Magistrate Peckard attempted to depart the shelter of my guiding arm several times over the course of the evening, but I kept him close to me as we made our circuits of the dining hall.
“Ladies, you know Magistrate Peckard, yes?” I asked Olive and Pearl.
“I don’t believe we’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, no,”
Olive tittered, and she offered the magistrate her hand. Peckard accepted it dubiously, but he politely pressed his lips to her knuckles.
“Your reputation precedes you, Your Honor.”
“Charmed,” Magistrate Peckard said as he bobbed his head.
There didn’t seem to be any tension or recognition between them, so I moved on to another group of party guests. I watched the magistrate’s reactions to the various other nobles in attendance, but he didn’t pay any one of them more attention than any other. The servants I’d overheard discussing the kidnappings stayed far away from us, but I noticed them staring in our direction multiple times.
While I enjoyed making the magistrate nervous, torturing him for my own pleasure wasn’t going to get me the evidence I needed to take him out of power for good.
But I had a plan.
I’d had hopes of ferreting out anyone else in the room working with the magistrate and the cult, but my instincts and observations told me there were none there tonight. There was no point in ruining a perfectly good party by giving my entire evening to the traitor if it wouldn’t get me the information I needed, so I decided to reset and go through the feast one more time. If I couldn’t figure out who else Magistrate Peckard was working with, I’d just have to give him someone.
Namely, me.
After the feast.
I reset one more time, and I was filled with determination as the familiar tingling sensation washed over me.
Chime.
“Announcing the arrival of Sir Sebastian, Archduke of Sorreyal, Bane of Pirates, Dragon Slayer, and God of Time,” the herald called over the sound of the applause in a loud, clear voice. “And his companions. Jaxtom of Bastianville, Archduchess Mahini of the Kotar Desert, and First Daughter Zenda of the Zaborial Isles.”
This time would be my final run through of the party, so I made sure I did everything perfectly. I taught Zenda the dance moves, introduced Lord Burchard to his own vassals, and predicted the entertainers and their performances before they even entered the room. The Lord of Northwatch grew increasingly flustered each time I already knew who someone was, but I merely grinned and continued to dominate the room.
Soon, I had every noble in attendance eating out of the palm of my hand, and every woman was trying to seduce me. I flaunted my gorgeous wife and lover before the Reachers, and I bragged about my blacksmith’s skill at the anvil.
“What a lovely evening,” Zenda said with a twinkle in her sapphire eyes. “The Reachers certainly know how to throw a celebration together.”
“Bash receives this sort of treatment everywhere he goes,”
Mahini said. “You’ll get more used to it with time.”
“It does not seem like your preferred environment,” Zenda noted.
“It’s not,” Mahini laughed. “It took some time to adjust to being a god’s wife, but now I can’t imagine my life any differently. It will be the same for you.”
“I am far more comfortable perusing bookshelves,” Zenda admitted. “But I enjoy learning about new realms.”
“I like taking you both out of your comfort zones,” I said. “It’s fun to experience new things with you both.”
The night began to wind down, and groups of nobles departed bit by bit until the room was practically empty. Lord Burchard yawned and flashed me an apologetic smile, so I bowed my head and pushed myself up from my chair.
“Thank you for a wonderful night,” I said as I flourished my hands theatrically.
“It was an honor,” Lord Burchard replied. “Sleep well.”
The two servants had said they would be kidnapping someone soon, but it didn’t sound like they were doing it tonight. If I knew when the servants planned on making the exchange, I could stop it, but that meant I had time to stage a fake kidnapping of my own and set up the magistrate to be caught red-handed.
The next morning, I summoned a servant to our quarters while I was enjoying a typical Northern Reaches breakfast of boiled sausages, pickled eggs, and candied yams. The neatly-dressed man
appeared while I was finishing up my meal, and he bowed low before me with his arms held on either side.
“I would like to host Magistrate Peckard for lunch,” I said.
“Please inform the kitchens they will need to send an extra serving to our chambers, and let the magistrate know his presence is required by the God of Time, thanks.”
“S-S-Sir, my apologies,” the servant stammered as his eyes widened to the size of saucers. “I do not have access to the magistrate…”
“Then extend the message to someone who does.” I shrugged before I tossed a bag of gold in the man’s direction, but he caught it instinctively. “Do whatever you have to do to make sure he’s here for lunch.”
“Y-Y-Yes, Great One,” the servant spat out in a rush as he backed away toward the door. “It shall be done.”
“What was that all about?” Mahini asked as she slid a hand across my shoulders.
