“Yes, the woman you are going to rescue for me.”
9
“Presumptuous.” Eira folded her arms, easing away from the weapons. However curious she might be, she didn’t want to come off too eager and lose any leverage. Even if a part of her recoiled at the idea of using Carsovia’s weapons, she knew better than to rule out a potential advantage over personal scars.
“I know why you are here.” Drogol mirrored her movements and leaned against the case behind him, looking rather confident with himself. “The leadership of Meru has been decimated. Solaris is scrambling with a lone heir on the throne, no doubt inclined to turtle back into the Dark Isle they spent so long hiding on.”
Meru’s status was something she had assumed. But the confirmation was a good thing to have. The news on Solaris was somewhat surprising.So Vi, Vhalla, and Aldrik Solaris had all perished in the blast at the coliseum?That’s what Drogol clearly believed, which meant it was a prevailing rumor. She was skeptical of that but Eira kept silent and allowed him to keep talking, grateful her companions followed her lead.
“Qwint is too nervous about Carsovia to get involved with the other nations again. They’re too small, and outgunned, to fight a war on two fronts.”
It was another suspicion of Eira’s coming to pass. Qwint had involved themselves in the Treaty of Five Kingdoms for the sake of having an alliance that would make them look strong to their aggressive neighbors. But now that the treaty had dissolved, they risked retaliation on Carsovia’s part for their boldness. That, combined with the inability to fight a war on two fronts, meant that Qwint wouldn’t support Meru against the Pillars out of fear of Carsovia seizing it as an opportunity to strike while their forces were stretched thin.
“You’re saying that without assurances or improvements in Qwint’s military might, they won’t be of any help to us,” Eira summed up the point she assumed him to be guiding them to.
“You pick things up quickly.” Drogol smirked.
“And this master of yours is going to help tip the scales in Qwint’s favor,” Eira continued voicing her assumptions when he didn’t proffer any other information.
“Her name is Allun. She’s a master of the runic arts. Her theories led to the creation of the pistol. A smaller flashfire, able to be held in one hand. But one that is so powerful it could tear through any magic force, any shield, any wall—even those reinforced by runes.”
A tool that was likely to be invaluable to get to Ulvarth, when the time came. A tool that, when combined with Eira’s natural inclinations and Adela’s teachings, could make her unstoppable…especially if the crew—or Yonlin—could disassemble it and learn the machinations behind the magic.
Runic magic was still largely a mystery to her. She’d gathered the broad strokes from Lavette and Varren. But Carsovia seemed to have their own approach to the power, tangling with forces beyond the spinning bracelets of Qwint.
“Where is Allun?” Eira asked.
“Carsovia.”
A wave of nausea crashed against the back of her throat at the word. At the implication that she was going to have to go back there. Eira swallowed hard and ignored the whispers in the back of her mind that sounded once more like Noelle.
“She had been making her way here, but unfortunately was intercepted in a distant town. She’s too valuable to be kept there, though. Now that they know what—whoshe is, they’ll move her to the golden city—the capital. While she’s being transported you’ll have an opportunity to liberate her.”
“Does shewantto be liberated?” Eira asked, remembering the woman in the mines who had been ready to turn Eira in for the opportunity to return to her old life serving the empress.
“Above all else, Allun is a magical scholar. Carsovia throttles her ambitions with their unending attempts to dictate what she should, and should not, pursue and how. She is not their tool; she is a marvel.” Given his almost glassy-eyed endorsement of the woman, Drogol’s loyalties couldn’t be questioned. If he was telling the truth, she was certainly a force worth having on their side. “If you bring her here, Qwint will respect her talents. She will become their secret weapon—unbridled.”
Ambition unbridled wasn’t always a good thing. But the long-term ramifications of this would fall on Qwint, not her. It’d be up to them how they’d want to manage this new ally. But having such an ally could be the key to Eira getting what she needed—beyond a fancy pistol.
“So, how do we get to her?”
Olivin glanced at her from the corners of his eyes when she said this. But continued holding his tongue.
“That’ll be made clear tomorrow morning when you are brought to the Hall of Ministers once more.” Drogol pushed away from the case and closed the drawer, locking it. “Do this forme, and you’ll not only get the first ever pistol, but you will also gain an ally that will be able to outfit your ships and crews for years to come.”
Eira gave a slight nod and followed behind him, leading the three of them, as they left the secret back room of weapons. With a simple goodbye, Drogol left them at the doorway of his home, retreating into the shadows as they were once more engulfed by the bustle of the market.
The night air wafted through the chiffon curtains of her room. Eira’s quarters at one point had been an office, but a large sofa served as a suitable bed. Not that she seemed to be able to use it for such.
She’d spent the better portion of the night pacing with a book in her hands. She was skimming as many of the tomes that Lavette’s father had kept as she could, keen to learn all she could about Qwint. But even as she scanned the pages eagerly, her mind wandered elsewhere, time and again.
Eira returned the latest book to the shelf with a sigh and rubbed her eyes. Come morning, she’d task Alyss with the reading. The woman could get through a book, cover to cover, faster than Eira could read a couple chapters.
Tonight, her mind was too occupied with other questions that all revolved around who, exactly, was Drogol? Just a refugee from Carsovia looking to be reunited with his master? Or someone more? He seemed to know a lot about Eira…
She bit the nail of her thumb in thought.
He had to have accomplices. He’d already let it be known that he had allies in the Hall of Ministers pulling strings. But there had to be more. How else could he have known she wasgoing to stumble upon his stall? No… Drogol hadn’t left that to chance. There had to have been people hiding in plain sight in the market, guiding them back toward that secluded corner. It’s what she would do if she had the means and intention of meeting someone.
