"And this," declared the Mage Elder, brandishing a parchment, "is the most damning evidence of the lot!"

"And just why is that so?" demanded another Mage Elder.

"Because it very clearly states the conclusion of this research, that Portals can be opened without the need of a focus."

"With all due respect, the conclusion means nothing if it is based on a nonsensical premise! The very idea that memories could be read and implanted within a Portal matrix must be the most far-fetched ..."

The first Mage slammed the parchment down on the table. "That is not the point! The point is that the theory that was proposed, even before this conclusion was reached, is important enough to have demanded dissemination to ..."

"Oh, and now you contradict yourself. First you state that the conclusion is most damning, and now you state the theory itself is!"

The first Mage shook a warning finger at the second. "Don't you dare argue semantics with me! I'll remind you that I was the one that taught you remedial rune interpretation before you could make your Mastership!"

"Now that was uncalled for and is hardly relevant to these proceedings!"

A third Mage, one of the few female Mage Elders, rose. "The both of you are ignoring a very simple fact, one that goes to the heart of the matter. The fact remains that there existed artifacts of a Portal device of a very unusual nature. This alone, I feel, proves the charge."

"Excellent point!" cried the first. He wagged his finger at the other again. "See? See? Can you refute that? Never mind the conclusion then! The very fact that these artifacts existed without the rest of us knowing is an unconscionable breach of ethics!"

The second Mage sighed and frowned. "I have to admit, you have a point. If for no other reason that those of sound mind can research this and refute this ludicrous ..."

"Oh, now, hang on! Are you implying that Q'yros is mentally unstable? I'll have none of that talk."

"I said no such thing!" the second bellowed. He snatched a parchment from the table and shook it in his fist. "This is not even Q'yros' handwriting. In fact, I demand to know who it was that wrote these notes. This argument means nothing if we do not know that."

Q'ixanna leapt from his chair. "I submit to the court that if this was not the work of a Mage Elder, of someone with experience and knowledge, that it be declared immediately inadmissible. You cannot base your charge of suppression of information if that information is not sound. I would be justified in suppressing something that I felt was a waste of everyone's time!"

A few heads around the table nodded.

Uroddus sighed and shifted in his seat. He had no idea who had copied his notes. A debate raged in his head on what he should do. He could claim authorship of the original, but he could not tell how his notes were distributed.

"I have no witness for this testimony," Q'land stated. "None have come forward, and no one at the table has claimed authorship."

"Then I move for a vote now," Q'ixanna said. "Vote and move on!"

"Here, here!" said the second Mage.

"Hang on," said the first. "Q'land, someone is hiding something. Someone at this table or in this hall wrote this."

The second Mage was incensed. "Are you accusing the Mage Elders of deliberately ..."

"Enough!" Q'land declared. He turned to the first. "What is it you wish?"

"I wish you to cast Pall of Truth and ..."

There was an immediate and loud uproar from most of the Mage Elders.

" ... put the question to the hall for the author of these notes to come forward!" the Mage shouted over the din.

Q'land thrust both hands into the air. The gong-like sound was loud enough to shake the rafters. While the general uproar calmed, several Mage Elders vociferously voiced protest.

"Hear me! Hear me out!" yelled the first Mage. "Read these notes again. If even a fraction of what is written here is true, the implications are staggering! And I remind you all that we do know that Portals from an unknown power were indeed opened into Oceanus on many occasions. Many of us were called to investigate them. If there is even the slightest possibility that these Portals pose a grave threat to this nation, then the suppression of any information about them, no matter how small, is an act of unparalleled negligence! I am well within my rights to demand the Pall of Truth."

Several Mages shot him very nasty looks, but no one openly opposed him. Q'land let out a sigh. "Very well. If there are no objections ..."

"Q'land, you are not going to seriously entertain this absurd notion!" the Guildmaster exploded.

"We require the truth, Guildmaster," Q'land declared, though his voice was shaky. "I will do it. Now, everyone, please, quiet! I need to concentrate."

Uroddus let out a nervous breath. Very few spells could force anyone to do anything without the discipline of mind magick. Pall of Truth was the closest Magery came to such a thing.

Pall of Truth did not actually compel. What it did was make life difficult for someone that evaded the truth. If someone under the general area of effect of the spell refused to disclose the truth, it visited that Mage with a "pall," which is a Mage term describing an energy field that interfered with proper use of magic. Thus the spell did not force truth so much as threaten dire consequences if one did not express the truth.

