"There it is," Felder said from his place in the rigging beside Kane, sneering as though the words left a bad taste in his mouth. They looked down on the kingdom of Elfheim as the wounded ship limped into the harbor after nearly six days at sea. The damaged rudder had added two days to their journey. If not for the perfect winds, which the men all attributed to Shipman for whatever superstitious reasons, the trip would have taken far longer.

"Is it really as bad as all that?" Kane asked. "It looks gorgeous from here." The elves were renowned the world over for their connection to the land, a connection that was evident even from the harbor. The village surrounding the docks, with its buildings of rough-hewn logs, looked as if it had grown there. The streets were cobbled stone, and everywhere there were flowers. His mind conjured up a memory of the gardens at Cornelia Castle, and of a crown of yellow roses on top of yellow hair.

"Aye, and fire's pretty from the outside, but you won't catch me sitting in it," said Cole from his place in the crow's nest above them. Kane immediately thought of Jack, then felt bad about it. The mage had been trying so hard not to let the pirates see his face, successfully thus far, even if he'd had to miss a few meals to do it. "Nor will you catch me setting foot outside of the harbor town."

The harbor town had no name: it was technically part of Elfheim, though many miles removed from the rest of the city to discourage outsiders from visiting. Not that they planned to stay long in either the harbor or the city itself, just visible on the horizon beyond the dense forest. Kane's father was convinced the Warriors of Light were needed in the city-state of Melmond where he had grown up. The crew had told many tales of the dreadful plague they had seen when they were last there. Jack, who had spent several weeks in Melmond before sailing to Cornelia, knew nothing of such a disease, but said people often went missing in the night. Whatever the case, the ship wouldn't make it to the Aldean Pass or to Melmond beyond without a new rudder. They had originally planned to make only a quick stop in Elfheim, but now it looked as if they might be stuck there until repairs could be made.

Still, Cole and Felder hadn't been the only members of the crew to state that they would on no account visit the elven capital. "We've been on this ship for days!" Kane said. "You're not itching to get off of it? To go out and see some bit of the world? I thought that's why people took to a life at sea?"

"This bit of the world doesn't want to see us. They're about as far from Safe Port as you can get without sailing off to Leviathan's kingdom beyond," said Felder.

Kane looked at him, but nothing in the dark-skinned pirate's face indicated he was less than serious. "I thought Safe Port was a myth?"

"Look at the landsman over here," Cole laughed, reaching down to pat Kane's head. Kane swatted him away, rolling his eyes. No matter how much the pirates had taught him about sailing these past few days, or how naturally he'd taken to working the sails, he would always be a landsman, or so the pirates said.

"Elves don't take kindly to outsiders. They'll stab you in the back as soon as look at you," said Felder.

"That's not true," Kane said. "Cornelia has always had great relations with Elfheim. We trade…" He couldn't remember. His lessons alongside Sarah seemed a lifetime ago. "Something. I don't know. Economics was never my best subject. But I've never heard anything about them being as violent as you say."

"Well, they wouldn't be to you, my lord. But things are different for pirates."

"Felder!" Cole hissed.

Kane kept his eyes on the forest that separated the harbor from the capital - the lush, green barrier that gave the citizens of Elfheim the illusion that they were alone in the world - and counted silently to ten before he spoke. "I've asked you not to call me that. The title isn't hereditary."

Felder hung his head, suddenly preoccupied with a bit of fluff on his collar. "You did mention it. I'm sorry. It's just… the way you talk sometimes, it's plain you were raised in a castle, that's all."

"He didn't mean anything by it," said Cole.

"It's fine," said Kane. He heard his father calling from below, and when he looked down, the others were gathered on the deck. Lena waved up at him, smiling. "I need to go. Take care of the ship."

"You and your lordly father just see about getting us our supplies and we will," said Felder. "Be safe, landsman."

PART II: Where Dark Mages Hide

Lena stumbled somewhat on the road to Elfheim. After so many days at sea, she was having trouble getting used to walking on solid ground again. It had happened before, when she sailed from Onlac to Cornelia. She hoped Jack wasn't bothered by the way she held to his arm, but then, the mage had offered it to her, as was his habit. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to her anyway.

"No, I'm telling you, just look for a bit of aether that's already shaped like Sleep and cast it from there," said Refial from Jack's other side, gesturing expansively at the invisible aether as he spoke.

