"So," Nia said. "That about sums up the plan."

She studied Strix's face for a moment as he considered it. It was hard to read him, given all the cloth he'd wrapped himself in, but she was pretty sure he didn't think this would work. She had her doubts too. With Nal in Duthract, Strix was the only person they had who could reliably keep an eye on the suspects without them catching on, and the whole plan hinged on sending him on patrols where he couldn't do that. But she had enough confidence in Adenine's solution that she felt it could work regardless.

"I'm our eyes," he said. "I'm the only person who can keep watch over the whole of the Gardens. And you want to send me away on purpose?"

"They know you're watching. The only way we're going to draw them out is if they feel safe. Just think of it like any other patrol. Akhos and I will take care of the rest."

"Did Mikhail sign off on this plan?"

"Mikhail's busy. But there's a reason he left me in charge of this after taking over."

"He's still the Head Caretaker. I'd like his approval before we do something dangerous."

"Well, you've got my approval, and I've got his. Is that not good enough for you?"

"Look, I just… Me doing patrols was a bad idea in the first place. I never should have let my guard down that far. So long as I've got my eyes on things, I can do my best to keep horrible shit from happening. But every time I'm gone, every time I look away, people are going to act against us. Letting this spy do their thing on the off chance you can catch them in the act is a bad idea. We know they're here somewhere, so we should just keep the pressure on until they slip up."

"They're not going to slip up," Nia said. "We kept this to ourselves for weeks, and you didn't see a single sign of suspicious activity."

"That is exactly why we shouldn't be benching me," he said. "We still have no idea who we're after."

"We've got some idea. All our suspects will have the updated patrol schedule soon. If any of them are the spy, we'll know it the moment you get out of range."

"Ah, good, a suspect list. Because our suspicions have panned out so well thus far."

"We were wrong about Corvin, and maybe we're wrong about Agate and Dagas. But that doesn't mean we should stop looking. We can't wait around for them to attack us again."

"Which is exactly why I need to be here," Strix said. There was an edge to his voice, almost-but-not-quite-panic beginning to set in. "We cannot let our guard down, even for a moment. Otherwise, we might as well be inviting the enemy inside."

"They've gotten inside before, even with our guard up. You do good work, Strix, but you're only one person, and you can only do so much. But finding this spy means plugging up Spessia's source of information. If we can stop them, then we'll be putting a stop to every future attack."

"I…" Strix agonized over it for a moment. "Fine. It's a bad plan, but fine. I'll play along. When this goes wrong, though, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Nia muttered. Strix scoffed at her.

"Let's just get this over with." He handed Nia back the patrol schedule—memorized already, most likely—and headed back for the construction site she'd pulled him away from. "And for the record, I fought to keep you on as Head Caretaker. As far as I'm concerned, you're still the best person for the job. Don't make me regret that."

"I won't," she said.

They went their separate ways, and Nia left to distribute the updated schedule. She'd rather have left that up to Mikhail, but he was still in the middle of telling Patroka he was dying. They probably had a lot to talk about, so until they were done, Nia was on her own. Which posed a problem, considering she wasn't on very good terms with either of the suspects in question.

Dagas was easy to find, at least. He usually hung out around the community hall. For a supposed king displaced from his kingdom, he didn't seem in much of a hurry to return. She found him lounging in the dining hall with Azami and Sheba.

"Ah, my good Caretaker," Dagas said, rising as Nia approached them. "Always a pleasure to see your countenance. Come to lament your loss of station? I know that pain well and could happily lend you an ear."

"Actually, I'm delivering an updated patrol schedule," Nia said. She handed him one copy of the papers.

"Ah, I see." He took the papers and sat back down. "Ever the industrious soul. Still, my offer always stands."

"Some other time. There's lots of work to be done. I'm sure you're very busy yourself."

"Your insinuations wound me, madam." Dagas scoffed and reached up to straighten his crown. "I will have you know I have been slaving away, day and night, for the people of this fair land."

"It's true," Azami said, giving Nia a strangely friendly smile. "He was never one to work when my darling was around, but on his own he's becoming quite the popular chef."

"Oh please," Sheba said. "That oaf Boreas gets to pass for an acceptable standard around here, so of course even Dagas is a step up."

"Ho now," Dagas said. "I will hear no ill talk of my companion Boreas. He is a fine fellow gifted with many talents. As expected of the royal chef."

"Royal chef?" Nia asked. "You snatching Boreas away for yourself?"

"I would never dream of such a thing. As a king, it is my duty to provide for my people, and Boreas has lent me a breadth of knowledge and ample opportunity to learn. Would he so choose, I would be delighted to retain his services, but I understand the position he currently occupies here."

"I suppose his tea isn't bad," Sheba admitted. "Better than anyone else here can make it, at any rate."

"Hey Dagas!" Boreas called out, rolling in from the kitchen. "Could I get a hand when you've got a minute?"

"Alas, my duties compel my return," Dagas said. "I shall join you, good compeer, in but a moment."

"Before you go," Nia said. "Any idea where I could find Agate? She's going to need the new schedule as well."

"Ah, the geologist," Sheba said. "Now there's someone who knows how to conduct herself."

"Try Crossette's workshop," Azami offered. "I hear they dug up something positively juicy during their last excursion."

"Indeed," Dagas said. "Looking to reconcile with those who spurned you, good Caretaker?"

"I'm delivering the new schedule," Nia said. Again. Dagas nodded, but it didn't look like he'd really internalized the answer.

"You needn't worry. Time heals all wounds. My companions have already expressed their contrition. I am sure the others will recant, given time."

"Well, I can't speak for Agate," Sheba said. "But I was positively horrified to learn what Corvin had planned. Eating his own Driver? Unthinkable, I—"

She stopped, realizing who she was talking to.

"Of course, I mean no offense," she said, quickly backpedaling. "It's just—"

"It's alright," Nia said, cutting her off. "None of us really do it by choice."

"I won't pretend I didn't try to kill you," Azami said. "But so long as you can guarantee my darling's safety, then I'll welcome the Caretakers with open arms. You'll certainly be better than him, at any rate."

For a moment, as she mentioned Corvin, her smiling façade broke, and she hissed her final words. Nia had a hard time believing either of them could be sorry for their actions, but they both seemed genuinely upset by what Corvin had done. For the moment, she'd take that as a win.

"Thanks," Nia said, heading for the door. "Don't let me keep you."

"Join us again sometime!" Dagas called out after her. She returned the declaration with a wave. It was somewhat dismissive, but she did have places to be. And she couldn't linger around here for too long. The plan hinged on the spy taking action while Strix was out, and they couldn't do that with Nia looking over their shoulders.

Which just left Agate. Normally, Crossette's workshop was where they went to dispose of dangerous materials they dug up, so it wasn't surprising that Agate would bring things there. What was surprising was that she was still doing work at all, especially when there were still buildings that needed repairing after Corvin's uprising. Nia didn't want to hold people responsible for what they'd done forever, but as one of the ones who'd fought on Corvin's side, and as an earth Blade, she had a responsibility to help rebuild.

Nia tried to put all that out of her mind as she reached Crossette's workshop, however. The place seemed like it was in chaos. Most of Agate's team was busy moving materials outside to free up some of the floorspace. Understandable, considering what they had brought back. It was a mechanical wreckage, probably dug up from the time of the Aegis War. Likely an Artifice, towering nearly as tall as Rhea or Siren, though it didn't look anything any of the ones she'd encountered before.

As Nia arrived, though, the team's work quieted down almost immediately. That caught Agate's attention, and she looked up to see Nia entering the workshop. She scowled.

"Caretaker Nia," she said. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Mikhail's updated the patrol schedule," Nia said, handing Agate the set of papers. "New management and all. I thought I'd run them over as soon as possible."

"We're updating the patrol schedules?" Kalarau asked. Nia turned around, startled to see him moving boxes and shelves with the others. She'd been so focused on what they dug up that she hadn't noticed him among the crowd.

"Kalarau?" she asked. "What're you doing here?"

