Arcanis: Gonnes, Sons, and Treasure Runs (COMPLETED)

[talien]

I Know Thee Brother: Prologue

"Well, at least it ain't Nishanpur," said Kham.

The City of Fraedlau, in the shadow of Faerdwalden, was not the place of healing and succor they had hoped. What was meant to be a sanctuary became a prison, as Duke Victor of Tralia ordered the city sealed to prevent the spread of the plague beyond its gates.

"I don't understand." Beldin pressed a damp cloth against Sebastian's forehead. "I thought the disease only affected sorcerers." The dark-kin had become deliriously feverish.

"That wouldn't be very effective now would it?" Ilmare's eyes scanned the room. “But the Sorcerer-King wants more sorcerers. Sending the disease to destroy them alone would be counterproductive. He must have created a strain that spreads from sorcerers to humans…” she sniffed. “And their ilk.”

The humans had changed from filthy, disgusting creatures to an angry mob of filthy, disgusting creatures. Cries of misery and death were everywhere.

The only lodging that remained within the city was the common room of an inn at the North Gate. Ilmare kept her back to one wall and arms at her sides; she didn’t trust humans in large numbers.

Kham sat by himself on a bar stool nearby; Vlad sat a seat over. The room was huddled with rough men of all stripes.

“I heard that sorcerers who get the plague explode,” said Hayden, a tanner. He was unremarkable except for one blue eye and one brown eye.

Hayden turned around to stare suspiciously at Sebastian’s unconscious body. “He ain’t a sorcerer, is he?”

Beldin met his gaze. “No,” he said firmly.

Paxton, a cooper who sat to Kham’s right, sneered. “Dark-kin probably got it from Canceri. They’ve been hurting since we beat them in the war.”

Vlad took a deep breath. He knew this was coming. After the Nierites had taken over Cancer, they marched on Milandir, only to be ferociously repelled. “We’ve been looking for healers. That’s why we came here.”

Bruno, a smith who sat to Vlad’s left, chuckled. “Word has it that the only servants of Beltine left anywhere near the city are the Sisters of our Lady’s Mercy. But their convent is in Faerdwalden. Not that you could get to it anyway.”

“The Duke trapped us in here so he could burn the city to the ground,” sneered Hayden, who sat between Vlad and Kham. He wore colored lenses, like Kham. “Just like in Brechau.”

Vlad arched an eyebrow and whirled on the man. “That’s ridiculous. Where did you hear that?”

Hayden hopped off from his bar stool. “Even know, Knights from Grozny Castle are marching to seal the city so that the Duke’s sentence can be carried out!”

“No wait a minute…” began Vlad.

“That’s right,” muttered Ilmare. “Next thing you know they’ll be storming the gates.”

“Yeah!” shouted Hayden. “I’m not going to let them just murder us and I’m not alone!” He whirled, sloshing a mug of watered-down mead. His arm was spotted with seeping buboes, a sure sign that Hayden was doomed like the rest. “Who’s with me?”

Raucous shouts joined Hayden’s. Men grabbed chairs and mugs, charging out into the street. Only too sick to move were left behind.

Ilmare shrugged as her companions fixed her with a stare. “What?”

“Next time you’re going to be sarcastic,” growled Beldin, “you might not want to do it in a crowded room.”

“You might want to be more concerned about the tanner,” said Ilmare. “His lenses slid off his nose for moment when he was shouting. Did you see his eyes?”

Kham shook his head. “No. Why?”

“He didn’t have any pupils.”

Kham hopped off his bar stool and drew his pistols. After checking to see that both were loaded, he left without another word.

“And that’s important because…” asked Vlad.

“Do you really want anyone to be like Kham?”

She didn’t have to say any more. Vlad drew his sword as he slid off the bar stool. “I’ll go get him.”

It wasn’t clear if he meant Kham or Hayden.

