Usual disclaimer and notes: First of all, thanks to Ansenor, whose comment in a review and subsequent email gave me the idea for the start of this chapter.
Second, the characters belong to a whole lot of other people and not to me except the occasional NPC and a bear and paladin lovin' ranger.
Chapter 35 Tying up Lose Ends
The air in the windowless room was heavy with the muggy afternoon heat. Dee squirmed and tried to make herself comfortable in the too-small chair and accepted the goblet offered to her by the elderly dwarven priest, whose steel blue eyes bored into hers as he waited for her to go on. "Tell you about my dreams? Let's see...This dream I had last night was about something that happened when I couldn't have been more than four or five. We had a lot of rain and even snow that winter and spring, and the sleepy little river which ran past our home into the Mere was unusually turgid and threatened to come over its banks."
She sat back and ran her hand through her hair. The portly cleric leaned over and patted her knee gently and urged her on. "Let's see...My foster father was packing in case we had to move to higher ground, and I guess he hadn't realized I was tall enough to reach the latch on the door...which I wasn't." She screwed up her face in concentration. "I remember standing on something. An empty bucket turned over, that was it! I just wanted to see the river." She paused and quaffed the goblet of the nasty viscous liquor that the priest had given her and nearly choked.
He moved to her side with amazing speed and smacked her hard a few times on the back as she coughed and sputtered. "Here, have some water to wash it down, Captain. 'Tis an acquired taste, but you'll find it's very beneficial for the digestion," he said helpfully. "Go on when you're ready."
She drained the goblet of water then sat back and caught her breath and grinned at him. "Dwarven recipe? Don't know if I'll live long enough to acquire a taste to that, Brother." She set the goblet back on his desk and continued. "Anyway, I opened the door and was outside in a heartbeat, and I remember bending down to see something in the water when I must have leaned forward too far and fell in. I screamed as I fell, but then I had water in my mouth. They had taught me to swim in that river before I could even walk, but there was no way I could swim my way out of that, and the water was freesing too...Daeghun had taught me to draw my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them so I could bob in the water if I was ever in trouble, but I lost sight of the house. I thought I was done for and that I'd be with my mother soon. I think I even called out to her."
"Go on, child, I mean Captain. Do you remember how you got to shore?," he asked, leaning forward eagerly in his seat as he waited for her to go on.
Dee fought the urge to hide her face in her hands. "I got caught up in a tree that was floating in the river, but I was too exhausted to do much but cling to a branch. It got snagged on something on shore right away, but the water was swirling around me and pulling at me. I lost a shoe and some of my clothes. I used what strength I had left to yell for Daeghun to help me. And then all I remember was something big and brown hovering over me on the trunk of the tree. I remember seeing sharp teeth, but its soft brown eyes were very gentle, and it took my smock in its mouth and pulled me up then backed down the trunk to the safety of the shore. And that's when the dream started, but I remembered the rest of it when I woke up."
"An animal rescued you?" He refilled his goblet and offered her a refill as well.
She considered then took the jug of water and filled it half full then passed it to him to fill with his liquor. "Diluted, sure. I don't think humans can take it full strength, Brother." She sighed and leaned back. "Gods, I had forgotten all about this. Mayhap I blocked it out, like I blocked out the battle that killed my mother."
He filled her goblet nearly to the top again. "Yes, yes. Entirely possible, but then again you were quite young when you lost her, weren't you? Something has triggered the memory which has surfaced in your dream. But what happened? Was the animal by any chance a bear?"
She nodded at him. "Yeah, I thought so at first, and I didn't even care if it ate me as long as it was fast. I was shiverin' so hard I think some of my teeth shook loose. But it wrapped itself around me, letting its body warm me, and I snuggled closer to its rough earthy fur. In the dream I saw someone in the distance, a girl from the look of her, and a ruby-throated swamp raven flew down to the bear and paused like they were talking, then it flew off."