"Thought I'd pitch in," he said. "It's about time I do something to help around here. And Temperantia could certainly use an extra set of hands looking after them. Why are we updating the patrol schedules?"

"Change of tactics," she said. She'd explain the real reason to him later. "Word about the uprising must've reached the Coalition by now. Mikhail thinks we should step up security for the short-term, until we can be sure no one's going to try to take advantage of the situation."

"Well, message received," Agate said, waving the papers around. "You can go now."

Nia glanced around, noticing now that most of Agate's workers were giving her hostile stares. It made sense. Clearly, she wasn't welcome here. Something Nia was going to have to get used to, apparently.

After the uprising failed, all the Caretakers had agreed to let those who'd joined Corvin stay. Trying to heal the divide that had formed in the community was better than kicking out people who didn't have anywhere else to go. But apart from those like Azami, who'd joined the uprising out of convenience or boredom, Corvin's supporters hadn't done much to reintegrate into the wider community. Nia didn't want to push them, of course. Maybe they just needed time. But this uneasy peace between the two groups wasn't sustainable. Half of these people felt ready to take up arms again, given the excuse.

"Alright, ease up," Kalarau said.

"You're not in charge here," Agate said, looking past Nia at Kalarau. "If you want to help, then fine, but we're done letting you people have any more say than the rest of us. Just because you're fine with her doesn't mean the rest of us have to be."

"You wanted to remain a part of this community," Nia said. "You didn't think I was going to leave, did you?"

"I don't have a problem with you being here. I've got a problem with you being in charge. For months, you've been completely aloof. We suffer two attacks in a matter of days, and you say nothing. You do nothing. You run around without any rhyme or reason, you neglect your responsibilities to Temperantia, you nearly get your own Blade killed, and just when we all thought you might have finally seen reason, you put yourself back in charge!"

Nia's first instinct was to attack Agate. Lash out. But she couldn't. She wouldn't be that person again. She told herself that over and over again. So instead, she took a moment to breathe and calm down. That was getting a lot harder these days.

It was surprising to have someone dump all this on her at once. Until the uprising, she hadn't even realized people were this upset about everything that had happened. She'd wanted to avoid worrying everyone, and all that seemed to do was make everything worse. And the worst part was, Nia couldn't really disagree with most of what Agate said. Even if she wanted to.

"Nia's made a lot of mistakes," Kalarau said. "I'll be the first to admit that. But she cares about this place, in her own way. She is the one who founded it, after all. None of us would be here without her."

"That doesn't automatically make her fit to hold any kind of authority. If we want to commit to the idea of a truly equal community, then there shouldn't even be Caretakers at all."

"Someone needs to awaken new Blades," Nia said.

"And that's supposed to give you authority over the rest of us? No." Agate shook her head. "The only reason I'm still here is because someone needs to look after Temperantia. But until you can understand why so many of us were willing to join up with Corvin, then we're not going to be the community you want us to be."

Nia wanted to keep the conversation going, but… She couldn't be sure Agate wasn't the spy. She couldn't be sure this wasn't all a ploy to stir up resentment against her. Should she fight that head-on and risk tipping her hand, or let it slide and let another uprising fester?

She opted for the latter. If Agate wasn't the spy, Nia would be able to explain herself eventually. And on the chance Agate was a Spessian agent, then exposing her would destroy her credibility. Nia just had to be patient. And hope the spy took the bait.

"Hey!" someone shouted. It was Crossette, emerging from deeper within her workshop with a variety of metal canisters. "Is there a reason we're all standing around? I thought we had an Artifice to blow up!"

She barely even seemed to register that Nia had arrived. At least there was someone in this workshop who wasn't giving Nia a death glare. And it gave her a good excuse to leave.

"We're not blowing it up," Agate said, turning her attention away from Nia. "We just need you to get through the armor so we can take it apart."

"Yeah, all I'm hearing is you need me to blow it up." Crossette placed the canisters on a nearby table. "So how big an explosion are we talking?"

"I'll get out of your hair," Nia said. "And, Agate…"

Agate glanced back at her, mildly surprised, and for a moment Nia didn't know what to say. She felt like she should say something.

"I think you're right. I've been far too distant."

Agate's expression softened for a moment. Then, with a huff, her scowl returned. "It's a start."

That seemed as good as Nia was going to get. So she headed out, leaving Agate to do whatever it was she was going to do. Strix was due to start his patrol in about an hour. So now it was time to see if the spy would take the bait. Or if they even had the right suspects at all.

In the meantime, though, what Agate said had given her an idea. Corvin's former supporters had taken to gathering away from the rest of the community, so she headed for one such place. The public park.

There was a group of people gathered at one of the sports fields, eight or nine altogether, huddled into a close circle. As Nia approached, they all tensed up, but none of them said anything. They just stared at her as she sat next to them. For a while, neither side spoke. But there was no way this was going to happen unless she made it happen. No matter how much it was going to hurt.

"I want to talk," she said.

"We're not interested," one of them spat back. "You're not welcome here."

It was Dahlia. She hadn't gone back to Agate's group, for whatever reason, and she seemed like she's joined a group of others similarly unwilling to return. Maybe Agate had been too quick to re-integrate for her tastes. But Nia didn't even know what Dahlia's grievance was in the first place. All she knew was that, like everyone else, Dahlia was upset.

"I know. That's what I wanted to talk about. I came to apologize." She bowed, low enough for her forehead to touch dirt. "I'm sorry. Whatever I've done in the past to make you turn to this, I want you to know I'm going to make up for it."

"Save your words. If you can't even say what you did, then why bother coming here at all? Just to sate your conscience?"

"I don't know what it is I've done, and for that, I must also apologize. That's another reason I came." Nia raised her head. "I want to make things right. And to do that, I need to know how you all have been wronged. Clearly, I have not paid enough attention to the people I'm supposed to be taking care of. So please, hold nothing back. I would like to hear your grievances, so that I may begin to atone for them."

Dahlia stared at her, clearly skeptical. The others in her group didn't seem to have taken things much better. But they also seemed surprised. Like the possibility of finding reconciliation hadn't occurred to them before.

"What good will that do?" she asked.

"This was supposed to be a community. A place where we could avoid the pressures of fighting. Where we could feel safe. Clearly, I've failed to live up to that. But I'm not willing to give up on this place, and I don't think you are either. So I'd like you to give me a chance to make things right. Please."

"Typical," Dahlia muttered. "Even when you're apologizing, you have to make it all about you."

"I apologize, that—"

"I've heard enough apologies," someone else said. He manifested a sword and placed it against Nia's chest. "You carved through us like we were nothing! Dozens of Blades, cut to pieces, left in agony as they pulled themselves back together! Words won't change that! Why should we listen to anything you say!?"

"I fought to protect the Gardens," Nia said. "I realize, now, that you all likely felt the same way. There is no need for us to fight each other."

"I don't care. I won't let you continue to rule. Even this is just an act to sate your ego. You don't care about the rest of us."

"She's here to apologize," another Blade said. "We should at least give her the chance to keep her word."

"She never has before," the swordsman said.

"I'm with Llonya," Dahlia said. "Maybe she doesn't care, but we're better than that. We should give her a chance. We should give them all one last chance to see reason."

"No. We're not going to get another chance at this, so I'm taking it."

The swordsman reared his weapon back, and Nia prepared herself to take the hit. He probably couldn't hit hard enough to destroy her core. And she needed to prove to these people that she was serious.

Fortunately, she didn't have to. Dahlia caught the man's sword before it struck home.

"We're not killers, Uboon." Dahlia wrenched the weapon from his hands. "I won't let us be the reason this community falls apart."

"Fuck you," he spat back. Some of the others stepped forward though, and they put themselves between him and Nia. Reluctantly, he stepped back.

"Alright, Caretaker," Dahlia said. "If you'll hear us out, then we've got a long day ahead of us."

"I want to hear everyone," Nia stressed. "I know many of the people who rose up against us aren't willing to speak with the Caretakers anymore. Could I ask you to gather those with grievances at the amphitheater? I want this to be public, so everyone can hold me accountable for what I say."

