Jackal Among Snakes

Mial, High Priestess of the Ebon Cult, stepped away from her position beside the other four top people at the Ebon Cult and went to kneel beside her father’s palanquin. She pulled back the curtain on the side, out of view from their front-facing position, and then listened to orders relayed—orders that reached no one’s ears beside Mial, not even Orion’s or the Alchemist’s.

As they talked, Argrave looked around at the horde of purple-masked people around them. He spotted elven ears, dwarven physiques… even some of the more reclusive races persisted in their number—southron elves or the subterranean humans, for instance. The majority of them were combatants.

Elenore’s voice entered his mind, telling him, “Anneliese says that there are users of shamanic magic in the crowd. Mozzahr himself seems to have the most spirits, however.”

Argrave gave a curt reply, too on-edge to engage further. Finally, Mial looked at them, clearing her throat to indicate her intent to speak.

“The Castellan asks if you have ever wondered what occurs in the event Gerechtigkeit succeeds,” Mial said, her voice ringing out with a clear echo in this vast cavern.

Argrave narrowed his eyes. Mozzahr had spoken through another like this in the past, but that had been because he was injured. His injury was obvious in Heroes of Berendar, visible even in the silhouette behind the curtain. Argrave could see no such injury. Mozzahr had not fought Sataistador, and consequently sustained no injuries. In simple terms there was no good reason for him to speak via proxy. No reason except haughtiness.

Argrave looked at Durran and briefly questioned speaking through him just as Mozzahr did his daughter, but thought it might be tedious and abandoned the idea at once. Besides, rising to provocation would close off their options.

“Well, I imagine the cycle of judgment ends. And I came here to discuss that ending, if on a different possible manner than seeing it through to completion,” Argrave opened diplomatically.

“Gerechtigkeit is described as two things; as a man, and as a calamity. But there is truth in both,” Mial carried on as though Argrave had not even spoken. “He is an intelligent being, capable of reason. And just as Mozzahr commands the Emptiness, Gerechtigkeit commands his calamity. It is formless malignance, capable of adapting to whatever its owner needs to fill his purpose.”

“You speak from ignorance.” The Alchemist stepped forward, his footfalls heavy enough to shake the square. “There is no reason in Gerechtigkeit.”

“Then how, pray tell, did he know to corrupt Argrave’s father? How have his methods continued to adapt, and to grow, if he cannot reason?” Mial flattened out a crease on her robes as she kneeled there.

“The contention is that he cannot be reasoned with,” Anneliese smoothly interjected. “And that is indisputable.”

“Fair enough. Let us not get lost in semantics.” Mial raised her hands in surrender.

Argrave thought she was going to speak again, and so quickly interjected, “Speaking of my father and his corruption—that was the reason Georgina was trying to kidnap him, right?” He raised his finger and pointed. “Well, we started the job that you wanted. And finished it, too. And I think that’s because we’re on the same path. Namely, you’re not content to let this cycle go another cycle.”

consulted with her father once

is so. But Felipe died—Georgina

decays what it touches rapidly,

held his arms out and stepped forward. “But you’ve been doing independent research. And it benefits us both to pool those efforts. That’s

hoped they’d take the bait. He didn’t trust Mozzahr overmuch, but he did trust the man’s capabilities. If he had learned something, getting him to disclose that information could be invaluable later down the line. But his—and the Alchemist’s, to give credit where it

father, and then looked back. “Gerechtigkeit has spoken thrice before in history. This information was very difficult to find, and even more difficult to ensure accuracy. History is written by the victors, after all. But we are near one

had been quite busy,

of Argrave’s surprise. “The first one is certain: upon his defeat in one cycle, his voice roared across

Argrave interrupted, knowing the quote well. “I know it, and the

not quite so accurate as words heard around the world… but they speak of his claims about ‘time and other thieves.’ The third is only one

I know,” Argrave confirmed. “Unless you’ve found deeper meaning to these words, we have nothing more to add to that. But lore, all of that—that isn’t what I need. We have fundamental information—we have a complete analysis of Gerechtigkeit’s

her father, and Argrave saw him wave his hand in affirmation before the High Priestess

where Gerechtigkeit comes

out in his surprise. That sort of information, if genuine, would be an invaluable lead for

that tell us?” Anneliese pushed calmly, keeping her head while Argrave nearly lost

foremost among which is pinpointing the location of his descent,” Mial disclosed hesitantly, casting glances at her father to be sure she did not err by telling so much. “This is why heading to the surface is a non-negotiable issue—something you seem to be

but he elected to sidestep that issue altogether. “Where do you think that will

he might’ve disclosed that publicly enough for these people to know. As it did, she continued, “Specifically, in a plain southwest of

leaked it. This information was their own—and even scarier yet, it was usable.

posited, holding his arms out. “We both can benefit from this. Our

fixed her owl mask tighter as she looked over with a markedly more decisive posture. “It is past time that we discuss the secular purpose behind this meeting. We brought up Gerechtigkeit not to exchange information, but to illustrate a point. Mozzahr, the Castellan of the Empty and Leader of the Ebon Cult, is Gerechtigkeit’s better in

pointed a finger, saying quickly, “That’s all well and good,

yours will be welcomed. They will not be harmed or face any imposition so

despite Mial’s coercion. Though things were tense, until that

submitting to Mozzahr. He would learn what he could about Gerechtigkeit by working underneath him, and then subtly plot with Elenore to break the chains that bind. But even still, they’d have to permit