empire came in. But why would it wake up tonight? Did someone wake it up on purpose? Because of us? What's special about us? Or about you?'
'That will be the question, won't it?'
Else held his aching wrist to his stomach and grimaced. He did not need to become part of any investigation. His amulet could not possibly evade notice during a close examination. He did not mention sensing a second supernatural presence.
Ghort suggested, 'Maybe it was the bishop.'
'What?' That from half a dozen mouths.
'I was just thinking, maybe whatever was coming after us was one of those old-time gods that wanted human sacrifices. It was almost dark when the bishop fell down and killed himself. Maybe that woke it up.'
'That's as good a hypothesis as any,' Doneto said. 'But suppose we just let ourselves recover? Let's fuss about it later. Hecht. Will you be all right?'
'I passed some gas. The pain isn't as bad now.'
Ghort snorted. 'Swamp Boy passes gas. The rest of us fart or cut the cheese.'
Despite good intentions and a universal lust to get the hell out of the Knot, movement did not commence until noon.
Everyone needed to recuperate. Else felt drained of will and strength.
Last night had been no simple brush with a mischievous sprite or malign minor shade. That presence was the dreadful equal of the thing in Esther's Wood. And it had not been vanquished.
Darkness threatened again before they exited the Ownvidian Knot on its northeastern side. Prisoners and captors had redefined their relationship, somewhat, though, as Ghort observed, 'I don't hear nobody making wedding plans.'
Plemenza maintained a small garrison in a watchtower on the Knot side of a village named Tampas. A dozen Imperial soldiers waited there, guarding supplies.
The Braunsknecht captain disappeared immediately. Professional to his core, he would prepare a report for his superiors. His own needs he would see to later.
After an enthusiastic meal, Bronte Doneto bellowed, 'Hecht! Ghort! Come here.'
Else and Ghort joined Doneto away from the others. Doneto I said, 'Something remarkable happened last night. A thing called a bogon came after us. Luck or God's favor saw us through. Which doesn't matter. What does is, the Instrumentalities of the Night fear one Episcopal Principatл enough to raise something ancient to attack him. Which doesn't happen in modern times. I'm astounded to see it anywhere outside of Scripture.'
Else was pleased. Let Doneto think that whatever happened had to be about him. And that just might be.
He asked, 'You sure the darkness did that on its own?”
'What do you mean, Hecht?'
'I was wondering if some unfriendly sorcerer was behind it.'
Doneto took time to consider. 'That's plausible. But I don't see how it could be managed. I don't know of anyone powerful enough to do it.'
Ghort volunteered, 'Maybe you pissed off one of the gods.'
Doneto's face darkened. He was a prince of the Church. That Church acknowledged the existence of only one God.
'Excuse me,' Ghort said. 'Amend that to say some devil or demon.'
Else nodded. 'Slick, Pinkus.' His own coreligionists handled the matter that way. There was the One God, the Merciful, the True God, There Is No Other, and everything else out there belonged to that vast host of lesser supernatural beings sworn to serve the Adversary.
Bronte Doneto relaxed. 'You could be right, Ghort. Having endured the impossible already, we shouldn't discount any possibility.'
'An open mind is a mind that has a chance to see the one path leading through darkness to tomorrow's safety.'
'Of course. A child's lesson.'
Else tried not to look baffled but failed.
Ghort told him, 'It's from Kelam. Letters to the Toscans.'
'I missed that, I guess.'
'Most people do who don't spend some time in the seminary.'
Else did not have a clue, now.
Doneto chuckled. 'I suspect that Brother Hecht had very little opportunity to acquire a solid religious foundation growing up on the verges of the Grand Marshes.'
Else grabbed that straw. 'My family was never particularly devout. So don't expect me to have anything memorized.'
Doneto said, 'That is of no consequence. Survival and the work of the Lord is.'
'Sir?'
'God has given me a calling. I didn't see that at first. I went to the Connec full of arrogance. Those assassins failed to waken me. Our Lord was forbearing. He sent you. He brought me out of the Connec. He saw me through the Ownvidian Knot. And now I'm ready to hear Him. I'm prepared to do His work.' Doneto was intense. He continued, 'All right. I didn't expect you would experience the same epiphany. But I do want to talk about what our situation means.'
'It means we're out of work,' Ghort said. 'We can't protect you here. They chunk you in the dungeon, you don't need us anymore. Even if they don't, you couldn't pay us.'
'Possibly. Johannes wouldn't be that bold, though. He'll just put me under house arrest until Sublime ransoms me by acknowledging the Emperor's claims somewhere. It'll all be handled quietly. Then I'll be on my way to Brothe again, with a need for lifeguards.'
Else considered Doneto. He had arrived too late to experience the old Doneto but he had heard plenty from survivors of Doneto's original bodyguard. He did not believe that men changed their basic nature. They just pretended for tactical reasons.
'I'm trying to tell you that I want you to stay with me, despite this setback.'
Else grunted. There could not be a more advantageous position than that of officer in the lifeguard of a member of the Collegium. 'I'll stay.'
Doneto nodded. 'We'll see how onerous the Emperor makes our captivity. You may not miss a payday.'
Plemenza was one of the wealthier cities of Firaldia. Nominally, it was a republic. An independent city-state. In truth, as with most Firaldian cities, the real rulers were a handful of families. Here, however, those had less influence than elsewhere because here there was a bigger dog.
The Grail Emperor had ancestral ties with the House of Truncella, the noble family whose firstborn sons were the Counts of Plemenza but who no longer much mattered locally. Johannes had been a minor noble himself when the Electors chose him Emperor as a compromise candidate who could be manipulated easily and pushed aside shortly. But Johannes Ege revealed a potent personality, was passionate in his convictions and persuasive in his arguments. The grasping cupidity of recent Patriarchs made Johannes particularly appealing to Firaldian nobles eager to slip the squeeze of the Church.
The Grail Emperor was staying in the Dimmel Palace with his son and two daughters. The Dimmel Palace had been the seat of the Truncella Counts for centuries. His stay had no stated date of termination.
Johannes's presence underscored his abiding interest in Firaldia. His expansionist interest, his enemies would say. Though Hansel himself insisted that he had come to Plemenza only to establish his daughters there, in a city where they could avail themselves of cultural and educational opportunities absent in the bleak agricultural lowlands of the Kretien Electorate.
The daughters were of interest for their political value. No match had been made for either, yet. Johannes's reluctance to entertain suits was causing strain amongst the Electors — some of whom secretly hoped to become Hansel's successor.
Johannes was looking for sons-in-law — if he had to tolerate such beasts at all — who would bring him
