Hope

Elizabeth did not visit him the following day which lead to Irwyn spending it on hypothesizing spellcraft he did not have the opportunity to test due to his observers as well as general anxiousness. Irwyn realized he might really be getting a bit unnerved by his ongoing home arrest combined with his uncertain fate. When Elizabeth finally arrived at the mansion the following morning she looked half dead. Irwyn had never seen her with bags under her eyes or with half-dishelved half-groomed hair - and sincerely hoped it was an act on her part rather than a reflection of her efforts. But her magical presence itself seemed to be disquieted which gave Irwyn no confidence.

She did also not come alone. Along with her came a woman in a conservative black suit, spotless makeup, and carrying along a thick stack of papers on a clipboard. That the staff did not introduce this newcomer at all told Irwyn that she apparently wasn’t influential enough to warrant such but not much else - besides being unable to feel any magic from her.

“Thank you,” Elizabeth nodded to the maid bringing them refreshments once they were seated in the same dining hall from two days prior – in a single day it has been renovated to the point Irwyn wouldn’t be able to tell most of it had been recently incinerated. Elizabeth had indicated to delay introductions until they had privacy. And indeed, once the tea and food was on the table she waved her hand and sound of the outside world cut off. This time this effect was also accompanied by an unpierceable veil of Void magic additionally obscuring them from sight.

“How are you holding up?” Irwyn had to ask, glancing at Elizabeth’s sorry appearance.

“Not nearly as bad as I look, don’t worry,” she sighed, pointing at the other woman. “But being underestimated is vital. Speaking of, let me introduce Nilly. She will act as your lawyer.”

“I was under the impression it wouldn’t be much of a trial,” Irwyn admitted, glancing at the woman who was rearranging the papers.

“It wouldn’t be much of a show trial without a proper show, would it?” Nilly glanced up and grinned. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Irwyn. And yes, the only purpose I will serve is pretending to have a purpose.”

“I don’t see how that will help me from where I stand,” Irwyn shrugged. “But I will defer judgment.”

“It is not hard to understand: The people who want you dead are trying to predict what angle the Young Ladyship will be taking to defend you. And the act will be fairly effective in convincing them that we intend to defend you ‘fairly’ – on rather than under the stand. And they will prepare to dismantle those plans they see."

“Yet they will counter only a feint,” Irwyn nodded. “I assume it is intentional I have no clue about the actual plan though, right?”

“Mostly,” Elizabeth nodded. “It’s really about the Truthseeker that will be present in the courtroom.”

“I am unfamiliar with the term,” Irwyn frowned. “But I assume it’s someone who can tell lies from the title, right?”

“More than that, they might be able to so far as detect even half-truths and omissions,” Elizabeth nodded. “I am protected by tradition - mages of lower station are not allowed to glance anything of my mind - but they could gleam something from you with just a few right questions, no matter how you answer them. That would be problematic.”

“And Nilly?” Irwyn raised an eyebrow.

“They would try to apply rules that don’t apply,” the woman shrugged as if the cryptic sentence was an obvious fact.

“It is possible to deceive them… through unconventional means,” Elizabeth translated. “Though doing so for you would not be feasible, especially not subtly.”

“They might not be particularly bright but the light they will shine on you will be bright enough to see through any trinkets,” Nilly immediately added and Irwyn focused on her. The way she spoke it sounded like she should be a mage, yet Irwyn could not feel the slightest trace of that in the woman. Not a speck of magic to be found.

“Are you really a mage, Nilly?” Irwyn had to ask, looking at her.

“Nope, I am not well versed in that,” she shook her head. “But I am a bottomless well of tricks.”

“Don’t try to look too much into her for the moment,” Elizabeth interrupted his stare by putting a hand on his wrist, though she was throwing the other woman her own rather intent look. “We can have a long talk about it when you are officially acquitted of any wrongdoing.”

“And what do you need me to do for that,” Irwyn nodded. “I assume you wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“The main reason we have this gathering of wills here,” Nilly said, “is because they will see us going for a private chat and miss the sea of schemes in the background.”

“Basically,” Elizabeth affirmed. “My mother has made plans the people after you will not see coming… but I still have to sell the act that I have been preparing to defend you the ‘right’ way.”

“Will no one really suspect anything?” Irwyn had to raise an eyebrow. “The way you speak of the Duchess I would expect people to… step lightly around her.”

“Oh,” Elizabeth exclaimed and Irwyn actually recognized her expression as the one she tended to make when she realized Irwyn was unaware of something she had assumed self-evident. “I think I might have given you… not the wrong impression per say, but an uncommon one.”

“Aye,” Nilly nodded along. “It should be considered impressive how she has managed to convince everyone she is just eye candy.”

