It was te by the time Bernt made it back to the Uy – the evening rush on the market was already well underway. He’d mao learn a few things, though he still wasn’t sure about what to do about his iure. It was frustrating, but at least the day hadn’t been a total loss.

  It had taken some fast talking, but he had eventually mao vince Haln that he wasn’t going to attempt to bond aal. That settled, Hal him check out a copy of an a imperial researcher’s treatise on familiar bonds, including notes and even a few variations on the usual bonding spell.

  Bernt had already taken a look at it back at the library, and he was sure he could figure out a way to temporarily strehe e. Assuming that worked, he might finally be able to unicate with Jain. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t really a substitute for having her back, but he hated relying on the Solicitors for updates – not least because they never actually told him anything. That was fine, he didn't hem.

  Bernt wanted nothing more than to ght home to work on it, but he still had another appoio get to today. He and Nirlig had talked Torvald into meeting them after work today to update them on what he learned in his meeting with the t.

  Rumors had been running rampant around the city about the fall of Loamfurth, but nobody really knew anything crete yet. The priestess in the break room st night had practically firmed that it was Nuros and his Duergar, back for another round. His army had beeed and Jori had literally burned him to ash, yet he mao level another city less than two weeks ter.

  Bernt tried to picture it, but he struggled to grasp the scale of the catastrophe, even having seen what happened here in Halfbridge. It was too big, too devastating to make sense of. What did it mean? Could the Duergar do the same to ort, up on the northern coast? Did they have other armies sitting under Yetin’s Harbor and Teres, waiting for their demonieral to appear? And would they e babsp;here?

  He caught sight of his two coworkers sitting at a small table in front of an alehouse and waved as he joihem. Torvald wouldn’t have ao these questions, of course, but any neele at a time like this.

  “Hey, you made it!” Nirlig said cheerfully, raising his mug iing. Torvald him, his expression much more serious.

  Bernt waved to a goblin barman as he sat down and ordered a pint and something to eat. He’d fotten to get lunch, and his stomach growled hungrily at the smells that drifted out from the kit.

  “Alright, he’s here. Are you going to tell us what happened, now?” Nirlig asked Torvald impatiently. “I’ve got people in Loamfurth, you know. My cousin lives there!”

  “Well, you better hope he got out,” Torvald said gravely. “It sounds pretty much like the worst-case sario. The city’s beeroyed. My father told me the refugees should start reag us in a few days, maybe two or three, depending on how quickly they’re moving. That’s not even what the meeting was about, though. Not really." He let out a slow breath, choosing his words. "They want to coordinate an iional respoo the Duergar – the temples, I mean. They want to set up this big cve at the Sacral Peaks to revive the Invigition. I'm going.”

  Bernt frowned in fusion. “ they do that? I mean, don't they just stand on street ers and preach about the dangers of summoning demons nowadays?”

  Torvald shrugged and nodded. “Yeah. No one ever made them stop hunting rogue warlocks, the temples just stopped actively pursuing them after the Solicitors and their sister anizations in Madzhur and Kallrix were set up and began polig their own. Their mandate is totally intact across the entire ti, legally speaking. And right after the fall of the empire, the Invigition did coordinate rge-scale wars against powerful warlocks who tried to set up their own kingdoms, though they were just “The Temples” back then. The pretentious name came ter, whehing was codified iies – ”

  “Alright, yes, fine. We do the history lesson ter,” Nirlig interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. “What happe the meeting?”

  As Torvald reted what he’d heard, Bernt tried to grasp the implications of what he was saying. The Invigition was trying to seize some kind of political power here, right? It had to be. If it actually worked, they might gain trol of the bined military assets of multiple tries. Or influe least. That would ge things – everything, maybe. The gods didn’t normally get involved in human politics like this.

  Bernt couldn't begin to guess what this meant, but it probably wasn’t good. Not fur people who just wao mind their own business. Oher hand, Beseri cities were being burned down by a mad demon lord and his Duergar armies. The likes of general Arid the wealthy nobles in Teres certainly weren’t going to fix it. So, maybe they were just doing what was needed. Who was he to say?

  “So, wait,” Nirlig said as Torvald finished his expnation. “You're saying you need an escort to go with you to the Sacral Peaks, and it just has to be someone who works for the gover?” He grinedly. “ I e? It sounds amazing – I’ve always wao travel!”

  Torvald gave a pained smile. “Ah… I don’t think that’s a good idea. The t is ultimately the one who selects the legitimator. The temple district might… uh… take issue with him seleg a pagan. I don’t think he’s going to want that.”

  Nirlig’s grin morphed into a bitter frown aook a swig of his ale. “A goblin, you mean.”

  “Yes,” Torvald firmed. “Not just that, but yeah. Sorry. It’s politics.” He looked over at Bernt, meeting his eyes. “Actually, I was going to ask you.”

  “What?” Bernt choked on his ale in surprise and coughed. “Torvald, are you crazy? Everybody thinks I’m a warlock! If the t won’t take Nirlig, what do you think they’ll say about me?”

