8

Hindsight

Fire and darkness beyond it filled Aviana’s eyes. Panic rose up in her chest and the flames crackled and burned. Support beams from a building fell and smoke choked her lungs. But no matter how she tried, she couldn’t move.

“Is anyone in here?” someone called.

“Here,” she rasped, but not in a voice known to her.

“Is there anyone in here?” the person called out again, oblivious to her reply.

“I’m over here, help me,” she said.

But yet again, she went unheard. “There’s no one else in here. We need to get out of here.”

“No,” another voice came. “We were told there was one missing woman, we cannot leave until she’s found.”

“This place is about to collapse. She’s either dead or not in here. We need to leave.”

“Then you leave. I would rather die trying to find her, than abandon all hope.”

“Galinndan, wait!”

Another support beam cracked in half and fell. Aviana whimpered.

“Wait, did you hear that?” Galinndan asked.

“Help me,” Aviana rasped.

“Over there!”

The fire raged and Aviana found it harder to breathe. She feared they wouldn’t reach her in time. But then, from the darkness, a man appeared. Clad in silver armor and a shield depicting Akorith’s symbol, her savior looked… nothing like she would have expected. The size of a dwarf, but slighter with angular features of an elf, this man had a long grey singed beard and balding head.

“Don’t worry, ma’am, I’ve got you,” he said, as he reached for her. “We’ll get you out of here, don’t you worry.”

Aviana went to thank him, but the support beam for the building above them broke and a scream was the only thing to come out of her mouth. The elf-like dwarf raised his shield to protect them, and then things went dark.

Aviana’s eye snapped open and she bolted upright in bed, her breath coming out in ragged breaths. Sweat dripped down her skin and her heart slammed against her chest. What had I just seen? Future event? Past one? Who was that old man?

Aviana had enough visions to know that was no ordinary dream. Whatever she’d seen, was something important. How, she wasn’t sure. She could ignore it, as she had in the past, but with so many coming to her in the last day alone, she knew it wouldn’t be smart to do.

Of course, that’s if she could figure it out. Clairvoyance was no easy ability to master. And Aviana had no one to lean on for guidance, since her mother disappeared when she was twelve. The gift didn’t occur in just anyone. Only those of her family line on her mother’s side. And as it stood, Aviana was now the sole member of the Xenre family.

Once, they were important figures in Starglade—their gift of clairvoyance revered by all, a sign of their gods’ favor. Oracle was the title given to the chosen few.

A heavy weight pressed against Aviana’s chest. But as the clan broke apart, and their gods warred, the Oracle slipped into obscurity. Her mother said it was for their safety, which Aviana could believe. Unlike the rest of the clan, her family hadn’t given up their ways. This did not go over well with the changes in the clan, so her mother made sure Aviana understood to be careful until they could fix the clan.

Temperance rolled around in the bed next to her, mumbling about Kyanite not doing something right and then smacked Aviana in head with the stuffed toy dragon. Aviana grunted and slid out of bed. Temperance took advantage of the extra room her sister provided and sprawled out. Akorith, give me strength so I don’t strangle my sister today.

She went over to the vanity sitting by the private bath basin. Leaning on the wooden vanity, she stared at her reflection, light features watching her in return. Aviana took a breath and released a spell she kept up so often, she could now even sleep with it still on.

Slowly, around her right eye, the skin changed, becoming patterned and then scaly. The hue of her skin went from porcelain to blue, and her eye shifted from blue to yellow, the pupil elongating into a slit.

She touched the scaly skin. Starglade once was a diverse village of all types. Now, only elves remained. And blue dragons, sons of her father, including half breeds, like her. And being what she was, and formerly sole daughter of her father, made her a target of hatred.

Xalanath’s cutting words stuck in her mind. He was right on some points. Her father had been a catalyst for her clan’s problems in this era. Taking over by force, even if an honorable combat, he’d caused much strife and discord.

