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The Heartwood
Talesan’s Village
The First Cathedral
Rameday, the Eleventh Day of Scholar

Bekkah, Daxia, Dean
Lady Felli, Brother Llewelyn, Sir Kevin, Father Canna, Kisa, Romana, Kay and Squire Erik

Kay deftly caught the roll, looked at it, and turned it over in her one hand, balancing it on her fingers. She then offered her mentor a single curt and respectful nod before taking a healthy bite from it.

Romana answered, for the both of them.

“Walltrim.”

It was much later, after dinner had been cleared, after Bekkah had been shown a proper place to rest, that Dazi was able to find the village Knight. It was in the cloisters, of course, and he was sitting by one of the gardens, carefully tending the edge of a rune scribed black blade.

“To answer your question, if you do not do anything like try standing on a loose stone, the East Tower should be safe. The Richter Gwynn sometimes climbs it, but the she’s smaller than you.

“As for your aid...

“If this was a sorcerer we were dealing with, and that manner of dark magics, I would certainly offer to let you come along and learn.

“If it was something from the Forest, there are those whom we could go to, for counsel.

“But if your young Lady is correct, then this is something where knowledge would be invaluable. It is the one thing they often forget to teach in places like Talantal, where matters are set in stone. A sword, white or black, can only get you so far. Understanding who you are facing is what changes matters from being simply a matter of chance.

“The situation, however, is more complex. Fishers. Farmers. Both are strong-willed, strong people, no matter how much they look down upon each other.

“The real problem is how to solve this without the Village tearing itself apart; so that on the morrow’s morrow we still have a Talesan’s Village. The church was the one thing both clans had in common. If the young lass is right...


“This Black Shark of Lady Romana’s people has done more than taken sacrifices – that is what is bothering sister Felli – it has dramatically changed the number of players of this game.

“It is like Horses and Castles with four players. At the end of the game no one likes each other.”

Kevin stood.

“Kirill’s farm isn’t going anywhere; here, we need to find a better game.

“Let us see what the morrow brings.

“And hope I do not decide to fetch you for anything more than patching roofs.”


Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Scholar

The piers were already bustling as Daxia started her trek up the tower followed, of course, by her apprentice after, of course, the Scamp had made it clear to the Princess that she was not to wander away from the base of the tower.

Which ended predictably enough. All three watched the sun rise over the far off mountains, breaking over the morning mists in a glare of saffron glory.

The Cathedral itself cast its shadows over the piers where the boats were being readied, hastily, to make sure they were well away before the tide slammed out of the bay and the water level plummeted. Even farther out the farmers were waking, little dots of brown and green making their way out into the fields. Some walked along the coast, but they vanished from view and reappeared only to vanish again, probably due to the fog.

Bank of low clouds slunk along the coastline like a snake, tendrils slipping in along the streets. Down on the docks it would be simply the morning mist. From this vantage it was much more eerie; like tentacles reaching in to taste the village.

Bekkah woke to find Lady Felli at her door, the High Priestess shifting her weight from one foot to another a bit nervously.

“Sir Kevin got called up the Path this morning. One of the miller’s boys ended up in a fight with the Delaney brothers – their father owns the second biggest boat on he piers. Supposedly it was over their sister, which is strange because the miller’s kid is sweet on a lass who serves up at the keep.

“This sounds like a perfect task for your apprentice.

“For are we still planning on visiting the fisher folk, yes? What exactly do you think we should be looking

Bekkah

She forced any annoyance from her face as Felli stood in her doorway. Bekkah could be the vision of calm and serenity any time she chose.

"I will ask Romana to look into the problem."

"As for the fishermen, we could go straight to the top. Is there one fisherman or family that has been exceptionally successful lately?"

The Heartwood
Talesan’s Village
The First Cathedral
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Scholar

Bekkah
Lady Felli, Romana and Kay

The problem Bekkah had with sending Romana up the path was simple: finding her wayward apprentice. The fact that Kay was missing too lead one to conclude that, this early in the morning, they might be together and somewhere where the rising sun could be seen. Kisa was helping prepare breakfast; it seemed another new task for her, but more importantly it was a fair way to not immediately become the subject of a Hastur’s incessant questioning.

