The Mother of Dreams - Episode 5 (updated February 1st, 2005)

[RangerWickett]

Episode Three: Dreams of the Dead, Section IV

The church murmured with blistering winds, and the forest outside rustled and crackled, its leaves and branches ablaze. David sat next to his unconscious companion in a cold shadow cast by the old stone walls, but embers floated around him on the winds, glowing. Despite the forest’s seeming lush life in the day, by twilight the trees had been eager to catch fire. Now the entire church was surrounded with flames.

David waited, clutching the black scimitar and his dormant light talisman together. Around his neck he wore another of his talismans, a piece of wood that a friend from home had carved to resemble a dog’s head. It concealed the scent of blood, but it couldn’t keep out the ash and smoke.

Allar coughed and groaned. David wheeled to look at his friend, and opened his mouth to talk, but Allar’s eyes were already open, and he was staring at David intently. David waited for him to talk, then waited a bit longer as Allar looked around with his eyes, staying motionless on the ground.

Finally, Allar said, “I pass out in a church, and you somehow get us both sent to hell. Good job.”

David glared at him.

Allar slowly sat up, then touched his neck. The bandage David had applied was stained with dried blood, and the red had colored the cloth around his entire neck. Allar poked at it for a few moments, wincing in pain. He shrugged and looked out the windows to the flaming trees, then back to David.

He asked, “What happened?”

“An undead creature attacked. It bit you, had some snakes attack me, then ran when I tried to set it on fire. Are you alright?”

Allar shook his head. “I must’ve been dreaming. I couldn’t wake up. I just kept watching all these terrible things, and that sword was always there.”

David considered the sword, and asked, “Do you remember seeing the man with the scimitar attacking a dark Elf woman?”

Allar’s eyes widened. “Yes. How did you know that?”

“After the thing bit you, I poured some of the water from the font onto the wound. I thought the bite might have been diseased, but if I understood the monster right, it actually kept it from turning you into one too.”

“Thanks,” Allar said dryly.

Outside, one of the trees cracked, and there was the sound of a large branch falling to the ground. David jumped in surprise, then sighed and shook his head.

“Jumpy,” Allar said. “I can imagine why you would be. Are we trapped here?”

David nodded, nervously watching the doors, windows, and the tops of the walls. He had magically lifted the remains of his fire talisman into the branches of the nearest tree outside, and smashed the flask of oil to speed the burning. The creature had seemed very afraid of fire, and the church was entirely surrounded by flames, but there was very little underbrush to burn on the ground, and David was afraid of letting his guard down.

“What I saw in the spell was strange,” David said. “And you’d groan during some of the more unpleasant moments. Maybe it mingled the water with your blood, but I can’t be sure.”

Allar sighed in relief. “Good. I was worried that I had dreamed that on my own. Pretty nightmarish, actually, what with him and his mother.”

“Which one was his mother?” David asked.

“What do you mean?” Allar asked, and then he said, “Oh. I forgot we couldn’t hear anything from the spell. In the vision it was just . . . very vivid. I was there, and I could hear, and feel, and smell everything. The brown-skinned man – the one with the scimitar – his mother was the dark Elf woman he ended up . . . killing.”

Allar started to say something else, then shook his head. “Blech. Here, give me the sword.”

David handed it over and asked, “Anything else?”

“Well, I woke up just a little after that point, but it looked like the spell wasn’t done with.”

David pointed to the toppled and cracked font. “I knocked it over, and the holy water burned the creature. It must have ended the spell.”

Allar shrugged. “Well, I certainly don’t mind. If you’d heard what was really going on, it was much more frightening. Are you sure what the spell showed was what really happened?”

David nodded absently, lost in thought. “Allar, do you know anything about the sword? Anything important?”

Allar shook his head quickly. “You wouldn’t want to know. It’s not anything important.”

“Allar.”

“No.” He shook his head again, then coughed lightly as a billow of smoke passed over them. “Trust me. It’s not . . . dangerous. Look, you were already saying you were uncertain about whether you want to be out and treasure hunting. If ghouls and dragons and that undead thing that attacked me were worrying you, this is just something you don’t want to hear.”

David stood up and crossed his arms. “I’m tired of you being so evasive, Allar. It took you over a year to finally admit what you did back in Tundanesti, and you won’t tell me what happened with the Trillith. And now this sword. I want to help you, Allar, but you won’t tell me anything..”

Allar sheathed the scimitar and sighed. “I know you do, but you’re wrong. I’m fine. I’m not the same confused kid I was when you found me in Tundanesti. I can handle myself now, honestly. I made one horrible mistake, and I made a worse mistake of trying to ignore it. It might seem like I nearly did the same thing again with the girl, Tri’ni, but . . . David, it was the monster thing. I was being controlled. I was a little disturbed at the time, and I was afraid I was the one doing it, but I’m fine now. I know it was just, you know, just the creature, controlling me.

“You don’t have to take care of me. Except of course when I get attacked by monsters. Then the help is appreciated.”

“You’re not being straight with me,” David said. “While I’m happy that you’re not glaring at Tri’ni whenever she says anything, I don’t know why you had the sudden change of heart. Even if you’re telling the truth about the Trillith, you still haven’t answered my question. What actually happened down in the cave?”

“Alright-” Allar started to say, but there was a loud hiss from the darkest corner of the church, and both of them fell silent.

It had come from twenty feet away in the area that still had a ceiling, below the steeple. There were no windows, no light from the fire. David held up the light talisman, and as light came forth, the pale flesh of a serpent twice as long as a man appeared amid the dark stones of the church floor. Its head turned to face them, and its skin began to slough off, peeling away, revealing arms and a torso beneath.

“Sh*t,” Allar said, drawing the scimitar. “Is that it?”

Allar tried to stand but sagged, and David grabbed his his hand. “Stop. I didn’t get a chance to mention this, but you see, we can’t hurt it.”

The creature’s body was free from the snake form, and it was tearing the flesh off its face to reveal its Elven visage. Allar stood up, hesitated, then said, “Alright. Explain.”

“It drank our blood. We can’t harm it. I tried. Several times. Normal fire scares it away, but my spells are pretty useless.”

Allar’s shoulders slumped and he looked down at David. “See, that’s the sort of thing you should have told me right away. This is why you shouldn’t be adventuring.”

The creature was beginning to stand.

Allar gestured toward it with his scimitar. “How’d that thing get in here, anyway? It’s a stupid inferno outside. Did it walk through the wall or something?”

David backed away from the undead creature, toward the smoldering remains of the tree that had fallen into the church. “Who cares? Let’s go.”

Allar sighed with frustration and started to back away with David. The creature hissed in their general direction again, and Allar readied his sword, his grip weak. The creature didn’t approach, and in fact turned its head as if searching the room. Its eyes, once glowing, were faint and dim.

“It can’t see us,” Allar whispered.

David stopped, knowing he was missing some clue, but unsure what. The creature sniffed the air, looking confused, and David understood. He lightly held the dog’s head charm around his neck and prayed it would keep working, hiding their scent.

The creature spoke, its tone casual. “Where are you hiding, friends? Burning down more of the forest, perhaps? My ancestors used to live here, you know. Lived here, died here, were chained to trees here and left to rot. Who’s the fire waking up, I wonder.”

It hissed again, then sneered. “Magic, trickery. I should have expected as much from a Jispin.”

David and Allar exchanged glances and shrugged. David tapped his nose and gave Allar a questioning stare. Allar’s reply was only a confusion expression, and David waved him off.

He tucked the light talisman away inside his robes and reached for his movement talisman. The small box rattled slightly, filled with broken bits of clay beads. He directed energy into it, though he could feel his control weak and unsteady from exhaustion. The broken pieces of the stone font lifted into the air and began to hover toward where the undead creature was crouched. Concentrating closely, he lifted the stones just a bit higher and positioned them directly over the undead, then released the spell.

The font should have struck the creature and snapped bones, but the blood-drinker leapt forward as the stones crashed where it had been. It hissed and smiled, then charged for David, reaching out with its claws. Allar stepped into its path and slashed the scimitar, but whether his strike was simply too weak from blood loss, or the creature was truly invincible to him, the sword glanced off the monster’s Elvish face.

“You’re supposed to be blind!” David shouted in dismay.

He leapt to the side, trying to dodge, but the creature grabbed him by his shirt and forced him to the ground. It pressed its weight upon him and leaned low. Into his ear it whispered, “I’m still an Elf, fool.”

“It can see magic!” David cried to Allar, just before the creature raked its fingers across his chin, cutting the flesh.

“Drop the sword!” David shouted. “Just run.”

The creature opened its mouth to rip out David’s throat, but Allar dashed in and slashed the scimitar down across the creature’s back. The strike caused no injury, but it surprised the creature. The blood-drinker stood up, holding David at arm’s length in one hand. Allar swung again at the creature’s face, dragging the diamond-edged blade across cheek and jaw, again with no effect.

The blood-drinker started to reach for Allar, then glanced down at the sword. It blinked its golden eyes in awe. “The royal blade of Tundanesti. But you are half-human!”

Allar backed away, and David hung in the creature’s grasp. It relaxed its grip as if to drop David, then shook its head.

“No. In my life, I would have killed you for that theft, but I lost that life thirty years ago. Keep your treasure, for what little life remains to you.”

It grabbed David in both hands and lifted him to its mouth. Its fangs sank into David’s neck, and he screamed in pain, clenching the movement talisman so tightly his palm bled. High overhead, stones cracked, debris fell, and firelight gleamed off of a polished metal spire. Engrossed in feeding off of David, the monster did not look up, did not hear the steeple as it was magically torn from the place it had held for three thousand years.

The thirty-foot long shaft of metal smashed through what remained of the roof, hurtled downward, and drove into the undead blood-drinker’s body, impaling it in the center of its back and piercing outward from its belly. The creature spasmed and pulled back, its fangs tearing free from David. The Jispin fell to the church floor, right beside where the massive spire had pierced the ground and cracked stone.

The mortally-wounded undying creature began to scream, flailing, trying to pull itself free. Allar came up next to David and helped him stand, and the two backed away from the agonized wails of the blood-drinker. Its own blackened blood oozed down the tip of the spire.

“Holy sh*t!” came a shout from Babb, at the entrance to the church.

David looked back and saw Lacy, Babb, and Tri’ni standing in the church doorway, covered in soot and coughing. David waved to them weakly, and nearly fell to the ground, but an equally-weak Allar managed to hold him up.

“Are there any more?” Lacy called as she ran over to them. She was holding a sharpened wooden stake, two-feet long, as were the other two.

David shook his head, and they all gathered together ten feet from the wailing undead.

“We saw your signal,” Tri’ni said, trying to smile but failing because of the screams. Trying to sound casual, she said, “This must be a nocheb lud. It can’t get out, can it?”

