Authors: Thomas M. Reid
“I feel as though I am on the verge of a vision,” Arbeenok said, standing. “I will pray and see if I can learn something useful for us.” He went off to find a quiet spot, out of the way, leaving Vambran to sit and wait.
For a long time, Vambran simply contemplated the events that had unfolded in the previous few hours. It was hard to imagine that only one day before, he had been the unwilling guest of the Emerald Enclave, housed in a cave on a rock outcropping. So much had happened in that span. He considered the people he had met, from Shinthala the druid who had taken a liking to him, to Edilus, who had not. He thought about the loss of his troops, and Uncle Kovrim, and he spent a private moment grieving again, though his sorrow was not mixed with guilt any longer. After his prayers earlier that morning, Vambran understood again the vagaries of life and his role in the lives of other people. Instead of being angry with himself for not having done more to save the Crescents, he accepted that events had been beyond his control and that those who were responsible deserved his wrath.
Vambran was startled out of his thoughts by Serille’s appearance again. “Would you like to take a little journey with me?” she asked somewhat shyly. “To a secret spot I like?” she added, gesturing toward the water. She was holding a necklace of brightly colored coral and shells, all reds and purples and blues.
“Sure,” the lieutenant said, certain that he still had several hours to use his water-breathing magic. “I can travel with you for a little while,” he said. Then he frowned. “Though I can’t swim nearly as well as you, and without Arbeenok to carry me, I may just sink.”
“This will help,” Serille said, holding up the necklace. “It has some powerful magic that’s perfect for you.” She handed the jewelry to Vambran and said, “You won’t need those,” brushing her hand against his still-wet clothes. “In fact, the magic of the necklace is much better if you take them off.”
Vambran looked at the sea elf askance, trying to determine her motives, but the look she gave him was so innocent that he couldn’t be sure what he thought. Shrugging, he sat down and slipped his waterlogged boots off, then quickly got out of his breastplate and the rest of his wet clothes. He laid them on a rock shelf to dry, though he wondered why he bothered. Then, when he was as naked as Serille, he looked at her expectantly.
She came to him and motioned for him to bow his head, and she slipped the jewelry around his neck. Immediately, Vambran could feel a change come over him. He gasped as he felt his hands and feet alter, elongating and growing webbing between fingers and toes. He suddenly had an urge to dive into the water and swim, knowing that it would feel like the most
natural thing in the world. He reached up to feel the necklace and his hand brushed against gills along his neck and breastbone.
In a sudden panic, Vambran wondered if the transformation was permanent, and he yanked the necklace off again. At once, his body returned to its human anatomy, and he breathed a sharp sigh of relief. He slowly slipped the necklace back into place and felt the aquatic adaptation happen again.
“We have one for your companion, too,” Serille said, “but we can give it to him later. He looks content.”
Vambran looked over at Arbeenok, who had chosen to meditate, and saw the alaghi sitting very still with his eyes closed. He had to agree with the girl’s assessment.
“Come on,” Serille said, trotting toward the water. She looked back at Vambran.
The mercenary hesitated, turning back and reaching for his sword. “I don’t feel right without this,” he said, but he had no idea how to swim with it in his hand, since he no longer wore its scabbard.
“Leave it,” Serille instructed. Instead, she took up a trident, one that had been borne into the cavern by another sea elf. She handed the new weapon to Vambran and said, “Can you use this?”
The lieutenant considered the aquatic weapon for a moment and gave it an experimental thrust, then nodded.
“Then let’s go,” the girl said, and laughing, she turned and splashed into the water.
Vambran followed her into the ocean, wondering what it would feel like, swimming with webbed hands and feet. It took him a moment to acclimate to his natural buoyancy and to learn to thrust properly, but soon enough, the mercenary was scooting through
the water, able to keep up with Serille most of the time. Occasionally, she would swim circles around him, tickling him, and he would find it difficult to keep her at bay. Then, once she swam away, leaving him behind, he would stroke hard to catch up. When he realized that he had lost her, he began to worry, wondering if he could find his way back to the cave, but at the next moment, she popped up from behind a rock, laughing at him.
The most wondrous thing about the necklace, Vambran soon learned, was that he could speak with the girl and hear her speak.