But he’d changed. Aviana didn’t know when, it was before she’d been born, but he did. And little by little, he lessened his iron fist and worked to fix the clan and make it better, even if they didn’t see it.

Aviana was determined to help in that, even if he didn’t know everything she’d done behind his back in order to do so. As much as he’d changed, the animosity between the dragon colors held strong. Even he would struggle to understand what Aviana was doing. But she couldn’t give up. She needed to save her people. Even if it’s because I’d like to not have to worry who wants to kill me when my back is turned…

She banished all the negative thoughts and drew a bath, using spells to create and heat up the water. She slipped into the basin and let out a relaxed sigh. Her mind went back to her dream and then she remembered the vision she had on the battle field. Aviana had been so preoccupied she’d forgotten to reflect and process. But if it truly was about Natamere, she needed to figure out what and warn Siverath. But how?

Realization dawned on her. The letter. She planned for it to only be a commendation letter for those who had fought so bravely during the attack, but this was the perfect opportunity to warn him at the same time. Sure, she might be able to see if Xalanath knew a spell or scroll that could transmit a message instantly, but it either come at a cost to her in some way, or Siverath would reject it. He disliked arcane with a passion.

Aviana finished scrubbing up, and hopped out of the bath. She dispersed the water as she dried off. Tossing the towel on the floor, she rummaged through her bag for writing supplies. She also pulled out a kettle and some tea leaves. After getting her tea situated, she sat down at the small table in the room. Aviana dipped her quill in a vial of ink and wrote her letter.

Siverath,

I hope this letter finds you well. You no doubt have already heard of the events that transpired in Windshire recently. Your paladins fought bravely against the pirate raiders. They are all deserving of the highest of praise. In fact, I had the honor of fighting alongside one, Wyatt Stormcrest. He left enough of an impression I’ve requested he hand you this letter personally. If he didn’t, and one of your other paladins thinks they can steal some credit, please punish them on my behalf. The punishment chosen is up to you.

I also write to you for another reason. Natamere is in grave danger. I can’t explain to you how I know this, but please believe my words. Unfortunately, I don’t have much to give beyond my feelings there is one man of power responsible. Someone who may understand your city well. If I had more to offer, I would certainly divulge the information.

So please, do tread carefully in these coming weeks.

I also will be happy to see you soon. I don’t doubt Xalanath would find a way to let you know sooner than this letter, but I will be traveling to Natamere myself. And I have with me a little surprise.

I cannot say when I will arrive, as I’ll be making stops along the way, but, until we see each other, don’t get into too much trouble.

Love,

Aviana

Temperance stirred from her slumber around the time Aviana finished. Her little sister gazed at her with groggy blue eyes and smiling lips. “Morning, Avi.”

She held up Kyanite. “Kyanite says good morning too.”

Aviana left her letter to dry, and stood up. “Good morning to you both as well. Sleep well?”

Temperance nodded. “Uh huh. When is morning food?”

A lopsided smile spread across Aviana’s lips. “Breakfast will happen once you’re awake and ready for the day. How is your head? Hurting at all?”

Temperance yawned and then smacked her lips together as she looked around the room. “Feels fine.”

Aviana cocked her head to the side. Curious. She went over to her sister and sat down on the bed and gave her a once over. “You do seem fine. You’re not experiencing any pain or aching? Any sensitivity to the sun peaking in through the window?”

“No,” Temperance said, shaking her head.

“Well, alright then. Maybe you didn’t drink enough to get a hangover.”

“So, now that you’re done, can we eats?”

Aviana snickered and went to speak when someone knocked on the door. Her brow furrowed. Who could be knocking this early in the morning?

The person knocked again and Temperance answered in a sing-song voice. “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Xalanath. I need to speak with you and Aviana.”

Temperance looked to Aviana and then the door. Aviana would say something then, but she was a bit curious how Temperance would handle this interaction. “Did you bring us foods?”

He paused with an answer. “Uh, no.”

“Then go away.”

