Chapter 11

"Hello," Eliam calls out tentatively.

"What have
you done?" the man replies sharply. He points up to the sky. "Thousands of years he laid
dormant and we planted the seeds of control throughout this world.
And in an instant you arrive and lead our world to
upheaval. You," he points
at Eliam, "and you," at Oren. "You look
familiar."

Minerva passes them both a quizzical
look.

The orc steps back and
forth, pacing. "You've led us on quite the merry chase, I
admit," he says. "Meadowgrove to Asle Lenor and now as far
north as we can go."

"He's some sort of cultist," Oren whispers quietly. "He ordered his friend to
kill us in Meadowgrove, but Votig killed him."

"To escape us by
getting yourselves arrested... I admit, that was clever," he continues. "A brilliant
strategem, for we could never reveal ourselves to the police proper."

Oren shakes his head, takes his horse, and begins to lead it past him as the orc speaks.

"And
to then turn and escape the arena... Amazing. Simple amaz- where
are you going?!" He stomps the ground and a
crackle of lightning erupts in the air, blocking his path.

"You're uh... giving us a lot of credit," Eliam replies. "I mean, I
appreciate it, honestly. But we have absolutely no idea what the hell
we're doing."

"Buffoons,
then?" he asks. "Then you will gratefully accept gifts,
oafish as you are. I give you
purpose or death," he says. "You may choose."

"We have our own purpose
already," Gwendolyn answers.

"You already told
us that if we beat your friend we could go," Oren protests.

"Nonsense," he spits. "I merely
said that should you survive- and truthfully, I am amazed you did- we would speak again. Now, we speak again."

"And aIso, I mean, we're not
*buffoons*," Eliam adds. "We're just... relatively untrained."

"Now," he says, "you have
undermined the work of the Saints undertaken for a hundred
generations. You may join the Saints and rectify your mistakes, or
you may die here and now."

Oren frowns and tries to lead his horse away once more. The man stomps
again and sends a second crack of lightning in his path. "A
final warning, boy. The third will be far closer."

"What *are* the Saints, anyways? I don't- okay,
stop that." Eliam
feels out along the strings of aether that run through him to the
mysterious orc and attempts to restrict them. The orc feels the
disturbance to his magic flow and safeguards his power, rejecting
his attempts.

"Do you work
for the Patriarch?" Oren asks.

He
chortles. "The Patriarch? The Patriarch works for me, though he
knows not. My Saints have
eyes throughout all the land. Even the Children were within my web,
though they, at least, did so knowingly. They
were magnificent pawns."

"So if the Patriarch killed someone, you would take
responsibility?" Oren looks back at the group, trying to gauge their reactions.

"No, you fool,"
he snaps. "If a puppet strikes another doll, does the
puppet master fear judgment?"

"I
can't do anything about his magic. I don't know what he did," Eliam warns quietly.

"Is
it okay to kill him?" Oren whispers to Minerva.

"Ordinarily? No. But he tried to
kill you before? Take him down."

"He
tells the Patriarch what to do," Oren points out. "Doesn't that mean he killed
Votig?"

Eliam frowns. "If nothing else, he's a
part of the system that left us to starve in a pit and fight to the
death"

"And he's part of a
system that twists the Maker's beliefs," Gwendolyn nods. "Nothing good will come with
agreeing to his terms. He'll just try to use us, like he did all his
other...'pawns.'"

"That will be enough whispering," he snaps. "Live
and serve, or resist and die?"

"It's a... well,
it's not really a generous offer," Eliam smiles. "But I think we'll have to decline."

As he speaks, Oren draws upon the aether to try to control the orc's blood. He senses
the spell being cast and prepares a retaliatory spell of his own. "Fools. Simpering, middling fools!" He leaps back
and throws three pebbles at the ground. As they strike the earth, three glyphs appear, and from each appear a large rat enveloped with a black magical aura.

"My powers are
unrivaled on Thirshalon," he growls. "I, Supreme Elder
Ranakir of the Saints, will permit none to know of our existence!"

### The Battle at the Cave

"Your powers
may be unrivaled here, but they're nothing compared to the true
children!" Gwendolyn calls out, rallying the others.

Elise hears her words, but she struggles to believe
them. Gripping her staff, she moves forward, shaking slightly.

A rat leaps at Gwen's horse and savagely
digs its fangs into a gap in the horse's armour. The black aura
flares to life and seems to cut through the horse's flesh. Gwendolyn calms her horse, and once she is able, she mounts it and draws her lance, driving it forward to strike at the creatures.

Oren closes his eyes, and the blood of the rats begins to boil within them. With an agonizing screech, they writhe on the ground, a grating keen filling the air. The magic that surrounded the rats fades away, and shakily, they return to their feet.

Eliam supports him with an arcane blast, the magic sending one of the recovering rats rolling sideways. It stands again, but only just.

Ranakir scoffs at his assault. "Is
this all?" He laughs openly. "Pitiful!" He draws two more objects from his cloak and
throws them to the ground. "To me, knights! To me!" Two
more glyphs appear, and a pair of armoured knights arrive through
them, flanking Ranakir.

Elise gathers the wind around her, sending a blast of air against the rats. They are knocked down once again, but this time, only one stands back up.

Eliam fires another arcane blast, but this one feels different as
it leaves his fingers to destroy the rat. He senses the flow of
aether all around him more keenly; he is more in tune with its flow.
He can even watch it pass, and observe as it slows... and stops. With
nary a time for a breath, he turns his attention to Ranakir and his
knights. He lets loose a massive firestorm over their bodies. The
flames erupt around them as time begins to flow again, and they yelp
in surprise at the flames from nowhere.

Ranakir screams in
rage and shock. His cloak ablaze, he removes it, but not before
withdrawing one last pellet from an interior pocket. "This is
preposterous. Maddening!" He whips it at the ground and in a
puff of smoke a final glyph appears. A haunting, phantasmal spectre
appears before the party. It floats with a humanoid torso that trails
into a wisp of smoke below the waist. Its arms are unnaturally long
and end in wicked claws, and its horned, skull-like head looks
empty... and ravenous.

Gwendolyn dismounts, her horse backing away from the battle. She discards her lance to the ground, drawing her sword and shield. She strikes at the last rat standing, and it falls, dead. She raises her shield at the spectre, imbuing her will and faith into her shield. "Everyone, stay behind me!"

Elise nods, calming the horse and tending to its wounds.

The novice knight advances on Gwen. He draws a sword and raises his own
shield. "Hiding behind a shield, huh? I can respect that."
He bashes out with his own shield to disrupt Gwen's defense and
slashes out with his sword.

The spectre advances, then feels Gwen's power.
It begins to move in a wide arc around her.

Oren steps forward defensively in front of Minerva. "Don't let that monster touch you!" he yells. "It'll eat your memories." He examines it for a moment. "We should probably use magic to kill it?"

He casts an arcane blast at the spectre, but it easily dodges the spell. It turns its empty face toward
Oren.

Eliam nods at Oren's assessment of the monster, and strikes it with a spell. The arcane
blast strikes true, hitting the spectre in its centre. The
mists that comprise its body swirl angrily as the magics have some
effect. It turns its head at Eliam.

"Elise, this would be a really good time to get
back here!" Minerva yells, and she moves closer.

The
knight scoffs at his novice companion, as he just barely scrapes Gwendolyn's armour. "You scamp. That's hardly an attack. She barely felt it.
Now... watch." The decorated
knight steps into action, his sword screaming at it rends the
air itself. At the last moment the orc twists to alter his stance,
causing his blade to bypass Gwen's shield. She staggers backwards, but quickly regains her ground.

Ranakir advances. "No longer! I have fight in me
yet!"

"Sir," says the
novice, "perhaps you should allow us to-"

He is cut off as Ranakir spits, "I was defending the
Saints before your parents were alive, boy. Don't presume."

"Is that really the best you both can do?
Pathetic," Gwen calls out, striking at the knights.

As the decorated knight dodges her blow, Minerva strikes at his back, her daggers finding a space between his armor and sinking into his flesh.

The spectre continues to move in an arc. He advances no
closer to Gwen, but as he circles, he begins to slowly advance on
Oren and Eliam. When he sees it approach, Oren grabs Eliams hand, pulling him away behind Gwendolyn and positioning himself between him and the spectre.

The
decorated knight, having seen Oren attacking the spectre and
recognizing its power, turns his blade on him. "Hmph," grunts the knight. "Avoiding
our friend, are you?" He squares his feet. "Nalik. Pay
attention now!" He drops
his shield and rushes at Oren like a bull. His speed is tremendous,
and the air cracks like a whip as he accelerates. The shield bashes
into him, catching him fully in the midsection and lifting him off
his feet. He careens through the air and
lands beside the spectre.

Panicking, Eliam shoots an arcane blast to draw away the creature's attention. It strikes true and the spectre looks at him, irked.

Ranakir
turns his attention to Eliam. "You can struggle... but the
spectre will come for you in the end." He
lashes out at Eliam with magical lightning. The attack runs through
his body, shocking him dramatically. The lightning explodes before Eliam, and the shockwave
knocks him through the air toward the spectre. He lands just shy of Oren, near the magical ghoul.

Ranakir yells in triumph. "Haha!" he
crows at Nalik. "Do you see now what your master can do?! With
every blow, we grow strong!"

"Come on!" Gwendolyn cries to Minerva and Elise, rushing to Oren and Eliam's aid. "Stay
*back*, creature!" She raises her shield, and the holy light stops it in its tracks.

Elise follows
Gwen and lays hands on Oren, swallowing hard as she stares up at the
spectre. "No," she says. "I can do this." Magically, his wounds begin to heal.

The spectre pauses at Gwen's power... and advances
through it. It turns on Oren, slashing out
with its massive claws... but too slowly. The mage is healed and
rolls away.

The decorated knight advances on the party
and attacks Eliam. His sword swings and painfully, he draws away, avoiding a full blow. The sword strikes his arm, and unsteadily he rises to his feet.

Gwendolyn imbues her sword with divine power, and swings at the spectre fully, shocking both it
and Ranakir. "Impossible," he mutters.

The spectre scowls at Gwen. It sees her divine power, and it
despises it... so it steps through it.

The spectre lashes out with long claws at Gwen, piercing her
armour with the blow. It sinks its claws into her flesh and
momentarily holds them there. She feels herself being drained of
something... something? Or is she... the light of her shield flickers, and the spectre smiles an unearthly grin.

Oren throws a shadow dagger at it, imbuing it with ice. The
spectre howls as the dagger sinks into it, a high-pitched shriek, and drops its grip on Gwendolyn.

From behind them, Eliam lets loose a massive
firestorm that rolls over the battlefield. Minerva recognizes the
signs and rolls away quickly as the wave descends on the field. Ranakir can only brace
himself as the flames erupt around him. Screeches
and wails split the night, and when the fire subsides, only Ranakir
remains.

He looks back to where his
cloak is smouldering. He turns to run.

Furious and shaken, Gwendolyn stands, and launches herself at him. Her sword finds his leg, and cleanly severs it. Howling and screaming, he falls to the
ground.

### **The Group Asks Ranakir some Questions**

Before Ranakir can bleed out, Eliam places his hand where his leg was and heals the wound. He tries to push his hands away, but Eliam pushes his hands aside, frowning. "Sorry, but things keep escalating and
we *really* want some answers."

Oren walks to Minerva's side, assessing her wounds. "Are you alright?" He asks, waiting for permission to apply first aid.

She falls back and sits down
hard. "I've been better. I'll live."

Nodding, Oren begins to apply bandages where needed, trying gingerly not to touch her more than necessary. She sighs softly in relief. "Thank you, Oren." She watches him work, noticing his awkward demeanor. "I'm sorry," she says quietly.

"Huh? for what?" He asks. "It's okay, I don't mind."

"I
judged you pretty hard when we saw Kunalchusi. But you didn't do it
on purpose. It was hard not to blame... someone. But it wasn't your
fault. I'm sorry for not getting that sooner."

"It probably was my fault, don't worry about
it"

She playfully nudges
Oren on the shoulder. "Well, in that case..."

Elise comes over. "Is everyone all right?"

Without answering, Oren sits down next to Minerva.

"I... don't even know where to begin," Eliam says, looking back at the others. "What
even *are* the Saints? I mean, who even are you? How did you know
about that snake monster thing? And how did it end up in
Sylvatir?"

Distractedly, Gwendolyn leaves, moving past the party and returning to the cave.

He coughs. "Simpleton.
You have-" he wheezes "-no leverage."

"No... I guess we don't," Eliam answers. "But that Kunalchusi is
serious, right? I think it's in both of our best interests if you
help us figure out what the hell is happening here. Especially since
I have a feeling we're the only ones left who can stop it."

He closes his eyes. "Kunalchusi... so that
was his name."

Eliam nods, kneeling next to him. "Yeah, I guess so? Either way. How did you know
about him?"

Frowning, Oren leans forward, his eyes glowing blue. He attempts to freeze Ranakir's hands, but the ice spreads more quickly than he can control, and Ranakir begins to scream. "Why?!
WHY"

Minerva places a hand
on Oren's shoulder. "Hey. He's beaten already. It's
okay."

Eliam looks back at him,
concerned "Let's just... try asking him stuff first,
okay?"

"I don't
want him to hurt Eliam," Oren whispers. "If he can't move his fingers he can't cast
any more spells at us."

Ranakir
begins trying to crawl backwards desperately, and Eliam grabs his arm. "Okay, that was... we're
not *trying* to hurt you. No one wants to! Just... can you give us
some answers, please?"

Ranakir
lies back, seeming to gradually accept his defeat.
"And if I do?"

Eliam looks back at the others, and Minerva shrugs. "He
did just try to kill us."

"He's
in charge of the Patriarch, and the Patriarch killed Votig," Oren agrees. "And if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have a scar on your
face and we probably wouldn't have been arrested."

Eliam sighs, "Fair point. I'm still not over the whole
judgment thing. That wasn't on purpose by the way," he glares at Ranakir. "You guys are dicks."

He looks at Eliam. "You. Your
compatriot who left. She's a holy woman. She puts her faith in the
Maker and her word to Her is sacred, is it not?"

"I... I guess so?"

"I could see it in her powers and in the way she
repelled my spectre. I would speak with her before I answer your
questions. Alone. I'll wait. It's not as though I'm going anywhere."
He leans back against the ground.

Eliam sighs dramatically. "Suit yourself I guess. But you know she cut your leg
off, right?" He stands, walking to the cave.

Oren stands up, offering his hand to Minerva. She accepts his help, and Oren begins to examine Gwendolyn's horse. He looks it over, then calls out to Elise. "Can you heal horses?" Carefully he takes its reins, calming it and leading it back to her.

She nods and lays her hands on the horse. "I
believe so." She heals some of the horse's injuries with a healing touch. "There, there, friend.
You're all right, now."

"We
should probably stay near here tonight, since it's getting late...
unless you all want to leave...?" Oren asks.

