A trickle of sweat traced its way down Robin’s temple. The tavern was packed. And because it was packed, it was hot. Savra had not been kidding; healers liked their discount drinks.

Speaking of Savra, Robin had yet to spot her, but the hairs on the back of his neck said she wasn’t far away. Of course if she was scrying the place, ‘not far’ might be up for interpretation.Well, she’d show or she wouldn’t.

Robin wended his way through the crowd, carrying Bertha’s Bottle and dispensing drinks left and right. He’d started to get creative with the flavours: peppermint schnapps, orange soda, mint julep. And of course the odd surprise like pure lemon juice or pickled onion brine.

Every time he made his way back to the bar he pointed out likely candidates to Jhess or Drev. Khavren was conducting his own evaluations, a problem they would no doubt have to deal with in due time. Jhess and Drev would go on to ask a few more pointed questions and winnow through the candidates further. It was not an elegant system, but it was the best they could manage and it was working as well as could be expected with the throng of healers that were crowded in here tonight.

The ambiance was still dim, but Robin accented the walls with whirling firefly lights in green and white. He’d had grand plans about the music he would perform, but those quickly fell by the wayside when he realised how crowded the place was getting. He needed to circulate and find candidates more than he needed to bolster his rep tonight.

‘Hello.’

Speaking of candidates, there was Savra, standing right next to him. Robin was proud that this time he didn’t nearly jump out of his skin. It had been a bit tiring constantly expecting her to appear and then waiting, but it had paid off.

Sort of.

‘Welcome to The Veil and Votive,’ he said, using one of the tavern names he’d been considering. ‘Would you like a drink?’ He sloshed Bertha’s Bottle in her general direction.

‘I predict the hangover I would suffer if I say yes to be more than a delicate flower like myself should have to bear.’ Savra softened the words with a smile. ‘Though I would like an introduction to your friends.’

‘Right to business is it? Too bad.’ He jerked his chin toward the bar. ‘They were over there, last I saw them. I expect you’ve already divined their names and likenesses, so you should be able to find them, right?’

‘Maybe I have and maybe I haven’t, but I do know that you need to personally introduce me to the knight before the hour is up, or you are not going to like who ends up as healer in your party.’ The diviner did her best to look ridiculously mysterious.

Robin laughed. He couldn’t help himself. Though his instincts told him she was dangerous, he couldn’t deny she was also very entertaining.

‘Right. Come on, then. I shall introduce you to our knight in shining armour.’ Robin left unsaid that Khavren was also a right royal pain in the arse.

If Savra hadn’t already divined that, Robin wasn’t going to be the one to tell her.

The introduction was a matter of moments and Robin extracted himself to return to his rounds. Savra might feel she had this interview in the bag, but he wanted a few more options.

Especially if they were going to have to contend with Khavren’s taste.

Robin continued for another hour, until he finally had to retreat behind the bar to catch his breath, have a (decent) drink, and review the short list of candidates. His current favourite was called Isa-Tar. He was a devotee of a goddess of…love and war, basically. He was every inch a short king. Good looking, fiery, and easy to get along with. Then there was…

‘We have a problem.’ Jhess appeared at the bar looking grim.

‘A regular problem or a loud and shining problem?’ Robin had the sinking feeling he already knew the answer.

‘Khavren has found someone he’s set on and she’s terrible.’ Jhess made a moue of distaste. ‘She looks like a minor noble fallen on hard times and she acts it too, but it’s a scam if ever I saw one.’ The rouge shook her head. ‘She is playing him but good.’

‘Is she any good as a healer? If she isn’t, that’s pretty good grounds for forcing him to make another choice,’ Robin pointed out.

‘She knows her stuff,’ Jhess said grudgingly. ‘We can’t shift her that way. She’s talented but everyone says she doesn’t like to exert herself. If she can get a good score here, rely on Khavren to keep her safe, then she’ll have it easy.’

‘I’d rather the person responsible for keeping me alive not be taking it easy when we’re together down in the undercity.’

‘Ya think?’ Jhess shot him a sour glance. ‘You’re the clever one. Hop to it. We need to nip this in the bud.’

‘What kind of healer is she? Temple?’ Robin’s mind started searching for information. You can’t do anything without decent intel.

‘She smells like she’s got a divine patron, but she won’t cop to one. Says she’s naturally gifted with healing energies. One of the rare souls that can naturally channel life force from the surrounding area or something like that.’ Jhess rolled her eyes.

It was possible. Rare, but possible. As far as Robin understood it the deities of this world rather liked having a solid corner on the health and longevity market. It wasn’t a monopoly, quite, but there were probably divine thumbs on the scale of how many such rare talents were allowed to appear.

‘Point her out to me. I’ll sniff out her game and see if I can’t turn it back on her.’

Jhess pointed to a slim woman hanging off Khavren’s arm. Oh yeah. That one had a lean and hungry look about her. And her cinnabar hair was clearly from a bottle.

Not that Robin was one to judge others for artificially altering their appearance!

‘She calls herself Jaga.’ Jhess clearly didn’t approve.

