Chapter 13 Revelations

Dee hoped to leave early for West Harbor, so she had gone to the docks looking for a ship heading south until she found one, The Vigilance, with a reputable captain who was a friend of Captain Flynn. It was setting sail at high tide the next afternoon. They would take the ship as far as Highcliff, where they would rent horses for the rest of the journey so they could get there and back as quickly as possible. Along the way she could leave warnings about the King of Shadows for Harper agents to get the word out to the towns and villages between Highcliff and West Harbor.

When she returned to the tavern, which was packed with people who wanted to congratulate her on her victory she found a celebration dinner featuring her favorite foods, even some of those fancy chocolate covered strawberries, that Duncan had lovingly prepared for her. He led her over to one of the long tables which had been reserved for her companions and seated her at the head of the table. Then he stood over her beaming as she ate, inquiring how each dish was. He had gone through so much trouble she ate a heaping plateful to please him, though the food seemed tasteless as ash to her and lay like a rock in her stomach.

The urge to drink herself to oblivion was that night nearly overwhelming so she refused the many drinks offered to her and stuck to Elanee's tea, but she relented and accepted a goblet of three-hundred-year-old Elverquisst which Duncan had been saving for a special occasion. Duncan exclaimed after giving her a rib-cracking hug, "Seeing my niece cleared of all charges is as special as an occasion gets!" She banished the bitter taunting thought that Daeghun had never hugged her like that as she returned the hug and kissed his cheek. She had grown very fond of Duncan over the months since she arrived. Why had Daeghun kept such a wonderful uncle from her all her life? She already knew the answer to that--he was Daeghun's brother, a half-brother at that, and not her uncle, because she was only his foster daughter. She tried not to be bitter, yet there was much she thought he had to answer for when she saw him.

After the feast Khelgar departed with his rucksack for the temple of Tyr, Casavir escorting him to see him settled in; he was going to be away training to become a monk for some tendays, so it was probably just Bishop, Casavir, Shandra, Elanee, Grobnar, and Neeshka going with her to West Harbor. Dee asked Sand if he wanted to go, and he had looked at her with a sharply arched eyebrow and a bemused smile and replied, "As tempting as it is to see the swamp village which engendered you, dear girl, and it is tempting, I believe I shall reluctantly decline. I've earned a rest." Qara also declined to go without even waiting to be asked.

Dee had just finished dinner when Wolf darted into the tavern. He was one of the half a dozen or so urchins who Dee had persuaded her uncle to allow to bunk in the attic in return for running errands and working in the scullery. He was a good lad, and she thought he had potential to make a good ranger, though Dee suspected he had already been forced to do some regrettable things to survive. Dee aimed to get his crew of orphans and runaways trained in some manner of respectable work if she had to pay for their apprenticeships herself to save them from being swept up into one of Axle's gangs, or worse. She had seen kids who looked to be his age already working in the cheap brothels near the docks.

He ran up to Dee as soon as he spotted her in the crowded tavern and exclaimed happily, "At last! There you are! Congratulations on the trial, by the way, miss. Everyone's talking about the beating you gave that Luskan." He paused and wiped his nose on his sleeve then added as an afterthought, "Oh yeah, an old man came to see you, what was his name, Alder something?"

Dee gasped and took him firmly by the shoulders. "You mean Aldanon? What about him? Has he sent word about the shards?"

Wolf shrugged as best he could in her grasp and replied nervously, "Umm yeah. He was by looking for you. Said he found out something them."

"When was this? Did he say anything else? It's very important that I know exactly what he said, so what do you remember?," Dee asked firmly.

He scratched his head and thought about it for a maddening length of time, and she waited impatiently for his reply. "Yesterday midday, and he said exactly, 'I've learned something about her shards,' but I told him everyone said you weren't finished with the trial and had to fight the Luskan on the morrow and so you was up at the temple. He said he was goin' home and he would meet you there after you defeated the Luskan. I asked him why he didn't go meet you at the arena, but he said he had no taste for bloodsport. Then Sal had me busy making some deliveries and running errands, and when I got back, you weren't around 'til now. "

Dee replied with a disappointed sigh as she released her grip on him and ruffled his hair, "'Tis alright, lad. Thanks, and here's something for you." She handed him a silver piece, and he grinned at her and ran off. "There's probably no point in walking all the way up there at this hour," she murmured to Cillian as she stood and walked over to where Sand was sitting with Elanee, sat beside him and asked diplomatically, "Sand? Did you hear that? I could really use your...assistance in making sense of what Aldanon's learned."

