~Mary~

Ever since Count Beyer's arrest the council had been scrambling. There were no procedures for putting a sitting council member on trial and it was seeming ever more likely that Count Beyer would get to vote on his own fate. It seemed that every noble in the kingdom had put out a solution which resulted in finding themselves sitting on the other side of the bench. The only voice from which they got nothing was also the one voice which might have decided things. The king was as ever reluctant to be any more than a figurehead and a figurehead was not to make decisions if he was to keep his position.

Inquisitor Risch had wormed his way out of answering for making the whole mess and now he was supposedly in the field. Prince Phillip had holed up in the palace and, like his father before him, he was refusing to step up and do anything. It was as if power was anathema to all those with it and utterly magnetic to all those without it.

Mary had never thought that she would grow to hate the byzantine mess of archaisms that was Argonian law, but when it came down to it, it was just a way to justify whatever position was needed and then call it official. For coming up with answers, it simply wasn't the tool. Even the most direct reference to the establishment of the council did not describe its procedure and instead leaned on vagaries.

Should the divine ruler of the Kingdom of Argonia ordain the necessity of such, a ruling council may be established wherein his decisions might be made in his absence. The members of such shall be those peoples who can faithfully understand and replicate, to the degree that is possible for the divine ruler of the Kingdom of Argonia to be understood and replicated, the divine ruler of the Kingdom of Argonia in the dispensation of his decision-making authority.

In a way, it reminded Mary of Professor Naher's game of representatives. Except even with the kingdom's laws already in effect, there were still so very few restrictions that truly applied to her.

***

Whatever black magic they used to find the place, Mary was more thankful for the capital's messenger system than ever. Darren's driver had been surprised when he saw her, but he had been very accommodating. There were remarkably few other people out and about, so even though Mary waited with the driver outside, she got fewer looks than she had expected. Among noblewomen she didn't dress extravagantly, but the difference between her means and that of the residents here was stark.

The door finally interrupted the driver's string of nervous excuses and out came her fiancé. Darren was as ever both haggard and imposing at the same time. Behind him was a middle-aged man wearing business attire and a young man of slightly below average height. Neither struck her as the type that normally associated with nobility, but Darren himself had never been very close to any of his peers she supposed.

"What brings you all the way out here, Mary?" Darren asked with palms out like a host welcoming guests. "I can't say I even know how you me."

"A woman ought to have her secrets." Mary shrugged. "May I come in or are we going to stay out here for all prying eyes to see?"

"You're right, what's the point of having a secret base if I can't share the secret with wild abandon? We may lack in amenities, but we more than make up for it in character," said Darren. "And Lan, next time, please don't hold up well-dressed guests. They draw attention and she clearly already knew that something was here."

The inside of the place turned out to be barely nicer than the outside. Rather than a hideout for debauchery, the place was practically empty except for a prominently placed and ornate desk and chair. It was almost convincing if not for the way that Lan wiped his palms on his pants and eyed one side of the room in particular.

"Darren, I'm going to get a seat on the council and you're going to help me do it," Mary announced. "And the first thing that I'm going to need is a name change."

***

~Risch~

He was supposedly in hiding from the entire upper crust of society, but apparently letter carriers had no such trouble in finding him.

"It is so good to see you again so soon, mister inquisitor, sir. The young lady Finer wanted to get you a letter and she was wise enough to hire my, Peter Fleetfoot's services! I can't help but be disappointed that Ihre's lovely visage is not accompanying you. If you wouldn't mind dipping your toe into my profession, could you tell her that though the demand for a messenger may never lessen, any time that she is free will coincide with when the supply of messengers finds itself dried up," Peter said in the same unending flow of words he had demonstrated when he had been leading Risch to Prince Phillip's chambers.

Peter handed Risch the letter and ran off without missing a beat. Once, the lower wharfs would have been bustling with activity. Back when trade was at its peak, there was not a time when some merchant ship was not docked to unload its wares, get repairs, and restock. It had been a long time since then though. Long enough that Risch only remembered the last stages of businesses closing and warehouses being shut down. On the other hand, the newly vacated space had brought in a new kind of trade that had flourished over the years. Once, a gang that went by the name The Nights had occupied this warehouse. It had been Risch's first job as an inquisitor to remove them because they had become too successful for certain nobles' tastes. Of all the operations he had ever done, it had been the one that he had botched the worst and had been praised the most for.

There was nothing much that he could do about it now though. Turning his attention to the letter, Risch carefully cut through the wax seal with his fingernail and unfolded the paper. Luckily, the sun was still high enough in the sky that Risch was able to read it.

Dear Inquisitor Risch,

I want to first congratulate you on your bold and principled pursuit of justice. It has always been my belief that it is important to the well-functioning of society that systems of justice are perceived to be egalitarian. However, our shared goal is of course the betterment of the condition of those whom equality benefits the most. With that goal in mind, the most beneficial course must be one to demonstrate the flaws that exist within our current system. Despite your previous apparent disagreements with my vision, I think it would behoove your cause, and mine, to allow things to run their course without any more interference so as to provide such a demonstration of flaws.

Furthermore, while you have time which is not directly dedicated to the service of our royal family, I believe that you may find great opportunity in the fourth building down from where you are currently keeping from sight.

Jezbeth Finer

Risch wondered which was worse, the idea that Jezbeth had somehow found where he was hiding out and had decided to contact him, or that now she was giving him tips and he was feeling tempted. As much as it was unpleasant to play into her plans, it was most likely worth his while if she had thought it was worth letting him know that she could track him even here.

MrAntonym

I'm aware that this is a rather short chapter, but I figure putting something out is better than delaying to get to some average length/word count. Extra props to all the authors out there who manage to make whatever insane schedules they have work!