A Council rep was waiting at the docks when we got back to the city. Considering how long the three of us had been on Sweetash Isle cleaning up from the aftermath of my liberation crusade, they’d doubtless heard all about what happened. Not to mention Chainbreaker vanishing from the museum no doubt got their attention. In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have summoned the sword. It wasn’t like I’d needed it to deal with a couple petty thugs.
The sword had me thinking about a few things. It’s not like there was anything weird about me getting righteously furious at someone enslaving kids, but it was hard not to wonder if the sword might’ve had an impact. The best guess we had for what exactly happened between Chainbreaker and myself was that I’d somehow absorbed the lingering essence of Torch and Ushabti hanging around the sword. Considering I’d used another one of Torch’s spells on the island, it was hard not to suspect I’d gotten more out of that than just a straight power boost.
Celestia told me she could sense parts of Torch and Ushabti’s magic in me. Now I was also pulling out some of Torch’s spells. Maybe Ushabti’s too, though I didn’t know much about what he could do outside of necromancy. However ... if I had their magic and was starting to cast their spells, it begged the question of what else I’d picked up from them.
Last time I’d been to Sweetash Isle, I’d seen indentured servants. I hadn’t been happy about it, but I also hadn’t torn through the whole island and needed to get talked down from lopping off the overseer’s head. It was hard not to wonder if de facto slavery pissing me off so much might be related to the fact that I’d absorbed the essence of a really fanatical abolitionist.
Of course, that left me with a lot of really worrying unanswered questions. If I’d picked up Torch’s hatred of slavery, what else might have changed in my mind? Not to mention that if I’d gotten things from Torch, I’d probably picked up something from Ushabti too. Ushabti’s legacy was a lot more ... complicated. I certainly didn’t like the idea that I might suddenly have the urge to raise up legions of the undead.
If I couldn’t even trust my head to be my own ... well that was a scary thought.
The existential crisis would have to wait until after I was done with the Council. I didn’t know how much they’d heard about what happened on Sweetash Isle, but I knew Silver Cane had plenty of money and connections. It was a pretty safe bet that she’d been telling anyone she could make listen that she was the innocent victim of an out-of-control Archmagus.
Puzzle was pretty sure we could keep that from being an issue. After all, we had overwhelming evidence and tons of witness and victim testimony to support our side of the story—one of the things that had kept us on Sweetash Isle for a couple days was thoroughly cataloguing all of it. However, if things went badly with the Council, it could make the whole process of bringing Silver Cane to justice a lot harder. She might even be able to get away clean, or at least with nothing worse than a slap on the wrist.
Especially since from what Puzzle told me, she had connections with his nemesis Cold Comfort. Puzzle was as certain as anyone could ever be that Cold had one of the seats on the Council, so it was all but certain that at least one of the members of the Council would be trying very hard to poke holes in our evidence.
Nothing I could do with that but roll with it. After all, he couldn’t undermine solid evidence. It might even work to our advantage. If all the evidence and testimony survived Cold Comfort, it would come out looking that much stronger.
Two guards were waiting for us when we got to the Council’s headquarters. It was rare to see any of the Council’s private security out in the open; they usually preferred staying in the shadows, or just hiding in plain sight. From what Puzzle said, half the paper-pushers in the building would pull concealed weapons the instant trouble started. The big guys in black full plate armor and carrying around very unconcealable halberds only came out when the Council wanted to make a point. I suppose I should be flattered they were going to all that trouble for me.
One of the guards spoke up as we approached. “The Council is in session. They’ll call for you when they’re ready.” The lack of any title when he addressed me immediately got my attention. Not that I was normally the sort to bite someone’s head off for not calling me Archmagus, but under the circumstances it felt more like a deliberate, calculated slight. What he said next made that seem even more likely. “Just you. Your minions will have to wait outside.” We all ignored Strumming’s outraged look at being called a minion. “I suggest you get comfortable. They’re very busy with important matters.”