Minerva
shrugs. "The cave would at least offer shelter from the wind. We
might as well camp out in there and make for the forest
tomorrow."

Oren nods. "Do either of you want to ride a
horse alone? We have... five of them, so... we could all ride alone if
we wanted to.. if you're able." Minerva nods, and Oren returns to tending the horses.

Inside the cave, Gwendolyn sits in a shadowy alcove near the entrance. Her gloves lay on the ground next to her as she holds her face in her hands silently.

Eliam pauses when he sees her, then quietly sits next to her. "Are you okay?"

"No, I
dont think I am."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks softly.

"I don't...I
don't think I *can*. There's no words to describe...that. What it
did. *How it felt*."

He nods, "Yeah that... that looked bad. I'm really sorry," he says, putting his hand on her shoulder. "If you want to try
though, I can listen any time." He leans back against the wall, thinking for a moment. "I feel bad asking this... that Stritox
guy, he said he'd only speak to you, and only alone. But given what
happened I'm not sure you should say yes anyways. If you need time to
recover, I think you should."

"What?
Why me...?" She asks.

"Beats me... he
said something about your word to the Maker being sacred, I guess?
Maybe it's something to do with you being from the church?"

She nods, and after a long moment, stands. "I'll do what I must,
then." She straightens her back and walks outside, taking her lance as she leaves.

"You don't have to!" Eliam calls out as she leaves. "Just... be careful."

She approaches Ranakir, her weapon drawn. As she does, Oren takes the horses and leads them back to the cave. He hands one of the reins to Elise, and motions for her and Minerva to follow.

While Oren and Eliam set up camp, Minerva sits at the entrance to the
cave and stares out, watching to ensure nothing happens. Elise
quietly sits with her.

### **Oren and Eliam Chat at Camp**

After they set up camp, Oren sits on a blanket by the fire, frustratedly running a comb through his hair.

Eliam sits down next to him, watching him work. "Hey,
that's new. I thought you tangled your hair on purpose?"

"Sort of," Oren answers. "I didn't care what it looked like and that was
easier."

"Oh... So, you care now
then? Does that mean you're okay now?"

"I guess so..." Oren trails off, setting the brush down. "Thank you for
saving me. And helping me... And being nice to me. I'm sorry I lied
to you and tried to trick you. I didn't even need to, you helped me
just to be nice. Thank you "

"I
mean, of course! I'd help you any time. You're my best friend. And...
I'm glad you're better," Eliam smiles. "It makes all the stuff with that snake
thing... well, it's worth it now."

Oren smiles back sadly. "Well I don't know about that, I feel guilty for benefiting
from all of this. So many horrible things have happened because I
found that seed but I never would have met you or Minerva or anyone,
or obtained all this power or seen so many things. Though as
wonderful as all that is for me it's definitely not going well for
Iquai... Saloria and Fallowfield were both probably destroyed and a
lot of people died. And Prilla and Votig and probably Chompy all
died too. And you're all here suffering, and the Lyriad fell apart
and Minerva isn't there to run it, and her dad might not have died
too... Not to mention everything that happened to this world because
of me. lf I could prevent myself from ever finding it I would
definitely do it." He looks down. "And none of that
even compares to releasing that demon, so there's that too."

"Okay it... It sounds kind of bad when you lay it
all out like that. But... But some of that, we don't know. Maybe...
Maybe iquai is okay? I mean even if Prilla... The other people still
there are fine. I'm sure of it. But I mean, you didn't know this
stuff would happen. No one did. Or could have. Why was that seed even
somewhere you could find it anyways? Why wasn't it hidden away in
some church vault or something?"

Oren closes his eyes, thinking. "I assume my
master found the seed and knew it was a blood lotus... They don't grow
in Sylvatir, and he collects things like that and has a large garden
with rare plants, for making potions and spells... So, he probably
tried to grow it but it wouldn't grow so he just tossed it on a shelf
in the library. I mean, he probably forgot about it... The pouch it
was in looked old, so maybe he had it for a long time before he
brought me back. And maybe he didn't know what it really was or what
it would do to me. But I'm guessing, it's also possible he knew
everything and didn't care if I found it."

Eliam shakes his head. "No one would be that
crazy, wizard or not." He looks at the fire, thinking. "What
you said about changing things in the past, if you could... Have you
ever heard of magic that would be capable of such a thing?"

Oren shrugs. "It's probably possible, but I don't know
of the arcana that allows it. That would be very powerful. When we
get to Iquai I can check in the library to see if there's a book
about it...? Maybe my master can teach you. He would probably like
having an expert mage like you to teach. And if anyone can use magic
like that it's him."

"Yeah...
Maybe. But like you said, even if messing with time was possible, It
wouldn't be worth it. Not if we all might not have met each other.
Expert mage?" Eliam laughs. "I mean, I'm pretty great at the
arcana I know, but I don't think I could handle being an apprentice.
Not if I can't leave whenever I want, anyways. I'll leave the magic
stuff to you. You're the one who's been practicing it for
years."

Oren shakes his head. "No,
you're really good at it, it's better to be good at something without
any practice. And I'm not good at magic, the flower makes it work.
Without it I can't cast spells at all."

"Wait, really? I mean I knew you couldn't heal, but... I
guess you have that mace, if you need it. But wait, in that last
fight, didn't you cast some spells? You didn't... I mean, you
wouldn't have kept a piece of the lotus or something,
right?"

Oren reaches into his pocket, pulling out the blood lotus he picked from the fountain. Quickly, Eliam angles himself to hide it from the others, glancing nervously over at Elise and Minerva.

"I
think it's safe, but I think someone other than me should decide
that," Oren says. "I mean... It was just the one seed that was evil, this one
doesn't talk... But like I said, I don't think it's fair for me to
benefit from all of this. But I want to be able to cast spells and
help you get home. Without it I'm just a doctor, but with it I'm a
powerful blood mage. I want to be useful... But not if it's
bad."

"it's definitely good to be useful, yeah.
And I trust you know what you're doing... So if you say it's safe,
I'm sure it's fine. We can always get you a different magic focus
though, if you want. I mean you don't have to give up magic forever
after this."

Oren nods, putting the flower away, and lays down, putting his head on Eliam's lap. "Is this okay? I like sleeping with you near me but I don't want
to.. uh... lead you on, or whatever."

"Of
course it's okay! But it's not really leading me on, is it? I mean,
that night before we left, when I was really drunk, you were
pretty... Straightforward. I don't really remember what happened
after that, but..."

"Oh, we
just went to sleep. You didn't want to do anything like
that."

"Wait, *I* didn't?
...Seriously?" Eliam asks. "Though that implies you do..."

"What? No, I don't think I do. Not with you. Um...
Sorry."

Eliam laughs. "It's fine. I
kind of figured that one out. Honestly it's probably good you're
actually asserting yourself now. Though uh... I guess I should warn
you, sleeping next to each other heavily implies that *is* what you
want. But I really don't mind the company, and it doesn't seem to
have stopped Minerva anyways."

Oren nods. "she probably wouldn't mind if you were sleeping with me, I
mean having sex or whatever you want to do, because she can have you
whenever she wants so she doesn't have to be jealous.."

Eliam looks down at him quizzically. "I know you
wanted to ignore it, but after you all but confessed to her she's
been desperate to spend time with you. She's pining for you pretty
bad."

"When did I do that?
That doesn't sound like me. I'm not really the sort of person to
make moves on a girl, it's always the other way around. And there's
no way she likes me like that at all, she doesn't even like me as a
friend... And after what happened earlier she probably wishes she let
me die. Though you're right that she has been nicer sometimes.
"

"Yeah, it was pretty
surprising. And kind of funny. You didn't want her to seduce that
orc; we thought it was because you liked her and couldn't stand
seeing her with anyone else. Even if you didn't mean it that way, I'm
pretty sure that's how she took it. I mean, you saw how her face fell
when she didn't get to ride that horse with you. And yeah this stuff
is... It's pretty bad. But I'm sure she doesn't hate you that much.
She might be upset for a bit, but we're going to fix it all and save
Sylvatir. She can't be mad after that. Hell, she shouldn't even be
mad now, since it's not like we planned to unleash that thing on
purpose."

Oren nods, closing his eyes and thinking. "I hope you're
right."

### **The Group Chats with Ranakir**

Ranakir
looks at Gwen with little surprise in his face. "You came."

She stands over him, her knuckles white as she grips her lance. She stares down at him, making no attempt to equal their positions by kneeling down to him. "Yes."

"Ah. You seek control.
Very well, very well. This is fine. You have it, after
all. Your friend wants...
information from me. I'm sure you all want to know more about what
you saw in that cave, did you not?"

"They all seem to want more information, yes."

"And I," he says, "want to live.
So I will leave the choices up to you, my dear. Kill me or not, I don't care. I've lived long enough
and this world is... well, with the number of orcs you killed, it
won't last long anyway." He coughs. "But I confess I want
my life if I have the choice. So I will give you the information on
one condition.

"You," he
points. "You are a holy woman. I saw it in your power. So swear
to the Maker. Swear to the Maker that if I give you what you want,
you will see that no further harm comes to me, and you will leave me
with my life. And swear to the Maker that if anyone harms me before
you leave me, you will be the one to enact equivalent vengeance on
them. These are my terms."

"I
have a condition of my own."

"Which would be?"

She stares at him quietly for a moment, her eyes cold. "I
will grant you your life, and see that no one in my group harms you.
In exchange, you'll give us your information, and a vial of your
blood. And then you will disappear. You *will* not go back to
Ilemashi, and you will not warn the Patriarch, or any of his
surviving followers. If there is the slightest hint that you gave
them information, I will not stop in hunting you down.”

He swallows
roughly. "Your terms... are acceptable. Call your rabble."

Without turning, Gwendolyn speaks. "Elise, go get
Oren and Eliam. He's ready to talk."

In the cave, Elise starts
a little, but stands to go get them.

Ranakir eyes Gwen suspiciously. "How did you do
that?"

She ignores him deliberately, waiting for the others.

They regroup around Ranakir, and he eyes each of them in turn. "What
do you seek to know?"

Eliam tilts his head, thinking. "I guess...
what was that thing?"

"It
spoke to you, did it not? And gave you its name."

"That name doesn't really mean a lot, honestly.
And it was sealed away pretty far from here. Yet you seemed to have
known about it?"

"My...
organization... deals in secrets. Whispers. Legends. We...
orchestrate things. Deal in information. Even that which is lost to
time, such as the Destroyer. Our
world for millennia has worshiped the Maker... but as one Makes, so
too must one Destroy. The Maker
and the Destroyer... two sides of an eternal conflict which was long
ago thought to have been won.

"Learning
the name of one, though... Now that is new. Kunalchusi, the
Destroyer. And you brought him to us! All hail your benevolent
works," he adds dryly.

"I mean,
we didn't... how were we supposed to know that would happen?" Eliam asks, annoyed. "This
whole system is a mess. You'd think some sort of benevolent
organization that considers itself nigh-omnipotent would have tried
to offer us guidance or teaching or something"

"Which raises
another question," he says, frowning. "We watch every inch
of Thirshalon. Yet never did we see any of you until recently. How is
that possible?"

Eliam looks at the others, waiting to hear what they want to share with Ranakir. Oren shrugs in response.

"It was not part of
our terms for us to answer your questions," Gwendolyn says flatly.

He scowls. "You
can forgive me for wishing to know more about the rabble who
unleashed the Destroyer on our world."

"Well, either way," Eliam says. "It was sealed away once, right? So it can
be sealed away again? How do we do that?"

"That I don't know," he answers. "We know
the Maker sealed the Destroyer away in some manner of prison, but
time failed to record what it was beyond "a cage of
life."

"Oh... okay, that makes
sense. So we can try something like that again... Do you know why only one light in the skyglyph went
out?"

"History records
the lights disappear, every thousand years or so, then gradually
illumate over the next millennia. None know why."

"Okay... so they're not irreparable either. That's
good," Eliam smiles. "That's really all
I can think of to ask... you guys?"

"Is
the Patriarch in Ilemashi?" Gwendolyn asks.

"If
he has returned from seeing the Judgment, yes."

"I guess we'll go there next, then," Eliam says.

"To speak with him and beg mercy?" Ranakir asks. "Or to kill
him?"

"Speaking of mercy...
what happens to him now?" Eliam asks, ignoring his question.

"He lives," Gwen answers, "Unless he goes to Ilemashi. He's also
agreed to give us a vial of his blood, for Oren." She leans down, patting his clothing.

"What
are you doing?" He asks, as she withdraws a small green stone from a pocket within his sleeve. "Thief," he spits. "This,
too, was not part of our bargain."

Gwendolyn turns it in her hand, inspecting it. "And where does this lead,
hm?"

He pauses.
"Home."

"Where is home?
Illemashi, perhaps?"

"Why
don't you try it and see?" he answers cryptically.

Oren shakes his head quickly. "Don't."

Gwendolyn looks at Ranakir coldly. "You might want to reconsider
your answer. Something more *informative*."

"I have given you the honest answer. It will
take you home. Mine, specifically. What you do with that information
is up to you."

"I thought
the stones just activated glyphs, and the glyphs determined the
destination?" Oren asks.

"Correct,"
he answers simply.

Oren sighs. "I
don't think cryptic answers were why we kept you alive."

He closes his eyes and leans his head back
silently.

Minerva turns her back on him.
"It's getting cold. Are we leaving him here?"

Eliam shrugs. "Your choice." She eyes Gwen.

"Yes.
Unless you all want to invite back to the cave." Gwendolyn looks at Oren. "I'm assuming you have vials?"

He nods, drawing one, and takes a small sample of Ranakir's blood. As he does so, Minerva guides Elise back to the cave. When he is done, Oren and Eliam return as well.

Gwendolyn turns to Ranakir, giving him one last look. Wordlessly she throws the stone down at him, then turns and walks back to the cave.

Oren sits back down on the blanket he claimed earlier. Minerva ties the
corners of a few blankets to some rock overhanging the mouth of the
cave. "It might cut the wind down a little bit." She weighs
it down with rocks near the ground so it doesn't flap about.

"Good call. Thank you," Eliam says as he sits next to Oren.

Elise sits delicately against the wall of the cave. "So
what do we do next?"

"We
should go home," Oren answers.

Minerva nods.
"Ilemashi, then?"

Gwendolyn nods. "Ilemashi."

"Ilemashi
will be dangerous," Elise says, fretting slightly. "If the
Patriarch lives there, it must be defended."

Oren pulls out the map, examining it closely. "It's... right by this
weird river..." he turns the map to face her, drawing up his hood, and lays down to sleep. The night passes, and the others fall asleep one by one as well, their destination decided.

--

Morning breaks.
Minerva removes the blanket, grumbling that it didn't do quite as
much as she'd hoped.

Outside, Ranakir is
gone. Gwendolyn gets the horses ready, while Eliam packs up their things.

