Vannerbehn's Luc

I have no idea what measures Ledomir and Inavar took to protect themselves. Once they'd finished interrogating Teeshay, they were probably able to identify more of the traitors in their own organizations.

There were a few bodies found floating in the harbor that week. Hard to tell if that was due to the Pirate Lords cleaning house, or if was just regular traffic.

Rymogo dumped her lover, Loella. Evor OneHand also put aside his mistress, but I had no way of knowing if that was because of Teeshay's revelations.

Jerian the Younger made significant changes to his household. He dismissed all of his house servants - without exception. The three ship captains who had been suborned by Cremyne disappeared. Their bodies didn't turn up in the harbor, or anywhere else.

Quite a few of his crewmen were let go, as well. The Pirate Lord blacklist being what it was, those men would find it difficult to catch on with another reputable captain.

Cremyne was publicly divorced. Jerian made no secret of her infidelities. He evicted her from his house, along with her brother Armon, his man Samadar ... and Syrava.

I didn't shed any tears for Cremyne. Her plot to take over Jerian's fleet was scotched, but she had probably hidden away a fair amount of her husband's money. And with her looks - and that body - she would probably be able to find another lover. Or even another husband. There are always foolish men who will risk a cuckold's horns, if the woman is attractive enough. And she was.

But the Pirate Lords were well aware of her now. If Cremyne took up with another rich or influential man, they would be watching her carefully. She wouldn't be able to surprise them.

My housemates and I weren't complete fools. Just because Cremyne's plot had been foiled didn't mean that we were out of danger. She had all the more reason to hate us now. Syrava had tried to kill me several times before; she could easily continue attempting to murder me, even if only as a hobby.

So we remained on our guard, and took extra precautions. I spent more time at the Narimac, helping Ludianne as much as I could. She didn't need it, of course, but she appreciated the effort.

I did even more thinking about myself, when it came to women and monogamy. Cleaving to one woman wasn't as difficult as I'd expected. Would I have felt the same way if I'd begun my amatory career this way? If I'd never experienced anything but fidelity, would I be finding it so refreshing now?

Maybe it was because Aressine was so wonderful. I enjoyed doing nice things for her, surprising her with little gifts, or a special meal. It was also remarkably comfortable just to spend time together - relaxing, even, since I didn't have to try very hard to impress her.

As an added bonus, Aressine had a splendid body, and she wasn't shy about it. She would often doff her clothes the moment we went upstairs to my room, and frequently wouldn't put them back on until it was time to leave.

- "You're a nudist!"

- "I'm comfortable naked." she said. "That's not the same thing as nudism. I'll admit that I'm proud of my body ..."

- "And rightly so."

- "... but I don't flaunt myself in public. Only for you."

I was a very lucky man.

Aressine visited often, and nine times out of ten, we ended up in my bedroom. Her sexual appetite was as strong as mine.

That

was a wonderful thing to discover.

We didn't go to her lodgings very often, and we didn't stay overnight. They were nowhere near as spacious or luxurious as my house, but the real reason we didn't sleep there was for security. There was no way of knowing if - or rather, when - Cremyne or Syrava might strike back at us.

All of which gave me an idea.

- "You should move in with us." I thought the 'us' was a nice touch; it made it sound as if the request also came from my housemates.

Aressine frowned. "It's too early in our relationship, Kelsen. I realize that you're new at this - sticking to one woman - but moving in together may not be the best -"

- "You can have your own room, Aressine." I said. "I just don't like the idea of you alone, at night, in your own apartment. If Syrava decided to go after you ..."

- "Syrava and I got along fine. She has nothing against me."

- "Really? Seen her lately? Next time you do, ask her how she feels about you going out with her least favourite person in the entire world."

- "You have a point." said my girlfriend.

Taliesine and Kima were both in favour of having her with us. I think that they saw Aressine as some sort of civilizing influence on me.

- "Are you sure?" she asked me.

- "No." I'd never lived with a girlfriend before. I'd never

had

an exclusive girlfriend before. "But I want you to be safe."

- "You want me to sleep with you every night."

- "Yes. But

safely

."

- "Alright." she said. "But this is only temporary."

***

Denya continued her lessons with Taliesine.

- "Remarkable girl." said the wizard. "Quite amazing, for a twelve year-old."

- "I think she hates me." said Denya.