Jack seemed confused, or maybe frustrated... Lena thought she was getting better at reading his subtle emotions, but she still found it difficult. He replied, "But that makes no sense. It's just aether! It doesn't have a shape! That's why we have to shape it."

"What's this, then?"

Lena felt a flare of surprise. Jack inhaled sharply, shaking his free hand as though he'd touched something hot. "Hey!"

"Or this?" asked Refial, radiating good humor.

One of Jack's legs buckled under him, but he caught himself and kept walking. She was sure she felt embarrassment there. "Stop that!" he growled.

"But you saw it, right? Tell me you saw it."

"Maybe it did somewhat resemble-" The taller mage flinched as though he'd been punched in the arm and grumbled in frustration. "Alright! Alright! Lay off!"

She ducked her head so he wouldn't see her smile. It wasn't that she enjoyed seeing him ruffled, but, well, it was nice to see him display any emotion at all.

She became aware of Thad behind her, a tight, tiny bundle of discontent he was trying not to show. She remembered what the witch had said to her. I shouldn't try to fix it, she thought. Not unless he asks. But his thoughts were like a burr between her shoulder blades, so hard to ignore. "Excuse me," she said, letting go of Jack. He nodded absently to her, busy listening intently to whatever Refial was saying about the spell. The two of them walked on as she waited for the others.

None of them seemed to be having any trouble adjusting to being on land again. Thad and Kane walked ahead of Redden and Orin, Kane once more in the red armor he hadn't worn aboard the ship. Thadius might have wobbled a bit as he walked, but that was nothing compared to how Lena felt. She fell into step beside him, asking, "Are you alright, Thadius? You seem down."

The boy shrugged. "I just don't see why he had to come with us."

Kane grunted agreement. There was no need to specify which "he" Thadius meant. Ahead of them, Refial gestured, and Jack protested as the spell hit him again. Despite Jack's obvious irritation, Thad was jealous.

As she considered what she might say to the boy, Kane asked, "What are those two doing?"

"It's a variation of Sleep," Lena said. "I understand it causes a sort of pins-and-needles sensation, but it's harmless."

Kane watched them argue for a time, then muttered, "Gods, Lena, you weren't kidding. They're just alike."

"I told you," she said.

At first glance, they had nothing in common. The flamboyant pirate, whose wardrobe filled a massive trunk in the ship's hold, was dressed today in a threadbare, ruffled shirt of a color that could only be described as exceedingly yellow. He liked nothing more than to hear himself speak, and flirted with Lena shamelessly despite having nearly ten years on her. Jack, on the other hand, always wore the same coat no matter the weather, and only spoke when he really had something to say.

Despite their differences though, the two were indeed a matched set. She was "my lady" to both of them, for they both had that funny, formal way of speaking, taking good manners to the extreme, and they shared a tendency to resort to sarcasm when those manners failed. Most of all, though, they could both see the aether. It was all they'd talked about these past four days: seeing the aether made someone a black mage, and Refial could see it. He'd just never known that's what he was seeing.

Poor Thadius had been altogether forgotten. As Thad was the only one among the Warriors of Light with more than passing experience on a ship, piloting the lame vessel beside the pirate crew had kept the boy too busy to continue the magic lessons Jack had started with him. She could feel his sadness and bitterness at being left out.

"I liked Jack better when he was shy," Thadius said.

Kane's amusement manifested in a handsome smile. He made a "tsk" sound in the back of his throat and said, "He's still shy. Wait 'til we get to town, around people he doesn't know. He'll clam right up."

He winked at Lena as he said it, perhaps waiting for her to protest, but she couldn't disagree. Jack had spent the first two days aboard ship avoiding the pirates, despite the close quarters, and was scarcely comfortable with any of them yet. If that sahagin attack hadn't forced him to speak to Refial, the two might be strangers still. Instead she said, "Oh, Thadius, don't say that. Refial needs him! You know he can't do anything but that… dratted… sleep spell." Which was true. Not only couldn't he seem to grasp drawing on the aether, but every spell Refial attempted reshaped itself into Sleep. Jack said it was unlike anything he'd ever heard of.

"Dratted? Really? That's the worst word you could think of?" said Kane.

