Campaign Log: Confessions of a Forked Tongue

[coronatiger]

1st of Mitra’s First Month, year 413 (continued)

I told the captive Moon Shadow that he was in no position to make demands or ask questions, and that it was in his best interest to answer when I asked. Having been taken down by Grogg and his heavy maul, the Moon Shadow was in dire need of first aid. His breathing was labored and painful. Several ribs might be broken, and he could have a punctured lung. I did what I could in the short time available to me. The building was on fire, so a proper examination, not to mention actual treatment, was out of the question. The Moon Shadow thanked me, but he also warned me he wasn’t going to betray his friends and family.

Grogg came running while I was working, and he reminded me about the fire. I nodded distractedly while I finished up and asked the Moon Shadow why he had tried to get away to this room after indicating that he was surrendering. The simple sleeping chamber had no other exits, and I didn’t see anything that could be used to battle a troll. The Moon Shadow replied that this was his room, and that he was trying to buy some time for his friends to come to his aid. With me putting away my weapons and applying first aid to an enemy, he realized that none of his friends would be able to help him.

I had more questions for the Moon Shadow, but none that had to be answered immediately. The subterranean complex was starting to fill up with smoke, which clearly bothered my companions, so I stood up and told Grogg to bring my prisoner back to the others.

There were two fallen Moon Shadows in the corridor outside the bedroom. One was already dead, and the other wouldn’t survive the night, but I sent him on to You nevertheless, using his own knife to slit his throat. I spoke the Ultimate Prayer for both of them, like I had done for their companion a minute or two earlier.

As I stood up, a dwarf came running into the corridor and through to a bedchamber. Watching him grab blankets and pillows from the bed, I yelled, “Wolfram! Who is this dwarf? Should I kill him?” He had come from the direction Grogg had gone, so they must have passed each other along the way, and he didn’t look like the Moon Shadows in the slightest, so I doubted he was an enemy, but I wasn’t taking any chances. Wolfram yelled back that I shouldn’t touch him. Speaking Common, the dwarf said it was nice to meet me too. I didn’t need Your gifts to tell me he was sarcastic but wary.

Since we hadn’t brought rope along for the raid, I picked up several bedsheets and took them with me. Climbing a shaft might be easier with rope.

When I rejoined everyone, they were in an oval bathroom. The dwarf was soaking his blankets and pillows to reinforce the wooden doors against the fire, thinking to give us a little more time before we had to leave. I thought the smoke would kill them long before they had to worry about the flames, but it gave him something to do. Grogg had put down the Moon Shadow, and Wolfram was helping Xipil climb down the shaft by holding rope for him, rope that had previously been used to tie up the dwarf’s wife, who lay unconscious on the floor. The two dwarves had been held prisoner by the Moon Shadows, Wolfram informed me.

Xipil came back up not long after I entered the bathroom. The rope wasn’t long enough for him to get all the way down to the damp cave below us. From what he had seen, it was unclear whether there was an escape route for us down there.

The shaft didn’t look easily traversed for anyone but Xipil, with smooth walls glistening with moisture. I couldn’t see the fleeing Moon Shadows scampering up unaided, and I knew someone had escaped, for the disguised man I had followed from the Cup and the Chest hadn’t been among the three whose souls I had guided towards You. “How does one get up or down here?” I asked the fourth Moon Shadow. I spoke Arani since he was most comfortable with that, doing my best to give the impression that I was going to let him live.

The Moon Shadow stood with a struggle and opened a secret panel, revealing two ropes, and he pulled on one of them. It took all his strength to activate the mechanism, and he sank to the floor again, wheezing painfully that he hoped the hatch would open. Wolfram asked him whether he had colleagues up above, waiting for us, which he found amusing. He shook his head, trying his best not to laugh, as that would be incredibly painful. The rest of the Moon Shadows had clearly fled.

A few seconds later, that rumbling, scraping sound hit us once again, this time from much closer as a heavy lid above the shaft slid aside. Xipil looked inside the panel and asked what the second rope did, but our captive didn’t feel like answering. I prepared my throwing knives with new venom, allowing the Moon Shadow to see exactly what I was doing. He claimed the poison wouldn’t work on him, but I retorted that it worked well enough on his friends.

While still not replying to Xipil’s question, the Moon Shadow took the hint that I wouldn’t allow him to make things difficult for us. He got up and walked over to the shaft, asking Grogg to hold him so he wouldn’t overbalance and fall. He stuck his head and torso inside the shaft and made a hooting noise like an owl. It was clearly a signal, and I wondered who might be up there to listen and what the signal meant.

It didn’t take long before a metal ladder rolled down the shaft. I told the Moon Shadow that he and I were climbing first, and that he wasn’t to attempt any nonsense. I had seen him glance down towards the cave below and read on his face that he considered letting go of the ladder to kill himself, but his sense of self-preservation was too strong, so he discarded the idea. The Moon Shadow asked how many questions he had to answer before I would let him go. Wolfram whispered in my ear that we had to ask about Hakart. I just said I had quite a few questions, but I assured the captive that if he answered them all to my satisfaction, I had no reason not to let him go. It wasn’t as if he had killed any of my friends, after all.

The short climb up to ground level went smoothly, even with me climbing halfway on top of the Moon Shadow, reaching around his waist to grab the ladder. I was ready to squish him against the ladder, should he let go, but he behaved himself well.

We came up inside the Kabal garden. The statue of a horse stood uncomfortably close, so I pulled my captive a few steps away. A signal from him, or the wrong action from anyone, could animate the statue and make it attack. Or it was already animated, but just stood still. I didn’t like the way its eye seemed to follow me, although that might just have been a trick of the mind, brought on by the darkness of the night. With the full moon still in effect, my dark vision wasn’t as good as it usually was.

My friends tarried below, discussing how best to get the unconscious dwarf up the shaft. They eventually agreed that Grogg should bring rope and pull her up. That operation went off without a hitch, but the other dwarf was shaken up when he emerged from the shaft, having slipped and nearly plummeted to his death.

When Wolfram came up, the horse statue started to vibrate, and I took another couple of steps away with the Moon Shadow. The statue wasn’t animating, though. It was beginning to slide over the hatch. Wolfram quickly interposed himself between the statue and the shaft and tried to hold it back, but he couldn’t stop it completely. Xipil shot up from the shaft just in time before the base of the statue covered the dark hole.

I asked the Moon Shadow how to leave the garden. He retorted by asking again how many questions I had for him. I informed him I wasn’t going to ask the questions in the garden. The Moon Shadow said he wasn’t eager to be seen on the streets with us, but he asked me to support him so he could show the way out. Wolfram whispered in my ear that we had to hurry up and ask our questions, about the queen and Hakart. I told him I wanted to interview the captive somewhere else, somewhere safer.

The Moon Shadow led the way through the small garden, and he took a wide circle around a scary-looking statue. Wolfram couldn’t contain his impatience and started asking the Moon Shadow about the dwarves. I kicked his leg to remind him that we weren’t asking any questions before we got out. The Moon Shadow said we wouldn’t want to be spotted in the company of those dwarves, and Wolfram asked the conscious dwarf what their deal was. I kicked his leg again, harder this time. Wolfram wore armor, so I wasn’t worried I’d hurt him, but I hoped the point would get across. Xipil told him to hush, just in case.

In a corner of the garden was a stone altar with clay birds on top. Nearby stood a statue of a man pulling a horse, and blessedly a gate. The Moon Shadow leaned his forehead against the gate and muttered that he hoped this was working. The gate opened, and we all spilled out to a small, empty street.

Sounds from the city told me that bringing everyone back to the Nightflower unseen would be impossible. Even at the middle of the night, Anabel wasn’t completely asleep. We had decent cover in the shadows in the small street, and now that we had escaped the dangerous garden, I could take the time to begin questioning the Moon Shadow.

From the Moon Shadow’s earlier comments, I reasoned that the dwarves might be wanted criminals, so I began my interrogation about them. If there was something we needed to know before taking them across town, that might be the most urgent information. I felt like I had to drag the answers out of the Moon Shadow, but eventually, I got the story.

[coronatiger]

The Moon Shadow had arrived at the Soft Pillow two weeks ago. The female dwarf had already been incarcerated in the cellar at that time, while the male had come four or five days ago to get her out, but he had been captured instead. The Moon Shadow hadn’t had much to do with the prisoners, and he had gone out of his way not to learn about who were in the cells. The conscious dwarf corroborated what the Moon Shadow said.

