When I arrived, traveling alone, my portal stopped me outside of town.\u00a0 This was a surprise to me, as I didn\u2019t realize there were ways to prevent a portal from arriving in its intended place while still allowing it to function.\u00a0 I\u2019d been under the impression that it would either work, or it wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Guess that\u2019s a new one for me.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I had stepped through in a dense forest, rich growth everywhere.\u00a0 For all I could tell, this could be the Feywild \u2013 strange as it was, though, the stars matched up with the world I knew, so I was comfortable in the assessment of it being the outskirts of Al\u2019Veydra.\u00a0 The forest was alive with sounds, skitterings and chirps in the night, as the variety of creatures that sleep through the day went about the business of securing their meal and propagating their species.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t take long for me to realize that I was in the Trollhaunt Weld.\u00a0 This small wood outside Al\u2019Veydra had grown around what was thought to be a permanent crossing point into the Feywild, one of the elvish pathways.\u00a0 For some reason, since our removal of Veyd and his influence, the Feywild had pushed forward through the path, exerting its influence on the Real \u2013 much like the Overspill Market found room for its excess vendors by shunting them through a portal into Vanots Kabre, here the Feywild pushed its forest through in an explosion of vegetation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I moved through this temperate jungle slowly, picking my way among the trees and branches, pushing leaves aside gently as I went.\u00a0 The druids and rangers of the Sestus Wyr called this place home, and guarded it jealously \u2013 the last thing I needed was to be cut down because I bruised the wrong twig.\u00a0 Making my way along the best track I could towards town, maintaining the quietest profile I could.\u00a0 Which roughly equates to stepping on practically everything that would break with a snap, crackle, or pop in sight despite teleporting my way across visible stretches of ground.\u00a0 I take great pride in my ability to generate noise, and sometimes it seems I have a mystical gift for it.\u00a0 Probably sounded like a mortally-wounded elephant crushing the hut of a glass-blower.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sometime after midnight, a clearing became evident, in which several small covered campfires were laid and perhaps a dozen people arrayed themselves about.\u00a0 Three of them had bows drawn on me when I emerged from the wooded cover.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I grinned and waved in my best \u2018friendly\u2019 tone, hoping the masked figures weren\u2019t about to try their hand at splitting each others\u2019 arrows in my sternum.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cEvening, folks.\u00a0 Sorry to disturb, but is there a bakery nearby?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A figure seated by the fire held up a hand and muttered something I couldn\u2019t quite make out, but the archers lowered their weapons.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Addaweyr of the Night turned to look at me over his shoulder.\u00a0 Half his face cloaked in shadow \u2013 which, in the middle of the night, is not unusual, but for Addaweyr it is a unique sign of his Eladrin heritage that he always<\/em> lost half his face to shadow \u2013 he smiled thinly.\u00a0 \u201cWe have been waiting for you to get here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou knew I was coming?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIf you mean did we hear you stumbling around in circles for the last thirty minutes before finally finding this place, yes.\u00a0 I thought about having someone trail you, but that hardly seemed necessary.\u201d\u00a0 He lifted a cup to his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cHave a seat.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI received a message, that Fellbane had arrived here.\u201d\u00a0 I was offered a cup of my own from one of Addaweyr\u2019s associates, which I accepted gratefully.\u00a0 \u201cAre they here?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIn a manner of speaking, no,\u201d he replied.\u00a0 \u201cThey are still to come, but it was foretold that they would arrive here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen why did J\u2019Tiel call me here?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t.\u00a0 I had a messenger craft that in such a way as to get your attention.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAhh, all right.\u00a0 So Fellbane isn\u2019t here, and you called me using J\u2019Tiel\u2019s name.\u00a0 I really, really hope this was important, because I was on my way to save them \u2013 your seer might have missed the part about them being in grave danger.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t.\u00a0 His vision said that one would fall before they return.\u201d\u00a0 He stared into the fire and held his cup close to it, to keep it warm.\u00a0 Al\u2019Veydra is far enough North that the temperatures are considerably more chilly later into the year.\u00a0 In fact, there were still small patches of snow and ice that I had seen in the forest behind me, ones that had not yet melted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd still you brought me here?\u00a0 For all that is holy, I\u2019ve got to find a way back and get to them\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d he said with some finality.\u00a0 \u201cIf you rejoin them, you all fall.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat was the vision.\u00a0 Unity is ruin – the horn that rides to rescue shall bring destruction instead, and downfall of the Bane.\u00a0 Among them, one shall fall and one shall turn, the rest to home and war prepared, tested and purified in the crucible.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I tried not to look too disgusted.\u00a0 \u201cOh yeah, that sounds so clear.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t put a lot of stock in oracles, myself, but it seemed wiser to divert you.\u00a0 Lately, my faith against them has been tested more strongly than my granting them some doubt.\u00a0 Besides, we need you here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I tried not to let the thought of one of my companions not making it back dominate me.\u00a0 One would fall\u2026what could happen?\u00a0 Given past history it would probably be Sered, but he was fairly resilient \u2013 Devas were remarkably flexible when it came to dying \u2013 their spirits were, I supposed, accustomed to being disembodied.\u00a0 But what was that bit about turning?\u00a0 What in all the Hells did that mean?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then the other bits hit me.\u00a0 \u201cWait a moment \u2013 what was that?\u00a0 What do you need me for here?