Justicar Jeryl was a very efficient man, and watching him churn through writing sixteen identical sets of orders, sign and seal everything all while he briefed the veritable swarm of Sunsguard and acolytes set to be runners was, frankly, impressive. Anur had no real idea how he compared to the other First Order Justicars of Fourth Court, but he nonetheless didn't doubt that they had lucked out in the Justicar who'd picked up this case.

Right now, the runners had been sent off on their missions and the office had gone from too crowded to breathe to only a little tight and they were listening to Garth Nolans give a detailed description of the incident he'd decided on regarding Darius Vars. By Maude's grim but unsurprised expression, his sister had already heard about the events Garth had summarized with the crimes of extortion, murder, and, via hearsay and noting a woman's disappearance, if not seeing her body himself, an additional murder.

The careful outline of exactly how he had collected the vanished woman's report, warned her of the potential consequences of filing the report and raising a fuss over her husband's disappearance, filed it on her behalf when she insisted regardless with all possible precautions taken only to find it was useless, the report was handed directly to Vars by the former Captain of the Outer Eighth to 'investigate', since it was known that he had been involved in the 'initial inquiries' to the husband's disappearance – it was appalling. It was horrifying to think of everything that the Oathbreaker and his associates had gotten away with over the years, and Anur wanted to ask why Garth Nolans hadn't gone straight to the Courts himself, but unfortunately he knew that answer.

Two Sunsguard and one Justicar compromised in Fourth Court, according to the Oathbreaker – and who knew how many had been caught earlier in the year or transferred out at one point or another. That was one phrasing he would have to make sure Justicar Jeryl accounted for in his follow-up questions, the 'willing co-conspirators' phrasing he had used had likely only caught those who were currently active; any that had been lost in some way, be that transfer or death, would have escaped being listed. Not something to point out just now, but definitely something that would be needed going forward.

He had thought that implementing the reforms' new laws and following through on now-enforced ones was moving along nicely this year; perhaps it was, in the avenues he was consciously aware of. Hells, with literal centuries to overturn, things were moving along nicely. But that didn't feel like enough – it wasn't enough, even if it was all they could truly manage. Certainly all he and Kir could truly manage to keep track of; City Guard had never been something he was overly exposed to, even in Valdemar, and only three cities in Karse were large enough to have a chapter of Sunsguard separate from the bandit hunters and roving Justicars. Inquiring after City Guard specific issues hadn't even occurred to him.

There was so much to do, still. It was literally impossible for himself and Kir – even for the whole of the Firestarting Order! – to be involved in every part of the ongoing and coming reforms. That didn't make it any easier to hear about horrible people that had very nearly gone free, that had gone free for so very many years, and the innocents who suffered for it.

He was glad Kir wasn't listening to this, was still focused on flammability mitigation. Hopefully Anur could get away with a less in-depth summary when it came time to fill Kir in on what he had missed, at least until he'd properly recovered from today's disaster. His brother's guilt-complex was far too well-developed and deeply ingrained.

His own was nothing to sneer at –

Kir had once admitted to him that he sometimes imagined he heard voices in fire, imagined that fire had feelings and thoughts and desires, rather than being simply something that is. Anur had admitted in the same conversation that Kir's mental presence against his own felt like fire, crackling and warm. They had laughed about it, and Kir had wondered if perhaps they could use that to somehow let Anur hear fire as Kir did one day. With the revelation of sun-blessed steel singing, Anur had almost been hoping they would be able to manage something.

He had never wanted it to be permanent, though. To hear the roar of something like the Comb fire with anything other than his actual ears – it sounded like a nightmare waiting to happen. When he had dared to imagine it, to ask Kir what that sort of inferno 'sounded' like to his brother's senses, he still doubted his ideas had gotten anywhere close.

The sudden flurry-spark-roar of Kir's mind against his was so loud.

"Bellamy?" Jaina's voice echoed as if she were far away, but he felt a hand on his shoulder that was undoubtedly her. "Are you all right? Is something wrong with Kir?"

"He's – back in the Hall. I think," Anur managed, Aelius' mental presence feeling shaken and blindsided too, so his Companion couldn't help relay or interpret, "Backlash, from the fire suppression."

:Kir? Kari?:

:We are in the Hall's courtyard,: Kari relayed, sounding truly exhausted now, :We are not more injured than we were. This is that backlash, as you guessed. I do not think I will be able to help the Captain tonight.:

:He has sun-blessed steel, and we might even be able to get him a shielded necklace of some sort as a stop-gap. He will be helped, Kari, even if he needs to wait another day,: Anur assured him, feeling a guilty pang nonetheless because Captain Marghi had lived with this burden so long already, the thought of having to delay aid hurt.

:We will get him help,: Kir promised, voice barely audible as words over the deafening roar of fire, :It just – might have to be delayed, as much as I hate that.:

:Can the healers get to you?: Anur demanded, realizing he was on his knees and accepting Jaina's aid getting to his feet, not objecting when she immediately started guiding him to a chair.

:I don't know,: Kir admitted, :Probably?:

:We can spare Hansa, if you need,: Anur said, :Remember, I can cast second stage truth spell and just need a decoy to point to.:

:We might have to – oh, Lumira is here. And Solaris?:

:Then we'll wait on swapping Cats, but keep me posted. Healers need to get to you, Kir. That is non-negotiable.:

:Yes, yes, stop fussing.:

:I have not yet begun to fuss,: Anur promised.

"That was similar, to when you said the trap sprang," Nolans said, Anur twitching at the switch in mediums and huffing a laugh as he refocused on the room he was physically in.

"Not as bad," Anur replied wryly, "I didn't stop breathing this time. Apologies. I'm fine. It won't happen again. Today, at least."

"Your and Kir's mental connection?" Jaina asked quietly, expression tight, "This is a side effect?"

"The only reason it happened is because of that connection, yes, but this is more – I could tell, when Kir was working to suppress flames," Anur replied, keeping his voice low, as Jeryl was asking Garth a clarifying question. He hadn't lost much time to whatever had happened, at least.

