Turning as her brother and Nela entered the room, Edeline immediately noticed that Myron appeared to be in a better mood. She could not quite figure out why, but it was easy to guess that it was something Nela had done or said in the short time they had been away. She was definitely starting to become convinced Myron and Nela really were a good match for each other, even if it was no properly arranged marriage.

Such matters would have to wait, however.

Edeline had been going over everything Hamond had said, trying to figure out exactly what he had omitted. She could not think of any detail that would possibly...

"...my father, well...he died in the siege of Phalford." Hamond's words came back to her.

"...you could make up some story right now about how you...you're the first Spellking's secret bastard son." Her own spoken thoughts, half joking. At least, back then.

"I was just shaken by...how accurate you were." Hamond's response, which she hadn't given much thought.

It took all of her focus not to react. Had she been accidentally correct back then? The Spellking had been slain at Phalford, and so had Hamond's father. They could be one and the same. It was a wild possibility, but it was not completely out of the question, and would explain everything perfectly.

All that was left was waiting for Hamond to confirm it. Or deny it, but Edeline was certain that this had to be the explanation. What else it could be?

"I suppose I should begin, now that we're all here," Hamond said, "To fill you in on what Edeline already knows, I was trained as a thaumaturge, brought up in the Spellking's court. My father served the Spellking directly, up until they both died at Phalford."

Both...so she was wrong then. Hiding her disappointment, Edeline spoke up. "I figured it out when he began explaining details of the spell you were put under. This was after we discovered Captain Linos was also being manipulated with the same spell."

"Captain Linos?" Myron spoke up, "Where is he?"

"Dead," Edeline said, glancing at Hamond.

"The way the spell works, it grows stronger the longer you are under it," Hamond said, "You were only under it for a few days, and were able to shake it off fairly easily. The captain, however, likely had been under it for several months at least, and was actively trying to kill me. Even if I had removed the spell, he probably would have continued as before."

Edeline sighed, again wishing she had some other option. At the time, she had not known of the spell, or even if it could be reversed. Knowing in hindsight there were no other options did little to ease the regret.

"Wait, is that spell of controlling people a thing the Spellking invented?" Nela spoke up.

"He did make use of it, but no, he did not create that spell," Hamond said, face grim, "My father did."

Oh. That was it.

"I can see why you didn't want to speak of it," Myron said slowly, "What exactly happened?"

"Let's step back a bit," Hamond answered, "When the Spellking first announced his bid for power, he apparently spread the word that under him, thaumaturges would be free to pursue research, practice their craft...to be honest, I'm not sure of the exact details. But a lot of thaumaturges that got word traveled to meet him, and to swear their fealty to him." He paused for a moment. "My father was one of those, coming all the way from Remuat. Motivated by those promises."

Hamond paused, waiting a moment to see if they had anything to say. Edeline, for her part, did not want to interrupt with a question, not yet. Better that he finish his story instead of getting distracted.

"Without my father's aid, the Spellking would likely have failed," Hamond continued, "But once he and the thaumaturges who swore loyalty had access to that enchantment, he was able to gain control of a large part of the kingdom, and its armies, simply by having them enspell the local lords."

"That's what nearly happened here," Edeline added.

"Of course, these thaumaturges did not come alone." Hamond's expression tightened. "Many of them had families, and brought them along. This included my mother and my older brothers. I would be born soon after, the youngest in my family."

"And you were brought up there," Nela said, shifting on her feet. "I think we get it now."

"I wasn't finished." Hamond looked a bit crossly at Nela. "As you probably know, most marriages are either an arrangement between two families, or at times, simply love." Hamond's gaze moved from Nela to Myron, and Edeline had to suppress a chuckle. "With my father and my mother...it was neither of these things."

"Wait. Don't tell me..." Edeline felt ill, horrified at what she knew without doubt was coming next.

"Yes, my mother was bound by the very same spell, and I got to witness its effects when I was very young. Although I didn't understand it back then, I realized the truth once I was older. Constantly confused, unable to remember what she was doing, forgetting where she was...the only thing that was clear to her was that she needed to be loyal to my father, to obey his orders. Orders that she could not even remember."

"Shit," Nela said.