Haltingly, Oren walks over to Minerva. "I'm glad you're not a vampire anymore," he says quietly.

She smiles sincerely. "Trust me. I think I'm
the happiest of all. Thanks for your help."

"Thank
you for stopping me," he continues. "Ah... I'm sorry I... did that... I mean, I
promised I wouldn't kill anyone but then I did... sorry."

Her face falls a little. "I'm less concerned
right now with the fact that you murdered Herb as I am with the
horror you unleashed when you did. Don't
get me wrong; you're not off the hook, but we have other things to
deal with right now."

Oren nods. "I didn't know that would happen."

"Can you tell where Ranakir is?" Gwendolyn calls out to him.

He takes the vial of blood obtained from him and casts bloodhound, but after a moment, shakes his head. "He's not
nearby, I don't know where he is."

"We might want to move quickly,
then," Minerva says.

"I'd rather get out of
the cold sooner than later anyways," Eliam agrees.

They finish grabbing their gear, and Oren pulls out the extra bridle for what was Herb's horse. "Do one of you want to ride this one?" He asks Elise and Minerva.

Elise pats the horse. "This is a gentle one.
I'll take it, if that's okay."

Oren nods, helping her up onto the horse. He gets up on his own, waiting for the others to prepare to ride as well. Minerva looks at one of the horses for a moment, then takes a seat behind Oren, sharing his horse.

### **The Group Goes Back to Ariglodo**

The party travels four days back to Ariglodo. They
are not stopped or followed on the road. The journey is uneventful,
but relaxing. When they arrive, they see the boat they left behind still on the docks, untouched. A few elder officers roam the streets, looking tense.

"Do you guys want to take the boat?" Oren asks.

Minerva looks it over. "We can probably just hug the coast and get there.
Wouldn't have to worry about getting lost."

Oren nods. "It would be faster and more comfortable
than the road, and less likely to run into trouble."

"Works for me," Eliam says, dismounting his horse. "More comfortable than the wagon for
sure."

"We should go grab some
supplies and things from this town and go as soon as
possible. Should we bring the horses
with us? Or that wagon?" Oren asks.

"If
we're taking the boat there, we probably wouldn't need horses,
assuming it's correct in that it's the way home," Gwendolyn answers.

Minerva offers Gwen a half smile. "Including
yours?"

She nods. "It'd probably be safer to let them go
free here, if Illemashi is going to be as defended as we think. She's
been a good companion, and doesn't deserve that fate."

Oren nods, dismounting his horse. He takes its rein and saddle off, and pats it. "You're free, horse. Thanks for the ride." The horse slowly meanders away, looking for grass. "I'm going back to the inn to grab
something. Do any of you want anything from there? We could raid it like the other one and probably get some
food and wine."

"I
don't," Gwendolyn answers.

Oren nods, and walks to the inn. Inside, an elderly lady sits behind the counter. "Oh.
Hello, there."

"Is there anywhere I could buy some food and supplies
and things that's open?" Oren asks.

"Hm..."
she thinks. "The market is closed, of course. The general store
may be open tomorrow. Marcus tends to run it every few days during
the Judgment."

"Thanks," he nods. "I'll check it out."

Outside, Minerva sits on the dock, waving her feet back and forth in the water. She chats lazily with Elise. Eliam stands a bit away, looking out at the water, and Gwendolyn sits alone, thinking.

Oren places the chest of gold from the wagon onto a small cart, pushing it back in the direction of the boat. "The lady at the inn said
everything is closed, but if Eliam can open locked doors we can take
what we want, since everyone's dead anyway."

"I mean... I guess if we're not coming back?" Eliam shrugs. "I mean
what are they going to do at this point, arrest us for
shoplifting?"

Oren takes the chest to his room on the boat, then returns to the dock. "So do you want to go see what we can find?"

"May as well, I guess," Eliam agrees.

Oren nods, and walks over to the others. "Eliam and I are going
to go loot the city, do you want anything? Or you can come with us?"

"No thank
you," Gwendolyn says quickly, walking to her room on the boat before he can respond.

"You
can watch the boat... then... bye," Oren says, as she retreats. He shakes his head, annoyed, and looks at Minerva and Elise. "Do you two want to stay here as well?"

Minerva stands and
dries her feet before finding her boots. "We may as well. Being
well-supplied will be important."

"I
should have known you wouldn't pass up a chance to spend more time
with us," Eliam says, smiling at her. Oren wheels the small cart he used to carry the money chest with them, and they start off down the street. A ways down the road, they find a general store, and a finance office which regulates currency in Ariglodo.

"Um... can we... stop at the bank first?" Elise asks shyly.

Oren stops. "Sure, why?"

She blushes a little. "I... I think it would be nice to
leave money when we take supplies. You know... just in case someone
makes it back."

"If you steal
the money from the bank to leave at the store, though... Does that
still count?" Eliam asks.

Minerva's face
softens at Elise then immediately glares at Eliam.

"We should steal the money anyway," Oren says. "Then when we
get back to Iquai we can melt it into ingots and exchange it for real
money."

Minerva puts her
hands on Elise's shoulders and guides her in the direction of the
finance office. "Yes, dear. Yes, we can get money
first."

Inside, the finance office is empty. Minerva breaks in, and they begin to pile currency into the small cart.

"When we get this back, we can destroy the economy and cause a recession," Oren says, as the cart fills. "The Elyde won't expect that."

Eliam nods, then looks it over. "Is this enough?"

Minerva
raises an eyebrow at him. "Enough for what?"

"To... pay for everything, I guess. Insofar as it
matters."

Elise looks over
the money. "I think half of this would be too much. Should we
really take it all...?" she asks Eliam
earnestly.

Oren pats his shoulder, and leans in, whispering. "We're not really paying for anything, but don't tell her that."

Minerva
swats his shoulder gently. "Oh, come on. Putting a few silver on
the counter won't hurt."

"Sure,
if you want," Oren nods.

"I guess... we can
leave some here? If it makes you feel better," Eliam tells Elise. "We should definitely
bring some back to Sylvatir though."

Before she can move, Oren takes the cart and wheels it outside to the next store. Eliam picks the lock, and they enter the general store. Eliam begins to pile varieties of alcohol into the cart, and Oren packs some food and containers of water. In the back, they find some fine clothes; Oren packs those as well.

"You
understand all the currency stuff, right Elise?" Eliam asks casually. "It's kind of an
interesting subject. Did you want to try to explain while Oren and I
keep searching, Minerva?"

"Of
course I know," she says, giving him a weird look. She shakes her head a little as she goes to help find
things to take. "Who doesn't know that...?"

Eliam smiles at her. "I
figured it would be good to make sure, just in case. But your
sister's a shopkeeper, so I guess it makes sense."

"Don't take it for granted Elise, lots of people
don't know things like that," Oren says, giving Eliam a sidelong glance as he takes some books from the shelves.

"Oh?" she says. "That's strange. I guess
people are different all over, though."

They finish raiding the general store. Oren wheels their items out, and they return to the boat; though some of the townsfolk gave them odd looks, none attempted to stop them.

### **The Group Sails to Ilemashi**

Minerva claps a hand on Eliam's
shoulder. "I believe this is where you come in!"

"Of course," he says confidently. "I have this, don't worry."

The ship slips smoothly out of port. Minerva
whistles lowly. "I'm impressed, Eliam. You're not half bad at
this."

"I had to help with some
of the boats when I got in trouble as a kid," he explains. "So I picked up a few
things."

Satisfied the boat situation is handled, Oren find Gwendolyn's room below decks. "Hey, Gwendolyn. Or is it
Lady Gwendolyn?" He calls out as he knocks.

At first, Oren hears nothing. But after a couple minutes of waiting, the lock cliks, and Gwendolyn opens the door, looking like she has hurriedly made herself presentable. She stifles a yawn as she looks at Oren. "What...? Gwendolyn is fine. The title is only necessary in a formal situation, that I don't thin-" she stops, interrupting herself. "Nevermind. What did you need?"

"I
wanted to ask you something," Oren says, trying to look past her into her room to find her shield.

Gwendolyn shifts slightly, blocking his view into her room as much as she can. "Yes?"

"How
did you keep that spectre from approaching us?"

At the mention of the spectre, Gwendolyn pales, but quickly composes herself. "A blessing from the Maker, I suppose."

"Okay, so was that the first time you did that?" Oren asks. "Because we have a zombie situation waiting for us back in Iquai and I
think if you can do that again, it'll really be useful."

"Yes. It was the first time I'd seen anything
like *that* before. A... *what* situation?"

"Oh, nobody
knows that word..." Oren sighs. "It's
like when a person who is dead comes back. Like a corpse that can
move around. I don't know much about it. We did fight a moving
skeleton once. But this was different."

"That sounds...*horrifying*. How is that possible?"

"I'm not
sure. Maybe it's some sort of magic. The skeleton came out of the
Bramble after The Wellspring there was destroyed. The zombie... or
zombies? Well, Minerva's dad had died, but then at Fallowfield there
was an army of orcs and her father was among them. I think we need
to ask her exactly what she saw. She's the only one who looked out,
and she described the army as being battle-scarred I think, but I
thought about it later and they might be zombies too. We'll see when
we get back, I guess."

"I
could barely keep that spectre back. I'm not sure how much help it'd
be versus an army like that."

"Okay,
well it might come in handy. If you see one you should try it.
Hopefully it won't come up."

"I'll
keep that in mind, thank you," Gwendolyn smiles, waiting for Oren to leave. "Did you
need anything else?"

"Was
Fallowfield destroyed?"

"Yes.
The church was burned to the ground."

"Was the library destroyed?"

Gwen nods in response.

"And everyone
died?"

"I don't know
*exactly*..." She looks away. "But I believe so."

"Okay. I don't know if the glyph in Ilemashi will
take us to Fallowfield or somewhere else. When we get there you
should use Votig's orb to get through again. We can let you go first
and see if it works first. That locket will help us find it, it
heats up when you're near it."

"Is
that why Prilla gave you it?" Gwen asks. "Why would she want you to come
here?"

"I don't know, she
told me to keep secrets and follow my heart. I may have
misunderstood though," Oren pauses. "She was nice."

"She was. The world is worse without her."

Oren nods, and looks around. "Um... I'm gonna go. I'm glad you're okay." Awkwardly, he backs away and leaves.

"Thanks,
Oren." Gwendolyn goes back into her room, locking the door behind her.

Oren returns to the deck of the ship, finding Eliam at the helm. He waves as Oren approaches.

"How is everyone? The worst part
of having to drive this thing is getting stuck at the helm. But maybe
no one will notice if I leave? It'll steer itself at this point
anyways... Mostly."

"Uh, well, it's
getting dark so maybe we should... park," Oren suggests.

"Probably a good idea." Eliam leads him to the anchor and begins dropping it. "Hey... Do you
really think everyone is okay back in iquai?"

"No."

"I mean.... It's
a long shot, but there's always a chance, right?"

"Gwendolyn said that the people in Fallowfield
died. And I would bet Saloria didn't do much better with all those
monsters. Who knows what else the Elyde has planned. Though I'm not
sure why they would want to kill people, they're supposed to run the
country not destroy it."

"Yeah! It's
weird, right?" Eliam says. "I mean, why do they let the Rorgh get away with
everything if they want to stay in power?"

"I don't know, but I guess we can stop them. They seem
bad, and Minerva wants to kill them all. She's usually right about
that sort of thing."

"Yeah... I
mean, whatever she wants to do, it can't be worse than what we had.
What do you want to do when we get back, anyways? I mean, we'll
probably not be able to fight that monster right away... maybe fix
Saloria?"

"We should fix the
wellspring, and maybe visit Votig in The Valley and see if we can
talk to him. ...Not necessarily in
that order," Oren adds.

"Yeah... I'll let
you guys decide. I kind of want to see if my family is okay, too...
And that wizard! Maybe we can ask him why he had that flower, or
maybe he knows something."

"...Maybe.
I hope he's not mad at me. You said you were from Glenhaven right?
That's near where I lived so it would be easy to do both. We could
stop in Ushad first and let Minerva talk to Linea, and maybe leave
Elise with Heather. And Votig lived over that way, in the mountains
up the river, maybe we should talk to his wife and explain what
happened."

"Yeah... Glenhaven
was pretty close... And Linea might be able to fill us in on
everything we missed. And don't worry if he's mad at you, I'll handle
it. I mean, shutting down other magic users is pretty much my
specialty."

Oren looks suddenly concerned. "Don't do that! He's really strong and it probably
won't work, and he won't like it. I mean he probably won't want all
of you visiting anyway, and he's already probably mad at me so
that'll just make things worse if you do that."

"Okay, okay! I won't," Eliam frowns. "But I'm not just going to
stand back and do nothing if he tries to hurt you."

"I don't
know if he'll hurt me, he might but most likely he'll just tell me
off and that's just as bad with him. Either way I deserve it, I was
pretty bad. Maybe we'll get back before him and I can clean
everything up and he won't know it happened! But then I'd have to
explain how I met all of you, I guess..."

"Whoa, hey, you don't have to feel like you deserve to be
punished," Eliam says. "I mean, it's basically the wizard's fault, leaving an
artifact that important out where you could get it. What do you mean,
clean everything up? You didn't trash the tower or something, did
you?"

"...No, it's
fine," Oren says. "And people who do bad
things probably should be punished. That's why we're going to kill
that patriarch. And if you
had been punished when you were bad as a kid maybe you would have
behaved better and they wouldn't have kicked you out. And if Elise had been punished she wouldn't be so spoiled."

Eliam looks briefly annoyed, then looks at him askance. "The
tower... Is fine, so you're panicking about cleaning it up in time?
What did you do?"

"Well I
stopped cleaning, and it probably got really dusty and messy, I mean
over nearly six months... Right? It's probably messy. And uh, I had
the flower growing and that got... messy too. It's fine, I'll clean
it. It's mostly one room, when you first walk in... Like a room where
you can take visitors who need healing. That room needs to be
cleaned."

"The *flower* got
messy? But you had it growing while we traveled, and it never got
anything I'd call messy. Except for the bleeding... on it thing..." Eliam trails off, and looks at him concernedly. "...You didn't seriously hurt
yourself for it or something, did you?"

"I gave it blood whenever I could but it's not serious." Oren holds out his wrist, showing him his scars. "It all healed, you just
can't give too much. So I borrowed some from hurt people, they
didn't even know, it just ended up getting kind of bloody in there so
I need to clean it up. Sometimes
blood spills, and it's messy... But I didn't care about cleaning too
much so it never got mopped up or anything..."

"Oh... Okay. I mean, it's probably better that you
didn't just use your blood, if you needed a lot. And yeah, that makes
sense. If you took so little they didn't even know, I'm sure it was
fine."

"...Yeah. Let's go inside, it's kind of cold here," Oren says, taking his hand and leading him to their room. "The best part about going
home is it's summer so we can be warm again. Though I'm disappointed
we didn't get to see any snow. I've never been snowed on before."

