It had taken most of the day for Edeline to calm herself down. Part of the issue was that she needed time away from the Lasfont guards to gather her thoughts. Yet everywhere she went, it seemed one of them was hurrying by on some errand or task. By her best guess, she'd seen every single one of them at least three times, if not more.

  After several hours of searching while trying to avoid notice, Edeline had finally taken shelter in one of the houses just outside the perimeter, not far from where the prisoners were. It was cool...well, cooler, and dim due to the windows facing another adjacent building. She easily imagined this house had been built first.

  It was a dark path for her thoughts to follow, thinking of the people who once lived here. Were they still among the living? Edeline could not say, although it was close enough to the barricades that she would have thought they might have been extended to allow someone to remain in their home. It was likely a luxury that few among the survivors here had.

  She could remain here and ponder the fates of the people of Lasfont, but it would do none of them any good. Edeline needed to get back, discuss just how they were going to respond to Takhat's request. Even if she were to accept the mantle - which she still refused to consider - there was the other matter of who would handle matters here while she was confronting the Sluice.

  Time to head back then. Edeline took a deep breath, steeled herself, and walked over to the house's entrance. She reached out a hand to pull aside the curtain hanging there, but the fabric gave way, ripping it down.

  It had not seemed that frail when she went into the house. Letting the cloth fall to the floor, Edeline offered a silent apology to whoever this house belonged to, assuming they were still alive. It was unlikely, and even less so that they would ever meet, but Edeline hoped that if both happened, she could make it up to them somehow. Taking one final look back, she stepped outside.

  To her surprise, standing a short way down the street were Hamond and Sedat. Sedat looked bored, kicking at the ground idly as Hamond stood there patiently waiting. Whatever they were doing she was glad to see Hamond again. Really, she should have just sought him out earlier like she originally planned.

  "Finally shows up," Sedat said, voice echoing in the silence. "This took too long. We should've been back by now."

  "Searching for me?" Edeline asked light-heartedly as she approached. There was little chance Hamond knew where she had been.

  "Waiting, because I thought you were looking for us." Hamond ran a hand over his face. "We were heading back, when one of the guards told us he'd seen you heading over here."

  It was frustrating knowing her efforts to avoid attention had been pointless. "I needed some time to think."

  "Bad news, I'm going to bet," Hamond noted with a deep frown. "I really had hoped I'd be the only one."

  That was absolutely not what Edeline wanted to hear. "Is it regarding the Witch of Wrath?" That would be first on Hamond's mind, and they did not need her popping up again to cause more problems.

  "Her disappearance still has me worried," Hamond replied, "That's not the big problem though."

  "Getting everyone to leave the town is," Sedat added, "Not going to be easy. Some of the people here can be pretty stubborn. I should know."

  Everyone to...what?

  Edeline had to stop, a hexty thoughts tunneling through her mind in a single second. It couldn't be the Sluice readying another case of that spell. If it was capable of covering the entire town, then the first one should have done so. This meant that it had be a new threat, one even more dangerous than what they had faced so far.

  "To explain...remember that the sphinxes were trying to find the Sluice to acquire advanced spells to create water?"

  "Of course." Edeline hardly needed the reminder, although she supposed it might help Sedat comprehend what was happening.

  "We had thought that the Sluice had tainted the water with her magical energies to prepare the spell that transformed so many," Hamond continued, "But that wasn't right. The magical energies were present in the water...because the Sluice created the water. All of the water."

  "That should not change anything," Edeline stated, a little confused, "We know what we have to do."

  "You're not understanding." Hamond looked as miserable as she had ever seen him. "Every well and every pump draws from that same water. But when the Sluice is no longer around to produce new water to replenish any of them, Lasfont won't last much longer."

  "You're saying the town cannot exist without the Sluice," Edeline concluded, a hollow feeling flooding out from her stomach. "How long do they have?"

  "A few years." A drop of sweat fell from Hamond's face as he spoke. "The problem we face is having to convince the captain and everyone else. I don't think many of them will be happy."

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  Takhat's words echoed back to Edeline...wait, Hamond likely did not know yet. "The captain did awaken, but she is still weak. Even so, she was insistent on us retaking Lasfont. And worse...she wants me to lead the effort." To be honest, that was not actually the worst part, but Edeline would rather reveal that detail in private, away from Sedat.

  Hamond stared at Edeline. "Does she know the truth?"

  "No," Edeline said. Eventually, Takhat ought to know, but not while she was still recovering from her ordeal. Perhaps right before they departed, they would tell her...and warn her to speak of it to no one.

  "She doesn't know you're this Lady Hallowscroft?" Sedat spoke up again, "Thought everyone here had figured that out. Maybe we should get back so you can go tell her."

  Sedat's lack of understanding of the situation was as charming as it was frustrating. The girl was intelligent enough to have a rough idea, but explaining the details was another matter. It was likely Sedat knew practically nothing of the Pelagoins, the Spellking, or the war Hyarch found itself in. All things that she would come to know soon enough.

  Those lessons might as well begin now. "It is a complicated matter. For now, you should know that the problem is not tied to my spells, or any title passed down from my father."