“That would be Rybacksson... Georges Rybacksson and his family.”

The Priestess frowned.

“Not one of the most pleasant folks in the Village. Even before this, he had built a reputation for being cutthroat. All’s fair upon the high seas he’ll say in public; but Erik has also heard him note that after the sun sets nothing keeps secrets better than one hundred fathoms.

“The problem is that he’s already out of the bay. Now his wife’s still on the docks, she mends nets. The question will be getting any news out of her.”

The two Atterans were on the Cathedral steps planning their morning activities, which put them at an intersection of morning activities.

First, of course, were footsteps lightly bouncing out the door and down the stairs, as Romana exited the base of the East Tower and came outside. It was definitely not a ladylike step and hop as she landed with a smile.

“Bekka-bekkas, we saw forevers!”

Romana was followed by Kay, the Dayalan apprentice’s brow furrowed as she tried to keep up. She wasn’t the last to the Imperial steps, however.

Twls approached at a breakneck run, skirts held up high so she could run as fast as she possibly could. The young girl skidded on the stone as she came to a sudden and off balanced stop.

“Lady Felli, Lady Felli... do you know where Sir Kevin is?

“We can’t find Dyddplentyn.”

Bekkah

She listened, keeping pace with Felli. She thought about the fisher folk and the potential problem. She didn't have much time to consider Lady Rybacksson or any of the fishermen when Romana and then others arrived before them.

"Forevers?" she asked curiously to Romana before Twls said her piece. Immediately, she thought about what Romana had said about what the Black shark wanted. She dearly hoped she was wrong.

"Who saw her last and where?" she asked, fearing the answer was the docks.

Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter

If Kay was not yet accustomed to her teacher’s penchant for occasionally spending more time at morning prayers than would be prudent in wartime, Romana had had a considerably longer amount of time to learn Daxia’s habits. When the senior Dayalan waved the two younger women off, Romana turned to skip happily down the stairs. And when Kay hesitated, Daxia just said, “Keep her safe, Scamp. I’m fine.”

But after Kay left to follow Romana down the stairs, Dazi had to admit — at least to herself and to her Lady — that she wasn’t fine. She surveyed the town, the sea, the docks and the lands around Talesan’s Village and felt...

It was such an unfamiliar feeling that it took a very long time to realize that she felt... lost.

Even Romana, a princess of the dreaded East, had not been able to cloud the certainty in the Dayalan’s heart that her actions were true and in accordance with Dayala’s will. Learning that she had some measure of the Allaine gift had only given a framework to the intuitions she felt. Kisa’s lessons had given her the ability to inspect those intuitions and follow the one... the ones... that would prove most promising. For as long as Daxia could remember, whenever she had the sense there was more than one option in any given situation, she had alway felt pulled in one direction or another. Kisa had taught her why.

As she had told Tashka that long ago day in their ancient and desecrated Temple, she followed her heart.

Although she faced the rising sun, the far off mountains of her home, Dazi’s eyes were closed. She had tried to empty her mind to find the patterns — to sense what might or could be done here — and that had yielded nothing. So now her heart and mind probed at the few things she knew, picking at them like one might pick at a scab. And still, there was nothing.

It was not as though she felt no particular pull to one action or another...

It was as though there were no actions at all toward which she could be pulled. Nothing.

She shuddered as she wrapped her arms around herself. Nothing was worse than disasters at every turn, for at least disasters can be mitigated or avoided if the right path could be found. But nothing? That frightened her more than facing an Avatar of He of the Red Scarf... and even standing on the shattering Silk Creek Bridge facing the whole of the Eastern army had not been that that frightening.

And then there was the whispered thought of a memory from long ago... We are all leaky buckets, Daxia.

