feat: drafted ten

README.md

@@ -77,3 +77,15 @@ Leader of the gang.
 ## Mayforn
 
 ## Gabaw
+
+## City Guard
+
+"Dame Kabisal?" One of the city guards came up. It was a hawk-faced woman that looked like she couldn't smile if her life dependent on it. She held a clipboard in her right hand.
+
+## Kamel da Kasin
+
+fire investigator
+
+## Tirain Valos
+
+Hawk-faced guard.

backmatter/license.md

@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological me
 
 The preferred attribution for this novel is:
 
-> "Allegro" by D. Moonfire is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
+> "{{ edition.title }}" by D. Moonfire is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
 
 In the above attribution, use the following links:
 
-* Allegro: [https://fedran.com/allegro/](https://fedran.com/allegro/)
+* {{ edition.title }}: [https://fedran.com/{{ edition.name }}/](https://fedran.com/{{ edition.name }}/)
 * D. Moonfire: https://d.moonfire.us/
 * CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

chapters/chapter-09.md

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ Linsan didn't know what to say. She reached up to put her hand on Brook's should
 
 "Yes?" answered Brook in a dead-panned voice.
 
-"Could you tell me who was in the bank when the explosion started?"
+"My name is Tirain Valos, a senior guard here in town. Could you tell me who was in the bank when the explosion started?"
 
 Brook didn't look away from the blackened ruins. "I already told you."
 
@@ -48,9 +48,9 @@ Brook didn't look away from the blackened ruins. "I already told you."
 
 "Fine," she said with a sigh. "Before the three men came, only daddy was working today. Everyone else had the day off to celebrate Salamin Day."
 
-Linsan had never heard of Salamin but the guard just nodded and wrote something down. She shook her head and sighed. Then she looked over her shoulder at the ruins and then back again. She cleared her throat before focusing on her words again. "No one else in the building? Are you sure?"
+Linsan had never heard of Salamin but Tirain just nodded and wrote something down. She shook her head and sighed. Then she looked over her shoulder at the ruins and then back again. She cleared her throat before focusing on her words again. "No one else in the building? Are you sure?"
 
-A prickle danced across Linsan's skin. The guard was acting as if she had bad news. Her mind spun furiously over the words until only one answer seemed obvious: they had found a dead body. She inhaled sharply. It had to be Dukan. Trembling, she reached over the back of the seat to rest her hand on Brook's bared shoulder.
+A prickle danced across Linsan's skin. Tirain was acting as if she had bad news. Linsan's mind spun furiously over the words until only one answer seemed obvious: they had found a dead body. She inhaled sharply. It had to be Dukan. Trembling, she reached over the back of the seat to rest her hand on Brook's bared shoulder.
 
 Brook jumped. She turned and looked at Linsan with a strange mixture of shock and horror. Her brown eyes focused on the hand.
 
@@ -58,15 +58,15 @@ Brook jumped. She turned and looked at Linsan with a strange mixture of shock an
 
 Linsan held up her other hand, wincing at the pain. "I saw the three guys go in."
 
-The guard asked them to describe everything that had happened, including the fight inside the bank. It was tedious and detailed, with the guard asking the same question many times.
+Tirain asked them to describe everything that had happened, including the fight inside the bank. It was tedious and detailed, with the guard asking the same question many times.
 
-By the time the questions trailed off, the fire guard came walking up. The air shimmered around him as he brushed off embers onto the cobblestones. "Sargent?"
+By the time the questions trailed off, the fire investigator came walking up. The air shimmered around him as he brushed off embers onto the cobblestones. "Sargent?"
 
-The guard turned to him. "Yes, Mage-Captain?"
+The guard turned to him. "Yes, Mage-Captain Kamel?"
 
 "I have my initial report. You should see this."
 
-The guard gestured for him to walk a short distance. Linsan as they talked among themselves. The feeling that there was bad news only grew as she saw the lines furrowing across the guard's face.
+Tirain gestured for him to walk a short distance. Linsan watched warily as they talked among themselves. The feeling that there was bad news only grew as she saw the lines furrowing across the guard's face.
 