Aviana fell over laughing. Her sister never ceased to be amusing.

Xalanath cleared his throat. “Please allow me to have an audience with you two? It’s important.”

Temperance let out an exasperated sigh and looked to Aviana. “He’s your lover.”

“We’re not lovers.” But, that did give her an idea. A wonderfully, evil idea. Aviana stood and headed for the door, gaining a confused look from Temperance when she pointed to Aviana’s lack of attire. Aviana place a finger to her lips. Temperance giggled and held Kyanite up to her face as if “hiding” from what was about to happen, though her eyes remained unobscured to witness what went down.

Aviana grasped the handle of the door and swung it open. “How can we help you, Sparky?”

Xalanath’s green eyes went wide, his face turning a deep crimson. He spun around. “Must you act so indecent, Shark Bait?”

She leaned against the doorframe, giggling. “What’s the matter, Sparky? All that time spent in Natamere make you squirm when faced with our customs?”

“This isn’t a custom. And all I want to do is have a proper discussion with you.”

“You’re the one who wanted the audience with us before we’ve gotten ready for the day. And this is how I sleep.” She chuckled. “Not that I haven’t been known for walking around like this during the day, as many others in the clan do.”

The red on his face reached his ears, his fingers curling, and his teeth clenched. “Can you please be civil with me?”

“You need to apologize first!” Temperance yelled. “Whatever you did to make Avi mad, you’d best apologize.”

“I have nothing to apologize for,” he gritted out.

“Then I suppose we have nothing to discuss.” Aviana slammed the door shut. In all honesty she didn’t expect one. He would never think he was in the wrong. But, she would enjoy playing it up since her sister prompted.

Aviana faced Temperance. “Okay, now why don’t I draw you a bath, and I’ll fetch us breakfast?”

Her sister’s eyes glowed. “Splish-splash time!”

As much as she didn’t like what happened last night, Aviana had to admit, she did miss the more mature side of Temperance already. But, no matter what, she loved her sister, and would accept her as she was.

Aviana drew a hot bath. Temperance tore off her clothes and jumped in, giggling when the water splashed out everywhere. Aviana gave her a warning glance, and Temperance sighed, snapping her fingers to clean up the mess.

She shook her head. If anything positive came of this excursion with her sister, it was that spell. Aviana didn’t care how much Calypso hated her for allowing it. At least now she could expect Temperance to take more responsibilities for the messes she made. Hopefully this won’t give her an excuse to make more than necessary.

Aviana threw on her clothes, since Erik wouldn’t be too pleased if she walked downstairs with nothing but what nature gave her, and then left to get them breakfast. Xalanath was not longer standing outside her room, but instead he sat in “his” chair in the common room.

“Now will you speak with me?” he grumbled.

She didn’t pass him a glance as she passed through. “Now I’m getting breakfast.”

He let out an exasperated sigh, but didn’t stop her.

Aviana descended into the tavern below, the smells of delicious food wafting up to greet her. Erik already stood at his place behind the bar. Ollie, the poor boy, sat at the bar, slumped over in a semi-awake state, and Krax sat at a table, holding his head. No doubt he’s experiencing a hangover.

Another man sat at the bar on the opposite side of Ollie, nursing a mug of ale already. Ted, the local drunk. Aviana didn’t know much about him, except he lost his wife and son in the same raid as Jace. Now he squandered what little money he had on drowning his sorrows. She’d never outright trusted the man, but she did feel sorry for him.

“Ah, good morning, Avi,” Erik greeted. “Looking for breakfast?”

“You know it.” She came up to the bar and ruffled Ollie’s hair. “Someone isn’t awake.”

Ollie mumbled something but didn’t move. Erik shook his head. “One of these days, boy, you’re going to have to get used to the early mornings.”

“If big brother did his job, then I wouldn’t have to,” Ollie grumbled.

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Aviana’s brow rose. “Syed isn’t here?”

