The confrontation on the steps of the Ironclad Estate was a tableau of silence and steel. On one side stood the burning remnants of the Guild assassin squad, their bodies scattered across the lawn like broken dolls in the aftermath of Kael's fury. On the other stood the Imperial Palace Guard, fifty men in polished golden armor, their halberds gleaming under the gas lamps of the street like a forest of razor blades.
Valeria stood on the porch with her hand raised to display the heavy signet ring of the Duke. The gold band felt heavy on her finger, a borrowed weight of authority that was the only thing standing between her and a charge of treason. Behind her, Kael emerged from the smoke-filled hallway. He carried the unconscious body of Commander Varg over one shoulder. The Houndmaster was limp, his head lolling, unaware that he was currently the most valuable object in the city.
Lord Commander Titus stepped through the ruined gate. He did not look at the dead assassins. He did not look at the scorched grass or the shattered windows. His gaze was fixed solely on Valeria.
"You are surrendering the prisoner," Titus stated. It was not a question. His voice boomed from beneath his golden helm, deep and resonant.
"I am surrendering a witness," Valeria corrected, her voice steady despite the trembling in her legs that she hoped the long hem of her dress concealed. "Commander Varg is a fugitive of the Guild, captured by House Ironclad. We transfer his custody to the Crown, trusting in the Emperor's justice."
She emphasized the word justice with a sharpness that cut through the night air.
Titus signaled to two of his lieutenants. They marched up the steps with synchronized precision, took Varg from Kael, and shackled his hands and feet with heavy dim-iron cuffs. The metal was dull and grey, designed to dampen mana and prevent any casting. Varg let out a low groan but did not wake.
"The Crown accepts custody," Titus said formally.
He stepped closer to Valeria. To the watching soldiers and any Guild spies lurking in the shadows of the neighboring rooftops, it looked like intimidation. He towered over her, a mountain of gold plate and chainmail, his hand resting on the pommel of a greatsword that was nearly as tall as she was.
He leaned down. His helmet was inches from her ear. She could smell the oil on his armor and the faint scent of ozone.
"The Lion does not eat its own kill," Titus whispered.
Valeria froze. Her heart skipped a beat.
It was a code phrase. A very specific, very old hunter's proverb that Ignis had once told her was used by the Royal Family's private guard during the Unification Wars. It meant protection. It meant that the prey had been claimed by the apex predator and no scavengers were allowed to touch it.
"The Emperor knows," Titus murmured, his voice so low that the wind nearly carried it away. "He saw your show in the garden. He knows the Guild will try to intercept a standard prison wagon. Varg is not going to the dungeon. He is going to the Emperor's private kennel."
Valeria let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. They weren't being arrested. They were being reinforced. The gamble at the Garden Party had paid off. Aurelius was not just bored; he was paying attention.
"Keep him alive," Valeria whispered back, her eyes meeting the dark slit of his visor.
"Keep yourself alive, Duchess," Titus replied, using a title she didn't technically hold yet.
He straightened up and turned to his men. The intimacy of the moment vanished, replaced by the bark of military command.
"Load the prisoner! Formation Delta! We move directly to the Palace! If anyone blocks the road, be they Guild, Noble, or Priest, you cut them down!"
"Sir!" the fifty guards roared in unison.
They loaded Varg into an armored wagon surrounded by a phalanx of shields. The column turned and marched away, the rhythmic thud of their boots echoing like a war drum on the cobblestones.
As the gold armor disappeared down the street, the silence returned to the Ironclad Estate. The blue shimmer of Lucian's Aegis Shield flickered overhead, struggling to maintain integrity against the ambient mana drain.
"They took him," Kael said, standing beside her. He sounded hollow. He watched the empty street where the wagon had vanished. "We just gave up our only leverage. If the Emperor decides to sell him back to the Guild, we are dead."
"No," Valeria said, the cold night air biting at her exposed skin. "We just put our leverage in a bank vault."
They retreated inside the ruined manor. The main hall was a wreck of scorched wood and shattered glass. The cold night air blew freely through the hole where the front doors used to be, carrying the smell of the city's sewers and the smoke from the lawn.
"Barricade it," Valeria ordered, rubbing her arms to ward off the chill. "Use the dining table. We need ten minutes to plan before Garius realizes he missed his chance."
Kael and Silas moved to the heavy oak furniture. They dragged the massive dining table across the floor, the wood screeching against the stone, and slammed it against the doorframe. Ignis and Caspian gathered the debris, piling chairs and broken statues to create a choke point.
