Sapphire had feared they were about to reenact the wildbrew chase Fengi had reluctantly told them about from back at Deriva. Maiko had proposed that maybe Tom needed to go back under water again to have another try at transitioning back into reality since it clearly hadn't worked too well the first time around.

Sapphire elected against trying to forcefully drown a friend as a first resort. Instead she pinned him to the ground as he tried to rush at this imaginary traitor he seemed convinced was there. It took a lot of strength to keep the flailing human from moving. With some help from Maiko she managed to keep him from hurting himself or anyone else and slowly he did indeed start to calm down. Though that seemed to be more from exhaustion than clarity of mind.

He kept blabbering about, "Kill the heretic, drown the traitor," even as it turned into more of a desperate yammering. Whatever it was about, he certainly seemed convinced of it. For a moment she feared maybe he had learned of a traitor amongst their ranks. But who? The only new faces they had seen for months and months were inquisitorial. Surely that couldn't be. Edita? Or Paulin? Maybe someone had caved to some demand or something? Maybe Bo or Pho? They were still new. Could they trust them? Tink or Junior? couldn't be, right? They both adored Tom and his strange genius.

What about Balethon? Could it be him? He is an arsehole… and they were certainly hard on him at times, but would he dive that low?

Sapphire didn't like the paths her mind was racing as she kept the struggling human down, one knee solidly planted in his back, while Maiko kept him from kicking too much.

"We have to… he can't. Can't get away…" Tom muttered as he truly ran out of strength and Sapphire felt him all but give out under her, spluttering water. She eased the pressure, turning his head to try and tell if he was alright.

'He. That does narrow it down a bit…'

"Tom. Tom, listen to me. Who is this traitor?" Sapphire questioned, cautiously leaning her head down next to the distraught human, not sure if she wanted to hear what he might say.

"Harvik… Harvik betrayed us… Puppet…"

"Harvik?" Sapphire questioned, looking up at Rachuck, then Maiko. Both men shrugged, clearly no wiser than her.

"Who is Harvik?"

Tom didn't reply immediately, back rising and falling with every breath. "He… He was Joelina's mentor… Or maybe he was supposed to be. Her first real boss… An inquisitor… A piece of shit inquisitor," he replied, remaining calm as he drew breaths.

"A traitorous inquisitor?" Sapphire questioned, outraged by the notion. It was their job to root out corruption. The power vested in them would lead to complete disaster should they turn on their own. If anyone should be immune to the grips of corruption, surely it would be an inquisitor? They were lauded and feared above all. They were sanctified by the church and the crown.

She shot a glance at Maiko almost accusingly, as if he had to explain himself. He was from the capital after all. It was the cities who insisted on checking the frontier for corruption, not the other way around.

"Don't look at me," Maiko replied, holding up his hands innocently. "I don't fuck with the Inquisition. No one does."

"But have you ever heard of such a thing?" Rachuck questioned, joining Sapphire in the impromptu interrogation. "An inquisitor falling victim to the forces of the dark?"

"I mean it's not really the sorta thing they proclaim from the parapets now is it? But uhm. Probably. They mess around with dark things all the time. Only makes sense they get bit every now and again."

"Yet every soul alive is told that an inquisitorial seal is sacred above reproach. If wielded by a traitor, imagine what could happen?"

"On the bright side, I can't imagine they let the bastard live. I mean, isn't he seeing visions of what Joelina has been up to?" Maiko nodded towards the prone human. "If she knows the guy is a traitor, he won't live long… right?" He sounded less sure of his assumption than Sapphire would have liked.

She turned to Tom, hoping he might know.

"I don't know… I… I didn't see anything more…"

"What did you see?" Rachuck questioned. "Were you back in the frozen wastes of the north?"

This was news to Sapphire, and why did Rachuck know?

"Yes… The tank, the ship… The… She went in the tank. I think Harvik had fought it too. He lost. She won."

"She won? What do you mean?" the captain questioned. "She fought it in a duel?"

"It wasn't sleeping. It was awake. It knew they were coming. Harvik brought them… Like a puppet. It was a battle of minds… I think."

"What 'It?'" Sapphire questioned, as much at Rachuck as at Tom. "Would you mind filling some of the rest of us in?"

"A doetna, Sapphire. Inquisitor Joelina met a doetna, long ago. Kept in a tank, far north in the frozen wastes."