“This way,” she said at last and swam toward a large forest of the green plants growing from the ocean floor. It was a fairly flat place, and the plants grew thick and tall.
“What is this?” Vambran asked as they drifted among the treelike growths.
“It’s called kelp,” Serille answered. “Isn’t it beautiful?” And she darted away, vanishing, beginning a game of hide and seek.
Vambran tried to keep up with the girl, but he kept getting his trident tangled in the kelp, and finally he called out, “I give up! You’re too good!” Serille poked him from behind with her toe. When he spun to look at her, she swam to him, wrapping him in a most suggestive embrace, and kissed him.
Getting to House Darowdryn should be quite an adventure,” Pilos said. The Abreeant, Edilus, and the mercenaries had pulled the wagon into an alley near the store where Emriana and, to their extreme surprise, Xaphira were hiding. They were all circled around the trussed up form of Lobra Pharaboldi, who was scowling at them, her mouth stuffed with cloth. “I can’t believe you’re here,” he said, beaming at Emriana.
The girl returned his smile, but there was a sadness in it he had never seen before. “Tymora smiled on us a few times last night,” she said.
“What happened? How did you get free?”
he asked, eager to hear of the girl’s exploits.
Emriana shook her head. “Not now, not
here,” she said, still in that soft, sad voice. “We have to get her off the street before someone sees her.”
Pilos nodded, though he did not understand and wanted to. Later, he decided. She’s obviously been through a lot.
Horial was doing some quick rearranging in the cart. “All right, lift her up here,” he said after making room next to Grolo.
Lobra thrashed and kicked but Emriana gave her one hard smack across the cheek and the woman stopped struggling. Adyan and Edilus hoisted the bound prisoner up off the cobblestones while Pilos kept a nervous watch over their surroundings. The last thing they needed was a city watchman strolling by at just the wrong time.
In the end, the two Matrell women had to ride on the cart, sitting on Lobra, who was pinned under a blanket beside the still-unconscious Grolo. Along with Edilus, they looked like some sort of traveling carnival, and a dirty one at that.
As they set off, Pilos suddenly remembered. “Em,” he said, pulling a satchel out from under the seat of the cart. “I think these are yours.”
Emriana eyed the bag in puzzlement for a heartbeat, then her expression brightened immeasurably and she grabbed at it. “Hetta!” she cried, digging into the satchel. Finding the ring, she slipped it onto her finger and turned all her attention to something unseen. Pilos smiled, happy to have cheered the girl. After a moment, she removed the ring and held it out to Xaphira, who stared at it with wariness. “Go on, take it,” Emriana said. “She wants to speak with you.”
Gingerly, Xaphira took the ring from her niece’s hand and slipped it on. Her eyes glazed over and she
stared at nothing, and Pilos knew she was in silent conversation.
Emriana leaned forward and gave the young priest a tight hug. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for bringing her back to me.”
Pilos smiled. “It was more like her bringing me back, but you’re welcome.”
The girl dug around in the satchel some more, then gasped in delight as she pulled out her opal pendant. “I can contact Vambran!” she exclaimed, slipping it over her head.
Emriana took hold of it to make use of its magic, but Xaphira reached out and stopped her. “Wait,” she said. “Wait until after everyone has heard each other’s stories. He’ll want to know as much as we can tell him.”
Emriana frowned for a moment, then nodded. “All right,” she said, tucking the pendant away.
They rode on in silence for a time, partially because it seemed to Pilos that Emriana did not want to talk, but also because he was concerned that palace guards or the city watch might still be looking for them. At one point, Xaphira turned 4) Emriana and said, “Quill is dead.” Pilos watched as her niece reached out and took Xaphira’s hand, squeezing it in a comforting manner, but Pilos wasn’t sure from the older woman’s expression whether she was grieving or gratified. She remained silent for the rest of the ride.
The united group succeeded in reaching the Darowdryn estate without further trouble. As they rolled through the gates of the estate and word was sent ahead that they had arrived, Pilos felt himself finally relax. He could sense the others reacting the same way. At the front steps of the house, Ariskrit
immediately took control of the situation, sending servants scattering in every direction and ordering every one of the new arrivals into baths and clean clothes. There were no complaints.
