The building rattled as gravity groaned. Mage of Gravity, master of nothing, danger glinted in Esra's eyes.

The warbler and the golem were both locked in a struggle, and the Middlings who entered with Daniel were unaware. The red haired maid was perhaps the only one properly made aware of the danger, though Daniel doubted she understood the true risk.

Fighting with Esra was almost as dangerous as fighting against him. The tall lanky young adult had grown. He had grown very much from the frail young mage who had cowered and hid the first time Elswith had partnered with him. Elswith, Parcel, and Esra, abandoned and holed up in a small crumbling house, while sickness and fear had driven the Mage into near a catatonic state. Now he stood strong, excited. But that glint of madness still remained his eyes, Daniel thought. Terror so long entrenched that it had taken root in the Mage's heart.

In the battles Elswith had fought with Esra, the support had been...dynamic. Fast paced. Lucid.

And uncertain.

There were battles when Esra would misaligned Elswith's gravity so greatly that the former Heirling of the Red Sword was attached to the flying monster, carefully hiding on the great beast's underbelly so not to fall straight up into the sky.

Esra was too wild to ever be a reliable ally. Too loose with his feelings to ever master his element. Too bold, too hasty, and too caring.

But for all that, fighting with Esra had other benefits.

"Hey everyone, what did I miss?" asked the crazed mage.

The nightsky outside was met with the flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. Daniel longed for the power he used to so easily grasp, the lightning flashing in time with his strikes. But the power of the storm was gone from him now.

The Middlings, standing in position in a circle around the shadow warbler, foolishly lowered their guards to stare at the Gravity mage. Marrin seemed aware of who Esra was, but Frank seemed absolutely puzzled. Vye's eye's narrowed, and there was a ghost of a step toward them.

Can't have that.

"Start!" said Daniel.

And the Middlings obeyed his command.

In waves, one ran past the golem, avoiding the warbler, and slashed the stone beast. The warbler did not like interruptions, but as it turned to engage the interloper, the next Middling would repeat the action. Just because someone had power of a Middling did not mean they knew how to effectively use that power, and sometimes someone became a Middling purely through Favor, or Influence, and no Authority. It showed, as Nature was less likely to bend to pure favor, though sometimes Influence could nudge it along.

They...were decent enough. Marrin was not talented in a combat role, and his lack of grace was more than just lack of power but overall lack of aptitude. It was clear that he had drilled often, and the foundation of his technique was solid. But it was not inspired, and it was not enough. He may be a Middling, but it was clear he was ill-suited for the level of combat responsibility he held.

Through the destroyed hall, Frank was next, and his technique was better. He was sharper, faster. Not great, but to Daniel's experienced eyes he pegged it as a lack of training or practice. Frank's footwork was decent, and perhaps something might be made out of him in time.

"Did you and Kane break up?" asked Esra.

Daniel shivered as he hadn't realized Esra had approached him.

Daniel tried to reconcile the loud noisiness of Esra with the silent approach, and failed. Could Esra be silent when he wanted to be? Then again, he was a Great Mage. It was disconcerting that someone with significant power, enough to be majorly influential to even the King's direct court or the senate floor, continued to waste it.

Vye had her turn wearing down the diminishing Golem, and some debris from her strike flung itself and nearly struck Daniel. Daniel's reflexes barely reacted in time to avoid it, and his heart started pounding.

Daniel bit his lip, understanding the situation. Elswith the Heirling of the Red Sword was gone. The familiarity of combat had made him temporarily forget himself. Despite their lack of grace, those Middlings could destroy the Servant Branch. Esra wasn't quieter. Daniel was just so far below the pecking order that things he took for granted before now lorded over him.

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"Well, she was a bad person anyway." said Esra, taking Daniel's silence for affirmation. Daniel waited for the Law of Fae, gauging whether he needed to clarify to avoid penalty of lying. Law of Fae remained placid regarding that, but it was still fighting with the Game over Daniel's temporary command of the Sky Court's enforcers.

He's not commanding them. argued the Law of Fae. He is assisting them. He was promoted. earlier to squire.

The Game rumbled. Foolishness. He oversteps...

Was Daniel supposed to actually hear the arguments between the Law of Fae and the Game? That was a vaguely disturbing idea that he didn't want to consider.

Not that Esra left him any time for his thoughts. "Hey, I mean, Kane was practically leading both you and Hollis on. She kind of sucks, you know?"

