[coronatiger]

25th of Ratanu, year 412 (continued)

I listened to Illoro’s impatient pacing above the hatch for a while before knocking and popping my head up. I asked if everything was all right and Illoro reminded me that they wanted privacy, but the Azura priestess commented that I’d been there all along. That made Illoro change his mind, and he said he’d rather I was in the room where he could see me. I climbed up and sat down leaning against the wall, trying to sink into the shadows and be as unobtrusive as possible. Illoro sat down too, but he didn’t find comfort.

After a couple of minutes, he stood up again and walked over to one of the boarded-up windows, squinting between the planks. I opened my pouch and let Hope get out to play; the blue-bellied river striker nestled between my fingers. When Illoro noticed her, Hope didn’t unsettle him any more than he already was. He had to know that she was venomous, but I assumed he thought she was tame and wouldn’t attack without my orders.

Instead of commenting my pregnant companion, Illoro asked if my “carrier” was still nearby. He was obviously referring to Grogg, and I replied that of course he wasn’t far away; I meant to keep my promise to bring Illoro back the way we came. Illoro said he hoped my friends had the security of this place under control. I didn’t care to share the details of how offhandedly we guarded the tower, so I said nothing.

Illoro continued his pacing for another ten minutes before making another comment, that it was odd how lax the security was. As he had been blindfolded until we were just outside this room, I wondered how he came to his conclusion. Was he scanning the area with magic? If he was, he was far more circumspect than Xipil and Wolfram; when they do magic, it’s usually obvious what they’re doing. I saw no signs that Illoro was doing anything other than walking back and forth and complaining.

After another few minutes of silence, the Azura priestess answered by saying that she had asked to be left alone. Illoro pounced, insisting to get the talk done before the sun had set. The priestess responded that she wasn’t stopping him from talking, she just wouldn’t speak herself before the stars emerged. Illoro glared at me for some reason, but I pretended to be part of the wall. He said he’d had a suspicion that had grown stronger after we’d talked: The division in Byblos was serious, and he feared that only one of the two clerics would get through it alive. Therefore, he wanted to share knowledge, so that it would be preserved no matter which of them died. Illoro asked the priestess if she could comment on this before sunset. He was frustrated by the way she moved her head, as it was impossible to tell if she shook it or nodded, so he asked again. She said that if this was bound to happen anyway, why the rush? Illoro walked over to me and asked if she was always like this. I just shrugged.

Illoro declared that they both could see things that others couldn’t and that they both wanted to preserve their knowledge, but the priestess replied that they weren’t the only ones. Illoro asked himself if it was a bad idea to come here. He admitted to feeling unsafe, and that this was an unusual emotion for him. Receiving no response, he went back to pacing.

Suddenly, Kraa took wings and flew up through the hole in the domed ceiling. It sat down on the roof and kraaed loudly. I could vaguely hear running footsteps down below, but the noise wasn’t approaching, so I knew Wolfram and Grogg remained below. Perhaps they ran outside to look for Kraa. As far as I know, I’m the only one in our party who can see the spirit raven. Grogg seems to think he can, but he has shown that he actually can’t. He does have some ability to sense its presence, though, beyond listening for the inane chatter it makes.

Illoro, trying to peer through the boarded-up window, asked if it was my people that were outside. I said yes, but Illoro wanted me to check it. I stood up and returned Hope to her nest in my pouch. Hearing another bird scream, I looked up, but the angle through the hole was wrong, and I only saw Kraa.

The floor hatch opened. When I saw Xipil’s face, I removed my hands from the hilts they had instinctively gripped. I asked my companion if anything noteworthy had happened, and he said they heard a bird screech. For some reason and despite seeing proof otherwise, Xipil asked if anyone had killed each other up in the tower. I said no and repeated my question, emphasizing the word “noteworthy”. Xipil had nothing more to say on the matter, but the priestess commented that she hoped nobody killed each other downstairs either.

Illoro asked me to handle the situation. I hadn’t realized there was a situation to be handled at all, but the priestess’s statement made me think some of her friends could be approaching. When prompted, she admitted that someone was coming to check up on her. I asked Xipil to go downstairs and make sure there was no killing, but he decided to climb up after Kraa instead and soon vanished from view.

I positioned myself near the hatch so I could watch for someone coming up from below. Something shattered on the ground outside the tower, but I didn’t think it was Xipil who had fallen off the roof. That would make a softer and wetter sound. This sounded more like someone had broken a clay pot. Kraa leaped off the roof and flew down, presumably to Grogg.

A few seconds later, I could hear running again and another crash as someone burst through the outer door following my companions. Maybe her friends weren’t as friendly as the priestess had made out. I drew each of my knives and applied poison to them, expertly hiding the motions under my cloak so the clerics wouldn’t see.

Grogg, Wolfram and Xipil rushed inside and Grogg stopped in front of the seated priestess and turned to face the hatch. A boy my age emerged in the room below. He wore soldier’s garb and had a hand on his sword hilt as he looked up at me and asked who I was. “A friend,” I said. A man with a falcon on his shoulder followed the boy. He was calmer than his companion, who shouted to the priestess to ask if she was all right. “I’m sorry for the visit. Everything is fine,” she replied. The boy asked again who I was, and I repeated my earlier answer.

The boy asked me to take a step back, which I did, and he vaulted up through the hatch, studying the room while his friend climbed up after him. His gaze locked on to Illoro, who glanced at me. I radiated composure and calm to the best of my ability.

The boy confronted Illoro about who invited him, and got a stern reply that where Illoro went was none of his concern. The boy said that he knew who Illoro was out there, but that didn’t count here. Illoro threatened me, saying he hoped I would deal with this without him having to mention my name. I didn’t respond vocally, but my hands were holding throwing knives, one for each intruder’s neck.

The priestess said again that everything was fine, and the boy seemed disappointed. His companion just nodded, but the boy insisted that they were staying until the rest of us had left. The priestess said that wasn’t necessary, and after the boy had scowled at everyone, especially Wolfram and Xipil, the two of them left. I got a hunch they were Varatga worshippers, and while an outsider would have no obvious reason to trust my hunch, I knew it was You telling me what I needed to know.

Grogg and Wolfram went back downstairs after a couple of minutes, but Xipil remained. I sat down by the hatch again to keep an eye on the stairs below and Xipil sat down next to me. Illoro sat down too, eventually, muttering to himself about having to wait for sunset.