Chapter 99: Calm

Chapter 99: Calm

“There you are,” Uman signed. Rain had just left Velika’s estate, and the man had clearly been waiting for him for some time. “She didn’t kill you, eh? I was starting to get worried.”

“What are you doing here, Bubbles?” Rain signed back as he approached. ’Bubbles’ was the sign that Uman used for his name in common hand code. While that was hilarious, Rain didn’t even smile as he made the gesture. He wasn’t in the mood.

Uman shook his head. “Your pinkie is wrong,” he signed, then spoke aloud, using his hands to illustrate Rain’s error. “’Doing’ is this, not this. What you said was ‘what are you do here?’”

“Oh, sorry,” Rain said, coming to a stop in front of Uman. “What are you doing here?” he signed, correctly this time.

Uman smiled. “That’s better. I’ve never seen anyone learn so fast. As for what I’m doing here, I’ve got a message for you from outside.” He paused. “Did you get all that, or do you need me to repeat it aloud?”

“I got it,” Rain signed. “What message?”

“Uh-huh,” Uman signed. “You sure you got all that?”

“Yes,” Rain signed, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. His headache was out in full force, and his conversation with Velika hadn’t exactly left him with an overabundance of patience.

“I’m not convinced you got it,” signed Uman, grinning at him. “Think you can sign it back to me?”

“Now isn’t the time, Uman,” Rain said aloud, dropping his hands. “I appreciate your efforts to teach me, but I’ve got more important things to worry about at the moment. Just say it aloud.”

Uman laughed and spoke, still accompanying his words with his hands. “Sure thing, bossman. You’ll never learn if you don’t practice, though, even with that freaky brain of yours. Your signs are sloppy, like my voice.”

“The message, Bubbles,” Rain said. He took off his helmet and held it under his arm so he could properly glare at the man.

“Fine, fine,” Uman said. “Well, first thing, I found out who that lady north of the city is. You’ll never believe it. It’s Lavarro. You know, the Silent, Deadly Killer?”

Rain groaned and closed his eyes, rubbing his aching forehead with his free hand. I knew it. “What does she want from me?”

Uman shrugged. “Not sure she knows you exist. The message isn’t from her. I just told you because you seemed interested. The message is from a woman who says her name is Ameliah. Am I pronouncing that right?”

Rain dropped his hand as a sudden thrill of excitement and surprise shot through him. “Uman, what the hell? Why didn’t you lead with that?”

Uman laughed and stroked his beard. “Ha. I knew it.”

“Knew what, Uman?”

“That you’re in love with her. It’s all over your face. I think she likes you too, kid.”

Rain blinked, staring at the grinning old man. After a moment, he shook his head. “You’re way off the mark there. We’re just friends.” What did she say to make him think that?

“Sure, whatever you say,” Uman said, laughing. “Kids.”

“I’m twenty-five, Uman. Now stop messing with me and tell me what she said.”

“Yeah, and I’m sixty-seven, which makes you a kid,” Uman said, grinning. “Us old folks have got to—”

“Uman!” Rain snapped, his irritation flashing almost to anger. “The message!”

Uman grinned, waving Rain back. “Fine, here it is,” he said, then raised his right hand and did a perfect Vulcan salute. “She said you’d know what it meant.”

Rain’s frustration broke, then he laughed, relaxing. “Of course.”

“Well, what’s it mean?” Uman said, lowering his hand. “It’s rare to see a sign I don’t know.”

“It means she’s okay,” Rain said. “She wouldn’t be joking around if anything bad had happened to—” Rain closed his mouth abruptly.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

“The deer?” Uman said, completing Rain’s sentence.

Rain looked up sharply, a chill running down his back like ice water. “What?”

“The deer,” Uman repeated. “Big fellow. Wears armor.”

“Tallheart is there?” Rain said, reeling. Why would Tallheart show himself?

Uman shrugged. “That his name? Weird. I’ve never met a deer before. How the depths do you know one of his kind?”