She felt herself blushing and looked down at her sandaled feet. "It's the worst word I could think to say out loud."

Jack and Refial came to a stop in front of them, looking off into the trees. Jack muttered something, questioning, his hand extended toward the forest.

Refial smiled and nodded like an eager child, excitement blooming in him like a flower. "No, you've got it! Right there! See? Like finding a puzzle piece."

"You're kidding? This will never work!"

"It's close enough! Try it."

Jack flicked his hand toward Refial, but Lena sensed the mischief in him seconds before the pirate mage stepped fluidly out of the way. Beside her, Thadius flinched. She sensed no pain from him, but he was distinctly uncomfortable, transitioning quickly from surprise to anger. He clutched at his shoulder, spouting a string of nonsense syllables that sounded very much like Leifenish.

"Thadius Josiah Shipman! Where did you learn that?" Lord Redden asked from behind them. His tone reminded Lena of her own father's, and she could feel Kane's sudden anxiety at hearing it. The guardsman had taken a step behind her, perhaps unconsciously.

To his credit, Thadius knew he was in trouble. Eyes wide, he pointed deliberately at Jack.

"Jack!" Lord Redden growled.

"What? No! I didn't teach him that!"

"Where did he learn it then? He didn't blaspheme in a dead language on accident!"

"I… That is…" Jack looked pleadingly at Kane, but the guardsman shook his head.

"And you!" Redden said, turning his gaze on Refial. "I saw that little dance of yours just now. Do you think magic is a toy?"

Refial flushed from his ruffled collar up to his perfect hair. "Sir, I am a grown man, and I-"

"And if you think you're too grown up for me to make you pick your own switch, you'd better think again."

"Grown men only require bigger switches," Orin supplied helpfully, wrinkled face serene.

She felt Kane tugging on her sleeve, pulling her away. "We're just going to go on ahead, sir," he said.

Redden waved them off.

As they walked, Lord Redden began a lecture on "behavior unbecoming of a prophesied Warrior of Light" that made even her ears burn, but beside her, Kane seemed almost giddy. "And why are you so pleased, Kane Carmine?" she asked.

"Because I think that's the first time I haven't been on the receiving end of one of those tirades. When he gets a good lather up, he can go on for quite a long while."

She laughed. No wonder he turned out so well. Redden must have put the fear of Leviathan in him. Or the fear of Bahamut, I suppose. "Kane?"

"Hmm?"

"I do believe your father was enjoying himself just now."

He chuckled. "I don't doubt it."

She linked her arm through his, a small gesture that seemed natural after so many days in Jack's company, but Kane was surprised by it. He filled with a sudden warmth like a sunbeam, but the feeling withered quickly.

"Are you thinking of the princess?" she asked.

She felt his arm tense beneath her hand. "I hadn't heard that soul readers could read thoughts as well."

She shook her head. "Only a guess. You're thinking of someone you love, and you're sad that I'm not her. You weren't thinking about this person before I took your arm, so it must be someone who often walks about with you."

He looked down at her with his eyebrows raised then quickly focused on the road ahead. "Well," he said. "That's…" He cleared his throat. "That's a good guess."

She sensed embarrassment, and wondered why, but then her words came back to her: You're thinking of someone you love… She really needed to learn to think before she said things like that. How shocking it must be to hear someone else say the things we haven't admitted to ourselves. By way of changing the subject, she asked, "Was there anything in particular you were hoping to find in Elfheim?" She felt his relief at the new topic before she had even finished the question.

"No, not really, I just wanted to see it. I know Father plans to ask around to see if anyone has any news of Melmond. I thought I could help with that. And you? I understand you and the black mages have elaborate plans?"

"We're only picking up some potion supplies, and perhaps a few basic tools for Refial, but I suppose with him around, even that could be elaborate."

As though summoned by the mention of his name, Refial came up behind them, footsteps pounding as he ran to catch up. "My lady!" he said, bowing low. "Is this gentleman bothering you?"

She couldn't help laughing at how Kane rolled his eyes.

Perhaps I should have gone with Kane, Jack thought, walking a few paces behind Refial and Lena. The two of them talked like dear old friends as Refial pointed out the various architectural features around them. Well, Refial talked, at any rate. Lena smiled and nodded, looking wherever the pirate pointed. Jack didn't know the first thing about architecture, but Refial was either an expert or an excellent liar.