"It didn't feel… right. I could tell it was a strain, a struggle. When the trap sprang, it was – overwhelmingly loud, I suppose is the best way to say it. Couldn't figure out if I was the one hurt and with the breath knocked out of me or Kir was. This was more – that strained silence is gone, and loudly so. Abruptly so. Stunned, again, though not confused, not to the same degree. Kir is fine, Jaina."

"I can worry about both of you, you realize," she said tartly, "This more of a mental Talent thing or a joint Voice side effect?"

"The latter," Anur admitted, grimacing, "Seras really didn't mention anything to you?"

"Not to me," Jaina confirmed, echoing his expression, "We'll have to ask tonight. It's certainly a consequence we'll need to keep in mind if that Hunting Rite is ever to be used again."

"There are side effects to the Rite beyond those called down on the target?" Justicar Jeryl inserted, Anur and Jaina swiveling to look at him. He was handing Garth Nolans his record of the man's testimony for verification and a signature, but was watching the two of them.

"We don't know," Anur admitted freely, running a hand down his face, "It's not – to be perfectly honest, Justicar, Kir reinvented the thing. He prefers to say he rediscovered it, but there are no records of the actual mechanics of the old version of the Rite that anyone has managed to find. There are references to its use, some sidelong references to what it can do or what materials are needed, but other than that? Nothing."

"Oh I know," the man replied, smiling wryly, "We Justicars study it as part of our training – "

He was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door, Jaina going to open it after Jeryl nodded and stepping aside to let Justicar Mattis and two familiar Sunsguard step through, the Justicar looking properly furious and with no trace of the Kir-strength tea he had been carrying.

"All three are secured?" Jeryl asked, voice sharp.

"All three are secured," Justicar Mattis confirmed through gritted teeth, "And far too many came to me afterwards to report coercion. Your squad with the other three for follow up questioning arrived and were dispersed per the usual, no reported difficulties, that black-robe that came with them is writing out his testimony. Have you questioned the Oathbreaker yet?"

"No, and won't for some time, I have more testimonies to collect here," Jeryl replied, eyes narrowing, "Do you need some information out of him urgently?"

"A list of all individuals involved in his schemings in Fourth Court, including those unwilling and including those no longer here – you prioritized willing conspirators, I agree with it, but we need additional information. Also a list of willing conspirators active in the other Courts, this is going to be a sector spanning mess, Jeryl and we need to get as many of his sort out of positions to take authority and silence witnesses. Also, this truth compulsion you mentioned, how long is it available?"

:The remainder of today, certainly. Going forward we will have to limit it to designated marks,: Hansa said.

Anur didn't want to speak of it, but he remembered what Cristan had claimed to have found. He had no idea if whatever the man had found was actually a legitimate spell or not, if it worked even, but if it did work they way the madman had described it to Kir – it had sounded like a first stage truth spell that non-Heraldic mages could use.

"Either of you familiar with a rover named Cristan? Died a few years ago," Anur asked, Jaina wincing as she walked back over, apparently remembering how that name had first come up, but both Justicars shook their heads, looking politely puzzled. Lieutenant Jergen, however, grimaced deeply, and they all caught it.

"Lieutenant Jergen?" Mattis prompted.

"I ran across him once, I believe, Your Holinesses, Lieutenant-Enforcer. He was… very inconsistent, in his methods."

"He was insane," Anur said flatly, glad he could press his hands against the arms of the chair Jaina had shoved him into, because otherwise they'd be shaking, "But he mentioned having a spell that would let him know if someone spoke the truth, though it did not compel speaking the truth, nor did it force the individual to speak. I never knowingly saw that spell in action, and we never found records of it when we looked. Not particularly thoroughly, I will admit, because the man did not exactly inspire confidence in his coherence. Do either of you know of such a spell?"

"Not a mage, no idea," Justicar Mattis frowned, glancing Jeryl's way, "Though I would think we would use it, if it existed."

"Not if it had cost too heavy to allow," Jeryl replied mildly, eyes tight, "You say this Cristan actually used it?"

"It exists?" Anur asked, feeling rather wary. He had apparently had that spell cast on him, after all, and from tone and phrasing… that spell was not one anyone sane would actually use.

"Oh it does," Jeryl said, expression going truly grim now, "And repeated use splinters the caster's mind. The way it works is by linking one mind to another, allowing the caster to sense that lie being told, but it doesn't do it well or safely. Or if it ever did, the safeguards are long gone in the records I'm aware of. Once, even twice, perhaps. But he would be less able to feel that feedback, after repeated use. As he kept going, he would need stronger emotional reactions to register it as functional, and that is aside from the side-effects of having repeated interaction with another person's mind without safeguards in place – which are dire, in and of themselves."

:…is this why people with powerful mental Talents are better at the Truth Spell?: Anur asked, fascinated despite his own horror. Experiencing strong emotional reactions, yes, that was one way to describe torture victims.

:Likely so. I suspect the spell was designed for exactly that skillset – mages with mind Talents,: Aelius mused, :We need a copy. We'll have a Herald-Mage capable of testing it eventually. Healers have reached Kir, currently assessing.:

"Not an option, then," Mattis was saying, while Anur barely managed not to physically sigh in relief at Aelius' news, "Disappointing, I suppose, but if I had found out there was a truth compulsion we weren't using for some reason I didn't agree with, I'd be even more furious, so fair enough. We'll need to time things carefully."

"The Oathbreaker didn't hesitate to list out all his willing co-conspirators," Jeryl pointed out, watching as Lieutenant Jergen and Patrolman Henkel hauled the man in question to his feet, "While verification under truth compulsion would only be sensible, for an initial emergency triage list, his initial response would at least get us started."

:The list for current in Fourth Court was short – has it been verified under truth compulsion?: Aelius asked, :If he gives the exact same list under truth compulsion as without they might not even need one for him. Confirmed no lung puncture or broken bones.:

:Thank the Sunlord, and a good question,: Anur replied, relaying the suggestion and when it played out as hoped – the exact same list, the exact same order even, as the first time Jeryl had asked that question – he was entirely unsurprised by the intrigued expressions on both the Justicars' faces.

"Incapable of lying, at least for the moment," Mattis murmured, "I wonder – is that a consequence of Namelessness? Or the Rite you mentioned, Lieutenant-Enforcer? I assume they are distinct?"