Q'land performed a rather complex set of hand movements and a lengthy incantation. At the end, there was a sound like distant thunder, and a gray miasma settled over the hall.

"I declare intent to seek Truth!" Q'land intoned to complete the spell. "And the Truth that I seek is this: that the author of these parchments come forth."

Uroddus was about to stand but paused. There was an exasperated sigh from several nearby Empiricists, including Katla, as they understood as well. Q'land had not called for the original author of the notes, but for the author of the parchments. It was a subtle difference, but enough to disqualify Uroddus from answering.

And yet, the fog-like atmosphere of the room appeared to grow thicker. It was sensing that someone was still withholding a truth. Someone at the proceedings had indeed made these copies. Uroddus glanced at his fellow Empiricists. As Katla had indicated, their ranks were thinner today. They were all exchanging whispered comments, with the occasional shake of a head. None of them had done it.

Finally, there was a gust of wind, and the fog lifted. A small, quavering voice called out, "I-it was me, Master Q'land."

All eyes turned. A mousy-looking female Apprentice had stood, her peers gawking at her in disbelief. Her eyes were wide and frightened. Q'ixanna laughed out loud. The girl seemed to shrink, as if she wanted to sink through the floor and disappear.

Q'land glared at the Guildmaster before turning back to the girl. "Your name?"

"G-gissa Q'reena."

"Apprentice Gissa Q'reena, come to the podium."

The girl flinched. She swallowed hard and stepped forward, eyes wide and scared.

Q'land peered over his spectacles, making him seem all the more intimidating to the Apprentice. "You state then for the record that you are the author of these notes?"

Gissa started to nod and opened her mouth. She paused, reconsidered, then shook her head. "No, Master Q'land."

The Guildmaster's smile disappeared. "You just said you were!" he roared.

Gissa gripped the sides of the podium until it started to shake along with her.

Q'land looked impatient. "Could you clarify, please, Apprentice Q'reena? Did you not just say you were the author of these notes?"

"N-no, Master Q'land. I ... I made the copies. I made these parchments. I didn't write the original notes."

"And from whom did you get the originals?"

"Master Q'yros."

And the Mage Elders were again in an uproar.

"See now! A Mage Elder, and a most experienced one at that. He would not ...!"

"Q'yros is not the kind of Mage to engage in fantasy. He would not forward such a theory unless he was sure ...!"

"He knew of the artifacts. He had secured them from the Guildmaster and came up with this. How can we claim to second guess ...?"

"He was not infirm when he did this research, not by a long shot! He ..."

Q'land raised his hand and called upon the gong again before he turned back to the Apprentice. "Did he say why he had you make these copies?"

"He said he simply w-wanted them archived."

"But he had you make so many copies. Did you not question this?"

Gissa looked stricken. "He's a Mage Elder! You don't ... that is ... a-an Apprentice doesn't question it when a Mage Elder tells her what to do. He told me to take the copies and put them outside the door of Master Q'yoton, the Master Archivist."

Q'land frowned. "But he is on sabbatical for another moon."

"I know! But ... but this was Master Q'yros. You don't question someone like that."

The Guildmaster ran forward, causing the Apprentice to utter a gasp of terror and flee the podium. Before Q'land could cite her for leaving before being dismissed, or the Guildmaster for leaving the dais, Q'ixanna had snatched the parchments from the table and narrowed his eyes at them.

"This is not from Q'yros," the Guildmaster snarled.

"Guildmaster, we have heard testimony under the Pall of Truth that ..." Q'land began.

Q'ixanna threw the parchments at him. "Blast that! Q'yros does not write notes like this. He does not engage in all these figures and numbers. If he had, I would have forced him into retirement much earlier for being addled in the head!"

A very dark wave of muttering erupted among the Empiricists.

One of the Mage Elders picked up a fallen parchment and examined it. "Hrm. It would appear the Guildmaster is correct." He frowned. "In fact, I can make little sense of this. It smacks of Empiricism, if you ask me."

"Q'yros is no Empiricist!" cried the first Mage. "And not all of it is numbers and formulae."

"But a good amount of it is!" Q'ixanna countered.

"Then ... then I demand that we use the Pall again! Find out who among the ..."

"There will be no need for that," Uroddus' voice rang out. He stood up. "I claim authorship of the original notes."

Q'land frowned. "And why did you not admit this when the Pall was first used?"

"Because your wording was off. You did not request the original author, merely the one that transcribed the notes."

The Guildmaster made a disgusted noise as he threw up his hands dramatically. "And we are expected to listen to this?" he called out as he returned to his seat.

