“By Syn, he's thick," muttered Brian. "As I was about to say, if Syn sent Jennifer here, it was for a reason. Syn was the first to bless Glenda, as you all know. If Syn sent Jennifer here and now me, there's a reason for it. It was a strong calling for me. Jason and I had very little time to us getting here.”

Jason smiled across Grace at Brian, who smiled back.

"Get a room, you two," chuckled Grace. "Let me sum up here. The King ordered nothing should happen to Daniel and his witches until at least they could be tested. Syn sent her champion Jennifer to watch over them and then sent her cleric here when Jennifer had to leave, essentially maintaining her protection. I warned Quinten and your Highness that Daniel and his witches were important. I've seen visions of what's coming. They factor and in a significant and positive way.

"Despite ALL that, Quinten and his One God decide, fuck that, I'm going to kill them, anyway. That about right? Now explain it to me, Quinten Cuirass, is your god good or evil? Cause right now, I think we are all getting pretty negative vibes.

Quinten jolted to his feet, and his hand went to his empty scabbard.

"You dare? You dare accuse my God of being evil?"

Grace leaned back in her chair and looked up at Quinten in a rather lazy way. "Did I stutter?"

Quinten looked furious. His fists clenched at his sides. He took a step toward her when the King coughed. Quinten snapped his head to the King.

"git."

Quinten stood quivering for a long moment. Then he seemed to deflate and sat and looked forward. His lips were pressed tightly together.

"Grace, stop that," said the King softly. "Quinten has already showed over the years that his One God is benevolent. Now is not the time to question that. Only question the why of now. Quinten, why has your god suddenly gone against all the advice and blessings? Explain that at least."

Quinten seemed to hesitate. "I cannot. Not because I cannot speak to it, but because I simply do not know. I am following the explicit directions of the One God. I cannot do otherwise."

"And that prevented at least warning me?" asked the King.

Quinten nodded.

The King sat back with a weary sigh. "So be it. We can only work with what knowledge we possess."

Grace's eyes narrowed, then she sat back. "Your Highness, may we speak without Quinten in the room? I have something to ask that is not for his ears."

The King nodded, and Quinten stood, bowed his head, and left the office.

They sat in silence for a time before Grace stirred. "May I ask a question, your Highness? Since Brian and Jason have been summoned here, can we ask about Eric? Have you or Sylvan discovered what occurred? We were fortunate to retrieve the egg, but I asked that the death of Eric be investigated, and I've heard nothing."

The King sighed and gestured at Sylvan.

Sylvan cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. The matter of Eric Garcia, the late son of Duke Wilhelm Garcia of Lanceshire. His father was at the testing. Did you see him? He was quite irate at seeing Daniel Davies strutting about with his dead son's spell book in his hands. That spell book is worth a small kingdom. It was compiled over generations at great cost. Duke Wilhelm will demand restitution. He wants the book back."

Grace waved a hand at Sylvan. "Not an issue. Daniel found the spell book fair and square. The Adventurer rules state clearly that possession is everything. It's Daniel's book now, unless the duke pays a hefty ransom. If the duke thinks he can wrest it from Daniel, he will soon find that he is quite outmatched. Still, I better warn Daniel. He needs to be prepared. You might want to warn the duke, Sylvan."

"I find it quite remarkable that Daniel found Eric's body under that tree."

Grace looked at him sharply. "Ah, yes. It was. And that Eric still had the egg on him." She looked at the King. "We were able to quickly recover it and bring it to you, your Highness. A very fortunate turn of events. But I asked about Eric, not his spell book or the egg. Who killed him? He was an ass, but he was still one of my party. We have a right to know."

Sylvan looked briefly at the King before answering. “It is still under investigation. You will know more when we do."