Babb smiled and patted his stake with care. “Time to kill the monster.”

Tri’ni nodded weakly. “It is a monster, right?”

Allar looked to the creature and sighed. “No. No monster. It talks. It’s just a poor cursed man, whose suffering should end.”

Babb shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

He walked over beside the creature, and looked down to the giant metal spire. He laughed. “A metal stake? Old man Valheur told us, you have to use wood on these things. And it’s supposed to go in the heart, not the spleen.”

Babb thrust the wooden stake into the creature’s chest, then pounded it with a mailed fist. Bone cracked, and the creature’s screams stopped.

Babb shook his head. “Honestly, you were doing it all wrong.”

Embers began to crackle up from the creature’s skin, and flesh melted away into ash and fire. In the span of a few breaths, it was gone. The metal spire creaked and folded to the ground.

Lacy took a long breath, then asked, “Are you two alright?”

“We’ll live,” David said. “Or at least I hope so. It might be safest if we could get some holy water on my wound. Unfortunately, I think I broke our font.”

Babb shrugged. “There’s a church back in town. If you’d checked before you’d left, you could’ve saved yourself a trip, and you might not have a hole in your neck.”

David smirked, then stepped away and kneeled. Allar patted him on the shoulder and walked back to the others.

Allar said, “Give him a moment to pray. We were blessed to have made it out of this alive.”

David almost spoke up, but he held his tongue and tried to be as discreet as possible as he scooped a few bits of ash from the nocheb lud into a glass vial, for use in making a talisman later. Then he held up a hand, and let Tri’ni help him to his feet.

Allar was talking with Babb and Lacy, and Tri’ni leaned over to quietly ask David, “Did you find what you came here for?”

David shook his head. “Allar knows something about the sword, but he won’t tell me everything.”

Tri’ni grinned. “Not that. What you really came here for.”

David looked at her, confused. “Do you mean God?”

Tri’ni hummed happily with surprise. Then she chuckled and shook her head. “Nevermind.”

She stood up and helped David walk over to the rest of the group. Loud enough for all the group to hear, she asked, “Aside from the monster, was it a good trip?”

Allar laughed, then wheezed. “I was telling Lacy and Babb here that I missed most of it. I just had one long, bad dream.”

Babb stuck a thumb out toward the church door, and the fire beyond it. “I’m not going back out there until that stops, so let’s just get comfortable, and David can tell us what happened.”

Everyone turned to David. David started to explain, then sagged to the ground and passed out.

* * *​

Two days later, on the road, David was at the back of the group when he saw Allar slowing down, letting the others pass. When he and his old friend were walking stride in stride, David looked up expectantly. “Something on your mind?”

“A lot, actually,” Allar said. “Tri’ni’s been asking Lacy and me to tell her all the names of all the monsters we know, in case she has to warn us of something. She also keeps asking me to tell her again how you managed to stab the nocheb lud. Don’t be surprised if she asks you for magic lessons.”

“That’s not all you wanted to talk about,” David said.

Allar smiled. “No, but I don’t like telling you everything that’s on my mind.”

They walked for a few moments without saying anything, watching the wheat fields on both sides of the road sway. Ahead of them, Babb was telling Tri’ni a story, swinging his sheathed bastard sword as a prop.

“Look,” Allar said. “I was about to tell you in the church. The thing, the . . . Trillith. It was talking to me, making me remember things, trying to make me want to take revenge. At first, yes, it really did convince me that I still wanted revenge on the Taranesti. I forgot when it was, and started thinking like I was eighteen again.”

David saw the guilt on Allar’s face, and said, “I’m sorry. I just wanted you to admit it, for your own sake. You remember how my mother always said you can’t heal if you don’t admit that you’re hurt? I just thought-”

“David,” Allar interrupted, “there’s more.”

David waited. He saw Allar’s eyes move to look ahead at Tri’ni, and Allar took a deep breath, steadying himself.

“I always told you that the reason I took so long to let you know about me killing the dark Elf in Tundanesti was because I was too ashamed. I said I had been terrified of what I’d done. Even I convinced myself of that. But, the thing is, the Trillith was making me relive all these memories, pulling up everything I’d even had to do with Taranesti. And it showed me what I did to that man. And it made me remember that I enjoyed it, and that I was happy and proud of what I’d done.”

David felt bile in his throat. “Allar, are you serious. You, you actually. . . ?”

“Of course I could never tell you.” Allar’s expression was pained. “I couldn’t even let myself remember. And I know it has to sicken you to hear me say it, but that’s what really happened. You told me you wanted the truth, and you’re my friend. I owed it to you to be honest.”

David laughed weakly. “I guess I can’t say I didn’t ask for it. I still don’t understand you, but I imagine I couldn’t unless something like that happened to me.”

Allar was nervous as he asked, “Can you still accept me as a friend?”

David scoffed. “The Lord forgives, and my standards of decency aren’t as high as His. I think I can manage to get along with you somehow. Though, to be honest, I still want you to give up adventuring. I guess that won’t happen, though.”

“We’ll see,” Allar said.

There was a slow pause, and then David whistled. “Wow. That was a pretty big surprise. And you’re telling me the secret of the sword is worse?”

“Oh, the sword?” Allar shook his head. “No. Nothing as bad as that. The sword just devours souls.”

Allar smiled to David, patted a hand on the sheath that held the black scimitar, then quickened his pace to the front of the group. For the second time in a short while, David cursed outwardly.

 

[Graywolf-ELM]

You might think I'm a horrible person, but the sword only devours souls, and I'm getting better.

Nice touch. Did your players go this in-depth into character interaction for this?

GW

 

[RangerWickett]

Episode Four: My Hero, Section I

“This was in my, let’s say, ‘less reputable’ days,” Babb said.

He soaked up Tri’ni’s grin. He’d been entertaining her with stories of his exploits for the past week, ever since they’d reached the surface. Now Babb was thankful that they were almost to Palesi, because he was running low on stories. A big city like Palesi ought to keep the dark Elf girl occupied until Babb could brew up some new trouble.

Babb patted the sword at his hip. “This sword has kept me safe for three years now, but I actually used to use a big two-handed thing. I called it Bonecutter.”

Babb chuckled, and Tri’ni laughed too.

“I called it ‘Stonecutter,’” Lacy interrupted, “because most of the time he’d miss and hit rocks.”

“Thanks, Lace,” Babb growled. “Anyway, I was with a group of Herethim mercenaries. You know Herethim? They’re big, brutish, tusked guys? Well, anyway, I decided to go out on my own one night while everybody else made camp. We were up in these wooded mountains, and I’d been getting impatient that we hadn’t fought anyone. You following me?”

He didn’t wait for Tri’ni to answer.

“So, like I said, I’m up in the woods, at night, and I see a campfire, so I come in close and sneak up on the guy. He’s in a horrible spot to camp. There are hills on two sides of him, trees all around. I mean, anybody could’ve snuck up on this guy.”

David whispered snidely, “Even Babb, apparently.”

“So,” Babb said, “I hide in the trees until I get to his backside. He’s polishing his sword, just sitting on a tree stump, whistling. I mean, I’m not the quietest guy in the world, but I was being pretty sneaky, and I come up behind him, planning to hit him on the back of the head. But then-”

“Why?”

Babb looked down at Tri’ni. “What?”

“Why did you want to attack him?”

Babb shrugged, embarrassed. “I told you. I was young. I wasn’t really thinking.”

Lacy added, “He was fifteen, at the time. And about five feet tall. That’s going to be key here in a second.”

Babb snorted derisively. “Yeah Lace, and you were eighteen and six-foot-five. Let’s leave height out of this.”

Babb’s older, taller adopted sister faked a pained expression. “Oh, but it’s not as funny if we do.”

From the back of the group, Babb heard Allar quietly say, “I think you look especially graceful being so tall, Lacy.” Babb glared at Allar, then returned to his story.

“Anyway, Trin, I raise my sword to club the guy, and I realize he’s seen me in the reflection on the flat of his sword. He spins around and swings at me, and I barely manage to dodge it-”

“He missed,” Lacy said, “because he saw a Geidon and thought you were going to be seven feet tall. He was trying to cut off your head, and just swung over it.”

“-so I dodge it, and I’m completely surprised, thinking he’s going to kill me when all I wanted was a little fun, so I ram the guy, and knock him into the fire. He falls on his ass and tries to put out the flames, and I grab his sword to make sure he can’t hit me.”

Tri’ni looked like she was repressing a giggle, and Babb grinned.

“But he doesn’t stop there,” Babb said. “He rolls and puts out the flames like it’s nothing, and then, here’s the crazy thing, he grabs a handful of coals and throws them at me. Just grabs ‘em in his bare hand and chucks ‘em. The ash and sparks get me in the eye, and I swing at him wildly for a few seconds before I realize he’s run off.”

“Actually,” Lacy said with a triumphant smile, “I remember you telling me that you tripped over a log as you were trying to run away, and that he started shooting arrows at you and shouting for you to bring his sword back.”

Babb crossed his arms. “Well that happened too. I was getting to that. You see, um, Trin, so, what had happened was-”

Babb felt Tri’ni put a hand on his arm, and he stopped. The young dark Elf woman shook her head.

“It’s alright, Babb. I’m sure you kept your own in the fight. What were you trying to get at, though?”

“Oh,” Babb said. “Well, I was basically just explaining where I got this sword from. I managed to outrun the guy, and I must have lost him. I mean, I feel bad now, but hey, it’s a really good sword. And I make sure to always keep it polished.”

Babb drew his sword, its silvery blade flashing in the sunlight. He held it up for the others to admire, but he did a doubletake, looking at a reflection in the flat of the blade.

“Behind us,” Babb snarled, spinning.

If it had been someone aggressive, the rest of the group might have died if Babb had not been there defending them. But in truth, when he faced the reflection in his blade, he saw only a medium-framed man, fully cloaked, a hood casting a shadow across his face. He appeared unarmed.

“Oh.” Babb wanted the man to know his disappointment. “Not a monster. Not my business then.”

Babb was about to turn away and let the others deal with the stranger, but the man pulled back his hood, catching Babb’s eye.

His face was sleek and reptilian, dim gray-green scales ridging his jaw and eyebrows. Gold and black mingled in wide eyes that swept across the group, barely even lingering on Babb. Everyone else was watching the man nervously, and Babb waved slightly to him, his sword swinging almost casually. The stranger was unlike anything he’d ever heard of.

Lacy was the first to speak, her tone friendly. “Can we help you?”

The scaled man looked hard at Lacy, and Babb thought he saw pain cross his sister’s face for a moment.

“I am Seekan,” the man said, lingering on his own name.

Babb frowned at Seekan, but he saw that his sister looked fine now.

