Amanda crawled across the grass of the Circle towards the peacefully slumbering slave. Her eyes flicked over the young woman's body to determine the correct approach. The slave had curled up on her side with her torso turned just enough towards the ground to make her breasts inaccessible. Not that having the breasts exposed had helped her on the first two attempts. If anything, that was where she kept making mistakes.

She came alongside the sleeping girl and immediately spotted one advantage. The knees were drawn up enough to expose a bit of her sex between her thighs. Amanda knew this particular slave also had a sensitive behind, growing particularly aroused when someone touched her there.

Amanda tried to put everything else out of her mind, but her concentration was terrible that day. Anger and frustration rose before she could quell it.

"Just relax, Amanda," Sirinna said softly from the side.

Amanda cast an annoyed look at her, then caught herself again and nodded. She took a breath and let it go as a quick sigh. She started gently caressing the girl's rear.

Amanda thought she heard a very soft moan, but it was likely just wishful thinking. The slave's only initial reaction was a very slight shift of one of her arms. She continued breathing normally, oblivious to Amanda's touch.

Amanda expanded her caress to the thighs. She tried not to be impatient by constantly checking the slave for any signs of a reaction.

"Just go with it if it feels right," Sirinna had told her earlier. "Don't keep checking. It will throw you off your stride."

Amanda tried to heed these words, but her eyes kept flicking to the side. She tried touching the girl's pussy, but there was no real moisture there yet, and she did not want to chafe the slave.

I think Sirinna used too much sleeping powder on these girls, Amanda thought, even though she herself had seen the dosage used and her Healer experience told her it was the right amount.

Unfortunately, this made her think about Lanno again.

She wondered if Lanno were having sex with Evella every day now. Was that really why he wanted her residing with him? A new sex partner because he had grown bored with Amanda? Or maybe he was hoping she would have some lingering subservience to him that was more than he would get from Amanda?

"Amanda, easy!" Sirinna whispered urgently. "Slowly. Take your time."

"I am," Amanda hissed through her teeth. She sighed. "Yes, I know. Sorry, Mistress."

Amanda wondered why she was letting this get to her. She wanted to believe that she simply had the same misgivings as Vanlo. It was a nice, safe moral ground.

She was stupid to work for Freya, Amanda thought. Lanno could do better than her.

Amanda told herself once more, like so many hundreds of times before, that she never had a serious relationship with Lanno. Yet she still felt like someone that had been dumped by a steady boyfriend and forced to watch him date someone else.

In a moment of distraction, Amanda squeezed one of the girl's ass cheeks a bit hard. The girl let out a small groan and stirred. Oh gods damn it, no, no, don't wake up, don't ...!

The slave's eyes blinked open and she rolled onto her back, stretching and yawning. Amanda pounded her fist into the ground in frustration and bolted to her feet.

"It's okay, Amanda," Sirinna said in a somewhat tired voice. "It's a tricky technique and it takes time to master."

"I would have been fine if you didn't keep shouting corrections at me all the time!" Amanda snapped.

Sirinna gave her charge an admonishing look.

Amanda sighed theatrically. "Sorry, Mistress."

"I'm not sure you are. You just weren't focused today, that's all. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing."

Sirinna looked a bit upset, but she kept her voice steady and kind. "I'm not so sure of that."

"Well, I am! Nothing's wrong. I just screwed up, that's all. Look, I'll just get some more sleeping powder from Master Vanlo and we can try again, okay?"

Amanda started past Sirinna. Sirinna grasped her arm and pulled her back.

"What?" Amanda snapped in annoyance.

Sirinna gestured towards one of the exits from the Circle. Amanda stomped away. Sirinna followed her down the path and stopped her just at the bend. "Now you're being uncooperative and defiant. If you keep this up, I will have to punish you."

"I said I would get you some more sleeping powder," Amanda cried petulantly. "I'll try again, and I promise I'll get it this time."

"That's not the point. You're acting like you're angry at everything today, and it's just too much for me to handle right now."

"Well, maybe I am angry at everything! It's not like anything has been going right the last moon. It's like everything I know is falling apart right ... " She trailed off and stared at Sirinna.

Sirinna sighed, and her shoulders slumped. "What, Amanda? Please, finish your thought."

"What did you mean when you said you can't handle it right now?"

Sirinna looked nonplussed. "What? I didn't say ..."

"Yes, you did, just now."

"Well, I ... I didn't mean it that way, I just ..."

Amanda peered into Sirinna's face. "Your eyes are a little bloodshot."

Sirinna looked flustered. "Amanda, please, stop changing the subject, this is about you."

Amanda bit back a retort. She glanced towards an adjoining path, one that would take her in the general direction of the Healer office.

She did not know why she was so obsessed with wanting to fetch more sleeping powder. It was not that she thought she would do any better. Surely she wasn't just trying to find an excuse to see Lanno again. Or Evella. Or what they were doing together if Vanlo happened to have stepped out for a moment.