- "What makes you say that?" I asked.

- "The way she looks at me. And she criticizes everything I do: the way I talk, the way I stand, even the way I move my arm."

- "Den." I said. Why don't you just

ask

her why she does that?"

- "I'm asking

you.

"

I sighed. "Alright, I suppose that's better than not asking at all. The way Taliesine looks at you? Like she just stepped in something? That's the way she looks at everyone."

"As for the way you talk ... you do know you have an accent, don't you?

'E woan know what 'it 'im, da mawk.

" I said, in my old Bottoms cant.

- "I

know

where you grew up." said Denya, rolling her eyes. "But do I have to talk all posh, like you do?"

- "You do if you want to cast spells."

She argued with me. So I proposed an experiment. I bet her a gold piece against a copper. Denya was suspicious, but she was also curious - and greedy.

"Daze!" I said. Only, I pronounced the way it would be said in the Bottoms: 'Dize' ( it rhymes with 'dies'). Nothing happened.

Then I said it correctly. Daze! (to rhyme with 'days').

When she recovered, Denya was seriously annoyed with me. She stormed out of the house, stomping her feet on the porch.

But she came back for her next lesson. And then she came to me, with more questions.

- "Did you have to stun me?"

- "You didn't believe me. So a demonstration seemed in order."

- "You know," she said, "when I learn spells, you're the first person I'm going to try them out on. Every time."

I had to smile. "You would have done that anyway, Denya."

She grinned, too. "Yeah. Probably."

- "Do you understand, though?"

- "Yeah. I asked Taliesine. Precision, she said. Every word. Every gesture. I get it."

- "Good. Now go do your homework."

- "What makes you think I have homework?"

- "Because I did. For three flamin' years. Every single day. And on top of that, I had chores that had nothing to do with magic. I had to buy or steal food for my master's dinner. I had to trim his ear and nose hair -

and

his toenails."

Denya laughed, and ran off.

If I'd had a little sister, I couldn't have asked for better than her. Sharp, clever, and brave, but also responsible.

Too bad her brother was such an oaf. No - not me - her real brother.

***

I wasn't bored, exactly. It's hard to be bored when you're constantly looking over your shoulder, wondering if another assassination attempt is about to take place. I spent a great deal of time in the house, with Aressine, and with Kima and Taliesine. When they got sick of me, I trundled off to the Narimac.

Ludianne never got annoyed with me. She had the patience of a ... well, of a Janni. But she also had an establishment to run. I helped out, as long as I could stomach it. Then I would sneak away, onto the roof, and talk to Thaak and Aacah (the gargoyles). When we ran out of topics to discuss, I realized that I needed some kind of hobby.

During the daytime, I could head over to the Gale, and give Mehdawi a hand. An ambush in broad daylight was unlikely, but still, I never took the same route twice. I was afraid, though, to use all three of my healing spells; I wanted to have at least my daze spell in reserve - just in case.

I didn't do it deliberately, but it turned out to be a good idea

not

to spend every waking hour with Aressine. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy her company; I did. We were also having sex at least twice a day, every day. No complaints there.

But we didn't want to grow stale, and prolonged exposure

can

do that. The two of us were simply not built to do

everything

together. Aressine had little interest in magic, for one thing, whereas I was perfectly happy to sit in on some of Denya's lessons with Taliesine - whenever the wizard allowed it.

My girlfriend liked to train daily. She did a few stretching and strength exercises, which I enjoyed watching - the first six times. Then she would work out with blunted weapons, some of which were weighted to be considerably heavier than her own swords.

- "Keeps the wrists and arms strong." she said. "Builds up stamina, too."

My skill-set was based more on agility, and quickness.

I tried sparring with her - once. See how you do, with a rapier against a broadsword. When Aressine wore her armour, there was no way that I could have hurt her with my rapier, without running the risk of losing an arm, or a number of ribs. If we were truly fighting, I would have run before she got close, or used my daze spell (which she considered cheating).

She liked poetry; I liked sagas. Aressine could sing - she had a lovely voice; I could knock birds out of the trees with my voice. She tried to persuade me to sing with her.

- "I don't sing, Aressine. Trust me: there's a reason for it."

- "I love the sound of your voice."

- "Not when I sing."

- "Come on. Everybody can sing a little. Try."

- "You don't want to hear me trying, sweetheart."

- "Please? Just a little bit?"