"He was declared Nameless as part of the Rite, but you could have one without the other," Anur replied, remembering Anika's denunciations and determinedly not fretting over the fact Kir's mental presence was still veering towards inferno even after the healers had apparently examined him, "As for the lack of lying, I have no idea. We only used the Rite once before, and the target was dead at the end of it. I think we questioned one of the Nameless in the other group though… yes, we did, but they were under truth compulsion at the time, we had no reason to ask without one."

:I see no reason why he would start being capable of lying again,: Hansa broadcast, jumping up to sit on a cleared corner of Jeryl's desk and glancing between the Justicars. :Removing one's name has a tendency to remove a sense of self – which removes self-preservation, self-interest – and without those, what reason would they have to lie?:

"What?" Anur hissed, ignoring the startled looks sent his way, because that was a side effect there had never been a hint of, and he could already see so very many ways that sort of lack could go terribly wrong, "What do you mean, declaring one Nameless removes all sense of self – including self-preservation?"

:Exactly that,: Hansa said, head tilting to one side and to all appearances confused as to why exactly Anur found that concept so very horrifying, :They can no longer be named, and are no longer persons. Self-interest in various forms is the fundamental motivator for so very many actions, including lies. While he is physically and mentally capable of lying or hesitating over his words, he is no longer emotionally capable of doing so; he has no motivation for it.:

"Nameless One ran," Anur retorted.

:But he did not try to conceal his path or cover his tracks – and he stopped for comfortable quarters, rather than riding through the night or leaving roads entirely as he should have, if truly escaping had been his intent, though I suppose he had no reason to truly think he had been caught unless he tried to introduce himself. It is intended to make them easier to find, frankly.:

"And potentially reckless enough to slaughter a massive number of people in their immediate surroundings because they have an impulsive desire to and no reason to hold back any longer since consequences no longer matter to them," Anur said through gritted teeth, "Because someone with a knife can do that in the right crowd, forget someone with magic. Are there any safeguards from that?"

At least now he wasn't the only one looking horrified. Even Hansa had his ears flat against his skull, and the Justicars looked practically nauseous.

:…I am uncertain,: Hansa admitted finally.

"Well then, no one is using that Rite unless there is literally no other option, there are far too many ways it can go terribly wrong," Anur decided, remembering that one Levin-bolt this one had thrown, that one attack that could so very easily have been scaled-up by someone with no sense of self-preservation, with no ability to think forward to consequences and plan out how to avoid them and having to choke down bile, because that could have gone so wrong and he and Kir had never even thought of that potential catastrophe, "Justicars, please, please push that opinion with your colleagues and emphasize that the Rite is unpredictable and dangerous, we will do additional research and gladly keep you in the loop, but please emphasize to anyone reading your reports or hearing your verbal descriptions that this Rite is dangerous to the people who use it and random bystanders, please."

"I will gladly do so – wait, I'm sorry, it is dangerous for the person calling it down as well?" Jeryl asked, looking more alarmed than grim now, "How so? The joint Voice manifestation you mentioned, but while that is certainly unheard of I wouldn't think it would be harmful…"

"Kir and my version of consequences for users is complicated by other issues," Anur brushed off any concerns about the joint Voice manifestation or the mental connection he and his brother shared. They would have to elaborate on it eventually, but it wasn't germane now. What was, however, was the reason he called this Rite dangerous in the first place. Why Kir had never dared test it before it was truly, desperately needed to hunt down Nameless One.

"But for more general cases… Justicar, this Rite is a literal cry for judgment, and as Kir described those to me, you had best be damn certain in the claim you are making, certain enough to stake your own life and soul on it. There's a reason he reinvented the thing and never so much as considered testing it out before it was well and truly needed."

Jaina's grip on his shoulder was practically bruising.

"Stake your own life and soul on it?" Garth Nolans quoted, sounding horrified and stunned beyond measure, the Justicars looking more than a little pale themselves, "You – why would you – you did that. Why?"

"It needed to be done," Anur said, meeting the man's eyes as he said it.

"You only had my word for that," he objected, voice faint.

Anur did not waver, because this was important, but he couldn't quite help his smile.

"I did tell you that your word would be enough," he said, feeling almost whimsical, before continuing more briskly, "Besides, I had far more than your word. I had three enchanted bracelets, none of which were intended for innocent purposes, and I very deliberately worded my denunciations to target the crafter of said bracelets, rather than any named individual."

"Usage of threes, oh Seras is going to be so furious he missed it," Jaina murmured, releasing his shoulder and shaking her head.

"I – have additional questions, but they will wait," Justicar Jeryl admitted, exchanging a speaking glance with Mattis.

"We'll have to coordinate our list of questions," the other Justicar said, sounding thoughtful, "For the moment, I'll get started on this name gathering, perhaps get some initial questions asked of those reporting coercion if you haven't shown up by the time I get the list written out."

"My thanks, Mattis," Jeryl said, the quartet leaving the office and Anur at least feeling immediately more at ease, with the Oathbreaker's blankly staring visage absent.

Justicar Jeryl turned to him again, glancing between him and Jaina before finally speaking, very clearly choosing his words carefully, "While I agree with your hesitation over spreading the Rite's implementation far and wide, people are going to hear of it. Justicars are going to hear of it, and we studied that Rite – as magecraft long lost, as something we could reconstruct, if only someone had recorded the proper spells. You are going to have a line of Justicars wrapping the District knocking down your door for knowledge of that Rite."

"Not helped at all by the persistent rumors that we had the Rite hoarded away in our Halls as some sort of ridiculous power play," Jaina agreed grimly, "Fortunately Seras' connections with the other archivists ensured those rumors started dying out, but this is going to start them up again."

