I had to meet Sedgwick immediately, of course.

After promising Adriel I’d greet the new nagians tomorrow—she’d rehomed another fifteen during the course of the day—I bid good night to the weary lich and followed Safyre away from the campfire.

“Where are we going?” I asked. Safyre was leading me toward the left side of the cave, but I’d already analyzed every player in the cavern and knew there was no one named Sedgwick about.

“Into the tunnel network below,” she replied.

I nodded, on reflection, unsurprised. “Is that where you’ve hidden the Aether Cloaking Device?”

“It is. The wolves have done a good job of mapping the tunnels and we selected one of the more remote sections to conceal the artifact.”

My brows rose. “Sedgwick is at the shield generator?”

Safyre shook her head. “No. No one outside of the eight forsworn operating the device—and myself—knows its exact location.” She sighed. “Perhaps I’m being overly paranoid, but I didn’t think it wise to share the generator’s location further than strictly necessary.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’re being paranoid,” I murmured. “You did the right thing.”

The artifact itself was the Aether Cloak’s biggest vulnerability, and the easiest way to destroy a sector’s shield was from within—just like I had done in the wolves’ valley. And as much as I wished to believe no forerunner would ever betray us, I could not discount the possibility that at some point, someone would—no matter how many truth tests Ghost and I subjected them to.

Safyre shot me an uncertain look. “You think so? I don’t want to make the others feel like I distrust them. It’s not good for—”

I cut her off. “The fewer that know the device’s location, the better. In fact, you don’t need to tell me where it is either.”

Consternation flickered across Safyre’s face.

I raised my hand, forestalling her objections. “It’s not like I’ll be much help powering the device, and if anyone is disgruntled about the secrecy, our shared ignorance might make them feel a bit better.”

She nodded hesitantly.

“Although…” I rubbed my chin. “At some point, we’re probably going to have to put in additional measures to secure the thing. Keeping its location hidden will not work forever.”

Safyre smiled. “I’m ahead of you there. I’ve given the matter some thought and have a few ideas on how to better protect the artifact.”

“Good,” I pronounced in satisfaction. “Then, I’ll leave it in your hands.” I paused. “So, if Sedgwick is not at the Aether device, where is he?”

“Inspecting another large cavern we’ve found. He thinks it may serve as our vaults.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Our vaults?”

Safyre grinned. “You’ll understand when you meet him, but our dear merchant has big plans already.”

✵ ✵ ✵

We found the merchant in question a little later.

Sedgwick was a dwarf, older and frailer than most others I’d met, and unusually, his graying beard was neatly trimmed and almost non-existent. Alone in a cave flooded with magelights, Sedgwick was puttering about the empty void of space, drawing lines on the floor and taking measurements, all while whispering quietly to himself.

“What’s he doing?” I asked Safyre softly.

She shrugged. “Knowing Sedgwick? Probably planning the layout of his warehouse.”

I frowned. Why did we need a warehouse?

But before I could get my question out, Safyre raised her chin and called out. “Sedge! Come here. Michael would like to meet you.”

Startled, the dwarf froze for a second, then caught sight of the aetherist’s white-clad form. “Oh. It’s you, Saf. I thought for a second it was those damnable wolves again.”

My eyes narrowed. I hadn’t sensed any of the Pack nearby, but then I hadn’t thought to look either. Almost as if realizing they were about to be discovered, two sets of yellow orbs appeared from the tunnel mouth at the far end of the cavern.

“Stormdark? Shadetooth?” I yelled, recognizing Oursk and Aira’s offspring. “What are you two doing here?”

“The elders asked us to watch the skinny one,” the darker of the two wolves replied.

My gaze flickered to the ‘skinny’ one. Alerted by my shout, the dwarf had spotted the skulking wolves, and in response, his face turned as pale as a sheet. Something had given Sedgwick cause to be afraid, and I was fairly certain I knew what. My lips tightened.

“Is that what you were doing?” I asked, swapping to mindspeech. “Watching him?”

The pair had the grace to look embarrassed. “We were bored,” Shadetooth replied sheepishly.

I folded my arms. “So? You decided to stalk a harmless dwarf?”

Neither wolf had the temerity to question my categorization. “Don’t tell Sulan, please,” Stormdark near-whined.

I didn’t say anything for a moment, letting their worry and alarm build. “Go, then,” I instructed, finally relenting, “but don’t let me hear of this again.”

