The War of the Roil: The Knight and the Warlock

Chapter 4: The Approach to Sudebron

Lara held the half God Shard in her fingers, twirling it within her grasp. They had only one day after tonight before their escape attempt. With each second that passed, her anticipation grew alongside her uneasiness.

Her entire life, Lara had desperately wanted to be a flerfinger. At first it was just so she could live up to Lynde, which sounded odd considering she was her sister's elder. But after studying the art for so long, she realized she had a passion for immersing herself in the properties and science of fler casting.

Now she had it. And it was intoxicating. She found herself looking at the God Shard the way a drunkard would look at a bottle of expensive wine. It took everything in her not to eat it.

But if she did...She might be able to break out of here. Defeat the Enforcers. Hijack the ship.

Come on, Shawe, she thought to herself, you're far and away from invincible.

What if she could cast Flerishes? Like that Gammond had claimed to be able to do.

What am I even thinking? I'm ruined!

She'd been taken from her home without so much as a word of goodbye to her family, demoted to a caste so low, it wasn't even considered a caste and was likely going to die.

As much as she didn't want to believe Edmund, she knew how the people regarded heretics. Bronduk had no sympathy for them. Thieves could be redeemed, murderers could be redeemed. Hell, even rapists and mass killers could receive forgiveness. She felt a twinge of hate spike through her. Blasphemers had no chance whether on purpose or by accident. By rejecting Bronduk, you reject his forgiveness. Even if you didn't really mean it, the Church wouldn't know. Nor care.

It was all too depressing for her. The more she thought about it, the deeper a hole her psyche was dug into. It'd be better to just keep her mind on her flers.

Those fantasies of wielding Flerical power made time go by like a bolt of lightning. It really helped take her mind off all the chaos. It wasn't too long before Edmund crept back into his cell.

"How'd it go?" Lara asked.

Edmund had a wide, dumb grin plastered to his face as he held up a small tin full to the brim with God Shards.

Lara's eyes bugged out, "How...That's half a year's supply for an Enforcer. Buying that many would cost a small fortune."

"Well all I have to do is let our accomplice in on the plan and buy him a lute down the line." Edmund smiled, "I explained all the timing and locations to him."

"That's incredible." Lara gasped.

Edmund shrugged, "What can I say? I'm just that good."

"If I recall, it was that accomplice of ours who actually stole the Shards." she said dryly.

"This'll last us long after the escape." Edmund said, "And I doubt anyone would suspect a first time criminal and former noblewoman to have stolen a small fortune of God Shards."

Edmund slid the tin through the bars to within Lara's reach. She quickly snatched them up, just in time for a pair of Enforcers to round the corner.

They both pretended to be asleep until they passed.

"Why are you handing them to me? I mean, the half shard was bad enough, but Bronduk's thumbs, Edmund," Lara hissed, "They're too important."

"Precisely because of their importance, I'm handing them off to you. I can't say for sure whether I trust that man. If something happens, they'll grab me. He doesn't know you're involved. I think."