Metal-rimmed wheels clacked and clattered against rocks as the wagon bumped and bounced down the road. This sound was accompanied by heavy, rhythmic footfalls and occasional snorts of a biruburu as the enormous beast pulled Raven's vehicle forward. The amusing racket got its finishing touch by a merry tune absently whistled by the dark-haired woman.

"S-s-s-sha-ak-y!" Nina suddenly giggled atop the wagon's wooden canopy, where she was laying on her back. Her dark wings had been carefully bent so that she would not press them with her own weight. The canopy shuddered and bounced under her, sending surges of tickling vibrations throughout her body, from the very tip of her toes to her clattering teeth. For a reason or another, she loved the feeling. Though most people would find it incredibly irritating, it helped Nina to forget the recent events of…

Quit thinking about it! she angrily reminded herself.

"You'll get used to it", Raven replied genially from the driver's seat.

"I doubt that", Nina said happily.

Raven said nothing, she just smiled and rolled her eyes at the azure sky. Whatever had happened to that Windian girl, the dark-hair decided, at least she tried hard to hide it. She smiled and giggled, talked happily and even attempted to tell jokes. But every now and then, when she thought that Raven was not watching, the Windian could just stop to stare into nothingness, a sad and wistful expression on her face.

Making a smacking sound with her mouth the dark-hair flicked her reins, spurring her beast of burden to step quicker. The biruburu, naturally, refused to obey.

There was something about that girl's past, Raven knew that much. Heck, after witnessing their encounter with this Hain character, even a fool would know that much! Nina had told her nothing about what had happened, and Raven had not inquired. She probably will open her mouth soon enough, the dark-hair thought. But now, the girl had to sort her own feelings first.

Raven took a long, slim wand into her hand and used it to give a little slap to the biruburu's backside. The beast just snorted. 'A biruburu', after all, is a byword for 'stubborn'.

"Um… Miss Raven?" Nina said after a while.

Raven pretended that she had not heard it.

"Miss Raven."

Raven said nothing.

"Okay, okay", Nina finally giggled. "Hey, Raven!"

"Yes, Nina?" Raven replied immediately.

"You said that you were a…" the Windian girl hesitated to say the next word, "…a lost girl once. What happened?"

"Oh, that", Raven began, once again slapping the biruburu with her wand. "Years ago, I left my family in order to run after a certain handsome peddler. We did have some good time, alright. He taught me some useful things, how to get my food when I was hungry, how to hold my own in the streets and, finally, how to… get warm at night." A bitter tone had appeared into her voice as she said those last words. Her usual smile left her lips and she was silent for a moment. Then she sighed, shrugged and continued: "Anyway, that last lesson taught me that he wasn't for me, so I had to run away again. And that time, I got totally lost. I had nobody."

For a long time, the only hearable things were the constant clacking of wagon wheels and heavy steps of the biruburu. Nina laid on her back, her arms spread. Absently she stared at the blue sky and occasional patches of clouds gliding overhead. "…What did you do?" she finally asked.

"What do you think?" Raven countered. "I searched for, and found, my way." After a moment of silence she lifted her hand to shade her eyes and squinted forward. "Heads up, Nina. You want to see this."

Curious of her words, Nina sat up on the canopy and turned to look at the road before them. Then she whistled quietly. "Wow. I've heard a lot of descriptions of this place, but they just don't do it justice!"

The Bridge Cape had not gotten its name for nothing. Two wind-swept ledges were kept apart by an enormous, steep gorge. Far, far below, foaming waves crashed against unyielding stone cliffs. To the east and west opened vast, glimmering blue sea.

The two ledges were connected together by a great bridge. As broad as the road below Raven's wagons, it was built of heavy balks, each of them longer and thicker than the tallest mast of the Golden Auria. The bridge almost seemed to defy gravity as it proudly craned over the gorge, braving fierce winds. Although it had been built years ago and had had to suffer innumerable storms, gales and other forces of nature, so skillfully had its parts been joined together that it neither shuddered nor creaked as Raven drove her wagons onto it.

"Don't look down, 'kay?" Raven advised Nina as the clatter of stones against wheels turned into more hollow clacking of wood against iron.

"Whoa! It's like back home in Windia!"

The dark-hair rolled her eyes. "Too late", she decided.