"I'll find who I can. But you need to understand something. If you want to make things right, then the Caretakers need to step down. Not just you. All of them."

Nia knew this might happen. Agate had mentioned it once already. Many of these people seemed to resent the idea of the Caretakers themselves, more than anything specific that Nia or the others had done. And honestly, she couldn't blame them. Too many Blades knew what it was like to bend to a higher authority against their will. Too many hated the very concept. But she didn't see a way for the Gardens to survive without the Caretakers. At least not yet.

"I'll see what I can do," she said, knowing full well she might just be setting herself up for another uprising. But if there was even a chance to fix things, to pull the Gardens back together and heal the wounds the uprising had left, then she had to try.

The plan had been to head back to the Gardens after the visit with his dad, but it was still Pandy's birthday trip, and when they'd been getting ready to leave, she'd had another brilliant idea. Now, a couple days later, they stood at the edge of Fonsett village. The next stop on the birthday tour, apparently, though Zeke wasn't sure why. Not that he was complaining.

"This place seems pleasant," his dad said, looking around. "Not quite what I was expecting, based on the description, but nice nonetheless. Very relaxed."

"This is one of my favorite places," Pandoria said. "I'll take basically any excuse to come back. Though it usually isn't this quiet."

"Seems like everyone's busy in the fields," Zeke observed, casting a glance out at the rest of the Ridge. Farmland in Leftheria had greatly increased after the Cataclysm, and they were taking advantage of that in spades. If they had a mind to, they could probably trade their surplus to the other nations for a tidy profit. Not that the money would see much use, given the area lacked a standard currency. But there was an abundance here. Zeke could see why the Praetorians had picked this place to set up shop.

… Which probably also explained why things were quieter than usual. There weren't any children running around causing trouble, and the market seemed unusually deserted. Things had been much livelier during their last visit, and that had been just after an attack from a crazed mercenary.

And sure enough, as he looked around, he could see Praetorian monks watching them from the edge of the hill.

"Heads up," he muttered. "The Praetorians are here."

"Right." Pandoria pouted. "Forgot about that. You think they'll give us much trouble?"

"Not if they know what's good for them," Zeke's dad said. "Now let's go see this friend of yours. We've been walking all day, and I'm eager to sit in the shade a spell."

"Is that why we're here?" Zeke asked. "To visit Corinne?"

"We're here because I like it here," Pandoria said. "But Corinne did make me promise the last time we saw her that I'd visit and tell her all about our latest adventures. So while we're here, we might as well."

"While you do that, you mind if I sneak off?"

"What for?"

"We don't have a lot of intel on the Praetorians, and if we're going to try stopping this impending invasion by the Coalition, it might help to have a solid grasp of where things stand."

"This is a vacation." Pandoria frowned. "It kinda defeats the point if you work during your time off."

"Technically, this is a vacation for you. All you need to do is relax, and I'll handle all the hard stuff. And besides, we're here. We might as well take advantage of that. When's the next time anyone from the Gardens is going to be out here before everything kicks off?"

"You might want to keep that information to yourself," his dad suggested. "It's probably not the best idea to be discussing such matters in public."

"Probably," Zeke conceded. "But I'm still right."

"Yeah, and it's annoying," Pandoria said. "But!" She put up a hand. "We're visiting Corinne first. You can slink off to play at being a spy after we've gotten settled in."

As they approached the house, some of the kids saw them coming and ran out to meet them. Despite the rest of the village's subdued atmosphere, they still seemed as lively as ever. Kirk tackled Zeke's leg, and Zeke picked him up by the back of his shirt. He still tried to reach out and grab Zeke, but to no avail.

"Zeke!" Kirk shouted, unbothered by his current predicament. "Let's play Aegises!"

"Later," Zeke said, putting the kid down. "We've had a long day, and my dad is probably going to melt if we don't get in the shade soon."

"Your dad?" Kirk asked. He seemed to notice Zeke's old man for the first time and immediately beamed at him.

"Hello," the man said. "I am Eulogimenos. It's a pleasure to meet you, young man."

"Old Zeke!" Kirk exclaimed, pointing at the man. "I didn't know Zeke had a dad!"

"Not something I go around advertising," Zeke said. "Dad, this is Kirk. Rex's younger brother. The one bothering Pandoria is Kizuna."

"Hello!" Kizuna exclaimed, leaning around Pandoria to look up at Zeke's dad.

"Might as well meet the whole family," Pandoria said. "Come on, now. Let's get back to the house."

Zeke hefted Kirk onto his shoulder, and they headed for the house. Corinne was waiting for them as they entered. She always seemed to have a sense for when company was coming over.

"Pandoria," she said. "Zeke. It's good to see you again. And you've brought a guest?"

"Eulogimenos," he said, taking off his hat as he entered. For whatever reason, he'd insisted on wearing his usual Tantalese furs for the travels. Zeke really wasn't sure how he'd managed to stay conscious in this heat. "I am Zeke's father."

"I see." Corinne reached out to shake his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Eulogimenos. My name is Corinne."

"The pleasure is mine," his dad said. He bent down on one knee and kissed the back of her hand, startling her a little bit. Court customs were probably a little beyond her.

"Your father is a real gentleman," she said. "You should have brought him around sooner."

"Haven't gotten a lot of chances before now," Zeke said, setting Kirk down at the dinner table. Immediately Kirk got up and scurried off somewhere else, intimidated by the number of adults gathered in the same place.

"I should be forthcoming," his dad said. "I was the King of Tantal, once upon a time. Back then, I would not have made a very gracious house guest."

"Really?" Corinne asked. "So these two weren't just pulling my leg about being royalty?"

"Afraid not," Zeke said. "Not that it means much these days. The crown doesn't have any power in Tantal anymore."

"Hence my newfound availability," his dad said.

"I see…" Corinne looked Zeke's old man over for a moment. "Well, if it's any consolation, you're the best behaved king I've ever met."

"I am relieved to hear it."

"And if you had the sense to step down, then you can't be all that bad. Come on, I'll put on some tea."

"Oh no," he said, looking mortified. "Don't trouble yourself on my account. I am relieved as it is to finally be in the shade."

"Nonsense. Everyone enjoys a good cup of tea. And take that coat off, for heaven's sake. You'll get heat stroke if you keep wearing that thing."

"He's used to it," Zeke said.

"You are the host," his dad said, taking his coat off and hanging it up by the door. "I shall defer to your judgement."

"He's rather well behaved," Corinne noted. Directing her observation at Pandoria, primarily. "Are you sure he and Zeke are related?"

"He's improved a lot in the last few months," she said. "But Zeke really more takes after his mother."

"I see." Corinne nodded. Zeke made a face and Pandoria, and she smiled at him. That wasn't something he liked to talk about with anyone outside their family. And his dad hadn't gone unaffected by the mention of his mom either. He lingered by the door for a moment, looking like he might bolt. But Zeke clapped him on the shoulder and steered him to the table, snapping him out of it.

"Pandoria is correct," he said. "I was never much of a father, so my wife did most of the child rearing. Her… Death…" He paused for a moment to breathe. "Was one of the things that drove a wall between us."

"My condolences," Corinne said. Usually people only said that as a matter of course, but she said it with such sincerity that Zeke believed her. "Forgive me for broaching, I—"

"It's not your fault," his dad insisted. "It was a long time ago, and I'm the one who brought it up."

Which wasn't true, Pandoria had brought it up. But his dad seemed eager to take the blame for this particular blunder, so Zeke didn't correct him.

"I'm sure she was a wonderful person," Corinne said. "Especially if she raised a son as fine as Zeke."

"Indeed."

The two kept talking, getting acquainted, with Pandoria jumping in with the occasional comment. She looked rather pleased with herself, having introduced these two. Which was probably one of the reasons she'd dragged them out here, now that Zeke thought about it.

Not wanting to hang around with nothing to say, Zeke took their stuff up to the guest rooms and got everything settled. When that was done, Corinne and his dad were still busy chatting away, so he tried to slip out the back door.

"Heading out somewhere?" Corinne asked.

"Going to take a walk," he said.

