Tishes are healers who use a combination of folk magic and herbal knowledge to cure their patients. They are usually found in the more rural areas of the kingdom as they lack the formal training expected of a member of an alluvium. Nevertheless, this does not mean that tishes are quacks; they usually draw from a large pool of knowledge passed down through generations and many of their folk remedies have found their way into common usage.

  Excerpt from 'Living off the Land: Gerios'

  Felt slammed the cellar door behind her and stomped down the stairs. She didn't like having to show up regularly in this cellar to report to Gerro. It reminded her of her past when she was just an urchin taking orders from adults.

  And the worst part is that I can't get out of this. Not without leaving Cassie behind.

  Today was the day she would make her first move towards that end. It was clear that the situation at the White Candle would resolve itself soon, and Felt needed to know when Hyna was planning on releasing her from her shackles.

  Gerro was already sitting at the table, which surprised Felt. She had expected Toshen in the magister's stead, and on previous occasions she always had to wait a while before either of them made an appearance.

  “Miss Terridos,” Gerro greeted her from beneath his usual hood.

  “Hi,” Felt said simply, sitting down on the uncomfortable stool as she shuddered in the cellar's now familiar chill.

  “Your report?”

  Felt relayed everything to him. The discovery of the warehouse tunnel; the meeting there; the mysterious items that were being distributed throughout the city.

  Gerro listened intently as she finished her report.

  “We went back to the warehouse the next evening,” Felt said, “but we found it abandoned. I broke in and checked the hidden cellar we found. The illusion hiding it was gone and the cellar was filled with empty barrels. The tunnel was also gone.”

  “An illusion?”

  Felt shook her head. “It was a solid wall. I checked the barrels and all they contained was some leftover dirt. They probably stored the earth they dug out in barrels and then used that to refill the tunnel; or at least the entrance.”

  “And the boarding house?”

  “Equally abandoned. I broke into there as well, but only did a brief sweep as it was almost morning. The only thing of note I found was a large pile of ashes in the fireplace. Paper ashes.”

  “They covered their tracks,” Gerro said, nodding.

  “The men I overheard said that it was the last shipment. They probably have no need for the warehouse anymore.”

  “And the haunts?”

  Felt shrugged. “We found two, but they undoubtedly have more.” She cocked her head. “Do you know what these kareks are?”

  “No, the word is unfamiliar to me.” He twirled a coil of his beard around his finger. “What is the Whisper's next step?”

  “Nothing apart from having someone watch the two haunts. They don't have the manpower to do anything more.”

  “That's unfortunate.”

  “Take care of it yourself, then,” Felt snapped. “You want to tell me you can't even do that much?”

  “You seem upset,” Gerro responded calmly.

  “Of course I'm upset; you think I enjoy being chained to you like this? Being a go-between for you and the Whisper while you use Cassie to keep hold of me?”

  Gerro chuckled.

  Anger started to surge through her body. Why is he laughing? Is he mocking me? “I want to know how long you are planning to continue to hold Cassie,” she said firmly.

  “We aren't holding her,” Gerro said. “We merely provided a safe location for her to receive her treatments.”

  “That amounts to the same thing, and you didn't answer my question,” Felt said, raising her voice. “How long do I have to keep doing this? I want Cassie back and the treatment price returned to what it was without your interference.”

  “I'm uncertain why you are so angry,” Gerro replied. “As I understand it, you have been looking for a cure for Cassie's condition for years. You were lucky to find Madilla.”

  “Don't give me that horse spew. Madilla is just another one of your lackeys doing your bidding.”

  “That's where you are mistaken. We don't employ people directly, as you certainly must know.”

  “Then you have some hold over her just like me. I don't care. I want Cassie back and I don't want to work for you anymore.”

  Gerro drummed his fingers on the table. “While I understand your apprehension, I can't make any promises in that regard. We have yet to see how this situation will develop and I'm certain that you of all people must be aware of how opaque it is.”