Sand had remained to help finish the exquisite bottle of Elverquisst, still amazed that a half-human oaf like Duncan had the good taste, not to mention the good sense, to acquire it. He twirled the goblet in his long, delicate fingers, mesmerized by the way the colors swirled in the glass as he savored the first taste. He tore his eyes away long enough to look up at her and replied silkily, "You mean you need my skill in making sense of his mad rambling, so of course I will go with you, dear girl. Someone needs to be there who can understand him, though I suppose you could simply have Grobnar translate. Between the two of them something should emerge that would make sense, though they might drive you mad in the process."

Grobnar heard his name spoken and looked up from where he had been composing a ballad commemorating the duel, much to Dee's dismay. "A visit to Master Aldanon? Oh, I look forward to it!"

Dee chuckled. "Thanks, Sand. I don't think he could have found out anything important though, or surely he would have come back by now or sent one of his apprentices, or at least left a note."

Sand broke away from his wine long enough to reply, "It is Aldanon we're talking about. A normal person would have left a note or sent a lackey to wait with the information so you wouldn't be worried needlessly."

She put her arm around him and gave him an affectionate squeeze then kissed his cheek. Sand was another one she had grown very fond of over the past few months. He had become something of an unofficial uncle, which was mildly disturbing when she considered the amount of harmless flirting they used to do. "Thanks, my dear friend. I knew I could count on you. There's no way in ten lifetimes I could ever repay you for what you've done for me already, you know. I'll meet you at his mansion after the morning prayer service."

He blushed to the pointed tips of his ears and smiled at her. "Anything for you, dear girl." He smiled at her fondly as she walked off then leaned close to Elanee to whisper, "Did she say she's going to morning prayers?"

Elanee replied wide-eyed, "That's what I was about to ask you!"

Dee sipped her wine slowly as she walked away. The flavor was incredible, and each drop demanded her full attention; it seemed...alive, there was no other word for it, and she let it roll around her mouth a few times savoring the different tastes and sensations before she reluctantly swallowed it. She saw Bishop sitting at his favorite table quaffing his fifth mug of ale (not that she was counting she told herself, but the evidence was there on the table), and all alone but for Karnwyr.

She felt a pang of guilt for leaving him alone, so she strolled over to him and leaned over to kiss his neck. She wrinkled her nose at an acrid smell, and it wasn't sweat--she liked the smell of his sweat. "What is that? Gods, he needs a bath," she thought, but then she had a better idea. She nuzzled his stubbled cheek and whispered seductively, "Missed you, sweetheart. I'm going to get a bath before I go to bed. Want to come along and wash my back and I'll wash yours, and you can show me where else you're dirty." Karnwyr stood and stretched and walked up next to her so she could scratch his head. She sniffed Karnwyr wondering if he rolled in dead fish again, but the smell wasn't coming from him.

Bishop glanced away from his ale briefly then back down without making eye contact. He drawled, "I'll be along in a while. I've got some more drinkin' to do...to celebrate. I'm still trying to decide if I want to come with you to your swamp village too. " That wasn't true; he had a perverse burning desire to see the mud hole she came from so he could laugh at it later, not to mention to meet both her foster father and her old boyfriend and let them know how far a real man could get with her. He just wouldn't let her know that. Karnwyr looked at him, exhaled sharply and curled up under the table.

She pulled away and replied curtly, "Fine, just don't wake me up too late. I'm worn out and I'm gettin' up early." That was an understatement; the duel had left her physically and mentally exhausted, and the only thing that kept her going other than adrenaline was the afterglow of her evening in the temple. She had been thinking all day about whether Tyr had truly spoken to her or if she had only debated with her guilty conscience. She still ached where Lorne's falchion had scored her ribs. Elanee had run at once to her side with healing spells as soon as she left the arena, but a deep bruise remained despite her efforts. Elanee told her she supposed it was due to a cursed enchantment on the blade and that only time would heal it.

