NOVPUBOnce back in my guest chamber, I moved quickly, gathering the few possessions I'd acquired.
There wasn't much.
The clothes I'd been wearing when rescued from the village raiders, now cleaned and folded by the estate's servants. A small pouch of coins Lady Laelyn had insisted I take "for emergencies. A water flask and some dried provisions a compassionate servant had pressed into my hands the previous evening.
"What do you make of all this?" I asked Azure as I packed these meager belongings into a simple traveling bag provided by my hosts.
"It complicates matters," he replied. "Lord Kaeven's murder suggests power struggles beyond what we initially perceived."
“I found it strange that Nevarn seemed eager for us to leave,” I recalled. “You would think someone in our group would be the prime suspect.”
"Master Nevarn clearly believes your presence will only bring more trouble to the estate," Azure replied thoughtfully. "He seemed almost desperate to have you all gone, as if your group might attract whatever killed his lord."
"Not the group," I corrected, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Just me, if Lady Mara has any say. But I guess her accusation wasn't entirely baseless, from a certain perspective. Trouble does seem to follow us."
"A consequence of your unique position," Azure said. "You exist outside the natural order of this reality. Such dimensional anomalies naturally attract... attention."
"Not helpful attention, apparently," I muttered.
After a brief period of reflection, I made use of the washing facilities provided in my chamber. The previous day's journey and the shock of the morning's discovery had left me feeling grimy and unsettled. The water was cool but refreshing, helping to clear my head as I considered our next steps.
Clean and dressed in fresh clothing, I examined my appearance in a polished metal mirror mounted on the wall. Tomas's face looked back at me, young, somewhat plain, with honest features that naturally inspired trust. It was a good face for deception.
With my preparations complete, I left my chamber, intent on finding my way to the entrance hall where the others would be gathering. The estate was vast, and in the light of day, its corridors and chambers formed a labyrinth of luxury that quickly proved disorienting.
"I believe we turn left here," Azure suggested as I hesitated at an intersection.
Not surprised that he had mapped out the layout, I followed his directions, turning left into a long corridor lined with portraits, generations of Rimaris nobles staring down with painted eyes that seemed to follow my movements.
And suddenly, urgent whispers reached my ears—two voices, just around the corner ahead.
I stopped immediately, pressing myself against the wall and extending my senses. The voices were too quiet for normal hearing, but by channeling a whisper of qi to my ears, I could make out fragments.
"...completely changes everything," a male voice was saying, Nevarn's, I was certain. "The Lord's death complicates matters significantly."
"I never wanted to be part of this," replied another voice, younger and less confident. "Targeting a Saintess candidate goes against everything we're taught."
"Well, we have no choice but to adapt.” Nevarn continued. “We deliver her to the Academy as promised. The Lord had made arrangements for her there."
Their footsteps began moving away, and I quickly retreated into the shadow of a decorative alcove, containing a bust of some long-dead Rimaris ancestor.
"Did you catch that, Master?" Azure's voice echoed in my mind.
"I did," I replied silently.
Lord Kaeven had been a traitor, not the ally he'd presented himself as to Lady Laelyn, but someone plotting against her. And at least one of the Lightweavers supposedly protecting us was complicit. But the real question - was his killer an ally or simply a different threat?
"At least his conspirators have had a change of heart," I murmured inwardly. "Lord Kaeven's death has frightened them enough to abandon their plans."
"For now," Azure cautioned. "Fear can be a powerful motivator, but it rarely lasts. Once they feel safe again..."
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"True. But it buys us time." I emerged from my hiding place, continuing down the corridor. "And time is always a valuable resource."
"What will you do with this information?" Azure asked. "Warn the lady? Tell Captain Beric?"
A reasonable question.
The righteous move would be to expose the conspiracy, eliminate the threat it posed to our journey. But that would potentially create more complications than it solved. Accusations without proof would sow discord within the group, making us more vulnerable. And revealing that I'd overheard such a conversation would raise questions about my own abilities. More importantly, I doubt anyone would believe me anyway.
"Nothing, for now," I decided. "Since they've abandoned their plan, there's no immediate threat.”
“And what of this ‘arrangement’?”
"We can try figure out what he put in place," I rounded another corner and finally spotted a familiar landmark, the grand staircase leading down to the entrance hall. “And even if we’re not able to figure it out before we reach the academy, I’m sure the lady has more experience dealing with deadly political plays than us.”
My thoughts turned to last night’s dinner party and how the lord had wanted to speak to her in private, this ‘arrangement’ of his likely was related to that.
