Fireside Chats

---

Sarala shivered in her spot in the tree. Her thoughts had become dark and lonely as she desperately tried to process everything thing that had happened to her recently. Although she would never ask Thaddeus to take her back home already she felt in over her head. Adventuring was much different than she thought it would be. It was a far cry from the romps she and Thaddeus had with the fairies in the woods that surrounded House Medvyed. The wilderness in the Stolen Lands seemed much more tame but the hearts of it's inhabitants seemed far less innocent than her former playmates. Many things that had happened after their party had met the bandits had bothered her and her thoughts warred over what the right and wrong and necessary actions truly were.

Sarala glanced over at the fire they had built to keep warm through the night and noticed that it was once again in need of fuel. As she climbed down from her perch Sarala counted how many times she had stoked the fire previously during her watch and recollected that it was time to wake her brother up so that he might take over for the third watch of the night. After grabbing a nice sized log off the pile the young girl stole her way through the sleeping bodies taking great pains to not wake a single one of them as she passed. Quietly laying the log by the fire she picked her way over to where Thaddeus lay. Kneeling down to wake him Sarala stopped and gazed at his face. Her brother truly had a noble brow and even in his sleep he seemed to still be burdened with some higher cause that she did not quite understand. He was still her brother as well as her closest friend but he had changed when he had left home to become a paladin. The change was subtle and minute but it was still there and Sarala wasn't sure yet if it was an improvement or not. The fact that he was always on her side however had not changed and that was the very thing she needed at this moment.

Taking a lock of her long white hair Sarala leaned over Thaddeus' face and tickled him gently, whispering in his ear, "Thad, it's time to wake up."

The Paladin's dreams, full of uncertainty and betrayal dissipated in a foggy cloud as he startled awake. First his hand grasped comforting on the handle of his sword, as he leaned forward to listen to the sounds of the night.

"What?!? Trouble?!?" He sputtered wondering what new danger threatened them. Seeing his sister's mischevious grin, he groaned leaned back in a huff.

"My turn huh?" Resigned he struggled up, and began strapping on the armor he could without help.

"How went your shift? Hear anything unusal?"

"All's quiet in the wilderness." Sarala replied to her brother's queries. She moved back over to the fire and poked at the embers, assembling them into a glowing pile before putting the new log onto the fire. Throwing some tinder on to jump start the flame making sure the log lit she then moved back to help her brother don his armor.

"To be honest, I can't say that it has been completely quiet." Sarala said in annoyance laced with sarcasm. "This wood makes more noise at night than a brood of hungry kittens."

She reached up and grabbed a strap to secure one of the many pieces that made up Thaddeus' armor. Her hands shook as she tried to slide it through the buckle and failed.

"Curse this cold..." Sarala spat out under her breath as she tried to bring some warmth back into her fingers.

"I'm sorry, Thad, I can't get my fingers to work right now. I need to warm up a bit before I can help you with your over sized dinnerware."

Stretching her hands over the heat Sarala let out a sigh.

"This trip sure has been something, hasn't it, brother?" Her voice came softly over her shoulder as she sat with her back turned to her brother.

"It isn't anything like what I was expecting."

"Me neither." Thaddeus admitted. "Help the people with the bandit 'problem'. Make the world a better place for honest folk... It sounds simple on paper. Reality is bit... more.

"I am sorry about the other day... I saw it all in my head. Our four new recruits and you against the four new bandits... Us covering from the distance... When Hoff switched like that... and Tolm drew his sword... All I saw was you surrounded by eight potential enemies, and myself too far away to do any good.

"That... was a poor plan." He gave her a troubled smile. "But you did well. It's good to know that you can take care of yourself even when 'I' fail."

Sarala snorted in sarcastic assent as the discouragement rose inside of her, an enormous tide threatening to overwhelm and drown her. She looked to Thad in search of some strength only to find the same trouble in his own eyes. The mask of cynicism fell away as she sought to comfort her brother in the midst of her own tumult.