* * * *

"There's my destination!" Raven exclaimed next morning. The woman was pointing at a patch of houses some distance away. It was a little, quiet village, one of those types which everyone has forgotten to mark onto their maps. It was built into the shelter of a small depression of earth, with a narrow, brown road coiling through it.

"Why are you heading for it?" Nina, who was sitting next to Raven, asked. She had leaned forward and was supporting her jaw with her palm. The Windian had dark circles around her eyes: she had slept very little last night. Although she took great pains to show a happy face to Raven, to laugh and chat with her, the memories of her banishment, now accompanied by the recent nightmare of assassins, had once again started visiting her during night. That could dull even the cheeriest of her moods. By morning, her pillow had been completely wet.

Nina could only hope that Raven had not heard her sobs.

"My sister lives in that village", Raven answered. "She runs a shop here. A while ago I came here to fix the broken wing of her pet parrot, and I promised to check it out the next time I came by."

"Hm?" Nina, attempting to break out from her drowse, lifted her head and glanced at Raven. "What does she sell there? Pets?" This thought made a small shiver run through her spine, as she remembered the rumors of a certain snake-wizard back in Capitan.

"Not really, though she does that every now and then", Raven answered.

"Tools?"

"Not exactly, though not unheard of either."

"Books?"

"Pretty often, though not most of the time."

Nina frowned and scratched the back of her head. "Does she run some sort of general store there?"

Raven smiled mysteriously as her wagon approached the village. "Sort of", she answered.

* * * *

The sign was made of shining black ebony, and it had been carved into stylized form of a flame. Its borders had been painted dark purple. In its center there was the name of the shop, etched with gold color:

Nina's eyes widened and she threw a hasty glance at Raven. "Your sister is a sorceress?!" Her eyes sparkled. For a moment her all-consuming fatigue simply disappeared. This was something she wanted to see!

"Uh-huh", Raven replied as she leapt down from her wagons and strode to the small building's front door.

"I like magic", Nina announced. "There's something mysterious, something wondrous, something…" She paused, looking for the suitable word. "Something magical about it that I like!"

Raven laughed. "You said it, girl", she replied. Then she frowned and turned back from the door. "Locked. She's probably having her meal at the inn."

"Speaking of which", Nina hesitantly said, putting her hand to her stomach, "I'm… I'm kind of hungry."

* * * *

The Inn of the Forest King was a small one compared to its counterparts in Capitan or Coursair. But then again, so was the village around this two-story building. The Inn's sign was a skillfully carved profile of a deer, its magnificent antlers forming a crown over its head.

Raven ordered a young stable boy to take care of her biruburu. She also gave him some additional orders, such as keeping his little hands away from her birds ("…or you'll have to do with nine fingers for the rest of your life.") After tossing a couple of shining coins to the boy for his troubles, Raven nodded to Nina and motioned her to enter the building.

The quiet conversation halted for long enough for the customers to lift their heads to see who was entering. Raven returned a curt nod given to her by two burly woodcutters standing next to the bar counter. After another short moment of silence as Nina stepped through the doorway, the conversation continued as if it had never even been interrupted. Or at least by most parts.

"Well, if it isn't Raven!"

The voice was sharp and sudden. It rang throughout the room like a trumpet, startling the customers and the Inn staff alike. One farmer even managed to knock over his mug of ale. The man's muttered curses were easily quelled by general laughter and especially by the bright voice of a woman, who stood up from a corner table.

She was dressed in dim-blue robes. Even though there was no decoration, they looked as soft as satin. The color of the cloth fit nicely to her dusky complexion and long, curly hair, which was as dark as Raven's. Her eyes, however, were clear blue and they sparkled with mirth and joy as she spread her wide-sleeved arms and unhesitatingly proceeded to give her sister a hug.

"Where on earth have you been?! I told you not to tarry around! How many foolish would-be-husbands did you charm this time?"

"Nice to see you too, Ayena", Raven replied, her voice exaggeratedly dry. Then she, too, burst in laughter and answered her sister's hug. "You always know how to make my day! How many would-be-husbands did you turn into newts this time?"

Nina watched this spectacle with a little smile on her face. Both of them were grown women, but they acted like little girls, delighted to see a dear sister again. Even Ayena, a sorceress and clearly an important character in the village, ignored her position completely as she squeezed Raven into even tighter embrace. And, considering the calmly smiling faces of the other customers, this was not the first time for such a thing to happen.

