Chapter 45: Cat and Mouse

Ethan looked at Arven and Ketura as he stood at the door of their house preparing to leave. “Thank you so much for helping Taloni when she was shot. I don’t know that I could ever fully express how grateful I am.”

“It was our pleasure.” Arven replied.

“Thank you for talking to Matthew.” Ketura added in a low voice so the young man -- who was debating some point about the syntax of the Old Tongue with the couple’s daughter Yalia -- didn’t hear. “I would love to see him wed to our daughter one day, and I think you might have helped that happen.”

“I’m glad.” Ethan said.

“Ethan, it’s getting dark.” Kendra pointed out. It was approaching dusk, and the last vestiges of a beautiful sunset were fading from the sky as the dark blues of twilight began to take hold. It was still light enough to see, it wouldn’t be for long.

“Thank you again, but we really need to get back to our airship so we can leave by dark.” Ethan said to their hosts. He hated leaving so abruptly, but it was better than going up against the two platoons of soldiers on the airships that were on their way.

“Come on honey.” He said to Taloni, taking her hand.

The Fey teen still got tired easily after having been shot earlier, and she clutched his arm as she held his hand.

“Thank you for helping me.” She said to their hosts, then seemed to run out of breath.

“We were happy to.” Arven assured her, then added with a smile. “Just make sure you rest up and heal.”

“I will.” She assured them.

They finished saying goodbye and then headed out onto the darkening streets of Dotmier, Ethan leading his wives and Selene. The moon hadn’t risen yet and the town was getting dark. The cheerful light of a few lanterns shone out from several house windows, but it seemed like most hadn’t lit lamps. He wondered if that was because they thought the lamp oil was too expensive. Dotmier reminded him a bit of a shanty town, though in better repair. Like most of Ivernia, the lack of repair was for want of resources and not a want of care.

Taloni was clinging to his arm a bit and got progressively slower as they walked.

“Honey, would you prefer I carried you?” He asked when they were perhaps halfway to the Argo.

She nodded. “Thank you Master.”

He scooped her into his arms, her tiny frame making it easy.

She snuggled into him, then looked up at him with her shining but tired lilac eyes. “Master, could we go see the Luminar before we leave?”

“Why?”

“Because...” She looked down and her shoulders slumped slightly. “Because I called him some bad names during that service and I need to apologize. I shouldn’t have called him names no matter how wrong he was.”

“You called him names?” He raised his eyebrow. She’d said something in the Fey tongue, but he hadn’t known what. He supposed that it had been pretty obvious from her tone though.

“She did; very bad names.” Alana said with an amused smile.

“We can’t today.” He replied. “It’s too dangerous. However, we’ll almost certainly be back at some point and you can apologize then.”

“Okay.” She nodded, then closed her eyes and let her head flop against him. He thought she might’ve started dozing almost immediately.

“Wait!” Someone called after them.

Ethan turned to see Matthew running up behind them and stopped so the young man could catch up.

“Wait.” He stopped when he’d caught up, then leaned over and put his hands on his knees, breathing hard.

“What’s up Matthew?” Ethan asked.

“I just ... had a ... question.” He panted.

“Take a second to catch your breath, then ask.” Ethan replied. He glanced at the sky which was still getting darker, but they weren’t cutting it close yet.

The young man took a moment to catch his breath, then spoke. “I wanted to say thank you and ask...” He took a deep breath. “Should I have said something during that sermon this morning? To disagree with it I mean.”

Ethan looked at the young man for a long moment. “I won’t answer, but not because it’s not a good question. It most certainly is a good question.”

“Oh?”

“It is.” Ethan confirmed. “But that’s not a question for me, that’s a question for you. I have my convictions, and there are things I’ll let slide and things I won’t. Those things are different for everyone, but everyone has them. Do you know what I mean?”

“I do, but that’s the problem.” Matthew replied. “It seems serious, and it’s serious enough that I talked to him in private, but to directly challenge him in public...” He shook his head. “That’s far more serious and I just don’t know if this is important enough.”

“I think you do.” Ethan replied scrutinizing him. “You might lack the courage to follow your convictions, but deep down you know.”