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Addaweyr looked around at the darkened forest, and waved his hand.\u00a0 \u201cThe Feywild is encroaching on the Middle World. Things like this don\u2019t happen without a reason.\u00a0 As well, Shan Diresh is said to be taking an interest in matters here \u2013 which is not ordinary by any stretch.\u00a0 You, being closely allied with him, and having experience in matters Fey, are our best source of information regarding his intentions and what\u2019s happening here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, I hate to disappoint you, but he doesn\u2019t really talk to me so much.\u201d\u00a0 I was a little chagrined to admit this.\u00a0 \u201cThen again, he doesn\u2019t really talk, you know?\u00a0 He seems to spend a lot of effort just kinda\u2026shining, making people uncomfortable, that sort of thing.\u00a0 Talking through others.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, I know.\u00a0 That\u2018s why we wanted to talk to you.\u00a0 You might have experience as his voice, know something of his plans, that kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAfraid not, he doesn\u2019t share that stuff with me.\u00a0 He\u2019s never spoken through me, though I do act on his behalf sometimes.\u00a0 As his emissary, he does grant me a portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cA portfolio?\u201d\u00a0 He looked at me quizzically.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI have a few extra spells which are exclusively linked to him, and my pact with the Fey centers on his lands, with his permission.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, that\u2019s far closer than any of us can get, so you\u2019re worthwhile.\u00a0 I have to ask for you to try to get word from him where he stands regarding the conflicts here in the Bannerlands.\u201d\u00a0 He sipped from the cup.\u00a0 Then he looked up at me again.\u00a0 \u201cJust out of curiosity, I didn\u2019t realize your people developed drop-tines, or forks at all, now that I think of it.\u00a0 What\u2019s up with your horns?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I didn\u2019t let any expression get out, but reached up casually to feel my right horn with the end of my tail.\u00a0 The bulk of it was normal, but sure enough, about three inches off my skull a fork had developed, and a tine had begun to sprout pointing downward.\u00a0 There was also a bump above it and a little ways further out, a tine about to grow up and outward, from the feel of it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGuess I\u2019m special.\u00a0 I suppose I\u2019ll have to keep an eye out, make sure no hunters get over-ambitious and add my head to the wall of my own inn.\u201d\u00a0 I shrugged it off.\u00a0 A quick slide across the other let me know that the new growth was echoed on the opposite horn.\u00a0 He was right \u2013 we don\u2019t get tines.\u00a0 Single horns, ram-like, is our trait.\u00a0 Differences in curvature, yes, and the different sexes often had particular directions that were favored (especially in areas strongly influenced by culture \u2013 children\u2019s new growth was often \u201ctrained\u201d similarly to how botanicals warp thegrowth of trees to produce dwarf varieties and special sculpture.\u00a0 But tines?\u00a0 Natural ones?\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t ever heard of them on us.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Til now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I chose to return to the original topic.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I can certainly try, but I can\u2019t guarantee results.\u00a0 I also don\u2019t see why this was worth bringing me here.\u201d\u00a0 My friends were in trouble, and I was getting no joy from the anxiety.\u00a0 To be brought here and presented with a situation I knew to be a worthless avenue to pursue just sent my frustration levels through the roof.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s worth it because I thought it was worth it.\u00a0 Look, any one of you would have done, but you\u2019re the closest to information I haven\u2019t got yet.\u00a0 That clear enough?\u00a0 I\u2019d love to debate it with you, but you turned up in the phrases, I called you, you came.\u00a0 That\u2019s all there is to it.\u00a0 Unless you\u2019ve got some way to jump back in time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I looked at him sharply, but said nothing.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t tell if he understood what that meant to me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c\u2026then the deed is done, and let\u2019s get to work.\u00a0 I need your help with Shan Doresh, and you have nothing better to do.\u00a0 Am I right?\u201d\u00a0 His impatience bled through easily.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I looked around, and in a moment of egocentric thought considered that I could raze the whole small camp without a lot of effort.\u00a0 Setting that aside, I also realized that I had no need to do so \u2013 and that doing so would simply be wrong.\u00a0 He did what he thought was best.\u00a0 I could only hope that the dice he cast wouldn\u2019t cost too much when the bill came due.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll try to reach Shan Doresh for you.\u00a0 Again, no guarantees, but I\u2019ll try.\u201d\u00a0 I stood up.\u00a0 \u201cGot a place for me to sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSome of the others have set up over there,\u201d he motioned with the cup.\u00a0 \u201cShould be room enough.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I began to walk over that way, and quickly spotted the seven forms in a large flat patch on the ground.\u00a0 He called out from where he remained:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I waved without looking back, and found myself a clear spot to put my bedroll and blanket.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I dreamed myself back into the library, the overhead skylights dark with night outside.\u00a0 At least, that\u2019s what I imagined.\u00a0 Since I had never actually gone<\/em> outside, I couldn\u2019t tell what was out there.\u00a0 Could be that portion of my mental theater, never having been needed, was simply empty.\u00a0 Certainly there were no stars, so that was also an option.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The fire was crackling in the fireplace, and two oil lamps added their light to the room.\u00a0 I poured a small glass of whiskey and walked along the shelves.\u00a0 I recognized many books of my own, and also several from my father\u2019s own shelves.\u00a0 No doubt the originals, which I\u2019d snuck my way to reading as an adolescent, were dust and ash now, but at least the memory of the books themselves was present here.\u00a0 It was hard to imagine my family just gone, even though we\u2019d never been very close.\u00a0 Almost two years had passed since my jump forward, and thinking about the past \u2013 the real past, history<\/em> now \u2013 wasn\u2019t quite so fresh.