“Good morning.” I turned and pressed a kiss against her cheek. “We’re going to play a little game today.”
“What’s the goal?” Mahini arched one eyebrow.
“To catch a magistrate selling his own people to the dragon cult,” I said. “And prove to Lord Burchard that there’s a traitor inside his court.”
“A noble cause,” the desert goddess said, and the corners of her lips twitched into the faintest hint of a smile. She was used to my antics by now, so she was always ready to go along with whatever shenanigans I had in mind, and I loved her for it. “Northwatch will thank you.”
“It’s all for the little people,” I said.
It was shortly before mid-day when an entourage of servants arrived in our chambers, and we watched silently while they brought in a cushioned armchair and footrest as well as a wooden table and doilies. A parade of guards followed, and they marched in to form a line on either side of the entrance. At long last, the magistrate himself slowly entered through the doorway, and he paused just inside the threshold to gaze around.
“Welcome, Magistrate Peckard,” I greeted the older man with a wide smile. “I am glad you could make it.”
“Who are you, exactly?” The magistrate leaned heavily on a cane as he peered up at me.
“I am Sir Sebastian,” I said as I swept down into a bow.
“Archduke of Sorreyal, Bane of Pirates, Dragon Slayer, and the God of Time.”
“I have heard of you.” The magistrate nodded, and then he moved to his armchair. “Why have you summoned me?”
“I wanted to share a meal with you,” I said as I spread out my hands. “We have much to discuss.”
The older man reminded me of the Penguin villain from the Batman comics, and the mental comparison made it difficult to take him seriously as he narrowed his beady black eyes at me.
“Very well,” the dark-haired older man allowed.
Mahini, Zenda, and Jaxtom entered the room and smiled politely at our guest, so I quickly introduced everyone, but the magistrate seemed less than impressed by my companions’ titles.
They sat on the couches and chairs around our guest, and I served some of the vodka-like liquor into small shot glasses. The magistrate lifted his cup with a nod of thanks before he tossed it back, and he barely even winced when the liquor hit his throat.
The servants brought in our lunches a moment later, and we sat in silence while they served the roasted duck and seasoned
vegetables. The freshly baked rolls were steaming and smelled of yeast, and my stomach rumbled in response to the aromas. The magistrate sat stiffly while lunch was being served, and he waited for me to take the first bite before he began to eat.
We enjoyed the meal in silence, but I felt the magistrate’s eyes boring into me the entire time. His foot tapped incessantly beneath the table, and his forehead was dappled in a fine sheen of sweat. I was an enigma to him, and that made him obviously uncomfortable, but it thrilled me to no end.
“What have you called me here for, Your Grace?” the magistrate asked after a while. “Now is the time to discuss whatever business you think you have with me.”
“Oh, we definitely have business to conduct,” I chuckled, and I made a show of slowly setting down my silverware and steepling my fingers beneath my chin. “You have a business I intend to participate in.”
“Do I?” Magistrate Peckard raised his eyebrows until his forehead was lined with confusion. “And what business would that be?”
“The people business.” I smiled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Magistrate Peckard’s eyes flicked to the entrance. “I serve the city of Northwatch and preside over the courts. I have no other businesses.”
“Sure, you do.” I grinned. “You sell your people to Lord Caldera, the leader of the dragon cult.”
Magistrate Peckard stiffened, and his knuckles whitened as he grasped his fork tightly. Jaxtom and Mahini had hands on their weapons instantly, and the magistrate picked up on their hostile postures. His eyes flicked from the door to my face like a trapped rat, but I could tell he didn’t have the balls to do anything.
“You look worried,” I said in a casual tone. “You have no cause to be. I want in, Peckard.”
“You… You want in?” Magistrate Peckard peered at me in confusion.
“I’ve been looking for lucrative ventures here in the north,” I explained. “At first, I thought the answer was trade routes between Northwatch and Sorreyal, but I’ve decided it will serve me much better to work with you. You’re obviously rich, powerful, and highly respected in Northwatch.”
“You seek to hitch your wagon to my rising star,” the magistrate mused, and his entire demeanor changed. His shoulders visibly relaxed, and he gently placed his fork on the table before taking a sip from his glass. “You are wise to see my power.”
He believed me.
I let out a breath of relief as subtly as I could, and I inclined my head in silent agreement. Mahini and Jaxtom placed their hands back on the table’s surface, and the atmosphere of the room relaxed slightly.
“There is demand,” the magistrate said in a hesitant tone.
“What benefit would you serve?”
“You mean, why should you trust me?” I arched an eyebrow.