 Brook pushed Linsan's hand from her shoulder. "Don't touch me."
 
@@ -78,15 +78,15 @@ With a cringe, Linsan sat back. "I tried."
 
 "You just stood around."
 
-"I need an instrument to use my talent."
+"I need an instrument to use my talent. I've tried without, but it doesn't work."
 
-"I don't," Brook said. "I could have stopped them if you were just stronger."
+"I don't," Brook said. "I could have stopped them if you were just stronger. If you actually could do anything."
 
 Linsan sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry."
 
 "You should be." Brook turned away from her.
 
-The guard returned. "Dame Kabisal?"
+Tirain returned. "Dame Kabisal?"
 
 "Yes?"
 
@@ -102,23 +102,27 @@ The guard cringed and nodded. "If you can, it would help with the investigation.
 
 Another cringe. "I'm sorry."
 
-Brook pressed her fingers against her mouth. Tears sparkled in her eyes. "No."
+Brook pressed her fingers against her upper lip. Tears sparkled in her eyes. "No."
 
 Linsan realized she was crying also. She sniffed and pushed herself up. "Can I help?"
 
-Brook glared at her. "You haven't seen him for years."
+Brook glared at her. "You haven't seen him for years. What can you do?"
 
-"But I can still try."
+"But I can still try." Linsan frowned at the truthful words. She didn't know what Duncan looked like anymore, she just wanted to do something.
 
 With a groan, Brook stood up. She stepped in front of Linsan. "I'll look," she announced before she strode toward the bank.
 
-"Um, your dress," called out to the guard.
+"Um, please be careful, your dress might catch fire," said Tirain.
 
-The fire mage held up his hands. "It's cool enough not to set it on fire, but there is soot and smoke."
+The fire mage held up his hand and waved it dismissively. "Everything has cooled down, it won't even scorch the fabric."
 
-"I don't care," Brook said sharply.
+Tirain gave him a hard look. "And the soot, Kamel da Kasin?" The "da Kasin" meant that he was from Tarsan, country to the east.
 
-Linsan and the two guards looked at the scorched, ruined dress. A few more moments in the bank wouldn't do any more damage to the already ruined material. They followed after Brook.
+Kamel, the fire guard, shrugged. "That will probably make a mess of it."
+
+"I don't care," Brook said sharply and kept walking.
+
+Linsan and the others looked at the scorched, ruined dress. A few more moments in the bank wouldn't do any more damage to the already ruined material. They followed after Brook.
 
 The smoking ruins were still hot. Heat rippled the air around him. Linsan was surprised how much damage was burn and how much was cracks and shattered stone. She wondered if Brook's power had contributed to the collapse of the bank.
 
@@ -128,7 +132,7 @@ The vault was the only part of the building was was completely surrounded by sto
 
 Then she spotted the body. Right in the middle of the floor, there was a charred corpse. At the sight, Linsan felt bile rising up in her throat. "By the Couple," she whispered.
 
-"I hate to ask, but is there any way of telling us if that was your father?" asked the guard.
+"I hate to ask, but is there any way of telling us if that was your father?" asked Tirain.
 
 Brook hesitated before she knelt down. She grabbed his wrist.
 
@@ -138,7 +142,7 @@ Brook let out a groan herself and clutched her stomach. With a trembling her han
 
 She shook as tears splashed down on the charred ground. Lifting herself up, she held her dress off the ground before stepping and then knelt down on the other side. She pointed to his ring. "That's also Daddy's."
 
-The guard wrote quickly.
+Tirain nodded and wrote quickly in her notebook.
 
 Brook patted the corpse's pockets. " He should have his auto-driver activation gear here...." Her voice trailed off for a moment as she finished tapping his pocket. With a sicking groan, she reached over to test his other.
 
