But Lucy wasn’t done. “Hell, if I tell them you’re a Warden, they might turn you into an envoy too!” The pilgrim ughed.

  Sally accepted the joke for what it was – and would hopefully remain – and tried ughing along, but deep inside she felt nothing but anxiety.

  Diplomacy already wasn’t her strong suit, but she could understand it at least. But politics? She was quaking in her boots already.

  Thankfully, they still had some miles left on the Cannibal Road. That’s a pce I can understand, at least.

  21. End of the Road – August 22, Year 216

  When they arrived at Keringa around noon, Sally could scarcely believe it. They’d travelled the Green for six entire days and hadn’t had to fear for their life the entire time!

  Well, that was not quite true. There had been one close call on the Cannibal Road. Although Sally hadn’t seen it, both Sanan and Maliah had apparently spotted a small band of cannibals wandering the pins. Thankfully, the two had spotted them long before the cannibals could do the same, so all they had to do was hide in flora of the Greennds for about an hour before continuing on, unseen and unharmed.

  There was also a singur demon – a skinner according to Kohar, since they apparently wandered the Greennds as well – that had attempted an ambush during their lunchbreak on the nineteenth, but Kohar had taken them out without issue. And without warning also; the loud bang of her sniper rifle had startled Sally into dropping her lunch! Not that she needed the sustenance, but she’d been annoyed regardless, especially since Lucy continued to make fun of her for it every time they ate.

  But still, the encounters had been small and quickly dealt with, a massive improvement compared to her and Lucy’s earlier misfortunes. Better yet, they barely had to do anything during the entire journey, allowing Maliah’s Hunt to take care of most of the day-to-day. Sally did insist she take a long watch every night, ostensibly in gratitude for all they did, but in reality it was more for her own peace of mind.

  For the first time this journey – especially for Lucy – they arrived at their destination well-rested and full of energy, even if Lucy occasional compined of a sore butt caused by her steed. Though Sally waited for the other shoe to drop suddenly, it never materialized and the journey remained rexed throughout. Apparently she’d been too cynical for her own good and they’d arrived at Keringa without harm or too much hardship.

  Perhaps Maliah’s Hunt banced out our bad luck? Sally thought. Then, she remembered the conversation she’d had with Lucy days prior and looked at the city ahead. Or maybe our rotten break is waiting for us here. She shuddered at the thought.

  Just like any other city in the Circuits, Keringa was quick to allow people entry, the guards barely paying attention to the comers and goers. After all, traders and travelers were the bread and butter of any Circuit-city, and the biggest threats out there were rarely ever people – discounting the cannibals as people, of course.

  The city itself was remarkably different from the others Sally had seen. Though, frankly, that didn’t say much; practically every city she’d been in was remarkably different from one another.

  Still, what surprised Sally about Keringa was that, unlike the others, it was built much more open and wide than the others. Where Cardinar and Southwall – she didn’t count Lovesse because of its small size – consisted of rows upon rows of tightly clustered multi-storied buildings, each further divided into separate districts by the function they were built for, Keringa was left to spread out organically.

  Sally’d thought the walls would prevent such a thing from occurring, but when the group went further into the city, she saw that outside of the part of the wall they just entered through – the part facing the Circuits – the rest were much more perfunctory. Engin told her that outside the walls at the back, the city continued on, undisturbed by its ck of protection.

  Keringa had always had a reputation as one of the safest cities in the Grand Circuit. The Greennds and its encompassing Circuit, while just as dangerous as the others, didn’t contain the kind of demons or animals that forayed far outside of its bounds. It was also far enough from the Cannibal Road for any ambitious man-eater to prefer attacking the closer-by Southwall rather than the far-away Keringa. It thus made sense that its citizens build outside its walls, at least on the eastern side, where their neighbor – and maybe soon to be overlord – the Merkahn Republic held sway.