Great. So it was some stupid power play. Make me wait outside for a couple hours just to say how very important they were, and how very unimportant I was. Those sorts of games always pissed me off, and after everything I’d dealt with on Sweetash Isle, I was in no mood to put up with them. “I’m going in now. Get out of my way.”
The two guards immediately crossed their halberds over the door. “The Council will call for you when they’re ready. For now—”
“I said I’m going in.” It felt a bit weird to try to intimidate a couple guys who were significantly taller than me, but I gave it my best shot. “Do you really think you can stop me from walking through that door if I want to? I’m sure you’re both very good with those halberds you’re hauling around, but ... well, you know who I am.”
The guards shifted in place and traded a look. All things considered, they were doing a good job of not showing any fear, but they’d have to be stupid not to be a little worried. That hesitation was all I needed to make my move. A quick little burst of telekinesis swatted their halberds aside, and I moved through the doorway before they could gather their wits enough to stop me.
I stepped into the cool dark chamber, heading straight for the circle of light surrounded by the Council’s raised dais. There was a low buzz of conversation when I entered the room, but it cut off once they saw me. All thirteen of them stared down at me from behind their silver masks, and despite the lack of any facial expressions to read I could tell they weren’t happy. “If you think I’m going to stay outside waiting long enough for you to make whatever power play point you’re trying to make...”
One of them cut in before I could build up any more momentum. “We were working on the budget, Archmagus. Your matter can wait until its appointed time.”
One of the ones that I suspected was on my side cleared their throat. “We’ve been deadlocked for the last two hours repeating the same arguments we’ve all heard a dozen times before. We might as well break things up by changing the subject and taking care of something a bit clearer. Archmagus Shimmer’s matter shouldn’t be too difficult to resolve.”
The one in the middle, who I’d always gotten the sense was the closest thing the Council had to a chief executive, spoke up. “That is highly irregular.”
One of the others scoffed. “When is a crisis ever regular?”
“Even if that's true, we still don't want some upstart thinking she can barge in on the Council's meetings.” I got the sense that this member of the Council didn’t like me very much. The mask did a good job of muddying their voice enough to hide their identity, but it couldn’t hide the venom coming within that voice.
I scoffed and crossed my forelegs over my chest. “I don’t think I can barge in on you, I already have. If your time is so precious, save some of it by complaining less and getting down to business. Especially since what I’m here for is more important anyway.”
That didn’t make him any happier. “Your cavalier attitude is not appreciated. Just because you’ve manipulated your way into claiming the title of Archmagus doesn’t mean you get to just disrupt Council meetings whenever you desire. We rule Freeport, and so long as you remain here you are subject to our authority.”
I really wasn’t interested in getting into a prolonged horn-measuring contest, so I made a minor concession. “I have good reasons for being here. There’s a lot to cover, and by the time we’re done you might want to reassign some of the funds in your budget.” I conjured up a throne of solid ice for myself and got comfortable, setting Chainbreaker aside.
“The guards let her come in armed?” one of them groused.
My possible ally on the Council spoke up again. “It’s not as if taking the sword away from her would be anything more than a symbolic gesture. She summoned it all the way from Sweetash Isle, I doubt she’d have trouble getting it from a storage room. Not to mention she’s still an Archmagus without the sword.”
“Speaking of which,” the grumpy one cut in, “she pulled Chainbreaker from the museum, again. When we agreed to allow you to continue to have this connection to Chainbreaker, we did so with the understanding that it would only be used in an emergency. This marks the second time in as many months you’ve taken the sword from its rightful home—first to resolve a private family matter, and now for ... whatever madness you got up to on Sweetash Isle.”
There were so many things wrong with that I didn’t know where to start. The Council wasn’t allowing me to keep my bond with Chainbreaker, the sword was mine and they couldn’t do anything about it other than grin and bear it. As for the last time I’d called it, even if I had a big personal stake in the fight with Solar and Golden, they had been an Archmagus and a warlock who was pretty much on par with him. Freeport had a very legitimate interest in keeping that whole mess contained.