@@ -148,7 +152,7 @@ Her foot thudded against a box. She pulled back and then realized it was familia
 
 She knelt down and touched the warm surface. She cringed as she opened up the top and let it fall back.
 
-The fire guard cleared his throat.
+Kamel cleared his throat.
 
 She looked up.
 
@@ -156,7 +160,7 @@ He shook his head.
 
 Brook sighed. "I can't find his auto-driver key. That would be more proof."
 
-The guard sighed and wrote on her clipboard. "Two pieces of identification is sufficient. Could I summon a wagon to take you home to verify against the other piece?"
+Tirain sighed and wrote on her clipboard. "Two pieces of identification is sufficient. Could I summon a wagon to take you home to verify against the other piece?"
 
 Brook stood up. "I guess," she said. Her eyes scanned the room before fixating on Linsan. Then a deep frown furrowed her brow. "Yes, let's go. I need to get away."
 
@@ -166,7 +170,7 @@ The one thing she didn't see was Palisis. There wasn't even charred wood or ashe
 
 Her ears pounded as she stared at it. She squatted down to inspect the case.
 
-"Dame?" asked the fire guard. "You need to go."
+"Dame, you need to also go," said Kamel. He had approached.
 
 "It isn't here," Linsan said as she felt her throat growing tight.
 
@@ -176,11 +180,17 @@ Her ears pounded as she stared at it. She squatted down to inspect the case.
 
 "Maybe it burned up?" He said even as he was squatting down himself. His bare hands ran along the velvet inside the case. When he flipped up his finger, it only had a few motes of dust clinging to the tip. He looked around at the damage, obviously looking for it. "Maybe it fell out."
 
-After a few seconds of peering around, he shook his head. "Maybe it wasn't. I don't see the metal from the body or anything in the right shape. Maybe your father removed it?"
+She glanced at him. He had a scruff of a beard just staring to color his cheeks. His hair was short but there was a strong scent of old smoke and wood; after so many years of visiting the ruined workshop, she knew the smell by heart.
+
+After a few seconds of peering around, he shook his head. "Maybe it wasn't. I don't see any metal from the body or anything in the right shape. You're right. If it was here, there would be signs. Maybe your father removed it?"
 
 "No, we wouldn't have touched it. It was precious to my family. No one would have ever sold it. I thought I saw it in May's bag but I couldn't believe it. But... but... it's not here."
 
-The guard sighed and shook his head. "You need to report this. But right now, I need you to leave. Is there family you can go to? Anywhere else? We're going to talk to you later."
+"May?"
+
+She blushed. "I-I don't know his full name. He was one of the robbers that attacked us. I... told the other woman."
+
+"Tirain is her name." The guard sighed and shook his head. "Well, I need to report this. But right now, I have more questions. Is your family in town? Where do you live?"
 
 She reflexively gave her name and address.
 
@@ -188,4 +198,4 @@ She reflexively gave her name and address.
 
 She sniffed and nodded.
 
-"Come, I'm going to take you home. I have more questions."
+He straightened. "Come, I'm going to take you home. I have more questions."