"Oh Thad, don't talk like that! You didn't fail. I'm still here, see?" This was as reassuring as she could be for the moment. Sarala searched her brother's face hoping to find signs that her words had helped.

"No, you did not fail. Maybe you made a mistake... but you did not fail. How were we to know... We... we lost a good man today. I mean... Tolm... I didn't know he was good until we lost him... Up until the point when he called out about being blown... I mean, I thought we were goners... I didn't know what to think...

"And Hoff..." Sarala's hands clenched up in anger as she spat out the deceased bandits' name. "He was just so... argh! But I couldn't believe he would do that to us... " Her eyes darted wildly at the flame as if to somehow find the words she needed to express herself there. Then, closing her eyes as if to shut the world out she let out a low sorrowful moan. Her arms flew up to her face as her shaking body crumpled in fetal position against her brother.

"Hey there..." he said as he put a comforting arm around her. It had been some time since they last sat like this. The last year had kept them both too preoccupied. Father's death, the funeral, the new information about her origins... added with the changes in the household and there wasn't as much time to just sit and talk. He missed it.

"Hoff is gone now... His own evil lead to his destruction. Tolm... had earned his fate too. I prayed Pharasma has mercy on him... but his own actions brought him to this place. We didn't place him in danger's way. It's ok to mourn him... I do too."

He could feel her shivering against him and once again doubt nagged at him. He'd felt so... good about rescuing her from his brother's plans. Sitting out here in the cold amongst the dirt, partially reformed enemies, and bloodied armor, he didn't really feel as 'good' about it anymore. After all, he saved her from a potential life of luxury as a royal cousin... and set her on the short-lived life of an adventurer.

He breathed a deep sigh, and squeezed her shoulder tight.

"Sara... You know, I can't go back yet... I gave my word to fulfill this duty. We made a dent, but I have to do my best to finish it. However, if you wish to return... I'll do my best to help you, you know that."

Images of Hoff flooded Sarala's mind. The insolence flashing in his eyes and that cocksure grin, baiting her, taunting her, then biding his time. His fingers, tapping that secret message that only she knows over and over again, "you killed me... you killed me... you..." Then there is a flash, cold steel and blood, warm and wet, and the face of a dead man...

Sarala can feel herself shaking. Her hands are covered in Hoff's blood and his dead fingers still tap the secret message just for her. She rubs her hands together trying to rid herself of his blood but it does not relent. Why does the blood refuse to come off her hands?
Suddenly she is brought out of her nightmare by the comforting touch of her brother. She realizes that he has been speaking to her but his words had been overwhelmed by her dark thoughts. She lifted up her blood stained hands and looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Thaddeus, I..." her voice broke off in the weight of her guilt. Swallowing hard she tried again.

"Thaddeus, I killed a man."

"Yes... Yes you did." The pain in her eyes tore at his soul. It was rare that she showed these moments of vulnerability, and never to others.

There was a time he could he read her very well, but his time away had dampened his skill. Thinking back to Hoff's betrayal he should have read that too. Sarala had. But whatever she saw, he hadn't. He'd wanted to believe the bandit... just as he'd wanted to believe Sarala's act. Sir Tambor would have seen the truth.

"You did kill him Sara... but doing so was the right thing to do. He had hurt people... he would have killed you, me, Zaistrom... and who knows how many others. Remember the fear and anger in Svetlana's eyes. I did my best to turn him to the light... but he chose the dark."

Gently he moved a wild lock of white hair from her forehead back to it's proper place, only to watch it pop back out and do it's own thing. A slight grin crossed his face as he considered the perfect metaphor for his little sister.

"The bandit at Oleg's... That was my first kill. I keep going over the confrontation in my mind... Was there something else I could have said? Something I should have done?" He pulled out his well worn holy text, and tossed it on the bed roll. "I don't believe there was... If I had to do it over again, I would have done the same thing.

"I keep hearing Sir Tambor's words... A part of the code of Sarenrae, and I'll share them with you...

"The best battle is the one I win. If I die, I can no longer fight. I will fight fairly when the battle is fair, and I will strike quickly and without mercy and when it is not.

