Her conversation with Rafael carried on for a while. There was a lot to discuss. Not just about Archmage Aeris, the Institute, and her immediate goals, but the world in general.

Honestly, she forgot at least half of what Rafael lectured her about, and she was pretty sure he knew it. Still, he informed her of the major political and social happenings of the past century. Regardless of whether she would make good use of that knowledge—or keep it in her head at all—the man clearly believed that giving her a full debriefing was a matter of stewardly principle.

Of a more immediately useful note, he provided her with an alternate identity, one that would hold up to scrutiny. ‘Nysari Keresi,’ a powerful demonic mage. Until they decided how to handle the full reveal that the Sorceress and thus Vanguard had returned, she would be using that name to accomplish tasks in the city, such as visiting the Institute without needing to sneak in.

He also elaborated on each of the craftsmen and their situations, which she paid closer attention to. Reuniting Vanguard was her major goal, taking second priority only to a visit to the Institute to suss out more about the dimensional anomaly, and perhaps help in their research.

 Both would happen tomorrow. Evening dragged on, with nightfall imminent, and she had a trouble-magnet apprentice to check on.

Surprisingly, The Briar and the Bramble hadn’t been torn into a separate dimension, nor was it being assailed by a back-from-the-dead Ashen Hierophant. Even Saffra had limits on how much misfortune she could call down. Or hurl herself into.

Inside, Missus Tilly bustled between tables. The cozy inn’s activity had picked up for the dinner rush, though not overmuch so. It served a scarcer, more elite clientele than commoners, though it was no place nobility frequented. Simply a higher-rank adventurers’ inn.

Vivi wondered whether Tilly was the owner of the establishment or a simple barmaid. She intuited the former solely from the aura she carried. Something about the matronly woman suggested she ruled this domain. But that might just be her personality.

Tilly spotted Vivi as she entered and swiftly finished what she’d been doing.

“I put her up in a room,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron as she walked over. “Started practicing and wiped herself out, poor girl. Always been too hard a worker. Come now, kitchen’s winding down, but I’ve got a pot of slow-braised mutton simmering. On the house.”

Vivi had, in fact, not eaten, and the smell pervading the inn was heavenly. She let herself be led to a table by Tilly. “Thank you,” she said, “but I can pay.”

“I’m sure you can, dear. With the way Saffra talked about you, I bet you see more coin in a hunt than my inn does each year. But we’re not struggling, and it’s not about the coin. You dragged that troublesome girl back, safe and sound, and I might finally get answers. For that I’ll be forever grateful. So I insist. It’s on the house.” The warm smile, while kind, held not a shred of yielding in it.

Vivi knew how to pick her battles. “Thank you again, then.”

She slipped into her seat, and Tilly disappeared. She returned a few minutes later with two trays of food. “Mind if I join you?” she asked. “Haven’t eaten myself, and there’s no getting to know another person like over a meal.”

“Of course.”

Vivi could feel awkward meeting new people under any circumstance, and the fact that this would be an interrogation didn’t help. Tilly clearly viewed herself as Saffra’s protector—or at least had some sort of motherly mindset toward the girl—and she would no doubt be evaluating this strange demon-woman who had randomly appeared in her life.

But since Vivisari’s body was immune to fidgeting and outward displays of awkwardness, she felt far more comfortable by default. She really did appreciate the enforced stoicism. Vivisari had all the luck, if she’d never had to deal with the desire to shift around and squirm whenever she felt out of place.

“We’ve got a few things to talk about, you and I,” Tilly said, happily digging into her meal, prompting Vivi to do the same. “But my rudeness has limits. Proper introductions are in order. Tilly Tanswell. My husband and I run this establishment, and have for thirty-two years. Before that, it was my father’s, and my father’s father’s. This building is all but part of the family it’s been with us for so long. Burnt down twice over and rebuilt better than before each time. You’d think we’d have learned with the first though, eh?”

“It’s lovely,” Vivi offered.

Tilly bobbed her head in agreement. “That it is.”

It was clearly Vivi’s turn to introduce herself. But what did she say? For all that subterfuge would be impossible long-term, claiming Vivisari’s name would be…too much. The entire interaction would be colored by that. Never mind how Tilly wouldn’t believe her.

“Vivi,” she finally said. “Mage.”

Tilly hesitated at the sparse words, but if she was offended, she showed no signs of it. “Adventurer?”

“Not exactly.”

“Retired?”