 

[talien]

I Know Thee Brother: Part 1a – Rumblings of Insurrection

There was a great commotion outside. A large body of well-armed men shouted to the knights to open the city and let them out. The angry mob had gone home, trading clubs and fists for the trademark arms and armor of Milandisian cantons: halberds and leather.

Several of the men were obviously infected with the plague. Facing them was a hopelessly outnumbered force of the Duke’s knights led by a bright-red ss’ressen female.

“Return to your homesss!” she shouted. “The rumorsss are falssse. The duke isss an honorable and jussst man!”

Hayden whirled on the crowd. “My friends, can you not see that the Duke put a lizard in charge because he would not trust a Milandisian to slaughter his own countrymen?”

The young ss’ressen knight seemed taken aback, as if that was the last thing she would have expected to hear.

“I don’t see YOU with any signs of the plague!” shouted Hayden, extending a long, pockmarked arm. “Doesn’t affect you, does it?”

The ss’ressen took a step back. She knew words wouldn’t help.

Vlad closed his eyes for a moment and let out his breath with a deep sigh. “People are going to get seriously hurt. We have to do something.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kham shoved his way through the crowd towards Hayden. “Hey, you! Yeah I’m talking to you!”

Hayden faced him down as he approached. “You know, you don’t seem to have the plague either!”

“Calm down.” Kham kept his hands at his sides, but pistols were in his hands. “Vlad, say something that makes you sound important.”

Vlad cleared his throat. “I am Vlad Martell, Bailiff of Duke Adolphos val’Tensen, and I demand you stand down!”

The crowd roared its disapproval. Hayden jeered. “Let us out!” he began shouting. The crowd took up his chant.

Kham put a pistol to Hayden’s head and fired.

There was a blur of movement. Hayden moved, impossibly fast, anticipating the attack before Kham had even formulated it. It was an impulsive action, as all things were, but it was also a test of Hayden’s abilities.

For a split second everyone froze, horrified at what they had just witnessed. In the crowd’s eyes, the authorities had just fired the first shot.

The gesture was so violent that Hayden’s lenses fell from his face. Kham got a good look at him. The tanner’s pupils were pure white…just like Kham’s.

“Son of a—” was all Kham got out before the angry mob surged towards the gate.

 

[talien]

I Know Thee Brother: Part 1b – Rumblings of Insurrection

The disciplined Knights of Tralia stepped in to deal with the disorganized canton. Halberds came crashing down on shields emblazoned with the white and red shields of the knights.

Kham drew Talon and Coombs’ dagger. Hayden hefted a Tralian hammer.

“Think you can just shoot me and be done with it?” snarled Hayden. “I’m not going to die like a dog in the street; if you want to put me down, you’ll have to do it with your own two hands!”

With both hands, Hayden swung the hammer in an arc over his head. Kham blocked it with scimitar and dagger but the blow rattled his teeth. His lenses fell from his nose, revealing the whites of the val’s eyes.

“Fine, you want to play like a val?” Kham skipped backwards at another swing. “Let’s play.”

Kham focused. A deep thrumming radiated from him and the world went white. He could see shapes moving in blurred, stuttering steps, perceiving where they were going before they got there. But this time there was something different.

Hayden looked exactly the same. He was not silhouetted in white like the others, but rather crystal clear. He had shifted into the same form of psychic perception that Kham was still learning to use. And he was just a normal human.

“Your mind tricks won’t work on me.” Hayden dodged left and right, shoving the head of the hammer into Kham’s chest. He reeled backwards in surprise, the wind knocked out of him. “I can move as fast as you can!”

To Vlad, Kham and Hayden had become a blur, moving in perfect locked step. They slammed together and then Kham was down on the ground.

“Don’t hurt him!” shouted Vlad, struggling to stop Milandisians from killing other Milandisians. “He’s sick!”

