They gave Commander Silver a quick rundown of what they had found when they returned, but it was big enough that a full meeting was warranted. Verdan would have preferred to keep things between them, especially with how sure that Sorcerer had been that he’d be taken if brought back.

It was possible that more traitors were scattered amongst the rest of the alliance force, but weeding them out was going to be all but impossible. Thankfully, that was more Silver’s headache than Verdan’s.

More than ever, Verdan was thankful that he wasn’t the one in charge of this mess.

Thankfully, the rest of the day’s travel went smoothly, and there were no further sightings of unknown groups, or of anyone for that matter. Word had long since spread about what was happening, and anyone who could leave was long gone.

At least, Verdan hoped they were.

“Wizard Blacke?” One of the Hobson’s Point guards came over as they were setting up for the evening. “Commander Silver asks that you join him for a general meeting in an hours time.”

Verdan nodded, thanking the guard before sending him on his way.

“Is everything okay?” Natalia asked from where she had set up her travel kit. She’d found some ingredients during the day’s travel and was going to use what she had to make some fresh potions. They wouldn’t be much, but their stocks were non-existent after the last battle.

“It’ll be about that group we saw,” Verdan said with a grimace. It was important that they all understood what was happening, but he wasn’t looking forward to dealing with Kurgane.

It was hard to keep things civil, and the last thing Verdan wanted was for the Sorcerer to realise that they knew who had injured Gwen. If he did, he’d likely try to do something about it.

As it was, Verdan’s hope was that the attack on Gwen had been a spur of the moment flash of pettiness against someone he disliked. If so, he might well stay on the level for however long this alliance stayed together.

Which would make dealing with him all the sweeter at the end of it.

“I don’t like that look,” Natalia said, putting down her tools to come and sit next to him. “Don’t get too caught up in all this, alright?”

“I will, it’s just difficult,” Verdan said softly, rubbing his face. “Normally, I could just deal with the anger and move on, but it’s hard to process when the source of it is just swanning around.”

“I understand, and I’m amazed Kai hasn’t acted yet,” Natalia said, absently rubbing at her scars. “I’ll admit that it bothers me as well, but like Vaijon said, we have to wait.”

Verdan nodded with a heavy sigh. “You’re right. I just don’t like it.”

“You’ll manage,” Natalia said, kissing his cheek. “Just focus on what your priority is. Speaking of which, I’m going to get back to work, okay?”

Feeling a little better, Verdan pulled her in for a kiss before settling in to do a short session of Aether gathering. By starting strong in that fight with the Brotherhood, Verdan had actually saved Aether. The breathing technique that he was weaving into his existing method was making a substantial difference as well.

Closing his eyes, Verdan focused on cycling his Aether through the spiral as he painstakingly added a new layer to the outside. This was his twentieth spiral, so each new layer took quite a while. It would take maybe twenty minutes to finish this one.

That number would only go up as he fleshed out this spiral, so he needed to take what time he could, whenever he could find it.

-**-

Verdan managed to fit in a second layer before he was disturbed by excited chatter from throughout the camp. Updating his mental model and shifting control back to his subconscious, Verdan grabbed his staff and went to investigate.

He’d barely made it ten paces when a guard came running to let him know that the meeting was starting, and that Morag had arrived with the Eternal Wardens.

Thanking the guard, Verdan hurried off to the centre of the camp, meeting up with Vaijon and Kai along the way.

“I heard that Morag has caught up, do you know how many she’s brought?” Verdan asked as he joined the two Sorcerers.

“Everyone we left behind along with a further hundred retainers, a dozen Sorcerers and the supply train to match,” Vaijon said, flashing Verdan a grin. “Exactly what we needed right about now.”

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“They must have left not long after us to catch up so soon,” Kai said thoughtfully. “It’s quite the gesture for the Sect to send reinforcements as well.”

“We saved their city. I imagine they are feeling quite generous at the moment,” Verdan said with a soft laugh. “Still, this is more than I was hoping for.”

Vaijon nodded, his smile fading into something more serious. “Especially as we have no idea of the scale of what we’re going up against.”

With those grim words ringing in their ears, they stepped into the pavilion that had been set up at the centre of the camp. Silver, Cullan, Ciaran, Bastian and Kurgane were already present, and the air was tense as Verdan and the others took seats around the map table.

Bastian turned to Verdan with a nod, and a subtle gesture that implied he wanted to talk later.

Bastian was a tall, lean man with dark hair and perpetual stubble. The most noticeable thing about him, though, was that one of his eyes was a bright, vibrant blue and the other steel grey.

He was also the leader of the Clerics that were with them, and perhaps even the leader of all the remaining Clerics, as far as Verdan knew.

As the only Cleric with two gods that Verdan had ever encountered, Bastian was a powerful and dedicated warrior.