“In a manner of speaking,” the magistrate chuckled. “We have never met, and yet here you are with intimate details of my private affairs. How did you acquire such knowledge? Who did you speak with?”
“I am the God of Time,” I said, and I spread my hands out in the universal gesture of surrender. “I know all things.”
“That is impossible.” Magistrate Peckard worked the muscle in his jaw as he eyed me shrewdly. “You must have a contact within my
staff.”
“Interrogate them if you wish.” I shrugged. “I’ve never met a single member of your household.”
“I am tempted to do so before I agree to any sort of deal with you,” the magistrate said.
“I’m sure Lord Caldera is a patient man,” I said. “He’ll likely understand the reason for the delay.”
“Then you do not know everything,” Peckard argued. “Lord Caldera does not wait.”
“And you can’t pick up on sarcasm,” I countered. “It’s your neck on the line, not mine. If you want to make Lord Caldera wait for his next delivery, then that’s on you.”
Magistrate Peckard frowned, and I watched him fight an internal battle behind his eyes. Finally, he deflated and nodded slowly.
“Very well.” The magistrate folded his hands together and gathered an air of authority around himself. “Bring me at least two people, and I will consider cutting you in on the payment.”
“That’s not how this is going to work.” I shook my head. “You’re going to cut me in first, or I’ll take my business elsewhere.”
“Fine,” Peckard sighed.
“When and where?” I leaned forward and rested my arms on the table.
We worked out the rest of the details over the remainder of our meal, and by the time the magistrate and his guards left my chambers, I had everything I needed to catch him red-handed. I just needed to get the Lord of Northwatch to go with me to discover the traitor in the act, and then I could continue on with my quest.
I waited as long as I could stand after the magistrate left before I headed to Lord Burchard’s office, but I didn’t want to run into the judge in the corridors. My companions headed into the city to hire two people to pose as victims, but they would never be in any real danger with me there.
A few moments later, I knocked on Lord Burchard’s door, and his baritone voice bade me to enter.
“Your Grace,” the Lord of Northwatch greeted in surprise. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Is everything in your chambers to your liking?”
“Your fortress is great,” I said, and I crossed the room to claim one of the chairs opposite his desk. “You’ve been a wonderful host.
In fact, I’d like to repay the favor by helping you out.”
“Helping me out?” Lord Burchard frowned in confusion. “We already discussed the terms needed to establish trade routes between our realms.”
“I know who is responsible for the disappearances in Northwatch,” I said without any further preamble. “I can take you directly to them, and you can see for yourself.”
“I believe the missing people have left voluntarily to join the cult.” Lord Burchard waved a dismissive hand.
“It was far from voluntary,” I said. “And I can prove it.”
“Go on,” the lord said as he studied me curiously.
“There is an underground trade occurring between one of your top magistrates and the leader of the dragon cult,” I said, but then I explained the rest of the details to the Lord of Northwatch, and his expression grew darker with each new piece of information.
“There’s no way this can be true,” the Lord of Northwatch argued.
“Only one way to find out.” I shrugged. “Come see for yourself.”
“He will be alerted to my presence immediately and flee,” Lord Burchard pointed out.
“Ah, but I have just the tool needed to prevent that.” I grinned.
The ring of invisibility would be perfect for this situation, and I held it out to the lord. “I’m glad I remembered to bring it.”
“What does it do?” Lord Burchard plucked the ring from my fingers and peered at it closely.
“It will make you invisible,” I explained. “What do you say? It’s worth a trip into town at least, right?”
The leader of Northwatch narrowed his eyes, and I gave him a few moments to think things over. Finally, he inclined his head, but the frown never left his face.
“I will accompany you to this meeting tonight,” Lord Burchard said.
The sun had set when we regrouped at the fortress entrance, and my companions emerged from the shadows of a nearby alley with two Reachers in tow behind them. They had their wrists bound, and Mahini held a pair of burlap sacks in her hands to use as blindfolds.
“Did my friends explain that no harm would come to you tonight?” I asked the fake kidnapping victims.
“Yes, Great One,” the woman said. “My husband and I volunteered just for the chance to meet you in person! It’s an honor.”
“Awesome,” I chuckled. “This will be over soon, and you’ll both be paid well for your time.”
“I hope this is all for naught,” Lord Burchard said in a wistful voice.
“If only,” I said. “But it’s time for you to vanish.”
Lord Burchard nodded and slipped on the ring of invisibility, and our two pretend victims gasped in surprise as he vanished from sight. It was slightly strange to walk down the streets of Northwatch knowing he was following behind us but being unable to see him, so I just hoped he managed to keep pace with us. We were running a little ahead of schedule since the magistrate had said to meet when the moon was highest in the sky, and it had only just begun to peek above the roofs of the buildings around us.
