Dorak spots Kethas, “Is Nia here?”
“No,” Kethas frowns, “She’s off to see some saddle maker. Why?”
“I wanted to see if she might be interested in signing a contract with a different group,” Dorak shrugs, “I’d be willing to better Argonath’s offer.”
“I don’t know that she’d be willing to take it,” Kethas scowls, “I doubt she’d be interested, but I’ll tell her you came by.”
While Dorak’s still trying to persuade Kethas, Atres steps into the taproom, followed by Gramin, Loket, and Vorlig.
“What’s this?” Atres says, crossing his arms and frowning.
“I wanted to see if Nia would be willing to sign up with me instead of Argonath,” Dorak shrugs, “Brarazo’s impressed by her little demonstration in the courtyard. I’ve been impressed with her skills. I can make her a better offer than Argonath has. I’ve even got an opening you could transfer into, and I’d be willing to leave you with her most of the time.”
“I don’t want her involved in whatever game you’re playing with Argonath and the prince,” Atres shrugs, “I see what you’re up to. You’re trying to get yourself out of trouble and snub Argonath in a go. You’re also hoping we’re both foolish enough to fall for it. She’s not some game piece for you to toss around.”
“What’s going on?” Loket says.
“King’s Guard politics,” Atres says darkly, “He’s trying to use Nia as a pawn in his games. My group leader, Argonath and Dorak here are rivals. Dorak recently got himself into some trouble, and he’s trying to use Nia to get himself back out of it.”
“I don’t deny that it solves a few problems for me,” Dorak shrugs, “but it might solve a few problems for the two of you.”
“Not really,” Atres shrugs, “It creates more than it solves.”
Vorlig walks around Dorak, studying him while Atres talks to Dorak. Loket grins and nudges Gramin, who chuckles. Dorak’s still pushing Atres to accept, while Atres continues to refuse.
Vorlig hops onto one of the barstools and gestures Dorak over. Vorlig whispers into his ear for a few moments as all the color drains from Dorak’s face. Vorlig leans back and smirks for a moment as Dorak turns and leaves as quickly as possible.
Grimacing, Brarazo shakes his head, “I told him not to do it. I’m really sorry. He can be such an ass at times. I probably ought to go catch up to him.”
Brarazo takes off after Dorak.
“How’d the kit go?” Kethas says, dropping off pints, “You were gone long enough.”
While the men sit and talk, Emlyn and Benger return.
“Dorak was here looking for you,” Kethas says. Atres describes Dorak’s offer, and Emlyn sighs.
“I’m not opposed to letting him bid against Argonath to see if it betters Argonath’s offer,” Emlyn shrugs, “but I’d never sign anything with Dorak. I’d rather take orders from Jagannath, and he’s a horse. Dorak can’t manage his command.”
“That group is always in trouble,” Atres explains, “usually for more than one thing. If you’re ever unhappy with Argonath, there are a couple of other group leaders that I’d point you to, but Dorak’s definitely not one of them.”
“Mostly I get the feeling Argonath’s poking at me to see how I react to things,” Emlyn shrugs.
“He is,” Atres agrees, “He did that with all of us when we started with him.”
“If I sign with someone else,” Emlyn grins, “it will be harder for me to get my ten stone out of him. If nothing else, the Temple expansions ought to cost at least that much.”
“What’s this about ten stone?” Gramin asks.
Grinning, Atres and Benger recount the story of her pay. Loket laughs, “You’re worth more than that, Girlie. Get more than that out of him.”
Emlyn smirks and nods.
“Why did Dorak leave?” Emlyn asks, “I’d have expected him to stay and try to sell me on his ideas himself.”
“He might have,” Gramin grins, “but Vorlig had a go at him.”
“He couldn’t leave fast enough,” Kethas confirms.
“I wish I knew how to shut him up that effectively,” Atres grumbles, “If you’d ever like to share that, I’d certainly be willing to listen.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Nodding, Emlyn grins at Kethas, “He whispered something in his ear, didn’t he?”
Kethas nods.
“Now you see what I mean,” Emlyn grins, “and why I’m glad he’s with us.”
Vorlig smirks for a moment and grabs Emlyn’s hand, squeezing it.