Dee cast a last sidelong glance at Bishop who was glumly ordering another ale, then stalked out of the room, shaking her head and muttering to Cillian. "You would think I got killed the way he's actin', and I know he's not put out that I didn't ask him to be my champion like Neesh thinks. I could tell he only made the offer because Khelgar did and he wanted to save his male pride. What's wrong with him?"

Cillian, who at the best of times just tolerated his companion's mate, answered gruffly, "Where should I start?"

Shandra smiled as she watched Dee stalk off in a huff and set her goblet on the bar. Good, they could get her alone. She nodded at Neeshka, who looked over nervously to see if Bishop was following and saw that he was working on a serious drunk. She wasn't alone in assuming he was put out because Dee hadn't allowed him to be her champion. She remembered Dee telling her that her boyfriend in West Harbor had broken up with her because she beat him in some silly competition at their Harvest Fair. She wondered if Bishop would follow suit. She thought grimly it was too bad he hadn't already because that would spare them the need to hurt Dee by telling her what an ass he was. There was no way to do this without hurting her.

Shandra headed toward the hallway and Neeshka followed after. Elanee leaned forward and whispered in Sand's ear then joined them. Qara noticed the other women leave, and feeling left out, followed to see what was going on lest she miss some good gossip. Elanee had charged Sand with keeping an eye on Bishop and distracting him if he headed for the hallway before they returned. He wasn't quite sure how he would do that just yet, and he considered the spells he could use surreptitiously. He supposed Dee would object if he Polymorphed him into a slug and dropped him into the bowl of salt on the table, but he grinned at the thought anyway. He rather liked Shandra's suggestion to turn Bishop into a woman, except he suspected that once he was over the initial shock, he'd spend the next few days in his room molesting himself.

Sand needn't have worried about distracting Bishop, however. He had switched from ale to Cormyran whiskey after Dee stalked off. Sneering at Duncan's cheerful warning, "beer before liquor, never sicker," he responded with a particularly vile curse. The past few days had been tumultuous ones for him what with the trial, which he had thought Dee would most likely lose, and then the trial by combat, which he, like many of her friends and quite a few of the spectators, was certain she would lose. He had been so sure of it, in fact, that he had thought about little else except the aftermath. He was so sure Lorne would kill her he had gone to a bookmaker and bet a goodly sum on the Luskan. That damned devil girl had placed a 50-to-1 bet on Dee and was bragging about how her lucky coin helped Dee win. He would have mourned her in his way, which would include getting Torio Claven and her thug alone after he incapacitated him with a few drugged arrows. Then he would make sure the Luskan trash died very slowly, begging for him to kill them.

He had also entertained more than a few lewd fantasies about Dee's friends coming to his room to comfort him for the loss of his lover. Sometimes it was Shandra who came to him, and sometimes it was the devil girl, and sometimes they comforted him together. Thus he hadn't really thought about the possibility of her winning other than the fantasy he shared with Shandra of them celebrating together. The efficient way she trounced Lorne left him feeling incredibly aroused while he was sitting there in the arena watching, but now? Right now he couldn't have gotten it up if she was dancing naked on the table in front of him.

He struggled to put a word to what he was feeling, and after the third shot of whiskey, it came to him--fear. Hells yeah, she was starting to scare the shit out of him, and if any of the sheep who followed her were smart, they would be scared too. He was afraid of being swept up in the maelstrom that surrounded her. That scar on her chest--it was clear to him she was marked by fate, and the followers of those marked by fate usually ended up dead. But no one was worth dying for, especially a wench. What was she, anyway? She sure wasn't some simple farm girl. Surely not the aasimar that Sand made her appear to be for the trial either.