“It’s cervidian, not deer,” Rain said testily. “And why didn’t you mention this sooner? Any other revelations that you’d like to share?”

“Relax, Rain, you’re making it too easy for me,” Uman said, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Damn it, Uman, why can’t you be afraid of me like the rest of the unawakened?”

Uman laughed. “You know you don’t really want that. You’re harmless, Rain, it’s just they don’t know you like I do.”

Rain looked at him incredulously. “We’ve only known each other for a few days, Uman.”

“I’m a good judge of character,” Uman said with a shrug. “Fine, I’ll stop playing around. Your other two friends are there too. Staavo and that orange fellow from the guild. Ameliah spelled his name for me, but I forgot it.”

“Jamus,” Rain said. “What else did they say?”

“Not much,” Uman said. “They asked me more questions than anything. They didn’t know about the Empire’s army or the attack on the Watch’s camp until they stumbled upon the aftermath. They were headed to Vestvall, but turned back because of the storms.”

“Hmm,” Rain said, thinking.

“By the way, that lady-friend of yours is surprisingly good with hand code for someone who’s got working ears,” Uman said, interrupting Rain’s thoughts. “She’s pretty, too. Makes you wonder what else she can do with those fingers of hers.”

“Uman, stop talking,” Rain said coldly.

Uman cackled, his fake—probably fake—lecherous grin transforming into one of honest amusement. “The bottom line is that they all want to talk to you, kid. They said they’d wait for you in the Lee. Want me to come with you to translate?”

“Hell no,” Rain said. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

Uman snorted. “Heading over there now?”

Rain hesitated, then sighed. “No. I need to talk to Vanna first.”

“Wow,” Uman said. “It’s that bad, huh? Serious enough to delay seeing your lady-love? Or wait, are you and Vanna—”

“It is that serious, Uman,” Rain interrupted, gesturing to the building behind him. “Velika’s not going to help, which is why I don’t appreciate all of this teasing. I don’t have the time. None of us do.”

Uman nodded, his grin fading. “You’re right, Rain. Of course we’ve got serious problems to deal with. It’s just, you’ve gotta laugh in times like this. Otherwise, what else is there?”

Rain sighed, then acknowledged him with a tiny nod. “Fair enough, just don’t take it so far. Thanks for bringing me the message, anyway. I’ve got another job for you if you’ve got time.”

Uman’s grin returned. “I’m retired, kid. Ain’t got nothing but time!” He jumped and clicked his heels together. “I was thinking of finally learning to dance.”

Rain snorted. “Go tell officer Bartum that the Watch is free to resume their control of the city. Velika says she won’t stop them. She disbanded her guard, too. She’s not going to help us, but she’s not going to get in our way, either.”

Uman’s eyebrows rose, then he whistled. “What the hells did you say to her to get her to do that?”

“We...negotiated,” Rain said. “Reached a mutual understanding.”

Uman wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Negotiated, eh?”

“No, Uman.” Rain sighed. “Just no.”

On the way back to the bathhouse that had become his headquarters, Rain decided to make a quick detour. The reason for this was obvious, given the billowing bank of fog that he’d stumbled upon. Clearly, the two water mages were at work.

As he entered the fog, the temperature dropped precipitously. A film of icy water began building up on his armor as he waded through the mist, leaving it swirling behind him.

As he moved deeper, visibility dropped to practically zero. Blinding Fog required water to be cast, but the spell did more than just spray droplets everywhere. The fog was suffused with magic, keeping it concentrated and lending it the effect for which it was named. Rain could tell that this was the case from the way that the fog seemed almost drawn to his armor, though the effect wasn’t very pronounced.

Now, seeing the spell at work, Rain suspected that there was a little dark-aspect mana involved. Water was commonly accepted to be a secondary aspect of Force. However, that didn’t mean that water spells needed to rely only on Force magic. Privately, Rain liked to think of the mages who used elements like earth and water as ‘benders,’ for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who’d ever watched Nickelodeon.

