“That was foolish, Norman,” said Greenspring, glaring at me from across the table. “We have no idea what horrors Trafford will put us through.”

  We were sitting at Valna’s massive dining table. Beth and Valna nervously ate their dinner, lamb with a side salad, glancing at the rest of us in-between bites. Nia and Greenspring hadn’t touched their plates since sitting down. Neither had I. Tensions were high, but I knew they weren’t really mad at me.

  “Did you have a better idea?” I asked, playing with my fork. “Wasn’t our plan to ally ourselves with Trafford anyway?”

  “If either of you had dealt with the archer, I could have—” Nia started to say.

  “Gotten yourself killed. Did you ever consider that Trafford let you attack him?” I asked.

  Nia scoffed. “Why would he do that?”

  “To hide his true strength,” said Greenspring. “To show that he had powerful people protecting him. We know nothing about him, absolutely nothing. He is a magician, it is obvious he would not be so easily killed.”

  “He threatened to hurt Tamara,” said Nia.

  “And he threatened to hurt Beth,” I said, tossing my fork to the side. “Look, I understand your anger, I feel it too, but I want all of us to get out of this alive. Joining his tournament is the only way I can see that happening.”

  “And what if he orders our deaths?” asked Greenspring. “What if he fixes the fights so we are guaranteed to lose?”

  I sighed. “All we can do right now is survive. We need time to make a plan, a better plan than we had before. Time we wouldn’t have otherwise.”

  “Might I make a suggestion?” asked Valna, raising her hand. “You said he had powerful people protecting him, why don’t you find out exactly who those people are?”

  “How?” I asked, leaning over the table. If we could find out who was on Trafford’s side, we could find a weakness. Maybe even convince some of them to join us.

  “Trafford uses the Lawmaker’s Assembly to move large amounts of money behind closed doors. Your friend, Zadona, is paid like that. Maybe she isn’t the only one?”

  “Wouldn’t you be the one person who would know that?” asked Nia.

  “Well, I… I…” stammered Valna.

  “Do you keep records of these transactions?” asked Greenspring.

  She picked at her robes. “No, before meeting all of you, my policy was eliminating any trace of corruption. However, there is someone who would keep such records: Advocate Richard.”

  How annoying.

  I wondered if he actually kept a record of Trafford’s corruption, or if he tried to hide it like Valna. If he did keep them, asking him to hand them over wasn’t a simple task. Trafford could be listening, making sure that the church was staying out of trouble. Since Valna was the head of the church, it would be impossible to avoid his surveillance. But for a simple Advocate? There was no way of knowing.

  “Where would he keep such records?” asked Greenspring.

  “Since he is an advocate, Richard has his own study within the grand cathedral. It’s not open to the public, nor has Trafford ever visited the cathedral, to my knowledge,” said Valna. “If he has been keeping records of Trafford’s illegal transactions, then they would be in there.”

  “I’ll go,” said Nia, standing up from the table.

  “And how do you expect to get inside?” asked Greenspring, frowning. “You are not a member of the Lawmaker’s Assembly.”

  She shrugged. “I’ll ask him nicely to hand over the records.” Based on her tone of voice, she was not going to ask him nicely.

  “Arrogance and pride will be our downfall,” said Greenspring, stroking his beard. He turned to Valna. “Can you ask Richard for these records?”

  She shook her head. “I could, but I’m afraid I will be busy for the next couple of days. Trafford is having me host a party for King Eero and Queen Hilde.” Nia’s eye twitched. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you until after Norman’s next tournament match.”

  “But if you could go, would he give them to you?” I asked. An idea was beginning to form in my mind.

  It took a few seconds for her to answer me. “If I made it an official order, he would have to.”

  I clapped my hands together. “Great, then it looks like you’ll be going.”

  “But I told you I can’t,” said Valna

  Grinning, I wagged my finger at her. “Oh no, you will be going. Trust me, you’ll be there to ask Richard for the records.”