\u00a0 It certainly wasn\u2019t gone, but it seemed much more solidified in the context of memory now rather than reality.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What now?\u00a0 I had no idea how to address Shan Doresh, I\u2019d never been given instructions on that.\u00a0 I knew how to retrieve soulstuff and channel it, how to implant nightmares and steal dreams, but just talking?\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t in the training.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I summoned up the few nightmares that had remained after my fight with Voedle, materializing them in the room with me.\u00a0 Six in all, appearances so varied it was hard to call them anything more than half-formed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One was a viscous glob resembling a cave mold, yellowish-gray, that moved by extending dozens of tiny pseudopodia and filling them in as they reached forward.\u00a0 It crawled along the wall, fastening itself to books and plaster just by sheer adhesiveness.\u00a0 Not something I would assume capable of speech.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A second had the form of a large mastiff, a skeletal ribcage stuffed with rotted organs and a head that possessed dripping jaws that swung open laterally rather than vertically.\u00a0 Its powerful legs ended in grasping suckers similar to certain seafoods I\u2019d eaten.\u00a0 Its eyes, pustulent white orbs that oozed a milky fluid, flitted around lazily, never quite looking at the same things at the same time.\u00a0 It was standing next to the fireplace, and I could smell part of its exposed innards singeing with proximity to the heat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The third and fourth were identical, bat-winged and hairless, formed like bald weasels and possessed of mouths formed in a circular lamprey-like nature, crammed full of recurved teeth.\u00a0 To my observation, they had no eyes, but for sensory organs they appeared to have catfish-like whiskers of flesh that taped and draped along before them.\u00a0 They crawled along the ceiling, side-by-side, slowly circling the skylight.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The fifth sat in the chair opposite me, a headless body with a bloody stump of a neck, dressed in the clothes of a commoner, and carrying a bag that dripped with old, coagulated blood.\u00a0 I assumed its head was in there.Its free hand tapped a gentle rhythm on the arm of the chair.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The last sat, parrot-like, on my shoulder, four claws gently holding on to the leather of my jacket.\u00a0 It had hair, a dark brown and coarse coat of short lengths, banded and striped in varying shades.\u00a0 Its head appeared completely natural, something like a cross between a long-nosed bat and a rat.\u00a0 It had wicked little teeth and a cylindrical tongue that darted about like that of a snake.\u00a0 Bright green eyes darted about, looking at the others as though scoping them out for a quick attack.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHello again, all of you.\u201d\u00a0 I sipped at the whiskey and let it burn down my throat.\u00a0 The little bat-creature sniffed at the glass before turning its face away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI seek to speak with your master, but I do not know precisely how to arrange a meeting other than to attend him in person, andI haven\u2019t time for that.\u00a0 Can you offer me any advice to this end?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The ooze squelched, and if they had vocal capacity, the two weasel-lampreys would have probably squeaked at me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From inside the bag, a muffled man\u2019s voice came:\u00a0 \u201cHe doesn\u2019t respond to simple calls, he is a Lord of the Fey, Azrael Ille Macreane.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I looked over at the headless body.\u00a0 It had sat forward, spilling a little extra blood on its shirt.\u00a0 The neck bubbled with every breath, and the skin of its neck flapped in and out over the windpipe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI do not wish to summon him for binding.\u00a0 That would be too great an offense.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWithout visiting him in person, you cannot expect an audience.\u201d\u00a0 The voice gargled.\u00a0 It was a hoarse whisper, blurred by the jellied fluids no doubt trapped with it in that bag.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWill one of you act as a courier?\u00a0 I have granted you a home, however temporary it may be.\u00a0 That has to be of value in barter to you.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As soon as I mentioned the word courier<\/em>, each of the nightmares became agitated.\u00a0 The ooze retracted into a hard little ball, the dog shivered, the weasels and the little bat-thing shivered and did their best to chitter, while the body pulled its arms back to its sides and cradled the bag on its lap.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTo call attention to oneself is to risk being consumed by His presence.\u201d\u00a0 The bag muttered this from behind the protectively-circling arms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe devours dreams?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, consumed like wood in a flame. \u00a0Burned away like chaff in a conflagration.\u00a0 His is the stronger presence.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou do not need to speak with him personally, you can travel to Dal Quar, and give the message to Ivaerin or Santiriana.\u00a0 From there the message can make its own way to Shan Doresh.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I probably shouldn\u2019t have mentioned Ivaerin.\u00a0 The two weasel-lamprey things made strange squeaking noises and burrowed into the ceiling, out of sight.\u00a0 The holes they left sealed up behind them.\u00a0 The blob simply evaporated, and the dog crouched to the floor, whimpering.\u00a0 The small thing on my shoulder leaped off and cleared to the fireplace mantle, where it lay panting, and the headless corpse drew its legs up into a foetal position in the chair.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNot good, no, not good.\u201d\u00a0 The head-in-the-bag said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Well, I had at least tried.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, relax.\u00a0 You there \u2013 corpse guy.\u00a0 Do you have a name?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFine. You\u2019re now Headless Max.\u00a0 You know the two of whom I speak?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo one\u2019s ever given me a name before.\u00a0 I am Headless Max.\u201d\u00a0 Its legs came down off the chair.\u00a0 \u201cI like having a name, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I snapped my fingers.\u00a0 \u201cAnswer the question.\u00a0 Do you know them?