  It had also been one of the most isoted cities in the distant past, during the time when the nds of the Merkahni were ruled over by their Demonic overlord Ersaruh. Supposedly, the name Keringa itself meant something like ‘turn around’ or ‘leave’ in some forgotten Old World-tongue, and had, despite its safety, not been as connected to the Circuits as other cities back then.

  Of course, all that changed when the Merkahni’s Demon was killed and the newly-freed people explored the grass pins between Keringa and the nascent Republic. It didn’t take Keringa long to transform into a trade hub much simir to Southwall and Gadeon.

  Likewise, they’d adopted some of the building style of the Merkahni. A lot of the older buildings still carried the square style familiar to Sally – albeit in a darker reddish brown than sandy brown color – but there were also more squat and stretched out houses interspersed with them, some of them with numerous other, smaller buildings attached to them. These buildings were often painted white or were made of brick and retained their texture.

  Nearly of the residences also had their own garden – some small, some rge – mostly used to grow food for themselves, although some of the newer, rger Merkahni-style mansions maintained gardens solely for their appearance.

  All this Sally observed as the group moved toward the old city center, where the buildings were almost solely made in the Circuit-style. The center also seemed to be where most of its industry, business and administrative buildings were hosted.

  Caravan grounds y on the other side of the center from where they entered, so they lifted Lucy from the cordil close to the Dekantist temple, located right in the heart of the city.

  After a brief moment discussing their pns, Maliah left Sally and Lucy at the temple while the Hunters went about their business, seeking supplies, a pce to stable their cordil and, of course, seeking out the mage that could help Lucy.

  X

  It took Maliah less than an hour to return and fetch them from the temple.

  The home of the mage was nearby, still in the city’s center though not quite at its heart like the Dekantist temple. It was a building not unlike the others surrounding it – square with a second story occupying half the floor, allowing for a balcony – but there were subtle touches to it that made it seem more Merkahni.

  For one, the building was painted bright white, reflecting the sun’s harsh light and blinding anyone who stumbled across it during the daytime. Unfortunately, Keringa had perhaps the least amount of desert surrounding it, meaning the sand could not rapidly scour the yer of paint off of it. Furthermore, where older buildings had shutters or no opening at all in the walls facing the sun, the mage’s residence it had clear gss windows. It did have closed curtains to keep out some of the light and heat, but it would no doubt be extremely hot inside.

  When they approached the building, there was already a woman standing in the doorway, ready to receive them.

  “Welcome, welcome! Name’s Linette, no need for yours – already know ‘em. Now, come in quick, don’t want to let the warm in!” The mage spoke, hurriedly gesturing them inwards. The woman herself was old, perhaps even elderly, though clearly still full of energy.

  The woman was dressed unlike most other mages Sally’d met. The magic users of the Drover cns and the mages of the Arcanist’s Guild – and, perhaps, the Marshen too, but Sally had not seen enough of them to judge – often carried dress or uniforms den with symbols, whether it be magically so or as signs of their station. The presumably Merkahni mage instead wore simple clothes, loungewear anyone would wear in the comfort of their own home.

  Sally and Maliah helped support Lucy enter the building.

  Where she’d expected it to be hot, dark and maybe damp, the interior of the mage’s quarter were instead cool and overflowing with light. In the corners, hanging from the ceiling, interspersed between chairs and couches were numerous glowing, magical lights bathing the room in a soft, yellowy orange hue. Where the cold came from Sally didn’t know, but no doubt also aided by magic.

  Sally found it kind of funny that the private residence of a single Merkahni mage seemed to give off a magical impression than either of the two the Arcanist’s Guilds she’d visited. Then again, the Lovesse one was apparently all but abandoned – and it did have her brother’s whole experiment thing, but that seemed almost scientific in its appearance – while the headquarters in Cardinar had been all but closed off to the public in its entirety.

  “I’ve made preparations on the first floor – I trust you two can get her there?” Linette addressed the question to Maliah and her, to which they both returned a nod.