  He raised his chin, allowing him to see Felt more clearly from beneath his hood. “Is there a particular reason why you are so upset? I understand that you have no reason to like us, but you seem more passionate about this than usual.”

  Felt bit her lip. He was right. She was more passionate about it and there was a good reason for that.

  I'm scared.

  Ever since the White Candle incident, people had left the city. During the last few days, however, the trickle had grown into a steady stream. Everyone knew that the ghast escaped from the sanctum and that its wards could fail any day now. Felt had always considered herself to have a good sense of danger, and that sense was screaming at her to leave the city. It permeated her entire body, filling her with a vague sense of discomfort no matter what she did or where she went. She had even started to hear the Nightsinger's song during daytime. Something like that should be impossible and it frayed her nerves.

  This was ultimately the real reason she wanted this to be over. She wanted to be gone from here before the White Candle sanctum could impress its final mark upon the city.

  And if I can't go...

  “I want Cassie out of the city,” Felt stated with determination.

  Gerro stopped drumming his fingers.

  “Why?” he asked after a brief pause. He sounded genuinely curious.

  “Why?!” Felt echoed his words incredulously. “Why do you think? Have you even seen the state the city is in? People are fleeing in droves. Everyone knows that something bad is about to happen and I don't want Cassie here when it does.”

  “You are not the type of person who takes action based on rumour and circumstance; so what is the real reason?”

  “Because I'm scared, okay?” she snapped. “Scared of what's going to happen. I've been walking around with a bad feeling for days now, telling me to run from this city as fast as I can.”

  She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Don't get emotional over this, not here.

  Gerro simply regarded her in silence.

  Felt scowled in response. That's right, look at the silly girl and her superstitions.

  “Tell me about this feeling of yours,” Gerro asked with a serious tone.

  Felt jerked her head backwards a bit in surprise. That wasn't a question she expected. Is he making fun of me?

  “Please,” he added when Felt did not immediately answer.

  “Are you serious?” she asked.

  “You ask me that after telling me you want your sister removed from the city because of a bad feeling?” Gerro scoffed. “But yes, I am quite serious. You may not be aware of this, but there is more to the ?ther than the dry spellcraft the other magic guilds engage in. Particularly regarding how we or any life form is able to manipulate it.”

  “What does that have to do with me having a bad feeling?” Felt asked, taken aback by this sudden change of topic.

  “Perhaps nothing, but as I said, I would like to hear where this all comes from.”

  Felt mulled it over for a moment. If she told Gerro about the Nightsinger's song, he would probably laugh at her. He was a magister, after all; they didn't hold to such 'superstitions' as they would call it.

  Oh, what do I care; all that matters is that I get Cassie out of here.

  “You know who the Nightsinger is?” she eventually asked.

  “I do,” Gerro replied. “Most of those who operate in the underworld believe in him. Especially thieves. He sings the song that warns of danger, yes?”

  “I can hear him sing.”

  Gerro made an uplifting motion with his hand. “Go on.”

  “And I can hear him all the time now, even during the day.”

  “I see. Do you hear him now?”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Felt narrowed her eyes at him. He doesn't seem to be making fun of me. Or is he just seeing this as an experiment?

  Regardless, Felt closed her eyes and concentrated.

  She picked up his song almost instantly, a distant chorus of otherworldly instruments and voices, individually indistinguishable, but resonating with a consistent timbre.

  “I hear him.”

  “What does he sing about?”

  Felt opened her eyes. “He doesn't sing words. Well, he does, but they aren't words I can understand. It's mostly about the pace and the volume of the song, and it also depends on the situation you are in.”

  “Do you know of others who can hear the song?”

  Felt shrugged. “I know some who claimed to have, but I have no idea if they were telling the truth. People don't talk much about these things.”

  “What rank is your channel strength?”

  Felt shifted in her seat. What's with the constant change of subject?

  “I don't know, I never had it measured.”

  “But you can blackshift, correct? Without fortification?”

