p style="text-align: left;"br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" Epilogue/spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" Some years later, Guardsman Tomon strode out onto the stone pier of Qeynos at night. A figure stepped down the gangplank from a nearby docked ship./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" "Good to see you again, boy," said a familiar voice. It sounded older, but there was no mistaking it. /spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" "Captain Vagano," he replied in greeting. "It has been a few years. What brings you back to Qeynos?"/spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" "You," Vagano responded. /spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"Tomon tilted his helmeted head to the side in question./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;""We've found him," Vagano continued. "He's come out of Neriak. Vargas spotted him. Rumor is he and some others are coming to Qeynos. Might already be here. I said we might need some help from an angry god. Durgin suggested you might speak with Prexus for us. I told him you'd been a man of Mithaniel like your father, but you were closest to our fisherman friend. What do you say?"/spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"Tomon gripped the spear at his side tightly within a gauntleted fist. He looked up at the ship's railing. There now by lamplight he saw Durgin and Vargas. He looked back to the Captain. "I say that I've spoken to them both, Vagano."/spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"The Captain raised an eyebrow./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"Tomon removed his helmet and leaned forward into the lamplight, memories of a father and a father who would have been came into his thoughts. He looked with purpose into the eyes of the Captain. "They're as angry as I am."/spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"~~~/spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" "Greetings, boy." The voice was that of Vastin. Tomon would never forget it. He glanced to his side as the cloaked procession passed by. He felt his heart race as he met the piercing gaze of the dark elf again. He turned to look straight ahead, trying to calm himself. /spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" "Safe journeys, traveler," he said as was the custom./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" The dark elf paused, searching Tomon's face. "A man of duty now, I see," he said with a mixture of acknowledgement and contempt. /spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" Tomon allowed himself an angry glare as he gripped the spear in his hand. "I am honor-bound."/spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" The dark elf smiled. "Of course you are." With that he turned away, joining the end of the black cloaked line of travelers as they made their way to the ship. Tomon fell into line behind them, joined at his side by his fellow guard on duty./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" Tomon untied the rope that secured the ship to the dock. The wound on his hand bled freely on the fibers of the line as he uncoiled it from the post and let it slide away into the water. He murmured under his breath as his blood mingled with the seawater beside the ship./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"The Teir'dal ship ran out oars and pulled away from docks. It was still foggy out on the water as the early morning sun struggled to burn through the haze. The other guard beckoned Tomon to return with him, but Tomon waved him off, saying he would be there shortly./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"A moment later, he heard footsteps from behind. Stepping to his side at the end of the dock were the kerrans, Vagano and Vargas and the dwarf, Durgin. They stood there quietly for a time as the ship pulled further away from the dock. Various cloaked figures remained on deck. It was impossible to tell from that distance if one of them was Vastin, but Tomon was sure he was there somewhere, watching./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;""It is done then?" Vagano asked quietly./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"Tomon nodded his helmeted head. He rested his spear in the crook of his arm, pulled a cloth from his pocket and wrapped it about his bloody hand. "It is. Prexus will decide his fate." He felt the heavy hand of Vargas rest on his shoulder and squeeze./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;""I still say we should have taken vengeance ourselves," Durgin grumbled./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"Vagano sighed. They'd discussed it many times. Durgin wanted to kill the dark elf for what he'd done to Winsul. Vargas was willing but acknowledged it would not be easy and not without risk. Vagano was also willing, having taken it as a personal affront that the murder happened on his ship. But when he had heard Tomon express misgivings about finding vengeance through murder, he had supported him. In the end, they agreed to leave it to the gods. /spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;""Say hello to the kraken for me, ya bloody bastard," the dwarf hissed into the morning. The ship disappeared into the mist and was not seen again./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"Tomon pulled on the uniform glove over his wounded hand and took hold of his spear. "If you gentleman will excuse me," he said with a nod to them all, "I must return to duty and earn my keep."/spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;""He would be proud to hear you say it," Vagano said to his back as he walked away./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;""Aye, lad, he would," Durgin joined./spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"He left them there at the end of the dock and made his way back to the stone pier and toward the Sea Gate where duty awaited. /spanbr style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /br style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /span style="color: #848585; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" The End/span/p