When the two combatants separated, many of the Milandisian cantons moaned and collapsed. Sores erupted on their skin. The Knights stopped struggling, staring in surprise at the formerly combative citizens. Then a knight fell to his knees.

The tanner loomed over Kham. He lifted the hammer overhead with scabrous arms.

“You’re fast,” said Kham. “But can you dodge a bullet?”

In a flash, Kham’s pistols were out. He fired two resounding shots.

The hammer spun out of the tanner’s hands and landed just shy of Kham’s head.

Undeterred, Hayden laced his fingers together for another blow…

There was a resounding crack as ss’ressen tail met human jaw. Hayden collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Crouched, with tail still extended, was Redmantle, the fiery-red ss’ressen.

Kham hopped to his feet. “Not bad,” he said grudgingly. “For a lizard.”

“Not bad yourssself,” the ss’ressen said with a wink. “The Sssissstersss of Our Lady’sss Mercy have sssent word that they have the meansss to cure the plague. We are taking the mossst ill to be healed. You ssshould come with usss.”

“Let’s get Sebastian and get out of here,” said Vlad.

Kham dusted himself off. “You’re in an awful rush.”

Vlad didn’t say anything. He just pulled up one sleeve of his tunic.

His arm was covered in sores.

 

[talien]

I Know Thee Brother: Part 2a – Our Lady’s Mercy Awaits You

They traveled northward into the dreary glade of the Faerdwalden. Even though Illiir shone in his glory of midday, the thick canopy of the forest filled the wood with shadow.

Vlad shook his head as he and Kham trudged along with Sebastian’s litter. “I can’t believe you shot Hayden.”

Kham peered over his shoulder. “The nut with the hammer? I didn’t shoot him. I shot AT him.”

They were walking along with the rest of the infected caravan, carrying litters of the sick and dying.

“There was no guarantee he would dodge the bullet.”

“I had to test his powers somehow.” Kham shrugged. “It seemed like the fastest way to find out at the time.”

“But he was out of his mind!” Vlad lowered his side of the litter.

Kham put the litter down and lowered his lenses to look Vlad in the eye. “Wow, you’re really upset about this, aren’t you? Look, the powers of the val are not something to be given lightly. I can barely control MY powers and I’m supposed to have them.”

“It would be just like the Sorcerer-King to twist the disease so that it gave humans val powers,” Ilmarė added. “With the disease running rampant there would be murder in the streets. Sort of like what we witnessed today.”

“That’s precisely why not everyone should have them,” Kham said with a sniff.

“Well I’ll tell you what I think: I think your high and mighty val powers made things WORSE. I saw those Milandisian cantons. I know they had the plague, but they were healthy enough to fight. It wasn’t until YOU used YOUR powers that they fell.”

“Are you feeling alright?” Kham put the back of his hand to Vlad’s forehead. “Got a fever?”

“Don’t touch me!” the Milandisian slapped Kham’s hand away.

“ENOUGH!” shouted Beldin. A hand axe whistled between them.

Past Kham and Vlad stood a man, dagger raised, over Sebastian’s prone form. Beldin’s hand axe protruded from his forehead. He fell backwards without a sound.

“While you two were bickering, one of the Milandisian zealots decided to try to put an end to the plague their own way, by trying to slit Sebastian’s throat.” Beldin pushed his way past Kham and Vlad.

“I was a guardian of humanity long before you two were even born.” Beldin walked over to the dead man and yanked the hand axe out of his forehead. “So here’s some advice: stop worrying about who caused the disease and start concentrating on a cure. Because Sebastian’s in trouble.” He pointed down at the dark-kin, whose clothes were soaked with sweat. “He’s not a Canceriman, a dark-kin, or a sorcerer. He’s our friend, and he needs our help. Let’s not lose sight of that.”

With a grunt, Beldin picked up the front end of the litter. After a moment of embarrassed silence, Vlad picked up the other end and they resumed their journey.