"SHE MET A FUCKING WHAT?!" Sapphire cried out, receiving a stern look and a hushing finger from the captain . Sapphire did lower her voice and repeated through gritted teeth. "She met a fucking what? A doetna, an actual doetna. She met one?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. That was a tale wilder than anything Apuma had ever spun.

"She touched it too," Tom then added. He truly sounded exhausted, but it would seem he may be returning to reality properly. He seemed composed enough it might not be hallucinations he was talking about. "She got in the tank with it… I knew that already… That's why."

"Why you wanted us to try and drown you in a tub," Maiko added, crossing his arms. "By the gods above."

"And below," Sapphire added. "What was she thinking? I… I don't even know what one of those is supposed to look like, they're just… just."

"Stories to scare children," Maiko interjected. "Are you quite sure? It wasn't something else pretending? Half the people I know don't even think they are real. Yet alone still about."

"Hooo no… It was real alright. She read its mind," Tom replied. "She fought… she won."

"That's not possible," Sapphire stated, surprising herself with how cold and dismissive she sounded. But it just wasn't. If the doetna truly did exist, and if the tales Apuma had recounted about them were true, they were closer to gods than mortals. They were simple gods of the dark court instead. "Joelina was a dragonette. A mere mortal, not even a dragon much less something like a unicorn." That she could maybe have believed, but a dragonette standing up to the embodiment of evil and coming out victorious… That was too much.

Rachuck and Maiko were certainly apprehensive as well. Arms were crossed as they awaited elaboration.

"I think… I think it was old. Weak, neglected… It had been stored in that tank for centuries, maybe even millennia… I don't know how, that should not be possible. Just like the ship shouldn't be working. It should have run out of food and power long, long ago."

"There was a ship, too?" Sapphire questioned, not buying it

"It was his prison. The doetna was the powersource, built by the thatchi below," Tom sighed. "The uh… the fish people. I saw some. The- oh god. The Doetna remembered them. It showed us its memories of being born."

"Thatchi…" Rachuck echoed back, slowly. "The doetna were created by mortal hands?"

"So it would seem," Tom sighed. "Though they were none too pleased about it. This one was chained to the ship. It tried to rebel. Didn't work. The thatchi somehow flew it north and embedded it in the ice to… I suppose, imprison it. It clearly worked. It could not leave, and it was mighty pissed about that. Something about pendants," He replied half delirious.

"That still doesn't explain why Joelina decided to take a bath with one, much less how she came out alive," Sapphire countered as she started to ponder if their most valuable ally could in fact be trusted at all. Tom had been played by plenty of mindgames, some real, some definitely not. What if it was all a fabrication? Or an attempt to cover up the truth?

"Harvik brought them. He was lost to the doetna. It controlled him, at least that's what it sounded like, and it made him bring them there as quickly as he could. It was all a trap."

"So that is why he decided to risk a young unproven mindreader against the worst foe imaginable. He did not want her to succeed, " Rachuck remarked glumly. The captain's sigh was audible for all to hear.

"Yes. But Harvick acted alone… I think, I don't know. But Glazz did not help him, she helped Joelina. And she was his bodyguard."

"Wait, the same Glazz we know? The one who tried to kill Jacky?" Sapphire accused.

Tom nodded as he brought his arms under him and tried to push himself upright.

Sapphire decided that at least he wasn't in a complete delirium anymore, and while she did not believe him, she elected to help him up. Though she did make sure to keep an eye out for any sudden movements.

"Yes, she gave Joelina a vial of powdered unicorn horn. I think that was what saved her. That and how weak the doetna had become over the years. And when Joelina got back out, Glazz helped her, and started questioning Harvik. He wasn't very happy to lose his so-called master. And that was when Joelina accused him… I… I don't know what happened after that."

"For the record, I ain't helping you do that again," Sapphire stated promptly. "And I don't think I believe even half of this. You don't just fight a god with your mind and win. That's not how any of that works."

"With respect, Sapphire, how would you know?" Rachuck questioned. Though the skepticism in his voice betrayed that he didn't actually disagree with her. It did seem extremely far-fetched. "But I agree, we should not do this again. It has only left us with more questions. And things we may have wished we did not know."

"No I… I don't know how to either… But I could ask Joelina what happened," Tom offered, sounding convinced that was in fact a very good idea.

"Well what if she lies? She just says, oh yeah we slew Harvik, and then went on our merry way and all was well. Don't worry about it. At all or ever," Maiko interjected. "You can't know if she's telling the truth?"