As she watched how Raven and Ayena released each other, Nina felt a small sting of envy inside her. Unlike those two women, she had no one to hug like that. Not too long time ago, she had had her Father and Mother, even her little sister, young Mina. Behind the closed doors, shielded from the eyes of the court, the members of the Royal Family had acted just like any ordinary family, freely showing their affection to each other.

But that was a memory of the past. Today, she had no Father, no Mother, not even a sister to rely on.

"Ayena, I want you to meet somebody", Raven said, taking Nina by hand and pulling her forward, to be inspected by the sorceress. "This is --"

"Hold it, sis", Ayena interrupted, lifting one finger. "I also have someone to be introduced. Let's do it all in one go, eh?" She motioned towards the table she had been sitting in.

An elderly man rose up to greet them. He was dressed in a light blue robe and a darker, long coat, which he kept neatly buttoned all the way down to his waist. Although the top of his head was already balding, his white hair still flowed in bountiful avalanches on his temples. There were networks of wrinkles all around his eyes and he wore a neatly trimmed beard. All this developed an air of august elderly around him, an atmosphere that was only slightly diminished by his somewhat nervous expression.

"This", Ayena introduced, "is Master Louis Yoji, from Hometown's Great School of Magic."

"How do you do", Yoji said quietly, extending his hand to Raven and giving her a little, polite bow. "Miss Ayena has told many things about you, Miss Raven."

Nina's eyes were wide as she regarded Yoji. So, this man was a wizard! And not only that, but he was also a master in the Great School of Magic, the academy of Arts Arcane, famed all around the world! This meant that Yoji had to be at least as powerful as Essar Shoo, the snake-wizard Nina had encountered not too long ago. But… this old man seemed to have none of that dour, calculating coolness so often displayed by Essar… He possessed none of that eerie, mysterious atmosphere that Nina had already associated with the being of every male sorcerer.

"Nothing bad, I hope", Raven replied, answering Yoji's bow with equal politeness.

"Oh, you can bet that I have!" Ayena put in, leveling an accusing finger at her sister. "Like that scene you caused in that pet shop -- "

"You know that I can't stand seeing birds in cages!" Raven interrupted the sorceress, slapping her finger away. "You'd best have your parrot all free, fluttering about in your shop, sis, or I won't answer for my actions."

Again the sisters shared a short laugh. Even Nina had to lift her hand to her mouth, though this was more because of Yoji's helpless expression. Though the wizard attempted to smile and nod, his hands constantly fingered the trimmings of his coat. This revealed that he was not really used to such straightforward talk.

"And this--", Raven suddenly said, putting her hand onto the Nina's shoulder and pulling her forward, "is Nina, a girl happened to run into on my way here."

"Nina, eh?" Ayena repeated. "Just plain Nina? No --"

"Nope", Raven replied with a smile. "No surname."

"Windia", Nina said abruptly. Though her voice was quiet and almost shy, it surprised everyone in the table, including the girl herself. "Nina Windia."

"How do you do, Miss", Yoji hastened to fill the pause.

"Windia, eh?" Raven mumbled as she drew out a chair for herself. Something passed over her face, like a shadow flickering on the wall of a torch-lit chamber. Then it disappeared and she shrugged. "How do you do, Miss Nina Windia", she announced solemnly, mimicing Yoji's matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Ho, Edgar!" Ayena shouted to the innkeeper, "bring my new companions something to eat!"

Although Nina had already thought herself hungry, she was completely unprepared for the horrible yowl her stomach seemed to make on the moment a serving maid brought their food to the table. A lovely aroma of freshly baked bread and blueberry pie filled her every sense as the fully loaded tray was slammed before her. The Windian girl could hardly wait for long enough for others to start eating before she mercilessly assaulted her food. It had been like an eternity since the last warm meal!

The rest of the eating passed quickly. Raven and Ayena were at the voice most of the time, with Yoji occasionally putting in a quiet word or two. The sisters were constantly joking about each other, laughed and playfully teased, even threatened each other. Nina, of course, missed most of their conversation due to the irresistible taste of blueberry pie. This was also the reason why she missed Yoji's puzzled expression as the wizard's gaze happened to land on the black wings in her back.

A bit later, the conversation took a turn that made even Nina to prick up her ears.