 

[talien]

I Know Thee Brother: Part 2b – Our Lady’s Mercy Awaits You

They reached the Convent of the Sisters of Our Lady’s Mercy after a few hours. The nuns immediately began to treat the sick and separated them into groups in the convent’s courtyard based upon the seriousness of their condition.

After a short while, the Abbess walked out into the courtyard in the company of a man with a shaven pate. He wore brown robes of silk and three golden studs bound his beard.

There was a general gasp of astonishment.

“A Nerothian Canceriman, here?” Vlad said in surprise.

The Nerothian was shown great deference and honor by the Abbess. He walked among the ill speaking words of ritual that praised Neroth and supplicated his mercy. As he passed the poor victims of the terrible plague, his labored breath eases and several of them fell into slumber.

Beldin walked over to the Nerothian. “We were wondering if you could cure my friend here,” he pointed at Sebastian. The dark-kin was shivering beneath a pile of blankets.

“I vill get to as many as I can in due time,” said the Nerothian.

“There are others who need his ministrations,” snapped Abbess Halfrid val’Ishi. “Your friend is a sorcerer, is he not?”

Beldin looked around nervously. “Yes…”

“Then Petru val’Mordane must attend to the other first. The disease takes longer in those of the arcane arts.”

Petru walked off, resuming his chanting.

Beldin edged closer to the Abbess. “I’m concerned he may…explode.”

The Abbess’ lips became a thin line. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice cracking. “We will get to him as quickly as we can. In the mean time, we will separate him from the others.”

Beldin arched a bushy eyebrow. “For our safety or his?”

“Both,” said the Abbess with a deep sigh. “Both.”

 

[talien]

I Know Thee Brother: Part 3a –Blinded by Prejudice

Shortly after dawn, Petru began his ministrations anew. The ill visibly improved as a result of his blessings, however heretical some thought them to be.

Petru strode over to where Vlad, Ilmarė, and Kham sat. “I believe I have saved de vorst cases. Vhere is your friend?”

“Beldin’s with him in a room not far from here,” said Vlad. “I’ll get—“

Ilmarė cocked her head. “What’s that?”

Then they all heard it. The sound of galloping hooves.

A small body of riders arrived at the Convent, led by a formidable looking knight of advanced years. He clucked his horse right into the courtyard. Redmantle followed behind.

The Abbess bowed to the knight. “Mighty General, how may we simple adherents of Beltine assist thee?”

General Oderic val’Tensen was accoutered in shining blue full plate. His magnificent warhorse was dressed in barding to match. A lance was in one arm a shield in the other. He was flanked by two other knights on horseback, similarly armed and armored in much less impressive fashion.

Oderic slapped his visor open. “Abbess Halfrid val’Ishi, explain yourself!” he demanded. “How could you bring this,” Oderic swung his lance to point at Petru, “our greatest enemy, into our midst? It is clearly he who has inflicted this great harm upon us!”

Ilmarė sighed. “Not this again.” She turned to Vlad. “You may want to leave Sebastian where he is for the moment.”

The Abbess put herself between Petru and Oderic’s lance.

Vlad walked over to them. “Now wait just a minute!”

The knight swung his lance to point at Vlad. “Who are you?”

Vlad drew himself up to his full height. “I am Vlad Martell, Bailiff of Duke Adolphos val’Tensen. This man you’re accusing of being a heretic has been healing the sick. I’ve seen it with my own eyes!”

“A ruse,” snarled Oderic, “merely to make you complacent as he spreads the plague further. The Canceri have been plotting revenge ever since we defeated their invading army. Besides,” he added, “you’re infected yourself. He’s already poisoned your mind.”

“Oh for Althares’ sake!” shouted Kham. He stood beside Vlad. “What is wrong with you people? Look around you? Would these women of Beltine harbor someone who caused a plague? They’re healers!”

“And who are you?” asked Oderic.