Erik’s eyes narrowed. “He never came home. The lazy, love-sick oaf. When I get my hands on him—”

“Oh, calm down, Erik,” Lily chided from the kitchen. “You were the same when you met me.”

Erik grunted and cleaned a mug to busy himself, even though Aviana could tell it was already clean. She chuckled at his behavior. His wife wasn’t wrong. Aviana remembered many days where he didn’t show up at the tavern chasing Lily around town like a love sick puppy.

Lily came out of the kitchen then. “Would you like anything specific, dear?”

Aviana shook her head. “Just some extra bacon for my sister.” Her eyes darted to her half-orc friend in the corner. He remained in the same stupor as when she first arrived. “Add a plate for Krax too. On my tab.”

Erik waved her off. “Nah, I’ll give it free of charge. But only because he’s just as good as his mother was when she used to work here, and it was needed last night. Your bard friend really knows how to get it crazy in here.”

Aviana shrugged. “You’re the one that let him in.” She grinned. “I just gave him inspiration.”

Erik groaned and rolled his eyes before looking to his wife and nodding. Lily disappeared back into the kitchen. She returned a moment later with a plate of food, and Shiah also left the kitchen to deliver a plate to Krax. Aviana stopped her and reached into a small pouch clipped to her side, pulling out a strip of willow bark and a small seed.

Taking a deep breath and muttering a blessing to nature, magic swirled up inside her and jumped to the seed, accelerated the growth and producing a stock of peppermint. She broke the bark into pieces, slipping into the mug of water Shiah carried and placed the peppermint on the plate. “Make sure he drinks all the water after the bark steeps. It’ll help the headache and ease any other join trouble he may have. And he needs to chew the peppermint if he’s got any nausea.”

“Don’t you put that tree hugging remedy stuff in my food,” Krax grumbled. “I didn’t accept it as a boy, I’m not accepting it now.”

“Krax, I will hit you on the head and make that headache worse,” Aviana threatened. “Now, be good, and take your medicine.”

He grumbled and but didn’t argue. Erik and Lily laughed, Lily patting Aviana on the hand. “Ever the mother with him.”

Aviana shrugged. “Old habits die hard.”

She accepted the food from Lily and turned to leave, only to be stopped by Erik. He kept his voice rather low. “Do you, uh, have anymore of that bark?”

Aviana gave him a knowing smile and procured some from her pocket. He thanked her and she headed back up stairs. Xalanath still sat in his chair. This piqued her interest. He was being unusually stubborn today.

She stopped in front of him. “Are you going to sit there all day?”

He looked up at her. “I sure hope not. I wasn’t kidding when I said I had something important to speak to you about.”

Aviana gazed at him, searching his eyes. She caught no ill intent, but Xalanath usually did his best to be unreadable. Today, wasn’t one of those days. She caught the traces of sincerity. Not something she was used to seeing in him, but she wasn’t going to dwell on it. It was never worth the time or effort.

She nodded. “Very well. Give me a few moments to get Temperance decent.”

Xalanath snorted. “Thank you.”

Aviana took several steps away when he rose and touched her elbow. “Wait.”

She looked back at him, only for her eyes to fall on a tattered leather journal in his hands. Many pages appeared to be ripped, folded, or haphazardly stuffed inside, a leather tie the only thing keeping them from falling out. He held it out to her. “This is for you.”

Her brow cocked, but she didn’t take it from him. “What is it?”

“My father asked me to give it to you when he was last here.”

Aviana didn’t understand but she took the book regardless.

“It belonged to Yivira,” Xalanath said.

Her eyes snapped to the book. “What was my mother’s book doing in his possession?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” he said. “Neither does my father. He found it tucked away in some of his things in Natamere. He doesn’t remember it ever being in that spot. It’s as if it magically appeared.”

This got Aviana to laugh. And subsequently Xalanath to smile, though when she looked at him, his expression changed to a more neutral one.

