“Tell your leader that if the Siyee ally themselves with the heretic Circlians, they will gain an enemy more powerful. Now I know she is here, I will not stay.”

“You don’t want to meet the Speakers?”

“Not while she is here.”

“But you came so far! It can’t have been easy.”

Genza grimaced. “No.” She sighed, then looked at Yzzi hopefully. “You wouldn’t happen to know of an easy way back to the coast?”

Yzzi grinned. “I haven’t been that far, but I’ll help you as much as I can.”

Genza smiled with warm gratitude. “Thank you, Yzzi. I hope one day we’ll meet again and I can return the favor.”

As Danjin entered Auraya’s rooms, he heard a shrill cry of joy.

“Daaaa-nin!”

He immediately ducked and looked up. The ceiling was bare. He cast about, searching for the owner of the voice. A gray blur streaked across the room and leapt up into his arms.

“Hello, Mischief,” he replied.

The veez gazed up at Danjin, blinking adoringly. Mischief had taken quite a liking to Danjin now that the adviser, Auraya’s servants and the occasional visit from Mairae and Stardust were the only company he had. Auraya’s pet also found it amusing to drop onto Danjin’s head from the ceiling, a trick that was only slightly less unnerving than the view from the windows.

Danjin scratched the veez’s head and spoke to it for a while, but soon his thoughts returned to the discoveries he had made over the last few days. He had visited friends and acquaintances all over the city, in high and low places. What he’d heard had confirmed his worst fears. The Pentadrians of the southern continent were raising an army.

Military training was a part of their cult and he had hoped his brother and father had come to the wrong conclusions about the trade in weapons. However, both the retired sailor Danjin had befriended during his early years of travelling and the Dunwayan ambassador had told him of active recruitment of soldiers and smiths within Mur, Avven and Dekkar, the lands of the southern continent.

Mischief squirmed out of Danjin’s arms, clearly dissatisfied with the amount of attention he was getting. He jumped up onto a chair and watched as Danjin began pacing, the veez’s small, pointy head moving back and forth.

Was Northern Ithania the Pentadrians’ target? Of course it is. Other landmasses lay to the northeast and west, but they were so far away as to be almost regarded as legend. If the Pentadrians had their sights set on conquering some other place, the closest was the continent to their north.

:What’s wrong, Danjin?

He let out a gasp of relief.

:Auraya! At last!

:It’s nice to be missed, but that’s clearly not what’s bothering you. What is this about Pentadrians conquering Ithania?

He quickly related what he had learned.