“…partially.”

“Personally, I don’t think there’s such a thing as partially retired,” Tilly laughed. “But all right, I won’t pry. Might in another situation, but Saffra isn’t the sort to go gallivanting off with someone she doesn’t trust, and that says mountains for your character.” The smile faded, a frown replacing it. “That girl knows how to pick out the bad sorts, better than anyone her age should. Which is what I wanted to talk to you about. As I’m sure you guessed.”

Vivi nodded.

“Since you want to keep your business your own—and that’s no problem—I’ll get straight to it. You’ve taken her as an apprentice?”

“I have.”

“Why?”

“Because she seems like someone worth teaching.”

“How did you two meet?”

Vivi paused.

“She was awfully vague,” Tilly said, shaking her head. “Like squeezing blood from stone when that girl doesn’t want to share. I hope you can put me at ease, at least.”

Vivi hesitated, then sighed. “We didn’t meet under pleasant circumstances.”

When Tilly insisted she explain, she gave a summarization of events. Tilly seemed disgusted, as appropriate, then angry, and finally resigned. She shook her head. “I don’t know how she’s always getting into these situations,” she muttered. “Thank the heavens you were there. I don’t want to imagine.”

Vivi didn’t either. Thinking about what would have happened if she hadn’t listened to Saffra’s paranoia made her skin crawl.

“I’m glad she’s found someone to rely on, at least,” Tilly said. “From the way she talks about it, though, she doesn’t think this arrangement is going to last.”

“She doesn’t? Why?”

“Is

it temporary?”

“I told her I’d be busy, and that it’s not a standard apprenticeship. But I intend to make time to teach her, and barring that, I’ll arrange other tutors to fill the gaps.”

Archmage Aeris came to mind, though she didn’t know how amenable to the idea he would be. She probably shouldn’t assume him an ally without meeting him first.

“It’s not temporary,” she said, answering the question directly. “What did she say?”

“Nothing. I just got that feeling from how she talked about it. About you.”

Vivi frowned. She accepted blame by default. When it came to dealing with people, much less a troubled teenager suddenly reliant on her, she had no doubt she’d done something wrong. If not everything wrong.

Tilly’s gaze grew measuring, and her tone was deliberately reserved as she asked, “If you’re serious about taking her as a student, how much trouble are you willing to go through? I couldn’t get real answers out of her, but I know some of what happened, and she left the city in a hurry for good reasons. Has she told you about it?”

Vivi frowned. “She’s been cagey. I didn’t want to press. It doesn’t matter, in the end.”

“It does matter,” Tilly disagreed firmly. “If you’ve decided to watch over her, you can’t ignore her problems. Saffra is more mature than any kid her age should be, but she’s still a girl, and one with—issues. I shudder to think how she’d react to me saying this, but I’ll say it anyway. As an adult taking responsibility for a child, you have an obligation to be aware of her problems and help her through them where you can. Respecting her privacy is fine, but not if it’s detrimental to her wellbeing. You’re not her parent, but you are responsible if you’re going to call her your apprentice.” Tilly took a breath in, leaned back, and grimaced. “Sorry, dear, I don’t mean to lecture. Please forgive me. This comes from a good place.”

Vivi shifted in her seat. “No, you’re right. She asked for help, and I wanted to give it, but I’ve never had an apprentice. I don’t know what I’m doing, here.”

She’d never dealt with children much at all. She was in over her head when it came to caring for a young teenager, however independent that teenager might be. In some senses, Saffra was more worldly than Vivi herself was, which made this situation especially strange.

Tilly seemed surprised by Vivi’s response. She’d been speaking cautiously, and watching her, as if expecting a hostile reaction to her well-meaning advice. Vivi could see how some people might not want the lecture. She did, though. She would always take advice about things she knew she was bad at.

“You think I should insist, then?” Vivi asked. “She seems…flighty. I didn’t think it was smart.”

Tilly’s tension eased, and she considered. “No. You’re right about that. I couldn’t get anything out of her either. I doubt she’d answer you, or anyone. But you should find out what happened anyway, if you can.” She hesitated. “You…seem accomplished, from the way you carry yourself, and what Saffra said. But I only have an outsider’s view, and what I did hear is troubling. She’s made powerful enemies. I’m worried for you, too, if you’ll be standing up for her.”

Vivi frowned. “Powerful? Who?”

Tilly covertly swept her gaze over the inn, then leaned forward and murmured, “The Caldimores.”

