"Arran, can you spare some time?"

"Miss Alsina, just a moment. ...Yes. What's your business?"

"The convention would like Her Majesty to relegalize torture. The Queen said this morning she'll reject anything too foolish or bad. Her Highness would like Her Majesty to decide this qualifies. And some solid Westcrown citizens delivering petitions would help. And be a real Good deed."

"I could come by this afternoon, but I'm really quite busy."

"If one of your kids could deliver a letter, that would work. They'll be perfectly safe."

"You're certain?"

"Yes. Her Highness will protect them if need be, but she swears it won't be. They don't need to see the Queen themselves at all. But by lunchtime would be best."

"...I can spare Noèlia for an hour or two, and write something in a couple minutes. What do you want it to say?"

"That you'd rather she not approve torture executions like the convention sent to her. It can be very short, you don't need all the fancy titles or flowery signatures."

"I'll do it. I always hated Church executions. Private hanging's boring but maybe it ought to be."

"Thank you, Mrs. Llobet. We'll remember. And so will Pharasma."

"May I speak to Mrs. Susanna Planells, please?"

"Sorry, miss, she's across the river until suppertime."

"Well, if she gets back early, please tell her that the Queen's accepting petitions, and if she gets a bunch saying that torture is bad no matter what the convention says, she might decide the convention is wrong and do the Good thing. Iomedae's thing. So anyone who brings her a petition today will be doing Good too."

"...That's true, is it?"

"My lady Archduchess Bainilus swears to it. And that it's safe to do."

"Huh. I don't think she'll do it, but some of the fellows might skive off for an hour if they believe you about that."

"I'm a stranger to most of you, I don't expect you to trust my word. It's good, though, I wouldn't lie with messages from Herself."

"We'll see."

"And I'll run off and check the next one on my list. Heaven watch over you, sir."

"I'd like to speak to Aniol Reus, please."

"He's upstairs. Oh, you're the noblewoman's man; you can come in."

"Thank you, sir."

"Mr. Reus. Can you spare an hour or two today to do some Good and do the Archduchess a bit of a favor?"

"Maybe. What's the task?"

"Her Majesty said this morning if the convention did some foolish she'd reject it. Then it went and did something foolish and said she should allow torturous executions again. We'd like people to bring her petitions saying it is a bad idea and she shouldn't do it?"

"How would that help?"

"Galtan principles, her ladyship says. Republicanism. The voice of the people direct, is better than the voice from the convention, or at least same as. Perfectly safe, and Iomedae's paladin and her church confirmed it's what Good wants."

"...Not that I think you're lying to me, Casamajo, but getting anywhere near the Queen is never safe."

"The Archduchess will protect you. She swears she won't need to, but she'll have guards and lawyers ready to protect you anyway."

Aniol set down his tools and put his chin in his hand.

"...No. I could spare the time, but I can't take the risk. I'm sorry I wasn't able to help Her Highness in this matter."

"That's alright. No grudges held. If you have more troubles, you know where to find us. Or at the Kortos Tavern, but that's not far from the Palace."

"You think I will?"

"The same people that proposed the torture proposed a new Lord Mayor. Military man, disciplined, but we think he's likely to be a brute as a mayor. Keep your kids and apprentices on a short leash, if you can, I reckon."

"I appreciate the warning. Come to me if you need any other favors."

"I will. Good day, Aniol."

"Mr. Gisbert. I'd like to speak to you or Mrs. Gisbert, if I can."

"Marta! Archduchess's girl is here! If it's not too long, not so many customers I can't pause."

"The Queen said this morning that if the convention tells her to pass a foolish law, she won't. Then it said 'How about we bring back the pyre and the wheel?' Iomedae's against it, of course, but the Queen might be convinced to agree it's foolish if she got a bunch of stoic Westcrown citizens writing her petitions and bringing them to the palace to say so."

"I don't know, if Marc was afraid of the wheel maybe he'd have stayed home. Might be good to have it, even if Heaven doesn't understand why."

"Would you really rather see Marc and boys like him burned or broken? Like old impalements?"

"...Maybe not."

"What are you on about, Jofre? Hello, Miss Bernat."

"Torture, ma'am. It would do some real Good if people would bring petitions to the palace by lunchtime asking Her Majesty not to allow it, no matter what the Convention tells her to do."

"Ain't she creating the convention to tell her what to do?"

"Well, a bit, but she said this morning only long-term, not the immediate laws and things. Not if she thinks they're being foolish. Like if they say 'Actually let's go to war with Galt' she'll say 'No, you idiots, that's my husband, and also we'd lose.' and then we won't."

"Hmm. I don't think you need me puttering in the stockroom until past lunch when the rush comes by. I'll write a petition and bring it."

"Marta, I don't think that's right. Marc might still be alive if he was afraid of worse deaths."

"Then you're a fool, Jofre Gisbert. He thought he was invincible and I don't want to be seeing any like him impaled or thrown to bears or any of that."

"Iomedae bless you, Mrs. Gisbert. Her archpaladin's already said Heaven's against it and Lastwall thinks it doesn't even help."

"See? I'm doing it, Jofre, and you won't stop me."

"...Oh, alright, I'll write my own and you can bring them both."

"Thank you very much, Jofre, Marta. Her Highness will be grateful, and won't forget it."

"We don't forget her either. Thank you, Miss Bernat."

"Is Monserrat still here?"

"Yes, miss, I'll fetch her."

"Miss Ester. What's the hurry?"

"Her Highness is looking for good Westcrown people to do some Good bringing petitions to the Palace."

"...What about?"

"Reinstating torture for the condemned. Burning at the stake, breaking on the wheel, and some dismemberment they call 'turning to parts'. Iomedae's great paladin, Ser Cansellarion, denounced it, and so did three archdukes, but they voted it anyway in the convention."

"Why would it help to talk to the Queen, then?"

"Well, she's Galtan, right? And she said this morning 'if you do anything foolish, like tell me what to do with diplomacy or war or something else bad, I'm not going to', and that they should write rules for a government to pass laws with, not laws to send to her."

"And it's safe?"

"Safe as anything. Her Highness will protect you if it comes to that, but she swears it won't."

"And this would be Good I'd be doing?"

"The church said so, there's a paper around, the Gazette, where they said what Lastwall says about it."

"Her Highness's work, getting that printed?"

"No, somebody else. I think one of the duchesses is funding them."

"I can get there this afternoon."

"Could you get there by lunch, if you borrow my horse? It's a summoned one, won't last to get you back but I don't need it."

"You think that matters?"

"It will come to her as a petition when the convention breaks for lunch. We'd like there to be a line waiting, if we can find people to stand in it."

"...Alright. I'll do it. Copy your words?"

"No, write your own, better not to match. It can be short. And we'll remember the favor."

"I remember yours. And I'll borrow the horse."

"Thank you, Monserrat."