"And it only got worse, until she could not even do the most basic things by herself. Unable to eat, unable to drink, unable to dress herself. And still driven to try to do things for my father, to the point where she could not sleep either." Hamond closed his eyes, wincing. "It was a mercy when she fell ill and died. The real woman that was my mother, the real person...there's a reason I told Edeline that I never really knew her."

Without hesitation, without thinking, Edeline threw her arms around Hamond. "I'm sorry," she said, squeezing him tightly...wait, what was she doing? Face flushing, she let go just as quickly, backing away.

Nela laughed. "Now it makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Myron asked, looking around between them. Edeline could not bring herself to meet his eyes.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"I'll tell you later." Nela shook her head, then looked back at Hamond. "You were saying?"

"Right, uh..." Hamond himself looked thrown off by the surprise embrace. "I guess the point is, I was hardly the only child in the Spellking's court. And when he wasn't planning his next move, he took time to teach us, all of us...thaumaturgy."

So he was taught by the Spellking himself. Edeline found herself wondering what it would have been like, being in the presence of such a man. Even a young child would probably have been intimidated.

"And as with any group of children, some were brighter and more capable. One in particular excelled, grasping magical knowledge far more easily than any of the others. He became the Spellking's favorite student...or rather, I did."

"I can see why you'd hide that," Myron said.

"As can I," Edeline added, "But I can assure you that I will continue to keep your secret. I did promise you before, and I will hold to my word."

"I suppose I owe you that much, after what you have done..and what I said the previous night." Myron agreed.

"Sounds fair to me," Nela said, "Figure we're all sick of secrets anyway, since someone further up their family tree decided to hide bigger shit than this." She gestured at Myron, who nodded.

"Thank you." Hamond rubbed his eyes with one hand.

"So, about you being a healer..." Nela spoke up again, grinning.

"I should've known you'd ask." Hamond gave Nela a weary look. "You're never going to stop bringing this up, are you?

"Probably not," Nela said cheekily.

"Before I left, I tried to be very thorough about trying to gather any and all books regarding healing magic that I could," Hamond told her, "But as a member of the court, and one who had the favor of the Spellking at that, I had to also to keep it a secret. I couldn't risk word getting out that I planned to leave the court behind. I suppose that made my efforts sloppy."

"The difference from being taught," Nela replied, "Say what you will about the old man, he knows his stuff like no one else."

"The rest I've told Edeline," Hamond said, "I ended up here in Hallowscroft after running low on coin, and spent most of the rest finding a place to live. I've been here about a year, working as a healer."

For a moment, they all were silent. "I have one more question," Myron finally said, breaking the silence. "I can understand you wanting to hide your thaumaturgy here, but why did you choose to learn healing in the first place? There were any number of other trades you could have pursued."

"As I grew older, I came to understand the horrors inflicted by the court. My mother was one of many I saw falling victim to the same spell, losing themselves piece by piece to it. I didn't want to give up on magic completely, but I wanted to find a way to fix things, to help people instead of destroying them. Becoming a healer...that was the only answer I could think of."

"Don't blame you," commented Nela.

"Neither do I," Edeline added, "However, the matter of the statue indicates there is greater spellcraft at work here, something the Spellking, the current one, is after. A thaumaturge's knowledge is more needed than ever. And of the four of us, only you have that knowledge." She certainly did not, even if she had powerful spells that may or may not have been inherited from some ancient Elefae.

"You do realize that what was down there was beyond even me." Hamond crossed his arms. "The enchantments, the magical energies, that giant stone guardian...even the spell you used. These were all magic of equally high power and finesse. I don't even think the Spellking himself could have managed any of them."

"But the Spellking's been using gigants," Nela protested, "Not nearly as fancy as that one, but they're real! Me and Ronny have seen them!"

"Then they uncovered that secret elsewhere," Hamond said, "Perhaps another ruin of a similar age. After all, you all heard the request of the voice of the statue."

"It wanted to be set free," Edeline stated, thinking back. "We did that."

"Set us free," Hamond corrected, emphasizing the second word. "There's more than one."