"We just walked for hours," Pandoria said.

"You know me." He shrugged. "Got energy to burn. I'll be back soon."

"Make sure you stay away from the Abbey," Corinne said. Her expression darkened for a moment. "Over the hill where the monks have set up. They've kept to themselves so far, but they don't take kindly to visitors."

"I'll be on my best behavior," Zeke promised. That was only sort of true, of course. He was going out to get some answers, but he would try not to start any fights. Then, before Pandoria could stop him, he slipped out the back. Given the choice between facing down the Praetorians and watching his dad flirt with Rex's mom, he'd take the Praetorians any day of the week.

It didn't take him long to find them either. Their Abbey was set up just on the other side of the hill from the village, with barely a field length or two in between. He'd imagined it would be made of marble, like the Praetorium in Indol, but this place was much more down to earth. Walls of packed stone reinforced with wooden scaffolding. Probably that was due to the hasty construction. They'd been run out of their place on the other side of the Ridge in a hurry.

As he approached the gate, a horn sounded, and he could see monks running every which way along the wall. Not exactly the welcome he'd been hoping for, but it wasn't the least bit surprising. He stopped at the gates, letting them do whatever it is they were going to do. So long as he got what he needed, the details didn't really matter.

After a minute or so of silence, a large group came through the gate to surround him. Quickly, they formed a circle, spears poised to run his chest through at the first sign of trouble. He just stood there, smiling at them. They hadn't immediately attacked him, so he was pretty sure they were going to question him first. And after a moment, the circle parted to let Jibril step through. Just the person he'd wanted to see.

"Ozychlyrus Brounev Tantal," she said, pronouncing every syllable with as much venom as she could muster. She was glaring at him with intent to kill, and he fully believed she could take things that far. The incident at the summit hadn't been very long ago, and the people of Indol tended to have long memories. "For what reason has the witch of the Gardens sent you to me?"

"We're on vacation," he said. "I figured I'd stop in and say hi while I'm here, though. It's been a while since we last talked."

"Every conversation with you was a stain," she said. "You are a heretic, an apostate, and a traitor to the Praetorium."

"Aren't those first two contradictory?" Zeke asked. Her glare intensified, somehow, and she flicked out one of her fans. It came to rest a hair's breadth away from his neck, but he did his best to remain unbothered. He could react faster than she could swing that thing anyway, so he wasn't in immediate danger just yet.

"Answer me," she demanded. "What does your heretic's court seek to gain by coming here?"

"I told you already, we're here on vacation. This is a nice place to go if you want to get away from everything, and that's something we've been sorely needing lately. I'm sure you can sympathize."

"If you truly came here to escape conflict, you've made a very poor decision indeed."

"You're really going to attack me?" Zeke asked. "Come on, Jibril, you're smarter than that."

"You are a heretic. Killing you would be my sacred duty."

"It'd also mean war. A war you will lose. You have to know that."

"We will endure. Allies have pledged themselves to our sacred cause."

"Oh, you mean like Shieldwall? Because we dealt with them already. And with them out of the picture, I don't think Spessia has much reason to keep up their end of the bargain, whatever it was."

"You are knowledgeable, for a heretic. But you misjudge our position. All enemies of the Coalition have pledged to stand together, lest we fall alone."

"Even Sthenos?"

Zeke let the question hang, and Jibril's expression faltered. For a moment, there was fear behind her eyes. Which meant he was right on the money. The Praetorians knew Sthenos would come to wipe them out eventually. That was the real reason they'd thrown in with Spessia's alliance. Was she afraid the Coalition would take advantage of that?

"We have Sthenos well in hand," she said. "Our allies will see us through. They have been sent to us by the Architect Himself to do His will."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Zeke said. "Shieldwall hit us with a large number of Sthenosi troops. And they had a Crone aid them in getting past our defenses. One of Sthenos's Demons, as I think you call them."

"Lies," Jibril said. "Is this the best you can conjure?"

"Come on," Zeke groaned. "Use your brain for once, Jibril. You know who we have guarding our borders. You know he's basically impossible to fool. You've hunted him yourself."

"Your point being?"

"Whoever convinced you to supply Shieldwall must've assured you they had a way past Strix. And they did. They used a Crone's power to hide their movements through the ether. Do you know anyone or anything else that could've managed that? Because I don't."

"Two Blades come to mind," Jibril said. "Obrona and Fan la Norne."

"Both of whom are dead," Zeke said. Not technically true on that first one, but she didn't need to know that.

"Yes, indeed." She frowned, and Zeke thought for a moment that she would lower her fan. But she didn't. "Your honeyed words resound, heretic, but I will not falter. I am the Architect's servant, and I will not stray from His path."

"Are you determined to make this as difficult as possible?"

"You have come here to drive apart our alliance with Spessia. Give me one reason I should not cut you down."

"Other than what I said before?" Zeke asked. "Because you know me, Jibril. We worked together for years hunting people like Shieldwall. Who, may I point out, you've turned around and joined up with."

"It was a different age before the Cataclysm. Blades knew their place in the Architect's plan, then. They did not need reminding. Now, those same agents who sought to usurp the Praetorium's seat of power act as agents of the Architect's will. To restore the natural balance."

"That's a fancy excuse, but we both know you were desperate for allies. Allies who haven't stuck around, by and large. Spessia didn't seem eager to help you when the Restoration Department kicked down the door to your last place."

"They played their part."

"For about a day, if I read the reports correctly. Then they cut and ran, leaving you to fend for yourselves."

"They bought us time. It was time enough to reach safety."

"And what've they done since?" he asked. "They've given your so-called 'allies' in Shieldwall the support of the Sthenosi, who want nothing more than to wipe you off the face of Elysium."

"I will not be swayed by your lies, heretic." She pressed the fan into his neck, but he didn't back down.

"You know I'm not a liar," he said. "Amalthus trusted my council for that very reason."

"Do not speak his name!" she shouted. "You betrayed His Holiness and brought about his death!"

"I was trying to help people," Zeke said. "Which is what I'm trying to do now. If I'm being honest, I don't really care if Sthenos wipes you out or not. As far as I'm concerned, you're already dead. Your whole order is a relic of a bygone age, Jibril. The world moved on. You're the only one still clinging to the past, and when you die, the Children of Humility will die with you."

"What does a man who cares so little hope to gain by dividing us, then?"

"I already said. I'm here to help people." Zeke motioned to the village below them. "You being here means war isn't far behind. Whether it's Sthenos or Spessia or the Coalition, someone is going to wipe you out. And when that happens, a lot of good, innocent people are going to be caught in the crossfire."

"And yet you stand on the side of one of those powers you claim will harm these people."

"We're a part of the Coalition, sure. But war is the last thing we want. The Gardens exist precisely because we've all gotten tired of it. We're looking for a way to end this without bloodshed."

"How noble," Jibril said, without an ounce of sincerity. "Is that what you've come here to say? That you don't wish to fight? That will make my job very simple indeed."

"If you want a fight, I can give you one." Zeke shrugged. "But it won't matter. Any way you slice it, a war's coming eventually. Everyone knows it. But when it does, we're going to do out damn best to keep the people here safe. I want you to promise me you'll do the same."

Jibril stared at Zeke for several long seconds, and he held her gaze. They'd worked together numerous times in the past. Even if she hated his guts now, she knew him well enough to trust his conviction. And he knew her well enough to trust her faith. If she gave her word, she meant it.

"We are servants of the Architect," she said. "It is our sacred duty, as His warriors, to protect the meek and innocent from harm. Even should the whole world fall upon the people here, we will protect them to the best of our ability."

Zeke believed her. He knew the Children of Humility didn't have the best track record, but Jibril usually kept her word. And they'd left Fonsett alone for the most part up until now. Probably due to the optics, in part. So long as they didn't cause trouble, the Coalition didn't see them as a priority. But Jibril had kept her men from the usual plundering that accompanied a Praetorium occupation, so maybe that counted for something. Maybe she'd grown tired of war too.

"Thanks," he said. "I appreciate your understanding."

"You are still a heretic," she noted. She didn't withdraw her fan.