Rain switched to Detection, guiding himself toward the center of the icy fog. There were people all around him in the mist, likely attracted by the relief that it offered from the sweltering heat that gripped the city. He did his best to avoid them, but there were still a few cries of alarm as he moved past.

There were three signals clustered at the exact center of the cloud that he didn’t try to avoid. He’d guessed that two of these would be the water mages, so he headed straight for them. There was a sharp intake of breath as their outlines swam into view.

“Who’s that!?” said a man, the voice vaguely familiar. “Depths! I feel...”

“What is it now?” a woman’s annoyed voice said in reply.

“...L...Lord Rain?” said a third voice.

“Relax,” Rain said. “Yes, it’s me.” He came to a stop, peering at the three figures through the fog. They were standing beside a cart that was filled with barrels.

He recognized all three figures. The two men were workers that he’d introduced himself to a few days ago. The third figure was a young woman wearing a blue and white outfit and a bronze plate around her neck. He’d seen her at the Guild before, though he never learned her name.

“Oh,” said the woman. “You’re Rain? How did you get through my fog?”

Rain couldn’t easily read her expression through the swirling fog, so he walked a little closer. “Detection,” he said. “Utility Auras tree, tier-one.”

The woman jerked. “Wait, you... I didn’t expect you to actually answer that. And so specifically, too.”

Rain smiled, offering her his hand to shake. “I know, right? Sorry, I don’t believe I’ve ever learned your name.”

“Cera,” said the woman. She hesitated, then shook his hand. “I didn’t know auras could do something like that.”

Rain chuckled. “Most people take one look at foundation-tier and write them off. I’m not worried about people knowing what I can do anymore, Cera. No need to keep my secret. It’s too damn useful to hide.” He turned to the workers. “Nails. Arnal. Nice to see you.”

The two workers nodded to him in greeting.

“...Right...” Cera said, regaining her composure. “Well, anyway, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Rain. My brother is back at the baths, helping with the barrels. He doesn’t have Blinding Fog.”

Rain raised an eyebrow, then smiled. “I didn’t expect you to tell me that.”

Cera laughed at his paraphrasing of her words. “Fair is fair, and you did hire us. Speaking of that, I’m low on mana. Khurt said that you have some way of— Ah!”

“Essence Well,” Rain said, gesturing to the blue rings that had formed around her. “Also tier-one Utility Auras.”

“Huh?” Cera said, watching the rising rings, her surprise fading. “It’s ranged? I thought you were going to use Infuse or something. How efficient is it?”

“Perfectly efficient, unlike Infuse,” Rain said. “Though it won’t be if I need to send mana faster. Just tell me when to stop.” He glanced at his HUD, checking the time.

“It’s kinda slow,” Cera said, crinkling her nose. “What’s the range?”

“Around two and a half stride at the moment,” Rain said, frowning. “Again, I could make it go further, but the efficiency would drop. Or technically the speed, which means I’d need to boost it to compensate. There’s quite a bit of metamagic going on.”

“I see,” Cera said, watching the rising rings. She didn’t look impressed, which Rain found somewhat disappointing.

Damn Infuse, making me look bad. Touch-based and with a 50% efficiency, but it’s twice as fast at rank one as Essence Well is at rank ten. Granted, I haven’t seen a way to improve its efficiency. It isn’t channeled, so Channel Mastery won’t work. You’d just have to keep recasting it to transfer more mana. Now maybe if you—

“Um? Rain?” Cera said, waving a hand to catch his attention.

“Sorry,” Rain said, realizing that he’d been staring off into space. “I get distracted easily. How are things going?” He gestured at the fog.

“Well enough,” she said. “I never thought of using Blinding Fog like this. The cold water really makes a huge difference.” She laughed. “It’s good practice, but it feels weird to use it in a city. The Watch would murder me for this if they were around.”

“I don’t know,” Rain said with a shrug. “If you warned them you were going to do it first, they might have been okay with it.”

Cera laughed. “Have you ever met anyone in the Watch? Wait, didn’t they fine you for using that cleaning spell?”

