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Horde Thief
Chapter 30
A dozen answers beg for you to speak them, each louder than the one before, but none of them are a match for what you already had. Your lack of knowledge of what Harry had called Black Magic was singled out early on as your most obvious weakness, and despite your experiences beyond this realm, proving them to even the three in front of you would be nigh-impossible. You aren't left with nothing, however, and if the answer most easily available is simple, sometimes the simplest answers are the most powerful.
"Honoured elder," the words are smooth, despite how part of you yearns to hurl them forth, "if the experience I have shown thus far seems insufficient, perhaps you could explain it to me. I have done all that the Council has asked, after all, and more." Far be it from you to mention that the requirement had not included any request that you rescue those taken by the Fomor, only that the Fomor be removed. But the point lands, and you continue in the same measured, implacable tone that the Merlin had used. "That I am here at all shows that I am willing to go to great lengths to speak to you, but do not mistake my desire to talk as a need on my part to do so."
"Odd for one to invest such effort into an affair that they have no need of," the unknown Council member replies, the one whose voice had so angered Dresden. All too certain of himself, and with an edge you don't trust in the least. "And why should we fear a plague of Warlocks come upon us? The Wardens are strong, and certainly stronger than any Warlock that the Paranet," he made the word distasteful by speaking it, "might foster. Indeed, if it is such a threat, then perhaps it would be better to remove it." At least there is no support forthcoming from that statement. Small favours, you tell yourself. Be thankful for them.
"I must apologise then," you say, directly to the Merlin, "as it appears that at least one among you has misinterpreted my actions. My action against the Fomor was one I already had prepared for, that it aligned with the request of the Council was simple, though profitable, happenstance. The people of these nations had suffered enough. I only did what any good and reasonable man would."
"A worthy sentiment," the stocky man, Harry's mentor, agrees. "But I think you understand our concerns. Perhaps it would be better to simply air them." The Merlin moves enough to glare at the man, but he sheds it like water, adding in reply to the motion: "You'd have us here for hours and days, not saying what needs said. Tell the man, and be done with it. Or I will."
Silence reigns, and before any of the men before you can break it, you seize the opening it brings with it. "I have seen dark magic wielded, and its power brought down against any who would think to stand against it. I have stood against, without faltering, but I cannot prove that to you. And from what Wizard Dresden has told me," you use their formal title, no need to confuse the issue further with accusation of Fae ancestry. That idea is near enough to make you shudder. "The Laws of Magic as they exist do so for a reason." But you will not call it good.
"I admit freely that I lack your experience with the works of Warlocks, and if you feel I lack the proper context to understand them, I am open to lending additional assistance to the Council in such matters." But if they accept, it will be on your terms. "Yet the focus upon that issue remains problematic. I'm here to try and prevent the deaths of hundreds. Nothing more." It's a slap in the face, really, and a risk. The White Council remains perhaps the only way to truly change what you need changed. They're the only organisation with the institutional knowledge to aid the Paranet, and help new Talents learn how to safely control their power.
They're also, a less charitable part reminds you, the organisation that calls itself the protectors of humanity and murders children. Yet, Ser Harry had admitted that in some cases, they had a point. No matter how much he believes there is a better way, and you've seen that belief in his actions. Which was the only reason you were making your offer, dressed as it was in more dangerous words.
"There is no doubt to your skills in the working of power," the Merlin replies smoothly. "But in these days the White Council must be careful in the choices it makes. Those matters you have raised, we can certainly agree to discuss," the tall Councilman on his right shifts in place, but a motion from the Merlin stills him before more can come from it. "But equally, if you would propose a solution of sorts to those who fall to Black Magic, then it would be the opinion of this Council that you must
see it for yourself."
"A task that Mr Targaryen has already accepted to undertake," Harry adds his own voice to the matter, the words cutting and harsh. Harry had argued against this solution, but despite your misgivings with the Council, you knew you had to see what they fought, and for them to know it, before they would listen. As much as things might change from your world, the structures of power remain.
"Indeed so," the Merlin nods accommodatingly, "and it speaks to his credit. But if you would do this for us, then it must be asked that you respect the Laws as they now stand. They exist for a reason, even Wizard Dresden would agree with that, I think?" He waits until Harry gives a grudging nod.
"Then I see no great issue with it." His smile thins, and there's something almost predatory in it. "Warden Dresden, I shall have Captain Luccio forward a few dossiers that may prove relevant. Assist Mr Targaryen in locating and bringing those in them to justice. And do not fear," he holds up a hand in a calming gesture, "I am sure she will be able to accommodate your particular preferences."
He turns back to you, cold eyes distant. "Whilst the Council appreciates those who seek to aid it, we must know that the aid offered comes with a proper understanding of the difficulties it would face. But we will revisit the matter of further support for the Paranet. Anything further would have to wait."
That was about the best you could hope for, and you knew it. "It is good to see that the White Council remains open to aid, in the right circumstances." You hide a smile as the undertones process. "My thanks for your time."
Exiting the fortification, and it is a fortification, is far simpler than entering was. You're still checked, though, and that alone is another statement of Wardens' competence. Alone, they might not pose a threat to you, but in numbers like they're gathered here? You aren't sure. It's a sobering thought, to not know the true strength of their power. Harry gave you a picture, but it isn't a full, and that's in part by design. The Council has never been kind to him, but he still cares for some among its number. Another thing you can respect in the man.
He leaves you at the exit of the chamber with a polite farewell, and a promise to contact you as soon as he has the information. His mentor, you suspect. If you are not mistaken, they'd not talked in a long time. You simply walk out the doors, thank the Wardens for their excellent work, and twist the world around you with a word to bring you home. It's grown a lot. Not in terms of size, but it's not the blank shell that you had to begin with. One of your servitors greets you at the door, a respectful nod the limit of its social skills. You'd had to experiment a great deal to create ones that would function as effective caretakers, but that left you with a surplus to act as security for the household. The ease with which you were able to modify the spell said something about the world you were, but you were only able to get so far. Again, more Lya's field than yours.
"Viserys!" A young voice calls from down one of the corridors leading into the entrance hall, and you pivot in place as the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps ring on the floor. Naomi bursts through the door, skidding to a halt in front of you, just out of easy reach. The smile on her face isn't a tentative one, though. "You're back!"
"I am," her smile is somehow infectious, and you find yourself returning it. "I did say I would be."
"Did it go well, then?" How exactly she always seemed to know what you were doing when you left, you still didn't know.
"It did. What about your studies?" She makes a face, then launches into an excited explanation on what she's been doing recently, occupying almost all of your attention. Not quite all, though. The rest considers how true your statement actually was. The Merlin certainly held all the cards in your first meeting, but come the next, things would be different. There are groups in the White Council that support expanding the Paranet, even turning it into an extension of the White Council. Now they have a chance to act, and with you taking up the spotlight, the Merlin and his allies might not even see them coming until they do.
It makes for a pleasant thought.
