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That guard was just the start. Everyone you meet from now on is going to have questions. You'll need convincing answers.

You cross the great hall toward the courtyard entrance, heading for your royally-granted mansion in Archa's noble district. It occurs to you that you could also try to seek out Prince Evander before you return home. You're not sure where to find him, though. You hadn't previously heard he was in the city, which is unusual for his visits.

Next

Your musings on the prince are interrupted when the scent of smoke starts drifting in from the courtyard. By the time you notice it, the guards stationed by the great hall doors are already pushing them open to investigate. You hurry after them and discover that one of the elaborately-shaped hedges lining the central path through the courtyard has been set aflame. While the blaze is small for the moment, the hedges wind throughout the courtyard and you're sure it could start spreading toward the castle in a matter of moments.

You fumble frantically for the Demonsight Stone, hoping to discern if the fire had a magical source. You come up with nothing, and it takes you a confused moment to remember you'd already taken it off for the night when the guards first arrived to arrest you..

Standing in front of the burgeoning conflagration are two men. The younger of the two, closer to the palace, is glancing between it and the fire with a look of stunned horror on his face. The elder man is bent over with his hands on his knees. For a moment, you wonder if he's been injured, but you realize as you approach them that he is laughing.

"Wonderful!" the laughing man says, standing straighter and smoothing his flowing mage's robes as you approach. "You grasp my theory about her magical defenses now, surely."

The younger man is beginning to turn gray. "Uncle Bes," he says, and makes a few stammering noises after, unable to form any other words.

You get the sense that neither of them has any intention of putting out the fire just now. The guards behind you seem stunned as well, seeing no obvious cause for the flames. If anyone is going to prevent the palace from burning to the ground, it's probably going to be you.

You don't often find yourself giving orders, but you give it your best shot. "Excuse me," you say, "Um, would one of you mind fetching some water?"

"You're just standing there. You fetch the water," one of them says, looking over at you. "We've got orders to keep an eye on these two."

"Do you have orders to keep doing that even if there's a hedge on fire?" you ask, your voice trailing off as you realize the guards are ignoring you to step closer to the pair by the hedge. Both of whom, you notice, seem to have paid more attention to your failed attempt at leadership than the guards did.

Next

Just as you're wondering if the whole palace really will burn down, the still-chuckling mage makes a lazy gesture with his hand and summons a small waterfall to extinguish the blaze. The younger man breathes a sigh of relief.

The elder mage is scrutinizing you. "Hmm," he says. "You're Jun. We met at your ceremony three years ago. I must admit, I expected a bit more initiative from one of our beloved champions."

The younger man turns to him in disbelief. "That's Jun, the mage?"

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