“Lacy,” Babb asked, “do I kill him?”

Lacy shook her head. “Not yet, Babb.”

Babb shrugged and turned away, resheathing his sword and continuing his story. “So, that’s probably the most expensive thing I’ve ever stolen, but my favorite was the porcelain piggy. That’s a funny story.”

 

[RangerWickett]

Episode Four: My Hero, Section II

“You understand anything she’s saying?” Babb asked.

Beside him, the lizard-skinned Seekan gave a restrained shake of his head. Babb expected as much.

Babb was unhappy with his lack of role in this endeavor. Seekan, pleased to find someone who spoke Lyceian, had proposed a job for them, saying he needed explorers. David, Allar, and Tri’ni were away purchasing the water-breathing magic they would need to retrieve the gem Seekan was interested in, and Lacy was using a new translation charm to find them a ship. And Babb was stuck with his sister, who currently was not able to talk to them in Lyceian, and Seekan, who was too business-like to make conversation.

“You hire adventurers often?”

Seekan shook his head, again with restraint.

Babb sighed. They were at the city’s port, full of high cliffs overlooking the actual harbor. Most of the buildings looked to be storehouses or homes, very different from the lush entertainments of the port of Lyceum. Even if Babb could speak the language, he doubted there would be any trouble worth getting into.

Lacy turned away from her conversation to look at them, and took off the necklace – woven from her hair and that of a guard at the city gate. She smiled eagerly.

“Throlt here has given me directions to someone who operates a ship in the area we want to go. Babb, you’ll never guess, but it’s a temple of Vanessi.”

“Really. Huh.” Babb leaned back in surprise, then nudged Seekan. “My sister is a priest of Vanessi. We grew up in a temple. Nice coincidence, huh.”

Seekan took half a step away, out of Babb’s nudging reach. “I am unfamiliar with the god.”

“You’re from Lyceum, right?”

“Not originally.”

Babb shrugged. “I’ll let Lacy tell you the details later. So, Lace, where to now?”

“Throlt said the temple is a little further north, between Firaelgu Cemetery and Vulfhant Garden. This way.”

They walked to the temple, the sound of deep bass drums pounding out occasionally further inland. Babb was certain it had to be nearing night, but the sun had been hovering above the north-western horizon for at least an hour. He yawned

* * *​

“And so thankfully Lacy’s good with healing, or else I’d have much worse than just a scar. Damn do I hate acid.”

To Babb’s eye, Seekan was completely disinterested in his talk of old adventures, and it was beginning to frustrate him. He had been just too quiet since he showed up. With the translation charm, Lacy at least was able to talk to the locals and step into interesting shops along the way. He wondered if maybe the strange lizard-man would be more open about himself.

“So you’re a wizard, right?”

Seekan looked Babb in the eyes, then shrugged. “I have a few powers. I know many much stronger than I.”

“Look, don’t doubt yourself. I mean, every Nicholas Dragonsbane had to start small, I suppose. And you’ve got the whole ‘mystery’ thing down. Okay, the hood and robe is pretty stupid, but your face is nice and scary. It’s unique, you know?”

For a moment, Seekan smiled. “You don’t think I’m human, I hope.”

“I don’t really think much about that sort of stuff. David’d probably be interested in where you’re from more, really. I’m just curious what you can do.”

Seekan smirked with restraint. “Remain curious.”

Babb laughed. “Fine. If you want to keep up the mysterious pussy little wizard face, go ahead.”

He groaned and moved beside Lacy. They were skirting the tall iron fence of a graveyard now, but it was still bright, though the sun had set.

“Is this the place?”

Lacy looked down at him, then held up a hand for him to wait. She removed the translation charm. “Sorry, what? Oh, hold on a moment. I think we’re here.”

The road led up a hill to the temple of Vanessi, a wood and granite building flanked by two curving lines of flowering trees. Babb recognized the symbol of Vanessi’s clergy set in the stone above the temple’s entrance – a living tree facing upward, a dying tree facing downward, their trunks twined together in the center. Iron-wrought lanterns hung from the walls above windows on the second and third floors, but the entrance at the first floor was unlit.

“Not quite the same as home, is it?” Lacy said.

When they reached the entrance, the door opened and a short woman barely dressed in draping robes bowed to greet them. Babb’s eyes followed her chest as the dip revealed her smooth body. Her hair was braided up and held with a silver and gold pin, her lips glistened with the hint of a magical illusion, and her face was painted slightly red to make her look flush. A pendant with the symbol of Vanessi hung low between her breasts.

“No, not like home at all, really.” Babb whispered up to his sister, “Why couldn’t we have grown up at this temple?”

The woman shifted to lean against the wall, and spoke with a low, accented voice. “From Nozama, you’re? Well come to the Generous Temple of Vanessi. My name is a Therva. Well come.”

After Therva finished her greeting, she hesitated, as if she were finally noticing who the visitors were. She nodded weakly to Babb and Seekan, then craned her head to look at Lacy. She opened her mouth in surprise, then smiled.

“Priestess,” Therva nodded to the symbol of Vanessi Lacy wore as a pendant, then bowed slightly. “You do have come to visit? You are dress in strange clothes.”

As she rose from her bow, Therva adjusted her dress to remain decent. Babb glanced from her to his sister, six and a half feet tall and clothed in brown leather armor studded with metal and stained with spots of her own blood. Then he glanced at Seekan; the man seemed oblivious to Therva’s sexual posturing, which only reaffirmed Babb’s distrust of him.

Lacy put the translation charm on again, and Babb tuned out the conversation. Soon the voluptuous priestess was inviting them in, and other priests brought out maps of the nearby coast and islands. Male and female priests alike were dressed suggestively, and while Lacy negotiated their trip, Babb waited and watched the women. Occasionally visitors would arrive, speak with a priest or priestess at the door, and then pay to receive a spell that turned them invisible. Later they would depart, visible again, seeming quite pleased.

“What the hell kind of business are they running here?” Babb said, to himself mostly.

Seekan lowered his head and put fingers to his temple like he was in pain. “It is a summer festival that the temple hosts to entertain visitors and receive donations. The invisibility magic ensures confidentiality when the visitors are having sex.”

Babb did a double take. “Holy . What the hell is wrong with this temple? I mean, Lacy never had to do that for the temple back home.”

Sighing, Babb looked back at Therva, busy talking with his sister. “I bet she’s sad she’s missing all the fun. Hell, I’m sad I’m missing the fun.”

Suddenly Lacy and Therva laughed, and Lacy looked down, blushing. Babb grumbled and looked away. A few minutes passed, Babb stewing over the situation. Then he frowned and looked at Seekan.

“Wait, mystery mage. I thought you said you weren’t familiar with Vanessi. How did you know all that?”

The scaled mage might have winced; Babb couldn’t be certain. But then he stared into Babb’s eyes and said, “Remain curious.”

Babb walked away in frustration, suddenly uncomfortable in his old, rather smelly armor. He stood by a wall for a few minutes, biting his lip, but finally he opened his pouch and pulled out his coin purse. After all, he respected the goddess. He should make an offering.

* * *​

The robe fit oddly, but was much more comfortable than the armor he had been wearing for the past few weeks. His mind kept wandering back to that, and to how entertaining being invisible in a soapy bath had been.

“Babb, pay attention, please?” Lacy sighed with a nervous smile. She had not asked what he had gone and vanished off to do, but Babb was certain the guessing was killing her.

“Sorry, sis. Go on.” Babb yawned.

He didn’t worry that the details might not be interesting. He did not particularly feel like moving much right now. Listening to his sister would be a welcome rest.

Lacy pointed to the map, tracing a line from Palesi on the northern shore of Tennas, along the Stormchaser Coast to a small island. “Alright, this is about thirty miles. We’re two days from the solstice, and the priests always visit the island to perform the Tempest Ceremony. It’s a ritual to keep the sky clear on the solstice, when here in Palesi the sun will be up all day. From what I understand it’s similar to the Chuwian Frost Ritual from back home.”

“I like their rituals more than ours,” Babb laughed. Lacy frowned, and Babb shook a hand to wave off her concern. “Sorry. Go on.”

She pulled out a different map, with a clearly-marked scale of distance. “The old temple was on an island here, about a mile and a half away. It was destroyed by a tidal wave a few hundred years ago. They’d almost forgotten it was even there.”

Seekan nodded. “Then that is where the gem lies. All my divinations point to it. You will retrieve it for me, and then we will sail . . . here. Forty-five miles upstream of this delta is the Temple of Echoed Souls, where-”

“Wait a bit,” Babb said. “Lacy, we’re just going to share a ship with them to their current temple, then sneak out and loot their old one? I mean, sure, if they’re fine with that, better for us.”

Lacy looked uncomfortable. “I haven’t mentioned it to them, actually. I just said we wanted passage to the mouth of the Vespis River, then to Turinn. You’ll be alright if let you off at the river, Seekan?”

A restrained nod.

“Good. I arranged a decent price for the trip, since we’re only really putting them out of their way for the second half of it. We’ll have to find another ship to take us from Turinn to Seaquen. Should be easier, though.”

“Yeah,” Babb said. “At least they speak a real language there. But, Lace, you never quite explained how we’re going to get the gem from the sunken temple.”

Lacy sighed. “They don’t even know it’s there, so they can’t be angry if we take it.”

“It’s good that your conscience is clear, but that doesn’t help us get there. They’ll be suspicious if we all go for a swim.”

“Well, it will be difficult,” Lacy said, “but if we’re fast we can do it. The temple is further south than Palesi, and the cliffs to the north and east cast a long shadow, so there should be about three hours of night there. They’re going to be busy performing rituals all day, and they’re not supposed to go outside at night, so we should be able to leave and come back while most everyone is asleep.”

Babb nodded and yawned. “Alright then, let me get my stuff, and we can go back to the inn and tell the others.”

“Um,” Lacy started.

Seekan asked, “There is a complication?”

“There are actually two temples on the island. The other one is a chapel of Meliska.”

Babb shrugged. “Do they have sex rituals too? I can spread my prayers around if it will help.”

“Babb,” Lacy scolded. “Meliska’s clergy is opposed to Vanessi’s. We never had to worry about it back home since the nearest chapel of Meliska was thirty miles away, but the rivalry here is intense.”

Seekan stared at Lacy. “These are opposing deities?”

“Sisters,” Lacy said. “You honestly don’t know about Meliska? I thought she had a lot of followers in lower Nozama.”

Babb tossed up his hands. “Don’t worry about it, Lace. Meliska’s, what? Life and the sun? Vanessi is life and the power of nature. Why everyone makes such a big deal about it doesn’t make sense to me. Look, I’m tired, and no bed at a crummy inn is going to be as good as where I was twenty minutes ago, so to hell with more planning. We’ll worry about it on the trip there.”

