Ceyenna sat tipped back in her chair at The Phoenix Nest Inn. She had
joined up with an adventuring group a little over two weeks ago, and had
done nothing at all since then except "rest" at the Inn. Ceyenna
feared no man but boredom was her enemy; her bane.
She had asked Melian and Ariena, her female adventuring companions with
whom she shared a room, if they were ever going to find work. Melian had
shrugged and said that it was up to their group leader, Ithildin, as to
what they did next. Ceyenna had groaned to herself. Ithildin was an Elf.
They lived so long, they thought of time as differently from humans. Ceyenna
was beginning to wonder, as she sipped the warm ale that was all she could
afford, if they would ever be on their way. As she sat musing over this
state of affairs, Arondil approached her. He too was an Elf. Ceyenna had
taken an instant dislike to him. He looked down upon Humans as inferior
to Elves. He was also a Paladin of Cay and followed a chivalrous code of
honor and justice. Ceyenna was a thief and tried to avoid things like "honor"
and especially "justice"!
Arondil stood over her seated form at his full height of seven feet. Ceyenna
hated the fact that Arondil was so tall, the better to look down his Elven
nose at her. Right now, his expression said he had overturned a rock and
found something particularly disgusting. "What do you want?",
Ceyenna asked Arondil in not the most friendly manner. "Ithildin would
like to see you upstairs," he said impassively. Then he went outside.
Ceyenna ran a hand through her hair in a rather futile attempt to make
herself presentable. Ithildin had always been courteous and friendly in
his dealings with her. Ceyenna went upstairs and stopped outside the room
Ithildin shared with Arondil. She'd never been inside it before. She knocked
and Ithildin asked her to come in. The room was orderly, unlike the females'
room. Spell books and rune paper were stacked neatly on the only table
in the room. Ithildin was a RuneMaster and Ariena the Halfling was his
apprentice.
"You requested me?", Ceyenna asked. Ithildin motioned her to
one of the room's two chairs. He got right to the point.
"We need someone to go into Haalkitaine and look for work,"
Ithildin began. "And since they are not too fond of Elves there, I
thought you might like to go in with Lamoure." Lamoure was the group's
other magic user, if you could call it that, Ceyenna thought. He was a
Mentalist.
"Why not send Dion or Melian with Lamoure?", Ceyenna asked. "Just
out of curiosity, of course!", she added hastily. "It'll be wonderful
to get out of this Inn for a while," Ceyenna finished. Not that Haalkitaine
was that far away, only a couple of hours ride from The Phoenix Nest. But
anything was better than nothing, and Ceyenna had never seen the city before.
Ithildin smiled faintly. Ceyenna's ennui had not been lost on him. Ithildin
tilted his head to the side slightly, thinking.
"Let's just say that our choices are limited and, to be honest, Arondil
didn't trust you to go alone so I'm sending Lamoure with you," Ithildin
explained. Ceyenna was angry about Arondil, but she only nodded to Ithildin
and said, "I'd like to get going this evening and return tomorrow
morning, or as soon as we can dig something up." Ithildin nodded.
Ceyenna went down the hall two doors to the room Lamoure shared with Dion.
She knocked on the door.
"Go away!", She heard Dion say from inside. Ignoring him, Ceyenna
went in the door... and wished she hadn't. Lamoure and Dion were tangled
together on the bed, under the sheets. Ceyenna covered her eyes with one
hand and exclaimed, "Sorry!". She was not embarrassed, but two
men in a bed together made her uneasy, unless she was the third one!
"I told you not to come in," Dion said reproachfully.
***
The sun was setting as Ceyenna rode into the gates of Haalkitaine with
Lamoure. He was younger than Ceyenna's twenty-four years, being about nineteen.
He was 5'11" with a pale complexion and long black hair. He was dressed
ostentatiously in a long wine red colored robe with gold trim. The cuffs
and hem were embroidered with arcane symbols. He obviously fancied himself
quite the magic user, Ceyenna thought.