  Torvald waved Bernt’s protests aside. “They won’t say anything. I don’t think you realize what kind of bag you have. You’re a member of the Mages’ Guild, and pretty much everyone has heard about how you burned demons to ders itle down here. Besides, no demon, no infernal powers, no warlock.”

  “That’s not how it works!” Bernt protested. “Everybody knew about Jori, not to mention her killing the Duergar general!”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Torvald insisted. “My mom always says individual facts aren’t really that important, it’s about your image. It’s why she hates politiuch. But it’s w in your favor in this case. Jori is very popur in this tht now, and she was fighting the bad guys. Hardly like a demon at all. You’re not associated with any noble families and frankly, you’re a local war hero. The t will give you the job if we nudge him in the right dire. Specifically, he will if my mother does the nudging.”

  “I don’t know, man,” Bernt said uhusiastically. “It’s been a hard couple of months here and there’s no telling how long I’d be gone. Besides, I really o work on my development as a wizard – I’m in a pretty difficult positiht now.”

  He he guild library for his research, and Pollock’s expertise to find the right way forward. Besides, what if Jori and Ed came back while he was gone? He wao be there for that.

  “Are you crazy?” Nirlig blurted incredulously. “What do you need more magic for? You burned hundreds of Duergar with a single spell. Listen to yourself! You could get paid to travel. Who wouldn’t take that job?”

  Torvald leaned forward in his chair. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but think about it, please. We won’t be out in the wilderhe whole time – we’d be traveling through a lot of towns and a few cities. Fergefield and Goldwater are big enough to have their own guild braheir libraries probably have texts you ’t find here. After we’re do the Sacral Peaks, we could even visit Teres and che on Josie!”

  That… well, that didn’t sound too bad. Put that way, it did sound crazy to refuse. A direct appoi from the t probably robably well paid, too. Still, it was a big decision to make at the drop of a hat. He o think this through.

  “I’ll think about it,” Bernt allowed. Being able to visit the uilds really might be worth it. Traveling clear across the try was expensive, and he doubted he was going to get a lot of opportuo do it without losing his job, never miing paid for it.

  Besides, there was something else he’d just remembered. The Sacral Peaks were right o the Phoenix Reaches.

  ***

  Whe home, Bernt pulled the books he’d checked out from the library out of his bag and stacked them on his stone desk, putting the one on familiar bonds to the side for ter. One of these had a map in it, though he couldn’t remember whie. He started flipping through them and got almost halfway through his stack before he remembered where he’d seen it.

  Cursing himself, he rose and grabbed the oddly proportioned book oal summoning off his shelf. There, in the back cover of the ti, with various fluence loarked. The Phoenix Reaches were marked with an ignition rune and right there, in mountains directly on its northwestern edge, y the Sacral Peaks. The holy site was famously inaccessible. It had to be, to serve as a refuge during the darkest days of the Madurian Empire.

  That wasn’t what Bernt was ied in, though. What mattered was whether he could access the Phoenix Reaches from there. If he could, then he might be able to get his hands oic pyromancy materials, or even try his hand at elemental summoning. It should work.

  Idly, Bernt flipped backward through the book, going over the various types of elemental creatures. While summoned elementals were powerful, they all came with a serious drawback – they couldn’t be summoned from just anywhere, and they were difficult to trol. They instinctively hated the chaotiergies of the material pne, and sought to return to the purity of their ow. Sooner or ter – usually sooner – aal would slip its leash aurn to its home p least, that was what the book said.

  If he wao experiment oals, he o start small. Remembering one particurly b entry, Bernt looked up the first elemental listed in the Fire se.

  Lesser Fme Sprite: The simplest type of fire elemental, this semi-se fme responds easily to the will of its summoner and sustain itself through the bustion of muerials. While not very powerful, its simple upkeep makes it an ideal loool for summoners operating far from an appropriate summoning location.

  It was made entirely of fme – it didn’t really have a body… what would happen if he put oo a rune circle for analysis? What was it, really? Was it a spirit in the same sense as what goblin shamans ied with, or was it more like a natural creature with its own mawork? Or was it more like a magical material in its ht? Ohat had gais own rudimentary intelligence?

  Questions whirled i’s head as he sidered the possibilities, even as he realized that he’d made a decision. Torvald hadn’t been wrong about visiting uild libraries, and he would o talk to Pollock to crify exactly what to focus on and what kinds of experiments to run. But regardless of the details, this was something he really couldn’t ignore. He might never get another opportunity to access the Phoenix Reaches.

  Besides, traveling with Torvald could be good for him. Ruzinians didn’t associate with rogue warlocks and evildoers – they destroyed them. The padin’s renown was already spreading since his explosive first battle, and this cve wouldly make people fet about him. Being Torvald’s official legitimator could help him protect Jori by association, whehey mao get her home.

  He’d wao do something to help, anything that didn’t involve just sitting on his hands and hoping Josie saved the day with her legal battle in Teres. Well, here was something. It wasn’t a solution in itself, of course, but it was a step in the right dire.