“I’m not sure what it contains. We both tried to read some pages but it was all gibberish.” A smirk appeared on his face. “As if she didn’t want anyone but certain people to be capable of reading it.”

Aviana looked around for a place to put the tray of food down. Xalanath instead took it from her. She passed him a confused glance, but nodded her thanks regardless. She pulled off the leather strap and flipped the book open, her eyes gazing over the elegant script.

Contrary to what Xalanath said about his and Siverath’s attempt to read, the words read out clear to her, but she knew way. Her fingers traced over the old ink, this not in her mother’s handwriting at all.

“I can tell you’re able to read it,” Xalanath observed.

Aviana nodded. “It’s written in a cryptic script only us Xenres know. It allows us to keep our family secrets… well secret.”

Xalanath grunted. “What kind of world domination book did she leave behind then?”

“It’s nothing so sinister, I can assure you.” The pages flipped as Aviana scoured over the diagrams, component listings, and notes. “It’s not even my mother’s book. Not solely at least. This is the second half of our family’s alchemy journals, passed down through the generations. It details our most prized potions, and gets added to each generation as we develop new recipes or improve upon old ones.”

Aviana’s chest tightened. “I couldn’t find this one, no matter how long I searched. I thought… I thought it was gone for good…”

The book slammed shut and she held it close to her chest. She took a moment before looking at Xalanath. “Thank you.”

He gazed at her for a moment and then shrugged, looking away. “Thank my father. He cared enough to return it to you.”

“He handed it to you to pass off to me. You could have tossed it somewhere and forgotten about it. But instead you gave it to me.”

Xalanath looked at her with soft eyes. “We cared about her a lot, Avi. Especially my father.”

Pain swarmed her chest and she looked down at the book in her arms. “I know…”

A moment of silence passed between them. Aviana took a deep breath and snatched her breakfast plate back. “Well, I need to get this to my sister before she goes nuts.” Xalanath chuckled but refrained a comment. “Come see us in a little while to talk about this important thing.”

He nodded. “Sure.”

She turned and headed back to her room.

♦ ♦ ♦

Temperance splashed around in the bath. She loved the water. Fresh or salty, didn’t matter to her. It was so much fun. It also distracted her from the headache she had. Aviana asked her to talk about any pain that may have come from drinking last night, but Temperance didn’t want to fess up the truth in case Aviana wouldn’t let her drink again. She liked it.

She looked up when the door opened and her sister strolled in, a plate of delicious smelling food in her hands. “Okay, Tempy, I think you’ve washed up enough.”

Temperance sunk down lower in the basin. “But I don’t wanna come out. It’s fun in here.”

“You can’t eat breakfast in the tub.”

Temperance groaned and kicked her feet. “Why not? Momma doesn’t let me and she’s not here, so I should be allowed to do things she tells me no normally.”

“That’s not how this works, Temperance.” Her sister’s voice had an edge to the tone, and it sparked a bit of concern in her. “If you don’t behave, we won’t continue this adventure I had planned for us over the next few weeks.”

Temperance’s shoulders slumped and she stuck her bottom lip out into a pout. “Please don’t bring me back yet. I love momma, a lot, but I’m having so much fun with you, Avi. I want to keep having fun and learn so much more!”

Her sister patted the table she set the food on. “Then get out and dry off so you can eat. We have some things to discuss over breakfast anyway.”

With a reluctant sigh, Temperance dragged her butt out of the fun water. Aviana handed her a towel and she dried off, only to remember she had her presto spell and finished drying that way. Aviana didn’t scold her for using it, so why not?

She sat down at the table and gasped at the sight of the bacon on the plate. She grabbed it immediately and munched away. Aviana didn’t start eating right away though. She looked over some sort of parchment that appeared to have her handwriting on it and then rolled it up. She dripped some hot wax on it and then pressed a ring she always wore. When her sister pulled away, the wax had an imprint of the Shikala symbol with a bottle in the middle of it. The bottle had a strange eye set in the center—her family seal.