:Of course it is,: Anur thought sourly, mostly for lack of being able to express that sentiment aloud right now, no matter how badly he wanted to, :And the ones who believe it most are going to be impossible to convince otherwise, damn it all.:

:We don't need to convince the true believers, we need to convince the ones on the fence. Transparency, Chosen, just like with this investigation. Hmm. The Justicar is going to need your and Kir's testimony, yes? Drag whichever of Solaris' council is in charge of monitoring the Justicar side of things, have Ulrich and Seras sitting in as archivists, give them a chance to sit down with the pair of you as a group to go through what the Hunting Rite reconstruction is and how Kir went about rebuilding it. Kir?:

:I can manage that,: Kir said wearily, though at least his mental presence was approaching house fire instead of crown fire inferno of death, :Etrius and Seras have been combing the books I named as references, they can help.:

:And we can distract them from the fact Etrius almost died,: Aelius pointed out, :Seras promising to ask before he murders anyone is all well and good, but his student was very nearly killed in some sort of power play scheme. He's not going to be rational about it.:

:That would have been – so terrible. Fuck that can still be so terrible,: Anur realized anew, able to imagine so very easily what Seras would have done if Etrius had been killed. What their Order would have been torn apart trying to manage, if Etrius had been killed, and if Rodri had died with him... a thousand blessings on Rodri's pistachio incident, because Sunlord they would have shattered.

" – will admit to asking Holiness Valerik about it after the first few times of working with him," Jeryl was saying, huffing a laugh, "He laughed at me, said every Justicar he'd ever worked with asked him about it. When he spoke of it, it sounded as though he hardly believed it had ever existed."

"A common consensus," Jaina said sardonically, before shooting Anur a truly amused look, "At least until you and Kir mentioned it. It took Seras well over a week to realize that Rite involving the Oathbreaker you two mentioned that first visit to Sunhame was potentially a version of the Hunting Rite. I heard him swearing from the office."

"He certainly seemed far more fanatical about our records in the later visits," Anur replied, turning back to the Justicar and saying, "Right. You need to gather testimony from myself and Kir, as well as Jaina, correct?"

"Ah – yes. At some point. All the Firestarters involved, actually, at least in part."

"Which would be literally all of them, at least in part," Anur said wryly, "So perhaps bring an assistant or two. But – Jaina, is there any time within the Conclave that can be set aside for that testimony gathering?"

"Midafternoon to Descending are free tomorrow," Jaina said, "That's three marks. We could shave out some of the morning to give a solid four marks. Would that suit, Justicar?"

"Yes, quite well, thank you," Jeryl said, scrawling a note to that effect off to one side, pausing mid word when Anur continued with the actual motivation for his self-evident statement.

"Make sure you do arrange assistants of some sort then, and if you cannot be spared from that effort, another ranking Justicar. We'll have some of the archivists, Holiness Larschen and whatever Justicar you can spare to help figure out what coherent and relevant statement needs to be issued to the Justicars to explain the Rite's reconstruction and potentially horrifying consequences."

"Oh that's definitely going to be me," Jeryl muttered as he scrawled something to that effect down, probably not meaning to be heard.

Jaina was raising an eyebrow at him, but he raised one right back, because he had every right to make that call. If he and Kir sat down to explain the Rite to the Justicar tomorrow, everyone he intended to ensure was present was the sort of curious who would wade through raw sewage to be there, with the possible exception of Holiness Larschen. The man taught some of the Justicar focused courses in Sunhame, though, and from Jeryl and Mattis' reaction to the whole thing, Anur rather doubted Larschen would be any less determined to hear what Kir had to say.

"That will work well, thank you, Lieutenant-Enforcer," Jeryl said more clearly, visibly setting that matter aside before focusing on the Nolans siblings again, "My apologies for the diversions. Mistress Nolans, I have your brother's most immediate relevant testimony, though not written just yet, and have many more questions for him and likely yourself as well as this investigation into the Oathbreaker and Vars' affairs continue. For today, however, I will restrict my questions to the events of the last few days. One of those bracelets the Enforcer burned was the one placed on you?"

"Yes, Your Holiness. My brother told me last week that the Oathbreaker had tried to recruit him for a job and he had told the man to get lost, putting it politely, but two nights ago he showed up at our door regardless…"

Anur had heard Garth's version of events, and while he was certain Maude's would differ in some details, he doubted any truly new information would come up – at least, nothing truly new that Hansa or Justicar Jeryl wouldn't catch on their own. He kept his gaze on the group, but focused on Aelius, prompting, :You said the Healers saw Kir and no puncturing or broken bones, but what's the rest?:

:They've confirmed that the only remaining damage is mental strain from his Talent usage and bruising – though some of the bruises are deep, none are life threatening. A healer was able to reduce some of the inflammation caused by said mental strain, and both request seeing him later, when he isn't surrounded by fire and unable to control it entirely, to see what aid they can offer on those more minor injuries.:

:Thank the Sunlord,: Anur replied, :Now to make sure he actually takes advantage of that request.:

:For the record,: Kir inserted, mental presence finally getting back to the crackling warmth it should be, instead of strained, too taut silence or a deafening roar, :I am not going to object. Though I suppose you'll still insist on Healer Joss getting called in when we're northwards again?:

:Yes, yes I will, because I actually know that Healer Joss knows what he's doing. I have no idea what sort of training these Sunhame healers have, and besides that, Joss knows your medical history and the sorts of instructions he needs to give! These healers have no idea what our duties actually entail, they can't frame post-injury care instructions properly,: Anur retorted with none of the sharpness his reply could have held. He was too relieved that Kir was safe again, even though he did make a note of the fact Kir could apparently now overhear him and Aelius talking regardless of there being physical contact between any of them. Something to worry about later.

:Fine, fine,: Kir muttered, :How is testimony gathering going?:

:Shouldn't you be resting?: Anur tried dodging.

:I am resting. I'm in the courtyard of the Hall with Kari and Solaris, and she just finished dodging my utterly reasonable questions about what in the frosted hells is Grevenor's problem. Anur it's so loud.:

:Easy, all right,: Anur murmured, wincing. He would bet that was due to backlash as well, even if he wasn't perceiving any of what Kir was any longer. Kir had spent the past mark or so trying his damndest to keep everything utterly silent and still, at least as much as that was possible, whereas now he was doing none of that and fires were swarming – yes, Anur could imagine that to Kir's mind, it was very loud. He wanted a distraction.

How fortunate. He had so many distractions to choose from. Start with the basics, see how long he could stretch those, and hopefully he could avoid giving Kir any additional nightmare fuel just yet. That could wait until they talked in person.