“We should probably tell Argonath about Dorak’s offer, though,” Emlyn nods, “See if that doesn’t get him to move a little bit on his. I don’t think it would make him angry. I think he might be a bit upset if I don’t mention it, though.”
“Maybe or maybe he’d think you knew it wasn’t worth the ink,” Atres smirks, “for him to take notes about it.”
“I’m starving,” Emlyn announces, “What’s for lunch?”
“Ox tail stew,” Kethas grins, “I made a huge pot of it. Gods above, girl. Where does all the food you eat go?”
Otrin stops outside his door and scrubs his face for a moment, deciding how to break the news to his wife. Taking a deep breath, he opens the door and calls, “Gendini? I’m back and I have news.” Gendini appears from the back of the house with an armload of laundry. Taking the laundry, Otrin tosses it in a chair and hugs her.
“It’s good news and bad,” Otrin says, “We found Emlyn, but…”
“But…” Gendini says, pulling back a bit to study his face.
“Gods! Where to begin… Nia, Gwladus, and Dian are dead. Emmie’s certain of that. Midir, Neit, and Cian are missing. She’s sworn to a new Goddess, and even her Goddess hasn’t been able to find them or what’s become of them. Emmie’s been hurt badly, and she’s still recovering physically. What she’s been through… It would break most people.”
Sighing, Otrin recounts Emlyn’s story to Gendini.
“Their god turned on them so he could eat them? That’s what the Culling was for?” Gendini says appalled, “Do you think that’s what happened to the other three? That he ate them?”
“It’s at least possible,” Otrin nods, “I hadn’t considered it until you said it, but… just… damn…”
“I’m coming back with you,” Gendini says, “If she’s missing her Mama, I’m about the closest thing to that. Umir knows, I’ve changed her nappy often enough. I’ll stay with her until we can bring her back here. I’ll get my parents to take the little ones. We can make arrangements for the older ones to stay here in the Taig with some of their friends. Dergit can come with us. He’s old enough to travel a bit.”
“It’ll be a few days before I’m ready to go back,” Otrin says, “I need to go have a chat with the artificers to see what they can find out about this Divaros and how to deal with a Fey. I need to talk to Henga so Henga knows what’s expected of her. Loket wants her to come back for a few reasons. I’ve also got a whole saddle bag full of some fairly spectacular loot that Girlie took off some bandits that I need to get the traders to dispose of. I have some things to take care of at the bank, too. When we bring her back here, she won’t be coming alone.”
“I don’t know how everyone will feel about a bunch of humans roaming around the Taig,” Gendini shrugs, “but I’m happy to know that she’s not stuck in a strange place alone. That there are people there who care enough about her to come with her.”
“It might be quite a few of them,” Otrin shrugs, “Atres and some of his kin and maybe her whole cohort of paladins.”
Shrugging, Gendini replies, “We’ll figure that part out. We always do. If they’re with her, they’ll be well behaved.”
“I’ve got another reason to take Henga back, too,” Otrin grins, “Our Girlie has a suitor and needs a chaperone. One of her cohort has been filling in, but it seems like he could use someone to share that with. Atres has to learn to speak Cymry, and Henga can help him with that. Girlie’s talking in her sleep, and Henga might be able to tell us what that’s about.”
“How is she otherwise?” Gendini asks.
“More subdued and less exuberant than you’ll remember her being,” Otrin says, “She’s finally starting to smile and laugh again. Atres seems to have played a significant role in that. Atres lets her grieve, and once the storm is past, patiently cajoles her into a better frame of mind. He doesn’t let her wallow in it. From what I’ve seen of the two of them, he’s been good for her. Her Temple has been incredibly generous to her. Even so, that can’t sit well with our Girlie. She’s always been independent. I’ll have to spend some time at the bank, transferring some of her old investment accounts and the House Irilan accounts to a different location so that she can access those funds without the local King or Duke being any the wiser. They’ve both already tried to marry her off to their sons, and the only thing that stopped it was them finding out she’s broke and an orphan.”
“Emmie’s far from broke,” Gendini shrugs, “I think half the bank uses her dowry fund as operating capital. Never mind the House Irilan accounts or any of her investments. Her investments always did well. Arwydd’s, Lefi’s , Gwern’s…. Even Myfanwy’s.”
