Diavla risked calling to the spirits just before the magic-users came in.

CONCEAL.

It was a gamble. If any human were listening to the spirits at that moment, they would know that someone in this room had made a call—“cast a spell”, in their terms. Then she nodded and smiled, and followed directions as they took her to a ritual room with intricate carvings in the stone floor. She sat in the center and waited.

Boring, she thought. I am boring. I am empty. Ignore me. She tried to look indifferent as the human spell-casters examined her, even as she kept her focus on the spirits nearby.

Her spirit-sense was passive, so just looking around with it should not be detectable. Or so she hoped. She watched the spirits gathering around the humans. Interestingly, she found it hard to detect her own call, which was a good sign.

I am boring. I am empty. I am nothing.

The humans did not look as tense as they might. If they had examined the others already and the elves all showed free of possession, then hopefully the human spirit-touched would be relaxing somewhat. Diavla had to remind herself not to hold her breath.

I am boring. I am empty. I am nothing.

A small number of spirits were swirling around her head and around her core. Diavla was tired. She had felt more powerful lately, but that strength was nowhere to be seen while the humans chanted.

I am boring. I am empty—

The chanting stopped.

Diavla blinked and refocused on the room. The humans were smiling. I passed.

Good.

Diavla didn't know why she had been so worried. It would not be the end of the world if they had detected that she was spirit-touched. Tom knew, her friends knew, Eubexa knew.

She sighed with relief. She didn't want to admit it even to herself, but for a moment there, she had begun to wonder what possession felt like from the inside, and whether she would know it if she had been possessed. I'm quite happy not needing to find that out, thank you.

A minute later, a guard escorted her to another room where Varga, Kervan and Orvan waited. Then things moved quickly. It wasn't long before Tom showed up to get them. He brought them outside the Temple, set Kervan to retrieving their empty wagon, then went back inside. Diavla followed him. He spoke with the human Healers for a couple of minutes, then scooped up a still-sleeping Eubexa. Diavla packed up the medicines, and followed Tom back to where the wagon was just arriving.

Everyone got on or in the wagon. Tom took the reins, but before he started them moving, he turned to face them and spoke in Elvish. “Kervan, Eubexa sleep one hour, two hour. I ask you. You did see bandit…?” He gestured at his face.

“Face,” Kervan said, pointing. “Yes. I see bandit faces. Why?”

Tom looked upward for a moment as he translated in his head. “You see face very good? You know face, very good?”

Diavla nodded to herself. That's why he's asking Kervan directly. He must have noticed Kervan's special memory.

“Yes, Tom.”

“Good. We go Guardhouse. You say face, guard…” Tom held up his left hand as if holding up a paper or board or something, then gestured wildly with his right hand. Diavla didn't understand, but Kervan saw it.

“ ‘Draw’, Tom. Yes. I say, guard draw bandit faces. Good.”

Tom nodded his approval, then faced forward and started them moving past the late morning foot traffic. Varga threw up her hands in exasperation and leaned forward. “Tom! What happened back there? What's going on?”

Diavla thought she knew, but didn't want to reveal how she knew, so she kept quiet and waited.

“Tom, Varga ask what we did, what guard did, why guard did get us?” Kervan simplified.

“Stay Elvish. Very big. Stay Elvish, yes?”

The elves looked at each other. “Yes, Tom. We will not say in Western.”

“Good. Human…magic? Human magic person see wagon, see crystals, yes?” They all nodded. “Human magic person—”

“ ‘Spirit-touched’, Tom.”

“Spirit-uch?”

“Spirit-touched. Touch.” Kervan demonstrated.

“Spirit-touch.”

“Close enough.”

Tom assented to setting aside working on his pronunciation for the moment. “Human spirit-touch see crystals, is very scared. Crystals and I go Temple. Human spirit-touch say, in crystal is…oh, (something), I don't know the word for (something)…” Tom stopped, took a breath and tried again. “Very bad. Very, very, very, very bad. We need help…(something)… How do you say something in Elvish?”

“What is it?”

“People. Not humans. Not elves. Not big, big.” A couple of gestures got his point across. Not tall, but wide people. He means dwarves.

“ ‘Dwarf’, Tom. ‘Dwarves’,” Kervan told him.

“We need dwarves, fight very very very bad things.”

