AN: My exams are finally over, so I'm back. I hope you enjoy it! And please review.

Gasp. Wow. I can actually have proper section breaks? Fanfiction has done some repair work while I was away. Wonders will never cease.

Fifteen after Sun's Height, 30016 DC

'Ali, if you have nothing better to do than wave that sword around, you can distract the dog,' Tynan ordered mildly. He reached down, abandoning the stretch of tough canvas he was examining, and scooped up the puppy that was tugging with small but sharp teeth at his leather boot.

Ali hurriedly slid her new shortsword back into the scabbard hung at her waist and reached out willing hands to take the young animal from the ranger. 'He still needs a name.'

'We'll worry about it later,' said Tynan. 'He needs training as well, and I haven't forgotten that I promised you, Emlyn. And I'll show you some basic stuff for that blade you're holding too, Ali, otherwise there's no point to you having it… all right, Emlyn, can we turn it now?' Stretched across the table in front of the two men was the stiff, awkward-shaped canvas of a tent they'd purchased the night before. Tynan would have liked to put it up, but he'd settled for a careful inspection to make sure that there were no obvious flaws or rips in the material, since he wanted to get out of town with a good amount of travelling time to spare. It had quickly become obvious that they had far too much preparation work to do to leave on the previous day, and the ranger was determined that nothing would go wrong. 'I think it'll do. It's only in case we get another storm or the weather turns. Ours is all right. How about yours, Ensa?'

'It was entire when I last used it - that'd be maybe twenty days ago?'

'That's probably good enough, then. Are we nearly ready to go?'

The question was general, but the half-orc answered it. 'Star and I are. Ali just took the puppy outside, but I think she has all her stuff packed.'

'Good. Emlyn?'

'I'm ready.' Emlyn felt strangely enclosed inside his new suit of armour, but after the initial period of adjustment it wasn't really bothering him too much. He'd stripped off the gauntlets and tucked them through his belt to give himself his manual dexterity back, and he felt very professional as he folded up the new tent and stowed it away in his backpack, feeling the stiffness of the metal plates enclosing his joints as he moved.

'And where's Shadow?'

'Falling over the little raiki,' the elf said calmly from the doorway.

They turned to look. 'Raiki?' Ensa asked.

'It's Elvish. Fleet dog.' Shadow scooped up the puppy by the scruff of its neck and brought it back into the cool and shadowy inn room. 'Ali got distracted.'

Tynan groaned. 'What's she up to? All right, don't tell me. I'll go and get her. Everyone else get ready to go. I don't care what needs doing, it's too late now. And I mean ready to go. Packs on.'

He strode towards the door. The fleet dog yipped shrilly, wriggled out of Shadow's grip and followed the ranger, jumping up excitedly at the back of his legs as he stepped out into the broad, dazzling strip of sunlight that was the propped-open door, and although Tynan gave an exasperated snort he picked up the little creature as he disappeared from view.

Ensa grinned. 'He loves it really.'

''Course he does,' Shadow drawled, raising an eyebrow. 'Where've you been?'

Emlyn frowned, but Ensa smiled and turned to pick up her pack. 'Come on. We're moving.'

Once out of the city, their progress soon spread out into a meandering line. Tynan put the puppy down to run for a bit, and Ali bounced off ahead with the fleet dog dancing around her feet. The ranger followed, keeping one eye on the girl and the little animal while talking casually to Emlyn. Ensa, strolling behind, watched the cousins. Tynan seemed to be explaining something to Emlyn; the wizard could see him gesturing with his hands to try and convey his meaning.

Emlyn looked rather imposing suddenly, she thought. Yes, he'd always been armoured, but the polished shine of his new plate armour in the sun was dazzling, and it seemed to make him a more powerful and dignified figure.

'It suits him, huh?' she said to Star.

The rat squeaked quietly and nosed affectionately at Ensa's neck from her perch tucked inside the hood that the half-orc had pulled down almost across her eyes to provide shade. Ensa laughed, dragging a handful of bread crusts out of the pocket of her robe and holding them up so that Star could reach them. 'So what do you think, Star? About this crowd. It's been… well, it's been different, right? I'm still not altogether sure what to make of them. I mean - Emlyn, he's simple enough, he's just a plain decent man, and Ali, she's not complicated either, but how am I supposed to fit them both into one picture? I still don't know why we've got Ali along. For that matter, I'm not altogether sure why we're here, Star. D'you think we fit in with them somewhere?'