"Amanda, please pay attention to me," Sirinna said in an unusually irritated voice.

Her gaze snapped back. "I'm sorry, Mistress," she said in a more sincerely contrite voice. "I mean, for everything."

Sirinna slowly nodded. "Are you ready to tell me what it is?" she asked in a softer voice.

"Not yet. I ... I'm not at all sure myself yet."

"I don't understand."

"To be honest, neither do I. But I don't think it's something you can help with."

"Because I'm not smart enough?"

Amanda blinked. "Huh? No, that's not it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. It's just something I don't think you have experience with, that's all. Experience had nothing to do with intelligence, they're two different things."

Sirinna was not sure she was convinced, but she was too tired to argue. "All right, Amanda. But if it keeps interfering with your training, I will insist you tell me."

Amanda nodded. "I really will try to focus more on it." She paused. "Do you want to go back and continue, Mistress? I mean, any training you want me to do, it doesn't have to be this."

Sirinna slowly smiled. "That would be fine, Amanda. We can practice some skills that you don't get to use very often to make sure you can still do them well."

Amanda tilted her head. "You are tired, aren't you?"

Sirinna looked about to protest but sighed and nodded. "A little."

"You're still having those dreams!"

"Sometimes. Not all the time. It's just a little ... a little upsetting when I do."

Amanda's eyes widened. "You should tell Master Vanlo about this. He said to watch out for this sort of thing."

"Amanda, I don't want to go to him with this right now."

"Then I'll tell him."

"No!"

Amanda was startled into silence.

Sirinna swallowed and held a hand to her cheek for a moment. "Amanda, please, don't go to Master Vanlo about this, not now."

"But Sirinna, you'd never let me get away with not going to him about ...!"

"Amanda!" Sirinna said sharply. "No more. I am in charge here, and I'll decide who goes to the Healer about what. I have four new charges to look after until Master Roquan decides what he wants to do about them. I can't have them taken away from me."

Amanda looked confused. "Taken away from you?"

"I mean, I don't ... what would Master Roquan do if I wasn't here to take care of them for him? I'm needed right now. Wait until after I no longer have them and I will talk to Master Vanlo."

Amanda looked warily at Sirinna. "All right. Master Roquan needs to decide about them soon anyway."

"Yes, that's right. It likely will not be more than a few days. I think we can wait that long."

Amanda simply nodded.

Sirinna took Amanda's hand. "Come on, let's go back to the Circle and you can show me what you know."

"All right, Mistress," Amanda said, a ghost of a smile touching her lips.

"I will be succinct," said Uroddus as he faced the Mage Elders, holding his head up with increased certainty and calm. He tried to remember what Q'yros had told him about what he should do when he felt he was right. He did not think the situation called for passion, per se, but he could at least refuse to be intimidated or to look nervous before their scrutiny.

"I sought no personal advancement, reward, or glory. It was Master Q'yros who requested my help, and he was skeptical of my theories from the start. He questioned everything I did and every conclusion that I reached. Not once did I venture my name anywhere as one who was assisting Master Q'yros, save for a few of my close friends.

"Master Q'yros took a long while to convince. Furthermore, it was he that theorized that Portals could be utilized in an invasion, and it was I that had doubted this theory. Katla misspoke slightly in her emotional state."

Katla's mouth dropped open, and she glared at Uroddus' back, muttering something under her breath.

"The courier was not intended so much as a warning as to seek clarification. I contacted Overlord Roquan to see if I could validate or refute Q'yros' theory. It was his belief that slaves could be used to gain access to Noble Lord Palaces ..."

A wave of murmuring started at once.

"... by reading their memories of their time inside those places in order to provide coordinates for the foreign Portals ..."

The murmuring rose. "Quiet, please!" Q'land called out, not wishing to disrupt the testimony with the gong again.

"So my intent was to glean information from the Overlord to this effect. I wished to determine if the Overlords had lost any slaves in any large numbers. I have discovered that at least one Overlord had sold a great deal of slaves to a foreign merchant believed to originate from the same power that is behind these Portals."

A Mage Elder shot to his feet. "What? We were not told of this!"

Another bolted up as well. "Why was this information not revealed to us?"

"Yes, why?" demanded a third.

Uroddus slipped off his glasses. "I believe you will need to ask the Guildmaster that question."

Many eyes turned. Even Q'kollan frowned thoughtfully and turned his head as well towards the Guildmaster.

"I have already answered this a thousand times!" Q'ixanna thundered. "Their research is based on nonsense from beginning to end. Just listen to what is being proposed! We are speaking of mind-reading! That is the stuff of charlatans and fairy-tales. Do you think for a moment I would waste the Guild's time on such prattle?"