"Well, Ceyenna," Lamoure said as they reigned in their horses
on the main road. "I'll go look for the mage guild in this town and
see if they know of any work." He waved his hand vaguely at Ceyenna.
"You go into the bars or wherever it is you feel comfortable and wait,
I'll meet you at the front gate in the morning." Lamoure stated. Obviously
he thought he had been entrusted with their errand by Ithildin, and Ceyenna
was only along to aggravate him. Ceyenna merely nodded to him, and rode
off down the nearest street. She could work better on her own anyway. She
slowly rode through the streets, which were well lit and cleaner than any
she'd seen before. She was looking for an Inn that looked as if it might
cater to mercenaries. Instead, as she rounded a corner, she found a wagon
loaded with crates. It was parked outside a small tavern called The Prancing
Unicorn, and it was loaded with all types of cats. There were forest cats
and domestic cats and there was even a tawny mountain lion crammed into
a cage not meant for a cat of its size. Something had to be done. Ceyenna
worshipped Andaras, God of cats, and she could not let this atrocity continue.
So, she swung down off her horse and tied it outside the tavern. Ceyenna
walked in and found a well-lit tavern, quiet, with only a few patrons.
The owner hurried over and asked Ceyenna what her pleasure would be. She
was an older human female with graying hair and an officious manner. She
suggested the night's dinner special, running on about what was available
until Ceyenna waved a hand to stop her.
"I'd just like an ale," Ceyenna said. Then she asked, "Could
you direct me to the owner of the cart that's standing out front?"
The old lady obligingly pointed out the man and Ceyenna approached
"Excuse me, but are those your cats out front?", Ceyenna asked
pleasantly. The man turned to her. He was tall and broad shouldered with
short dark hair.
"Yes they are," he replied, "is there something you wanted?".
Ceyenna swallowed her anger. She WANTED his liver, but that could wait.
She forced herself to smile.
"I have a proposition for you, care to discuss it over a drink?",
Ceyenna asked. The man leered at her and snaked an arm around her waist,
pulling her close. He reeked of ale, and he needed a bath.
"You don't LOOK like a whore," he commented. Ceyenna extricated
herself from his embrace.
"That's because I'm not," Ceyenna said, smiling thinly. Keep
calm, she told herself. Then she went on to say, "I'm a Ranger whose
been traveling these woods lately. I saw a beautiful, big tiger around
these parts, not far from here." The man looked interested. "But...if
you're not interested, I won't bother you anymore," Ceyenna commented.
She turned to walk away.
"Hey, now girl, I didn't say I wasn't interested!" He smiled.
"You buying the ale?"
***
Ceyenna had convinced the man, whose name was Tym, to leave his cart
in the walled enclosure at the back of The Prancing Unicorn. A lazy young
man had assured them the cart would be safe there. And Tym, having traveled
to and from Haalkitaine before, seemed to agree. Ceyenna thought it strange,
to trust a stable yard without even a lock on the gate! But she didn't
question what fate offered her. She led Tym out the open city gates into
the night. The guards on watch made no comment. Ceyenna was indeed familiar
with the area, and she led Tym several miles from Haalkitaine into dense
woods. She told him to wait while she scouted ahead, this being the area
she had last seen the tiger. He agreed. Ceyenna went a little ways into
the woods, not far. She clutched the Black Panther amulet hanging around
her neck. It had been a gift from Andaras to allow her to control her lycanthropy.
Concentrating, Ceyenna's human form shimmered and changed...
into a large tiger. Ceyenna gave a little cat snicker to herself as she
stealthily approached Tym from behind. He never suspected a thing. It was
all over in a matter of seconds.
Ceyenna, in human form, made her way back toward the outer walls of Haalkitaine.
She had prudently decided that going over the wall was smarter than walking
in the main gates. Especially since the guards had seen the two of them
leaving together, and now only she was returning. She found a quiet spot
and had no trouble scaling the stone wall to get back into the city. As
she made her way through the quiet streets, back to the Prancing Unicorn,
the back of her neck prickled with her thief's sense. It was too quiet
here. She felt uneasy. She made it back to the tavern with no incident
and awoke the lazy young man "guarding" the cart.
