Hoka emerged from the meeting in a sour mood, not even bothering to hide the glare she threw Pilta's way.

"What's the matter? I thought you wanted a peaceful resolution," Pilta said, trying to goad her into an argument with a lightly mocking tone.

"I'm trying to figure out what your angle is," Hoka said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Pilta said.

"Don't act dumb," Hoka snapped. "You never mince words, it's one of the few things I respect about you, yet all of a sudden you're suggesting we talk it out with Ember? I don't believe it for a second. What are you playing at?"

Technically, the fact that Pilta had pushed for a peaceful resolution to the current situation should have been a good thing, but the man's actions ran counter to everything Hoka had ever seen from him at council. He didn't argue for peace, he didn't try to be the voice of reason. When Linal suggested that they send someone to attempt to make contact with the people on the wall, he had not only supported the idea, Pilta had volunteered for the mission.

Hoka didn't like it when people changed. It usually meant they were planning something.

"Blame the Chosen," Pilta said with an exaggerated sigh. "You should know all about their ridiculously touchy sensitivities; the unbridled optimism that leads them to have a near pacifistic outlook on life? I supposed with all of the humans running about, they must be rubbing off on me."

On the contrary, Hoka had found most of the humans all too ready to fight, be it monsters, Alathans or each other. They were soft-hearted and untested, perhaps, but far from pacifists.

"Hoka, I need a word," Linal said, standing just inside the council chamber.

Pilta took the opportunity with Hoka's momentary distraction to cross the foyer, exiting out the front door of the building before she had a chance to continue the conversation. She shook her head, following Linal back inside the council room. Shi—a Sissani woman with long blue hair, marking her as a mixed race since all of the Sissani were bald—sat next to Lokan at the far end of the table. Linal sat next to Lokan, gesturing for Hoka to take a seat on his other side.

Hoka didn't like the look of the small group. She didn't know Shi particularly well, though she knew of her. Shi was the leader of Ropali, a small city on the eastern edge of Alatha that specialized in healing magic and potions. Lokan's presence was abnormal, seeing as he rarely actually attended council meetings. He was a mayor, technically making him the leader of a city and therefore, part of the Alathan council by merit of his station, but Jeshilon was so small that he had little in the way of political power and he couldn't offer much aid in times of crisis. The last two times that Hoka had seen him in this setting, he was requesting help from the other cities.

Linal waited for Hoka to take a seat before nodding at Shi. "Tell Hoka what you told me."

"As we all know," Shi began, her accent missing the telltale elongated 's' that was typical for Sissani. "Pilta is not the most impartial among us."

Hoka snorted.

Shi didn't seem to appreciate the interruption, but she despite the slight downturn of her lips, she didn't let it derail her monologue. "When I heard that it was his people that reported movement on the wall, I sent my own scouts to investigate his claims."

"Since when does spy work and healing overlap?" Hoka asked.

Shi narrowed her eyes. "Ropali is a diverse city. We have plenty of assets beyond healing, I assure you." Her tone said she wanted nothing more than to slap Hoka across the room, but she was holding back due to their current company. It was a pity. Hoka hadn't had a chance to spar with the woman, she was interested to see exactly what magic besides healing she had at her disposal.

No one got to be the head of a city without a considerable amount of personal power.

"Well, what did you find, then?" Hoka asked.

"The reports are true," Shi declared. "The people of Ember—particularly those on Jerith's stretch of the wall—have been unusually active for the last couple of weeks."

"Weeks?" Hoka's insides churned. "I thought this was new information."

"Yes and no," Linal said. "Pilta came to me with concerns some time ago, but it was no more than speculation until recently."

"You should have brought it to council weeks ago," Hoka said. "You've given Pilta the upper hand. If we don't respond soon then Ember will—"

"Ember has crossed the wall," Shi said gravely.

Hoka stared at the woman. She must have heard her wrong. Crossed the wall? As in come into Alatha? They didn't do that. The Alathan's attacked from the safety of the sky.

"They're preparing for a cleanse," Linal said gravely. "They're getting ready to wage war on Alatha."

Hoka rubbed her temples. There hadn't been a cleanse since before Linal was born. "If it's that bad, why in System's name are we trying for a diplomatic solution?! We should be building fortifications. Coming up with strategies."

"We are doing all of that," Linal said. "But not in open council. We need Pilta to think he's bamboozled us until I can figure out what he's planning. Jerith didn't cross over unprovoked. Shi's people found evidence of at least three clashes between Jerith and Alatha. I'd bet good money that Pilta has been trying to goad them into war for months, but we have no proof. We're playing along until we can get some dirt on him, then we will wrap this up nice and neat."

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"We should just call him out and have him deposed," Hoka snapped. "Playing political games at a time like this?!"

Linal shook his head. "The last thing we want right now is civil war. Trust me, if we're too direct with this, Pilta will retaliate."

Hoka groaned. "You called me here to investigate?" she guessed. Games of intrigue weren't really her thing, but if Linal asked her to, she'd go digging around. Maybe she would get a few good fights out of it.

Linal shook his head. "Shi has people on that. I was just keeping you apprised of the situation." He nodded at Shi, and she shot one last look of distaste in Hoka's direction before slithering out of the room.

Hoka rose to leave, but Linal motioned for her to stay seated.

"I have one more thing I'd like to discuss with you," he said, nodding at Lokan.

