Tenth day after Sun's Height, 30016 DC

The streets were wet after the storm and the cobbles gleamed in the pale, bright daylight. The air felt fresh and clean, and Tynan was glad he'd remembered to swing his cloak over his shoulders before they set off.

Ali was enjoying the cool brightness and the sense of being set free of the little enclosed room; she laughed and pulled a little ahead of the others, interspersing her walking with cartwheels and other tumbling tricks, as often upside down as the right way up. Emlyn, still too annoyed and embarrassed to talk to anyone, stalked off after her, and Shadow dropped back, stringing the party out into a straggling line.

Ensa found herself walking in the center with Tynan, enjoying the breeze and the dimmer light that was a relief to her eyes after the glaring sunlight they'd been experiencing for so long. She glanced across at the ranger, who was walking without paying much attention to where he was going, looking anxious and unhappy. Ensa petted Star with one finger, wondering if she could help.

'Er, Tynan,' she said, diffidently, 'without wishing to cast any aspersions, if I was Emlyn then I'd think you were ducking out of a confrontation back then.'

The ranger didn't answer for so long that Ensa wondered if he'd even heard her quiet comment and looked round at him again. She could hear the distant rumble of traffic and shrill gulls squawking overhead, but their immediate area was empty and quiet.

'Maybe I was,' said Tynan eventually, bitterly. 'Maybe I am. I don't know what else to do.'

'It isn't going to solve any problems in the long term.'

Tynan sighed. 'I hoped if I could just keep the peace for a while then they'd get used to each other. Dodging a confrontation may be the coward's way out, but I can't see another answer. I don't want either of them to get hurt.'

'Some people feel better after they have an argument. They feel things are out in the open.' Ensa frowned. 'Emlyn might, I think.'

Tynan shook his head. 'Shadow won't fight him. I know what you mean, but Emlyn will just feel worse if he tries. I wish…' He trailed off, staring into the distance.

Ensa waited a second, then asked, 'You wish what?'

'Oh, I don't know. That Emlyn had more patience, I suppose. Or that Shadow would compromise a bit.'

'I might wish for the stars,' Ensa said dryly, 'but I don't expect them to fall into my lap.'

'Exactly. It isn't going to happen. So…' He shrugged. 'I don't know. We carry on, and I pray for the opportunity to show them why I care about both of them.'

Ensa wandered along in silence for a while, watching Ali's antics up ahead. The fair girl was chattering to Emlyn – who seemed to have recovered a bit – not breaking or slowing her conversation as she threw herself head over heels forwards or kicked her legs up to walk along for a few paces on her hands. Their voices floated back indistinctly to Ensa, who occasionally picked up clear words or phrases.

'What about you?'

Tynan turned his head. 'How do you mean?'

'If it all goes completely to pieces… what are you going to do? Who'll you stick with if they won't travel together?'

The ranger shuddered. 'Eleven know.'

'I suppose you can't really leave Emlyn. If he's determined to take up adventuring… he couldn't take care of himself.'

'No. But I can't leave Shadow, either, Ensa. I mean that. Abandoning him would be… it would be the worst thing I've ever done.'

Ensa frowned. 'He doesn't act like he needs looking after,' she said, dryly.

'He doesn't need looking after, he just thinks –' Tynan caught himself and shook his head. 'I'm not going to explain. It's his story. But take my word for it.'

'Tynan!'

Shadow's quiet call made them both turn their heads. The elf had crossed to the other side of the road and was looking down a side street. 'What's wrong?' Tynan asked.

'Nothing.' Shadow turned his head back to his friend. 'I just thought you'd want to see this.' He nodded down the little road.

'Why, what is it?' Tynan started to head across to the elf, turning his head as he went to call, 'Emlyn! Ali!' Ensa silently followed the ranger across the road, the wet cobbles smooth and slippery beneath her boots.

'A menagerie,' Shadow told Tynan quietly. 'And not a very nice looking one, either. Three from the end, see it?'

Ensa looked down the little street. At the far end it obviously opened out onto one of the main throughfares of the city, for she could just see a broad, brightly lit street with people hurrying up and down it, but the road they were looking down was empty. It was host to a number of small, shabby-looking shops. The one Shadow had indicated was one of the dirtiest, with paint peeling away from its ancient woodwork and an air of disrepair and neglect. Ensa could barely read the faded sign above its door. She was impressed that Shadow had spotted the little shop at all.

'What are we looking at?' asked Ali, brightly, arriving behind them.

Nobody answered her – Shadow because silence was a habit, Ensa because she wasn't entirely sure herself, and Tynan because he wasn't there. The ranger was already ten feet away, striding towards the grubby little shop with an air of purpose and direction that had been entirely missing as he talked to Ensa a few minutes before. Surprised, Ensa stood still for a moment, then gathered her wits and hurried after him.

By the time Emlyn caught up with his cousin, Tynan was peering into the menagerie through a gap in the broken shutter that was propped across the shop's main window.

