15th Day of Reaping, 565 CY
The Jewel River
(the Ulek/Pomarj border)
Talass spun around, her eyes searching.
"He's not here, dear sister."
The cleric turned back to her sibling. A frown reasserted itself on her face. "And exactly why should I believe you, dear sister?" Talass asked, the address coated with her legendary frostiness.
Talat sighed wearily and ran one hand through her tangled black hair. She didn't look at Talass when she replied, but her voice had lost all of its previous attitude.
"Because if he was, you wouldn't be his first choice of target."
Talass raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I've left him."
Talass raised her other eyebrow.
Wish I'd thought to detect for lies before this started, she thought. "Why?"
Talat twisted her hands together nervously. "A number of reasons," she said at length. "It's not easy to explain."
"Try. Try hard."
Her younger sister's eyes darted around nervously. "I don't need to tell you Nodyath is not a very kind man. Where he came from, he needed that cruelty, that strength, to survive. I think he just- he's been the way he is for so long; he just can't change. The way he was never bothered me; in fact, it attracted me. Nitch was much the same way; a living, masculine embodiment of the teachings of Hextor."
That name set a sneer to Talass' lips before she even realized it. "And did the Scourge of Battle approve of your leaving Nodyath?"
Talat paused. Her eyes came back up to meet those of her older sister.
"I wouldn't know, Talass," she replied softly. "I've left him, too."
Talass sucked in her breath, her eyes widening.
"Everything changed when it happened." Talat could only manage a whisper now. "I'd always been taught that it wouldn't, but it did. It- it wasn't just about me anymore."
Talass tilted her head. "I don't understand. When what happened?"
Talat scooted forward, slid down off the boulder and stood facing her sister.
And she opened her cloak wide.
Talass gasped, but quickly regained her composure.
Of course. It made sense.
It was the only thing that could make sense.
She looked at the bulge showing underneath the loose brown tunic, and then up again at Talat's face.
And Talass saw something there that she hadn't seen through the bars of a Willip jail cell.
She saw the ghost of her little sister. Her real little sister. The one she'd lost all those years ago.
Aelfbi had been right. It wasn't redemption- yet. But Talass could see its shadow.
Now it was Talass who struggled to keep her voice above a whisper. "Due when?"
"The end of the year. Late Sunsebb, most likely."
"The father- Nodyath?"
Talat nodded.
Talass exhaled, trying to take this all in. Then another thought struck her.
"Does he know?"
"Oh, yes." Talat smiled sadly. "He was so happy- he's always wanted children of his own, you know. This was just before he delivered Tadoa to the Emerald Serpent. I told him- he was ecstatic..."
Talat's voice trailed off. She leaned back against the boulder and wiped her eyes.
"This child is all I have left, Talass. I can't stay in Furyondy; I'm a fugitive there now. I have no friends- Saxmund blames me for Kingus' death, and I can't in all honesty deny it. I didn't leave Nodyath when he told me that he'd sold Kingus to the Serpent. I'm surprised that Saxmund hasn't murdered me in my sleep; I'm sure she's capable of it, and only Aelfbi has been holding her back. I've left the priesthood of the Scourge, but I can't go back to the Justice Bringer. My soul is tarnished- I've prayed for guidance, but there's no answer."
Talat looked over again at Talass. "My child is innocent. It shouldn't have to die because of my sins. Please, sister... there's no one else. Please help me!"
She cradled her face in her hands and dissolved into tears, unable to continue.
Talass had absolutely no idea what to do, and that was a rarity for her.
She did feel sympathy for her sister, but she could also feel the anger building within her. Through her inaction, Talat had caused her and her friends incalculable grief and sorrow.
She slowly walked up to Talat's right and then turned around so that they were side-by-side, leaning up against the rock. Both women stared out at the dwarven camp beyond. Several torches, perhaps continual flames, were beginning to appear. As of yet, no one seemed to have noticed Talass' absence, or perhaps Aelfbi was covering for her.
Talass kept her voice cold. "You wear the clothes you've sewn, sister."