The more he drank, the clearer he thought, and the more he thought about it, there was something infernal about the power the shards seemed to give her, and he was the only one who could see how they were beginning to control her actions. What to do? He took another swig off the bottle and waited for something to come to him. The thing that had made the most sense was to save his own ass by making an alliance with the other side, which he had done. He had approached the Luskan giant he had been stalking at a tavern he frequented with an offer of information. When they met again a few days later, Lorne told him the mage who held his leash insisted on meeting with him in person outside of the city in the woods of an old ruined keep to hear his offer. The mage had sworn a truce for this meeting. His head told him he could be walking into a trap, but he had learned that even the blackest mages in Luskan still might operate under their own code of honor. Black Garius had offered him some enchanted arrows and a small pouch of gems as a gesture of good faith in return for being his inside man with a promise of more to come. He took another swig off the bottle. Now that was over. On the other hand, he was free of his alliance with Garius now that he no longer had a way of contacting him.

* * *

The women caught up to Dee after she had just finished washing off and settled into the large communal tub. Cillian was soaking contentedly in the warm water beside her, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. She grinned sheepishly as they entered and said, "I didn't think any of you were going to join me. Don't mind Cill." She nudged the bear and said, "Move over love, and give them room."

"We're not here to bathe, Dee. We need to talk," Neeshka said earnestly, the rapid swish of her tail betraying her agitation. She had been dreading this conversation since Shandra brought it up, but there was strength in numbers.

Dee looked from one to the other; from their folded arms and serious expressions she was not going to like what they had to say, and in her heart she knew that Bishop was involved. "Alright then, hand me a towel." She sighed and hauled herself out, and Cillian did as well, giving the two legged females a bearish pout before shaking himself off in their direction. She dried off and pulled her old nightshirt over her head waiting for them to begin.

Shandra waited while Dee dressed then quickly related the story of her encounter with Bishop the morning of the trial, including his displaying of his 'ten inches' to her. She scowled and punctuated that part with an eye roll, adding "seven is more like it, and that's being generous." Neeshka then related an encounter with him over a tenday prior when he had come upon her alone in the hallway. He backed her against the wall then stroked the base of her tail and made a lewd suggestion about wanting to see what she could do with it before she slapped him with it and ran off.

With a crestfallen look Dee asked Elanee and Qara, "You two as well?"

"He was rather free with his hands a few times until I threatened to sic Naloch on him, then I turned into a badger too to show him I was serious. I just ignored him until Shandra told me what happened to her. I'm concerned for you, Dee, and I don't want you to get hurt," Elanee replied softly.

"What did he do to you, Qara?," Dee asked quietly.

Qara had only followed along because she wanted to see what everyone else was doing. She complained about being left out about as much as she complained when they tried to include her. It had dawned on her as she listened that Bishop had made passes at every female in the party but her. Now she really felt left out, and her outrage burned white hot. How dare he ignore her! Why, when she was the most powerful, prettiest of all of them! That wouldn't have come as a surprise to Dee, however. Bishop's nickname for Qara was 'Fire Twat,' and he had told Dee more than once that it was just a matter of time before Qara hangs for finishing an argument by setting light to her lover's bed while he was still asleep in it. And it was ironic, because Qara was the only one of the four who would have taken him up on his offer. She balled her fists and snapped, "I...I'm just here because I'm concerned, like Elanee. I'll Fireball him if you want though."

Dee said in a barely audible whisper, "Thank you all for telling me. This couldn't have been easy for you. I'll have a talk with Bish, and he won't bother you again." She walked out looking at the floor without another word and went to her room, Cillian at her side nuzzling her. There was no way she could talk with them without releasing the geyser of angry tears waiting to erupt. She longed to go to the bar for a bottle of mead but couldn't face him yet so she paced across her room and wondered, but only for a few fleeting seconds, if it was true. But of course it was true.

And there was not only her friends, but that merchant's daughter. Were there others besides? She could understand it if she refused him or didn't leave him satisfied, but she knew that wasn't the case. He told her as much. She must have it out with him tonight. She knew what would happen though. He would deny everything and tell her they were all lying because they were jealous and they'd have an angry row. It would end either with her throwing him out or more likely in rough, angry sex, or....she didn't even want to think about the other alternative, but she had to.