The elves fell silent. They all knew what that meant.

Kervan cleared his throat and said quietly, “ ‘Demons’, Tom.”

“Demons,” Tom repeated. “I say Western word, no now.”

“There are demons…in the crystals?” Orvan sounded very uncertain, which was understandable.

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“What in the world and sky?” Varga moaned, looking lost.

“How demons go in crystals?” Diavla asked.

Tom shrugged. “I have no (something). I no know how.”

Kervan's voice was quiet. “So…there are three demons on the loose.” He took a deep breath. “That's why they want to know what the bandits look like.” His red eyes flicked back and forth as he thought furiously. “Were the people in the temple testing us to see if we were possessed?” He looked at Diavla. “We were right to be worried. Two bandits, three demons. No wonder they checked us. Who did the third demon take? It wasn't any of us, right? So, where did it go?”

Diavla shrugged. “Into a wolf, maybe? Maybe we didn't see one of the bandits?”

Varga slapped her forehead. “I knew the animals were upset at something! But, I…Demons aren't common in human lands, right? They know how to stop outbreaks, right?”

Diavla leaned forward. “Tom. Humans stop demons?”

Tom's worried expression only lasted a moment, but gave her a good idea. Then he straightened up, and controlled his face. “Humans stop demons.”

“You're a bad liar, Tom,” she told him in his language. Tom shook his head, firmly.

“No. I no lie. Is will go very bad. Big, big humans, big, big, spirit-touch, all go, fight. Big, big humans die. Then, yes, humans stop demons.”

“What about the others? Sheema and Arven and Brallik and Rillik?” Varga asked. “They're out there in the same forest as three demons. What are we going to do?”

“We go will get Sheema and,” Tom declared. “I and you go. We go to Oak Mill. We…see, see, see. We get elves. I say yes. We get elves. We help.” He sighed. “Very big say. I wait. Eubexa translate good. You understand, I understand, we choose.”

Everyone stopped talking, and thought about that for a few minutes. Tom drove them to the Guardhouse. It took a little while for Tom to find the right people, then he brought Kervan and Diavla inside with him.

They spent a long time describing the two bandits to a very short woman with red hair and little brown spots all over her face. She kept drawing and redrawing using chalk on an impressively large piece of slate. Kervan went first. He kept getting frustrated, but the artist was very patient and seemed happy to draw again and again, until the two pictures looked right to him. Diavla checked, and shook her head in amazement.

“It's as if they sat for the portraits, Kervan. Your memory is amazing. Well done.”

“Thank you, but it isn't a thing I earned, just a gift from the spirits.”

Once each image was done, Tom took Diavla outside and brought Varga and Orvan in, just in case that they had seen something Kervan hadn't. Diavla came in to check the second drawing, and once she did, the artist took a precious piece of paper and carefully replicated it in ink. Tom seemed to be dallying, and finally asked one of the guards about something. Diavla couldn't quite follow the conversation, but the guard left for several minutes, eventually returning with a dusty crate.

Then there was an argument. Kervan whispered that Tom wanted a lot of something, and the guard wanted to give them only six. After a lot of talk back and forth, the guard finally opened a small box inside the crate, rummaged through it, then sighed. Tom heard them out, and then his shoulders slumped for a moment and he put a hand to his forehead, before giving a little laugh and shrugging. The guard gave Tom the entire box, and with several thanks and farewells, they all left the building.

“Tom? What did you get?” Diavla asked once they were back at the wagon. Eubexa still hadn't woken.

In answer, Tom opened the box and pulled out a small amulet, passing it to her. “I did want ten, I did get eight. They no have and.”

“ ‘More’,” Diavla taught him. “Saa…three is more than two. Ten is more than eight. You have four, I have five, I have more.”

“More. More. (Yes.) Thank you, Diavla.” Tom used one of a dozen expressions that all meant yes, according to him. Diavla looked forward to learning from Eubexa how they were different, at some point. “Gotcha” sounded like a casual version, but she would have to check later. She turned the amulet over in her hands, wondering what it was for.

∘ ⛥ ⛯ ⛥ ∘

They returned to their rooms on the fourth floor of Vinder Hall's building. The strangely short human was there to greet them. Diavla wondered how he knew, but guessed that the person's own room probably gave a view of the street and the entrance. Tom talked to the little person, polite as always. Diavla wondered if Tom realized how braced for hostility Vinder Hall was, each time he started speaking with someone, and how he slowly relaxed while talking to their human.

