MTR said:
So if you'll just whip out, oh, 20 updates we'll be able to judge for ourselves.
Twenty sessions, maybe. Twenty updates? Well, it'd be nice if that was all we needed to catch-up. 
And I have no idea if he reads this thread or not, but I hereby dedicate this update in honor of sagiro's birthday.
Part the One-Hundred Thirty-Fifth
In which: upon leaving the Academy, the members of the party split-up to attend to their various bits of business.
Anvil goes directly from Professor Alexandra’s office to report to Tenacious. The Sixth Order Justicar debriefs his subordinate on all that has transpired since they last met. Anvil spends most of his time describing Petros and expounding on the abominations in Kettenek’s sight that the party vanquished in Bountiful.
Anvil also spends a great deal of time speaking of the Sovereigns in general, of their devout veneration of Kettenek, but their odd ideas about his Just Ways. “It will be ironic,” he concludes, “if, when the time comes to spread Universal Law into the Sovereignty, the greatest resistance we face will be from those most devoted to Kettenek.”
Tenacious cannot help but smile at Anvil’s matter-of-fact pronouncement of a goal so far off. “Indeed,” he says. “But that will be a matter for the future. And, speaking of the future…”
Anvil’s ears perk up.
“I’d like to submit your name to be promoted to the Third Order,” Tenacious says.
It is only the rapid blinking of Anvil’s eyes that betrays his surprise. His promotion to the Second Order occurred a mere six months ago. To be promoted so quickly is a great honor. Clearly it is a sign that he has seen Kettenek’s Justice done.
Although…
The Examinations for Third Order are quite grueling. Second Orders typically spend a year or more studying and hearing cases before they are considered ready for their Examinations. He hasn’t nearly fulfilled the number of hours of casework required for promotion. Most of Anvil’s time as a Second Order has been spent traveling, and the mission has demanded so much of his attention, he has had little time for studies…
As if reading his thoughts, Tenacious says, “I know it is a rapid promotion. And while you may not have logged your hours in traditional casework, none can dispute that you have put in hours beyond the call in the service of the Temple. You have certainly learned much of Justice in your travels. You may need to put in a little extra time in the archives while you are still in town, but I wouldn’t put your name forward if I didn’t feel you were up to the task.”
Anvil nods. “Very well,” Anvil replies. “I shall make myself worthy of the trust you have placed in me.”
“Excellent,” Tenacious responds. “I’ll have an examination board convened by the end of the week.”
###
Lira, meanwhile, has a message from Devon asking her to check in with him.
Well, she thinks to herself as she makes her way to the Questor chapter house that evening,
this is going to be a status report he wasn’t expecting.
On her shoulder, Euro practically bounces with excitement.
Lira arrives at the chapter house and is ushered into Devon’s office immediately upon her arrival. Lira enters with a mix of excitement and trepidation.
Devon greets her with a broad smile. “So, how have your travels been? Challenging?”
“You could say that,” Lira allows, then interrupts herself before the meeting descends into the story of her adventures. “Before I forget, do you know anything about the Empire of Ebis?”
Devon shrugs. “Some. I once walked the Old Sea Road, years ago.”
“Do you have a map?”
“I might… I can find it for you if you like.”
“That would be a big help.”
Devon smiles. “I assume you’ll be in town for a few days?... Excellent. I’ll try to dig it up for you. Now, tell me what you’ve been up to.”
###
“Twenty-one days in the Ketkath!”
“Completely isolated, no tracks, trails, nothing.” Lira’s eyes shine—and not just from the dwarven ale—as she tells Devon of the party’s adventures. “We saw the most enormous bird… I mean, we knew it was big, but then it dove and we realized it was three ridges over. It must have been the size of a house.”
Devon sighs. “Ah, it’s been too long. I should go back there.”
“I tell you, I would rather meet a Xorn than a Sovereign Inquisitor any day of the week.”
Devon laughs. “You met an Inquisitor?”
