Hanyr and Grendala watched from a safe distance, minutes away from when the hallucinogen should take effect on Andal, several away from when it would take effect on Jeva.


    Hanyr asked, "How long will it last?"


    "The dose was very small, and I gave less to Jeva since she has less mass. It won''t be more than another half hour."


    "You''re betting a lot on this working. Donfas put a lot of faith in you and Vicid; if you cause trouble, will they keep you around?"


    "I know what I''m doing. You''re the one with a lot of faith. I''m surprised I convinced you to help, though your role was small."


    "I was raised by witches, I understand your type."


    Grendala was shocked, "Raised by witches? It''s a wonder you''re alive."


    "Is it a wonder Tifili is alive?"


    She grinned, "I suppose not."


    "The world likes to say that witches are agents of chaos, preying on people in the woods, but I know better, and you shouldn''t buy that narrative about yourself. I understand that you are orderly, more than most people, with deep knowledge and reasoning for your ways. It is only that your ways differ profoundly from the normal order, so people think you are simply chaos, being ignorant. If you understand witches you can operate with them. Perhaps if people were humble enough to seek to understand you they would be more successful in removing the witches from the world, which they have so utterly failed at."


    Grendala cackled quietly, "You are not the brute I assumed you were. You should talk to Vicid, as soon as you can."


    He pulled his eyes from Andal''s wall to look curiously at Grendala, "Do you know him?"


    "I do not, nobody does. I think I understand how this group will function though. You will be the glue, an understanding, friendly giant from a foreign land, uniting myself and Vicid with the other four. Andal and Jeva will be the hearts of the team, being young and driven. Rumberal will be the leader, as much as I hate to say it. He has the most experience in leadership, and the soldiers will follow him. Nalia will be the encouragement, preventing anyone from losing heart in their roles. I will equip the team, ready to give them advantages their morality took from them. Vicid is the strongest among us, that I know, and as long as you can get him to cooperate with the rest of us, he can make all the Haverdash graves he''d like."


    "Interesting." He looked back at Andal''s wall. "Very well, I''ll talk to Vicid. You''re making big assumptions though."


    "Somebody has to talk to him, and it won''t be Rumberal. Vicid won''t communicate on his own volition, he’s been cut off from normal conversation since he isolated himself in service of the Queen."


    Hanyr exhaled deeply, "You''re giving me the hard job then."


    There were several seconds of silence, then the wall to Andal''s room exploded in a burst of wind.


    "There he is," Grendala said excitedly, "Time for the real demonstration."


    Andal came running out, looking around frantically for the enemy, glowing with a bright golden light. He unleashed a constant barrage of golden swords at the top of the closest wall, perhaps thinking Haverdash we''re climbing over it.


    Tharrow came running out in his nightgown, "What''s going on? Was that Andal''s room?"


    "Yessir," Hanyr answered, "but Andal''s fine. He''s the one who blew it open."


    "Andal did? Why? What for?"


    Grendala had a demented grin, "We''re bringing out that hidden strength of his. Jeva should wake up soon and do the same."


    Rumberal came rushing out of nowhere, unsurprisingly in full armor still. He tried to run down to Andal, but Hanyr grabbed him, "Hold on, Rumberal! We don''t want anyone to get hurt!"


    "He''s destroying buildings! Look at that storehouse, we have to stop him!"


    "They''re just buildings, the drug won''t last more than half an hour."


    Rumberal and Tharrow turned sharply away from Hanyr to look at Grendala.


    Tharrow exclaimed, "You drugged him! What are you doing?"


    Brunstrog ran out, with unfortunate timing. A chunk of stone over twenty pounds was launched by a burst of wind, and would have taken his head off if Hanyr hadn''t seen it coming and swatted it away with an outstretched arm. The chunk shattered when it hit the ground.


    Hanyr stood in front of everyone and yelled, "Stay back and let this play out, please!"


    Tharrow yelled at Grendala, "An explanation! Now!"


    "Yes,yes, I know. Tifili and I concluded that they have power from a source they don''t know about, Andal and Jeva that is. The energy they have is mixed together, but not perfectly, and they may be running out of one before the other. Perhaps that Haverdash energy feels wrong, and they don''t think it''s another tool for them to make use of. By making them fight with their subconscious driving them forward they will actually make use of that energy, and then they won''t instinctively avoid using it. You see? Doesn''t he look a lot more impressive now than he did yesterday? So much destruction, and those falling stones aren''t hurting him at all."


