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

[RangerWickett]

Episode Five: The Bigger Man, Pt. I, Section II

“Make it quick,” Babb said to her as they entered the tavern. “And preferably cheap.”

Lacy nodded ruefully. She cast a glance back at the docks outside, then pressed through the late afternoon crowd to the bar. She was the tallest person in the bar, which let her easily see over everyone’s heads. It also let her see that many people were looking at her, and not too pleasantly.

The bartender looked up to her, frowned, and said something in Xaopin.

“Um, I’m Lyceian, actually,” she stammered. “I was wondering if you know any cheap inns. Something further south would be fine.”

The man shrugged at her like he did not understand. Like so many in Seaquen, he probably spoke three or four languages, including Lyceian. But, like so many in Seaquen, he also probably hated Xaopin, and it wouldn’t matter to him that Lacy was from north of Nozama, and not a local.

She doubted she would get any useful information from him, but she tried again in rough Cavalesh.

“If you’re not staying here,” the man said back in Cavalesh, “it is none of my business. I am sure some farm would take you.”

A few nearby tavern-goers chuckled and gave her unpleasant looks. Lacy sighed and walked away, looking around the crowd for someone who might help. She had spent a year in Seaquen when she had first left home, and she was well aware of how the generally cosmopolitan city disliked its native Xaopin population. Along the marshes to the south there were dozens of small Xaopin villages, but few Xaopin came here to the center of the city. All the faces she saw in the tavern were Cavaleshi or Lyceian.

Momentarily lost in a frustrated daze, it took her a moment to realize someone was trying to get her attention. She noticed slight movement in one of the corners of the room, and saw two men – one a red-headed Kelaquois, and the other a deeply tanned man with short white hair whose homeland Lacy couldn’t guess. The tanned man was leaning back in his chair confidently, and again he gestured with one hand for her to come over.

Lacy leaned down slightly and nervously looked around to make sure the man wasn’t actually trying to call someone else. He smiled at her with a bit of a cocky smirk, and waved for a third time. Uncomfortable, Lacy headed over, making her way carefully between the crowded tables. She glanced behind her and saw Babb at the entrance talking with Allar, but neither of them saw her.

When she reached the table with the two men, the tanned man gave a slight wave of his hand in the direction of the chair nearest to Lacy. He wore a heavy gold ring with a cluster of blue gems on the top, and the gems seemed to glimmer with his gesture. To Lacy’s surprise, the chair before her pulled itself out from the table, giving her a place to sit.

“Thank you,” Lacy said, smiling and taking a seat. “Um, . . . Lyceian is alright, isn’t it? I speak a little Cavalesh if you need me to.”

The tanned man chuckled.

“Whatever works,” he said in Lyceian. “Here, let me introduce my friend Arthur Berendt, who’s come all the way from Kequalak to visit me. And I’m Hunter. Hunter Elrad. You looked like you could use a little help.”

Lacy nodded. Her initial impression of Hunter was that he was confident, like nothing could ever bother him. He was obviously a mage of some sort, and looked fairly strong for one. In his early thirties, he was rather handsome, wearing an expensive gold-trimmed blue vest over a collarless black shirt. His arms were bare, and his only piece of jewelry was his ring.

Where Hunter leaned back casually, the man beside him, Arthur, had propped himself up with his elbows on the table. His hair was actually more of a red-brown than actual red, short enough to stick up like he hadn’t combed it. He had a casual wariness about him, almost fox-like. His clothes were expensive but dissheveled, and he wore two rings. One on his left hand looked like a wedding band, but the one on his right hand had an arc of rubies surrounded by jagged spikes of gold.

Sitting across from the two obviously wealthy men, Lacy felt a glimmer of hope that they wanted to help.

“My name is Lacy Katrina Ursdail,” she said, offering her hand to both of them. Hunter shook it, and Arthur politely declined as he dipped his head. It was only then that she realized he was a half-Elf.

“Let me guess,” Arthur said, glancing at her appraisingly. “You came in with a minotaur and an Elf. You look beautiful and exotic– though my wife would kill me if she heard that. Oh, and let’s not forget the longsword and leather armor tastefully stained with spatters of blood. You must be our waitress.”

Lacy smiled, and Arthur laughed at his own joke. His laugh was surprisingly high-pitched for a man his age, almost like a giggle.

“Lacy,” Hunter said, “don’t pay any attention to him. Do you mind if I buy you a drink?”

“That would be wonderful,” she said.

“Wine good for you?”

She nodded.

Hunter sat up a little straighter and caught the attention of the bartender, then mouthed the Cavalesh word for wine with a few miming gestures. Lacy glanced and saw the bartender grumbling, and Hunter chuckled again.

“Was the guy giving you a hard time?” he asked.

Lacy looked down and sighed. “We just got off a ship, and we were looking for some place to stay.”

Arthur frowned. “But you’re adventurers, right? You’re not based in Seaquen?”

“No. Elstrice. We’ve come three thousand miles, and we’ve still got a long way to go. I forgot how difficult Seaquen could be.”

“They’re just bastards,” Hunter said, grinning for a moment. “Arthur and I have been around here often enough that they know not to give us a hard time. If you’d like, I can give you – and you know, your friends too – give you some help around the city.”

The wine arrived, and Lacy shook her head. “Thank you, honestly, but I hardly know you. You’ve been very generous and . . .”

She trailed off. She looked down again, then took a sip of her wine and smiled at Hunter. “Actually,we probably could use a little help.”

Arthur lightly nudged Hunter with his elbow. “See?”

“Yeah, right Arthur.” Hunter did not look at his friend, but smiled at Lacy. “We were just here having some drinks, but you’ve just been on a ship for, what, a month now? Down from Magdhat?”

Lacy nodded.

“Great then,” Hunter said. “Let me buy you dinner, and you can tell me how life as an adventurer has been treating you. I know I miss the good old days.”

Arthur laughed, and Lacy sensed some sort of inside joke between the two of them.

She asked, “You were an adventurer? Who sponsored you?”

“Oh, I ‘sponsored’ myself.” He shrugged as if it was perfectly normal. “Did you ever hear about the Nau-Hereth admiral who tried to attack Sunra? Got his fleet destroyed after burning down most of Sunra?”

“Admiral Gunta?” Lacy was impressed. “You fought Admiral Gunta?”

“Oh, no. What, fight him? He killed like forty people that day. I did not want to be forty-one. No, I just fought a little, trying to do my part as a good citizen.”

Hunter squinted and smiled. Lacy was having trouble reading the man.

Arthur waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t let him sell himself short, miss. Alright, sure, he is a bit of a jerk when he’s not trying to impress ladies, but I do have to give him credit where it’s due. He sank three of the Nau-Hereth ships that day. Crashed them on rocks by lowering the water level.”

“I thought so,” Lacy said, smiling knowingly. She pointed to their rings. “You’re elementalists, aren’t you? I saw Salsiere outside helping move a ship out of dock.”

Arthur shook his head, then adopted a mock serious tone. “Our duty is vitally important to the world. We are no mere elemental mages. We are . . . the Elemental Guardians.”

Hunter sighed and Arthur laughed.

“Yeah, Dunne,” Hunter said. “Everybody knows Dunne. The old son of a bitch makes sure of it. But whatever, you know? I was hoping to hear more about you.”