Why remember Gilly’s words now? Dazi well understood that no one was perfect. It had taken a little longer to realize that imperfections were usually just well-disguised, even hidden talents. So she followed that thought as she might follow one of the Paths in the Patterns...

...and reached a point that puzzled her enough that she opened her eyes and stood with her hands on her hips. Because as puzzling as it was, it did seem to be, well, right.

“You know, my Lady, sometimes Your sense of humor is well beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. But ho ho and ha ha nonetheless. Well, if it’s supposed to be funny, that is. Ironic is more like it, don’t You think? Oh, and certainly! Lady Arilys should come by and peek in on us, although Her sense of humor seems to be slightly less subtle. Still, as long as She doesn’t startle the poor followers of — and now do You see what You’ve gone and done, my Lady? Making me wonder how the vast family of Deities is structured? Annoying younger cousins, are They, the Imperial Court?”

Daxia threw her hands up in the air.

“Fine! Fine! I’m going!” She turned and headed down the stairs, still muttering under her breath. “Just teasing me for having the curiosity of an Eye and the form of a female. Ha ha. Yes, yes... very funny.” Dazi just shook her head and made the last half of the descent in silence.

Well, in relative silence, for the conversation on the steps was drifting up in tiny snatches.

Either her reverie on the tower had not lasted as long as she thought, or Romana and Kay had not moved as quickly as she was moving now. And knowing Romana... it was definitely the former rather than the latter.

Little Dydd was missing? Well, Dazi could hear in her sister’s voice the things Bekkah would never say, and yet...

And yet, as she reached the bottom of the stairs, a plethora of paths seemed to open up. “Tcha! Now I need to see every possibility?!?” she mumbled to herself.

She knew Kevin wasn’t here because she’d glanced about before heading up the stairs for her morning devotions and hadn’t seen him. That hadn’t been completely surprising, nor had the absence of Sir Erik been surprising. But it occurred to her that she hadn’t seen Dean either. And that was surprising because she’d offered to spar with him before breakfast.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Still, of all the paths to be seen, at least regarding the little girl, it was the men of Rames who walked the path. Others may or may not attend them, but the stark fact of the matter was that a Knight of Dayala played no part in the vast majority of those scenarios. And there were far too many of them for her to sift through right now.

“Lady Felli,” Daxia said as she stepped out onto the broad steps behind her squire, “would you point Squire Kay here in the right direction to fetch Sir Kevin?” It was a morning for formalities, it would seem. Even though she tried to hide it, Twls was scared. One oath warred with another in Daxia’s heart and mind — protect versus defend — as the Dayalan tried to give the girl a reassuring smile. “Fleet of foot, I promise you. And she’ll have Sir Kevin to you as fast as any two people can move. ‘To the Inn’ would be the message, da?”

That settled, she queried Felli again. “And if you could point me in the direction of Brother Lew, I believe I might be of some assistance in your Archives.” She shrugged. “If they are as old as the underlying city, there will be documents he can’t read. Well, unless Eyes are taught to read Ancient more often than Dayalans are taught to read Imperial.”

And yes... she realized it might make even more sense for Kisa to help Lew with the research. She read Ancient as well as Dazi, and she saw the Patterns so much better than Dazi did. But Kisa thought like a Khorall while Dazi thought like a warrior... a warrior who chose peace over fighting, a warrior of Dayala who understood the true nature of her Deity, a warrior of Dayala who had befriended a princess from the dreaded East, a warrior who tried to find good even in places where others claimed good could not exist.

Therein might lie the difference.

The Heartwood
Talesan’s Village
The First Cathedral
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Scholar

Bekkah and Daxia
Lady Felli, Romana, and Kay

“Forevers!”

Romana bounced on her heels and pointed to the east.

“Saw all the way to Mountains Black!”

Romana turned around and opened her arms to the west.

“Then to blue and blue and blue and blue! Forevers blue!”

