During the next few days, nobles and rich merchants came to the palace in anticipation of the Shontese delegation. Jerryck probably wouldn’t have noticed, if they didn’t keep sending him little requests

Jerryck spurred his mount forward, heedless of Heston’s and Kellos’ call for him to wait. He gathered up some energy, and shaped it into an illuminated orb. He adjusted that to absorb the fog within a

With the water clear, Sakila decided it was time for her to return home. She paid Jerryck one more visit. He offered her the remnants of the magicked sugar as a parting gift. “It’s not a very good gift,”

Tajor’s skinny, elite friend waited for them at the top by the dungeon entrance. He smiled at Heston and said, “We got him.” Heston gave a curt nod. “Very good.” Jerryck headed out after the workers with

Jerryck left the room before Heston could come up with any other crazy things to request of him. He spent the rest of the day in his tower. Every once in a while he skimmed through a book, looking at the

For the next several hours, Jerryck kept finding things that other people had no business touching. The two men poked about, taking measurements, writing notes, jotting figures and numbers. They asked

Jerryck sat on the edge of his bed, scrubbing sleep from his eyes. He needed a full night of sleep, not a disturbed half night. He had waited until the soldiers had collected the body of the quepota and

Jerryck went up to his tower to get some cleaning done. He found his wife and sister already there. They had somehow brought a little organization to the room, and had started getting rid of some of the

Someone shook Jerryck by the shoulders. “Wake up! Wake up!” “Huh?” He pried his eyelids open to slits. Zev, his fourteen year old nephew, stood over him. “Why are you in bed?” Zev stopped shaking without

Sakila followed Jerryck back down the corridor. They passed by Kellos again, who frowned once more at the shamaness. Then out in the reception chamber, the replacement medic there scowled at her too. A

Sakila followed Jerryck out of the room. What exactly was he supposed to do now? Visiting magicians always came to him in his tower, if he couldn’t get rid of them first. But all magicians were men. Would

Testing the water was more of a chore than anticipated. Obtaining it was easy. The testing process was easy. But the household steward wanted the results. Getting through the chaos and mess of people outside

Jerryck left the kitchens and went straight to the vat chamber. There, about half a dozen men worked winches, pulleys, and buckets to bring up water from the canal chamber directly below. They kept full

Jerryck headed straight for the kitchens to check on his family. Leanne, his wife, had come to the palace as a midwife, and worked in the kitchens between caring for pregnant women. His sister Kendra directed

Jerryck put the corner of a cheap parchment into the flame of the candle. When it caught, he dropped it into the stone mortar he had set on his worktable. Watching it burn, he focused in, getting a feel

Jerryck stepped out of his tower, where his charms would not alert him if someone approached. This particular corridor of Coraline Palace was usually vacant, which would have suited his present state.