I asked where the Moon Shadows kept their horses and where his friends had gone. I didn’t get a very precise answer to that, other than what I already suspected, that the horses were stabled somewhere outside the city and that the other Moon Shadows had fled Anabel, taking their horses with them.

I also wanted to know why the Moon Shadows kept the Cup and the Chest under surveillance, but my captive didn’t seem to know. He could only guess that it had to do with the other prisoner, whom he had also avoided. The little I could draw out of him about this other prisoner made me think it could be Hakart, but it could easily be someone else. It was a human male who had arrived very recently.

Wolfram seemed to believe the Moon Shadows might have information about the vanished Queen Makeda, so I asked about her too. I had to remind the Moon Shadow that I wasn’t letting him go until he answered all my questions before he agreed to speak, but the only worthwhile pieces of information that I got was that he was aware of the queen’s disappearance and that the female dwarf was connected to the queen or her disappearance, somehow. The Moon Shadow reiterated that we really didn’t want anyone to see us in the company of those two dwarves.

The male dwarf begged Wolfram to get them out of the city unseen. I told him we needed to know what they knew, first. That meant we had to nurse his wife back to health, or at least to consciousness. Wolfram suggested we brought them to our safehouse. I asked my friends if they knew what part the captive Moon Shadow had played in the ambush on us, but nobody was certain beyond the fact that he had defended himself from Grogg and Wolfram, so I asked You whether I could kill him.

I stood up from my prayer and approached the Moon Shadow. I gave him a small smile and reached out a hand to help him to his feet. With my other hand, I drew a knife and skewered his neck. You had just made clear Your indifference about whether I should send his soul to You, so while I didn’t know if he actually had fulfilled the conditions You had set for my killing at the Soft Pillow, I decided his darkness spell tipped the balance.

Speaking the Ultimate Prayer for the deceased, I ignored for a moment Wolfram’s complaints that I should have made the kill in the garden, not on the street. Once I finished my benediction, I patiently explained to the giant that I couldn’t kill the Moon Shadow before interrogating him, and I wasn’t going to interrogate him in a garden where the statues might at any time decide to go on a killing spree. Grogg could easily heave the corpse over the tall garden wall. Grogg was more than happy to show off his strength, and Wolfram tried to wipe up the blood from the street while the rest of us started moving.

Xipil walked ahead of the rest of us and he quickly signaled that someone was just ahead, so we should turn around. Going the other way, we soon came upon a man coming towards us, but the looming shapes of Grogg and Wolfram made him hurry away in another direction.

I had asked Xipil to take us back to the Market of Beds. I wanted to reenter the Soft Pillow. The shopgirl was still tied up and unable to escape the burning building. The fire and smoke were still contained in the cellar, so nothing at all seemed to be wrong, but the four city guards had come over from the other side of the market and were standing not far from the entrance. Getting in unseen now would require a distraction, and Xipil reminded me that Wolfram had replaced the bars on the door so it would take time to get back inside.

Wolfram said we should get away before we were spotted, but Xipil wanted to retrieve his clothes from the stall where he had hidden them. He also would like to learn what the guards were discussing. It was clear they weren’t meant to be there, but they obviously knew something was wrong. Had the Moon Shadows bribed them to stay away? Two of the guards left, jogging south, while the other two moved a little further away from the shop.

Xipil took his time returning, so after a couple of minutes, Wolfram repeated that we should go. He proposed that he and Grogg could take the dwarves to our safehouse, but I said to give Xipil one more minute, and then I would go with them. The plan had been to have Grogg and Wolfram take the unconscious dwarf by the shoulders and carry her between them so it seemed she was walking on her own, while her husband and I would walk just before and after her, to conceal her limp shape.

Since Xipil didn’t return after that minute, I took his job of scouting a path ahead of the main party. The city guards stayed mostly on the main streets, but they were moving and too spread out to be a significant hindrance. We just took cover when they came near. The smaller streets were where private guards kept their focus, and since we might not see them before we were right on top of them, the main streets felt safer. Being seen at a distance wasn’t troubling. Being seen up close might cause difficulty, especially if the dwarves were known faces here in Anabel.

Xipil caught up with us after a short while, and he took over scouting so I could help the male dwarf block lines of sight to his wife. At my suggestion, Xipil led us through the palace gardens, which were significantly more devoid of people at this time of night.

Apart from a few times when we had to hold our breaths in the shadow of an alley, waiting for city guards to move past along the main road, we made it back to the Nightflower without incident. Hylda was up, having agreed with Yana that they should keep watch while we were away.

We had one unused bedroom, so we installed the dwarf couple there. Xipil asked what was wrong with the woman, so I examined her. She was exhausted, but not really injured, although I gleaned that she had to have gone through an ordeal similar to Groman’s, but perhaps not quite so severe. Some mental, spiritual or magical force had done something to her, but I couldn’t say what. Xipil checked her for magic and discerned that she had come across something powerful, perhaps a month back.

Wolfram went around and gathered up everyone’s bloody clothes, intending to put them in the bathtub to soak. I peeled off my dress and cloth armor, both of which were soaked in the front, leaving me quite bare. Wolfram hurried back out of the room.

Xipil asked if I needed help with my wound, and I accepted the offer. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, and I could have managed on my own, but it was easier to have someone else wrap bandages around me. I sneaked inside Yana’s room to pick up another dress before I went to ask Wolfram if I should look at his injuries. I bandaged his wounds and studied him for symptoms of the poison the Moon Shadows had employed. Wolfram was a little unsteady, and he had the occasional shiver. He had received more of the nerve agent this time than during his last encounter with it. It could take as much as a week for him to walk off the effects, but I thought he’d be mostly functional during his recovery, and I didn’t worry about long-term effects. He was lucky to be so big and in good health. The same dose could have killed someone my size.

I went over to the bathtub to launder the bloody clothes, but Hylda offered to do it instead. I admitted that I was tired and longed to go to bed, so I was very grateful. I told her she could go to sleep when she was done; there was no need for a guard now that we were all safely back.

Xipil declared that he was going to the chapel to sleep there instead. I thought that was a very good idea, and I would have joined him, had I not had someone warming the bed upstairs for me. I smiled and wished Xipil a good night. It was good that he wanted to be closer to You.

I tried not to disturb Yana from her sleep, so I brought no light inside the room and undressed and brushed my teeth in the dark. When I climbed into bed, the sudden movement as Yana turned around told me I had failed. “I’m all right,” I said reassuringly when Yana fingered my bandages cautiously. “Only Wolfram got injuries worth mentioning, and he was more than able to walk back on his own. He could have run, had it been necessary. Oh, and we have guests! Two dwarves liberated from Moon Shadow captivity. They…”

Yana put a finger across my lips. “You owe me a dance,” she declared. “What, now?” “Yes, now! No time like the present!” So we climbed out of the bed. The bed took up most of the floor space, but the slow dance that Yana led, naked in the silent darkness, didn’t require much room. We just waddled from side to side while Yana’s hands slid lower and lower down my back. I felt my face heat up, but there was nobody there to see the redness. Yana felt it, though, and it spurred her on. She leaned into me, and I had to reciprocate so as not to overbalance, but Yana suddenly leaned the other way and we toppled onto the bed, where Yana initiated another dance.

O Ashtar! We surrender our lives to Your coils. Take us while we sleep, or grant us another day in Your service, as You will.

[coronatiger]

2nd of Mitra’s First Month, year 413

O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession!

I woke from sounds of footsteps in the hallway. Was it time to get up and begin the day? No, it was not. Whoever was outside, their steps were more of a shuffle, so maybe it was Hylda, early up but not quite awake. Another pair of feet could be heard, and then Wolfram’s hushed voice saying something just too low for me to catch. Yana’s softness, deliciously warm against my skin, reminded me of last night when she made me forget about the full moon. A twinge from my lower abdomen told me the moon was still full, and I barely held back a groan that surely would have woken Yana. As the cramps diminished, the footsteps outside retreated and I drifted off to sleep again.

When next I woke, Yana had turned around in my embrace and was regarding me silently. The little light streaming in under the door just allowed me to lock eyes with her a moment before she closed hers and kissed me. “Thank you for coming back safely,” she whispered.