- "Don't ask. You'll regret it. Take my word for it."

She wouldn't stop. She continued to plead with me, to harp, to badger, to cajole ... but I knew how to make her quit. I sang four verses of a well-known sailor's shanty.

What will you do with a drunken sailor? What will you do with a drunken sailor? What will you do with a drunken sailor, Earl-eye in the mornin'

Aressine took it like a warrior. Her eyes watered, a little, but she didn't run away.

- "I see." she said. "You were right."

There's a first time for everything.

***

Aressine and I were entwined, in the spoon position, with my erection buried inside her. We weren't thrashing about, though - it was our third lovemaking session of the day, after all. We were in no hurry.

- "HA!!" I heard, from halfway across the house.

That was Taliesine's voice. She'd obviously had some sort of breakthrough. As far as I knew, she was working on the spell for Ludianne.

What I didn't expect was to hear her hurried footsteps as she sprinted across to my room. Then her fist hammered on my door.

- "KELSEN!"

Aressine pulled away from me, rolled onto her back, and yanked the covers up to her chin. Meanwhile, Taliesine kept pounding on my door.

- "Kelsen! Aressine!"

- "You alright?" I called.

- "May I come in?"

I glanced at my girlfriend. She didn't say no.

- "The door is open."

Taliesine showed no surprise to find us together. She frowned at our nakedness - not because we'd possibly been having sex, but because being unclothed, we weren't ready to leap out of bed at her command.

- "Get dressed, Kelsen! We have to see Ludianne."

- "Now? Tonight?"

- "I may have taken a very important step forward. Or backward. But only Ludianne herself can tell me if I am on the right path. I need to know. Right away."

It sounded silly to me, but the wizard was adamant. "Now. This very moment."

We had discussed our predicament multiple times. Syrava knew Taliesine, Kima, and Aressine as well as she knew me (if not better). They were equally likely to be targets for her location and tracking spells. Not inside our house, of course - but the moment we stepped outside.

For that reason, the women never went anywhere alone. And at night, at least three of us went together. Four, if possible.

Aressine was no happier than I was, to be going to the Narimac just after midnight. But we knew better than to argue with Taliesine.

- "Where's Kima?" asked Aressine.

- "Sleeping." said Taliesine.

- "How could she be asleep?" I asked. The wizard had been shouting loud enough to wake the dead. Kima was a notoriously light sleeper, who could hear me changing my clothes from across the house.

Taliesine gave me a look. I understood immediately: Kima

wasn't

sleeping, but she wasn't coming with us, either. Probably a lovers' quarrel, which if I had any sense I wouldn't ask about. So I kept my mouth shut.

I plotted our route - subject to change at a moment's notice. Aressine kept her eyes and ears open, while Taliesine trusted to a protection spell to give us early warning if any threat materialized.

We were only three blocks from the Narimac when Taliesine suddenly stopped.

- "Duck." she said.

- "What?" said Aressine.

I didn't wait. I instantly dropped into a crouch. There was a plucking feel, like someone tugging at the top of my cloak, where it bunched up between my shoulder and my neck.

Taliesine grunted, and fell to her knees. She'd been too slow to take her own advice: a crossbow bolt protruded from the small of her back.

Aressine was unhurt. There had only been two shots - the second had narrowly missed me. The blonde drew her sword, and scanned the rooftops.

I chose retreat. There was no time for a healing spell; besides, the middle of the street, under fire from at least two crossbows, was no place to dally.

I took hold of the wounded wizard, pulled her to her feet, and threw her over my shoulder.

- "C'mon!" I said, as I began to hustle towards the Narimac. Once inside its doors, we would be safe. And Ludianne was a much more powerful healer than I was.

Aressine was no fool. She couldn't see anything or anyone to attack. She also knew that crossbows take a long time to reload - especially on the run. We had an opportunity - time to move, and move fast.

We could move fairly quickly, because no one was wearing any cumbersome armour. On the other hand, it would've been nice to have some of that armour for protection. Not for me - for Aressine.

Taliesine didn't protest or complain as she bounced around on my shoulder like an ill-sorted sack of potatoes.

- "Pass her to me!" shouted my girlfriend.

- "I've got her! Just run!"

I did have her - at least until the second crossbow bolt struck Taliesine in the back. It knocked me off-balance, so that I stumbled and fell, throwing Taliesine to the ground. There was no way of knowing if the bolt had been meant for me, or for her.