Lacy blushed. “There’s a lot more to tell than I ever thought there’d be. It started with us heading into Upper Kequalak a few months ago, on assignment by-”

“Sorry to interrupt.” Allar appeared beside her and leaned low. “Babb and David are about to take Tri’ni to the Wayfarers. Babb wanted to know if we have a place to stay yet.”

“Oh, of course.” Lacy saw Arthur and Hunter both looking at Allar, and she sat up straight. “First, Allar, this is Hunter and Arthur. They offered me a drink and were asking about our trip . . . or journey, I suppose.”

“‘Journey’ is better,” Hunter said, impassive.

“Hunter, Arthur,” Lacy continued, “this is Allar. Actually, Allarlaieyo from Tundanesti. We’ve traveled together for the past four months.”

Allar frowned disapprovingly at Hunter for a moment, but then Arthur laughed and thumped the table.

“Half-Elf too, huh? It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Allar relaxed and nodded to Arthur. Both of them started to move to shake each other’s hand, then hesitated. After an awkward moment, Arthur laughed again, and Allar smiled. People from nearby tables shifted in their seats. Xaopin were just disliked, but half-Elves were considered bad luck.

“Well,” Allar said, “we need to be going. It’s been a long voyage, and I could really do for a bed on solid ground.”

Lacy said, “Oh, we’re in no rush. Hunter had actually offered to help us find a place to stay. You can guess that most of the people here weren’t very helpful.”

Arthur asked, “Doesn’t your employer have any contacts here in Seaquen?”

“Sadly, no,” Lacy said. “When we went up to Kequalak, it was through Gate Pass. We were never even supposed to come through Seaquen.”

Hunter smiled. “Then it’s our good luck you did. Allar, grab a seat. It’s a little early, but let’s have some dinner. My treat.”

Lacy looked up hopefully to Allar, and when he met her gaze, he gave in and sat down next to her, so that Hunter was across from Lacy, and Allar was across from Arthur.

Allar said, “You are being very nice. Any particular reason?”

“No,” Hunter shrugged. “I saw a pretty lady who looked like she needed help, and I can afford to be generous right now.”

“Ah,” Lacy said, covering her mouth. “That reminds me. We can’t really afford much. We hadn’t planned to have to sail back to Elstrice, and we didn’t manage to . . . well, we didn’t loot much from the tomb.”

Allar smiled. “Yeah. Probably one of the biggest failures of any adventure ever.”

Arthur laughed his near-giggle.

Lacy continued, “Do you know a cheap tavern we could stay at? Maybe something to the south? Not too far, hopefully, because we did want to get some things done in the city.”

“Oh, if you need a place to stay – there’s, what, five of you? I know a few places on the north shore you could stay at. I’m friends with a few innkeepers, and I could probably manage to get you free room and board.”

Allar shook his head. “Look, thanks and all, but we really-”

“Wait,” Lacy said softly. “Hunter’s being generous. It would be rude not to accept.”

“Great,” Hunter said, cutting off Allar before he could reply. “Go tell your friends to meet us in a few hours at a place called the Decanter Inn, on Fontana Street. We’ll have dinner and then head over.”

Lacy smiled and stood up, taking another sip of wine. “I’ll be right back.”

She left the three of them sitting together.

“You’re wizards?” Allar asked.

“Elemental Guardians,” Arthur said with a grin. “Hey, just curious. That Lacy woman, is she seeing anyone?”

“Why?”

Hunter held up a hand for Arthur to be quiet. The motion was very slight, but Arthur immediately relaxed. Hunter leaned forward and squinted at Allar, then nodded to himself.

“You weren’t planning to make a move any time soon,” Hunter said. “She’s only going to be here for a few days, and I want to make sure she remembers her time here for something other than, you know, getting mean looks.”

Allar glared at Hunter. “What, you’re going to try to seduce her? What kind of thing-”

“Relax, friend, relax.” Hunter glanced around, but Lacy was still outside talking to Babb. He dropped his voice to a whisper anyway. “She obviously doesn’t get paid much attention to. Romantically, I mean. I’m sure with her armor off she’s beautiful and voluptuous-”

Allar nodded with a wistful smile.

“-and she has some nice hips, but . . . you know it and I know it. She like seven feet tall, and she’s Xaopin. Most guys would never go for that. It takes a big man to appreciate a woman like her. I mean a big man. And you’re only five-seven.”

Allar scoffed. “Leave her alone. We’ve had some hard times on our trip, and you coming in and-”

Lacy came back then and took her seat again. “Babb, David, and Tri’ni are heading off to the Wayfarer’s Theater. They said they’d let us know when the performances would be.”

Arthur giggled, and Allar glared at the two of them.

“Sound good,” Allar said. Lacy wondered what had gotten him so tense.

“You’re going to see the Wayfarers?” Hunter asked, smirking confidently. “That is interesting. That’s a pretty big expense for people so worried about affording a place to sleep.”

Lacy blushed and looked at Allar. “Actually, Allar said he’d take me.”

Hunter said, “Then maybe I’ll see you there. And if Allar is too busy, I would love the opportunity to escort you to the theater.”

Lacy felt Allar bristle beside her, and she beamed, amazed that Allar was jealous over her. “Hunter, if you want to come along anyway, you’re welcome to.”

Allar started to say something, but Hunter interrupted him.

“Excellent. Let’s order some food, then, and you can tell me how adventuring is doing without me.”

 

[RangerWickett]

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

The Wayfarer guiding them was the thinnest and yet most muscular man Tri’ni had ever seen. He looked like a stretched rope, covered with clothing with so many ribbons and buckles it must have taken him an hour to get dressed. As he walked, he proudly displayed a vividly painted staff like it was a badge of office. He was talking with David and Babb in Lyceian, and though Tri’ni was having trouble following the conversation, she could tell the man seemed amused by David.

They headed downstairs from the main deck, into the hold, from which hundreds of people were streaming out, leaving behind rows of empty chairs. Some were still applauding, and fifty feet away, magical light on the stage illuminated a half dozen people in costumes even more elaborate than their guide’s. Two women standing beside each other looked like, if one stood on the other’s shoulders, their costumes would make a walking tree.

The stage was twenty feet square, with deep crimson curtains framing its sides, and a a painted wooden wall for its back.

“Kirtsa is backstage,” their guide said.

“She’s the manager?” David asked.

“Yes, yes. She used to be the leading actress. Oh God, how I used to fantasize about her. All that smooth flesh pressed tight in whatever costume the show called for. She’s the reason I had to join the Wayfarers.”

David shifted uncomfortably and Babb laughed. They were nearly to the stage now, and an actor walked past Tri’ni wearing only brown body paint and leaves in his hair. She stopped for a moment, until she saw him wipe the paint off his face, revealing pale skin. Tri’ni sighed, then hurried to catch up with Babb and David.

“They’re all very pretty,” she whispered to Babb.

Babb gave a frustrated snort. “Not exactly my type of women.”

Tri’ni nodded. “Not Geidon.”

“What?” Babb said. “No. Hey, I grew up with humans. No, they’re just too thin for me. I like my women more . . . damn, what was that word? It was all long and started with V.”

Tri’ni shrugged, her attention momentarily caught by a set of metal wires dangling from the ceiling, holding up a ball of flaming pitch. The whole theater was distracting in its complexity. But Babb’s voice pulled her out of her daze.

“But yeah,” he said, “Lacy used to have this thing for one of the actors. She went to at least a dozen of his shows. She tried talking to him once, but he couldn’t stand Xaopin. It broke her heart. She hasn’t been back to one of these shows for two years.”