Tynan hissed angrily through his teeth as his cousin came up behind him, flinging himself away from the window and going to the door. Shadow had already tried the handle. 'It's locked,' he said. 'Tynan, I'll –'

Tynan ignored the elf. He kicked at the warped door, and when splinters flew off set his shoulder aginst the wood and shoved. The lock ripped out of the half-rotten wood, leaving a jagged and splintered hole, and Tynan pushed the door wide and stepped inside.

'Tynan! What's –' Emlyn began, but broke off as he caught sight of the ranger's face. Tynan's features were rigidly set, his lips compressed so tightly that they were white and his eyes glittering with anger. Shocked and suddenly nervous, Emlyn took half a step back. He had never realised that his cousin could get angry like this – so angry that he was frightening. 'Tynan…'

The ranger ignored him and headed into the shop's shadowy interior, making his way towards the inside of the window, where he'd seen whatever it was that so infuriated him. Confused, Emlyn followed. He almost gagged as he made his way into the cramped little room. The darkness was full of an almost overpowering stench of animal waste. All around him piles of crates and cages towered ceiling high, some precariously balanced. As they stepped in, Emlyn could hear a number of rustling sounds all round him, and near the ceiling a bird squawked quietly. Somewhere in the shop a small animal whined pitifully.

'Can we get a light?' Ali complained, behind him. 'I can't see a thing. Ensa, make yourself useful.'

'I don't have a light spell prepared,' Ensa said, mildly. Emlyn would have thought she'd ignored Ali's peremptory tone if she hadn't added, 'I can see fine.'

'Yeah, well –' Ali began, but broke off as a light flared and she turned her head away, blinking.

Emlyn looked over to the source of the light. Shadow was holding a torch – a real torch, Emlyn could smell the tiny trace of smoke – as Tynan, who was crouching on his haunches, unlatched the wire cage that was sitting on the broad ledge below the window. As Emlyn stepped closer, he could see that the cage held a thin and pitiful puppy which was silently pressing itself back against the bars and shivering. Emlyn was no expert, but even he could see that the little animal was in a bad condition – he could count all of its ribs, and as it scrabbled its paws in an attempt to press itself further away he could see the floor of the cage squelching beneath its feet. The puppy was standing in its own waste.

'It's all right, little one,' Tynan murmured, as he reached slowly towards the frightened young animal. 'I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help you. I'm going to take you away – and all the other animals here, too, if they're treated anything like you are. Come on, come here.'

Gradually the ranger's flood of quiet reassurances soothed the little puppy, which allowed Tynan to reach out to it. Ignoring the animal's filthy, smelly condition, Tynan gathered the puppy into his arms. 'There you go! You're going to be all right now.'

As Tynan straightened up with the young dog in his arms, Emlyn heard hurried footsteps from the back of the shop. He turned his head in time to see a door behind the counter open, spilling torchlight through into that half of the shop.

'What's going on here?' demanded a whining, nasal voice. The owner of the voice, a scrawny little man in a jerkin a few sizes too big for him stuck his nose around the door and stepped into the room. 'I'm armed, I tell you!'

'So am I,' said Tynan, quietly.

The little man's mouth dropped open as he surveyed the party. Although Emlyn had left his sword at the inn, the young fighter was big enough to make two of him and could probably lay him out with his bare hands. Shrouded in his black cloak, Shadow was sinister and mysterious. Ensa, not above using her heritage even though she disliked it, contorted her misshapen, orc-like face into a vicious scowl, displaying all her yellow, fang-like teeth. But even though he was only of a moderate size and his hands were full of dirty dog, Tynan's set face and burning eyes were the truly frightening thing about the group, and it was the sight of the ranger that caused the little man to step back, spluttering.

'I… I… I'll have the law on you!' he managed, even as he tried to sidle away through the door he'd entered by.

'I don't think so,' Tynan said, and although he was still quiet there was something in the level quality of his voice that made the puppy in his arms shiver and whine. 'I think it much more likely that I will have the law on you. We're going now, because I think it's unlikely that we can carry every mistreated animal in this room by ourselves, but we will be back for them – and it would be extremely unfortunate for you if anything happened to the animals in the meantime. Except perhaps a thorough clean out and a proper feed. Do I make myself clear?'

'I… uh… y… you can't come in here and tell me things like that!' Even as he cowered back against the wall, the peeling plaster flaking away even more as he shook against it, the shopkeeper managed to find some traces of courage.

'I said, do I make myself clear?' Tynan stepped forwards, finally raising his voice a notch. The little man squeaked.

'Yes, uh, yes, perfectly,' he stammered out.

'Good.' Tynan fixed him with his eyes for a couple of seconds more and then abruptly spun on his heel. 'Let's go.'

'Er, Tynan?' asked Emlyn, once they were safely out on the street again. The ranger was striding purposefully through the gathering dusk, the puppy safely held in his arms and his cloak billowing behind him. His four friends hurried along at his heels. 'Where exactly are we going?'

'Temple of Arcaren,' Tynan said, shortly, without pausing his rapid strides.