chapters/chapter-10.md

@@ -0,0 +1,283 @@
+---
+title: Hard Questions
+teaser: >
+  Kamel, the fire investigator, visits Linsan and her family with some hard questions about Duncan's death. But the questions continue further, into more intimate question that would expose hidden secrets.
+---
+
+> Never underestimate the techniques of controlling a conversation. Criminals always slip up, you just have to get them to throw out enough lies they can't remember what is the truth. --- *How Lies Reveal the Criminal Mind*
+
+It didn't take long before Linsan was being driven back home. Kamel and the rest of the guards didn't have mechanical vehicles, so she sat in the passenger side of a small carriage pulled by a single horse.
+
+Sitting next to Kamel felt more like sitting outside the headmaster's room at school. Whenever that happened, she was always on the receiving end of whatever punishment was doled out. Too many times, it was Brook that she had been fighting with. At least until Brook and her sisters left for the fancy school across town.
+
+At the thought of Brook, Linsan's mood darkened. The words she had said before they went their separate ways still stung. Linsan had tried to join into the fight, but what could she do without an instrument? With the guilt rising, she decided she needed to always have her violin with her. Just in case.
+
+Kamel sighed as he snapped the reins on the horse. Ever since she had mentioned the fire at the workshop, he seemed on edge. His eyes would snap back and forth and he occasionally made a grunt.
+
+She wondered if she had said the wrong thing. She couldn't imagine what it was, she had told the truth and didn't embellish it. However, he seemed to have responded with a sharpness that worried her.
+
+Kamel stopped the wagon across the street from her house. He looked around for a moment until she gestured to her front door. Thanking her, he got out and went around the horse to tie it to nearby pole. "Come on. I have some questions."
+
+She followed him up the walk. She watched his back, hating the feeling of dread that hung over her.
+
+Before they got halfway, the front door was yanked open and Tisin rushed out. She was wearing one of her lighter dresses and cleaning gloves that matched the color. Her auburn hair had been pulled back behind a scarf. "Lin!? What's wrong?"
+
+Kamel stepped briskly to the side as Tisin rushed past him.
+
+Linsan started to cry when she saw her mother. Then, as she fell into Tisin's embrace, the cries turned into a wail. "I'm so sorry!"
+
+"What's wrong, Baby?" Tisin was sobbing as she stroked Linsan's hair. "What's wrong? What happened?"
+
+Linsan fought the urge to break down. She looked at her mother, struggling to find the way of telling her Duncan had died. When she saw that the sorrow and fear hadn't reached Tisin's probing eyes, she realized that her mother was acting.
+
+Kamel cleared his throat. "Sire Sian Sterlig?"
+
+"What happened?" asked Linsan's father as he approached.
+
+"There was a fire at the Kabisal Bank this morning."
+
+Tisin's arms tightened around Linsan. There was a moment that the gaze cracked with emotions. She turned sharply to the fire inspector. "Duncan? Is he okay?"
+
+Kamel cleared his throat. "There was a fatality. We are still identifying the body---"
+
+"But you think it is Duncan," Sian said in a low, broken tone. He shook his head as tear glittered in his eyes. "Damn the Couple. He was a good man."
+
+Her mother stood up sharply. "What happened?"
+
+Kamel pulled out a notepad. "Actually, I have---"
+
+"What happened?" she repeated. Her voice seemed to take on a different quality. It echoed despite them being out in the front yard. The sound resonated like a finely-tuned instrument, hanging in the air just a second too long.
+
+Kamel groaned. He tightened his grip on his notepad. Sweat prickled on his brow as he shook his head. "I might remind you, it is illegal to use manipulation against guards." His voice was strained and broken.
+
+Tisin's posture deflated. She stepped back as she wrapped her arms over her chest. "Sorry," she said in her normal voice.
+
+Kamel gulped. "Oh, I had forgotten what you were like on stage. You always had a beautiful voice."
+
+She smiled but the expression never reached her eyes.
+
+Kamel turned toward Sian. He looked over his shoulder at Linsan and Tisin. "Could we move this inside? I have some questions and some of them are intimate."
+
+Sian turned and gestured toward the house. "Please? Come inside, Captain...?"
+
+"Thank you. I'm Mage-Captain Kamel da Kasin. Captain would be sufficient since I'm here officially." He turned and headed toward the house.
+
+Inside, they settled down around the table. Tisin dragged her chair around the table to sit between to her husband and Linsan. Linsan set next to both of them, feeling scared and nervous.
+
+Kamel pulled his chair across from them. He sighed and tapped his notebook. "This is always the hardest part of the job but I need to ask some questions."
+
+"Was it Duncan?" asked her mother.
+
+A nod. "You knew him?"
+
+Sian shook his head and wiped his eyes. "He was my best friend. We had known each other since he, Marin, and I were in the army. That was about twenty-five or six years now."
+
+Linsan perked up with curiosity. She didn't know that her father was in the army. Actually, she didn't know much about either of her parents.
+
+"Which company?"
+
+"119th Infantry. I never made rank, I wasn't that impressive. Mandatory military service, nothing more."
+
+Kamel's eyes shifted to Tisin. "You?"
+
+She shrugged. "Entertainment."