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If it were attached, its head would have nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I know them.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I thought it over for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cGo to Santiriana, and take this message:\u00a0 the Emissary wishes to know Shan Doresh\u2019s desired outcome of the conflict brewing in the Bannerlands.\u00a0 I wish to see what assistance can be offered or asked for.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe will give you nothing, Azrael Ille Macreane.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps not, but at least the question is asked, and I promised to ask it.\u00a0 Can you remember the message?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe Emissary wishes to know the outcome desired in the conflict in the Bannerlands.\u00a0 What assistance can be offered or asked for.\u201d\u00a0 The voice had a tremor in it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Interesting that a nightmare can feel fear.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFine, now \u2013 go, and return to me with whatever response you can get, Headless Max.\u00a0 I still offer you a home here so long as you serve me faithfully.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The body stood up, straightened its clothes, and walked out.\u00a0 I supposed that that was probably the last time I\u2019d see Headless Max in one pie\u2026hmm.\u00a0 Maybe not the best of metaphors.\u00a0 Again.\u00a0 There.\u00a0 Better.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAs for the rest of you, find somewhere else to settle for tonight, leave the room.\u00a0 I wish to study.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 I went back to the shelves and retrieved one of the books I\u2019d recovered from Sheng \u2013 I\u2019d read through them once, and had found them fascinating \u2013 and began reading.\u00a0 He had been a specialist with fire, and while I still favored ice, the utility of igniting things could not be denied.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I think that just for a moment, while I was reading, perhaps a flicker of cold moonlight fell on the pages over my shoulder, but when I looked up, nothing but blackness greeted me in the skylights.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n I know I dreamed that night, in the traditional sense.\u00a0 Broken fragments of memory floating up out of the stew, only to fall away out of sight again.\u00a0 In the morning it all faded from recall. I found Addaweyr still in the clearing, still holding his cup.\u00a0 I wondered briefly if he slept that way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMorning,\u201d I said, settling on a small flattened patch of grass across from him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve sent the message.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd?\u201d\u00a0 He glowered at me across the clearing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd\u2026I don\u2019t get a response until and unless he decides to supply one.\u00a0 As soon as I have something I can tell you, I will.\u201d\u00a0 I looked around the campsite.\u00a0 \u201cSo now what?\u00a0 I\u2019ve probably already missed whatever opportunity I had to help the rest of my friends, since it will take me weeks to travel from the one portal I know in Banner to their location again.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNow, from what I am told, we wait.\u00a0 They will come here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor how long are we waiting?\u00a0 You could be talking months, man.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor however long it takes.\u00a0 You\u2019re a free man, you don\u2019t have to just sit here with me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDamned right about that,\u201d I said, and walked away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I had time.\u00a0 Fine.\u00a0 They might arrive tomorrow, or they could all die.\u00a0 I decided that while I would be prepared for the rest of my companions to arrive sooner, I\u2019d plan out an effort for the long-term.\u00a0 The members of Lion\u2019s Lunge would probably turn up soon anyway, so I would have some options.\u00a0 I decided to make a quiet entry into town, and pay a visit to the blacksmith.\u00a0 I had a few ideas of some necessities for Al\u2019Veydra that we didn\u2019t already have handled.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before I left, I informed Addaweyr of the potential arrival of Kineta and the rest, making sure awareness was up in order to avoid any unfortunate confrontations if and when they arrived.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I pulled on a riding cloak and tugged the hood over my head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Al\u2019Veydra had changed.\u00a0 I suppose it was because on my last visit I hadn\u2019t paid it much attention \u2013 it was a burgeoning city.\u00a0 I had really been focused on getting to and from the Inn without notice, and in so doing I expect I had simply not noticed in return.\u00a0 The town I had known had blossomed out \u2013 there were farms, new buildings, everywhere you looked there was some sort of new structure going up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And the defenses were in hand, as well.\u00a0 Watch-towers along the borders, new weapons and gear on the guards, and the three sets of militia were in evidence.\u00a0 I would not characterize Al\u2019Veydra as a town preparing for war, but should the need come \u2013 and someday soon, I\u2019m sure it would \u2013 it would be prepared for one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Inn was doing good business, as I would expect, and the distillery had two chimneys smoking, so I knew things were in order there.\u00a0 I decided best not to disturb the operations there, both because I saw no need to and because I still didn\u2019t want to have any indication of my arrival in town pop up so soon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The blacksmith was already hammering out a horse-shoe when I arrived, the rhythm of the hammer like a church-bell echoing out.\u00a0 Coal smoke hit my nose well before I got there, kept low by the cold temperatures and the absence of an appreciable breeze.\u00a0 It was a relief, since Al\u2019Veydra didn\u2019t have a real sewer like many big cities.\u00a0 That was a problem that needed remedy, as well, but I wasn\u2019t going to dig it myself.\u00a0 For now, the gutters down the center of each lane would have to suffice.\u00a0 The smell from these was\u2026not quite ripe, but in summer heat it would be less than pleasant.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The man looked up from his work to where I stood for a moment, then back down to the last few strokes against the iron. He then dipped it quickly in a bucket of water, and after a couple of seconds tossed it on a small pile of similar shoes I hadn\u2019t noticed.