Chapter 46

Darras stepped through the gateway in Torgillas, the capital of the Kingdom of Torgillon, and paid a small entry fee plus the entry fee for Kilinna, who would arrive behind him. One minute later, she appeared no longer looking like the half-starved young waif Darras had first met. Dressed comfortably now and carrying a small pack, she looked every inch like a young lady of the upper middle class.

“They’re outside waiting for you,” Darras informed Kilinna.

“I’m a bit anxious. I hope they’ll accept me,” Kilinna confessed, her voice betraying a hint of nervousness.

“They will, and vice versa,” Darras chuckled. “Erren doesn’t make mistakes like this, and she’ll always keep an eye on you.”

Outside, Darras spotted Kilinna’s new parents. A priest and his wife stood nervously scanning the latest arrivals, their faces lighting up as they saw Darras and Kilinna.

“Sir Darras?” the man asked as Darras approached, trailed by Kilinna.

“Yes, Lomax,” Darras smiled. “May I introduce Kilinna, your new daughter.”

“Kilinna,” the woman replied. “I’m Nara; it’s such a joy to meet you.”

“A pleasure too, Nara, Lomax,” Kilinna shyly replied.

“When Erren informed me in a vision that she would have us adopt a daughter, it was a dream come true for me,” Nara said, stepping forward to hug Kilinna, an accepted hug with no hesitation.

“I am grateful,” Kilinna replied, tears springing from her eyes as the obvious affection from Nara overwhelmed her.

“It’s mutual,” Lomax chuckled. “You’ll be both safe and happy amongst us.”

“You know my past?” Kilinna asked.

“Some of it,” Lomax nodded. “Though there’s much about you, we don’t know, but we look forward to finding out.”

“Let’s get you to your new home,” Nara said, taking Kilinna’s bag. “I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“Erren said you loved to read,” Lomax added. “The temple has an extensive library for you to go through.”

“Books?” Kilinna asked eagerly.

“Yes, lots of books,” Lomax chuckled. “Both facts and fiction.”

“The temple has fiction books?”

“We do, all part of the temple school for teaching literacy to the local dwellers,” Nara replied.

“Oh, I can’t wait to see it!”

‘Good, her path is now set; she’ll learn enough to begin teaching the children of the locals and begin a path of literacy and numeracy in Torgillas that will greatly benefit the Kingdom, ’ Erren exulted.

Darras just smiled; it was clear Kilinna was tentatively beginning to bond with the couple whom Erren had described as good people with adult sons but whom Nara had always desired a daughter. It wasn’t until they reached the temple that Darras realised it was the central temple of Erren in Torgillas and the supreme authority in all her temples and ecclesiastical ranks.

Lomax, though, did not lead them into the temple but to the side, where they found a well-maintained house with a well-tended garden—this thrilled Kilinna, who was now struggling to contain her excitement.

“It’s so beautiful,” she finally breathed out, causing Lomax and Nara to smile.

“I’m glad you like it,” Nara replied. “You’ll have your own room but also need to attend temple school.”

“I will!”

“What a treasure you’ve brought us,” Lomax said in an aside to Darras.

“She’ll be blessed and cared for by Erren, too,” Darras replied. “As you bring joy into her life, she’ll bring joy into yours many times greater.”

“She already has,” Lomax chuckled. “We always wanted a daughter, though we love our sons dearly.”

Darras said his farewell and headed out into the city. Although his primary task had been to see Kilinna to her new home, Erren had another task for him. Torgillas was a port city, and it was within the jumble of warehouses surrounding the port that Erren suspected a shadow lurked.

“Wonder what it’s up to?” Darras mused as he began a methodical search of the area.

‘I’m not even certain one is down here; just a series of reports from the local temples indicate a pattern of events that look suspicious.’

“Can’t hurt to look, saying I’m here,” Darras smiled.

‘True, I usually wouldn’t bother, ’ Erren replied.

“I take it they are still trying to interfere in the East?”

‘Even that’s come to a halt after your last efforts with the Korchian delegation.’

“I’m sure they’ll come up with something.”

‘As do I, though currently, I’m figuring out how to get you into the far north for a look around.’

“Probably the forest folk.”

‘Yes, though there’s no gateway network up there or Dryads either.’

