's an excuse, a justification, not a reason."

"You may believe whatever you will, Nayasha," said Sahshir, stretching his neck. "We have work to do. First, I will need you to set up a network of agents in this region.

"We'll need some measure of control here.

"With all the tensions that are going to be on this island, it could start another mass bloodletting. So I don't want to have to come back here."

Nayasha somewhat recovered as she realized there was something to be gained here. "That seems wise.

"Tuor would certainly appreciate having a foothold here. Still, what of the spirits of the land? What is being done to appease them?"

"I have sent letters to the Seers of Laevian," said Sahshir. "As servants of the Goddess of the Wilds, they often operate outside of pantheon lines. Therefore, I have given them leave to repair the damage done by Sem Kaba and create several Laevian shrines."

"That is an unusual play to make," said Nayasha.

"Laevian assisted us," said Sahshir. "While it was for her ends, we ought to thank her for her assistance."

"And in so doing, ensure Garacel isn't the only one she has a vested interest in," said Nayasha. She seemed to think she had seen the method of Sahshir's madness. "I see."

No, she didn't. She was rationalizing away the idea of someone doing good for its own sake.

Sahshir wasn't some elaborate schemer plotting the downfall of kings. His only interest was living an honorable life and ensuring the power and nobility of Kalthak. Those who acted in a proper fashion were shielded from misfortune. And they had their triumphs made all the greater by their reputation.

If his plans had resulted in some great gain, it was only because virtue was the only real path to power. That, more than anything, was the lesson of Baltoth's word.

"That as well," was all Sahshir said.

And then Nagos appeared from around the corner, pretending to be just running into them. Still, Sahshir suspected he'd seen them coming and was timing his entrance. So he walked up to Nayasha and smiled. "Excuse me, are you Nayasha?"

"I am," said Nayasha, going still. "And you are?"

"Nagos, King of Chaminus, at your service," said Nagos, offering a hand.

Nayasha went white for a moment, then quickly took the hand. "Are you?

"I must admit, your reputation proceeds you. There are rumors you throw the corpses of your victims into the sea to feed an eldritch god you serve."

"Don't be silly," said Nagos. "The merfolk eat the bodies of everything that dies at sea. It's just what they do. Dead sailors in this part of the ocean are considered a delicacy." Then he glanced back and waved down the road. "Hey, Narcissa, Serna, over here!"

Serna had gotten back a week ago and had been working with Nagos in setting everything up. One of the first things she'd done was start making lists. She had counted the exact number of various valuables they had. Then, she had locked herself up for three whole days in a room, coming out only to eat.

When she got out, she started talking with Sahshir and sending letters. Pretty soon, Serna and Alkela had been exchanging all kinds of goods. Nayasha had been helping her with a plan for the resurrection of the economy. Along different lines than slavery, of course.

"May I ask what brings you out here?" asked Nayasha.

"Well, I've been arranging things with Romilis," said Nagos. "We're in the middle of a lot of different negotiations.

"Aridius declared himself Emperor, and I've chosen to support his claim. In exchange, I'm getting Macshore. As a governor, naturally, I'm his loyal subordinate. No word on whether he'll be marrying the Empress Mother, though.

"I'm going to have my work cut out for me settling differences here, honestly. The first thing I did was allow all the Zigildrazians and Kalthakians to go back home. A lot of them, though, want to stay and live here.

"I guess they figure they're owed it."

"...You mean to reestablish Chaminus' empire," realized Nayasha. "How did you gain the colonist's cooperation?"

"I'm giving them a place at the negotiation table, which is more than they'd get before," said Nagos. "Sahshir also put in a good word. Though whenever I walk into a room, people start bowing and trembling. It's taken a lot of work to make people less terrified I'll eat them alive." Unfortunately, his smile was a bit too wide. "We're going to have to look over many maps and divide the land fairly. And to do that, we'll need to talk with Garacel.

"On a brighter side, so many people died that there should be plenty for all."

Serna whacked Nagos over the head with a scroll. "That is not funny."

Sahshir was too busy laughing to see Nagos' retort. "I uh... I apologize; it's uh... darkly humorous."

"...At any rate, Nagos, I've put together some concepts on moving away from the slave economy," said Serna. "To be honest, it won't be hard.

"The entire island's value has been ripped to shreds. We'll be remaking it from the ground up anyway. It's getting the funding that'll be the problem.

"It's almost as bad as what happened to Zigilus," said Narcissa. "Maybe worse."

"In that regard, I may help," said Nayasha. "Master Tuor has several contacts in Sorn. If we were to secure loans from certain merchants, it could help pay for the recovery. It would also give Sorn a vested interest in the success of rebuilding."

"Great, so we're putting ourselves in debt to Sorn," said Nagos.

"Yes, but we are also gaining influence," said Nayasha.

"Being in debt is always a bad thing," said Nagos.

Nagos had a point. Such economic dependence could cause the island to fall out of the influence of Dinis. That could not be allowed. Then, turning, he looked to the sea and paused. "...We'll erect a shrine to Safara."

"Hmm, why?" asked Nagos. "That goddess puts me on edge."

"I feel her particular domain is desperately needed in this place," said Sahshir. "And I have some outstanding debts to pay."

The war was over, unfortunately. Now peace had gone and broken out. Sahshir was never going to manage a death in battle at this rate.