Standing up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I felt dirty. Blood and other fluids stained the bedsheet, and I didn’t look much better myself. Nor did Yana, for that matter. The feeling of dried blood cracking up on my skin as I moved was not very pleasant. We had an overabundance of clean sheets available, however, and water for washing, so a few minutes later, we were both feeling ready to tackle the day.

Xipil had returned from the chapel and everyone but our dwarven guests were ready for Hylda’s cooking when Yana and I descended the stairs. I put the cloth bag with ghost pies on the table in front of me as I sat down, but Yana made a show of appreciating Hylda’s food. The pies were cold now, which didn’t detract from the taste at all, but I wasn’t sure how long they’d keep, so I had decided to have them for breakfast. Everyone except for Yana watched my food with curiosity, so I dared Grogg to have one. Xipil asked if there was meat in my pies, and I lied and said yes, knowing he wouldn’t then ask for a taste. Sweat broke out on Grogg’s face, but that was all, at least after only one pie. If anyone could stand the spicy foodstuff, I had known it would be Grogg, but I didn’t offer a second, and he didn’t ask. He just said he'd had stronger before, when Lunari was still alive. Xipil noticed that I didn’t sweat a drop, not even after emptying the entire bag.

While we ate, I explained about my plans for the day. Yana and I had to go out to investigate several matters, including checking if Keri had arrived at the Cup and the Chest. I asked if the others could take care of the dwarves and find out who they were, what they had done to become wanted like criminals and what they knew about the queen’s disappearance. Xipil offered to take responsibility for that, and Wolfram said he’d had an encounter with the female dwarf this morning; she had been in a daze. That might be because it was so early in the morning and she hadn’t woken up properly yet, but I decided to check on her before I left.

Xipil said he’d come upstairs with me, and he informed me he’d woken up sick in the chapel, with an urge to find someone he trusted to cook for him. I fell to my knees in prayer, for it was clear to me this involved You. Indeed, You gave me the sensation that praying for Xipil was good, and also that he was unsure about something. Perhaps there was a choice in his near future, for how he best could serve You.

Wolfram came upstairs while I prayed, but both he and Xipil stood watching from outside the door when I entered the dwarves’ room. The man still lay on the bed where he collapsed last night, but the woman had been up and had fallen asleep again on a chair. She recoiled with fear when I gently woke her with a hand on her shoulder. I gave her my name and explained that my friends and I had liberated her and her husband from their captors. They were now in our secret hideout, still in Anabel unfortunately, but they were safe here until we could get them out. My message gave no comfort to the woman, nor did my smile ease her fears, so I retreated to the hallway.

I told Wolfram and Xipil the woman wasn’t amenable to a medical examination at the moment. Maybe her husband could alleviate her anxiety when he woke up. I warned my friends not to let the woman escape through the window. Wolfram asked if I could prepare some medicine to calm the woman down, so I went back downstairs and gave Hylda enough river thistle extract to make a calming tea for the dwarves. Then I left with Yana.

Arm in arm, Yana and I strolled north towards the first marketplace we had seen upon entering Anabel a few days ago. I wanted to check out the Cup and the Chest again, to see if Keri had arrived there since yesterday, but first, a few precautions had to be seen to. Yana agreed that I should wear the same face as I had done yesterday, since having a bunch of different people coming in and asking the same questions would attract attention if the Moon Shadows still kept the inn under surveillance.

We went in a slow circuit around the marketplace pretending to be ordinary shoppers, and we picked up a few bits and bobs for Yana’s sewing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and I caught myself wishing I had my gifts back already. It would be so much easier to detect deception when I could smell it on people, but Yana and I had four sharp eyes between us. The only person we took notice of during our round was a potential pickpocket on the prowl for an easy mark. That wasn’t what we were looking for, so we kept our distance from him. If the pickpocket was clumsy enough to be noticed, that could cause a disturbance and maybe make a hidden Moon Shadow to reveal themselves. That didn’t happen, though.

It wasn’t until we returned to the southern end of the market that someone stood out to us. A catfolk we had passed earlier was still where he had been sitting more than half an hour ago, and while he wasn’t staring right at the Cup and the Chest, it was evident that he was focusing his attention in that general direction.

Yana and I found a nearby empty alley where I asked Hope to change my face. I told Yana to keep an eye on the catfolk while I went to the inn, and to alert me if danger threatened. We left the alley separately, and I walked straight for the Cup and the Chest.

There was only one customer in sight, having a late breakfast or an early lunch in one of the booths. The bartender recognized me from yesterday, and his eyes gleamed with suspicion as I approached the bar and took a seat there.

I smiled and asked like I had done yesterday, about northerners coming into town. The bartender wouldn’t say, but it quickly become obvious he was afraid of the Moon Shadows, so I said there was no need to worry about the person I had talked to yesterday, as I had driven him and his ilk out of Anabel. The young woman sitting before him was clearly not a fighter and not intimidating in the slightest, so the bartender barked a laugh at my claim, but my calm demeanor and the way I smiled while looking him right in the eye gave him pause to reconsider. He stared at me for almost a minute before telling me that I shouldn’t expose myself, or him, by coming and asking questions every day. He promised to decorate his window sills with flowers if he had news for me. I stood, thanked him, and left. Even without my gifts, I could see that he was sincere.

I spotted Yana immediately, but I didn’t go straight towards her. Instead, I went back the way I had come, and when I passed near her, I signed that she should follow me to the chapel. She signed back that nothing had happened while I was inside, and indeed I had seen that the catfolk was still on his lookout spot.

Stopping at the washstands at the Black Cellar, I had Hope bite me again, and I washed my feet and hands, as is proper. Yana entered just as I was proceeding down towards the chapel, so I stopped in the passage to wait and watch her cleanse herself. Her grin when she saw me made me think she might strip down for a full-body wash, but I was mistaken. She was just happy I wore my own face again.

A young woman was on her knees, scrubbing the floor of the chapel when Yana and I entered. The scent of soap didn’t completely conceal the sharp tang of vomit. I stopped and frowned; Xipil should have cleaned up after himself. Yana, on the other hand, greeted the woman by name. She usually worked in the kitchen upstairs, I recalled. “Can we trust this person?” I signed to Yana. “How bad could that be?” Yana replied.

“Are you a good Ashtarite?” I asked the washerwoman, who answered that she did as best she could. I sensed no deceit in her, so I said, “That is all Ashtar requires,” and asked where in Anabel I might find ingredients for mixing poisons. The woman knew an Ashtarite who might help, and she could make introductions if we were both at the next Meet. Otherwise, if I could afford it, I could visit an apothecary. We made some small talk and left with a tip to check out a certain market east in the city.

It would be a detour, but we headed for the palace gardens, looking to find the doomsayers we had heard might be there. Yana and I understood that most of them might just be crazy, but someone, crazy or not, might have information about the queen.

[coronatiger]

As we walked, I realized that I didn’t know which ingredients I would need, so I told Yana it was just as well we wasn’t going east yet. Fortunately, the nerve agent that afflicted Wolfram was the same Moon Shadow staple that I already had in my possession, and I had everything I needed to study it again. I should be able to make an antidote, at least if the ingredients required were available in Anabel.

Approaching the palace gardens, I spotted a procession of thirty-odd Mitra priests, dressed opulently in gold and white, and carrying a stone shining almost as brightly as the sun. The sight filled me with revulsion and disgust, and I found myself scuttling for an alley where I promptly fell to my knees and began to pray. My prayer slowly calmed me and drove out the intense aversion.

When I found my feet again, half an hour later, Yana informed me from the alley mouth that the procession had passed out of sight long enough ago that there was no risk of us encountering them again. That stone had to be so holy that only Mitra’s powers could work in its presence. I didn’t particularly like the idea that something so vile could exist, but I reasoned that the full moon had to be singing on its last verse, at least for this time. I would surely not have reacted so badly, if my powers hadn’t already been returning.

There were many people in the palace gardens, but few worth mentioning. There was a group of cat people lounging in the grass, over a dozen together, when all the others I had seen in Anabel had been alone or in pairs.

