Even though no actual time had passed, Amie felt an eternity had gone by. The Philosopher's Stone had finished cracking into several inert pieces, the golden light had flooded the room and faded, and now all that was left... was peace.
Amie had not forgotten all of her complaints. Iunia the Physician was still a greedy fool, and Minstrel Rhianwen was still being inexplicably hostile, and Greta the Royal Adviser was still an evil and lustful woman, and Lord Spaulding was still a narrow-minded man who lived in a peculiar little world of his own, and Guard Rupert was... still Guard Rupert... but none of that bothered Amie, because other facts were equally true and far more worthy of consideration.
Freedonia needed a physician quite badly, and Iunia had stepped up to fill that roll out of the goodness of her heart. Rhianwen was a wonderful musician, and normally very friendly and nice to everyone, and she was a doting mother to her child and devoted wife to Rupert as well. Rupert was Steven's friend, and had been since long before Amie had come on the scene, and the reason for that seemed to lie in his sense of humor and fun-loving nature. Lord Spaulding had managed Freedonia's affairs through all sorts of conflicts and difficulties, and he was good to his people, indulging their harmless whims, whether that was to be given some sort of outlandish title, or build a statue in the square (one that never seemed to be made), or if they merely wanted their monarch's blessing before getting married. And Greta... well... she probably had some redeeming quality... surely.
The important thing was that people were just people. They had their good qualities and their bad ones, and for the most part they weren't out to just make life harder or more obnoxious for Amie. They were just living day to day as best they could, and it wasn't her job to judge them or let their foibles ruin her day. It was her job to be the best wizard she could be, the best person she could be, and be patient with everyone she met. If she was patient, she was bound to find that each person had a good side, even those who made the worst first impression. And having patience with people was the first step towards being kind to them. And kindness, she had learned, was the antithesis of cruelty.
Or perhaps it was simply that cruelty was like empty air in a glass, and kindness was water in a full one. In either case, Amie felt free in a way she never had been before. Free of the anger which had held her in its grip for as long as she could remember.
Even her complaint about not being appreciated for her contributions seemed trivial at best. What mattered was what she had done, not who knew she had done it. And anyway, fame would come in its own time. Or perhaps something better than fame. Who knew what lay ahead?
These serene thoughts in mind, Amie decided to take a stroll. Perhaps she would visit the forest. Perhaps just gather some herbs. She didn't really mind where she went, as she felt that she had all the time in the world now.
Almost immediately, her plans were interrupted as she was nearly knocked off the bridge crossing from her plateau to the rest of the kingdom by Rupert, who seemed to be much in a hurry.
"What are you in such a rush for?" Amie asked, "Is Rhianwen in labor?"
"What? No, no, nothing like that," Rupert said hurriedly, "I came here looking for you."
"For me? Why?"
"It's Steven," Rupert answered.
Fear flashed through Amie as she remembered her last conversation with Steven. He'd just returned from Kullervo. He'd seemed alright then. Though it had actually surprised her a little that he hadn't brought the Philosopher's Stone back himself, or at least met her at Everett's shop, it hadn't seemed alarming. What could have happened to him? Then she remembered: The Gangs of Aarbyville. If Steven had met with them on patrol, or they had tried to breach the castle walls...
"What happened? Is he alright?" Amie asked quickly.
"No, he's not," Rupert replied, hesitated, then added, "You'd better come and see for yourself."
Worriedly, Amie followed Rupert. To her surprise, he led the way not to the barracks but to the tavern. It further surprised her that, on entering the tavern, she saw no sign of Steven. Instead, the tavern was filled with Freedonia's guardsmen, most of whom Amie had delivered potions to at one time or another. But the only two she actually knew the names of were Rupert and Rhona, the latter of which stood when Amie entered.
When Rhona moved, Amie took note of the man Rhona had been sitting next to. Amie faintly recognized him as the sergeant-at-arms, but she couldn't remember his name for the life of her. The sergeant had clearly been badly injured, as he was wrapped in bandages. Amie set her teeth to prevent herself from visibly reacting. If the sergeant was badly injured and Steven missing entirely...
"Captain Steven did this," Rupert told Amie quietly.
"What?! Why?" Amie asked, taken completely by surprise by this statement.