"What is it?" He mumbled sleepily. One of Tym's few gold coins
held in front of his face awoke him quickly enough.
"Tym sent me to get his cart," Ceyenna explained. " He's
got the tiger trapped out in the forest and he needs his wagon. He told
me to give you this for your help." It was ridiculously easy to deceive
the young man, who was not much more than a boy. Ceyenna felt a little
sorry for him, but that didn't stop her from driving the cart out towards
the gate. She had tethered her own horse to the back after retrieving it
from the stables.
The guards did stop her this time but Ceyenna was prepared, with basically
the same story she'd told the young man back at the Prancing Unicorn. Except
that she had to explain how Tym had magicked her back into the city with
an amulet he had. After a cursory inspection of the cart, the guards waved
her through. Ceyenna drove the cart as far out into the woods as she could
force the horse. Then she released the carthorse and got down to freeing
all the cats. They all took off in every direction without a backward glance.
The last one out was barely more than a kitten, of the house cat variety.
He was all black without a white hair on him. Ceyenna decided to take him
back to the Phoenix Nest with her in the morning. Ceyenna then vanished
into the woods without a trace, using one of her Ranger spells. She spent
what remained of the night in the bole of a cozy tree.
It was well past sunrise the next morning when Lamoure came riding out
of Haalkitaine. Today he was wearing a saffron colored robe trimmed in
black with the usual arcane embroidery on the cuffs. He looked slightly
wilted and completely exasperated. He looked as if he'd been waiting awhile
in the hot sun. Ceyenna grinned to herself. It was shaping up to be a warm
early summer day. Ceyenna kicked her horse down out of the woods and onto
the main road.
"Ceyenna!" Lamoure exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing
out here? Didn't we agree to meet inside the city gates? I've been waiting
three hours for you!" He continued on for a few more minutes in that
vein until he ran out of breath. "Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"
He asked.
"Did you find any work?" Ceyenna asked, answering his question
with a question.
"You'll find out when the rest of the group does!" Lamoure snapped
angrily and spurred his horse into a canter. Ceyenna shrugged and urged
her horse to follow.
Ceyenna and Lamoure got back to The Phoenix Nest a little before noon.
A stable boy came to see to their mounts and Ceyenna lifted the black cat
off her pack where it had been sleeping. As they walked into the Inn, she
let the cat down to explore. The rest of the group was sitting at a table
in a secluded corner, enjoying their drinks and awaiting lunch. There were
only a few other travelers in the large taproom. Ceyenna dropped down into
a seat between Ithildin and Melian. Her back was to the wall and she could
see both of the doors to the room, and the staircase. She signaled a passing
barmaid for a drink. Lamoure had sat down next to Dion, who had solicitously
offered him his own drink. Lamoure gratefully accepted.
"You are back quickly, you must have found something," Ithildin
commented. Lamoure quickly set his drink down.
"No thanks to HER," he said, speaking to Ithildin but pointing
at Ceyenna. "We were barely inside the city gates before she took
off on her own and left me to find work on my own!"
"WHAT?" Ceyenna exclaimed, standing abruptly. Lamoure only raised
an eyebrow at her condescendingly. The idea of cutting out Lamoure's tongue
flitted appealingly across Ceyenna's mind. She was startled when Ithildin
placed a hand on her arm.
"Sit, Ceyenna," Ithildin said mildly "Let us all discuss
this reasonably." With a last glower at Lamoure, Ceyenna sat. Lamoure
launched into a long, convoluted, rather confused explanation of how he
had obtained work. Ceyenna tuned him out and stretched out in her chair.
The rest of the party looked bored with Lamoure's explanation. Ariena the
Halfling made no pretense as she openly studied a spell tome Ithildin had
lent her. Her familiar, a miniature dragon named Anardil, lay sleeping
at her feet. Melian, the Half-Dwarven Beast mistress, sat drinking her
ale and petting the little cat Ceyenna had brought in. The cat had immediately
taken to Melian. Ceyenna smiled. Any friend of a cat was a friend of hers!