Rain shook his head. “Don’t be so hard on them. There are some good ones, and they’re just trying to keep the peace. Also, the fine was technically Halgrave’s doing.”

Cera frowned. When she spoke, there was a bitter note in her voice. “I hate the Watch. It’s nice not having them around. I do miss Halgrave, though. Rankin is a total ass.”

Bartum nodded.

Rain released a pulse of Detection, making sure that there was no one in range to overhear. The coast was clear, but he spoke softly, just in case. “Citizen Westbridge is dead, and he was the only one able to control the barrier. Velika can’t lower it, and nobody else can get in. There’s no help coming.”

Vanna gasped, but Bartum merely raised an eyebrow. “Did Velika tell you this herself?” he asked.

“Yes,” Rain said.

“Impossible,” said Vanna. “It’s got to be a trick. She’s lying. There’s no way she can’t—”

“He believes it,” Bartum interrupted, turning to Rain. “What makes you so sure she wasn’t lying?”

“She’s given up,” Rain said. “She’s broken.” Rain tapped his forehead with two fingers. “Up here. I don’t know, it’s like depression, but it’s more than that. She hasn’t left her room for days. She knows she’s trapped in here with us, and she thinks that it’s hopeless.”

“Hmm,” Bartum said. “What you say confirms our own suspicions.” He looked at Vanna, who still had disbelief painted across her face. “The usurper already controls the city. There is no benefit for her in trying to deceive us.”

Rain nodded. “She only wanted to be a Citizen so they would help her raise her cap. She wasn’t told that she’d be locked in here with us. Whatever game Westbridge was playing, he needed a pawn, I think. Maybe a scapegoat. Someone disposable, at any rate. Velika was talking to him for days after the barrier went up, and he flat-out told her that he was working on finding her replacement. Whether that was just some test to see how she’d cope, or if he was serious, I don’t know. What I do know is that there’s no point in waiting for him to come back. She felt him die through that link of theirs. Someone killed him, or he choked on a chicken bone or something.”

“It could still be a trick,” Vanna said. “Maybe Westbridge faked his death.”

Rain shrugged. “I mean, maybe, but it doesn’t really matter in terms of what we need to do about it. Velika believes he’s dead, and that’s that. She’s not going to help us, which means we need to help ourselves. If Westbridge isn’t dead, great, he’ll show up and let us out when we least expect it. Otherwise, we need to get access to the artifact generating the barrier as soon as we can. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Vanna. I want you to send a few crews over to where Westbridge broke the ground and get them digging.”

“I thought you said only Westbridge could lower the barrier,” Bartum interjected. “How do you know that gaining physical access to the artifact will help?”

“Because Velika already tried it,” Rain said. “Getting her to talk wasn’t easy, but I did get some information out of her. She couldn’t make heads or tails of how the artifact worked, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. It has an interface, and if it has an interface, it can be hacked. Oh, sorry, hacked means, um, accessed without authorization.”

“And she gave up, just because she couldn’t figure it out?” Vanna asked. “What about hammering on the barrier, or starving it of mana or something? There’s got to be a way.”

Rain shook his head slowly, then shrugged. Physical force wasn’t going to do it, judging by the massive column of stone that formed the Lee. The weight of that much rock pressing down would be far more than they could muster against the barrier, even if the entire population spent days going ape on it with hammers.

Starving the barrier of mana could work, depending on how efficient it was and whether it had an ongoing upkeep cost, but Rain had categorically decided against discussing Velika’s so-called plan for freeing herself. He was almost one hundred percent sure that she wouldn’t do what she’d threatened, but the possibility still weighed on him. Her mental instability was a constant threat hanging over the city. The best thing he could do to prevent Velika from snapping would be to make visible progress toward freeing her.

“Okay then,” Bartum said when it was clear that Rain wasn’t going to elaborate. “I’m convinced. I’ll get some patrols going once we’re done here and start restoring order. You’re sure she won’t object to that? Did she set any limits on what we’re allowed to do?”