:We've sent messengers with explanations of what is going on to every Sector Station with instructions on where to forward testimonies from those the Oathbreaker held under some form of coercion, or any connected cases. Orders for Darius Vars' arrest have also been issued, specifically to Seventh and Eighth Sectors, and there is mention of him in the orders for the others – something about a sketch or detailed description being necessary for the official warrants for those sectors. Three willing co-conspirators here in Fourth Court have been arrested and detained by another Justicar. Maude Nolans is here – Jaina is too, by the way – and Maude is currently giving her version of events in the past few days involving the Oathbreaker. Sounds like Jaina was in the middle of dismantling the groundwork spells on Maude when your half of the manifestation took care of things.:

:How dramatic,: Kir said, sounding wry, :Though I suppose Seras will be pleased to have a close-up perspective on hand.:

:He could probably write quite the sprawling case study on this, they're going to be unraveling things for moons at the very least – that Darius Vars I mentioned? Sounds like a piece of work, for one, and was formerly Garth Nolans' Sergeant, the entire squad was dishonorably discharged before the formal rules and such came down. Nolans was his Corporal.:

:Sounds hellish in general, but for someone apparently moral? Even worse,: Aelius murmured, tone sympathetic.

:Definitely does,: Anur agreed, watching as Maude Nolans accepted the paper holding her own testimony for review, though she tilted it so her brother could read it over her shoulder.

:True,: Kir said, continuing :You said the whole squad was discharged before the official guidelines came down?:

:Yes, the timing of which was apparently used by the former Captain of the Outer Eighth as a reason to deny Garth Nolans an appeal,: Anur said, grimacing even as he said it because he could easily predict Kir's reaction to that but he couldn't avoid the question –

:That. Is. Illegal.:

Teeth-gritting fury, as expected.

:I know,: Anur said, feeling his own anger at that particular portion of the situation surge to the forefront, :I know, Kir. He's getting his appeal, Jeryl sounds positively gleeful about it, and we can set someone on reviewing all the discharges in the past year and confirming they weren't denied the chance.:

:His reputation has been ruined!: Kir raged, Anur hoping that if Kir was still in the Hall's courtyard, someone was keeping an eye on things to know if Kari needed to drag him to the Trial room instead – or that Kir's insistence that the Hall was more resistant than most buildings to fire was based on more than stories. :Bad enough he actually did terrible things, that he was coerced, and blackmailed, and made into a monster. Forced to stand by and watch as others were molded into monsters. But to have a chance to speak out stolen from him? To have it denied, and undoubtedly have the word spread that he had never bothered to try and clear his name, that he had as good as confirmed his guilt, his wretchedness? That is against everything we ever - !:

:Kir! Kir, I agree with you. I agree with you. There will be an investigation into this, we will do what we can to ensure no one else fell into this trap, and he will have a chance to go forward, to truly go forward, without Vars and the Oathbreaker to drag him down. Kir, please. You see an echo of what the Firestarters are facing in his situation, and I see it too. I see it, Kir. I won't let this be forgotten. I swear to you. Brother. You are hurting, you are exhausted. Please rest.:

:Sorry. Sorry, Anur, I – I am so tired right now. It's so loud.:

:Well I need to pay attention to what we're doing next. Will listening in on my work be enough of a distraction?: Anur asked, :Or do you need active conversation?:

:Can I even listen in that way?: Kir asked, sounding dubious.

:You responded to what I said to Aelius when neither of us were broadcasting it at all and we're quite far apart, you very well might,: Anur said, wanting to wince at the way Kir's mind went quiet. Not still, not the way his fire suppression methods had made him quiet, but not comfortable. Not the usual.

:You did say scar aggravation might change my Talent,: Kir finally admitted, sounding intensely uncomfortable, :I don't want it to.:

:It might not be scar aggravation either,: Aelius pointed out, :You two just went through another joint Voice manifestation, and the first one was what started this whole permanent mental awareness of one another business in the first place, some sort of increase in awareness of one another might be due to that.:

:Sounds like we might need to do shielding modifications,: Anur said ruefully, remembering something else and relaying, :Jaina sounded very surprised by the joint Voice business, by the way. Seems Seras never mentioned it to her.:

:Likely wanted to wait to see what he could find in our archives. Might have found something and decided to wait for the Conclave to tell us, but the way our winter has gone, I doubt it,: Kir replied dully, before detectably shaking off his mood with the utterly bizarre mental sensation Anur's senses translated to a flurry of sparks and saying, :Right. I will try and keep an ear out for you, Anur, because I do need the distraction, but if that isn't sufficient – Aelius?:

:Oh I can most definitely handle distraction,: Aelius promised, sounding gleeful, :Has Anur ever told you about the time with the luminescent moss out by Rethwellen?:

:Not a word!:

:Well we can't let that stand, do make sure I tell you about it sometime this winter if we don't get to it today.:

:You are both the worst,: Anur said fondly, shaking his head slightly at the sheer glee both of his mental partners were radiating at the mention of that story and finally properly focusing on the rest of the room. Jaina was just finishing signing her own name to the record of Maude Nolans' testimony, apparently as an additional witness that it was in fact accurate. He would have to ask someone for a general summary of Justicar policy, it was a definite gap in his and Kir's knowledge.

"And I can collect your statement tomorrow, Holiness Jaina," Jeryl reiterated, signing the papers himself and neatly stacking them together, gaze sweeping the room briefly before focusing on the Nolans siblings and saying, "Technically speaking, you two are both free to go, so long as you stop by Marya's desk and declare an official time within the next three days where you will appear for follow up questions. Practically speaking, Garth Nolans I would prefer you stay here, at least until I've completed a first round of questioning with the Oathbreaker. And if Vars is hauled in today I'd appreciate your assistance there as well. I want to have a reference I don't need to trick answers out of for the initial charges."

The siblings exchanged a long glance before Maude spoke, saying, "I will need to leave immediately then, and will set up a time to return, Your Holiness. Though I realize timing is dependent on whether or not Vars is caught today, would it be possible to have an estimate on when Garth would leave?"

"We are – have the bells for Sixth Day rung yet?" Jeryl asked the room, and by the way everyone stared back at him blankly, no one had been paying attention.