Arondil sat with his "superior Elven" expression on his face,
a look that the Paladin could be counted on to use on any occasion, Ceyenna
thought sourly. Only Dion and Ithildin looked less bored. Dion, a hulking
Human swordsman at 6'4", sat listening to Lamoure as if pearls of
wisdom were dropping from his lips.
Ceyenna had to look away quickly to hide her mirth. Ithildin looked patient,
an expression he was famous for.
Ceyenna surreptitiously studied Ithildin's profile. His shoulder length
blonde hair was pulled back with a white leather tie. He was beautiful
and wise and regal, like some Lost Prince, Ceyenna mused. She finally perked
up when Lamoure said,"...and so, we are hired on as the wine merchant's
guards, protecting his caravan." There was a stunned silence before
everyone spoke at once, yelling at Lamoure and then turning on Ceyenna.
It was a few minutes before Ithildin could get everyone to quit grumbling.
"No, this is NOT the best job we could have asked for," Ithildin
stated. He looked with disapproval first at Lamoure, then at Ceyenna. "But,"
he continued, "Lamoure already gave our word, and so we must be honor
bound to proceed". Then Lamoure told the group the particulars. It
was a trip from Haalkitaine to Cynar, further west. It would take about
a week and a half, fifteen days, to make it along the caravan route with
three wagons of wine imported from various lands. The merchant had come
this far, and Cynar was his final destination. Nothing was said as to why
the previous guards had quit. The merchant was an Elf by the name of Lyrior.
The group would get three silvers a piece. Lamoure explained this last
piece of information sheepishly. Melian exploded. "I can't believe
we're going to do dangerous, hard work for three lousy silver pieces!",
She exclaimed. "Where was your head, Lamoure?", She asked. And
then she turned to her friend Ceyenna. "And why didn't you find us
something better?", She asked accusingly. The rest of the party seemed
interested to know also. They all looked Ceyenna's way. Ceyenna colored
under such close scrutiny, and shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
"Well, there were other...uh...more important...I mean...things I
had to do," Ceyenna finished lamely.
"And what could be more important than a mission Ithildin had sent
you on?", Arondil asked angrily. When Ceyenna remained mute, Ithildin
spoke up. "Well, we are committed now. We had best spend the afternoon
seeing to our horses and packing up." Lamoure had told the party that
they were to meet Lyrior a little after sunrise the next day outside Haalkitaine.
***
The next morning, the group was waiting outside the gates of Haalkitaine.
Ceyenna, never a morning person, was dozing in her saddle while her horse
cropped the grass at the edge of the roadway. It was at least an hour past
sunrise already and time was passing. Melian muttered something about being
out here for nothing. A few farmers were trickling into the city to sell
their produce. An hour later still, the group was thinking about what their
next step would be. They only had about two golds between them all. Then,
finally, Lamoure waved excitedly at a figure coming out the gate. He was
a tall good-looking Elf with black hair. He wore a smile as he drove his
three big wagons, roped one after the other, out the gate. He seemed not
at all bothered by the time. He greeted Lamoure, and introductions were
made all around. Lyrior the wine merchant passed out one silver a piece
to each person. He promised them the other two in Cynar. Ceyenna couldn't
help shooting Lamoure a nasty look as she accepted hers.
There was no question that Lyrior would drive the lead wagon. Then it was
decided that Melian would drive the second wagon and Lamoure would drive
the third and final wagon. Dion, Ithildin, Arondil, and Ceyenna would ride
guard position, with Ceyenna scouting ahead and Dion at rear guard. Ariena
elected to ride in the wagon with Melian since she was not overly fond
of horseback. Her pony was tethered behind the second wagon.