Talat tried to reply through her tears. "My child... innocent..."
"Tadoa was innocent!" The words exploded out of the priestess as she whirled around, grabbing her younger sibling by the shoulders. "Thorin was innocent! Who aided them? You care only for your own child? What about Cygnus? Do you have any idea what you put him through- what you put all of us through?" Talass shot cold fire at Talat with her eyes. "And what if Nodyath had kidnapped Barahir? Would you still be begging for my help now? I'd tear you to pieces with my bare hands!"
Talat seemed to shrink inside her huge cloak. She turned around and sprawled out on the rock's surface. Her hands, clenched into fists, pounded away uselessly at the unyielding rock.
"I'm sorry!" she screamed. "I didn't want this to happen- I just wanted to be with Nodyath! I know what I did was wrong! I know!"
Literally roaring with rage, Talass grabbed Talat by the shoulders, lifted her up and spun her around.
"I don't care if you know! You'll listen to it anyway! You'll hear it directly from those you've wronged! And you will pay for what you've done, Talat- you will pay according to the will of Forseti and the law of the land!"
"Save my child, Talass," Talat interjected. Her voice was suddenly calm; her face wide-eyed and tear-tracked but otherwise devoid of expression. "I'll happily die for my crimes- I'll let my soul go the Hell that I know awaits it. Just let my child be born safely first and given a chance at life- a life free of cruelty."
Talass glared at her sister for a moment, then crossed her arms across her chest and stared back out at towards the river again. Slowly, Talat followed suit.
After a minute or so of silence, Talass spoke. Her voice was hard, but quiet.
"I will go ahead and explain the situation to the others. I will make them promise not to hurt or arrest you, but I will not keep this secret from them."
Talat shook her head. "No."
The cleric gritted her teeth. "This is not open to debate. You will meet with them, willingly or otherwise."
"They'll kill me," Talat said simply.
Talass rolled her eyes. "Have you gone deaf, sister? Did I not just say I would extract a promise from-"
"No," Talat repeated, shaking her head again. "Not your husband or your allies, Talass. I'm talking about the others."
"Who?" Talass asked, puzzled.
"Monsrek- the priest of the Summoner. He is not bound to you. If he does not slay me himself, he will contact his lord via sending- that abominable Sir Dorbin. That knight will teleport here, he will make a grandious speech about how it is his sworn and sacred duty to prevent the propogation of rogue Talents- and he will run me through with that burning sword of his."
"That is-" Talass began and stopped.
She realized with a start that she couldn't completely discount the possibility- even if it was a very small one- that Dorbin might not just do exactly that if he learned of Talat's location. Both he and Aslan had confirmed that the Talent could be passed along from parent to child.
And on this one point, Sir Dorbin had shown a passion that- for all his generally kind and gentle nature- bordered on the fanatical.
Talass shook her head in irritation, still not looking at her sister. "Then what would you have me do?"
"Come home with me," Talat answered quietly.
Talass blinked. "Home?"
"To Rhizia."
The priestess of Forseti turned and gaped at Talat, but the former priestess spoke first.
"Father will forgive me if you speak up on my behalf. He may be harsh, but he is fair. He will not turn me out to die if you can convince him I have repented."
Talass' eyes narrowed. "And have you?"
Some of the cockiness returned to her younger sibling's voice. "You examined me yourself. Do you doubt Forseti's power?"
Cold anger seeped into Talass' response. "All I know is that you have turned off the path of evil. That is a long way from true repentence. Even a wicked mother may love her child. What have you done to atone for your sins?"
There was a short pause, and then the same frigidity came back at her. "My, my. You do sound just like Father, don't you?"
"I left home for the same reason you did, sister; for the love of a man. That was a betrayal of our father's dream- no better than yours. The only difference is that I did not abandon the path of the Justice Bringer as well. When I feel the day has come, then Elrohir and I will return home to live out our remaining days; if our people will have us. But that day is a long way off. Far too many commitments keep me here now with my family and friends. If you wish to return home, then do so. But know this. If you have not atoned in your heart- Father will know. Forseti will tell him."
