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"She wasn't before. Not any kind of scholar at all. They were both tailors. Can you imagine anything that's happened in the past few years that might have prompted her to switch professions?" Alvis shrugs.

Alvis asks an unassuming passer-by for directions to Verity's parents' house and then lapses into a distracted silence. For all that Verity's absence hangs in the air and he knew her better than you or Letha ever did, he hasn't said much about her until today. You try to ask if he knows anything else helpful about Verity's parents, but he just mutters something vague and waves you away.

You never definitively settled the question, back then, of whether Alvis and Verity were anything more than co-conspirators. Certainly they sat nearest each other around your campfires, and stayed up late into the nights together plotting your next moves, but nothing ever went beyond that in your sight.

She's clearly on his mind now, and the crowds on the streets are thinning out, so this could be the time to ask. You're not certain he'd take kindly to the question, though.

Alvis broods to himself for several minutes longer. You're just about to ask if you're getting close to the Carrases' house when he straightens with a smile, clearly appreciating the time with his thoughts.

Next

Shortly afterward, Alvis points out a fairly modest house on a street corner. "That's it, or it's meant to be," he says.

You assume he's about to go knock on the door, but instead he hesitates. You don't think he's eager to see Verity's parents. "Who's the mage Meredith said follows you around?" he asks instead. "Min, was it? Is that someone you know?"

"You understand why someone stalking us might be of interest to me, under the circumstances," Alvis says. "Particularly if they're a mage."

"I didn't think they were a mage," you say. "They didn't mention that. I wonder how Meredith knew."

"And they're in Pasema? I don't see why Meredith would have told you to talk to them if they weren't. Maybe we'll need to look into that." Alvis sets his shoulders and turns back toward Verity's parents' house. "Later, I suppose."

Alvis lifts a hand and raps on the door. You hear movement inside, but no one answers right away.

"They'll have questions," Alvis says in an undertone as you wait on the doorstop. "You know we can't answer them."

Just a reminder, Jun," Alvis says, grinning at you.

Just then, the door slides slowly open and a tall, dark-haired woman peers out at you. She looks nothing like Verity, but then you wouldn't expect her to.

It's clear at once that she knows who you are, though you're sure you never saw her three years ago. You're not certain what reaction to expect—she believes you killed her daughter, but then she also believes her daughter tried to destroy the world. You steel yourself for a variety of emotional outpourings, but her expression, if anything, is resigned.

"Alvis Wyrde," Agatha Carras says. "And Jun, the mage. We heard you might be coming."