As soon as Jasper exited the room, he was ushered down the stairs by the waiting guards. The tavern was still empty, save for Gūla who sat at a table close to the hearth, and her daughter who was playing on the floor by her feet, vigorously brushing a doll’s hair with a perfectly formed hand. Jasper couldn’t help but marvel at the sight; as much as magic was slowly becoming normal to him, replacing a lost limb still downright seemed miraculous.

Gūla flashed him a quick smile as he pulled a chair out from beneath the table and plopped down beside her, her eyes glowing with a happiness he didn’t fully understand. “Care to explain what happened up there?” he asked.

“I’ve been released from the army,” she replied cheerfully. “In exchange for my service and as payment for Karibta’s injury, Lord S̆ars̆adû has transferred me to the Royal Guard. I’ll be heading back to the S̆addānu with him.”

Jasper frowned. “What about the rest of the investigation? I, uh, I kind of had to kill Dannûl,” he admitted. “So we’re not going to be able to interrogate him.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she reassured him. “The king was already on his way to heal Karibta when he saw Dannûl’s attempted attack go down.”

Attempted? Jasper felt a flash of irritation as he realized the king could have stepped in and chose not to. I could have died.

But Gūla continued blithely on. “And after he realized that one of the most important commanders in the army had been compromised by the Lords of Wēdīnīnu, the king decided the time for diplomacy was over.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“An entire cohort of the Royal Guard should arrive in the next few hours. Five mages with truth-telling spells are accompanying them. Lord S̆ars̆adû has ordered that every single commander or mage, be they noble or commoner, get interrogated by them. The Lords of Wēdīnīnu aren’t going to escape this time.”

Jasper raised a brow in surprise. “That’s a bit more aggressive than I would have expected. Isn’t the king worried about upsetting the nobles?”

“Three nobles died in the last batch of fires,” Gūla explained. “And now a powerful commander has been revealed to be complicit in the act. The king has deemed this necessary to fulfill his obligation to protect the nobles of his realm.”

“That’s one way to spin it,” he replied dryly. “But it still seems like an overreach. Won’t the nobles object?”

She snorted with laughter. “Oh, I’m sure they’ll put on a show of griping and complaining, but the truth is, they’ll be more than happy to cooperate with Lord S̆ars̆adû’s investigation. From what we’ve uncovered, it seems the majority of the ‘lords’ of Wēdīnīnu are from merchant houses. Even if a few minor nobles are also indicted, it will be seen as a minor sacrifice in comparison to the punishments that will be leveled against the merchants.”

Jasper supposed she had a point; he’d generally found that as much as people might claim to value freedom, when it came down to a choice between that or their pocketbook, money won out. “So that’s it then? We’re done?”

A spasm of regret flickered across her face, and she grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry, Yas̆peh, but I have to do what’s best for my daughter. After they hurt her-“ Tears filled her eyes, and her voice choked up. “I couldn’t live with myself if I let that happen again. I don’t want to leave the firebirds, but S̆ars̆adû’s offer will ensure that she’s safe. I’m sorry that’s how things have to end, but I wish you nothing but the best. Besides,” she forced away her tears with a smile, “you have both an elf and a princess hanging around. I’m sure you won’t be lonely for long.”

At first, Jasper had been utterly baffled by her response to his question, until she neared the end and it finally clicked that she was trying to break up with him. Of course, as far as he was concerned, they hadn’t been together in the first place, but he didn’t think it would be helpful to clarify that he had actually been asking if they were done with their part of the investigation. Might as well let her have her moment.

So he offered a warm smile and patted her hand gently. “The same to you, Gūla. I’m sorry things didn’t work out, but I hope you can find a better man than Nas̆ru, someone that’s perfect for you and your daughter.”

He lingered for a few minutes more, the two exchanging idle chatter, and eventually worked his way back to the question he’d originally been asking, phrasing it more carefully this time. She confirmed that there was nothing more they needed to do - the king’s guard would handle the rest of the investigation - and, with his question finally satisfied, he made his excuses and left.

His exhaustion resurfaced as he left the Armored Swan behind, but with the king staying there, Jasper knew there was no chance he’d be allowed to crash in one of the rooms. Thus, there was nothing to do but suck it up, and finish the hour trek back to his tents, where he promptly collapsed into his cot without even bothering to remove his armor.

He was eventually woken by pangs of hunger clawing at his belly. When he poked his head through the tent flap, the reason for his hunger was evident. Already the sun was nearing the peaks of the northern mountains, and its color had changed to the orangey-red of an oncoming sunset. Fortunately, it was good timing, for sunset was when the scouts usually prepared the supper. I’ll just swing by their camp and check on Erin while I’m at it.

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As he strolled through the camp, Jasper felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulder. After weeks of dealing with both the saboteurs and Gūla’s often manipulative ploys, he was finally free to do what he wanted. Well, within reason. His mood soured slightly as he remembered the whole reason he was here in the first place - getting sent to help the empire in its war.

But as much as Jasper wasn’t sure he really wanted to fight in the war, he wasn’t exactly being held against his will. The empire was a massive place and entirely bereft of CCTVs. Once they left the fortress of Dūr-S̆innu behind, it would be an easy task to slip away from the army and disappear.