  Sally had expected the first floor to seem more like a workshop or a sober medical facility, and while that might be its function, it wasn’t as empty and focused on pure pragmatism as most workspaces she’d seen. Aside from a corner where a medical bed stood, wall full of tools hanging from hooks and a few cabinets with many drawers and filled compartments, the rest of the room was almost like a living room. There was a rge part-couch, part-bed and part-recliner in the middle of the room, along with an accompanying table carrying a pte of snacks, a pitcher of water, a couple of books, a pot atop a boiling pte and a tiny pnt. In the corner opposite the medical bed was another, rger pnt with long, slim leaves.

  Considering her age, perhaps the woman was retired and plied her craft more as a hobby? It would make sense of the almost domestic feel of what was otherwise a workspace.

  Either way, the woman gestured for them to set Lucy down on her back, though on the couch, not the medical bed. The woman removed the brace around Lucy’s leg, Maliah helping her when necessary, and began her examinations. Maliah left and went looking for the rest of her team.

  “Meliah told me something about a healing spell and a ritual, correct?” The mage asked Lucy, to which the pilgrim nodded in response. Linette began softly poking the shattered knee, Lucy wincing slightly at her touch.

  “Seems its healed farther along than it should’ve, as if it had taken pce weeks ago,” the mage mused, turning a questioning gaze toward Lucy.

  “Part of the ritual. It works through a connection with time rather than something more direct,” Lucy replied.

  Linette gave a hum in understanding. “That expins why it hasn’t healed quite right.”

  Sally wanted the woman to expand on that and opened her mouth, but Lucy beat her to the punch. “Not quite right, how?” The pilgrim asked.

  “Some parts of the knee haven’t fused well, or did so wrongly or to the wrong parts. The remnants of your kneecaps are also too far apart, but also already settled into position, meaning they won’t reattach on their own,” the mage expined almost absentmindedly, her mind locked deep into her examinations. “If left to its own devices, the leg would be all but unusable except as a crutch, and not a pleasant one.”

  “But you can do something about it, right?” Sally beat Lucy to the punch this time.

  Linette seemed to startle out of her focus. “Oh yes, of course! Even a regur doctor could, technically. Although it might take them a lot longer and with less chance of success.”

  The mage stood up and walked to the medical bed in the corner, approaching a cabinet near it and opening a drawer. From there, she pulled a sheet of paper and moved back, ying it out on the ground next to where Lucy y.

  On the sheet was an illustrated dissection of a leg, all its parts marked with a line leading to names in tiny scribbles, expnations underneath them and unfamiliar symbols drawn besides them.

  “I’ve got all the parts and functions of the leg already mapped symbolically. All I would need to do is examine yours,” Linette said to Lucy, “discover their symbols and match them to the ideal forms and work my magic.”

  Sally narrowed her eyes at the piece of paper, trying to make sense of the diagram and the words the mage spoke, but she couldn’t. Thankfully, it seemed Lucy could.

  “Seems… well, easy or simple is not the right word. Doable, perhaps? Logical?” Lucy mused to herself, and Linette let out a small ugh. “But what about the practical?”

  “I’ve got some of the things in-house already,” Linette said, gesturing towards the rows of tools hanging from the wall and the cabinets filled with drawers, pots and cannisters. “The rest I’ll probably be able to get within a couple of days, a week at most. A shipment with medical supplies for the Hunters should arrive any day by now, and I’m sure I can barter for them with some of my own stuff.”

  “And the cost?” Lucy asked, wary look in her eyes.

  Linette looked Lucy in the eyes, then gave a small smile. “Oh, nothing monetary or the like, but I think you already knew that,” the mage said, Lucy nodding in response to the statement. “An old friend of mine wants to meet with you.”

  They move fast, Sally thought. They’d arrived barely an hour ago and already Lucy’s prediction bore fruit.

  Lucy gave an agreeing nod, though her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. “As long as I won’t have to make promises going in, I can agree to a simple meeting.”

  Linette waved off the suspicion. “So long as you meet, that’s fine by me. I’ll heal you regardless of the outcome,” the woman said, crossing her arms. “I’m quite miffed myself, you know? Seeking to leverage me for her own gain!” The mage gave an annoyed hmph, though more in jest than out of any real anger.