Kham lowered his lenses. “A val who knows better. Look, this is no normal ailment. It’s not like anything the priestess have seen. Hell, it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before, and I’ve seen a lot. So why don’t we all be reasonable and put down our lances—“

“Enough talk!” Oderic snapped his visor shut. “The Nerothian dies now!”

And with that, he kicked his warhorse into a charge.

 

[talien]

I Know Thee Brother: Part 3b –Blinded by Prejudice

Kham rolled forward underneath the heavy warhorse, drawing Talon and Coombs’ dagger as he did so. He had to move fast; if the horse came down on top of him it would crush his skull.

With lightning speed, Kham slashed the leather restraints that held the knight’s saddle in place. He dove forward between the horse’s hind legs just as the saddle gave way.

Vlad faced down the knight to Oderic’s left side. The knight’s lance jabbed at him, but Vlad slapped it away with his shield. He grabbed a tanglefoot bag form his belt pouch and hurled it at the knight’s horse. It exploded in a sticky mass, bonding the horse’s hooves to the ground.

Ilmarė stood defiant before the other knight. She pointed at the warrior’s horse and said: Îdh. It fell to the ground, unconscious, pinning the knight beneath it.

Oderic slid forward off his horse and landed on his feet. “Fool!” Oderic drew his blade. It glowed with a golden light, singing a heavenly chorus as it was unsheathed. “I have no time for your tricks.”

“The Sword of Saint Lambertus,” whispered Vlad in awe.

Kham spun, but the warhorse was between him and the knight. He ducked just as the well-trained horse kicked backwards, nearly decapitating him.

Oderic charged forward, straight towards Petru…

There was a horrible shriek. Everyone froze and turned to look.

The Abbess and Oderic clutched each other. From her chest protruded Oderic’s sword.

Grasping the mighty blade with her last measure of strength, the Abbess looked heavenward in supplication, tears welling up in her eyes. Two tears rolled from her face to land upon the blade. A final whisper escaped her lips.

“Forgive him, for he is blind.”

And with that, she was gone.

A mournful, nearly human moan came from the Sword of Saint Lambertus that still impaled the body of the gentle Abbess. With a violent lurch, the blade flew from Oderic’s grasp as if to escape his tainted grip, shattering as it fell upon the marble floor. The golden glow disappeared; the heavenly chorus heard no more.

With a sorrowful cry, Oderic fell to his knees as the impact of his heinous deed hit him with full force.

One of Milandir’s greatest knights was reduced to a weeping, broken old man.

“Arressst him,” said Redmantle to the two knights. “He will face the Duke’sss jussstice.”

The two knights left their mounts and guided Oderic away.

Petru knelt down next to the Abbess, his own face a mask of pain. His hands were drenched with the Abbess’ blood. He wound was too deep to stop the pool of red from spreading.

“I couldn’t save her,” he whispered. “I used my most powerful supplications, but Neroth isn’t listening…” he looked heavenwards.

Vlad put one hand on Petru’s shoulder. “The living need your help now,” he said softly. “The nuns will take care of their own.”

Petru shook his head. Rising slowly to his feet, he left the courtyard. No one else was healed that day.

 

[talien]

I Know Thee Brother: Part 4a – I Smell a Rat

Another day passed and Sebastian’s illness worsened. As the day advanced, more victims of the plague were brought into the courtyard from the city. They were some of the worst cases, born in on stretches covered with blood-soaked sheets.

“At the rate these bodies come in, he’ll never heal Sebastian!” Ilmarė said, exasperated.

“Psst!” a squeaky voice whispered to Kham.

Kham looked around.

“Down here!”

Kham looked down. A large brown rat, sitting on its hind legs, was tugging on his boot.

“Great,” said the val. “Now I can hear what animals are thinking.” He rubbed his temples. “I love being a val!”

“No boss, I’m actually speaking Low Coryan,” said the rat. “Learned it from Gakyi. But that’s not important now. What’s important is that you’re about to be ambushed.”