"You said you only thought it was a bear?" The priest had forgotten to drink, caught up as he was in the story.
Dee took another drink before she continued, feeling the strange liquor burning and tingling down to her toes. "I thought it was. The bear stood up off me and roared as Daeghun ran into the clearing looking as frantic as I've ever seen him look. They talked in elvish as Daeghun snatched me up and wrapped his cloak around me."
The priest interrupted her and looked skeptical. "They talked? You're not telling me the bear spoke elvish? Are you certain that wasn't part of the dream as well and not a memory?"
She finished her drink and set the goblet down on the desk. "Like I said, it wasn't a bear. When I peeked out from Daeghun's cloak, instead of a bear I saw another elf dressed in a simple brown robe. He was a druid, Elanee's mentor, Naeven...hmm, I wonder now if the young woman I saw in the dream wasn't Elanee. That's the reason for this dream, I think. I had forgotten all about it until I saw him when we went to find Elanee's Circle, and even then, even seeing him again I didn't remember until after the dream."
The priest offered her a biscuit from a tray on his desk, which she declined with a polite shake of her head. "Are you sure? They have delicious creamy chocolate centers. Now Naeven was the one you told us about who hadn't fallen under the sway of the King of Shadows, correct? And you've been reunited with your father recently as well. Reuniting with the two of them might have stirred up your memories."
A shadow of a frown crossed her face as she thought about Daeghun. "My foster father. Yes, he arrived to tell us that while he was exploring the Mere to discover the extent of the King of Shadow's reach and spreading the word to evacuate to other Mere villages, he found evidence that some of Elanee's circle survived." She remembered back to that day a few days after Sydney Natale's attempted ambush when she had finally made time to talk with Bevil alone. It took time, but he confessed to her what had happened to him, how the Githyanki had tortured him and forced him to tell them where she was going with the shard. She hugged him as he sobbed his shame, and she whispered that she forgave him and assured him that anyone would have told them whatever they wanted to hear whether true or not under torture, herself included. She left him once he had composed himself, but not before giving him another fierce hug and admonishing him not to hold things like that in, but rather to talk to someone, like a priest, or one of his fellow sergeants. Katriona, for example. He promised he would, and Dee coerced a further promise that he would talk to Katriona that evening when she was back from patrol.
As she was walking away from the barracks feeling guilty and angry for what Bevil had been put through because of her, she thought she heard Daeghun's voice calling her name. She froze in her tracks, blinked and stared in the direction of the voice. With her spectacles she could make out his familiar shape even from across the village. She shouted "Father!," and sprinted to him across the village, putting half a dozen Greycloaks on alert. But she pulled up short, blushing and feeling foolish because of the sudden rush of emotions, but more foolish because he had not run to meet her as well. He simply stood there. Her heart told her to throw her arms around him, but as he had made no move, instead she took his hand in hers. "Father, you're safe! It's so good to see you! I've kept you in my prayers..."
But he cut her off with a brusque, "We will have time for a reunion later, Dierdre. I came to speak with you and your druid companion. What I've learned concerns both of you."
Dee had blurted out, "You've come to see her?," and she saw a momentary flash of pain in his eyes at the implied, "and not me?" However, she recovered quickly once he told her what he had learned, becoming the Knight Captain again, sending a Greycloak to bring word to her companions, sending another for Elanee, nodding at Bishop as he helpfully offered to scout ahead. But she told Casavir the day they returned when they were in the sanctuary of their chamber that it still stung, even as she acknowledged how foolish that feeling was.
And it wasn't as if Daeghun had come here to see Elanee, after all. But would she have a right to feel hurt if he had? They were both wood elves, and they both loved the swamp and revered nature and Silvanus, the god of nature too. She considered how hard it had been for Daeghun to rarely be able to speak his own language. Dee had to admit he had much more in common with Elanee than with the human woman he had raised. It also made sense that many of Elanee's Circle wouldn't listen to Daeghun and could only be persuaded to join the fight or to give up their home in the Mere by one of their own. And as it turned out, he was right. Even Elanee was unable to break through the King of Shadow's influence over the Circle of the Mere. Elanee had been very subdued since they returned, keeping to herself and mourning quietly, and Dee had spoken little with Daeghun either, though he had told her one evening she had come far from the wild girl he had raised. That was high praise coming from him.