"He'd tell me... 'If you carry a sword, some day you'll have to use it. Mourn them if you must... Mourn the good they could have been, but never regret the good you did in destroying evil.'

"I remember telling him that I didn't want to hurt anyone... I didn't want to kill anybody. He told me 'Good. That's what separates us from them."

Thaddeus' frank words were like a bright light shining into the darkness in Sarala's mind. She grabbed a hold of them, desiring the light to fill every part of her being. She wanted everything he said to be absolutely true but there was still one nagging feeling. A tiny smidgen of guilt at her unworthiness to kill another person remained. Sarala shut her eyes and tried to remember Svetlana's emotional state as vividly as possible, as was suggested by her brother. She hoped this memory would reason with her guilt and make it shove off, but it was to no avail. Sarala noticed however, much to her relief, that she had finally stopped shaking.

She looked up at her brother with creased brow and asked, "Is this what you believe? That killing someone is justified when they are a threat to others? And that we all have the right to do so?" She paused as her eyes narrowed as if she were trying to make a decision.

"I wanna believe it, too. In fact I thought I already did. I mean, what have we been touting all this time as our "deal" with the bandits?" Her words became more hurried as her uncertainty sought to find conclusion. " 'Make a mistake one more time and you're dead.' That's what you decided and I agree, I just... I guess I never thought we would actually get to the 'and you're dead' part. I wanted to believe that most of the bandits would make the right choice..." Sarala picked at the ground in front of her, throwing bits into to the fire in her frustration.

"I know what they did was wrong and I know that we have to keep our word or there will be chaos, but why does justified killing come with so much guilt? Why does doing the right thing feel so bad, Thaddeus? Did Sir Tambor ever say anything about that?

"I have been plagued with nightmare's-even as I am awake-ever since I stabbed the vile man. His face haunts me, his eyes accusing me of a grievous crime." A single shudder ran down Sarala's spine as she confessed her torment to her brother. "Your words are like light to me and they hold the torture at bay, but I have a feeling that I will have to battle hell for this all the rest of my life.

"What you believe, what you learned that time you went away," Sarala raised questioning eyes to Thaddeus, "does it keep the nightmares away?"

"Sometimes," He answered carefully. "Sometimes not."

He wracked his brain trying to figure out the best way to state his thoughts aloud. Despite everything, he still felt woefully unprepared to be heading an expedition of this type. Not for the first time, he wished his mentor was around.

"I have nightmares too... In my mind, why would anyone refuse the gift of mercy... The very idea boggles my mind. Every villain I fail to redeem haunts me. I should have been more persuasive. Broken through the wall of fear or hatred...

"But in the end... they are dead, and we are not. For every nightmare I have over the unenlightened... I have two about what would happen if I failed to stop them. What they would have done to you if we'd been killed... What would have happened to Oleg and Svetlana after sending for help...

"I don't like to kill Sarala... Somehow I doubt I will EVER get 'used' to it. That's undoubtedly a good thing. If they had killed us... or worse, I have little doubt that they would be sitting around the fire... laughing and boasting of their evil.

"We're different. Our compassion makes it so."

He sighed as he poked the fire trying to focus his thoughts. Did they have the right to kill... even for the greater good?

"Your question is a complicated one, sister. Scholars and theologians have debated for centuries about it. How much force is enough... vs. how much is too much?

"Had there been a prison, I may have chosen differently. Maybe not. In the heat of battle, too much mercy is a dangerous thing.

"AFTER the battle... I really don't know. Like you, I really haven't considered the implications of our 'Or Else.' If a man stands before me and shuns our offer... I'm not really sure WHAT I should do."

"I wish we had a prison." Sarala sighed as she lay her head on her brother's shoulder. "It would make things so much easier. It sucks when you are the authority responsible for making life and death decisions." A sigh escaped her lips as she craned to see if any star light shone through the forest ceiling.