"You seemed willing to listen to him, Guildmaster, when he supported your side earlier!" said the first Mage acidly.

"Journeyman Uroddus Q'garra," Q'land called out, looking quite miffed at having his miswording called out. "Come to the podium."

Roquan paused at the fork in the path as the last long rays of sunlight began to fade to dusky crimson. He looked towards the quarters that once held his other Trainer. He had avoided this duty ever since she had arrived.

He turned from the path and walked up to the door. The guard posted outside stood at attention for a moment and bowed his head briefly towards the Overlord. He stepped to one side and allowed Roquan access to the door. Roquan nodded in reply and let himself in.

The place was much like Sirinna's quarters. He stood inside a larger chamber designed for the Trainer herself, with three smaller adjoining chambers for Trainees, plus a sanitary. This time, however, a "captive" of sorts was being kept in the main chamber.

Freya lay on the furs of the bed. A simple, slim chain was wrapped around her right wrist with a small lock. The other end was secured to the bed frame. It was exactly like the one that was placed on Amanda when she had first arrived. Despite its apparent delicacy, it was quite resilient, and it stretched to allow access to the sanitary but nothing else.

Roquan paused. Freya was nude, the only clothing she had come with discarded like so many rags in a distant part of the room.

The former Overlord lifted her head and actually smiled at him. She swung her legs over the side and sat up. "Finally paying your respects to the prisoner? Or have the other Overlords finally demanded my release?"

Roquan's jaw tightened. "Some of the other Overlords have indeed been in touch with me over the past few days."

"Oh, I have no doubt of that," Freya said silkily. She smoothly rose to her feet. "I am quite sure they had many choice words to say to you. Certainly I had some for them when they Farviewed me."

"Most of my communications were to correct blatant lies told by you," Roquan's eyes remained rigidly on hers, never drifting over her body.

Freya chuckled. "One wonders who they ultimately believed."

Roquan glanced at the discarded dress. "Is that why you are naked? A feeble attempt to reinforce the lie that I am treating you as a slave?"

Freya held up the chained wrist. "Hardly a lie, Roquan."

"Other than your imprisonment, you have been accorded more respect than is deserved. These are the largest quarters I can provide. Nothing even remotely related to slave duties have been imposed on you. You were even offered the use of my slaves."

"Enough prattle," Freya snapped, her smile fading. "When am I to leave? Surely the others have secured my release by now."

"And what makes you believe this fantasy, Freya?"

"Because I am an Overlord, and you have no right to keep me here," she declared. "Only a full Conclave can decide anything."

Roquan remained silent at first, watching Freya seethe and the doubt creep into her eyes. "Some Overlords did express a desire for you to be released."

Freya slowly smiled.

"But there have been no demands as such, not after I explained to them what you did."

Her smile faltered. "And they believed you? Someone who has committed more crimes than I ever did?"

Roquan sneered. "Do not even attempt to presume you are somehow more righteous than I, or that your crimes carry less weight. There is simply no comparison. My crimes were errors of judgment. Yours were blatant breakdowns of morality and ethics."

"Spare me the lecture. The point is that you are nothing right now, I may not have achieved what I wanted, but your words have very little weight with the Overlords."

"Perhaps so. But this is not the case with regards to Trennan."

Freya's eyes widened slightly. "What?"

"Trennan is confirming my claim about your use of the Draught on Narlassi natives."

The former Overlord's mouth dropped open. "But he can't ...! I never told him about any of this."

"He had confirmed it himself once Doran revealed your actions to him."

"But how in hellfire could he ...?"

"How he did it is not important," Roquan said. "What matters is that Trennan's word does matter to the other Overlords. Or did you forget that it was he that initiated the ruse against you?"

"He was united with me in opposition to you!" Freya yelled. "He despised what you did with Amanda! He has nothing but contempt for you!"

"Be that as it may, he realizes there is a bigger picture to consider. And I have already informed him that I will willingly submit to the judgment of the Conclave when we are able to convene one. Are you willing to do that same?"

Freya's hands clenched into fists, and for a moment sheer fury burned in her eyes. She caught herself before long. Her hands unclenched and the tempest in her eyes calmed. Her lips curled into a small smile. "I suppose in that case, we're in the same boat now."

Roquan raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Both of us will have to go before the Conclave and answer to the other Overlords."

"So you will submit to their judgment? Willingly?"

"Well ... that depends."

Freya started towards him, swinging her hips. Roquan narrowed his eyes, keeping them on Freya's.