"So you keep reminding me."

"And a traitor to the Praetorium."

"You said that one already too."

"Then know this, heretic." She lowered her fan. "It is only by the Architect's divine mercy that you survive this day. And it is only by the grace of our oath that you will leave this village alive. Are we clear?"

"Sure." Zeke shrugged. With her fan no longer pressed directly to his skin, there was basically nothing she could do to him. But if it put her at ease, he'd go along with it. "Clear as can be."

"I will mediate and reflect on the words you have spoken today," she said. "If there is any truth to be found in them, then the Architect will reveal it to me."

"Might be waiting on that one a while," he noted. "Given how he's—"

Immediately, her glare flared back up, and she stepped forward, bringing the fan around to strike him. He stepped back, casually drawing his sword and blocking the strike.

"Sorry," he said. "Poorly timed."

"One more word and I will take your tongue," she hissed. He nodded, and after a moment, she withdrew her fan. For all her talk, she still didn't want to risk war with the Coalition. Provoking her hadn't been the best play if he wanted her to believe him about Sthenos, but it was more important that he make sure she could keep her priorities straight. And it looked like she could. He could live with not getting through to her about the rest. When the day of the Coalition's invasion arrived, she'd realize he was telling the truth regardless.

"Depart swiftly, heretic," she said, folding her fans up. "Your presence is a stain on the Ridge's Architect-given beauty."

With a wave of her hand, the circle of monks threatening Zeke backed off, lowering their spears. Cautiously, still keeping at least one eye on him, they all began to return to the Abbey.

Zeke thought about walking the grounds, gathering some more intel on their defenses, but he was pushing his luck as it was. If he stayed any longer, Jibril was liable to reconsider her "merciful" stance. He didn't have everything he wanted, but he had enough. The Children of Humility could possibly be reasoned with.

What a world they lived in where the Praetorium fanatics were the most reasonable of the bunch. He certainly hadn't seen that coming when Indol sank into the Cloud Sea.

Most other people probably would've sought retribution for the role the Praetorians played in the attack on Temperantia. Not to mention the actions they'd taken prior to the Cataclysm. And part of Zeke did want retribution. But he cared more about keeping the peace and respecting the decision the citizens of the Gardens had made. It wasn't unanimous by any means, but by and large they wanted to put a stop to the coming war, not participate in it. Hopefully, coming out here like this would make that just a little bit easier to achieve.

And after everything that had happened with Corvin, the Gardens could really do with some good news.

"Dromarch's accident was a wake-up call for a lot of us," Llonya explained. She was the most willing to speak from Dahlia's group, so she'd decided to air their collective grievances. "Even if it wasn't your fault, it was a good reminder that having a Flesh Eater for a Driver doesn't automatically change things. You're as fallible as any human."

"I see."

Nia nodded, trying to process what Llonya was saying without immediately responding. She didn't agree with most of what had just been said, but that was exactly the problem. She couldn't see where they were coming from. It was why they were sat here, in the amphitheater, with a crowd of a hundred Blades ready to take her to task for her failings.

"A lot of us were skeptical about the idea of Caretakers in the first place, but we gave you our trust despite that. You broke that trust when you injured Dromarch. Now those of us who were skeptical have decided we'd be better off without the system at all."

"There's more, isn't there?" Nia guessed. She didn't know for sure, but the look on Llonya's face said she was holding back. "If there is, I want to hear it. Holding back defeats the point."

"I can't speak for the others, but my reservations extend a little further. You said Dromarch asked you to heal him, but you're his Driver. If you wanted to, you could have easily pressured him into it. Or influenced him just by talking about it."

Ah. That's what had upset so many people about Dromarch's accident. It wasn't just that's she'd failed with very public consequences, but that it might not have happened had she not been his Driver. Which… She couldn't entirely discount the possibility that she'd influenced him to undergo the surgery in some way.

"To the best of my knowledge, I did not," Nia said. "And I never intended to. Though, yes. It is a possibility."

"It feels like more than a possibility," Llonya said. "We all swear to hold the Caretakers accountable for how they act, but… To me, that doesn't feel like enough. A Driver's influence on their Blade is too widespread. Placing Caretakers in positions of power is bound to invite some abuse sooner or later, even if they have the best of intentions. Or even if they don't intend anything at all."

"When I founded the Gardens, I wanted the Caretakers to have as little authority as possible for that very reason. But you're right. Perhaps any level of authority is too much. Is that what you want? For the Caretakers to step down as a whole?"

"It'd help," she said.

Nia nodded, then looked past Llonya at the gathered crowd. "How many of you feel the same way?"

Most of those present stood, or if they were already standing, they raised their hands. A good ninety percent of the crowd. On one hand, Nia found it disheartening. She wanted so badly to protect this place, and she didn't want the people she was protecting to be the biggest obstacle to that. But she also wanted the Gardens to succeed, and if it was going to, then the people needed to make their own decisions. If the majority of the citizens decided to remove the Caretakers from power, she wouldn't complain.

The only real problem was Spessia. If the Caretakers stepped down now, the spy would be acting with impunity. Everyone would be vulnerable. Until this crisis passed, they couldn't afford to relinquish power.

"Thank you, Llonya," Nia said. "Was there anything else you wanted to say? Anything else I can do?"

"None of us want to leave," she said. "But with things the way they are, it's very hard to stay. That's about everything I have."

"Llonya speaks for the ten of us," Dahlia said, indicating her group. They stood a little separated from everyone else. The one man who'd tried to kill Nia wasn't with them anymore, but other than him, the group had stuck together.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" Nia asked.

"No," Dahlia said. "We've said everything we came to say. Someone else can go next."

Nia nodded, then cast a glance over the crowd. Agate had arrived during the discussion, alongside some of her crew and Kalarau. It was a little strange to see her spending so much time in the company of a Caretaker when she took so much issue with how they ran the place. Maybe Nia should invite her to speak next?

No, probably not. People had been waiting here a lot longer than her. The first person to arrive after Dahlia had been Ursula, one of Dahlia's friends and fellow healers. Probably she—No, actually the man who'd tried to kill her. Uboon, she was pretty sure. He still deserved a chance to speak his mind.

"Uboon?" she asked, turning to him. "You were here first too. You've a right to speak. Do you want to go next?"

"You already know what I'm here to say," he said. "I want you gone. You're a monster. Fifty Blades hit you at once, and the only reason you went down is because you were trying to keep the fight contained. I don't want to think about what's going to happen when that stops being true."

"Neither do I," Nia said.

"Then leave."

He spat the last word, earning him some small ire from others nearby, but it didn't seem like they cared about his hatred of Nia so much as the hostility in general. She wanted to reply, but he stormed off before she could.

"Well…" Nia sighed. If even a handful of people were as upset as Uboon, this was going to be a long day. "Ursla?" She turned to the girl. "Maybe you'd like to go next?"

"Me?" Ursla asked. "I-I'm really just here to watch. I don't have much to add."

"Don't be shy," Nia said. "You came here because you had something to say, right? I'd like to hear it."

"Don't pressure her," Dahlia warned.

"Of course. My apologies."

"It's alright," Ursula said. She fidgeted in place for a moment, tugging at the hem of her dress. "I just… There's been a lot of anger since your friend had his accident. And I get why people are upset. But none of that really bothered me. I'm a healer, I know what it's like to mess up. What really bothered me, and it's been bothering me for a while, was the prison. Or dungeon, or… Whatever it is we're calling it. It feels wrong to keep people locked up. Even bad people."

"A lot of others feel the same way," Nia said. "I probably don't have to take a head count to know most people would rather we get rid of it."

"Then… Why haven't you?"

"There were good reasons at the time." Nia sighed. "We needed to keep Corvin's Driver from hurting anyone, but we didn't want to kill him, and the Coalition couldn't take him for… Political reasons, is the long and short of it. And now we're stuck with a prison no one wants holding prisoners we don't know what to do with. At this point, it'd be best to put the decision in the hands of the community."

"Is this how it's going to be?" someone asked, cutting Ursula off. Nia raised her head to see Vale push her way through the crowd.