But there was no point going over all the old business. It would be far more productive to focus on the most recent problem. I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out a set of broken chains from the island. “I was putting it to good use this time. The sword was busy living up to its name.”
One of the Council members I hadn’t heard before spoke up. “By assasulting several Sweetash Isle employees and disrupting production? We’re almost to planting season, and it’ll be hard for them to get a new crop in the ground on time with all the damage you’ve done.” This new one sounded a lot angier than the members of the Council who didn’t like me on principle.
I scoffed. “You think those chains were cosmetic, or the only set? There are hundreds more from the island.”
The angry one scoffed. “Yes, sometimes owners and overseers have to enforce disciplinary measures against contract workers who won’t uphold the agreements they signed. What should they have done, allow the layabouts to not earn their keep?”
“Contract workers normally aren’t chained to their post,” one of the others pointed out.
“Normally,” the calmer one who still didn’t like me agreed. “But we’re not here to second-guess the managerial practices of individual plantation owners. For all we know, these bindings might only be used for unusual and extreme disciplinary matters. Do you have any evidence that these chains are anything more than—”
I didn’t let them finish whatever point they were about to make. I could’ve argued with my words, but sometimes a dramatic action is a lot more effective. I pulled out a second, child-sized set of chains and tossed them down next to the first. “Are you still okay with letting Silver Cane run her plantation however she wants?”
After an almost painfully awkward silence the calm grumpy one finally spoke up. “What does this prove? That one of the disobedient contract workers had an especially frame and thin limbs? Perhaps the worker suffered from dwarfism, or—”
“Oh, spare us those desperate rationalizations,” one of the others cut in. “Those are obviously made for a child.”
Next was the one who seemed to be on my side. “I trust you wouldn’t be making such accusations without substantial evidence to back that claim?”
The angry one cut in before I could actually take advantage of the opening. “Yes, there are children working that plantation. Sweetash Isle is giving those children room, board, and three square meals a day, not to mention practical work experience. The alternative for most of them would be to live on the streets. Is that what you want?”
I glowered at that masked face. “Funny, most people wouldn’t be so eager to defend child slavery, especially when the Council got its start as an organization dedicated to the abolition of slavery in Freeport.”
“You’re mischaracterizing what happened,” the angry one snapped at me.
“Last I checked, we didn’t put free children in chains,” my ally shot back.
“We should consider this matter privately,” the one in the middle declared.
“It’s far more trouble to exclude the Archmagus from the conversation then catch her up whenever we have a new question,” one of the others countered. “And it’s not as if it’s any secret to her that we have our own individual thoughts and opinions.”
“And it’s not like I couldn’t break into your private link if I really wanted to,” I pointed out. Granted, that was a bit of a bluff; while I was good, mental magic wasn’t my forte, and I’d never really tried breaking into a secure telepathic link before. No reason to let them know I wasn’t completely sure I could pull it off, though.
“That would be very unwise,” one of them warned me.
There was a bit of an awkward silence, and then the one who didn’t like me said something that surprised me. “I’m curious to hear what she has to say as well. We can always expel her from the room once we’ve heard everything we need from her.”
That seemed to settle the debate, at least for the moment. One of the others got back to the matter at hoof. “One has to wonder what Torch would think of these ... employment practices.”
“This is a farce.” The angry one looked around the room. “How long will we sit here and listen while she’s slandering the owner of Sweetash Isle? It’s not as though the other plantation owners are all that different in their practices. Sometimes contract workers are unable to fulfill their terms of service, and the obligation passes on to the next of kin.”
“They don’t use chains,” one of the others shot back, and it was hard to miss the angry edge in their voice. “At least, they’re not supposed to. And they definitely aren’t supposed to be using child labor and putting them in chains. Our laws are quite clear on that matter, as well as the whole concept of debts transferring to the next of kin—especially children! That was something I thought we were all well aware of and agreed upon.”
A suspicion that had been brewing in the back of my mind for the last couple minutes came into focus, and I decided to act on it. “You’re right, the Council doesn’t endorse that kind of thing.” I fixed my eyes on the angry one. “But you do, don't you, Silver Cane?”
