Disclaimers: With the exception of a few familiar characters, everything bloody thing in this story is mine.

Chapter Three

The last of the autumn apples were difficult to find, but after some searching and a lot of tree climbing, Aleaha finally had enough to satisfy the old woman. Balancing the basket on her hip she pushed open the door of the hut and went inside.

Nayan was waiting with two mugs of fragrant tea at the ready as Aleaha set the basket on the wooden table that served both as a food preparation area and a place to dine.

"What a sweet girl you are, bringing an old woman some food so she won't starve through the winter."

Aleaha hid a smile as the woman cackled with pleasure. Reaching for a knife she began quartering two apples and setting the slices on some earthenware plates that were stacked neatly nearby. "Does that act really work on others?"

Nayan's cackle turned into hearty laughter. "Oh, you're a smart girl. I knew it the moment I saw you. Yes, it works on some of the others." Her voice was strong and clear, like it was when she had told Aleaha to enter when she had first arrived. "I've found that the older and weaker that others think I am, the more likely they are to do some errands instead of trying to toss some worthless coins at me." She changed her tone again, once more the old woman. "What use does an old woman like me have for coin? I'm not going to go buy those frilly dresses that show far too much skin to be decent that you young ones wear now."

Aleaha chuckled. "You're good at that. Lots of practice?"

Nayan nodded as the other woman handed her a plate of apple to go with her tea. Balancing it agilely on her lap, she leaned forward conspiratorially. "To tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind one of those frilly little things. When I was young, I had all sorts of dresses that showed far too much skin. Ahh, the good old days.'

She sat back and munched on an apple slice. "Now, what would you like to know lass?'

At the name Aleaha shook her head with a sigh. "You know, I'm twenty-seven years old. People should really stop calling me that."

Nayan raised a knowing brow. "When you're as old as I am, everyone is young. Besides, I don't think that you have a problem with the name because of your age. It has more of a personal meaning to you doesn't it?"

"So you tell fortunes as well as stories?" she asked, dodging the question.

"Maybe if you're good, I'll read your tea leaves when we're done."

"How about I drink said tea, and you tell me a story about Trannyth?"

Popping the last of her apple in her mouth, Nayan smiled. "Fair enough." She sat back, her voice taking on the rich depth that was shared by bards and certain paladins. A depth that made a person want to sit up and pay attention.

"Local legend says that the house of Trannyth is a blessed one. My grandmother always told me stories about them. Stories about how rich they were and how young they always seemed to be. Each generation their wealth grew and each generation the men of that family seem to live longer and longer. Ten years could pass and whoever was currently Lord Trannyth would look no older than he did in the previous decade."

"So you're telling me that Daril is much older than he looks?"

"No. The blessing ended with his grandfather. He was living a long life. Why, my grandmother used to tell me about how handsome he was in the prime of his life. A prime that lasted thirty years. For three decades, he never aged a day. But suddenly, one day about seventy-five years ago, it all stopped. Each year that he had somehow managed to hold at bay came back with a vengeance. One afternoon he was fit and hale, not a day over forty-five. By nightfall he was seventy, and by morning he was dead. His looked like he was a hundred years old. There were whisperings of a curse on the family; that their good fortune had run out. Ever since then, each one has lived a normal lifetime, something that distresses them to no end, I can assure you."

Aleaha took the last bite of her apple and chewed on it thoughtfully. "Everyone I've spoken to tells me what a nasty family they are, but from what you just said, I don't see why."

"Of course not dear. I haven't told you about the other side. See the thing about blessings and good fortune; they're only one side of a coin. The other side has curses and horrors." Nayan took another sip of her tea before continuing. "While the patriarchs of the family were blessed, the villagers were not. People began to disappear."

"And the Trannyth's had something to about it." Aleaha sat back on her stool, satisfied that the story was starting to make sense.

The story teller frowned at her. "Hush child. Who's telling this story? You or me?"

"Apologies, madam bard."

Placated, Nayan nodded her acceptance regally. "It started out one or two would vanish every few years, nothing out of the ordinary really. A few villagers going missing isn't anything to be concerned about. Perhaps they just left to answer the call of adventure, or ran away with a lover. Happens all the time all over Faerûn. But after a few generations, the vanishings started to speed up. One every six months, then one every quarter. The changing of the seasons were no longer a time to celebrate, it was a time of fear."

"At each equinox and solstice someone would disappear, never to be seen again. And that's when they noticed that Lord Trannyth no longer seemed to be just blessed with long life, he had just stopped ageing."

Nayan spooned in more tea leaves and covered them with steaming water. She let it steep while giving her small audience a chance to absorb what she said. Out of the corner of her eye she watched the wheels turn behind the other woman's gaze.

"Has this always happened? That they stop aging?"

"Not to this extent. They have all lived unnaturally long lives, but none as long as he. In fact, most of them went mad before they had a chance to. On their deathbeds nearly all of them rambled on about voices and whisperings that no one else could hear."

"Interesting," Aleaha muttered to herself. "Gregor mentioned there were a lot of accidents the property and that they tended to happen to the wives.

She smiled fondly at the mention of the innkeeper. "Ah, Gregor was always interested of these types of tales. He remembered this story correctly. There were murmurings starting in the village, talk of the villagers rising up and storming the manor house. They felt that maybe the sense of wrongness that they got from that family was more than just jealousy of their privileges and wealth. They started to blame them for the disappearances."