Elfheim was beautiful, like a garden in the middle of the forest, with shops and homes set among the trees as if they had sprouted there like mushrooms after a rain. The elves, a tall people with pointed ears and pointed chins, who claimed they were descended from the great goddess Asura herself, were polite if distant, but Jack couldn't help but feel that everyone was looking at him. It was an old discomfort that never entirely went away, particularly uncalled for at the moment: unlike in Cornelia, here in Elfheim they had already encountered several people dressed in black mage robes. No one gave Jack a second glance. In fact, with Refial there, Jack was practically invisible. The man warmly greeted every elf they passed, his shirt so unabashedly yellow that people stared in apparent disbelief. Jack saw nothing like that color among the locals; earth tones, he observed, were very fashionable among the people of Elfheim right now.

Invisible as he metaphorically was, he wondered if Lena would notice if he left. He looked up the street the way they came, wondering if he could still see the tavern Kane had pointed out before they separated, but all the buildings here looked alike to him, regardless of how Refial went on and on.

When he turned back, Lena was beside him, smiling quietly as if waiting for him to notice her. There was no sign of the yellow-clad pirate. "What happened to Refial?" he asked.

"In that shop. Asking for directions." She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and led him ever so slowly toward the shop she'd indicated, as though she were reluctant to reach it. "If you don't rescue me from his endless chatter, I believe I'm going to scream."

"Oh?" Jack said, studying her face in an effort to determine if she was joking. Her smile did seem a bit forced. His own was suddenly genuine, though she couldn't see it behind his scarf. "Are you not enjoying his company, my lady? I understand dashing pirates feature prominently in several of the more popular festival plays," he teased.

"None of the ones I prefer." She blushed at the admission then went on, "Jack, I can't handle all his empty prattle with so many people around. There's something odd going on here. The elves look happy, but they're not. They're suspicious and worried and they keep staring at me."

"I thought…" He looked around, at the people passing them in the street, going about their daily business. She was right: Lena was the one garnering the disbelieving stares he had at first assumed were being aimed at Refial. "I can take you back to the ship."

Lena shook her head. "They don't want to hurt me. They just don't know why I'm here. It's as if they've never seen a white mage before."

"Perhaps they haven't," Jack said. "Most elves can feel the aether, but very few ever develop the talents of a mage. I don't think they even call them mages here."

"That must be what it is." She sighed. "Still, there are a lot of people."

And she can feel every one of them, he thought. Trading twenty-odd people on a good sized ship for hundreds of people on a crowded city street? He patted her hand on his arm, unable to imagine what that must be like for her.

The shop door opened, and Refial backed out of it, leaning in to have one last word with the shopkeeper as he left, laughing as if he'd known the man for years. The pirate turned, spying them there, and glanced quickly between the two of them with exaggerated dismay. "My darling dove! I turn my back on you for five minutes and I find you on the arm of another man!"

"Says rather a lot about your company, don't you think?" Jack quipped. Refial laughed uproariously at that.

It was some time before they found the black magic shop they were looking for. Refial's directions were accurate, but the shop in question was set off from the main streets, behind several other buildings and more than a few trees. Smaller than the other shops they'd seen, with only a few small windows, it was dim as Jack followed Refial inside, pulling Lena along with him. Shelves lined the walls, full of boxes, bottles, and books, but the entire room seemed perfectly organized, with not scrap of paper out of place or a speck of dust to be seen.

The only thing that did seem out of place was the female soldier perched on the shop counter, chatting with the mage woman who worked behind it. The soldier wore brown leather armor over a green uniform, a sword belt resting on the counter beside her. Her blond hair was cropped short like a boy's, but her elven features were delicate, a small pointed nose over thin, pink lips. The other woman appeared to be her twin, though her hair was longer and hung down over an unadorned black robe.

As the door closed behind Jack and Lena, the armored woman quickly slid down from the counter, cutting short whatever she'd been saying to her companion.

"My lady!" Refial said, stepping forward to bow to her. "And my lady!" he said to the other. "A fine good morning to you both! I never expected to find such loveliness in such an out of the way shop!" He proceeded to shower the young women with compliments. The soldier arched an eyebrow at the attention, but the mage blushed prettily.

"Your suitor seems to have forgotten you," Jack murmured to Lena.