“That is . . . very bad?” Tri’ni fished for the right word from her limited vocabulary. “She must have been sad.”

“Eh, Lace gets over things pretty easy now. You know, she’d have to, seeing how often. . . . Well, , anyway, it kind of pissed me off when she stopped coming. I kinda liked the shows too. Don’t tell her that, though.”

“Don’t worry, not a chance.”

Their guide led them behind the curtains on the side of the stage, then around the back wall to a hallway. The ship had much more space than it looked like it should have from the outside, and they had passed several doors before they finally stopped.

Their guide said, “Kirtsa likes to be flattered. True, she deserves it, that luscious bitch, but it doesn’t hurt to lay it on a little heavy. Even if you never did, tell her you used to love her singing back when she performed. Good luck.”

The man knocked on the door.

“Who’s there?” a woman called back, her voice fast but smooth.

“Bruno,” their guide said. “There are some visitors who wanted to talk with you before things got too hectic.”

The door opened, and a somewhat old human woman leaned out. Her hair was long, dark, and curly, and she was dressed in a loose black shirt. She was pretty for a human, even if she looked angry. Her gaze took in each of them, first Tri’ni, then low to see David, then back high to see Babb bedecked in his armor.

“I’m already hectic,” the woman said. “What do you want?”

Tri’ni shifted nervously and looked down to David for help.

“Lady Kirtsa?” David bowed to her. “As you might guess, we’re interested in becoming involved with your performances.”

Kirtsa smiled incredulously at David, then glanced to Bruno, their guide.

“Who are these guys? No offense to you, sorry for not asking you yourselves, but I’m trying to decide whether Bruno will get to perform any time in the next three months.”

Bruno shook his head. “The gnome wanted to know about joining. He says he’s an adventurer looking to settle down. This young woman here is also interested in joining, but she doesn’t speak Cavalesh, barely understands Lyceian, and was hoping we’d teach her magic. The minotaur, well, I don’t know why he’s here.”

Kirtsa stared at Bruno for a long moment, silent, and then she shook her head and smiled. With bared teeth she said, “I’m going to hurt you.”

Bruno shrugged. “I thought you’d get a laugh out of them.”

Tri’ni frowned, then smiled to Kirtsa.

“Whatever,” Kirtsa said. “Come on in. Bruno, go tell Miguel to meet me before he runs off to get dinner. That damned magic act needs some work.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And tell him not to bring the rabbits this time.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And stop calling me ma’am. I’m only thirty-seven.”

“Of course, your bountifully youthful generousness.”

Kirtsa sighed as Bruno trotted off, and then she waved them inside. She offered them seats on a softly-cushioned couch, and she sat across from them in an even more comfortable looking chair. The entire room was soft, and the air smelled like something Tri’ni had smelled on the surface, but did not know the name for.

“So,” Kirtsa said. She tightened her lips for a moment, and Tri’ni noticed a flash of magic cross her eyes as she tried to see if there was any enchantments on them.

“No magic,” Kirtsa said. “That’s something, at least. So, I’m sorry to be brisk about this, but we do have to prepare for tonight’s performance. What do you want with me?”

David said, “Lady Kirtsa, two things, actually. First-”

Babb interrupted. “First, hey, let me say, I came here a few times when I was younger, and I used to love when you performed. The show’s aren’t nearly as good anymore.”

“Oh,” Kirtsa said, bitterness in her voice. “Thank you, so so much.”

David cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I know you’re busy, so I’ll be brief. We’re adventurers, or at least we were. I’m planning to end as soon as I get back to my employer in Elstrice, and I when I saw your theater today I thought I should see if there’d be a place for me with your group. Something a little less dangerous, but where I can still use my magical skills.”

Tri’ni noticed Kirtsa kept glancing at her while David talked.

“Can you perform?” Kirtsa asked.

“Well,” David chuckled, “I’ve never really tried. I was thinking more that I could help more with things like design. My family has a long tradition of using, controlling, and seeing through illusions, and I know how much the Wayfarers like to meddle with people’s expectations of what is magic and what isn’t.”

Kirtsa nodded. “And let me guess. You were also hoping to learn how to teleport. Maybe steal some secrets before you change your mind and go back to ‘adventuring,’ only now with a few extra magic toys to play with? Really, I’ve heard this all before.”

“Oh, no.” David shook his head. “That’s not it at all. I really, honestly, seriously am getting fed up with ‘adventuring.’ My best friend has a soul-stealing sword, I was almost eaten by an undead snake monster, and the last man who hired us for a job ended up attacking us, then ran off without paying. I’ve always respected-”

“Sure, uh huh, whatever.” Kirtsa shrugged. She eyed Tri’ni. “What’s her story? You speak Lyceian?”

“A little,” Tri’ni said. “My name is Tri’ni Gren’eys. I’m Taranesti. I came to the surface with them after we killed a dragon monster. I know you don’t trust my friend, but this is the first time I had heard of your Wayfarers. Your ship is beautiful, and everyone says good things about the . . . the performances you do.”

Tri’ni had intended to inject a gratuitous tone of wonder in her voice to try to make Kirtsa trust her, but she found that the wonder came naturally. The place truly was a marvel to her. Kirtsa smiled at her pridefully.

“Your skin is too dark to be Kohalesti,” Kirtsa said. “And I can’t place your accent. You’re really from underground? You know any good stories from down there? And I’m not trying to say that your people, whatever they are, don’t have good stories. It’s just that I’ve never heard any of them. Wait, nevermind.”

Tri’ni frowned. “What’s wrong?”

The Wayfarer shook her head, then stood and stretched. “Look, if you want to join, you have to be able to perform. Even stage hands can cartwheel, or dance, or sing. We don’t just take anyone, you know. If you were really interested, you’d be out performing now in bars and villages, and maybe we’d hear about you and want to see if you’re any good. Now, you’re not nearly as funny as I’m sure Bruno thought you’d be, so I must be going. Or actually, you must be going, because I need to stay here.”

Babb started to stand, grumbling under his breath. David and Tri’ni exchanged glances, and Tri’ni bit her lip.

“I want to learn magic,” she said. “The magic you do is beautiful. It looks like you’re so free, like you can fly. I’m going to learn even if I have to teach myself, but I want to see what you can do, so I can see what I really want to do.”

Kirtsa crossed her arms and smiled. “I like you. You can’t join us – we’re far too busy with performances during the summer – but you’re motivated, which is good, because most people aren’t. When you leave, find Bruno and tell him to give you a ticket to a show later this week. Come back when you’re learned to speak Cavalesh and Elstrician, and if you can do the things we have on stage, I’ll consider having someone train you.”

“Thank you,” Tri’ni said, hiding her disappointment.

“Yes, thank you,” David said.

“Yeah, well,” Kirtsa sighed, “we don’t normally have many gnomes. Except the funny ones. I hope you enjoy the performance, but I really do need to do things. Business and such.”

The three of them thanked her a few more times as they left, and Babb closed the door behind them with a heavy slam.

“So?” Babb said. “Where to next?”

Tri’ni turned away. In Taranesti she muttered, “This is a waste of time.”

 

[RangerWickett]

Episode Five: The Bigger Man, Pt. I, Section IV

Lacy could see that, more than anything right now, Allar wanted to talk to her alone. So of course she stayed near to Hunter, sitting at the edge of the ferry. Dozens of lanterns flooded the small ship with light, even though the sun was not quite yet set. They were mid-harbor now, heading toward the northern shore where Hunter had said he could find them a place to stay. Four men rowed the flat-bellied boat, and amid the chatter of other passengers, Lacy could hear Arthur talking amiably at Allar while Allar tried to watch her without looking.