The priest steepled his fingers under his chin in contemplation and studied her as the Knight Captain grew quiet, lost in thought, twirling a strand of hair absently. He waited for several minutes for her to continue before he cleared his throat loudly and snapped her out of her reverie. "I suspect you're right and that's what triggered the memory. Such a terrifying memory buried so deeply might only come to the surface in a dream. And you've also said that time seems to be moving very quickly since you returned with the True Names scrolls. It could be that you feel helpless, as if you're caught in that raging river again and at the mercy of fate."
Dee sighed as she thought about it, ran her fingers through her hair and pushed it off her face. "Well, time is moving very quickly, at least from my perspective. I don't know where this summer has even gone, and 'tis nearly my birthday again. I have to wonder if I'll see two-and-twenty. We've run off on one mission after another, and Kana's had to run the Keep herself. I've hardly touched my forge...I gave it over to the Ironfists use to repair their weapons and make some for the Lizardmen."
She saw something in his eyes and gave him a stern look that she had cultivated as the Knight Captain. "And don't start on how I shouldn't be equipping them with weapons they could later use against us. I get enough of that from Nevalle. I won't have them thought of as fodder." The priest frowned at the knight's name as if he had tasted something sour. "The Ironfists are happy to step aside and let me pound away at whatever they're workin' on when I have the time. I just thank the gods that the true names have worked so far. The rest of us have to keep Zhjaeve and Jerro standing until they finish reciting the incantation, but at least now we have real hope that we can overcome the power of the King of Shadows."
The priest had looked thoroughly disgusted at hearing the name of the former Luskan ambassador, the sort of look one would have after stepping in something nasty. "I still am curious whether Sydney Natale acted alone or at Luskan's behest. Not offering assistance to Neverwinter despite the past was incredibly short-sighted and self-serving."
Dee shrugged. "I've thought a lot about what she said that day. I suspect she planned to keep the knowledge to herself and only use the scrolls if and when the King of Shadows threatened Luskan...to gain power for herself by saving her city. She must have wanted to force Zhjaeve to go with her because she couldn't read the scroll herself but didn't want to let anyone else in the Hosttower know that. But you're right, it's a very short-sighted way to think, and look where it got her."
The priest nodded. "Indeed. And speaking of dreadful beasts, you have fought and killed two more dragons. That's something most adventurers never do in their entire lives. "
"Yes, two more dragons," she muttered tersely, looking at the floor. She hadn't felt the desire to ride triumphantly into the Keep when they returned that time. She merely gave Kana the location so their hides could be salvaged (she was determined to get Casavir a suit of dragon hide armor). She was tired to her bones and to her soul from the killing and beginning to show it. She leaned forward and explained as if she thought she had to justify herself to the priest. "We didn't set out to fight them, though I know it must look to some like we were off seeking glory. Ammon Jerro sent us to find Nolaloth, reasoning that with his centuries of knowledge, if anyone knew how to reforge the sword, it would be he. Should have known when he didn't want to go with us he hadn't dealt honorably with the creature."
"And I understand you're setting out tomorrow to travel to your home village through the claimed lands to try to reforge the Sword of Gith based on the information the dragon gave you."
Dee answered with an annoyed sigh. "Yes, we're going to teleport to the Arvahn valley then taking an Ilfarn song portal, which Zhjaeve thinks should get us to the ruins right outside the village. I really hate teleporting...it makes me feel disoriented, and so many things could go wrong, but we don't have the time to travel there by land. Jerro and Zhjaeve are both going in case we run into more shadow reavers." Dee had put an end to the bickering over which of them was going to have possession of the scrolls by having Aldanon make another copy, and that way if one was injured or lost concentration, the other could continue reciting the words.