"But ... but Guildmaster," said one of the Mage Elders, his eyes flicking between Uroddus and Q'ixanna. "Everything that's been happening ... what Journeyman Q'garra just said ... if any of this opens even a possibility that any of it might be true, shouldn't the other Mage Elders have had a chance to examine ..."

The Guildmaster jumped from the chair. "Oh, this just descends further and further into sheer madness! Listen to yourselves! You're acting like frightened peasant women!" He leapt forward and grabbed a copy of Uroddus' notes and brandished it above his head. "This means nothing! It is garbage! You would have refuted it in moments! You would have laughed it off your desks!"

"Then if that is the case, Guildmaster," another Mage Elder's voice rang out. "Why did you not disseminate the information and allow us to support your position from the start?"

Silence fell. Eyes again turned. The Guildmaster stared for a long moment. Finally, his face twisted in rage, and he threw down the notes and turned away from the Elders.

"Answer that, Guildmaster!" the Mage Elder persisted. "Why did you clamp down on every conceivable form of information or communication if you believed this was nonsense? Did you attempt to call in even one Mage Elder for consultation, even in private? Does anyone here recall ever meeting with the Guildmaster?"

A shaking of heads. Q'kollan paused, then shook his head slowly as well.

"I do not need to justify my actions!" the Guildmaster bellowed as he sat down heavily in his chair. "But by all means, examine the theory as much as you want. You will come to the same conclusion that I did, and thus you will find that my actions were right. You will find not one shred of proof, because none exists to be found!"

Uroddus put his glasses back on. "On the contrary, Guildmaster, but proof now does exist."

"I beg your pardon?" Q'kollan suddenly exclaimed.

"What is this?" demanded another.

"Is this more information that has been kept from us?"

"If this is true, this puts a new light on ...!"

"You liar!" the Guildmaster yelled, silencing the others at once. "You have no proof!"

"You are correct in that regard, Guildmaster," said Uroddus calmly. "I do not have the proof. The proof lies with Overlord Roquan D'ronstaq. He witnessed a Portal opened into the heart of his Manor, twice in succession, without the use of a focus."

The chamber went mad.

This time, the gong sound did nothing against the shouted debate between the Mage Elders, the bellowed indignation of the Guildmaster, and the shocked conversation between the observers. Finally, Q'land raised both hands, and a tremendous clap of thunder rolled deafeningly through the chamber.

"SILENCE!" Q'land shouted. "ORDER!"

"I will not stand for these lies any further!" Q'ixanna declared. He turned to Uroddus and sneered. "Just what little calculation did you do before these proceedings today, Empiricist? What probability did you compute in that cold little mind of yours that your words would cause this disruption?"

"Guildmaster, that is uncalled for ..." Q'land began.

Q'ixanna ignored him and surged forward. Mage Elders quickly scrambled out of his way despite the protection of the table. Uroddus raised a level gaze to the Guildmaster's eyes.

"Yes, calculation, that is what it is all about with your kind, isn't it?" Q'ixanna said with an almost feral snarl. "Cold, hard, numbers that you plug into your little useless formulas so that you have some illusion that you're actually doing work, that your contribution actually means something. Yes, I'm on to you now, Q'garra. You ... you and the other Empiricist trash ... you think you are so much better than the rest of us, that your reams of numbers mean more than centuries of experience! And what better way to show us up but to furnish your own crisis, your own little emergency, so you can come riding in like the Emperor's legions, flying your little flag and expect everyone to bow before it! Well, not this time! The Guild will NOT BE FOOLED!"

The chamber stood in stunned silence.

Uroddus gripped the sides of the podium. His breath quickened. He felt fury rise inside of him, and this time he heeded Q'yros words. Let that passion show. But he would show it in his own way, and on his own terms.

He reached up and adjusted his glasses. He peered at the Guildmaster, his eyes betraying nothing but confidence. "Guildmaster, you are well within your rights to question my logic, my conclusions, and my memory of events. But I find the rest of your words needlessly insulting and beneath contempt."

Several Mage Elders looked shocked, including Q'land, but none said a word in protest. Q'kollan simply looked on pensively, his eyes flicking back and forth.

The Guildmaster clenched his teeth, his eyes blazing. One of his hands rose. Several Mage Elders gasped as Q'land rushed forward. "Guildmaster!"

Q'ixanna stopped, paused, and lowered his hand. He thumped his hand against the table and turned away.

Q'land let out a breath of relief.

"Q'land," said another Mage Elder softly. "I contend that if this claim of proof is correct, it puts a new light on some of these proceedings."

"Yes, yes, we must hear this Overlord and what he has to say, in his own words!" piped another.

"These proceedings are not for outsiders!" Q'ixanna thundered. "This is an internal matter to the Mage Guild! We shall not air our internal problems to the outside world!"

"I agree that this is a most unusual request, Guildmaster," said Q'land. "But it is not without precedent. Rare, yes, but it has been done before."

