The bolt in the crossbow was bound with a healthy dose of Motion, vectored in the direction of the bolt's flight. When the trigger was pulled, the binding was released and the bolt flew astonishingly fast; then a separate binding of Elements was released and the bolt's head exploded.
All this happened so quickly that to Silverdun it appeared that him pulling the crossbow's trigger and Jedron's head erupting in flame were two separate, unconnected events. It was not flesh and bone, however, that sprayed outward, but rather bronze and gold and bits of silver.
Jedron was not alive-he was one of his own automata. His headless body swooned and fell smoothly to the ground, its glamour evaporating, leaving no doubt as to its true form.
Ilian stood, dusting off his shirt and trousers. 'Good shot,' he said. 'Though I hope you realize the replacement cost for that thing is coming out of your wages.'
'Your name's not Ilian,' said Silverdun.
'No,' he said simply.
'You're Jedron.'
The other man clapped, smiling. 'Very good, Silverdun! Not everyone figures that part out at first.'
The real Jedron righted two chairs and bade Silverdun sit in one of them. 'So tell me,' he said, 'when did you figure it out?'
Silverdun sat, laying the crossbow on his lap, not quite comfortable letting it go. 'I wasn't absolutely certain until he mentioned something that he'd said at the quay. But it wasn't something he'd said; it was something you'd said. He wasn't there.' Silverdun sighed. 'But I suspected it earlier.'
'Oh, good. Because that verbal slip was my last-ditch attempt to keep you from shooting me. When did you first suspect?'
'It was when I knocked you out in the cell, and when I went upstairs, Jedron was asleep. But he wasn't really asleep; he was only inactive, the way the automata on the Splintered Driftwood are.'
The real Jedron smiled and nodded. 'Hm. Well, I hate to admit it, but you really put me through my paces. You weren't supposed to wake up the night that I inducted Ironfoot. That required some truly inspired improvisation on my part.'
'That wasn't part of the test,' said Silverdun. 'Or whatever it was.'
'No. You were supposed to begin to suspect Jedron over a slightly longer period of time, ultimately leading to a final confrontation in which you killed him in order to save yourself. Killing the teacher is a very important part of the training.'
'Why's that?' said Silverdun. The pain in his leg was beginning to subside, finally.
'Like I said-and by 'I,' I mean that fellow on the ground over thereit's important for you to understand that you cannot trust anyone. Not anyone. Not ever again. It's the sort of thing one hears but must experience firsthand in order to truly grasp. Better you learn it here where it won't get you killed.'
'But,' said Silverdun, 'what if I'd shot you instead of him?'
Jedron waved the question away. 'It would take a lot more than one of those little quarrels to stop me. As you'll soon discover for yourself.'
'What does that mean?'
'You want to know what happened that night, don't you? The man you thought you saw killed?'
'It was going to be my next question, yes.'
'Let's go see then, shalt we? I think you're ready.'
Jedron stood and motioned for Silverdun to follow. Silverdun's head was spinning. Again he asked himself: What the hell had he gotten himself into?
At the bottom of the steps, the torches were already lit. Jedron led Silverdun down the stairs and onto the stone expanse. There was a man standing before the pit, holding a black robe.
Silverdun started to sweat, the pain in his body now replaced with a shivering dread. What was about to happen?
The man in the robe stepped forward, and Silverdun recognized the face immediately. It was the man he thought he'd seen Than murder.
'Hello,' the man said. 'My name is Styg Falores. But you can call me Ironfoot.'
'I'm not certain what the proper greeting is for this occasion, so I'll just say hello back,' said Silverdun, attempting to regain his composure.
'Strip down and put this on,' said Ironfoot, holding out the robe. Sitverdun looked over at Jedron and Jedron nodded.