I sent Chainbreaker slicing for her mask with a simple telekinesis spell. It was a bit risky to use the sword, but I wanted something dramatic enough to make an impression, especially since those masks almost certainly had some kind of spell to keep them from getting tugged off with a simple telekinesis spell. Besides, I knew the blade well enough to take out the mask without slicing through half her face in the process.
Right after the sword hit I teleported without even stopping to consciously think about it. About half a second later I realized why I’d done it, as two crossbow bolts that were practically crackling with energy hammered into the icy throne I’d prepared for myself. The impacts shattered the ice completely, and I could feel the magic radiating off the crossbow bolts. Mage-killers, probably something the Council’s hidden bodyguards loaded up specifically for my visit. That was a bit of a problem, considering they probably had more than one bolt apiece, and I had no idea where the snipers were.
My ally on the Council bolted up. “Hold fire! She’s not hostile!”
“‘Not hostile’?!” Silver repeated incredulously, trying to hold the shattered remnants of her mask in place. “She attacked me! Kill her!”
“Belay that order!” the one the middle commanded. “Stand down!”
One of the others turned to Silver. “If she’d wanted you dead, all she needed to do was extend her swing by a few centimeters. She only damaged your mask and your pride, that’s not worth starting a fight over.”
“Though that was very unwise,” another member of the Council growled. “If you’d misjudged your swing or dodged a bit slower we would be having a very different conversation.”
Nobody else shot at me, so I suppose the ones who didn’t want me dead were winning the argument. It was hard to say for sure, since after that they started communicating over their private magical connection. Judging by the faint wheeze of sound coming from Silver’s damaged mask, I’d been right about the enchantment being tied to the mask. It made me wonder what the range on those was, and whether the Council could actually meet and discuss things without all being in the same room. Maybe some of the Council members in the room right now were actually just proxies or body doubles.
Thankfully Silver Cane herself was here in the flesh. She didn’t look all that impressive with her mask in pieces; she was an older earth pony mare, with her wrinkled face seemingly stuck in a perpetual scowl as if all the world had gone out of its way to offend her. Granted, she had a lot of good reasons to be unhappy right now, not to mention directing just all that anger straight at me. “You’re going to pay for that,” she snarled. Without the mask, her voice had a faint rasp to it that spoke to many years of hard living, and bitter anger in her tone came with a natural ease that made me think it was pretty much her default voice.
“Am I?” I pulled out the last piece of evidence I’d brought into the chamber. “I have sworn statements from several of your victims. Puzzle and Strumming collected hundreds more, and if need be we can bring all the witnesses here to have them testify.”
“Lies!” Silver snapped. “She must have bribed those people to say whatever she wanted them to say. She has more than enough money to pull that off.”
“A quick check of my financials and theirs will disprove that,” I pointed out. “Though if you don’t trust the witnesses, we've also got quite a bit of paperwork with your signature and seal on it.” I shot a cold smile her way. “Word of advice: don't make your accountant feel unappreciated and underpaid. He was more than happy to turn over all the records out of pure spite, instead of doing something foolish like trying to destroy all the evidence that could implicate you. Employee loyalty is a valuable resource.”
“Forgeries,” she shot back. “Made up by disgruntled and disloyal employees trying to shift the blame to me to save their own necks.”
The Council member I thought was on my side spoke up. “I think our experts are more than capable of reviewing the evidence and determining its authenticity. From the sound of it, Archmagus Shimmer has an impressive amount of it.”
“Impressive that she managed to assemble so much proof so quickly,” the one that didn’t like me shot back. “Legitimate investigations of that scale normally take quite a bit longer. But the Archmagus no doubt knows just how severely we would punish her for fabricating evidence against a member of the Council.” That last remark barely avoided being an outright threat, but the meaning behind it was clear enough.
One of the others shrugged. “Her track record has been vexing but reliable. Launching an unprovoked attack on a plantation and fabricating vast amounts of evidence against a member of the Council would be unusual, especially when there would be no clear motive to go to such extreme lengths. So far as all of us are aware, there was no prior enmity or even notable interaction between the Archmagus and Silver.”