Twls arrival, however, dropped Romana back to a more steady footing, the initiate folding her hands in front of her, looking between her elders all concerned. Twls swallowed, once, twice, paling a bit at both Kay’s and Daxia’s eventual arrival, perhaps a mite over whelmed. Romana and Bekkah and Felli were all dressed in whites and creams and that was very comforting. But spears and swords were something not so comforting.

“When I ran out of bed? She had gone to get water from the Farmer’s Well, and, and she dinnae come back! Mat found her bucket all tipped over but no sign of me schvetter... me sister.”

Felli reached out to ruffle the young woman’s hair.

“You did good Twls.”

Looking back over her shoulder she nodded to Daxia and then focused on her squire.

“The mill is on a hook of the Blackwater; about halfway between here and the bridge. Kenson Miller is the father, Kensonson is the son. Romana, lass, this is our work. Go with the – uhm – Squire here and take care of what needs healing. That will deny Kevin and the lads any excuse for staying out there.”

Once the High Priestess has spoken, Kay simply nodded and took one step forward.

“Come on, Whitehair. Can that fancy pony of yours take two?”

Eminently practical, was Daxia’s apprentice. Even if Dancer was a full fledge horse.

Tugging up her skirts Romana nodded.

“Dancers not know how say nos.”

Eastwards, into the Village, the two initiates vanished. There was something that felt right about sending the two of them out together. It was a good path. Paths a warrior would chose, perhaps not a scholar.

And that caught Daxia looking down the line of stone tablets. A line of stone tablets that were not stretching out to the future, the direction she was used to looking – these had already fallen, she was looking to the past.

Of course, neither Sir Kevin nor the squires were there.

It was simple – if you were a warrior.

If you were planning a skirmish and were worried about what might happen, it would be a very wise move to first remove your opponent’s most powerful pieces from the field of battle.

Meanwhile, Felli had answered Daxia.

“Aye, Lew. If he isn’t pestering your Allaine friend for further questioning he will be writing up his morning observations; he keeps a very rigorous journal and is very predictable. It is a nice morning so you will find him in the cloisters.

“Now, Bekkah.

“Shall we send Twls home – and if so, do you wish to accompany her? Or shall we go walk the docks and talk to fisherfolk wives?”

Bekkah

"I think I'd like Twls to show me where her sister's bucket was found. And I can talk to some people out that way. Perhaps they'll talk to me, perhaps not. I have an observant eye though. Perhaps I'll learn something from just watching and listening." She said as she moved towards Twyl.

"Would you mind showing me lass? Or if you do not feel up to it, then I can get another to show me the way."

The Heartwood
Talesan’s Village
The First Cathedral and beyond
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Scholar

Bekkah and Twls

“Aye... that sounds like a fair task. I’ll talk to the fisher wives; in fact, it may be for the best. They may speak more free with just me. The Farmers may have heard of you, Lady Bekkah, but the fishers are a suspicious lot.”

With a polite bow, Lady Felli swept herself away and towards the fishers’ neighborhood.

“Well, it was this away...”

Twls lead Bekkah, very fast even, to the north, through the village to its edge and then some – to where the stone pavers faded into grass. She blinked, she paused and then ran to a hedge.

“Someone’s been here...”

Twls pointed to a small wooden bucket that had been set up on the ground.

“And the well is that-a-way.”

The girl pointed towards the sea, where a little bit further on there was, indeed, a well. But more interestingly, as Bekkah looked past and to the coast, she saw two figures at the cliffs. One was smaller than the other, the larger one definitely a warrior type.

Kadri and Mikal.

Bekkah

She nodded to Felli and followed Twls. She was concerned for Twls sister and couldn't help but wonder if her disappearance was associated with the fishermen. Romana's words kept coming back in her head.

She looked where Twls pointed and then poked in the hedge herself. Then she saw two of her friends.

"Come Twls, those two are my friends. Perhaps they've found something."

She walked up to the pair.

"A good morning to you both." she said in greeting with a smile.

"I suspect your being here is not coincidental. We're looking for Twls' sister who has disappeared. Do you know anything by any chance."