Chapter 18 The Homecoming

Neeshka teased, "You're procrastinating, Dee. Not in a hurry to get back to your swamp village?"

Shandra nodded, arms folded across her chest. "You know about how long we'll be in Highcliff? I'd like to get some things from my farm while we're there. I didn't have much time when we left, and it doesn't look like I'm heading back there to live any time soon."

Dee bristled against the charge that she was procrastinating, and replied defensively, "There's so much to do before we can leave, and every hour of every day there seems to be a new demand for my attention—inspecting the rebuilding efforts, getting Wolf's urchins settled in and assigning their tasks, seeing to the training of the 'Cloaks so I know they're capable before I set 'em loose on patrol...I swear it seems sometimes like folks can't wipe their arses without my say-so."

Shandra nodded and replied, "Yeah, so tell them to wipe their own arses, and Kana can handle much of the rest. Learn to delegate! You needn't practice with each one of the recruits every day, you know."

Dee frowned and snapped, "I will until I'm satisfied they ain't gonna do more damage to themselves than to what they'll find outside the walls. Just give me a few more days, alright? I've got to go light the first fire then test the forge at the smithy." She and Cillian stalked off in that direction.

Neeshka watched her go and observed, "She's really grumpy lately. Must be about that time of month. But she is procrastinating."

Shandra shrugged and replied, "Yeah, probably that time of month, and she needs to get laid besides."

Neeshka giggled. "That she does, but it's not she can pick up one of her recruits at the Phoenix Tail like I can."

Shandra nodded in agreement. "Gods, what do we have to do, get them drunk? Yeah, there aren't many options for her here besides him. I don't blame her procrastinating about West Harbor though, avoiding seeing Lorne Starling's family and having it out with her foster father. Still, we better light a fire under her backside before Marpenoth's out or we'll be slogging through rain the whole way."

Dee saw Kana coming towards her too late to escape. She had spent the morning taking time to read carefully through the stack of documents that awaited her signature, which fortunately didn't yet extend to the ceiling like in her nightmare--yet. "Gods, what does she need now?" she muttered.

She smiled wistfully as she saw Casavir ride Thunder past around the road leading into the village. "I need some more practice with Blossom before we leave as well. Mayhap I can find time to go ridin' with Cas this eve." She ignored the snicker from Shandra, who had caught up to her like her own shadow. Chief among the things which must be accomplished before they could leave was the need not only to ensure all her companions new how to ride their horses competently, but also to care for them on the trail. So far Thunder didn't tolerate any rider other than Casavir, and only Dee and Elanee could approach the temperamental young stallion without risking serious bodily injury. Dee wasn't surprised that Qara had proved to be a reluctant student, declaring with her typical haughtiness that she didn't see why she had to learn to groom her horse like a common stable boy, though after admiring the strong thighs and smoldering dark eyes of Harm, the new Master of Horse, she happily accepted riding lessons from him.

Kana walked up to her briskly and said, "Captain, there are some matters which require your attention at the Keep."

Dee sighed at being trapped but then remembered she was captain after all. "No doubt. Kana, have some of the 'Cloaks set up a pavilion next to the smithy. I mean to test it before the smiths get here." So she stoked the fire while she waited then pounded away at a mithril long sword while Kana shouted rather than read a dispatch to her over the din.

"Torio Claven has been captured trying to reenter the city, and Lord Nasher has decided to allow you to decide her fate. If you order it, she will be hanged for her crimes, or she could be brought here under house arrest. She might provide valuable information about Luskan's intentions. However, if you wish, you may defer to Captain Brelaina and she will decide her fate."

Dee paused for a moment then again pounded the metal angrily. The bitch certainly deserved death, but she didn't want to turn her over to Captain Brelaina's cold mercy. But then she remembered that night she watched her in her courtyard, pacing nervously like a caged animal, and no one was as surprised as she was at the twinge of compassion for Torio Claven that welled up. "Have her brought here. You're right, she could prove useful to us." She hoped Kana didn't hear the catch in her voice.

Master Veedle caught her at supper that night. Decisions had to be made regarding other rebuilding projects as well. She had already ordered that the temple of Tyr be rebuilt as soon as the Keep was restored when she first toured the site, but there was the matter of the roofless tower too. It had originally served as a watchtower, but Master Veedle informed her that Sir Nevalle was interested in it as a local base of operations for the Nine.

