We retraced our steps back the way we had come. Elyvia wanted to report back to the druids, so we had planned to go together, except for the miners we found on the road.

They were refugees, from a Zhentarim mine, in a cart with as much equipment and raw ore and gems as they could quickly load into the wagon, after they had survived a brief but brutal attack by giants. We of course wanted to escort them to safety, and when they told us of how the Zhentarim treated their miners, I of course wanted the abuse reported to Loudwater, so something could be done to punish Orlbar as far as sanctions or suchlike—the others just took it as evidence to cut ties with the place entirely.

I watched a young copper dragon fly past, playing in the wind. It made me smile, and forget.

Elyvia split from us to ride to the grove, and we stayed with the miners to watch over them. We fought off a hill giant along our path and made it to Shining Falls no worse for wear.

A couple days of relaxation, before Elyvia rejoined us, looking tired and irritated. She said, "Got jumped in the forest by Uthgardt. Like a dozen of them." She shook her head. "Can't say I care much for them either."

"What did you do?" Lola said.

"I had found a diamond in that goblin warren, so I used that to get them to go away." She rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable."

I snorted. We had gone through that together. Bit unfair she didn't divulge that and share. I, however, wasn't that spiteful, so I plopped her share of the sold loot from the dead fire giant on the table. "We sold the stuff off the giant."

She swiped it from me with nary a thanks. I hadn't been expecting one.

Lola said, "I've been thinking. Shining Falls is a bit vulnerable right now, with all that's going on. I think a good wizard could really help them in a pinch." She flashed a grin. "So I plan to stay in Shining Falls. Valac, would you take this letter to Curuvar, and let him know?"

I took it from her. "Shining Falls will be better for your presence."

She beamed. "In these times, we've got to be where we do the most good."

We set out for Loudwater in the morning and Lola saw us off.

I tried to think of what I wanted to tell Reyne of our journey. The others had not asked about the specifics or brought it up again. Had they forgotten? I hoped they had; it made this easier.

We stabled our horses in Loudwater and reported immediately, with the miners, to the lord and lady. Lord Telbor seemed to be elsewhere, but Moonfire received us warmly and cleared the hall so we could report privately. The miners stated their case of the attack and the abuse they had received at Zhentarim hands. Moonfire welcomed them into the community and promised repercussions for the harsh treatment.

The miners were dismissed, and we told her more privately of what we had learned of Kayalithica.

She said, "We will call a meeting tomorrow to discuss this more in detail. For now, adjourn and rest."

Terese went to visit her family. Elyvia went off to her temple. I went to the Zhentarim base by the docks. A half-orc received me. "What do you want?"

"I needed to make a report to Re—to Captain Andrews," I said.

He frowned. "Whatever you have to say to him, you can say to me."

My tail drooped. "Is he gone?"

He sneered. "Not your business, fiendblood."

"I'll just write it down. Thanks," I muttered. I turned and went to the market to get writing supplies. I got distracted by a vendor cooking sausages, and remembered that I needed to deliver Lola's letter. I rushed off to Curuvar's.

He was kindly and accepted the letter, offered me tea. Why not? I accepted, and before I knew it, I was telling him everything about what happened with Kayalithica. He listened without judgment. I received only wisdom and kindness from him, but not exactly advice. Sometimes, I appreciated just having someone listen though. Curuvar suspected that the voice in the stone Kayalithica heard was not at all Stonebones, but had no way to investigate it properly. He did not do a lot to assure me that betraying Orlbar was the right move.

I thanked him for his wisdom and made it back to the inn.

At the inn, Terese was talking to a farmer wearing an amulet with some holy symbol on it. She looked up when I came in and waved me over. She said, "This is Mr. Boe Fernway. He just came in with some refugees. A hill giant attacked his town."

My brows pushed together in sympathy. "Oh, that's awful."

"By the blessings of Chauntea, many survived. Just takin' a much-deserved rest," he said, in a rural accent. He did not stare at me, nor sneer. He only smiled and rose to shake my hand. "You can call me Boe. And you are—?"