\u00a0 Wiping the worst of the grime from his hand, he extended it to me.\u00a0 \u201cHelp you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, you can,\u201d I said, pulling my cowl back.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His eyes widened a touch.\u00a0 \u201cAh, master Azrael, I did not know you had returned.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFew do, and it would be profitable for that to remain the case.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI see, yes sir.\u00a0 What can I do for you?\u201d\u00a0 He nodded, looking down.\u00a0 \u201cWhat can I do for a foreign traveler?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A small smile spread out on my face.\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u00a0 I have a commission for you, master smith.\u00a0 I\u2019d like several stamps made.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cStamps?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes indeed.\u00a0 About the size of a potato masher on the fob, and about half the length of my thumb in width,\u201d I demonstrated with my hand as I spoke.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re to be uniform in size, and the pattern on them should match this.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I produced a wooden chuck that I\u2019d carved a while back with a stylized troll\u2019s hand, a spike through it.\u00a0 \u201cIf you know someone who can do the work in a little more detail, I\u2019d appreciate it, but this will do.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He looked it over.\u00a0 \u201cSir, you\u2019d have been better going to Hird, the jeweler.\u00a0 He\u2019s better at this fine detail work than I am.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI was hoping that perhaps you\u2019d do so for me.\u00a0 You probably don\u2019t spend much time together, but I\u2019d like to have you two collaborate on this.\u00a0 Have you ever built a stamping machine?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, sir, never have.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAlright, that\u2019s not necessary right now.\u00a0 Just the stamps.\u00a0 A set of five would be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, sir, I can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I handed him ten rounds of gold. \u201cThis should more than cover yours and Hird\u2019s expenses, am I right?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh yes sir, it will.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGood.\u00a0 Please deliver them to my name at the keep when they are completed, and there\u2019ll be five more for you when I pick them up.\u00a0 I am not sure when I\u2019ll be around, but I\u2019ll make sure the money is set aside for you when I make it back up there.\u201d\u00a0 I turned away, putting my hood back up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSir?\u00a0 Are these what I think they are for?\u201d\u00a0 He asked me quietly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, as a matter of fact they are.\u00a0 It\u2019s about time Al\u2019Veydra had its own currency.\u00a0 If we\u2019re going to be a force in this world, we need to have our shop in order as well as our army.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With that, I walked off.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I didn\u2019t spend a lot of time lingering around town \u2013 no sense in further advertising my presence.\u00a0 Instead I headed back to the Trollhaunt Weld and decided to wait out the week, to see if Kineta and the others, or Fellbane, would return while I was there.\u00a0 I spent most of that week helping Addaweyr\u2019s men, and the Al-Kabeth people in hunting, taking care of their regular daily routines, that sort of thing.\u00a0 I also got to know a few of them more closely, should it come to pass that I needed ears or eyes in any of their particular positions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I arranged for a couple of the Al-Kabeth children to run errands for me, going into town for basic supplies I might need as well as to the distillery to retrieve a few bottles of better drink than water scraped off a leaf.\u00a0 I sent money with them, and used a different name, in order to avoid them making the connection with me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meanwhile, I began to wonder about the nature of the Trollhaunt Weld.\u00a0 What was it that was pushing the Feywild into the Middle-World?\u00a0 How was this happening, and what pressure-difference was it expanding to fill?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The answers were not readily apparent \u2013 on this side of the link between the worlds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I considered it for a while, and came to the conclusion that I was going to have to take a trip into the Feywild itself in order to retrieve the answer to this.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Four days after I\u2019d arrived, Lion\u2019s Lunge made their appearance.\u00a0 I saw first-hand what Addaweyr had been talking about, as Lotonna ploughed through the forest with all the subtlety of \u2013 pardon me, I have to use it \u2013 a bull in a china shop.\u00a0 Horace\u2019s swearing was only slightly less loud, though both Nemmy and Kineta remained stoic in their traverse of the forest\u2019s paths.\u00a0 Nemmy still had his midriff in a bandage, but he moved smoothly enough to tell me that his injuries were all but healed. I attributed this to their finding a healer back in Shady Hollow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThis was supposed to be inside a castle,\u201d I heard Horace grumbling as they came closer.\u00a0 \u201cHow in the names of the gods did we end up in a jungle?\u00a0 Where in all the World are we, anyhow?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kineta\u2019s voice piped up from the back:\u00a0 \u201cThat is the ninth time you have asked me that in the last hour, and the answer has not changed since the last time.\u00a0 I am therefore not answering it.\u00a0 Now, unless you have something new to add, please shut up before I set fire to something you need.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lotonna leading the way, they broke through the clearing to see the various armed men and the campsite.\u00a0 He stood up straight, surveying the area.\u00a0 I\u2019d already waved off the soldiers to stand down, so no threat was made.\u00a0 His gaze settled on me, and a huge grin broke out on his long muzzle.\u00a0 I never get over how many sharp teeth the minotaur have.\u00a0 I suppose I\u2019m just so accustomed to thinking of the face of a bovine as a harmless herd animal that to see the dentition of a very aggressive carnivore in it is discongruous.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He strode directly to me, grasped my hand, and head-butted me so sharply that light flashed across my eyes for a second.