"-and so, Alvie got upset that Ceria was using her pillow. Even though they were the same. I made double sure of it. But Alvie said she could tell it was hers cause of… well, that ain't nothing a polite man speaks of," Tanis said, gesturing widely. I'd asked him to tell me about his troubles, and the large man had been more than happy to accommodate.

I… honestly wasn't sure any of his stories were helping.

He and his girlfriends had problems, but they were all so… small. The only real conflict seemed to be little issues that almost felt as if he had to be making them up.

Who had the time or energy to get upset about a pillow?

Alvie, apparently.

"Personally, I think it was because the nightmares came again. They've been getting better, since you came around boss, but…" Tanis trailed off, his usual boisterous attitude practically vaporizing.

"Hey, what…" I wasn't really sure what to say, so I just reached over and grabbed his hand.

"Sorry, boss. Things were bad for them, before. Don't know if I ever told you, but they were… well, one of the guards, one of them you crisped? He'd taken a fancy to the ladies. Did things to them," Tanis said, letting out a long sigh. "And I never even knew, boss. Was so busy trying to prove I could be the best man, and I wasn't even helping no one. Was the worst best man I could've been."

"No one really talks about those days. Not around me, anyway," I said, giving his hand another squeeze.

"Darker times, boss. Even with the fishies knocking about, we all know those days're in the past. Too bad the past don't know it too," Tanis said, letting out a long sigh. Then his usual smile slid into place.

I wondered how much practice he'd had, to make that smile look so natural. To fool me so completely for so many months.

"Thanks for the talk, boss. I should really get back. Ladies will be missing me, and I still have lessons with that painter of yours. Quite the character, he is," Tanis said, clapping a big hand on my shoulder.

"Glad I could help," I said, honestly. The big man nodded back, then was gone. It took a second for me to realize the painter he'd been referring to was Tarnibus' pupil. The one who was supposed to help him with teaching.

It might not have helped directly, but my conversation with Tanis had put things in perspective, a bit.

It was rather silly to be worrying about the fact I might be attracted to Arizar when there was so much of actual import I needed to deal with.

Besides, I had enough self-control I'd never act on it. Knowing it was there, that it was something I needed to be aware of. That was how I'd stopped drinking.

"Good talk?" Esbee asked, appearing at the table, stepping through the table's sound muffling enchantment to collect our empty mugs.

"It was, yeah. Not exactly what I thought I'd get out of it, but helpful," I said, leaning back.

"You know, if you're having relationship troubles, Tanis might not be the best person to talk to. Man kinda has things fall into his lap," Esbee said, taking the cups and setting them on her tray.

"That obvious?" I asked.

"Nope," Esbee replied, grinning. "Just took a shot in the dark and struck gold."

"Pretty sure you're mixing metaphors," I said, chuckling.

"Seriously though, you want relationship advice, you should talk to Xoth. According to a few customers from down by Spellford, he and his lady were together for going on a hundred years. Would still be together, if not for the Bladesingers taking her, I think."

"They killed his wife too? Never realized," I said, thinking of Vaden. How would he have felt if he knew the reputation the Bladesingers now had? Honestly, he was who I wanted to talk to. He'd had a relationship just as long as Xoth, and I knew he'd been tempted more than once.

Too bad I'd have to take a week away from Tamrie to see him.

Then again, that was a week away from Arizar too.

"No. Not killed. Kidnapped. It was a whole thing, apparently. She died during the rescue attempt, killed by the mercenaries who'd been hired to retrieve the victims. They'd been kidnapped by some splinter group who was attempting to brainwash them or some such. It was a total mess," Esbee said, shaking her head. "But Xoth… yeah, he got it right."

"Right, I'll talk to him," I said, deciding I might as well avail myself of his advice. "You know, in the stories, it's always the bartenders people talk to for advice."

"Like I've got time for that," Esbee snorted, gesturing around the busy tavern. Despite the fact the main floor had been further expanded out into the chasm, every table was packed. If I wasn't the Magus Protectus, we probably would've had to wait an hour to get one. There were a half dozen other servers running back and forth, all of them new to the tavern, but not to dealing with customers.

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"Yeah, business looks like it's doing well," I said, pushing to my feet.

"The bars and churches. Look at those to know how a town's doing," Esbee said, looking around with no small amount of pride. "Too many or too few, and you know something's wrong. Least, that's what my dad said."

"I could see it," I said. I wondered if that had been the case where I grew up. I'd never known the place well enough to find out. Had barely ever passed through the doors of a church, even for the holidays and only pub I'd visited had been for food. Drinking had been a solo activity for me.

"Well, you best go find Xoth before some emergency pops up and you gotta go all Super Saiyan," Esbee said, stone hand clasping my shoulder.

"That's more Nexxa than me," I said with a soft chuckle.

"True that. Girl's a class act, straight outta X-Men," Esbee said, giving me one more nod before slipping out of the sound bubble leaving me with nothing but the faint murmuring that slipped through. Just enough to make sure it felt like you were out with other people around, but not enough to intrude.

Was pretty proud of that enchantment, even if I hadn't been the one to scribe it into the tables. It was a further modification of the shield spell I'd come up with to deal with Conflict's tendency to shatter ear drums.