Rain shook his head, surprised and relieved that Bartum wasn’t going to press him for more detail. “None. Everyone is free to do whatever they want, as long as they leave her alone. She even disbanded her guard, though I think she only did it to get me to shut up. By the way, Vanna, if a kid named Kettel shows up and says he wants to help, find something useful for him to do that keeps him away from anything flammable.” He turned back to Bartum. “Just to make sure we’re on the same page, the Watch isn’t going to stop me or anyone else from using magic to help the city, right?”

Bartum nodded, though he looked like he’d just taken a big bite out of a lemon. “No. As long as they don’t hurt anyone, we won’t make an issue of it. Incidentally, I heard about your little stunt with Refrigerate and those looters on the bridge. You neglected to mention that the last time we spoke. That is exactly the kind of thing I don’t want happening.”

“Sorry, I was just trying to scare them. I wouldn’t have actually done anything.”

“I know,” Bartum said. “But still. Be careful.”

Rain nodded. “Anyway, Vanna, do we have the workers to spare?”

“Yes, and then some,” Vanna said. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Rain.” She reached into a pocket and pulled out a bag, sliding it across to him. “That’s all the money you gave me for today’s payroll. No one’s going to take it.”

Rain blinked. “What?”

Vanna smiled warmly. “You don’t need to pay us, Rain. We know you don't have the money, and we’re not blind to what needs to be done. You’re better off doing whatever it is you do, not scrambling for bits. All of the crews got together and talked it over. We’re all still with you, and Tarny says more are joining by the hour. I had to send most of them off on errands to keep them from getting in the way.”

Rain shook his head and pushed the bag back. “But what about food and stuff? People need money.”

Vanna shook her head, not reaching for the bag. “Money won’t save you when you’re stuck in the depths. We’ll be fine. Lady Par...I misjudged, I think. She said she’d help anyone who doesn’t have enough, as long as they are working to restore order.”

“Wait, what?” Rain said, staring at Vanna in disbelief. “She really said that? I couldn’t even get her to lower her prices yesterday!”

Vanna nodded. “I was as surprised as you were. I think it just took her a little time to realize what six weeks of food really meant. Word is out about that, by the way. It might as well be common knowledge by now. A few more of the nobles have joined Lady Par in helping us, too.”

Rain blinked at her. “I...did not expect that.”

Bartum laughed. “You seem to have a very low opinion of nobles, Rain. Understandable, given that they cause us almost as much trouble as the Guild does, but nevertheless. They aren’t stupid, and they aren’t heartless. They’re just as trapped as we are.”

“Yeah,” Rain said. “I mean, I get that, and I hoped they’d come around, but I just expected to have to fight them every step of the way.”

“Sometimes, the battle wins itself,” Bartum said. “By the way, you might want to talk to Lady Summerland. I’ve heard that she has an interest in the Majistraal. She might know something about their artifacts that could be useful. Don’t get your hopes up too high, though. Information on them is scarce and full of speculation as you well know, but she might have a credible book or two in her library.”

“Really?” Rain said, still reeling as his mind tried to process the implications. “Lady Par didn’t mention that.”

No need to pay the workers? The nobles actually helping for once?

Vanna laughed. “Why would she, when she could tell us about the woman’s sex life instead?”

“Officer Tanner also has some knowledge of modern enchantments,” Bartum continued, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile. “It’s not anywhere near the level of the Majistraal, obviously, but he’s good enough to maintain the wards and such. I’ll send him over to you once your people gain access to the artifact. I’m sure he’d love to look at it.”

“That would be a huge help,” Rain managed.

Bartum frowned. “I’d like to send some officers to help dig, too, but I’m afraid I’ll need them all for patrols at first. We need to make our presence known. There might be trouble with the Guild, specifically Rankin.”

“I’ll get Khurt to help,” said Vanna. “He should be able to keep them in line.”

“The silverplate?” Bartum said, raising an eyebrow. “He’s a part of this? I hadn't heard that.”

Vanna nodded. “Oh, you’ll be taking the Fells back too, right? Rain had me send a crew there a few days ago. They’ll have blocked it off with stone by now.”