Later, we came across a group of humans having some kind of discussion. They didn’t look like the doomsayers we were looking for, but our path took us past them, and one elderly man stood up and barred the way. “You aren’t from here,” he accused me despite my excellent disguise, courtesy of Yana. “Do you know if the king of Arland has disappeared?” I said I wouldn’t know, but I asked why he would ask that. He said if both king and queen disappeared at the same time, that would be significant. I admitted having heard of the king’s illness, but no word of any disappearance.

Yana and I joined the group, listening for the most part to their speculations, speaking only occasionally to prompt for more information. Was the illness a cover story for the king’s vanishment? Had Queen Makeda gone into hiding voluntarily or had someone taken her? Were there rotten apples in the queen’s court? It didn’t seem like these people knew much about what had happened to either monarch, but they had one idea that I took to heart. If enough people were talking about the queen’s disappearance, something might happen. If the queen was in a self-imposed exile, she might learn of her people’s plight and return. If she had been taken, fires may be lit under her captors’ feet.

After listening for an hour, Yana and I said goodbye. Watching ideas being bounced around might be entertaining, but it didn’t accomplish much, and we had other errands. Our next stop was at the Market of Beds.

Six city guards, slightly better dressed than those that had patrolled the market last night, stood outside the Soft Pillow. The door and windows were boarded up and the nearest shops and stalls were closed, indicating that the authorities didn’t want anyone poking around near the spy shop. The fire obviously hadn’t spread to burn down the entire building, so the shopgirl might have survived, although I didn’t think it likely. The boards might be covering the façade where the fire had broken through, and even if the fire had been contained to the cellar, the smoke would have risen to fill the entire building.

We went to talk to the guards. They clearly had orders to keep people away, but they admitted a crime had happened. Apparently, investigators were coming to look for clues. I judged that these guards wouldn’t know very much, so Yana and I retreated to the populated part of the market.

Pretending to be out shopping, we stayed at the Market of Beds for an hour, watching to see what happened when the investigators arrived, or if someone was keeping an eye on the Soft Pillow. We noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

I though there might be a slight chance we might learn something around the back, so Yana and I went for a stroll through the smaller streets and soon found ourselves at a pool of blood near a tall stone wall. Anyone could tell someone had been killed there, including a catfolk who went out of her way to keep her distance from us. There were no city guards watching the area, only her. It was tempting to ask her what she was doing, but since she clearly didn’t want to talk, I feigned a shiver at the pool of blood and hurried along with Yana.

When we returned to the Nightflower, our friends had made some discoveries that they were eager to share. The dwarf man had woken up and Wolfram and Xipil had talked to him. His name was Rany and his wife was Sona. Sona was an alchemist selling her services to powerful people, and Rany worried that she had proven so useful, someone might want to take her as a slave. Unfortunately, Rany didn’t seem to know much about the queen’s disappearance, and Sona wasn’t in shape to talk.

Xipil showed me that Sona’s elbows and armpits had needle marks. The way she had reacted to me earlier, I was glad she was unconscious for my examination, although I might have learned more if I’d been able to talk to her. I learned enough without talk, though. I believed Sona to be influenced by several substances, including possibly a nerve toxin, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it was the same as Wolfram had coursing through his veins.

Rany said alchemists and apothecaries could recognize Sona and that we mustn’t bring her to one for examination or treatment. I told him there was no need. I could draw some blood from her for a rudimentary analysis, hopefully learning enough so I could help her. I had Yana fetch my equipment from our room, and then I pricked Sona’s arm and funneled some blood to an empty vial. Xipil asked to taste it, which I allowed. He suddenly became wild-eyed, mirroring Sona’s paranoia for a few seconds before he pulled himself together.

I brought the blood and my gear downstairs and sat down at one of the tables in the common room of our suite. I identified that there were three foreign substances in Sona’s blood. The effects of the first could be alleviated by giving Sona a blood transfusion, but I believed the other two substances had entered the rest of her body in too high of a degree to be affected noticeably by a transfusion. The second substance interfered somehow with Sona’s mind, but I had no idea what it might be doing to her, nor how to counteract it. The third substance was the nerve agent, which I was inclined to leave in place, if only to keep Sona sedated.

I studied the vials of poison I had retrieved from the Moon Shadows earlier and discovered that one vial held what appeared to be a weak antidote to the nerve toxin. A shot of the antidote should only be able to relieve the effects of the poison for a few hours, and we only had enough for two shots for Wolfram, or five for someone regular-sized. I explained to Xipil how much to give Wolfram, should the need arise, but since there might be some side-effects, it would be best simply to let the poison work its way through his system.

I told my friends what I had learned from Sona’s blood and said the only treatment I dared attempt at the moment was a blood transfusion. The new blood had to come from another dwarf, I said to preclude anyone from being disappointed when I refused their offers. Grogg suggested that we had another dwarf hidden away, but I told him that I wasn’t going to risk infecting Sona with whatever afflicted Groman. His illness seemed to be spiritual, but the mind and the soul lived in the body and might contaminate it. If that was not the case, why did Groman look so drawn and pale?

Xipil said he wanted to go to the cellar Rany and Sona had rented. Rany had given him directions and explained that there was a box hidden there that he would have liked to be retrieved, but only if Xipil insisted on going. I thought Xipil’s idea was good, but I warned him about keeping an eye out for catfolk. I explained about the two that Yana and I had encountered at the Cup and the Chest and behind the Soft Pillow. There might be a catfolk conspiracy going on, or it could just be coincidence, but in any case, Xipil should be careful.

I packed up my equipment and took Yana back upstairs to talk to Rany, and I explained to him that I wanted to drain some of Sona’s contaminated blood and then give her a transfusion from him. We agreed that it would be best if we tied Sona up so she wouldn’t harm herself if she woke up in a panic.

While I was looking for rope, I heard a knock on the door. Wolfram opened to a nicely dressed catfolk woman carrying a cute, little parasol. She said she had come to look over the party venue, which made alarm bells go off in my head, for by Wolfram’s comment before he opened the door, she was expected.

[coronatiger]

I rushed down the stairs and stopped the woman from entering, asked her to excuse us for a moment and then shut the door in her face. While Yana and I were away, Grogg and Wolfram, in their infinite stupidity, had gone and ordered not only this woman, but a full platoon of musicians, singers and dancers and I don’t know what else. They balked and refused to cancel the entertainment, which was for tomorrow’s party with our nosy neighbor. They thought that throwing money at entertainers would butter up our guests and get them talking, so I asked, “Other than sticking my knives in people, what is my speciality?” “Talking to people,” Wolfram muttered. I reminded them that we had many secrets to keep, and that inviting strangers in would be dangerous, but Grogg and Wolfram believed that since these people were just entertainers, they wouldn’t be interested in our secrets.

Yana’s safety was paramount, but with the Moon Shadows routing, I felt I could go along with Grogg’s and Wolfram’s insane plan. It would certainly stir up Anabel to have word spread about us, and I wanted to make the city boil. The doomsday debaters in the palace gardens had been right. Reminding Grogg and Wolfram that we couldn’t let anyone see the guests we had upstairs, I told Yana to stay at the top of the stairs and bar the catwoman from passing.

Rany helped me tie up his wife, and then insisted I tied his hands as well, as a reminder not to do anything rash. I placed a bucked by the bed and inserted a drain in Sona’s arm. Red drops dripped into the bucket.

Yana came after the catfolk had left, and when it was time, she helped me move Sona down to the floor. I had Rany lie down where his wife had been just before, and then I connected the two of them. They would have to lie like that for about two hours, which should give me time to go out and light a fire under Anabel.

I explained to Yana that she needed to keep an eye on the dwarves while I was out. If she thought anything was wrong, the syringes had to be withdrawn and the wounds bandaged, and someone should run and fetch me at the chapel. I expected to be back long before the two-hour mark, but if I wasn’t, Yana would need to disconnect the couple. Yana wasn’t entirely comfortable with this responsibility and went to talk to Wolfram about getting some support.

I arrived at the chapel in time for the Meet, and there were three others there already, the caretaker, the woman from the kitchen and an unknown man. The slight shake of the second’s head told me this man was not the one with access to poison ingredients. I took Xipil’s place in the corner, intending to watch the others interact.

The man went outside for a minute and when he came back, he informed us that the sun wouldn’t set completely. It was clearly Mitra’s doing, and just as clear that the others didn’t know if we could have a Meet at all under these conditions. I explained to them that this wasn’t the best time to have a Meet, but we shouldn’t let Mitra deter us from doing our religious duties.