"It's quite possible we could ... " She dropped her voice into a more husky tone. " ... help each other ..."

Roquan said nothing and remained a statue.

Freya sauntered towards him, letting her footfalls make her breasts swing and ripple as she walked. His eyes never faltered. "I was the one that leveled those charges at you about dear little Amanda," Freya cooed. She lifted a hand to his shoulder. "And you are the one that accused me of taking Narlassi as slaves. Perhaps we can ... come to an arrangement."

Roquan's eyes hardened to ice.

Freya smiled. "And if we did ..." Her hand played along his shoulder and slid over his chest. " ... it could very well be worth your while .." Her hand dropped. " ... I might even let you play out this little fantasy of having me as a sort of slave. For a time ..."

Her hand slipped downward towards his crotch.

Roquan's hand flicked out. He wrenched her wrist to his chest, and then away from him, eliciting a startled gasp. When Freya's other hand rose to strike him, he grabbed it as well, pinning them together.

"Stop it!" Freya cried. "Let go! You're hurting me!"

"Do not even attempt your sexual ploy on me," Roquan hissed, his eyes blazing. "I have such utter contempt for you that you do not excite me in the least."

He pushed her back with a single violent shove. Freya let out a cry, stumbled, and fell.

Roquan took a deep breath and let it go through his nose, his hands clenching and unclenching, as if he were expending a great deal of effort to keep his temper under control.

"I told you everything you wanted to know!" Freya screamed, rubbing at her wrists. "I told you what I did with my slaves! I told you what Gronnus had done! I cooperated with you!"

"Yes, you and Gronnus, the both of you have abetted in what could be the ruination of Oceanus itself!"

"I didn't know!" Tears glistened in Freya's eyes. "How do I know you're not making that up? How do I know you're not just trying to ... to torture me with this ridiculous claim about these Portals? Well, it won't work! You will not make me feel guilty. You understand me? I refuse to feel guilty about anything!"

Roquan let out a slow sigh and shook his head. "Yes, Freya, I know. And that, by and large, is the problem."

The Overlord turned away. Freya's eyes widened. She wiped at the tears that had trickled down her face. "No, Roquan, wait! Don't go! Stop!"

She leapt to her feet. She uttered a yelp as the chain went taut and stopped her a few scant handspans from a door that was already closing behind the departing Roquan. Freya grabbed the chain with both hands and gave it several vicious yanks, but it would not be dislodged or broken.

She finally collapsed to the floor, weeping, and hugged her knees to her body.

"Thus Master Q'yros called for my assistance," said Uroddus as he adjusted his spectacles. "He was missing some pieces of the puzzle, as it were. We collaborated on the research, and I saw some things that he did not. The notes that you see before you are not my sole authorship. They represent the work done by Master Q'yros and myself. I should note that this was well before his current illness. He was perfectly sound of both mind and body when we took up this research together."

"I would dispute that last point," Q'ixanna called out from his chair. "The very notion that he would consort with an Empiricist of all people to me shows a severe lack of critical judgment on his part."

A Mage Elder rose. Lamplight glowed dully from his balding pate. His thoughtful look and crown of silver hair gave him a more distinguished air than his colleagues. "With all due respect to you, Journeyman, I feel I must concur with the sentiment expressed by the Guildmaster. Could it not be the case that Q'yros did consult with you simply as a means of jogging his own memory and would have proceeded along different lines had he not become ill?"

"If that were the case, Master Q'kollan then why did he choose to have the Apprentice copy these notes and distribute them?"

"Ah, but he told the Apprentice to deliver them to the Master Archivist. If his condition is bad, he perhaps forgot that ..."

"With all due respect, Elder, the point is quite moot."

Q'kollan looked shocked at the rebuke. Several other Mage Elders frowned.

"I suggest that your own words make the case for this charge having merit."

The Mage Elder raised an eyebrow. "How do you see this?" There was genuine curiosity in his voice, if no small dose of doubt as well.

"You claim that the purpose of calling me into the investigation was simply to jog his own memory. So be it. But then that further suggests that my input was important. Consequently, the notes in question, a result of that input, are important. And if they are important, and if they were willfully suppressed, then this constitutes a miscarriage of authority on the part of the Guildmaster. It is information that is potentially valuable that was purposefully suppressed."

Q'kollan look intensely thoughtful. Finally, he nodded his head slowly. "I do see your point, Journeyman, once you express it that way."

