Jaxon piled whatever he could find quickly onto a tray while he waited for the water to boil on the hearth. Maly was willing to tell him everything! Could he really be this close to the answers he so desperately needed?
He shook tea leaves into a small, silver basket and dropped it into a tea pot. He liked the old mage. She had slowly opened up to him on the trip to Amarinthine, telling stories of the Blight and the rebuilding of the Wardens. Jaxon smiled a bit as he added a small pile of honey bars to the tray. Their talks by the fire each night had been fascinating – even his companion Wardens had sat closer each night, drawn by her stories.
"I remember," Maly said, accepting a mug of tea from a young Warden with a grateful smile as Jaxon wrapped her cloak around her shoulders, "We had made camp one night. Alistair was, unfortunately, cooking. Morrigan had, as usual, made her own camp a bit away from us."
"That was the Witch of the Wilds, right," piped up the Warden that had given her the tea. He was hushed by another, but Maly nodded.
"Aye, Morrigan was a Wilder Folk, as Duncan called her, with forbidden knowledge and the attitude of a pit viper," Maly chuckled fondly, "She and Alistair were constantly fighting like school children. It was amusing, I must say. They often tried to 'get' the other with little tricks or sarcastic comments."
Maly paused to sip her tea, enjoying the warmth that seemed to reach to her very toes, "Well, this night, Alistair had some help with his battle against Morrigan. It seemed that Etzian, my mabari," she elaborated at a few questioning looks, "He had deposited a half-eaten hare in Morrigan's pack."
"Oh yes," Maly continued over the laughter, "Alistair had seen what Etzian had done and could barely contain his mirth. There were a couple of times, as he waited for Morrigan to find her gift, that I thought he was going to fall into the," Maly paused, crinkling her nose in distaste, "Well, he swore it was stew."
"Morrigan screeched like a shriek when she found it sending Alistair to the ground in a fit of laughter. Etzian went bounding over to the witch who had yet to regain her ability to say more than the shrill yells," Maly smiled over the rim of her cup as she watched her audience collapse into their own laughter.
Jaxon grinned down at her, enjoying the light in her eyes. For a moment, she looked young again. Maly winked at him and leaned closer, "You think they've gotten over their fear of me yet?"
Each evening, another Warden would come and sit to listen to her tales. Jaxon was amazed at how they had unbent to laugh at her jokes. They were even unbending enough to offer her small treats whenever they stopped for rests during the trip. There was just something about the old mage.
He sighed and poured the boiling water into the pot. Apparently, there were still many Wardens that feared Maly, not the least of which was Rylan. He could not really blame them, not after what he had read. And he was suddenly aware as to why everyone seemed to fall under Maly's spell. Her Taint called to them, lulled them, entranced them.
And now, as soon as he could get the tea and food upstairs, he was going to find out the story. Jaxon blew out a breath as he noticed that his hands were shaking. It wouldn't be good for him to drop the tray on the stairs. No, he needed to pull himself together before he got back to Maly's room. Jaxon swallowed, took a deep breath, and straightened his shoulders as he picked up the tray. Months of research, of wondering, were all about to come to a head over tea, sandwiches, and honey bars. Jaxon smirked down at the tray and shook his head.