***
It was day eight on the fifteen-day trip to Cynar. Everyone had settled
in to an uneventful, one might even say boring, trip. Ceyenna certainly
thought so. Lyrior was turning out to be a strange Elf, in Ceyenna's opinion.
He hardly ever shut up. She'd never seen such a talkative Elf. Since Ithildin
was riding next to the lead wagon, he was the recipient of all the babble.
Ceyenna noticed Ithildin said little and appeared to be rather irritated.
Ceyenna filed this bit of information away since she'd seldom, if ever,
seen Ithildin irritated. During the whole trip Arondil had ridden up and
down the caravan line. He'd remained awake all night, regardless of who
was on watch duty. When Ceyenna had asked him about it, Arondil had remained
quiet at first. Ceyenna thought he would refuse to answer her as he did
many times. Eventually he had stated that there was something amiss, something
that was not right somehow, and that was all he could, or would, say. Arondil's
unease had passed itself to Ceyenna and she had gone scouting in her tiger
form. She had gone miles around the campsite, but had found nothing. She
had shrugged and decided that since there was nothing to find, to forget
it.
Now, dusk was just falling on the eighth day of their trip. The first stars
were just beginning to show in the darkening sky. The road they were following
was winding through some low hills, which were sparsely wooded. Ceyenna
was riding ahead of the caravan, just out of sight in the wooded, hilly
country. It was darker under the trees. She had one of her Ranger spells
in effect, one that would alert her to an ambush. Suddenly the spell went
off, giving her a deep sense of foreboding. Ceyenna wasted no time wheeling
her horse around and charging back to the caravan.
As Ceyenna came riding up, the caravan had already stopped. Lyrior was
nowhere in sight, but the rest of the group was looking toward a low hill
not far away. Upon the hill sat a rider, outlined blackly against the fading
light. He had flowing white hair, a deathly pale completion, and was bedecked
in black armor. Ceyenna sidled her horse up to Ithildin's.
"So, you felt it." Ithildin commented to Ceyenna.
"Yes, but WHAT is it?" Ceyenna asked.
"It would appear to be a Herald of Night." Ithildin answered.
"None others I know of ride a black unicorn steed."
Ceyenna looked again and could just make out the horn. "But what interest
does it have in us?" Ceyenna asked.
"A very good question." Ithildin answered grimly.
The Herald drew his sword and brandished it above his head. The unicorn
reared, screaming an eerie challenge, and charged down the hill. Arondil
and Dion drew their swords and rode to meet the challenge on horseback.
Melian was occupied using all her skill as a Beast mistress. She was trying
to keep the horses that were hitched to the wagons from bolting away in
a panic. Ariena, in the wagon with Melian, clutched her black staff and
tried summoning a spell against the rider. Lamoure sat quietly in the last
wagon, tuning into his inner self to cast a spell.
As Ithildin prepared to cast a spell, Ceyenna drew one of her daggers.
Calculating the distance and speed of the rider, she threw it swiftly.
It hit the Herald in the shoulder of his sword arm just before he engaged
Arondil and Dion. It didn't even slow him down. The Herald acted as if
he had not been hit. As Ithildin released his spell an aura flared up around
the Herald, bright against the deepening twilight, then dissipated. The
herald continued to fight unaffected.
"It is as I have heard," Ithildin told Ceyenna. "The Herald's
sword possesses him and drives him in the face of any but a mortal blow."
The Herald was driven back by the two fighters. Then suddenly, the Herald
caught Dion a blow that felled him from his horse and left him stunned,
his horse fleeing in terror. Then the Herald engaged Arondil in earnest.
Arondil pressed him hard and managed to knock him from his unicorn. The
beast reared and came at the caravan, choosing to attack the unprotected
Lamoure. Ceyenna screamed to Lamoure over the chaos, but it was too late.
The nearness of the unicorn broke Melian's hold on the horses. When the
unicorn screamed, it sent the wagon horses rearing. Lamoure grabbed for
a hold...and missed, falling onto the waiting horn of the unicorn. Ceyenna
wasted no breath in venting her anger at the unicorn. She stood up on her
horse's back and launched herself into the air, transforming into a tiger
as she went. The Unicorn had just tossed Lamoure's limp form off its horn
when it was hit from behind by 250 lbs. of angry cat.