Walking out, I quickly found Xoth where he was coordinating with one of the cadres of Shapers, helping them develop a switching yard near Verdant Point.

A switching yard.

We didn't even have a fully functional train but that wasn't keeping my people from building the supporting infrastructure. It was a display of faith. That it wasn't a matter of if we'd figure out trains, only when.

Kinda humbling.

The sort of switching yards we could build were a bit more advanced than what could be done without magic, yet for the most part, the designs stuck to what I knew worked. There were dozens of potential ideas for improvement but we wanted to get the basic infrastructure in place before we started getting fancy.

Unfortunately, when I asked Xoth for advice, he simply shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot help. Celinda was my sole love. I never felt affection for another soul in my life. I doubt I ever shall again."

"Sorry, I…," I trailed off. It was clear he still missed her.

"It is fine. It is an old scar," Xoth said, with a faint trace of a smile. "Celinda would have had many words of advice for you. She was ever wiser in the ways of the heart than I. And many others besides. I often found myself turning to her for advice."

"Well, thanks anyway," I said, nodding to the man.

"Sorry that I could not help," Xoth said as I left.

He'd actually helped more than he thought.

Tamrie was the other person in the relationship. Obviously I needed to talk with her.

My assistant Vendil was waiting at his desk in the crystal chamber. He informed me that she'd be busy until the evening, which wasn't too terrible. Until then he had several small decisions for me to run through, catching me up on things I'd missed while Arizar and I had been out with Bevel.

The Sahevin had slowed down, though they maintained their hold on the Golden Halls. It seemed our assault had bought us a bit more time. Inertia's best bomb contest was almost over. The Shapers would be ready to drop their cataclysmic payload in the morning.

Well, hopefully cataclysmic.

He'd gotten the signs done. I'd seen them on the way in and I made sure to compliment him on his choice of designer. They looked tasteful but were still easy to read.

Tough combo.

Tamrie had proposed converting the catacombs into a vault, since they were already secure and so few people knew about them.

Figured I'd consider it, but I was more inclined to make a spatial vault hidden in a room that simply didn't have an access point. Though… maybe we could have a false vault. One that still held enough valuables to serve as a trap. I approved her proposal, not writing down my idea. I'd tell her in person.

"Did you want to do your weekly visit with the Vox Knights today? They're in the middle of their training," Vendil asked, pencil hovering over the page. "Only thing left for the day."

"Good time for it," I agreed, heading towards the swamp Waygate after giving him a nod.

Vexith hadn't been kidding about setting up in the swamp. They'd even gone so far as to start building their keep on the eastern slope, the closest to the Waygate. It wasn't much of a keep, since none of the Shapers had been put to the task yet.

I made sure to put an Aegis on myself, leaving Vendil behind at his desk before I made my way through. As promised, there were folk training in the bog. They were arranged in small squads, each of them engaged in different exercises. Some were hauling materials to the edge, others were practicing swinging an assortment of weapons in the swampy water, and yet others were wrestling with an Inferno Drake.

That last group was composed solely of existing Vox knights, with Vexna overseeing them directly.

It was also the best place for me to show off. Still didn't know how me floating over the swamp while they all had to wade through it was supposed to be good for morale, but I did as Vexith instructed and showed off, flying up and above them.

Vexna raised a hammer in my direction, yelling at her squad. Most of them snapped to attention, with the obvious exception of those who were wrestling with the drake.

I waved, then let loose with a Firebird, having acquired it from Arizar during our trip.

It was met with a roar of approval, especially when it exploded in a fireball in the distance.

After spending half my mana, I sought out Vexith, just to make sure there weren't any issues. He groused about the smell and lack of materials, but considering he'd chosen the location, and I'd warned him that it would take time to get things set up out here, I took them for the good natured complaints they were.

Finally, when dinner was ready, I went to see Tamrie.

"Oh, Perry," she said, immediately collapsing into my arms. She simply stood there for a minute before pulling back. "Afraid I'm going to have to cancel on magic practice tonight. The cadres have made a mess and they're all… nevermind. Thing is, I need to get it all sorted out before their competition tomorrow."

"Couldn't you get someone else to do it?" I asked, not wanting to let her go.

"Only one who could take my place'd be you. Not much sense in that, is there?"

"I'll come with you. Not exactly how I'd hoped we'd spend the evening, but… I missed you," I said, tugging her chin upwards.

She smiled back, leaning forward and lightly pressing her lips to mine. Then she pulled away. "If'n you want, I won't stop you. Like as not to be boring as dredging an empty net."

"That's fine," I said, taking her hand in mine. "I just… need to spend time with you."

"And ain't that the sweetest thing," Tamrie said, squeezing my hand back. She looked like she was about to say something else when she paused, looking about. "Did ya hear that?"

I glanced around the empty hall, there was lots of noise, so it wasn't exactly clear what she might've been referring to. "Hear what?"

"I… S'pose it's nothing. Just a sort of… music, is all," Tamrie said, shaking her head before giving me another kiss, this one longer and lingering. "Glad to have ya. Shall we get started? Sooner it's over, sooner we can tumble into bed."

I nodded, following her, feeling peace settle in once more. It might not have been time alone, but it was still time with her.

For now, that was enough.

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