\u00a0 The next thing I saw was the canopy above, hazing back into view, and hearing Nemmy\u2019s voice muttering, \u201c\u2026job, steak. \u00a0We come all this way to catch up with him and you brain him in the first three seconds.\u201d\u00a0 I felt a cold cloth pressed to my face, and a gentle hand behind it.\u00a0 Hoping it wasn\u2019t Horace, I snuck a look back and up.\u00a0 The dizziness that ensued made me regret the motion, but Kineta\u2019s face coming into view made it worthwhile.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHello,\u201d she said quietly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHi.\u00a0 I seem to have bumped my head,\u201d I started reaching up to feel the spot, which spread a wave of nausea across my entire body.\u00a0 Even my toes wanted to throw up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI saw that, yes.\u00a0 Should be careful what you bang your head against in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMm-hmm.\u00a0 How\u2019s the rodent doing?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s good.\u00a0 I think you saw him walking around before you fell over, right?\u201d\u00a0 She leaned back a bit, out of my field of view.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYeah, think I saw that, or maybe it was something following you.\u201d\u00a0 I tried to sit up, felt the nausea again, and decided that sitting up was overrated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSo, where are your friends?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLong story, not here.\u00a0 I was\u2026misinformed on their location.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhere are they, then?\u201d\u00a0 She was frowning, I could hear it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cApparently still in the Boil<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat?!?\u201d\u00a0 She stood up.\u00a0 \u201cSo who was it called you here?\u00a0 And are they still alive?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWait one, settle down.\u00a0 I got called back because someone picked up a divination that if I joined them, we\u2019d all be dead now.\u00a0 Instead, without me, apparently only one will fall and one will turn, whatever that means.\u201d\u00a0 I raised my arm to cover my eyes, as the trees were still doing some sort of slow dance in a circle around me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh my gods,\u201d she mumbled.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you don\u2019t know which?\u00a0 That\u2019s terrible,\u201d she slowed her speech down as she said this, coming down from the sudden rush of anger she\u2019d had on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTrying not to think about it.\u00a0 Look, whatever was going to happen had probably already happened before we even started out, now it\u2019s doubly sure to have taken place.\u00a0 Done is done.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She settled down next to me.\u00a0 \u201cSo what do we do now?\u00a0 And where is this place, anyway?\u00a0 This isn\u2019t where we expected to come.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t even feel like our world, really.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThis is the Trollhaunt Weld, we\u2019re about two miles from Al\u2019Veydra.\u00a0 There\u2019s a semi-permanent passage into the Feywild near here, that\u2019s how this forest got to be so\u2026enthusiastic.\u00a0 Kinda like the Overspill Market, but instead of booths and stalls, you get man-eating trees and other fun stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cInteresting \u2013 I didn\u2019t realize a forest could push like that.\u00a0 People and animals, I understand, but trees?\u00a0 Why\u2019s that happening?\u201d\u00a0 She laid her head in the crook of my shoulder, resting sideways on my chest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNot really sure.\u00a0 Was thinking that since Fellbane isn\u2019t here, I might do a little exploring and maybe find out.\u00a0 Are you game?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSounds interesting, sure.\u00a0 The others will be up for it too, I\u2019m certain.\u00a0 Horace and Lotonna were practically itching to fight each other by the time Nemmy was ambulatory.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI was what?\u201d\u00a0 I heard the thin voice a few feet away.\u00a0 \u201cI was no such thing, and you should stop saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt means you can walk, you turd,\u201d Lotonna\u2019s voice was just as close.\u00a0 \u201cHow about you, Shadrim?\u00a0 Going to let a little bump on the head keep you off your feet?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor a little while longer, I think yeah, unless you want me to throw up on your nice shiny coat there.\u00a0 You gave me a concussion, you tool.\u201d\u00a0 I moaned with a little more drama than I intended.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I heard his huffing laughter.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t take a little knock on the head.\u00a0 Ppppffft.\u00a0 What are you going to do with a giant who wants to jelly your brains with a boulder?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSame thing as I\u2019d do for anyone that size.\u00a0 Set their face on fire, then ram my blade up their nethers while they\u2019re still screaming.\u00a0 Maybe then I\u2019ll even let them see me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Horace chuckled a bit at that.\u00a0 \u201cGood to see you again, Az.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I held up my free hand in a thumbs-up, keeping my eyes covered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kineta rolled up.\u00a0 \u201cSeems we\u2019re waiting a little bit here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNot me, I\u2019m heading for town, there\u2019s beer to be had.\u201d\u00a0 Horace said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I bolted upright. \u201cNo!\u201d\u00a0 I almost threw up, and collapsed myself back down.\u00a0 \u201cI mean, no, we can\u2019t go to Al\u2019Veydra yet.\u00a0 I\u2019m still wanted, all of Fellbane is, and it\u2019s likely that you all are known companions of mine now.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBeer.\u00a0 Me.\u00a0 Not together.\u00a0 See the problem I\u2019m trying to picture here?\u201d\u00a0 His voice was impatient.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I know, I got it.\u00a0 But trust me, it\u2019s a lot healthier not to be seen right now, and Al\u2019Veydra\u2019s probably riddled with spies at this point.\u00a0 Look, go talk to Addaweyr, he\u2019s the leader, the half-Eladrin.\u00a0 He\u2019ll know how to get you a keg or a small cask.\u00a0 If he can send someone in, I\u2019ll pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHmm.\u00a0 Delay a little longer, free beer all night.\u00a0 Fair enough, where\u2019s this Addaweyr?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cCan\u2019t miss him, half is face is always in shadow.