She scowled thinking about Jerro. Despite her intentions that he remain a pariah, he was becoming a valuable member of their party, at least to her. Casavir had little more use for him than he did for Bishop, but he kept his reservations to himself most of the time. While she had refused Jerro's offer to create a charm to allow them to bargain with Mephasm, she found herself turning to him for advice. Jerro had even asked her to tell him about Shandra one day in the darkness by the summoning circle, where he spent much of his time. But forgiveness was hard to give when he didn't particularly care if she gave it or feel he needed it.
The priest coughed gently and she blinked and returned her attention to him. "Noaloth didn't exactly tell us how to reforge it, only that we had to go to where it was broken and that it would take an act of will on my part to do it. He only asked that we destroy his heart so he could pass on to wherever dragons go in the afterlife. But the black dragons who were feeding off his power weren't keen on the idea and attacked us. It may look like we were seeking glory, but we did a good thing."
He bent down and opened a dumbwaiter set into the wall near the floor that allowed a waft of cool air from the lower levels to enter the room. "Indeed Captain, freeing the creature from its bondage, as well as ridding the sword coast of two more evil dragons was a good thing. But do you understand what he meant by requiring an act of your will to bring the shards together?"
She snapped, "Do you think the shards control me too? I'd sure like to know who started that rumor. It's not true!" But there was no point in taking it out on the priest. "People thought was being paranoid when I said I felt like I was bein' scryed, but Sydney Natale was watching me. And I still feel it! We freed those Luskans on the mountain, and they admitted they're watching the King of Shadow's progress, so is it so hard to believe they're watching us too?" She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed as the priest sat there chewing thoughtfully and watching her. But after a few minutes of fuming she sighed and added softly, "I don't know, I don't think the one inside me controls me, but I admit sometimes I lay the shards out and look at them and try to put them together. But that's not the same thing, is it?" He could see by the look of desperation on her face that she herself had wondered about whether the rumor was true.
The priest smiled benignly as she grew silent again. He stretched his arms over his head and popped his back with a grunt and finally asked nonchalantly, "What are you afraid of, Captain, besides traveling so far into the claimed lands? Are you afraid that you have no control over your destiny and you're going have to give your life for this cause?"
She was taken aback by the bluntness of the question. She shook her head and replied, "Well wouldn't you be scared if you were me? I think I'd be insane if I wasn't scared shiteless, Brother." She threw her hands up. "I never asked for this!" She slumped in her seat and met his eyes. "But...someone has to do it. I've come to accept that if this is my destiny, I'm never gonna see the world or do any of the things I planned. Besides, I keep telling myself there's worse ways to go. There was that lad in Neverwinter last winter who fell into the sewer and drowned. Now that's a horrible way to go. And I could have drowned in the river all those years ago. I could have died with my mother if the shard had penetrated any deeper."
She thought back to the question Naeven asked her before they left him about why she was engaged in this battle. She had been taken aback then too and had muttered "Because it's my destiny," though she knew she sounded like she wasn't convinced. She took another drink before she continued, her voice cracking and a few tears rolling down her cheeks, "I think I've accepted it. The part that bothers me most though isn't losing my life, but I couldn't bear to lose Cas...or Neesh or Sand or Khel or my other companions, even the ones that aren't as dear to me as Cas is. If there was any way to go on alone, I would. I don't know how I could go on if I lost them but I was still here."
At that moment something Daeghun had said about losing his companions finally weighing him down flashed through her mind, and a fierce feeling of sympathy and love for him welled up in her chest. The few tears became a torrent that she tried to stop without much success. She thought, "Oh father, forgive me for being so blind to your pain. Of course you're distant. You're faced with losing me too, one way or another."