"Seems this forest is more ruthless and savage than the one we have at home. I remember Katya, the scullery maid, used to tell the most spectacular stories about the fey in our wood and to hear her one would have thought that our home bordered a wild and terrible land. Yet all our adventures with the fey growing up were innocent and tame compared to this. I never imagined a human heart could be so... bent on doing what is wrong.

"I think, for the most part, we're making good decisions. At least we're doing the best that we know how. And though it may not be a perfect system I think it would be best continue in this path we've cut out for ourselves for now, you know, the whole two strikes system. We can change things as need be. After all we are the authority (of sorts) in this small corner of the world-we have a paper to prove it. Lets hope the learning along the way doesn't kill us."

There was just a hint of sarcasm in the last comment. Sarala looked up at her brother to see how he would take her joke. She saw that a storm cloud of concern still hovered around his head. Turning to him she reached up and patted his head. Then reached as far as she could around his broad shoulders and squeezed.

"It's alright, Thad," she spoke to him in a consoling voice. "Don't worry about me. I don't feel so alone in the darkness now that I know that you have the same struggles I have. And I'm going to try my best not to let the guilty feelings take me over-but I know that if they do that you've got my back.

"We'll make it, I know we will. You and me. You know how I know this? Because I know you, and you are a great man and you'll do your best by the people around you. Sometimes you need a little push in the right direction. But that's what I'm here for. I will follow you to the ends of the earth if you wanted to go there. I'm not letting you leave me behind ever again."

He laughed out loud at that. "Hopefully we won't be called to go THAT far, but it's good to know you got my back if we do."

He chuckled at her praise. 'Greatness' was something far beyond his ambition, or even his understanding and not something he felt comfortable attributed to him. Still, she was right about one thing. He tried to do the best for those around him. Allies, Bandits, civilians. He'd keep trying to find the best solution for them all.

"So what your saying," he said as he nudged her playfully, "is that you do not want to go back? I'm sure Cor can still make the wedding work after all..."

Sarala glared at Thaddeus. "And become some prim, poised second wife to some dull witted cousin to the king?" She paused to let the image sink in. "Do you really see that ending well? Because I don't. I'd rather eat bugs for the rest of my life-spiders and their webs together! All wrapped up in one crunchy pastie." Sarala curled her lips in disgust.

Taking her arms off his shoulders she shifted her position so that she have full view of Thaddeus' face. Her expression took on a more serious nature as she grabbed one of her brother's hands and held it in both of hers. It was the very same hand which bore a scar that signified an oath he had made to her some years back. Opening the his hand so that the palm was visible she traced the scar with a slender white finger. She remembered how scared she was when Thaddeus had suggested they bind themselves together in a blood oath. The manifestations of her inhuman nature had been quite unnerving but with it had come questions of her origin, of whether or not she was truly related to the Medvyed name. Thaddeus would have none of this and insisted they each cut one of their palms open and press them together so as to share in each others blood. It had hurt more than she expected. She had to fight to keep back the tears, and they both got a bit of blood on their clothes but Thad held tight to her hand saying over and over that everything was going to be fine. He told her that no matter what, he would not lose her as his sister.

Sarala remembered how a few days later she caught Thad picking at the scab on his palm. He had managed to get a good chunk of it off and the blood was beginning to pool once again. She grabbed his hand away begging him to stop, telling him that it was only going to make the scar worse. Very frankly he replied that it was his goal to make the scar worse, because he never wanted to forget the oath he made to her. Now the scar was thick and bumpy, but plainly visible on his palm.

"Please," Sarala looked up at her brother. He was no longer the boy who played with sticks and had youthful fancies about blood oaths. He was a man who wielded a sharp sword and stood firmly upon his principles. But he still remained her Thad and she never wanted that to change.

"Please," she repeated, "promise me that we will stay together, that you won't leave me with some well-meaning baron 'for my safety' because I cannot bear to watch your back disappear into the distance again."

Thoughtfully he considered his words. Someday he hoped words came easier to him. 'Heart,' he could hear Tambor as clearly as if he was standing in front of him. 'The head's where you put your helmet. Heart is where truth lies...'