I took his hand. It was a strange custom, and I hadn't ever practiced it, but Boe did not draw attention to it. His grip was solid, what looked like skin closer to stone as I touched it. Now that I looked at him up close, he looked like stone. Even his hair, or what passed for hair, looked chiseled. "Valac." I smiled, without teeth, and sat down across from him. We settled. I ordered an ale while Boe talked about what he had seen of the giants attacking his own town.

Terese said, "I was just telling him about the stone giants in Orlbar too."

"Awful business," he said. "But if what you say is true about Orlbar, can't say I'm disappointed exactly, except all those simple folk trapped in the walls."

"That's what we wanted to discuss tomorrow morning," Terese said. "With Lady Moonfire, I mean."

Boe nodded. "I needed to report to her myself, all formal-like, about the refugees. Thank her for taking everyone in."

"There's bound to be more," I sighed.

I liked Boe, as we got to talking. He had no care at all for a person's appearance, only what was in their heart.

I started leaving as Elyvia came through the door, and I did not delay for her. I barely nodded to her, out of a sense of politeness, before I went to my small room in the inn. I sat at the table, and let the spirit slip into my skin.

I did not know how to write myself; I had to "borrow" the skill from another. I began to write. The spirit and I were as one, and ordinarily, I could use their skills and they did not much add personal flairs and lacked the personality to make me do something, but sometimes, I agreed with the spirit so much that I was writing a rant that I did not intend to. Fortunately, that only happened twice, and only got a few words into it. I just crossed it out and apologized.

I didn't know what a message like that ought to say, so I tried to keep it professional, as if we did not know each other. As if we had no history at all.

I did not mention the pool or the others' visions. I did not mention the Zhentarim miners, or the frost giant, or the All-Father. He had wanted to know what happened pertaining to Kayalithica, and I told him that. Nothing extra.

I shivered a little as the spirit parted and the waiting one took its place. The cartographer's skill was not too dissimilar from writing. I was able to draw him a map of the valley, a small overview of what little we had seen in the caves. When I sat back and looked at it as the ink dried, I realized it was actually pretty good.

I sealed them both together with wax and, yawning, headed back out. There was a Zhentarim at the outpost, still awake and on duty, stern and far too serious to be interesting. I handed it over. She barely thanked me.

I came back in near midnight, pulled the blankets onto the floor, and fell asleep.

Sleeping in a bed was too difficult for me.

#

Reyne was not at the meeting. That, I noticed immediately. Gauntlet Frey was, and no doubt Terese had reported to him three days ago when we got back.

I kept an entirely blank, poker-like expression while the others casually discussed religious genocide. They were excited and eager about it, and Frey was entirely onboard with the idea of all of the Loudwater troops, on the day of the battle, withdrawing.

They would convince the Zhentarim to take the field instead—which was reasonable considering that the walls would be as nothing to the giants, and eventually only hinder the Zhentarim's mobility.

What Frey and Alok had discussed before the meeting, but wasn't repeated here, was that when they were engaged in battle, Loudwater would withdraw—leaving the Zhentarim to die.

Finally, I could hold my tongue no longer. "They're going to raise a levy though. A lot of the people who will die will just be conscripted farmers and workers."

The cold look the others gave me could have frozen the river. Telbor said, "Innocents die. It is the cost of war. As those closely connected with the matter, we expect your—" He nodded to our small group. "-continued support and information gathering."

Frey said to me directly, "You are not a military man. You're not even a guard. Why don't you leave strategy to those of us with experience."

Moonfire, as if offering an olive branch, added, "We have reached out to Orlbar and we are prepared to take in Orlbar evacuees, and the refugees from Uluvin." She nodded to Boe. "We have also sent a representative to discuss terms of resettlement with Shining Falls."

Terese muttered, "If they even let them leave."

I swallowed. A good chunk of my letter had been begging Reyne to let the non-combatants flee. I hoped he heeded it. He had to. If he refused, if he were really that cruel and dispassionate, had he ever cared about me?

Moonfire said, "We will have their reply in a few days. I suggest you take the time to rest and prepare your next moves."

Elyvia beamed. "We are at your disposal, my lady."

Telbor nodded. "Gauntlet Frey, we should discuss the battle and the training of our own levy. We will still have the giants to contend with."