He finished his biscuit as he listened then wiped his chocolate stained fingers on a tea towel and watched her wipe at her eyes. He fished a handkerchief out of his desk drawer and handed it to her. "Yes, let it out. And that brings us back to your other dreams, the one you came here to talk with me about. Tell me about the one with the falling rocks. You've had that dream many times I understand." He picked up another biscuit and waited for her to reply.
She dried her tears and took another drink then let him refill her goblet before she continued after he smiled at her until she became uncomfortable. She sighed and said, "That one. I wouldn't say many, it's more like several. It's always the same. We're running and everything is falling apart around us. We're dodging big slabs of stone. It feels like what should be a moment of triumph is shattered, and that's when I wake up. And a few nights ago I had it again, but it was different this time.
"Different in what way, Captain? Tell me everything you remember."
"We were running, and I turned back and was trying to reach Cas. I could see his face and he shouted at me to go on, but then stretched from a doorway to reach me as I reached for him...Our fingers just touched, and I whispered something to him and he nodded as I curled my fingers around his. He smiled at me and whispered something, but then I could see a look of fear on his face, as if he could see something behind me, and then someone was grabbing me and tearing me away from him. I woke up screaming and woke Cas up too. I guess that's why he wanted me to talk to you. Mayhap he thinks I'm losin' my mind too." She suppressed another sob and wiped at her eyes again, yet feeling oddly relieved at getting it off her chest. In fact, Casavir had insisted she talk with his priest and hadn't let the matter rest until he knew she had found time for an appointment. Quiet as he was, she was learning Casavir could also be tenacious.
The priest patted her knee again and offered her another handkerchief from the stack in his drawer. "You can toss those in the basket. Casavir's right to be concerned about you, Captain. He's of an opinion that at least some of your dreams have come to pass, though he didn't elaborate other than to blush profoundly, so...I can imagine their nature. Still, it's not unusual for healthy young people to have erotic dreams, those who are celibate, and especially those who aren't. Perhaps it only seemed as if one had come to pass during a...romantic encounter?"
She shook her head adamantly. "No. It's more than just an erotic dream. It's like that strange feeling that you've been somewhere before, but you haven't. Before Cas and I were...lovers, I had dreams about us, and specific details in those dreams have come to pass, though I didn't realize it until after the fact." She blushed scarlet, but since the priest was so inquisitive, she related a few examples until he was blushing as deeply as she was. "Then a few nights ago we went out, just the two of us, to the festhall for dinner in one of the private rooms. Nevalle said we needed a break from our duties, at least for an evening, and he had made the arrangements."
The priest frowned disapprovingly though he tried to hide it. "Casavir and Nevalle are much friendlier these days."
Sir Nevalle in fact had decided that as there wasn't anyone else of his station at the Keep, that he should take his tall, dark, handsome, but socially awkward cousin under his wing, and so he and Casavir had formed an awkward friendship. She shrugged off the priest's disapproval. "Sure Nevalle can be a bit of a snob, but he's alright. He even approves of me, though he teases me and calls me his rustic cousin. Anyway, we took the room for the night. It was very pretty, all done up in shades of red. There was a small table set for two with candles and a big vase of roses on it, and a bed with red satin sheets and more rose petals sprinkled across it. And the room was decorated with these pictures hung on every wall that the widow got from somewhere in the east judging by the faces, showing couples in...unusual positions...things I sure never imagined, and Cas either. Anyway, we couldn't help but look at them while we ate and after we finished, we decided to try something new."
What really surprised her was that it had been Casavir's idea. He blushed furiously and hesitated when they first entered the room, but she took his hand and squeezed it while nuzzling his cheek in a way he loved. Seeing that she wasn't embarrassed he relaxed too while they ate, eventually joking with her about the impossibility of some of the positions, but how some of them had definite possibilities. He pointed to one that had particularly intrigued him, and he slipped his arm around her narrow waist, drew her close, and whispered, "I would like us to try that...if you don't mind?" She didn't mind. They skipped dessert. What triggered her memory was when he murmured that he was glad she was so flexible but the satin sheets were so slippery he was afraid they would fall off the bed. She gasped and broke away, and Casavir broke away immediately, concerned that he had hurt her. She told him about the dream. She explained "You see, it was the specific words and the red sheets that I remembered from the dream, not to mention the..."