Dee rolled her eyes and asked, "I don't suppose Sir Nevalle and the Nine will pay for the rebuildin' of it?"

Veedle shrugged apologetically. "It's the responsibility of the Lord or Lady of the Keep, I'm afraid. However, I've also had an inquiry from a mage who is interested in it, and I'd be willing to bet he would pay for at least part of the repairs."

Dee pondered this for only a moment then shook her head vigorously. "No. If 'tis to be a mage's tower, I'd just as soon rebuild it for Sand's use rather than for some stranger."

Sand glanced out the window towards the ruin and sniffed, "A tower? Don't fret too much about me, dear girl, or waste your coin on my account. I'm perfectly content with my chambers next to the library and a workshop in the basement. I don't need a phallic edifice to prove my adequacy as a mage to the world. Let Nevalle have his phallic edifice. Gods know, from what I've heard, he needs it."

Veedle announced cheerily, "There is also some good news to report, captain. My crew is nearly finished with the final repairs to the Keep more than a tenday ahead of schedule, and I can't wait to take you all on a tour. We should be finished in two or three days at the most." His crew had worked so hard to complete the repairs that she hated to disappoint him. So what did it matter if they waited a few more days to leave?

Dee had fallen into the habit of working ceaselessly from before Lathander's first light appeared in the east until well after dark when she fell into her bedroll. She was exhausted but she could see she was making tangible progress in her duties, and her exhaustion had an unexpected benefit in that it kept the dreams at bay. That was until the evening that they held a celebration feast in the war room after Veedle had led them on a tour of the Keep and they were allowed to move into their quarters. It was late, and most of her companions had either headed off to their quarters to finish unpacking or were making plans to continue drinking at the Phoenix Tail, but Dee had scarcely touched the food that had been prepared except to take a few perfunctory bites to placate the disappointed cooks who had put so much effort into it.

She declared, "I won't be able to sleep until I've read through this stack of requisitions. I should write to Judge Oleff and ask if he could send me a law clerk. He's been so helpful with advice. I'll do it before bed." She had avoided the Esmerelle talk with him so far but corresponded with the judge regularly and was completely unaware that his interest in her progress stemmed from the fact that the lonely old man had persuaded himself that she had his cheekbones. Dee continued signing some, setting others in a pile for Kana under a slip of paper labeled 'discuss' while placing a few others she rejected outright with a snort or a muttered "yeah right" into another pile. Finally she was satisfied and stretched her stiff shoulders.

Casavir noticed an onyx and alabaster chess set there on a table near the wall and innocently suggested, "There's just the thing to help you relax. Would you care for a game of chess, my la…Dee.? I'd enjoy teaching you how to play if you don't know how."

Shandra suppressed a chuckle, nudging Neeshka who giggled loudly, and Dee flushed crimson and muttered "I...thanks, but I need a bath," then beat a hasty retreat to her quarters, leaving Casavir blushing and puzzled as to what he had said.

That night despite an icy cold bath she suffered a repeat performance of that dream, with every erotic detail amplified more than she would have thought was possible. She awoke glistening with sweat calling out his name so loudly that she was surprised that the guards, hells, the whole Keep didn't come running. She could swear she could taste his tongue. It didn't help that Kana, prompted secretly by Shandra and Neeshka, had assigned Casavir the room next to Dee's, which was connected to hers by a balcony overlooking the courtyard and also shared a fireplace. They had originally been one room, the lord's suite, and it was almost as big as Daeghun's entire house. When she had picked her way through the rubble during the first inspection with Veedle, she thought that so much space being dedicated to use of one person, even the lord of the Keep, was ridiculous, so his workers had built walls to partition it into two bedchambers as well as two small bedchambers for servants.

Cillian looked up at her from the hideous carpet that had been placed in front of the fireplace as she got out of bed and stepped out onto the balcony to cool herself in the night breeze. She gazed hungrily across at the door to his chamber. It took every ounce of discipline she had not to cross that balcony, slip into is room, and into his arms. He was a man after all, and from what Bishop told her, men suffered intense physical pain from unrelieved arousal and could even sicken from it, so she reasoned she would be doing him a kindness, whether he saw it that way or not. She crossed and put a hand on the doorknob but hesitated for a minute. "Gods, what am I coming to justifying satisfying my own lust by convincing myself Cas needs a pity fuck?" she muttered angrily as she turned and fled the balcony.