“Isn’t that beautiful?” Hunter said.

Lacy looked at him with surprise. He had whispered as if they were the only two on the croweded boat. Leaning close, he pointed west to the setting sun as it passed behind two of Seaquen’s bridges.

“The canal here winds west to east for twenty miles total, but this stretch of canal is straight for seven miles. At the right time of year, our shadows would stretch all the way to the far side of the city.”

“What day is that?” she asked. She wanted to sound sultry. “I might have to stay.”

“No idea, actually,” Hunter laughed, no longer attempting such heavy-handed romance. “Why don’t you stay behind anyway? Won’t take more than a year.”

She laughed and leaned into him casually. She could never lean against Allar.

* * *

Tri’ni came up on deck first, blinking at the fiery gold of the sunset. She sighed and walked toward the railing, trying to get closer to the brilliant sky. The Wayfarer’s theater ship was long, and she was fully to the forecastle before she heard David calling for her. That returned her to all the questions she had hoped to leave behind, and she tensed. Again she felt cold, even though this city was hotter than any she had ever been to before.

David came up behind her with trepidation. She could hear his timidity even above the heavy thumping of Babb’s hooves on the deck.

“Tri’ni,” David said. “Come on. We should meet up with the others. I don’t know how the city gets after sunset.”

Babb huffed. “More fun than this. I think we should take Trin out for some drinks.”

“Goodness no,” David said. “She’s too young.”

“She’s eight years older than me,” Babb said, laughing. “Hey Trin, come on though. Let’s get off this ship.”

Tri’ni looked back to the sunset. She asked, “Where is the magic in that?”

David said, “That’s just a sunset. You’ve seen lots of those.”

Babb put a hand on her shoulder, and she reached up to hold onto it for a moment. She felt suddenly overwhelmed. The world was too big, too open, and she felt like she was falling through it and would never find her place. She heard Babb tell David to give her a moment.

She cried for a moment, then wiped her eyes with her fingers and wiped her fingers on her shoulder. Babb pulled his hand away, and they both laughed nervously. She was about to apologize to him – she cried so often, and she knew they were uncomfortable with it – when she saw a boat passing by them sixty feet away, with something following it, seeming to pull down the water.

* * *

“Trouble,” Allar said, sitting up straight suddenly and glancing to the rear of the ferry.

Hunter, who was leaning back with one arm over the railing, picked his hand out the water and nodded. “Yep. Invisible boat.”

“What?” Lacy gasped.

The ferry rocked as some struck it from behind, and from empty air appeared a wide rowboat laden with a dozen men. Those at the oars stood and picked up swords at their feet; two men at the front tossed grappling hooks to connect the two ships, sending the passengers on Lacy’s ship into a panic.

From the rear of the other ship, a brown-skinned Dorisian man in whirling blue robes shouted, “Attack! Sieze the white-haired mage!”

“Yep,” Hunter said. “That’s Chester.”

Hunter leapt up from his seat and held one hand high, his ring flashing with blue light. With his other hand he made a sweeping motion, and the other ship rocked as the canal heaved beneath it. Three of the attackers tumbled overboard, but they landed on the water as if it were solid ground, though they looked surprised to not be drowning.

“Nice trick Chester,” Hunter called, casually waving his hand. The three men sank into the water as nature intended. “But, um, I’m the water mage here.”

The passengers at the front of the ferry set up a crazed din of screams, some of them jumping overboard to escape the attack. Lacy had stood up, but was fumbling trying to undo the peace-bond on her sword. Allar slit his peace-bond with a belt dagger and leapt past her and Hunter, drawing the black scimitar to keep the attackers at bay.

“Who are these guys?” Allar shouted. “Hunter?”

“Hold a moment!” shouted the Dorisian man to his crew.

The nine unarmored men on the ship stood in two rows with swords in their hands, ready to rush past Allar to reach Hunter, while the three in the water struggled back aboard their own ship weaponless. The passengers on the ferry crowded at the far end of the ship, as far as possible from the coming battle.

Arthur came up beside Lacy, beginning the motions to cast a spell.

Hunter held up a hand, unconcerned. “No rush. Let him make his speech. He gets a kick out of it.”

Paying no heed to Hunter’s words, the opposing mage held his hands forward, fingers clenching the air, as if he wanted to show physically that he was trying to make a grab for power. Tossing back his clean-shaven head and puffing out his chest, he thrust out a hand dramatically. The passengers behind them cringed and gasped, but Lacy felt for a moment like laughing.

“I am Chesteval of the Crescent Islands, and my quarrel is with the hydromancer, not you.”

“Right,” Allar said, waving his sword at the warriors waiting to attack. “It’s these guys with you who have the quarrel with us. Got it.”

“Do not mock me,” Chesteval shouted. “It is I who shall be the elemental master of water.”

Arthur choked on his own laughter and turned to Hunter. “I really hope this guy doesn’t replace you.”

“So Hunter,” Allar called over his shoulder with a laugh, “you like having rivals, don’t you?”

Still seeming unconcerned with Chesteval, Hunter frowned. “No. No, I’m pretty sure this is my only one. Were you thinking I had another?”

Lacy felt a pang of sympathy as Allar’s shoulders slumped slightly. Hunter was being a bit heavy-handed. Plus, it had been a long time since she had seen Allar fight, and he had always been dazzling to behold.

She turned to Hunter briefly to catch his eye, then said, “Allar, clear a path through the guards so we can hit the mage.”

Simultaneously she heard Allar mutter, “All nine of them?” while Hunter said, “Hey, I can hit ‘im from here.”

“Enough!” Chesteval shouted.

With a crinkle of his fingers, the enemy mage conjured a sphere of icy shards before him, then hurled it at Allar.

 

[RangerWickett]

Episode Five: The Bigger Man, Section V

“,” Babb said. “That’s Lacy and Al down there.”

David ran to the edge of the railing to see the battle between the two ships, as did everyone within earshot. Tri’ni leapt up onto the railing, holding onto a rigging line for balance.

She shook her head in surprise. She could just barely make out the shouts of the mage on the attacking ship, and a moment later she spotted who he must be talking to, another mage with white hair. She unclasped her cloak and started untying the bond on her dagger.

“Trin,” Babb said, seeing what she was doing. “Dammit, don’t tell me you’re about to-”

She left enough twine on her dagger to keep it in its sheath when she was swimming. “We need to help. Come on!”

Babb looked down at his full suit of armor. “I’ll catch up.”

Tri’ni blew a quick huff, then took a deep breath. She leapt from the deck of Wayfarer’s Theater to cheers.

* * *​

Lacy thought she heard cheering in the distance as Allar spun to the deck to dodge the magical projectile. His leap was magnificent, his body a wonder to behold as he spun out of the way of the attack, his reflexes reacting so quickly Lacy hardly saw the attack before Allar was on the deck, out of harm’s way.

Unfortunately, this left Lacy in the projectile’s path, and she could not react fast enough. The shards of ice slammed into her chest, tearing across her leather armor and knocking her to the deck. For a moment, all she could do was lie stunned with the wind knocked out of her. She slowly pushed herself up enough to see the fight, but she could barely move otherwise.

“Hey!” was Hunter’s only exclamation as he began to cast a spell back at Chesteval.

