course, the delegation to Dalbar was leaving today, Gilly, Medwin and …
“You forgot, didn’t you, little sister?” Keren, arms crossed, was giving her the single arched eyebrow look of mock disapproval, which quickly dissolved into an open smile.
“Not forgotten, peerless big sister!” Alael said. “Merely distracted.”
“Hmm, yes.” Keren said, standing up. “Come on - I’ll help you choose a gown fit to distract our boy emperor.”
Alael tried to look outraged but failed - Keren’s wit was at once sharp and on target.
The two women had been introduced soon after Alael recovered from the terrifying possession of the battle, and was surprised and a little wary to discover that Keren’s ordeal had been so similar to her own. Sharing her experiences, and learning about what it felt like to be a Daemonkind, brought them together in a fast-deepening friendship.
Wearing a brown and red dress more demure than the one Keren had picked out, Alael hurried with her companion down a minor stairwell whose wall tiles bore patterns and forms of sea creatures. As they walked, Alael asked Keren if anything more had been uncovered about the attempt on her life.
“Nothing of significance. The woman who tried to kill me was a player who had gone missing from one of the beggar troupes over a week ago. Bardow is sure that someone used the Lesser Power to weave a compulsion into her mind, possibly the same person who attacked Nerek in the Artisan Quarter.”
“Did none of the senior mages sense such goings-on?”
They were passing through a small courtyard busy with carters unloading their wares, and Keren lowered her voice.
“Not one. Bardow thinks that the person behind all this may be masking his use of the Lesser Power by tainting it with another…”
“The Wellsource?” Alael whispered in dread.
Keren shrugged. “It would be the obvious choice…”
From a bright outer corridor they entered the ground floor conclave chamber, a vaguely triangular room with benches and high-backed seating arrayed before a dais at its narrow end. And when Keren left Alael’s side to join Medwin and Gilly who waited near the luggage piled on the dais, it finally sunk in that her friend was leaving. Others were already there, sitting on the benches, familiar faces like the Lord Regent Yasgur with his advisors, Atroc and Ghazrek; Nerek, looking pale and impassive; red-haired Ffion and a few of her fellow mages; Yarram, Lord Commander of the Fathertree Knights, sitting with the commanders of the new orders, the Knights Protectorate, the Knights of the Moon and Stars, the Knights of Keys, and the Knights of the Bell. And Tauric with three of his White Companions.
It was a brief farewell ceremony, yet full of warmth and regard. Abbess Halimer and two Temple sisters sang a soft, wordless cantion as Bardow said a few words about the three travellers and their destination. Then Yasgur gave Medwin a flat leather case of documents and spoke quietly to all three, before departing with his retinue.
Sitting near Ffion and the other mages, Alael did her best to avoid looking in Tauric’s direction and was relieved when the ceremony was over. After exchanging a few words with Gilly, Tauric and his followers left straight away. The three delegates then moved towards the doors which led out to the coaching stables. Alael began hurrying after them but slowed and held back when she saw Nerek and Keren walking side by side, speaking close and serious. Keren carried a pair of saddlebags over her shoulder and was reaching into one when she noticed Alael.
“There she is.”
The two look-alike women exchanged words of farewell and clasped hands, then Nerek gave Alael a brief nod on her way towards the door.
“What a hasty leavetaking,” Keren said as she fumbled in her saddlebag. “I was afraid we might not have a chance to speak...ah, here it is…”
She produced a thick, leather-bound volume and gave it to Alael. “This is a rare book
“You forgot, didn’t you, little sister?” Keren, arms crossed, was giving her the single arched eyebrow look of mock disapproval, which quickly dissolved into an open smile.
“Not forgotten, peerless big sister!” Alael said. “Merely distracted.”
“Hmm, yes.” Keren said, standing up. “Come on - I’ll help you choose a gown fit to distract our boy emperor.”
Alael tried to look outraged but failed - Keren’s wit was at once sharp and on target.
The two women had been introduced soon after Alael recovered from the terrifying possession of the battle, and was surprised and a little wary to discover that Keren’s ordeal had been so similar to her own. Sharing her experiences, and learning about what it felt like to be a Daemonkind, brought them together in a fast-deepening friendship.
Wearing a brown and red dress more demure than the one Keren had picked out, Alael hurried with her companion down a minor stairwell whose wall tiles bore patterns and forms of sea creatures. As they walked, Alael asked Keren if anything more had been uncovered about the attempt on her life.
“Nothing of significance. The woman who tried to kill me was a player who had gone missing from one of the beggar troupes over a week ago. Bardow is sure that someone used the Lesser Power to weave a compulsion into her mind, possibly the same person who attacked Nerek in the Artisan Quarter.”
“Did none of the senior mages sense such goings-on?”
They were passing through a small courtyard busy with carters unloading their wares, and Keren lowered her voice.
“Not one. Bardow thinks that the person behind all this may be masking his use of the Lesser Power by tainting it with another…”
“The Wellsource?” Alael whispered in dread.
Keren shrugged. “It would be the obvious choice…”
From a bright outer corridor they entered the ground floor conclave chamber, a vaguely triangular room with benches and high-backed seating arrayed before a dais at its narrow end. And when Keren left Alael’s side to join Medwin and Gilly who waited near the luggage piled on the dais, it finally sunk in that her friend was leaving. Others were already there, sitting on the benches, familiar faces like the Lord Regent Yasgur with his advisors, Atroc and Ghazrek; Nerek, looking pale and impassive; red-haired Ffion and a few of her fellow mages; Yarram, Lord Commander of the Fathertree Knights, sitting with the commanders of the new orders, the Knights Protectorate, the Knights of the Moon and Stars, the Knights of Keys, and the Knights of the Bell. And Tauric with three of his White Companions.
It was a brief farewell ceremony, yet full of warmth and regard. Abbess Halimer and two Temple sisters sang a soft, wordless cantion as Bardow said a few words about the three travellers and their destination. Then Yasgur gave Medwin a flat leather case of documents and spoke quietly to all three, before departing with his retinue.
Sitting near Ffion and the other mages, Alael did her best to avoid looking in Tauric’s direction and was relieved when the ceremony was over. After exchanging a few words with Gilly, Tauric and his followers left straight away. The three delegates then moved towards the doors which led out to the coaching stables. Alael began hurrying after them but slowed and held back when she saw Nerek and Keren walking side by side, speaking close and serious. Keren carried a pair of saddlebags over her shoulder and was reaching into one when she noticed Alael.
“There she is.”
The two look-alike women exchanged words of farewell and clasped hands, then Nerek gave Alael a brief nod on her way towards the door.
“What a hasty leavetaking,” Keren said as she fumbled in her saddlebag. “I was afraid we might not have a chance to speak...ah, here it is…”
She produced a thick, leather-bound volume and gave it to Alael. “This is a rare book
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