  She glowered at him. Is this conversation even going anywhere?

  “Yes,” she replied.

  Gerro rubbed his chin. “That makes you a natural rank twenty-one at least. Most impressive.”

  He raised his hand with a stretched index finger, then sighed and lowered it again. “But these are subjects you do not wish to talk about, I can tell.”

  You got that right. “All I want is Cassie out of the city regardless of what you think my reasons are.”

  “Very well,” Gerro replied. “I will suggest it to the other founders. I see no reason why they would not grant your request.”

  That stumped her a bit. She had not expected Gerro to agree so easily.

  “However,” he added, “if we do this, it will mean you won't be able to visit her regularly anymore. Are you content with that?”

  “Yes,” Felt said, feeling somewhat relieved. Seeing Cassie regularly was a small price to pay for her safety. Besides, it's not like I have much time for visits anyway.

  “How long will it take for you to move her?”

  “We can do it as early as two days from now. Is that satisfactory?”

  Felt nodded.

  “Good,” Gerro said, sounding pleased. “I'm glad we could resolve one of your worries. Now, was there anything else?”

  “Yes, the Whisper wants to know if you know where Karan de Ekkar is. There is a very persistent rumour going around the past week that he is still in the city.”

  “We have been looking into those rumours, yet we've been unable to find his current location.”

  “You're looking for him as well?”

  “Of course we are. The man was inside the sanctum; we would very much like to know what he knows.”

  “But you don't know where he is?”

  “As I said, his current location is unknown to us.”

  Felt frowned. “According to the rumour, he's holed up somewhere in the Seventh District. That's your territory, isn't it?”

  “You are again overestimating the amount of direct control we have,” Gerro said.

  Am I? It seems to me you already know for a fact that he's in the city.

  “However,” Gerro continued, “as before, I can assure you that if we manage to find him, we will let you know immediately.”

  And I still don't believe you, Felt thought. She didn't care about that, though. The only thing she was really interested in was her own part in it all.

  “Anything for me to do then?” Felt asked.

  “Not right now, no. We will need to review your report first and see where it matches our own information.”

  Good, Felt thought. She had some plans of her own and she needed the time. “I will take my leave, then.”

  As she stepped outside and began walking, she felt dismayed. She had come here to find out how much longer she would have to continue this arrangement, but had learned nothing as Gerro had avoided answering her directly. Cassie being moved from the city was a minor victory, but no more than that. Felt still despised Hyna for roping her and Cassie into this mess.

  As such, despite there being no real reason for Hyna to keep her bound to them like this, she was unwilling to leave the decision to them. She needed a way to break free, and Gerro had unwillingly already given her an idea for how to achieve that.

  He said that Madilla isn't a direct member of Hyna, Felt thought. And in the end it is her who has the key to my chain, not Hyna. If I can figure out her exact relation to them it might be possible to bring her over to my side.

  She accelerated her pace. The haunt where Cassie was staying was in the Quartz Quarter, near Hedera Halls, and a considerable walk from here.

  When she reached Cassie's haunt, Felt halted for a moment. The Quartz Quarter consisted mostly of tightly grouped two-storey houses with thatched roofs, and was home to the city's middle class. Many of the city's government officials lived here, so Felt wasn't keen on walking around the district in broad daylight, despite assurances from Hans that nobody would try to capture her.

  It only takes one overzealous guard, she thought as she peered up and down the street.

  Yet, of course, there were no guard patrols. The Quartz Quarter only experienced a small amount of crime and most of the city watch was currently assigned to maintaining the order at the major roads that led out of the city.

  Felt darted across the cobblestone street and knocked on the door of the haunt, fiddling nervously with the clasp on her hooded cloak. She didn't enjoy being exposed like this.

  The door opened with a creak and Felt immediately slid inside.

  The woman who had opened the door looked shocked as she stared at Felt before she recognized her.

  “It's me, Evelyn,” Felt said.