“Not on her part,” my adversary agreed, “but the Archmagus is not a one-mare operation. One of her associates like Puzzle Piece could have a hidden agenda that requires Silver’s removal from the Council. It would not be the first time he told a few lies to set events in motion, and fabricating evidence is certainly within his capabilities.”
I snorted. “Puzzle’s good, but he couldn’t whip up hundreds of witnesses and mountains of paperwork without any evidence of foul play. The only way that much evidence comes to light is if it’s the truth.”
Silver snorted. “Or Puzzle and rest of your minions came up with all of this obviously fake evidence ahead of time. I don’t know what game you think you’re playing, but it’s not going to work this time.”
“If it was all fake, then that should be obvious after a cursory investigation,” my ally on the Council pointed out. “Though personally, I don’t think the Archmagus would be so sloppy, and I doubt Puzzle would take that kind of risk. He’s very good about giving us reliable information, isn’t he?” Their masked face turned towards the Council member who’d been trying to poke holes in my story. After a couple seconds, the skeptic just grunted and nodded.
“And we could always send investigators to a few of her other plantations,” one of the others suggested. “It’s only prudent to inspect the rest of her holdings after such a damning accusation, if only to clear Silver’s good name.” That remark hung in the air for a few seconds before they rather pointedly asked, “The investigation would clear your name, wouldn’t it?”
Silver Cane didn’t say anything, but her perpetual scowl got a bit deeper.
I let that silence last long enough to make it clear she didn’t have an answer before moving on. “I’m sure the Council and Silver’s legal counsel will have plenty of time to review the evidence before the trial. We’ll be more than happy to turn everything over to the prosecutor.”
“What?!” Silver scoffed and shook her head. “A member of the Council going on trial?! That’s utterly absurd!”
“Not as absurd as a member of the Council engaging in slavery,” my ally shot back. “I think we can all agree that something must be done about this. In the past this Council has overlooked the ... personal foibles of its members, but if we allow this to stand then we have no standards at all.”
The one in the middle tried to take control of the situation again. “These charges will need to be fully investigated, after which time we will hold a formal proceeding laying out the evidence, during which Silver will have the opportunity to defend herself and face her accusers. Though the actual details might vary, that sounds very much like a trial.”
“Have you all gone mad?!” Silver shouted, slamming her hooves down on the dais. “Putting a member of the Council on trial ... what will that do for our image of unity and incorruptibility? No, we’ll do what we’ve always done when one of our members has a personal failure exposed: bury it and buy the silence of those involved.”
My eyes narrowed. “My silence isn’t for sale, and the same goes for a lot of your victims. You're going down.” I smirked at her. “You see, while I wasn't sure if you were actually on the Council or not until I got here, I knew you had connections. I knew you might try to find some way to bury this. It’s why Puzzle, Strumming, and I came up with a backup plan. If I’m not happy with how this ends, all my evidence goes straight to the press.”
“Are you trying to threaten the Council?” the one that didn’t like me demanded.
I shrugged. “If that’s what it takes to make sure Silver’s victims get justice? Yes.” I took a deep breath and made sure to keep any anger out of my tone. “I’d rather work with you. It makes the process smoother for everyone and saves us all a lot of headaches. But I’m not letting Silver just cover this up and walk away clean.”
“Preposterous!” Silver shouted. “We’re the Council! Freeport is ours, and nobody can come into our city—our very chambers—and make demands!” She shot me an especially venomous glare. “You think you’re so smart, but you have no idea who you’re dealing with. If the press tries to publish this we’ll shut them down! We’ve done it before, and we can do it again.”
That didn’t go over so well with the rest of the group. “We’ve shut the papers down for national security and to keep the peace, not to cover up the crimes of one of our own, especially since it would be blindingly obvious to all the newspaper publishers that we were trying to cover up a scandal. Maybe some of the papers would go along with it, but all of them? You know half the journalists would start salivating at the chance to reveal a government coverup of a major scandal like this.”