Ceyenna the tiger took the unicorn, squealing, to the ground. The tiger's
fangs had sunk deep into the creature's neck and the tiger's back paws
were raking great gobbets of flesh out of the unicorn's flanks. Ceyenna
let her cat instincts take over and she found the right hold to break its
neck. She held on tightly while the last struggle went out of the unicorn.
Meanwhile, the Herald had pulled Arondil from his horse. At that time,
Arondil had scored a serious wound to the Herald's left thigh, but the
Herald continued to fight, oblivious of the blood pouring from his wound.
Ariena, seeing her spells were having no effect, asked her Shaskan, Anardil,
to distract the Herald. The miniature dragon took flight, swooping low
over the Herald's head. The Herald took a startled step back just as Ithildin
cast the most powerful confusion spell he could. This combination allowed
Arondil the opening he needed to strike a fatal blow. His Mithril sword
slid up between the Herald's ribs, killing him instantly. Arondil let go
his sword and dropped to his knees at his enemy's side, gasping for his
breath. Ceyenna, still in tiger form, had torn open the unicorn's belly
and was devouring its liver.
Melian had gotten the horses under control and jumped from the wagon to
see to Lamoure. Ithildin knelt by Arondil and offered him a drink of Elven
restorative. This made sense since Arondil was a healer as well as a Paladin
and needed his strength to help any wounded. But as Arondil was trying
to choke some of the liquid down, Melian walked up.
"You needn't hurry", Melian said somberly, "Lamoure is dead.
"Arondil looked pained. The death of an adventuring companion was
always hard on Arondil, especially since he was a healer and in this case
he could do nothing. But the restorative had helped him enough so that
he could see to the still unconscious Dion. Arondil ran a hand through
his short, sweat soaked hair. Then he knelt next to Dion and put his hands
on Dion's temples. Dion had taken a glancing blow to the skull, just above
his left ear. He was pale and his skin was clammy to the touch. Arondil
was still for several long minutes. Then he came out of the healer's trance.
"He'll be fine", Arondil informed the group. "He just needs
to sleep for now".
"How 'fine' is he going to be when he wakes up and realizes Lamoure
is dead?", Melian asked. No one answered. Arondil looked as though
he needed the Elven 'sleep' whereby he could meditate and restore himself.
Ceyenna remembered all the nights he'd been up, restless. Apparently Ithildin
remembered that very thing too, because he said, "I think that it
is time to find Lyrior and get some answers".
Ariena stayed to watch over the sleeping Dion while Ithildin, Arondil,
Melian and Ceyenna went over to the lead wagon. They found Lyrior cowering
between his wine casks.
"Is it gone yet?", he asked feebly.
"Yes," Ithildin answered. "I think we have earned our three
silver." He said with a slightly sarcastic edge to his voice. Then
he stated, "I think you should be so good as to inform us what, besides
wine, we are protecting."
Lyrior cleared his throat and emerged from the wagon, gaining confidence
now that the threat was gone. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking
about", he said arrogantly.
Before Lyrior knew what had happened, Ceyenna had a dagger to his throat.
She pressed the edge in, cutting him a little.
"Ceyenna!", Ithildin snapped. Ceyenna eased up, but kept the
dagger in place.
"Ithildin asked you a question", Ceyenna said, "and he isn't
fast enough to stop my dagger if I decide to cut you", Ceyenna warned.
"And believe me", she added, "three silver is NOT worth
the death of Lamoure". Even though she would hardly miss him much,
Ceyenna thought. Lyrior took Ceyenna's threat seriously.
"There IS something", he said sullenly. Ceyenna let him go and
sheathed her dagger. Melian held up a lantern she had lit after the battle.
Lyrior went into the wagon again and pushed one of the wine vessels aside.
