Continued from Session 28: Words Unspoken.
Tor'in leads Amos to the spot of the upcoming duel. Along the way, he asks Amos to be his second, and Tor'in explains a little bit about the Bladeservants. He emphasizes that no matter what, Amos cannot interfere and must follow Tor'in's instructions... even if it leads to Tor'in's death. Amos swears by Kolrehs to do so. Tor'in says that he has dueled Ehsan before, and Ehsan did not make a good showing. Tor'in gave him the nickname "Noodles" because of Ehsan's poor form.
Tor'in and Amos meet Ehsan and his second outside the walls of the Warrens, in a shadowy section away from prying eyes. Ehsan's second appeared to be a younger relative. As Ehsan's elder, and winner of the previous duel, Tor'in demands that Ehsan perform various forms with his sword. He performs the first movement adequately, and then shifts to a near perfect second form, but the third form was awkward and slipshod. Tor'in declares the duel over. Following tradition, he then tells Ehsan that he must hand over his swords. Ehsan agrees and tells Tor'in, "When my brother comes looking for the sword, I ask that you be as fair to him as you were to me." Tor'in gives him two daggers to make sure he isn't unarmed, and the two parties depart.
Tor'in tells Amos that if he ever needs a favor, he has it. Amos tries to brush it off, but Tor'in is insistent. Amos says that it has been an honor.
Morning comes, and it is the last day of the holy Week of Remembrance. Amos leads Tor'in, Ren, Laybeth, and Meriel Ravenstone to a meeting with Watch Commander Surt. Amos's commander tells them that Magistrate Tahir was going to the Imperial Palace to meet with the Imperial family to discuss the matter of Cephius er'Ceasian. Surt himself was not sure what would happen next. If Cephius's identity were revealed, then it would completely upset the line of succession of princes Tobias and Barnabus. And there would be many questions about Cephius and his actions and appearance.
Surt offered Ren a job with the Vigilants as an agent. He also offered to put the group in touch with Sendara about her encounter with Hezra and confirmation of the witch's death. Tor'in wondered if the case was truly closed, and Ren didn't feel so sure. He did not feel like he provided the justice that Braelyn asked for after the death of her friend Thea.
The group then left the Tradefair Seat of Law and returned to Hakur's house with Meriel and Zarin leading the way. While Zarin distracted the guards, Meriel was inside the house replacing Hakur's arcane spectacles with a fake set that she had made at the Gilded Stage theater. She also grabbed Hakur's secret notes, replacing them with empty books.
Books and spectacles in hand, the group made their way to a safe location to read through the magically obscured notes Hakur had written. They read further about the First Men. Their legendary abilities may have been more truth than legend, gifts given to them by the Singers. But such power came with a cost, and Hakur believed that the First Men were controlled by the Singers, who orchestrated the End of the Age of Elves. Tor'in noticed that some of Hakur's elvish notes were in an obscure cyclical tense; not just something that has happened, but something that will continue to happen. He also noticed that Hakur used the elvish term ustasi duyarti for the Singers in some mentions. Hakur believed that the Singers originated from someplace else, something simply known as "Beyond." Meriel wondered if that was what she saw in her dream.
Continued in Session 30: Family Affairs.