"This is madness!" Q'ixanna bellowed. He leapt from his seat and thrust an accusing finger at Uroddus. "You are an Empiricist. You spout numbers and figures and forumlas as a poor substitute for the true practice of magic. You think magic can be explained away as marks on a ledger sheet. You contribute nothing of practical worth to this Guild. Why should we trust your words at all? Why should we even continue to give you the time of day?"

The tension at the Empiricists' table was palpable. A few abruptly turned themselves around in their chair and put their backs towards the Guildmaster and folded their arms. It was a traditional -- and very damning -- means of showing displeasure towards another.

Uroddus, however, appeared unperturbed. He maintained a steady gaze at the Guildmaster and slipped off his spectacles. "Then I suggest in light of this, Guildmaster, if you consider my words so worthless, that my previous testimony concerning Q'yros' health be stricken from the record and debate reopened on that charge."

The Guildmaster look taken aback, and intense murmuring rose among the observers and even a few of the Mage Elders.

Q'land recovered from the shock first and turned to Q'ixanna. "Guildmaster, do you wish his previous testimony stricken?"

The Guildmaster stared. "What?"

"You appear to express a doubt in the integrity of the witness. It is within your right to request that we consider striking his testimony. Do you wish to do so?"

Q'ixanna clenched his teeth, and his fingers curled into fists. He shot Uroddus a deadly look and turned on his heel. He returned to his seat without a word.

"The testimony will stand." Q'land turned to the Journeyman. "Do you have anything else to say, Journeyman Q'garra?"

"Only this, Master Q'land," said Uroddus. He put his spectacles back on and faced the Mage Elders. "Distinguished Elders, I put it to you that the merits of my theories are not the question here. Whether you believe they have merit or not is not the question that is put before you. The question is: when it is considered appropriate to willfully suppress information? I submit that if even one of you, with your vast years of experience, believes that there may be enough to warrant further investigation, that would suggest that it would be a crime to suppress such information.

"It is true that the Guildmaster wields ultimate authority in such matters. But he is one man, and should not assume that he is correct all the time. This is a Guild of Mages, plural, and not a Guild of one. Just as this is not about me, and my theories, or about Q'yros, but about the Guild as a whole. The merchants will tell you that information is a commodity ..."

Q'land nodded emphatically. Q'ixanna's expression darkened.

"... and is thus considered to have some value. And if it does have value, to suppress it diminishes your value as Mages, and prevents you from coming to the correct conclusions. That is all I have to say."

Q'land nodded. "Is there anything else for this witness?" He was met with silence. "Very well. You are dismissed."

Uroddus bowed his head and headed back to the table. By this time, the Empiricists that had turned their backs had returned to looking forward again, lured by Uroddus' words.

"Is there anyone that wishes further to debate this charge?" Q'land called out.

There was no answer.

"I thus close debate," said Q'land. "And call for a vote."

Uroddus and his peers tensed. Each Mage in turn voiced an "aye" vote for merit on the second charge. Eighteen in all voted "aye" when it came to Q'kollan.

"Mage Elder Q'kollan?" Q'land repeated.

The Mage looked thoughtful. He glanced back at Q'ixanna. "Pass."

The others were called. All were "aye." Q'land turned to Q'kollan. "I must have your vote now."

"I will abstain for the moment," said Q'kollan. "I wish to hear debate on the third charge, and then I will change my vote."

Q'land nodded. "That is your right. So noted. As there has been much emotion and energy in the debate today, we will adjourn and reconvene in the morning. That is all."

Uroddus rose and proceeded out of the court chamber. He had barely stepped into the hallway when Katla grasped his arm and pulled him across the corridor. She took them into the same private chamber that they had used the day before. After closing the door, she whirled around and looked at Uroddus with disdain. "Oh, that was slick. Really slick."

"I said nothing that was not the truth," Uroddus countered.

"And what was that bit about information being a commodity? Are you trying to argue the Guildmaster's case for him again?"

"I will admit to a little political expediency on my part. Note the clan name of the Mage Elder Council spokesperson."

Kalta made a face. "Well, it's Land, isn't it? What does ..." She paused. "Oh."

"Most of his clan are merchants. Thus he knows very well how information is treated among them. Note how emphatically he nodded his head when I spoke those words. It made his mind more receptive to what I had to say."

Katla sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Uroddus detected the annoyance in her voice. "It is manipulative, yes, I will admit. But it served a purpose."

"But it may be for naught now, not after what Q'kollan pulled!"

"He is within his rights to withhold his vote and take a stance depending on what he hears in ..."

