“I’ve been thinking,” Ruby spoke between spoonfuls of soup, and Phynis looked up from savoring her own meal. The crystalline hair of the ladies around the table was a marked contrast to her own pink hair, and Phynis had to suppress a smile at the sight of them. The color of their hair and eyes had been forced on the priestesses so they would match their new names, but it also felt like it suited them so well that Phynis couldn’t imagine them differently anymore.

“Uh, oh,” Amethyst murmured, prompting giggles from most of the others, though Diamond and Sapphire only smiled. Even Sistina smiled, though the dryad didn’t have a place at the table and was simply standing nearby.

“Shush, you!” Ruby retorted, but she couldn’t help a smile as she chided, “At least I try to be productive.”

“What were you thinking about?” Diamond spoke quickly, smoothly breaking into the conversation in a mild but curious tone.

“I was thinking about the seven of us. Lirisel has essentially taken over running the temple, and was placed in charge by the Archpriestess. It also seems like everyone else in the city has duties they have to carry out. We don’t, not really,” Ruby explained, still eating in between sentences. She took a sip of water before continuing. “Oh, we’ve been helping, don’t get me wrong, but when we’re introduced to outsiders, what would we be introduced as?”

“The Crown Jewels?” Opal suggested brightly, her fiery orange eyes glittering with mirth as Phynis groaned and Emerald spluttered into her glass.

“Oh, gods and goddesses above, don’t even suggest that!” Phynis protested in near-horror, handing a napkin to Emerald. “It’s bad enough that the nickname the Adjudicator gave you all stuck, but that just makes me sound sleazy!”

“Maybe we could join the Royal Guard?” Sapphire suggested, tilting her head. “We have the power to help out a great deal.”

“No, we’re too close to Phynis for that. Desa would never let us join the guard due to personal feelings,” Diamond disagreed, shaking her head.

“What do you think, Phynis?” Topaz asked, looking at the Queen with a smirk. “It’s your city, after all.”

“I’m not sure. None of the monarchs of Sifaren have taken multiple consorts at the same time in recent memory, and Everium isn’t much help, since their rules were… complicated,” Phynis told them, sitting back and drumming her fingers on the table idly. “I’d almost make you court magi, but that isn’t really appropriate either.”

“City guardians?” Sistina spoke up, her voice breaking the silence as she tilted her head at them. “Coordinated, powerful. Greater than sum of your parts. May be capable of learning high magic.”

“Wait, what do you mean by guardians?” Ruby asked, blinking in surprise. “Let alone the idea of learning high magic, I’m just not sure what you mean. We’ll defend the city, of course, but I’m not certain what you’re talking about.”

Several of the others nodded, and Phynis both saw and felt Sistina frown as she considered how to explain her thoughts. Finally she responded, her voice patient. “City defenses are magical. Enchantments very complex, but self-guiding. Without intelligence. Can be tricked, bypassed. Defenses can be interfaced with, controlled. I can, if able to see. If demon lord comes, have measures. Measures occupy me. You seven, coordinate magic. Interface with spells, control defenses. More efficient.”

“Ah, so our ritual magic, the ability to merge our strength together, would actually help be able to control the defenses more effectively?” Diamond asked, her eyes lighting up.

“Yes. Perhaps better than me,” Sistina replied with a gentle smile. “Outside of domain, senses are limited. Would take practice.”

“If you’re all willing to give it a try, I think that would be an excellent use of your talents,” Phynis offered, happiness flooding her as she saw their reactions. She was growing to love each of the others for who they were, and didn’t like seeing them at a loss in their positions. “I know I’d feel happier if you could help secure the city. I saw the shield you threw up on entering the dungeon originally, you know!”

“I didn’t notice, actually. I believe I was too startled at being consumed by a pit in the ground,” Diamond replied softly, smiling as she asked the others, “What do you think?”

They each nodded their agreement, and Sistina promised, “Will show you how tomorrow. Takes practice.”

Going back to her meal, Phynis felt much better than she had before. From the looks on their faces, the Jewels did as well.

* * *

“What’ve you learned, Rene?” Xaris asked, his hands behind his head as he balanced the chair back against the wall of the small house they’d rented.

The four of them had posed as non-guild adventurers to get into Beacon, which had turned out to be surprisingly easy after the mass of slaves and Kelvanis’ rebels had entered the city. The guards had been frazzled from the work, which had helped significantly. They’d spent much of the last few days gathering information about the dungeon, and the previous day they’d even tried their hands at a delve to make their cover more believable. Xaris had actually been surprised at the complexity of the dungeon, which had improved his opinion of the adventurers who delved into such a dangerous place. The skills they needed were similar to some of those that an assassin might need, but stealth wasn’t nearly as useful in a dungeon.

“Well, the Guildmaster, that artificer Albert, has been meeting with the dryad regularly up in the palace. The adventurers aren’t very secretive and are prone to boasting, so I know she stays there most of the time, and rumor has it there’s a shortcut to the center of the dungeon up on the palace grounds. The only problem is that unlike most of the city, the palace is part of the dungeon’s domain,” Rene replied, looking rather satisfied with herself. “I couldn’t get confirmation one way or another on the entrance, but it sounds believable. The question is how we want to get up there. The locals prefer that adventurers stay down here between the first two walls.”

“Hmm… while we could climb over the walls, that’d be suspicious, and someone might spot us,” Oliver replied, adding seriously, “The sewers are right out, too. I heard one person saying they’re part of the dungeon, and that it might have creatures in there to deal with anyone trying to use them. Some idiot was pondering trying the sewers instead of the dungeon, since he thought it might be safer.”

“What about that academy? It’s just below the palace, and they’re testing prospective students, right?” Edward offered, leaning forward. “I know it isn’t the perfect solution, but it could get us up near the palace. My worry is that the dryad in the castle might not be our target. We haven’t gotten in range to use the seeking stone, right?”

“You have a very good point there,” Xaris agreed, a frown crossing his face as he leaned forward again, the legs of the chair making a sharp clack as they hit the ground. “Your method may be the best chance we have to get up to the palace. Once we try, we’re pretty well committed if the palace is part of the dungeon’s domain.”

“Should we ask around a little more? I heard that more people are coming, too,” Rene asked, smiling as she added, “We might be able to use them to get in closer. Maybe even replace some of them if they’re going to be going to the palace.”

“An excellent idea, Rene. Any objections?” Xaris asked the other two. When neither raised any protests, he nodded, running a hand over his head. “We’ll wait a week for an opening, then. If we don’t find one, we’ll take advantage of the academy.”

A decision made, each of them went about making certain that everything they needed was in order, their movements sharper and clearer than they’d been before.