“Ouch.” He looked down slightly. “I probably needed to hear that, but ouch.”

“Look at it this way.” Ethan added, since the young man clearly cared deeply about Illuminar and the Book of Light. “If Illuminar were here in person, what would He have done? Would He have let a sermon like that slide?”

Matthew frowned. “Probably not.”

“That might be a good test for you then, though the bar is high.”

The young man nodded, clearly deep in thought.

“We need to get going, and I’ll be rooting for you.” Ethan said.

“I’ll be ... b...” Taloni yawned. “I’ll be praying for you and Yalia.”

“Thank you.” Matthew said, then added. “May Illuminar guide you on the path of light as you travel.”

“And you as well.” Ethan replied.

Matthew waved and left.

Ethan looked after him for a few moments, then he turned and continued walking towards the Argo. He really did hope that Matthew could find the courage to challenge that luminar on his theology. Ethan himself didn’t know enough to attempt it, but Matthew almost certainly did; probably far more than enough. He just needed the courage to act.

They started walking up the ramp to the Argo’s docking berth not long after. When they reached the top, he saw Taiven on the deck playing with Thor. The kitten seemed to have taken a liking to the boy and was purring loudly. Like his father, Lord Kalus, Taiven looked very confident without being arrogant; and the boy had amber hair like his mother, Shara.

“You have returned.” Taiven said, first standing up and then giving them a respectful bow. “Your pilot Anthiel said I could wait here for you; I bring a message from my mother.” He paused. “And myself as the crown prince of Timarou.”

“What’s the message?” Ethan asked.

“That regardless of how Ivernia treats hers guests, Timarou welcomes you.” The seven-year-old boy said regally. “My mother and I heard about you being attacked. While my father had already returned to the mines when the attack occurred, she and I agree that he would not believe you were at fault, and neither do we. Thus, please consider Timarou a safe harbor for you on all your travels. We would welcome you and protect you from any enemies who would seek to unlawfully persecute you.”

Seven going on seventy. Selene thought to everyone.

I think it’s cute. Rachel replied.

“Thank you Taiven, and please thank your mother and father for me as well.” Ethan replied to the boy. “I’m really glad to hear that.”

Taiven bowed, then added with a boyish grin. “And besides, I would love to have you visit our capital; it’s amazing!” Apparently, he was only proper when the situation called for it.

“We might take you up on that.” Ethan nodded.

Taiven turned to his fourth wife. “Lady Rachel, might I show you something?” He asked with an ear-to-ear smile.

“Sure.” The redhead replied.

Someone’s trying to get in good with the mother-in-law... Beth though to everyone in a sing-song tone.

Most of them chuckled, Rachel rolled her eyes.

Taiven looked at Thor, then mimed shooting a small bow and said: “Twang.”

As if on cue, Thor seemed to sway on the spot then flopped over on his side, eyes closed like he had been shot. Taloni started laughing from Ethan’s arms and the others followed suit.

Thor jumped up at the noise, then spotted Selene and bounded over to meet her only to be stopped by the netting that someone had put over the opening where the gangplank extended, assuredly to prevent Thor from leaving the Argo. The kitten sat down, scrunched up his face, and made a squeaky meow. Selene grinned ear-to-ear, then darted forward and scooped up the kitten, who instantly started purring.

Alana watched all this with a smile on her face as her family and Selene made their way across the gangplank, replacing the netting when they were done. Despite the earlier events, or maybe because of them, it felt extra good to laugh. Sadly, her laugh was interrupted by Anthiel, as the high elf caught her attention and then pointed towards the sky to the north. She looked and her wood elf eyes noticed something on the horizon.

“Um Ethan.” She said, squinting slightly to try and see it better. “Are those airships incoming?”

Ethan’s head snapped to the horizon, his dragon eyes able to see even better than her wood elf ones. “Shit!” He breathed after several seconds. “They are, and they’re headed this way.”

“I shall not delay your departure any further.” Taiven said instantly. “Sir, I hope you will remember that you have a sanctuary in Timarou, should you ever need it.”

“I won’t forget, and thank you.” He replied.