Lacy sighed. “This is important, Babb. But if you want, we can go back to the others. I won’t bother you with the details.”

“That’s just the way I like it. Now, could you put that necklace back on and ask them if I can keep the robe? It’s like a warm towel.”

 

[RangerWickett]

Episode Four: My Hero, Section III

Babb pounded across the wooden planks of the Palesi docks, then planted himself heavily on the stack of crates beside Tri’ni.

He said, “I see they found you something to wear.”

“Yes.” Tri’ni grinned back, then waved her arms to show off the sleeved shirt, loose and pale gold. For pants she wore fur-trimmed brown leather. “I like it. It catches the wind better than ray-skin.”

“That’s what that was?” Babb chuckled. “You ready to go?”

“Well, of course. It’s not like I have much to carry.”

Babb and Tri’ni both turned to look at the ship they were set to leave on, the Tvencleft. Gold and green banners decorated the deck, and its three sails were woven with the symbol of Vanessi. It was certainly one of the most impressive ships in the harbor, which was filled mostly with stumpy fishing vessels and rugged merchant ships from Kequalak City or Turinn. It was nearing noon, and hundreds of dockworkers swept almost tidally along the docks, ferrying supplies from warehouses to ships.

Babb said, “Big festival, apparently. Everyone’s heading out to enjoy a whole day of sun. Must be pretty strange for you, huh?”

“The sun, yes,” Tri’ni said. She glanced up, shielding her eyes, then looked back down to the active docks. “But the city isn’t that strange. It’s very flat. I’m used to things being built in walls and ceilings. Only a few cities down below take up just one cavern. Most are spread out with tunnels connecting the different areas. But Palesi’s very open. And the wind here: I like it best of any place so far.”

Babb yawned, and soon Tri’ni yawned as well. A pair of sailors from the Tvencleft came over and gestured for them to move off the crates. Tri’ni hopped clear, and Babb staggered wearily to his feet. The men carried off the nearest crate, eyeing the two of them and chattering in Tennae.

“Trin,” Babb said, “do you get the sense that we’re the two most interesting-looking people in this city? Everyone’s been giving me funny looks.”

Tri’ni sighed. “You, me, and our employer, yeah.”

“So you consider yourself a professional now? What skills do you bring to our party?”

Tri’ni looked down, embarrassed. “I climb better than the rest of you, and I can see in the dark. Yes, I know it’s going to be daylight all day, and that there’s nowhere to climb on a boat.”

“You can climb on a boat,” Babb said derisively, but then he winced at himself. He had not intended to sound angry. “Look, I guess you don’t use them down underground, but you see all those shafts of wood and ropes on top of the ship. When we set out, they’re going to let down a sail, which is a big piece of cloth that will catch the wind. That’s what moves the ship. Actually, do you even have boats down there?”

Tri’ni frowned. Now she looked mildly offended. “Of course we do. You can’t very well have a city if there’s no water nearby. I don’t know what all these ‘trees’ grow on, but most of our food comes from the water.”

“I think the sun makes them grow,” Babb said.

“The sun. You act like it’s so important. We get by without any sun just fine. I don’t know. I’m becoming a little frustrated with the sun. I like it best when it’s setting.”

“Oh, stop whining. You’ll get used to it. I grew up where it snowed half the year, and I got used to the swamp they built Elstrice in. Anyway, you’ve got an advantage on the rest of us with your eyes. You’d probably be a better scout than Allar.”

Allar was standing on the deck of the Tvencleft, about twenty feet away, but he turned and looked at them just then. He smiled for just a moment, then walked over to where Lacy stood on the gangplank.

Tri’ni sighed as if she was sad, but then her tone was cheerful. “For a man who tried to kill me, he’s actually rather nice. You know, he was asking about Lacy yesterday. Wait, look. I think he’s about to. . . .”

Tri’ni nodded in Allar and Lacy’s direction, and Babb watched. Lacy was lower on the gangplank than Allar, but he still had to look up to meet her eyes. Then he opened his hip pouch and pulled out what looked like a small book. He handed it to her, and Lacy smiled. Babb started to walk toward them, but Tri’ni put out a hand to stop him.

“I knew you didn’t like him.”

Babb glared down at Tri’ni. “He’s not the problem. It’s who he’s talking to.”

Babb growled to himself. “You don’t know how it goes. Lace has terrible times with men. Everyone starts off feeling sorry for her, which just shows that the bastards think there’s something wrong with her. And then, every time, something happens that ruins it. The last time, there were two guys, and they ended up beating us to a job we were hired for.

“Are you sure you don’t hold it against him that he tried to kill him? Because if I don’t want to hit him just for myself.”

Tri’ni straightened her back and clenched her fists like she was getting ready to fight. “Yes. Hit our friends. You’ll be my hero. Then I can take Allar’s job as scout.”

Babb chuckled, then relaxed. “You’ll need to do better than that. Isn’t David teaching you magic?”

Tri’ni shook her head, suddenly dejected. “Not yet. I thought I had something in the mountains, but nothing since then.”

Babb said, “So you’re just a good climber who can see in the dark, and sunburns easily? I think we’ll keep Allar.”

“I can swim well,” Tri’ni said. “Allar wanted me to come along, and he asked as if he wasn’t sure I could.”

“Al wanted you to. . . ? Hey, he can do what he wants, I guess. Here, in case he’s still trying to get you killed, . . . I suppose I should give you a gift too.”

Babb self-consciously bent over and unstrapped a sheathed dagger from his leg, then rummaged through his pack to find a short sword. “Here. The sword’s new, got it this morning, but I’ve had the dagger for two years now. You know how to use these?”

Tri’ni took the weapons with a smirk. “No, not at all. At least, you know, not the way an ‘adventurer’ should. But, thank you.”

“I’ll show you some time, then. Just keep them with you when you go to the underwater temple.”

“You’re not coming, Babb?”

Babb stomped on the dock, then made a circular kicking motion. “Not built for swimming that well. Lacy’s set me up as a distraction, just in case.”

“Oh.”

Tri’ni looked disappointed, which made Babb feel good. While he admitted he probably would not have been able to swim to the ruins, he still was not happy being left out.

“So,” Tri’ni said hesitantly, “you like to tell stories. Didn’t anything interesting happen yesterday.”

“What has my sister been telling you?” Babb looked at her dubiously.

“Actually,” Tri’ni said, “I was wondering a little about Seekan. Whenever I see him, he stares at me a little longer than seems normal.”

Babb muttered, “Lizard man, not normal? Why would you say that?”

“I wonder if he’d be interested in teaching me magic.”

“Gods I hope not.” Babb held up a hand in defense. “Hey, sorry, but the guy is strange. He won’t say anything about himself. Even Lacy’s a little wary of him. He’s lucky he’s a wizard. With a face like that, he probably needs magic to ever sleep with a woman.”

Tri’ni cleared her throat in surprise, then shook her head. “I trust him.”

“So he’s probably got a spell on you.”

Tri’ni shook her head again, somber. “Believe me. I know what having someone meddle with your mind feels like.”

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence, and then Tri’ni smiled weakly.

“Thank you again for the, um, weapons. When Allar’s done talking to Lacy, maybe he’ll show me how to put them on.”

Babb straightened to his full height, trying to look imposing. Tri’ni cringed, but still smiled as she walked away. Babb watched her for a moment as she climbed the gangplank and started talking with Lacy and Allar. Then Babb felt someone standing close beside him. He turned to see a stiff Seekan, his robes barely moving in the wind.

“You are not accompanying the others to retrieve the gem?”

“Nope.” Babb took a half-step away. “I heard you’re not either.”

Seekan moved away, to the ship. Babb wondered suddenly why the man had no supplies with him.

Everyone else was aboard the Tvencleft now, and the last of the crates were being carried on, but Babb did not feel quite like leaving yet. The city was actually fairly tame compared to Elstrice, Lyceum, or Seaquen, but it was some place he had never been before. When he and Lacy had first left home three years ago, he would have been impressed by that alone. He could not explain it to himself, but he wanted to be surprised again.

Babb grumbled, looking around again, still unimpressed. “I guess after you kill your first dragon, the towns stop mattering so much.”

He was about to board the ship when he saw a nearby vessel unfurl its single sail, revealing the symbol of the church of Meliska: a pine tree in black field, lit by the blue glow of an eclipsed sun. Almost immediately he heard unhappy voices from the deck of the Tvencleft.

Babb nodded, grinned eagerly, and went on board.

* * *​

The two ships – Tvencleft of the Temple of Vanessi and Lupaseloma of the Chapel of Meliska – paced each other along the western shore of Tennas, traveling through what would have been night. Babb found himself on deck as the Tvencleft began to clip eastward, around the northern cape of the Stormchaser Coast. Tri’ni was on deck, as well as Seekan, so Babb kept his distance, slumping his back on the port railing, with his head dangling upside down.

It was cloudy, and dark, the low sun hiding the ship in the shadow of the coastal cliffs. At one point Babb saw motion on the shore, like some huge creature was diving from the old Elvish forest into the sea, but it was at least a mile away, and he was dizzy. In keeping with the festival atmosphere, the priests had brought along thick Tennae ales.

It disappointed Babb that even hanging his head upside down over the stormy sea could not make him vomit, so he stood with a sway, and went downstairs, intending to punch Allar. Instead he woke up the next morning to Lacy shaking him. They had reached the island.

* * *​

“You don’t trust her, do you?” Babb asked.

Allar squinted one eye, uncertain. “We’ve talked a little. She assures me there are Taranesti just as cruel as I used to think. And she seems to hate the Trillith pretty intensely. I don’t know. I suppose I just don’t know where I stand.”

In their room on the island, Allar and Babb were helping each other put on their armor. They were in the most distant building of the three that made up the Temple of Vanessi. They could hear the priests playing horns and bells in the courtyard, as the sun moved toward dusk. Lacy was with them, fasting in a ritual she understood only slightly better than Babb. David was double-checking the waterbreathing talismans to make sure they had not been a cheap scam, and Tri’ni was away with Seekan, a half-mile away at the Chapel of Meliska.

Babb said, “So are you bringing her along because you want to show how trusting you are, or because you want to keep an eye on her?”

“You’re the one calling me distrusting? Honestly, I’m bringing her along because she has Elvensight. Seekan mentioned the gem has a fragment of a soul in it. Full-blooded Elves can see that sort of thing. It’s better than picking up all the fallen rocks and looking.”

“Huh.” Babb frowned and shook his head to test the tightness of the neck guard. “I can still come along, Al. Last night I saw this nasty thing crawling out of the old Elf woods and swim into the ocean. What if it attacks? Of course, I was really drunk at the time. Are you sure you’re going to be safe by yourself?”