Once the entrance was sealed, Valeria gathered the others by the fireplace. The Duke was slumped in his chair, wrapped in a heavy blanket. He looked exhausted, his skin grey in the firelight, but his eyes were sharp and calculating.
"Titus whispered to you," the Duke observed, his voice a dry rasp. "What did the Golden Dog say?"
"He gave the code," Valeria confirmed, warming her hands by the dying fire. "He said the Lion does not eat its own kill. Varg is safe. But Garius doesn't know that. Garius thinks Titus is just a soldier following protocol. He thinks he can bribe a guard or poison Varg's food before the trial."
"He will try," Ignis said, tossing a piece of wood onto the embers. Sparks flew up the chimney. "Garius will assume Varg is our only card. If he silences Varg, he wins. He will throw every coin in the Guild's treasury at the Palace guards tonight."
"That is why we need the Ledger," Valeria said, turning from the fire to face them. "Varg is the accusation. The Ledger is the proof. Without the Ledger, Varg is just a madman shouting about conspiracies. With the Ledger, he is the key to the Guild's coffin."
Kael walked over, wiping soot and dried blood from his face. The adrenaline of the fight was fading, leaving him looking tired and wary.
"About that note," Kael said, his voice low. "The one you made me put in Varg's pocket before Titus took him. You said make sure he was unconscious. What did it say? Was it a threat to keep him silent?"
Valeria shook her head. She reached into her inventory, pulling out a duplicate piece of parchment. She laid it on the small side table.
"It wasn't a message, Kael. It was a rune."
The paper was covered in a complex geometric design drawn in conductive silver ink. It looked like a spiraling vortex, with sharp, angular lines cutting through the center.
"It is a [Mana-Siphon Rune]," Valeria explained, tracing the lines with her finger. "I copied it from a book on Anti-Mage Warfare in the Library. It is a passive drain. As long as that paper is on his person, it will slowly leach his mana core. It keeps his reserves at zero."
Silas tilted his head, his wolf ears twitching. "Why? To stop him from casting spells? He was already cuffed."
"No," Valeria said. "To make him invisible."
She looked at the Duke, then at Ignis.
"The Guild tracks their Commanders using mana-links. Each Commander has a signature that the Highmaster can scry. It is how they coordinate their armies. But a mana-link requires an active core to ping against. By draining him, I just took him off their radar. They can't scry him. To Garius, Varg just vanished from the map the moment he left this house."
The Duke let out a dry chuckle that turned into a cough. "Vicious. I like it. You blinded them."
"It buys us time," Valeria said. "Garius will be in a panic. He won't know where Varg is held. He will have to split his resources, searching the city dungeons, the guard posts, the river. He will be distracted."
"And while he is looking for Varg," Ignis realized, a slow grin spreading across his face, "he will not be watching the archives."
"Exactly," Valeria said. "The Temple of the Silent Saint. That is where Varg said the Black Ledger is hidden. While the Guild runs around the city chasing a ghost, we are going to break into their vault."
"We are few," Caspian said, looking at his hands. "And we are tired. The Aegis shield drains Lucian. The fight drained Kael. We cannot fight an army."
"We won't fight an army," Valeria said. "The Temple requires silence. It is a stealth mission. We go in quiet. We get the book. We get out."
She looked around the room. The estate was a ruin. The windows were cracked. The furniture was barricaded against the door. They were under siege in the heart of the enemy capital.
But for the first time since they arrived, Valeria felt a sense of control. She had dictated the terms of the engagement. She had forced the Emperor to act. She had blinded the Guild.
"Get some rest," Valeria ordered. "Sleep in shifts. Two hours on watch, two hours off. Lucian, drop the shield to minimum power to conserve your strength. We need you fresh for tomorrow."
"And you?" Kael asked. "Will you sleep?"
"I have reading to do," Valeria said, tapping her temple where the Library resided. "I need to learn how to pick a lock made of sound."
She sat in the chair opposite the Duke. The fire crackled, casting long shadows against the walls. Outside, the city of Aethelgard slept, unaware that the war for its soul had just shifted from the streets to the shadows.
Valeria closed her eyes, but she did not sleep. She walked into the Library. She walked past the section on Law and Agriculture. She went deeper, into the dusty, restricted aisles she rarely visited.
[Section: Thievery & Espionage]
She pulled a book titled Silence is Golden: Infiltrating Holy Sites.
"Let's see what the Saints are hiding," she whispered to the empty room, before returning to the world of her beastmen who were growing increasingly precious to her.