"I'm trying to go in order," Nia said. "If you could—"

"What's even the point of this? You're the Head Caretaker, it's your job to make these decisions."

"I'm not Head Caretaker anymore," Nia reminded her. "Mikhail is. And if we don't make our decisions with the will of the community in mind, then what's the point of having Caretakers at all?"

"That's such a load of shit," Vale said. "You stepped down to appease the rabble, but we all know you're still the one in charge, at the end of the day. Which is how it fucking should be. You're the only person in this whole place with the stones to make the tough calls."

That was… Nia should've been glad someone was on her side, but even setting aside Vale's attitude problem, she was acting like Nia hadn't made mistakes. That wasn't a healthy attitude to have about anyone, let alone someone in a position of power. Still, Nia was here to listen, so she kept quiet.

"Please don't fight," Ursula muttered, shrinking away as Vale stormed up to Nia. Dahlia stepped forward and grabbed Vale, pulling her back.

"You're interrupting," Dahlia said. "If you're not capable of acting like an adult, then get the hell out."

"Don't touch me," Vale hissed, throwing Dahlia's hand off. "You threw your lot in with the enemy, and you want to lecture me?" Vale turned back to Nia. "You really think these people are fit to make the big decisions? They couldn't even agree on whether or not the assholes that broke in here and tried to kill a dozen people were a threat to the community, and you want them in charge of how we protect ourselves?"

Vale laughed, drawing the ire of just about everyone in the crowd. It probably wouldn't take much to get fists flying, at this rate. Which was what Nia had been trying to avoid.

"I don't agree with everything Corvin did," Dahlia said. "Letting the Hunters out was not a good idea. But that doesn't suddenly make Ursula wrong."

"What do you want to happen, then? You want us to turn our prisoners over to the Coalition? Assuming the Coalition doesn't just turn them loose, that's just passing the buck. You're perfectly fine with locking people up so long as you're not the one holding the keys, is that it? Can't handle all the responsibility yourself?"

"I never said that," Dahlia growled. "The point is no one should have that responsibility." Ether began building up in her fists, and it looked like she might form a weapon and start swinging any second.

"Truth is you're all cowards!" Vale shouted, looking back at the crowd. "You're too afraid to make the hard decisions yourself, so you push them onto the Caretakers. But you're also too fucking spineless to live with the consequences of that decision, and now you want a do over. Nevermind the fact that those Caretakers put their lives on the line for you time and again. Nevermind the fact that your first choice for a replacement betrayed every fucking principle this place was founded on. Nevermind the fact that—"

"Vale," Nia said, cutting her off. "I appreciate that you want to come to my defense. But this isn't the time or place. I've made plenty of mistakes. We wouldn't be here if I hadn't. Denying that will only make things worse."

"Are you…" Vale stared at her, dumbfounded. "Are you serious? You're on their side?"

"There aren't sides here, Vale. Just people."

"Sure didn't feel that way when these assholes—" She motioned over her shoulder at Dahlia. "Got their friend Orion to hold me at gunpoint."

"He was not our friend," Dahlia said. "He wasn't our ally either. Corvin made that decision by himself, and he made it in error. I'd say that highlights the need to stop placing single individuals in positions of outsized authority."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night." Vale shrugged. "But when you get what you want, and the next group of psychotic assholes knocks on our door, you people won't even know it's happening until it's too late. Don't blame me when you can't defend yourself."

"I can defend myself just fine," Dahlia growled.

"Vale, please," Nia stressed. "This isn't helping anyone. The point of holding this public forum was to try to find some healing. Not make things worse."

"Find healing? You want to coddle their feelings? What about me? I nearly died because of these idiots, but I'm supposed to reach out and compromise with them? No. You can try to hold things together as much as you want, but they don't care about this place. They don't care about anyone but themselves. Trying to keep them around is just wasted effort. They want to leave? I say let them. Make them, even. Because as far as I'm concerned, traitors aren't welcome here."

With that, Vale stormed off. The audience's gaze watched her exit, easily fifty pairs of eyes all giving her a death glare. At least she left before a fight broke out, though.

As she left, Azami and Dagas came through the same entrance, and briefly they exchanged words. It seemed to put Vale in an even worse mood, but whatever they said amused the other two greatly. They laughed as they found their seats, giving Nia a big wave like they were the only three people there.

"I'm sorry about that," Nia said, dragging her attention back to the forum. "I never intended for things to get out of hand."

"The uprising is still a fresh wound for everyone," Agate said, standing up. "And those of us who chose to rebel… We made mistakes. It's only natural some among the community are going to resent us for them."

There were people ahead of her who should have spoken first, but they didn't complain. Nia wanted to, though. There was supposed to be structure to this. But she also didn't want to be rude. And it probably wouldn't go over well if she imposed her authority too much in this situation.

"But we had no other choice," Agate continued. Nia couldn't tell if she was talking to her, or to the rest of the crowd. "We couldn't trust that the Caretakers would step down willingly."

"We would have," Nia said. "If you'd raised the issue in a hearing, and if the community decided it was the correct choice, then we would have."

"I can't take your word on that."

"I know." Nia sighed. "And I'm trying my best to understand. But if Vale was any indication, I'm not the one you have to convince."

"They won't listen to us. But they might listen to you, if you were to speak on our behalf."

"I'll do my best," Nia said.

After that, things proceeded somewhat more smoothly. Most of what people had to say were variations on what either Llonya or Ursula had already said. The Caretakers shouldn't be left in positions of power. The community needed a better response to criminals than simply putting them in prison. Occasionally there were others too, but those weren't as high stakes. These two issues seemed to get at the heart of what had torn the Gardens apart during the uprising. Some people trusted the Caretakers, and some didn't. Or couldn't.

After a while, the tension in the audience seemed to ease. Nia hoped they felt listened to, if nothing else. Because reconciling their view of the Gardens with everyone else's was going to be a challenge, to say the least. As things stood, she wasn't sure it was even possible. Not that she wouldn't try, but there would need to be a lot more discussion between the whole community before anything got decided.

"Heads up," Akhos said, interrupting her as she thanked one of Agate's workers for his input. "If anyone's listening, Adenine's system got a ping. The spy's trying to contact someone outside the Gardens."

"Excuse me for a moment," she said, stepping back. She cast a glance around the audience, but both Agate's and Dagas's groups were still here. All their suspects in one place, and none of them were doing anything out of the ordinary. Still, Strix had left on his patrol by now, so there was a good chance one of them was the spy. Were they taunting her?

"Nia?" Agate asked. "Is everything alright?"

"It's fine," she said. "Just some business with the other Caretakers. Should be sorted in a moment."

"Another ping," Akhos announced. "It's coming from the amphitheater."

Well… At least they had some sort of confirmation, now. Nia glanced over them all again, looking for anything that might give the spy away. As she looked over Dagas's group, Azami stood up.

"Azami," Nia noted. "Did you want to go next?"

"Unfortunately, no," Azami said. "This was fun, but things are getting a bit repetitive. So I'm heading out."

"Might as well," Dagas said, standing up to join her. "Madam Azami has a good sense for these things."

"Is there anyone else who wanted to go, then?" Nia asked. There weren't any immediate volunteers.

"Honestly, my crew and I should get back to work," Agate said. "How about we call things here today? Pick up another time? This was productive, I think, but we do have a schedule to keep to."

Damn. Damnit all, someone was trying to cut and run. But she couldn't tell who. Azami? Dagas? Agate? All of them?

Time to narrow down the list, then.

"Alright, we'll call it there for today," Nia said. "Though I'd like to talk to you in person for a minute, Agate. Is that alright with you?"

"I suppose." Her eyes narrowed at Nia. "You all go on ahead. I'll catch up."

Her crew got up to leave the amphitheater, prompting most of the rest of the audience to follow suit. As they made their way to the exit, Agate made her way to Nia, and she had about twenty seconds to act.

"Akhos," she muttered. "The spy is on the move. Do we have eyes anywhere?"