Allar smiled. “This will be fun, Babb. Too bad you’re going to be stuck here, watching our backs. We’ll leave a spare water breathing charm for you, just in case we don’t come back before the sun comes back up. Don’t worry, I’ll keep Lacy safe.”

Babb scratched behind his ear nervously. “Yeah, Allar, I wanted to tell you something about that.”

Babb felt the pressure of Allar staring at him, and he could not think of what to say.

“Just, watch out for her, alright? For me.”

Allar smiled. “We’ll be fine, but you can trust me. We’ll come back in one piece. You just try not to sleep around with any more priestesses.”

“Dammit, did she tell you about that?” Babb huffed.

“So, is that a normal ritual for priestesses of Vanessi? Because-”

“You’re pushing it, Al,” Babb said.

Someone knocked on the door, and Allar opened it. David stepped in, holding up two handfuls of stones on chains. He said, “They work. Take one, and let’s round up the others to go over the plan again.”

Babb turned away to pick up his sword. “Good for you. I guess I’ll get Trin and scaleface.”

David tossed him one of the talismans. Babb caught it and was out the door.

* * *​

He had not snuck up on someone in three years, and his last attempt had not been in plate armor. But he wanted to hear what they were discussing. The waves might cover some of the sound of his approach, and the scrabby trees would hide him, he hoped.

“- near Melasurej?” Seekan was saying. “Guenhavesti or Taranesti side?”

Tri’ni replied, “He was. . . . Well, he started, and ended up, on the Taranesti side. But I remember he told me that he was captured by the Guenhavesti when he was very young. They kept him as a slave until he was . . . thirty-eight, I think, when he managed to escape. He never did talk much about that, though.”

Babb wondered who they were talking about.

Seekan asked, “Would your father have told this Trillith anything more?”

Tri’ni’s voice sounded suspicious. “Why?”

“I am sorry if I have pried. I do not have a father of my own. A strange incidence of my birth.”

“I don’t want to talk about the Trillith,” Tri’ni said. “Anyway, the one that . . . that controlled my father and me, it’s dead. If you know about the Guenhavesti and the Taranesti, you must know about the Trillith.”

“I travel,” Seekan said, “but seldom linger. I do regret what happened to you and your father. I have kin in bondage. This gem will in part help free them.”

Babb could not see them, but he shook his head to himself and whispered. “He has to be evil. He’s too ‘mysterious’ not to be.”

Tri’ni said, “I hope we find it. I want to help.”

Babb worried that if they kept talking, the dark Elf girl might begin to trust the strange lizard man too much. So he stood and pressed against the tree, then called out to them. Tri’ni jumped a bit, but Seekan did not startle at all. Babb kept his eyes on the man as he told them it was time to go.

* * *​

They kept their voices conspiratorially low as the evening temple bells marked the approach of dusk. The others were gathered on stone benches around a candle-lit map of the nearby rocks and islands, but Babb sat near the door. If he was going to keep watch, he wanted to start early.

When their discussion ended, Babb nodded to Lacy and waved her over.

“Can we talk?”

Lacy might have sensed his frustration. She nodded and opened the door. “I need to change my clothes anyway.”

Babb followed her to the room she was sharing with Tri’ni, then waited impatiently outside as she went in to change. Babb tapped his hoof impatiently, and suddenly wished he had found a place to buy tobacco back in Palesi. It was almost perfectly quiet, just the sound of waves in the distance.

The door opened and Lacy whispered, “What did you want to talk about? I hope this isn’t about Allar.”

“Al?” Babb started to shake his head. “No, this is more import-”

Then Lacy stepped out of the door, and Babb groaned. She looked like she had borrowed half of one of Therva’s dresses. Her chest and hips were covered with white cloth, and she still had a dagger on a belt around her leg.

“There’s a monster out there, Lacy. I saw it last night when I was drunk. And it . . . I swear to Brakken, and hell, I’ll swear to Vanessi too, if you don’t wear more than that, the monster had better eat you.”

Lacy crossed her arms self-consciously. “Pearl divers in Seaquen wear this sort of . . . thing all the time.”

“Seaquen,” Babb said, having to restrain himself from yelling, “is thousands of miles south from here. Dammit, Lace, you’ll freeze to death in that.”

“I’ve got that covered. If you had been listening, you’d know that David and I can both use magic to protect against the cold. I can’t swim in leather armor.”

“Allar is,” Babb said. “Wait, no. Dammit, you’re distracting me. I wanted to warn you about Seekan. I overheard him and Trin talking, and he’s just . . . suspicious.”

Babb checked to make sure Lacy was not going to laugh. Then he said, “He was asking about the dark Elves, and Tri’ni’s dad and . I don’t trust him. It might not be safe down there.”

Lacy hesitated, thinking, then nodded. “You might be right, but do you know why someone we’ve never met would have it out for us specifically? Look, Babb, I know how you get sometimes. You get bored, and you want to make trouble. We’ve got to go now if we’re going to do this. Just keep an eye on Seekan while we’re out. If you are right, just get your hands on him and strangle him until he tells you what his evil plan is. But try to wait a little while before you do, alright?”

“You’re not wearing that,” Babb said.

“I’ll be careful.”

Lacy hugged him, then headed back for the room everyone else was in. Just as she was about to open the door, it opened itself, and Seekan glided out, his eyes on Babb.

“We must move swiftly,” Seekan said. “Night is upon us.”

Reluctantly, Babb followed.

 

[RangerWickett]

Episode Four: My Hero, Section IV

“Ugh.”

Babb sat upright, splashing the seawater around him. That confused him. He did not remember falling asleep.

Something tugged at his memory, a nightmare of mist and screams, but now the sun was rising, gray and shadowed, reflecting off the waves.

Why was he sitting in the ocean?

Eroded stone pillars and the remains of an old wooden dock surrounded him, pushing up out of the surf. Even sitting the water did not reach his belly, except when a wave splashed over him. He was not wearing his armor, and a water-breathing amulet was around his neck. Behind him was the Chapel of Meliska, and he thought he remembered going there last night, before, or maybe after, the others went for the sunken temple. The sun was rising now, so where were they?

And why was he sitting in the ocean?

A restrained voice said, “The sun rises, yet the others have not returned. It is good that you reconsidered following them.”

Babb looked to Seekan, walking through the surf toward him, the hem of his robes turning wet as he left the beach. Something felt wrong. Babb did not remember seeing him there a moment earlier.

“Um, yeah,” Babb said, shaking his head and standing. “Do you feel strange or anything?”

Seekan barely shrugged.

A distant splash sounded out to sea, and Babb saw Lacy’s head cast a long shadow over the water as it emerged from the waves. She kicked so her entire head and shoulders were above water, and then waved to him. Her shoulders were mostly bare, and Babb felt uncomfortable anger that she had worn the silly outfit. He wished he could remember when they had actually left, though. His memory was fuzzy.

Allar, Tri’ni, and finally David followed, swimming until they were shallow enough to wade. When they were fifty feet away, Lacy held up a bag and smiled. To Babb’s side, Seekan’s reptilian lips parted in a sharp-toothed grin.

The sun was rising, so they needed to get off the beach quickly, before any of the priests of Meliska or Vanessi saw them.

* * *​

Allar closed the door behind them, giving them privacy just in time as the morning bells of the Temple of Vanessi began to ring. Babb, tense with curiosity, finally spoke.

“Tell me what I missed, dammit.”

The group smiled, in their own ways. Lacy’s nervous smile, Allar amused laugh, Tri’ni’s eager grin, David’s smirk. And Seekan, with a soft, knowing curve to his lips.

“We were attacked,” Tri’ni said, proudly lifting her shirt to show off the raw flesh of her side and thigh. It looked recently healed.

Lacy explained, “At the old temple, it was very hard to see, even with a light spell. Tri’ni was the one who spotted the creature. It was something like a lashai, big and with lots of tentacles.”

Allar nodded. “It covered me in some sort of slime that made me float to the surface, and then David seared it with a fire spell-”

“-which disturbed the water,” David continued, “causing the ruins of the temple to start to collapse.”

“Right,” Tri’ni said. “It grabbed Lacy, and me, and David, and was about to get away when the temple fell on it. I had to use the dagger you gave me to cut the tentacle off.”

Lacy said, “And Allar managed to cut through the slime and swim back down. He cut me free while David made the water steam around the lashai.”

It sounded very exciting to Babb. And they had not needed him.

“But then,” Tri’ni said, excited, “the monster started to eat Allar, holding him with all the tentacles we hadn’t cut off yet. I saw it knock Lacy’s sword away, and it fled, faster than David could catch up.

“Lacy and I swam with it, and just when the thing was about to pull Allar’s head inside it’s mouth, Lacy reached out and grabbed Allar’s arm. She put some spell on him, and the monster started to spasm and let go of Allar.”

Lacy explained, “I placed a ward on him. I was just lucky I guessed what type of magic the creature was vulnerable to.”

“Lacy was amazing,” Tri’ni said. “She swam faster than me, and when the thing let Allar go, she created a wall to keep the monster away.”

Babb looked at his sister. “You can do that? You never did that for me.”

“Sorry,” Lacy said. “Usually I figure it’s better off just to heal you.”

“That’s alright. So, the monster got away?” Babb was hopeful he might be able to finish it off.

Tri’ni shook her head. “No. It was great. The thing swam for David, and he’d been waiting for it. It went for him with its tentacles, and David just touched it, and. . . . This is the best part. David, do you want to tell him?”

David snorted, then shook his head.

“Oh, well,” Tri’ni said, “I was barely back to where David and the creature were, and I get there just in time to see the thing’s body transform into a naked gnome.”

Babb laughed. “What the hell?”

“It’s a disguise spell,” David said. “I just adapted it a bit. I thought it’d be useful underwater.”

Tri’ni grinned. “It was. It was, I guess I have to say, a little uncomfortable killing it when it looked like a gnome, but the monster couldn’t breath, and didn’t know how to swim without all its tentacles. We finished it easily.”

“Damn,” Babb grumbled. “So then you found the gem?”

Lacy said, “Yes. It took a while sifting through the debris, which is why we were late coming back. Seekan, I sincerely hope we found the right gem.”

Babb held his breath, watching Seekan and Lacy. She pulled forth a tiny clear gem and held it in her palm. It was less than a quarter of an inch across, with a triangular cut. Everyone leaned in close, probably not having had a chance to see it up close until now.

“It’s diamond,” David said. “The cut looks familiar.”

Seekan’s taloned fingers slid the tiny gem out of Lacy’s palm and into some pocket inside his robes. Sibilant, he replied, “I assure you, it is ancient.”

Babb harrumphed. “A diamond that small wouldn’t even cover the cost of those water breathing amulets. What’s so important about it.”