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat sounds\u2026strange.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou travel with a minotaur.\u00a0 What qualifies as strange?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nemmy broke in.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, guys, let\u2019s go hunt down that keg.\u00a0 I want to see if I leak out my holes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As they wandered off, I re-covered my eyes.\u00a0 Kineta stayed with me, silently.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After a little while she spoke.\u00a0 \u201cEveryone\u2019s left, Az.\u00a0 It\u2019s just you and I here.\u00a0 Will you tell me why it is that you\u2019re wanted?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I thought it over.\u00a0 Hiding it from her further probably wouldn\u2019t do anyone any good.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Taking a deep breath, I told her about the coming conflict.\u00a0 The Shadrim army under Kaenig.\u00a0 The Morvreyans in league with Asmodeus.\u00a0 The demonic horde of undead led by Casava, and Corfyr.\u00a0 The Gaulus prophecies, naming \u201cFell\u2019s Dark Bane\u201d as a major player in the outcome.\u00a0 How we\u2019d probably pissed off everyone on both sides of the fight.\u00a0 About the Jessil Kerith, the rogue scholars fighting to break the hold of both Orcus and Asmodeus and give the peoples of our world free choice again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Finally, where I was born.\u00a0 My own prophecy.\u00a0 How Asmodeus let my people fall just to see the prophecy go unfulfilled.\u00a0 My vow to destroy him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When I was done, I lapsed into silence.\u00a0 The quiet went on a long while.\u00a0 \u201cSo, even if we win, even if we break the back of the infernals and the demons, they still win.\u00a0 A hundred years from now, maybe two hundred, they sneak in and start the whole mess over again,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think you see the problem, yes.\u00a0 The souls of the Middle World are a rich resource.\u00a0 Food for some, power for others, but desperately desired by both.\u00a0 We\u2019re a crop to them.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know whether to laugh or cry.\u201d\u00a0 Her hand was on my chest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I feel the same way sometimes,\u201d I agreed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat can we do against that?\u00a0 How can we break their hold on us?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 But I have to try.\u00a0 What point is there if we don\u2019t?\u00a0 Like you said, they\u2019ll just come back.\u00a0 They\u2019re patient, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI mean, what are you going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the hard part, Kineta.\u00a0 I think I\u2019m going to have to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWho do you think?\u00a0 Asmodeus.\u00a0 He betrayed my people, he is responsible for so much callous destruction.\u00a0 He can\u2019t be allowed to continue on that path.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s crazy, Az, you can\u2019t take on the Hells all by yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re right, that would be crazy.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I don\u2019t intend to do it alone, and I certainly don\u2019t intend to make a frontal assault of it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe we\u2019re even talking about this.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTrust me, Fellbane feels the same way.\u00a0 They\u2019ll eventually realize, as I did, that this has to be done.\u00a0 At first it was just personal for me, but now I see that every soul in the Middle World depends on my success here.\u00a0 I think we have to make this place safe \u2013 defeat their forces, both of them.\u00a0 That should buy us time to work out a strategy for deposing the Ruby Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat then?\u00a0 What happens when you do it?\u00a0 I mean, even if you succeed and live, won\u2019t another fiend just step up?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, hadn\u2019t thought that far ahead.\u00a0 I suspect I\u2019ll have to arrange some kind of compact with the rest of the Gods to prevent that from happening.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re talking about things so far beyond me, I can barely wrap my head around the ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I nodded, and noticed I must be feeling better \u2013 the urge to vomit wasonly a slight nagging sense, rather than an insistent urge.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou agree, but I don\u2019t think you hear what I\u2019m saying, Az.\u00a0 I can\u2019t go along with you on this.\u00a0 I mean, I want to help you in any way I can, but I can\u2019t do this with you.\u201d\u00a0 Her face was sad, her voice reserved.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I tried to keep my head very steady.\u00a0 To avoid throwing up on her as much as to notsay the wrong thing while I parsed out the words. \u201cI hear you, and I understand you, but I don\u2019t see the reason behind it.\u00a0 Why can\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI just can\u2019t.\u00a0 Please, Az, you\u2019ve declared an intention here, one I won\u2019t be able to be along with you for.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I propped my hand against my forehead, supporting the weight of my head.\u00a0 Not an inconsiderable weight, regardless of the size of my ego, since the horns tend to add more than the average human skull all by themselves.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I didn\u2019t really know what to say here.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean you don\u2019t want me to go, don\u2019t you?\u00a0 You just can\u2019t bring yourself to try to dissuade me directly?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, that\u2019s no it at all, Az.\u00a0 Please.\u00a0 What you\u2019ve said, of course I want it to stop.\u00a0 But does it have to be you? Why must you do this?\u201d\u00a0 She was pleading with me.\u00a0 How could she ask me this?\u00a0 This was the meaning of my reason for even being in this world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLook, Kineta, I understand it\u2019s a frightening thing.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t have a choice here.\u00a0 The Ruby Lord wants me dead regardless of what I want.\u00a0 More than that, he wants my soul destroyed.\u00a0 I\u2019m a threat to him, however insignificant.\u00a0 How can I not?\u00a0 Even if that weren\u2019t the case, who else will do this?\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t have a choice regardless.\u00a0 Someone has to stop the two sides, get them to fight their battles elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She leaned back, suddenly serious.