I scanned the empty streets at each junction before we continued onward, but I wanted to keep up the ruse for as long as possible, so I pretended to be cautious and paranoid.
When we finally reached the meeting point, the alleyway was deserted, but we’d arrived early, so we settled in to wait. I whispered apologetically to the Lord of Northwatch and my fake victims, but they didn’t show any signs of discomfort.
“How much longer?” Mahini asked as she cracked stiff knuckles.
I eyed the steadily rising moon. “Not much.”
“Good,” the desert goddess sighed, and she leaned against the wall with her eyes closed, but I knew she was still on high-alert.
Then I heard footsteps approaching, and I inhaled sharply as two robed and hooded figures entered the alley. Magistrate Peckard pushed his hood back, and the person with him mirrored his action a moment later, but they wore the carved lizard-like mask of the dragon cultists.
“You have the goods?” the cultist asked.
“Yep.” I gestured to the blindfolded and bound couple behind me.
“I told you he would honor his word,” Magistrate Peckard said in a self-satisfied voice. “Now, give me the payment owed.”
The cultist moved toward the blindfolded couple, but I interposed myself between them, and the masked man paused.
“Gold first,” I said.
The man in the lizard-like mask tilted his head to the side, but then he reached into his robe and removed a hefty sack. He tossed the bag of money to the magistrate and then made a dismissive gesture in my direction.
“Was that so hard?” I grinned as I stepped to the side.
The cultist muttered something incoherently under his breath as he crossed the rest of the distance to my fake victims, but then he grabbed the husband roughly by the upper arm and dragged him to his feet.
“Magistrate Peckard,” Lord Burchard suddenly said from the direction of the street, and everyone swiveled to see him blocking the exit. “You are under arrest for treason against Northwatch.
Guards!”
“No!” The magistrate stumbled backward away from the suddenly visible Lord of Northwatch, and his face drained of color as he fell over crates stacked in the alley. “How?”
The sound of running footsteps filled my ears as guards rushed toward the sound of their lord’s voice, so I turned to grab a hold of the cultist before he could escape, but he was already gone.
A shadow passed before the light of the moon, and I glanced up just in time to see the masked man scale the top of a building and disappear from view.
He’d likely tell the rest of the cult that they lost their connection inside Northwatch, so I hoped it would be a long time before they tried to kidnap any more citizens.
But by that time, I would probably have killed or converted them all anyway.
The guards seized the magistrate at Lord Burchard’s command, and the leader of Northwatch had a sad expression on his face as he watched his soldiers haul away one of the most influential people in his court.
“I suppose I should thank you, Your Grace,” Lord Burchard said with a tired sigh. “I had no idea such things were happening under my very nose.”
“You’re only human,” I said with a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Everyone needs the help of a god every once in a while.”
“You can count on me if you are ever in need,” the Lord of Northwatch promised. “I am in your debt.”
“All I need is a couple sled dog teams and a guide to take me to Mount Pacay.” I grinned. “If you can do that, then I’ll call us even.”
“Easily, my friend,” Lord Burchard laughed. “This is the Reaches, after all. There’s a sled dog team on every corner, but good guides are hard to come by. I know a man, and I’ll send him your way.”
The Lord of Northwatch made good on his promise the next day, and my companions and I prepared to leave his town to continue our journey into the north. We were packing our bags onto the sleds when a man approached us, so I paused to see what he wanted.
“Greetings! My name is Kent, Lord Burchard sent me,” the man said as he shook my hand. He had curly red hair beneath a thick wool hat, and his green eyes were bright with enthusiasm as his gaze flicked over to our sleds. “Have you ever used one of these before?”
I let out a breath of relief when I realized he was the man Lord Burchard had recommended to guide us across the frozen tundra.
“In that case,” I chuckled. “You can call me Bash. Welcome aboard. And no, I haven’t traveled by sled before.”
“Then you’re in for a treat.” Kent grinned before he led me over to the dog sleds. “Let me show you the ropes.”
The huge wolf-like canines were strapped into the harnesses and ready to go, and they yipped with excitement as we finished up our last preparations. I’d seen sled dog teams in movies back on Earth, but I’d never imagined being able to ride one myself before.
Finally, Kent grabbed the reins for his team, and he clicked his tongue to signal for the dogs to pull out.