"If she even went there at all, wherever it was. What if it's just a hallucination? If she really met a doetna, that doesn't sound far-fetched at all," Sapphire joined in, agreeing wholeheartedly with Maiko's skepticism.

"No," Tom admitted. "And I know she wants to go north again… But she killed the doetna in the fight with it. I don't think her memories can lie."

"Unless it's not her memories. We have no idea what one of those things can do. What if this is all a charade of its making? Maybe nothing you saw was real," Sapphire tried again, really trying her best not to sound mad at him.

"I… I…" The human seemingly didn't have any good answer for her. For once she didn't feel good about being right. "If it is a lie then why? If it was all for me then why make me both want to come north, and not?"

"Why in the name of the waves would you wish to go up there after seeing that?"

"I wanna see the ship of course. I've never heard of anything like that. Here or on Earth. Not outside of make believe and stories at least… And the snow traverser they used to get there. That would be something to behold… but the doetna is dead. Or so it seems… I… hmmm… That likely means the ship is dead too."

"And we know Joelina wishes to go north," Rachuck added. "In search of what?"

"Hell if I know. If she just wanted a white dragon she already has Galax…er…" Tom retorted, catching himself in a thought. "Maybe she has already been back there… Maybe there is more stuff up there."

"The Inquisition works a lot in the far north. Many things hide there, it would be part of the job," Maiko said, receiving some stern glares for Sapphire and Rachuck.

"I am just playing the demon side here. There are a lot of reasons for her to wanna go up there. Even the guard does it all the time."

"Not this far north though. Actually… They left the big white dragon behind. What was his name?... not important. He couldn't take them there, he only made it to where the snow machine was parked. They drove it from there. Maybe a white dragon cannot even go there."

"Then what does she need a white dragon for?" Maiko questioned, not following. Neither did Sapphire if she was being honest.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"I uhm… Oh oh, if it's a young one it might fit on the snowscooter thingy. Then she could bring him to the ship."

"Where having a dragon would surely be well worth it for any scavenging operations," Rachuck added thoughtfully. Maiko didn't look any less confused though.

"But there are dozens of young whites running about. Old dragons are rare, not young ones. She'd have her pick of the clutch."

"Now that I don't know either," Tom admitted, clearly trying to dream up an answer. "But if she is trying to do it because she is a traitor, why bring technology out of hiding? She is trying very hard to make weapons and gear to fight the darklings. Bending rules and trying to get the Inquisition to not just let the kingdom do it, but to help them do it. She wants the kingdom to be armed and made ready for war with any tool available," Tom recounted.

"Indeed, or so she claims," Rachuck concurred.

"That isn't the work of someone working for the doetna, that's someone who's terrified of them," Tom stated, seeming quite sure of himself, though that wasn't really that novel. "She wants to face them down and destroy them… and worse she probably thinks they are coming."

"They," Sapphire replied, putting weight on the word. "How many of them are there?"

"And what do they even look like?" Maiko questioned, receiving yet another stern glance. "What, it's not every day you get to hear what the monster under your bed might look like?"

"How many are left? No idea. But there had to be hundreds from what I saw. Long ago. They were made by the thatchi to power their machines and cities. A magical powersource. Grown in a tank to produce the maximum amount of magical potential. Nothing else mattered. It looks like a gigantic greyish slug. Suspended in water. I don't think it could ever leave. Not by itself at the very least. The thatchi called them power slugs… apparently."

"To be honest that doesn't sound that scary. A big as slug in a tank, push it off a cliff, job's done."

Sapphire almost felt disappointed. She had been expecting teeth, claws, scales, black ooze dripping off it, burning all it touched. A giant wood slug in a big jam jar was quite far from that.

"Yes, but the issue is their magic. Think about it. They can power cities. Or giant ships. We know how much energy we need to even lift a pebble," Tom replied, looking at Sapphire. "Imagine lifting the keep. All day long."

"There would be nearly no limit to what they can do," Rachuck replied grimly, Tom nodding.

"And they know magic. Dragonettes taught them. Or so it claimed."

"Now that has got to be a lie, why would we ever, in a million years, teach them something like that?" Sapphire protested. "They are our sworn enemy, for all time."

"No, they became that. They were born slaves of the thatchi, and you were slaves of them too. I suppose you had common ground. Or maybe they just lied and manipulated. I don't know."

