{The story continues, as told by Talita herself as she is held prisoner by the Antivan Crows...the events in this story are taking place slightly before the opening of DAO. To recap: Talita da Motta is a young Templar in training in Rivain. She has just been charged with her first duty - to escort secret letters from the Grand Cleric herself. Oh, and a mage. If only the mage could travel as quietly as the letters ...;-)}

Chapter 6: Seer's Blood

"Strange can be good, you know."

What does one say?

I was rescued by the sound of stern-sounding voices ahead. Female voices, one of them surely Ivonetta's. One of the escort guardsmen frowned and moved his mount on ahead. We had entered the deep shadows of the warehouse quarter and had pulled to a stop on the verge of the docks themselves.

"Go back! Go back, all of you!" a heavily-accented voiced called out. I leaned out of the wagon, but could not see the speaker. "I wonder what is going on?" I asked.

Juca hopped up upon the driving bench and stood, covering his eyes. "I can't – wait! A Seer!" He chuckled, "This should be interesting…"

A Seer! I'd completely forgotten! No Rivaini ever sails without a Seer's blessing on the voyage. Seers, of course, made it a point to advertise the fate of those ships who had foolishly not paid the modest fee for blessing. There were sailors who would sail without one, but not many of my countrymen would do so willingly. Even my father, who had supposedly found the Qun, had Seers who plied their trade for the benefit of his ships. Few of them, he suspected, actually were Seers; most of them were merely good actresses. It was always a good idea to appease them, however, just the same. It made good business sense.

But the Chantry? Would not. Could not. Could they?

I saw her then. The short, dark-skinned woman had a single, milky-white eye, long grey hair, and piercings which linked a golden chain from her lip to her eyebrow to her earlobe. She was resplendent in a randsom's-worth of golden chains and jewels about her neck and wrists. She met my gaze, shrieked and rushed over to latch onto my leg!

"You must not! Nooo! Child! There is darkness and dread about you! You and the boy must NOT go onto that ship!"

Her nails dug into my leather boots. She wailed now, like a woman at a funeral. I had no idea what to do! One did not draw a weapon on a Seer, but her keening made me angry. And afraid. "Please! Stop, grandmother," I pleaded, using the polite term for an elderly Seer. I tried to remove my leg from her grasp. She gripped it more forcefully.

Ivonetta, unhorsed and looking displeased, was stalking up behind the old woman. The Seer continued unabated, "There will be death, and blight, sickness and sorrow! The depths of the sea and earth will swallow you! You must NOT go!"

I wanted to crawl under the wagon. The entire entourage was watching, some smirking, others with serious expressions of doubt and fear and even others making warding signs against evil. Around us on the bustling docks, workers slowed, their curiosity warming when they realized that it was perhaps, at long-last, a Chantry versus Seer confrontation. My stomach tightened at the thought. The Grand Cleric was not seeking to ruffle any feathers.

"Woman! We've noted your concern," Ivonetta growled. "Now back away and let us pass! You're scaring the animals, and putting yourself in danger."

"Blood and darkness!" the Seer swore. Her gaze locked with mine and… my thoughts seemed to melt into her white, sightless eye. I was frozen, unable to move, my hearing fading, heartbeat slowing...

When again I could focus my eyes, Juca was patting the old woman on the arm and thanking her. I saw him slide a gold sovereign (a sovereign!) into her hand, mumble something about templars and blessing our ship from afar, if she would. For her part, the Seer seemed as addled as I was. I shook my head to clear it. Obviously I'd missed more than a moment: Ivonetta had moved back to the fore of our little parade and the crowd was dispersing.

Juca was climbing back into the wagon. He waved cheerily at the Seer and leaned closer to me to gently take the reins from my hands.

"What happened?" I asked, frowning.

"I think she was really worried about you," Juca replied casually. "Or perhaps she was angling for a larger tip. In either case, it seemed prudent to give her what she wanted."

"She.." I began, then stopped. Had the Seer cast a spell on me? I felt a twinge of panic. "What did …what did Ivonetta say?"

Juca flipped the reins and the oxen moved along with the rest of the party. "The lieutenant," he continued, "Was on the verge of violence, I think. As soon as I persuaded the kind woman to let go of you, however, all was well."

Something in the light manner of his answers made me turn to study his expression. Juca was very pleased with himself. Very pleased. "What…did you DO?" I asked him.

Juca only smiled.

By the time we arrived at Seadance's berth, I'd let the question pass, not exactly certain I wanted to know the answer. We climbed down into the bustle and noise of sailors, cargo, shoremen, and harbor officials. Ivonetta's gaze found mine, however, and she jerked her head to the rear of the wagon, ordering me to oversee the loading of our goods while she met with the captain of the ship.

With a sigh, I led the oxen team closer to the loading platform and turned to ask Juca to help me get the ropes untied.

The mage was gone.

I blinked. Gone?!

"Maker! I'm in trouble now," I growled. Pulling a knife from my boot, I climbed up into the back of the wagon and cut the ropes free. As the shoremen got to work on the crates, chests, barrels, and bundles, I stepped up on the wagon's boards and balanced there as I scanned the crowd. My thoughts raced. Surely Ivonetta should have taken the mage with her! He wasn't a runaway, but with a sinking feeling I realized that they would not want me to let him out of my sight. How would I explain? How could I ever face Angelo again knowing that I'd failed at one of my very first responsibilities?

A tap on my boot interrupted my dark thoughts. "Some breakfast, bonita?"

Juca stood at my feet, a half dozen steaming breakfast rolls in his hands. Amusement danced in his eyes. I let myself down from the wagon with an easy jump, and landed beside him. "Were you looking for something?" he asked teasingly.

I felt the heat of embarrassment warm my cheeks. "I ..." was all that I could say before he offered a roll to me. It smelled delicious, stuffed with various meats and spices. I stood there, feeling outwitted and trying to hide it, when my stomach growled. He laughed, and urged me to take the roll. Reluctantly, I accepted. He simply bit into one of his rolls and smiled. I noticed then, in the morning light and sea air, that his dark eyes were actually green, touched with gold from the sunlight.

Maker, I was in trouble. I just didn't know how much.

(Like it or hate it, please oh please let me know. I am constantly trying to improve! TY!)

[And a hint: The old Seer woman wasn't the only one with the "Sight" in that scene...]