“As far as most of the Branch Houses butting heads with the main House Blackburg believe, Avys is an airheaded, radical but mediocre mage whose only achievement is grasping the Duke’s affection before his rise to prominence,” Elizabeth sighed. “The main reason they had relented on the tradition of polygamy is because they genuinely think that my mother weakens the Duke’s position by not filling in all the roles a harem traditionally would as well as her ‘emotional outbursts’ that the Duke oftentimes compensates people for.”

“But that isn’t the case,” Irwyn observed with some fascination. He had not met the Duchess but the fearful respect Elizabeth held for her mother spoke volumes. And was also completely at odds with the rumors he had heard. Such as the time she had supposedly sparked a war with the Duchy of Yellow over the treatment of child servants.

“The nobility in this Duchy tends to avoid subterfuge and more subtle manipulations,” Nilly explained. “But such is a Void’s legacy. Wrath especially, no patience for long schemes. Or Pride ruining triumph with a needless gloat.”

“They are not stupid,” Elizabeth added. “Never assume your opponents are. I have mentioned it before, Irwyn, with less context but people who rely on schemes over brawn don’t live long among upper nobility in the Duchy of Black. Which means they don’t get to survive the inevitable mistakes everyone needs to learn from in order to achieve mastery.”

“But the Duchess has immigrated from beyond the Federation,” Irwyn remembered hearing - or maybe reading - that somewhere. “Meaning she was already good enough to lead everyone by the nose when no one had ever heard of her before.”

“A bear in a henhouse,” Nilly cheerfully added. “Except she has convinced all the chickens that she is actually just a particularly pretty pile of grains and they should bear with her because the biggest cock loves her so very much.”

“Not everyone,” Elizabeth corrected. “Some people had to be bribed or removed to stay silent - the whole mirage falls apart if enough of our enemies become suspicious which would be disastrous and possibly result in a rebellion. The Old Crow, as I have coincidentally learned, is actually one of those people.”

“HAH!” Nelly suddenly burst out laughing before Irwyn could respond. “No w ay! No w ay! You know the Crow?!”

“Yes, he is my mentor,” Irwyn said though he frowned as he glanced back at the woman. She had been introduced as just a lawyer - not even a mage - but Elizabeth seemed strangely open about sharing secrets around her. And the way she was speaking… not to mention that…

“Don’t think too much into her before the trial,” Elizabeth warned again, interrupting the train of thought. “For now only know that she is here because she is trustworthy, unknown, and will reliably do what is needed from her without succumbing to intimidation.”

“My pact is my bond,” she put a hand over her right breast, paused, then moved it over to the left. “And I am all packed and ready to help. It is really funny that you know the Crow though.”

“May I ask why?” Irwyn raised an eyebrow.

“Because now I keep imagining the exaggerated clash of wit and will if he and Avys ever ended up in the same room, trying to out-scheme one another just for the sake of it,” Nilly chuckled slightly. “Maybe it will happen one day.”

“We are not here to gossip about my mother,” Elizabeth interrupted and Irwyn very intently did not think about why Nilly was talking about the Duchess and Old Crow with such familiarity. He couldn’t stop the suspicion of her being one of the Fowl’s former wards from forming but did not expand that strand further. Did not critically go over any points for or against that instinctive assumption.

“Yes, there is a different can of maggots we have to delve into,” Nilly sighed, then she detached one of the papers on her clipboard and forwarded it to Irwyn. “I suppose we can start with that.”

“This is?” Irwyn grabbed it and quickly read. It was a list of around 20 names. He quickly spotted that good two-thirds of them ended with ‘von Fathomsight’. Then his eyes noticed a familiar one among them and the connection became clear. “Alira von Fathomsight. I suppose that makes this the list of my enemies… though I have to admit I am curious about what a ‘Fathom’ is.”

“List of all the semi-important people who actively want you dead,” Nilly corrected. “As for fathom, lower case in most cases… you are aware that the Void has layers, yes?”

“It has been mentioned to me,” Irwyn nodded, recalling Elizabeth speaking about something like that.

“I think I am better disposed to explain Void magic,” Elizabeth shot Nilly a stare before she could continue the explanation.

“I am your guest,” Nilly shrugged, though a smile seemed to be tugging at her lips. “Perhaps I should have guessed you would want to explain this yourself.

“As she reiterated,” Elizabeth either didn’t see or chose to ignore it and turned to Irwyn. “The Void has layers. But physical distance is a property of Time which gets… progressively subverted in the Void, the ‘deeper’ one delves. It could be said that fathoms measure ‘depth’, though it is closer to saying we use them to symbolize how intensely ‘Void’ a certain part of the Void is, if that makes sense. Simplistically, more fathoms mean both more Void and more difficult to leave.”

“Basically it symbolizes how dense the Void is or how many of these ‘layers’ deep in someone is,” Irwyn voiced his understanding.

“Pretty much,” Elizabeth nodded. “It’s not a perfectly accurate explanation but you don’t need the long version since you are not a Void mage. But basically, House Fathomsight is an old and powerful branch family of House Blackburg that has a legacy of looking into and through the Void. Also, Alira is a member.”