Finally, they made it up to their rooms. Diavla laid out some of the medicines near Eubexa, but kept the most potent one in her pack, just in case. Then, everyone but the sick elf crowded into Tom's room.

“We talk,” Tom began. “I talk now. You want, you talk. Tonight, Eubexa translate, we talk more.”

He sighed. “Very big choose. I am no Master, I am leader. I say I want. You no like, we no do. All understand?” Everyone nodded.

Tom drew himself up. “I want, we all go. We get all gold, we buy big things, more things, we go, no Rivermarch. We go Oak Mill. Eubexa and more stay Oak Mill. I go forest, want see Sheema, Arven and more. Some you go forest, want see Sheema and more. We see, we see, we go Oak Mill, we sleep. We go more, day, day. We see elves, we get elves. Where we go…next? Next. We get map here. Map say, we go elf boat.”

He looked around. “Dangerous. Demons in forest. We see demons, we go! Some you maybe want stay Rivermarch, I find good person, good person buy you. Maybe Mrs. Whistler.”

“Maybe Miranda,” Diavla suggested. “She say.”

Tom raised his eyebrows, then nodded. “Maybe Miranda.” Diavla thought he looked impressed with the bartender. He smiled, grimly. “Big, big do. We do more today.” He started counting on his fingers and listing aloud. “(Something), buy food, buy armor, buy…” Tom tapped his dagger, then resumed counting. “Go Library, go Temple, go Floating Duck talk Edge, go Mrs. Whistler get Eubexa clothes, go Guardhouse…” Tom was almost out of fingers. “What I no say?”

“Go kiss Lily Rose,” Varga suggested. Tom rolled his eyes.

“Tom,” Diavla suggested, “maybe we do one, two, three, then we think what we do next?”

Tom stared at her a moment, then beamed at her. “You are very smart, Diavla. I very like.” Diavla felt warm, like a small flame was lit in her soul. She smiled and looked away.

“Awwwww…” Varga began.

“Shut up.”

∘ ⛥ ⛯ ⛥ ∘

After some discussion, Diavla chose to stay in and watch over Eubexa while Orvan, Kervan and Varga went shopping. They were about ready to depart, when Tom held up one finger. “Soon. Diavla?” He beckoned for Diavla to join him in his room, then closed the door.

“Yes, Tom?”

“You use magic.”

Diavla felt her stomach clench a bit from nervousness. “We wait, Eubexa translate?” she asked, hopefully.

“Yes,” Diavla started to relax before Tom continued, “and some we talk now.”

She swallowed, then nodded reluctantly.

“You need magic things?”

Diavla blinked. That was not the direction she had expected the conversation to take. “What?”

“You magic. I do not understand you magic. You need paper?” He pantomimed opening a book. “This? Um…” He waved his hand around. “(Something?)” Diavla wondered if that was supposed to be waving a wand. Tom paused. “You need things? Or you do,” and he pressed his hands together and closed his eyes just for a moment, “…and no need things? Magic things very big coin, Diavla. I need know.”

Diavla smiled and had to suppress relieved laughter. “Thank you, Tom. No, I no need magic things. I do.” She tapped her temple. “I am good.” Then she squinted at him. “You need magic things, Tom? You do magic?”

“No! (Something something something!)” Tom waved his hands in vehement denial. “I no do magic. Small stick is stupid.”

That surprised a laugh out of Diavla. It felt good, if a bit jarring. Tom beamed, looking extremely pleased that he had gotten her to laugh. Diavla regarded him a moment.

“You make my face tired from smiling so much,” she murmured. Then, a thought struck her. “Tom, no collar, please? I want to flirt.”

Tom opened his mouth to argue and froze, looking confused. Diavla almost laughed again. “Yes,” he said finally, using a completely different word for yes. He sighed, looking like he couldn't decide whether to strangle her or kiss her.

Both would be good, she thought wickedly, for a moment.

“You…” Tom couldn't figure out how to continue talking and shook his head.

A couple of minutes of fumbling later, Diavla was out of the collar. Immediately, she threw her arms around him. “I love you, Tom Walker.”