Q'kollan slowly nodded. "I believe I would like to hear what this Overlord has to say as well."

Q'ixanna turned to him in frustration. "For the sake of all the gods, Granton, you of all of them has been a true voice of reason! Why are you pandering to this now? Resist this attempt to muddy the issue with ..."

Q'kollan sighed and shook his head. "I am sorry, Wytho. But this is going beyond what you told me before the start of this court."

"You said you trusted my judgment! You stated yourself I was within my rights to ...!"

"I will hear everything there is to hear. No, nothing will be silenced. No more. Silence is what got us here. It will not be what gets us out."

The Guildmaster gave Q'kollan a stunned look before finally turning away and stomping back to his chair.

Q'kollan gave the Guildmaster a lingering, almost pleading look, but Q'ixanna specifically avoided his gaze when he again sat down. The Mage Elder turned to Q'land. "Unless there are any further serious objections, Q'land, I think we want to hear this Overlord's testimony."

Q'land slowly nodded. "Yes. Yes, I concur on that point." He turned to Uroddus. "Are you in contact with this Overlord, Journeyman Q'garra?"

"He Farviews me each evening, Master Q'land."

"It is the wish of this court that he make himself available to give testimony before the Mage Elders," said Q'land. "I can have a Portal powered and ready by mid morning tomorrow to transport him here."

Uroddus nodded once. "I will request this of him."

"But with all due respect to the Overlord," said Q'kollan. "His account better be compelling. I would wish ideally for two witnesses rather than one."

"Oh, now, hang on!" claimed another Mage Elder.

Q'kollan raised a hand. "Do not debate me on this, any of you. I insist that a claim of this magnitude be proven, or it is just one man's word against another's. Realize that the merit of this charge ... and possibly of the one before ... may hinge on this testimony."

"I will speak with Overlord Roquan," said Uroddus. "I will attempt to provide as much proof as possible."

Evella smiled and nodded once as she sent the slave on her way. Her gaze lingered on the girl's back, drifting down to her rear as it see-sawed away through the ruddy light diffusing through the skylights. She blinked a few times and let out a small sigh at the warm tingle in her sex.

She turned her head enough to see Vanlo standing in the doorway to the back room, watching Evella with a critical gaze. Her smile faded, and she tried not to feel self-conscious as she cleaned up and put supplies away.

It still felt odd to be wearing clothing again. Not that it was the greatest finery. There simply was no call for ladies' undergarments at a Manor, thus Lanno had to help her make do. He fashioned some plain cloth into a makeshift cover for her sex and support for her breasts. The remarkable thing was that it was more comfortable than the corset she normally wore. Though she could not tell if her enjoyment of the greater freedom afforded by the makeshift garments was real or just a lingering effect of the sexual enhancement herbs.

She turned her head as she finished putting away the last of the supplies she had used to treat the slave's skin rash. She let out a sigh of relief when Vanlo was no longer there.

Evella nearly bolted when a hand alighted on her shoulder. She gasped and whirled around. "Oh, Lanno," she said in a gusty breath, a hand fluttering to her chest.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Lanno said sheepishly, offering a small smile. "I was just in the storage room."

Evella nodded and managed a smile in return. "It's okay. I'm just still a little nervous, I guess."

His hand lingered for a moment, then slid down her arm. Even through the Healer robe, it sent a shiver of delight through her. Her pussy felt warm again.

She was going to be very happy when the effects of the sexual enhancement wore off. It was a tiny but constant distraction throughout the day. She had very nearly asked him to bed her again at midday before they left for the Healer office. Worse, sexual thoughts flitted through her head each time a slave came into the office.

He held her hand. She thought to pull away, but could not bring herself to do it.

"Is Vanlo giving you a hard time?" Lanno asked in a soft but earnest voice.

Evella immediately shook her head. "He's just ... wary of me. I can't say that I blame him."

"Well, I would. It's not like you can do anything wrong here without either of us knowing. And I know you wouldn't do that."

Evella gave Lanno a forlorn look, her eyes glistening. "Are you sure of that? I mean really sure?"

Lanno looked taken aback. "What kind of question is that, Evella? Of course I'm sure. I trust you."

He squeezed her hand. She swallowed and let out a quavering sigh. "I wish I could say the same. Maybe Vanlo is right to be suspicious, Lanno. Maybe I don't know my own head anymore."

"No, come on, don't say that ..."

"But it's true! If you had told me a year ago what I would wind up doing for Freya, I would have thought you were crazy. I would have told you that I would never do something like that. But I-I did. And now a bunch of peasant girls are going to suffer for it."

Tears blurred her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. Lanno drew her into a hug. "Come on, Evella, don't do this to yourself, please."

Evella resisted the embrace at first, but then clutched at him. She felt him breathe lightly against her ear. She swallowed as another shiver passed through her. Heat grew and spread in her nether regions. Her nipples tingled as they rose and hardened.