For she knew he cared for her more deeply for her than she did for him, even though all he had been able to articulate so far was a desire to "protect" her and a fear that trying to protect her was interfering with his duty to the mission. It was clear how he felt in the way he looked at her with longing, and something akin to reverence when he thought she couldn't see him. Would it make a difference if he told her he loved her? It wasn't that she didn't care for him too in her fashion; he was one of her dearest friends and closest battlefield allies, she wanted to protect him too from both external and internal threats, she trusted him with her life, she loved the time they spent together talking over the events of the day, she loved his shy humor, she even wanted to screw him senseless, but she didn't love him. She wasn't even sure she knew what love was.

She sighed and tried to get back to sleep, and as she lay there she saw that if she gave herself to him inevitably she would hurt him deeply when--if--she fell in love with someone else, though she was beginning to doubt if that would happen. What was it Bishop had called her? A cold-hearted swamp wench? More than that, she feared she would become bored with the sex. She didn't believe Bishop's tale of paladins only doing it through a sheet with a hole cut in it, but being with him had given her tastes, 'kink' Ophala called it, that she was fairly sure Casavir wouldn't approve of.

Then again, that might not have been entirely Bishop's fault; this might be another legacy from her mother. If she wasn't careful, she would end up like her, taking a different man to her bed every day and drinking herself to sleep in a futile search for something real. Maybe that was the reason Esmerelle had taken so many lovers, hoping that the next one would be the right one. She abandoned the bed and grabbed a pillow and a blanket and snuggled with Cillian in front of the remains of the fire, watching the flames until she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Casavir was lying in his narrow bed trying to get comfortable despite the stinging in his upper back and shoulders. He had nearly drifted off to sleep when he thought he heard Dee shout out his name, and he jumped out of bed to go to her aid. But there was something that made him pause with his hand on the doorknob, and he realized that his body had responded to something in her tone that his conscious mind hadn't detected. He listened, but all was silent, and after a minute he decided that it had been a dream. He sighed deeply and said a silent prayer to Tyr.

Ten lashes hadn't been enough apparently, but he was loathe to go against the Prior's admonition by increasing the number, and he was disturbed that he still thought of her bright eyes and her soft lips even as the scourge bit into his shoulders. There was the added problem of beating himself until he was so sore it affected his fighting, putting himself and her in danger. He wanted to talk to the Prior, but how could he leave now when they all needed him? He was about to go back to bed when he saw the shadow of someone—her, it had to be—standing on the other side of the door. He was about to throw caution to the wind and throw open the door and sweep her up into his arms, but how would he then explain the wounds on his back? What would she think of him? After a moment, the shadow receded and he went back to bed cursing himself for his fear and weakness.

The next morning as she headed to the courtyard to inspect a few new recruits before breakfast, a nondescript balding man dressed in shades of gray who introduced himself as Uncus accosted Dee in the entryway to the Keep. He had a "proposition" for what he called a mutually advantageous business arrangement. She waved Cillian back as she wondered how in the hells he got past the guards but didn't have to listen long to understand what he was about. She would turn a blind eye to his operation, and in return he would provide her service as a fence—her fence—as well as provide her some exotic and probably illegal items, for a price. He also offered to set up and run a gambling den, and of course the Keep would get a cut of the take. Yeah, she understood him. Gods cursed parasite. "No thanks—We don't require your services here," she said curtly.

"You sure? Because once I'm gone, that's it, and I won't be back." he replied with a shrug as he examined his nails. "You better think it over," he added with just a touch of menace.

Dee snarled as she grabbed him by his tunic and muscled him out the door, "Aye, I'm sure. In fact, I'm quite certain. Good day, and I suggest you move fast. The bear hasn't eaten yet." She muttered "and good riddance" as he stalked off and slipped into the shadows casting a fearful glance towards the bear just coming out the door. Dee summoned Neeshka over with a barely perceptible gesture.

"What's up?" Neeshka asked innocently, though Dee knew that it was no coincidence she was up at this hour standing there watching the encounter, and Dee suspected she knew very well what was "up." Very little went on at the Keep or anywhere that Neeshka wasn't aware of.