The priest coughed and interrupted. "Yes, I see your point. However, did you ever have dreams of Casavir before you met him? To me that would be the true test."
She poured herself another goblet and leaned back, draping her other arm over the back of the chair. "This has to be the last one, Brother. I'm feeling it, and they're never gonna believe I got drunk with the priest. But to answer your question, yes, I think Imighthave dreamed about those beautiful blue eyes. I'll have to think about it though I'll probably end up talking myself into it. The first dream I do remember was when he was still only a good friend and I had no idea I had feelings like that for him. For so long he was simply one of my companions, and I always trusted he had my back, but frankly, I wondered more than once whose job it was at the temple to shove a stick up paladins' backsides."
He chuckled, leaned close and whispered, "It's the Prior's job. Go on. Tell me what changed."
She closed her eyes and smiled thinking about it. "Cas grew on me slowly. During my trial I came to understand how good a friend to me he really was, much more than I had ever been to him, and I was ashamed and resolved to change that. And afterwards I saw how kind and gentle and quietly generous he was, and my feelings began to alter, until I discovered one day that they had become the very opposite of what they were when he first joined us. So I had to let him know. You know how he is. He probably still wouldn't have worked up the nerve." She looked in his eyes and sighed. "And Brother, I've had such happy dreams about our future, dreams about us with a home and a family, that it saddened me to wake up."
He smiled kindly and patted her knee again. "I can see you care for him deeply. Bear in mind that the future can change, Captain, based on our choices in life. You've seen that your dreams can change. If the gods are speaking to you through them, surely seeing images of a happy life is a sign you're not meant to end your life under a pile of rocks. I would take that dream as a warning to take precautions. For now I advise you to continue to seek guidance from our Lord."
She fumbled with a pouch at her belt and drew a scroll out of it. "I do, Brother, and I try to have faith that our lives will get a whole lot more boring after this. But I also have to be ready in case..." She frowned, drifted off and handed the priest the scroll. "'Tis my will. Nevalle suggested while he was showing me sketches he made for my wedding gown that I update mine as he had done, and he was beside himself when I told him I didn't even have one. Threw a hissy fit about my bein' irresponsible. It never even occurred to me. But he's right, I'm a wealthy woman, and I've got fourteen wards now..."
She put her face in her hands again. "Gods, Brother, how did I ever become a guardian for fourteen orphans? I want to see to their education and see that their apprenticeships are paid for, though Wolf's near a man and comes of age on his next birthday. I already gave my harvest cloak, a long sword, and one of Shandra's Duskwood bows to him, and I'm gonna see if Daeghun agrees he's got the stuff to be a ranger."
The priest nodded. "You'll be happy to hear then that young Deke told me after school yesterday he has an interest in joining the church, and I agreed he was a capable lad, so that's one less you have to worry about."
She raised an eyebrow while she poured out the rest of the bottle into her goblet. "Deke a priest? I can see that. I'll pay for his schoolin' at the temple college then. I've apprenticed two of 'em to Jacoby and Edario, two to my master of horse, and I've left them all a little something when their apprenticeship ends. The Widow Jons told me Sela talked to her about workin' at the festhall, startin' out as a maid after school, but also learning...the craft. She's only thirteen...But the Widow says she thinks she's called to the silk world, and she swore by Sharess the girl won't receive customers until she's of age." Dee shrugged and shook her head. "'Tis not a life I would choose...but then I can't imagine bein' with a man I wasn't attracted to. Let's see...Nevalle's quite taken with little Cassia and wants to make her his ward. I agreed, it's a better life for her than training to be a lady's maid, but I left her something too. All my other bequests are for my companions and the house staff."