    Tharrow watched him, and had to agree. He did look a lot better. It wasn''t necessarily that he was stronger than before, but what perhaps would have been him going all out was now being sustained.


    "We''ll see how this goes, Grendala, but in the future you must consult us before doing such things!"


    She rolled her eyes, "Like you would have agreed to give them hallucinogens in their sleep."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Wanrod and Nalia came out, just in time for a bolt of lightning to strike Jeva''s room and blast the roof apart.


    *


    Andal and Jeva sat with Tharrow and Grendala in a private room. It was still sunrise, and Grendala had just explained to Andal and Jeva what she had done, and provided the explanation that she''d given to Tharrow last night. Tharrow looked exhausted, being older, and having stayed up the whole night.


    Andal was furious with Grendala, despite the testimony that he had looked stronger than ever last night, and Jeva was no less upset. He spoke fiercely, "That was wrong, Grendala! You violated me, and you violated Jeva!


    She was annoyed at having to attend this, answering snappily, "I''ve done much worse to benefit much less. You''re more equipped than ever, you''re welcome."


    Tharrow chastised her, "Come on, Grendala, do better than that. We need to resolve this conflict so we can work together. Do you deny that you violated Andal and Jeva?"


    "First of all, it''s Duchess Grendala, second-"


    "No!" Andal shouted, "Now is not the time to try giving yourself honorifics! You need to apologize!"


    She crinkled her nose, "Secondly, aren''t we supposed to be fully aligned towards beating the Haverdash? I made us better equipped for that."


    Jeva countered, "The existence of the Haverdash doesn''t mean we treat each other like tools or animals. Cooperation starts with a level of basic decency towards each other, which you seem to be lacking."


    Grendala''s disdainful expression faded into surprise. "Well, you''ll just have to forgive me then. What I did is done."


    Tharrow stood up, "Grendala, I''d like to talk to you in the hallway for a minute."


    They stepped out of the room and closed the door, "You need to give a diplomatic answer. When we go back in there you should say that you''re sorry, you definitely went farther than you should have without their consent, and promise to not do it again. Then ask for their forgiveness." Grendala was about to respond but Tharrow cut her off, "It doesn''t matter if you''re actually sorry! Just say it anyway. You do need to mean that promise though, you can''t go this far again. Okay, Duchess Grendala?"


    She squinted, "Hmph. Okay then."


    They opened the door again, and Grendala did her best to make a genuine apology. She asked for their forgiveness, and promised to not do such a thing again unless given their consent.


    Jeva was quick to forgive her as soon as she made the promise, but Andal''s expression remained hard. Only after Jeva looked at him with a hopeful expression did he relent, "I guess I forgive you, Grendala. If you''ll treat us with basic decency, we can work together."


    "Excellent! Then might we do some testing now? We ought to see just how much energy you have that comes from this Haverdash source, also I would be very interested in hearing any theories about where it could have come from."


    "No," Andal said, "Not right now. Maybe later."


    Grendala looked disappointed and annoyed, "Later then. Tell me when you''re ready."


    She turned to walk out, and almost ran into Rumberal as she tried to step around Tharrow. She pushed between them and left, leaving Tharrow surprised to see Rumberal in the hallway.


    Before Tharrow could ask him why he was there, Rumberal said, "I think the four of us should discuss something."


    Tharrow sighed, then raised his arm to gesture for Rumberal to enter the room. He declined to sit where Grendala was, instead grabbing another chair, shifting it to where he could face the three of them well.


    "We need to talk about the unsavory characters in our group. Grendala and Vicid."


    Jeva got up, "I think I''ve had enough excitement for now, I''ll let you guys talk that out." She exited and closed the door behind her.


    Tharrow asked, "What about them, Rumberal?"


    "What are they getting for doing this? Convincing criminals to help the kingdom normally involves some kind of pardon, but these aren''t normal criminals! Don''t tell me they''re going to give a pardon to the right hand of the Queen of Graves!"


    "That was the intention, yes. Do you have a better proposal?"


    Rumberal lowered his voice, "We don''t need to be honest with murderers. What''s worse, lying to someone, or letting a murderer go free?"


    "Ah, you''re suggesting we convict them regardless?"


    Rumberal nodded.


    "Very well, I can suggest that."


    "Wait," Andal protested, "I don''t think we should just be lying to each other, that''s not a real solution."


    Tharrow put a hand on Andal''s shoulder, "It''s up to the king of Donfas regardless, I''m sure he''ll make the right decision. Who knows what''s going to happen in this war anyway? Maybe those two will become war heroes, maybe they''ll die in the process."