Stop it, stop it, she chided herself. Pull away from him, don't let this get to you, just ignore it, it's not appropriate ...

But her body would not listen to her mind. It became more inflamed with desire the longer he held her close. He finally broke off the embrace enough to look into her increasingly lustful eyes.

"Evella, no formula or potion is inherently evil," said Lanno. "It all depends on what is done with it."

Evella paused, trying to cast off her arousal long enough to think more clearly. She finally shook her head. "But if I hadn't done that research in the first place, if I ..."

"She may have very well found someone else to do it for her. People like Freya tend to get what they want, no matter what. If it had not been you, it would have been someone else."

Evella started to shake her head again, but Lanno squeezed her gently and made her look into his eyes.

"It really is in the eye of the beholder, I think," Lanno continued. "I mean, there are some that consider the original Draught to be bad. Some good will come out of this, Evella, I know it. Your research could be turned to something good."

Evella was too upset and too aroused to argue with him any longer. She hugged him again, pressing her body hard against his, one leg trying to insinuate itself between both of his. She started panting into his ear as her sex grew hot and moist.

"AHEM."

Startled, Evella jumped out of Lanno's embrace. Lanno was more reluctant to let go, even when he also saw Vanlo standing in the doorway. Evella blushed and looked away.

"As it is now sunset, I was about to close up shop for the evening," said Vanlo. "I trust I can leave that task to you, Lanno?"

"Sure thing, Vanlo."

Vanlo paused a moment, his hands folded behind him. "And I also trust you will choose a more appropriate location for any tryst you may wish to engage upon?"

Evella's blushed deepened. Lanno made a face. "Tryst? And since when did I start doing things like that in the Healer office?"

Vanlo paused for a significant moment. "Hopefully, never."

"Wait, what do you mean by that? I said I never ..."

"Lanno, please," Evella said gently, placing a trembling hand against his arm. "Don't argue over me."

"But ..."

"I withdraw the statement," said Vanlo curtly. "But please close up soon, so the slaves know that we are no longer receiving new patients today."

"Of course, Vanlo, no ..."

Lanno trailed off, as Vanlo had already turned around and was walking towards the back door. He frowned faintly as the older Healer left without another word or a backwards glance.

Lanno sighed. "I'm sorry about that. I'll talk to him tomorrow. Acting hostile towards you is uncalled for."

"Please, don't," Evella said desperately. "Don't argue with him over me."

"I just want ..."

"I know. I-I just don't want to debate this now. I need ... I need something else right now."

Lanno stared at her uncomprehendingly until Evella drew near and pressed her body to his once more. She inserted a shaking hand between them. Her cheeks again pinked as her fingers slid over his crotch.

Lanno's eyes widened in surprise, then relented as a tiny smile curled his lips. His manhood rose quickly at her touch. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. No wonder Vanlo said ..."

"Please, no more about him," Evella said in a husky voice, both embarrassed and excited at her own boldness as her fingers lightly stroked his hardening manhood. "Let's just go back to your quarters."

Lanno's smile widened as he nodded. He took Evella's hand and led her quietly out of the office.

"Uroddus! Uroddus, wait!"

The Journeyman glanced behind him as he sprinted down the corridor but did not slow down. "Katla, not now. I need to find someplace private to receive the Overlord's Farview."

"This is important. Uroddus, please, it's about Q'yros!"

Uroddus came to a sudden stop. A panting Katla nearly ran into him. "I've been looking all over for you, gods damn it," she said in a winded voice. "You disappeared after court was adjourned."

"I had some thinking to do, Katla," Uroddus said with a small frown. "Now, what about Master Q'yros?"

"He wants to see you."

Uroddus gave Katla a nonplussed look. "Right now?"

"As soon as possible, yes."

"Did Q'yros come to you with this? How was he? Is he still ...?"

"No, it was that Gissa girl, the one that gave the wonderful testimony against Q'yros."

"Please, Katla, she was only telling the truth, as I did. Or are you still upset with me for that?"

Katla paused, then waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't ask me that now. Anyway, Q'yros had Gissa go looking for you, and when she couldn't find you, she came to me."

Uroddus reached up to fiddle with his spectacles, but stopped himself at a warning glance from Katla. "Does he absolutely need to see me right now?"

"All I know is that he wanted to see you 'immediately.' And Q'yros tends not to mince words."

"Do you know what it is about?"

"Gissa didn't say. But as it turns out, she's been seeing Q'yros regularly and giving him the details on how the Oversight Court is going. So I can guess that it is about that."

"All right, I will go to him now. I simply hope Overlord Roquan does not summon me to Farview during that time."

Uroddus turned away. Katla considered for a moment, then fell into step beside him.

The Journeyman gave her an odd look. "Where are you going?"

"Same as you, to see Q'yros."