:Not yet, Chosen. I'd guess we're half till Sixth.:

"Not yet," Anur relayed, not passing on his Companion's more specific guess. Making that estimate on his own wouldn't be believable, especially not after that round of blank staring. Abruptly, their morning plan for the day flashed across his mind and he snorted, "So much for working on that golden fire with Maltin at Eighth."

:Cursed,: Kir insisted.

:Definitely not cursed,: Anur retorted, though at this point it was only out of habit.

:Cursed. Two against one, Chosen. Majority rules.:

:Excuse you, we are living in a theocracy. Majority doesn't always win!:

:…the priest voted against you,: Aelius said slowly.

:…shut up,: Anur grumbled, Kir and Aelius both giggling at him, the bastards.

"…Perhaps next year we can have the Conclave out of Sunhame," Jaina grimaced.

"I will back that proposal to the hilt," Anur promised, "Kir will definitely agree. Right, apologies, Justicar. Time estimate?"

"I would say First Evening at the latest, for when you would be leaving Fourth Court," Jeryl said, speaking directly to Garth but glancing his sister's way as he continued, "Possibly earlier, but definitely by then."

"That is fine with me," Garth said, checking in with his sister and at her nod, asking, "You'll be at the market till Second Eve unless you sell out of everything, right?"

"Right," she confirmed.

"Then I'll accompany you back to the market, Mistress Nolans," Jaina said, drumming her fingers on the arm of her chair, "Then go to the Outer Eighth Sector Station and pass along the fact Val has been found, unless they've been informed of that in some other way?"

"Not consciously on my part, but they might have picked up on something," Anur said after a few moments of thinking that over, "If you need me for anything or have something we should be aware of quickly, Kari relay should work."

"Agreed," Jaina said briskly, all of them rising to their feet, "You need to be back at the Hall by Descending at the latest."

"Hopefully sooner, but understood," Anur said, holding the door for both of the women and not seeing any sign of someone waiting for the Justicar, so he shut the door behind them and turned back to the remaining two, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the Justicar sitting down again and rummaging in his desk drawers.

"What comes next, Justicar?" he asked, feeling properly bemused when the man triumphantly pulled out a… bag of roasted pistachios.

"Pistachios," Anur said, running a hand down his face and huffing a laugh, "Of all the nuts for you to store in your office."

"Oh," the man said, pausing in the middle of pouring pistachios into a bowl, "That – didn't even occur to me. At least they have a relatively high value, selling the surplus pistachios that survived will help counteract the cost of damages."

Handing the bowl to Garth Nolans, who took it with an amusingly excessive amount of care, Jeryl continued, "Help yourself, I just know that I haven't eaten since early this morning and hearing more details of this case is going to make me angry enough without adding hunger to it. There's water in the pitcher over there and cups in the cupboard under it, help yourself to that as well. Enforcer?"

"I'll gladly take some, it's just… ironic, as you said," Anur said, taking a handful from the bowl Garth offered him, the man still looking blindsided by the offer of food.

"I will admit, I never knew pistachios were risky to the same degree as flour and sawdust," Jeryl admitted, eating his pistachios straight out of the bag.

"Raw ones are," Anur said, smiling wryly as he went to pour water for the three of them, "I had no idea either, not until this past summer. One of the students nearly got themselves seriously hurt because of raw pistachios in a closed container. That incident prompted more intentional training on detecting flammability of nearby objects, and is likely the only reason the student in question noticed anything wrong at the charity temple today."

"At least my desk isn't at increased risk of catching on fire," the Justicar muttered, accepting the cup of water Anur offered him with a murmur of thanks, Garth Nolans doing the same and actually drinking some.

"I would think your papers are more risky than your snacks," Anur said dryly, shrugging as he went back for his own cup and took a seat again, "Where are we at for our next steps, Justicar?"

"Currently there are seven people waiting for interrogation, ideally under some form of truth compulsion," Jeryl said, grimacing and admitting, "The Oathbreaker will undoubtedly take the longest. Do any of you have any insights or opinions on what order they should be questioned?"

"The other three you had brought here – all of those were the potential dodging of the truth compulsion?" Anur asked, wanting clarification before he offered any opinion.

"Ah, no. The priest was; the two staff members said they reported unusual storage methods and items in the storeroom and were assured it was known and a non-issue," Jeryl said, looking thoughtful, "I suppose I can delegate their testimony, I simply wanted more details."

"I am wary of leaving the Oathbreaker's co-conspirators to escape," Anur admitted, "If Justicar Mattis hasn't finished collecting that list yet, perhaps we could start there? The priest from the temple you want to question might very well be on that list, which would form the questions you want to ask. You can always come back to the Oathbreaker later for follow up questions."

"The Oathbreaker had lots of connections, from what I understood," Garth Nolans added quietly, "And there were always multiple ways he or his allies could win. If I may, Your Holiness, Lieutenant-Enforcer, I would also recommend interrogating the Oathbreaker as quickly as possible, at least with respect to a list of names and his desired outcomes from this plot for immediate countering, and returning later for other questions."

"Fair assessments, both," Jeryl agreed, frowning as he put his pistachios away, "I will have to send one of the other Justicars to the priest, there's a strong tendency to try and barrel through the Sunsguard if they wait too long. Very well – Master Nolans, depending on the Oathbreaker's reaction to you, I may ask that you remain outside for gathering his testimony. Otherwise, you are welcome to listen."

"However I can assist, Your Holiness," Nolans replied, a polite phrase that was nonetheless honest, if Anur was any judge. The man had gone from a grim weariness bordering on exhausted despair to a cold determination to see things through that Anur recognized rather well after all these years at Kir's side.

Nolans, he suspected, would consider himself satisfied if Vars and the Oathbreaker were brought down with as many of their co-conspirators as possible, regardless of how his appeal worked out with respect to his own prospects. Anur would have to keep a hand in, at least enough to hear how things worked out for Nolans. The Firestarting Order owed him a debt, after all.

:We'll add it to the list,: Kir promised.

:Someone with hands needs to start writing this list down, it's quite long,: Aelius said tartly.