Temperance cocked her head. She’d never seen Aviana use the ring like that before. Her mom had a pendant with their own family crest on it, the Shikala symbol with a book in the middle. Temperance thought everyone’s seal was a pendant, but maybe each person carried theirs in their own unique way. I can’t wait to pass my test and carry my family seal too!

Aviana set the sealed scrolled down by an old book Temperance had never seen. Where did she get that?

Her sister didn’t give her a moment to ask. She clasped her hands together and leaned on the table. “So, Temperance.”

Temperance’s munching stopped. She got a bad feeling from this.

“I want to talk to you about last night.” Knew it. “Particularly about your actions.”

“Avi, I know you’re mad, b—”

Her sister chuckled, confusing her. “Temperance, I’m not mad at you.”

She cocked her head, her red hair bouncing about. “You’re not?”

Aviana shook her head. “I’m irritated, yes, but I understand why you did it. Even if you were slightly intoxicated.”

Temperance looked down at the table, dragging her finger along it. “I just wanted a kiss. And you told me we might have to take on jobs every now and then if we ran low on money. So I thought…” What did she think? She really hadn’t thought much past the kiss bit. He was so cute.

Her sister gave a knowing look. “That’s why I’m irritated, Temperance. You thought of the one thing you wanted, but didn’t think about anything else. Like how it would have benefited us. Or if it was actually safe.”

“He’s around my age!” Temperance waved her hands in the air. “How could he be unsafe? And you have no right to talk. You go off with strange people all the time!”

Aviana sighed and lifted a cup of tea to her lips. After taking a sip, and looked at Temperance again. “I’ve learned how to read people. And I have different ways of protecting myself if I read wrong. You’re not as experienced.”

Temperance crossed her arms. “He’s still not dangerous. He’s my age.”

“And there have been far younger people in history who have destroyed civilizations,” Aviana countered. Temperance rolled her eyes. Here she went again.

But, to Temperance’s surprise, Aviana’s posture changed. She relaxed in her chair. “Tell me, during the Second Era, on the continent of Calain, what was the cause of the Syrolian Empire’s fall?”

Temperance pressed her lips together. A test? Well now she was in trouble. She couldn’t just let Aviana walk over her reading knowledge. What did I read about the Syrolian Empire? Oh! “It was a pair of twins from the Shalitar family. They ruled before the Syrolians overthrew them.”

Aviana nodded. “And what was so significant about those twins?”

“They were…” Temperance thought harder. “Eight years old!” Oh wait… Temperance pouted, not liking that her sister tricked her. “Yeah… I know they were super young. But this is different!”

Her sister let out a breath. “Then how about the story about Rowan and Zoila from the continent of Arul?”

Excitement bubbled up inside Temperance. “Oh! Oh! I know this one! It’s about Rowan, a half-elf and power sorceress, who worshiped flames and believed herself to be a goddess of fire, and her adopted mother, Zoila, and high-elf barbarian of a woman whose strength was unmatched by any other.”

Aviana nodded. “Yes. And what does that story say?”

“They scorched the land in search of Zoila’s husband who had destroyed her clan and betrayed her, removing anything that obstructed their path.”

“That’s right, but that’s not all. Rowan was merely nineteen years old, like yourself, and, her mother only two hundred, near equivalent to my age. They were unstoppable, and acquired many followers, some more eccentric than others. Only Rowan was ever believed to be an evil person, Zoila having been witnessed showing mercy and compassion to some, especially children, but that didn’t make their choices right.”

“But that’s just a story,” Temperance complained, her shoulders slumping.

“Yes, a story based on real history. Those people existed and they caused much chaos in their wake.”

“But this is still different!”

Aviana rested her forehead in her hand and let out an exasperated sigh. Temperance didn’t understand why her sister thought Gerrad was dangerous.

They looked to the door when someone rapped on it. Then Xalanath’s voice spoke up. “Am I allowed to come in yet?”

“Did you bring food?” Temperance asked.