  “Oh, Felt,” Evelyn said as she closed the door again. “Don't startle me like that, I thought I was being robbed for a moment.”

  “Sorry,” Felt said without a shred of remorse. “Where's Cassie?”

  “She's in the garden.”

  Felt looked briefly at Evelyn. She and her husband Makan were both in their fifties and the owners of the house. At a glance it seemed that they were a normal middle-aged couple as there were many in this neighbourhood, but Felt had come to realize there was more to these two than that. Makan in particular sometimes had an intensity burning in his eyes that you didn't expect to see in someone who had held a dull ministry job all his life.

  “And Madilla?” Felt asked.

  “In the solar.”

  “Thanks,” Felt said, making her way towards the rear of the house.

  Madilla was indeed seated in the solar, scribbling in a notebook. Outside, Felt could see Cassie, her light-brown hair moving wispily in the breeze. She was sitting on the lawn in the enclosed garden and playing with a couple of dolls. A tabby cat was laying a small distance away, basking in the morning sun.

  The peaceful sight filled Felt's heart with joy even though she knew that the circumstances that made it possible were grim at best.

  Madilla looked up from her notebook at the new arrival. “Felt? Is that you?”

  Realizing that she still wore her hood, Felt unclasped her cloak.

  “Yes, it's me,” she replied, draping it over a nearby chair. “I have something I need to talk to you about.”

  “Oh?” Madilla answered, closing her notebook and putting it in her lap. “Is it about Cassie?”

  “Yes. I've arranged for her to be moved to another location outside the city.”

  Madilla's mouth fell open slightly. “What? Why?”

  “It's safer that way, and Hyna has already agreed to it.”

  “They have?” Madilla said with a hint of hesitation. “But then I'll have to leave Rios as well; I can't leave Cassie alone now. We are at a critical point in her treatment.”

  “Please tell me,” Felt said, sitting down with a smile, brushing past Madilla's worry about her relocation. “I'm interested in knowing more about the treatment.”

  Madilla's face lit up. “Really? That's great.” She reopened her notebook and thumbed through the pages. “I'm glad to see you aren't so busy anymore.”

  “It's a brief lull,” Felt replied, maintaining her smile.

  Two weeks earlier, when Felt had realized she had been tricked by Hyna, she had barely spoken a word to Madilla. She simply assumed that Madilla was part of Hyna's trap and that everything she had told Felt so far was a lie. As such, every time Madilla had tried to engage Felt in conversation, she had made up an excuse that she was too busy or too tired.

  If only I had not been so stubborn about that. The situation might have been completely different now.

  “Is there any definite progress?” Felt asked.

  Madilla nodded enthusiastically. “Cassie is so much better now. She's even started growing at a normal rate again, and I'm currently in the process of lengthening the periods between treatments.”

  “What? Why would you do that?”

  “To see if this will actually cure her in the end,” Madilla answered, underlining her words with many swift gestures of her hands. “So far I've only tried to alleviate the symptoms, yet everything is going as expected. It should make things cheaper for you as well, as I'll need less salve.”

  The salve. I forgot about that.

  When Felt had first met Madilla, the healer had tried to explain to her how the treatment worked. Felt had cut her off, stating that only results mattered to her, having already suffered through a long line of failures with other healers. She did recall, however, that a key component of the treatment was this special salve that contained many rare ingredients from transmogrified plants and other things. The reason Madilla had given Felt for the more expensive treatments was that some of these ingredients had suffered a massive price increase.

  So the question is; is that true or not?

  “That was also something I wanted to talk about,” Felt said. “I need to know how to do the treatments myself.”

  “Oh,” Madilla said, obviously taken aback. “I'm sorry, but I'm not comfortable telling you yet. I'm still refining the exact recipe for the salve as well.”

  “What do you mean, not comfortable?” Felt sneered, her lips drawing a narrow line. “I need to know. If you can't cure Cassie, then she is going to need treatments for the rest of her life. You aren't going to be around for that.”