What if he didn't deny it at all? She could hear his mocking laugh telling her that it was just the way he was and she was going to have to accept it. Ophala had told her once that if it wasn't for cheating men she wouldn't have much business, and most wives didn't care as long as their men were discreet. But she couldn't believe that all men were like that. Daeghun never even looked at a woman in the village much to the disappointment of several, staying true to his bond with Shayla. Would he have become bored with her if she had lived? Dee didn't think it likely. She thought about the other men she knew, and they all seemed capable of monogamy. But did she have a right to demand it from him?

She paced as Cillian lay on the floor and watched her. "I have to have time to think this through," she finally muttered as she put a chair under the door handle to keep it from opening. Feeling miserable, she curled up on the floor next to Cillian and tried to sleep, but she gave up after tossing and turning for a while when it occurred to her that he would pound on the door and yell for her to open up until he woke up everyone. She grabbed a change of clothes, her boots, her armor bag, and her weapon belt and moved quietly down the hallway until she came to Shandra's room, where she hesitated a moment before she knocked and said softly, "Shandra, can Cill and I stay with you tonight?"

After a moment Shandra opened the door and blinked sleepily, "Dee? Sure, come on in."

But Bishop didn't come to her room that night or go to the room he still kept though he slept in hers most nights. Instead, he looked into the bottle of whiskey for insight until he finally passed out on the bench along the wall. He was still lying there at dawn when she awoke and dressed to go to the temple. Shandra stirred as she was getting up, so she moved silently across the floor and slipped out the door so she wouldn't wake her. She caught sight of Bishop sleeping in the common room, hearing his snoring before she saw him.

Duncan brought her over a bowl of porridge and Cillian a fish and glanced at Bishop. "Everything alright, lass?"

"Damned if I know, Uncle," she replied softly, shaking her head. "Thank you for not saying 'I told you so' though." He patted her shoulder and walked back to the kitchen. Dee ate quickly then called Karnwyr over and let him out to relieve himself with Cillian behind the tavern. She waited until they were ready to come back in. He nuzzled her gratefully as she grabbed him a bowl of scraps from the kitchen, and he padded beside her wagging his tail happily as she walked over to Bishop. She sighed. That bench was no good for his back. She set the bowl on the floor for Karnwyr then leaned over and nudged Bishop gently until he stirred, cursed, and blinked up at her. She wrinkled her nose. Now he really reeked.

He slowly sat up with a groan and put his pounding head in his hands. "Qara better have set the tavern on fire if you're waking me up at the crack of dawn, wench."

She took a deep breath to try get control of her temper. "We need to talk when I get back, Bish."

He looked at her bleary-eyed and drawled as he ran his hands through his tousled hair, "Talk? Only thing I'm doing is going to bed. Maybe we'll talk later if I feel like it, and maybe we won't. It depends on how good you are."

She crossed her arms and spat, " I've been doin' some talking with my friends, so don't even try to deny it. Did you think they wouldn't tell me? We will talk later, count on it. And take a bath first if you're planning on sleeping in my bed. You smell like you pissed yourself. Better yet, sleep in your own bed!" She turned and stalked off.

He cursed again and grabbed the bottle off the table to drain the rest of its contents before he stood stiffly, stretched, and staggered into the privy, muttering "Should've figured they'd open their big mouths. Who does that wench think she is to give me orders? She's acting like she thinks she owns me, like we're married. She better learn who the man is."

Dee stood behind the tavern and allowed herself a few tears then calmed herself by gazing east and taking in the beauty of the reds, oranges, and golds of the morning sky. She had steamed up her spectacles and was cleaning them on the tail of her shirt when she was startled by footsteps coming up behind her. She quickly put them back on then spun around, her hands falling reflexively to her sword hilts and drawing them almost all the way out. But it was only Casavir, and she breathed a sigh of relief and tried to still the pounding of her heart as she waited for him to catch up with her. She was beginning to understand his running away to Old Owl Well. She'd rather take on a legion of orcs than have it out with Bishop.

