Elba watched in abject horror as her man stepped from his jail cell and towards the monster. "Are you out of your fething mind? Five seconds ago I was pulling your sorry ass from the fire and now I find you trying to waltz back in? Get back here you damned idiot!"

Libro stopped mid stride like a frightened deer. "Please, my love," he started to say, pausing as he realized the full extent of his words. He cleared his throat sheepishly. "I mean, Elba. This may be the one and only chance to figure out what happened to me back in Middengard."

"What happened is that you were damn lucky." She snapped him a hard look, tapping her spear against the cobbles as her father would have when negotiating with the other men of her tribe. She winced as she realized the folly of her thoughts. They were not her men of the tribe anymore. "And I'm not about to watch you die a second fool's death."

"I won't," Libro said. "You and I both know what I've already lost." With a rustle of cloth, he revealed the stump of his right arm, swaddled in checkered yellow and black velvet, bound together with leather and buckle.

"But this is important to me," he continued, his voice a smooth, velvet feeling to her ears. "I need to know if this is something I can use to protect you. To protect all of you," he added quickly, eyeing the other three in the room.

Elba sighed. Damned, but the man could be stubborn sometimes. More hard headed than Sigismund used to be. Her stomach clenched at the memory and she turned away.
"Fine then. Just don't get yourself killed."

Libro nodded as he turned back towards the monster, still flailing uselessly at the metal staff pinning it in place. "Cinis, hold it down for me."

Brand blinked as he came back to attention. "Yes sir!" His eyes narrowed as he called upon his magick, Stelecasting it was called, loose weapons rising from the floorboards. There was a loud thwack as the creature let out a howling wail, a sword ramming into its open palm. A second later and its other arm was equally pinned. A third wrapped over its legs, tip and pommel digging into the crumbling stone.

"Tucked in tighter than an oarsman in a storm," Moss muttered.

"My glove, if you would?" Libro held out his left hand and Brand made quick to pull it off, revealing pale flesh beneath. A webbing of dark scars ran down the back of his palm in twisted, geometric patterns. He winced as he tested his grip, puckered flesh pulled taut against the knuckles. He puffed his cheeks out, ignoring the slavering creature as he suddenly lunged, grabbing it by the temples. It croaked out an angry burble, former humanity lost to whatever possessed it now.

Elba grit her teeth, bracing for Libro to lose his other arm when a flash of light made her pause. It started at the tips of his fingers, glowing brighter by the second as it surged from his hand and into the cuff of his sleeve. Fingers of light bloomed from the holes in his armor, an opposing glow rising from the creature. It slithered out from the monster's throat, cold light the color of sea ice.

Slowly, it began to glide towards Libro's fingertips, resisting ever so gently against his pull. He reached out, motes of tiny light flickering as he touched it before they were reeled in by an invisible force. The air wavered above his shoulder like heat shimmering from a campfire, before it too disappeared.

With a rasping croak the creature's head fell limp, body going slack, eyes fading dull and lifeless. Libro took in a shuddering breath and stepped back, staring at his hand as he turned it this way and that. Not a speck was out of place.  The same smooth flesh. The same chewed fingernails.

"Seems your theory was right after all," Libro said, nodding over to Brand. "Whatever's come over this land, it's definitely magickal in nature."

"More than you could ever realize, my Captain." A voice called out from behind. Elba whirled about, reaching for her sword, only to realize it still embedded in the creature's guts. Cent and Moss, however, were not as unlucky. They moved past her, shields and axes at the ready as they closed in towards the danger.

A woman stood in the tower's entryway, lean as a cat and with the same predatory air. Her skin was pale as snow, fingertips near blue in the darkness as she clutched to a black, wooden staff. The hair around her head fell back in dark, sweeping tumbles, fashioned between unkempt wilding and dangerous sorceress. A robe of midnight blue swaddled her lithe form, odd charms glinting from beneath.

But most striking of all were her different colored eyes. One orange and one blue.

"And just who in the seven hells are you?" Libro asked, thankfully pulling out his own sword as he stepped beside Elba. "I take it you're the one who made this monster?" He jabbed at the dead thing, its body quickly decomposing, red dust pooling to the floor.

"No." The woman smiled. "That would be my mother's doing."

*

Elba did not like this woman. She did not like the way she stared, like a hungry thing eyeing up her prey. She did not like the way she smiled, mouth all full of sharp, shiny teeth. And she did not like the way she talked, as if every word were being spun into a spell. It reminded her too much of the ambassador she'd encountered a year ago in the Medial. The one who'd boldly lied to her face right before he'd died. Felt like a faraway time now.