“No, because your sister brought that.”

Temperance twisted her lips to the side. He had a decent point. But how else was she going to get him to create a peace offering for Aviana?

“Give us another minute,” Aviana said. “Temperance needs to dress.”

“I’ll gladly wait.”

Temperance looked down at herself. “I know momma would say yes, but is there really something wrong with how I am, Avi?”

Her sister shook her head. “No, but it’d make Xalanath uncomfortable, and he won’t stop pestering us until he can talk to us.”

“I’ll still pester you after,” Xalanath called through the door.

Aviana’s eyes narrowed toward the door but instead of replying she sipped her tea. Temperance had no idea what was going on. One minute Aviana was fighting with her beloved and spending time with another man, and now they were on okay terms? I don’t understand relationships at all!

Temperance decided to just get dressed and not think too hard on it. Her sister was complicated.

When she finished, she made sure Kyanite sat proper at the table and Aviana opened the door to let Xalanath in. He smiled at her sister and then took a seat at the table. Aviana sat back down and looked at him expectantly.

Xalanath opened his mouth to speak but became distracted by the scroll on the table. “What’s that?”

“A letter to your father,” Aviana said. “A commendation for the paladins who fought to push back the pirates.”

Xalanath’s brow spiked. “How generous of you. Now, to get to the point of why I’m here. I’m aware of the topic of contention between the two of you. And I’m here to offer a way for you both to be happy. Possibly.”

Aviana leaned back in the seat and crossed her arms. It made her boobs look bigger and Xalanath turned his gaze away from her, his cheeks a little red. Temperance didn’t understand this reaction. She didn’t understand why he freaked out to her opening the door naked the first time. If he was her beloved, then he obviously would have seen that before with how she behaved. Right? “I’ll ignore the topic of how you know, and get straight to asking how you help.”

“I don’t know much about this Gerrad boy, but I know Terrance. He’s actually the man the paladins are supposed to be escorting to Natamere. And because I know him, I can say for sure, Terrance has no apprentice.”

Aviana shot Temperance an “I told you so” look. Temperance crossed her arms and sulked. Gerrad didn’t lie to her.

“At least, not as far as when I last spoke to him,” Xalanath concluded.

Temperance perked up. That was promising. “When was that?”

“Three weeks ago.”

There was still hope then. Gerrad was a new apprentice, that’s all. That’s why he didn’t know where Terrance was. Maybe the alchemist forgot he was supposed to meet poor Gerrad here in town. Yeah, that’s totally it!

“Okay, but how does this solve our issue?” Aviana asked. Kill joy. She had to stick to the point.

“As I said before the paladins and I haven’t seen him in three weeks.” Xalanath tapped his fingers on the table. “He claimed he’d be back in a few days after doing something a little farther northeast from here. He didn’t give us the exact location, and when he didn’t come back after the first week, we did some scouring and only found minor traces of his presence.”

He pressed his lips together and continued. “He’s still alive. I planted a magic based tracker on him. He’s somehow managed to break the location tracking but I can at least tell if he’s alive or not. I’m not worried about his safety. He’s a capable man. But I suspect he’s forgotten his promise to meet with my father, and we all know how thin his patience is. He’s not all there all the time. This is where you come in.”

Xalanath’s eyes snapped to Aviana and then move to Temperance. “I can turn this into a real job for you both. I can offer a reward and all.”

Temperance’s nose scrunched. “I don’t want a kiss from you.”

Xalanath place a hand on his chest as if offended, and Aviana laughed, nearly spilling her tea. When she calmed, she sipped her tea again. Xalanath’s offence grew when Aviana didn’t say anything.

Temperance cocked her head. “Why do you look so upset? You’re supposed to kiss Avi. She’s your beloved.”

Aviana choked on her tea. “Temperance… we’ve been over… this…” She coughed many times. “He’s not…”

“I’m sure she’d be happy to have a kiss as a reward!” The thought brought a big smile to Temperance’s face. Maybe that’d make her sister less grumpy.