Tri’ni’s wide emerald eyes slid from Seekan to Babb. He saw awe in her expression.

“There’s a soul in it,” she said. “I wonder whose.”

“Unfortunately,” Seekan replied, his voice gentle, “you will have to remain curious.”

A knock came at the door, then a voice in Tennae, urgent. Babb looked around to the others, all dripping with seawater.

Allar cursed quietly. “I’d hoped we’d have a little more time than this. Lacy, what’s going on?”

“Just a moment,” Lacy said.

She had to search through her belongings to find the translating charm, and then she went to the door and spoke through it. A quick conversation followed, Lacy’s expression growing increasingly worried. Finally she took the necklace off.

“I don’t. . . . That was Therva. She’s worried the Meliskan priests are going to attack. They are saying one of their priests was murdered, less than an hour ago, in their chapel.”

David sighed. “Lucky us. Let me guess: one of them saw us at the beach by the chapel?”

Lacy shook her head. “No, not at all. Nobody seems to know what happened.”

Babb frowned, and he felt eyes turn to him. He had been near the chapel then, but his memory was blank. A deep growl filled his throat, and he looked with suspicion at Seekan.

“Did you see anything, boss?”

Seekan’s gold-green eyes narrowed. “We should prepare to leave. The ceremony is complete, correct?”

No one else seemed worried that the lizard man had ignored the question. Lacy simply replied, “Yes. We’re scheduled to set sail in about five hours.”

Allar stood, taking charge. “Alright. Get your things together and move back to our quarters on the Tvencleft. I know I’m exhausted, so try to get some sleep. We’re not getting paid to solve a murder mystery, so hopefully we’ll be gone before we get ourselves into trouble. We aren’t in any trouble, are we, Babb?”

Babb snapped out of his glare at Seekan long enough to scoff at Allar. “None that I caused, that’s for damn sure.”

“Sorry,” Allar said defensively. “I just don’t want to get between these two groups. No offense, Lacy?”

Lacy waved off his concern. “They’re not my Temple.”

Tri’ni chimed in, “This might be another ancient force of evil you’ve unleashed. It is a strange coincidence that there’d be a death while we were exploring the old temple.”

David jumped down from his chair and said, “I don’t handle ancient evil without sleep. Come on Allar. Let’s give the women room to change.”

Allar and David left, and Seekan did the same. Babb hesitated, still feeling uncomfortable. Then the Temple bells began to toll insistently, and he headed for the door.

Standing in the open doorway he said, “I’ve got a feeling we’ve gotten ourselves into trouble, and scaleface is to blame. I’ll put money to it.”

Tri’ni sighed. “Babb, you haven’t trusted him since you saw him. I’m sure, though. He is a good person. Try not to scare him away.”

“Yeah,” Babb said, “because there are lots of places to go on an island. You two get changed, and get to the boat.”

Babb left and closed the door behind him, and for a moment in the post-midnight sunrise he thought he saw mist creeping away from him. He blinked, and it was gone.

 

[RangerWickett]

Episode Four: My Hero, Section V

Babb squinted at his reflection in the flat of his blade, then smirked. He lowered the sword and looked out from the deck of the Tvencleft, searching for anything dangerous. Everything looked safe.

Babb huffed, disappointed.

The others were all asleep, but Babb did not feel tired. They had all come aboard the ship together, expecting to be well underway before they woke up. Lacy had finally changed into something respectable, and the others had joked about how much of a percentage Tri’ni was entitled to, but Babb had felt uncomfortable. He had taken off his armor and tried to sleep, but something inside him had told him to go on deck.

The Tvencleft’s crew of Vanessi priests were working quickly to weigh anchor and leave the island, with only a few still on shore to ensure the Meliskan priests would not try anything rash. All the precautions meant there wouldn’t be any fighting, and even the angry yelling was dying down. It left a bad taste in Babb’s mouth.

Therva walked by, directing the crew in Tennae to ready the ship for departure. Babb tapped her on her shoulder.

“Hey lady, we’re just leaving?”

Babb could almost see her trying to parse what he was saying, squinting as she translated. Then she nodded. “The Meliska priests are not we will fight. They say we lie. We with you will go to Turinn and come back after the Meliska priests not want will fight.”

Babb frowned. “You’re sure one of you guys didn’t kill their priest?”

“We no do kill.” Therva scowled and looked out to the sun, low to the north-east. “In night, all were sleeping.”

“What happened? How did he die?”

“Priest was woman,” Therva said. “They say, she no did. . . .”

Therva squinted, stuck on a word she did not know. She said something in Tennae, then made exaggerated motions to her throat and chest, breathing deeply. She shook her head, and spoke again in Tennae.

“Breathe?” Babb said. He mimed being choked, and when Therva laughed at him, he glared back. “So you’re saying she suffocated?”

“They say she no did breathe, yes.”

Something had happened in the night, Babb remembered, and he had had trouble breathing. And now he thought he remembered a woman, but it was all hazy. He briefly considered getting the others, but they had been ignoring his concerns this whole time. No, he should stay on deck.

Therva went back to directing the crew, and Babb waited. The deck was crowded, and he found himself pressed near the forecastle. He found himself looking at his sword again, and he remembered doing it before. Something seemed to be weighing down on him, and he turned to look behind him, but there was just the stairs of the forecastle.

Frowning, Babb sheathed his sword and made a mental note not to look at it again. The Tvencleft swept away from shore, heading south, and Babb wondered when they had left. For a few minutes, he just waited, until he noticed that work on the deck was slowing down. The ship was sailing on its own, and the crew were all sitting down, or leaning against the railing. Some were even lying on the deck, getting ready to sleep. In the distance to the south, the clouds were gray, and Babb was fairly certain competent sailors would be taking precautions against a storm.

“Someone’s using magic,” Babb muttered, and the simple statement seemed to shake away the haziness in his head.

He remembered earlier, at night, being at the Meliskan temple, hearing a cry for help, and he had run down a hallway lit with candles. A hallway where he had seen mist. Babb grunted and kicked the staircase beside him. He shook his head, snapped his fingers, and tried to focus. Finally he slammed his head into the main mast, and everything was clear.

“Hey, lady,” Babb said, shaking Therva, who was staring blankly back at the island.

She turned and smiled at him, and spoke in Tennae. He tried to shake her again, and contemplated slapping her, but he doubted it would do any good.

“Great. I get to do this alone.”

Babb went down the stairs to belowdecks, turning one last time to see if anyone on deck looked conscious. They were all motionless, at different stages of falling asleep. Something inside him suggested they might just be tired from staying up performing rituals all night, but Babb head-butted the nearest solid object, and that part of him shut up.

Once we has below deck, the dim light of the day faded to gloom, and the sounds of the ship and the sea became muted. The air was damp, hard to breathe. Babb lit a lantern, and the fire struggled to catch, but eventually it forced some illumination into the narrow hallway.

Judging from the number of people on deck, Babb imagined none of the crew were down here, which left just his friends and Seekan. Four doors down, Babb’s berth was on the left, Seekan’s on the right, with Allar and David fifth on the right, and the women sharing a room fifth on the left. Something inside Babb told him to check the storage hold one deck down, but Babb slammed his head into the wall again. The pain helped him ignore the voiceless suggestion.

He stomped toward Seekan’s berth, then drew his sword and kicked in the door.

It was empty, not even a bedroll or a hammock. The porthole window had been covered with a curtain, and Babb squinted in the darkness to make sure the lizard wasn’t hiding. The air grew damp and Babb wanted to go inside the room and close the door behind himself.

“Dammit,” Babb shouted to the air, “stop that! I’m going to find you, Seekan. Where the hell would you-”

Babb drew in a breath and looked behind him. Across the hallway, the door to Lacy and Tri’ni’s room hung open. He ran into the room and saw Tri’ni lying on her bedroll, and Seekan standing over her, one hand extended. The air around his hand shimmered with white light. In the back of the room, Lacy slept obliviously.

Babb slashed with his sword, and Seekan turned to face him as the blade bore down for his neck. His gold-green eyes widened, but when the blade struck where he was, it cut through him without resistance, trailing vapor. Seekan’s form wavered, his edges flowing like mist, and something slipped through his hand, falling to the floor.

Babb spun his sword for a backswing, and again he cut through Seekan’s body, but it was as intangible as fog. Seekan cringed as the sword sliced his body, and he collapsed momentarily into a cloud of gray mist, rolling with purpose across Tri’ni, putting her between him and Babb. Then Seekan’s body became tangible again, and he glared at Babb.

Babb felt a brief desire to sleep, but it was much fainter than before. He growled and raised his sword to strike, hoping this time the lizard man would stay solid, but then Seekan grabbed Tri’ni by the throat and yanked her across him as a shield. She did not react, as if she were in a deep slumber.

“Drop her,” Babb demanded, holding his sword at ready.

Seekan shifted slightly, reaching out with one hand to try to grab something on the floor, the gem, now glowing almost as bright as a candle. Babb stomped on it, and Seekan hissed, drawing back.

“No gem for you,” Babb said. “I haven’t crushed it yet, and if you don’t want me to hurt it, you’re going to let Trin go and stay solid.”

“I need the gem,” Seekan said. “She resists, and I need this girl’s dreams to keep her from overwhelming us. You felt her power. If you do not trust me, we may both die.”

“Sure,” Babb said. “Try whatever tricks you want, ‘boss.’ I’ve been wise to you from the start. Now you’ve got ‘til the count of three to-”

Babb tried to talk, but he suddenly felt like he was breathing water. The air turned cold, and his limbs refused to move, unless he wanted to go to sleep. Babb managed a gurgling growl and slightly lifted his sword for Seekan, before he saw that the man was slumped on the ground, his limbs spasming.

Unable to fight the compulsion, Babb sagged, and the moment his hoof came off the gem, he was able to breathe again. He lay there catching his breath for a moment, then felt a cold mist sweep across his legs. He looked and saw Seekan’s form faded into vapor again, sliding across the floor. Babb scrambled away and hacked at the mist, but only cut into wood. Seekan’s mist form flowed past him and out the door, then headed down the hallway.

Babb leapt into the hallway after Seekan, and saw the mist roll to the base of the stairs. For a brief moment in the dim sunlight, Seekan shifted into his solid form, then cringed and staggered down the stairs to the storage hold. Babb was about to follow when Tri’ni screamed. Babb cursed and ran back to her, dropping his sword and holding her steady.

“Trin, wake up. Get ahold of yourself, dammit.”

Tri’ni’s face was clenched with pain, her eyes tightly shut. Babb didn’t know what else to do, so he slapped her, and her eyes opened, gleaming green even in the dim light of the toppled lantern.

“What happened?” Tri’ni asked, frightened. “I had . . . I had a nightmare. It was . . . horrible. Babb, what-?”