  “Well, great!” Lucy said, an angry smile on her lips. “When are we expected?”

  The mage’s smile was full of teeth. “Why, tonight, of course!”

  They move really fast, Sally thought.

  X

  They spent some time at the Dekantist temple, mostly lingering some distance away from the central altar. Lucy interacted with some of the faithful as they passed through, giving them blessings, sharing in prayers, the usual stuff. Thankfully, there weren’t many of them to bother Lucy, since the pilgrim seemed to be in a foul mood.

  Sally understood why, of course. They’d just entered the city today, barely finished setting up a treatment for her broken leg, and now they were practically summoned by some notable. The rush of it all aside, it was a weird way to interact with someone they were supposedly about to ask a favor from or make deals with. It was disrespectful, the way everything was so rushed, and bordered on incompetence. And nothing stung pride more than a combination of the two.

  Then, when the shadows of the city began to lengthen as the sun began to set, someone came to fetch them. The man brought with him a wheelchair, one that could better support Lucy’s leg, which made the walk to their meeting location a bit easier.

  Instead of being guided to one of the Merkahni mansions further away from the center – a pce where Sally figured the Merkahni notables lived, and thus their host – they were dragged to a restaurant somewhat close by, only a ten minute walk from the temple. Sally supposed it was considerate of them, both the wheelchair and the proximity of the restaurant, if they weren’t the ones that demanded they come in the first pce.

  Once there, they were greeted and ushered in by the staff, a pair of them helping carry Lucy into the building. Surprisingly, they had to descend somewhat; the ground floor of the restaurant was lower than the regur ground level. Maybe it helped deal with the warmth?

  The restaurant – named the Golden Bull – wasn’t particurly packed, but it wasn’t empty either. The dining floor was surprisingly rge and well-decorated considering how it had looked from the outside, and though two dozen or so guests ate their dinner here, there was still plenty of room for more.

  Their presumed host was seated in a booth in the corner. She was a somewhat heavyset, middle-aged women with a cheerful, if harried look to her. It seemed they hadn’t been the only ones feeling rushed.

  When she spotted them, the woman rose from the bench and walked towards them. Well, towards Lucy, really.

  “Luciana Orta, correct?” The woman said, holding her hand out to Lucy. “I’m Canthia of Pasternie, Merkahni ambassador to Keringa and overseer of the Republic’s diplomatic efforts in the wider Circuits. A pleasure.”

  She didn’t offer a hand to Sally. It didn’t bother her, and was in fact relieved that the woman paid no attention to her. When Lucy had warned her about telling people she was – or used to be, in Sally’s opinion – a Warden lest she be dragged into a political negotiation, she’d taken it to heart.

  Did Maliah or Linette or whomever tell her I’m her bodyguard? Whoever it was, she’d have to thank them for it.

  Lucy shook the hand. “Likewise,” she replied.

  After a moment, they released the handshake. “Please, have a seat, I’ve taken the liberty to order a set menu for both of us – and your guard, of course,” Canthia spoke, looking at her. Sally gave the ambassador a nod in gratitude, even if she didn’t really care that much. It simply felt like the thing to do. “Please, have a seat,” Canthia continued, gesturing to the booth.

  Lucy, instead of remaining in her wheelchair, was lifted up and seated on a more comfortable, properly cushioned chair and given a fittingly sized and appropriately high table with a pillow to rest her leg on. The ambassador took a pce on the center-left of the booth, and Sally sat on the rightmost edge od the booth, closest to Lucy as a good guard should. She had fun pying up her role as Lucy’s overly serious bodyguard. Who knows, perhaps it lend extra weight to the pilgrim’s status.

  The servers came and set the table with ptes, cutlery and gsses for each of them, pouring them a drink – something reddish-brown and alcoholic, although Sally couldn’t discern what it was exactly – before leaving them again.