Hoka had almost forgotten the man was there. For all of his extra limbs and inane chatter, the man could be surprisingly good at staying fading into the background of a situation.

Lokan slid a letter across the table, needing no encouragement from Linal to start his portion of the discussion. "I found this in my quarters this morning. I haven't a clue how she got it in there, but it seems Kiori left a message for you before leaving."

His tone soured on the last word and Hoka was pretty sure that he still blamed her for the humans up and leaving Jeshilon. She wondered if she could leverage his dislike to get another sparring match out of him.

"You've read it, I'm guessing," Hoka said, taking the letter and unfolding it.

"Call it a finder's fee," Lokan said unapologetically. "The first section was addressed to me, so Kiori must have guessed I would open it before showing you."

Hoka shook her head. "Damn fortune teller thinks she knows everything."

"They always do," Lokan agreed.

Hoka read the letter silently, figuring that both Linal and Lokan had likely read it multiple times already and therefore didn't need to hear the contents again.

The letter held two messages, the first addressed to Lokan, as he said and the second one addressed to her. Hoka read both, considering it a small bit of petty revenge for him reading her letter first.

Mayor Lokan,

I'm sure at this point, you are wondering if Hoka stole your citizens right out from under your nose. I promise you; this is not the case. We always intended to leave. I just wish we could have done something to repay you for your hospitality. I'm sorry if you feel this is a betrayal of trust, but we didn't have a choice. I hope someday I am given the opportunity to repay your kindness.

Hoka,

By the time you are reading this, the others should have closed the crack. Give Patty my congratulations. That is no small feat, and I wish I was there to hear how she managed it. I don't know if this is enough to kickstart the healing of Ember, but it is one step toward making the world function as it used to.

The journey will be long and hard, and the humans need guidance on their quest. The one they seek is on the third island from the southern edge of the archipelago. Deep within the caverns, she toils even now to escape there. She will remain there for three weeks from the time you read this letter. If you hurry, you can catch her before she moves on to her next adventure.

The sea is treacherous, beware the monsters that lurk in the deep. If you find yourself needing a way out, look to the sky for guidance.

Ember is on the brink of a new age. It's time you go beyond the wall that you have sheltered behind your entire life.

Good luck and may the heavens bless you with wisdom,

Kiori

P.S. The country of Brath is far more lax in their protection. It's a good place to start your journey. Britt should be able to get you past the wall.

Hoka shook her head. "I told you she was crazy," she told Lokan. "She actually wants me to—"

"I want you to go," Linal said before Hoka could finish.

Hoka stared at him, her mouth slightly ajar. "You want me to go… outside the wall? Are you serious?"

"I am," Linal said.

Hoka had to exercise extreme self control not to laugh in his face. Not only would she be following a group of untrained humans on a suicide mission through the wall, but she would be doing so on the eve of what might be the largest war in Alathan history.

"I won't order you to go," Linal said quietly. "It would hold no legal weight in any case. I am no king. But look at the implications of this. This isn't just freedom she speaks of—a life beyond the wall—this is true peace; healing for both the land and the people who live on it."

"I never pegged you as a dreamer," Hoka said flatly.

"I'm not," Linal said, his voice serious. "I'm a realist. And it doesn't take a genius to see where we're headed. I've held this country together by sheer force of will for decades. The ropes are about to break, and when everything comes crashing down, the only way we'll make it through this is if Ember has healed from the trials of the past."

Hoka watched him for a long moment. She knew he was serious, that much was clear from his tone and the way he was practically begging her to go. The true question was: did Hoka care?

He was right: an order would hold no legal weight. Alatha was a unified state governed by hundreds of smaller factions, each with their own political power in the strange spider web they had created. Cities seceded and rejoined on a monthly basis. Linal led them, but only in the capacity of an emergency coordinator. When things got bad, he called the shots, and the others followed him for sheer survival.

Linal was usually right on these matters… but he was asking her for so much this time.

It's time you go beyond the wall that you have sheltered behind your entire life.

It was insulting, but perhaps it was accurate. Hoka could make it through Ember's defenses if she really wanted to. She had seen the green recruits they stuck up on that wall like scarecrows to keep the monsters at bay. Only when real conflict arose did they bother gathering anyone of note. Hoka could win in a fight fifty to one, but still, she stayed on Alatha's side of the wall.

Maybe it was time she figured out what the rest of the world had to offer.

"One more question," Hoka said, not quite ready to throw her life away for such a slim chance at freedom.

Linal raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Why me?" she asked. "Half of the council can break through that wall without breaking a sweat. Don't give me some shit about fortunes and future sight. Kiori is a damn cook, and I wouldn't put a bushel of grain on her predictions coming true. Give me one good System-blighted reason that it has to be me that leaves Alatha right before a cleanse."

Linal gave it a moment of thought before answering. "Would you honestly trust someone else with something as important as this?"

The answer was no, but Hoka would be damned if she would let Linal have the satisfaction of hearing her say it. She stood and walked toward the door, Lokan looking dumbfounded by the exchange. Once again, Hoka had almost forgotten he was there.

"Is that a yes, then?" Linal asked, though his tone said he already knew the answer.

"Don't get yourselves killed while I'm gone," she said, not looking back until she had reached the door. She opened it, pausing on the threshold. "I'll probably miss the festivities. Give the Emberians my love, won't you?"

She walked out the door, her only regret: that she wouldn't get to see Linal send those idiots running.

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