"I… huh?"

"The thatchi hunted dragonettes, took you as slaves for your magic. They wanted even more, so they made the doetna. The thatchi have no magic at all. Nothing… or at least it sounded like that. So they rely on machines and enchantments for anything magic."

"Should we maybe be writing some of this down?" Maiko questioned, throwing Sapphire a glance.

"I bet your Joelina already has… Paulin might even know." Tom was quick to respond.

"We could start with what they look like? We got a big gray slug. What were they like?" Sapphire beckoned. That was something she did actually wish to know. Even if it was all a ruse, maybe the tatchi really did look like what Tom saw. Ancient seademon people. Now that was something to keep you up at night.

"uhm… Fish people I suppose, maybe some uhm… uuuuuh. What kind of animal is a frog?"

"A frog?" Maiko replied, head tilting, confused by the question.

"No not like that" Tom sighed. "Fine fuck it. Take a human, make him gray on the belley green on the back, like a muddy green. Skin like a frog, gills probably, and not a shred of hair. Webbed hands and feet, no claws, little bit long in the face but not like a snout. That'll have to do."

"Don't you get snappy with us after the shit you just put us through, this is important." Sapphire snapped back, a touch upset that was all he had to say about a nightmare from hell itself. A human mixed with a frog. Maybe they even went, ribbit.

"Shit I put YOU thought? What about the shit I went through."

"You chose to do it."

"If we are being truthful the only person who had no choice, I believe is Joelina." Rachuck added in a strange tone. "I do not blame her for not sharing any of this."

All heads turned to look at the captain with skepticism.

"Since when has she ever told us anything at all?" Sapphire questioned. "Unless she really had to."

"She has told me a great deal in her time here. Things that have been very helpful," the captain rebuked halfheartedly. "Besides, she has good cause to keep her secrets: we are very poor at keeping them in kind."

Sapphire couldn't argue that point, so she instead settled for looking at him a little angrily before turning back to Tom.

"What, so the fish stole magic from us and from the doetna 'cause, well, everyone wants magic. Then what exactly? And don't mistake the questions for me believing this stuff."

"Yes, I think so at least," Tom confirmed, giving a slight nod. "The doetna broke free of their chains, possibly with the help of the dragonettes, and turned on their masters. But they didn't exactly help their fellow slaves."

"What do you mean?"

"The doetna made the darklings to deny the thatchi access to magic. And to force them to fight their own slaves. An army controlled by the doetna… They turned you into their weapon."

"Those… The… THE!" Sapphire didn't even have the words. The greatest tragedy of her people. A struggle so old they didn't even remember a time before they had to fight the darklings. A curse which sat on them like a plague. Millions and millions of lives lost over centuries, maybe even millennia. Just because a jumped up slug needed a tool to rebel with.

"The enemy," Rachuck replied coldly, and simply. A truth they all knew. They might not have known why, or how it all began. But even the children knew. The dark was the enemy. The embodiment of evil, the greatest peril and the greatest horror they faced. Sapphire almost felt relieved that the old saying was true. There wasn't any grey area. The doetna weren't fellow slaves to be pitied and bargained with.

They were cruel monsters who lied and manipulated for their own gain, and they did not care for the costs to others.

"Indeed. They soon concluded they were destined for greatness. They didn't just want to beat the thatchi. They wanted to rule the world. I've never heard anyone that arrogant and full of themself before while sitting in a jail cell. It truly thought it was a god. It even talked about taking the place of the real gods up above. Doesn't seem like that worked out for them. The one Joelina met wanted to lord over other doetna as well… I get the feeling they might all be like that. It might be their greatest weakness. I can't imagine creatures like that working together very well."

"I suppose that is something," Maiko said while Sapphire pondered all that she knew about their place in the world. What it all meant. If it meant anything at all. For either their past or their future. She didn't know. She did know that unlike them, they could work together. They were people: kind, caring, better. Like the traveling preachers would say. Guardians of the light and all that was good in the world. It was all true. Often she had dismissed such nonsense. A memory or two of her past in the city certainly didn't do much to convince her they were beacons of all that was good in the world. Not to mention her home. But they were better than dark. That was for certain.

"So then… what do we do? Assuming any of this is true, what do we do about it? It doesn't answer anything about why everyone is going crazy at night."