He read it over and let her make her changes then signed it after she did and sanded the signatures. "I'll put this in the temple vault. As a precaution, one of the acolytes will make a copy to send to the temple in Neverwinter."
She next handed him over a pouch of gold and gems. "This'll pay for resurrection spells for any of my companions who..." He nodded grimly and took the pouch as she swallowed hard and stood, stumbling just a bit. "All righty then. I'll take my leave, Brother. I'll say one thing for that brew of yours. It'll make court much more interesting."
He chuckled and walked her to the door. "I am available anytime you feel a need to talk, Captain. Don't hold these things inside you." He walked her to the main door of the temple and watched her as she ambled off, the bear and the paladin waiting anxiously outside for her and coming to join her.
Dee took a deep breath of freedom once she stepped outside the temple into the cloudy afternoon. She ruffled Cillian's fur then gave Casavir a fond kiss. "Well that's done. Your turn now, love. Don't worry though, I finished the whole bottle of that nasty stuff for you. Didn't leave a drop." She winked and gave him another kiss.
Casavir broke away reluctantly and suppressed a sigh. "So you did. Very well, I'll see you at supper tonight." He gave her a last longing look then opened the door and walked into the cool darkness of the temple.
Dee ruffled Cillian's fur again, and the bear looked at her expectantly. "Come on, my love. Let's go find my father."
Casavir faced the altar and made the sign of Tyr as the door closed behind him. He entered the door that led to a narrow hallway where the temple offices were. He was met by a thin, dark haired acolyte seated at a desk outside Brother Ivarr's office. The acolyte looked up at him and said just above a whisper, "Brother Ivarr requests that you wait while he finishes some paperwork."
Casavir wasn't sure if he should feel relieved that his interrogation was put on hold or dismayed that he would have to wait longer. "Of Course, Brother Farrin. I shall be in the meditation chamber until he is ready for me." He bowed curtly and turned on his heel.
Brother Ivarr was just finishing a letter to Lord Nasher, who had sent word through one of his most trusted advisors to charge the priest with determining whether Lady Farlong was becoming too ambitious and by implication, becoming a threat to Neverwinter (and written between the implied lines, to Nasher himself). Sir Nevalle had heard the rumor and dutifully reported it, though he told Lord Nasher he didn't believe a word of it. Thus Lord Nasher was forced to rely upon his second most trusted advisor to send the letter to the priest with orders to observe her and report his findings. Brother Ivarr had already written of what he had observed over the previous tendays.
He finished by writing in summary, "Contrary to the rumors, Lady Farlong is loyal to Neverwinter and to you to a fault. She has resigned herself to laying down her life in Neverwinter's service, and should she survive, she doesn't have any ambition that I can detect other than marrying her betrothed and becoming a happy mother. However, I am more concerned with the source of this and other rumors circulating around the Keep. It is clear to me that some agent of the enemy is trying to undermine morale here, which had been very high. I will seek our Lord in prayer on the matter and speak with Lady Farlong's chief of security Neeshka privately about my concerns as she isn't accompanying them to the ruins of West Harbor. Yours in Service, I remain your humble servant."
He signed his name with a flourish and scattered sand on the paper then shook it off and folded and sealed it. He waddled over to the door and poked his head out. "Farrin, I have a missive which must be sent to Neverwinter with today's dispatches. See it is sent with the monks, then show Casavir in."
Dee followed Daeghun's tracks and Cillian's nose and found her father in the woods just outside of the Keep where he was gathering suitable branches to craft into arrows. When she was still across a clearing she made the low croaking call of the ruby-throated swamp raven. He looked around and seemed alarmed momentarily then smiled tightly at her. "Well met, Dierdre. I could hear someone coming. You must not forget your training, and it's also not wise for you to come out here alone."
She shrugged and was tempted to point out her drunken state but thought better of it as that would only prove his point. "Yeah, but Cill's with me and had no trouble following your scent, and for that matter, I found your trail easily enough. How are you, father?"