  The ambassador restarted the conversation. “I apologize for the rush, truly,” the woman said, sounding genuinely apologetic. Then again, she was a diplomat. “If I would’ve liked to postpone to a more appropriate time, but as, I’m leaving Keringa by tomorrow and do not know precisely when I’ll return.”

  If only they could’ve gotten here a day ter, Sally thought.

  “Oh?” Lucy said. “If I may ask, whereto?”

  “I’ve been recalled by the High Representative of Westermont,” Canthia said, not even trying to hide her bitterness. “There’ve been some questions about the spending of funds set aside by the Republican Diet for the hunt, mostly concerning the more, ah- diplomatic uses of said funds.” The ambassador took a sip of her drink.

  Did she bribe people or something? Sally thought, then reconsidered. What else could diplomatic spending be for aside from buying goodwill? How could her government be upset about that?

  “I thought the Hunt’s success would’ve cast aside all doubts?” Lucy asked, also taking a drink from her gss. Sally mimicked them and took a drink from her gss as well – it tasted sweet and strong, but that was about the extent of her feelings for it.

  “Yes, and I doubt much will come of it, but Westermont was always the most vocal against sending a Hunt,” the woman said, all but sneering. “They’re the state bordering the Circuits, you see? Saw it as an intervention in their backyard, a form of government overreach. They consider it their territory and thus their business, not the Diet’s and certainly not the Hunters’.”

  The woman seemed surprisingly open about her dislike of the Merkahni state, but who wouldn’t be bitter about their greatest success being questioned. Sally could empathize with that at least.

  Lucy, however, was less empathetic. “And now you seek to score a st diplomatic win before you leave.”

  Canthia didn’t react to Lucy’s bluntness, instead adopting Lucy’s approach instead. “To be blunt: yes, it’s to my benefit you happened by when you did and also my hope you can help me. The Republic has been trying to make a connection with the Praesidium at Ancora for a long time now, but without success. Me succeeding could well become a great capstone for my career.”

  Sally was surprised by the speed of the negotiation, but again, Lucy remained steadfast. For all the compints she had about politics, she seemed more than adapt at it.

  “And what would I gain from it? I hope it wasn’t the healing; Linette already promised me to continue regardless of the results here,” Lucy said.

  The ambassador smiled at that. “She’s a stubborn woman, Linette, with stronger morals. Perhaps why I still like her so much, despite it all.”

  Then, the woman’s smile faded, repced by a stern, stoic business-like appearance. Really, Sally was impressed by how quick the woman switched gears.

  “No, what I hope for is less direct, and hopefully more… well, with others I would say one of mutual profit, but that’s not quite the right term here, is it?” Canthia asked leadingly, but Lucy remained silent. “A mutually beneficial arrangement, then.”

  “And if not profit, what kind of benefit is it to me, then?”

  “From my understanding – and do correct me if I’m wrong – you have a promising future in the Praesidium and are well-liked by most of the run-of-the-mill faithful, but less so by the other Praeses, correct?” Lucy nodded in response and the woman continued. “You are young and while I have no doubt you can rise high on your own with time, you ck the institutional backing some of the other movers and shakers in the Praesidium have.”

  Apparently, not having direct access to the Praesidium didn’t hinder the ambassador from having insider info. Hell, Sally hadn’t figured most of this out, and she’d been hearing Lucy’s air her compints for the past month!

  Lucy remained silent at the ambassadors speech, so Canthia pressed on. “While I cannot promise it just yet, my hope is that the Republic can become your backing – and yours alone.”

  Lucy stayed silent for a moment, thinking. “You said yourself that I can rise highly in the Praesidium on my own. Why would I need the backing of such a faraway nd? Especially when one of their own states seems to be against whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish.”

  Canthia tried to hide the annoyance at the st comment, but Sally saw it nevertheless. “Besides the fact you need material, people and enough influence to overcome the factionalism in the Praesidium?” The ambassador asked rhetorically, making a comment of Lucy’s own issues with internal divisions. “The Church and their Evergraced, the Arcanist’s and their Dead Gods; neither of them can be separated from the growing influence of the Leaguerans and the Grandies, and neither of them are particurly hospitable to beliefs outside their own faiths,” Canthia procimed darkly, taking another drink from her gss.