"No one knows exactly what happened, but people stopped vanishing at such an alarming rate. It returned back to what would be considered normal. Unfortunately, this was the time that accidents started happening to the ladies of the household. Shortly after giving birth to a fourth daughter, the current Lord Trannyth's grandmother was found murdered in the woods. Poachers, they said."

"They swept through the village and found the man who did it. Took him to the manor for punishment." She stopped to take another drink of tea. "Thing was, the man who they said killed her, wasn't a poacher and couldn't have been in those woods. Bad leg you see. It pained him greatly to walk any distance."

"The people grumbled, but there was nothing they could do. Life went on and the memory faded to the back of the mind. But then, the second eldest daughter suffered a great tragedy. She was going downstairs late one night, and tripped. Poor dear broke her neck, or so everyone was told. They buried her in the family mausoleum along side her mother."

"Six month later, there was another tragedy. The youngest daughter, barely two years old, was kidnapped. A frantic search was launched, but she was never found. The family was grief-stricken. Another two seasons passed and Lord Trannyth came out of mourning. He thought to find himself a new wife to take his mind off his recent losses. He needed no heir, having a son who was in his thirties and a grandchild from him already and two daughters remaining, so he was free to marry a wealthy widow whose property adjoined his own."

"It was a beautiful wedding. Everyone was so happy… except for the eldest daughter. Those who attended the nuptials said she looked upset, scared almost. No one could tell why. A person would think she would be happy. Her father had just married a woman who brought in enough land that it nearly doubled their already vast estate, not to mention the money she brought with her."

"Looking back, it was almost as if she knew what would happen. In fact, there were those claimed she was responsible."

Despite her intentions of just getting information, Aleaha found herself caught up in the story. Discovering that she was leaning forward eagerly, she abruptly sat back and tried to pull herself out of the tale that Nayan was weaving around her. "What did they say she did?"

Nayan shook her head sadly. "The new Lady Trannyth died on her wedding night. A spark from the fireplace leaped and set the bed curtains ablaze, or so the story goes. She perished before the servants could get her out."

"And others figured that the daughter had something to do with it?"

"That's what everyone thought. The idea was that she was angry that her father had tried to replace her mother. When she flung herself out of the roof and on to the flagstones four stories below six months later, people believed that it was from guilt."

"Wait, so all these 'accidents' occurred every six months?"

The old woman nodded, satisfied that her audience was connecting the dots.

Aleaha did some mental calculations. "How old did Trannyth look when he married the second time?"

"Mid forties, my grandmother used to tell me."

"Forty with a thirty year old son," she mused quietly, more to herself than anyone else. "You said when he died he also looked like he was in his mid forties. How long after all his did he die?"

"Twenty years, one daughter, one son's wife, two granddaughters, and unknown villagers later."

"And they all had accidents?"

She nodded. "Thrown from horses, another kidnapping, murdered by servants, you name it. If it was bloody, it happened."

"After Trannyth died and his son took over, what then?"

"Well, none since them have long lives; however the family still seemed to be cursed. All the daughters and wives had a nasty habit of disappearing or dying in accidents."

"The current Lady Trannyth has left to visit a sick sister." Aleaha waited for Nayan to respond, already knowing what she would say.

"A sick sister?" Nayan snorted. "More like Daril is infatuated with his new mistress and his wife was making his seeing her difficult." She glanced down at her teacup before setting it to the side.

"So, now you tell Nayan a story. What's your tale? Why did you want to know all the old about that family?"

Aleaha grimaced. "You already know my tale. It's been told over and over through the years."

Nayan smiled knowingly and reached for Aleaha's empty cup. "I see. An unrequited love made you leave your home to seek adventure out in the wilds?"

Aleaha blew out a breath. "Yeah, something like that.'

"Happens all the time my dear," the old woman said kindly. She looked down into

Aleaha's teacup and her brow furrowed. "What did you say your name was child?"

"I never did."

A perceptive gaze peeped up at her for a mere moment before Nayan returned to examining the leaves at the bottom of the cup. "You have shadows in your past and in your future, but there is also light." She frowned and spun the cup. "Something from your past haunts you. There is something else in here as well, but it's hard to make out." She stared harder at the murky leaves. '"Do you have anything to do with the temples?"

Surprised, Aleaha's brows rose. "No, not at all."

"Odd." Nayan set the cup down. "I would swear it shows the icon for a religious figure." She shrugged. "Perhaps it's something in your future. I must warn you though; it is not a benevolent figure."

"Did you see anything else?" Aleaha asked, interested.

"They're tea leaves, not a play being acted out for our amusement. What do you expect, a minute by minute commentary?"

The corner of Aleaha's lip twitched wryly. "Again, my apologies." She rose to her feet and with a slight but respectful bow of her head, thanked Nayan for the information.

The woman's voice stopped her on the way out the door. "What ever hidden thing you are looking for; perhaps it may be best for everyone if it stays hidden."

Aleaha turned back slightly at the warning. The woman's sudden insight of the reason she was there was uncanny, but then again considering the questions she had asked, maybe it wasn't. "Perhaps," she said quietly before walking out into the dusky twilight.