Her thoughts were dashed away by the snap of a canvas flap. Libro trudged in, Brand bouncing at his heels.

"Apologies for keeping you waiting, I had Cinis here boil us some tea." He sat down beside Elba, left arm grazing her shoulder as he reached over, taking a cup from the tray. "Would you care for some?"

"My, my. Such manners, and from a foreigner no less." The woman smiled back at him, both eyes glowing with admiration as he prepared her a cup. It made Elba's teeth hurt watching such a display. "I take it you are not from around here?"

"We're from the Empire," Libro admitted willingly, handing her a steaming mug. The sorceress took a sip, sounds of contentment purring from the back of her throat.

"Oh, but that is a good blend. Only the finest from a place like Byzantia."

"You've been?" Libro asked, pouring two more mugs and handing them to Elba and Brand. She took it graciously, happy to have some warmth back in her fingers after their chilling encounter in the tower.

"Only in stories and rumors," the woman's eyes grew serious as she placed the cup aside. "But stories and rumors are not why I'm here."

Straight to business then, Elba realized. She watched as Libro straightened out his posture, the familiar iron mask settling into his features, barring any and all emotion from escaping. How and why he'd developed the need for such a skill she would never understand. Sometimes she wondered if he even knew himself.

"No," Libro said as he leaned close. "You look like someone who knows things."

"You are wise for someone so young."

"I am blessed with both good fortune and good company to compensate for what I lack."

"And what is it you lack?"

"The answers I need. And I know you can offer them to me for a price." He held his hand out, as if he were greeting an old friend. "The name's Libro."

The woman tilted her brow up ever so slightly as she took it. "I am known by many names. Crehl Due Murgan, the Silent Sister, the Crone of Crooked Creek, but you may call me Keela."

"Keela then," Libro said, pulling his hand back and resting it ever so gently on Elba's thigh. She glared at him side long before he responded with a soft tap, reminding her why he'd done it in the first place.

"So Keela, how shall we make this a fair trade?" Libro continued.

"I believe a question for a question will suffice."

"I was about to suggest the very same thing." Libro took a sip from his mug, smiling at the still rising steam. "Goddess, but that is good. You truly have an amazing taste for tea, Cinis."

"Thank you, sir," Brand said, a hint of a smile escaping his placid features. Elba almost wanted to jump for joy given how rare she'd seen them these days. Ever since Middengard the boy had only grown more sullen, like a candle with its flame snuffed out. And the sad truth of it all was that she knew exactly why. Finding out you were nothing more than a pawn in your family's schemes would definitely put a damper on any one's mood.

"I'll start then," Keela said. "Why are you here?"

Libro pointed a pinky at her. "That's confidential."

"Oh please, it's not as if I'm going to spill your secret to the whole north." She clasped her hands together with a sly grin. "You already did that yourself."

Elba forced back a wince of surprise as Libro gave her thigh a gentle squeeze. A question as to the validity of Keela's statement. She looked back at the sorceress, wondering if the woman was lying but there was no mistaking it. That familiar look of precious knowledge being dangled just out of reach. She'd seen that look in Andelherd one too many times in her life. With a soft tap, she reassured him the witch was not to be trusted.

"I assume it has to do with the creature I killed?" Libro asked.

Keela smiled. "Clever. And correct. How did you manage to kill it?"

"I have no fecking idea, but I'll let you know when I've figured it out."

"That was a cheap answer and you know it."

"Then I'll give you another, as an act of good faith."

Keela snorted and sat back in her chair. "Such a gentleman. Not many left in a place like this. Fine. Another question, but this time I'll back it up with a promise so I know you'll give me a proper answer."

Another squeeze, another gentle tap. She certainly did have something to offer and Elba knew it. Whether they should take the deal, however, was an entirely different story. She didn't like the idea of bargaining with this woman, let alone answering her questions, but there was a strange truth in the Sorceress' words that she couldn't ignore either. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't.

"I'm listening," Libro said.

"Tell me who it is you're hunting and I will lead you to them." Keela rubbed at her staff. "Finding people, after all, is one of the many gifts my mother gave me in life. It would be a shame to spoil them."

"Why do you want to know?" It was Elba's turn now, cutting straight to the heart of things.

Keela paused for a moment, studying her. "Because I'm curious," she said, eyes slightly narrowed. "Curious to see If it's the same man my mother fears for after all these years." She looked up, eyes fever bright in the half light. "I would love nothing more than to find that answer out for myself.

***