“So, what do you want to know about?”
Everything. But I can’t afford to ask about everything I want to know. I’m going to have to get some of my answers from cheaper sources.
“A few subjects. Some we might not be able to discuss in public.”
I glanced around again, but there still wasn’t anyone within earshot, as long as we weren’t yelling.
“And what are we starting with?”
“I’d like to know what you know about Tenjin’s disappearance.”
Sheridan raised an eyebrow. “That’s not exactly a small issue. You sure you want to get involved with that sort of thing?”
“I already am. How do you think I got my second attunement?”
“Ooh, fascinating.” Sheridan folded their arms. “Okay, I’ll do a pure information trade for a bit about that. Elaborate about your Arbiter attunement, and I’ll tell you a bit of what I know.”
I nodded. It was a better trade than I would have hoped for. I wasn’t sure I could trust Sheridan, but there were enough people who knew what had happened with Katashi that I didn’t think this was a particularly difficult secret to discover without my help. Especially for someone with Sheridan’s apparent resources.
“So, remember that time when Mizuchi attacked everyone outside the spire a little while ago…?”
I summarized what had happened with getting my brand, then retrieving “someone” for Katashi and bringing them to the spire. I didn’t tell Sheridan about Vera’s identity or what happened with Orden’s betrayal. If information had a price, I could sell that later.
“Based on your account,” Sheridan began, “I think you would be better off asking me a different question. You most likely know more about Tenjin’s situation than I do.”
I frowned. “I assumed that kind of thing would be your area of expertise. Forbidden knowledge and such.”
“Not everyone who deals in information has the same focus. ‘Forbidden knowledge’ is a very broad subject matter. I happen to deal primarily in forbidden magical knowledge, as opposed to political secrets, the affairs of the gods, and that sort of thing.”
That definitely limited my avenues of conversation, but it did provide me with a better idea of what I should be asking about. “Okay. More specific question, then. Are you working with my brother, Tristan, on whatever he’s been up to?”
“No.”
“Just ‘no’?”
“You’re asking because of my sister’s dealings, I assume?”
I nodded. “And because of your association with Wydd.”
“Ah.” Sheridan smiled. “You gave away something you shouldn’t have there. I wasn’t aware your brother had an association with Wydd.”
“I just assumed…”
“That people who work for Wydd would be aware of each other? That would completely defeat the point of some of our positions. We’re often asked to spy on each other, in fact. Some portion of any group entrusted with forbidden knowledge is going to abuse that knowledge.
“The fear that we’ll be discovered by one of Wydd’s other servants is one of the factors that prevents those abuses. For all I know, you could be working for Wydd right now, and seeing if I slip and say something I’m not supposed to.”
“Wouldn’t you have means of identifying each other, though, in case you needed to share information?”
Sheridan waved a hand. “We have identification phrases and such, but that can be faked. In general, we simply report to our superiors, and they tell us any other contacts we need to know about.”
That sounded extremely frustrating, but I could understand the reasoning behind it. “Okay. Were you approached about working with whatever group Tristan is working for?”
“Ah. A much better question, and the answer is ‘yes’. I deemed the risks too extreme. As such, they did not tell me any important details. As I said, I likely know less than you do.”
I rubbed my chin, processing that. “Okay. Speculate with me for a moment. Who could be the mastermind behind Tenjin’s disappearance? Who would have the resources to coordinate an effort that could keep him gone for this long?”
“Without knowing where Tenjin is, there’s very little I can do to answer that. Ask something else.”
This wasn’t going the way I wanted, but I slowly nodded and considered. “What can you tell me about the Whispers as a whole?”
Sheridan shrugged. “Not much. For starters, there isn’t just one group of Whispers. They’re really separate organizations, each dedicated to one of the visages.”
“And you’re a Whisper of Wydd?”
Sheridan shook their head. “No. Whispers are secret. I’m actually publicly in Wydd’s employ.”
“What does that make you, then? A priest?”
“Hah! Not in the slightest. I’m a magical theory researcher. All of the visages have people like me, who serve in various roles without any sort of fancy religious status or title.”
“I don’t suppose you could tell me who some Whispers of Wydd are?”
Sheridan shook their head with a grave expression. “No. And before you ask, not at any price. That’s not the kind of information that I can sell.”
“Can you tell me more general information about their organization, then? Hierarchy, roles, positions?”
Sheridan shook their head. “Sorry. I don’t like being this evasive, but you’re better off asking an actual Whisper. And even then, they’re probably not going to tell you.”
I sighed. “Okay. Different approach, then. Do you know anything about anyone else who might be working directly with Tenjin’s kidnappers?”
“Yes. Your brother. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
“I don’t think I should confirm that.”
“Hah! Good. You’re learning.” Sheridan glanced over to her dog, then back to me. “If these are the only sorts of questions you have, I think we should wrap this discussion up. I’m not going to be able to help you much with it.”
“Okay. Something more in your area of expertise, then.” I pointed to my right hand. “I’d like to learn more about my Arbiter attunement.”
“Ah.” Sheridan smiled. “Now that is more my area of expertise. I take it you already know the basics?”
“Yes. I know how to transfer mana to others, either to restore their mana or exceed their current maximum capacity. But I’ve been thinking about the implications of that, and how they might relate to how I received my attunement in the first place.”
“In what way?”
“When I transfer my mana to someone, I can permanently increase their safe capacity, but only by a fraction. And I’ve been told that I can only do that safely about once a week. This is, presumably, because the body can only acclimate to a certain amount of additional mana at once.”
Sheridan nodded. “That’s correct.”
“When Katashi gave me the brand, though, it seemed to be storing a tremendous amount of mana inside. And I also saw Katashi enhance someone else’s attunement, increasing it by an entire attunement level. In both cases, that would involve an increase in mana that is much greater than what I’ve been told is ‘safe’ to give someone with my attunement.
“I considered whether or not that might be related to Katashi being more powerful than I am, but that doesn’t make sense. It’s the target’s body that is relevant, because it’s their capacity that is being strained by the additional mana.”
Sheridan’s smile broadened. “You see a contradiction. Someone’s body can only handle a certain amount of mana, but Katashi somehow bypassed that restriction in both cases.”