“It was that bastard Seekan. He was doing something to you with that gem we found for him.”

Tri’ni struggled free of Babb’s arms and shook her head. “Seekan? No, he wouldn’t. Babb, why do you. . . . Wait, I know that feeling.”

She shivered, and her expression slowly shifted to one of cold dread. Tri’ni let out a cry and covered her face with her hands, shaking her head. Babb reached out to her, not wanting to leave her, but knowing they needed to move quickly to catch Seekan.

“Trin, he’s getting away.”

“No,” she said, choking. “I trusted him, and he . . . he went into my mind. He. . . .”

She collapsed, unable to talk. Babb retrieved the lantern and his sword and stood, then headed out the door after Seekan. He had seen him head to the lower deck, but to be safe Babb wanted to check up on deck. He slammed his head into the wall just to be certain, but he still thought it was a good idea, so he ran up to the main deck. Now everyone was passed out, motionless, maybe even dead. Babb was about to go back below deck when he saw the dark clouds that had been in the distance were getting closer. The ship was headed for a storm.

“Good job, Vanessi,” Babb muttered.

He stomped back below deck, and saw Tri’ni leaning on the wall outside her room, struggling to walk. Babb waved for her to follow, then leapt down the stairs to the lower storage hold. It was completely dark here, and Babb’s lantern hid more than it revealed. Crates and barrels littered the low-ceilinged room, vanishing into shadows to the fore and aft. The walls creaked, but he could hear nothing else.

“Alright Seekan,” he called, “I’ll talk now. Tell me what’s up, and . . . and we can stop the evil gem together.”

“She’s not evil,” came a reply from the aft.

Babb headed toward it, sneaking, keeping his lantern low. “Of course not. Why did you kill the priestess, then?”

“The woman saw me taking the dreams of the others. She would have alerted them, and your companions would have been discovered before I could retrieve the gem.”

“You’re being awfully forthcoming,” Babb said. He could not quite tell where the voice was coming from. “What’s the deal, boss?”

The creaking of the ship increased, and the air grew thick again. Babb slammed his forehead into a nearby crate, and the sensation subsided. He hoped he could stop whatever Seekan was up to soon, because his head was starting to hurt.

“You must trust me,” Seekan said. “I have searched for this piece of the Mother for years. You are all that stands between me and saving her. I merely waylaid you last night, and I do not want you as my enemy now.”

Babb finally spotted Seekan, standing beside the wall, clenching the gem in his fist. Babb leveled his sword at the scale-skinned man.

“You were screwing with Trin’s head,” he said. “I’m not gonna let you get away with that.”

Seekan turned and gave a restrained sigh. “Were I to explain it, you would not understand. What I took from the girl was a trifle, but it will keep the danger at bay. I would prefer your help, but I do not require it.”

“Babb,” Tri’ni cried.

Babb turned to look back at the stairs, but could not see Tri’ni. He flashed his lantern and saw her just as she rounded the nearest set of crates. She was holding a dagger, and looked enraged.

Babb said, “Stay back.”

Tri’ni seethed wordlessly for a moment, then pointed her dagger at Seekan. “You tricked me. You’re one of them, aren’t you?”

Seekan considered her, showing no emotion. “I can believe the tales you told me. Some of us trillith are as cruel and manipulative as you said, but I am not such as them. I did only what I needed to protect us all. Now, do not attack me, or else I will not be able to control this spirit’s power.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Babb turned to face Seekan, then Tri’ni, his lantern only illuminating one at a time.

“He’s lying,” Tri’ni spat. “I won’t let you control me again!”

She rushed past Babb and stabbed awkwardly at Seekan, but the blade slipped harmlessly through him as he transformed to mist. Again the mental force washed over them, and Babb staggered sideways into a stack of crates, knocking them over and shattering his lantern. Oil spread across the floor and cracked wood of the crates.

“,” Babb cursed.

He turned and saw Seekan trying to keep away from Tri’ni as she stabbed at him. The light from the gem glowed through Seekan’s hand, and Babb rushed toward him, aiming a swing for the gem.

Seekan’s misty form recoiled, and he returned to solid form long enough to slash at Tri’ni with the claws on his left hand. He struck Tri’ni on the arm, cutting her and shoving her away. Babb caught her and pulled her aside.

“Keep back, dammit.” Babb slashed at Seekan, cutting just fog. He growled.

“In fact,” Babb continued, “get the hell out of here. The ship’s going to catch on fire.”

“I won’t let him get away,” Tri’ni shouted.

Seekan backed away, now in the furthest open space of the hold. He hissed, “I cannot let you endanger the Mother. I am sorry.”

Babb squinted in confusion as Seekan slipped his mistform hand between two planks of the interior hull, then turned his hand solid again, ripping a chunk out of the wall. Seekan did it again, digging deeper, and Babb realized he was trying to tear his way out of the ship.

“You er!” Babb shouted. “We’re below the water line!”

Seekan nodded, tearing another chunk away. “As I said, I am sorry.”

Water began to spray through a crack in the wall, tearing through the misty form of Seekan, leaving only his right arm and head fully intact. Babb tried to attack, but found his limbs would not move, like something was holding his muscles from the inside. Seekan narrowed his eyes at them, then tore a final piece of hull free, and the sea poured in.

Turning solid again, Seekan reached through the hole with his right hand, the hand that held the gem. Then he began to shift to mist and water, disappearing into the ocean. Babb heard Tri’ni scream beside him, and suddenly a jagged line of white light cut across the room like lightning, striking Seekan before he faded away. The scaled man turned solid and spasmed, his body halfway through a hole far too narrow for it.

Babb could move again, but just then the sea water reached the burning oil of his lamp and extinguished the flames, casting the hold into darkness.

“Trin,” he shouted. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

“He’s getting away,” she called back, and he could hear her plunging through the water. “You bastard! I won’t let you do this to me!”

The water was to Babb’s knees now, and crates were beginning to shift, crashing into him. He lost his balance and fell, and he groped blindly to try to find the wall.

“Dammit, I can’t see in the dark. Trin! Which ing way is out? Leave the bastard to drown, but get us out of here!”

Over the gushing of the seawater and the clunking of wood against wood, Babb heard Tri’ni gasping, her voice ragged. He struggled toward her as best he could, and finally managed to grab onto her shirt. The water was waist-deep now.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he shouted. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll kill him later if he hasn’t already drowned, alright?”

He felt her nod, and she grabbed his hand.

Weakly she said, “Follow me.”

She pulled him along, and with her help they made it to the stairs to the crew quarters. Babb could hear panicked shouts overhead in Tennae, and then Lacy’s voice calling for him.

“Lacy, down here. The ship’s flooding.”

Lacy’s face appeared at the top of the stairs, and she waved them up.

“Hurry,” she said. “The Meliksan ship is close. We’re going to try to reach them before the storm hits.”

Babb chuckled. “Great job again. Your god’s top notch, Lace.”

Lacy glared at him, then saw Tri’ni, her arm covered in blood, her expression anguished.

Lacy gasped. “What happened down there? Where’s Seekan?”

Babb shook his head and whispered quietly to his sister, “Not now. Let’s just go.”

* * *​

The Tvencleft limped to the Lupaseloma, and despite great distrust and bitterness, the Meliskan priests let them on board. Babb wanted to explain that he had caught the killer and left him to drown, but he doubted they would be happy knowing his employer was responsible.

For the most part Babb ignored the conflict between the two temples. After telling Lacy and Allar what had happened, he left it to them to explain why the ship had sunk. All Babb wanted to do was sit on the railing out of everyone’s way, and wait for them to reach land. He did not know what to do with Tri’ni, but eventually she came over and sat next to him, dangling her legs over the side of the ship. It was starting to rain.

“Hey there,” Babb said.

Tri’ni nodded, brushing wet hair out of her eyes.

“Do you know what was going on?”

She shook her head. Her voice caught in her throat. “He said he wanted to reunite the soul in the gem with its owner. Babb, is he dead?”

Babb shrugged. “You can never tell with wizards. Or lizards, for that matter. He looked pretty scared, though. Maybe whatever he was so damned afraid of got him too.”

“He took something from me,” Tri’ni said. Her tone was frustrated. “I don’t know what, though.”

Babb huffed. “Bastard said something about collecting dreams. Have any good dreams lately?”

“No. I was dreaming about-”

She stopped, crunched her face, then sighed angrily. “I can’t remember.”

“You looked terrified down there,” Babb said. “Was that how it was with the one that you and your father dealt with?”

“My . . . father?” Tri’ni looked at Babb, confusion in her eyes. “I think. . . . I don’t remember what. . . . I was dreaming of my father, but who was he?”

Babb drew in a breath, nervous. “You don’t remember?”

“He was. . . . No. I- . . . I remember living with him, talking with him, . . . I know I saw. . . .”

She paused, frightened. “He’s dead. Babb, I don’t remember what happened. I know he died, and I remember we killed the trillith, but. . . .”

She tried to talk for a moment, but no words came out. Finally, she said, “He’s gone. He took my father from me.”

Babb did not know how to respond. After a moment he said, “It will come back to you. It’s just like, you know, a hangover. You’ll remember.”

Tri’ni seemed to be in shock, and Babb looked away, uncomfortable. They sat quietly for a moment in the rain. Lightning flashed far away, and thunder rumbled.

“Hey,” he said, “you used magic, didn’t you? I saw you with the lightning and all.”

Babb glanced at Tri’ni. She smiled slightly for a moment, then again looked sad. The rain hid her tears.

“You alright?” Babb asked.

She shrugged, sniffling.

After a moment, she chuckled weakly and said, “Y’know, he never paid us.”

Babb nodded. “You’re right. He never paid us. We’ll make the bastard pay for that.”

Tri’ni didn’t reply. Babb sighed.

“Hey, tell me something.”

She looked at him, confused. “Alright.”

“No, I mean, just tell me something about yourself. Anything.”

She smiled slightly, then looked down. “Maybe later. Anyway, I like your stories better.”

“You’re right,” Babb said. “I’m not in the mood for talking now either.”

Thunder rumbled again, and Tri’ni quietly began to cry again. Babb stayed beside her, and would not move as long as she needed him there.

 

[Graywolf-ELM]

I haven't commented for a while, but I still read and enjoy.

GW

 

[RangerWickett]

I'll be updating for the rest of the week to get to a nice cliff-hanger, and then no more.

 

[RangerWickett]

Episode Five: The Bigger Man, Part I, Section I

Sails cracked in the crisp breeze, sweeping their ship along Seaquen’s Grand Canal. The others were crowded along the railing, watching with awe as the twin shores glided past, arrayed with the grandest city in the world.

But Lacy stood apart from them, as always watching, smiling faintly.

