Voices Beneath the Stone

Notibus Ravia was waiting for them.

Their return to Fort Tinuso took place beneath a pale midday sky. Daniel walked at the front, his cane striking the ground firmly with every step, Zanma Gupta leaning heavily on his shoulder. It was only thanks to the Master Thief’s skills that the alchemist had managed to slip through the streets from the Middle Ring to the Storms’ Cove, leaving a trail of blood-soaked bandages wrapped tightly around his abdomen.

Ever alert, Lais kept her eyes moving, the bruises across her body darkening into a horrid shade of purple. Sallustia followed with her arm bound to her torso, the wound on her shoulder still open, her expression hard despite the exhaustion, as the gates of the old fortress finally came into view.

To everyone’s surprise, sentries moved constantly along the walls, and inside the fortress men and women ran back and forth, carrying provisions, messages, and weapons.

Tinuso was the beating heart of a land under siege.

There was no weakness in the posture of the fortress’s aging administrator. Ravia bore fine features and penetrating red eyes, dressed in a coat that fit him as though tailored directly to his skin. His hair, combed back with almost obsessive precision, caught the torchlight that kept the fortress interior from falling entirely into darkness.

Even with his grip on the Outer Ring loosening by the day, he still exuded silent power, and no one could ignore his presence. At his side, arms crossed, stood Thanatos, fully recovered and once more in his jester’s attire, though his expression was far more serious than usual.

“You were attacked in broad daylight?!” the fool squawked in his comically high-pitched voice as they approached. “Master de Lio… what in the hells is happening?”

Grace did not answer immediately. He looked first to Gupta, then to Sallustia, and finally to Ravia.

“See to their wounds” the administrator ordered, his tone leaving no room for hesitation.

Two attendants hurried out from the inner keep, taking the alchemist to the medical ward. The old man then signaled for Daniel to follow him.

Sallustia tried to come along, but the traveler from another world moved suddenly, his cane tracing a swift arc. Its tip struck the back of the paladin’s knee, and she fell in surprise, catching herself on her injured arm, eyes widening at him.

Daniel took both her hands and looked straight at her.

“I need you alive” he said, his voice firm but carrying a note of restrained concern in every word. “And whole. Now go.”

Sallustia turned her face away, trying to hide the flush in her cheeks, but she offered no protest. She remained kneeling for a moment as Daniel stepped away, then finally allowed herself to be led off by the same attendants carrying Gupta.

Thanatos sighed and followed them, though not before casting Daniel a worried look.

“I’ll go with them, but afterward I want a word with you.”

“Go” Grace replied, already turning down another corridor with Ravia. He beckoned to the magus. “Lais, come with us.”

“De Lio” Lais murmured as they followed Notibus Ravia, likely toward some meeting chamber, “we can’t keep facing men like that Diabolus with what we have now.”

“I know” the Custos Tecit replied without looking back.

“No, you don’t understand,” she insisted, her tone sharpening. “That woman, Madame Umbra… she was a Veilbreaker.”

Daniel turned to look at her. His training with the Convergence had given him some knowledge of Thaumaturgiae, but he had never heard that term before.

“Explain.”

Lais exhaled slowly, choosing her words.

“Every magus is licensed to wield at most one or two thaumaturgic foci. Using more than that without authorization is a capital crime. Localized aether collapses can occur when energy destabilizes… and the fabric of reality itself tears apart. Umbra was using multiple foci… and more. She was tapping into true exchange.”

“And why are you telling me this?” Daniel’s brow furrowed.

“Because at the warehouse” Lais continued, her eyes locked on his, “you said they couldn’t come through. But that she was calling them… or feeding them. Who are they, Fidenzio?”

Grace remained silent for a moment, his expression hardening. Lais did not back down.

“No magus knows what lies beyond the aether veil” she went on. “But ritual murders… can open blessures. Rifts. Gateways. If the Swords are doing this deliberately, they’re not just waging war. They’re trying to bring something into our world.”

Daniel drew in a deep breath and kept walking.

“We’ll speak of this later. When the others can hear as well.”

***

Ravia sat at the head of the table.

Scrolls lay scattered about, and a map of the city was pinned to the wood with daggers at each corner. The fortress administrator wasted no time on courtesies.

“Thanatos informed me about the spies” Ravia began, his voice cold. “There are too many eyes watching our steps in this place. Someone from the guilds, most likely. Prebito grows stronger by the day, and Tinuso has become a besieged fortress. My fortress! He destroys my informants one by one, leaving me blind.”

Daniel crossed his arms.

“So, what do you suggest?”

“In a few days there will be a tournament.” Ravia pointed to a spot on the map: the Devanic Coliseum. “I want your paladin to fight in it.”

“Sallustia?” Daniel raised an eyebrow.

“My attendants will see she’s fit to fight. She will face the opponent I choose. She will win. And all will know that a slave-paladin defends the Coin's allies in the Outer Ring. That will be our message to Prebito.”

“And once that message is delivered?” Grace leaned on the table, his eyes steady. “What then?”

Ravia held his gaze for a long moment before answering.

“Then we rally the guilds. We create an opening for a counterstrike. Prebito cannot keep crushing my allies without paying the price.”

The traveler from another world nodded slowly.

“A sound plan. But I have one of my own.”

“Oh? Do you now?” Ravia arched a brow.

“I’m going to a gathering at the Onius family tower. To recover documents that incriminate one of his most powerful allies.”

For a moment, Ravia said nothing. Then he leaned back in his chair, red eyes measuring the man before him.

“Steal them, you mean? Bold” he said at last. “Well, good luck. You’ll need it.”

Daniel gave a slight bow and turned to leave.

“We need to reorganize” he told Lais as they stepped into the corridors. “Without Gupta for now.”

“For the tournament?” the magus asked.

As they left the meeting room behind, Fort Tinuso remained steeped in unrest. The hurried footsteps of messengers echoed through the stone halls.

“Yes” Grace confirmed. “And then I’ll tell you everything I’ve learned.”