“A sensible precaution,” Bartum said. “We’ll leave it for now. We need to be out on the streets.” He turned to Rain. “Let us handle it, Rain. This is our city. You and your people focus on the water and the artifact. We’ll take care of the rest.”

Bartum paused, stroking his beard. “Hmm. I need to think up some reason to explain why Velika is letting us retake control. As you said, we have a narrative problem.” He got to his feet. “A difficult puzzle. Of course, the fact that she’s trapped with us will all get out eventually, but the longer we can prevent that, the better. We want the city to stay calm.” He nodded to himself. “Before I go, is there anything else you need? We’re not as strong as we were, not without our sentinels, but you have our support for as long as we have yours.”

“I...” Rain hesitated, then looked between Vanna and Bartum. He could feel all of his pent up stress and worry crashing down on him like a wave, making it hard for him to speak. The nobles deciding to help, the Watch retaking command, Vanna and the others offering to work without pay, his fears about his soul, it was all too much. He’d been running himself ragged every day for days on end, and he’d had to fight for every last step of progress. Now, the work that he’d started was finally starting to maintain its own momentum, to accelerate, even, like a boulder rolling downhill. He felt tears of relief welling up behind his eyes, and he had to take a deep breath and fight to control his expression. “Thank you. Both of you.”

“Of course,” Bartum said.

Vanna reached out and grabbed his hand from where it was lying limply on the table. “You don’t have to do everything yourself, Rain.”

Rain looked down at her hand covering his, not trusting himself to speak.

Dozer ruined the moment.

The slime launched itself up onto the table, fixated on Vanna. Rain had lost control of the link, and his emotions had leaked through. The slime couldn’t process the complicated feelings that Rain was experiencing, and it had decided that he had been attacked and that Vanna was the perpetrator.

After the ensuing chaos had died down, Rain was secretly relieved. No real harm had been done, and Dozer’s intervention had saved him, though not from the threat that the slime had perceived.

Ameliah shot to her feet as she spotted Rain walking through the south gate of Fel Sadanis. She’d been sitting near the barrier on-and-off all afternoon, wrapped in her warm white cloak against the chill. Even in the shelter of the Lee, it was bitterly cold. The ground was hard with frost, though it had been cleared of the deep snow that had swallowed the rest of the world.

There he is. What took him so long?

“He’s here,” Ameliah said softly. Tallheart, who was sitting nearby with his eyes closed, opened them and pivoted his antlered head to follow her gaze.

“Mmm,” he rumbled. “Why does he have a crystal slime?”

Ameliah shrugged, not having missed the small monster trailing after Rain as he approached unnaturally quickly. Wisps of wind swirled after both of them, showing that Rain was using his Velocity aura.

“He is a tamer now?” Tallheart said, smoothly rising to his feet. The large cervidian was wearing his magnificent armor as always, with not so much as a cloak as a concession to the cold.

Ameliah shook her head. “I don’t think so. He wouldn’t have had the skill points. I’ll ask him about it, just to make sure. By the way, you should really learn hand code. It isn’t that difficult.”

Tallheart frowned, the expression barely perceptible on his stony face.

“I’ll teach you later,” Ameliah said, smiling. Neither of them had any doubt that Rain would have learned hand code by now, of course. He’d said he was going to the last time that she had spoken to him. That was ten days ago, and it was Rain.

Ameliah looked over her shoulder toward the fires, set deeper within the shelter of the Lee. Staavo and Jamus were seated near one of them. The two of them were much less tolerant of the cold and had retreated to the warmth when it became clear that Rain wasn’t going to immediately rush over. She waved to them, but they didn’t notice, probably locked into the same inane argument that they had been since she’d found them in the forest.

Looking back at Rain, she blinked. He was already much closer than she’d expected. He’s gotten faster.

She watched with some amusement as Rain crashed into the barrier right in front of her, having failed to stop his momentum in time. The muddy ground hadn’t done him any favors. Unlike the shattered terrain outside, Fel Sadanis looked more or less the same as it had ten days ago. It seemed that Rain hadn’t been successful with his cooling project.

