why Zal can never return to Alfheim.
I knew there was a reason it wasn’t so bad to kill you , Lila sighed.
It is not a good idea to be powerful yet valueless , Tath said sharply. I am surprised the school of politics, economics, and international relations lets you out alone.
The simmering tension between them disappeared. Lila reckoned they were about equal. What do I do now, then?
It is entirely up to you , Tath said. But if you plan not to slay your would-be murderer you will need to neutralise them some other way.
You could talk to them.
I could, but then they have power over you, by being able to betray me to anyone here. Knowledge is power and whatever you have over someone else you should use only when it may be lethally employed. Value. You would be a fool to hand over knowledge without a great cause and this is not one. You will have to deal with it yourself.
Lila groaned inwardly, resenting Tath’s schoolteacher primness and hating the fact that he was right. “Hey you,” she said to the shadow elf. “What’s your name?” She didn’t expect an answer and didn’t get one. “Great,” she said to them. “And while you’re at it don’t thank me for saving you from drowning when you were ready to finish me off. Speaking of which, why were you trying to shoot me? Oh, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. It hardly matters. But if you have any tips for getting you into safe custody before everyone else here decides to barbeque you for dinner, that’d be handy.”
The elf took a small, shuddering breath and spoke a word. The world went pitch black and utterly silent. Lila did not lessen her grip. The net held. The prisoner cursed.
Light and sound banishing , Tath said. That takes a lot of aether. Just hang on. It will get tired before you do. At least there is one advantage to your mundanity.
She was almost dry by now but she felt even colder in the absolute darkness. She closed her eyes and when the elf moved she tightened her grip until it could barely breathe enough to live. After a long time the glowing lights of the landing began to glimmer faintly, or she imagined them, but then the Bathshebat night returned, soft and full of the sound of insects and many kinds of music.
If you want to get your answers, wait for dawn.
But Lila was bored of waiting. She used the net to tightly truss up the elf, paying no attention to what it looked like, and then with one hand caught in the tough webbing she dragged it behind her towards the door. The landing area was flat, smooth stone, so it would not be too painful. However, before she reached the door she realised that she had nowhere to save this person, nowhere to put them. The house did not have cellars due to being built on pilings, and although it retained a traditional Catchment where trespassers against the family could wait for justice, she didn’t think that leaving an elf to the passing whims of a nest of demons was wise. She was lost in thought, staring out across the lagoon, when she noticed the coloured smokes rising from the Yboret Souk where aetheric trading went on. Somewhere down there would be a demon good at casting who would sell spells.
As Tath saw the idea forming in Lila’s mind he bubbled with misgiving but she ignored him. “It’s a good idea,” she said, annoyed at how defensive she sounded.
It is a lousy idea , he said. Even going there is a lousy idea that stands out in the brief yet terrifying history of lousy ideas you have had since I have known you. Naturally, since you have no magical awareness and almost no cultural sense here you will go immediately to the highly sensitive area of aetheric business dealings and attempt to duel wits with some of this world’s most powerful and no doubt unscrupulous mages. You have a lot to hide, mostly me, so of course we must go straight to the place where we are most likely to be discovered and all because you cannot be bothered to wait two hours until the light of the sun
I knew there was a reason it wasn’t so bad to kill you , Lila sighed.
It is not a good idea to be powerful yet valueless , Tath said sharply. I am surprised the school of politics, economics, and international relations lets you out alone.
The simmering tension between them disappeared. Lila reckoned they were about equal. What do I do now, then?
It is entirely up to you , Tath said. But if you plan not to slay your would-be murderer you will need to neutralise them some other way.
You could talk to them.
I could, but then they have power over you, by being able to betray me to anyone here. Knowledge is power and whatever you have over someone else you should use only when it may be lethally employed. Value. You would be a fool to hand over knowledge without a great cause and this is not one. You will have to deal with it yourself.
Lila groaned inwardly, resenting Tath’s schoolteacher primness and hating the fact that he was right. “Hey you,” she said to the shadow elf. “What’s your name?” She didn’t expect an answer and didn’t get one. “Great,” she said to them. “And while you’re at it don’t thank me for saving you from drowning when you were ready to finish me off. Speaking of which, why were you trying to shoot me? Oh, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. It hardly matters. But if you have any tips for getting you into safe custody before everyone else here decides to barbeque you for dinner, that’d be handy.”
The elf took a small, shuddering breath and spoke a word. The world went pitch black and utterly silent. Lila did not lessen her grip. The net held. The prisoner cursed.
Light and sound banishing , Tath said. That takes a lot of aether. Just hang on. It will get tired before you do. At least there is one advantage to your mundanity.
She was almost dry by now but she felt even colder in the absolute darkness. She closed her eyes and when the elf moved she tightened her grip until it could barely breathe enough to live. After a long time the glowing lights of the landing began to glimmer faintly, or she imagined them, but then the Bathshebat night returned, soft and full of the sound of insects and many kinds of music.
If you want to get your answers, wait for dawn.
But Lila was bored of waiting. She used the net to tightly truss up the elf, paying no attention to what it looked like, and then with one hand caught in the tough webbing she dragged it behind her towards the door. The landing area was flat, smooth stone, so it would not be too painful. However, before she reached the door she realised that she had nowhere to save this person, nowhere to put them. The house did not have cellars due to being built on pilings, and although it retained a traditional Catchment where trespassers against the family could wait for justice, she didn’t think that leaving an elf to the passing whims of a nest of demons was wise. She was lost in thought, staring out across the lagoon, when she noticed the coloured smokes rising from the Yboret Souk where aetheric trading went on. Somewhere down there would be a demon good at casting who would sell spells.
As Tath saw the idea forming in Lila’s mind he bubbled with misgiving but she ignored him. “It’s a good idea,” she said, annoyed at how defensive she sounded.
It is a lousy idea , he said. Even going there is a lousy idea that stands out in the brief yet terrifying history of lousy ideas you have had since I have known you. Naturally, since you have no magical awareness and almost no cultural sense here you will go immediately to the highly sensitive area of aetheric business dealings and attempt to duel wits with some of this world’s most powerful and no doubt unscrupulous mages. You have a lot to hide, mostly me, so of course we must go straight to the place where we are most likely to be discovered and all because you cannot be bothered to wait two hours until the light of the sun
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