"It becomes stranger," said a dark-haired young guard, "After he attacked the Sergeant, I saw him enter the forest. Some time later, he emerged with his sword bloodied. A strange sword. It glowed."
"After which he came to Lord Spaulding," Rhona took up the tale, "And he insisted that the only way to deal with the threat from Aarbyville was to attack them first, when they weren't expecting it. He asked for leave to hire mercenaries for the job, claiming that Freedonia's army could not be mustered in time. My husband believed him and let him go. I only heard about it after the fact, or I could have informed Lord Spaulding that Captain Steven was lying. Freedonia's army is here, and it is ready to fight. Captain Steven made sure of it."
"But whenever we mentioned invasion to him," Rupert continued when Rhona broke off, "Captain Steven always said that was for Lord Spaulding to decide."
"Why wouldn't Lord Spaulding know?" Amie asked, "It was my understanding that Steven reported regularly the status of his guardsmen."
"He does," Rupert said, "But those reports go to Royal Adviser Greta. The only thing we can conclude is that she did not pass the information on to Lord Spaulding, possibly thinking him too busy to be bothered with those details unless he asked her about them."
"Where is Steven now?" Amie asked.
"Gone," Rhona said, "To Aarbyville."
"The thing is," Rupert ventured quietly, "We're not sure it was him."
"He didn't sound like himself," Rhona said.
"And he didn't fight like himself either," the sergeant added.
"And I've never seen him fail to clean his sword immediately after a kill," the guard who'd seen Steven at the forest put in.
"You're the wizard," Rupert reminded her, "We were hoping you could tell us what made Captain Steven act this way. Some kind of... potion or spell, or... something. Surely there's some reason. I know Steven, and this is not like him."
Amie agreed, but she could not imagine what could make Captain Steven behave like some kind of... of... monster. But she realized she might know who would know. Adora had gone with Steven on the voyage to Kullervo. And Amie had seen them talking again later. Even if she was innocent, Adora had a way of knowing nearly everything about everyone and everything in Freedonia. If anyone knew what had happened to Steven, it would be Adora.
Anticipating how the conversation with Adora was likely to go, Amie wondered quickly she was likely to lose her new found patience.
Adora's quarters were opulent, with vibrant tapestries hanging from the walls, thick rugs on the stone floor, a finely constructed wooden desk with ornately carved wooden chair, a beautiful (if slightly intimidating and spiky) fireplace, a bathtub that appeared to be made of porcelain and gold, and a massive, highly decorative four-poster with soft mattress covered by a rich, royal blue quilt filled with eiderdown.
But there was no immediate sign of Adora, which puzzled Amie for a few minutes, until it dawned on her that -outwardly- the tower in which the spy lived looked a lot like the barracks. Steven lived in the lower floor of the barracks, but there was an upper floor. It made sense for there to be a second floor here as well. A little looking around revealed a door concealed behind one of the tapestries, which opened to reveal a staircase which led to the second floor.
Here, Amie found Adora concocting a potion at a station similar to the one Amie had in her tower, only this one looked more expensive. Amie could only assume that Adora had demanded all of this finery in addition to quarters built especially for her before she consented to work for the crown.
"Hey!" Adora exclaimed at her unwonted visitor, "You're not supposed to be up here!"
Amie ignored that. She had always found Adora to be a particularly disagreeable person, one who made an active nuisance of herself whenever she could get away with it. Amie had noticed that Adora was particularly fond of picking on Steven, who behaved as though he was helpless to stop her, even though of course he wasn't.
"I came to ask about the voyage to Kullervo," Amie said with cold deliberation, "In particular, I want to know what happened to Captain Steven, and where he got a glowing sword."
Adora crossed her arms haughtily, "And why should I tell you anything?"
"Because," Amie said slowly, tapping her staff on the floor quietly, "I asked nicely."
"Please, if I gave information to just anybody who happened to ask nicely, what kind of spy would I be?" Adora asked, adding, "And, anyway, what makes you think I know anything?"
"Because a spy always knows something of value," Amie replied calmly, "So I'll ask nicely once more: What happened to Steven?"
"He's a knight," Adora replied, "He's being used for the kingdom's benefit. That's all you need to know."
"No," Amie replied, fire flashing in her eyes as a blue edged white glow manifested at either end of her staff, "That is not all I need to know."
"What... are you doing?" Adora asked, taking a step back.