"I'll never abandon you Sarala... Should our path's ever part like that, it will be your choice... not mine. I believe I'm destined for a long road... but I don't know where yours go. As long as you wish to travel with me... I'm overjoyed to have your company. It's all about free will. Something Cor didn't understand. Your path is yours to choose."

He chuckled aloud. "As for prim and proper wife... I personally think this path of ours will lead to less violence."

"I'll take that as a promise, then," Sarala laughed as she squeezed Thaddeus' hand. Though she sometimes wished he would get to the point faster the care he put into his words warmed her heart. "But I'll have you know that I won't settle down to domesticity easily!" Tossing the bulk of her white mane over her shoulder she reached again for the strap on his armor that had eluded her earlier.

"I think it's time to strap you into your barricade again. My fingers are finally warm but my eyelids are threatening to quit their vigil. I hope you didn't think I was about to stay up with you through your watch as well. Because if you did then you are sadly mistaken."

After securing all the hard to reach parts of the armor Sarala crawled into the pile she called a bed and shut her tired eyes. Her dreams were laced with pixie laughter and whispers calling in the wind and an ever pervading light.

---

It was time for the change between the third and forth watches of the night. Sarala found comfort in the routine as she helped her brother don his full set of armor. She had been slowly stepping back in the mornings and letting Paido aid his "master" when it came to putting on the plate. It was hard to give up part of what she felt to be her rightful place as her brothers keeper to a halfling of whom she knew very little. But something about the way the wee man grew two inches from the pride of his work made it all worth while. And she always had the opportunity to conspicuously fix any of Paido's mistakes if the need arose. But this time, when everyone else was sleeping and even her own eyes were half open, this was her time no matter what happened the day before, her nightly ritual to show that she had her brothers back.

Most nights exhaustion would overcome her soon after she had tighten the last cinch and she would bid her brother a peaceful watch and slip off to bed. This night was different. A few thoughts had been rolling around in her head for a few days now, things she wanted to ask Thaddeus but never seemed to have the time to say. As she felt the normal fatigue ebb away and a second wind of energy Sarala thought that now might be the time to have the conversation.

Sarala eased herself down putting her back to the fire. She wrapped her arms around her knees and smiled at her brother with twinkling eyes.

"I figured I would stay up with you a bit tonight," she said. "Maybe we could talk awhile. It feels like it's been an eternity since we had a good brother/sister chat!

"There's something I've been dying to know," mischief danced in Sarala's eyes as she laid the sarcasm on thick. "And since you weren't volunteering the information I figured it was alright for me to ask... What was up with you and Wynnsaren? If I didn't know better I would have to say that my big brother was smitten!"

With pursed lips she raised her eye brows incredulously at Thad, waiting for her answer.

Thaddeus rotated his shoulder as the last straps were tightened. It seemed almost silly to be switching armor for a two hour shift, but he just couldn't not. Not after some of those other nights...

He was actually surprised that Paido hadn't come running in to help Sarala... Rarely had he ever seen a servant so eager to help... A situation that despite everyone's insistence he still had trouble accepting at face value. Sarala insisted he remember the servants back home... but he hadn't been home in some time.

Seven years or so... He'd been training with Sir Tambor. Riding the roads, making the fires, helping HIM on with his armor... In the time since he'd left the ancestral home of luxury, His back had grown strong and his hands calloused. Even the short time he'd returned after father's funeral he'd formed an uneasy truce with the servants. There were many chores he still had insisted on doing himself.

Now out here, this was much more like his time with Tambor then it was as a pampered noble. In his eyes they were all equals. However, he found himself spending much of his time wondering why the halfling would rebuke such a concept. His bedroll was empty again this night. That meant the eager fellow was 'patrolling' through the night again. Magically induced insomnia that seemed to have no effect on him come the morning, circling the camp all night while the 'nobles' slept...

Was Paido afraid to dream?

He twisted and turned and was soon convinced that Sarala had done a masterful job applying his second skin of 'dinnerware'. For one who mocked heavy armor so often, she certainly applied it with care and appreciation.