  “But the Republic?” The ambassador said, pride clear in both her eyes and tone of voice. “The Republic is a nd of a thousand-and-one faiths, a thousand-and-one peoples and a thousand-and-one freedoms. What is one more? No, we’d be gd to have one more,” she finished, defting somewhat. “The very least we can provide is a counterbance to the others. Best case scenario? The Circuits’ freedom protected, and the Dekantist’s primacy assured.”

  Sally did not know whether to be horrified or inspired by the speech. She spoke of dominating the Circuits on the one hand, while in the same breath ensuring the survival of its culture. Her vision of the Grand Circuit underneath the Merkahn Republic, absorbed yet protected, incorporated but not devoured… Sally could almost taste it, and it was both mouth-wateringly sour and sickeningly sweet.

  On Lucy’s face, Sally only saw deep thought. Her annoyance at being rushed, the prior coldness against Canthia’s offer, the annoyance at the barbs passed her way… all of it had fallen away as she seriously contempted the offer.

  “And how will this cooperation take form?” Lucy said, evidently having made the decision.

  Like a cat that ate the cannery, the ambassador grinned widely and wildly. “For now, nothing substantial. I would like for one of my close assistants to travel with you to Ancora, alongside Maliah and her team as his escort. Once settled, he will act as liaison between us, though I don’t doubt that even without my input, you two can y the foundation for our combined future.”

  The woman took lifted her gss, still grinning with self-satisfaction as she took a drink.

  Sally would swear up and down that Lucy timed it on purpose. “No,” the pilgrim spoke bluntly.

  Canthia choked on the liquid, its burning liquor clearly going down the wrong pipe. The ambassador took the napkin and, as quietly as she could – which was not very – began coughing in it.

  “No?” Canthia asked, voice hoarse and throat raw. “What do you mean no?” The ambassador struggled to phrase it as a question rather than an accusation.

  This time, it was Lucy that smiled like the proverbial cat, taking a sip of her own gss with almost mocking elegance. “Didn’t Maliah tell you? I’m on a pilgrimage. It would be inappropriate to combine the political and religious like that.”

  “So you refuse the offer? Just like that?” The woman asked in disbelief. To be honest, Sally was surprised too. She figured her friend would take the offer as well, if not pnning to follow through with it as far as the ambassador might wish it to.

  But Lucy waved her off. “You take me the wrong way. I meant it more literally: I will not allow them along our pilgrimage. But I’m sure that afterwards, when I take the Seventh Sip and get it confirmed by the Praesidium, that we can work together at Ancora.”

  The ambassador’s facial features twisted in disbelief, then into an annoyed grimace before finally nding on a mixture between a self-deprecating smile and sober relief.

  Sally figured her own expressions was no less complex. Her feelings were in disarray, warring against each other for a spot in her mind and heart. What was she supposed to feel? Happy for her friend? Betrayed at the potential of her selling out to the Merkahni? Fearful of the future of the Circuits? Or relieved that it was the Merkahni rather than any of the others?

  The Republic had already gotten so far without assistance, and if they managed to hold Green Providence, they’d go farther still. And in return they had sin a Demon for the Marshen, so what would they do for the rest of the Grand Circuit? Kill more Demons? The Grey Hives? Make the Cannibal Roads safe to travel?

  Maybe they were the best option for the Circuit, or at least the best of the three foreign states. Though the best of the worst doesn’t necessarily mean good, Sally thought bitterly, but that was her stubborn pride talking. The Circuits were changing, that much was clear, and if the Merkahni were the best way for it to survive and thrive? The Circuits would flock to them, regardless of what she thought about it.

  “To future cooperation, then,” the ambassador said, lifting her gss. Lucy complied and they rang as they met.

  Just in time for the first course to arrive.