Getting back into town was a bit of a thing. The guards were pretty lax about checking people in or out but I wasn’t sure if I would be noted. The only people who left by this gate were adventurers, who didn’t pay entry fees, so the guards had never taken any names when I’d gone through before. However, I had a distinct feeling that the Baron would be very interested in everyone who was out today, and my looks were somewhat memorable. So I slipped through invisible.

Evading my specific watchers had become second nature by now, I wasn’t sure why they kept trying. I was pretty sure they’d be under the impression I was still in the house, so I headed there on my own, invisible, while the others reported to the Guild.

Sure enough, I saw my watchers where they always were. I shrugged and did the normal song and dance to get inside. Since they had eyes on the front of my house, I had an illusion of me appear when I opened the door, take a little look around and then pop back inside.

I really should have been taking better security precautions, I thought to myself as I greeted Cutter. I should come up with some better ones for the future. What would Jason Bourne do?

Sadly, I couldn’t come up with any idea of how Jason Bourne would handle this situation, aside from punching people. As it happened, I did have the combat skills to be a super-spy, but the problem was, everyone else was even tougher.

So, after filling Cutter in on what was going on - he seemed delighted to hear that we’d started something with the Baron - I went shopping. Would Jason Bourne go shopping? He must have at some point right?

I took my tails with me. If I saw anybody selling common household items that could be turned into explosives, I’d wait until I lost them before buying. Unfortunately, there was a notable lack. I could try the Alchemical store, but those weren’t really common household items…

“Why Mistress Hammond, what a joy to finally run into you,” a familiar voice said from behind me.

Shit.

I turned around, and let [Charm] have its head. “Why Master Parkes, how kind of you to say so.”

I’d done my best to avoid Tom Parkes since seeing him during the parade, but I’d had a sneaking suspicion that I’d only succeeded because he was letting me. I knew what the information brokers of this town were capable of, there was no way he didn’t know where I lived. He actually was a professional agent, while I was just an amateur. Not a Jason Bourne though. He was more of a James Bond type: tall, dark and handsome…

Focus, Kandis.

Right. One good thing about having [Skills] was that I hadn’t actually missed any of the conversation while I got distracted. So far it had just been polite noises, the sort of chit-chat that people pad out the conversation with until they’re ready to bring up the real topic.

Maybe I could keep it confined to that… “It’s been so nice to catch up with you Master Parkes, but I do have shopping to get to…”

“Actually, since I have run into you, there was one matter I wanted to bring up.”

I gave him a stern look, and his friendly smile added a little smirk. Just a small twist in the corner. Fine.

“I was wondering if you’d be my guest at the Baron’s dinner tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night? There’s no way I could have something ready to wear by then!”

His smile got wider. “I’m sure that’s not true. This is a much more informal gathering than the Autumn Ball - the dress you wore then, while exquisite, would probably be over-dressing for this event.”

I frowned. Then it was probably true that I could find something. What was I saying - I could [Disguise] up whatever dress I wanted in that time. That wasn’t why I was frowning though.

“And to what do I owe this… opportunity?” I asked cautiously.

“My desire for an entertaining conversation would be reason enough for me to ask you,” he said. “You would not believe how dull these dinners can be when everyone is afraid to talk to you.”

“From what I’ve heard of the Baron, he does not seem like the easily intimidated type.”

“Indeed not,” he said looking at me appraisingly. “But he has a guest that night, an old friend from the border. I expect his attention to be monopolised, and the rest of the guests averse to conversation.”

I sighed. “I noticed you said ‘would be reason enough'. Is there some other reason?”

“I might have some ulterior motives,” he allowed, “But they are best not spoken of on the street, perhaps?”

Well, it wasn’t like he didn’t already know where I lived.

“Fine,” I said. “But I still have to finish shopping for tonight’s meal. You can carry the bags.” I handed what I’d bought so far to him. He laughed, and took it with a small bow.

“I shall endeavour to be of service, milady.”

I rolled my eyes and went back to shopping.

On our way back, I realised my mistake. Well, one of my mistakes, probably. I had a sneaking suspicion that I was going to regret letting Tom into my home, but I couldn’t see just how it was going to bite me. What I realised on my way home was simple enough. People recognised Tom, probably because of his clothes. He wasn’t dressed in the cut silk as he had been at the ball, but he was still in black. All black. Black wasn’t so unusual a colour, but he’d managed to make every bit of his outfit jet black.

So people recognised him, and of course they knew me. This was where I lived after all. So talk was already starting about us walking together.

Face it Kandis, you are shit at blending in.