Talat stared down at the ground for a long time. Talass kept her silence until finally, a soft whisper came to her ears.
"I wish I could say I have, sister. If the worship of Hextor gave me one things all these years, it was confidence. I could face anything. Now, all I have is my child- and my fears."
Such is the legacy of the Scourge, thought Talass to herself, but she kept that thought private. "Go far away, Talat," she said softly. "You said yourself Nodyath does not know where you are. Go someplace peaceful and live out your days quietly- you and your child."
Talat shook her head again. "He will find me, Talass. He wants this child as much as I do. He will find me and turn me over to the Emerald Serpent-"
Her voice choked.
"-and they will rip my child from my womb. Use foul magic to keep it alive- and turn it into... something other than it would be."
She fell silent again. Talass cast a sideways glance at her little sister, and then looked forward again.
Out on the field, Aslan and Tojo were heading towards her. Aelfbi was with them.
"Go, Talat," Talass suddenly said. "I will not betray you if you leave now. Link up later with Saxmund and the others if you wish or make your way alone. This is all I can give you right now."
Talat seemed about to object, but then she saw what Talass saw. She gathered up her cloak around her again and began to climb up the slope.
"I will pray for you, my sister," Talass called out after her.
Talat turned around.
"My child will survive, Talass. I swear it."
Now it was Talat's eyes that narrowed underneath her hood.
"I hope that you will be one of those that I thank for that."
She turned back around and quickly disappeared among the trees.
Talass ignored Aslan's questions, brushing right by the paladin without saying a word.
Aslan stared after her for a moment, then looked over to Tojo.
The samurai raised an eyebrow, then shrugged.
Aelfbi was already following Talass back to camp. Aslan shot one more glance at the forested slope, then frowned and headed back as well, Tojo beside him.
Fourteen people sat in a large circle illimunated by torches.
Elrohir still couldn't believe it.
"You're serious, Talass? You'd move to stop us if we tried to find her?"
Talass nodded slowly, her expression serious and sad at the same time. "That was all I promised her; but I will keep that promise."
Wescene leaned over to whisper into Argo's left ear. "A large cloak like that; it'd be hard to keep off the ground. I'm sure we could track her." The elf's green eyes looked at her fellow ranger for confirmation.
Argo thought for a moment, and then whispered back.
"If she's no longer a priestess, I don't think she's any danger to us anymore. Personally, I'm a big fan of redemption. I'm going to let Elrohir and Talass thrash this one out betwen them."
Bigfellow noticed others eyeing them at that point, so he spoke up loudly on the first thing that came to mind.
"So, Aslan," he said with an evil grin, "Nodyath is due to be a father. Now you are his counterpart- is there something you should be telling us? What's her name? Does she have a sister?"
Caroline playfully punched her husband's shoulder amidst a number of chuckles. Aslan however, merely glared back at his nemesis.
"I don't create life, Argo. I only take it away."
The words had spilled out of the paladin's mouth before he could stop them. To cover his embarrassment, he quickly rose to his feet.
"I'm scheduled for first watch," he mumbled, and strode off as quickly as his plate mail would allow.
Nesco's face was only one of many that registered confusion at that remark. "What's he talking about?" she asked Elrohir.
But Elrohir, the only one present who actually did understand what Aslan was talking about, didn't reply. He was too busy staring back at Nesco.
She doesn't know, he thought. Aslan was wrong. She doesn't know!
He tried to think up a cover line, but Nesco was by now accustomed to people gawking at her without speaking. "Never mind," she snapped, then got up and left the circle, walking over to her bedroll.
Eleven people watched her walk off, and then turned back to Elrohir.
The party leader turned his face upwards towards the night sky. "Why is it whenever things can't possibly get any worse, they always do?" he asked aloud to no one in particular.
Saxmund looked troubled. "Kingus asked me that very same question," she said, her voice trembling. "That was right before he left us in Willip- and never came back."