They passed beneath the first of the seven arching bridges that spanned Seaquen’s mile-wide canal, and a shadow fell upon them, blocking the intense heat of a Seaquen summer. They had sailed three thousand miles from Tennas to Seaquen, and the journey had not been joyous.

Tri’ni, the dark-skinned Elf girl who, when they first had met her, had been constantly happy and excited to see the surface world, now held a long robe tight around herself, sheltering from an inner cold. She mostly only talked to Babb now, not understanding that all of them had been betrayed by Seekan. The young woman had lost more than the rest of them, though – Seekan had stolen a dream of her father, and all their efforts to help her remember a man none of them had met had failed.

Babb stood protectively near Tri’ni. His concern was simple and unwavering, the way he used to care for Lacy. The trip, three different ships and a dozen ports, had been lonely for Lacy, and she longed now for the brotherly care Babb used to keep for her.

David she worried for, though she wondered if any of the others were aware of his troubles. His pride at their victory in recovering the soul gem for Seekan had been sabotaged, and she could practically feel in his every look that he was coming to hate the life of an ‘adventurer.’

Allar glanced at her, and smiled.

“Why are you hanging back?” he asked, walking over to her. “I know you’ve been to Seaquen before, but is it possible that someone wouldn’t be impressed by this place?”

Lacy smiled. She always smiled when Allar talked to her.

“I was just trying to stay in the shade of the sails,” she lied. “We should be docking soon. What do we do then?”

Allar shrugged. “Well, we’re still planning to stay together until Elstrice, so we should find a ship headed that way. Here, talk with me over here.”

Allar headed for the opposite side of the ship, and Lacy followed, eager to hear what the beautiful half-Elf man wanted to tell her in private.

“We need to do something about the dark Elf,” he said quietly, slumping his arms on the railing.

“Tri’ni,” Lacy said, frustrated.

Allar nodded.

Lacy sighed and cast aside her previous eagerness. “We can’t track down Seekan, even if he’s still alive. We barely have enough money left to afford passage for five to Elstrice. I mean, I want to help her, but . . . she stays up as late as she can every night, until she’s too exhausted to cry herself to sleep. I don’t know what to do.”

Allar grimaced, pained. “I didn’t know about that. I’m sorry. But, David has an idea, and I wanted to get everyone’s approval before we do this.”

Lacy waited, curious.

“Alright,” Allar sighed. “Obviously being stuck on a ship with all of us isn’t helping. She needs something to take her mind off what she’s lost. David was thinking, and I agree, that it would really help her if she could have some actual magical training. As far as I know, it’s the only thing she was really interested in.”

“You want to leave her here?” Lacy shook her head. “We can’t abandon her.”

Allar put up a hand. “We won’t. We won’t. But, well, I don’t really see our group staying together after we get back to Elstrice anyway. David wants to go home, and he won’t go without me. Even if Harlan did hire us again, we can’t bring her along. She’d just get hurt.

“Dammit,” he cursed at himself. “I was irresponsible to bring her along.”

Lacy almost put a hand on Allar’s shoulder to comfort him, then stopped. If she touched him, his half-Elvish aura would interfere with her magic, stinging painfully the next time she tried to cast a spell.

“You’re wrong,” she said instead. “It was one of the noblest things we’ve done. I mean, compared to looting tombs and killing monsters that weren’t threatening anyone anyway, really what’s more important? We saved her life, and we have been her friends when she had no one else. We just have to stay her friends now, and not try to foist her off on someone else.”

Allar looked down. “Damn. And I thought Babb was going to be the hardest one to convince.”

Lacy laughed weakly. “He puts on a show that he’s being strong, but he’d probably appreciate it if someone else could handle his ‘problem.’”

“Well, then, Lacy, I still think this is something we should try. Maybe just telling her we’re going to teach her magic will help her.”

“There’s another problem,” Lacy said. “Who’s going to pay for her teacher?”

Allar shrugged, then winked. “We’ll work it out. And don’t worry. If she wants to stay with us, she can.”

Allar started to turn away, but Lacy reached out and nervously touched his arm.

“Wait, Allar. Is that all?”

“What do you mean?”

Lacy started to say something, then she hesitated. “Will you do me a favor? Um . . . call her Tri’ni, not ‘the dark Elf,’ alright?”

Allar did not speak for a moment, surprised. “I thought I did. Hunh. Well, I’ll pay closer attention to it in the future. Anything else?”

Lacy smiled weakly, shaking her head.

“Get your stuff, then,” Allar said. “We’re docking soon.”

Lacy nodded and started to look away, when from the other side of the ship David called out, “Look. That’s the Wayfarer’s Theater.”

They all turned to see a gorgeous five-masted ship docked at one of the massive stone legs supporting Seaquen’s Bridge of Bards. The side of the ship was painted gold and red in beautiful swirling patterns, and banners streamed from the tops of its masts where sails would normally hang. The ship was low in the water, meaning a performance was going on, and the ship’s massive hold was packed with an audience.

Intrigued, Lacy came over to the rest of the group.

“What is it?” Tri’ni was asking with only mild interest. She wasn’t wearing her necklace, but for the past two months she had had little to do other than study. Lacy was glad of that, at least, if they did have to leave her behind.

“The Wayfarers are a group of traveling, performing mages,” David explained. “They know all kinds of secret magic involving movement. Their ship there: it can teleport.”

Tri’ni cocked her head to the side. “What is that?”

“They can move from one place to another,” David said, “in an instant, without having to actually travel. I never managed to see any of their performances when they were in Elstrice or Nozama.”

Tri’ni was tying her necklace back on, looking confused.

Babb leaned over David. “So we could have saved two months on boats if you knew how to teleport? Dammit, gnome, pull your weight around here.”

David smirked to Babb. “I intend to. I’m going to visit them and see if I can join. Tri’ni, do you want to come along?”

Tri’ni, just having finished tying on the necklace, looked up in shock. “What? What for?”

“Two reasons.” David held up two fingers with a grin. “First, you’re the first dark Elf to come to this city in years, probably, so they’ll want to talk to you even if they don’t want to talk to me. And second, if you’re going to learn magic, we need to show you a lot of different types, so you find the sort you like best.”

“You’re joking,” Tri’ni said, “aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Babb said with a glower. “You are joking, right?”

Lacy stepped up then, and said, “I think it’s an excellent idea. We’ll be here for at least a few days. You can see the Wayfarers with David and Babb. I’ll show you to a school for priestesses at a Vanessi temple on the southern shore, and I know a few taskmages who have their own specialties.”

Babb shook his head. “Wait, you’re joking, right?”

Allar shrugged. “Sounds good to me. Why not?”

“Hey,” Babb said, “it’d be fun and , but we’re nearly broke. Who will be paying to teach her, and how long do we plan to be here?”

Tri’ni’s gaze shifted from them to a nearby ship. “What about him? He’s an Elf.”

They looked, and Lacy spotted who Tri’ni was looking at. The ship was trying to sail free from the dock, but anyone with even mild sailing experience could see that it was aligned against the prevailing wind, so it could not get out to the deep canal without a tug. But its sails were turned around, and the wind seemed to be blowing in the opposite direction across the ship, driving it to deeper water.

High above the deck a man floated in the air, winds whipping his long white robes about him. His white hair was thin, and when she squinted Lacy thought she could see his pointed ears. He must have been ancient for Elf, and a memory in Lacy’s mind came to the surface.

“Is that Salsiere?” she whispered.

“Who?” asked several voices.

“I think that’s Tierodunne Salsiere. He’s head of the Elemental Guardians, and an air elementalist, obviously.”

David said, “Now I remember. He teaches at the Lyceum in Nozama sometimes. Isn’t he something like eight-hundred years old?”

“Nine,” Lacy said.

“Slow down,” Tri’ni said. “What are the Elemental Guardians?”

David rubbed his hands together and smiled. “We’ll explain . . . when we go visit them.”

“David,” Allar said nervously, “I’m not sure an Elf that old would really be interested in teaching a dark-. Um, teaching Tri’ni.”

Lacy smiled and laughed softly.

Still staring at the flying mage, Tri’ni sighed. “I suppose it would be interesting.”

“You’ll love it,” David said, a little too eagerly. “Any free time we have, we’ll be seeing the city. I’m sure there are dozens of mages you could talk to. But we should start with the Wayfarers, I think.”

“I wish I could be so eager,” Lacy said. “I like the Wayfarers, and their shows are very nice, but it’s not like they would want me to join them.”

“You kidding?” Allar laughed. “You’re gorgeous, and you have more practical experience with magic than any of them, I’m sure. In fact, I think we should go.”

Lacy stammered, “What? You want to take me to . . . to a show?”

Allar grinned, ignoring the sudden glare from Babb. Lacy saw Babb’s look as well, and smiled inwardly.

“You said you like their shows,” Allar said. “If I have to sell my armor to afford it, we can go while we’re here. Well, as long as they don’t teleport away, first.”

Lacy laughed, beaming. “I’d . . . I’d love to.”

Babb leaned forward and slapped Allar and Lacy on their backs. “Yeah, should be fun. I think Trin would get a kick out of it. Well, I gotta get my stuff. We’re about to dock.”

Babb cast Allar a smug scowl as he walked away, and Allar hesitantly nodded to Lacy. She smiled back to him. Allar stepped back awkwardly, hesitant to look away from Lacy, finally bumping into Tri’ni. He apologized, then headed below deck.

David cast one final eager look to the Wayfarer’s Theater, then also headed below deck, leaving Lacy and Tri’ni together.

“He likes you,” Tri’ni said, smiling, a hint of pain still in her expression.

“I hope so,” Lacy replied. Then she sighed. “Are you going to be alright? You . . . we’re worried about you. We want you to be like you were before. We were hoping you’d . . . we hoped you’d cheer up if you could learn magic. I’m ready to teach, though it’d be better if we could find an Elvish or Jispin tutor.”

“Thank you.” Tri’ni looked down. After a moment, she looked back up and asked, “Are the . . . Wayfarers? Are they entertaining?”

Lacy smiled widely. “You’ll love them. That air mage, Salsiere, he flies with magic, but the Wayfarers, they move like they can fly on their own.”

Tri’ni smiled. “What do they speak here?”

“Oh.” Lacy chuckled. “You’re right. Most people speak some Lyceian, but the main language is Cavalesh. I can adjust your necklace so you can understand that too. Maybe you can learn the language once you’ve gotten better at Lyceian.”

“I’ll learn whatever you can teach me,” Tri’ni said. “Even if you can’t find me a teacher for magic, I’d love to learn from you and David. Better with friends than masters, they say.”

Lacy felt her voice catch in her throat for a moment, but then she nodded. “Yes. Yes. But . . . we should get our things. There’s a lot of city for you to see.”