“Disciple Morag will be with us in a moment, so we will hold for her before discussing our situation,” Silver said once they were seated. “Is there anyone else we should have here?”

“I will be passing on anything Witch related to Gwen,” Kai said in a neutral tone, his eyes fixed on Silver. Having just been dealing with his own anger about that issue, Verdan quickly cleared his throat to draw attention away from his friend.

“I will be doing the same for the Airta. Sylvie is running a scouting mission along the path ahead of us at the moment. She’ll return in an hour or two and can update us on what to expect tomorrow.”

“Excellent,” Silver said before pausing as Morag stepped inside. The Sorcerer looked tired and was dirt-stained from travelling hard to catch them, but seemed more at ease than last Verdan had spoken with her.

“Apologies for the delay, but I’m glad we caught up with you so soon,” Morag said, taking a seat and nodding to them all in greeting.

“We’re equally glad to have you,” Silver said. “How was the situation at the new fortification when you left?”

“The Sect sent several hundred retainers and fifty Sorcerers to occupy it and expand on what we started,” Morag said with a proud smile. “A portion of that was detailed to join the alliance once I reported the situation. It is all that can be spared at this time.”

“Any reinforcements are gratefully received,” Silver said, glancing at Kurgane briefly before continuing. “I’ll ask that you receive updates on everything so that you can resume your role as leader of the Sect forces.”

“Are you unsatisfied with my performance, Commander?” Kurgane asked before Morag could answer. “Have the Sect forces fallen into disarray when I wasn’t looking?”

“No, Disciple Skarv, you have done an adequate job so far,” Silver said with a bland smile.

“Then, as Disciple Morag and I are of equivalent rank, would it not be easier for the duties to sit with myself?” Kurgane asked, sitting back with a relaxed posture. “I’m sure Disciple Morag is tired from her journey and needs rest. It would be unfair to expect her to pick up smoothly from here, and we can ill afford any disruption to our schedule.”

To Verdan’s surprise, Morag nodded. “I agree, Commander. Time is of the utmost importance right now.”

Verdan cursed silently as he realised that they’d never told Morag about their suspicions. Mainly because they didn’t know her that well, though her grief over Dun’s death hadn’t helped.

“In that case, we will remain as we are,” Silver said smoothly, though Verdan had known him long enough to catch the tension in his jaw that showed his frustration. “With that done. Verdan, could you update us on the Brotherhood situation?”

“Of course, for those of you who aren’t aware, the Brotherhood of Indagnum is a coalition of members that draws from at least five different Sects, as well as having deep ties to alchemy. They are also tightly connected to the Darjee, Gormagyr and Cyth, and if the information we’ve received is correct, they could be responsible for this Host.”

The room was silent as they took in what Verdan had said, with Morag and Kurgane both looking shocked at his blunt statement.

A distant portion of Verdan was slightly disappointed that Kurgane looked genuinely shocked at this news. He’d been hoping he was a Brotherhood agent as a good excuse to deal with him without causing issues.

Carrying on to explain what they’d found and what their captured Stormlord had said, Verdan referred to Vaijon to discuss Nathir’s disappearance. Now was the time to put everything on the table.

“So what proof do you have of all this?” Kurgane asked once Verdan was done with his report. “The word of a coward? Could he not have been making this up as a means to deflect blame?”

“Perhaps,” Verdan said reluctantly. “But the items the woman in charge used were identical to those on the man we encountered in the north, and they reacted to the use of the word Indagnum. I’m inclined to believe him.”

“I can attest to what we saw in the north,” Ciaran said, seeing that Kurgane wasn’t fully convinced. “Everything is as the Wizard has said.”

“And I can attest to what we saw today,” Cullan said. “It went exactly as he’s said.”

“Interesting that your closest allies are those who back you up about the existence of a conspiracy that puts Sorcerers in a bad light,” Kurgane remarked with a sneer.

“Enough,” Silver cut in before anyone could respond. “Disciple Skarv, keep it civil. Wizard Blacke has provided sufficient evidence that this Brotherhood exists by my reckoning. The truth about them may differ, but we will take precautions, nonetheless.”

Kurgane nodded with a tight smile and they moved on to what they could do to protect against any potential betrayal. A difficult question to answer, but they did their best.

“Verdan, a moment if you would,” Bastian said once the meeting was over.

“Of course,” Verdan said, motioning for Bastian to walk with him.

They’d moved barely two steps when Ciaran came walking briskly over. “Verdan, could you spare a few moments?”

“Ah, I was just about to have a discussion with Bastian,” Verdan said, glancing between the two of them.

“I can wait, as long as the Chosen doesn’t mind my hearing what he wants to discuss?”

“Not at all,” Ciaran said, giving the Cleric a respectful nod.

“In that case, let’s take a walk,” Verdan said, carrying on once more before looking at Ciaran. “What is it you need?”