"Yeah, it's so cold out I'm surprised. But no
kidding, I definitely miss the heat. And also I *was* punished and
talked to as a kid... I always thought they were overreacting though.
Or taking things too seriously. I mean, I never did anything that
bad. No idea about Elise, though."

"Why did they kick you out then?" Oren asks as he leads him inside, closing the door behind them.

"Just... Another
overreaction, I guess. And paranoia about the Rorgh. But I really
never got caught, and we were too far from the cities for them to
care anyways."

"That's not fair, hopefully they let you stay when we go
there. I mean I don't want you to stay if we're all traveling but I
want you to be happy."

"Yeah... I
mean, traveling with you guys comes first. We have to save Sylvatir.
But... Yeah, maybe?" Eliam sits down on the bed. "I don't know if it would even be the same if I
went back. Not after they just kicked me out. I don't know. I'll
worry about it when we get there. But maybe you could meet my family!
You'd like my sister. She's really nice."

"If you want me to, I'll meet people."

"I mean, you don't have to! Do you think you'll
stay with the wizard when we get back?"

"I don't mind. I think he won't want me to stay. But I
don't know if I want to stay there anyway, not if I can't see you.
You said we would live together somewhere, that sounds better. I
don't know a lot about living in the real world but I can be a doctor
I guess, isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yeah! I mean, if you want to," Eliam says happily. "I mean it's a great way to
keep a roof over our heads, and healing isn't really that hard of
work... At least magic anyways, I'm not sure about the kind of stuff
you do. You'll like living outside the tower, I think. You can take
as many walks as you want."

"That's
nice. I hope we get to see Minerva sometimes, she probably won't
want to live with us though. Do you think you'll see Gwendolyn after
we finish doing everything we need to do or will she go back home? I
guess her home is destroyed?"

"I'd
really like to... Minerva too. Maybe they'll stay nearby? It'd be
nice if they were close. Or hey, maybe they will want to live with
us, who knows? But yeah, Gwen's home was destroyed. I don't think
she's thought much about what she wants to do beyond help us yet, to
be honest."

"Well they can
live with us if they want to. Minerva can cook, which is good. I asked her if
she wanted to rule Iquai after we took over and she said she wanted
the citizens to choose the next leader, and I thought you could do
that. You're so likeable, everybody will vote for you. Then you can
be king, and Gwendolyn can be your queen. Do you want to try
that? You sounded like you wanted to
be king before, and this way Minerva won't be angry."

"I thought you were just saying that to manipulate
me before," Eliam says. "I mean... I'm sure they would vote for me, I'm really
likeable. But I mean... I don't really... Understand a lot of the
government stuff. Or stuff a king would have to know. And I don't
even know if Gwen *wants* to be queen, but I sort of doubt it.
Honestly I think Minerva would try to assassinate me after like, a
week. ...Hey, what about you? You could be king."

Oren shakes his head. "No, you
could do it. You're very regal, and that's all a king needs. I mean
what does the Elyde even do? You'll do better than them. You just
hire people to do all the work and get some advisors. Maybe Minerva
can use the Lyriad to get information and keep you up to date on
dissent, so you won't be overthrown like the last king. And
Gwendolyn is a fancy lady and would probably like to marry a king,
and she likes you."

"You
really think so? I mean... You'd know better than I would. You'd be
one of my advisors, definitely. And having the lyriad on hand would
be useful..." Eliam sits back, thinking. "This could work."

Oren nods. "I was trying to manipulate you before
you know, but I intend to keep all the promises I made. I want all
of you to be happy. If I can do this and repay you for everything
you've done, then I want to do it."

"Okay! I just hope everyone else thinks it's a good plan
too. I feel like they're going to be a little wary of letting us plan
stuff for a bit after the whole Kunalchusi thing, even if that really
isn't fair. It makes sense one of us
should rule after the Elyde, though, since we're the Children. We'd
be hero kings!"

"I guess, and
there's nobody to stop us." Oren picks up Eliam's lute, and hands it to him. "You should be practicing.
If you learn how you can write a song to convince people to vote for
you."

"Would have to
be a hell of a song," Eliam laughs, "but I should practice more,
yeah. I guess. Should we ask Gwen? About the king thing? I mean... We
sort of keep messing decisions up. But if she says it's a good idea,
we'll know it's okay for sure."

Oren nods. "It's not a secret. Do you want to talk to her...alone? I could go
ask her to come here, that'll be more romantic."

"I mean, if you want to? I don't mind if you're
here," Eliam says. "I'm uh.... Sort of worried about romancing anyone in our
group. I don't want anyone to act crazy, like you said, and I mean...
I can't just leave the next day, I guess. So if I did, it might end
up a problem."

"That's good.
You should probably do that. I mean... not do that, don't romance
anyone. Or seduce anyone. I'll go get
her, just pretend she's not a woman and talk to her normally and
it'll be fine..." Oren leaves, walks down the hall to Gwen's room, and knocks on the door.

This time, Gwen opens the door quickly, looking much more awake. "Hello," she says, surprised to see him again.

"Hi. Eliam
wants to talk to you. He's in that room," Oren points, and looks around to make sure the others aren't listening. "it's sort
of private, can you go listen to him?"

"Okay..." She says, looking concerned. She steps out of her room, locking it behind her, and
she steps out of her room and shuts down, locking it with key before
going to their room. She opens the door to see Eliam playing the lute, an open bottle of whiskey next to him. On the floor sits a large chest, overflowing with gold coins.

"Good evening," Eliam says, putting the lute away as she enters. "How are you
doing? Sorry, I hope you weren't in the middle of anything
important." He pours a glass of whiskey, holding it out to her.

Gwendolyn pauses in the doorway in surprise, looking the room over before accepting the drink. She closes the door behind her and sits across from the bed. "No, I was just reading... but I'm fine. How are you?" She smiles. "Were you practicing?"

"Yup! Boat's
anchored, so not much else to do. ... Oh, don't mind the gold. Elise
wanted to rob the bank. ...But
anyways, Oren and I were talking about what we want to do when we get
back to Iquai... And I kind of wanted to run our plan by someone else
to see if it's okay? I mean, after the whole Kunalchusi and uh, other
plans going wrong, I guess it seems like a good idea to make sure. We
figured we'd throw in with Minerva's group, I guess... And then Oren
wants to make me king."

Tentatively, Gwen takes a sip of her drink, grimacing at the taste. "So then, you're planning on
overthrowing the Elyde? That's fine with me, as long as the Rorgh go
as well. Why does he want you to be
king?"

Eliam leans over into a crate of bottles, pulling out some wine to offer instead. He pours her a new glass and offers it to her. "Beats me. I don't really know much about government, or other
stuff you'd need to know to be king, I think. But he said he'd be my
advisor, and I could just hire people to do all that stuff. And that
I just need to look regal."

She accepts the wine, and takes an appreciative sip. "That
sounds like he just wants you to be his puppet, so *he* can rule..." she looks at him, taking another sip. "But surely that can't be right."

"What?" Eliam laughs. "No way, he'd never want that. I mean, he says he wants me to be happy
more than anything, and he wouldn't just use me like that. He's too
nice to do that. But he reads a lot and studies a lot, so I'm sure he
just realizes he knows more about that stuff than I do. Minerva wants
to let the people elect a leader though, and he figures they'll vote
for me over him, if he tries to become king."

"*Elect?* That sounds... complicated. I don't
believe King Rodric was elected, was he? What happens when everyone
wants to elect themselves? I'm sure there's plenty of commoners who
would enjoy such a change in lifestyle. It's
a nice thought, I suppose. I just find it a little
unrealistic."

"Yeah... I don't
really understand why Minerva wants elections either. She probably
hasn't really thought it through," he says, pouring himself another drink. "So... Probably not our best plan, then. But enough about me.
How are you holding up? You sounded like you were having a rough time
yesterday."

"Don't
misunderstand me. I just find fault with the election. I think if you
truly want to be king, and feel you can lead Iquai, then you should
just take the throne. Who would argue against the hero that stopped
the Elyde? And like I said, I'm fine," she says, looking away and taking another long sip of wine.

"I
mean... I guess that's why I wanted to ask you. I don't know if I can
lead. I mean, I definitely wouldn't mind being that important, but...
Well, we'll worry about that when we get there. I'm glad you're okay
though," he smiles.

Gwendolyn smiles back. "I think
you could handle it. You seem genuinely nice, eager to help others
and you're regretful of the mistakes you've made, which shows that
you know you aren't perfect."

"Oh...
I mean. Thank you," Eliam looks away, slightly flustered. "Maybe
it could work out after all. You know, Oren wants you to be queen?
But I think he's just saying that because we both come from important
families."

Immediately Gwen chokes on her wine, her face turning red as she coughs. "He
*what?*"

"I mean... I
just, don't worry about it. He didn't mean it. Uh... We stole a bunch
of alcohol in town, the really good stuff. Would you like some?
You're welcome to take some."

"Oh
no, you don't get to say something like that and drop the subject," she says, setting her glass down and looking him in the eyes. "I don't know
if Oren really knows what he was saying, or what that would *mean*. But *you* should, Eliam. And you don't seem the kind of person to
marry someone because their friend suggested it. So is that what
*you* want?"

"I mean, of course
he doesn't," Eliam stammers. "I don't know. I thought you'd find it amusing. I mean,
marriage is- I wouldn't just ask something like that. We barely know
each other that well, and I... I'm sorry."

Gwendolyn shakes her head as he backpedals. “Until I joined the Church, I was fully expecting to marry
your brother. After the Elyde, families of our prestige are kind
of…lacking, to say the least. And *then* I expected never to marry
anyone. I’ve never felt I’ve had much choice in this area.” She pauses, refills her glass, and takes a long drink. “Being
Queen sounds better to me than following Prilla’s path. But that’s
how *I* feel. You need to decide your own path.”

"Oh... oh wow, yeah, my brother. That would have made
sense, yeah. I uh. Did you just say you'd marry me? I mean, I'm
not... The whole king thing probably won't even work out, there's no
way." Eliam downs his glass in one go, quickly pouring another. "I don't...
know about my own path. I mean I just never thought about it much,
ever. I guess being a healer wouldn't be so bad... but king, I don't
think I'm cut out for. If someone else wanted it, I'd help them
though. I mean, hell, you can still be Queen on your own."

"Yes, your brother. Did he never tell you we met? It
was at a grand ball, thrown in honor of my eighteenth birthday in
Siraj. I suppose you are right though, in that we don't really know
much about each other. I believe that's what courting is for." She gets up, sitting next to him on the bed. "And I've heard the best Kings
are those that don't want it."

"I
mean... I guess so? I don't... I mean, if you guys can help me with
it, it'll probably be alright. He uh, he never told me, no. Do... do
you want more wine?"

"I'd love some," Gwen smiles. "And there isn't really much to tell. I mean, it's hard to describe
*that night*. He seemed nice though, but not overly charming despite
himself. We danced."

He pours her a glass of wine. "Yeah, he was always a bit
serious, I guess? That... sorry, that night?"

She takes a sip."Yes, it was kind of an overload.
The music, the dancing, the drinking... It was my first real night as
a *Lady*. Most of it seems like a blur. I remember P-" she
catches herself, "I remember my father making a speech, and
being presented to the guests."

"Oh,
right, yeah, you meant... yeah," Eliam says, looking relieved. "Those parties really can get
overwhelming."

"It wasn't long after that, that
I left my family. That night, I think, was kind of the end." She
smiles sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear
that," Eliam says. "That must have been rough. But I'm
glad you found a good place to stay."

"Thank you." Gwendolyn sips her wine and looks at him.

"I was thinking, you know, when we get back, we can
put things right in Sylvatir. I mean, more than just fixing Saloria
or whatever. We could go back to your family, and mine. Rub it in
both their faces that things ended up better for us than they
expected."

"I'd like
that," Gwen smiles. "I'm sure we wouldn't have to wait long, as soon as they hear
about King Eliam."

"Exactly," he grins, clinking his glass against hers. "I suppose
I should go see how Oren is doing? It's been a while. I mean, unless
you think you'd rather stay here together a bit longer."

"He's probably fine. It's a nice
night, I think, and wasn't this conversation his idea?"

They sit together for a moment, and Eliam sighs. "Okay, believe me,
it's not that I'm not interested. But I mean... *if* something
happens tonight, we still have to travel together, you know? I mean,
I've gotten enough lectures about not ruining our group dynamic... so
maybe we should just... call it a night?"

Gwendolyn looks at him, slightly offended. "I believe something
*did* already happen. I don't think I imagined you essentially
proposing to me, did I? Being King, with me as your Queen... being
lectured on what you can or can't do. Oren isn't here. What do *you*
want, Eliam? How do you really feel about those topics?"

Eliam shifts awkwardly. "I
mean, I didn't *mean* to! I mean, marriage? I mean... it would be
bad for you too, you know. I don't have the best track record with
this romance stuff. I just... I don't know. I don't want to fuck this
whole group thing up by ruining it. I don't need to get kicked out of
somewhere yet again. I don't need to be left homeless and alone yet
again. I guess that's what I want. To not have to worry about
everyone fighting over something and breaking apart in Thirshalon,
leaving us alone here when we're so, so close to just being done with
this place. If people want me to be King, I'll do it, I guess? I
honestly just don't care at this point beyond getting home and
finding out if everyone I knew and cared about is dead after all. For
all we know we're talking about being King and Queen of some
ashes."

For a moment, Gwendolyn sits in silence. "Oh." She thinks to herself, taking a long sip of her wine. "I'm not sure what I expected, but I
appreciate the honesty. Do you really think the group would fall apart over
something like that?"

"Sorry...
I didn't mean that," Eliam says, composing himself. "No,
I'm sure they wouldn't. I mean, they're too nice for that, really.
And honestly, Iquai is probably fine... I was worried the Rorgh would
have gone after our families after we disappeared, you know? But even
they wouldn't do that, assuming they even found out who we are... I
mean, only a few monks knew who we were, really... things are
probably fine. And hey, we're going to need *some* government after
the Elyde fall. Why not me? I'm sure I could learn the stuff you need
to know for it."

"Perhaps you
can," Gwendolyn says, standing as she finishes her glass. "I
think...I should be going now. Goodnight, Eliam."

"Oh... Yeah. Here,"
he says, handing her another bottle. "One more for the
road. I'm sorry. I think I handled this poorly. But I'm not opposed
to... maybe we can try this courting stuff again sometime. I would
like to learn more about you."

Gwendolyn shakes her head, walking to the door. "You really *are* bad at romance, aren't you?" She says, as she closes the door behind her, walking past Oren to return to her room.

He stands up quickly, walking into their room. He sits down on the bed next to Eliam, but hops off immediately, examining it. "Uh... is... this clean?"

"Yeah,
it's clean..." Eliam trails off, falling back onto the bed. "I really messed up."