Xalanath turned his focus to Aviana, a wicked grin on his lips. “I’m sure she would. It’d be quite the electrifying experience for her.”

Aviana’s eyes burned into him as she got her coughing under control. For some reason, Temperance found his words amusing. She giggled away until she snorted. Her hands flew up to her face and the other two laughed.

“Not funny!” Temperance said through her hands. “Kyanite, make them stop laughing at me!”

He didn’t.

It took some time, and some pouting from Temperance, before Aviana and Xalanath calmed themselves.

“Okay, okay, back to the serious matter at hand,” Xalanath said. “I have real payment for you both.”

“A kiss is a real payment,” Temperance muttered.

He gave an expression that disagreed with her, but said nothing about it. Xalanath waved his hand and a blue satchel with gold ornate trimming and a large blue gem appeared. It looked a lot like the gem on Kyanite’s neck, but cut differently. “My payment for finding Terrance is an infinity satchel, this precious Kyanite stone, and one thousand gold.”

Temperance’s eyes lit up. “I like those rewards!”

Aviana nodded, her eyes saying she was impressed by the payment offer. The infinity satchel alone was a great payment.

Temperance had only seen one, the one her mother had, and her mother said they were hard to create. This made them rare and expensive.

They appeared as ordinary satchels, aside from the color of them on occasions, but they contained a powerful enchantment, allowing a user to store anything into it with little space restriction—provided the item didn’t require air or could fit into the bag opening of course. Her mother explained the enchantment caused the items to go into a special void, which was why living things couldn’t be stored.

Another drawback was the maximum capacity. That was determined on the bag size and the power of the enchantment. Her mother’s could hold up to eight hundred pounds at a time. Temperance also found out what happened when you tried to stuff too much into it. The item was rejected and her mother warned her to be more careful, as the bag could potentially rip, and if that happened, they’d either lose everything or the contents would be ejected all at once. There was no way to predict that.

“Okay, so you’re going to pay us to find Terrance,” Aviana said. “What can you tell us about him?”

Xalanath shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “Typical alchemist. Nice, especially towards children, but all sorts of crazy.”

His eyes darted to her and Aviana’s lip curled. “Watch it. Or you’ll find out how crazy I can get.”

Temperance giggled.

“You’ll be looking for a tall old fellow. Spry for his age, but he’s tricky, and likes to pretend his age bothers his body,” Xalanath continued, undeterred by Aviana’s threat. She must do that a lot then. “The last bit of evidence we found was a small settlement to the northeast, about eight hours walking. It’ll appear abandoned but it’s not. The inhabitants are… unusual, and not welcoming of outsiders. They’re not a threat to someone like you, Shark Bait, but just watch yourself around them.” His eyes glinted. “Especially keep an eye on your coin purse.”

Aviana nodded, her expression unreadable to Temperance. She wondered what kind of inhabitants lived there. Maybe they’re a bunch of delinquent kids. Or maybe some really weird dwarves. Excitement built within her. Oh! Oh! Maybe… maybe this settlement is by a lake, and they’re merfolk!

No one had seen merfolk in this era. Sometimes sailors would claim to have run aground because of sirens, but no proof of their existence could be found either.

Temperance didn’t believe they were gone. And one day, she was going to meet one and they were going to be the best of friends! Hopefully not a siren though. They weren’t nice.

“So, do we have a deal?” Xalanath asked.

Aviana grinned. “We’d be happy to track down this eccentric alchemist of yours.”

“Perfect. I’ll take my leave then.” He snapped his fingers and disappeared. But that wasn’t the only thing that happened.

Temperance gasped when Aviana’s hair turned pink. “So pretty!”

Aviana’s brow furrowed as she turned to look at her. “What is?”

Temperance pointed to her sister’s hair. This confused her more until she reached up and touched her pink locks. Her eyes widened and red formed in her eyes. “Xalanath!”