With his deal struck, the Keeper left, taking the shieldguards with him and leaving Verdan alone with Sebastian.

“I hoped that you’d arrive after I’d dealt with Aevan,” Sebastian said, getting to his feet and closing the door to his office to give them some privacy. “I realise that you’ve now had to take on further burdens, and I apologise for that.”

“Think nothing of it. The artifacts he provided have more than made up for it,” Verdan said, patting the box with a smile.

He wasn’t sure what he’d been hoping for, but this was certainly an excellent result. The book was a great find, and so was the intact light, as well as whatever the other item was.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Sebastian said, giving Verdan a tired smile. “Now, was there anything else I can help you with before you leave?”

“Well, I thought I should let you know Osran is joining us and learning the basics of creating his own spiral. I wasn’t sure what the relations between your two Clans were like, and I’d rather avoid an issue.”

“I see. Thank you for letting me know. We may have inter-Clan rivalries, but we are all on the same side, so please don’t feel obliged to turn down any offers from other Clans.”

“Good to know,” Verdan said, starting to get up before taking another look at Sebastian and realising just how tired the Keeper actually was. “Can I ask a more personal question?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“How are you holding up with everything that’s happened?”

Sebastian was quiet for a long moment before he let out a heavy sigh. “The work is getting me through it, but I appreciate your concern. For all that he helped put us in this mess, I still loved my brother, and I wish I’d been able to see what was happening sooner. Damn Staran for taking advantage of his insecurities.”

Verdan’s mind went back to that fateful day in the Ancestral Hall and Staran’s call to action for the other traitors. “Did you ever find anyone else who was working with him?”

“A few people, but they were all working through Staran one way or another,” Sebastian said with a shake of his head. “That phrase he used came up in some documents we confiscated. ‘Indagnium’ seems to have been a reference to some other group he contacted. We’re investigating further, but there’s little to go on.”

“If I discover anything, I’ll let you know,” Verdan promised, meeting Sebastian’s gaze as he did.

“Thank you. I know I’d rest better if we could get some vengeance for what they’ve done.”

“I have a feeling that this won’t be the last we see of them,” Verdan said with grim certainty.

The amount of work it must have taken to orchestrate all of this was not the actions of a few people. No, he was sure that Zoisam was simply the representative of a much larger group.

The Gormagyr had spoken of a Pact, and all three groups seemed to have been working together with open worship of the Annwae.

Verdan didn’t like any of it, but any investigation on his part would have to wait until he was back at Hobson’s Point.

“Agreed,” Sebastian said, bringing Verdan back to the present. “When they rear their head again, count us among your allies.”

“And yourselves likewise,” Verdan said, getting to his feet and extending his hand to the Keeper. “I think it’s time I got moving. Govannon bless you, Sebastian.”

“May he guide you through your challenges,” Sebastian said, shaking Verdan’s hand firmly before taking a seat once more as Verdan set off.

-**-

Verdan made the rest of his short list of farewells before leaving Magnus to take charge of getting things moving within the city while he took the largest wagon they’d been able to acquire out to the Fwyn.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

This one was open-topped and likely used for transporting logs, but as long as it worked, Verdan didn’t mind what it was meant to be.

Leaving the city, Verdan pointed the driver in the rough direction of the burrow, waiting impatiently as they slowly made their way over.

As they got closer, he noticed that a second smaller mound had formed next to the main burrow since Verdan had last been out to the Fwyn, and from the size of it, he had a feeling that the Brecan had already delivered what Hursk had promised.

“Head over there, please,” Verdan pointed over to the second mound.

“Yes, Wizard,” the driver said, bobbing his head before clucking at the team of horses drawing the wagon as he turned them to the right.

Dropping from the side of the wagon as they came close, Verdan waved to the Fwyn at the entrance to the burrow and called out in low imperial. “It’s time to get things moving. Could you fetch Hursk for me?”

The Fwyn nodded and disappeared back into the burrow, giving Verdan time to get the wagon positioned just right.