The knight plopped down in front of the fire pleasantly surprised at the company tonight. It had been too long since they chatted, but he remember how rough it was growing accustomed to life on the road, so he hadn't pressed.

"Anytime you want.... " His face twisted into a look of incredulity as she grinned expectantly at him.

"Wait... What?!?!"

Sarala couldn't help but smirk at her brother's reaction. She had successfully blindsided him and she was quite gleeful about doing so, though she tried to hide most of that glee inside. This was too good of an opportunity to waste. Sarala couldn't wait to see what he said next.

"Oh Thad, come on! Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about." Sarala feigned sincerity as best she could. "I saw the way you acted around Wynnsaren, the way you looked at her when you thought no one else was looking. It's not fair to try and hide this from me. I'm your sister and that means I should be the first to now about any romance you might be getting yourself into. Now stop being the over protective big brother and spill!"

Thaddeus stared at his sister with big unblinking eyes.

"Ummm... WELL... I'd say this time you were first. You seem to know before ME at least," he said as he shook his head and chuckled softly to himself. Looking around, it didn't look like anyone else had been disturbed.

"Why... What do you mean how I acted??"

Sarala could tell that her brother was completely sincere about his ignorance and this amused her greatly. It was time that she enlightened him. Still incredulous she shook her head at Thaddeus' confession of innocence.

"I shouldn't be surprised that you don't see the way you flirted with Wynnsaren. You always were a bit oblivious when it came to such things." Sarala stretched her arms high over her head in a restless manner, then bringing her arms back down she gave her spine a quick twist and scooted closer to the heat of the campfire.

"Looks like I'll have to present to you the full and convincing case of why I think you like our new lady friend," she said in a resigned manner.

"Proof number one: you were very eager to invite her to be part of our group. Number two: you were very, very attentive to everything she said. Number three: I caught you staring at her when you thought no one was looking! This happened a few times during our time together. Number four: you were a little flustered when you found out that she was leaving." Sarala tried to gauge her brother's reaction to her ruse. She really hoped that he would buy it hook, line, and sinker.

"And last but not least, my personal favorite-number five: you practically begged her to stay under the guise of hope that she had more messages to pass along to 'hapless adventurers,'" she snorted in mirth at the memory of her brother's attempt at congenial conversation with the beautiful map maker. "You were stalling! Grasping at any reason you could to keep her around. And that wasn't the only time you tried to convince her to stay.

"And you don't see any of this as suspicious behavior? Come on, big brother, just admit that you like the woman..." Sarala paused as if an idea had just come to her.

"Or maybe you were trying so hard to hide your feelings from her and everyone else that you convinced yourself of mere platonic feelings toward her. And only I was able to see through your mask! If this is true then it's a good thing I brought the topic up with you," she said with a confident nod. "So now you could face your true feelings without any fear of rejection."

Sarala reached over and grasped her brother's hand in a comforting manner. "It's alright, Thad, you can tell me all about it. I won't judge you. I can see how Wynnsaren, though she may be misguided, could be attractive to you."

Thad stared at her with incredulity as his mind raced over the meeting in question. Shaking his head he pulled his hand to his wrinkled brow.

"Wait.. wait, wait, wait..." he sputtered as he tried to make sense of all she was implying.

"Are you saying, that because I showed concern of her wandering off in the dark, through this bear infested forest alone, that I'm somehow... what was the word... Smitten?

"Because I listened to what she said... and invited her to stay with the group??" He nodded over towards Datzeg for effect. "I've been doing that quite frequently, sis."

He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was enjoying his awkwardness much more than she probably should, and he sighed in mild exasperation.

"Honestly, I hadn't really thought along those lines... Granted yes, she was quite pretty, that can't be denied, and between her eyes and those strange markings that showed at night, I guess maybe I did stare more than what could be considered... polite.

"The lady has a mysteriousness about her... with the physical marks, the messages from beyond, not to mention that she's been around for over 50 years she said... Yet she seemed nice enough, and I sensed only goodwill towards our group from her.