“Well, not in the middle of the Ketkath, of course.” Lira shakes her head. “It was pretty sticky there for a bit. At least it happened before…” Lira trails off.
“Before what?” Devon prompts her.
“I… I’ve received a special blessing from Ehkt.” Lira watches Devon closely. He’s seemed unsure in the past about her sorcery, but surely,
this will prove to him that it’s nothing to fear. Ehkt wouldn’t give his blessing to her if He didn’t approve of the arcane.
Devon seems a bit puzzled. “You’ve always seen your… talents as…”
“No,” Lira interrupts. “It’s… I should just show you…” She trails off, looking about the room. Eye falling on a small Ebisite carving on Devon’s desk, she picks it up.
Lira closes her eyes, and holding the carving in one hand and her holy symbol in the other, she casts
light.
When she opens her eyes, the carving glows with a flickering orange radiance, like firelight, but cool to the touch. Devon stares open-mouthed.
After a few moments, the silence grows heavy. Lira’s pulse pounds in her throat.
“Devon?… Say something.”
Lira’s voice jolts him back to the present.
“That’s ah… Well… This isn’t like… other things you do?”
Lira risks a tiny smile. “I discovered what had happened when my hands burst into flame.”
“Fire?”
“Yeah.”
Devon sits a little longer. “Well, you are very blessed indeed. There are few to whom Ehkt grants such abilities… very few indeed.” He trails off at the end, almost as though he is talking to himself.
It is in that moment that Lira realizes something about Devon. In the past, he has been wary of her abilities. Now, he is envious. Too late, she wonders if she erred in sharing her revelation.
The silence falls again. This time Devon breaks it.
“So, you saw a really big bird then?”
“Yeah, huge.”
They talk for some minutes more, but the joviality is a bit forced, and Lira realizes that while Devon seems willing enough to share war-stories with her, it might only be because he’s unwilling to ask her to leave flat-out.
Lira elects to excuse herself, but before she departs, she unhooks a small pouch from her belt. Inside it is ten percent of her share of the treasure from the vault in Bountiful. “When I first arrived in this city I didn’t have anything,” she explains. “You were here for me, and… I really appreciate that. I couldn’t repay you then…” she holds out the pouch and—as Devon makes no move to take it from her—leaves it on a small end table. “Use it to help someone else who needs it.”
Devon nods.
“I’ll check in before we leave for Ebis to get the map.”
“Of course.”
Devon stares at the carving, which continues to glow for several minutes after Lira leaves the room.
###
Although many of the others have messages waiting for them at the Temple, Eva finds she does not. With few responsibilities, she does what she does best. Finds a bar, finds a card game, wins some money, and calls it a night.
She falls asleep without it ever occurring to her that her night might not be over yet.
She notices something is wrong when, as she rolls over in the night, her feet bump into something. Or rather, someone. Sitting on the edge of her bed.
She wakes with a start, adrenaline coursing through her system. She grabs for the dagger she keeps within reach at night, but to her great surprise, it isn’t there.
“Looking for this?” the man sitting at the end of her bed says, dangling a dagger in front of her.
The man is familiar. It’s someone she hasn’t seen since…
…since the day she was brought back to life.
Kemmer.
“You,” she says.
“Me,” he agrees, as he casually tosses the dagger in the air, catching it easily as it comes down. His voice is almost cheerful. Cheerful, but with a malicious edge. “I was wondering how long you were going to stay asleep. I was starting to get rather bored. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that you’re not pretty enough to be worth watching while you sleep, but you’re not quite so special that the novelty doesn’t wear off eventually.” And, almost as an afterthought, “You don’t mind that I let myself in, do you?”
“Actually, I kind of do,” Eva says, even as her brain registers that, from his tone of voice, he couldn’t possibly care less whether or not she minds.
He shrugs, all but actually saying “tough.” What he does say is, “I’m sure you have a lot to report. So why don’t you start at the beginning... and tell me
everything.”