Adelbert & Urgrim

"The form of a jackal?" asked Hieronymus.

"A trick," declared Liebrecht. "If this beast is a shape-changer, surely it can assume any shape it pleases."

"But it chose a jackal," Hieronymus repeated. "Brother Liebrecht, you know I have nothing but respect for the beliefs of your sect, but the evidence..."

"He is still here," Raqiyah said. Once again, the high priestess' pronouncement seemed to silence the squabbling of her juniors. "I saw him in my dreams, more clearly last night than ever before. The darkness has not left Savonne; questions of what name it pretends to can wait."

"What do we do, then?" said Jocasta. "How do we fight it?"

"For today, we do what we have always done. We serve the people." Raqiyah stepped forwards. "The people will be looking to us to conduct the ceremonies. To show we are not afraid. Our neighbours in the Old Town will be needing us more than ever after this fire; we will not let them down."

Brother Liebrecht bowed his head and murmured something about instructing the initiates. Nodding, Raqiyah turned her blind eyes in Adelbert's direction.

"Brother Schreiber," she said, reaching her hand hesitantly towards him. "A word in private, if you please."



Sieghard

Irene blinked. The conversation was clearly already going off the path she had planned.

"Creature?" she demanded. "What creature?"