Both excused themselves from the council hall to the war room.

Moonfire waited for the door to the hall to close before she looked to us. "There are a few other matters. The Banenites."

Boe said, "Do we have any evidence of it?"

Terese rankled. "We saw the undead they created with our own eyes. I destroyed Andrews's holy symbol."

Elyvia said, "Our word isn't enough?" By her expression, she had fully expected her accusation to be all the required proof needed. Maybe, where she was from, her word did carry that much weight, but not here.
Moonfire shook her head. "Such an accusation would look baseless and therefore slanderous. We would need evidence if we were to make a formal move against their church."

My eyebrows rose. "You're willing to betray them on the battlefield over an accusation. Why not this too?"

Elyvia glared at me. Terese sighed. Before Elyvia could say something snide, Terese said, "They're separate issues."

I didn't see how. What was the advantage in betraying them, if they did not already entirely believe the accusation? Or was it that to make a formal announcement of condemnation to the public, they needed proof?

Moonfire said, "We could gather more allies, but we will need proof against the Banenites to garner it." She shrugged, dismissing the issue. "Short of that, reconnaissance on the area will help. I hope we can continue to rely upon you three, and in the future, you as well, Boe. A cleric of Chauntea brings hope in these troubled times."

"Thankee kindly, ma'am."

The others were excited about the impending genocide. I felt disgusted. I said when we were in a private dining room at the inn, "I have to break into the Zhentarim fortress in Orlbar."

"That's idiotic," Terese insisted.

I shook my head. "I have to." I swallowed. "All of you are planning what amounts to a genocide, for reasons I do not understand. Moonfire wants evidence anyway, and we don't know what insidious thing they're planning, if any. They want intel, I might find it in the fort."

Boe shook his head. "I can do a neat trick for hidin', but I ain't much good at it myself." He scratched his grizzled jaw. "Might be, I've got another spell that'll help ye."

Elyvia snorted. "The tiefling wants to see that they're evil for himself. But his other reasons are valid. I'm not as skilled at some in the art of stealth, but my skills can probably serve."

Terese shook her head. "I'm right out. But I can keep watch."

I was enormously relieved. If they had berated me in to backing down this time, I might never see whatever it is I needed to see to be onboard with this.

We had a couple of days before the next meeting with Moonfire. Terese spent a good portion of it at the forge. I perused the markets and found a pair of boots at a Zhentarim-owned stall that, amusingly, I thought would work well for me breaking into their complex, as the boots muffled the sound of footfalls.

At the last meeting, they said they were still organizing their own plans, but that Orlbar had, in fact, accepted their offer to evacuate their non-combatants. The phrasing made me hope it had come from Reyne after he had read my letter. They probably thought I smiled for some other reason—but that he had agreed to it gave me hope that he was still who I believed he could be. Additionally, the Zhentarim were increasing patrols around the area as a safety precaution.

Given the illegal nature of our plans, and that if we were caught, they couldn't help us anyway, we didn't mention what we were doing to either of them.

Besides, there was a rumor around town that Lord Telbor was chummy with the Zhentarim.

Boe procured a wagon and horses, and we headed out with a caravan delivering supplies and bringing back refugees. The wagon meant we could take naps on the road and the caravan was well-guarded. We were not bothered on the way to Orlbar.

Boe liked to sit and carve by the campfire. He presented Elyvia with a small carved jackrabbit on the first night. He gestured. "I saw the family crest."

She accepted it, smiling down at the figure. "It's cute. Thank you."

She liked rabbits. Animals adored her.

I only saw her as bloodthirsty and blinded by her hatred.

Within, we unloaded what goods we had carried in front of a warehouse, as only their approved workers were to pack it inside. Boe stabled his horse and Elyvia and I scouted the town and the route to the fort. The fort overlooked the town on a small rise, a sensible location for defense, in ordinary circumstances. I was able to get close enough to it to spot a reasonable way in, once it got dark. The cathedral was our primary target.

A little apprehensive, but feeling better about our odds after spying a viable route, we headed back to town, looked around the market, studied the layout on the pretense of the battle.