The dogs’ muscles bunched together as they pushed against the harnesses, but a moment later, the sleds were pulling forward across the snow. We passed beneath the archway leading into Northwatch and turned toward the northern road out of town, and Kent snapped his reins to urge his team on faster. The wind swept through my hair as we picked up speed, and I whooped with delight.
From the descriptions Kent gave of the path we’d have to take to reach the volcano, it sounded like we would eventually have to cross over a glacier.
It was fucking awesome.
During our first day of travel, the sun crept across the sky, but it barely penetrated the heavy cloud coverage. We reached the edge of the glacier by late afternoon, though, and the rays reflected off the surface like a prism. The light was so bright in my eyes I was nearly blinded, and I held a hand over my face in order to be able to see the path ahead.
“Here,” Kent said as he fished around in his pack, and he handed me what looked like a flat piece of wood with a leather strap attached to it. “Put these over your eyes.”
He gave a pair of the shades to the rest of my companions, and we all paused to pull them over our eyes. There was a narrow hole in the wood that allowed me to look out, but the board protected my eyes from the worst of the glare.
“Thanks,” I said.
Kent was a man of few words, but I got to know him a little bit better over the next few days of travel. He’d grown up in a small village outside any of the city-states of the Northern Reaches, but he’d become loyal to Burchard and Northwatch as an adult. His parents were trappers by trade, and he’d followed in their footsteps at first. After a while, though, he realized he didn’t enjoy hunting, so
he’d changed careers. Fortunately for us, he was the only person in Northwatch who’d made the journey to Mount Pacay before.
I made a new save point every morning before we left the comfort of our shelter, and I reset a few times until our guide was convinced I already knew everything.
“Why even hire a guide?” Kent asked. “How do your powers even work?”
“That is beyond your human brain’s ability to comprehend,” I said. “Let’s just say, I pick things up quickly.”
“You truly are a god,” my guide said with an awed shake of his head.
My companions chuckled knowingly, but they neglected to mention how many times they’d worn the same awed expression on their own faces.
I had to reset a few times during the next couple of days as I learned to steer the sled, but it was around the third day of our trip across the glacier when the blizzard swept over us. Sleet and snow swirled around my face so fast I couldn’t hardly see my own hands, and the icicles attacked me from all angles like a tornado of needles.
The dogs slowed gradually as they lost all sense of direction, and I
couldn’t see more than a foot in front of me. We were bound to lose the path in these conditions, and the chances of getting separated were too high for my tastes.
“We have to stop!” I shouted through the whirling air currents.
“We can’t!” Kent called back from the lead sled.
“I wasn’t asking!” I pulled my sled to a stop, and I signaled to my companions to do the same with theirs.
Zenda rode on the front of mine while Mahini sat in front of Jaxtom, but Kent had his sled all to himself. I wasn’t sure he would stop at first, but then he pulled his team of dogs around until he was parallel to ours.
“We’ll need shelter,” he said.
“Obviously.” I nodded and began to lay out layers of ice in a circle on the ground around us while my companions erected our tent inside the perimeter.
We could have just made do with the igloo, but with the tent on the inside of the icy structure, my women had a little more protection from the elements.
I was in a rush, so it wasn’t the best ice spell I’d ever performed, but a few moments later, an igloo shape began to
emerge. I finished by applying the frost spell the Builders’ Guild used on the walls of Northwatch, and every crack was sealed with ice an instant later.
“Get inside!” I yelled to my companions, and I began to unhitch the dogs from the sleds with numb fingers.
Kent unhitched his team before grabbing his pack and heading inside. His canines darted into the shelter, and I grimaced as I pictured the furry night ahead of me, but I had to admit their extra body heat would be a nice addition to the temperature inside the tent.
“Come on, Bash!” Mahini urged from the entrance of the shelter.
“Almost done!” I said without even looking up from my task.
The wolf-like hounds whimpered and huddled against the ground as they waited for me to unhook their bindings, but my fingers barely obeyed my commands. Still, I pushed through the chill in my limbs and moved as fast as I could.
I was unhooking the last wolf-like hound when I heard a blood-curdling howl coming from the thick of the storm. The hairs on the
nape of my neck stood on end, and the dog at my feet peed all over my boots as it whimpered in fear.
What the fuck?
Before I could even flick the moisture from my griffon feather boots, a massive ball of white fur lunged out of the swirling vortex of snow to slam into my chest. I fell over backward, and then I stared up at the open spike-toothed maw of what looked like a mixture between a gorilla and a polar bear.
In my peripheral vision, I saw several more of the white-furred creatures emerge from the blizzard, and once they towered over me, I realized exactly what they were.
Ice trolls.