“Even then, it might not be near where I want to look,”

‘Yes, there’s that too, ’ Erren agreed.

“I’m detecting a shadow,” Darras said, coming to a halt.

‘Well done, my love. Very faint, but off to the north, closer to the river.’

Darras headed towards where his senses were telling him a shadow lurked, though the feeling remained nebulous and not becoming any stronger.

‘It may be on a ship.’ Erren informed Darras.

“I hope not; getting at it will be difficult if it is.”

‘I know; strangers on ships are regarded as stowaways.’

“Nor do I look like a customs agent,” Darras chuckled. “Or don’t have the paperwork for one.”

‘An oversight, to be sure, ’ Erren giggled.

“Still not getting stronger; you don’t suppose it’s over the river in Coromina?”

‘It might be, can’t hurt to look.’

Across the river, Torgil was the capital of Coromina, which was called Coro. Though a separate country to Torgillas, the two countries got on well together, though Torgillas was by far the dominant. The only issues Coromina had were to its north and the country of Fordel and their occasional illegal logging forays. This tended to be a minor matter these days, with the forest folk now proactively dealing with any abuse of their woods by Fordel.

Coro was also totally unlike the bustling Torgillas. The city was more stately and more bent on ceremony than trade. However, Darras’s sense of the shadow was far more substantial, and he relentlessly began to track it down.

“Wonder what it’s doing over here?” Darras mused.

‘I have no idea, my love. Coromina plays a minimal role in the goings on of the world, ’ Erren replied.

Darras followed his ‘sense of wrongness’ until he finally reached a tall, imposing building on the waterfront, presumably giving a grand view of the river.

“In here,” Darras murmured, gazing at a nameplate on the building.

‘Customs Department, ’ Erren confirmed. ‘Looks like it’s involved in smuggling something.’

“Seems very likely, I wonder what?”

Darras entered the building, gazing at the magnificent architecture of the central hall, smiling slightly in appreciation. He then proceeded towards the riverfront, ignoring the reception desks until he reached a stairwell and entered it.

‘Well done, my love, no one noticed you, ’ Erren informed Darras.

Darras remained silent. There was occasional traffic on the stairs, but everyone ignored him, being busy with their own affairs. The sense of the shadow grew ever stronger until Erren finally confirmed that Darras was on the correct floor, level six, and at the very top of the building. These all appeared to be private offices and, from what Darras could tell, were all occupied by civil servants, though the office the shadow was occupying was marked with a noble title, indicating he was the head of customs. Hearing nothing at the door, Darras opened it and slipped inside, seeing no one but clearly sensing the shadow. Moving over to a second door, Darras could distinctly hear a conversation, though he smiled coldly as he realised the shadow was speaking.

‘Let it finish, my love, ’ Erren requested. ‘It’s providing me information.’

Darras said nothing, mainly because he was concerned about giving away his presence. The conversation was long, and despite his excellent hearing, Darras only picked up a portion of it, though he knew Erren heard everything. Hearing the sound of movement, Darras concealed himself at the side of the door. When a tall, thin man stepped through, Darras took his chance to seize the shadow, causing the man to collapse.

The shadow was not powerful, and Darras soon had it despatched before moving into the room it had occupied, spotting an inactive scrying stone. Under Erren’s instruction, Darras checked over a few pieces of paperwork before she sighed in satisfaction.

“What was it up to?” Darras asked.

‘Piracy, the shadow was noting the departures of certain ships and reporting them to its partner elsewhere, ’ Erren replied. ‘Simple mischief, if somewhat deadly for the sailors involved.’

“Back to their old tricks, then?”

‘Seems that way, you may have been making a dent in their numbers.’

“Wonder how many there are,” Darras mused.

‘I’m not sure, but I’ll get my temples to begin checking again for anomalies related to the darkness.’

“Main danger still in the east?”

‘Yes, they appear determined to cause a war between Crusal and Asul. Then drag other nations into it.’

“This might have been part of it, trying to drag Torgillas into it as well,” Darras replied.

‘Powerful as Torgillas is, they simply could not fight a war in either Crusal or Asul nor is their navy a match for either of those two countries, ’ Erren explained.

“Allied, though?”

‘Hmm, perhaps, though Torgillon has no particular love of either country.’