    Then he noticed that the door was cracked open, even though Jeva had definitely closed it. He sighed, "That''s all I will say on the matter. If you''ll excuse me."


    Tharrow left and sought out Grendala, who it took several minutes for him to find. She was standing outside under the shade of a tree, and was surprised when she saw him.


    Tharrow spoke first, "Was Tilifi listening in on us after you left?"


    "Very impressive, advisor. Yes he was. What do you have to say for yourself?"


    "The deals Donfas made with you will definitely be honored."


    "Well now all I know is that you''re lying to someone, how do I know it isn''t me?"


    "Maybe I''m lying to both of you! I''m not going to talk to the king, I''m just saying whatever to either side to try and make this team work. So take comfort in the fact that it''s not my mouth I''m talking out of, and you can ignore what I said to Rumberal."


    She laughed in her shrill voice, "Well said. You''re supposed to be a strategic advisor, aren''t you? Maybe you''ll get to actually do your job someday."


    "I can only dream."


    *


    Lunch rolled around, and the nominees and advisors sat at their own table to tell each other everything about the Haverdash and their movements. Andal had the most to say about Haverdash culture, being the only one who had spoken casually with a Haverdash. Grendala was able to explain the way Haverdash used their hallucinations better, and informed the table about the various drugs they use. While the Haverdash were able to create an incalculable number of drugs, they defaulted to their one favorite whenever possible: Haverdash wine.


    Andal and Grendala got in a disagreement there, because she said that drinking even a drop of Haverdash would be almost instantly fatal for a human, but Andal insisted that he had a friend named Lars that drank a big gulp of it and didn''t die until the Haverdash got to him. They were able to agree when they concluded that the bottle would have had to be a hundred years old, and the potency could have degraded over that amount of time.


    The advisors and Rumberal then talked about the movements of the Haverdash army, how suddenly they moved, and how their limited population seemed to be the main driver holding them back from conquering faster. The hallucinations and visions that Andal and Grendala explained were helpful to them, because it explained how the Haverdash seemed to know details they couldn''t possibly have scouted out.


    Vicid wasn''t there, unfortunately. Hanyr kept looking at the hallways in to see if he’d come.


    A few hours later Grendala found Andal and Jeva, asking them if they would be willing to do tests involving their unknown source of energy. Their anger from that morning had mostly faded, and they had said that they forgave her, so they agreed. They went to a grass yard, and Tilifi jumped on Andal''s shoulder. He was essentially weightless, just being a slight tickle. "You first!" He said in his tiny voice, "Can you half-cast?"


    "I''ve never heard of that before. What is it?"


    "You come here too, Jeva! Half-casting is really easy, you just haven''t had a reason to do it before. Think of a spell, like your shield, and try to start casting it but not finish. You may have to stop really early, half-casting doesn''t necessarily mean you cast half of the spell. It just means the spell was only partially cast. Try it a few times."


    Jeva got it after a few attempts, but didn''t realize until Tilifi squealed, "That was it! Just neutral energy pouring out and being wasted!"


    Jeva tried it again and got it, which helped Andal to know what he was aiming for, and he got it soon after. Once they got it, Tilifi had them practice holding it until it felt natural for them. When it wasn''t difficult to hold, he told Andal to go first, just holding the half-cast until he is absolutely out of energy. Tilifi would be right there in his shoulder, and he would know how much energy Andal had from each source.


    Andal went, then Jeva. Both times Grendala was spurring them on, not letting them quit until they were absolutely drained.


    She had been taking notes the whole time as Tilifi signaled her. Since they were done, Tilifi jumped off Jeva''s shoulder and fluttered back to Grendala. Then Grendala announced their findings; "our determination is that, Andal uses his own energy for about a tenth of the time, then that energy is mixed with this Haverdash-smelling energy, then at about two thirds of the way through you run out of other energy and have to solely use the stuff that smells like Haverdash. Jeva, you seem to be more naturally talented even though Andal beat you by a couple seconds, as you started using mixed energy halfway through and the last fifth of it was just the Haverdash -smelling energy. I think we''re dealing with figures like, two thirds of Andal''s energy, and one third of Jeva''s comes from that Haverdash -smelling source."


    Andal asked, "Could that energy be what Nishir has given us?"


    "Well that would be strange, wouldn''t it? Not my god, I don''t know, but it doesn''t sound right. What do you think?"


    "No, it doesn''t make sense to me either, but I don''t see what else it could be."