"It
sounds like you didn't mess up if you didn't sleep with her. I mean
not for you, but for everyone else." Satisfied the bed is safe, Oren hops back on beside him.

"That's a good way of looking at it,
yeah. Thanks. I sort of, accidentally proposed to her? Then I just
panicked, and well... I don't think you need to worry about me
sleeping with her anymore. Let's just say it wasn't a great
night."

"Well once you're
married you can sleep with her every night. But then I'll have to
sleep alone." Oren rolls over, pulling up the covers and trying to fall asleep. Sighing, Eliam falls asleep as well.

### **The Group Arrives and Shops at Ilemashi**

The next morning, Minerva
stands at the bow of the ship. She looks over the waves and the wind
blowing off the water causes her hair to fly furiously behind her.
Her eyes narrow as, off in the distance, a castle begins slowly
appearing on the land near the horizon. "I think
we're close," she calls, until she's sure everyone has heard
her.

A few minutes pass, and the party meets her up on the deck. Minerva folds her arms.
"So... plans? I'm going to
assume the city is defended well."

"It
depends on how they greet us, I guess..." Eliam says. "Hopefully no one's tipped
them off. They might just think we're average visitors."

"And if they come after us?" Minerva
asks. "Should we try to bluff our way
through or just... you know. Be ourselves."

As the ship moves closer, they begin to see what they
believe is a port, and large stone walls that surround the city in a
semi-circle on land.

"We could
just drown everybody again," Oren says reluctantly.

Elise looks reluctant as
well. "Perhaps... a different method?"

"The only thing with that I'd be worried about is
damaging the glyph," Gwendolyn says.

"We don't
really know what we're facing... and we're just us. I think our only
options are bluff our way in, or sneak our way in. Or drown them, of
course," Eliam adds.

Oren nods. "They might
have a library like Fallowfield had. It would be better not to get it
wet. Maybe we can just knock everybody
out with poison or something, then we can walk by and they won't stop
us."

Minerva eyes him
curiously. "Do... you have that much poison?"

"No. But a city like this might have a few healers or
apothecaries. I don't know if they usually carry that sort of thing,
but we definitely had some things that could knock a person
out."

"We could probably buy
some," Eliam says. "Since Elise robbed that bank, we have plenty of
funds."

Elise purses her lips
slightly but nods.

Oren nods as well. "Then we just need to find a water source that the people
share, we put in the poison and wait a day. Not everyone's going to
be knocked out but they might be drowsy at least. It can't be too
strong or they'll notice right away."

"Okay. Let's look for an apothecary when we get into
town," Minerva says. "Elise, can you listen around for one
when we land?" She nods.

Within an
hour, the ship has landed at the dock. Some guards mill about,
looking disinterested. A grey orc lumbers over to the ship as the
group is tying it to dock. "Papers, please."

"Sorry,
papers?" Eliam asks, looking around at the others.

He rolls his eyes.
"The patriarch lives here. We don't let just anyone
in."

"We don't have papers, where can
we get some?" Oren asks.

He snorts. "Go
back to wherever you came from and send a letter to Ilemashi
Security. Or," he laughs even more heavily, "you could just
give me 300 gold and I'll look the other way, but who has that kind
of money?"

Oren fetches ten gold from the ship, and hands it to him. "Is this enough?"

"We don't plan
to stay long; we just want to restock quickly," Eliam adds.

He drops the ten gold into the water.
"Don't mess around. Come back with papers or 350
gold."

Oren frowns, annoyed. He closes his eyes, and with a subtle hand motion, controls the water around them. A whip of water rises from the beck, catching the orc's foot and dragging him into the water. He splutters about for a moment, trying desperately to cling to the dock
as the metal of his armour weighs him down. "Hey!" he coughs. "Help me back
up!"

Minerva
looks around to see if any guards have noticed this. Oren moves forwards to the guard, taking his arm. He feigns
pulling up the orc, but causes the waters to pull him deeper. The orc's
head drops below the surface. Two of the guards sprint over, concerned.

By the time they get there, it is too late. The
guard has been pulled under. They attempt to give him a rope or pole
to grab on to, but he has gone too far down. He does not resurface,
and momentarily, the surface of the water becomes still. "By the Maker," one of the guards gasps. "What
happened here?"

"He slipped on
the docks and went under," Eliam says, feigning concern.

"That's...
what a way to go," the guard says. "I'll have to report
this. For now, do you have your papers?"

"We gave
them to him," Gwendolyn says quickly.

The second
guard looks down over the water's edge. "That... that's
unfortunate." They look
over the group carefully. "Maybe we can... do this abridged, just the
once. We have some pressing business to see concluded now. Purpose of
your visit?"

Oren turns away, holding out his hand to Elise to help her off the boat. Eliam steps forward. "We're hoping to restock on basic supplies in
town."

"Length of your
stay?"

"One day. We'll be
leaving tomorrow, ideally."

The
guards exchange a look, then shrug. "We'll be marking your boat
for departure at this time tomorrow. If you fail to be on your boat
and ready to leave at that time, we'll be repossessing your ship and
property for sale for the good of the Patriarch. If these terms are
acceptable, you may enter Ilemashi."

Eliam looks around for confirmation, and Gwendolyn nods. "Sounds good," he smiles. "Thank you."

The guards step aside.
"Welcome to Ilemashi."

"Is there an inn nearby?" Oren asks, after helping Elise to the dock. He pulls the heavy chest of gold with him, and Eliam goes over to help him carry it.

One guard takes a
lingering look at the water, then walks away. The second says,
"Quarter mile north, then take the road going left. You can't
miss it."

Oren nods, and with their things gathered, the group departs for town. They pass a variety of stores as they walk, and Oren stops them at a book store. "Guard this," he tells Elise, motioning at the chest as he walks inside, Gwendolyn following.

Eliam looks quickly at her. "I'll stay here as well," he says.

Inside, the book store is narrow but
long. Rows of books line the walls, and there is a central aisle of
paperbacks leading toward the rear. Gwendolyn walks to the paperback section, stopping to look at some romance novels. Oren looks for a section on magic, but finds only books on basic spells.

Gwendolyn takes an armful of paperbacks, and wanders over to Oren. "Anything
interesting?"

"No. They
don't seem to like magic here." He leads her to a section of rare books, though they aren't as rare as he was hoping for. He takes what looks interesting, and goes to pay.

Gwendolyn holds up her books, smiling. "Can you get these too, for me?"

He nods, and their books paid for, returns outside. "Do you want to check out the armour store? Or
weapons?"

"It might not be a bad
idea to see what we can find," Minerva says.

"I wouldn't mind seeing what weapons they have," Gwendolyn says, "but I'm rather attached to my armor."

"Last
time I got armour it encouraged a monster to slash my face up," Eliam adds. "But a
new weapon could be alright."

"But
it's better to get scratched in the face than to be dead. Maybe the
armour protected you," Oren tells him. After a few minutes of walking, they reach a weapon store. They go inside, leaving Elise to guard the money. A variety of weapon types and
strengths adorn the walls.

The shopkeep
steps out from behind the counter. "Yeeeeeeeeeeees?"

Eliam ignores her, walking to where some bows hang on the wall. Gwendolyn nods at her, and they look around the store. Minerva examines a
pair of daggers with a blackened metal for blades. She picks them up
and spins them briefly. "They're balanced well..."

"Why are they black?" Oren asks.

The shopkeep lifts them carefully and says, "Very
rare technique used in smelting. Mixture of different ores. Stronger.
More durable. Sharper. Darker."

Oren looks at her, frowning. After a moment, he turns to Minerva. "She's lying."

She looks at him curiously. "How can you
tell?"

He shrugs. "Do you have any actually good
daggers?"

"Thiiiiis is
the finest dagger in all of Thirshalon!" she insists.

Oren shakes his head at Minerva. "Yours are fine, you don't need new
ones."

She pats her daggers.
"I am quite fond of them..."

Oren walks slowly around the store. He stops in a
darkened corner and notices a variety of weapons hanging from the
wall, and a few sitting in cases. There is a
wide variety of weapons in this section. Each shines with a bright
silvery gleam.

Minerva follows him, and he pulls out two daggers from a display. "Do you want to try these ones?"

She holds them. They fit easily in her hands as
she spins them with a dexterity she's not yet felt from her other
weapons. "O-oh. Wow. This... yeah. Wow."

"I'm glad
you like them. You should have the best daggers if..." He looks around. "Well, if you need them..."

He looks around for Eliam and Gwen. Eliam is testing a bow in his hand, but Oren beckons him over, pointing at the finer weapons he's found in store. Eliam grins, dropping the weapon he was holding against the display, and walks over, Gwendolyn following him.

"Do
you want a new one?" Oren asks.

"This
looks amazing! Thank you! ...You can take care of buying all this
stuff, right?" Eliam asks, smiling at him.

The shopkeep saunters over. "I see you have found the rarest of my...
collection."

Gwendolyn looks at the lance and the glaive, comparing the two.

"How much for the bow and the daggers?" Oren asks. "Go check on Elise and get some money," he adds to Eliam, taking the bow from him. He nods, and goes outside.

The shopkeep examines Oren with a
critical eye. "How much do you haaaave...?"

"We have a little bit of money. ...50 gold? Is that enough for all
of them? And whichever one she wants," he adds, gesturing to Gwen.

The shopkeep laughs. Then she stops,
and laughs again. "I will give you the hilts of those daggers
for 50 gold. 100 gold per weapon. No less. These are treasures."

"100 gold? Surely that's too much, even for something as
grand as they are," Gwendolyn says, inspecting the sword closely. "I've
seen better craftsmanship in Ariglodo. 60 gold each."

She glares at Gwen. "Such
insulting insolent insolence! 125 gold apiece now! What nerve."

Oren sighs, and goes outside to collect the money.

--

Outside, Eliam
sees Elise giving an orc a handful of gold. "Everything okay here?" He asks, walking over to her.

The orc
leaves. "Hello. Everything is fine,"
she says serenely. "He was
very pleasant. He said his family died at the Judgment; he was too
sick to go. He seemed down on his luck, so I thought a little gold
might help him. I mean... I did steal so much. We don't need it all,
right?" She looks at Eliam almost as though daring to be
challenged.

He raises his eyebrow at her.
"No... look, I was just teasing you about stealing it. That's...
admirable, to help someone like that, I guess. But don't go
overboard, okay? We need to be able to pay for the inn, at least."

Elise
frowns. "I gave him 10. I think we'll survive."

"Oh! Yeah, 10 is fine, that's nothing. Hey, okay,
so you're trying to pay for some daggers, a bow, and some other stuff
I guess," he says, leaning down and opening the chest. "How much would you say you need? Like... 200? Oren asked me
to bring some gold back in."

Before she can answer, Oren walks outside, taking some coins. "She said
it's 100 each. That seems high, but I don't know weapon
prices."

"Beats me," Eliam shrugs. "Maybe that's average."

Elise blinks. "That seems absurd. My sister charged far
less than that for armour..."

"They're really good weapons. What would you normally
charge for something like that?" Oren asks. He hands her the money. "You go inside and tell them that, maybe you two
can negotiate a lower price. I'll watch the cart."

Eliam glances at Gwen inside the shop, and frowns. "I'll
stay out here and help watch the money. Also uh... here," he says, handing Elise five gold from his pocket. "Just in case someone else needs help,
alright? I don't know if this is enough, but either way."

"Oh.... Okay," she says. She takes the
gold and walks inside.

"What's wrong?" Oren asks, looking concernedly at Eliam. "I thought you could... y'know...
swindle her. The shopkeeper, not Elise. Why did you give her
money...?"

"Sorry. I guess I'm just sort of... distracted?
Don't worry about it," Eliam answers. "I don't know. I feel bad about making fun of
Elise. I mean, she's just a kid, it's probably not fair to make her
feel too much like a criminal. She was giving some guy ten gold for
some story about his family dying at the judgment. As long as she
doesn't go overboard, we have plenty of money, so if it makes her
feel better may as well let her go for it."

"Money isn't going to help that man much, but I
guess we can spare it," Oren says. "We'd probably be able to help people back
home once we get there if there's too much money... Let's just
convince them to hold on to it for now. We don't know what we'll
need." Oren takes some heavy coins from the chest, handing half of them to Eliam. "We can only take the things we can carry, remember."

Eliam nods, putting them into his bag.

Inside, Elise walks in to see the shopkeep glaring daggers at Gwen.
"Is... she always like that?"

"She's upset I offered less money," Gwendolyn whispers. "You're
welcome to try."

"What is she charging? 100?" Elise asks.

"125, now. She seems
like she has a very short temper."

Elise looks at her warily, then sighs. "Best not push
it if we really want those weapons. Are they useful weapons?"

"Oren seemed
impressed. The sword I was looking at was nice."

"How many are we buying?"

"The sword, bow, daggers. I'm not sure if you want
the staff or not, and Oren didn't seem to want anything."

Elise touches her own staff. "I... will be
fine. Let's get your weapons. Three weapons for 150 apiece means we'd need 450 gold.
Shopkeep, is this correct?"

She nods, and Elise steps out to Oren and Eliam. "I need
450 gold."

Eliam looks at Oren, who hands her the money. She takes it, returns inside, and holds it out to the shopkeep. "This should be
sufficient." She eyes the money warily, then takes it and waves her away.

Elise, Gwendolyn and Minerva return outside, weapons in hand. Minerva equips her daggers, and Elise brings the bow to Eliam.

"Hey, thanks. You did really well," he says.

Elise
smiles. "Thank you."

"Good job, we only
overpaid a little," Oren adds. "Do you want to check out the armour shop?"

Minerva shrugs. "I mean, it can't hurt. I feel like our next
battles will be... intense."

They continue along the road, reaching a shop selling armour. "I
can stay with the money," Eliam volunteers. "Leather armor is fine with me." He sits along the fence, beginning to turn his new bow into his arcane focus. Gwendolyn quietly sits next to him.

Minerva steps into the armour shop and takes Elise with
her. Oren looks at Gwendolyn, and follows them into the armor shop.

Gwendolyn stares at Eliam as he casts. "Well... the weather is nice today," he says awkwardly, looking down at his bow. "A little warmer here, compared to up north."

"It
*is* nice. Have you ever used a sword?" She smiles.

"No, actually. How come?"

"Well, I have
an extra one now that I don't really need. I thought you might like
it. It might make you look more... *regal*."

Eliam looks startles. "Oh... I mean... sure! Who knows? Maybe one day I can use it. Uh... thank you."

Gwendolyn smiles at him, helping him put on the sword belt.

Inside, Minerva looks at Elise, frowning. "We need to get
you something stronger. These battles will get more dangerous and I won't
have you unprotected."

"If it's
too heavy and cumbersome, she won't be able to cast spells as well," Oren warns.

Minerva steps toward the shopkeep.
"We're looking for high-quality armour. Do you have anything?"