+
+"How did you meet your husband?"
+
+"Marin."
+
+"Who is Marin?"
+
+Sian's eyes darkened. "She was my best friend. We went through training together. When we were assigned to the same company, I thought I was the luckiest man in the world. She was beautiful, smart, and funny. Of course, Duncan was also in love with her."
+
+Kamel wrote something down. "What happened?"
+
+Tisin smiled.
+
+Sian shook his head and chuckled. "We were both idiots. I got so focused on fighting with Duncan over her affections, we never realized that we had pushed her away. Or, she never was interested in either of us. It was hard to tell then."
+
+Tisin rested her hand on her husband's.
+
+He smiled and patted her hand with his free hand. "She found someone else who loved her more than I ever could."
+
+Kamel scribbled furiously on his notepad. He seemed to have a grim look. "Duncan?"
+
+"No, my wife."
+
+Kamel's head snapped up. "W-What?"
+
+Tisin smiled and leaned against him. "I wasn't his wife at the time. Marin would be my first spouse."
+
+"I... see. How did Duncan handle this?" The point of his pen hovered over the notebook.
+
+"He was my best man," Tisin said. She nodded to her husband. "Sian's was Marin's. We were all close after our service. When our tours were over, we all decided to move here and help Sian with the family business."
+
+The pen dipped slightly. "You were friends?"
+
+Linsan stared at him. He looked almost disappointed but the look quickly faded. He had at least some of the same skills her mother hand, at least at hiding his emotions. Her mother was better though.
+
+"For many years. Even after Marin left, we stayed working on the business. While Sian made the instruments, Duncan and I helped."
+
+She smiled softly as her eyes grew softer. "He had a talent at knowing everyone. He kept everything flowing, making sales and getting customers to pay the bills."
+
+Then her eyes grew harder and she squeezed Sian's hand.
+
+Sian spoke up. "After the fire, he helped us as much as he could but we lost everything including our names. There was only so much you can do when you lose everything. Most of the Sterlig sound came from the trees in our valley. When everything burned, I couldn't make any more instruments."
+
+"And Duncan?"
+
+Linsan's father sighed. "He had a family. There were bills. He couldn't dedicate his life to me. I was ruined and he needed to move on."
+
+Silence filled the dining room.
+
+Kamel's face grew slack. "When was the last time you saw him?"
+
+"It's been years." Sian bowed his head. "Except for the monthly checks, I really haven't had any contact with him at all."
+
+"Checks?"
+
+Tisin patted Sian's hand.
+
+Linsan closed her eyes tightly. That was the entire reason she had gone to visit Duncan. Her great idea had gone up with flames and she found something new to worry about.
+
+"He's been sending us a thousand crowns every month."
+
+Startled, Linsan stared at them in shock. "A-A thousand? I-I thought it was three hundred."
+
+Sian shook his head. "It hasn't been three hundred for years. He had been bumping it up every year on your birthday."
+
+Tisin gasped as she stood up. Pushing back her chair, she rushed out of the room. "The letter!"
+
+"What letter?" asked Kamel and Linsan.
+
+Her father gestured through the door that Tisin had exited. "We got a letter last week. Duncan had just set up a trust fund to make sure the checks would continue for the rest of Linsan's life. It was going to be her birthday present."
+
+Linsan stared, her eyes tearing over and her chest hurting. All her plans were for naught? She had worked herself up for nothing? She let out a sob.
+
+They looked at her.
+
+"I-I was going into town to ask for him to keep the checks going. I figured I could earn it."
+
+"That's why you weren't at breakfast?" asked her father.
+
+Kamel spoke up. "You never told her?"
+
+Sian shook his head. "I didn't think she remembered about the checks. Money has been tight for a while and that letter was a gift from the Couple." He turned back to Linsan. "I should have told you, I'm sorry."
+
+Tisin came in and handed the guard the letter.
+
+Kamel read it, shaking his head as he did. He set down the letter and wrote in his notebook. "May I keep this?"
+
+When they agreed, he tucked it into his pocket. Then he flipped a page in his notebook. "Do you think the money is going to continue if he's dead."
+
+Her father shook his head sadly. "Probably not. I don't know."
+
+Linsan noticed another faint look of disappointment on Kamel's face. He was looking for something but she didn't know what. It felt as if he was trying to trap them.
+
+Kamel wrote for a second.
+
+As he did, Sian told Tisin about Linsan going into town. Her mother smiled at her with more pride that Linsan thought possible.
+
+The minutes crawled by.
+
+Linsan and her father squirmed. Tisin seemed to be perfectly at ease standing next to her husband. She was on stage again, Linsan saw that though there was distrust in her attention on the guard.
+
+"Did you have anything in the bank vault?"
+
+Sian nodded. "Some old items, mementos mainly. Memories that we wanted to keep safe." Then he let out a long sigh and seemed to age in a second. "The violin was destroyed, wasn't it?"
+
+The corner of Kamel's lips tightened. It almost looked like a smile. His pen hovered over the page. "Was it worth a lot?"
+
+Tisin said, "Yes and no."
+
+Kamel looked up. "What do you mean?" He looked frustrated and confused.
+
+"It was Marin's but she never played it."
+