Set into the floor of the wagon was a recessed hiding spot from which he
took a small wooden box. When he'd gotten out of the wagon again he opened
the box and let Ithildin see. Melian and Ceyenna leaned in to get a look.
It was a solid gold ring in the form of a sea serpent. The tail was in
the creature's mouth as if it were eating itself. Arondil frowned.
"It is evil, perhaps even Unlife", he said. No one disputed his
innate sense.
"It's a magical ring", Lyrior said. "I didn't know it was
EVIL!". Ceyenna narrowed her eyes at him. She knew he was lying. But
the others seemed not to hear him.
"I'll have to study this", Ithildin said, "in order to determine
exactly what powers it contains". Ithildin had Lore spells that would
enable him to determine the magical elements of the ring. Ceyenna and Melian
went off to find the missing horses and wagon as Ithildin found a quiet
spot to meditate over the ring. Arondil sadly set himself the task of preparing
Lamoure's body for burning. It was obvious nothing could be done until
Dion had a chance to say good-bye.
Hours later Lyrior and the group sat around the evening fire and listened
to what Ithildin could tell them about the ring. Dion was sitting by himself
near Lamoure's unlit funeral pyre. Nothing could induce him to join the
rest of them. Ithildin had put the ring back into its box and given it
to Arondil to hold, much to Lyrior's distress.
"The ring is attuned to Unlife", Ithildin said without preamble.
He shuddered. Ceyenna had seen him do an Elven ritual cleansing on himself
after his prolonged contact with the ring.
"The ring must be destroyed", he stated quietly. He nodded to
Arondil.
"No, wait!!", Lyrior exclaimed.
Ithildin turned impassive eyes on him. "There is no possible reason
to allow this ring to continue to exist and perhaps do great harm in the
wrong hands," he said. Lyrior stood.
"The ring is my possession! You have no right to arbitrarily decide
what is to happen to it. I had planned to sell it to the Priests of Yarthraak
in Cynar. They worship the sea serpent", Lyrior explained.
Arondil spoke up then. He had set the ring on a flat rock and drawn his
Mithril longsword. "Then you have been badly deceived", he stated.
"For they are very similar to a cult we rescued Ariena from not long
ago. They perform blood sacrifices". And with that he raised his sword
above his head and brought it down with all his strength.
"NO!", Lyrior yelled, but it was too late. The ring was cleaved
in half. A piercing shriek filled the air as the ring broke, then all was
still.
"Where evil is concerned, property rights have no value", Arondil
stated with conviction. Ceyenna shifted uneasily and reminded herself never
to let Arondil see her Black Panther pendant!
"Did you wish to be linked to the Unlife?", Ithildin asked harshly
of Lyrior.
"No, of course not", Lyrior said quietly.
That night they burned Lamoure's body, each person saying something positive
to lift his spirit up to his gods. The next morning found the caravan on
its way again, and the rest of the trip proved uneventful.
***
When they rolled into Cynar seven days later, Ceyenna was happy to see
that this city was a normal bustling town with the usual distribution of
races. Lyrior paid the two additional silver apiece as agreed upon, and
also gave them Lamoure's silver. No one objected when Dion accepted the
silver for Lamoure.
Lyrior politely recommended The Shining Shield as an affordable, clean
Inn. The group accepted his advice and directions.
They had only just sat down to a drink and a meal at The Shield when a
group of Cynar's city guard came through the door. Ceyenna, always in a
position to see the doors, motioned to Ithildin.
"Trouble, do you think?", Ceyenna asked quietly. Arondil frowned
and spoke before Ithildin could.
"And why would there be TROUBLE, Ceyenna?", he asked. But she
was correct. The guards talked to the Innkeeper and then approached their
table.
"Who's in charge here?", the Sergeant asked. No one spoke for
a moment.
Then Ithildin said in his calm way, "I would probably qualify as group
leader."