"So, Master Yoji", Raven asked with a genial tone. The black-hair had leaned backwards in her chair, balancing with its two hind legs and using the wall behind her as support. "What brings you to this little village?"

"What do you think, dear sis?" Ayena asked with a venomous tone. She pouted and threw some of her plentiful curls out from her face with a whisk of her slender hand.

"Ah-ha!" A mock of enlightenment suffused Raven's face. "When are the weddings to take place?"

"Raven!" Ayena snapped. Raven just smiled, Nina giggled and Yoji looked helpless.

"Ah… I am visiting Lady Ayena's shop of magic on the behalf of the School", Yoji explained after the sisters had gotten enough of glaring at each other. "Through her contacts she has access to some products we lack at Hometown."

"What kind of products?" asked Nina. She set aside her plate and leaned forward, eager to hear the answer.

"You don't want to know", Ayena answered with exaggerated coolness. "That's exactly why I'm keeping my trading post in such a small village. Many people really do not want to see what kind of stuffs some wizards deal with."

Now this was a joke to which even Yoji chuckled. Unfortunately, he was the only one to do so. Both Raven and Nina just stared at him with blank expressions. After a moment of awkward silence the wizard cleared his throat and added with somewhat embarrassed tone: "Ah… Just… a jest among professional magic users."

"I see", Raven mumbled, her last piece of blueberry pie muffling her voice. She lifted her arms far above her head and stretched. "Well, if everyone's all stuffed up, let's head back to the shop, 'kay? I have a bird to check there."

"Right", Ayena replied, pulling out her money pouch and tossing a handful of coins to the table.

"I-if you say so", Yoji consented quietly.

"Agreed!" Nina announced zestfully. "This is something I want to see!"

* * * *

There was only one word fitting enough to describe Ayena's shop of magic, and that was bizarre.

Tables and shelves dominated the room. They were filled with jars, bottles, pipes and boxes, all of them arranged in neat rows and equipped with little labels. Right in the middle of the room there was a large crystal orb, hanging in midair and supported by absolutely nothing. The wall to the left was dominated by a bookshelf, containing rows after rows of heavy, leather-bound tomes. To the right there were glass-door cabinets, containing bone carvings, jeweled daggers, silver needles, gems and many other items Nina couldn't even imagine to have any kind connection with magic. Cages were hanging from ceiling here and there, their contents varying from tiny white mice to a rat-sized biruburu, snorting happily as it chewed grass growing from the floor of its home.

The smell dominating the room was a weird mixture of cinnamon, sulfur and rose petals. It tickled Nina's nose, and soon she had to sneeze.

"Your collection is bigger than last time I saw you, sis", Raven noted as she strode further into the room. Though her tone of voice was brisk, she took great care to keep her broad skirt from touching any of the magical goods. She glared at the cages with a critical eye. "Where's the patient?"

"It's here", Ayena replied, "in the back room."

Soon Raven and the sorceress had disappeared through a little door in the back wall. Yoji stayed behind to keep company for (and an eye on) Nina. Soon his decision proved to be a smart one as the wizard rushed to lay his hand onto the Windian girl's shoulder.

"Please don't touch that", he warned gently.

Nina's hand froze just as she had been about to open one of the cabinets containing a selection of glittering gems. "Is this door dangerous?" she whispered warily. She had heard all the stories of magical wards and traps capable of burning a would-be-thief to cinders.

"No, but those gems inside could be. Many items magical can be dangerous in hands of uninformed…" He gasped, suddenly realizing something. Then he hastily added: "No offence meant, Miss! Just a little piece of advice, nothing more."

Nina just couldn't hold back a little chuckle. "Oh, never mind it", she replied after a moment. She turned and went to look at the bookshelves. Most of the books there were thick and bound in leather, with titles or without. Sourcery of the Ages. Thy Mind's Eye. Mating Habits of the Beings of Magical Nature. Magic Show of Wendy the Wondrous: Fake or Real? Indigo Philosophy.

"These books, of course", said Yoji, who had followed the Windian across the room, "approaches the Art only from the side of theory. Actual spellbooks are never kept on a public display. Tomes of magic are far too precious -- and perhaps also too dangerous -- for such an use. Some of the wizards simply love to bind their spellbooks with curses and such. Why, there is a fellow teacher at the School who has publicly announced that her spellbooks shall make a rat from any apprentice impudent enough to touch them…"

His voice reminded Nina of one of the teachers she had listened during the days at the castle of Windia. That same monotonous, lecturing tone… "I know magic, too!" she announced proudly, interrupting the wizard's speech.