The same glow as that which came from the staff flared behind Amie's mask, and a stiff, magical wind blew around her as she answered, "Giving you some incentive!"
An instant later, the room was momentarily filled with blinding light. The light condensed into the shape of an arrow, which formed directly in front of Amie. She threw her arms outward in Adora's direction, and the arrow fired. Adora made an attempt to flee, but she failed, and the magic arrow struck her full in the chest.
"Ow!" Adora squealed, snatching ineffectually at the dissipating cloud of magic stuff, "I thought you were learning to be at peace with the world or something!"
"Answer me, Spy!" Amie snarled, for the moment not even wondering how Adora could know what had happened with the Philosopher's Stone, "What have you done to Steven?"
"I haven't done anything," Adora snapped back.
Without hesitation, Amie shot her again.
"Do not test me, Spy! The truth!" she growled, "Now!"
"Geez, chill out, Magus," Adora yelped, "I was only doing my job."
"Which was what?" Amie demanded, refraining from striking out again.
"Eliminating the Aarbyville threat," Adora replied, "By any means necessary."
"And what were those means?" Amie asked, her patience reasserting itself now that she was beginning to get information out of the spy.
"I received word from my contacts that the Animuslaver had been discovered in Kullervo," Adora answered, "But before I could arrange to fetch it, one of our fishing vessels brought it here for us. After that, it was only a matter of stealing the fisherman's journal and giving it to our good Knight-Captain to read. The rest fell into place on its own."
"Animuslaver," Amie repeated thoughtfully, her eyes narrowing, "I know that name."
"I should think so," Adora said, "After all, it was a wizard who put the demon in the blade."
Amie had thought she'd known anger before now, but the fury that surged within her as she realized the meaning behind Adora's words was like nothing she'd ever experienced.
"You knowingly let Steven fall under the sway of a demon?!" Amie shouted.
"It wasn't my idea," Adora said defensively, evidently not eager to get shot with another magic arrow, "I only brought in the information, and followed my orders."
"Orders? From whom? Tell me, Spy!" Amie raised her staff menacingly.
Adora raised her hands. Being only an under-spy, Adora could not hope to compete with the power of a Magus, and she knew it full well.
"Royal Adviser Greta," Adora answered quickly, "She said that Lord Spaulding would trust any recommendation the Knight-Captain gave, and that the Knight-Captain wouldn't spring for an invasion on his own. At first I was only supposed to convince him that it was necessary, but when the Animuslaver came into play, my orders changed. I was to see to it that the Demon Sword found its way into the Knight-Captain's hands as quickly as possible. I had to build a little trust in Kullervo before I gave him the journal, but after that, events happened on their own. I had nothing more to do with it, I swear!"
"Well you're going to have more to do with it," Amie snarled, her rage far from spent, "You and I, we're going to find a way to fix what you broke!"
"You want to go up against someone possessed by a demon? Are you completely out of your mind? He'll kill us both if we try to take that sword off him!" Adora all but screamed at her.
"You have no idea what Steven has done for Freedonia," Amie told her angrily.
"I know what he's done for me," Adora snapped back, "Nothing. And I don't see anything in it for me to get him back."
"And that's the only thing that matters to you," Amie realized, her calm restored, "So I'll make this extremely clear," she raised her staff once more.
At her summons, a preternatural darkness slipped into the room from under the door and through the cracks in the walls.
"W-what are you d-doing?" Adora asked shakily.
"Explaining the situation to you, in terms you can understand," Amie replied, as the darkness organized itself around her.
The darkness, gathered like a cloud, flashed with what looked like (but was not) blue lightning. Slowly it changed to a purplish hue, and crept up from the floor, making its way to Amie's hand. Taking the flickering, smoky purple ball, Amie threw it at Adora.
As it traveled, the darkness flashed red, and took the form of skulls and bats, which whirled around Adora's head. Adora screamed in mortal terror.
"I can do much, much worse," Amie hissed, "And I will, unless you help me save Steven. Do we understand each other?"
Trembling, eyes wide with fright, Adora nodded silently.
"Good, I'm so glad we had this chat," Amie said sweetly, taking a deep, calming breath, relieved that she didn't have to reveal that the only other spell she currently had memorized was actually a healing spell, "Now let's get started, shall we?"