With Allar down, the warriors on the other ship leapt across the narrow gap and rushed toward Hunter, but Allar kicked out and tripped one of the men, then shoved off the deck with his free hand, slashing at a second man. The man parried with an awkward block, and the black scimitar cut through his sword like water. If Allar had not stopped in surprise he would have cut into the man as well. Suddenly deprived of a sword, the man screamed and staggered backward, tripping over the railing and into the water.

Hunter swung a hand to try to capsize the attackers with a sudden wave, but Chesteval countered his spell, laughing deeply. A moment later Arthur snapped his fingers and flames burst around the enemy mage, igniting his clothes. Chesteval shouted in pain for a moment, but then he reversed his counterspell against Hunter, and the wave crashed higher, over the deck and over him, putting out the flames.

Arthur grumbled and took cover behind a bench, while Hunter hopped over the side of the boat and simply stood on the surface of the water, out of reach of swords. Lacy weakly pressed a hand to her chest and healed herself, then staggered to her feet. The attack had torn loose part of her breastplate, leaving an undershirt as her only armor over her heart. She wanted to try to fix it, but she could see Allar was being pressed, and she struggled to ready her sword.

At the gap between the two ships, Allar was back on his feet, whirling his sword back to front, trying to fend off two from one direction and the one who had slipped past him. The warrior to his back chopped for Allar’s shoulder, and Allar dodged to the side; but then the two to his front attacked separately from high and low, and Allar had to parry the high chop down to block the low slash, binding the three weapons for a moment.

Pivoting on one foot, Allar ducked under a slash from the man behind him, then grabbed his arm and pulled him close. Allar slammed his knee into the man’s stomach, then wrenched his scimitar free from the three-weapon bind in the other direction. He heaved his weight into the man behind him, and they fell to the deck together. The two other warriors leapt after them and stabbed down at Allar, but he rolled their ally’s body above him as a shield, and their blades pierced his back.

Allar tossed the slumping body away and kicked backward awkwardly, slapping aside the blades that chased him as he tried to stand up. He finally found his footing beside Lacy, and he smiled sheepishly to her. The two warriors before them hesitated for a moment, but then one gestured to Lacy, leering at the tear in the armor over her breasts.

Lacy pouted briefly at the warriors, then straightened as tall as she could, so her shoulders were at the warriors’s eye level. She thrust out with her sword at one of the men, and though the blow was parried, the warrior left himself open to Allar. A moment later the man’s arm lay severed on the deck.

Hunter, Chesteval, and Arthur were exchanging insults, though Lacy was having trouble following them all. Chesteval had deflected or countered several of Arthur’s fire spells, so the pyromancer was now focusing his power at the few warriors who had not yet made it to the boat Lacy was on. Flames blazed across them, and they took the easy road to safety, leaping into the harbor.

Hunter and Chesteval fired blasts of water, crashing waves, or streams of acid back and forth at each other, but neither water mage had any trouble avoiding, counterspelling, or ignoring the attacks. Unhappily, Hunter began to run across the water toward the back of Chesteval’s boat. As he passed a warrior who was struggling to keep afloat, Hunter dropped down, plunged an arm through the surface of the water, and pulled forth a dagger from the warrior’s sheath.

“A simple blade, Hunter?” Chesteval mocked. “You so easily abandon your magic. This proves that I am the better water mage!”

Chesteval hurled a sphere of ice at Hunter, which he casually dispelled. Hunter knelt low beside the warrior struggling to keep afloat, and pressed the dagger to his throat. To the warriors still on the boat, he shouted, “Hey! If you don’t want your friend to die, you’d better turn around and attack that who hired you.”

Lacy almost cheered, which nearly earned her a sword in the chest. Allar leapt in the way and batted the blade aside, then lunged and slashed at the warrior, cutting into his chest. The man fell away gurgling.

Allar shouted, “I don’t think these guys are actually friends.”

“Dammit,” Hunter said.

He was about to stand up when he cried out. Lacy turned and saw a dark-skinned arm reaching up out of the water, stabbing a dagger into Hunter’s thigh. A moment later, Tri’ni surfaced, brandishing the dagger at Hunter.

“Let the man go,” she commanded, sputtering water.

The warrior Hunter had at knife point screamed and looked up desperately at Hunter. “Hey! She’s not with me. Don’t kill me.”

“Tri’ni,” Lacy shouted, “he’s on our side. Don’t . . . don’t stab him again.”

Tri’ni looked at Lacy with confusion, not noticing that Chesteval was performing an elaborate spell. There were still four warriors between Lacy and the enemy mage, so all she could do was shout a warning. The water around Tri’ni and Hunter began to swirl and dip, and when Hunter tried to counter the spell he shook his hand and shrieked in pain as Tri’ni’s Elvish aura disrupted his magic.

The sudden whirlpool sucked the hapless warrior Hunter had been threatening under the surface, and Tri’ni was struggling to stay afloat. Still standing on the now sinking surface of the water, Hunter grabbed Tri’ni’s arm and yanked her up and onto his shoulder, then sprinted for cover behind Lacy and Allar. He dumped her bodily onto the boat, then slumped, clutching his bleeding thigh.

“Hey there,” he said, smiling to Tri’ni. He offered his hand. “Hunter Elrad. You a friend of theirs?”

“Sorry,” Tri’ni said.

“Now’s not the time,” Allar called back to them, working to parry attacks against both himself and Lacy.

The remaining four warriors were now on the ferry, pressing close to Lacy and Allar. The boat was only wide enough for two people to fight abreast, but one of the opposing warriors leaned over the side of the boat, grabbed hold of one of the thick vertical poles that held a lantern, and swung over the water to go around Allar and flank him. Allar tried to slash at the pole to dump the man into the water, but he was a moment too slow, and the warrior came down with his sword on Allar’s back, cutting deep.

Lacy cried out when she saw Allar struck, and she turned to try to heal him, leaving herself open. The warrior she had been fighting grabbed her left arm and tried to plunge his sword into her throat, but suddenly Hunter leapt across the deck and slammed into the man’s legs, knocking him down. Lacy shook free of his grasp, but she had to swing at a different warrior to keep Hunter from getting stabbed in the back. Hunter slammed his knee repeatedly into the groin of the warrior he had tackled, then grabbed the man and dragged him overboard.

Allar was still struggling to defend himself despite a gash in his back, and he maneuvered around the warrior who had attacked him, making sure the man was facing away from Tri’ni. A moment later the man gurgled in pain and clutched at a dagger in his back. Allar and Tri’ni nervously nodded to each other, and then they both turned to lend aid to Lacy.

There were only two warriors left standing, and Arthur, still unharmed from the entire combat, casually clapped his hands and brought down a wave of flame upon them from the sky. Screaming from the flames, the men jumped overboard.

Alone on the other boat, Chesteval shook his fist at them.

“Your allies have won you this fight, Hunter, but next-”

“Shut up,” Hunter shouted. “Maybe you wouldn’t be running if you hired some competent allies. And hire someone to write a good villainous speech for you next time!”

Chesteval turned away pompously. A fog began to rise up from the sea, and they watched the hidden shape of Chesteval’s boat retreat under cover. Arthur ran to the aft of the ferry, comfortably ignoring the flames he had created there.

“After him,” the fire mage said. “I bet he’d love to have his house burned down.”

When no one supported his suggestion, he glanced back, and the disappointment on his face was clear.