The caretaker led the Meet. I judged that she and the man were equal in rank, but with her other duties at the chapel, the caretaker was probably the most experienced of them. During a prayer, one of the snakes slithered up to me and asked if I was looking for a sibling. I hissed back that I searched both for Your sibling and for Queen Makeda. The snake told me my search was growing urgent. Only the search for Your sibling was important, at least to me, but my friends wanted to find and help the queen, and You had told me that we needed to stick together. Thus, both searches had to be hurried along. Stirring up Anabel was absolutely the right thing to do.

As soon as it was proper, I spoke to the little congregation. I explained about my quests, and the three Ashtarites were eager to help, and to spread the word about the queen’s disappearance. The kitchen help had contacts in the Snake Company, and she was the first to leave, but the man quickly followed.

I held back the caretaker for a moment. She told me about the two temples in Anabel and where to find them, even though she would be going there herself tonight. She warned me that the two didn’t like each other very much, and that there was much politicking going on in both of them, but I gave her a grim smile and said I already had a speech ready to whip them into shape, should it be necessary. I told her I would be back soon, but if someone needed to find me, I had lodgings at the Nightflower’s Grand Hall, and word could be left for me there if I was out.

Going back home, I saw that the sun was too low to be seen behind the buildings of the city, but it was no darker than when I had left for the chapel. Grogg and Wolfram noticed the strange light when I came inside, and they went out to watch the sky when I went up to check on Yana and the dwarves.

Yana said it was good I came when I did, for she though Sona was waking up. I agreed that it looked that way, but we were wrong. She just slept restlessly, tossing and turning on the floor as much as the ropes allowed. Rany had fallen asleep on the bed.

The time came to stop the blood transfusion, and I bandaged Sona and untied her while Yana helped Rany. Unlike his wife, Rany woke as soon as he was touched. He had given up much blood, so I wasn’t surprised to hear he felt dizzy. I told Yana to bring him food and water, and she offered to continue to keep an eye on the dwarves when I said I was going downstairs to pray.

You reminded me that I needed to include my friends in my plans. Xipil hadn’t returned yet, but the others were present. I had prayed for over an hour, so I had to wake Grogg, Wolfram and Hylda. I told them what Yana and I had done earlier today and what we had discovered in a little more detail. I also explained that I had tasked the chapel with spreading the word about the queen’s disappearance.

I went to Rany and Sona’s room. They were asleep and Yana whispered that everything was fine. After observing the sleeping dwarves for a few minutes, I suggested that Yana and I also found our bed. Back in our room, I grinned and flexed my fangs. “My powers are coming back, so tomorrow we’re taking Anabel by storm!” Yana waited for me to retract my instruments of death, then she gave me a good, long hug.

O Ashtar! We surrender our lives to Your coils. Take us while we sleep, or grant us another day in Your service, as You will.

[coronatiger]

3rd of Mitra’s First Month, year 413

O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession!

A knock on our bedroom door had both Yana and me sitting upright. “Who is it?” I asked. “What is it?” Yana asked, right on top of me, and we looked at each other and giggled. It was Wolfram. “It’s morning, and Xipil hasn’t returned,” he said. “Could you go and check out the dwarves’ address, Nuur-Karif?” I asked for a minute to get dressed, promising to be quick about it.

Wolfram waited in the hallway, and I told him I’d go look for Xipil as soon as I had visited the dwarves and grabbed a bite to eat. He reminded me about the party that was happening at nine tonight, warning me that if I wasn’t back by then, he would have to host the event. With my powers returned, I could smell the reluctance on him, but it was also written all over his face. I promised I wouldn’t stay out that long.

Rany woke up when I entered their room. He said Sona was sleeping more peacefully now. It looked that way to me too, at first glance, but I checked her temperature and pulse anyway, confirming that she had indeed improved. I informed Rany about tonight’s party, and I warned him that he and Sona had to remain in their room while we entertained our guests. Rany was well aware that word might spread of two dwarves holed up with us if they were seen, even if nobody recognized them to put names to faces.

I went out alone after saying goodbye to Yana. I ate my breakfast on the way to the chapel. The unnaturally bright light put me in a bad mood, and I could feel it tampering with my gifts, so it was a welcome blessing to descend into the dark. I had hoped to find someone from last night in the chapel so I could hear how things had gone last night, but neither of them was there. Instead, I found Xipil asleep.

“Well, well, what have we here?” I rumbled, altering my voice. Xipil sat bolt upright. “Good morning,” I said with a smile. Xipil had gone to the dwarves’ place last night, and he had waited for the sun to set so he could sneak in under the cover of darkness, but it never did. He found the sunlight to be intolerable, more so than I did, and he wasn’t sure he could stand going out yet.

I explained why I had come to the chapel and what I’d been up to yesterday. Since I had found him safe and sound, I could now go on to visit the two temples where I’d hopefully get in touch with some higher ranking Ashtarites. Xipil believed our main guest tonight was both rich and had powerful connections, so he could be a useful ally if we could recruit him to our cause.

Talking to me seemed to make Xipil feel a little better, and he wanted to come with me when I visited the temples, but he warned me he would stay in the shadow so he could avoid direct sunlight. I said he was welcome to join me, but if we came to a sunlit street that he refused to cross, I would leave him behind.

Going down to the chapel, I had ignored the two men sleeping on the floor of the Black Cellar, but now I woke one. I asked if there was a parasol around that I could borrow. I knew it was a long shot, but it couldn’t hurt to ask. “Look behind the bar, if you dare,” the man responded. Customers were probably not allowed behind the bar, and from what I read on the man, the staff might enforce the ban rather harshly, but I just grinned at the man and leaped across the bar. Even if I didn’t possess the skills to talk myself out of trouble, I had Your authority backing me up.

As my feet landed on the floor, my eyes landed on an old, yellow parasol, and I whispered a quick prayer of thanks before I picked it up. The parasol had a tear that would allow some sunlight to stream through, but it was much better than not having any cover.

“Listen,” the man said as Xipil and I prepared to go. “The queen has disappeared, and we need to spread the word!” “That is indeed important news,” I answered, “so why do you lie here sleeping?” We left without waiting to see if the man got up.

Since our friends worried that something might have happened to Xipil, we went back to the Nightflower to ease their fears. I joked to Xipil on the way that we could also swap this old parasol for one that made shady shade. Xipil didn’t think that was a good idea. That parasol would turn us invisible. “I know. It would be great if we wanted to draw attention to ourselves, but you’re right that we don’t necessarily want to do that quite yet.”

Rany came rushing down the stairs when he heard us enter. “She’s waking! She’s waking!” I tossed aside the parasol and ran upstairs. Sona was just sitting up on the bed when I entered her room with Rany on my heels. I repeated what I’d told her yesterday, about us rescuing them from captivity and taking them to our safehouse. Sona took my message much better today, but she still didn’t feel safe remaining in Anabel. I informed her we were preparing how to get her and Rany out of the city. I had an idea about using the Snake Company, but I wasn’t going to mention that to anyone before I had spoken to them. Yana knew, though, but she also knew when to keep her mouth shut, unlike most others in this building.

Also, before we could let the dwarves go, we needed to learn what Sona knew. I wanted to conduct the interview myself, but I couldn’t send anyone else to the temples. I love Yana dearly, but she’s too timid to interrogate anyone. Grogg, Wolfram and Hylda were out of the question, so that left only Xipil. I thought he had what it takes to lead the interrogation. His curiosity could be a boon, but it could also lead him to go off to pursue inconsequential tangents. Xipil agreed to take on the responsibility. I left when Sona asked for dwarven brew.

Near the west gate, I found an inn called the Cool Shade, which the caretaker had told me about. Its clientele consisted of traveling traders and caravan guards, all dressed ready for a trek into the desert, so I stood out in my city dress. I walked up to the bar and asked where to find the temple entrance, and the bartender recommended I wore different clothes the next time I visited, but he pointed me towards the temple.

A woman lay among the snakes on the temple floor. I smiled, feeling an instant connection to the woman. I lay down near her, basking in the presence of Your holy children, but I kept an eye on the woman. I wanted to talk to her, but I wouldn’t interrupt. I let Hope out of her pouch so she could join her siblings.