"Oh, blast all that, Uroddus!" Katla snapped. "He's a lackey for Q'ixanna. He and the Guildmaster have been friends for a long time. Or did you not notice how quickly he voted 'nay' for the first charge?"

"Then perhaps seeing him abstain rather than vote 'nay' immediately is a good sign that he is considering the merits of the case."

"Or he's just trying to make it look believable when he finally exonerates Q'ixanna. I truly wish it did not have to be unanimous."

"I imagine it prevents frivolous courts from being summoned."

"So what happens now? It all hinges on this last charge, doesn't it? All the Mage Elders need to be convinced, and Q'kollan has to vote 'aye' for both that charge and the second to have any hope of getting the Guildmaster removed! Getting him on just one charge won't cut it."

Uroddus sighed and slipped off his spectacles. He tapped them against his palm. "I know. I can only hope that ..."

Katla placed his hand over his. Uroddus was so startled by the touch that he stared at her in shock.

"Don't do that," she said in a admonishing but soft voice. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards. "It's really annoying."

Uroddus managed a weak smile and put them back on. "Um ... my apologies."

Katla smiled more fully, her cheeks glowing pink. "Are you going to participate in the proceedings tomorrow?"

"I was considering presenting myself as a witness, yes. I could inform them how Q'yros was forced to use the guise of clan business to take a clandestine post-Portal energy reading."

Katla's eyes widened. "But that implicates Q'yros in defying the Guildmaster's orders!"

"It will show the desperate lengths that were forced upon us to counter the overly authoritarian methodology of the Guildmaster."

"But don't you realize that may pull us in as well? What if the subject of the courier comes up?"

Uroddus hesitated. He let out a long sigh. "Katla, sometimes a cause is more important than individual loss ..."

"Stop right there. The rest of us have already discussed this. If we go ahead and reveal our complicity, we believe that there is a seventy-six point three percent chance that we will face massive disciplinary action if the Guildmaster is not unseated. And that includes a sixty-nine point one percent chance of being ejected from the Guild Hall."

"Katla, blast the numbers and figures."

Kalta recoiled as if Uroddus had physically slapped her.

"In some ways, I think Master Q'yros was right. We are sometimes so wrapped up in our formulae that we fail to see the situation as a whole."

Katla stared, her eyes shimmering. "I ... I can't believe you said that."

"Please, understand, I ..."

"No, you understand for once!" Katla cried, poking her finger hard into his chest. "I've been trying desperately to defend you to the others. Your testimony helped when they saw you were getting results. But you say this to him, and they'll brand you a traitor to our cause!"

Uroddus frowned. "I am not so foolish. But I had hoped you of all people would understand."

Katla hesitated, then shook her head slowly. "I don't know, Uroddus. I just don't know anymore. I don't know you, or what's going on in this Guild Hall. None of it makes sense."

Uroddus felt his insides clench. He came very close to taking back what he had said, excusing himself by claiming he was not thinking right, or that he was simply caught up in the moment. Anything so she would not hate him.

The cause was more important than individual loss. Or gain.

"I propose a compromise," said Uroddus. "We and Master Q'yros cannot be the only ones that ran into the Guildmaster's imposed wall of silence. Perhaps if we can discover that others had the same problems, it will lessen the impact of the courier incident."

Katla sighed. "Another task for us. And one we have scant time to do. Lovely."

"If you think it would help, I could impress upon them ..."

Katla held up her hands as if warding him off. "No! I will talk to them. You're on thin ice with them as it is. It is better they keep the image they have of you right now." She gave him a tiny smile. "Anyway, they see me as the one talking sense into you."

"And is anything that I am saying to you making sense?" Uroddus said in a pleading voice. "What I really meant before is that I am seeing a need for a synthesis of Traditionalism and Empiricism. I no longer think that either one or the other is absolutely 'right' or 'wrong' anymore."

Kalta averted her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. She let out a long, measured sigh. "I don't know. I ... maybe you're right ... it's hard for me to see."

"Master Q'yros was able to open my mind," Uroddus said softly. "All I am doing is asking you to open yours."

Kalta laughed humorlessly. "You don't ask for much, do you?"

"No, actually, I don't, because you are a highly intelligent person. Perhaps the most intelligent one I have ever met."

Katla stared at him, then slowly smiled. Another blush colored her cheeks. Uroddus found that quite endearing for some reason and smiled.

"All right," she said in a soft voice. "I'll talk to the others."