“Sorry folks,” Hunter said, turning to the rest of the passengers and crew, huddled at the front of the ferry. “Gimme a minute to drag these guys out of the water, and we can all get back to the safety of dry land. You can stop screaming in terror now.”

Hunter stepped out onto the water, then turned to look at Lacy.

“Nicely done,” he said, flashing a smile. “You’re the kind of woman I always wished I could adventure with.”

Lacy beamed, but as soon as Hunter turned away, she quickly moved beside Allar to heal him. She knelt and smiled weakly to him, then reached for his wound. He touched her hand, then cupped it in his other hand.

“Are you alright?” he asked. “Heal your own wounds first.”

She laughed. “You’re even worse off than me. Romance can wait until when you’re not bleeding.”

“Romance?” Allar stammered. “I . . . well, yeah, I suppose it can.”

She put a finger to her lips to quiet him, then moved her hand to his back. She whispered, “Be still. This will probably hurt us both.”

 

[RangerWickett]

Episode Five - The Bigger Man, Part I, Section VI

Gathered together again safely, the group celebrated surviving the scuffle. Though the fight had worried Lacy at the time, now that it was over, Babb was laughing at nearly everything that had happened.

“, you actually cut off his arm?”

Lacy laughed at Babb’s exuberance. Allar just looked embarrassed.

“Well,” Allar said, “This sword is . . . it’s just too sharp, I think. Really, it’s not so much my skill as how good the sword is.”

“Bah,” Babb scoffed. “You put me to shame today. Even if I had been there, I would’ve just fallen my ass in the water and drowned. You took down twelve guys!”

“They took down five,” Lacy said. “Allar got four, and Tri’ni one. Arthur and Hunter got the rest.”

Allar shrugged. “Well, I’m just glad there were enough witnesses to prove it was self-defense. I do not want to get arrested on Hunter’s behalf.”

Hunter was standing relaxed with them, in the common area of their suite at the inn. He had smoothed things over when the city guard had arrived; one of the guardsmen actually seemed to be his friend. To Lacy’s surprise, most of the guards had been more amused than worried by the attack. After losing a coin toss to Hunter, Arthur had gone off with the guard to deal with the paperwork of arresting their attackers.

“Hey, sorry for getting you involved,” Hunter said. “Chester thinks he can take my place in the Elementalists. It used to be that if you defeated the current mage, you could take his place. The idiot doesn’t realize we don’t do things that way anymore.”

Lacy asked, “Can the guard actually arrest him?”

Hunter shrugged. “I’ll deal with it. Hopefully he’ll get the point before he gets himself killed. If they do catch him, they’ll cut off his hands so he can’t cast spells. Doesn’t matter if he does get my position.”

David, who had been looking guilty for not having helped out, said, “I’m just relieved nobody got hurt. Well, not hurt much, at least. But Allar’s used to injury.”

Allar smiled back at David’s sarcasm. His shirt was off so Lacy could apply a dressing to the wound on his back. Her healing magic had caused more harm than good to him, but he was in good spirits. His skin was warm to her touch, and it pleased her that at least for the moment she did not have to worry that being in contact with him would disrupt her magic.

“Speaking of injuries,” Hunter said, glancing at Tri’ni.

He let his words hang for a moment, and Tri’ni nervously looked at the tear in his pant leg where she had stabbed him in the thigh. She smiled endearingly, then hesitated. His wound was healed, and the water mage had cleaned out the blood with a flick of his hand.

Hunter continued, “You did a pretty good job taking out that one guy from behind. On the ship.”

He grinned, his tone showing that he was not angry about the accidental attack. Tri’ni smirked back.

Lacy said happily, “You look proud of yourself.”

“Yes,” Tri’ni said. “It, um . . . it felt good to be doing something.”

Hunter leaned next to Lacy. “So, this is the girl you were talking about. She’s got spirit. I like her.”

“You should,” Tri’ni said matter-of-factly.

Hunter laughed. “Damn, you and Vic would get along great. I’d better keep you away from him, though. He might act improperly to a young lady.”

“Another rival of yours?” Allar asked.

“No,” Hunter said. “I told you I’ve only got the one rival. Vic’s my water boy.”

To the collection of confused expressions, Hunter explained.

“Vic – Victorious – is my nephew, and my apprentice. But he’s only fifteen years old, and he still thinks he has to prove himself to me. So I keep him busy with an irrigation project on my island. It teaches him how water works, makes him think, gets him out of my hair.”

“You own an island?” Lacy asked, awed.

Babb huffed. “It’s probably not even a big one.”

“You want to come visit?” Hunter glanced to Allar, then leaned down close to Lacy. “Because I can get us there in, like, an hour.”

Lacy blushed even though she knew Hunter had intended more to goad Allar than to entice her. Before she could reply, Tri’ni spoke.

“You can teleport too? That doesn’t seem very much like a water power.”

Hunter paused, briefly looked stymied, then said, “You are right! I can only do it over water. Let me guess: you were at the Wayfarer’s today. They impressed you, did they?”

David said, “We’re trying to find a tutor for Tri’ni, to teach her magic.”

“Huh,” Hunter said. He looked off for a moment, thinking. “I wonder . . . no, no. He’d just get all pissed again.”

“What is it?” Lacy asked.

Shaking his head, Hunter waved off the question. “I was going to say that Dunne needs an apprentice. Dunne’s the air mage in our group, and he’s very old-”

“We know,” Babb groaned. “Lacy’s rambled on and on about him.”

Allar held up a hand. “Well, wait a moment. If he needs an apprentice, what’s the problem?”

“Dunne, he. . . .” Hunter hesitated, like he was not sure if he should reveal a secret. “Dunne hasn’t had an apprentice since before I joined the order. He’s had a dozen or more in the six hundred years he’s been in the order, and they all were killed for one reason or another.”

Lacy drew in a breath. “I can see why everyone says he’s bitter now.”

David snickered. “I’d be a little bitter if I were that old too.”

Babb laughed, but the rest of the group glared at him.

David shrugged. “Would he be against just meeting Tri’ni?”

Hunter considered, then saw Tri’ni’s eager expression. He laughed. “I’ll tell him how she attacked me. That will probably earn her a few points.

Looking serious, he added, “He’s a mean son of a bitch, just so you know, but I’ll see what I can do. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

For a moment Tri’ni looked ready to clap, but then she faltered and looked down. Lacy watched as Babb put his hand on her shoulder, and she wondered what had happened with the Wayfarers.

“Are we still planning to go to a show of the Wayfarers?” Lacy asked. “Hunter mentioned he might be going.”

“They said we could come for free,” Tri’ni said with forced enthusiasm. “Evening of the day after tomorrow.”

Lacy smiled back at her encouragingly. “Good. Good. Hunter, we have enough to keep us busy for tomorrow, certainly. But if you could tell us how to reach Dunne, we could take Tri’ni the day after tomorrow, then meet afterward at the theater?”

Hunter looked intrigued. “I’ll send directions by tomorrow evening. Sounds wonderful. I’ll be there. I just hope my rival doesn’t show up.”

He waved and turned to leave. As he passed Allar he said, “I meant Chester, by the way.”

With a wave of his hand, the door opened for Hunter, then closed as he left. Allar tensed and released a frustrated sigh, and Lacy softly rubbed his shoulders to relax him.

* * *​

It had been a long time since she had come, and the temple had been hard for Lacy to find so late at night, but Seaquen had followers of any religion one could find in the world. Vanessi’s temple here was small, in a cluster of religious buildings devoted to the old Seren pantheon. It felt more like home than anywhere she had been for the past two years.