  "So your mother then? No, I'm kidding." Sedat paused, her cheerful air fading. "Wish I'd gotten to know mine. That's not going to happen now though."

  Edeline winced, half from how accurate Sedat's guess had been, half from how much pain was audible in those words. She knew full well what that loss felt like. "I am sorry," was all Edeline could offer, as little comfort as it gave.

  "Know I shouldn't be upset." Sedat sniffed, pulling her wings closer to her body. "But a lot of people won't get this chance. Won't get any chance. I wish they could."

  "If you're thinking that you do not deserve this opportunity, leave those thoughts behind," Edeline answered, keeping her tone gentle. "There is nothing wrong with pursuit of a better life for yourself. It's part of what brought us to this place, and to you."

  Those words were meant for Hamond as much as for Sedat.

  "What's the other part then?" Sedat asked.

  Stating it plainly was all Edeline could do. "You already guessed it. My mother left me a painful burden, one that I now bear. If the king's men had known she lived, they would have sought her death. Now that they know of me, they seek mine."

  "I was joking!" Sedat took a step back, eyes wide. "Who...who was she? Who are you then?"

  Edeline took a moment to look around, making certain that it was just the three of them present. She might as well also check to see if any of the sphinxes were lurking unseen. "Teleios horama." There was no sign of them, or of any spells other than the residue of the Sluice's spell, sparkling faintly in and on some the buildings.

  Satisfied that she could continue, Edeline turned back to Sedat. "I had to make certain no one else was listening in. What I am about to tell you stays between us here and my companions."

  "I was an ashabti." Sedat's response was rueful. "I know...when to keep my mouth shut."

  Edeline wanted to question that, but that was a distraction from their immediate concern. "My name is Edeline, and I am the daughter of Lord Esmund Hallowscroft...and Princess Splendora Pelagoin."

  "But that means you're part of the king's family." Sedat frowned, gently biting her lip in thought. "Why would that make him want you dead?"

  Edeline sighed, hating that she had been right. To Sedat, the king was some distant figure in another city who had no bearing on the girl's life here. Nothing that mattered to an ashabti forced to labor the days away, but everything had changed with the Sluice's magic.

  "One more for the list of things we need to teach you," Hamond said, "That list is getting far too long."

  It only took Edeline a second to realize what Hamond might mean. "Are you saying she cannot read?"

  "I...I can read some words! A few, anyway." Sedat's face made it clear she knew how weak her protests were. "Can't really open a book with these." She waved one wing in the air.

  "As I said, a long list," Hamond repeated.

  "I hope you at least made progress on the first item on that list," Edeline noted. If there was any good news to be found today, it would be in that regard.

  "In a sense, I did," Hamond said, "I found that her problem seems to be getting high enough off the ground for those wings of hers to catch the air and soar. She's just a bit too heavy to take off on her own. Ugotlas suggested a magical solution, but...it has its own issues."

  "Use spells of wind to lift her up?" It was the obvious answer, one Edeline had briefly considered. Unfortunately, that had been after Hamond left this morning.

  "That's the idea." Hamond looked a little uncomfortable, "However, it would take multiple spells cast in quick succession for it to work. And these spells don't have unlimited range, meaning once Sedat gets high enough in the air, I cannot supply the spells at that point."

  "Have to teach me to do it," Sedat chimed in with a small smile.

  "The truth is, I've only had ever to cast spells that rapidly once in my whole life." Hamond's face told Edeline exactly when and where that had been. "For this to work, Sedat has to learn how to be able to do that regularly. And that's before we get to the part where she learns how to actually fly. It's going to be very difficult."

  "Is is not always?" Edeline took in a deep breath, looking at Hamond steadily. "I think this sort of challenge is far preferable to what we have been facing."

  "I won't disagree," Hamond said. He stepped forward and draped one arm over Edeline's shoulder. "It'll be something to work on once we're out on the road again."

  "After dealing with...the Sluice," Sedat's voice was strained as she spoke.

  "What's wrong?" Hamond let go of Edeline, moving over to Sedat's side.

  "Sorry. Starting to feel hungry. Making it...hard to think clearly."

  Were the side effects of Sedat's altered body that bad? Edeline could not deny she was starting to crave a bit of food herself, but by this point she had grown accustomed to it - something she had never thought she'd admit to. They had been rationing food for the last hexday or two before getting to Lasfont. If Sedat's appetite put her at this much of a risk of losing control, they could not force that same rationing on her.

  "Let's get back," Edeline told her. Haste was required, and they would need to be prepared for Sedat's hunger in the future.

  "No," Sedat insisted, "Might hurt people. Bring the food here. Don't want...don't want to give in to the hunger. Not...not again."

  Again? Edeline thought back to what the guard had said when they first arrived, about seeing the bird creatures tearing up dead bodies. She had not dwelt on it much, but it was possible Sedat had...no, now was not the time to stop and think matters over.

  "You go get the food," Hamond quickly said, clearly of the same opinion. "I'll stay here and try to keep her calm."

  Edeline nodded, and sprinted off.

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