Since her eyes were still at the books, she could only imagine how Yoji lifted his eyebrows. "You do?"

"Yes", Nina answered. Smiling, she turned around to look up at the grizzled features of the wizard. "I know how to create light!" There was a short pause before she realized how pathetic her words had had to sound to Yoji. She could brag about her spell to Silen or Aryn, but not to a professional wizard. A sorcerer, whose mere word could make earth shatter to dust, whose gestures guided the winds, who could throw bolts of raging fire or lightning as if they were mere pebbles.

Of course, it was a bit hard to imagine the old Yoji doing such things. This wizard was much more likely to specialize in spells of divination, detection, healing, and such… However, when it comes to the wielders of magic, you should never judge by the surface alone.

To Yoji's credit, he indeed did manage to look very impressed by this revelation. "I see", he said in a very matter-of-fact manner. "Very… useful, isn't it? Uh… perhaps you would like to show it to me?"

"Of course." Having the most uncomfortable feeling that she was just a little girl, playing a simple, awkward tune to a master musician, Nina set to work. She muttered the arcane words, her hands passing through the gesture with surprising ease.

The familiar azure ball of light, shining like a miniature star, appeared just over her fingertips. Meekly, almost apologetically Nina looked up at Yoji to see the wizard's reaction to this tiny cantrip.

Again to Yoji's credit, he really did look very interested. He bent down and tilted his head, inspecting the light from many different angles. "Good, good", he finally said with a thoughtful tone of voice. And though he also nodded, Nina did not know if it was meant to her or to the wizard himself. "Do you also know how to change its color?"

As an answer, the light turned bright green.

Yoji smiled and nodded again. "I see. Good work. Fluent technique and all…"

His words felt good to Nina's ears, and she returned the wizard's smile. With a waggle of her fingers she dispelled her light. "Thanks", she said. "Magic is hard to learn, but there's something to it that I like."

Yoji stroked his beard as he straightened himself up again. "True indeed. But…" He frowned and kept a short, considering pause. "Hmm. Perhaps we should make a little test to make sure of it…"

Nina did not like that tone. Her black wings shuddered as she examined the wizard's features. Yoji had something in mind, there was no doubt about that. And considering her recent encounters, such a thing was bad news for Nina. "Sure of… what?" she asked warily.

Just then Raven's easily distinguishable voice echoed from the back room: "Just WHAT on earth you've fed to this bird, oh-so-dear sister?!"

Both Nina and Yoji threw nervous glances at the doorway, and then they looked at each other. "Umm…" the wizard swallowed and shuffled his feet. "Perhaps we should try it outside…"

* * * *

"Shh", Yoji whispered gently. Since Nina's eyes were closed, she did not see how the wizard lifted his finger to his lips. "Concentrate. Quietly… Calmly… Gently… Focus it." Even as he spoke, Yoji's voice moved from Nina's right side to the left, as the wizard slowly walked around the Windian girl.

Nina had no idea what was going on. Yoji had asked her to imagine a simple, ordinary shield. Although she felt silly doing it, she wanted to please this kind old man. The shield she visualized was crafted of wood and light metal. It was well-balanced and easy to maneuver. A typical shield for the soldiers of Windia.

Silen had had one, Nina realized sadly.

"Hmm", Yoji finally said after a moment. "You can open your eyes now."

Nina drew a deep, shaking breath. "What was that about?"

The wizard did not reply immediately. Quietly he stroked his beard, frowning in deep thought. Slowly he started to walk down the main road of the village, the seemingly forgotten Nina trailing after him.

"Miss Nina…?" Yoji finally said. Lifting his eyebrows, he quickly glanced around to see where on earth the girl had disappeared. She had been just before him a moment ago! "Uh…? Nina? Where did you go?"

"I'm right here", Nina said behind him. "You're the one who started going somewhere!"

"Oh!" A terribly embarrassed expression suffused the wizard's face. "How silly of me! Once again my feet worked without my mind…" Yoji lifted his fist onto his mouth and cleared his throat. "Ahem. To answer your question: when you were focusing your thoughts onto the shield, I…uh…probed your spirit so that --"

"You WHAT?!" Nina exclaimed, fear washing over her mind. What if he knew of her past, who she was?!