“Then I shall take my leave.” He bowed regally to them, flashed a boyish grin, and then hurried across the gangplank.

Alana moved to the Argo’s railing, leaning out and trying to focus her excellent wood elf eyes on the incoming airship. She couldn’t make out much more than the silhouette though.

“Here, try this.” Kendra said from beside her, offering her the enchanted spyglass she’d presumably retrieved from her own canoe-sized airship, which was strapped to the Argo’s deck near the bow.

The wood elf crouched and set the spyglass on the Argo’s railing for stability, then looked again. Her elven eyes combined with the magnification allowed her to see much better.

They were Ivernian military airships alright.

The green paint, large size, and Ivernian flag on the mast made that clear enough. However, there was another flag flying below it, and it almost looked like--

“Is that Lord Delmar’s flag?” Ethan asked from her other side.

“I think so.” The wood elf replied. “It’s red with a stylized black dragon on it.”

“That’s Narlotten’s flag.” Rachel confirmed from behind her.

“Gee, you’d think Lord Delmar the black dragon would’ve picked something less obvious for his flag.” Selene said from somewhere nearby.

“That’s been Narlotten’s flag for centuries.” Rachel said. “Ever since my ancestors first became lords of Narlotten. My country--” She stopped, then corrected herself. “My father’s country is actually somewhat famous for the black dragons that used to live there in abundance, though few remain now. That’s why the Narlotten flag has a black dragon on it.”

Alana handed the spyglass back to Kendra and went to stand next to her best friend. The brunette slipped her hand into the redhead’s, giving it a comforting squeeze. The disowned lord’s daughter gave her a grateful look with a pained smile.

“I’m getting really sick of being run out of town by that asshole.” Ethan growled.

“Me too.” Rachel said quietly enough that Alana didn’t think anyone else heard her. She gave the redhead’s hand another gentle squeeze and an apologetic smile.

“Anthiel.” Ethan called. “How soon can we be underway?”

“Two minutes to leave dock, three more to hit altitude.” The high elf replied as Serif and Raklan pulled the gangplank onto the Argo. “I saw them coming earlier and everything is ready for our departure.”

“I can help Master.” Taloni said, starting to move in his arms.

He didn’t put her down. “And you will, but not today. You rest up and get better, then you can help.”

The Fey teen looked relieved and relaxed into his arms again. “Yes Master, thank you.”

“They’re going to see us.” Ethan said as he gazed out at the other airships. “They know right where we are and they’re going to see us. We should’ve left earlier.”

“I never imagined they’d get here this fast.” Kendra said, looking down. “Sorry for suggesting that we wait. That was my mistake.”

“It was my call, not yours.” Ethan replied. “We all make mistakes, so don’t beat yourself up over it because the buck stops here.”

“Yes Drago.” The raven-haired woman replied, but Alana highly doubted that she wouldn’t blame herself if anyone was hurt because of the late departure.

“What now?” Beth asked.

“Ladies, ideas?” He said, and ended looking at Kendra.

No one said anything for several seconds.

Finally, Kendra seemed to give in under his gaze and voiced her opinion. “I think we should head south-by-southwest over the mountains and make for the Gulf of Sayora.”

“Where’s that?” Ethan asked.

“It’s just on the other side of the mountains to the south.” Beth supplied. “The mountain range that defends almost all of Ivernia’s southern border abuts the Gulf of Sayora. Well, there’s some flatland on the southern side of the mountains, but not much.”

“It might be possible to hide in the hills there.” Rachel said. “I flew over the southern mountains one time in my father’s airship, and I think there are enough hills and valleys that it might work.”

“It’s possible, but consider how airship combat happens.” Kendra countered.

Ethan sighed. “I probably should’ve asked this a long time ago: how does airship combat usually go?”

“Airships can’t knock each other out of the sky, so it’s usually an archery contest; at least from what I’ve read.” Beth replied.

“She’s somewhat right.” Kendra interjected. “The ships often embark on a race upwards, because whichever ship is higher can more easily rain arrows down on the other. The goal is usually to sweep the deck, then fly over the other ship and have boarders drop down.”