“Wizard, is it time?” Hursk asked as he came out of the burrow, walking stick in hand.

“It is. We’ll be leaving within the hour.”

“Spread the word,” Hursk called over his shoulder to the Fwyn that had fetched him. “Bring out the group on duty as well.”

“On duty?” Verdan echoed with a touch of surprise. It sounded like Hursk had implemented quite a bit of order to the Fwyn refugees.

“Yes, they will excavate the remains for you and assist with placing it onto the wagon,” Hursk said, gesturing to the smaller mound that Verdan had noted.

“Understood.”

With that confirmed, Verdan turned back to the wagon and cast a series of spells onto it, each one binding an Aether construct to the framework of the wagon.

Strength, durability and weight reduction were all possible, though the third one was the most difficult of the three.

By the time he was done, a small group of Fwyn had come hurrying out of the burrow and were swiftly removing the dirt that had been placed around the Automaton’s remains.

The excess was piled up to form a ramp that led up onto the bed of the wagon while a shifting wave of dirt slowly moved the Automaton up the ramp.

It was a fascinating process to watch, even if Verdan had seen it many times before.

In essence, two of the Fwyn were moving the dirt beneath the Automaton, lifting it up and carrying it forward slightly before falling away as the next wave of dirt rose in its place and carried it onwards.

The whole thing looked almost like the Automaton was being carried by an army of ants, but it was effective, even with something this large and heavy.

In no time at all, the Automaton was roughly on the wagon, along with a plentiful amount of freshly turned dirt.

From there, the driver helped Verdan cover the body with a large canvas sheet he’d acquired and then tied it all down with a plentiful amount of rope.

Verdan still held a few lingering doubts about this method, but he was more than willing to give it a try. Any small issues could be fixed on the road, after all.

“Ready to go when you are, Wizard,” the driver said as he finished with the last knot securing the Automaton.

The driver was a grizzled member of the Mhorgain who’d fled to the city many years before and was now one of many who were eager to help Dirk.

From what Benlen had told him, the end of the Mhorgain had begun just over a century earlier during the last Rising, when they refused to abandon their Enclave.

Since then, the territory of their Clan had been lost a little at a time, with Dirk’s village being one of the last to fall.

In practical terms, it meant that there were hundreds, if not thousands, of Mhorgain Kranjir scattered all throughout the southern Clans.

The few Chosen who did emerge were inducted into other Clans almost immediately, thanks to the lack of Keepers within the Clan.

Before Dirk had arrived, it had been an almost foregone conclusion that their Clan was dying and would one day fade away entirely.

Now, however, they had hope again and Verdan’s assistant was just one of many who’d volunteered to come south with them. It had got to where Dirk had been forced to limit their numbers.

Verdan had originally thought that Dirk would just be bringing his new complement of Thearns, but with each passing day, it seemed that their prospective caravan was getting larger.

Dirk was getting somewhat overwhelmed by it all, even with Benlen doing what he could to shoulder the responsibilities that came with this many followers.

Hopefully, things would calm down for them all once they left Glarn.

Of course, they would have the opposite issue when they got to the other end and Verdan had to work out where to put all the Kranjir that were coming with them.

Verdan was broken from his thoughts as the first Fwyn began to file out of the burrow, wincing as they did at the bright sunlight. A select few were carrying satchels made from woven strands of some sort of dark and fibrous material, but the majority had nothing to call their own.

The Fwyn weren’t the most materialistic people at the best of times, but it was a reminder of the hardships that they had endured.

“I’ll move over to the road unless you need anything else, Wizard?” The driver looked at Verdan questioningly before getting the wagon in motion at his nod.

Verdan watched the wagon for a few moments, waiting to see if there was going to be some sort of immediate issue, but everything seemed to be working as expected.

Muttering a spell, Verdan sent a message to Kai, keeping it to a brief confirmation that he had what he needed out here.

It was time to get moving.