"So quickly cast aside!" she said, though her eyes clearly showed her amusement. "I never realized 'lady' was a title so easily attained."

He chuckled. "Not so easily as all that. I'll have no other lady but you." There was a moment, only a small moment, before his mind caught up with his mouth and the horror sank in. Holy Ramuh, what did I just say? He looked at a shelf of books on the other side of the room, sure she could feel his mortification.

Refial filled the silence. "...looking to expand my horizons, you know how it is. Make a serious go of this black magic business. And you, darling? How long have you been running this most excellent shop?"

The mage woman giggled as she answered him.

How does he speak to them so easily? Jack thought, not for the first time. Here he'd said only a handful of words and he wanted the world to open up and swallow him.

"Excuse me, miss?" the soldier said. She'd approached while Jack had been distracted, and stood before Lena now, with her sword and belt bundled together in her hand. "Are you a devout?"

Lena seemed confused.

"I believe that's what they call white mages," Jack said, helpfully.

"Oh! Then, yes, I suppose I am," said Lena. "Is that alright?"

"Very. I..." She looked back, but her sister - it had to be her sister - seemed enthralled with Refial. "I have need of a healer. A skilled one. It's a matter of life and death. Can you help?"

"Of course!" Lena said. "I had noticed there didn't seem to be many white mages - excuse me, devouts - around town." Lena regarded the soldier appraisingly. "You have no need of a healer yourself. Is it for a family member?"

"No, not any relation of mine, but it is someone I… someone many people consider dear. There would be considerable reward in it for you."

White mages don't care about rewards, Jack thought. Something about the woman's request didn't sit well with him. "If this person is so dear, why have your own devouts not taken care of him?" he asked. Lena's fingers twitched against his arm, as though she didn't approve of the question, but he didn't care.

The woman's eyes darted about, making Jack all the more suspicious. "They've tried. None have succeeded."

"Can I ask the nature of the ailment?" Lena said, her voice smaller than it had been before, gentler.

The woman hesitated, and when she spoke, her voice was tight. "I cannot say."

"Perhaps I could speak to one of the other devouts?"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." The woman wouldn't even look at them now, staring at her feet as she spoke. "There is some… some risk involved, but I swear to you, miss, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. There are others who will do the same. You'll be in no danger if I can help it."

"The other devouts," Jack said. "What happened to them?" Lena moved closer to his side, but said nothing.

The woman repeated, "I cannot say."

"Then we cannot help you." He took a step toward Refial, still oblivious at the counter, but was brought up short by the weight of Lena on his arm, for she made no move to follow him.

"Would you excuse us for a moment, please?" Lena said to the woman, then, raising her voice, said, "Refial, we'll be outside." The pirate waved vaguely, caught up in his conversation. Jack let her pull him along through the door out into the street again leaving Refial and the two women in the shop. There were fewer people in this part of town, and the shop was in an alcove set back from the small street, but still those few people who did pass by stared curiously at them - or rather, at Lena - as they went.

"I'm going to help that woman," she said, facing him down with those wide, green eyes, her arms crossed as if she expected an argument. She trembled, though, and the sight of it made Jack feel like an ogre for making her confront him at all.

He kept his body turned at an angle so he wouldn't seem to loom over her so much; even with her back defiantly straight, she didn't reach his shoulders. He took a deep breath, focused on keeping his voice level, and said, "My lady, did I miss something? I don't have to be a soul reader to know that there was something suspicious going on in there."

"You didn't feel what I felt." Lena started to say more, but seemed to have trouble finding the words. Her shoulders slumped as she looked away. "She was telling the truth. I don't only feel emotions. I can tell when someone is lying." She fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable to reveal this to him, unaware that the witch had told him already.

"Why should that matter to me?" he asked.

She sighed, flashing him a thankful smile. "People wear lies like masks sometimes. They don't like to know I can see past all that. I've… I've lost more than a few friendships over it." She twirled a strand of her hair idly, still not looking at him. "Please, don't tell the others."

"I won't," he said. "But just because someone's telling the truth doesn't mean they're not hiding something," Jack said, thinking silently, I should know. From his own past to his suspicions of Lena's black magic abilities, the list of secrets he wasn't telling her seemed to grow longer by the day.