“An ambush?” Kham looked down at the rat in disbelief. “You expect me to believe a talking rodent?”

As Petru began to minister to the sick, a half-dozen sheets were tossed aside to reveal feral ratmen, armed with wicked swords.

“Told you,” said the rat.

The half-human, half-rat men lunged at the nuns and Petru.

This time, the Nerothian was prepared. He whispered a prayer and the rats struggled to focus on him, finally ignoring him completely in favor of the nuns.

The largest of them screeched in frustration. Then it turned to face Vlad.

The rat-man had one blue eye and one brown eye.

There was a humming sound as the ratman’s sword began to bubble and hiss. Something foul dripped from the blade.

“Vlad, look out!” shouted Kham.

The Milandisian dance backwards as the sizzling blade slashed his studded leather armor.

“Kham!” shouted Vlad. “I think this is Hayden!”

“Great,” Kham snapped back. “I’ll try not to shoot him.”

One of Ilmarė’s arrows shivered from the ratman’s shoulder. Hayden hissed in rage.

“Fortunately,” said the elorii, “I have no such compunctions.”

The arrow popped out and the wound healed over before Vlad’s very eyes.

“Oh, crap.”

 

[talien]

I Know Thee Brother: Part 4b – I Smell a Rat

Something scampered up Kham’s leg.

“The shaman, Gakyi, is invisible, boss,” squeaked the rat. “He’s standing over there.”

“How do you know that?” asked Kham.

“You gonna keep asking questions or you gonna shoot?”

Kham shook his head in disbelief that he was listening to a rat. He drew both of his pistols and fired where the rat pointed with one tiny claw.

With a curse, Gakyi shimmered into view. A bronze amulet in the form of a menacing rat hung from around his neck.

Gakyi screeched at Kham, saliva dripping from its jaws, and pointed one long talon at him. Kham leg’s suddenly froze up on him.

“Oh great,” said the rat on Kham’s shoulder. “He cursed you. I’ll go get help.”

“Uh, thanks…?”

“Skiz,” said the rat, scampering down Kham’s shoulder. “Hang tight boss, I’ll be right back.”

“I don’t think I can go anywhere,” said Kham.

Vlad blocked a swing from Hayden with his shield and spun with his sword, slashing the chest of an adjacent ratman wide open. The wound closed up as soon as his blade left the wound.

Ilmarė fired arrow after arrow at the ratmen. They would drop, shrieking in pain, only to rise back up again as eyeballs, throats, and chests healed. “Our weapons are useless!” she shouted to no one in particular.

Petru hurried over. Skiz was on his shoulder. “I brought help!”

“That’s great. Hey Petru, mind joining in the fight?”

“If I retaliate, Neroth’s blessing vill be revoked,” said the Nerothian. “But I can help you.” He put one hand on Kham’s forehead. His legs unfroze. “Dere.”

“Great,” said Kham, “now if you can just tell us how to kill these things.”

Skiz hopped the distance between Petru’s shoulder and Kham’s. He was a nimble little beast. “Got a silver weapon, boss?”

Kham slapped his forehead. “I KNEW I shouldn’t have sold that dagger!” He turned to Vlad. “Vlad! Use your dagger!”

Vlad was hard pressed to keep Hayden and two other ratmen at bay. He ferociously counterattacked with a wide swing that force all three of them backwards, then dropped his shield and drew the dagger the senator had given them so long ago.

Before Hayden could recover, Vlad slammed the dagger into the ratman’s face. With a shriek, Hayden collapsed, transforming back into the tanner’s original human form.

Kham rummaged around in the sack that had served to hold his armor and weapons when he was in the Canceri prison. “Now I just need two more pistols…”

“I’ll get ‘em boss!” shouted Skiz. The rat dove into the bag and disappeared.

