James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

"I'm familiar with your kind, but I've never met a Were-kin before," he admitted.

"Well, it's not that I was coming here for any serious reason," he said, then he recanted some of the story of their trip from Aldreth. He didn't really talk about Jesmind. What he felt for her, and what had happened still seemed too private to discuss with a total stranger. But despite being a stranger, Tarrin rather liked Sevren. He was a calm, thoughtful man that had quickly eased most of Tarrin's fears with a few simple words and one act of kindness. Offering to help Tarrin into the room had told him much of what made up the sober looking man, and Tarrin could honor and respect that about him. That was why Tarrin told him anything at all.

He absorbed what Tarrin had to say. "If you don't mind, I may study some of the outward effects of your transformation," he said. "I know it sounds like I want to study you like a bug, but you have to admit that this is a good chance to learn. And what we discover may help someone else that has this happen."

"No, I really don't mind all that much," Tarrin told him. "I know what it was like for me, and I'd rather not have anyone have to go through it," he said with a shudder. Being used to it still didn't mean that he liked it. One could get used to a missing arm, but that was no reason to lop one off. "If I can help make it easier on them, then I don't mind at all."

"That's a good lad," he said with a smile.

The door opened, and three women entered, flanked by two armed guards, with the Initiate behind them. Two of them were unknown to him, but the third, dressed in a dark blue silk dress, was Dolanna. Tarrin smiled broadly and stood, ignoring the other two women to accept Dolanna's hand as she reached him. He stared into her eyes for a moment, then pulled her close and embraced her. She coughed and wheezed, then said "Tarrin, I need my ribs in one piece" in a gasping voice.

"I'm sorry, I'm just glad to see that you're alright," he said. "Are Faalken and-"

"They are all well," she assured him. "Tiella and Walten have already entered the Novitiate. Faalken has returned to the Academy, where he instructs pupils when not accompanying me." She pushed him away slightly. "Tarrin, may I present the Keeper," she said, motioning.

The woman to which she motioned was a very small woman, even smaller than Dolanna herself. She had dark hair, nearly black, that was streaked in a few places with silver, and was as petite as she was short. She was more handsome than she was pretty, just coming into her middle years, but in her dark eyes Tarrin saw a hardness that came with being a ruler. He could almost smell the aura of power around the small woman, an aura that made her seem to be much larger than she actually was. She wore no badge of her rank, only a simple silk dress in a modest brown, but it was obvious just looking at her that she was a woman of great power and importance. Those hard eyes took Tarrin in in a single glance, and he felt distinctly uncomfortable standing there in his filthy clothes.

"You're as thin as a stick," she noted in a clear, strong voice.

"Running for your life can do that, ma'am," he replied calmly. Tarrin didn't like this woman. He wasn't sure why, but he did not. It was a gut feeling, an instinctive reaction, but he did not like her.

"So I've been told. Well, you've made it, young one, and we can all be happy of that." She sat down at the table, and the other woman followed her. She was a rather tall woman with black hair and very pale skin, wearing a yellow silk dress that was cut rather low in the front. Silk seemed to be the fabric of choice in the Tower among the ladies. The woman had a very pretty face, and was obviously very young, but her dark eyes were expressionless. It gave Tarrin the chills to look into them. It was like looking into the eyes of a corpse. "Because you look about ready to fall over, we'll put off formally admitting you into the Novitiate for two days, so you can rest a bit and get back some of your strength," she told him. "Until then, feel free to look around, but you're not to leave the Tower grounds. Although you're not officially a Novice yet, you should start abiding by the rules that all Novices follow. I've sent for Elsa Gaarnhold, the Mistress of Novices. Where you sleep and what you'll need will be her responsibility. She'll also provide you with some new clothes and show you where things are."

The young man Sevren had sent for food returned with a tray heavily laden with roasted chicken and goose. Tarrin's mouth started watering the instant the smell of it touched his nose. "A good idea," she remarked, standing up. "I'll leave you to your meal, young one. I'm sure you'd like to stay, Dolanna, so please do so."

"Thank you, Keeper," Dolanna said quietly.

"Elsa should be along in a while. Just wait here for her." They all stood, and then the Keeper and the dead-eyed woman with the yellow dress left without so much as a word.

"Strange," Sevren said calmly.

Tarrin didn't waste any time. He sat down at the table where the young man had set the tray and attacked the food with a vengence. The young man left, and Sevren and Dolanna sat down at the table with Tarrin. Sevren and Dolanna exchanged polite introductions, and Tarrin offered each of them something off the tray.

"Thank you," Dolanna said, pouring glasses of wine for each of them. Tarrin wondered how the man knew to bring more than two glasses. "Tarrin, what happened after we separated? I have been worrying for you."

"It's a very long story, Dolanna," he said between bites. "To make it short, I ran into Jesmind."

"Jesmind?"

" Her ," he said calmly.

"Ah. She came to find you?"

"She'd been following us the whole time," he replied. He gave Sevren a cautionary glance. "Sevren, I just met you, but I think I can trust you. Promise me that what you're about to heat goes no farther than this room."

"You have my word, my boy," he said immediately.

"She didn't know who collared her," he told Dolanna. "She can't remember anything that happened while it was on her neck. The only reason she knew about me was because you took off the collar with her in sight of me."

"I hope that it was not a bad occurrance," she sighed.

"It is now," he grimaced. "She was taking me back into the Frontier. I kept trying to convince her to come to Suld with me, but she wouldn't hear of it. So I ran away from her. And she was not happy about it."

"I feared as much," she said in a heavy voice.

"She's going to try to kill me, Dolanna. There's no doubt in my mind. She's decided I'm a Rogue because I refused to learn what she has to teach me, and that means that I'm marked. The people here should know that Jesmind will come here, and when she does, she'll try to kill me."

"I will let the Keeper know. She will be the one that will have to take steps."

"That's why I'm in such sorry condition," he said. "I wasn't sure if she was right behind me, but I wasn't about to take the chance. I've been running almost constantly for the last fifteen days or so. Dinner was whetever I could find during a ten minute stop to rest."

"Well, you have made it, my dear one," she said with a gentle smile, putting her hand over his paw.

"Only just," he sighed. "The entire forest north and west of Suld is literally crawling with Goblinoids. Maybe someone should be told about that. There may be enough out there to come down and attack a fair sized town."

"That should be passed along," Sevren noted.

"There were also humans around trying to kill me," he told her. "I was almost done in by a little rat of man with a sling. I found out that someone was paying a reward for dead bodies of anyone even remotely resembling a Wikuni travelling on the High Road. I just hope no innocent Wikuni were killed."