“Unless you want to destroy the airship.” Beth said. “Then sometimes one airship will sail over another and drop flaming pitch to try and burn it.”

“Ouch!” Ethan winced. “Yeah, let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“It won’t.” Rachel said confidently. “If they try to light fire to my home, I’ll happily return it to the sender.”

Alana looked at her best friend proudly, remembering how she had returned Havorleth’s dragon fire to him. Certainly she could do the same with any fire dropped on the Argo.

“Fire isn’t usually used for that exact reason.” Kendra said. “The fire can be turned against you if the ship has a mage on it, and all military airships have mages for that reason, among others.”

“Speaking of, you need to be especially careful of mages.” Rachel added. “While air-rams aren’t usually deadly on land, a good mage can throw enemy crewmen clear off an airship if he’s close enough.”

“That’s why airship crew who are on the deck often tie themselves down.” Kendra supplied.

“So how do you actually win?” Ethan asked. “There’s no cannons and you can’t sink an airship like you can with a boat.”

“Archers primarily.” Beth said. “That’s why all military airships are equipped with deployable crenellations.”

“They are?” Ethan asked.

“Of course they are.” Beth’s tone wouldn’t have been out of place if Ethan had asked if mankind were capable of speaking.

“Oh, I didn’t know.” He said. “What about the Argo?”

“We’re fully equipped.” Anthiel said from the quarterdeck.

“Master, look carefully at the inside of the ship’s side.” Taloni said from his arms. “The Argo is a luxury airship so they are made to blend in, but you can see them if you look.”

Alana did, and she could almost see what the Fey was saying.

Along the inside of the Argo’s four-foot high sidewalls, she could see that there were roughly square sections. These sections were carefully fitted so they didn’t look out of place, but now that she was looking she could see them. The square sections had a gap between them of a few inches, though that gap was filled with another piece of wood that was obviously intended to help the squares blend in.

If those square sections folded up, it would create a large amount of cover, with slits large enough for a bowman to shoot from without exposing himself very much. They looked thick too; plenty thick enough to stop even orcish arrows.

Huh.

She’d never noticed.

Still, that would be excellent cover if they had to fight another airship. The slits were certainly wide enough for her to properly shoot through, and she was a good shot with a bow.

“Well, I hope we don’t need them, but it’s good to have them.” The wood elf said.

“Agreed.” Ethan looked at the incoming airships, distant though they were. “I bet I could do a number on their rigging with my sword in a fly-by.” He mused.

“Airships have a lot of archers.” Kendra countered. “That might be risky.”

“Then please don’t.” Alana said. “It would be nearly impossible for us to help you if you were hit while flying.”

“I could do it after it gets dark but before the moon comes out.” He replied. “I can see well enough without the moon but they shouldn’t be able to see me, so the risk would be minimal.”

“Unless you didn’t see a rope and flew into it.” Alana countered. “Even with your dragon eyes you could miss something without moonlight.”

He frowned. “That’s true; and hitting one at high speed would be very bad.”

“You could use your javelin instead.” Kendra suggested. “Keep far enough away to avoid the rigging, throw it to kill one of the crew, then summon it back. You could do that repeatedly and they would never see it coming.”

Ethan frowned. “I’m not sure I want to do that right now. Not after that interrogation earlier.”

“What about it?” Alana asked.

“I’ll tell you about it while we get underway.” He replied.

Sarah held Fiona’s little baby boy as the copper-haired woman composed herself. She really felt for the widow who was trying to take care of a newborn and grieve at the same time, while also working.

“I’m sorry to be coming apart like this in front of ya.” Fiona said, wiping her cheeks. “It wasn’t long ago and it’s still hard.”

“I completely understand.” The innkeeper’s daughter replied. “I remember when my mother died; I cried for weeks.”

“I’m sorry to be hearing that.” The copper haired woman sniffled. “It ‘tis a true shame to be losing someone so close.”

“It is.” She looked down at the boy, who had finally fallen asleep in her arms.

“You can be setting him in the crib now.” Fiona said, wiping her eyes one last time before standing up. “He sleeps like his father, so nothing short of a battle will wake him when he’s truly asleep. It’s getting him to sleep that’s the trouble.”