To make matters worse, Aressine had been hit, too. Her wound was considerably worse. The bolt had struck her in the hip. That

had

to have shattered bones. The pain would be excruciating. But I had no time to heal her - and certainly not to commiserate.

I dragged Taliesine to her knees. She was dead weight, now, limp like a rag doll. Somehow, I got her back on my shoulder. Then I bent over and took hold of Aressine's hand. I began to drag her towards the Narimac.

We weren't moving very quickly. Taliesine didn't make a sound, but Aressine was yelping as I dragged her broken bones over the cobblestones. I ignored the noise; I knew exactly what I was doing.

She was in serious pain. My heart went out to her; but if I stopped now, to comfort her, or find a better way of dragging her, then all three of us could end up dead. There was only one thing to do: keep moving. If I could just reach the Narimac, we'd be safe. Unfortunately, I had no idea how close I was when my muscles seemed to quit. I just ... stopped moving.

I tried to push forward. My body simply wouldn't respond. I willed my muscles to move, but they wouldn't. Taliesine seemed to be stuck to my shoulder. I couldn't let go of Aressine's hand, either, but I could still feel the strain on my arm from pulling her.

- "Frustrating, isn't it?"

I knew that voice. I tried, with every fiber of my being, to move my hand, even my fingers, towards the pistol on my right side. Nothing. I wanted to scream, but my facial muscles were completely unresponsive.

- "You're lucky, Kelsen. My first choice would have been to have you chained in a dark cellar. Instead, you'll get a relatively quick death."

Syrava stepped into view, just ahead of me.

"You had to know that I was coming for you." she said.

- "We haven't got time for this." said a second voice. To my amazement, it was Cleano - or Cleona (I forget) - the woman that Armon had brought to Ledomir's party. I'd dismissed her, at the time, as a brainless bimbo. What a mistake.

She carried a crossbow, which - plainly - she knew how to use.

- "Give us a moment." said a third voice. He too carried a crossbow. He came closer, and looked me in the eye.

"I told you that I would remember you." said Samadar. "Now it will be a pleasure to think of you, when I am old and grey, sitting by the fire ... while you lie rotting in your grave."

- "We should move." said Cleona. Or Cleano.

- "Let me enjoy the moment." said Syrava.

At that very instant, almost a ton of solid stone fell on our enemies.

Literally. Fell.

Thaak and Aacah (I couldn't tell which was which) slammed into two of the three people confronting me. The results were ... conclusive.

Unfortunately, my gargoyle friends were not the cleverest of creatures. They saw two people with weapons (crossbows), and chose them as targets. Syrava reacted very swiftly, and cast some sort of obscuring spell. One moment she was there ... then she was gone.

Thaak and Aacah had slammed Samadar and Cleano (or Cleona) into the ground. Then the male gargoyle went to assist his lady-gargoyle love. He grabbed Cleona (or Cleano) by the ankle, just as Aacah seized hold of her other foot.

They picked up the unfortunate assassin, by the feet, and swung her over their heads. The gargoyles slammed my would-be assassin to the ground. Her head split open like a ripe melon dropped from a rooftop, spraying blood and brains across the cobblestones.

They didn't quit there. They swung her up again, and proceeded to pummel her battered body into the cobblestones.

Syrava's spell was broken as she fled. I lurched forward, off-balance.

There was no sign of Samadar now, either. He had crawled away, and then melted into the shadows.

The gargoyles dropped the dead crossbow-woman to the ground. Thaak stood for a moment, admiring his handiwork. Aacah loomed up beside me.

- "Help." I got out. "Help me carry Aressine. Careful -"

Aacah bent over, and scooped my girlfriend up in her arms. Aressine screamed as the shattered bones in her hip ground together. Then she passed out.

The two gargoyles helped me carry my injured companions to the Narimac. We created quite a stir when we entered through the front doors.

Ludianne was there. Thank all the Gods - my partner took charge of us.

The gargoyles took us upstairs, where Ludianne had a look at Taliesine. Then she switched her attention to Aressine. Neither woman was making any noise.

- "Crossbow bolts." I said. "Taliesine was hit first."

- "Poisoned." said the Janni, as she placed both of her hands over Aressine's injured hip.

- Poison? What kind of poison?"