"Unless he specified that I could bring a companion, I doubt you will be welcome."

"I know, I know, I'm not going in with you. I just want to be there when you come out so you can tell me what he said. I want to talk to you, anyway."

Uroddus glanced around. Despite the late hour, they occasionally passed a Mage in the hall. Many cast a lingering look at Uroddus, as if trying to figure out exactly what to think of him. Uroddus clenched his teeth. He hated this attention. "If it is about the court proceedings, perhaps it best wait until we are alone."

"What difference does that make now, with the entire Guild watching it? All I want is your opinion on Master Q'kollan."

Uroddus glanced at her as they entered the Mage residences. "Why does that matter?"

"Because I am attempting to calculate the probability that he will vote against the Guildmaster once he hears Overlord Roquan's testimony, and I need data points. I'd much prefer to poll a few Mage Elders, but I doubt they will grant me an audience let alone ... what?"

Uroddus had come to a sudden halt and faced her. "Katla, for once, never mind the probabilities."

Katla looked shocked. "But don't you think we should know what kind of odds we are facing right now?"

"And what purpose would it serve to know that? What if your calculations showed that Q'kollan has only a one percent or less chance of voting for merit on any of the charges against the Guildmaster? What then? Do you propose we simply drop it and not bother anymore because the numbers told us it's hopeless?"

Katla stared. "Of course not! I never meant that!"

"Then tell me why we would need that number? What practical use would it serve?"

Katla remained silent, her eyes glazed in total confusion.

"Sometimes a number is just a number, Katla, and doesn't contribute anything useful to the discussion."

Katla stared for another long moment, then slowly shook her head. "Uroddus, you've changed. You're not the same person I used to know before all this started."

"Perhaps I am not," Uroddus said in a low voice. "Or perhaps I have just learned a few things outside my limited world."

Katla raised an eyebrow. "Limited? Is that what you think of Empiricism now?"

"If all we look at are the numbers, then perhaps yes, it is indeed limited."

Katla frowned. "Those numbers that you are dismissing are what describe the world we live in and how magic functions within it! Or have you forgotten how many of us are more powerful than the Masters that taught us? We can see how it all works, how it all fits together. We can see it as more than just techniques memorized by rote and spat back on demand. We give the practice of magic structure."

"I deny none of that. What I am stating is that the numbers are not the whole story. Witness how it took a Traditionalist and an Empiricist working together to solve the mystery of these Portals. So, yes, Katla, I have changed, in that I no longer see Empiricism as the only way. I see now that the real answer lies in between the two disciplines."

Katla turned and took a step away from him, her eyes darting as if studying some invisible diagram before her, one that would help her understand. She finally let out a frustrated sigh and turned back towards Uroddus. "I just can't grasp it right now, Uroddus. All I see are the numbers and the formulae. I can't see beyond it."

Uroddus smiled and took her hand. "It's all right, Katla. If I have any influence at all after Q'ixanna is removed, I'll see to it that the two disciplines work together to help form a synthesis of ..."

Katla started laughing.

Uroddus paused. "Did I say something amusing?"

"Well, just listen to you, Uroddus! You talk as if you'll have any say in running this Guild Hall, even if Q'ixanna is removed. They'll just replace him with another Traditionalist. Oh, we'll get them to pay attention to the crisis at hand, but it will be business as usual after that."

The was plenty that Uroddus could say to her at this point. But if he told her what his plans really were, Katla would explode. She would berate him for being so foolish and for having that trait forbidden among Empiricists: ambition.

It was not ambition at all that motivated his plans. It was not a formula or a calculation. It was expediency, pure and simple. It was the best solution for the problem at hand.

But instead, he simply smiled weakly and nodded. "You're right. I was being a bit idealistic."

"A bit?"

"I will simply hope that these events will serve to open the minds of the Mage Elders a crack and allow us to make some incremental progress. That, I suppose, is the best we can hope for."

Katla nodded. "Certainly that is more supported by the probabilities than anything else."

"In that case, let's not talk about it anymore. We need to get to Master Q'yros."

Evella clung to Lanno, her pussy still aching from the afterglow of her orgasm. Guilt and shame threatened to darken her thoughts, but she kept them at bay for now. Yet more disturbing thoughts took their place. She closed her eyes and shuddered.

Lanno's arm tightened around her. "Is something wrong, Evella?"

Evella could not answer for a moment. She searched for the right words. "Maybe Vanlo was right."

"About what?"

"That this is too soon for me to try to go back to Healer duties."

"But there would be nothing else for you to do here."

Evella swallowed and trembled. "H-how can I do this, Lanno? How can I go back to Healing at all? I've changed so much, I ..."

"Evella, the herbs will wear off. You'll be back to normal eventually."

Evella lifted her head. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about how I harmed all those people."

"Freya did that to you ..."

"No, Lanno, stop it! Stop trying to blame her. It was me. I agreed to do it."