Kham had to abandon his quest as Gakyi, spittle flecking his snout, roared into hand-to-hand combat with a longsword. Kham blocked it with Talon.

Vlad plunged his sword through another ratman, buying him enough time to yank the dagger out of Hayden’s head. The rat man kept coming, gnashing and spitting. Vlad speared the rat through the forehead head with the dagger. With a long, piteous squeal, it expired.

Ilmarė danced backwards as two rat men advanced on her. The arrows were slowly being pushed out of their bodies as the wounds healed.

“I am really getting tired of this.” She drew her elven thinblade.

Kham blocked Gakyi’s frenzied swing with Talon. “How you doing in there Skiz?”

“Almost…got it…” came a muffled voice from somewhere inside the bag. “Here!”

Kham slashed low and high, forcing Gakyi backwards. He resheathed his blades. “Now!”

The rat dragged a pistol belt out of the sack. Kham drew the two pistols, whirled, and fired at the ratmen advancing on Ilmarė. The dropped, twitching.

“They’ll get back up in a second, boss” said Skiz.

“Yeah, I know,” Kham drew his blades again as Gakyi closed the gap between them. “I’m just buying us time.”

“Time for what?” asked Skiz.

Vlad slit the throats of both of the prone ratmen before they could recover. He glared up at Gakyi with a murderous look in his eyes.

Gakyi hissed. Then the shaman threw something to the ground and smoke enveloped him.

A silvery blade whistled through the air and into the darkness. When the smoke cleared, the human that was once Gakyi lay face first on the ground, a silver dagger protruding from the back of his head.

“That,” said Kham.

 

[talien]

I Know Thee Brother: Conclusion

Admonishments to the val of the city prevented the further spread of the disease. Petru was able to cure those already infected, including Sebastian and Vlad.

“De dark-kin vil be veak for veeks,” said Petru.

“What?” asked Kham.

“He vill be sick for some time,” said the Nerothian. “But I expect a full recovery.”

“I’ll stay with him until he can travel,” said Beldin gruffly. “There’s a forge here. I’ve been meaning to put that Ignium we picked up from Nishanpur to good use.”

“We should keep moving,” said Vlad. “I’d like to report back into the Duke as to what happened here. It’s important he’s aware, in case the plague spreads.”

“What I really want to know is how the hell I picked up a talking rat out of all this,” Kham said with a wry smirk.

Skiz, sitting on the val’s shoulder, twitched his whiskers at Kham’s face.

“I don’t know why you carry that disgusting thing around with you,” said Ilmarė. “The wererats should be proof enough that vermin are filthy beasts.”

“Those were humans once,” said Vlad.

Ilmarė crossed her arms. “You didn’t seem to have a problem killing your countrymen once they took on another form.”

Vlad bit his lip. He said nothing further.

“Hey, leave him alone,” said Kham. “He did what he had to. They left him no choice.”

“Gakyi found that tiny bronze idol,” said Skiz, pointing one claw at the idol in Kham’s palm. “He said it spoke to him in dreams, dreams that promised untold power if he would perform certain tasks. At first, they were trivial things: favor a mate, avoid a certain human, and so forth. But eventually it led him into Faerdlau, with an order to kill certain humans, mostly priests of Neroth and Beltine. That’s about when I started talking.”

Kham peered at the idol. It was the Yellow Sign. “So you weren’t always like this?”

“No, boss. How about you?”

Kham peered over his lenses at Skiz. “Very funny.”

“I still don’t trust it,” said the elorii. “Why would it help us?”

“I’m not deaf you know,” said Skiz. “Look, it’s simple: once I realized what my old boss had planned, I didn’t want to be part of it anymore. So I switched to the winning side; val are leaders and protectors. My new boss was an obvious choice.”

“You hear that?” Kham chuckled. “He thinks I’m a winner.”

“This, coming from a rat,” sniffed Ilmarė.

Skiz ducked his head around to look at Kham. “I think she means you, boss.”