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you just said, did you mean that?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u00a0 Of course I did.\u00a0 Look, I would love to just squirrel off with you and ride out the end of this conflict, leave it to someone else.\u00a0 But if I don\u2019t get involved, and do what I can to stop it, who will?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI wish it hadn\u2019t happened like this,\u201d she said.\u00a0 She looked down at the ground between us.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I grabbed her arm, gently.\u00a0 \u201cI know this is going to come out wrong, but please don\u2019t second-guess how you feel.\u00a0 Just feel it.\u00a0 I love you, Kineta, and when this is all over, I swear to you we can get married, and do all those things we hinted at these last few months.\u00a0 Life, a nice place to live, all that.\u00a0 But I have<\/em> to do this.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t sit by, knowing that regardless of how our lives were lived, that in the end you, me, our children, our friends, everyone we know is destined to be destroyed.\u00a0 That\u2019s so revolting to me, I can\u2019t begin to tell you.\u00a0 I won\u2019t live that lie.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She watched me while I said these things, and I realized as I was saying them that a dark, burning rage built inside me just at the thought of it all.\u00a0 To think that she, Lotonna, Nemmy, all these people around me, even Sered might end up as nothing more than fodder for some demon or fuel for an infernal engine, my arms trembled with the desire to rip something to shreds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re decided, then?\u201d\u00a0 She asked quietly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI wish it were some other way, and I completely understand if you don\u2019t want me to do this, but understand me please \u2013 I have to.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOkay.\u00a0 Rest, then.\u00a0 You\u2019re getting worked up about this, and I don\u2019t want you setting the forest here on fire.\u201d\u00a0 The corner of her mouth crooked up in a little grin.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I leaned back, nodding.\u00a0 Closed my eyes and tried to follow her instructions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I must have got some kind of sleep, because when I woke twilight was in the air again.\u00a0 Lotonna must have knocked me a good one, I suppose.\u00a0 I realized after a few seconds that Nemmy was sitting on a little stool beside me, feet dangling, not quite reaching the ground.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow you doing, Nem?\u201d\u00a0 I sat up again.\u00a0 No urge to blow chunks, good.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGood, Az.\u00a0 Nothing leaked, and I tried with a lot of beer.\u201d\u00a0 He patted his considerable gut, the bandages still showing behind his jerkin.\u00a0 \u201cGot to tell you something, here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHmm?\u201d\u00a0 I looked up at him.\u00a0 His face seemed greyer than usual, and for a second I thought maybe his injuries were worse than he let on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYour friends will be here soon, Az.\u201d\u00a0 He looked around the campsite.\u00a0 \u201cLotta things are going to happen, soon.\u00a0 She said to tell you, she\u2019s sorry she can\u2019t be along with you.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe told you about our talk?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He affirmed with a bob of his head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI know she doesn\u2019t want me to go, if she sent you to try to convince me, Nem, I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re going to sa\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He held up a hand.\u00a0 \u201cNo, it\u2019s you that doesn\u2019t understand, Az.\u00a0 She wants you to go.\u00a0 She wants you to win your fight.\u00a0 But she\u2019s right \u2013 she can\u2019t come along.\u00a0 You picked a side, and that\u2019s a trigger for her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHere,\u201d he handed me a folded handkerchief.\u00a0 \u201cShe can\u2019t pick a side. She asked me to tell you that regardless of how this turns out, she\u2019ll be waiting for you.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhere is she?\u201d\u00a0 I looked around, but couldn\u2019t see her.\u00a0 Couldn\u2019t see Lotonna either.\u00a0 \u201cShe didn\u2019t get pissed aned leave, did she?\u00a0 Oh for the love of\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nemmy slapped me.\u00a0 I sat back, a little shocked and a little surprised at how it rang my bell.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not listening.\u00a0 She\u2019s gone on ahead, and Lotonna and Horace with her.\u00a0 I\u2019m going in a few moments too.\u00a0 Much as she can\u2019t follow you, you can\u2019t follow us this time.\u00a0 Trust me, Az, I think you\u2019ll understand.\u00a0 But first, you have to remember what I told you.\u00a0 Alright?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I sat there, watching him.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t say anything, but squinted, trying to understand his meaning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOkay, Az.\u00a0 Time for me to leave.\u00a0 It\u2019s been fun, the guys wanted me to say that as well.\u00a0 Horace really liked your whiskey.\u00a0 I hope she\u2019s right, that we do see each other again.\u00a0 And good luck \u2013 I\u2019ve got my toes crossed for you.\u201d\u00a0 He hopped down off the stool and walked to the edge of the clearing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Turning back, he gave a little salute.\u00a0 \u201cSee you around, Az.\u00a0 Give \u2018em hell.\u201d\u00a0 He snorted a little bit with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, give \u2018em hell.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With that, he walked into the woods, and I lost sight of him shortly thereafter.\u00a0 There was a big empty hole in my chest, threatening to pull the rest of me in after it.\u00a0 How could she just leave like that?\u00a0 How could any of them?\u00a0 Why?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then I remembered the handkerchief.\u00a0 It was still clutched in my hand, smelling faintly of the perfume she bought in the City of Brass that I liked so much.\u00a0 I slowly unwrapped it, pulling back the cotton lace, careful not to damage it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Within it was a single, long, immaculate black feather.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I arrived, traveling alone, my portal stopped me outside of town.\u00a0 This was a surprise to me, as I didn\u2019t realize there were ways to prevent a portal from arriving in its intended place while still allowing it to … Continue reading