Uroddus looked thoughtful. "I also have another idea that may help. It is another way of attacking the problem. Something to use if our initial arguments fail."

"What is it?"

"I cannot say at the moment. I do not want to risk it being overheard. It is nothing the others can assist with."

"I hate it when you get secretive, Uroddus. That's usually when you get yourself into trouble."

Uroddus smiled. "I am happy to hear that you care about such things, Katla."

Katla blinked in surprise, and then blushed once more.

Additional torches lighted themselves around the periphery of the audience chamber as dusk surrendered to the encroaching darkness. The fading embers of the day dimmed, the glass in the windows losing their fiery glow, reflecting only the velvety deep violet of twilight.

The Emperor sat motionless upon the throne, deceptively patient. Every muscle in his body had tensed as the last flames of sunset fire extinguished themselves over the horizon. Now, finally, the great doors of the chamber stirred and swung open. A single guard entered, moving with both quickness and reluctance. His face bore regret and just a bit of fear.

The guard marched to the foot of the dais, then came to attention and bowed before his sovereign. "I bring you word of the prisoner, my Emperor."

Emperor Z'haas nodded once. "Very good. And where might I find the foreign agent and merchant of chaos Jollis?"

The guard hesitated. "I do not have that information for you, my Emperor."

Z'haas' eye twitched. He leaned forward. "What was that?"

"We were ... unable to extract the information you wished."

"Then return to your duty and work him over more!" the Emperor shouted. "Why do I have to make all your decisions for you? Do I have a single competent man in the Palace? Let the Healer mend his bones if you run out of any more to break!"

The guard swallowed. "The prisoner is dead, my Emperor."

The silence was stark and taut.

"We did not get a chance to interrogate him. Sometime during the day, he had torn parts of his clothing into strips and tied them together and hanged himself, my Emperor."

Z'haas' eyes glistened. His throat worked, but no sound issued from between his parted lips. Finally, he collapsed back into his throne.

"My Emperor? What do you wish us to do now?"

The Emperor did not seem to be listening. He stared off into the distance. "I do not care what you do now," Z'haas said in a hollow voice. "It matters not. Go."

"But what shall we do with the body?"

"I do not care!" the Emperor exploded. "Dispose of it as you see fit! It does not matter! Now GET OUT!"

The guard hastily bowed and fled the chamber.

Z'haas sat very still for what seemed an eternity. Finally, his fingers curled and gripped the hand rests as if intending to tear them away from the throne. He lifted his hands just enough to cause his fingers to slip from the hand rests and curl into fists.

"The Overlords," he muttered very softly, his teeth clenched.

He could have ended it. He had Jollis nearly at his fingertips. It had been within his grasp and had been snatched away at the last moment. Cheated once more when victory was in sight.

"The Overlords," he murmured again, his voice dark, his eyes narrowing.

Gronnus had thwarted him. They had thwarted him. The act that Gronnus had put on all this time had been inspired. Pretending to be outcast from the other Overlords. Pretending to be in collusion with the Emperor.

"The Overlords," he hissed. He lifted a fist and brought it down hard upon the hand rest, his eyes burning with rage.

Z'haas thought he understood now. He had erred with Gronnus earlier. It really was about Roquan after all. He and the Overlords had colluded with the enemy from the start. They had plotted to bring down the Emperor and hand the nation over to a foreign power.

That was it. That was why Gronnus had died. Not just to escape the torture. He died to protect the secret. That had to be it.

Emperor Fenric Z'haas, Savior of Oceanus! That was his destiny. He knew it the same cold certainty that he knew a man who would have given him the key now lay dead in a dungeon cell.

And may the gods help anyone that dared stand in his way.

Dusk turned to night, until the subdued lighting from the small oil lamp was the only illumination in Amanda's bed chamber.

Until that night, Amanda could not remember ever feeling guilty at either receiving or giving sexual pleasure. The four Narlassi slaves that had been assigned to Sirinna had been paired off and assigned the two empty Trainee chambers. For the first few nights they seemed content in using each other for their pleasure.

Then came that evening, when Sirinna claimed that they had an inherent need to please others as well, and she had to enlist Amanda's aid. Amanda had resisted, as she did not want to cause the girls any more trauma than they already would undergo if Roquan decided to "cure" them.

Sirinna would not be deterred, however. So now Amanda lay on her furs, with one of the young Narlassi slaves eagerly licking her pussy, and the other straddling her so that Amanda could lick hers. She did not want to enjoy it. Something felt inherently wrong about it. But she could not suppress her own desire or need as the pleasure rose in her sex, or when she heard the escalating moans of the one above her.