"That's just it. She wanted to tell us. I could feel it. When she said she couldn't say, she meant it. Something was preventing her, some oath or spell, I don't know. But she was telling the truth: someone needs a healer, desperately. A matter of life and death, she said."

"My lady," he said, but his tone was too strong, too argumentative.

She cut him off with a sharp, "Jack."

He tried again, gentler this time, "Lena..." The use of her name seemed to startle her into listening. "She also said there were risks, risks which she declined to disclose. You already have the fate of the world on your shoulders, remember? You're a Warrior of Light!"

"And why is that, do you suppose?" She spoke calmly, but firmly. "I've been thinking about it a lot since Pravoka. Why would the gods choose a Warrior who can't fight? Do you think they expected me to follow you boys around so you'd have something to protect? Or do you think maybe they chose a white mage because I'm destined to heal somebody?" She turned back toward the shop door, not even looking to see if he followed.

He said a phrase that would have earned him another lecture from Lord Redden, then went in after her, wondering how he would tell her that the gods may not have chosen a white mage after all.

It was easily the nicest tavern Thad had ever seen, but he tried not to appear impressed. That was one way to set yourself up as an easy mark - to look like you didn't belong - but it was hard when there was so much to see here. The elves had had only one material to work with in abundance here in this forest, and they had taken it to the extreme. The floors, the tables, the bartop: all were of a dark wood, polished until it gleamed like mirrors. The exposed beams of the ceiling were covered, every inch of them, in elaborate carvings of elvish history. Even the mug and plate in front of him were made of wood.

Still, it was only a tavern, Thad told himself, and all taverns were alike. There was the sad man at the bar drinking some grief away, there were the serving girls who thought he was a cute little boy and who could probably be talked out of an extra helping from the kitchen, and there were the men in the corner playing a card game very like Over Onion Knight but with different suits than he was used to. Of course, he couldn't stop staring at the live tree growing up through the tavern's center, leafing out through a hole in the roof. No matter how often he tried to ignore it, his eyes kept wandering back.

"It's really growing there," Kane said for at least the third time, his voice hushed with awe.

"Yup," Thad said, watching a bird flit about the uppermost branches.

"Stop staring, you two," Redden said. "You're only attracting attention."

Thad glanced about. The people of Elfheim, who weren't keen on visitors, were far too polite to stare, but Thad noticed the way their eyes flicked disapprovingly at their table. He sighed and lowered his gaze to his plate, which was empty, the lunch of roast vegetables already eaten. There had been a bread roll too, crisp on the outside, light and fluffy inside, all gone now. "How much longer is this going to take?" he asked, trying very hard not to whine.

Orin, who never did eat much and had spent the past hour sipping a small cup of tea, reached across the table to place his own uneaten roll on Thad's plate. "Cultivate your patience, young master Shipman. One cannot rush time on to suit oneself."

"Matoya could," Thad pointed out before stuffing half the roll into his mouth.

"And when you have lived as long as the witch Matoya, you will have earned the right." The monk smiled, and when Orin smiled his eyes always scrunched up small in his wrinkled face, making them look as if they were closed. "But it seems our waiting has paid off." He nodded toward the bar, where a man who had just come in was speaking to the barkeep. The barkeep pointed at Lord Redden, and the man came toward them.

Redden had said they were waiting for a half-elven man, the bastard son of a former Cornelian ambassador whose relations with an elven peasant had caused a scandal on both sides of the Aldean Sea. This man certainly looked half-elven: he had the height of an elf, being perhaps a hair taller than Jack, and he had the pointed ears, but not the pointed face. His chin was wide, set in a square jaw. "You the man asking after Melmond?" he asked.

"I am," Redden said, gesturing to the empty chair beside him at the end of the table.

The half-elf waved to a serving girl as he sat down. "Whatever they're having," he told her. When she'd gone again, he waited, raising an eyebrow at Redden, until the bard retrieved a small coin pouch from his bag and set it on the table with a clink. The half-elf pocketed it, nodded and said, "First thing I can tell you is the Rot has returned."

"You're sure?" said Redden.

The man nodded. "Worse than ever. It's even crossed the Mondmer. North and west of here, several of the groves have turned to swamp. The king's worried it'll reach Elfheim proper."