  “Well no,” Madilla said hesitantly, “but I can't tell you.” She folded her arms and her legs faced away from Felt.

  She's hiding something. Felt stared at Madilla menacingly, her earlier casual demeanour swallowed by the void.

  Madilla avoided Felt's gaze and looked outside at Cassie.

  Felt passed her hand over her face in an attempt to calm herself. I shouldn't get angry now. I'm here for information, not to force action. Besides, she's the kind of woman who draws herself into a shell when threatened.

  “Tell me about the ingredients you need,” Felt said with a softer voice. “The ones that became more expensive.”

  “What do you want to know?” Madilla asked, glancing sideways at Felt.

  “What are they?”

  Madilla said nothing, yet her hands were all over the place, pulling and tapping on everything they touched.

  “It's not like I'm asking you to give me the recipe. Why are you so secretive?”

  “Because I'm afraid.”

  Ah, now we're getting somewhere. “Afraid of what?”

  “That someone will steal this from me. You know how long I worked on this? If I can perfect this treatment, turning it into a cure even, it will be my crowning achievement. In Galond many children suffer from a similar affliction, and if I'm able to help them...”

  “You'll be rich,” Felt said, finishing her sentence. “But I fail to see why you are worried that I will do this. You don't seriously believe I'm going to take your discovery and sell it to the highest bidder?”

  Madilla shook her head violently. “What I believe doesn't matter. It's not even a matter of trust. I will not share this with you or anyone else until it's finished.”

  Felt returned to glowering at Madilla. It was obvious she was unwilling to part with her knowledge, but that wasn't the real issue. Is she lying or not? Felt couldn't tell. She had seen enough paranoid individuals in the past to know that Madilla could very well be this afraid of her knowledge being stolen from her. She wasn't a tishe for nothing instead of being properly employed by an alluvium.

  “Just tell me the names of the ingredients that had their prices raised,” Felt said. “There is no way I can do anything with that, but it will allow me to act if another one of these price mishaps occurs.”

  Again, Madilla hesitated. “Hyna assured me that they have the only large supply in the entire kingdom. So I'm uncertain what good that will do.”

  That's either a lie or they bought up everything that was available. “That's unimportant,” Felt replied. “Cassie's future may depend on those ingredients one day. Even if that knowledge doesn't matter now, it might in the future.”

  Madilla still hesitated, and Felt did her best to look as sad as possible.

  “Alright,” Madilla said eventually, as she scribbled in her notebook and tore out the result. “But don't tell Hyna or anyone else I gave you this.”

  “Thank you,” Felt said with a false smile as she accepted the piece of paper. On it were the names of three things Felt had never heard of, so she immediately started memorizing them.

  “I'm going out for a while,” Madilla said. “See you later.”

  Felt watched as the tishe left the room. She walked with a narrow step and slightly hunched shoulders as if someone was about to hit her.

  She's scared, alright. At least that part wasn't a lie.

  Felt turned back to the scribbled names on the paper.

  Choronia, Tempystus and Vrikken fern. So the last one is a plant, but what are the other two? Transmogrifs by the sound of it.

  She flipped the note between her fingers. Learning the exact nature of these ingredients could wait. More important was what she should do next. Like Gerro, Madilla had basically avoided answering Felt's questions, leaving her as much in the dark as before. Her distrust of the tishe deepened. Even if Madilla wasn't directly linked to Hyna and it truly was merely paranoia that made her act like this, she hadn't been helpful at all.

  Worse still, now that Cassie was going to be moved out of the city, Felt could no longer keep a close eye on either her or Madilla.

  She had no regrets about that decision, though. Whatever was going to happen in the city in the coming days was guaranteed to be much worse than a paranoid healer.

  But now what? I'm not getting anywhere by talking to people, so what is left?

  She stared at the three names on the piece of paper and let her eyes run over its torn edge.

  Pulled from her notebook.

  A smile appeared on Felt's face and she got up from her chair to greet Cassie.

  She knew what to do next.