He smiled a shy greeting. "Good morning, my lady. I'm sorry to have startled you. If you going to the merchant quarter, do you mind if I accompany you as far as the Temple, that is, if I'm not intruding on your reverie?"

She smiled up at him. He was the only one of her companions she had to look up to. "No, you're not intruding, Cas." They walked all the way across the Dolphin Bridge in silence with Cillian walking between them. As she walked along she prayed to Meilikki silently, caressing the holy symbol at her neck. "Goddess, you know you're first in my heart, but please don't turn from me if there's a second. If there was a temple to you here, I'd be there. Forgive me."

She kissed the holy symbol and put it away then glanced up at Casavir after she finished her prayer. He blushed and looked away as her blue eyes met his own. She broke the awkward silence as they walked through the Merchant Quarter to the Temple by making small talk about the weather (he agreed that rain looked likely and it was unseasonably cool for late Elesias) and the upcoming trip to West Harbor. She eventually got him to talk a bit about the village to the north where he was raised until he was sent to the temple as they made their way through the bustling crowd in the Merchant Quarter. It seemed to be a painful subject for him though, so she let it drop. It sounded as if he had been sent when he was just a child, and she wondered if that had anything to do with his shyness. When they arrived at the temple he bowed and was about to take his leave of her when she opened the door and walked inside. He stood there for a moment, his mouth hanging open in surprise before following her in.

Casavir wasn't the only one who was surprised to see her there. Dee stood nervously near the door for a moment until Prior Hlam spotted her and glided over to take her hand and lead her in. Sir Grayson also did a double take then came over to her smiling and led her to a bench where a few of her squire brothers and sisters were sitting. They greeted her warmly and made room for her. She turned her head to see if Casavir had followed, but he had taken a seat in the back.

After the service, Prior Hlam and Judge Oleff came over to her as she was speaking with Sir Grayson, who said, "It gladdens my heart to see you here. Once you've had time to rest from the trial, I have need of your weapon smithing skills, Squire." He leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially, "I require a silver great sword. It's a gift for a squire who is soon to be knighted."

She gasped in astonishment. "You mean I'm...you still want me as your squire? I thought that was just for the trial!"

He chuckled and slapped her on the back. "You thought wrong, Squire Farlong. You'll not be rid of me that easily, that is if you're still up to the challenge."

She blushed and beamed at him. "I'm deeply honored, Sir, and I have a silver great sword I just finished before the trial." Khelgar had been teaching her to work mithril, but she was becoming obsessed with working silver and had crafted a number of weapons from the metal. In the back of her mind was the thought that if she got good enough, she might be able to make something of the shards. "I was working on it for Shandra, but she prefers the mithril sword I made her. I'll have my uncle bring it to you. But I must beg your leave to travel to West Harbor." She told them of her need to tell Lorne's mother of his fate so she wouldn't hear about it from some wandering merchant or tinker and her intention to give her the gold she got from selling Lorne's sword.

Judge Oleff took her hand, his blue eyes twinkling. "You must greet your foster father for me when you see him, my child. I don't know if you are aware of this, but I adventured with him many years before you were born when I was too young and foolish to know any better. It must have been forty years ago, or thereabouts. Once I came to my senses and devoted myself to the study of law, Daeghun came to me for assistance or advice from time to time. Perhaps when you return from West Harbor you may indulge an old man and let him tell you about the old days over a glass of wine."

Dee was amazed at the number of people she met who had known Daeghun, and apparently a different Daeghun than the one who raised her. "I will do that, sir. Did you know my mother as well? Her name was Esmerelle, and she traveled with Daeghun for several years, but it was probably years after you left his company."

Judge Oleff and Sir Grayson looked at each other then at her with interest. "You can't mean Esmerelle Sevarain!," Sir Grayson exclaimed then answered his own question, "Your mother? Why yes, I can see the resemblance now. You have her eyes and her fine hair, though not her curls." Judge Oleff nodded in agreement. Sir Grayson thought that it was a pity that her eyes and hair were all that Dee had inherited of her mother's beauty, but he kept that to himself.