Vanessi was one of the eight children of the sun – four gods, four goddesses – and she had always been jealous of her sister Meliska. Both sisters cherished births and the protection of life, but Meliska also held power over the day, so she was more loved by their father. Vanessi’s strongest domain was the power of nature; capricious though nature could be, Vanessi promoted that being in control of the world around oneself was the best way to bring good fortune. It was this belief Lacy had always had trouble with, for she seldom felt in control.

Now she was praying, kneeling before a flaming brazier. Her offering was meager – a sheet of paper on which she had written her promise to take control of her feelings for Allar, after she had experienced what Hunter offered her. Vanessi did favor lovemaking, after all.

She folded the piece of paper, recited its words silently to herself, then tossed it into the flames.

“What was that?” a voice asked in Cavalesh.

Lacy turned to see the young priest who was tending the temple this night. He was a local, of Cavaleshi stock, and she looked down, worried that he would want her to leave because she was Xaopin.

“I was just making an offering to Vanessi,” she said.

“You’re Lyceian,” he said, noting her accent. “It’s an honor to have you here, sister.”

She frowned. “I . . . it sounded like you wanted me to leave.”

The man clapped lightly and laughed. “Oh, no. Most people simply toss in coins. Oh, please, don’t think I’m angry. If you could have given, I’m certain you would have.”

She looked down, then laughed weakly herself. “To be honest, I was worried that you were angry because I was Xaopin.”

“Oh,” he said. “Don’t be silly. Not everyone here in Seaquen is like that. Actually, I think you’re kind of pretty.”

She smiled politely, but the compliment did not please her. Lately more than enough people had been noticing how she looked. No one ever seemed to care to really talk to her. She started to sigh, then remembered her pledge to the goddess.

Steeling herself, she stood up and looked down at the young priest.

“Oh, my,” the man said. She knew he was surprised to see how tall she was, but that did not worry her.

“Why do you worship Vanessi?” Lacy asked, moving closer.

The man stammered, scratching the back of his neck. “I, um . . . oh, I like how she, um, helps us be in control. Of our lives, that is.”

She smiled at the irony of the man’s nervousness, but looked into his eyes, so he would think she was smiling for him. She put a hand on his shoulder, and another on his hand, and the man gaped, looking up to her.

“I was at another temple,” Lacy said softly, “far to the north. The priestesses of Vanessi there had a very special ritual.”

To help the man, she guided his hand to the small of her back. He slid his hand slowly up her back, then down, moving just barely closer.

“What are you doing?” he whispered.

She leaned close, pressing against him. Across his lips she whispered, “Making an offering.”

 

[Graywolf-ELM]

Boy someone revved up her engine. You've been at it quite a bit lately. Is the campaign coming to an end?

GW

 

[RangerWickett]

The campaign ended 8 years ago. This is a retelling and serious re-tooling to give it a much more novel-esque feel.

 

[Graywolf-ELM]

Ok, cool. Are you nearing the end of the story then?

GW

 

[RangerWickett]

Nope. I'm about a quarter-finished. Think of it like a TV season. Each episode is really one episode of the show.

 

[RangerWickett]

Episode Five - The Bigger Man, Part I, Section VII

Tri’ni sat at the window of their suite, looking out onto the softly glowing night of Seaquen. The canal was not far away, and for a long while she watched a ship rowing beneath bridge after bridge, finally vanishing from her sight.

To her Elven eyes, the millions of people of Seaquen gleamed like tiny points of light, like the stars she had only seen since coming to the surface. Unliving objects glinted like crystal, reflecting the light of countless living things, thickly translucent. The city had an inner glow unlike even the largest cities she knew from home in the land below.

A candle was lit in one of the bedrooms, reflecting dimly on the window. She saw Allar’s reflection approaching her, and her smile widened. The inn was almost silent, and she waited for him to speak.

“Do you. . . ,” he said, then stopped. “Tri’ni, I was just wondering. Do you know where Lacy is?”

Her smile nearly split her face, but she quickly hid it before turning to reply.

“She left a few hours ago. She said she was going to pray. I think, though, that she was looking for a temple to take me to, so they can train me.”

Allar nodded impatiently. “Did she say when she would be back?”

“You want to talk to her this late at night?”

Allar frowned. “Yes. You’re up late yourself.”

She smirked. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Allar sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I hope I didn’t. . . ”

He trailed off, and now it was her turn to frown.

“What?” she asked.

“Well, I hope she doesn’t mind me saying this, but Lacy told me how you had . . . you were crying in your sleep.”

Tri’ni felt a pang, but she shook it off. The lump in her throat was brief. “I didn’t know what you were planning, with the teachers here in the city. I was sad, yes, but I think now I’m too curious to go to sleep.”

“Oh.” Allar paused. “I thought. . . . I just hoped I wasn’t interrupting.”

She shrugged, then shifted how she was sitting on the window sill. “I like watching things. It’s all beautiful. Though I admit I was getting . . . unhappy? With the scenery on the ship. It wasn’t interesting anymore.”

Allar crossed his arms. He looked uncomfortable, like he did not want to talk, but he would feel guilty if he left.

Tri’ni sucked air through her teeth for a moment, then changed topics. “So have you told Lacy that you like her? Because she wants you to.”

Allar scowled and turned away. “My life is none of your business. Get some sleep.”

Tri’ni wondered what she had done. Allar snuffed his candle and went back to his room, and when Tri’ni turned back to the window, she looked out in hope that something would cheer her up.

She sat at the window for long hours, but fell asleep before the sun rose. Lacy’s return just before dawn awoke her, and Tri’ni staggered to her unwanted bed, again uncertain of herself.

* * *​

In her room, Lacy ran her hands across herself, feeling fresh despite how sweaty and sleepy she was. The inn had a wonderful bath house, and she had not bathed in months. She intended to clean up, then get some sleep.

The man’s name had been Shawn, and from the look on his face as she had said her goodbyes, Lacy felt proud of herself. This evening she had taken control, and she felt relieved, and a little tingly. After she woke up, she intended to make the most of the day.

Wrapping a sheet around herself and carrying a few spare clothes under her arm, she slipped out into the main room of the suite and knocked on Babb’s door. When he didn’t answer, she walked in and shook him lightly. He groggily opened one eye, nodded, then rolled onto his side.

“Babb, I’m going to sleep in a little late.” She yawned conveniently. “Do you remember that temple I went to while we stayed here?”

Babb grunted affirmatively, shrugging his hairy shoulders to pull more blanket of himself.

“Can you take Tri’ni for me? I’ll be sleeping.”

Babb groaned sleepily. “Sure. Later.”

She patted him on the arm and kissed his forehead, to which he grumbled and tried to roll onto his face. She smiled and left, then went downstairs to bathe. Her thoughts flitted from Hunter to Allar to the young man named Shawn. She wondered if she would ever see him again.

When she noticed the sunrise, for the briefest moment she thought of how ironic it was that a priest of Vanessi, so nervous himself, had told her to be more confident. The thought made her feel a cold emptiness in her stomach for a moment.

She forced away a frown, and tried to remember more cheerful sensations.

* * *​

David and Babb showed Tri’ni around the city, and she tried not to be angry at Allar, even though he had kept her from getting to sleep. Weary but hopeful, Tri’ni chatted with her friends as they swung through Seaquen, taking her to a dozen possible teachers.

