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released the Dragon, letting its energy spill from his soul.
    “You’re awake!” she said leaping towards him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
    “It would seem I am, though I’m not entirely sure,” he said with a laugh. He stuck his nose in her hair, the scent of lilac oil intoxicating.
    “How long have I been out?” he asking, squinting, still acclimating to the light. “Has it been long?”
    “Just over a week. We’re not particularly surprised… given what you did at the battle on the Plains of Dressna,” Nyset said, pulling away, leaving him wanting more of her warmth.
    “Yes…” Walter said, looking at the long table of Malek’s artifacts, now well organized. Baylan’s doing of course. The man had a strong liking for straight lines and symmetry. Too much of a bother for Walter. The memory of the power that had burst through his body during the battle returned. He was the essence of death, a conduit of the Dragon incarnate. Death Spawn falling to their knees, burning into piles of charred flesh.
    “I remember,” Walter whispered, nodding.
    “You do? Excellent Walter! I need to rifle through your brain. This must all be documented,” Baylan said, excitedly dashing into the bedroom, tossing books across the floor.
    “Baylan, the wizard…” Nyset said after him.
    “Yes, ah—yes.” Baylan walked back, hands faintly pink with what Walter thought might have been blood.
    “What are you guys talking about? Is everything alright?” Walter asked absently.
    Walter marched into the kitchen. He could only think about one thing right now. He released the tension from the iron clasp sealing the glass jar of elixir beans. He inhaled sharply at the bitter aroma, wafting it about his nose.
    “Walter, I know this isn’t the best news to wake up too,” Baylan said, stretching his arms across the doorway, his billowy green robe sleeves hanging down.
    Shit, Walter thought, pouring elixir beans into a ceramic mortar.
    “There was a wizard, an old acquaintance of mine who lived in the Noble’s Quarters. We found him dead at the Lair’s entrance today before taking a morning walk.”
    “What? Why?” Walter said, his hand pausing in mid-air as he put the jar back on the shelf.
    “Disgusting, truly his body was disgraced. They ran him through, left his body skewered on a pike for us to find. They’re animals,” Baylan said through gritted teeth.
    “We think it might be some sort of message, and the Falcon guard who helped us take care of the body seemed to agree,” Nyset said, ducking under Baylan’s arms and entering the dining chamber. She filled a pot with clear water from a bucket.
    Walter started slowly mashing the dark elixir beans with a pestle, freeing their delicate oils with each crunch. No, nothing will stop me from having a cup of elixir. Not even a dead man at my door.
    “I spoke with the Black Guard. The Purists have greatly increased their numbers. They’re taking in new members from the city and the surrounding outskirts… it seems like they would be a logical culprit,” Baylan said, circling the table and sitting into a beautifully carved chair in the likeness of bulbous Sand Buckeyes, tumbling over one another.
    “Is there nowhere we can go and be safe?” Nyset said twirling a golden coil of hair with one hand and putting the pot on the stove with the other. She snapped her fingers and a blob of fire tumbled from her thumb, igniting the birch wood below the grates.
    Walter swallowed, biting his lip, mashing the beans with more force.
    “Purists? Are these the fools who run around in white?” Juzo said, leaning against the dining chamber’s entrance, his arms crossed.
    “Juzo!” Walter beamed, gently setting the pestle into the bowl. “Where have you been?” Juzo offered his hand and Walter ignored it, giving the man a bear hug. Juzo laughed with surprise, smiling and baring his grisly teeth. Walter pushed himself back, looking him up and down.
    “You look good