The sergeant said, "There's been a complaint against you by Lyrior
the wine merchant. He says you posed as bonded caravan guards and he paid
you the market rate. He's just come to find out you're not bonded members
of the Mercenary's Guild at all. Impersonating a bonded guild member is
an offense punishable by fine. I'm afraid you'll have to come with me to
see the magistrate". Dion and Melian looked ready to put up a fight.
Ceyenna was considering whether or not she could make it to the back door.
Ithildin sensed the group's unease and he held up his hand.
"The most logical course of action is to go in before the magistrate
and explain that there has been a mistake", he said calmly to all.
***
"Did you ever consider an ILLOGICAL course of action?", Ceyenna
complained to Ithildin.
The group had been detained in the local prison to await the magistrate's
pleasure. Ceyenna was never happy to see the inside of any prison, for
however short a time. There was too much potential for it to be a permanent
stay.
"Ithildin was only doing what he thought best", Arondil defended.
"And besides, as long as we don't have anything to HIDE, Ceyenna,
we should be out of here shortly".
Ceyenna gave him a sour look. "I'm glad YOU"RE so jolly about
this", she commented sarcastically. But just then the guard came to
take them to see the magistrate, and any further talk was cut short.
***
They were out on the streets of Cynar about an hour later. The fine
had been, coincidentally, three silver apiece for impersonating bonded
mercenary. No amount of convincing on Ithildin's part had done any good.
He had actually become irritated. But unless they had wanted an extended
stay in prison, they were forced to pay.
"Well, now we're here in Cynar but no better off financially",
Melian complained. "We can't even afford lodging for the night!"
"Don't worry", Ceyenna said determinedly. "You all just
go back and check in to The Shining Shield. I'll take care of our financial
problems", And with that she took off, unheeding of the others calling
her back.
It didn't take Ceyenna long to trace Lyrior's path after entering the city.
He wasn't being secretive. He was staying at an Inn called The Blue Lady.
When Ceyenna entered, she found it crowded and rowdy. She spotted Lyrior
immediately up at the bar, occupied with a comely bar wench. Ceyenna plunged
right into the crowd. The best disguise was to blend in. She passed behind
Lyrior and lifted his pouch without him ever knowing. Then she left the
Inn and went around out back to the stables. She found the two stable boys
on duty and waited until they were done helping one of the Inn's customers.
Then she handed each boy a silver piece out of Lyrior's full pouch. Their
eyes widened to saucers.
"You never saw me here. And, I won't be long", Ceyenna said.
They immediately pocketed the silver and began a game of dice, ignoring
Ceyenna as if she were invisible.
Ceyenna found Lyrior's wagons standing in a small walled yard attached
to the back of the stables. She gave the wagons a quick once over, then
set to work examining them more closely. She found several compartments
in each wagon, similar to the one where Lyrior had hidden the ring. She
simply hid the various small bags, pouches and boxes about her person.
Then she helped herself to a pull at one of the old, expensive looking
wine bottles. She sighed. Ceyenna had been wanting to do that ever since
they'd started this ill-fated trip. She had been thinking about scaling
the wall but as she leapt down from the wagon, the world spun dizzily around
her. She giggled, slapping her hand over her mouth. That wine must have
been more potent than she thought! Scaling the wall was out of the question
so she made her way through the stables, and passing the oblivious stable
boys with the help of one of her Ranger spells.
***
Back at The Shining Shield, she stumbled into the front door . She found
her companions at a small table looking glum as they discussed how they
were going to afford lodgings. Ceyenna came up to their table giggling.
Everything struck her funny. She began to laugh out loud as she began depositing
all her booty on the table.
"You're drunk!", Dion accused as Ceyenna sat down next to Ithildin
to catch her breath.
"Where did all this come from?", Ithildin asked suspiciously.
"Where indeed?", Arondil echoed. Ariena gasped as she opened
a small box and found a rare blue diamond the size of a walnut. Melian
dumped a small bag onto the table and sat fingering the Mithril and platinum
pieces lovingly.
"Ithildin, honestly", Ceyenna said. "I just convinced our
former employer to pay us what we were worth!". And she laughed.