Sarah did, making sure to support the baby’s neck as she did so. He fussed slightly and rubbed his face with his fist, but then stilled himself. The innkeeper’s daughter put a light blanket over him, thinking he wouldn’t need much with the warm summer evening.

“I thank you.” The copper haired woman moved to stand next to her, looking into the crib in the tiny room. “He’s all I have left of my Sean.”

“He’s a beautiful baby.”

“Like his father.” The widow blinked, then looked at Sarah. “He was a good husband, though we weren’t wed for long before...” She swallowed. “He was writing me often when he was away, and his last letter was so wonderful. I am wanting to read it all the time, but I’m trying not to because I want to get it enchanted to be self-repairing so I’ll always have it.”

“My father did that for a portrait of my mother.” Sarah nodded. “That was before ... well when we had more money.”

“Aye, ‘tis a good thing that, to be having those things.” Fiona nodded. “I have a small portrait of Sean that I keep in my room at Karnas. The Lord Delmar was being generous, giving me that room and my job in the kitchens.”

“He did?”

Fiona pressed her lips into a thin line, and shook her head. “I wasn’t supposed to be saying that; he was asking me not to be spreading it around.”

“Oh, I’d ask but ... Well now I understand why you like Lord Delmar so much.”

“Well, I’m not liking him, just liking him as a lord.” The copper haired girl corrected. “He has been good to me even though he doesn’t know me at all, making sure me and my baby were taken care of after my Sean died. He visited me personally, and was telling me that he was sorry for my loss, and he was offering to pay to have me relocate to Karnas and give me a job in the kitchens.”

“That’s really unusual for a Lord, isn’t it?” Sarah asked, thinking that Lord Farbrottan would never do something like that.

“He’s an unusual lord.” The copper haired woman replied. “He was saying he was doing it because of Hermair, the necromancer that brought the false prophet to the Ten Kingdoms and was hiding in plain sight in his army. He was saying that Sean’s death was because of his failure to recognize that there was a necromancer in his army, and so he was wanting to take care of me because he was saying his failures led to my husband’s death.”

“Really?”

“Aye.” Fiona nodded. “I think he was blaming himself and wanting to help because he felt like it was his fault. Anyway, that’s how I came to be working in his kitchens. But I would appreciate it if you weren’t saying anything about this to anyone. He was asking that I wouldn’t spread it around.”

“Is that because he was worried about how the people would react if they knew a necromancer was hiding in plain sight in his army?”

Fiona shook her head. “No, he was making a public announcement about that, letting the people know and even giving Hermair’s description and that he was a necromancer. The part he wasn’t wanting me to share was how he was helping me.”

Sarah cocked her head to one side. “Wait, if he did that for you and didn’t want anyone to know, I wonder if he has done that for other families and told them not to ‘spread it around’ too.”

“I’m thinking the same; he’s a good lord.” Fiona said. “Better than most, and I don’t know what I would’ve done without his help. I was really needing it, and he wasn’t asking for anything in return.”

“Nothing?”

“Well, I was asking how I could repay him. He was saying that I shouldn’t be bothering with that. I was insisting though, so you know what he was saying?”

“What?”

“He was asking if I would be praying for his daughter, Rachel.” The copper haired girl replied. “He was worrying about her, and was saying that if I was insisting on repaying him -- which I was -- that I could be praying hard for her because she was needing it badly.”

“Oh.” Sarah would never have guessed Lord Delmar would do that. He had seemed so aloof the one time that she’d met him and he didn’t seem the type to care.

Maybe he was.

That was about the time that the innkeeper’s daughter noticed the fading light outside the window. “I should go; Lady Ekthros said I could help in the kitchens, and I want to be up early to start.”

“Aye, Marge will appreciate that.” Fiona said. “Thank you for your help with Conner.” She nodded towards the baby sleeping in the crib.

“I was happy to help.” She smiled as she got up.

Fiona stood also, and the innkeeper’s daughter hesitated a moment before offering a hug. The copper haired girl accepted it, and it was a good hug. Tight, but not too tight.