Yet her pussy already ached from having done this once before, with the roles of the two girls switched. And from the way the one ministering to her pussy was squirming and writhing, it was clear she was still quite horny.

It also did not help that her thoughts drifted to Lanno.

She pulled the girl's hips down, so that her pussy rested more firmly against Amanda's face. The aroma of the girl's arousal momentarily overwhelmed her, and she sucked greedily at the girl's womanhood. The girl gasped and moaned, her body shivering in delight.

Amanda tried to let the sensations drown out her thoughts. Lanno was letting Evella stay with him, and he thought it would be "awkward" to have Amanda there as well. She knew he was right, and that he was doing the right thing, but it still gnawed at her. She still had the vague sense that she was being cheated somehow.

Then she would worry if Lanno were in love with Evella. Then she would wonder why that should even be a concern.

Amanda closed her eyes and sucked hard. The girl gasped and moaned, and finally let out a shrill cry as she came. Her hips jerked, and she nearly tried to bounce atop Amanda's head. Amanda wrapped her arms around the girl's hips and held her steady, trying to prolong the girl's orgasm in hopes of exhausting her. The girl squealed her delight.

Amanda finally broke off when her own pleasure had risen to the point that further concentration was impossible. She had tensed her muscles to hold herself off from orgasm in order to finish the other girl first.

The one at her pussy was not as experienced. She lacked finesse, but made up for it in sheer eagerness, her relentless licking and sucking driving Amanda hard. Amanda let go, arching her back as she soared over the top. She let out her own cry as she came, gasping as the girl continued without respite. Amanda writhed under the assault, until she finally had to prompt the girl to stop.

The girl finally drew back. "Did I do okay, Amanda? Were you pleased?"

Amanda was panting hard. "Yes ... fine ..." she gasped. She struggled to sit up. "Do you need it again yourself?"

The girl sat cross-legged on the bed. One of her hands had already strayed to her pussy. She nodded quickly.

Amanda sighed. "All right. Here ..."

She had the girl switch places with her and spread her legs. Amanda nestled herself between the girl's thighs and set her already tired tongue to work again.

Resentment rose suddenly. She wished Freya had left things well enough alone. Or for that matter, Vanlo. Maybe it had not been such a good idea to try to "fix" the Draught. The only way to "fix" it was simply to stop using it. Or stop taking people from other worlds in the first place.

Or to simply stop the slave trade.

The world is not going to change for me, Amanda thought. I have to stop acting as if it will.

Amanda brought the girl to a quick orgasm, not having the patience for anything else. Finally, both girls were sated, and she could send them off to their own chamber.

She lay on the bed motionless. The dreaded memory came to her again, of the moment she had accepted the slave collar and made her irrevocable choice to stay. Each time was another chance that she would think that it had been a mistake. Yet the memory came to her now with annoying frequency.

"Amanda?"

Her head jerked up. "Oh, um, hi, Sirinna."

Sirinna smiled and stepped into the room. "I finished with the other two."

Amanda nodded. "I had to go around a few times with them. They were almost insatiable."

Sirinna nodded with chagrin. She approached the bed and sat down delicately on the edge. "I believe Overlord Freya's slaves are all like that. They tend to need sex more than Master Roquan's."

Amanda mentally bit back a retort. "I hope I don't have to keep doing this much longer, Sirinna. It's really ... tiring." She was going to use a different word, but changed it at the last moment.

"Yes, they are a handful, I know. Perhaps we need to work more on your endurance."

As Amanda had predicted, Sirinna had missed the point. She was in no mood to explain it. "Yes, I guess so," she said vaguely.

Sirinna smiled and lay her hand gently against Amanda's arm. "I'm free now. Would you like to join me for awhile before we go on to bed?"

Amanda could tell from the look in Sirinna's eyes what she wanted, but Amanda was in no mood for it whatsoever. "I'm sorry, Sirinna, I am really tired. I just want to clean up and go to sleep."

Sirinna hesitated. She slowly withdrew her hand. "Oh. Yes, of course."

Amanda felt her heart wrench at the momentary flicker of disappointment in Sirinna's eyes. "Maybe in the morning?"

Sirinna nodded and slowly smiled. "Of course. Perhaps I can awaken you before the girls rise."

Amanda forced a smile. "Well ... good night."

Sirinna rose. "Good night, Amanda." She cast a lingering, slightly forlorn gaze at her lover before reluctantly leaving the room.

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