"Yes, blood will win out. I suppose Victor starting as a cornet isn't an unreasonable move. I believe we can expect great things of you, knight commander, and house Gradsky will do our part. Is the quartermaster one of yours, or have you separated your finances?"

"Quartermaster Garms was assigned by Galfrey, if that's what you mean."

The baron nods knowingly.

"I understand; I'll make sure the contributions get to you directly, then."

"As far as I know that should be fine," though she's going to ask someone about it.

Then with the formalities out of the way the baron will spend some time making the socially accepted amount of small talk to mean this visit was actually just a social call where they happened to get some business done, and then offer Kybele a line if she wants to make her excuses.

"I'll go deliver the happy news! The fellows know where to report, yes?"

"Yes, of course. Inheritor keep you, knight commander."

"And you as well!"

Off she goes to be seen and distribute hats and see if anything else wants her attention.

At least thus far there doesn't seem to be anything obviously urgent blowing up on her. People want her attention, but more in the sense that one might want that of a famous celebrity than because they have something they need her to solve, and in the present state of Kenabres that comes out to a lot of people wishing her success against the demons.

All these people can have hats. She's going to need all the standing she can get. But then she will retreat into her library to study up on where the fuck she is.

The Blackwing library might not have everything she could hope for, but there's still quite a lot of new information and it certainly doesn't pose any barrier to her trying to read as much as possible. 

Come the next morning, there is an exception to the general pattern of people seeming to be unaware of - or at least unwilling to bother Kybele at - her library. Whoever it is is still polite enough to wait until she's not busy, but if she decides to wait them out she'll find they're quite persistent about it.

Iskander gets the door. "Can I help you?"

"I'm not certain, though I expect not. I'm here to speak with your sister, on a matter of some sensitivity - we haven't met, but her character has been vouched for on such matters. Please tell her Inquisitor Liotr Hawkblade is looking for her."

"Wow, okay. Ky! The inquisitors are multiplying!"

Ky lopes over. "Hello, what brings you here?"

"There is a rather troubling matter that has come up, and it has proven intractable to investigate on my own. Of everyone I could trust with the information, you are the best positioned to assist, and the least likely to leak the information to the wrong person. May I cast a spell to ensure our privacy?"

"What spell would this be?" She can reach a list from here.

"Mage's Private Sanctum. I would be casting it from a scroll, which you may examine first if you wish."

She can't tell the scroll apart from any other scrolls on his person but she can look up the spell. "That works fine for me but we probably shouldn't loiter in the doorway, come on in." She waves him inside and drifts towards the highest density of possibly useful text.

"Of course."

Once he arrives where directed, a look of intense concentration passes over his face as he slowly unweaves the magic from the scroll. All told, it takes about half a minute between when he begins and when another barrier like the one Kybele saw at the war council meeting appears around them; the inquisitor doesn't exactly relax once it's complete, but he does untense slightly.

"Thank you for indulging my paranoia, but given the fact that this has the potential to be dangerous and politically awkward I thought it best to be certain it does not reach the wrong ears. I have heard that, in addition to his role on your staff, you have managed to become at least somewhat friendly with Count Arendae. Are you familiar with how he came to inherit his title?"

"It hasn't come up."

"About ten years ago, a number of powerful demons managed to make it past the wardstone barrier to wreak havoc. This would ordinarily be nothing but another tragic detail, if it weren't for them deciding to target the Arendae estate during the count's birthday celebrations. Despite it being one of the best defended locations in Mendev, everyone other than the count perished - including Reverend Nestrin, one of the most powerful clerics in the country. To make matters more concerning than even his mysterious survival, the count came out of the affair with unusually potent divine magic unassociated with any known deity, and maintained those abilities despite being evil. 

"Unfortunately, the count has resisted any efforts by the inquisition to investigate the truth of the matter, and even with the amount of political capital he regularly burns he's been able to make that stick. As such, my purpose here is twofold - firstly, to inform you of the matter so that you could be on the lookout for any evidence that he lets slip, and secondly, to see if you could convince him to reopen the manor at Heaven's Edge without raising suspicion. It doesn't have to be for the purposes of the investigation, as the law the count has used to bar anyone unauthorized entry relates to its status as a memorial, so it being in use at all would permit me to look more closely. As I am not myself even particularly cordial with count Arendae, I do not know how feasible a task you would find this, but if you can it could prove vitally important."

"...huh. I did not actually know he was evil, so that's interesting, I guess it doesn't affect his wit. I will keep an eye out for opportunities to get him to open the house and to learn more about what the heck, but I am not myself an investigator of that nature and expect to be pretty busy, so I can't promise you good odds of success."

"I understand. Thank you for hearing me out - I understand full well how inconvenient this may be for you, but the list of people who are both trustworthy and someone the count can stand to be around is very short, and I am not sure when I will find another. I would advise not advertising that you're investigating the matter if you can avoid it, as while I doubt the count would do anything drastic, many of the possible candidates for the entity empowering him are very protective of their secrets."

"You have a list of candidates?"