Ensa sighed, and Star snuffled up against her cheek comfortingly. Ensa looked down at her familiar with a grin. 'Weird thought, huh? We fit in? But I don't know why I didn't go onto Master Eladrissinel's house and try to work on that riddle, Star, I really don't…'

The rat gave a protesting squeal, and Ensa laughed. 'All right, you don't like riddles, I know. But you don't much like Tynan's little dog, either, do you?'

Star snorted, and Ensa felt the rat's tail, curled around her thick neck, tighten momentarily. She lifted a hand up to her familiar. 'Here, come down, you're making my neck hot.'

She felt Star's whiskers brush tickling across her fingers as the rat obligingly stepped onto her hand, and Ensa brought her arm down, resting it across her chest. Star ran up to the crook of her elbow and settled herself there with and air of contentment, sitting up and sniffing at the air, her nose vibrating excitedly.

'But seriously,' the wizard carried on. 'I think I have Shadow too. I'd love to know what it is that's happened to him, but it's pretty obvious that it's left him bitter and cynical, and that's a vicious circle. About the only thing I'd really like to know about his state of mind is whether it's himself or the world he hates most.' She paused, and added thoughtfully, 'Yes, and I'd like to know where Tynan fits into his story, actually. I would like to know that. Because even if the others are - well, relatively simple - Tynan is someone that I can't work out at all, Star. Not at all. I think he's just a good, caring, reliable man, and then - he does something that makes no sense at all, and I realise there's something totally different going on underneath, which I'm just not seeing at all…'

She scratched Star's head absently, and asked, 'Why did he ask Ali to join us? Why was he so emphatic about not working for the High Priest of Arcaren any more? What did Shadow mean when he accused him of taking in half-starved animals? What's going on with him and Shadow anyway? Because they're not friends the way I'd guess Tynan is normally friends, the way he is with Emlyn, but somewhere they're really close.' She frowned. 'And I don't think it's sexual, either. That would make it simpler, but I really don't see it, Star. And why does Tynan feel he has to look after Shadow? No, wait.' She frowned. 'That's not what he said. Or it is, but he was going to correct himself until he decided not to tell me. Why, Star? I don't get him at all.'

Star gave an indignant quavering squeak, and Ensa smiled at her. 'I know there's no point in asking you. You can't tell me even if you know. All the same, Star -' She looked up and glanced round at her four companions. '- I'm going to try and get some answers.'

'I can smell the sea,' said Emlyn, suddenly, lifting his head. There was a very slight breeze whispering in from their left, and in it he could distinctly catch the salty tang.

'That's right.' Tynan followed his cousin's gaze in that direction, looking out over the scrubby rolling grassland that surrounded the road. They had left behind the farmland around Port Suthard, and the only sign of human civilisation was the broad hard stripe of the trade road. 'We'll see it soon, I think. The road follows the shore of the Great Bay all the way round to Starold, but it wanders inland and back again. We haven't travelled along here for a few years.' He frowned. 'I remember places that I know were on the road, but I don't know exactly where. There's a village that I thought wasn't too far out of Port Suthard, but it wasn't on the sea, so maybe we won't reach it until tomorrow.'

'It doesn't matter much in this weather,' Emlyn pointed out, shrugging his shoulders under the sweaty weight of his new armour. But although the weight was greater than his old mail had been, he wasn't really hotter in the plate armour than he had been anyway. And it wasn't that hot, anyway; sunny, yes, and warm, but nothing to the humid and breathless atmosphere of the day of the storm. He was pleased with the plate mail; he felt that he was beginning to adjust to the restrictions it placed on his movement. And it made him feel taller and stronger; like a real warrior…

He laughed at himself, and Tynan glanced at him quickly and smiled in response, but didn't ask what the joke was. The ranger's long easy stride carried him along quickly, matching Emlyn's pace without effort, and Tynan was occupied with watching the road and surroundings and looking out for Ali and the puppy ahead of them all at once.

'How are your bruises doing?' the ranger asked casually, after a while.

'Fine,' Emlyn said. He thought about it, testing his muscles, and said, 'They're still there, but I'm not really noticing them any more.'