Dee watched the tiefling's eyes as they spoke. "You see that man who just left? His name's Uncus. Your assignment is to make sure he gets the hells out of the Keep, and his minions as well. We don't need Shadow Thieves muscling in on your territory, and I sure don't want them setting up a gambling den to prey on my Greycloaks. They make little enough as it is for risking their lives." She scowled and rubbed her pounding temple absently. "I also don't like the way he walked right in like he owned the place, right past the guards. I'm thinkin' I need to make you the chief of security."

Neeshka's eyes glowed with crimson fire as she turned her head to peer in the direction he had gone. "Yeah, it is my territory. They're not muscling in on my…errr our action. You have a deal, but I want to be free to go to West Harbor with you. When are we leaving, anyway? And don't say 'soon' again because soon never seems to get here."

"Fine, we'll leave day after next for sure! Just don't let him get away. I want a report on how many he has with him and who they came with!" Dee grumbled. "Then we'll talk about you testing the Keep's defenses. If there's a guard shirkin' or on the take, or a hidden passage, or an unlocked service door, I want to know about it!"

Neeshka grinned and whispered before she disappeared into the shadows in search of her quarry, "At your service, captain! And you should see Elanee for some of her special women's tea, and you won't be so grumpy." She vanished into the shadows, thinking it might not be as boring here as she feared.

Dee watched her go and snorted but grumbled, "I s'pose I have been rather grumpy lately. Mayhap she's right. I must be about due." She did some quick mental math then paused, muttered "That can't be right, couldn't have been that long" and did the math again more slowly, counting aloud on her fingers back all the way to just after the trial. But that was right, and as her knees turned to jelly she dropped down to a seat onto a large dressed stone waiting to be raised to fill a gap in the wall and put her head in her hands. She jumped to her feet after a moment reflexively put a hand on her belly and groaned, "But how? I drank that filthy potion! I can't be! Shite! Not now!"

Bishop, who happened to be watching her like he did any chance he got (until he got tired of it and made himself go off hunting for deer or bandits), grinned as she sent the shadow thief packing and would have immediately hunted him down himself except he waited to eavesdrop on her conversation with Neeshka. Bishop was the only person who knew more about what went on at the Keep than Neeshka did. He didn't know why he stayed and continued watching and listening to her talking to herself after the devil girl ran off when there were shadow thieves to hunt down; he would never admit that he was obsessed with her, though he had gone through every tall blond whore in the Docks trying to prove to himself that she meant nothing more to him than another lay.

He had continued his habit of sneaking into her room when she was out in the city, or into her tent here, which was easy since she only used it for sleeping (alone, he noted with bitter satisfaction). He would quickly go through her things looking for gifts or tokens from another lover, then her clothes, using his nose to lead him to proof, as if that would help him justify to himself the way he had treated her. As he stood there now he heard her say, "I can't be!" and saw the hand on her belly and the stricken look on her face, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what she was mumbling about or who had got her that way. His blood turned to ice water, but he had to be sure. He walked out of his hiding place stretching as if he just woke up and said casually, his forcing his face into a mask of calm, "Something you need, captain? Who's got you swearin' before breakfast?"

Dee blinked and flushed as Cillian gave a low snarl. She patted the bear and said, "'Tis nothing, Bish. Have you seen Elanee?"

He faked a yawn and nodded over towards the smithy then turned back and scratched Karnwyr's head. "Don't know, but she's usually camping by that alder tree. Why? You sick or something?" He stepped closer now that the damned bear was somewhat mollified and looked into her eyes with concern that was not entirely faked. "You look sick. There's dark shadows under your eyes, and you're pale as death. You look like you're gonna puke. You're not knocked up or something, are you?" He had a sudden murderous impulse to knock her over the head and push her into an abandoned well near the ruined tower, but he dismissed the idea because she would be missed immediately.

She shrugged and looked down. "Ain't any of your concern if I am. I know how you feel. You made it clear, so don't worry about it. 'Tis my problem."

He gave her his most charming smile and said, "Well I do worry about you, Dee, whether you believe it or not. It's a bad time to be knocked up is all I'm saying. It's gonna be hard to lead a charge if you have to fight around a thick belly." He watched her as she looked down and nodded again and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. He had her attention, so he continued. "And a kid would be one more thing for you to have to worry about. What if you get killed fighting the King of Shadows? What happens to the kid then? Who's gonna look after it? Is your foster father willing to raise another orphan?"

