James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

– How much further?- Allia signed to him in the Selani hand code. She could understand him when he spoke in the manner of the Cat, but she couldn't reply in the same way. But it was a moot point, for her hand code was just as comprehensive as her spoken tongue. There was a handsign for almost every word in her language.

"Not too far, just past those buildings," he replied in the unspoken manner of the Cat, hunkered down in the dewing grass as they watched a ten man patrol march by with torches casting dancing shadows on a series of low buildings behind them. Some of them were wearing heavy cloaks, to hold off the autumn chill. Winter wasn't far away, Tarrin knew, and the cloudless night wasn't doing much to keep what heat was left from the cool day trapped near the ground. The first frost couldn't be but a few days off.

She made a slight whistling sound to make him look at her. -How far away is the house?-

"Now that I'm not sure of," he replied. "It's been a while since I came from there. I remember how to get there, but I was in cat form when I did it. The distances aren't the same to me, because it takes me longer to get places in this form."

– Ah. It still can't be that far away.-

"Suld's a big city, litter-mate," he said, using the cat's concept of the word sister . "But it didn't take me more than an hour to get to the Tower, so I figure that it'll take us about half an hour to find it. Alright, let's move."

Tarrin shifted back to his humanoid form, and the pair darted across a large open area, the last of them before reaching the fence, and then slipped between two low storage buildings that faced the perimeter fence. He looked to and fro, testing the air with his nose, straining to hear movement with his ears. There was no guard patrol nearby, and he thought that they had enough time to negotiate the passage through the fence.

They ran on silent feet up to the fence, and they immediately began a pre-arranged plan to get through the fence as fast as possible. Allia first reached out, to see if the Ward would prevent her from passing through it as Tarrin did the same, to show her where it was. Allia's hand passed through, where Tarrin's hand was stopped. Once they knew that, Tarrin bent down and put his paw out, and Allia stepped into it. After two silent hefts to prepare themselves, Tarrin vaulted Allia into the air, pushing her as she jumped off his driving paw. She soared up and over the fence, then landed and rolled gracefully on the paved street beyond. Tarrin pulled off his shirt quickly and tossed it down over the ward, between the bars of the fence. Whatever magic the bars of the fence held that kept others out, it didn't react to non-living things, so it did nothing to the cloth of the shirt. Tarrin changed form quickly and rooted under the tail of his Initiate shirt, then wriggled through and under the bars, squirming out of the neck on the far side of the fence as Allia took out a cloak with a deep hood from where it was tied onto her back, shook it out, then put it on. Then he changed form again, snatched up his shirt, and the pair of them sprinted off into the darkness.

They slowed down and worked the streets parallel to the fence until they crossed a street that Tarrin knew, and then Allia followed him silently as Tarrin backtracked the path he took to get from his little mother to the Tower. It hadn't been all that long ago, but his point of view was different in his base form, so it took some adjustment that slowed them down a bit. The streets were occupied, but as he thought, he didn't attract a great deal of attention. They simply took him for a Wikuni, albeit an unusual one, and that was the end of that. Allia would attract attention, were she not hiding herself in the deep folds of the long cloak and hood she was wearing.

It took him almost an hour, but he finally found the stately house behind its iron fence. In his humanoid form, he could appreciate how large and grand his little mother's house was. Tomas was a very successful merchant. "Is this it?" Allia whispered as Tarrin looked to see if anyone else was on the street.

"This is it," he confirmed, jumping up onto the top of the ornate iron fence, then reaching down and helping Allia up and over it. They worked through the almost dead garden, a garden prepared for the winter's cold, until they were at the front door. Allia knocked on it boldly as Tarrin stood off to the side, out of sight of the door. Janette was the only one that knew how he looked out of cat form, and he didn't want to startle or surprise whoever opened the door.

It was the matronly, gray-bunned maid, Nanna. "Yes, may I help you?" she asked politely as she took in the dark, mysterious stranger standing on the doorstep, hidden in the shadows of a cloak and deep cowl.

"I am looking for the Kaels," Allia said in her accented voice. "I was told that they would be here."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you have the wrong house," she said. "This is the residence of the Kellers."

Tarrin quickly changed form, and then boldly walked out onto the porch in front of Allia. He meowed to get Nanna's attention, and the matronly woman looked down. Her eyes widened when she saw him, and then she gave out a gasp that turned into a smile. "Oh, he sent you," she said. "Yes, yes, please come in."

Allia entered in with Tarrin as he padded in through the open door. All the scents he remembered from the house were there, as well as scents of his parents and sister, and it washed a wave of nostalgia and misty memory over him. In many ways, the house and the people in it were family to him. His real parents, and the adopted family that had taken a nearly insane Tarrin and, with love and attention and giving him a quiet place to work through his problems, returned him to a balance with himself. Janette was only a little girl, but she held a place in his heart that only his mother, Dolanna, and Jesmind shared. He would kill for Janette, just as quickly as he would give his life to protect her. "Allia, tell her I'm going to change, so she doesn't get frightened."

"Madam, he's going to change. He doesn't want you to be frightened."

"Let me close the door," she said, shutting the door and throwing two heavy bolts. "He won't frighten me, my dear. I've already been told about him."

Tarrin returned to his humanoid form easily, and Nanna gave him an appraising look that almost made him feel uncomfortable. "I must say, you're very, large," she said with a charming smile. "I don't see how you fit yourself into such a little body."

"Magic," Tarrin said with a shrug. "I've missed you, Nanna. How have you been?"

"Things have been slow," she sighed. "Janette moped around for a while, at least until Janine got her another cat. I'm afraid that Socks isn't half as obedient as you were."

Tarrin laughed. "I'll have a talk with him," he promised. "Was there any trouble with my family?"

"Janine was a bit put out, but you know how she is," Nanna said with a wink. "But now she has two little girls to turn into little ladies, and she gets along rather well with your mother. Tomas and your father act like they've been drinking buddies for fifty years."

"I knew that they'd take a liking to my family," Tarrin said, with a relief in his voice that belied his words. "I'm just sorry I had to send them here, but I couldn't think of anywhere else safe."

"It's alright, Tarrin," Nanna told him. "Tomas and Janine wouldn't turn them away, though Janine would complain about it a while. They're very good people." Nanna suddenly blushed. "And all that time, I thought you were a cat. I do hope that you'll be discreet?"

Nanna had a habit of talking to herself, and the things she said when she thought she was alone were very private. He fully understood why she blushed. "And what would I have to be discreet about, Nanna?" he asked in a direct voice.