Thad knew the Mondmer was the wide gulf between the Aldean Pass and the city of Melmond. "What's the Rot?" he whispered to Kane.

"Some kind of blight. It hit Melmond hard more than twenty years ago, killed the crops. People starved," Kane said quickly, seeming in a hurry to turn his attention back to Redden and the half-elf.

Redden asked a question then, but Thad didn't hear it, distracted by the men playing cards in the corner, exclaiming loudly over some unlikely hand. One of the men laughed as another swept a pile of coins toward him, the winnings. A third threw his cards on the table with a derisive snort.

He heard the half-elf mention plague, and focused once more on his own table. "...speculations that it's just the Rot, but spreading to people now." He stopped when the serving girl brought out another plate of roasted vegetables and a mug of the same wine Redden had had with his own meal.

Redden waited for the girl to walk away before he asked, "What do the white mages say?"

"Precious little, I'm afraid. Seems they were the first to succumb to it. One of my father's servants tells me he had a letter from Lord Leiden begging him to send a few from Elfheim, but we had none to spare."

"What of the Devouts at the temple of Asura?" said Redden. "I once heard a priest at White Hall speak very highly of their skill."

"Gone," said the half-elf, taking a few bites of the roasted vegetables.

"Gone?" said Redden. "Gone where?"

"I cannot say. The official word is that they are still alive, but there are… rumors…" The man shrugged. "I haven't seen one in more than four years."

"What else do these rumors say?"

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you." The half-elf raised his mug, as though making some sort of toast, and downed most of it in one long drink. "I assume you are familiar with the Divine Right of Kings we adhere to in this kingdom? Even a half-breed like myself is not immune from its effects."

"I believe I catch your meaning, sir," Redden said, looking grave.

"Very good." The man took one last bite of the food on his plate, then pushed back from the table. "Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure," he said, pressing the fingers of one hand to his forehead in a sort of informal bow before walking away.

Thad reached across Kane for the half-elf's abandoned plate, tucking in with relish. Kane, he noticed, went for the remains of the man's wine. "That was a waste of coin," Kane said. "What good is a source who doesn't know anything?"

"He didn't say he didn't know anything. He said he couldn't tell us," said Redden, drumming his fingers on the table.

"What difference does that make?"

"The Divine Right of Kings. You heard him mention it? All elves are bound by blood to obey their king. It's a powerful spell." Redden seemed cross - not like he had been when he yelled at Thad, Jack, and Refial on the road to Elfheim, but a quieter anger, the kind that boiled beneath the surface, the kind of anger Thad had seen too often in his own father before Pappy had come for him. It meant someone was due for a beating. "When he said he couldn't tell us anything, it was because the king has ordered his people not to speak of it." He stood and walked away, leaving the rest of them at the table as he waved to a serving girl to settle the bill.

Thad hurried to finish the vegetables since it seemed they were about to leave, but he considered Redden's words. He replayed the conversation in his mind, trying to remember what the half-elf had been talking about when he wasn't talking about it. "What was that man saying about the white mages?" he asked.

Kane suddenly choked on the wine, slamming the cup down hard on the tabletop. "Confound it!" he said, running for the door.

"Wait!" Thad called after him. He looked across the table at Orin, who continued to sip from his small teacup as though nothing had happened.

"Let him go, young master Shipman. We will follow in short order," said the monk.

"But where was he going?" Thad asked.

"To find Lena."

Author's Note, 7/29/16: It's been a busy summer. I don't know if I've mentioned previously, but in real life, I'm a librarian, and the summer reading program is basically the hardest dungeon boss ever. Like, you can grind enough experience to be prepared for this thing. It all comes down to RNG. But! In all that time, I did manage to "finish" writing part ii of this story (as soon as my librarian friend helps me edit it). I've worked really hard on it and can't wait for you guys to read it!
I had a little trouble figuring out what my heroes were doing in Elfheim. If you've played the game and you know how the plot rolls out, you're aware that there is literally no reason to go to Elfheim except that you can't go anywhere else. In the game, the pass out of the Aldean Sea is blocked and only by completing the Elfheim side-quest can you get the item you need to unblock it. How does one work a side-quest into a narrative in a believable way? It was a puzzle.
This little side-quest takes up the next ten chapters, which will be posting on time, every Friday, for the next ten weeks guaranteed (yay!). After that, I make no promises.