"Not much demand
for that," the shopkeep says. "But we have a
little. I don't suppose any of
you are magicians, are you?"

"Why do you
ask?" Oren says quickly.

"Well, the best
armour we have for mages is different than for non-mages."

"Oh ok. Well... what do you have for mages...?"

He walks to
a side shelf and draws out some soft leather armour. Touching it, Oren
feels a trace of magic. "This is light aetheric armour. Magical
wearers report that they feel their magical power return when being
struck."

"Do you
have anything else?" Oren asks.

"For magicians?
Nothing with magical effects."

"How
much is it?"

"65 gold
for one. 100 if you get two."

"How many do you have?"

"Unfortunately I only have the two," he
replies.

Oren nods towards Elise. "Can you make one of
them fit her?" He pulls out the money, counting out the gold.

"Easily," he
replies. He takes the second one and does some minor
alterations.

Oren puts the money on the counter while he works, and takes the other one outside. "Here, put this on," he calls out, tossing the armor to Eliam.

"Oh! Hey, nice. Thank you," he says.

Oren nods and walks back inside, finding Minerva. "See anything you like?"

She looks around a
little. To the shopkeep, she asks if there is anything similar for
non-mages. The shopkeep shakes his head.
"Only fine armour with excellent stopping power. That armour
only works because magicians already hold magical power within their
bodies."

"Do you already
wear armour?" Oren asks her, examining her clothes.

"Yes," Minerva answers.
"Just thin armour to allow for mobility." Oren nods.

"Well,"
the shopkeep says, "if you're set on light leather and you don't
want to upgrade, you could also try this." He takes out a light
leather vest with nearly horizontal pockets on either side, below the
ribcage. "Light leather with two pockets for throwing knives.
You can whip them out for a ranged attack. Might surprise a foe and
give you an upper hand."

"Do
you have the knives?" He asks.

"I
could throw them in," he says. "Nothing particularly
special about this piece otherwise. 25 silver and it's
yours."

He looks at Minerva, who nods. "I
think that's reasonable." Oren pulls out the silver and pays.

"Thank
you, Oren," she says warmly. "I'll have to work on my
throwing..."

"It's all our
money, don't thank me. You should change now in case something
happens, you never know."

She steps
into a changing room and returns with the new armour on. Oren looks her over appreciatively. "You look good, and now you can stab people from
far away."

"Let's hope,"
she says.

The three return outside, and the group walks together to the apothecary. Minerva and Elise volunteer to wait together outside.

Inside, Oren looks around at the drugs, searching for something to cause drowsiness. Eliam follows him, reading some of the labels curiously. Gwendolyn looks around for potions to heal wounds.

The
potioneer sidles over to Oren. "And what is it you are looking
for?"

"Just some medicine,
we're leaving tomorrow and want to stock up. My
friend there," he says, pointing to Elise outside the window. "How old
would you guess she is?"

He squints. "8?"

"*Thank you,*" Eliam mutters under his breath.

"Yes, she looks like a mere child but she is, in fact,
19 years old," Oren continues. "Unfortunately she suffers from a condition that
requires iron supplements daily to counter it. It's a form of anemia..."

"Iron?"
he says. "We have iron tablets. They are made from fine iron filings that
are gathered into tablet form."

"That would help... wait, what? Uh... sure," Oren says, giving him a strange look. He takes a basket, and begins stocking it with various vials from the shelves. "I'll find what I need, thanks."

"How do you
remember what all this stuff does?" Eliam asks as he piles in various medicines.

"I just learned it from books," he answers distractedly. Gwendolyn adds a handful of healing potions to their pile, and Oren pays for the goods.

### **The Group Visits a Pub in Ilemashi**

Outside, they find a quiet back alley. Oren distributes the remaining money between them all, telling Elise to distribute the money back home, if she wants to give some away. Once the money is split, he looks around. "Now what?"

"Figure out where their water
source is, I guess," Eliam shrugs.

"Perhaps not
just their water. I imagine soon many people will be going to the
tavern to relax after work. Maybe there's a way to tamper with their
ale," Gwen adds.

Minerva looks
half-offended and half-inspired. "That's
brilliant," she says. "Part of me hates that you're messing
with the beer but brilliant."

"Sounds
like we have a plan," Eliam smiles. "Any idea where the tavern is?"

Elise closes her eyes. "I think it's this
way." She leads them down a
side street and focuses on a pair of walking orcs. She follows them
from a distance for a minute or two, then points as they step into a
building. "The Rusty Nail. That's it."

"Try to find one where the guards hang out," Oren says. "We
want them, not normal people."

"Oh," she says. "Maybe closer to the castle
itself, then?" She starts walking in
the direction of the castle.

"Do
all bars have such weird names?" Oren asks. "Like in Ushad that place was called
'the Grainhouse.' I thought it was a bakery or a restaurant, but I
don't think that's what it was."

Eventually, they approach a building just near enough for her
to begin hearing snippets of conversation. "It
sounds like a lot of the guards go in and out of here when they're
done with work." She gestures to the building, atop which sits
the sign, "Herb's."

"That's
not ominous at all," Eliam says quietly.

"See, that makes me think they sell spices," Oren says. "Or
plants."

"So next up: How do we
get to the ale?" Eliam asks. "I mean, I can distract whoever's at the counter, I'm
sure. But someone will have to get to the kegs in the back, I
assume."

"Maybe there's a
glyph that leads inside, if it does belong to the same
Herb," Oren suggests. "We have that necklace, we could
teleport in to the back."

"Might
hard to find a glyph, though," Minerva points out.

"Well... if it's like back in Saloria, there
could be one in the pub itself," Eliam shrugs. "But yeah, it'd be difficult to find
the glyph leading in. But it's a way out, maybe... maybe there's a
back door?"

Oren nods. "Maybe you can sense it. A glyph, not the back door. We can just find that."

Eliam closes his eyes, then shakes his head. "Nothing,
sadly. Possibly not even inside. But yeah, a back door might work.
They must have some way to bring the kegs in."

They move around back to find an empty alley. Behind the building is a wooden door. Quietly, Oren pulls it slightly open, peering inside.

"Did you see
any kegs in the kitchen? Maybe they just keep them there?" Eliam asks.

"Just one, they have to be elsewhere," Oren answers.

"Damn... the way into the cellar is probably
inside, then. If there even is a
cellar."

"How
long would you need to slip in and do what you need to
do?" Minerva asks.

Oren shrugs. "A minute or
two for each keg, probably."

She
leans against the wall. "I can seduce them for a minute or
two."

Elise says, "Do you
want hel-" "No," Minerva answers firmly.

Gwendolyn shifts in her armour, looking deeply uncomfortable with the conversation.

"That would be a good
distraction I guess... but you don't have to if you don't want to.
Eliam can do the seducing," Oren offers.

Minerva gestures at the door. "By all means, if you
feel up to it."

Eliam shrugs. "May
as well, I guess."

Minerva
looks somewhat taken aback that he agreed. "Oh! Well. All
right then. Good luck. We'll be out here if you get into
trouble."

"I mean, do you want
to help?" Eliam asks. "I hate to take away the opportunity from you. You seemed
pretty disappointed back in Ariglodo."

She raises her hands. "Oh, no. I can't seduce an
orc. How will I go on."

He grins. "I mean, you volunteered so quickly, I just
assumed."

"Mission
comes first. Pride second," she says.

Oren looks at her uncomfortably, and raises an eyebrow. "...Well... I'm sure
you'll have plenty of chances to seduce orcs later..."

"Okay," Minerva says. "Eliam, you throw
the door open, run in and draw their attention away from the door,
then lay on the charm. That way Oren can slip in before the door
closes so there's no second squeak. From there it's... all on
you."

"No problem there," he answers, smiling at her.

"We're
right out here if you need us," she adds. "Just bang on the
door if you can reach it."

"I don't know if this is better, but good luck I guess," Oren says. "Please don't actually have sex with them while we're all listening.
If I get stuck in a cellar listening to that I'm going to drown the
whole bar."

"If you
could drown me, too, that would be swell," Minerva
quips. Oren nods.

"Yes," Gwen adds. "*Please don't.*"

"Oh, right,
don't worry. I wouldn't want to make you jealous," Eliam winks at Minerva.

"Wait," Minerva says hastily to Oren, "That...
That was a joke. Right? We're joking. You're not actually going to
drown me. Right?"

"I mean we are leaving
town, so maybe it's a good chance for you, Eliam," Oren says, then looks at Minerva. "I would never drown you. Even if I was
trying to kill you I'd find a less painful way."

"...Thank you for your gentlemanly
reassurance," she answers.

"Well,
we'll see how the night goes," Eliam answers him cheerfully.

"Gwen,
Elise, let's hide behind the door so we can't be seen when Eliam
opens it." Minerva moves to be out of sight, and Elise follows. Gwendolyn hangs back for a moment, but hesitantly joins them.

Eliam throws open the door to the kitchen dramatically, rushing in. "Oh, Maker! Please, help? Out front,
there was someone out there, they looked hurt, they were saying
something about a fire down the road, and to get as much help as we
could?"

The orcs regard him
suspiciously but turn from the door to look at him. "A fire?
Where?"

He shakes his head. "I
don't know exactly. I'm sorry, they just said it was down the road,
and to find help. I didn't know where else to go."

"Well, let's get everyone to get some
buckets and we'll go down. Which way?" asks one.

"West.
Thank you so much," Eliam says, leaning against the counter and feigning being out of breath.

One of them
gives him a bucket anyway. "Come on, suck it up, we've got to
help." Outside, Oren rolls his eyes.

Three of the four orcs grab buckets and leave out
the back door. The fourth points for Eliam to follow. "Go, man,
go!"

Eliam shakes his head. "Sorry, I.... I ran down here as
fast I could. I sort of regret not working out more... but I'm sure
the others have it handled. Eliam, by the way."

"Fine," he says, "there are twenty-five men
in the dining room. Go out there and tell them to get a bucket and
get moving!"

He nods. "Sorry,
just... could I trouble you for some water, first? For
myself?"

The orc frowns at him, but turns to get some water. While his back is turned, Oren scampers inside, immediately spotting the door. He barrels through it and the chef hands Eliam the water, unaware of Oren's presence. Immediately, he sets to work poisoning the kegs.

"Thank you," Eliam smiles. "Sorry, I don't think I caught your
name?"

"Yannik," he says. "I am the chef
Yannik."

"Yannik. I'm sorry we met under such unfortunate
circumstances. But thank you for your kindness."

"Okay," he says, "now
that you have your water, I'm going to get the buckets from
downstairs for the men. You let them know what we need to do."

He begins walking to the basement, and quickly, Eliam grabs his hand. Yannik turns back to look at
him. "I thought you said someone was hurt and there was a
fire. We don't have time for this."

"I'm sure the others who
left will find more help. Is it really okay to leave the kitchen
unattended?"

Yannik takes his hand back. "No. That's why I'm getting
the buckets for you and the others, and I'm staying here."

Eliam sighs. "Yeah, that's a good plan.
Thank you again for the water. Oh, but first... I'm sorry, I think I
hurt my ankle. Could you help me make sure it's okay?"

"No, I really can't if it's as bad as you've
said. Sit there on the stool and I'll help you when the others have
gone to help."

He opens the cellar door, and nervously, Eliam sits back down.

As the door creaks open, Oren looks up. He withdraws a vial, pouring some liquid onto a piece of cloth, and stands to the side, ready to act as he hears the orc walk down the stairs.

Yannik notices that a keg is open.
"...The hell?"

Quickly, Oren grabs him from behind, forcing the cloth to the orc's face. Within moments, he falls to the floor.

Years
from now, the people of Ilemashi will remember the story of Yannik,
the disgraced chef. He was found wasted and unconscious on the floor
of Herb's cellar. When he finally came to, he immediately recounted a
tale of a nutjob who burst into the kitchen and told everyone there
was a fire. He went downstairs to get buckets to help, but was
attacked. No one, of course, believed him, having found him passed
out on the floor next to an open keg of beer. The obvious explanation
was that he had skipped helping put out the fire to skim beer off the kegs without paying.
Yannik was fired, and spent the rest of his days searching for
Eliam.

Oren finishes his work, and returns upstairs to find Eliam waiting. They meet up with the others outside.

As they exit, Minerva asks, "Did it work?"

"Flawlessly," Eliam answers.

"Yes, it's fine. He won't remember anything that
happened," Oren adds. "We should try to find a few
wells inside the castle if possible, or maybe they use pipes to bring
water in from somewhere."

"Also
we uh... really need to leave, like, now. And probably not come back
this way for a while," Eliam says. Oren nods, and leads them in the opposite direction that the men from the kitchen ran earlier.

"Don't worry," Oren adds to Minerva, "you can seduce someone
later."

"Oh. Good," she says flatly. "All I've
ever wanted."

"Really?"
Elise asks. Minerva sighs.

"Sounds
like he's giving you a pretty clear signal," Eliam says, smiling at Minerva.

"Eliam didn't even do a great job at it, the orc
came downstairs anyway," Oren smiles. "I'm sure he would have been distracted by
you." Eliam looks at him, betrayed.

"It's not your fault Eliam," Oren continues, confused at his reaction. "Maybe
he doesn't like men?"

Minerva
smirks. "Uh-oh," she teases. "Westmonte boys losing
their touch?"

"Hardly," Eliam answers, putting his arm around her waist.

Oren shakes his head. "He wasn't trying to seduce him.
Orcs are ugly, nobody wants to sleep with them. Though you seem very
eager to seduce one. I hope that's not due to your own
preferences."

She shudders.
"Maker forbid..."

Oren smiles.
"That's good. Your father would not approve at all if you
married an orc."

Eliam frowns. "I mean, I'd
seduce *one* orc. There were four in there. That's a little too
far."

She shudders again.
"Yes. Yes, it is." She puts her
arm back around Eliam. "Maybe let's both lay off the orc
seduction for a while, hm? We have enough things to have nightmares
over." She moves away from his arm and withdraws her
own.

"Once we get back home it
hopefully won't come up again," Oren says. "Those orcs are even worse than these
ones. You'll both have to
settle for..." he looks around, making sure no one is listening. "Well, people like us."

Minerva shrugs. "There are worse
things."

### **The Group Visits an Aqueduct in Ilemashi**

They walk through the town, eventually arriving at the river. They follow the water, and eventually find a large aqueduct covered in a heavy brick arch. The covering continues past the lock entrance, extending far into the Beck itself.

Oren examines it. "Can you make a hole in this?" he asks Minerva.

She looks
around. "Probably. Make sure we don't get spotted?"

"Sure," he says. "Elise, listen for people." She nods.

Oren and Minerva climb on to the brick covering, and Elise signals that no one is around. "It's pretty quiet," she says.

Minerva
stabs her flaming dagger into the brick. She seems to have hit a
vulnerability, because the stone begins to crumble with incredible
speed. Oren falls backward and scrambles to get away from the
widening hole Minerva is making. Gracelessly, he manages to avoid
falling in, though he bangs up his shoulder in the escape.