“She introduced herself as von Blackburg first we met,” Irwyn frowned.

“Technically she is both,” Elizabeth nodded. “House Blackburg has literally an uncountable number of Branches from millennia of unchecked polygamy and no one had ever successfully passed laws for this kind of thing, mostly due to strong opposition to any such attempts. Ostensibly, any House that can trace their bloodline all the way to the Duke of Wrath has the right to call themselves ‘von Blackburg’ besides their own House name and many prefer it as this also gives all of them a claim on the Dukeship. A very distant claim, mind you, compared to direct descendants of the current Duke but there have been a few times in House Blackburg’s history where the main line had been slaughtered to the last and the Branch House with the most power took over.”

“This list is surprisingly short though,” Irwyn nodded along but frowned as he focused back on the list. Besides the ‘von Fathomsight’ names there were a few ending with ‘von Ebonmender’ as well as two names sticking out by the nature of having no surname. “I suppose Ebonmender is another Branch?”

“No, actually,” Elizabeth shook her head. “They are a House founded by an independent magelord craftsman some two centuries ago and they are basically trusted vassals to House Fathomsight.”

“And these two?” Irwyn stared at the last unexplained names. “Oxen? Presbyopia? What names are those?” Irwyn didn’t even know the second word.

“Code names,” Elizabeth said. “The Shadows of House Blackburg use such – like Dervish. You have actually met Oxen several times.”

“Really?” Irwyn thought back and quickly realized who she likely meant. The same man who had been protecting Alira and then found him in Abonisle because that was the only person of such power he had the misfortune of meeting several times. But then… “I would expect him to be codenamed ‘Shade’ or something along those lines, that was the impression I had of them. Not ‘Oxen’.”

“That is what people get called for being stubborn before the Duchess,” Nilly snickered. “It’s borderline famous. ‘If you are as hard-headed as an ox, we might as well call you the same’. Quite cold from her.”

“Yes, my mother had pretended to be greatly upset by a minuscule inconvenience the man had caused and changed their codename,” Elizabeth nodded. “Technically speaking, the Duke has the authority to change their monikers at a whim, though it is historically rarely used from the lack of necessity.”

“Anything more I should know about them?”

“Oxen is the foremost expert in Voidwalking - physically traveling through the Void itself,” Elizabeth nodded. “He is a peer to Dervish in power if not actual battle prowess.”

“And the other?” Irwyn glanced back down to re-read the name. “Presbyopia.”

“It basically means ‘farsighted’,” Elizabeth elaborated. “She is a sniper assassin, hitting marked targets from literally any distance as she sends her spells through the depths of the Void itself. A bit weaker as she is decades younger than Oxen or Dervish but competent in her element.”

“I am very unhappy to see her on this list then,” Irwyn sighed. That sounded like literally the worst enemy imaginable.

“No need to curse your fate yet,” Nilly interjected. “The Shadows of House Blackburg are bound by an oath so suffocating it might as well be a curse.”

“As she hinted at, the Shadows will not be a problem,” Elizabeth sighed. “They are compelled by oaths to serve House Blackburg. When you are acquitted by the Duke’s wisdom they will literally not be able to harm you.”

“If it is so easy to bind them why are they working with the Branch House in the first place,” Irwyn frowned.

“They are bound to serve House Blackburg the best they can,” Elizabeth nodded. “Unfortunately, many Shadows have decided that it would be best if the Duke was someone else. They cannot kill anyone remotely important - from neither the Main House nor the Branches - their oaths are extremely explicit in that, but there is some wiggle room they have in many things. Direct commands for example slowly weaken when resisted until they no longer take effect as well as other loopholes they can use to sabotage us internally. It is a bit of a mess in all honesty.”

“How will I be safe from them then if a command wears out?” Irwyn assumed that applied to the Duke’s decrees as well.

“The moment the trial is over I will ask you to join my retinue,” Elizabeth nodded. “A semi-ceremonial position of trust. It does also extend all my relevant protections to you at least as far as the Shadows’ oaths are concerned. They will not be able to even track you without consent… If you will agree to it of course.”

“We are in this – and whatever follows – together, at least I hope,” Irwyn reassured. There were the personal benefits to consider - besides survival itself - but he found that he would also hate to part from her company. “Whatever help you need from me you will have it. In this and in the future.”

“How wonderful!” Nilly interjected. “And while I adore professions, we have had this privacy bubble up for a while and still haven’t gotten to the instructions.”

“Yes, the instructions,” Elizabeth nodded, ever so slightly flustered.

“I thought I shouldn’t know the plan?” Irwyn raised an eyebrow.

“Not the real plan, no,” Elizabeth nodded. “But we are selling a lie. And the best way to make it look like we will be attempting the straightforward defense they expect is to act as if we were actually going to do exactly that. Including all the preparations.”

“I am then, as people say, all ears…”