“I’m aware,” Otrin replies, “I’d rather not have to call the clans to roll out to get her back before they can force her to marry. She’s on friendly terms with those boys. I don’t know that she’d be able to follow Nerys’s instructions or, if she did, what that might do to her. The best way to avoid it is just keeping a lid on exactly how wealthy our Girlie is.”
“Gramin finally asking a girl out,” Gendini grins, “It’s about time. I want to meet this Astridir. Even Vorlig’s married. Umir knows how Vorlig ever managed to court a woman since it means he’d actually have to talk to one, but somehow, even he managed it. I still remember when we got betrothed and he stood with you in front of the Clan Council. Boznir asked Vorlig why he approved of our union, and Vorlig told them, ‘She’ll do. ‘ I think that confused them enough that they approved it.”
Otrin laughs, “Vorlig doesn’t often say much. I often wonder if Vorlig’s as quiet at home as he is everywhere else.”
Grinning, Gendini shrugs, “I have no idea how Narieni does it. Telepathy, maybe?”
Otrin laughs, “That’s still speaking.”
Chuckling, Gendini agrees.
“I know that the traders would love to have the Cymry back,” Gendini muses, “I wonder if there’s anything they can do that might help with that. We always made good profits off whatever we got from them.”
“I don’t know, but if anything presents itself, I’ll be sure to ask,” Otrin nods, “That might even get some of the other clans interested.”
“I’ll go start packing for the little ones and send my Mama a message,” Gendini sighs.
While everyone in the tap room of the inn is talking, a page in ducal livery arrives, looks around, and then goes straight to Emlyn with his message. “Are you Nia ferch Hayden ap Rhys?” the boy pipes.
“I am,” Emlyn says, “What’s this?”
“I’m not sure,” the boy says, “but I’m supposed to wait for your reply.”
Emlyn breaks the seal on it and mutters a curse before handing the message to Atres. Atres reads it and frowns before giving it to Loket.
My incandescent goddess
I am still searching for Vadoma. The other seer might be willing, but wants to meet with you in person. She won’t say if she’ll see for you or not until she does. She says that if you promise not to trouble her pets, she’ll meet with you. If you will meet me tomorrow at the third hour past noon, I’ll take you to her. Let the messenger know if this is acceptable.
Yours,
Vishnu
Atres Watch
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Current Count: 30 "Possessive Frowns" and 1 "Incandescent Message" Intercepted.
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Observation: "Atres is vibrating with quiet rage today. He didn't even want Dorak to look at Nia, let alone offer her a job. And when that page delivered the note from Vishnu? I thought Atres’s amber eyes were going to actually turn into molten gold and melt the table. He’s claiming it’s 'King’s Guard politics,' but we all know it’s the dragon-blood bond making him act like a territorial cave-bear. I’m docking him points for not being able to shut Dorak up himself—he had to let Vorlig do the whispering for him!"
Paperwork Protest
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Official Entry: Message Receipt: From Lord Vishnu to Nia ferch Hayden ap Rhys regarding a meeting with a 'Seer'.
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Boltir’s Correction: "REWRITTEN: 'Invitation to a very obvious trap by a man with too many adjectives.' I’ve added a margin note suggesting that any 'seer' who has 'pets' you aren't allowed to trouble is likely just three swamp-hags in a trench coat. Also, I’ve drawn a picture of Jagannath kicking Vishnu into a duck pond. It’s for the sake of historical balance."
Boltir's Tip Jar
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Current Jar Total: 180 coppers, a discarded ducal seal, and a very small, very confused lizard.
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Boltir’s Plea: "Vorlig whispered something in Dorak’s ear and the man turned white as a sheet and ran! Why won't the Scribe tell me what he said? I need those sentences for my next performance! Meanwhile, Otrin is planning to bring a chaperone back for Nia. Great—another dwarf to keep me away from the front of the line. Toss a coin in the jar, kin! I’m saving up for a 'Scroll of Eavesdropping' so I can find out what Vorlig’s secret is. Also, leave a review if you think Nia should take the horse to the seer meeting instead of Atres. Jagannath has better instincts for 'pets'!"
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