Minerva manages to kick
off sideways but, being next to the hole, she does not get clear. She
catches the edge of the hole and dangles into the aquaduct, her feet
dangling over the water. Oren grasps her hands, and begins to pull
her up. He makes gradual progess, but her hands, not his, begin to
slip.

"Don't you dare let
go!" she shouts at him.

"I'm
not!"

Minerva tries to hold
on but one of her hands slips out, and her second follows soon after.
She hits the water with a loud splash.

Eliam scrambles onto the archway to help, as Oren jumps in after her. Minerva treads water, desperately trying to fight the current. Oren catches up to her, and together they try to avoid being swept away.

"Does one of you have
a rope?" Eliam shouts to Gwendolyn and Elise.

Gwendolyn shakes her head. Elise turns around distractedly. "No, why?"

Eliam gives her a look. "They fell in! I can't reach
them!"

"Well, I didn't fall..." Oren says quietly, grabbing Minerva. He closes his eyes, extending his magic to the waters around him, and still them. The current fades, and they easily tread water.

Gwendolyn climbs up to help, lowering her lance into the hole. Minerva reaches for it and grasps it tightly. Oren pushes her up as best he can, and with a heave from Gwen, Minerva rises up through the air. She manages to grab the
lip of the hole and pull herself to safety.

She lowers her lance once more, and Oren grabs on, manipulating the waters to push himself closer. With another pull, Gwendolyn brings him up to safety as well.

"Thank you, Gwen." Minerva gives Oren a strange look.
"Um... thank you, too, Oren. You didn't have to jump in, but...
you know. Thanks."

"Well
I just told you I wouldn't drown you. I should try to keep some
promises at least."

They catch their breath, and after a moment, Minerva shakes her head. "Well,
that was exciting," she says dryly. "What's next on our
list?"

Oren pours several vials into the water. "Now we wait for
everyone to drink, or cook with it... and visit that pub," he answers. "We could
go find an inn and get ready to go, or rest... it'll be a few hours
before everyone is really affected by it. Then we can walk right in
and nobody will stop us. ...An inn that uses a different aqueduct, ideally..."

"Definitely
not the pub we went to before," Eliam adds. "I don't want to get
recognized."

"No, somewhere
else, definitely," Oren agrees. "We should eat and
figure out what we're bringing. We can go to the castle and find
that glyph in the early morning."

Minerva looks herself over. "Maybe we should let
ourselves dry off first...?"

Oren grabs some branches, and positions them over the hole in the aqueduct to hide it."You can take a bath at the
inn and change, if you want, we'll have time. It's nice having clothes to change into now, though I don't
know if we can carry everything back. We'll have to carry Gwendolyn
too. Do you still have Votig's orb?" He asks Gwen.

"I do, but, *carry me*?"

"Well, it
would be preferable to leaving you behind," Minerva
says.

"Yeah," Elise nods. "You're
one of us now."

Oren shrugs. "You
don't look that heavy, with the armour off." He leads them back towards the city.

"Well, no one
carried me here," Gwen says. "What would happen to my armour?"

"It probably would get left behind,
unfortunately," Eliam answers.

"Someone else
can carry the armour, or you can wear it," Oren suggests. "We brought a bunch of
books with us, and Votig brought Chompy. You'll be fine."

### **The Group Has a Spa Day in Ilemashi**

The party walks through the city, and eventually arrives at an opulent-looking inn. As they enter, some orcs give them a strange look. A lavender-skinned orc
with his nose in the air speaks as they enter. "Greetings,"
he says. "Welcome to Patriarch's."

"We'll have the suite," Eliam announces. "Whichever is the best you
have."

"Hm," he
says, looking down at his ledger. "The suite, you
say? As it so happens, with most
in Asle Lenor, we have a rare availability."

"Perfect," Eliam says, looking around for someone to carry their things. "We'll
need a menu for dinner as well."

"Very well. The suite will be 55 gold a night,
with an additional 15 gold booking fee paid in advance."

Oren hands him 15 gold. He accepts the payment, and
gives him a pair of keys. "Up the stairs until you get to the
fourth floor. The door to the fourth floor is locked behind that key.
You'll have the floor to yourselves."

"You wouldn't happen to have more than two keys, would
you?" Eliam asks.

"I am afraid two
will have to be sufficient," he replies.

"It's fine," Oren says, carrying his things upstairs. Eliam shrugs and follows him, the rest of the party in tow.

The
hotel, while not at max capacity, is still busier than most
places since the judgment. The second and third floor
are guest rooms, wall to wall. The first floor contains a bar,
lounge, indoor pool, exercise room, sauna, and what looks like a
small hall for theatre. The upper floor, the suite, has two separate
rooms containing some of the largest beds any of them have ever seen, plus a
central living space with comfortable sofas, a fireplace, and a large
bay window that overlooks the city.

"*Nice,"* Eliam says as they walk in.
"We should have robbed a bank earlier. Oren and I can share a room, I
guess... and someone can take the common room?"

"We can move one of these sofas into the girl's
room, or two people can share a bed," Oren suggests. He goes into the nearest room and sets down his things, looking around.

"That too. I dont mind sharing a bed with Oren," Eliam adds.

Minerva shrugs. "I can share."

Oren goes into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Gwen goes into the opposite room, setting down her things and going to take a bath as well. Eliam nods at Minerva, and she and Elise leave to put their things in the room Gwendolyn claimed.

--

Time passes, and Gwendolyn steps out from the bath. Minerva sits on the bed, running a comb through her hair, while Elise reads a book.

Gwendolyn looks at her for a moment. "Elise,
you have such pretty hair. Why do you always wear it like
that?"

She shrugs. "When
the hair falls over my ears just right, it helps muffle the sound a
little bit. I don't hear quite so much. I mean, not very much but...
in my situation, every little bit helps." She
looks a little nervous. "Is... is it bad?"

Gwen smiles. "Not *bad*, just a
little...simple? I think I could help,
if you'd like."

She looks in
the mirror for a moment, thinking hard. Then she pulls the ties from
her hair and lets it fall. "I think I'd like that."

Gwendolyn starts to work on her hair. After a few minutes, she turns to Minerva as well.

She blinks. "Oh... even me?" She flushes slightly. "Well...
okay."

"Of course," Gwendolyn smiles. "I'm sure you have
someone you want to impress, right?"

"O-oh," Minerva says. "Well.
I..." She sinks into silence, reddening despite herself.

--

In the other room, Oren leaves the bathroom, tying his hair back into a ponytail. Eliam sets down his lute, and goes to clean up as well. Oren goes to the common room, and starts a small fire in the fireplace. As he sits on the couch, there
is the sudden chiming of a high, tinkling bell from just outside the room.

Oren stands to open the door, but finds a bell located above a
slat in the wall outside the rooms. Below it, in the hollow, is a
circular metal tube with a cover on a hinge. There is a small sign
beside it that reads, "Raise hatch when bell rings."

Tentatively, Oren raises the hatch, and a voice echoes up through the
metal. "Ah, splendid. Are the accommodations to your
satisfaction?"

Concernedly, Oren examines the hatch, looking for the source of the voice. "Um. Yes."

"Wonderful. Please
be advised that the evening's dance will begin in an hour, should you
be interested in attending. First drinks are, of course, free for
guests of the suite."

"Can
you send up some dinner?" Oren asks, grabbing the menu. He reads it for a second, and frowns. "Two of everything. And drinks... some good wine,
and whiskey, and water and... do you have anything kids like? She
doesn't drink alcohol. And dessert too, some of these..."

"Right away," The voice assents. Oren waits to see if anything else is said, but after there is only silence, he goes to sit in a chair by the fire. He curls up with a blanket and tries to sleep.

--

Later, Eliam walks out into the common room. As he goes to sit down as well, there is a knock on the door. He looks at Oren, as though debating whether to wake him, but goes to open the door himself.

"2 gold's worth of food, sir,"
says a young orc.

Eliam hands him the money, and the orc wheels the food in. He raises an eyebrow at the amount, but says nothing.

After he leaves, Eliam gently nudges Oren awake. "Food's here. You really went all out, wow. I have to say this
beats camping out."

"I just told them to
send everything because I don't know what anyone likes, or the names
of foods," Oren answers.

Oren knocks on the door of the girls' room, and goes to set the table. Eliam sits and begins eating, while Oren patiently waits. After a few minutes, they walk out into the common area. Minerva steadfastly avoids Oren's eyes.

"Oh, hey," Eliam says. "You guys look nice."

Elise smiles happily at the compliment,
then sits to eat.

Oren looks up at them, examining Minerva's hair. "Oh, are you going to that dance
thing? We got food."

"That
sounds like fun," Minerva answers. "You know, before assaulting a castle and fighting for
our lives."

"Dance?" Gwendolyn asks.

"The guy
... someone said there was a *dance* soon, but I don't know what
that means," Oren answers. "Votig said dancing was how he got his wife, so maybe
it's only for people looking to get married."

"Hm," Gwen responds. She walks to the door.

"Are
you going already?" Minerva asks.

"I'll be back, don't worry," she answers, closing the door behind her.

Once Minerva sits, Oren pours out wine for her, pouring an extra glass for Gwendolyn. "Do any of you want
some? There's also whiskey, and they probably have lots of other
things if you want..." He pours Elise some juice, and pours Eliam and himself some whiskey. The drinks served, he starts to eat.

"Anyone can go
to a dance, even if they're not looking to get married," Eliam says. "I guess we
may as well? I figure we can't take this money with us, so tonight's
the night to spend it."

"Why can't
we take it?" Oren asks.

"I'll join you
on the whiskey, actually," Minerva says. "Can't be the only one
out." Oren pours her a glass.

"I mean, we can *take*
the money, but they won't accept it in Iquai, right?" Eliam asks.

"We
can melt it down, it's gold," Oren explains patiently. He takes a glass of water and freezes it, making ice, and puts in in their drinks.

"Thanks. I think you
might have gotten the best magic out of all of us," Eliam says as Oren hands him back his glass.

"Yours seems better. Mine just makes things
easier, but nobody else can control aether."

Elise sips a little bit of wine
slowly.

"Back home there's a
magic box that's always full of ice," Oren continues, "and there are faucets that
produce water that's hot or cold, so it's not that
impressive."

"What? No way,
that's incredibly impressive," Eliam says. "Where do you get those?"

"I don't know, they're just there. There's a lot
of stuff like that. Like, all this food, you just sit down at the
table and it'd appear- you don't have to order it or wait."

"That sounds amazing. We should find one of those.
Especially if I'm going to be king, I feel like I should have that
sort of thing," Eliam says, leaning back in his chair.

Minerva
blinks. "I'm sorry, wait... what?"

Elise
gasps loudly. "You're a prince?!"

"You can ask him to make you some things like
that, I guess. But I don't know if he'll do it. He likes to be
special, he might not want to share all of his things." Oren looks at him, thinking after Elise's outburst. "Wait, are you?"

"No, of course not," Eliam answers. "But we were talking about it, and
*someone* has to rule when the Elyde are gone, right? I mean, I
wasn't really sure about it, but we figure I can get advisors or
something and learn as I go. I mean, we're the Children, so why not
one of us?"

"Yeah, why not..."
Oren trails off, sipping his drink and trying not to look at him.

"Well, me, or
I still think Oren could do it," Eliam adds.

"No," Oren says quickly, shaking his head. "No way. I'd be bad at it and I don't want
to do it."

Minerva takes a
long drink. "You're going to need to study hard and long,"
she cautions Eliam.

He frowns, resting his arms on the table. "That's uh... not really my strong
suit."

"How did you
do that to your hair?" Oren asks, leaning a little and studying the back of Minerva's elaborate braid.

She
flushes furiously. "A-actually, Gwen did it. Do... you like
it?"

Oren nods. She turns away, becoming curiously interested in her
drink.

"I think they brought
dessert too," Oren adds. "I wonder where Gwendolyn went..."

"Honestly, I think me being king might a terrible idea," Eliam says, ignoring him. "I mean, it would be pretty great to be in charge of everyone, but
well... we might need a backup plan."

"Yea, maybe. Besides didn't you want to be a healer? You
can't do both," Oren says. "That plan sounds better and easier anyway. But I'll
help you with whichever you choose."

### **The Group Goes to a Dance**

Behind them, the door opens, and Gwendolyn returns. Immediately, she pulls Minerva and Elise aside, telling them to wait in their room, and pours herself a glass of wine. "Eliam, I'm assuming you've worn a
suit before, yes?"

"Yes, of
course. How come?"

Before she can answer, there is a knock on the door. Smiling, Gwen goes to answer it. "Hello."

There is an orc with five sets of clothing on
hangers, wrapped in garment bags. "Your request, I
believe."

"Yes, thank you," she says, tipping him a gold. She takes the bags, handing two of them to Eliam, and disappears into her room with the rest.

"I guess
this is going to be a more uh... formal night than I expected, then.
Have you ever worn one of these before?" Eliam asks Oren.

"I usually just wear whatever I've got." Oren answers, looking down. "Orc clothes are really different. I can't wait to
get home and start wearing my own things..."

"I
can help if you need," Eliam smiles. "This is the sort of thing you usually wear to
really nice dances, orcs or no. And hey, you might end up impressing
Minerva even more."

"Do we have to dance? I don't want to end up married
tomorrow."

Eliam laughs. "No one's getting married.
You just dance and talk with whoever you're dancing with. Just ask
Minerva and hopefully she'll be able to lead you; maybe the Lyriad
taught her or something."

--

Eliam and Oren sit in the common room, chatting. They both wear a suit, though Oren leaves the top buttons undone and refuses a tie, claiming it's so he can breathe. Oren clutches a book tightly.

Elise emerges from the room in a light
blue dress that goes down to her shins. Her dress is backless just
past her shoulder blades, and the front rises up to her neckline.

Minerva steps out of the room in a
low-cut red dress. There is a long slit on the left side that rises
toward her thigh.

Lastly, Gwen follows in a strapless purple
dress with a wide, flowing bottom that flutters about her ankles when
she turns.

Eliam stands as they enter the room, while Oren stares at the fire, frowning and waiting to leave. Eliam stare's at Minerva's dress. She bends over to adjust one of her
high heels a little. Her cleavage prominently bounces in front of
him. He stares openly as she stands up, smiling at Elise. "That looks great on you,
Elise," she says.

"Thanks," Elise says, looking
it over. "Not fully certain about the back, but... if Gwen says
so."

"Is your other heel okay?" Eliam asks Minerva, smiling.

"Hm?" she says. "Yes, I
think it's..." She looks down to see her heel and notices her
bust. "Oh. Eliam. Damn it."

"Good to see both of you clean up
well," Gwendolyn says. "And the dress looks great on you, Elise."

She smiles. "Thank you. I like
yours, too."

Eliam grins at Minerva. "I guess we should be going then.
Do you want me to put that book away for you, Oren?"

