Chapter 1: Part 10 - A Coming War

Dusk had always been Oska’s favourite time of day in Divinity’s Reach. The city came alive with music and colour, the air filled with smells of cooking and smoke, and there was something new to discover on every street corner. As a child, he’d spent long hours roaming through the city as the light faded, until one household servant or another was sent to bring him home.

It was dusk now, but Oska found his usual excitement was long gone. He observed the city as though at a distance as he followed Erin through the throng. Auri clung to his arm. She didn’t speak, but she didn’t need to for Oska to know how relieved she was. They could count on one hand the number of times they’d been separated like that and it was never pleasant.

It was clear Erin didn’t exactly know where she was going. She didn’t take any of Oska’s favourite short-cuts, or stop at any of his favourite haunts. Instead, she led them along the District Promenade, to a large and entirely respectable tavern usually frequented by city visitors. It was hardly the Busted Flagon, where his face would be known, but perhaps it was better if he kept his head down.

It was busy inside the tavern, with the early evening crowd of merchants and travellers. Erin used her size to carve a path across the common room. By the time they reached a back corner, Amber had already claimed a table. Oska eyed the asura, as he always did when they were in the same room. He’d known from their first meeting that Amber was a skilled thief, with many more years of experience than he had ‒ and like any good thief, she kept her secrets to herself.

Erin seated herself at the head of the table, putting her fists down so heavily that the whole thing shook. “Right,” she said. “Start talking.”

Oska almost rolled his eyes. It was clear Erin was trying to play the role of the stern guild leader. It was also clear, as it had been to Oska from the beginning, that she didn’t know what she was doing. She had come to his rescue, though… For once, Oska found he didn’t feel like being difficult.

“I was doing what you ordered,” he said, folding his arms. “Looking for leads on Yinn’s game.”

“And?” Amber prompted.

“And…” Oska remembered the funeral and for a moment was lost for words. This had all started with Draconis Mons, but from there… What a tangled web it had become. “Lord Elthias thinks I’m responsible for the death of his son. Kaspar was piloting one of those airships in Draconis Mons, the ones the Order of Whispers helped shoot down. Elthias hired Ruby to capture me and probably kill me ‒ except Ruby was the one who gave him that idea in the first place and she seems to be working for our grandmother.”

“Taria Valpari,” Erin said slowly. “And this Ruby is a Valpari, too.”

“One we’ve never heard of,” Oska said, looking to Auri for support. She nodded vehemently. Somehow, it felt important to distance themselves from Ruby. She was a Valpari, but she also wasn’t.

“She’s certainly heard of you,” Amber put in. A round of drinks arrived at the table that Oska couldn’t remember anyone ordering. Amber didn’t even blink. “What do you think your grandmother wants?”

Oska’s mouth went dry. Was he still scared of Taria Valpari, even when he hadn’t seen her in years? “I don’t know.”

“I don’t think she wants you dead,” Erin said, still in that slow, thoughtful way of hers. “I’m not even sure Ruby wants you dead, no matter what she agreed with Lord Elthias. You heard what she said, Oska.”

Oska nodded warily. “She said there was a war coming.”

That made Amber sit up straighter. “A war? That’s quite a statement to make.”

“But it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Erin leaned forwards, making the table shake again. No-one, Oska noticed, had touched their drinks. “It fits with what we know about the Archon.”

Oska’s head was spinning. He liked to think of the norn as somewhat slow-witted, but right now, he couldn’t keep up. “What does the Archon have to do with this?”

Erin and Amber exchanged a look. Another secret, Oska guessed, and this time they were both in on it.

“Shortly after the end of the game,” Amber said suddenly, as though reaching a decision, “your cousin sent us a message. We know he’s joined the Archon’s operation. We know the Archon doesn’t completely trust him…”

“And we know the Archon was one of the chief architects of Yinn’s game,” Erin finished. “He was searching for recruits for a guild of his own.”

Oska realised his mouth was hanging open. Jean had been in contact with Light’s Memory? Jean, who’d never had a subtle thought in his life, was now playing at being a spy?

Oska shook his head. He couldn’t worry about Jean, not now. “What’s this guild for?” he asked, looking between the others.

Erin shrugged. “For the Archon’s own vanity, we thought. Except…”

“Except,” Amber interrupted, “if you’re going to fight a war, you first need an army.”

Oska absorbed that in silence. The more they learnt about Yinn, the more clear it became that he’d been nothing but a pawn. His game had been financed by all manner of crooks, some for their own amusement ‒ and some for something much darker.

But if the Archon had used the game to recruit for his guild… What was Taria up to?

“We need to get out of Divinity’s Reach,” he said. For once, he had no desire to be at the heart of the action. He wanted to be as far from his family as possible.

“Agreed,” Erin said, with a firm nod. “I’m sending you and Auri to the Grove.”

Oska’s head came up. “Not Lion’s Arch?”

Erin and Amber exchanged another look, before Erin grimaced. “That’s the part you haven’t heard yet.”

Auri reached across the table, folding her fingers around Oska’s outstretched hand. “Someone burnt down the guild hall,” she said, in little more than a whisper. “Someone’s trying to put an end to Light’s Memory.”

“We don’t know that‒” Erin began.

Auri interrupted her. “There’s malice here,” she said. “The closer we dig to the truth, the more dangerous we become.”

Amber gave a sharp laugh. “She’s not wrong. Someone really doesn’t want us involved in this.”

Erin’s jaw tightened. “I’m calling the rest of the guild back. Whatever’s going on here, we need to be together. Amber, go back to Lion’s Arch. Rendezvous with Darr and find out how his investigation is progressing. Get word to the rest of the guild, too. As for you two‒”

“The Grove, you said.” Oska raised an eyebrow. “We need to get out of Divinity’s Reach, not go running to the ends of civilisation.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “That’s where your cousin was last seen. You’re going to pick up any messages from him and find out if there’s word of the Archon.”

Oska’s fingers itched. That was still running, even if the asura tried to make it sound like a useful job. He wanted to fight ‒ but he also wanted to protect Auri. He’d seen the way Ruby had looked at his sister and heard the avarice in her voice. Whatever plan Ruby ‒ and presumably Taria ‒ had, there was a place in it for Auri.

“Fine,” he said roughly. “The Grove it is. What will you be doing?”

Erin, Oska knew, was under no obligation to answer that question. She was their guild leader and her decisions were her own. It was just that Oska wasn’t very good at loyalty, or at following orders without question. The best plans were usually the ones he devised himself.

Until Ruby, anyway. Nothing about that encounter had worked out as he’d expected.

Erin didn’t seem to find the question unusual, though. She grimaced, as though contemplating something distasteful. “There’s someone,” she said slowly, “I need to see.”