A small part of him wanted to do just that. As a player, Jasper had almost exclusively explored the northern provinces in the empire, and he was curious to see how the real thing would stack up to the game. Was it a one-for-one reproduction, or would the cities be even more glorious in person?

But he was also curious to finally encounter the mysterious invaders and explore the capital city and, ultimately, his desire to see something new was stronger than his nostalgia for the past. So for the time being, Jasper was content to stick with the army - at least as long as he didn't get any ‘charge of the light brigade’ orders.

But he never reached the scouts’ camp, for as he approached Ihra and Tsia’s tents, he saw them gathered around a small bonfire and, much to his surprise, Erin was with them as well. Tsia waved at him cheerfully, and though he briefly considered pretending he hadn’t seen her, the jig was up when she called out his name. “Jasper, come eat.”

With his dreams of dining on the scouts' superior cooking dashed, Jasper begrudgingly headed in their direction. The girls had erected a scaffold over the fire, from which hung a small, cast-iron cauldron. An unidentified grey goop was slowly bubbling inside it, and its aroma did nothing to elucidate its contents.

Tsia tossed him a wooden bowl and he scooped some up and tried to plop it in the bowl. The gruel was viscous enough to defy gravity and he was forced to shake the spoon vigorously before it finally waved the white flag and slid off the serving spoon. “What’s this?” He asked, injecting a false note of cheeriness in his voice.

“I tried my hand at making potato soup,” the princess replied proudly. “It turned out pretty good.”

He tried it hesitantly and matched her smile. ‘Good’ was an overly generous adjective, but it wasn’t bad either. The gruel reminded him of very salty, very watery mashed potatoes, and though it was no match for the scouts’ delicious offerings, it was by far the best thing she’d made. “Not bad,” he agreed.

Ihra waited for him to take another bite before chiming in. “I was surprised to see you back already. I figured you’d spend the night with her.”

“Her?” His eyes crinkled with amusement. “She has a name, you know. But no, it seems that this was the last we’ll be seeing of each other.”

Her face softened with sympathy. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to be - we weren’t together,” he replied, too busy stuffing another mouthful of Tsia’s watery potatoes into his mouth to see the look of pity she flashed him. “And thankfully, we’re done with the mission too.”

“Done with the mission?” She echoed in surprise. “I know Dannûl’s dead, but surely we have to deal with the rest of those mages-”

“Nope.” He cut her off quickly and then, between bites, filled them in on everything Gūla had said. “So we might have to answer a few questions,” he wrapped up a few minutes later. “I don’t think we are suspects, but Gūla said the king’s men would question every commander and mage, so that probably includes, well, most of us," he halted, suddenly struck by the awkward realization that it included everyone but Ihra, and continued quickly on. "And once that's done, I expect the army will finally get moving."

He glanced at Tsia. “And what about you? Have you decided if you’re coming with us?”

“You said Kas̆dael asked you to track down some durgu prince?”

“Damn it!” He smacked his forehead. “I totally forgot about that. I should have asked the king for permission when I had the chance. Who knows if General Turzu will let me go, especially now that Gūla's gone," he sighed.

“If what she told you is right, I doubt Turzu will remain in command for much longer,” Ihra cut in. “Even if he wasn’t knowingly part of the conspiracy, it sounds like Dannûl was playing him for a fool. There will probably be a new commander any day.”

“Maybe,” he agreed, and turned back to the princess. “Does that mean you decided to come with us?”

“Kas̆dael said to look for this prince somewhere in western Sapīya, yes?" she asked again. "That is not so far from my father's courts.”

“She did,” he confirmed. “But I can't promise we’ll see him. Are you planning to split off and stay with him?”

Tsia was slow to respond, but when she did, there was a certainty in her voice that brooked no doubts. “No. In the aftermath of Nēs̆u's death, I wished for nothing more than to see him again, but now I realize that was foolish."

"What changed?"

She smiled sadly. "With a little space, I've realized that all the reasons I left his court are still there. My father cannot afford to anger Lord S̆argānīl and as long as his daughter is my father’s wife, there is no room for me in their courts. My future, whatever that may be, is not with him.”

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” Jasper assured her. “At least as far as I’m concerned.” He shot a questioning glance at Ihra, knowing that the two girls had initially not taken a liking to each other, but Ihra bobbed her head in agreement.

“I have no objections - we’re lucky to have another mage as strong as you. Besides,” she added with a slight twinkle in her eye, “you still have much to learn about cooking.”

Jasper chuckled. “As if you’re any better.”

She flashed him an indignant look. “Hey, cooking was the one chore we didn’t have to do at the orphanage, and it’s not like I see you cooking.”

He denied the accusation promptly. “Hey, I’m a great cook. Just give me a refrigerator and a stove, and I could whip up something that would knock your socks off. I just didn’t do a lot of campfire cooking back home. Must have missed that class in college.”

Ihra shot a glance at Tsia. “It sounds to me like he offered to cook, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” she giggled. “I’ll defer to your great experience, chef.”

“You’ll be eating your words,” he warned, “but fine, I’ll cook dinner tomorrow.” The girls laughed, not believing he could, but Jasper didn’t mind. After the constant stress and turmoil of the last few months, it was nice to just sit around the fire and relax. If only we could do this every day. Jasper knew it was a pipe dream but for now, he'd take what he could get.