  Valna looked at the others, confused. All they could do is respond with a shrug of their shoulders. They weren’t there when I first learned illusion magic. One of the first spells I learned allowed me to change a person’s appearance. So yes, Valna would be going to see Richard. Even though it would really be me in disguise.

  The real problem was that I wasn’t sure how she acted around Richard.

  I examined Valna carefully, trying to commit her casual posture to memory. “I’m going to have to know everything about you.”

  “About me?” she asked, tilting her head. “Why?”

  “Well, because I’m going to become you. Or, to be more precise, look like you. And I guess sound like you too.”

  “Are you sure that will work?” asked Nia. “Don’t get me wrong, Norman, I’ve seen how strong your illusion magic is, but uh…”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “I do not think it will fool Richard,” said Greenspring.

  “It worked before. Do you guys have a better idea?” I asked. Their casual dismissal of my plan caused my eye to twitch. Sighing, I looked at Valna. She was looking at me with stars in her eyes, a strange smile on her face.

  “You’re going to look like me?” she asked.

  I scratched my head. “Uh, yeah? Well, I hope to.”

  “You’re so cool! It’s like Trafford said: you are a master bard.”

  My head swelled to a level never seen before. I turned to look at the others, a smug grin on my face. “Seems like someone likes my plan.”

  “No,” said Nia, folding her arms. “We aren’t doing your plan.”

  “It’s our best option.”

  “We do not need to rush into anything. Let us come together and think of a plan,” said Greenspring.

  “I have a plan,” I replied.

  “You just came up with it!” yelled Nia, glaring at me.

  “Come on,” I whined. “It worked for me, it worked for Arienne, it’s going to work now.”

  “Stop arguing, please,” said Beth, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Why don’t we all think on it overnight, and come together to make a plan after breakfast. Sound good?”

  The four of us nodded our heads, muttering in agreement. Tensions were high, especially with everyone having so much to lose. Still, I was proud of Beth for managing to disarm the conflict. Even if it was a temporary solution. She was often the one to break up fights between me and Henry.

  As we walked down the hallway toward our bedroom, she gripped my hand tightly. “I’m not going to let you go alone,” she said in a low voice.

  I raised my eyebrow at her. “So you do agree with my plan.”

  “Shut up, Norman, that isn’t what 's important. If we go with your plan, I’m going with you.”

  I watched her eyes carefully, looking for any sign of fear or regret. “I don’t want to put you in danger.”

  Beth laughed quietly. “I’m already in danger. Besides, how is this any different than letting Arienne help you with Gunner?”

  I clicked my tongue, looking away from Beth. Arienne was key to the fight against Gunner, leading us right to him during the final battle. Without her, it was likely we would have been running around under the mountain for ages. At the time, I was more concerned with defeating Gunner than I was with her safety. Everything had turned out alright then, but what if it didn’t this time?

  “My plan only works because I can disguise myself as Valna. Who would you be?”

  “I don’t know,” said Beth, studying the paintings on the wall. “But I don’t like the idea of you going by yourself. Richard scares me.”

  “Really?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “I would have thought that nothing scared you. Beth, destroyer of spiders and monsters under the bed, scared of a clergyman. Who would have thought?”

  She punched me in the arm playfully. “Stop! You know what I mean.”

  I laughed, but she was right. Richard scared me a little bit as well. It had less to do with him, and more about the unknowns surrounding him. “Sorry. Thank you, Beth. If we do end up going with my plan, I hope you come with me.”

  Beth’s gaze softened a little. “I’ll have to fight Nia for the privilege.”

  The two of us laughed. When we arrived at our room, we found the door slightly open. A thin streak of light leaked through the crack. I pulled Beth behind me and carefully peered through the tiny opening. Beth held her breath, squeezing my hand as hard as she could.

  Inside, Valna sat on our bed. Her brow was furrowed, her eyes unfocused. Cradling a candle in her hands, she stared at the open window. I breathed a sigh of relief. Valna flinched as we entered the room. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I had more I needed to say.”