I made my way down the stairs to find the entrance hall already bustling with activity. Servants carried luggage, guards checked weapons, and the Lightweavers conferred in a tight circle near the main doors.
I scanned the group carefully, trying to identify which one might have been Nevarn's co-conspirator, but their identical robes and controlled expressions made it impossible to be certain.
Lady Laelyn stood near the center of the hall, speaking quietly with Beric. She had changed into more practical traveling attire, still fine by commoner standards, but designed for movement rather than display. A leather satchel hung at her side, clutched protectively in one hand.
Something new, I noted. Something she considered valuable. And maybe even something that the lord had given her?
She spotted me descending the stairs and offered a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. The night's events had shaken her, as they would anyone, but she maintained the composed facade expected of nobility.
"Tomas," she greeted me as I approached. "I was beginning to worry you'd gotten lost."
"Nearly did," I admitted with a self-deprecating smile. "This place is enormous."
"Indeed." She glanced around, a shadow passing over her face. "Though I find I'm eager to leave it now."
"Understandable, given the circumstances." I kept my voice appropriately somber. "Have the arrangements changed?"
Beric answered, his hand never straying far from his sword hilt. "We'll travel in a tighter formation. The carriage has been reinforced with additional protective formations. Two Lightweavers will ride with Lady Laelyn at all times, the others positioned at the front and rear of our group."
"And where will I be in this formation?" I asked, already anticipating the answer.
Beric's expression hardened slightly. "You'll ride with the rear guards. Lady Mara feels, and I agree, that it would be more appropriate given your station."
Of course they did. I was the suspicious outsider, the unknown variable in their careful equation. Better to keep me at a distance from Lady Laelyn, where I could be watched more easily.
"I understand," I said, bowing my head slightly in acceptance. "I'm grateful to be included at all."
Lady Laelyn frowned. "Beric, that's unnecessary. Tomas has proven his loyalty repeatedly."
"My lady, with respect, now is not the time to debate protocol." Beric's tone brooked no argument. "After what happened to Lord Kaeven, we cannot afford to take chances with your safety."
She looked as though she might protest further, but a servant approached, announcing that the carriages were ready. The moment passed, and the group began moving toward the main doors.
Outside, two carriages waited in the circular drive, the larger, more ornate one clearly intended for Lady Laelyn and her immediate protectors, the second more modest and utilitarian.
I moved toward the second carriage as directed, watching as Lady Laelyn was escorted to the first. She glanced back at me once, a complex expression on her face that I couldn't quite decipher, before disappearing inside.
The rear guard consisted of three of Lord Kaeven's personal guards and one Lightweaver, a young man with close-cropped hair and a perpetual frown. As I approached, they made room for me on the bench seat, though none seemed particularly pleased by my presence.
"The village boy," one of the guards muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. "Lucky to be alive, that one."
I pretended not to notice, taking my seat and securing my modest pack beneath the bench. As the carriages began to move, a palpable tension hung in the air, not just among our small group, but throughout the entire procession.
Everyone was on edge, eyes scanning the surroundings for threats, hands never far from weapons.
The feeling intensified as we passed through the estate's main gates, leaving the relative safety of its walls behind. The road ahead wound through cultivated fields before disappearing into the forest that marked the beginning of the Academy's territory.
"How long to the Academy?" I asked the Lightweaver, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Six hours if we maintain pace," he replied curtly. "Longer if we encounter... difficulties."
The implication was clear. No one expected this journey to be uneventful.
"I see," I replied neutrally, carefully controlling the expression on my face.
The moment he had spoken, I had felt my stomach tighten.
That voice, slightly higher pitched than most men, with a distinctive clip to certain syllables, was unmistakable. This was the same Lightweaver who had been speaking with Nevarn in the corridor, the reluctant co-conspirator who had expressed misgivings about "targeting a Saintess candidate."
I stared ahead at the road, internally cursing my extraordinarily bad luck.
Of all the Lightweavers who could have been assigned to the rear carriage, I had to be seated beside the very one implicated in the conspiracy against Lady Laelyn.
"Just perfect," I thought bitterly. "The universe has a twisted sense of humor."
"Master," Azure commented silently in my mind, "this could be an opportunity rather than a setback. He seemed reluctant about the plan. Perhaps he could be persuaded to share more information."
I gave the mental equivalent of a sigh.
Reluctant conspirators were often the most dangerous, unpredictable in their guilt and fear.