The woman sat up after half an hour and picked up a snake. She hissed to it that she believed they were safe from “him.” “Who is he?” I hissed, and the snake turned its head towards me and said, “The sun. Scorching, burning sun! I’m glad I’m down here!”

I introduced myself to the woman, but she didn’t respond. That was rude, but not unheard of. She might have come to the temple to get away from people, or she might have another perfectly valid reason for not wanting to talk to me. I turned to You in prayer instead.

The woman left after a few minutes, and shortly after, a man came down. He was slightly younger than the woman, but still quite a bit older than me. He sat down beside me and asked if I was new at the temple. I told him I arrived in Anabel only a few days ago. “Then I have something important to tell you,” the man said. “Is it about the queen’s disappearance?” I interjected, greatly surprising him with my knowledge.

I asked if I could expect any priests or priestesses to arrive soon. The man didn’t think so, not before tonight’s Meet. Everyone was out spreading the word of the queen’s disappearance, and many would probably skip the Meet because of the importance of the task they’d been given.

Since I knew about the queen and didn’t indicate that I had any further questions, the man left. I scooped up Hope, looking into her eyes as I rose. “Everything’s going according to my plan,” I hissed. “Praise Ashtar!” Hope and the other snakes repeated my intonation. “Praise Ashtar!”

[coronatiger]

3rd of Mitra’s First Month, year 413 (continued)

Following the instructions I’d been given, I crossed over to the eastern part of Anabel and eventually found myself in a posh district. Three walled-in mansions shared a block, and according to the caretaker of the chapel, the temple should be located in the westernmost of the three, but I could see no Ashtarite symbols adorning the wall or the guarded gate. When I gave Your sign to the two guards and they didn’t respond properly to my gesture, I got a sinking feeling that I had misunderstood the directions.

I took a walk around the block, looking for signs, but I found none. There was still the possibility that the guards I’d met just weren’t in the know. That would be strange, if they actually guarded one of Your temples, but Rhuk had warned me that the Ashtarites here had some peculiar notions. I decided to find an alternative way inside, out of sight of the guards.

One of the three mansions had no visible guards, and the wall was slightly lower there, so I figured I would have all the time in the world to climb the higher wall if I could just make my way off the public streets. I made two attempts with a running start, but I couldn’t get a good grip on the top of the wall.

Then I was spotted. Guards outside one of the neighboring mansions whistled loudly, summoning someone from the property I was trying to access, but fortunately, nobody considered me a threat, so when I hurried away, I wasn’t followed.

I went around the block and made a final attempt. This time on the slightly taller wall of the mansion with the purported temple. I bent down and touched the ground with one hand and my pouch with the other. “O Ashtar, give me strength!” I felt a burst of energy surge through me, and I was able to pull myself up to look into the garden behind the wall.

I had come to the right place after all. Statues and other decorations were flush with snake symbols where they didn’t depict actual snakes. I scrambled over the wall and dropped down. There were two more guards in the garden, but they hadn’t seen me enter.

I got no sense of direction from any of the decorations. Confident, I walked right up to the guards. “Hi. Where’s the temple?” I asked. “Um, now’s not a good time,” one of the guards said. “And anyway, there isn’t anyone there.” “But there must be snakes?” I queried, earning a nod from the guard. “Then there’s someone I can talk to!”

“How do you intend to get out safely?” the guard asked. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I just pointed at the gate. I had a feeling that of the four guards I’d encountered on this property, only the one I spoke to now was an Ashtarite, but why anyone should be barred from visiting Your temple, I had no idea. The other guards should have welcomed me.

The guard brought me inside, past more artworks, and showed me a narrow spiral staircase leading down. He asked how long I meant to stay. I said that was up to You, but I allowed him to come down in an hour to see if I was ready to go. When I descended the stairs, the guard changed his mind and said he would wait for me where he was.

I cleansed myself and entered holy ground. This, however, was no temple. The tiny chapel didn’t even have any side passages. A large snake statue stood in the middle of the room and probably served as an altar. There was almost no light in the room, but that didn’t bother me, of course. Your gifts allowed me to see perfectly fine. I introduced myself to the snakes, several of which I couldn’t identify. That included the large one lying in a corner. At several meters of length, I’d assume it was a constrictor, but I couldn’t be sure without asking. I could tell it recently ate, for a large bulge protruded where its last prey was being digested, and it didn’t respond to my introduction the way its brothers and sisters had just done. I sensed no urgency or discomfort, so I allowed it to remain in its corner, undisturbed.

I sat down among the snakes to pray, and after a while, I heard someone rushing through the cleansing ritual and hurry towards me. I opened my eyes to see a man enter, richly dressed but with the attitude of a servant. “He’s not here. Do you come with a message for him?” the man asked. I assumed he meant his master, the owner of this clearly private chapel. I replied that I brought no message, but that I wondered if “he” was out because of the queen’s disappearance, of which I had heard rumors.

The servant believed the right people were handling the matter, and that it had to be handled at the palace. He asked who had sent me. Feigning wide-eyed surprise that he couldn’t guess, I responded that of course it was You who had instructed me to come. “Does Ashtar have a message for me?” the servant asked, almost incredulously.

His hands flickered, identifying him as a Toxiner. I responded politely, giving my own rank of Slitherer, just one step above him. We agreed we should pray together; I had the sensation that there might be something You wanted to tell him.

Suddenly, the servant looked at me and asked if it would be right for him to take me to his master. I immediately agreed, but You nudged him to say that something was missing, something that stopped this idea from being perfectly right in Your eyes. The answer came to me at once, and I told the servant that there were some people that I worked with, my partners, if you will, that I thought You wanted me to include in this meeting. We agreed that I should talk to my friends and bring them to a meetup tomorrow around lunchtime. I racked my brain for a suitable landmark and came up with a certain statue not too far from the Nightflower. Before we left the chapel, we exchanged names. The servant was Kir, and his master was called Arafos.

The Ashtarite guard waited upstairs as he had said, and he escorted me through the garden. The gate guards recognized me when I left, but they made no comment since I was clearly known to their colleague. The scent they gave off was mostly that of professionals intent on doing their job well, but I could also smell curiosity and a slight hint of attraction. I got the feeling that my rear end was under some scrutiny as I walked away. As long as they were polite about it, I couldn’t fault them for appreciating the gifts You had blessed me with.

Walking back towards our hideout, I pondered the blessings of Your gifts, and in particular how Yana found delight in observing them. The way she sometimes treats these gifts could be considered blasphemous, at least by conservatives and puritans, and I must confess I felt that way myself, early on in our relationship, but after learning that You had blessed our union, I wouldn’t call her out for claiming religious observances when her eyes or hands began to wander.

Everyone except for Sona and Groman were in the lounge when I entered the Nightflower. Yana leaped up to give me a hug, and she explained that they were just finishing up a Moklatar tournament. Wolfram and Xipil were busy tallying scores, and Wolfram suddenly exclaimed that he got three points, earning second place. He challenged Xipil to a final match, and they quickly set up the board.

“How did you do?” I asked Yana. “Fair enough, I guess,” she replied. Board gaming was hardly her favorite pastime, and I supposed she had joined the tournament more because her friends were playing than from an interest in playing or winning.

[coronatiger]

“Did you watch the Sona interrogation?” I signed. Rany was hovering over the Moklatar board, intent on the opening moves, but I didn’t want him to overhear that particular question. Yana nodded, but she said I reminded her that we should go up and check on the patient.

Sona was asleep, so Yana and I sat down on the floor to exchange information while we waited for her to wake up. Yana’s fingers flashed from sign to sign as she silently told me what had happened while I was out.

Sona’s information indicated that Queen Makeda had gone to a place called “the Archive,” which Xipil and Wolfram believed to be the lost city in the mountains, where we originally were headed when we found all the refugees that we decided to take to safety in Anabel. It would take us several weeks to get there, maybe a month, so our friends wanted to use the teleportation circle to follow the queen.

We didn’t have nearly enough energy to use the teleportation circle, but as an alchemist, Sona believed she could repair our star box, which should do the trick, if we could assemble a new laboratory for her. That could be difficult, but it had been decided that we should take Sona and Rany to Miramara, who could provide both a safe haven and the equipment Sona required for her to fix our star box.

