Waithe peered out the window at the starry sky. A quarter moon provided scant light, barely revealing the mountains that towered in the west. He turned his head back. "It be time."

Alden asked, "How will you get past the guards? Surely we are being watched."

Ceres answered with a grin, "Oh, do you mean the ones who sleep the night away?"

He raised his eyebrows. "They sleep?"

Ceres put on a sly grin. "They shall. Give me a few moments." She turned to Jenn. "Bring your soldiers close by, lest they too would succumb to Lun's Magic."

Ceres sat down cross-legged in the middle of the room and invited Eira to join her. The rest gathered in a circle around her. She closed her eyes and softly hummed.

In a moment, Lun, the Spirit of sleep and dreams, appeared above. Her pale orange light gently throbbed like a heartbeat at rest, creating a soothing effect on the amazed onlookers. A bright green light then appeared and zipped around the room. Eira grinned as she watched it.

Ceres sighed but kept her eyes closed. "Yes, Phy, you may go with us. We shall need you, but you must behave."

Ceres took a deep breath. A gray fog emerged from her outstretched hands and spread out, but bypassed the group that assembled nearby. The walls of the cottage were of no hindrance as the fog continued its expansion into the night.

After several moments Lun's light faded away and Ceres opened her eyes. "The guards in the hall of archives snooze along with those near the front gate. The Magic could not reach those further away."

Waithe nodded. "It be enough. Let us go."

As Waithe opened the door Alden stood with them. "I would go with you."

Waithe glanced at Ceres, then answered. "No Alden. More would increase the risk of detection. You must stay."

Alden frowned. "I cannot just wait here while you..."

Ceres put her hand on Alden's shoulder and gazed up into his eyes. "My dear Alden, I trust the judgment of my protector. Please look after Eira for me. We shall return before dawn."

Alden pulled his lips together and reluctantly nodded. Ceres pulled him into an embrace. He whispered in her ear, "Be safe, my dear Ceres."

Waithe and Ceres pulled dark cloaks over themselves and disappeared into the night. They walked briskly in the cool still air toward the hall that housed the Medice archives, the only sound being the slight crunch of dry grass under their feet. Phy's green light came to Ceres' right shoulder.

Waithe shook his head. "Phy be not one for stealth. Tell her to dim her light."

Ceres turned her head to Phy and narrowed her eyes. Phy's light then changed to a dull faint green and followed them low to the ground.

Two Medice guards lay snoozing on either side of the large wooden door to the records hall. Waithe nodded with a smile to Ceres as they stepped inside. A few candle lanterns hanging from the ceiling and Phy's faint green glow provided dim light. The door led to a short plain corridor lined with wooden shelves, some empty and some haphazardly strewn with books and stacks of paper. They walked to the end of the corridor before another large wooden door, this one dark stained and reinforced with metal straps.

Waithe scanned the door for a latch or handle. Finding none, he asked, "How do we enter?"

"Only a Lady of the Order may open the door, and only with Life Magic."

Ceres closed her eyes and held her hands up. Phy's light shown and came to rest just above her. A shimmer of Magic flowed from her hands and surrounded the door. With a creak and a scrape, it opened slowly. When just open enough to enter, she pulled down her hands.

Except for a sliver of light through the partially open door, darkness engulfed the interior. Ceres turned her head. "Phy, let your light shine."

The Life Spirit swirled high and brightened, bathing the room with green light and revealing a spacious room with a series of shelves lined up parallel to each other. Multiple stone columns supported a tall arched ceiling. Leather bound books were arranged neatly on the shelves, some tattered, perhaps very old. A pair of small wooden desks stood in the back of the room, each with a wooden chair. 

Waithe felt overwhelmed by it all. "So many books, my Lady. Where do we even start?"

"To your left, Waithe. There would be the most recent chronicles and financial ledgers. These may give Lady Jenn the evidence she would need."

"Aye, as she has said 'to find a crook, follow the money'."

Ceres nodded. "I shall seek information on the Taint. We must hurry. Daybreak is only a few hours away."

Waithe pulled a ledger book. The date range scribed on the cover ended but a few weeks ago. Likely the most current ledger resided in the Reverend's office. He turned the pages and gazed at the entries. Most were day-to-day expenses. He thumbed through the pages. It would take more time than they had here to find the grains of evidence among the chaff of the mundane.