After everyone refreshed themselves, the entire group convened to discuss events. Pilos stifled a big yawn as he waited for everyone to gather in his family’s sitting room. He had been one of the first to arrive.
Long night, he realized. When was the last time I slept? He realized it had been the night before the last, and fitfully at that. When Mikolos died, Pilos reMembered, feeling his throat constricting in sorrow. Has it only been one day?
The Abreeant felt much better, though, even if he was tired. A hot bath and clean clothes could do wonders for a person who had been nearly stabbed, drowned, and shot at numerous times throughout the day and night. Everyone else who drifted into the room looked better, too, though Emriana still had that strange, haunted look on her face. It troubled Pilos, but he resolved to give her whatever time she needed and not press her about it. She’ll tell me when she’s ready, he told himself.
The sitting room quickly became crowded as everyone packed in. In addition to himself, Uncle Tharlgarl, and Ariskrit, Pilos counted Emriana and Xaphira, Horial, Adyan, Grololooking much better after substantial healingand Edilus, and a pair of House guards sitting on either side of a still-confined Lobra.
Ariskrit cleared her throat and everyone grew silent. “Well, now,” she said in a bemused tone. “It seems that a few of us have had a rather interesting evening. Lots of news to share and plans to be made.
But before we begin, let me just say that House Darowdryn has always been and will continue to be staunch allies of the Matrells and their associates. Let that never be in doubt.” She looked pointedly at Emriana and Xaphira, and the grand dame sent an icy stare toward Lobra, who sniffed. Pilos wasn’t buying into the woman’s airs, though. She looked beside herself with apprehension.
She knows she’s in a pickle, the young priest thought.
In turn, everyone told their stories. Along the way, there were more than a few gasps and murmurs, and when Emriana described how she had come to be free of the mirror, she seemed to leave a large gap in the tale. At one point, she had to stop and clutch at her aunt’s hand, but she got through her part of things without ever revealing what Pilos was beginning to suspect was the reason for her demeanor.
When everyone had explained their adventures, and after considerable back-and-forth questioning, the room fell silent.
“All right,” Ariskrit said, turning to look at Lobra. “Let’s see what you have to say.” She gestured for the two guards to remove the woman gag. Once she was free to speak, she looked around the room, her expression sullen. “You might as well go ahead,” Ariskrit said. “We’ll beat the truth out of you eventually, but you can spare yourself quite a bit of misery by just spilling it now. And don’t think we won’t know if you lie. We’ve got plenty of enchantments to reveal falsehoods. Well?” she demanded and tapped her toe.
Lobra, still looking sullen, finally began to speak. “My husband did most of it,” she said. “I was too distraught with family deaths to participate much.”
“And is it true that your husband has been conspiring with House Talricci and the newly appointed Grand Syndar to bring about all this chaos?”
“I suppose so,” Lobra muttered.
“Speak up, girl,” Ariskrit demanded, crossing over to where Lobra was restrained. “Your mother isn’t here to see this, rest her soul, but if she were, I’m sure Anista Pharaboldi would be more than a little upset with your antics of late. Now then, did your husband conspire with Grand Syndar Lavant and Grozier Talricci to start a war?”
Lobra began sniffling then, all of her stoicism lost. “Yes!” she blurted. “Yes! They wanted to corner the lumber market! And they wanted House Matrell out of the way while they did it! I went along with it because I was so angry with the Matrells for what happened to my brother and mother! Falagh hates you all so much, and I just learned to hate you, too.” At that point, she broke off speaking and sat there, looking miserable.
For a moment, Pilos started to feel sorry for the woman, for it seemed to him that she had been manipulated by others into her participation. Emriana stood up, walked over to Lobra, and glared at her. Then, out of nowhere, she smacked the sniveling woman. And it was no slap, but a full-on, handballed-into-fist punch in the mouth. The blow knocked Lobra backward with a grunt.
Everyone in the room gasped in surprise and began to talk at once. Xaphira jumped up and grabbed Emriana, pulling her back, while Lobra, chastened, stared at the floor, a trickle of blood running from the corner of her mouth. Whatever sympathy Pilos had felt for the woman before, it was gone with that outburst. Emriana didn’t say anything as she was led