I was just telling Yana about my encounter with Kir when loud cheering broke out downstairs. Xipil had beaten Wolfram as I had expected. The lizard man had learned a few things from Lunari, I believed, and Wolfram was hardly at his best with the Moon Shadow nerve toxin coursing through his veins.

The shouts from downstairs woke the sleeping Sona, who complained about being hungry. A glance and a gesture towards Yana sent her hurrying to bring food for all of us. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so I was rather hungry myself. I gave Sona a quick once-over while Yana was out. The dwarf was still far from peak condition, but I was hopeful that she would recover from her ordeal. She just needed time and care.

Sona knew I’d advocated strongly for extracting information from her before we would smuggle her and Rany out of the city, and she was more than willing to talk, but I assured her that I’d learned what I wanted to know and said she shouldn’t push herself on my behalf. When Yana came with food, it was she who did most of the talking. She’d already had lunch, but she took a bite to eat to join the social activity. I fed Hope too, but out of Sona’s line of sight.

After the meal, Yana and I went back downstairs. I told Rany his wife would appreciate his company, and he took off up the stairs immediately. “Prying ears are easily distracted,” I signed to Yana, who gave a small laugh.

I explained to my friends about the meeting I had set up for tomorrow with Arafos and Kir, and I mentioned that perhaps we could use the Snake Company to smuggle the dwarves up to Miramara. Wolfram reminded everyone that the traders we had met on the way south, our so-called guides, had belonged to a similar company, and that they hadn’t been reliable or trustworthy in the slightest. I told him that the Snake Company had ties to You, and I meant to leverage that to ensure their aid. Obviously, I would meet with the Snake Company and determine whether they could be trusted before revealing too much.

Xipil believed that Kamir, our neighbor who would be the guest of honor at tonight’s party, might have the connections and resources required to get Sona and Rany safely out of Anabel. I informed him I intended to make up my own mind about Kamir tonight, both regarding his capabilities and his trustworthiness.

Xipil wondered if he should stay away from the party altogether. I didn’t think he would be needed for it; in fact, I wouldn’t have minded if everyone with loose lips stayed away. However, it was clear my friends wanted to let off some steam after an arduous journey and a tense raid on the Soft Pillow, so I wasn’t about to deny anyone the opportunity to let their hair down. I suggested that if Xipil didn’t want to reveal himself, he could keep Sona and Rany company and make sure they remained undetected.

Hylda wanted to go out and buy some last-minute supplies for the party. We had a few hours before the event, so I asked Yana if she wanted to go out shopping for clothes or if she had already planned out our evening attires. “I have nothing better to do this afternoon,” Yana replied with a shrug, but her hands flickered rapidly between the signs for “yes” and “love.” I smiled inwardly, pleased with myself for making her so happy. The heavy scent of eagerness and anticipation that oozed off her was so intoxicating, I had to clear my throat as I stood up. “Well, then. No time like the present!”

We left with Hylda, and I invited the orc woman to join us in looking at clothes, but she said she wanted to get her party supplies and hurry back. Maybe another time. When we reached an intersection where a city guard was climbing up on a box to speak, Hylda took off down a side street while Yana and I stopped for a second to see what the guard was about.

The guard called out that the queen had disappeared, but he didn’t get much farther before another patrol came and arrested him. One listed his crime as engaging in politics while carrying a weapon, which Yana and I already knew was outlawed in Anabel, although I wouldn’t have considered what the guard did on the box as “engaging in politics.” We continued on our way. It was clear to us what was happening. The powers that be were upset that I was lighting fires under their feet.

Yana and I spent a couple of hours browsing the markets. We purchased a few accessories, shawls and the like, but mostly we just looked. Yana had our evening outfits all planned out already, including hair and makeup, but our little outing had her overflowing with joy.

When we got back to the Nightflower, Xipil had replaced the dirty water from the giant bathtub and was taking a bath. I shared one look with Yana; neither of us wanted to bathe in public. We brought a big bucket up to our room instead. It was just big enough for me to stand in while Yana used a wet cloth and a bar of soap as an excuse to grope me. She had stolen a few kisses behind market stalls despite my protestations that it was way too public, but this I didn’t mind at all. I repaid the favor when it was her time to wash.

I tidied up the room while Yana laid out the clothes we would wear for the party. I put away all our stuff, then stacked our packs neatly in a corner. I even made the bed, and that brought back memories of my time growing up in the temple. I always made my bed there, but since I left for Blekborg all those months ago, I haven’t had a proper bed that I felt was mine. I’ve either slept in tents, under wagons or at inns, or more rarely, in someone’s home.

[coronatiger]

“If you’re done ogling me, I need you to put this on so I can do your hair.” Yana’s voice broke me away from my reveries, and I realized I had been resting my eyes on her smooth, chocolate skin. Despite it being mid-winter, Anabel was warm enough to go naked. At least in private. Yana helped me into my dress for the night and had me sit on the corner of the bed.

Standing in front of me with her legs spread to accommodate my knees between them, Yana began to work her magic. I slid a hand up the inside of her leg and admired my handiwork with the razor. Yana said nothing, but the scent she gave off told me she liked it. My hands roamed freely, but when I tried to lean in to apply my tongue, Yana clicked hers with annoyance and told me to keep my head still. “It’s almost time for you to turn around anyway. I can’t reach the back of your head, and that’s where most of the work needs to be done.”

The walls were so thin we had no trouble hearing when the cat woman arrived to prepare for the party. Wolfram welcomed her and they exchanged a few words before she went out to get the rest of her team. A few minutes later, we heard them reorganizing the furniture downstairs, setting up a small stage and some space for dancing.

I was holding a small mirror so Yana could see what she was doing to herself when the musicians started to warm up. I had been listening to the conversations downstairs until then, and Grogg, Wolfram and Hylda had surprisingly not revealed any secrets. I had heard Wolfram ordering drinks, so their tongues would probably start to wag soon. Yana sensed my impatience and said she only needed a couple more minutes.

Xipil had changed his mind about attending the party, and he waited outside our room to go down with us. He totally spoiled our entrance with his lizardness; the Anabelians had seen pretty girls before but not a lizard man. Xipil had decided to drop all pretenses and came downstairs with us in his birthday suit. His scales were astoundingly green; I hadn’t known he could shut off his camouflage.

I swept my eyes over the common room. It was decorated with vases of flowers. The cat woman had brought a crew of eight, all human. A man stood behind the bar, ready to mix cocktails and serve drinks. There were three musicians, a woman and two men, and three dancers. I was surprised to see that one of them was a man, but he was no less scantily clad than the two women. Their clothes were almost transparent. The last man stood in the corner, apparently guarding their equipment, but he must have helped rigging up the room. I felt drawn towards him, or perhaps to what was hidden under a blanket, and it wasn’t until later that I figured out why.

Grogg, Hylda and Wolfram were seated at one of the tables, enjoying fruit and drinks. Xipil joined them, but Yana and I sat down at the next table, where we would be closer to the entrance so we could welcome our guests when they arrived.

The bartender came and asked what we wanted to drink. Xipil asked for something without alcohol, and the bartender said those from the south often made this request. When he returned with Xipil’s beverage, there was a bunch of green leaves. Xipil was clearly unfamiliar with the leaves, and the bartender explained that he shouldn’t keep them long on his tongue, but chew them until the desired dulling effect was achieved. Xipil shared the leaves with Grogg.

Trying to blend in, I asked the bartender to surprise Yana and me with something tasty. I would have preferred water over alcoholic drinks, but I didn’t need to worry about keeping a clear head, not with Your gifts. I had suggested to Yana that she might want to take it easy, for I was going to need her support when our other friends had had too much. I judged the spicy cocktail we were served to have a middling alcohol content. Yana should be able to enjoy a glass or two of it before she started to cut back.

The rigger brought the cat woman and approached Xipil. He asked if it was all right if they performed “the reptile dance.” The cat woman was annoyed that he came directly to us with the question, but I think only Yana and I picked that up. She told the rigger that the dance would be performed respectfully and sent him back to his corner.

Wolfram stood up and went upstairs. I didn’t sense much discomfort in him, so I guessed he wanted to take a breather before our guests arrived. With eight strangers already in the room, two more might take him over his limit and make him freak out. That was one of the reasons I needed to keep a clear head tonight, the other being that I had to stop anyone from saying things they shouldn’t.