This was not to say that he thought her unattractive; on the contrary, she had a handsome face, and a strong, lean figure, especially when seen from the back, but he observed that the most beautiful women invariably produced daughters who favored the fathers, while it was their sons that inherited their looks. He continued, "She had a devastating beauty. She was one of the most popular bards in the city when I was a young beardless whelp, and I was part of the throng of admirers who haunted her performances. I was utterly smitten with her. She had the voice of an angel and danced like..." Judge Oleff cleared his throat and cut him off.

Dee gaped at him in astonishment and gasped, "My mother was a bard? I know almost nothing about her. Daeghun never liked to talk about her. It was too painful for him."

Sir Grayson glanced at Judge Oleff and said, "We will talk more when you return. There was a portrait of her that used to hang behind the bar in the Gilded Unicorn. That festhall was destroyed in the war with Luskan, but I know her portrait was among the items saved from the fire. I'll make inquiries to see if I can locate it, or one of the others of her by the time you return."

Dee blinked and said, "Others?"

Sir Grayson nodded. "Yes, several of her admirers had portraits of her commissioned."

Dee struggled with the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. She stammered, "I've never seen...I don't remember what she looked like. I was only a bit over two summers old when she was killed."

Sir Grayson nodded. "The battle of West Harbor? I was a green squire then. I had no idea she was there."

Dee didn't want to wait. Suddenly nothing else mattered. Forget Aldanon and the shards! She could hardly breathe, and she yearned make him find the portrait for her now then get them to tell her everything they knew about her mother. But she had to talk to Aldanon, and she had to spread the warning about the King of Shadows. Her desire to learn about the mother she had never known paled in comparison to stopping the threat of Garius and the King of Shadows and her yearning made her feel small and selfish. She had a...duty. She smiled wistfully and said, "I really wish I could talk with both of you right now, but I've waited eighteen years, so I suppose I can wait a few more tendays. Please, I need to know everything about her though, the good and the bad."

Judge Oleff murmured, thinking aloud, "You would be around twenty years old..."

"Yes....no, wait, I'm one and twenty. I forgot, my birthday was last tenday, on the 13th." She completely forgot about it with the trial occupying her mind. She bowed to them both. "Please excuse me, I must be going to speak with Aldanon so we may catch our ship. My companions are probably waiting for me there. But I'll hold you to that glass of wine when we return, Your Honor." Little did she know that her companions were already waiting for her outside the temple, as well as Wolf and half of his crew. The word about her going to the temple spread and they wanted to see her with their own eyes to believe it.

As she left, Cassavir fell in beside her silent as a ghost. Sir Grayson remarked in an undertone as she moved out of earshot, "I wonder if she is aware that the young paladin is in love with her? They would make a handsome couple."

Judge Oleff watched them walk off and replied, "Yes, you can tell by the way she keeps him at arm's length with the bear between them. The way she is smiling at him betrays some interest in him though, and the way she's touching his arm is sending him mixed signals. I will counsel him about it so he doesn't go astray again."

Sir Grayson stroked his beard absently, deep in thought. "Twenty-one. She's a few years too young to be mine."

Judge Oleff raised an eyebrow and sputtered, "You were Esmerelle's lover...as well?"

Sir Grayson replied with a chuckle, "As well, my Lord? Yes, once. She's one of three women I was...intimate with in my youth before I determined I preferred men. I was sixteen, and she was my first, truth be told. She was drunk and lonely, and I was eager and available. I believe she had taken half of the men of Blacklake as her lovers; indeed, there were even rumors about her and Lord Nasher." He frowned then added, "My squire doesn't need to know any of that."

Oleff rubbed his balding head as if that would jog his memory. "No, indeed not." He motioned him over to a window off to the side which offered a view of the street where they could talk without being overheard. They watched as Dee and her companions were approached by Lord Nevalle and a courier. "She's one and twenty?" He tried to do the math, calculating twenty-one years and nine months back from the 13th of Elesias. "She would have been conceived sometime early or in the middle of Uktar.

Sir Grayson chuckled. "Don't tell me...You too, old dog?"