Jeryl gathered a few loosely bound stacks of blank paper and some double-quill pens, Anur holding the door open again but when he shut it, Jeryl turned back and did some sort of spellwork to secure it. Only then did he lead the way back down the three flights of stairs. He led them right past the front desk, where Holiness Marya was supervising a set of acolytes writing out something, and through the same doorway she had stepped through earlier – apparently it was a gathering space for lower ranked Justicars and some Sunsguard.

One younger Justicar immediately stood on seeing them, hustling forward and murmuring an update to Jeryl. Anur could catch the gist of it – sounded as though Mattis was still collecting that list of names from the Oathbreaker, another set of Justicars were taking down statements from everyone claiming they had been coerced in some way, and no word yet from the northern charity complex or regarding Darius Vars. None of the six waiting to be questioned had been approached, but all were in secure witness rooms of what sounded like varying levels of comfort.

Justicar Jeryl took all of that in with a noncommittal hum, scanned the room once, and started snapping off orders. Watching the way the entire room shifted to accommodate his authority and hearing how those orders were handed out was a rather fascinating experience. He had seen similar acts from Kir, of course, though mostly towards Sunsguard rather than other priests, and even towards civilians in emergencies – but between priests he had never seen such an unquestioning and demanding exercise of authority. Kir had a tendency to word his orders as requests unless he had to, and seldom opened with orders unless it was urgent or he was trying to intimidate someone.

It would be interesting to see if that changed over time or not; he suspected a lot of it was simply Kir's habit of using his authority as little as possible, cultivated over years of trying to minimize his perceived threat level to the men of the 62nd.

One priest – Second Order, visibly older but not elderly and with a habitually stern set to his features, sent to sit on the charity temple priest they were leaving for later, whose name Anur honestly couldn't recall. A Second Order and acolyte pair sent to gather testimony from the two staff members, both of whom had expressions on the milder side – likely more reassuring and less frightening than some of the other candidates would be.

The Third Order Justicar who had summarized things for them in the first place was set back to ensuring all reports from Jeryl's varied and widespread subordinates were placed together as relevant to one particularly complicated case rather than scattered as individual records, with an acolyte assigned to assist. They were both assured that if something urgent came up, they could of course bring it to Jeryl directly though there may be a delay. Finally, three acolytes were added to their party to serve as general errand runners within Fourth Court, seeing as these interrogations might result in immediately actionable items.

Of course, watching everyone's eyes bounce between himself, Garth Nolans and Honored Hansa, apparently uncertain just who they should be staring at incredulously, was also highly entertaining, if not something he would call fascinating.

Down a short set of stairs and another corridor to a set of rooms evidently secured specifically for mages, with Patrolman Henkel and an unfamiliar man of the same rank guarding the half-open door, the Lieutenant and Justicar Mattis inside with the Oathbreaker, who was bound to a chair on one side of a table. Mattis looked up at their approach and grimaced, rising to his feet and stepping out of the room, pulling the door mostly shut behind him.

"How bad?" Jeryl asked grimly.

"Would you like the whole list? It is very, very long. Fortunately, I had the presence mind to ask for the list broken down by sector," Mattis said flatly, rubbing his face, "Had one uncoerced co-conspirator in the charity temple, Lieutenant Jergen says it's the one you hauled in."

"Good to know," Jeryl said, glancing at the acolytes, "One of you go and inform Justicar Miles of that."

"He is also slightly less horrifyingly catatonic, but still shows no hesitation at answering questions. His tone is more animated, however," Mattis continued, heaving a sigh as they watched the acolyte leave, "Do you want me to keep going with the list or go elsewhere?"

"What sectors have you gotten through? And what was your exact wording?"

"One through Six, the charity temples, all four Courts. I asked for the name and, if applicable, current job title of every individual who has ever actively and willingly worked with or for him in whichever zone I was on at the time," Mattis replied.

"I'll focus my questions on this particular scheme, leave the more general listings to you," Jeryl decided, "While I get my first round of questions answered, I need you to start prioritizing who we arrest and in what order out of the names you have. I'll send a runner to you once I've wrapped up so you can come back and get the rest of the names."

"Understood," he said, "I'll go to my office for that – get a copy or two of the names you get, I'll cross reference them with my own list to form a queue."

The two Justicars exchanged nods and Mattis stalked off, papers filled with names clenched tightly in his hands, while Jeryl nudged the door fully open and led them inside. Anur shut the door behind him and Garth, the remaining acolytes already seated on a bench along the far wall, apparently well used to waiting.

All of the furniture bar the Oathbreaker's chair was decidedly flimsy, evidently in case someone managed to try and use them as weapons. It was always interesting to see what choices or combination of choices were made there – sturdy and anchored to the floor, or lightweight and shoddily built? Here the verdict had apparently been sturdy and anchored for the chair the prisoner was bound to, and lightweight for everything else. There were a few high, narrow windows of thick glass with bars on the outside, by the shadows, and the remaining light was from anchored mage-lights embedded in the walls, rather than any sort of fire. That choice, at least, was one unavailable to Valdemar.

The Oathbreaker did seem a little less catatonic, actually looking over when they walked in, but his expression was still disturbingly blank, eyes dull, and not saying anything.

Nolans' hands were locked behind his back, and even with the Oathbreaker clearly incapable of the taunts and mudslinging the man had undoubtedly anticipated, if not expected, his knuckles were white. Anur would keep an eye on him, and recommend that he not be brought along to the Oathbreaker's longer interrogation. If Jeryl truly needed his insight, he could listen in from a nearby room, out of sight, or could be brought in for only a few moments to elicit whatever response was needed. Making him sit through all of the Oathbreaker's undoubtedly extensive questioning would be needlessly cruel.

"As you are now lacking a name, you will be referred to as Oathbreaker for the duration of your questioning," Jeryl said briskly, sitting down with his notepads and doubled-quill pens, rather than the more valuable glass pen he had used in his office. Those were often messier, why had he switched?

:Deny a potential weapon, also avoid breaking something expensive,: Aelius pointed out quietly, :Probably policy for any interrogations outside their offices.:

:Ah. Fair point,: Anur acknowledged, staying near the wall behind Justicar Jeryl with Nolans, while Hansa sat at the Justicar's side and Lieutenant Jergen meandered his way to one of the corners behind the Oathbreaker, visibly settling in for a long wait.