Grogg and Xipil had a short discussion about what this reptile dance could be while Wolfram was away. When he came back downstairs, I stood to meet him and asked if everything was all right. He informed me he had gone to get drink orders from the dwarves; they wanted something warm. I reminded Wolfram yet again that we should not say or do anything that might reveal that we had guests upstairs. Since Wolfram had been so stupid as to promise beverages to the dwarves, Yana and I would see to serving them. Hopefully, we could get their drinks up without rousing suspicion.

I clued Yana in, and we waited by the bar while the bartender heated up tea, to which he added a generous splash of liquor. Yana pretended to move back towards our table, but I caught her arm and asked her to come upstairs with me.

Grogg decided to channel Lunari’s spirit, a loud and welcome distraction when Yana and I visited the dwarves. Hylda had forgotten to clear away the mugs after lunch, so we poured the tea over to those. I told Rany and Sona that contrary to what Wolfram might have said, they were not allowed to leave their room until I gave them the all-clear. Rany thought it wouldn’t harm to come downstairs, not unless there were dwarves there, so I lied to him and said one of the crew was in fact a dwarf. Yana and I went back downstairs and pretended to finish our tea. I thanked the bartender and gave him the empty cups.

Wolfram came in from the outside and left the door ajar. “Our guests are on their way,” he said, his words a bit mangled. He had to have tried Xipil’s leaves too. I didn’t have much time to ponder how intoxicated Wolfram and the others were, for voices came in the door. Yana signed that she thought one of the speakers was uncertain how he should behave at our party. It was clear who was who when the two men entered, for one almost had to pull the other after him.

Yana and I stood up to greet them, and they shook our hands, an unfamiliar gesture for them. We made our introductions, and I gave my real name. Akim, the underling, was uncomfortable around beautiful girls, while his boss Kamir was eager to begin the celebration.

Wolfram brought drinks for our guests and I gestured towards the tables, making the bartender and the rigger come and pull two together to fit us all. Kamir waved at the cat woman; he had clearly been to her parties before. The cat woman wasn’t eager to acknowledge the acquaintance, which made me wonder if he might turn nasty with drink. I was confident I could handle him, though.

[coronatiger]

I made sure to sit next to Kamir, and Yana took the seat on the other side of Akim. I wasn’t entirely certain what could happen that would require us to interfere, but when Yana and I flanked the guests, we would be in the right place, should the need arise. Luckily, only Akim could understand our language, and he wasn’t very eager to translate anything despite him clearly being there for that purpose. I took it upon myself to take over his job. If Akim wasn’t too familiar with Common, I might be able to pull a fast one when inevitably someone said something they shouldn’t.

I engaged Kamir in conversation, trying to get him to talk about himself. Most men would be flattered when I asked to hear about them, but Kamir believed I had heard rumors about the Hassar family and he assured me he was a nice fellow.

Since I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere, I was happy enough to take a step back and let Wolfram and Kamir talk while I translated. Wolfram’s interest soon waned and he began making eyes at the female flutist. Akim behaved a little more predictably and stared at the dancers, who were far more alluring. I know I’m far from what Wolfram imagines as the perfect woman, but despite having traveled with him for months, I still haven’t pinned down his taste. I guess I’m just pleased that Yana is too much like me and that he isn’t trying to compete for her favor.

Kamir asked who we were, and I explained we were travelers from the far north. I eagerly told a totally fabricated story about how we came to Anabel; the only nod towards the truth was when I spoke about a huge, burrowing monster that we had nearly encountered. Kamir had heard about the dead flying over the desert, clearly wondering why I hadn’t mentioned that. I laughed so hard, I sprayed my drink all over the table. It had to have been a powerful wind to blow corpses all the way from a graveyard and into the desert, I said. Kamir didn’t think this was a laughing matter, so I turned serious and said that we were lucky not to run into a mass of undead on our way.

Yana took over translating while I talked to Kamir, but our big friends weren’t interested in my tall tales, so it didn’t take long before Grogg, Hylda and Wolfram took to the dance floor. They were already so sauced up that it was visible on the way they moved. Xipil took the vacated seat next to me; I guess this wasn’t his preferred kind of dance.

I tried to ask Kamir about his family. I hadn’t heard any rumors, so I was curious what he meant by that, I said. He brushed off the topic again. Xipil asked what he recommended for newcomers to Anabel. Kamir replied that we should party with the right people, which we already did, he added with a smile. And if we needed anything, we should come to him, first.

Kamir wanted to dance, so we stood up. Akim wouldn’t join, but I said it was all right; Yana and I could both dance with Kamir. The professional dancers retreated to the stage to give us room. They began a performance where the man and the larger woman tossed the smaller woman between them. Kamir found that more interesting than dancing himself, so Yana and I just danced around him, ready for when he wanted to turn his attention back to us.

Akim finally came onto the dance floor, but it was only to ask his master whether there really was a lizard man at the party. He was still uncomfortable with this entire situation; I thought he was seeking support from Kamir, but Kamir only waved him off with a comment that he should relax and enjoy himself.

When Xipil also came over, Grogg and Wolfram decided it was getting too cramped, and they suggested we opened the elven wine Miramara gifted us. Wolfram drawled out an explanation to the bartender about which bottle they wanted. Xipil and Hylda intervened to stop an accident from happening to the precious bottle, and Hylda poured wine into tall glasses. I invited Kamir to join us for this treat. Wolfram did a cartwheel on the vacated dance floor to prove he wasn’t drunk.

Hylda poured for Akim and the cat woman too. She had heard about this wine and had apparently struck some bargain with my friends for the privilege of tasting. “For Lunari!” Grogg saluted, raising his glass. Kamir repeated Grogg’s words without understanding what he said. I just raised my glass silently before trying the wine. As wines go, this wasn’t bad. If I had ever developed a taste for wine, I would probably have gone so far as to say that this one was good, if not excellent. Yana certainly liked it, and I heard no complaints from the others either.

Kamir asked where we acquired the wine, and Grogg blurted out that we got it from Miramara. Kamir had heard that she was very elusive and if we could introduce him to her, that would be a great favor. He began to extract information from Grogg and Wolfram about her, although I could tell he knew a lot already. I was ready to step in if someone was about to say something stupid, but the cat woman interrupted the talk first. Did she have her own reasons for not wanting us to discuss Miramara?

There was a show prepared for us, and the cat woman asked if now was a good time. Everyone agreed that this sounded interesting, so she gave a sign to the dancers to begin. Using a powerful lantern, the dancers made shapes with their hands that cast shadows onto the wall behind. The shadows looked like lizards and snakes.

Then the rigger opened a large urn and pulled out three venomous snakes which he passed on to the dancers, who included them in their dance. There was a tension between the snakes and the dancers which made me reach for my knives, but they were packed away up in my room, which was perhaps for the best. The snakes had clearly been trained to participate in the routine, and I sensed that they expected payment afterwards.

When the dance was over, the snakes were returned to the urn and abandoned. I was on my feet and crossed over to the corner in a second. “Are you all right?” I hissed into the urn; the rigger had his back turned. The snakes replied that they wanted their reward. I pricked the rigger on his shoulder. “They will have their reward now,” I stated coolly, holding out my hand, and the rigger gave me a small pouch with something alive inside. Mice, perhaps. I stuck my hand down into the urn, allowing the rigger to see exactly what I did. I emptied the pouch and felt the snakes’ gratitude as they threw themselves over their meal.

Snakes should not be kept in captivity, but these seemed content enough with their situation, so there was no need to take drastic steps. I just warned the rigger to treat the snakes kindly. Astonished, he inspected my hand. Of course, his snakes hadn’t hurt me, but to someone in the know, it was clear I’d been bitten by a snake not long ago. Several times, in fact. I wasn’t about to tell him about Hope, of course, so I just fixed him with my gaze while he opened and shut his mouth, looking like a fish on land.

The cat woman chivvied the rigger to continue the show, so I went back to my seat at the table. I was all smiles again. Nobody but the rigger should have seen anything other than me bending over the snake urn. The rigger would talk, though, but he didn’t know much. He clearly was no Ashtarite, so I just hoped he wouldn’t harm the snakes when one inevitably bit him.