  “Why not say it at the dinner table?” asked Beth, moving to sit next to Valna. I stayed standing.

  She sighed. “I fear Nia and Greenspring may have vetoed Norman’s plan if they knew.”

  “I don’t like keeping secrets from them,” I said.

  “I know,” replied Valna, hanging her head. “We can tell them later, but I want you to be the first to know.”

  “What about me?” asked Beth.

  “You are Norman’s wife, a part of his very soul. Telling you is like telling Norman, and vice-versa.”

  I cleared my throat. “So, what do you have to say?”

  She took a deep breath. “Even though Trafford was not a part of our church, he chose me to be the Adherent. That was after our previous Adherent, may he rest in peace, passed away. I suspect that Trafford had him killed since the Adherent refused to work for him. As soon as he passed, Trafford began giving us money. It came freely, until he offered his suggestion for who should take the role of Adherent.

  “He offered three suggestions: Me, Richard, and Luca. Luca is another Advocate, though she has been missing for about a year now… Sorry, I just get sad whenever I think about it. So, it came down to the three of us for who would take the role of Adherent. Richard was in the lead, having already endeared himself to Trafford. But he didn’t have the backing of the rest of our church. Neither did Luca. Out of the three of us, I was chosen.

  “We were a small church then, so the role didn’t come with a lot of grandeur or power. But I think Richard still desired it. Maybe he knew that we would grow, and he could grow with us. I don’t know. What I do know is that he burns with envy. He smiles and acts polite around me, but I know he still wants to be Adherent. And since you have arrived in Adelbern, I think Trafford wants him to be Adherent as well.”

  I nodded, trying my best to absorb everything she was saying. “You think if he finds you going through his belongings, he might use that as blackmail to take over the church?”

  “Something like that, yes. He may even…” her voice faltered.

  “Kill you?” asked Beth, her eyes widening.

  Valna nodded. “He is my friend, but even I have my doubts.”

  I didn’t know much about religious politics. How many of them had lied, cheated, or even killed to put themselves on top? If what Valna was saying was true, then she’d also manipulated her way into power. Though it was really Trafford who had done it for her.

  “Valna, I still want to go,” I said finally.

  “Me too,” said Beth, taking my hand. “If there’s a chance that we can stop Trafford, we have to take it.”

  “What if he finds you?” asked Valna. “He could discover that it’s you and tell Trafford. You could be putting yourselves in more danger than you realize.”

  “We’ll discuss our options with Nia and Greenspring tomorrow.” I gave Valna a reassuring look. “Trust me, I don’t want to put myself in any more danger than is necessary. I have a family to get back to.”

  Valna nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I’ll leave any further discussion for the morning.” She stood up, giving both of us a weak smile before she walked to the door. “Goodnight. I look forward to hearing what the others have to say.”

  She stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. I listened for her footsteps, growing suspicious when I didn’t hear anything for a few minutes. Finally, I heard her walk down the hall to her room. Beth watched me carefully. If she was as worried as I was, she didn’t show it.

  “Are we bad parents?” she asked.

  I shook my head, sitting down next to her on the bed. “We’ve had some bad luck, but I don’t think we’re bad parents. Why? What made you think of that?”

  “You mentioned our family, how we have to get back to them. We’ve left our kids all alone, Norman. What if we never return? How will they remember us?”

  I pulled her close and kissed her. “If we never return, they will remember us as heroes. But we will return. I promise.”

  That seemed to calm her down, allowing us to finally crawl under the covers and try to sleep. My head buzzed with a thousand thoughts. Were we bad parents? I didn’t think so. Although I had never been a good father to Arienne and Charlie. Especially Charlie. Most of my time on the farm had been spent with Arienne.

  Would he grow envious of his sister?

  I buried my face in my pillow. Now was not the time. I had to be ready for whatever Trafford threw my way.