A flash of white light appeared as Rain picked himself up and cleaned the mud off with Purify. He was wearing the armor that Tallheart had made him, including the helmet, as well as his full black cloak. He waved to them, then removed the helmet, revealing his face.

Ameliah blinked. He looks good. His face is thinner, and with the beard and the shorter hair...

Rain grinned at her sheepishly, making a show of brushing himself off even though he was already clean. “Oops,” he signed.

“Tell him, ‘that is one way to stop,’” Tallheart said, amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes.

Ameliah laughed. “Tallheart says that is one way to stop,” she signed.

“I missed you,” Rain signed slowly. “Both of you. Soup and books, too. So much has happened.”

“What did he say?” Tallheart rumbled.

Ameliah tilted her head. “He said he missed us, then something about soup and books. I’m not quite sure what he means. Hang on. I might have misinterpreted.” She looked back to Rain, signing and speaking out loud for Tallheart’s benefit. “We missed you too, Rain. What do you mean, ‘soup and books’?”

Rain pointed toward the camp situated under the Lee and then signed quickly, his motions much more practiced as he used phonetic signs to spell out a pair of names.

“Oh,” Ameliah said, then laughed. “He named Jamus and Staavo. Spelling out a name takes time with signs, so people usually take a word or two as their callsign, to make things faster.” She glanced at Tallheart. “Yours is easy. It’s still Tallheart.”

Tallheart nodded. “Soup and Books...” He nodded. “He has chosen well.”

“Tallheart says your names for them are good,” Ameliah said, signing the same thing slowly. It had been a long time since she’d learned, and she was rusty. She felt a little better about it, seeing that Rain was also far from perfect. He clearly knew the signs, but was having trouble forming them, his hands moving awkwardly.

“What is your name?” Rain signed, Ameliah repeating his words for Tallheart.

“You don’t have one for me?” she responded, smiling.

Rain smiled back. “Since you know hand code, I think you already having one. Mine is ‘Rain,’ obvious.” The sign that he used for ‘rain’ was one of several. The one he had used meant a warm, cleansing rain in spring. Knowing what Rain’s name meant in his native language, Ameliah agreed with his choice.

“Hello, Rain,” she signed, following the traditional pattern. “I am Tiger Eye.”

“Tiger Eye,” he repeated the sign. “I don’t know that word.”

“It is a brown and gold gemstone,” Ameliah said, motioning to her face. “For my eyes. My sign teacher chose it, not me.”

“Oh,” Rain signed, smiling. “It fits. Your eyes do look like gemstones.”

“Thank you,” Ameliah said, a bit embarrassed having repeated his words for Tallheart. “Flatterer.”

“What?” Rain signed.

Ameliah shook her head, not wanting to explain. “I like the beard, by the way. You look much less scruffy.”

“Thanks,” Rain said, scratching at his chin with a goofy smile on his face. He had to pause and fight off the slime, which had jumped on him for some reason.

“If you are done flirting, please ask Rain about the Vekuavak woman,” Tallheart said.

Ameliah swatted at him, but the surprisingly nimble smith darted out of the way.

“What?” Rain signed, having freed himself from the slime. She set aside her own growing list of questions. Tallheart was right; they had more important things to discuss. She was happy to see Rain, but it was difficult to forget that the Lee was the site of a battle where hundreds, if not thousands of people had died.

“Nothing,” Ameliah signed back. “Tallheart wants to know about the Citizen. Bubbles said that she had a fight with the Watch. Is that true?”

Rain’s smile faltered, then broke as if it had been nothing more than a facade. He suddenly looked tired, grim, even. He shook his head slowly and ran a hand through his hair.

“We’d better sit down,” he signed, looking up at her. “I have a lot to tell you.”

“Rain, what—?” she signed, stepping forward and looking carefully at his expression. Now that he wasn’t smiling, she could see bags of fatigue under his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Rain signed. He took a breath and forced an unconvincing smile onto his face. “But I’m trying.”