+"An unsung instrument is worth a lot of money, isn't it?" Linsan could hear his voice growing more excited. "As one of the last instruments of your tradition, that would be worth a lot, wouldn't it? Millions?"
+
+Tisin looked at him coldly. "Are you suggesting we stole Palisis?"
+
+That seemed to throw Kamel. He glanced at Linsan and she felt a cold shiver of fear racing along her spine. "Your daughter said that name. Aren't the most precious of instruments named like that? Seems like a useful moniker for building up a reputation to boost a sale."
+
+"She named it. When she was six," came Tisin's sharp reply. "And instruments like that are only precious when they haven't ever felt the touch of a musician. Palisis has and is only worth the memories and emotions inside that wood and metal."
+
+"Not according to the card I saw in the box."
+
+Sian held up his hand. "That was a lie."
+
+Kamel's face froze.
+
+"I'm fully aware that a fortune could be made if people believed it was unsung. There are only three people who knew that it had been touched by a bow. While my wife and I would never, ever consider selling that instrument while we lived, we had hopes that Lin would be able to sell it after we were gone and give herself a good life."
+
+Linsan let out a long whimper. She remembered that brief moment when she felt Palisis in her hands.
+
+Tisin looked at her with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."
+
+Scribbling, Kamel frowned and shook his head. He wrote furious for a few seconds. "Still, the insurance would be---"
+
+"There was no insurance," Sian said.
+
+The pen stopped.
+
+Her father took a deep breath. "If people thought Palisis was unsung and it was truly worth the millions, how much do you think insurance would cost us? We are struggling to keep a roof over our house and food in our larder. A thousand crown check is the only thing that is keeping us from losing even that and now you tell us the man who giving it to us is dead."
+
+Kamel set down his pen. "Then why didn't you sell the violin and---"
+
+"No," snapped both Sian and Tisin at the same time.
+
+"What?"
+
+"I made that for Marin and only for Marin. As far as I'm concerned, what my daughter had done has honored her memory but I have no intent to sully her memory by selling Palisis. That instrument means nothing to me or my wife other than the memories of our dear friend."
+
+"But the---"
+
+Tisin leaned forward. "Palisis is our memorial for our best friend in the world. She meant everything to the two of us and I would rather starve---"
+
+Linsan noticed that her mother's voice was taking on the strange timbre again. It was ringing in her head and each word felt like it was directed directly at her with the force of a gale.
+
+"---than sully that memory for nothing but memory!"
+
+Kamel was sweating. Linsan didn't remember seeing him moving but he was a foot away from the table with a surprised look on his face.
+
+The air around them was tense and electric, like when Linsan used her magic while dancing.
+
+Sian reached up and pressed his hand to his wife's cheek. "Tis, take a deep breath."
+
+Tisin struggled for a moment. Then she straightened.
+
+The presence that beat in the air disappeared in an instant.
+
+Kamel gulped loudly. He slowly shifted his gaze to Linsan's father. "Do you feel the same."
+
+"Less empathically, but yes."
+
+Kamel picked up his pen. "And your daughter? Are you going to let her starve?" His eyes focused directly on her parents.
+
+Tisin's jaw tightened.
+
+"A lot of parents will do anything for their child," the guard continued. "You knew she was struggling too, didn't you? She's coming out of school and about to have free reign in the world."
+
+Linsan sighed. She didn't know what she was doing after school ended. In some ways, the fantasies of what job Duncan would insist on for the money was almost a fantasy for herself. It would give her purpose, at least until she figured out what to do herself.
+
+Sian gave him a hard look. "Why are you asking these questions?"
+
+"Because, years ago, I was the lead investigator of the fire in Sterlig Valley. I saw a lot of things there, including signs of a magical accelerator used to ensure that valley burned completely."
+
+He turned to her. "Someone used magic to start that fire."
+
+It took a moment for it to register. Linsan's mouth opened in surprise. "You think that guy with the string..." She turned to her father. "Daddy, he had a string instrument like a violin or a fiddle but with a wide sound box with six strings..." It took her another minute to finish describing it.
+
+"That sounds like a guitar," he said looking up at the ceiling. "It's an instrument that has been gaining popularity for the last few years. It came from south of Lankerni but produces a much different sound."
+
+Kamel tapped the table. "How do you know that?"
+
+Sian turned and gestured to his office across the hallway. "I've been writing essays, papers, and columns about trends in the musical industry across three countries for six years. I know my instruments."
+
+Kamel's shoulders slumped. "Every time," he muttered.
+
+Linsan leaned forward. "You think it was the same person?"
+
+Kamel recovered and shook his head. "No, I know it was the same person. The resonance is identical. The flames had the same burn signature and temperature. The patterns of the burns on the ground and surfaces is the same. I've been investigating fires for close to thirty-five years. I know fire magic."
+
+He turned to look at Sian. "Whoever destroyed your valley is also the same person who had just killed Duncan and appears to have stolen your violin."