She met his amber eyes and sighed. "Look, I don't even know for sure, alright? But it's been since the trial, I think." She bent and gave Karnwyr a belly rub then straightened up and added bravely, "No point in worrying about it until I know for sure." Her face, however, belied her bravado.

He was enjoying her discomfort now that it was clear that nothing was expected of him, and he was dying to say the cruelest thing he could think of to hurt her like she had hurt him, and it hovered enticingly on the tip of his tongue—"So who's the father?" But he restrained himself. The momentary pleasure he would gain from the pain that would cause her wasn't worth the risk of turning her against him. He got close enough beside her to put a hand on her arm and said lowly, "Too bad we're not in the city. There are people I know there who could help you out to end it. You're young, and you can have more when all this is finished. Hells, even Sand most likely could mix you up some concoction to get rid of it, or the druid too. I've heard a strong tea of wild carrot seed and water hemlock works, so you could try that first. No one else even has to know." He could tell he was getting to her and he smiled slyly.

"Know what, Bishop?"

They both jumped at the sound of Casavir's deep baritone, so intent on their conversation that neither of them heard him approach, and Dee blushed scarlet as she wondered how much he had heard. That was twice today someone got the drop on her! She cast an accusatory look at Cillian who grinned back innocently, and she stammered as she spun to him and saw not only Casavir but Shandra as well standing with their arms folded across their chests, "Cas…Shan…how…long...have you been there?" She felt sick, and she sank back down on the stone.

Bishop scowled but controlled himself. "The Captain and I are having a private discussion. It's nothing to concern yourselves about."

"Is that right, Dee?" Casavir asked protectively as he drew closer.

"How much did you hear?" she asked as she looked from one to the other, but she knew the answer from their faces.

"We heard enough," Shandra replied with a sigh that told Dee the 'how could you let that happen' lecture was coming later. "I expect Sand could help you, if you want to…"

"And we will support you no matter what you decide to do," Casavir added. "I…we care about what happens to you."

Bishop sensed he was losing ground and snarled, "We all care what happens to her, paladin." He tried to control his anger, but he couldn't stand that holy smugness. "This is just the wrong time what with us getting ready to go to war is all I'm saying."

Casavir struggled against the hatred that threatened to overcome his sense and compel him to smash the ranger in the mouth. He didn't believe for a moment that Bishop was concerned about anyone but himself, but she was so blind when it came to him. He took a calming breath and replied evenly, "Perhaps that is true, and perhaps there's a reason why this has happened at this time. Just know that whatever you decide, I shall stand beside you." He paused for a moment as Dee gave him a brilliant smile that melted his heart. He impulsively dropped to his knee, took her hand and said, "And if you should decide…to continue with it, you will need help. If you would have me, I would be honored if you would consent to be my wife."

"What?" Dee gasped, and Shandra echoed her. "Oh, Cas, you honor me greatly, more than I deserve, but I wouldn't trap you in a sad, decorous, loveless marriage. I wouldn't ask that of anyone," and she involuntarily glanced at Bishop, who was glaring daggers at Casavir.

Bishop growled, "The hells you will. It's my responsibility, not yours." However, he didn't miss the word "loveless" and noted with satisfaction what that said about her feelings for the paladin.

Dee stood and said "Thank you both for the offer. That was sweet," though as she said it, it occurred to her Bishop hadn't really made her an offer. She sighed and said, "My morning schedule's already ruined. I'll go see El and find out if there's even a problem."

She found Elanee with her new best friend Zhjaeve in the kitchen herb garden teaching the githzerai the names and uses of the many plants there. Sighing because she knew that the whole keep, or at least all of her companions would know her business by highsun, Dee told them of her fears. "So how do you tell, that is without waiting for it to become obvious?" she asked.

Zhjaeve smiled, or appeared to behind her veil, and said as she put her arm around her, "Know that I have a spell which can detect life. We shall go to your room and examine you. If you are with child, your womb will have grown, even if just a little."

Elanee peered into Dee's eyes then into her mouth and said, "Come along, there's no need to make yourself sick with worry needlessly. It's most likely a false alarm, and I have my own theory as to the cause."

To her immediate relief the Githzerai's spell didn't detect the spark of new life, and after a closer examination by both of them in her room during which they poked and prodded her rock hard belly as Cillian and Shandra looked on nervously (and Bishop and Casavir waited nervously in the hallway), they decided that she had lost too much body fat as she put on muscle over the past few months, which led to a lecture on basic female anatomy from Zhjaeve. "Know that there's a reason females have breasts and full hips, Kalach-cha. You must eat more to compensate."