"I need to ask Joelina. I don't think any of this was a lie… But I wanna know what happened next. And just what she is up to now…" Tom said, still sitting weakly. "But maybe not right now. Like right this second." He was still sitting half-slumped against the tub and certainly didn't look like anyone fit for questioning an inquisitor.

"So nothing about why we're having nightmares, the shit that's coming. Not even if it is Joelina? She could be plotting against us, you know. We're just a piece on a gameboard to her," Maiko pointed out. That was the reason they had tried all this in the first place after all. They wanted to know what in hell's waves was going on.

"Yup," Tom replied, to Sapphire's surprise. She had expected him to defend the inquisitor or at least elaborate, like he had before. "We need to know what she is after. Because she will go after it with everything she has. Including us. That I'm sure of."

"Talons crossed she doesn't need to go through us then."

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Yes, I really must talk with her. Yes, I am sure she would understand," Tom explained in his most diplomatic of voices.

"I am afraid that will not be possible at the moment. She is most preoccupied. May I perhaps take a message for her?" the young male voice replied, using much the same tone.

"I really don't think she wants anyone else knowing what I'm gonna be telling her."

"I can assure you I am quite trusted to relay the inquisitor's dealings. If not, I would not be trusted to talk to you, sir."

"You don't sound it. But I suppose she'd been through it by your age too. Very well then. I would like to ask about just what happened to Harvik. The traitor. Ever heard of him?"

Silence hung for a few precious moments before the voice came back to him. "I believe such an old tale may be recounted at a later date, sir. As I said, she is very busy at the moment. But I believe she would be more than willing to fill you in on anything you wish to learn."

Tom grumbled a little, having hoped for a bit more of a reaction. He really couldn't go about telling anyone anything until he actually knew what the hell was going on. Much worse if he wanted something even remotely trustworthy out of the inquisitor he didn't wanna give her the time to cook up a fairy tale. Assuming she didn't have one ready to go already.

"No it's gotta be now."

"I understand sir, but she simply is not able to do so."

"What is she doing?" Tom all but ordered, not particularly caring he didn't have any authority to speak of here.

"I believe she is currently pleading her case with a fellow inquisitor who happens to have taken a distinct interest in certain business ventures you may perhaps be familiar with."

"What do they care someone came up with a flint and steel that works? Don't you have half a dozen such things laying in your bottom drawer?"

"Yes, I do believe that is technically the concern. That someone has been going through the drawers."

"Right… and since Joelina is, well…"

"A proponent of the advancement of our peoples."

"Yes that. They think she did it?"

"A sufficient explanation I believe. So shall I relay to her that you wish to discuss her dear departed colleague?"

Tom didn't want to yield. But if she wasn't there, what could he do? "Yes. I must know. Right now she looks like a traitor…. I should not have said that, should I?"

"... I am sure partial pictures can be less than flattering, sir," the young man interrupted in a hollow, understanding tone that implied Tom was walking on thin ice right now.

"Let's go with that. Catch you later. Or something."

"Take care for now. I am sure it shan't be long. And Tom?"

"Yup?" Tom replied, expecting a verbal bollocking via telepathy.

"Please refrain from usage of such terms in the future. We can ill afford to further such notions."

"Yes yes, I- Wait what do you mean further?" There was no reply as Tom felt the presence on the other end vanish. "Hello?... Dammit. Fuck right okay. She's definitely calling back. Shouldn't have said that. Definitely shouldn't."

Tom reached up to his ear and the realm of the living returned once more. Eyes blinking open he was greeted by Sapphire standing up against the wall of her room looking at him impatiently.

"So?"

"She wasn't available. I was hoping to catch her early in the morning before she got up to something for the day."

"Tom, it's nearly noon?"

"I know, I know. But she lives in the capital."

"I know there are jokes and all, but they don't tend to sleep in that long."

"No no, they are a couple hours behind us, we are east of them… wait does the sun rise in the east here?"

"Yes, Tom. Yes it does," Sapphire replied, gobsmacked by the question.

"Well in that case yeah, it should be a few hours behind. Anywho apparently she gets up earlier than I thought."

"So what now?"

"I wait. I guess," Tom replied, finding the bed fairly comfortable. Warm too, and not wet. That was good. 'Seals holding so far.'

"Not in here you don't, and what about Jacky? Don't you think she's gonna be quite wary something is going on?"

"I don't think so. She was sleeping when I came back to the room last night. And I just told her I wanted to sleep in this morning. Though Shiva will probably be pissed."