Taskmages selling simple services like magical mending did not interest her. The illusions used at a brothel in the candlelight district were amazing, but the love potions they sold to affect the emotions of another offended her. The medicine woman who lived in the tree in the middle of the park had been friendly, though, and a strange man looking like a bird had sounded excited about the scrolls in his shop, whatever language he had been speaking in.

The manservant of the city’s first archmage said he was ‘fixing the steam tunnels again,’ as if it were important. The city’s second archmage refused to speak with them, but the magic wards on the walls outside his home had looked very intriguing. She would be seeing Tierodunne, the city’s third archmage, tomorrow afternoon.

Dorisian spellsingers performing at the Bridge of Bards had been too busy to talk, but Tri’ni had never been confident in her skill at singing, so she did not count it as a loss. By random chance they had come upon a brown-skinned Kohalesti Elf worker using stoneshaping magic to fix a worn staircase, and though she desperately wanted to talk with another Elf, the man had sneered at her and shouted something in a language none of them understood.

Tri’ni had made sure to memorize the hand gesture he had given her.

None of the three of them had been eager to go to the Temple of Vanessi, and the priests there had turned her away anyway. Another temple had offered to burn the evil out of her, and a third had promised to teach her how to control the spirits of the dead. A fourth had offered free ale in exchange for a tale of skill at arms, but David had not let her try out the alcohol, so Babb had taken credit for killing the blood-drinker of Ycengled.

The workshop they went to last made enchanted items on commission. Even the simplest items they offered were well beyond the group’s means, and David was much more interested in their techniques than Tri’ni was. When they finally left, it was late afternoon, the streets were almost as crowded as those of Rissan’la in the land below, and Babb was grumbling.

“I need something enchanted,” he said, the closest she had heard him come to pouting.

Confused, she looked down at his sword’s bright magical glow, then back to Babb. “What do you mean?”

“David has his talismans he makes so he can use magic. Lacy made that necklace for you, and her talisman of Vanessi has something to do with her magic. And Allar . . . oh Allar has some ancient, ancestral sword of the Elvish kings that cuts off arms left and right.”

Tri’ni said, “It only cut off the man’s right arm. Plus, your sword is enchanted. I thought you loved it.”

Babb shook his head. “Hey, yeah. Thanks for trying, Trin.”

“Can’t you tell?” she asked. “It’s . . . it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

David opened his mouth, let it hang for a moment, then rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe I forgot. Babb, she’s an Elf. Of course she can see it.”

“Can’t you?” Tri’ni asked. “I know Goblins can’t, but they’re not too smart. I thought humans and Jispin and Geidon would be able to. Although I guess I should have realized something when you couldn’t see in the dark without the light spell.”

“,” Babb said. “You just see magic? Damn, I do remember hearing that about Elves. But, really, you know Elves. They’re always trying to tell you how much more perfect they are than you.”

Tri’ni smirked. “That’s just strange. Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

David shrugged. “It’s not the sort of thing you think about, normally. It’s not like I need to tell you that Jispin can see into the future.”

Tri’ni squinted at David, and after a long moment she said, “I’m almost sure you’re joking.”

David smiled proudly.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Babb said. “What does my sword do, then?”

Tri’ni shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen many magic swords. Dentalles’s . . . Allar’s, I mean. It doesn’t have an aura. I always thought that was strange.”

“Great.” Babb growled and shook his sword in his sheath. “I might have an enchanted item, but we don’t know what it does.”

David said, “Tomorrow before we go to see Tierodunne, Lacy and I were planning to visit the library. If you let me take a look at it, I’ll see if I can find anything about it.”

“Library?” Babb said. “You have fun with that. Why are you going anyway?”

“Nothing in particular,” David said, too quickly. Tri’ni noticed he glanced at her with a bit of worry. “Checking on some of the history of that tomb we were in. Lacy has an idea who it belonged to, but we want to be sure.”

Babb laughed. “You mean mister ‘I’m going to sing everything I say’? Let’s just hope he never managed to dig himself out.”

David did not reply, and Tri’ni could only nod. She had barely thought about the strange creature they had met just before fighting the dragon, not since Seekan had-

She couldn’t finish the thought, and she forced a laugh out. “Tomorrow night I’m looking forward to meeting Tierodunne.”

“I wondered,” David said sarcastically. “With all the luck we’ve been having with the other mages, I’m surprised you’re in such good spirits.”

Tri’ni laughed outwardly. “I’m just . . . very hopeful.”

“Good,” David said, looking pleased with himself. “That’s excellent. That’s the best we could ask for.”

* * *​

No one was around when Lacy woke up late in the afternoon. She was about to head out to a spell store to buy a copy of the charm to ward off pregnancy when a knock came at the door to the suite. With eagerness that surprised even herself, she rushed to the door.

“Who is it?”

“Um, my name is, ah, Darren,” came the nervous voice of a young man. “I’m delivering a package, and it’s very heavy.”

Lacy opened the door to the sight of a teenaged boy holding an armful of packages in various sizes, wrapped in brown paper. She accepted them and tipped the boy a silver coin. He thanked her as he left, and kept thanking her as he descended the stairs to the first floor. She smiled at him, then closed the door and turned to examine the packages.

There were four wrapped packages – one with each of their names on it, except for Allar’s – and a small box labeled ‘lacey boots.’ She wondered if whoever had sent them had just misspelled her name, and then she noticed again that Allar was not included.

“Hunter,” she laughed to herself, “nice try, but you’ve already lost this one.”

Caution from adventuring made her make sure to cast a quick spell to see if any danger lurked in the packages. Her first attempt failed, disrupted by her contact with Allar the day before. Her hand twitched from a brief inner burn, and she waved her hand as if she could cool it off. She knew the disruption was gone now – it only ever took a single spell to clear away the aura of an Elf – but she was tired of getting stung, and she really did not expect Hunter to try anything dangerous, so with a shrug she unwrapped the package with her name on it. Then she gasped.

Inside was a beautiful white cashmere dress, highlighted with gold trim and green silk. Not believing, she held up the dress and saw it was actually long enough to fit her. She blinked for a few moments, then smiled and clutched the dress, taking out her glee on the gift. Almost fearfully she opened the box and saw a pair of boots made from light grey leather. Not quite as beautiful as the dress, but still they brought a smile to her face.

She wondered aloud, “How in the world did he know what size to make it?”

She hesitated for a moment, concerned that it might be wrong for her to wear a dress given by a man she did not have feelings for. But she shook her head and laughed, knowing she would never forgive herself if she did not at least try it on. A moment later she was in her room, and she had nearly managed to get the dress on properly when she heard another knock at the door.

“Just a moment,” she shouted.

She headed to the door, hopping to pull on her boots. She was nearly to the door when she remembered she was not wearing her necklace holy symbol of Vanessi, but it wasn’t urgent, so she pulled on her second boot, straightened the dress – which fit very comfortably and in a way she hoped was flattering – then tossed her hair over one shoulder.

“Who is it?” she asked, opening the door.

The men’s hands were upon her before she knew she was being attacked. They grabbed her arms and pulled her down so one man could wrap a thick ribbon around her neck and draw it too tight for her to scream. Another man clubbed her across the temple and her vision went red. She staggered to the ground and tried to pull free the ribbon that was strangling her, but after a moment she realized she would not be able to fight off the men. She felt metal pressed to her throat, and she raised her hands to surrender.

Another blow struck her in the head, and she wished she would pass out, but they just kept beating her until her breath gave way and she slumped to the floor.

To be continued . . .​