Hastily Yoji lifted his hands and furiously waved them in a rejecting gesture. "Oh, no no no no no no! Please, Miss! I did not read your mind or anything! Please forgive me, but the subject must not be warned beforehand. It would ruin everything… You see, it was all about examining how well you could focus your inner mind, your inner energies into a single task. And that --" He lifted one finger to embellish the point he was making. "-- is an essential ability for a magician."

"But…" Perplexed, Nina wiped one tuft of her golden hair into its place, behind her ear. "But one friend of mine was able to do magic, and he once said that anyone can learn to use it. He said that it requires no special talents."

"Basically, you friend was right", Yoji answered. He turned and started walking again. This time, however, he made sure that Nina was trotting alongside him. "Anyone can pick up a brush and learn to paint, but to make real, beautiful paintings -- now that requires more than just practicing. It requires some talents, too. It is the same with magic, you know. Anyone can learn to juggle lights and toss firebolts at the slimes that threaten your garden -- " At this point, he answered Nina's chuckle with a little smile, " -- but to truly earn your living with magic, such a skill is earned only with hard work, combined with some natural talents."

"I see!" Nina exclaimed. She, too, was warming for the subject. All of her fears forgotten, she eagerly waited for the old wizard to continue. "Well?" she urged on. "What did I look like?"

"Well, the true talent can be seen only when it is employed", Yoji answered somewhat mysteriously. "The question is… do you want to learn magic?"

"Of course!" Nina replied immediately. Magic was fun, there was no question about that!

"Is that so?" Yoji wondered. The wrinkles around his eyes deepened as he drew his beard-sheltered mouth into a fatherly smile. "Do you want to spend your years aspiring something that always eludes your grasp? Do you want to devote your life to magic? Do you want to wield a force that gives you power over others?"

Silence followed.

With each second passing, Nina's smile froze a bit more. With each second passing she understood a bit more the meaning of the wizard's words… Were the results of the power of magic that its wielder became mysterious, calculating, cool in all of his manners, just like Essar Shoo? True enough, Master Yoji and Ayena were everything else than cool and calculating magic-users, but what if they were nothing but rare exceptions of the main stream of cold-minded sorcerers? She did not want to be become a sorceress, she did not want to become cold and cool!

But… she did want to learn magic. Or…

* * * *

The air in the room was warm and damp. Ceiling was only dimly visible through a layer of white and gray haze. The hot vapor swirled and twirled lazily, slowly stretching its wisps and coils to the furthest corners of the chamber.

His soft, furry slippers glided over gray, hexagon-shaped stone tiles. His light robe shuffled around his slim, so unnaturally slim frame. His long, scaly tail swept lazily back and forth behind him.

Essar Shoo slowed his steps and, closing his eyes, inhaled deeply. Steam and hot air streamed into his lungs, filling them with blessed warmth. It was a lovely feeling, that warmth within the snake-wizard. It drove away the cursed aching that always lingered within his lungs, it eased the disease that one day perhaps would be his doom… but then again, that day would not come if Essar had something to say about it.

With an accustomed ease the snake-wizard pushed the matter from his mind and started unbinding the silken belt tied around his bathing robe. Then he halted and eyed the large, square pool before him. It was filled with steaming water, so clear that he could see the stone-paved bottom with ease. Yes, Essar nodded to himself, they had followed his instructions well and heated the bath with great care. However!

It was not hot enough.

Something that could have passed for a mild snort escaped Essar's nostrils as he lithely bent down and dipped his scaly fingers into the water. A gesture, a word, a sheer force of will. Slowly an orange-red glow spread out from his fingers. Soon the water began steaming fiercely, a handful of tiny bubbles rose from its depths.

That's better, Essar decided as he slid his willowy hands from wide sleeves and carefully folded his robe.

Taking his time, enjoying every second, the snake-wizard slid into the water. His hiss of pleasure was like a white-hot piece of iron plunging into a full bucket. Ah, how he loved the feeling of warmth against his scaled hide! In this damnably cold world he lived in, such a feeling was a rare and treasured experience. Essar hated cold. He hated the way it gradually slid its freezing fingers all the way into his heart, numbing his slim arms and legs, dulling the sharpness of his every thought, plunging his mind into a sluggish state of drowsiness.