I shrugged. “I’m sure you also know that even if the Freeport newspapers don’t run the story, the Equestrian ones will. I have just a few connections that could make sure that happens.” Not that I loved the idea of asking Mom for help on top of asking her to meddle with Freeport’s internal politics, but it was in the name of a very good cause.
“Perhaps we can’t bury the story, but we could always get out ahead of it,” one of them pointed out. “Part of why the membership of the Council is secret is precisely so we can handle situations like this. Silver Cane, prominent landowner and businessmare, can go on trial for her crimes without a single soul outside this room ever knowing that she once wore one of our masks.”
“While some degree of secrecy might be for the best, we run the risk of diminishing Torch's legacy by not taking action,” my ally pointed out. “Freeport has a long history of regimes built upon good intentions collapsing into corruption and ruin. The Council will not fall prey to the same cycle. Perhaps it is time we all accepted slightly more transparency, if only to ensure that none of our members can become so corrupt again.”
“That seems like a matter for future discussions,” the one in the middle declared. “For now, let us settle the matter of Silver Cane.” There was a brief buzz in the air as they presumably voted on her fate. Then the center one announced the decision. “Guards, arrest Silver Cane. Her Council rank and status are hereby formally suspended, and she’s to be held in one of our cells until such time as we finish a preliminary review of the evidence.”
Silver blinked in shock, the shattered remnants of her Council mask tumbling from her hooves. “You ... you backstabbing treacherous bastards! You can’t do this to me! You think you can just sacrifice me?! I’ll drag you all down with me! Don’t try to pretend you’re so much better than me! You think I don’t know all your dirty little secrets? None of your hooves are clean!” She leveled an accusing hoof at me. “Even if I don’t take you down, this sanctimonious nag will come for you next!”
My ally shrugged. “I haven’t enslaved anyone. I’ll take my chances.”
One of the others shrugged as well. “You wouldn’t be the first criminal in Freeport to throw out wild accusations and claim to know the identities of members of the Council. Whatever you say will just get lost in all the noise.”
Silver turned to her last hope, the one member of the Council who really didn’t like me. “Tell them to stop. We have to show them that Sunset can’t get away with this. They can’t beat us if we stand together, you’ve got leverage against them. Damn you, Cold, help me!”
The member of the Council who had just been confirmed as Cold Comfort didn’t say anything for several seconds, just slowly leaning back in his seat. When he finally spoke, it was without the benefit of his mask’s voice-altering spells. Probably because he wanted to make sure Silver could hear the contempt in his voice. “You say you have evidence you could use against other members of the Council. Quite a bold claim. Let this one guess: you did something terribly gauche like a little safe in your bedroom, hidden behind a painting of the Battle of Two Magnuses. The combination for the lock would be something sadly predictable, like 6-46-32? Perhaps you think you have something in there that gives you leverage. Who can really say what you might have in this hypothetical safe? For all we know, it could be completely empty. It’s not like you check it all that often.”
Silver flinched and opened her mouth a few more times, trying to come up with some way out. Nothing happened, and eventually she slumped down into her seat. She didn’t even try to resist as the guards took her into custody.
Once she was gone, I cleared my throat. “I’ll have Puzzle provide you with a copy of everything we have. Is there anything else the Council needs from me?”
“That will be all for now,” the Council’s unofficial leader announced. “We have a great deal to discuss about Silver’s upcoming trial, not to mention filling a new opening in our ranks if she’s found to be unfit for her office. As well as all the usual matters involved in actually running Freeport.”
“Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention,” Cold Comfort added, though he hardly sounded grateful. “We won’t forget this.”
My ally cleared their throat. “One final matter: we trust you’ll return Chainbreaker to its proper place until the next time circumstances demand its use? And that you will continue to exercise the proper degree of discretion in using it?”
“Of course.” I took a deep breath. “Well, then I will leave you to your work. And ... I would like to thank the Council for doing the right thing.”