"No," he said. "Strix isn't back yet, and we can't see into the amphitheater. Until Strix gets back—"

"I'm here," Strix said, his voice overlayed with static. "I kept the Gardens at the edge of my vision, just in case. Nothing out of the ordinary by the time I started looking, though. Can't seem much detail from out here."

"Keep looking."

"I've got something I can try," Akhos said. "Strix, keep eyes on."

Nia took her earpiece out as Agate approached. She wanted to listen in on the rest of the conversation, but it was very hard to listen and talk at the same time, and this had to come first.

"What did you want?" Agate asked. "I'll admit, this was a step in the right direction, but things still need a lot of work before they're back to normal."

"Can I trust you?" Nia asked, locking eyes with Agate.

"What?"

"Can I trust you?"

"I…" Agate frowned. "I don't know where this is coming from. But I'm not planning another uprising, if that's what you're thinking."

"Right now, another uprising is the least of our concerns. Can I trust you?"

"Something's happening?"

Slowly, Nia nodded. Finding this spy was important, but so was repairing the community. And for that, she needed Agate on her side. So she went out on a limb, hoping she wasn't shooting herself in the foot.

"We have a spy," she muttered. Agate's expression darkened. "Working for Spessia. They're behind the attacks we suffered a few months ago."

"Are you… Are you sure?"

"As of right now? Yes."

"That's what this is about." Agate glanced over her shoulder, and Nia had to suppress a wince. Probably not the best thing to do, if the spy was already on edge. "You think there's a spy here somewhere."

"We know there's a spy somewhere," Nia corrected her. "Adenine set up a system to detect anyone making wireless calls to and from the Gardens. And so far as we can tell, no one here owns a Guild radio. At least not one they've told us about."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'd like your help. And I'd like to explain myself a bit. You want to know why I've been so distant? This is one of the reasons. Before now, I wasn't sure who I could trust."

"That is a hell of a thing to dump on a person," Agate said. "But… I suppose it's good to know you trust me. I can guarantee you that if there is a spy, it isn't anyone on my crew."

"I sure hope so."

"I'm not sure what else you want me to do, though."

"I don't really want you to do anything, really. I just… I never wanted to keep secrets like this. I figured that if you weren't the spy, you deserved to know."

"I'm under suspicion?" she asked.

"You were, but at this point, if you are the spy, then there's not much I can do about it. So I'm going to hope that isn't the case. I'd like to have more faith in this community than that."

Agate's face seemed to shift through a dozen different emotions as Nia talked. Anger, hurt, bewilderment, a few other that Nia couldn't track, before finally settling on… Disappointment?

"I'd always wanted there to be a good reason," Agate said. "If you were going to abandon your duties, it should at least have been because something else pulled you away. But now that I've finally got that, it doesn't make me feel any better. Funny how that works." She sighed. "I hope this gets brought to an end soon."

"Hopefully, it'll end today." Nia stepped past Agate, moving back toward the lingering remnants of the crowd. She picked up the pace, not quite running but not quite walking either, and put her earpiece back in.

"—group heading back toward the workshops," Obrona said. Asking for her help must've been Akhos's idea. "I'm getting some weird ether waves off them."

"I see them," Strix said. "Can't make out anything in the crowd, though. Should I come back?"

"Get here as fast as you can," Nia said. She stepped outside and set eyes on the group in question. Mostly, they were Agate's men. But Dagas and Azami both seemed to be accompanying them back to the workshop. Just bored, or were they trying to hide in the crowd?

"Dagas!" she shouted. "Do you have a moment to talk?"

He stopped, then turned to face her.

"That's King Dagas!" he shouted back. "Have you forgotten your manners, Banshee Queen!?"

Nia hated that name. It was born out of everything about herself she didn't want to be. Of course, none of that mattered to him. He probably just thought the name was cool.

"It's important!" Nia shouted back. "Bring Azami too, would you!?"

The two stared at her for a moment, letting the crowd move around them. Kalarau stopped, though, noticing something was wrong. He glanced up at Nia, and she gave him a very small nod.

"I'm afraid we have a prior engagement!" Dagas said. He tipped his crown at her. "Good day, good Caretaker!"

Kalarau reached up to grab the two, but Azami threw out a large cloud of darkness before he could. Which pretty much confirmed it. These two were their spies.

"Grab them!" Nia shouted, breaking into a run. But no one was really listening to her. People were too focused on the large cloud of ether that had just flared up in the middle of town, and Nia had to fight through onlookers to keep pace with Azami as she darted through the crowd.

She laughed as she ran, manifesting her cannon and firing back at Nia. Not that it made much of a difference. Azami couldn't really hurt her. At best it might distract her for a moment. And it drew way too much attention to be worth that. Was that the point? Was Azami doing this for the spectacle of it? Trying to draw Nia's attention and let Dagas slip away? Or was she simply having fun?

"What a shame!" Azami shouted. "And here I was enjoying myself!"

Nia didn't dignify that with a response. Instead, she spent that breath running, closing the gap between them. Azami blasted out a lance of darkness at her, and Nia threw up a shield, deflecting it up and away from the crowd. She didn't even stop moving to do it. They couldn't afford to let her run amok.

Nia shot forward, pressing jets of water out from her feet to boost her speed. In an instant, she had closed the distance, and she used her shield to knock Azami's cannon aside while she drew her sword. They clashed, weapon on weapon, locked for a moment in a stalemate. Azami released another cloud of darkness from her dress, but Nia immediately countered it with a wave of water from hers. It blasted away the cloud-like substance, leaving Azami nowhere to run.

So she didn't run. Instead, her eye gleamed, and she angled her cannon slightly. When she fired again, the blast didn't tear through everything in its path like it had before. Instead, it reflected, bouncing from one building to the next until it disappeared from Nia's sight. Instantly, she threw up a shield behind herself, but the blast arrived before it could fully form.

Her shield broke, and she stumbled forward, carried by the blast's momentum. Straight to the barrel of Azami's cannon. Before she could unleash another blast, however, Nia slammed her foot down, sending a wave of ether through the water around them. It surged up in response, forming whip-like tendrils that forced Azami back. She tried to take that opportunity to run, but Nia brought the water up into a wall, then drove her hands into it. Molding the ether inside it like clay and reconstructing it into several dozen copies of her sword. Then she shot them out at Azami, forcing her to throw up a shield and stay put.

As the barrage of swords struck her shield, Azami planted her cannon against the ground. Trying to blast her way out, or maybe make an escape tunnel? A supremely bad idea, if so. Not that Nia gave her the chance to finish her plan. She reached out into the swords already on the ground and began swirling their ether around Azami, forming a vortex. It dragged the water with it, first around, then up, forming a churning column above Azami. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she brought it down.

The water cascaded over Azami's shield, forming a bubble of its own as it enveloped her. The more water poured in, the higher the pressure rose, forced into collision with the shield by Nia's ether. Eventually, the combined assault proved too much for Azami to bear. The water crushed her shield and crashed into her, knocking the cannon out of her hands. Whatever she'd been trying to do, she lost the chance as the water dragged her back to Nia.

"Where's Dagas?" Nia hissed, glaring at her.

"Whatever do you mean?" Azami asked. "He told you he had a prior engagement. It would be rude to insist on keeping him, don't you think?"

"Don't want to talk? Then stay put." Nia manifested a sword and drove it through Azami's dress. She'd been tempted to drive it through her stomach, but there was a crowd watching, and she didn't want to do anything too drastic. "I'll go find—"

A blast of light flew overhead, impacting a nearby building and bringing a chunk of it down next to them. Or… No, not a blast, but an arrow. One of Kalarau's. A moment later, Dagas stumbled into the street, another arrow driven through his shoulder. He cast a wave of flames out from his axe, but more arrows of light cut through his attack, striking his hand and shattering the weapon's handle.

He stumbled back, and Kalarau emerged from an alley, bow in one hand. He kicked Dagas back, and Nia threw out a wave of water to meet him. It struck him to the ground, and he stayed put. He wouldn't be putting out any ether with this much water around. Just to make sure, though, Nia manifested a sword above him.