'And – won't we find it hard to prove that he's been mistreating the animals? If he cleans them out and stuff, like you said.'

For a minute Emlyn thought he saw his cousin give a hard little smile. 'No.'

'I know he won't be able to remove all the traces of neglect,' said Ensa, anxiously, from Tynan's other side. 'But he will be able to get rid of a lot of the evidence, won't he?'

'No,' said Tynan, and finally unbent enough to elaborate. 'I'm holding the evidence.'

'The puppy! Of course.'

'Not any old puppy, either,' Tynan said, grimly. 'Unless I'm totally wrong, this is a fleet dog puppy. They're not native to these regions – they come from the shores of the Golden Lake, and they're rare, almost dying out. And trade in their cubs is completely illegal.'

Even late in the evening, the the temple of Arcaren was fully lit and busy. The big entrance hall, with its huge vaulted ceiling, was awash with sound and activity – which abruptly stopped as Tynan stormed in carrying the half-starved puppy and demanded to see the High Priest. Then it began again in a different way, as someone ran off to find the High Priest while another group swirled around Tynan and his friends. A pretty young healer with dark hair lifted the little puppy out of Tynan's arms and took it away somewhere, presumably to be cleaned up and fed, while they were asked to wait in a reception room sparkling in gold and green. Emlyn felt suddenly aware of his travel-stained and well-worn clothing.

The High Priest came in and listened to what Tynan had to say, asking them all for confirmation of his story every so often. Then he bustled out again to give some orders. 'I'll be back shortly,' he promised them. 'Don't go away.'

He left and they waited. A little while later a boy in pale green novice robes that were too short for him brought them a small tray of refreshments. Emlyn noticed that his wrists jutted a good two inches clear of his sleeves.

By the time the High Priest returned they were all bored. Ali was practicing her handstands against the wall, not seeming to care that her boots left faint muddy smears on the delicate tiling. Shadow had propped himself up in a corner, seemingly asleep on his feet, although his eyes flickered open every time footsteps passed in the corridor outside. Ensa was murmuring quietly to Star. Tynan was sitting on a bench in the centre of the room, still recovering from his anger. Not sure what to do, Emlyn sat down beside him. He stared vaguely at the mosaics on the walls – depicting repetitive woodland, meadow and mountain scenes with a variety of plants, animals and people, he supposed they were displaying the charges of the Lord of Life.

They all turned round when the door opened, and the high priest stepped back into the room, pushing back the wide hood of his deep green robe to reveal shaggy grey hair. He smiled tiredly at the group. 'It's dealt with,' he told them. 'For the moment. The animals have been brought up here for care, and we'll see about finding homes for them or releasing them into the wild. My colleague at Koron's temple is housing the shopkeeper for the night, but we've sent a message down to the guards and they'll pick him up in the morning and begin the prosecution process.'

'Good.' Tynan had cooled down slightly, but he still wasn't in a forgiving mood.

The high priest shook his head. 'No. He'll get off.'

'What?'

The priest sighed. 'Mind if I sit down?' He didn't wait for an answer, but sat on the bench opposite Tynan and Emlyn and poured himself a glass of water. 'Didn't you wonder how a shabby establishment like his had a valuable animal like that fleet dog pup?' Shadow shifted, but he didn't say anything when the priest looked up at him, so the older man carried on. 'He also had a parrot – a brightly coloured bird from the far south – and a pair of very young velociraptors, just out of the egg.'

'Velociraptors?' Ensa asked.

'Sorry. They're reptiles, fast little lizard-like things with sharp teeth. They can stand up on their hind legs and they grow to be about as high as your knee. They're vicious; they make good guards, but you wouldn't want one as a pet. But the point I'm trying to make is that he had some really valuable assets in those animals, but he didn't care enough to look after them properly. To him they were easy to get hold of – and I have a pretty sure idea where they came from, but if I took the man to court I'd never get a conviction.'

'Why not?'

'Money.' The high priest frowned. 'And fear. There's a halfling called Mingun Varturan, who's new money in Port Suthard – flash type, throws coin around like water, but ten years ago no one knew who he was. I know he's running a poaching ring and carting the animals into the city to sell at a profit, but I can't touch him.'

'Your magistrate's on the take?' Tynan asked, sharply.

'Not exactly… As far as I know, he's not actually taking bribes from Varturan – but he is too scared of the halfling's muscle to sentence his men.'

'What about Varturan himself?' That was Shadow's quiet contribution.

The high priest looked up at them from under his heavy brows. 'That's a different matter. If he could see the halfling imprisoned and powerless, then I might be able to get somewhere. But I don't have the strength…' He trailed off meaningfully, and Shadow laughed mockingly.

'I knew you wouldn't have told us unless you wanted something. That's it? Varturan delivered?'

'Shadow,' said Tynan, warningly. Then he turned back to the high priest. 'It's late and we're all tired. Why don't you give us what you know about this Varturan, and we'll go away and think about whether we could get anywhere tackling him? We'll come back in the morning and tell you what we decide.'