"I was... intrigued, certainly." A look of uncharacteristic alarm crossed his face suddenly. "I hope I didn't seem 'smitten' to everyone else..."

Sarala could no longer help herself. Watching her brother sputter and fluster was just too much for her to handle without laughing. So laugh she did, stifling it as much as possible so that she did not wake the whole camp.

"Oh Thad," she gasped between giggles, "you... should... have seen... your... face.... Priceless!" She doubled over as another fit of laughs rendered her speechless.

"Oh this is too much," Sarala wheezed when she could breathe again. "The fact that you actually even considered it to be a possibility. You and Wynnsaren? And you thought that I really thought that you were," she snorted, "smitten?!"

"I mean, she was nice, and gorgeous, but completely off her rocker! I'd always imagined that you would fall for someone much more sensible than that."

Sarala grinned at her brother hoping that he wouldn't be too miffed by her harmless teasing. He needed it every now and then, or so she told herself.

Long moments passed as the paladin gaped at his giggling sister. She did it again...

"Sara.... " he muttered helplessly. "It's a full time job trying to figure out what you think, I thought, you're thinking....." He paused a moment to examine that statement.

It worked... after a fashion and he found himself chuckling along.

"I take it then, you don't put much stock in Wynnsaren's messages? Zaistrun seems to be of like mind," he said as he nodded towards the sleeping man.

"Myself, I'm not so sure..." He flexed his hands a bit towards the fire and stared at them questioningly.

"It's different for me. I've been well trained and have dedicated my life to ideas and powers beyond my understanding. I've felt my goddess' protection, and her power courses through my hands to heal wounds... both mine and others..." His eyes danced with excitement as he described his newest abilities.

"I've seen Sir Tambor help people with this gift... but I never could... Sarenrae must be pleased with the work we're doing. It's... a unique feeling.

"And if I can accept that kind of divine influence in my life... How can I be quick to dismiss other's gifts? Wynnsaren spoke of that strange symbol, and then we found it.

"Was it destiny?," He shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "I don't know. I didn't sense any deception from her... that's as far as I'm willing to commit.

"What of you? Did you see something I didn't? The two of you spent more time together tracking that bugbear's tracks... Do you think she planned it all in some elaborate scheme to earn our trust? That she knew where that symbol/pool was all along?"

"She just sounded a little crazy, Thad. What with all her mystical mysteries, and mumbo-jumbo. I mean, what does it even mean to be 'tied the the land' anyway."

Sarala rolled her eyes and shook her head. A part of her wanted to believe Wynnsaren but so much of it didn't make sense. Gods forbid she ever agree with Zaistrun, however, seeing as how he also disbelieved the map maker. Maybe Thad would help her understand what was behind the mysterious lady.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe it's something and maybe it's nothing, but when we first met Wynnsaren and she knew all of our names (save Datzeg's), that just gave me an odd feeling in my stomach, like something was off. I tried to read her as best I could but every time she seemed quite sincere. But how could she know who we were before we ever had a chance to meet? All I can think that would explain it is that she is a spy of some sort. But then I know nothing about the spiritual... realm..." Sarala looked at her brother with furrowed brow. "You're more apt to know things of that sort. What do you think? How did she know who we were?"

He returned her shrug noncommittally.

"I know about Sarenrae... and a smattering of other religions, but I don't consider myself an 'expert' in all things spiritual by a long shot...

"I don't know where she gets her messages... but personally, I chose to look more at her intent then her methods. Like I said... I sensed no con in words. Whether they are true or not... I believe that she believes they are true.

"Maybe our names were given to her by some unknown force... maybe she only knew she needed 'the four adventures' and asked some questions around Oleg's..." He poked a smoldering log, shooting some sparks into the air.

"I'm curious what she means by 'tied' to the land... especially since it seems were nearing the end of this mission... but I'm not soothsayer. The future will bring whatever it brings.

"WHICH," he emphasized with a smirk, "will undoubtedly bring many other random 'pretty ladies' that I'll meet. I hope you don't plan on marrying me off to every one of them!"