Judge Oleff shrugged. "I had stopped traveling with Daeghun long before Esmerelle joined his band, but I met her through him. She often came to me seeking advice or a sympathetic ear, and one thing led to another. Of course I was in love with her. Who wasn't who knew her? She was very sad towards the end, near madness after her second husband's death, and she soothed her heart with drink and men. I remember the last time I held her in my arms; I told her she was beautiful, and she laughed bitterly and answered that beauty was a curse. It is possible that I could be, but then again..." He tried to be diplomatic. "Then again, there are half a dozen others that I know of in the same time period, and no doubt others I don't. There were only two that I know of besides myself who had the right height and coloring, however. Draven, who was arrested for murder and espionage not too long after Esmerelle disappeared was one. Perhaps she found out what he was and fled to the swamp to save her unborn child."

Sir Grayson drew Judge Oleff's attention to Dee as she called a youth over and talked to him for a few minutes, with her hands on his shoulders and looking into his eyes. It was clear she was making him repeat something until he committed it to memory. She handed him a coin, and the child sped off towards the Dock District while Dee and her companions strode away quickly towards Blacklake. "Hmmm, something's happened. No doubt Nevalle, or more likely, Lord Nasher has some urgent and dangerous task for her. You should inform His Excellency who her mother was just to make him sweat."

Judge Oleff chuckled. "Indeed, though I don't know if that would make him less inclined to send the girl off on a suicide mission, or more."

Will you tell her then?," Sir Grayson asked as they walked away from the window.

Judge Oleff shook his head. "About myself? Not unless she asks, and Draven is a more likely candidate anyway. That was a nasty affair, and she's better off not knowing about him. She has a father who has raised her, and even though they don't appear to be close, it would be selfish of me to intrude on their relationship, especially when it is just a possibility. This is not to say however that those of us who could be her father can't watch over her though and help her when we can."

* * *

Bishop shoved another shirt into his rucksack as the bell at the wharf rang out twice. He had at most fifteen minutes before the third bell, when the ship's crew would begin to cast off so she could set sail. He looked around to see if he missed anything then walked to the common room with Karnwyr on his heels. He was beginning to regret skipping the bath out of spite. At the time it seemed like a good idea to force the wench to put up with his funk, but it had just occurred to him that he was going to have to live with it too all the way to Highcliff. He strode to the bar, shoved Wolf aside, and tossed a gold piece at Sal. "Give me a bottle for the ship," he snapped.

Sal handed over a bottle of whiskey and caught the gold piece Bishop threw at him displaying little emotion. Bishop shoved it in his rucksack and jogged out the door. Just as the third bell rang, he growled, "Hurry up, mutt, or you'll have to swim" as he ran up the gangplank which the crew was ready to hoist it up. He looked around and was disappointed that Dee wasn't at the rail, crying because he wasn't there. Odd, because she loved sailing and was always on deck when the ship left port. Oh well, she was probably below decks crying on that dyke's shoulder. Let her get good and lonely, then he might let her make it up to him. She should be over it by Highcliff. She could come to him, and by then he would figure out how persuade her it was all her fault anyway. He thought about giving it to her good and hard in her old bedroom with her father in the next room forced to listen to her cries of pleasure and grinned as he leaned over the side of the rail and watched the city recede.

Wolf stood at the bar, waiting for Sal to fill a pint bucket of ale that he was to deliver to a shut-in down the street. "Excuse me, boss, but shouldn't you have told him? He's gonna be awful mad when he finds out."

Sal shrugged. "Not my problem. That's what he gets for being a lousy tipper."

For Dee hadn't made it to Aldanon's mansion and wasn't on the ship. She had been ordered to Lord Taverick's mansion by Lord Nasher to guard the shard he held. Outside the temple Dee sent Wolf to give a message to the captain of The Vigilance that they wouldn't be sailing with him that day after all, but that he should keep the fare for their passage for his trouble, then to let her uncle know as well, and she had made him repeat her instructions three times before she let him go. So she was seeing Lord Taverick safely to his room, and the elderly lord was pondering why her eyes seemed so familiar, as The Vigilance sailed out of the bay.