language.json

@@ -3,9 +3,12 @@
 		"Dukan",
 		"Dukan's",
 		"Kabisal",
+		"Kamel",
+		"Kamel's",
 		"Katsaril",
 		"Kavinar",
 		"Kormar",
+		"Lankerni",
 		"Linsan",
 		"Linsan's",
 		"Melodol",
@@ -16,6 +19,7 @@
 		"Sian's",
 		"Sterlig",
 		"Tabil",
+		"Tirain",
 		"Tisin",
 		"Tisin's",
 		"Valian"

publication.yaml

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ metadata:
 editions:
     epub:
         format:             "@mfgames-writing/epub2"
+
     pdf:
         format:             "@mfgames-writing/weasyprint"
         images:
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ editions:
 
 contents:
     - element: cover
-      source: build/repos/fedran-covers/dist/full/0037-00-allegro-front.jpg
+      source: build/repos/fedran-covers/dist/full/{{ edition.fedran.pov }}-{{ edition.fedran.vol}}-{{ edition.name }}-front.jpg
       linear: false
       exclude:
           editions: [pdf]
@@ -76,6 +77,7 @@ contents:
     - element: appendix
       id: license
       source: backmatter/license.md
+      liquid: true
     - element: appendix
       source: backmatter/patrons.md
     - element: appendix