"She threatened you!"

"Only after I had an attack of conscience. I should have realized from the start what an altered Draught could do. But what difference does that make? I was too much of a coward to stand up to her." She shook her head in despair. "Maybe that's what I should do with my time instead, Lanno, is just go back to being a slave."

Lanno shook his head. "You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. Maybe this thing with the sex is not going to wear off. Or maybe I just shouldn't let it wear off. I'll just keep taking it so I stay addicted to sex."

Lanno grasped her. "Stop it, please. You're just upset over what happened. You don't want to be a slave."

"No, I don't want to be, Lanno, but it's what I deserve. It's the only thing I can do now. No, listen to me! What do you think the Healer Guild will do when they hear about what I did?"

Lanno remained silent. He had not wanted to think about it.

"I'll be punished. Severely. The best case scenario is that I get busted back down to Apprentice. More likely they will just ... j-just strip me of my Healer status entirely. I won't be able to practice it at all. And maybe that's for the best."

Lanno shook his head. "No, it won't be that bad."

"Yes, it will. You know it will. Vanlo knows it, too, that's why he's so reluctant to let me perform any Healer duties. No Healer is allowed to let someone barred from Healer duty do anything associated with that occupation."

Lanno ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to tell you. Even if that did happen, we can find something for you to do."

"I have nothing else, Lanno. Healing was my life. If I don't have that, I have nothing." She paused, then lay her hand on his chest and spread her fingers. "Except what I've been doing with you. Sex. I ... I could live with that."

"Evella, you're talking nonsense. You're not thinking this through."

"What's there to think about? It seems simple to me."

"Think about this for a moment! You were pretty traumatized when you first came out of the influence of the Draught. Can you seriously believe you could return to something like that willingly?"

Evella bit her lower lip. The fingers of the hand on his chest curled briefly into a fist. "What if ... what if I was just your slave?"

"What?"

Evella slowly nodded. "Yes, that's it. I'll be your personal slave. Just keep giving me the herbs. I'll always need you. You'll be able to have sex with me whenever you want, as much as you want. Then I can make amends for what I did and at least have someone for a ... for a Master that actually cared about me."

Lanno stared into her eyes. She was actually serious about this. For a moment he actually entertained the notion. The next moment he hated himself for even thinking about it. But if he told her no outright, she would just argue with him more, and the situation would get worse. He had to stall until he could figure out what to do about her.

"Um ... let me think about it for a bit, okay?" Lanno said tentatively.

Evella hesitated, then slowly smiled, albeit weakly. "Thank you, Lanno. You've ... you've really be nice to me. I really appreciate it."

Lanno forced a smile and nodded, not trusting himself to come up with the right words.

Evella lay her hand against Lanno's chest and let out a slow sigh. She closed her eyes and snuggled against him. Lanno drew his arm around her again and held her close.

Lanno could not see himself in this arrangement. She was not in her right mind. She was still addled by the sex herbs. The only thing he could do was stall as long as possible. Then the herbs she still had in her system would wear off, and she would reconsider.

Even if it meant that she would break off this relationship with him. He was willing to accept that if it meant that she would be herself again.

The door immediately closed of its own accord behind Uroddus, the spell on the door sensing Katla's presence and insuring that she did not enter after him. The roaring flames from the fireplace was the only light, casting wildly dancing shadows about the periphery of the chamber. It was uncomfortably warm, yet the chair seemed to tremble faintly, as if its occupant were shivering against a bone-chilling cold.

Uroddus was afraid to step forward. He did not want to see what Q'yros had become in his deteriorating state. It would be a painful reminder of the Mage's mortality.

"Don't dawdle by the door," Q'yros voice suddenly proclaimed from the chair, raspy but surprisingly strong. "Time is not something I have in great abundance right now."

Uroddus slowly approached. "Master Q'yros, they say you still won't have the Healer see you."

"And what can she possibly do for me? Nothing!"

"She can prove that you are under the influence of magic."

Q'yros uttered a frustrated grunt and rose. Uroddus remained still, standing about halfway between the door and the chair. The elderly Mage's arms trembled as his bony hands gripped the staff like a lifeline.

Uroddus stared. It seemed as if the Mage had aged another ten years. His cheeks were sunken, and deep lines and wrinkles surrounded his eyes and his mouth. His robes hung loosely from his skeletal body as he hobbled towards the Journeyman.

"I didn't summon you here to discuss my health, you idiot," Q'yros snapped, his eyes hard and unyielding despite the frailty of his body. "I summoned you here to ask you a question."

"Yes, Master Q'yros, what is it?"

Then to Uroddus' surprise, he lifted the staff from the ground and gave the Journeyman a respectable whack against the side of his head. Uroddus staggered for a moment, stars flickering at the edge of his vision as pain flared in his temple.

"What in blazing hellfire have you been doing at that Oversight Court?" Q'yros roared.

