Haven's Rest smelled of secrets and sea salt, of old stone and older lies. Tesh's whiskers twitched as he followed his young guide through streets that seemed to have been designed by a drunk architect with a grudge against right angles. Buildings leaned into each other like conspirators sharing rumors, their upper stories nearly touching above the winding alleys below.

  The city had changed since his last visit. New structures squeezed themselves into spaces that shouldn't have been able to hold them, wooden additions perched precariously atop ancient stone foundations, and everywhere people found ways to exist in places that probably shouldn't have contained them. Much like the Meticari themselves, he mused, adjusting his pack's strap. His people had always excelled at finding space where none should exist.

  Soulkeeper hung silent at his hip, but he could feel its presence like a held breath. The blade had grown more insistent lately, its whispers almost becoming coherent when he studied plague records. Sometimes he could swear he heard voices and actual words.

  "Lady Blackwood's manor," his guide announced, gesturing toward a building that somehow managed to be both ostentatious and subtle at the same time. The girl – fourteen at most, with the quick eyes of someone who survived by noticing everything – had already marked his whiskers, his blade, and the way he moved. She'd adjusted their route twice to avoid the more crowded areas without being asked. "Want me to announce you?"

  Tesh shook his head, passing her extra coins. "That won't be necessary. Thank you."

  She caught the coins with a grin that suggested she'd have found a way to keep them regardless. "Welcome to Haven's Rest, Master Tesh. Try not to die." She vanished into the crowd before he could respond, leaving him to wonder if that was standard Haven's Rest hospitality or if she knew something he didn't.

  Probably the latter.

  The manor's interior was a study in calculated impressions. The formal receiving room practically screamed "wealthy noble" while subtly suggesting "but not too wealthy." Every piece was chosen to tell a story, and Tesh suspected none of them were the true story. His whiskers picked up traces of old magic, carefully hidden beneath newer enchantments. Interesting.

  The library itself was magnificent, and he felt Soulkeeper stir at his hip. Two stories of books lined the walls, with rolling ladders providing access. The collection was impressive even by Imperial standards, and he spotted several volumes that technically shouldn't exist – including, he noted with interest, a complete set of dwarven metallurgical texts.

  Lady Blackwood sat at a massive desk near the windows, morning light highlighting the silver in her dark hair. She wrote in a leather-bound journal, not looking up as Tesh entered. The servant who'd led him in disappeared, closing the door with practiced silence.

  "The plague has reached the northern provinces," she said without preamble, still writing. "Three new cases reported in Frostmark last week. The Empire is keeping it quiet, of course."

  Tesh's whiskers twitched. He hadn't expected her to lead with that. "I heard.?

  "Mm." She finished writing and finally looked up. Her eyes were sharp and clear, missing nothing. "Tea?"

  "Please."

  She poured from a waiting pot, the aroma suggesting an eastern blend. Expensive, but not ostentatiously so. Like everything else here, carefully calculated.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  "Your research with Corvin has been fascinating," she continued, passing him a cup. "Your notion that the plague is spreading and accelerating surely will stir up the inner circle of the Kadani Empire. But that's not why you're here, is it?"

  Tesh accepted the tea, noting the cup's design; Meticari make, probably two centuries old, practical yet elegant. "Not quite, but close enough.?

  "The blade." She nodded toward Soulkeeper. "I've read about it since last you came through Haven’s Rest and refused to use it against brigands. Weapon that consumes the soul of its victims, preserving their knowledge, according to history. Been in your family ever since the Grey Plague. I suspect those stories barely scratch the surface, and are mostly stories anyway.?

  "It's... complicated." His hand went to the hilt instinctively. "It's true as far as I know. It whispers. The voices of the souls within. Some almost as old as the Kadani Empire. I believe these souls can help us understand the Color Plague, but the voices are like a breeze humming past me.?

  "And you think I might know how to understand them better?" Lady Blackwood raised an eyebrow.

  "I think you might know where it came from." Tesh met her gaze steadily. "The blade's style is unique. Not quite Meticari, not quite dwarven. There must be something in history that could give a clue."

  ?A clue. That’s all you have??

  ?That’s all I have.?

  "K'tash." Something flickered in Lady Blackwood's expression. She rose, moving to a shelf of maps with deliberate grace. " One of the older Meticari cities, supposedly built with the dwarves before they disappeared.. Yes, I know of it." She selected a rolled parchment. "I know where it is, even. Getting there, however..."

  She brought the map to her desk, unrolling it carefully. The parchment was old, covered in annotations in multiple hands. "The ruins lie in contested territory. The Empire claims ownership but can't maintain control. Local tribes consider it cursed. And the few expeditions that have reached it..." She traced a route with one finger. "Well, let's say they encountered difficulties."

  Soulkeeper whispered like an howling wind through a wooden hut. Tesh forced himself to focus on the map. "You think the blade was forged there?"

  "I think," Lady Blackwood said carefully, "that K'tash holds answers about more than just your blade. The timing of its abandonment coincides with the first recorded plague outbreak. And the metallurgical techniques developed there..." She selected another document, this one showing strange symbols carved into forge walls. "The dwarves taught the Meticari things about metal that went beyond simple forge-craft. Ways to bind magic into alloys, to preserve... essence, if I understand the texts.?

  "Souls," Tesh said quietly.

  "Perhaps." She studied him thoughtfully. "Look at these forge designs – the precision of dwarven engineering combined with Meticari adaptation to small spaces. And these markings..." She gestured to his hip. "They match your blade, don't they?"

  Tesh drew Soulkeeper partially, letting lamplight play across the strange symbols etched into its surface. They were a perfect match for the forge markings.

  "I can provide maps, documents, everything I have about K'tash," Lady Blackwood continued. "But reaching it won't be easy. The territory is dangerous, the ruins are extensive, and if I'm right about their importance..." She left the thought unfinished.

  "I work alone."

  "Not for this." She shook her head. "You'll need people. The ruins are probably taken by goblins or other vermin, and reports tell of a great beast nesting there. I may be able to suggest some names..."

  Soulkeeper hummed, to which Tesh tried to ignore. But, were the whispers growing lately? I must be going mad.

  "Why help me with this?" he asked. "What's your interest in K'tash?"

  Lady Blackwood's expression grew distant. "The plague is spreading, Master Tesh. Following patterns we don’t understand. If there are answers in those ruins, if you are right and your blade holds keys to knowledge that was lost..." She shook her head. "Let's say I prefer to be on the side of those seeking truth rather than hiding it. Besides, business never thrives when customers die from color mutations.?

  "The Empire won't see it that way."

  "The Empire," she said dryly, "is rather selective about which truths it acknowledges. Now, about that help you'll need..."

  Outside the library windows, Haven's Rest continued its chaotic dance of commerce and survival, unaware that in this room, the first steps of a much larger journey were being laid out. One that would lead to a lost city, to forgotten knowledge, and to truths that would shake the very foundations of the Empire.

  Tesh looked down at Soulkeeper, feeling its urgent whispers. Whatever secrets the blade held, whatever truths lay hidden in K'tash's ancient forges, he knew one thing with certainty: this was only the beginning.