“Sarah, I think we’re going to be good friends.” Fiona said when the hug broke.

“I’d like that.” Sarah smiled, remembering that the widow even knew about her problem after having overheard her conversation with Lord Delmar.

She wanted to be her friend anyway.

She got slightly choked up as she made her way back to her room, but in the best possible way. She hadn’t had a friend her own age since she was little, before her problem. And while Fiona was doubtless a few years older than she herself was, it couldn’t be by much. She found herself smiling and not able to stop; not wanting to stop.

“And that’s basically it.” Ethan finished relating how the interrogation went with some input from Selene and Kendra. “I’m trying to decide how comfortable I am ambushing them without warning because some of them might not be...” He paused, looking for the words. “Some of them might be like that kid; not malevolent but just following orders.”

“That makes sense.” Beth said. “Good people being in a bad situation doesn’t make them bad people.”

Kendra frowned. “What about when good people are asked to do bad things and then do them? At that point they aren’t good people anymore.”

“But they might not know.” The blonde replied.

“And that’s different.” Kendra said. “I fell into that camp once, so I have a lot of sympathy for someone who thinks we’re guilty and is hunting us because of that. These Ivernian soldiers aren’t that. They know that our only crime is confronting a corrupt Reeve, and despite that they’re still willing to kill us. They know that we’re innocent and are trying to kill us anyway. That makes them wicked, and thus I have no problem using lethal force to defend ourselves.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh?” Selene asked as she petted Thor, who was sleeping in her lap. “I see your point and even agree somewhat, but there’s a world of difference between evil on purpose and being coerced into doing evil.”

“The motivation is different, but the actions are the same.” The dragon huntress replied. “At the end of the day, I’ll judge a man by his actions. Knowingly murdering an innocent person is still knowingly murdering an innocent person, regardless of whether you did it gleefully or regretfully.”

“That doesn’t leave a lot of room for repentance.” Alana said. “What if someone did something wrong and later repented? Would you still think the same?”

“That’s a bit different.” The raven-haired woman replied. “I’m willing to forgive almost anything if someone repents -- I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t -- but we know these men aren’t repentant.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Beth frowned.

“Because they’re still trying to kill us when they know we’re innocent.”

“Oh.” Beth’s frown deepened and she crossed her arms over her chest, but she didn’t reply.

“Innocent until proven guilty.” Selene interjected. “That’s the cornerstone of justice, so until someone does something that’s wrong, that person should enjoy the presumption of innocence. That’s important.”

“But it could become a bad point if you get stabbed; pun intended.” Rachel interjected. “Presuming innocence makes perfect sense in a courtroom, but I won’t wait for someone to hurt my friends before I defend them.”

“So you would launch a preemptive strike?” Alana was looking at the redhead like she had grown a third eye.

“You didn’t object when I air-rammed that fellow on Earth who was drawing a gun on you.” The mage countered. “Selene is right that we should presume innocence in a courtroom. On the street, if someone comes at me with a weapon, I won’t assume he has good motives; I’ll defend my friends and myself with all necessary force.”

“That makes sense, I’m just saying that there should be a way back from that.” Alana said.

“I have no problem with that, assuming he survives.” Rachel said.

“But Rachel, isn’t that a bit unfair?” Beth replied. “What if a good person was attacking you and you killed him not knowing that.”

“Then Illuminar will let me know at the final judgment.” The redhead replied. “The Book of Light allows for self-defense, even using lethal force in self-defense.”

“That does bring up an interesting point though.” Ethan said, thinking about his first two days in the Ten Kingdoms. “What if soldiers attack you after being misled to think that you’re evil? Consider the men who attacked Alana and me the first couple days we were in the Ten Kingdoms.”

“Exactly!” Beth said. “That’s part of my point.”

“So, are you saying that Ethan and Alana shouldn’t have defended themselves?” Kendra asked her.

“Well no.” The blonde replied, deflating slightly.

“Besides, we aren’t talking about the Narlotten soldiers from three months ago.” The dragon huntress said, swinging the conversation back to the matter at hand. “We’re talking about the Ivernian soldiers that right now are coming to kill or capture us. Would you have us surrender?”