Oren glares at him. "Sure, and
I'll stay here with it."

"Alright, alright, take it with you then," Eliam says, rolling his eyes.

Oren stands, opening the door for everyone. The group
descends the stairs and reaches the main floor. The dining hall has
been cleared, and the smooth wooden floor shines from the candles set
on the walls around the room. Musicians are set up in one corner of
the room, warming up softly.

Several orcs mill around, waiting for the music to begin
in earnest. The innkeep inclines his head at the party's arrival.
"Good of you to join us."

Oren walks past him, quickly claiming a quiet table opposite the musicians. He sits down and opens his book.

Minerva
sits next to him. "So... what kind of music do you think they'll
play?"

"I don't know any songs except the
ones Eliam and Votig sang. I doubt they can match their skill, but
we'll see. They have a lot more instruments, at least." A waiter walks by, and Oren orders two drinks for them.

"Well," Minerva says, "I look
forward to seeing you dance tonight."

Oren looks at her. "What?
I don't know how, and..." he looks at her, remembering Votig's words. "Uh... you... what?" He stammers, blushing.

"Oh, it's easy," she says. "We can... I
mean... I can show you how. If you want."

"Um... maybe later... if you
really want..."

Eliam takes a table away from them, near the bar. Elise taps him on the shoulder and
says, "No, silly, they've got a table for us over there,"
and begins walking toward Oren and Minerva.

Before she goes far, Eliam grabs her shoulder. "I
think they need a few minutes alone, for adult stuff. We'll meet up
with them in a bit." Gwendolyn leaves them, taking a seat at the bar itself.

"Maybe later tonight, when nobody
is looking," Oren tells Minerva. He passes her a drink as the waiter delivers his order. He looks at her dress, examining her figure, and she pretends not to notice, glowing a little.

"Aren't you
cold?" He asks.

"Hm? Oh... maybe
a little, but we can go dancing soon and I'll warm up, I'm
sure," she answers, smiling at him.

Oren takes off his jacket, putting it around her shoulders. The
music finally strikes up, and the first song, a slightly up-tempo
string piece begins playing. Oren pulls out his book, and begins to read again.

Minerva
holds the jacket around herself momentarily, then looks at the dance
floor longingly. "Well... shall we,
um... dance?"

Oren looks at the dancers, studying them for a minute. "I'd rather
stay here with you. I don't think I'd be very good at dancing. And
you don't want people to think you want to marry me."

"Wait, what?"

"Votig said dancing is how you get a woman to
marry you."

"It...
um... It's something women like. But it doesn't mean you're married,"
she says, with a faint smile.

"...Oh.
Well, we can if you want to later. This one looks hard."

"Oh," she says. "Well... okay
then." She stands up, and hands his jacket back. "I'll...
see you later on, then, I guess." She walks over to the other
table. Oren watches her intently as she leaves, before returning boredly to his book, drinking the drink she left behind.

Elise pushes a chair for Minerva to take. "Why's
he still over there? Does he want us to come?"

"No, I think he just wants his book," she says,
sighing a very tiny amount. "Should have figured."

Eliam sighs. "He's horrible at that stuff.
You really just have to go over and tell him you're going to dance
with him now."

She shrugs. "Well... I was rather
hoping he'd be... interested."

She
stands up. "Anyone want to take to the floor? I'd hate to be the
only ones missing out."

Elise rises as
well. "Sure!"

Eliam shrugs. "Trust
me, he is. He couldn't stop staring at you when you walked back here.
He's just... really, really bad at this stuff."

She smirks at Eliam. "He's not the only one,
I think. Should I read into that, too?"

"I mean, I wouldn't say no, obviously. And hey, you're the
one who decided to bend over in front of everyone. I'm not sure you
can really blame me for that one."

"Hm," she ponders. "I suppose there's nothing
wrong with window shopping. Now
come on," she says. "It's dancing time." She and Elise step onto the floor. She
waves at Gwen and gestures to welcome her to dance as well, should
she be interested.

Gwendolyn smiles faintly, but remains seated at the bar. Oren watches the dancing, resting his chin on his arms. Eliam stands, taking a seat next to Gwendolyn.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Westmonte. Not dancing?"

"*Mr.* Westmonte?" Eliam smiles. "I didn't think I messed things up
*that* badly, Lady Gwendolyn. But no, no one to dance with, sadly
enough."

"Well, it
*was* a surprising outcome. But you can always make it up to me, if
you'd like."

"Alright. Would
you like to dance then, Lady Gwendolyn?" Eliam asks, offering out his hand.

She takes it. "I'd love
to, *Eliam*." Together, they walk out onto the dance floor. They dance together quietly, uninterrupted by the crowd.

Minerva
spins on the floor, her dress flapping around her. The orcs nearby
take notice, and Elise steps away as some of them clap for
her. Oren raises an eyebrow as he watches her.

Her body moves in rhythm
with the music, her hair dancing behind her as she weaves her way in
and out of the crowd. She twirls and spins gracefully, and stops on
the corner of the floor nearest Oren. She raises a hand toward
him.

"Your turn. Come on,"
she directs.

"What?"

"Dancing. Together. Us." Almost as if
in response to her, the music suddenly slows.

Oren stands up, taking her hand, and tries to lead her out into the hallway. She holds her ground. "Why?"

"Just come with me."

"Not if you're ashamed of dancing with me,"
she responds.

"I'm
not."

"Then
why?"

"I don't want
everybody looking at us," Oren answers. "I want to be alone with you. You can show me
how to do it in there," he gestures to the hall.

She nods. "Okay." She allows him to lead her into the hallway, away from the eyes of the
crowd.

Elise begins to follow. "Oh,
are we leaving?"

"No, go
dance with an orc," Oren tells her. Minerva smiles, and Elise returns to the dance floor.

"Okay, how does it work?" Oren asks, once they're outside.

Minerva places his hands on her for
him. She begins to sway with him
in time with the music. "And now," she says, "we're
dancing." She leads him in turning in slow circles, rocking
gently, matching the flow of the song.

"You
know, I've never really gotten to dance with anyone before," she
admits. "It's nice to... get to do this."

Oren nods.

"Have
you, um... thought about what you'd like to do when we get home?"
she asks.

"I should go home, but
I'm dreading it. We can do everything else first. He can't be mad
at me if I save the world. He doesn't like the Elyde much so he
might like that too, if we can manage it."

"Do... I mean..." she stutters over her
words, tripping over what she should effortlessly manage. "Would it be easier to go home if I came with
you?"

"I'm not sure,
maybe. You can come if you want. I can show you where I live. Well, where I lived.
I guess I don't live there anymore. We can live somewhere
else."

"W-we?" her
breath catches a little. "Like... all of us?"

"If you want."

Minerva stays silent, unsure of how to interpret his answer.

"Do you usually live in
Ushad?" Oren asks. "We can live there if you want."

"I did. I've lived there as long as I can
remember... but now, maybe somewhere else would be nice. Too many
memories," she says.

"We
can find somewhere new to live. I don't care where we go."

Minerva
smiles at him as the slow dance music begins to end. "As long as
we're together..."

The music
swells to its final notes. "...everything will turn out all
right," she says, and she kisses him briefly.

The music
stops, she pulls away, and she steps back. "Enjoy your book,"
she says with a smirk, and she goes back upstairs.

Oren watches her leave, and after a moment, goes to follow her. Elise steps out from the dance hall. "Are you done already? Where's Minerva?"

"Upstairs,
you can stay with Eliam if you want but don't wander off. Stick with
him okay?" Oren goes quickly up the stairs.

She frowns a
little. She steps outside to
feel the breeze and watch the clouds in the last of the daylight
before the sun is gone.

Oren reaches their floor, but sees no signs of Minerva in the common area. He looks nervously at the door to her room, and pours himself some of the wine. He stares at her door for a long moment, then takes the bottle of whiskey, and returns to his own bedroom. He changes into his normal clothes, sits in the middle of the bed, and begins to drink. He thinks again for a moment back to her words, and opens his book, settling in for the night.

### **Gwen and Eliam Chat at the Inn**

"You
know..." Gwendolyn says, as she and Eliam dance. "I've
been thinking about what you said, about how our home might be like
when we get there. With what that *thing* could've been doing, or
already done."

"Oh... that was
kind of a bad night. I'm sure that there won't have been too much
damage done," he says, trying to sound reassuring.

"Well, we can't
really be sure, right? We could be walking into hell. That's why I
wanted everyone to have this night. To relax, and have fun."

"That was honestly a great call. Thank you for
setting this up, with the clothes and everything. I do think we
needed it."

"Of course. I
enjoyed it as well, you're a good dancer," she says, smiling at him as the music stops.

The orcs clap for the musicians as the song ends,
and the conductor bows and promises more music in a few minutes'
time.

"You are as well," Eliam says, smiling back. "Hopefully
we get more chances to dance together in the future."

"I'd like that," Gwen says, looking at him expectantly.

Eliam looks at her, thinking for a moment. "Would you like to go somewhere more
quiet?"

She looks around at the crowd, and nods. "That'd be great. Lead on."

He leads her into the empty hallway. "Is there anything else
you'd like to do here this evening? It looks like this place has
plenty of features; I think I saw something about a pool, earlier;
there's a lounge, as well."

"I
could think of a few things... though, the pool sounds nice.
Especially if they have a heated tub."

"One way to find out, I suppose. I'm sure if they sell nice
clothes here, they'll have something to wear for that as
well."

Together they walk to the pool area, where an orc sells clothes designed for swimming. Eliam buys them each a set, and they leave to get changed. Gwendolyn changes into a modest, one piece suit, and returns to the pool area to find Eliam in the heated tub with a bottle of wine.

"This place is amazing," he says. "It's going to be impossible to
go back to camping out after this."

"It is. I've nearly forgotten how nice all these things
were, after living in the church for so long."

"I
won't lie; I did miss it," Eliam says, pouring her a glass of wine. She takes it happily, joining him in the tub.

"At least we'll be going home," she says, sipping her drink. "And
soon, maybe we won't need to be without these kind of
luxuries."

Eliam looks down at his own glass, thinking. "Yes, that's true."

"So how was life in Glenhaven? I've only been
there a few times, and never for long," Gwendolyn says, smiling.

"It was nice! Busy,
I guess. I always enjoyed the town; there were always interesting
people passing through. Mother was always taking care of my siblings,
and Father wasn't home much, running the business and making sure my
brother was ready to take over, so I had quite a bit of freedom.
Probably too much. The benefit of being the youngest son, I guess...
I do miss Glenhaven as well, to be honest. We'll have to go see it
when we get back to Iquai; it's a shame you never got to spend much
time there. Though there isn't much to do there compared to Hadleigh
or Siraj, I imagine; it's really just a small village. What was
Hadleigh like?"

"It was nice,
I suppose. We were *always* entertaining guests and visitors,
though, so it became kind of taxing honestly. Being the heiress gave
me a certain quite a freedom, however. There was really nothing I
could do that would ever get me *really* in trouble, so that was
nice growing up." As she speaks, she moves from sitting across to him to sitting next to him.

Eliam laughs. "That does sound pretty convenient. You must have some
great stories."

Gwendolyn smiles. "Stories, yes. Not sure how great they are, though. I'm
sure you have some too."

He thinks for a minute. "Well... you mentioned my
brother, Arlan. We didn't necessarily get along all the time; he was
a lot older than me, and he always claimed I was too flippant about
things... Anyways, my other brother Micah was trying to make peace
and make us spend time together. He took us out fishing at the river,
and it was probably one of the more boring things I've tried to do. I
tried to pass the time with some conversation, but he started
complaining that I was scaring all the fish away and ruining the
trip. I mean, the point was to spend time together, and it's not like
we *needed* the fish to eat. I was pretty annoyed with him, to be
honest, so when we got back, I sort of... cut his hair while he was
asleep. It looked *awful*. I think he would have killed me if he'd
been in charge of the company by then, but as it was I just about got
away with it. Except that after that, some of the work I was supposed
to do for my tutor went missing. And I'm pretty sure it was him," he grins, and puts his arm around her. "Okay, your turn. You must have a pretty good story too."

Gwen finishes her glass as she listens. “You *cut his hair?!*” She asks, laughing softly. “That is
actually great.” She snuggles against him as she thinks. “A story…well, when I was 14, I was *very* big into
horseback riding competitions. And it was the day of a major one in
Siraj. I was *incredibly* nervous, so I had the bright idea of going
to my family’s store, and telling the worker there my father
requested a bottle. My parents had been allowing me to have a glass
of wine at dinner for some time at that point, so I figured I could
maybe use it to relax a little bit. Instead, I got drunk enough to
where I continuously fell off my horse before I could even start. I
ended up being disqualified; I had never seen my parents embarrassed
before.” She blushes slightly as she remembers the story.

"That's an amazing story," Eliam laughs, then quietly sips at his wine. "It'll
be nice to go home, finally."

Gwen smiles. "It really will. Though I'm still worried about
tomorrow... but at least we still have tonight. And this is
nice."

Eliam leans in to kiss her. After a few moments, she pulls away. "Glad you've finally decided to make it up to
me."

He nods, and frowns. "I
guess... we should probably go back and make sure everyone is okay,
then?"

"So soon? I'm sure
Minerva and Oren are spending their time similarly to us, with the way
they were looking at each other earlier. We shouldn't interrupt
them."

He nods. "You
know... I wasn't sure about the whole king thing. I mean, I don't
really know anything you'd need to for that... I mean, it seems like
the stakes there are too high to risk not knowing what I'm doing. But
everyone has been surprising okay with it. So I guess... Maybe it is
a good idea? Maybe I should go through with it."

"It seems everyone has faith in you to do well. I
think your honesty and good nature will be refreshing on the throne.
And with our families' backing, we could bring an era of prosperity
to Iquai. We could lower taxes, even more than King Rodric did. You'd
already have the support of the people for getting rid of Elyde, and
*together* we could do so much more."

Eliam smiles at her. "Then let's do it. Together."

She smiles back, and holds up her glass. "A
toast, then. To the future of Iquai. To *us*."

"To us, then, he says, toasting. They finish their glasses.

Gwendolyn looks at her hand, frowning. "Maybe we should get out... my fingers are
starting to prune."

"Right,
yeah," Eliam says, stepping out of the tub and offering his hand to help her out.

Gwen accepts his help, wrapping a towel around herself. "Oh, Eliam. Do you happen to have a few gold?
I forgot mine up in the suite."

"Of course," he answers, handing her 100 gold. "If this isn't enough, there should be more."

"Oh, um,
thank you. But really, I just needed enough to see about another
room," she smiles and offers back 95 of it.

"Oh?" Eliam smiles. "I
don't suppose you want company tonight?"

Gwendolyn thinks for a moment. "Actually," she says, "I don't... think I'd
mind that. I've been having trouble sleeping, ever since the
wellspring. Maybe your presence will help."

**Chapter 12**