Edeline stopped, stunned. In the confusion, in the surge of magical memories she had been forced to experience, she had not noticed that detail. However, what she did know, thanks to those same broken memories, the suffering that woman had endured in the dark. If there was anything she could do to save the rest from that same torment, she had to attempt it.

"And my grandfather's the best clue we have on that," Nela said, "I suppose we can see to that tomorrow, after we meet our little friend." Her tone hardly suggested actual friendship.

"There's also the matter of Lord Hallowscroft's well-being...that is, your father's." Hamond looked steadily at Edeline. "Also, I do have one...personal matter I would like to attend to."

"What is it?" Hopefully he wasn't going to keep any more secrets from them.

Hamond let out a long, low sigh. "I have a friend in the town watch, name of Alexios. I need to warn him about all of this. I haven't seen him in a few days, so hopefully he hasn't been caught up in all this."

Edeline felt her body turn to ice, the world slowing around her. From the very beginning, Hamond had been protecting her and aiding her. He'd put his life on the line, endured insults and attacks because of it, and put aside his own affairs to do so.

And she'd slain one of his closest friends.

"I'm sure he'll be alright, wherever he is," Myron said.

"No," Edeline croaked. Even though it would hurt, even though it would drive Hamond away - a thought that made her ill, for some reason - she had to say it. He was no longer hiding anything from her. She would not hide anything from him.

"Excuse me?"

"One of...one of the men who first attacked me that night...he gave his name as Alexios."

He stood there a moment, staring at her.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out, feeling completely miserable. The relief from earlier at having the disputes between them settled was gone, blown away by what she'd done. Entirely her fault.

"Edeline, you couldn't have known," her brother told her. A meaningless truth.

Finally, Hamond spoke, voice rough. "Aether...I should've brought this up sooner." He lifted his eyes, staring at the ceiling silently for another moment. "I suppose it's a better fate than staying under the spell."

"I'm sorry," she repeated.

Hamond reached out one hand to her shoulder. "We've both lost someone we cared for. All we can do is...keep going, I guess."

"And make them pay for this shit," Nela spoke up.

"Not the best time," Myron warned her.

"I mean, we're going to encounter the one behind this later today, right?" Nela pointed out, "When exactly would be the best time then?"

Of course. There would be time for grief later, Edeline reprimanded herself. She had sworn to be stronger than that, and the moment of reckoning would be soon. They needed to prepare as best they could.

Wiping her eyes, she looked up at them. "We should get ready."

"Let me guess," Nela said, "The first step is eating something. Got to go get some food in that belly of yours, right?"

The obvious attempt at humor did not amuse Edeline, not with the dark mood she was in. Although, she had to admit, she couldn't exactly argue against a morning meal.

"That sounds reasonable," Myron said, "We can plan our strategy after we all eat. Why don't you and Hamond go get it ready?

"Cooks of the world, here to save Hallowscroft," Nela joked. She jogged over to the doors to the dining hall, Hamond following in her wake.

"I have made a mess of it," Edeline muttered under her breath.

"We both have, haven't we?" Myron had apparently heard it. He walked around her, looking her straight in the eyes. "Do you think maybe...we're both not fit to rule?"

"Perhaps," Edeline said, considering the possibility. What would become of Hallowscroft if they both abandoned it?

"Could be we should have just switched," Myron's voice told her he was trying to cheer her up. "You could have taken the lead and left for the battlefield, I could've stayed home."

"You wouldn't have met Nela then." Edeline could not resist pointing this out. Nor would she have been able to start learning thaumaturgy. For better or for worse, the past few years had worked out for the two of them.

"That's true," Myron said, "But I still wonder if that was the right place for me." He produced an all-too familiar object in his hands.

"Your old flute," Edeline said, surprised it had still been there.

Myron nodded, sticking it in his belt. That was probably where it had been to begin with, she realized, and she had simply not noticed it. "I promised Nela a song later," he said, "Of course, you'd be welcome to listen to it as well."

"I may take that offer." Edeline closed her eyes, reminded of a more innocent time. Before the watch was forced to betray them. Before their mother's death. Before her brother had been sent off to lead men in a seemingly unwinnable war.

But time only moved forward, not backwards. "Shall we go?" Edeline asked, steeling herself for the challenge ahead.