A few large payments caught his eye. Lord Scias was sending regular sums of money to the Order. Another particular large payment caused him to raise his eyebrows. Reverend Quar did indeed sell Ceres to Lord Scias for a very substantial fee. No wonder he and the Order make so much effort to recapture her. He closed the ledger and set it aside.

Waithe pulled another book from the shelf, this one labeled as the most recent edition of the Order of Medice Chronicles. It appeared to be a journal of sorts of actions taken by the Order. Again, much of it was mundane and more study would be needed.

He flipped through the pages, scanning for a few keywords. Near the end of the book, he found what he was looking for. He shook his head in disbelief, so brazen was she to have recorded this. Almost a year ago, Reverend Quar obtained several vials of a slow-acting poison, the same that was used on Lord Girald.

Waithe gathered up the books. Lady Jenn was sure to be interested in these. He turned to go find Ceres when a shuffling noise near the large door caused him to duck down. Someone else was here. His heartbeat quickened.

A woman in long white bedclothes walked in carrying a lantern. She lowered it and frowned as she looked up toward Phy's bright light beaming from above. Waithe recognized her, it was the Lady Dia, the younger Shaman who sat to Quar's right during the earlier meeting. She brushed back long brown hair from her narrowed eyes.

Ceres sat on the floor surrounded by open books. She jumped back as Dia confronted her. "This place is forbidden to you! How did you get in?"

Ceres opened her mouth, but no words came out. Waithe quietly put down the books he held and circled behind the woman.

The realization came to Dia. She hissed, "Ceres... So the traitor comes home."

Ceres leaped up and glared at Dia. "The charges against me are false. Quar dishonors the Order."

"Then take it up at your trial." Dia raised her hands, but stopped with a gasp as the shiny blade of Waithe's long knife appeared from behind her and pressed at her neck.

He whispered, "That be unwise, my Lady. The blade would cut much quicker than you could call a Spirit."

Ceres stepped forward and lifted her eyes to Dia. "There would be no trial. I am to be handed over to Lord Scias. Quar sold me to him like a slave."

Waithe said, "For a considerable downpayment, I might add. I just saw the entry in the ledger, and Scias makes large regular payments."

Ceres continued. "The charges Lady Jenn leveled against Quar are true. It was I who healed Lord Girald and discovered the poison. Adelia called Spirit Pyr and killed a man when I confronted her."

Dia dropped her jaw. "The reverend would never... Surely there is another explanation."

"You knew me, Dia, and that I would speak truly. The Taint spreads, and with it suffering and prospects of war. Do you not wonder why Quar does so little to resist it?" Ceres stepped up closer, glaring into Dia's eyes. "The Darkness rises. Do you not feel it? The Spirits Ker and Nyx have already been corrupted by it. I faced them! And Scias' Shaman Raste practices in the Dark Magic. Do you understand the implications?"

Ceres shifted her eyes toward Waithe and nodded. He lowered his blade.

Ceres stepped back and lowered her head. "I seek to end the Taint and resist the Darkness. If I cannot convince you of that, my old friend, then all is truly lost."

Dia took a deep breath and looked above to the ceiling. "I see you still have Phy's support. She always did favor you." She pulled her eyes back down. "What do you seek here?"

"Evidence against Quar and information about the Taint, that much we have found. I also seek the Book of Tau, but it eludes me."

"I know of it." Dia led Ceres to the back of the room along a smooth block stone wall. She reached up and pressed against a particular stone. The action released a panel below. Waithe stepped forward and swung it open with his fingertips, revealing a single thin book within. Ceres lifted it out and brushed the dust from it. The cover had no title. She opened the book, but all the pages were blank.

Dia shook her head. "It would do you little good. The writing can only be revealed by a Tau, and I fear no more remain."

Cere ran her hand over the pages. Words written in an old fanciful script came into view and slowly darkened. As she pulled her hand away, they faded.

Dia's eyes grew wide. "Ceres... you are Tau? All were thought slain."

Ceres shook her head. "Only recently did I learn of it, and only now am I sure."

Dia's breath quickened as she stood in thought. "Then there is hope." She put her hands on Ceres's shoulders. "The guards already know something is amiss. I will distract them elsewhere. Take what you need and leave. May the Spirits favor you."