The quiet felt wrong. It ended too quickly for Sollvar to accept it was over, no matter how much he may wish it. But the old man's blood was spreading, drowning the notes.
He couldn't bring himself to accept that was really Wotyn, and wasn't sure anyone else would. There'd been enough truth in what he'd heard that he had to investigate, and let his superiors know the truth about the guilds. He suspected Thjorn would make sure the public knew if he didn't.
He had more immediate concerns. The angle Irnskar's leg lay was not right. At least he was conscious.
'How does it feel?' asked Sollvar.
'Not bad enough to be reassuring. It’s numb. That can't be good.'
'It might be better than if you could feel it.'
Irnskar grunted. 'I don't think I can walk.'
'I don't think you should try. I'll fetch help. We'll get you fixed up. Then you should go.'
Irnskar gave him a questioning glance.
'I'll have to make a full report,' said Sollvar. 'Including what I know about the Society spy.'
Confusion crossed Irnskar's face a moment, before he gave a slight shrug and smiled. 'What was it?'
'When you copied the glyph. You did it vertically, the proper way to do it. I didn't know that till I got into the research. I've usually done it horizontally, as do most lay people.'
'That's it? That's all you had?'
'That aroused my suspicion,' said Sollvar. 'Your admission confirmed it.'
Irnskar barked a brief laugh, before wincing at the pain it caused.
'Stay still,' said Sollvar. 'I'll fetch help. Don't worry. I won't reveal what I know until you're able to get away. Thanks for standing by me against Tifnar.'
'He'd tried to kill me too,' said Irnskar. 'He'd need to offer a lot more than double to work for him again.'
'He offered triple,' said Sollvar.
'Triple? In that case you’re under arrest. Check if he’s got the money on him.'
Smiling, Sollvar went in search of aid.
Was turning Irnskar in even necessary, if they’d ultimately worked for the same person? Did he want to continue working for the Alliance? He still believed in their espoused values, to use glyphs for the betterment of society. And he wanted to make it better, rather than risk both guilds being torn down, and letting the advances they'd made be lost.