His nostrils flared as he caught the scent of the liquor on her breath. "Is something troubling you, Dierdre?"
Standing there facing him she began to feel her resolve melt like butter left in the sun, so she lied to avoid embarrassing them both with an emotional scene. "I've been talking with the priest of Tyr all afternoon, and when I finished I felt like going for a walk, and then I spotted your tracks. I've had little time to talk with you since you got here, and we leave for West Harbor in the morning."
He tensed at the implication that this might be the last time they had to talk together. "Be on your guard there, daughter. You have seen how noxious the claimed lands are to life already. Do not linger any longer than is necessary. It will be tempting to look for survivors or mementos."
She cut him off. "I'm beyond that, father. I don't think there's any survivors to be found, and I don't even know if this is going to work. But I have to trust that the gods will show us the way. After all, they're the ones who chose me for this. I..." She looked at the ground trying to find the words. "While I'm gone, could you do me a favor? There's a boy here who goes by 'Wolf.' You may have seen him around the Keep."
Daeghun set the bundle of sticks he had gathered on the ground. "I have seen him. He also makes a habit of going off into the wilds alone, though he's quick and silent and knows how to hide, and he leaves hardly a mark of his passing."
Dee grinned. "Yeah, he's not half bad for a city-raised lad, though I s'pose hidin' and movin' quietly was useful there too." She got to the point. "He's a ranger, I think, though he's not sure yet. But he told me one day he thought he saw the Unicorn, just a fleeting glimpse mind you. He's a good lad, and I was thinkin' mayhap a someday Harper recruit too."
He nodded at her unspoken request that he watch over the boy until he was skilled enough to go out on his own. "I will show him how to make arrows when I am finished with my other duties, among other things." He stood there and watched her, a slight breeze toying with his flowing hair.
She considered how ageless he looked now, but she had seen him when he bore the full weight of his years. An idea which had germinated while she talked with the priest and grew while she sought Daeghun now burst into full bloom. She charged ahead before she lost her resolve again. "My companion Elanee isn't going with us. We're teleporting and Aldanon thought it best we take a small party, and Zhjaeve is going. El's been trying to find her way since...since we returned from the Mere. It can't be easy for her losing everyone she was raised with or seeing how easily they were turned into dark druids. I had an idea to help her, but I could use your help too."
He said evenly, watching her eyes, "What did you have in mind?"
She dropped to her haunches and put her arm around Cillian, trying to avoid eye contact with her foster father. "I've been trying to get shrines built for all the good gods at the Keep, and I think it would help her to have a shrine to Silvanus. She has mentioned it before, and we had one of the stone carvers make a small image for her. But not there at the Keep, out here in the wild. She has a favorite place she flies to when she needs to get away. 'Tis over that second hill." She pointed into the distance. "Mayhap she could plant a new druid grove too in time. Could you help her? I know you're busy, but it would give her a more formal place to commune with her god and help her heal."
"That's a good idea, Dierdre." If he was aware of any hidden agenda, he didn't show it. "I will find her and speak to her about it when we return to the Keep. Are you ready to return now? We can walk back together."
"Yes, I still have last minute arrangements to make before we leave. Some of my companions are still deciding if they're going or not." She frowned, thinking about Bishop reverting to his old line, "Maybe I will, and maybe I won't." She reminded herself he had been much more helpful lately though, and she was sure he would be there in the morning making Sand grumble about having to adjust the spell for his weight.
They walked through the trees with Daeghun taking the lead and Cillian stopping on occasion when he found something tasty to eat. Dee allowed herself a triumphant grin while Daeghun's back was turned. She considered briefly the age difference between her foster father and Elanee but shrugged it off. They were elves and would take things slowly, even with Dee's clumsy matchmaking. She was pleased with herself. She had seen to Bevil, gently pushing him towards Katriona's eager arms, and if she could help her father find happiness again it was worth it if she had to give up her own life.