Daniel took a moment to chuckle. Esra was so simple. Infuriatingly simple. "It is more complicated than that."

"Did she cheat on you?"

"She betrayed me." Daniel said, which was the actual truth. "Stabbed me in the back." He could still remember the feeling of her dagger slicing him.

"That cow." Said Esra, sharply.

Vye's turn had come again, but her head turned sharply at Esra's words for a moment before launching her attack.

Daniel said nothing, but watched Vye's attack of the Golem. He had to admit that Vye was different than the other Middlings. She was sharp, she was fast, and above all else, she was hungry.

"Too soon, I guess." Esra sighed, and casually kicked a fallen pillar, which then rocketed to the ceiling as he inverted it's gravity. He made an embarrassed face, and shuffled where the pillar had once resided, as though he was covering it up. He coughed, like it would cover the sound of a pillar of stone crashing against the ceiling above. "So...this is the thing in the walls? A rock monster?" He gestured to the golem.

"No. That's a Earthen Golem. Which we have both fought before. This one is much smaller than normal, though."

Esra was smart, and once his mind was focused there was very little hiding from him. "That one campaign, right before we fought that dead dragon. When the battle was over but the stone thing was heading to where the little fae were hiding. You destroyed it with lightning, right?"

"Lightning, so hard to control. Sometimes my control slips." Daniel said. Because destroying something that was technically your ally was frowned upon in most polite circles. "The thing in the walls is the Shadow Warbler, the entity of living shadow and malice." Daniel pointed it out with a head nod.

Esra narrowed his eyes. "Oh. Yeah, that...guy. I see it now."

Somehow that was less confident than should be.

Daniel continued. "I am about to make it very angry."

There was the sound of knuckles cracking. Daniel risked a glance to this walking natural disaster. The Servant Branch needed a powerful card, because the next assassination attempt was so close Daniel could see it. He didn't regret saving the lowlings, but he also knew when he was played. Now...he could win both assassination attempts.

"Do you want me to contain it? I...am not great about shadow magic." Esra said, "But I'm willing to try."

"Please do not. You are terrible at all magics. No. I just want support and backup."

"Like how you had me..." and he spelled out the word by saying each letter "S. P. Y." with a wink. "...earlier. I got some fun information. Let me tell you about..."

The Game was oppressive. Daniel rapidly shushed the great Mage. "Not now. We are being watched."

"There is something up, isn't there?" Esra asked. "I think I was arrested, earlier. I mean, they said I could leave whenever I wanted, but the door never opened and I was afraid to break all that china when they were so nice. It wasn't until that guy with the weird ears came by that I knew for sure that I was arrested."

"The O'Tells are an ancient Estate and House. It was wise to not damage their finery." Daniel said, gauging the fight between the Middlings and the Golem, all doing their best to avoid the Shadow Warbler. "If you have a complaint, please lodge it with the Surmount Butler."

Esra made a face, eyes gleaming like he was having fun. "No, I continued my S. P. Y. mission. I got some good info there. What I'm saying is that I'm not a child. You and Parcel are playing some kind of game." Now there was a terrible, childlike smile on the Great Mage's face. "I want to play too. Let me in."

Daniel barely kept the horrified expression off his face. Esra hated houses of cards, and Fae politics were almost exclusively made of intricate lies and almost lies, each true enough, but so thin that each had to be expertly balanced against another, and another. The Seelie Court had survived, and thrived, due to the Balance kept. Words must be kept, promises must be honored, but the truth? Never.

Daniel felt the bandage upon his arm tightly through the long sleeve of his hall attendant uniform.

The truth would destroy everything.

When a house of cards was all that kept Witness alive, Daniel would never allow someone like Esra to attempt to place the next row.

Especially since it often appeared that Esra existed to destroy the houses of cards.

The Middlings continued their assault on the Golem. Frank was too slow and the shadow warbler nearly landed an attack on the Middling.

It was nearly time.

Daniel had asked for Esra for some small, specific purposes. That Esra had been arrested was a testament that everyone knew that he was dangerous to the Game. Could Daniel use this tool for these small purposes, or would it be too much, and he destroy himself?

"Do you remember the fields of Allcree?" Daniel asked.

Esra grinned. "Friendly fire?" he asked.

"That would be breaking so many Laws of Fae." Daniel said, eyes still watching the Middlings. "I would never ask any person to target an ally."