'That's good. I thought since we're not in a hurry we might not want to walk through the hottest part of the day. That's obviously not an ideal time for training, but if we can find some shade we could have a session.'

'Really?' Emlyn looked round, surprised but happy. 'That'd be great if we could, Tynan…'

'It's going to be hot,' the ranger warned him.

'I ought to learn to cope. That's the point of training…'

Tynan grinned. 'Who said it was you I was worried about? All right, Emlyn, it's a deal. If we can find a good large patch of shade when we stop for lunch then we'll do some practice.'

Ensa grimaced as she trod down on the uncomfortable hardness of a small stone in her boot. 'Ouch. Hang on a second, Star, just let me get this out.'

She sat down on the verge, a convenient height since the old road had sunk slightly with the years, and tugged off the offending boot, pulling a disgusted face as she reached into its damp sweaty interior to brush the stone away. 'I have disgusting feet. All right, I'm almost ready.' She dragged the boot back onto her foot and stood up again, resting her weight on that foot to check that the stone was really gone. 'Right, come on.'

She looked up and started. Shadow, who'd been walking at the back of the group ever since they left, had caught up with her during her stop, but she hadn't heard any sign of his presence. Now the elf was watching her impassively.

Recovering herself, Ensa smiled at him. 'You made me jump.'

Shadow raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, and Ensa smiled again, this time to herself. 'Come on. We'll get left behind.' She gestured for the elf to start walking, and fell into step beside him. Shadow gave her an unpleasant superior look, and she laughed, her harsh voice grating. 'That may work on Emlyn, but it'll take a bit more to get rid of me. Tell me, Shadow, did you say you lived in Eldavir?'

'No.'

'Blast. I wanted to know if the library there is as good as they say it is.'

For a moment she thought she was going to get nothing out of the elf, then he asked, 'Who says?'

'Hm?'

'If it was an elf, then the answer is no. Otherwise…' Shadow shrugged. 'They wouldn't let you in anyway.'

'Comment on my race, my scholarly reputation - or lack of it - or on the library's custodians?'

'All three.'

'Well, that's admirably universal,' Ensa said, dryly. She reached up to scratch Star's head. Despite herself she was beginning to feel irritated by the elf's manner. Which won't help you learn anything, she cautioned herself. 'Have you been in?'

'No.'

'Not interested?'

Shadow glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. 'Whatever gave you the idea that they would let someone like me anywhere near their precious histories?' he drawled.

'It's all elven works in there, right? They don't have copies of any of the really old texts?'

'That's right.' Shadow's mouth twisted unpleasantly, which gave Ensa the cue for her next comment. She laughed.

'That would mean admitting that the dwarf records are older and more fundamental, huh? Study in arrogance?'

'Yes.' Shadow had got his face back under control, and his voice was as bored and level as ever.

'Maybe I'm not missing too much, then.' Ensa sighed. 'Oh, but I'd like to get access to one of the big dwarven repositories.'

Shadow ignored the chance to comment, so the wizard carried on, 'I've seen a copy of the Book of Iluen, the Abbot at Graveisle had one, but I'd love to read it in the dwarvish. Dwarves are sensitive about having it reproduced. They'll let someone they respect scribe it in the common speech, but no one is permitted to replicate the original dwarvish. Historically there are seven originals; they're supposed to have been secured at the heart of the Seven Golden Citadels of the dwarves. But half of those have been deserted or destroyed now. There's only three of the dwarvish Books of Iluen still extant.'

'I know.'

Ensa smiled. 'Sorry. Have I been boring you? You should've said something. But isn't it fascinating? And it's not merely the Book of Iluen, although that has the greatest antiquity, the dwarves have kept all kinds of other early records. Are you really not interested?'

Shadow spun to face her, glaring. 'What good will it do me? Will it give me a chance to undo what is done and get things right? This is the real world, half-orc!'

Before Ensa had a chance to think of a reply, Shadow had swept on up the road after Tynan and Emlyn, leaving her behind. The wizard let him go, half-smiling to herself.

'Got him,' she muttered to Star, looking after the elf's slim dark figure from the shadowy recesses of her broad brown hood. 'Hm.'

Thoughtfully she stroked Star's head with one stubby finger.