"I believe that to be an understatement. Well go on then." Sapphire gestured at the door. "Get out. Can't have you sleeping in all day long now can we?"

"No no, of course not," Tom sighed, getting up and reaching for the earring before realizing he couldn't very well take it off now, could he? "Oh yeah. Gonna need an excuse for taking a call now, ain't I?"

"Well don't look at me, you're the one who had the brilliant idea to ask for an inquisitor to message you back. Most people tend to shit themselves when they get even a letter from an inquisitor, you know?"

"Well I kinda fucking have to know, now don't I?" Tom half-snapped in reply. Saph shut up as he pondered what to do. "I guess I could just say I decided I needed to ask her if she knew anything about why it is we're, you know. Getting divine warnings or whatever it might be. Doesn't sound too unreasonable does it?"

"Just don't take Jacky for a fool. She's not stupid, Tom."

"She's smarter than most, she just doesn't realize it all the time." He got up from the bed with a sigh and stood up, brushing himself off. Sapphire was right, he best get to work before he was missed. He could explain away the earring easily enough. "Take care now. And no snitching."

"And need to explain why I tried to drown the world's only human in a bath tub? I'll pass, thank you very much. Besides, got kitchen duty. Apparently the guards don't have the time either despite not having anything else to do."

"They gotta learn their nice new guns. And Rachuck certainly won't let them rest easy now."

"Don't we know it. He's having us do more defensive drills, with whatever dirty tricks we can come up with."

"Shotgun shells under the floorboards is a good one. Tripwire grenades and booby traps is another one."

"And whatever a do-. The trap is, I suppose it blows up?"

"Most of the time, yeah."

"How could I ever have guessed?"

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Sapphire, a moment of your time if I may," an all too familiar voice inquired from behind her as Sapphire placed her hand on the door to the library.

Turning around she mustered a smile for the archivist about as hollow as a trader's promises of a wine's provenance.

"Archivist Paulin, of course, do you require assistance with some translation work perhaps?" Sapphire did hope it was just that. She had a feeling it wasn't though.

"Yes, I found something which I believe I need your help with. Would you mind accompanying me to my office? I have it all splayed out you see."

Sapphire swallowed once then nodded. "Of course, anything you need."

The archivist didn't explain further, instead turning and setting off at a walking pace towards her room.

Sapphire's heart was in her throat as they walked. What could she say? What did Paulin know? Had she heard them last night? Sapphire had accused her boss of being a possible traitor. Maybe she hadn't heard anything. Maybe she really did need some help with a bit of translating.

'Maybe she just heard what I talked with Tom about earlier today. That wasn't so bad, was it? What did we even say?... Shit did we give something away then? Fuck me we should start just writing on paper or something. He's got plenty of it. Wait no, can he even write in runes?'

Her mind raced as Paulin calmly stepped inside, holding the door open for Sapphire. Her eyes studied the huntress in detail as she stepped through.

"Something the matter, huntress?" the archivist questioned as Sapphire took a seat opposite of the highly cluttered table that took up the center of the room. She hadn't been in here much if ever.

"Oh no, nothing more than what is on everyone's mind," Sapphire deflected.

Paulin just stood there staring at her, eyes peering through her for a moment before she shut the door. "These are hard times indeed. We must all be vigilant. On the notion of vigilance, has Tom perchance mentioned anything to you of the travelers that visited during our slumber?"

"No, he seems quite secretive about that. Not sure why," Sapphire replied as calmly as she could, doing her best to make it seem like no great concern.

"Hmmm yes… A strange thing to keep secret too. But I suppose his ability to keep secrets is hardly a detriment in our current position."

Sapphire got the distinct impression that Paulin did not actually mean that in any way. At least not when he wanted to keep secrets from her. Not to mention their rather questionable track record of succeeding.

"And no news on the book which I believe is still considered missing?" Paulin sounded almost accusatory. As if she suspected conspiracy.

"No, I do not think so. Other than Edita working diligently to replace its loss. I am certain the results shall best the original."

"I doubt it. But I suppose it may be a more… suitable work, for our purposes. It is in fact what I wish to discuss with you. Edita has come upon a material which is beyond her understanding. I suspect mistranslation. What know you of this… Synthetic Dyanond? Supposedly it is diamond that has been grown. Nonsense, clearly rocks don't grow. Could you take a look at it?"

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