Both wolves touched their noses to the ground. “Thank you, Scion,” they replied in chorus before tucking tail and fleeing.

Shaking my head in rueful amusement at the pair’s antics, I turned back to find a more composed Sedgwick standing before me. Under Safyre’s ministrations, he’d calmed quickly.

“Wolf lord,” the dwarf greeted. Looking me up and down, he smacked his lips. “You are everything Saf described. A truly tasty-looking—”

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Safyre elbowed him in the ribs.

“Ow!” Sedgwick exclaimed, rubbing vigorously at his side. “That hurt,” he complained.

Glancing sideways at the aetherist, I found her blushing.

“Sedgwick is an old friend,” she said hastily. “I’ve known him since before I joined the emporium.”

“Ah,” I said, nodding sagely, even though her words did nothing to explain the strangeness of the dwarf’s greeting.

Sedgwick laughed. “That means we talk.” Leaning closer, he whispered conspiratorially. “We talk a lot.”

“Uh-huh,” I replied, no less enlightened.

Safyre pushed the dwarf away. “Enough of that now, Sedge. Michael is here to talk business.”

The amusement vanished from the old merchant’s face so quickly I would have thought I’d imagined it—if not for the twinkle that remained in his gaze. “Business? Why didn’t you say so.” He rubbed his hands together. “So, what can I sell you today, Wolf Lord?”

“Call me Michael,” I said.

“Michael it is,” he replied grandly. “See, Saf,” he added, turning her way, “we’re friends already.”

She rolled her eyes. “If you believe that, you haven’t been listening very well to me. Michael is not so easily won over.”

The dwarf studied me shrewdly. “Is that right? Then, I’ll guess I’ll just have to work harder,” he murmured. “So, what shall it be, Wolf? A mighty sword? An unbreakable suit of armor?” His gaze darted over my equipment. “Alas, I have nothing so fine as a Tiamaten Vest. Wherever did you find that exquisite piece, by the by?”

Already grown used to Sedgwick’s mannerism, I paid his question no heed. Normally, I’d view his inquisitiveness with more suspicion, but it was clear Safyre trusted him wholeheartedly. “We’ll get to matters of trade soon enough. Before that, though…” I turned to Safyre. “It just occurred to me to wonder if this is safe.”

She studied me quizzically. “Safe? In what way?”

I waved my hands in the air, not quite sure how to explain my concern. “Uhm, won’t the Triumvirate be able to track his… huh, transactions?”

“We won’t complete our dealings here, of course!” Sedgwick exclaimed, sounding offended. “That’ll be foolish.”

“Foolish?” I repeated, looking to Safyre for an explanation.

“Sectors that wish to remain hidden generally cut-off all access to Nexus and other institutes outside of their control,” Safyre said. “That’s why you couldn’t use a bank or the global auction in the wolves’ valley when it was under Ishita’s control.”

“Because ley lines can be tracked,” I said, nodding along. “Right, understood. But we’re still going through Nexus, aren’t we?” I jerked a thumb at the dwarf. “Because of him.”

“We aren’t actually,” Safyre contradicted. “Even though Sedge is technically Kesh’s representative, none of the trades he concludes will touch Nexus. The Triumvirate will have no idea what you’re about.”

I scratched my head. “How’s that?”

“Your transactions with Sedge will be affected through the emporium vaults—which are not in Nexus,” Safyre said. “And while the Triumvirate may watch over the city, they have no jurisdiction in the sector in which the vaults are located.”

I nodded slowly. “That makes sense.” I paused. “But Sedgwick said we won’t be trading here?”

“Sedge will be using the Roost,” Safyre replied.

“Ah.”

“Your idea of using the former tavern as a waypoint was a good one,” Safyre said. “Not only will it serve as a good base for Sedge, it will also make it impossible for anyone to track our portals to and from here.”

I arched one brow. “It will? How?”

“Tracing a ley line’s source—or destination—requires access to the other endpoint.” Safyre explained. “And since you own the Roost…”

“No one will be able to get to the tavern’s endpoint without us knowing,” I finished for her. “Brilliant. In that case, we should make sure everyone always uses the Roost whenever they enter or leave sector 18,240.”

Safyre smiled. “That’s the policy already. I have stationed two forsworn at the former tavern. It will be their responsibility to portal our people to and from sector 18,240.”

