Potent: Book 1

Chapter 8: An Attack

Orwa, Day 26 of Rhexia, Winking Moons, Year 602

"Those who wish to make an offering to Minos the Wealth Goddess must do so with coin. The amount is irrelevant. If a person happens to place a material on her altar that is not currency, they can expect an entire year of bad luck in recompense." —Major Cities of Heladrith: An Overview

* * *

The next morning, Beynon was desperately unhappy to hear that the council would be holding an impromptu meeting right there in his chambers to discuss the attempted assassination.

He understood on some level that he should be grateful they were considering and including him, but all he could think about was sinking back into his bed and sleeping until the pain went away and the council meeting was over. The keep staff clearly weren't getting any new information out of the perpetrator, this... Talebot, and Beynon had ordered him executed as soon as the council would allow.

There were some new developments that surprised him during the meeting, though.

The men clustered around the emperor's large bed, and Beynon sat up and supervised the proceedings from his current, less-than-powerful position.

Royal Secretary Longren explained that the emperor's intelligence was investigating area potions purveyors.

"We need to be very careful at this point," he said slowly, "to identify any insurrection. If we can trace the martial material to a particular vendor, we may find our uprising."

"Uprising," Pineas said with an incredulous scoff. "We don't know that there's any such group."

"We don't know that there isn't," Longren insisted seriously. "This man—Talebot—purchased the brew somewhere."

Beynon cleared his throat. "If it helps, and Longren knows this already," he said, "but I have suggested a minor ban on certain types of potions."

The room was silent for a moment.

"Not a complete ban," Longren clarified for them all. "The emperor would like to impose an amendment that limits the sale of immersions and martial materials and that ensures only elevated military leaders may procure them. Civilians cannot purchase them without permission anyway. If this passes, lower ranking members of the military will not be able to make any more mischief by buying up dangerous materials. I think it's not a bad idea."

Beynon was shocked to see several members of the council nodding. Actual common sense? From these men? he thought. It was too good to be true.

They voted in favor of the motion eight over seven, and Beynon breathed a sigh of relief.

When the meeting was nearly over, a page arrived to deliver a report to Longren. The man fiddled with his red beard for a moment as he read the message, then addressed the council.

"I've just received this report from Captain Reese. Of all of the potions vendors within a twenty-furlong radius, none have sold a Paralyze brew in the past two months. He guesses that the potion originated in another city or settlement."

Odd, thought Beynon.

* * *

A few minutes late for work once again, a chagrined Evin entered the Wheel and Well to find Alon kneeling on the floor in the entryway. He was surrounded by a scattered pile of crystals and was trying frantically to pick them up.

Alon had worked at the Wheel and Well a little longer than Evin had. He was shorter than she was, and loved to joke and tease. His ready smile gleamed a bright white against his deep olive skin when he laughed. Just now his dark, curling hair had fallen into his eyes, and he shook it impatiently to one side, a frown of concentration on his expressive face.