We got back to my house without any incident, just a few startled looks. The others were back from the Guild, and I wanted to hear about how that had gone, but this took priority. Felicia read the room sufficiently to get the others to give us some privacy in the kitchen - our default room for meetings.

“So, ulterior motives?” I said once we were sitting down.

“I’ve had a chance to speak with my Master about you,” he said without preamble. “I said before that he would be interested in meeting with you, but I can now extend a formal invitation.”

“That’s uh.. an honour, but…”

“No need to say it,” he interrupted. “My Master’s attention provokes concern in most people. He understands… that trust takes time to grow.”

“Does he,” I said without emotion. I really didn’t know what to make of this.

“He does. To this end, I have been directed to spend as much time with you as possible, and to give you what assistance I can.”

“You… he… do what?” I said eloquently.

“I do have other duties, so don’t expect to see me too often,” he assured me. “And of course, only with your permission. This feast is a chance for me to accompany you while still fulfilling my diplomatic obligations.”

“What makes you - makes your master - think that me getting to know you will make me trust him?”

He shrugged. “It’s a start. There isn’t much he can do to gain your trust. The best he can do is hope that his servant's actions reflect favourably on his own self.”

“And he’s doing all this because?”

“Well, as I said, he finds you-”

“Cards on the table, Parkes. Let's see some honesty if you want me to trust you.”

“A shame,” he said, with a sly grin. “I had been quite enjoying the ambiguity. But yes, as you suspect, we are almost certain that you are one of the Champions of the Gods. We don’t know which one though.”

Well, at least it was out there. “Neither do I,” I said. “They haven’t contacted me.”

“Interesting. They’ve been doing that more of late.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Of late? Wasn’t the last lot more than 200 years ago? Is ancient history part of the Ebon Order’s training?”

“Not normally,” he agreed. “But when it looked like I would be dealing with Chosen I got a crash course in the history. In the last round, three Champions had unidentified patrons - the year before, only one. Before that, it was the common practice for them to be summoned directly to their God’s main temple.

“This round, we’ve only had word of the champions of Naldyna, Rakaro and of course Duit. It’s possible that they might have been summoned outside the range of my master’s information network, but…”

“Have you made this offer to Isidre as well?” I asked.

“Of course, but she is relying on her Church for support. I managed to pass on the message, but I don’t expect anything to come from it.”

“What does your master want with Chosen anyway?”

“I think I said before… Chosen are harbingers of change. Those in power naturally seek them out, to get advance warning of what’s coming, or to influence what changes take place. Plus… there’s always the chance to earn a favour from a God.”

That did sound reasonable, but I suspected that ‘influence’ covered a lot of shady territory. Spin was not limited to my world apparently.

“Fine. So the feast,” I said, changing the subject. Honestly, now that I’d had time to think about it, it sounded like a good idea. I needed to get inside the Baron’s tower, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity.

A real James Bond move, I guess, I thought. Waltz right into the enemy lair with an invitation and a date on one arm.

Being with Tom would actually provide me with some protection as well. If Baron Maseau had figured out I was outside of the city when his men were being hit, he was much less likely to snatch me if he thought I was working with Aghen Shadthe.

“Maybe it isn’t the worst idea in the world,” I admitted.

“High praise indeed,” Tom said, smiling. “Shall I take that to mean I shall pick you up at sixth bell?”

“Sure,” I said. “Now shoo, I need to discuss this with my team.”

He took his leave, with one last bow for me, and a nod to the rest of the group.

“Well that’s dealt with for now,” I said. “How did you guys do?”

“Wait wait wait,” Felicia said. “What was that about?”

“Oh nothing much,” I said nonchalantly. “I just have an invitation to dine with the Baron tomorrow night.”

Cloridan raised an eyebrow. “I thought those rumours about you two back in Anchorbury were false.”

“They were,” I said, giving him a look. “This is purely professional, he’s just passing on his master’s interest in me, is all.”

Felicia shivered. “I don’t know how you can say that so casually. You do know who his master is, right?”

“I do,” I said. “And I also know he’s very far from here.” And unlikely to show up, I added privately. I now had an idea of why the famous Ice Arcanist had spent the last however many years holed up in his Ice Mountain. It had to be a dungeon, and he would be losing XP every time he left it.

“That didn’t look like strictly business,” Kyle mused.

“Anyway,” I said. “How did it go with the Guild?”

“Well, we reported that we saw the mysterious fighter,” Cloridan said. “They didn’t say much - seemed more confused than anything.”

“Well, confusion is the goal,” I said. “Keep in contact with the Justiciars - we should try to secretly shadow them the next time they go out. They’re probably going to be a target for the Fangs.”

“That, I can do,” Cloridan said.

“As for me,” I said, “I have a feast to get ready for.”