"I took this off him," Kalarau said, holding up a small rectangular device. There was a microphone on one end, and an antenna extending from the other.

"A cell-jack," Nia noted. More or less what she'd expected to find.

"A what?"

"Wireless communication device, sort of like the radios the Nopon Guilds use. These only do voice, though."

"I'm not sure I understood any of that." He handed her the cell-jack. "But this thing proves he's the spy, I'm guessing?"

"Spy?" Dagas asked. "Preposterous. I've never even seen that device before today. This is a gross miscarriage of justice, and I will not stand for it."

"Talk all you'd like," Nia said. "But we know you've been in communication with Spessia. You sold them information on us. Information it would've been impossible to get otherwise. Information they used in two attempts to wipe us out."

She let the accusations hang. Neither Dagas nor Azami betrayed anything, but at this point, they didn't have to. Their guilt was pretty clear.

"It seems like you have this all figured out," Azami said. "So what happens next? You lock us up next to my Darling? You make yourself a liar?"

"I'm not sure," Nia admitted. "But what I do know is that the two of you can't hurt anyone anymore. That's all I really care about."

"I'm telling you, we're innocent," Dagas insisted. "Good Caretaker, you must believe me. We've been framed."

"Framed?" Nia asked. "You two attacked a Caretaker and ran. You had a cell-jack on you, and we know someone tried to use one of these from the amphitheater. It must've been our spy, because no one at the Gardens owns anything like this, and the best way to sneak information past Strix's watch is by wireless transmission. Did I miss anything?"

"The part where we were framed," Dagas noted.

"Right." Nia nodded. He didn't have anything to say in his defense, and Azami didn't seem interested in saying anything at all.

"Were there others?" Kalarau asked. "Anyone else working with you? Or did you two act alone?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Azami asked, smiling serenely.

"If they had help, we'll deal with that later," Nia said. "For now, we wait for Strix to get back and restrain these two. Then we can get them into a cell next to their Driver. Can I trust you to watch them?"

"Actually, I should be heading back to help Agate," he said. "She's probably still going to want to dismantle that Artifice today."

"Then take this back to Adenine for me, would you?" Nia offered him the cell-jack. "She's the best person to take a look at it."

"Can do," he said, taking the device off her hands. "Not like I'm going to be much good with it, but it'll be interesting to see how it works, I guess."

"It sounds like things have calmed down," Akhos said. "Did we get them?"

Nia glanced back to see Agate and a few others from the amphitheater catching up. They looked spooked, and Nia steeled herself to explain this mess. Still, that this was happening was a good thing, in a way. They could finally move on.

"Yeah," she said. "We got them."

Kalarau gave Agate a wave as he headed back for the workshop, and she gave him a nod in passing. She looked like she wanted to ask him a dozen questions, but he just pointed at Nia. Reluctantly, she sighed, and her party approached.

"You're holding two people hostage," Agate noted. "Does this have anything to do with…" She hesitated for a moment, trying to phrase her question without giving too much away. "With what we just discussed?"

"It's over," Nia said.

"I… see." Agate nodded. "I would like a better explanation than that."

"I've been framed!" Dagas shouted. "Hang this woman for treason!"

"Ignore him," Nia said. "He and Azami fled when I tried to question them, they attacked me and Kalarau, and they had a cell-jack on them. We've been monitoring for wireless transmissions since this morning, and just before all this happened, someone tried to make a call from the amphitheater. All in all, we're fairly confident these two are our spies."

That got the crowd talking.

"Spies?" Agate asked. "Plural?"

"Yeah." Nia sighed. Then she looked past Agate at the gathering crowd. "I suppose everyone deserves to know. For a few months now, we've suspected someone in the community was feeding information back to the Spessian Federation. Information they used to coordinate the attacks we suffered. The Caretakers have been trying to find this spy, or spies as the case was, for months."

"This is preposterous," Dagas said. "What reason would I have to spy on these good people? If anyone's betrayed this place, it's you, Banshee Queen."

"No," Agate said. "Nia's been wrong about a lot. She's shortsighted, stubborn, and sometimes negligent. Working with her has been an immense frustration. But she cares about this place. She wouldn't have founded it otherwise. On matters concerning the safety of the Gardens, I'd trust her more than anyone."

"Thank you," Nia said.

"You've extended your trust to me," Agate said. "You took a risk. I owe you that much, at least."

"You don't owe me anything," she said. "But I'm glad to have your trust anyway, whatever the circumstances."

"Let's not go that far," Agate said. "There's still a lot of work you need to do before things are put to rights again. But… This was a good reminder that you're not the enemy. No one here is. We're a community, and we need to act like it."

"You're right. There is a lot more work I need to do. A lot more work all of us need to do, frankly. But I think I might have found a path forward."

Agate seemed taken aback by that, but she didn't comment.

"I think maybe you're right. You and everyone else who said the Caretakers can't remain in charge. If this place is supposed to be community run, then we should put that into action. Once hostilities with Spessia end, and we're no longer under threat, we'll have a hearing. If the community wants us to step down, then we will. I'll do everything in my power to make it happen."

Nia had expected Agate to take that as good news. Something worth celebrating. She expected an acknowledgement that their concerns had been heard, at least. But instead, Agate just sighed.

"Until hostilities end?" Agate asked. "This is humanity we're talking about. We'll be long gone before that happens."

"I don't believe that," Nia said. "If we can avoid a war, then I think tensions will ease with time. Once that happens, I swear we'll make this right."

"Why wait? You could all step down today, couldn't you?"

"If the community wants us to, we will. But we all agreed at the start to leave the defense to the Caretakers. We have a responsibility to see the Gardens through what's coming. I'm not going to abandon that if I can help it, and I know most of the others feel the same way."

"Even so, how long will it be until you find another excuse to stay in power? Some other threat to justify your existence? I won't go down that road, Nia."

"Fine." Nia sighed. "I swear, right here, right now. Once the crisis with Spessia is over, I will step down. Whether the community votes on it or not, whether the others want me to or not, I will resign as a Caretaker. And I will do everything in my power to convince the others to do the same. I give you my word, and I expect you to hold me to it. Is that good enough for you?"

Agate studied her for a moment, trying to determine if she was genuine.

"It's as good as we're getting, I think," Agate said. "And I did say I'd try to trust you." She stretched out her hand. "So yeah. That works for me."

"Glad to hear it." Nia shook her hand.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to work."

Agate headed off back to the workshop, and slowly, the crowd began to depart. A lot of confused voices were still murmuring, but Nia couldn't do anything about that. Mikhail had the people's trust more than anyone else, so it was probably best if he broke the news officially to everyone. And he was supposed to be the Head Caretaker, now, too.

She hoped she wasn't undermining his authority here, agreeing to something like this without consulting him first. But he'd agreed to go along with her every step of the way, so far. Once they had a chance to talk it over, he'd probably go along with this plan too. Vale had been nearly right, in that respect. In many ways, Nia was still the Head Caretaker, even if she no longer held the title. Like everything else on her plate, that was something she needed to work on.

As she waited for Strix to arrive and transfer these two to the prison, she couldn't help but work through the details in her mind. Especially the ones they were missing. Why had either of them agreed to be spies? Were they trying to negotiate Bradly's release, or had they gone behind his back? And, more to the point, why had their Driver volunteered information to help the investigation, if his own Blades were the ones under suspicion?

There were a few options. Either he didn't know, and they'd gone behind his back, or he did know, and he didn't approve. But then why not just say that? Was this entertainment for him? Had he been trying to throw them off Azami and Dagas's trail by feeding them information about Atasaiah? And why hadn't Corvin known about them? He'd seemed genuine before, but did this place him and Vale under suspicion too?

There were too many possibilities to exhaustively consider. But one thing felt certain. They still didn't have the clear picture. They barely even knew who they were up against. They may have blinded Atasaiah, but they were still in the dark themselves. Yet more problems to add to the list. More work on top of the mountain that already lay in front of her.

For right now, though, she let herself celebrate a win. Finally, after months of searching, they had their spies. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she could breathe again, just a little bit. She felt like she might be able to look forward to tomorrow.