A relieved Shandra stepped out to tell Bishop and Casavir, who had been joined by Neeshka and Sand who came out of curiosity but stayed to keep the other two from coming to blows.

Elanee added, "I noticed last night that the blue bodice you wore doesn't push you out as much as it used to. I'm actually quite surprised you didn't notice when you got dressed."

Dee blushed as she recalled that she had pulled the laces as tight as she could. She replied with a shrug, "I was in a hurry to get to the feast. I thought mayhap the lauderess did somethin' to it or mixed it up with someone else's in the wash. Actually, I didn't really think about it, just like I've been too busy to notice I've missed my monthly a couple of times." She got up and examined herself in the mirror as she dressed.

It was true she had become lean and hard-muscled. Her cheeks were hollow beneath prominent cheekbones. She mused that with the short hair she was beginning to resemble one of Wolf's boys. Filled with conflicting emotion, she felt like crying, but she also felt like shouting from the balcony she was so relieved. She asked at last, "What does this mean though? Have I become barren?" She dreaded the answer, but she had to know. "I do want a kid or two some day when all this is over."

Elanee laughed softly and replied, "No, I think you're still quite fertile. There's just no monthly evidence of that now, which I'm sure you don't mind. I don't suppose you'll cut down on your three hours of sword practice or your runs with the new recruits? I never thought I would say this, but it might help if you drank a pint of ale every night with your supper, and if you eat double portions to make up for the workout you get every day, you should be fine. Just eat like a bear fattening up for winter."

Cillian chuffed and told her, "See? I said you were too thin."

* * *

Shandra had guessed correctly that Edario would jump at the chance to leave Highcliff, and it wasn't hard to convince Jacoby to leave Fort Locke either. Dee arranged to pick them up on the way back to give them time to pack up their belongings and settle their affairs. Along the way Dee left hidden messages written on thin sheets of birch paper for other Harper agents to pass along the warning about the growing power of the King of Shadows and the devastation he was causing in the Mere and beyond.

They made a detour to Old Owl Well, and Katriona quickly accepted Dee's offer of becoming one of her sergeants, though Dee wondered aloud to Shandra if she wanted the challenge or if she wanted to serve with Casavir again.

"Serve under Casavir, you mean; you're jealous!" Shandra replied with a chuckle, and Dee gave her a quick smack on her backside.

"Hush, you! Why would I be jealous?" Dee growled.

Shandra laughed and replied, "No reason that I can see. It's pretty clear from the way he looks you and at her where his interest lies."

They took Katriona with them to West Harbor the next morning and rode into the village late in the afternoon. The few people out in the farthest field gathering the last of the harvest in the waning light stopped their work and stared at the spectacle of a half dozen armored riders approaching.

Shandra looked around and exclaimed, "So this is West Harbor! You really weren't kidding about being from a small village! Must've been a hard life growing up here in the swamp."

Dee replied, "It wasn't bad, once you get past the smell. The soil is rich, and the weather is pretty mild. Other than being chosen as the center of a battle every twenty years or so, it's fairly quiet here."

Bishop sneered as he looked around and thought, "Just about as I figured. No wonder she couldn't wait to get out of this stinking mud hole."

Someone who from his shape Dee thought was Webb Mossfield ran like the wind to Georg's house, and Georg was strapping on his sword belt and heading for them accompanied by Brother Merring, Tarmas, and a number of the militia members by the time they passed through the gate. Dee didn't doubt that Daeghun would be along with his bow as soon as he got word of a group of armed riders entering the village.

Casavir and Shandra led their horses beside her. Casavir leaned close to Dee and said, "West Harbor appears to have a well-trained militia. They responded to the potential threat in minutes. Most impressive."

She chuckled and replied, "Aye, but don't tell Georg that or no one here will ever hear the end of it." She swung her leg over and slid gracefully off Blossom then waved and called out "Georg!" and waited with Cillian for Georg to reach them.

He blinked as he got close enough to see her and asked, "Dee? Is that you, lass? I hardly recognize you." He shouted to the approaching militia "'Tis Dee! Someone get Daeghun quickly!" then ran the rest of the way to her, swept her up in a hug and spun her around and said, "Welcome home, lass!"