I shook my head ruefully. Trust Safyre to have thought of everything already. I turned back to the patiently waiting Sedgwick. “Well, since that’s all settled, how about we relocate to the Roost?”

✵ ✵ ✵

You have entered the safe zone of sector 12,560.

Ten minutes later, after greeting the two forsworn on duty, I seated myself opposite Sedgwick at one of the tavern’s—former tavern’s—tables.

Safyre had already left to arrange for the retrieval of the twins and Nyra. By now, the trio should’ve completed their dungeon dive and, assuming all had gone well, would be waiting at the rendezvous point.

The aetherist herself would not be going to Korg Major—her Powerful Initiate Mark made that too dangerous. Instead, she would be using one of Sedgwick’s contacts to deliver them somewhere she could safely meet the trio. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if I shouldn’t have seen the task done myself…

“Worried about Saf?” Sedgwick asked, catching sight of my expression

I nodded.

“Don’t be. She can take care of herself.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Eyeing the dwarf carefully, I studied him anew.

The target is Sedgwick, a dwarven merchant. He is a player and bears a Mark of Lesser Light and Lesser Shadow.

Unlike Keros and the two forsworn I’d just met, Sedgwick did not bear Safyre’s Mark. “You haven’t sworn yourself to Safyre,” I stated bluntly. “Why?”

If the dwarf was perturbed by the abrupt demand, he did not show it. “Safyre and I both agreed it was better if I did not. This way I can move about more freely in the Kingdom and with less scrutiny.”

Which was true enough. “What’s your story then?”

“My story?”

“You’re not forsworn. How did you come to work for Kesh?”

He chuckled. “Kesh doesn’t only employ forsworn. She’s a merchant. As am I. It seemed appropriate.”

“It can’t be that simple,” I objected. “I’ve no doubt there are hundreds of merchants clamoring to work for Kesh. Why did she pick you?”

Sedgwick’s smile faded. “Because of Saf.”

“Safyre asked Kesh to employ you?”

The dwarf shook his head. “No. I followed Safyre into her… exile and offered the emporium my services.” He threw me a quicksilver smile. “They were smart enough not to refuse.”

I tilted my head to the side. “That’s right. Safyre said she knew you from before.” I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should probe further, then pushed ahead anyway. “Which Power did she serve?”

The dwarf’s brows flew up. “Saf didn’t tell you?”

“I didn’t ask.”

Sedgwick shrugged. “It’s no secret. Safyre served Ganelle.”

I frowned, not recognizing the name. “I don’t know that Power.”

“No reason you should. She’s dead.”

I blinked. “What?”

The dwarf contemplated me in silence for a moment before responding. “As Powers go, Ganelle was not a major one. She ruled over a single sector and was not affiliated with any other Light faction—which in the end proved her downfall.”

I leaned forward. “What happened?”

“A more powerful rival—I forget his name—invaded her territory. With no one to call on for aid, Ganelle quickly fell.”

I frowned. “That’s it?”

Sedgwick shrugged. “That’s it. I’m afraid there was nothing particularly remarkable about Ganelle, or her story. In fact, her fate is one many minor Powers share.”

I sat back. “What about Safyre? How did she…”

“Become forsworn, you mean?”

I nodded.

Sedgwick grimaced. “That’s where it gets ugly. Ganelle had a particularly vengeful streak and foreseeing her fate, she ordered her followers to scour her domain’s capital before the enemy could get his hands on it.” He paused. “Fortunately for me—and the dozens of other civilians trapped in the town at the time—Safyre refused Ganelle’s command. Instead, she helped us flee the sector.”

I sighed. “Thus sealing her fate and becoming forsworn.”

The dwarf nodded.

“Thank you for telling me,” I murmured.

“You had a right to know,” Sedgwick said. “Safyre knows she made the right decision. “That, though, does not stop her from feeling shamed by her betrayal. It’s likely why she has not spoken of it yet.”

I didn’t say anything, but I agreed with the dwarf’s assessment. I’d felt Safyre’s uneasiness with her past on more than one occasion, for which reason I’d chosen not to probe.

The dwarf slapped his hands against the table. “But enough of the past, that’s all behind us now. Shall we get down to business?”

Nodding, I extended a piece of parchment across the table. “This is what I need…”