Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave sat on the windowsill of Margrave Reinhardt’s keep, peering out into Vasquer. Anneliese sat in a chair just before him while Galamon stood beside her, ever watchful. These two had been his main council through his most difficult moments, easing the transition from hothouse flower college boy to whatever he was now. And he felt glad they were both gathered again when this difficult situation had come up.

Anneliese turned her chair around so that she could lean forward against its back, then asked, “What are the implications of the Alchemist learning of you being from Earth?”

“Hell if I know,” Argrave shrugged. “Might give me a bargaining chip in the event that we do meet again. But he hates words, anyway—and who would he blab to? He lives in some spooky house in a jungle.”

“We kept it quiet because of the negative effect it might have on your legitimacy as king,” Galamon pointed out. “But with that… thing, I fear not rumor spreading. I fear you may have attracted some unwanted attention. I cannot protect you from the Alchemist.”

Argrave looked at the two of them. “I think you’re straying from the subject. The issue here is the bet Durran’s assumed. The man’s put a millstone around his neck to get a superpower—I don’t even know what he gained, but life is a lot to bet when we have a hand full of air.”

“There is only one thing we can do within the confines of bet: proving whether the cycle of judgment is eternal, and cannot be broken,” Anneliese gestured. “You cannot prove that something is impossible, that a possibility does not exist. You can only speculate. People become capable of more than they were yesterday every day, all around the world.”

Argrave tried to find a hole in her logic, thinking hard. “But if we find how the cycle began, and what it really is…”

“Still, if the cycle began, who can say it cannot end? You have to try every single possibility that ever was or could be, from now until the end of time. And that is truly impossible.” Anneliese crossed her arms over the back of the chair. “There is only one way Durran gets out of that bet with a victory. And that is finding a way to break the cycle.”

Argrave looked away from her, staring out across the vast plains of Vasquer. Her ironclad reasoning considerably dimmed his expectations for getting the man out of this without incident.

“You said thousands of others seek to break the cycle of judgment,” Anneliese continued. “I remember that Erlebnis asked you precisely that.”

didn’t look back as he said decisively, “Erlebnis was

thousands of others sought this very same thing. Mozzahr himself was looking into this. Our predicament in the Bloodwoods gave him

rather good point. As he thought of the implications, though, he looked away and said quietly, “Good lord. Going to war with that monster is bad enough, but that…?” he sighed. “What the hell did Durran even get for this bet? Better have been a peachy loan with low interest, seeing

out what we can do.” Anneliese rose to her feet. “When

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through the sky. The scaled beast moved so adeptly that it felt like an extension of him. Given their

it was painful, and her legs clamped tightly against the beast beneath her. The thrill of this journey was amplified by Durran’s recklessness—she knew he was showing off, but when he turned

glided calmly through the air… she had

that?” he asked

She half-wanted to say something to spur him to act even more dangerously, but knowing him he’d actually do it. She drifted back to the

here, Durran? And what is the situation?” she focused on

reins a little tighter. “Well… how much do you know about what

how your party killed the Lords of Sethia, of how the southron elves aided you, and of

my father killed.” He chuckled quietly. “Felt like such a joke. I do something honest and good—liberate Sethia—and I’m outcast. I do something dishonest and bad—deceive people, get

details, but she cut to the heart, asking, “Are

finger, stomach lurching from the height and the speed. She saw countless wyvern riders. “They’re all loyal to me. Absolutely loyal. They’d die for me, each and every one. They’d crown me as king if I gave them the word. But the main point is this: we are the undisputed strongest throughout the entire desert. We’ve been roving, liberating towns and cities from Vessels.” He spared

Elenore

the desert. “I kill the Vessels of Fellhorn lording over the populace, kill their loyalists, and my people get a nice big oasis as a consequence of that. They get enough water to last some months, but these towns were built by Vessels, for Vessels. Fact is, without

of summer,” Durran explained, gaze wandering the dunes as though they were letters to read. “Hard to feel it up here with the winds on our face, but you can cook meat on the sand. It’s why we raided Vasquer. The land here is not meant to accommodate people, not really. The far south and far north are the only regions that can sustain themselves. Beyond that… the heat will cook you