‘Of course she does.’ Robin looked through the crowd. Yup. Savra was still here, and not far off from the duo. ‘What did Khavren think of Savra?’

‘The acolyte of Vera-Sass?’ Jhess shook her head. ‘He certainly saw her as a challenge worthy of him, but in the end he’s really less interested in convincing someone to convert than he is in redeeming a moral lost cause.’

Jaga certainly had the look of a moral lost cause about her. But…

‘Convert?’

‘Most people are a bit wary of Vera-Sass and her followers,’ Jhess shot him an odd look. ‘The whole not-knowing-which-goddess-consumed-which-to-become-a-whole-new-power tends to make people a bit nervous. She’s not quite considered evil, but…’ The rogue shrugged.

Interesting. His [Bardic Lore] had left that little detail out.

Robin considered asking Savra if the diviner had any information he could use to unseat Jaga from Khavren’s questionable affections. Would revealing that the woman did have a divine patron be enough? Khavren was devout enough that lying about the gods might offend him.

Of course that might just make him more determined to redeem Jaga. His ego wouldn’t allow him to back down from a challenge like that.

That was it!

If Khavren’s ego wouldn’t back down from a challenge, Robin just needed to make it look like Jaga wasn’t one. If she wouldn’t fit the narrative Khavren was running with in his head right now, the knight would drop her in favour of the next largest challenge: Savra.

The thought gave Robin pause. Did he really want the diviner on the team? She was interesting, true, and clearly skilled in more than one area, but she still unsettled him. He had plenty of secrets he’d like to keep that way.

He looked at Jaga.

Then again, he trusted Savra to keep him alive a lot more than he trusted Jaga. That woman looked like she’d merrily light his corpse on fire to toast marshmallows. And Jhess was a solid judge of character and ability. If she said the healer wouldn’t expert herself on their behalf, Robin believed her.

Savra it was, then.

‘I need you to get Jaga away from Khavren,’ he said to Jhess. ‘Leave the rest to me. I’ll have our shining friend looking elsewhere in a matter of minutes. I just need to do a quick change first.’

‘On it.’ Jhess slipped into the crowd.

Robin stepped out of the room, ostensibly to get more booze, and changed his face and form to that of an acolyte of Fei. Looking like a lynxkin, Robin made sure his holy symbol was very prominent and returned to the crowded tavern room and made his way over to Jaga.

He arrived just as Jhess drew the other woman away. Perfect.

‘Lovely woman, that Jaga,’ he said in a lynxkin’s burr of a voice.

‘I beg your pardon?’ Khavren blinked, but the affront that was building in his voice crumbled as soon as he saw the holy symbol of Fei on Robin’s chest.

He’d have to have been blind to miss it. Robin made it large enough.

‘Miss Jaga,’ Robin continued. ‘It is so gratifying to see that she is carrying through with her promise to improve herself by seeking to join your party. One always hopes one’s efforts to improve the lives of others will take root, but rarely do we get to see them blossom so freely!’

‘You know Miss Jaga?’ Khavren looked confused.

Why wouldn’t he? The man thought the height of cogitation was deciding which piece of armour to put on first in the morning. And he had it in his head that Jaga still needed redemption. He wasn’t wrong, but Robin was going to convince him that he was.

‘Oh yes! She was a bit of a rogue when I found her on the streets.’ Robin made his face look apologetic. ‘It’s unfortunate, but many fall into bad habits in their need to survive. They can be quite troublesome to break, even after the need for them is gone.’ Robin brightened. ‘But she has made such great strides! I am really very proud of what she has accomplished, and, though I should not be, proud of myself for the role I played in helping her to improve herself. I’m sure if she joins you, it will be just what she needs to prove to herself that she can indeed be good. She’s done so much of the work with me already, after all!’

Robin laid it on a bit thick. It was safer that way, with Khavren. The knight was dangerous, but also rather predictable at times.

‘Yes. Very commendable.’ Khavren stared pensively at Jaga and Jhess, over by the bar.

Robin could see the wheels turning. Slowly, but they were in motion. Now they just needed a little bit more direction. Khavren was thinking about whether or not he was correct in choosing Jaga. He needed a reminder that Savra was out there, just waiting to challenge him.

‘It’s much easier dealing with those who have developed bad moral habits due to circumstance than those who have willingly chosen a more questionable path,’ Robin went on. ‘It’s much more commendable to redeem those who follow dark and twisted gods of their own volition, for example, but those are fewer and further between, so one does not get the opportunity as often.’

Robin was really pushing it now. There were plenty of people following all manner of questionable deities in this world. He was banking on the fact that they generally didn’t present themselves as such in polite society, and that Khavren, raised in the sheltered world of Noviel and his mother’s house, wouldn’t have encountered many. Whereas corruption had to have surrounded him since he drew his first breath.

Why else would he be so committed to his knight in shining armour ideal?

‘You speak truth, as ever the Worthy of Fei do,’ the knight said. ‘Thank you for your words.’

Then Khavren excused himself and made a beeline over to Savra.

It looked like the diviner had been correct. She’d be joining the team.

Considering the alternative, Robin was delighted with the way things had turned out.