She couldn’t find it in herself to be surprised. Saffra had reacted strangely to the name back on the Convoy, and had sent the nobleman more worried looks than made sense for him simply being a powerful noble. There had been that one mood swing, too, when she’d looked over at him in the middle of their lesson. Vivi wasn’t the most observant person, but even she couldn’t miss that.

“I’ll look into it,” she promised. “And handle the problem, one way or another.”

Tilly’s expression grew curious. “You don’t seem worried. Not even for the Caldimores?”

Which probably revealed a lot about her status, she knew, but she shrugged. “I’ll handle it,” she repeated.

Tilly was quiet for a minute longer as they worked through their meals, which had gone mostly untouched thanks to the seriousness of the conversation. Vivi ruminated over Tilly’s advice, and found herself more curious than ever what Saffra had gotten herself into.

This situation was especially problematic because Rafael had just finished telling her to measure her actions when it came to the nobility. The Caldimores were an extremely prominent house. The only way this could be worse was if Saffra had somehow gotten into trouble with the royal family itself.

Vivi couldn’t afford to make world leaders panic by throwing her weight around. The Caldimores weren’t people she could bully without repercussions. Thus, as much as she’d dismissed Tilly’s worry, this might not be the simplest thing to fix, depending on what had happened. But neither of them was in any real danger, at least. Saffra was under her protection.

“I hate to bring the mood down again,” Tilly said, “but if you’re going to be her teacher, you should know her history, too. For her sake…but also because I have a favor to ask, afterward. It’s relevant.”

Vivi nodded, a bit hesitant on the idea, but Tilly seemed to have a much better grasp on—well, life, than her. Saffra was due her privacy, but that didn’t extend to Vivi, her caretaker, being aware of the situation for her own wellbeing.

Plus, Vivi doubted Saffra wanted to discuss her past anyway—even if she might not object to it being known. Saffra could have never named this inn. She could have come and visited Tilly on her own time. But she’d led Vivi here as soon as they had arrived in Meridian. Whether conscious or subconscious, Saffra had likely wanted her and Missus Tilly to meet and talk.

Tilly sighed. “This is going to be an even less pleasant story than the one you told me, dear.”

That didn’t bode well.

Over the following minutes, Tilly explained what she knew about Saffra’s history. It wasn’t a complicated tale, but it was every bit as awful as Vivi had expected. The village Saffra grew up in had been destroyed by a monster attack when she was eight. In the aftermath, she’d been caught by roaming slave traders. Vivi felt immediately nauseous hearing that, but Saffra had been rescued before the worst could happen…though not before weeks of captivity.

A gold-rank adventurer had saved her, and it hadn’t been a clean rescue. Tilly had never been able to get him, or Saffra, to talk about it, but she could put two and two together. That adventurer had brought Saffra back to Meridian and encouraged her to take the Institute Qualification Exams. She’d passed with flying colors, her results impressive enough they had waived her fees and given her a stipend.

That gold-rank was a regular at Tilly’s inn. Or rather—

“He used to be?” Vivi asked.

“That’s the favor I mentioned,” Tilly said, grimacing. “Why this is relevant. When Saffra stopped showing up every other week, he went to find what had happened. But William, bless his heart, has…opinions, and will speak them loudly and without hesitation, no matter who it is. I don’t know what happened, but I don’t have to. I can guess half of it just by knowing that boy. It’s only because of his reputation at the Adventurer’s Guild that he was thrown in a cell instead of carted off for the gallows.”

“He was imprisoned?”

“For the past six months. Don’t tell Saffra. I can’t imagine how she’ll react. Even worse, she’ll blame herself.”

She totally would.

Ugh. Vivi closed her eyes and reminded herself that Rafael had said not to go starting wars with the nobility, the crown, and the law itself.

But he was delusional if he thought that meant she wouldn’t act on this.

“I’ll deal with that too,” Vivi said flatly. “Once I find out what’s going on.”

Tilly studied her. “You really can?”

“I can. And it’s not a favor. Thank you for telling me all of this.”

Tilly hesitated, and a slow smile spread on her face. “It seems the heavens aren’t completely unjust. That girl deserves a break for once in her life. I’m glad she found you.”

Vivi was never quite sure how to handle earnestness like that, so she ended up nodding awkwardly. Tilly’s smile widened.

“I’ll stop hogging your attention. Eat! You’ve barely touched your food.”