"This is an initial questioning on matters deemed most urgent, and you will be placed under a truth compulsion. Honored Hansa?" Justicar Jeryl prompted, evidently deciding better safe than sorry, even after their earlier test.

:He is under Tell Me True,: Hansa reported.

"State your former position in the priesthood," Jeryl ordered.

"Second in command of the Outer Eighth charity temple, black robe mage, Second Order," the man said, tone completely flat.

"Former position can be stated, that is helpful," the Justicar murmured, scrawling a note to that effect on his notepad, "State the full name and, if applicable, the job, of every individual who willingly assisted you, free of coercion, with your scheme regarding the volatiles under the Outer Eighth charity temple."

The list was depressingly long, and included the oft-mentioned Darius Vars, and by the faint tremors running through Nolans, some of those names were surprises to him. Finagling out details of those who had been coerced would have to wait, and Anur was willing to bet this man would be living in a cell for weeks answering every possible question, especially now that they had some confirmation of Hansa's theory that a Nameless one could no longer lie.

"Describe your preferred outcome for the scheme regarding volatiles under the Outer Eighth Charity temple," Jeryl asked, after filling nearly a whole page with names and job titles.

"At least six children dead, Etrius and anyone he dragged along dead or crippled. Total destruction of the kitchen and dining hall, partial destruction of housing. Some buried by rubble but alive and suffering. Investigators would find traces of Firestarter Valerik's magical signature from his destroyed foci and demand he present himself for questioning and he would be reported missing.

"His subsidiary identity as Val would be revealed, word sent to the Sector Stations. Witnesses would report seeing Garth Nolans and Val walking together and entering the underlevels. The Firestarting Order would be divided on whether or not he was innocent, and at the very least distracted by the death or crippling of their students. Temple District politics would pick up. I would insist Valerik would never do such a thing before admitting I had given him access to the wards years ago as a favor. He would be found unconscious by the docks by others, and if he survived to be brought into custody he would undoubtedly insist on his innocence.

"Garth Nolans would disappear. I would insist Vars kill him after a week if he wasn't dead already, and have his corpse marked with severe burns before dumping it. Maude Nolans would raise a fuss over her brother's disappearance; after enough fuss was raised, I would kill her myself or tell Vars to deal with her."

Nolans was visibly unsurprised, and if Anur was standing any further away he would have no way of knowing the man was shaking. If Anur didn't have training as a Mindspeaker, and specifically, Aelius' instructions on detecting when nearby minds were agitated regardless of said minds' Talents, he would have no way of knowing the man's mind was screaming. The Oathbreaker was showing no recognition of Nolans even being here, and Jeryl's notes were undoubtedly thorough. There was no need to force the man to listen to all the ways he and his sister could have died.

Leaving half an ear out for the Oathbreaker's continued recitation of his plan, horrifyingly layered as it was, he shifted so he was blocking Nolan's view of the Oathbreaker and waited for Nolan's gaze to stop staring through him and actually register his presence.

"You need to breathe," he murmured, feeling his eyes tighten as he registered the Oathbreaker's careful delineation of all the factions of the priesthood he hoped would have taken advantage of this scheme, and how very many of them would certainly grab support from priests and priestesses who genuinely supported Solaris, but thought the Firestarters were evil and wretched and wrong. Thought they had escaped rightful punishment for their actions, and it was their job to ensure the Firestarters were disciplined, if not destroyed.

If this plot had come to fruition with Fredric Loshern in Sunhame, Anur didn't doubt for a moment that he would be one of the ones throwing his weight behind those cries. If that tension between Grevenor and Henrik was anything besides personal, he suspected even Solaris' Council would have ended up divided.

Kir had wanted him to serve as the Order's witness to the investigation instead of any of the Firestarters because he was an Enforcer and therefore less fearsome to those who only saw uniforms, and because he spoke with Kir's voice and had little to no compunctions about calling priests of all sorts of rank to task for their actions. The fact that a Firestarter hearing this would recognize some names Bertrand was now giving of those priests and priestesses he knew would take advantage of his scheme, would recognize some of those names as colleagues, as friendly acquaintances or even friends, had likely not been a conscious consideration. Certainly it hadn't been one for him.

But it was an undoubted benefit.

"It hasn't happened," he said quietly, Nolans' now-actually-happening breathing distinctly ragged, "It won't happen. Do you want to leave? There are chairs in the corridor, you can wait this out."

A few longer breaths, attempts at answering that were choked off, before finally the man nodded. Anur gave the others in the room a quick glance, but neither of the men nor Hansa showed any sign of objection. He caught Lieutenant Jergen's eye, noted the man's grim expression, jerked his head towards the door and didn't say anything further when the Lieutenant nodded, undoubtedly having seen and probably heard everything.

:Kari, tell Jaina that Maude Nolans might be at risk still, as the Oathbreaker's plan included either killing her himself or sending Vars after her,: Anur said, opening the door and pushing Nolans out ahead of him, the soldiers at the door taking one look at their faces and grimacing.

"One of those interrogations, great," Henkel said, watching Nolans slump in a chair and bury his face in his hands, the two acolytes still waiting for their orders eyeing the man with half-fascinated sympathy.

"Questioning him thoroughly is going to take moons," Anur muttered, squeezing Nolans' shoulder and saying, "You going to be all right here?"

"I'll be fine," the man managed.

"Sent word to Jaina about what he said, she'll keep an eye out," Anur assured him, feeling some of the other man's tension leave and nodding to himself before heading back into the cell. He'd keep more conscious attention on the sound levels in the hall in case Nolans needed some sort of backup, but he had been sent here as a witness – he could hardly leave the Oathbreaker's testimony half-heard, appalling as it was.

"This joint Voice manifestation business sounds… rather worrying, to be honest."

"The whole Rite sounds worrying, no one seems to know anything about it."

"Let's focus on important things here – where is next year's Conclave going to be?"

"Battlefield in the middle of Hardorn."

"…I was hoping for a more lighthearted answer, Lukas."

"Have you been listening to the same letter as the rest of us?!"