Uroddus blinked in surprise and confusion. "I don't understand."

"Why are you getting involved? Why are you wading into the muck of Guild politics? It's a stench you will never get off no matter how hard you try! You should have minded your own business! Or just ignored it, both you or your Empiricist friends! You should ... you ..."

Q'yros wheezed as if gasping for breath. The staff fell from his hand and clattered to the floor. Uroddus seized him before he could fall. The older Mage tried to wave him off, but it was a feeble gesture at best. "Please, Master Q'yros, let me get you back to your chair," said Uroddus.

Q'yros tried to protest again, but nodded quickly, his breathing labored. "G-get ... get my staff, please," he rasped as he was lowered into the chair. "The connection to my magic ... only thing that keeps me going ..."

Uroddus fetched the staff and lay it across Q'yros lap. Q'yros gripped it tightly in his fingers and closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. "You know, hardly anyone uses a staff anymore, Q'garra," he said in a stronger voice. "A relic of the past, they say. Should be able to do magic in your head, they say. Idiots. Heads so addled with politics that they forget how a well-made staff can store energy over so many years. Energy you can tap! Energy ..."

"Master Q'yros, please, with all due respect," Uroddus said impatiently as he rubbed his aching temple. "What did you mean about not being involved?"

"Just what I said!" Q'yros hissed. "You are supposed to work in secret. Go around the Guildmaster, not confront him directly."

"But even the Mage Elders believe that ..."

"Blast the Mage Elders! This is just a game to them! Just a means to reshuffle the cards in the deck. Even if they got rid of Q'ixanna, there's not a single Mage among the Elders that I would want as Guildmaster, or that would do even a modicum of a better job than Q'ixanna."

Uroddus sighed. "I do not understand. Was it not you that sent out those copies of my notes? Why do that if you did not wish ..."

Q'yros made a frustrated noise. "I did that merely to stir the pot and give the Guildmaster something to distract him. I had expected you and your friends to continue working behind the scenes. Maybe even find a way to get out of the Guild Hall when no one was watching to assist the Noble Lords."

Uroddus stared, his eyes wide and shimmering. He had been so sure he was doing the right thing all along. He was sure that confronting the Guildmaster was the best course of action. Had he chosen the wrong approach after all? Was he guilty of the ambition of which he had been accused by Q'ixanna?

"But then you ruined it! You mired yourself in the politics! You wasted the opportunity! And I want to know why. And if you tell me that some calculation or probability is what told you to do this, I may very well kill you where you stand!"

Uroddus looked down at Q'yros, into eyes that were accusing, angry, but desperate as well. It was as if he were hoping that the Journeyman could find the words to convince him that he had chosen the right course of action after all. But now Uroddus did not know himself.

He adjusted his spectacles. "I did not base this on numbers, Master Q'yros. In fact, I have done little in that regard since the court has convened. It would not be prudent to base such things on cold numbers and little else."

Q'yros looked surprised. "Really, now? Do not tell me that I actually had some positive influence on you!"

"I suppose you did."

Q'yros nodded. "Too bad it does not explain why you made such a boneheaded decision anyway."

"Master Q'yros, I did what I thought was the right thing to do."

"And do you still think that?"

Uroddus was silent for a long moment. "I don't know."

Q'yros frowned. "At least you admit it. Though little good it does us."

"At this point, it matters not whether the decision was right or wrong. It has been made, and it is too late to change it."

"So you will continue to move along with this foolishness?"

"I do not see where I have a choice."

"Nonsense. There are always choices. You said that to me yourself. You can turn this around yet, Q'garra. Simply withdraw yourself from this court. Claim that Roquan will not testify. No one can force him to do so."

Uroddus shook his head. "I cannot do that, Master Q'yros."

The elder Mage's eyes glistened. "And you do not care what this will do to me? Do you not have eyes? Can you not see what this has already wrought?"

Uroddus bit his lower lip. "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice.

Q'yros stared. His fingers curled tightly around his staff, as if trying to extract more energy from it. He let out a rattling sigh. He averted his eyes, clearly embarrassed at his own display, but too proud to admit his own fear.

"Master Q'yros," Uroddus said in an even voice. "If you would consent to allow the Healer to see you, she can confirm the presence of the Oath magic. She can testify in court. It would sway the court in our favor."

Both of them knew the implications. It would be an act directly undermining the Guildmaster. There would be no subtlety about it. The Oath would be triggered and claim the old Mage's life. Uroddus hated himself for even making the request.

"I will not help you," said Q'yros. "You had the opportunity to do the right thing and squandered it. I will say nothing in support of your cause or against the Guildmaster. I have done all I care to do."

He turned his chair around so he was no longer facing Uroddus. He flicked a hand and the door opened.

"Get out."

Uroddus cast a pleading look at the back of the chair before turning on his heel and leaving the chamber.

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