It was a moment of oblivion, a state of frozen time. Essar had no idea how many seconds -- Minutes? Hours? -- had already passed before his bliss was rudely disturbed. It was done by loud clicking of boot heels against the stone floor. This annoying sound was accompanied by a lazy voice:

"Heeey. When that messenger first told me that you wanted to see me, Essar, I really thought that he was playing a fool out of me. But now, I gotta say that I was wrong. You're really here in Coursair! All the way from Capitan, eh? Aren't you a bit far from your usual territory?"

Reluctantly, unwillingly, Essar pulled himself from his exalted state and opened his yellow eyes. They confirmed what his hearing had just suggested: standing on the doorway, leaning lazily against the wall was a tan-skinned man, dressed into brown leather clothes. He had not bothered to take off or even wipe his boots, the snake-wizard noticed with displeasure. The shining stone tiles around him were littered by little crumbles and lumps of dirt. That fool was as clean as always.

"Yess, Hain, I indeed did ask for you", Essar replied. His hissing voice oozed with sarcasm. "And I certainly could not have thought about a better place for you to sshow up than the bath house of Coursair."

The last hiss of the snake-wizard's words had hardly left his mouth when Hain abruptly drew a deep breath and began singing in a merry tone, his tune was a twisted version of a certain popular drinking song:

The last mighty "ho!" was embellished by a flourish wave of hands and an echoing stomp of heels against floors. The latter, unfortunately, dislodged yet another lump of clay and dirt from Hain's boots. The tan-skin smirked and bent his body into a deep bow, just as it was appropriate after such a magnificent show.

"Bravisssssimo", Essar praised dryly. He did not bother to applause.

"Oh, thank you, Good Sir, thank you so much", Hain talked himself down with a rejecting gesture of his hands, "Your praise is too much for my humble show."

Slowly Essar cocked his snake-head, the slits of darkness serving as his eyes glanced at fresh, sore-red scars crisscrossing in the tan-skin's face. "I can ssee that your latest lady friend hass appreciated your humor perhapss even more than I do", he remarked and silently smiled as Hain's smirk melted away. Deciding to add some more poison to the wound, the snake-wizard continued innocently: "But what else could one expect from ssuch a gentleman like yourself?"

Hain forced himself to snort and smile. Assuming his personal, cocky pose, he tilted his head and went down to business: "What do ya want of me?"

"Information." His voice was soft, almost dreaming. The divine, blissful warmth was making its way through Essar's slim limbs and tail. He could feel its lovely touch in the very core of his being, it fondled, caressed, did everything it could just for Essar. The snake-wizard liked that.

Since Essar had closed his eyes, he did not see Hain's movement. However, he could imagine well how the tan-skin spread his hands in a generous gesture. "Shoot!"

"What did you do to a man called Aryn Sseaholt?"

There was a pause. Hain took his time and considered carefully what to say. Tilting his head, he watched how Essar's fingers absently drew circles into steaming water. The snake was in an irksome place, armless and without the protection of his cloak. Yet still, even a wet wizard was still a wizard. And a wizard like Essar Shoo, Hain reminded himself, was a dangerous opponent. "He… got into my way", the tan-skin replied slowly.

Without warning Essar flung his eyes open and focused the full power those slits of darkness at Hain. Yes, the snake-wizard had certainly been expecting for this answer, but he decided to make sure that the tan-skin understood his point of view.

Well…it did seem to work.

Suddenly Hain did not feel so confident anymore. Although he did his best to keep his self-assured expression, his smile became a bit forced. The tan-skin's boots shuffled on the floor as he carefully moved his balance to both feet. His body tensed, ready to leap away from the way of whatever Essar might hurl at him. "Do you… have something against that?"

"Hain…" Essar hissed ominously. His forked tongue lashed out from his mouth like a whip. "Go tell your preciouss Bossss Joker Heart thiss: I… do… not… like… loosing… alliesssss!"

"Hey. Hey, hey, hey!" Hain felt himself ridiculous like a poor actor or a clown as he drew his most charming smile over his face. He lifted his hands into a submissive gesture. "Don't take it so harshly! Perhaps we could discuss with the Boss. I'm sure we'll find some sort of agreement!"

"I find that unlikely", Essar replied with a venomous tone. Inwardly, however, the snake-wizard smiled a smile that was used when regarding a job well done.

Previous: Chapter XIV
Next: Chapter XVI
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