Chapter 15

Roquan stood in utter silence, staring with an expression of absolute incredulity. Finally he took a deep breath and said in a low and resonating voice, "Vanlo, you must be absolutely sure of this..."

"I am as sure as I can possibly be without a final test, your Lordship," said Vanlo, grateful for an end to the heavy silence. "And that will be in but a single day."

"A single day?"

"When you energize the Portal to send Amanda away. I will surely detect the energies if I am wrong, and surely will not detect them if I am right."

"And I surely hope you are wrong!" exclaimed the Overlord. "Great Gods, Vanlo! Do you realize the significance of this if you are right?"

Vanlo gave Roquan a patient smile. "Considering that I am the one affected, indeed I do, your Lordship."

Roquan paused, and then nodded, his expression softening. "Forgive me for not seeing your side of this."

"No need, your Lordship. I understand there are bigger issues to contend with."

"And you are telling me that there is no way this could be anything other than deliberate?"

Vanlo stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I assume by that you mean the effect of nullifying my Portal sensitivity rather than the act itself."

"Yes, of course. Even an idiot can see that delivering a potion by the manner you described could not be accidental."

"Quite. Anyway, yes, I am quite sure it was deliberate. While it is true that the potion had secondary effects, none were in great enough strength or quantity to allow me to claim them as the intended primary effect. No, your Lordship, I believe this was intended to do exactly as it did. Anything else was a side-effect."

Anger flashed in Roquan's eyes. "If I discover that anyone from the Conclave had a hand in this..." he growled, one hand clenching tightly into a fist.

"That remains to be seen."

"Can we even discover who did it, Vanlo? Or is the trail too old?"

"What we have in the way of a trail, as you put it, is but a single hair."

Roquan sighed in exasperation. "And nothing else..."

"It is quite possible that is all we need."

Roquan narrowed his eyes at Vanlo.

"Lanno, my assistant... that is, my partner... is highly skilled in the area of skin and hair health. His skills in that area combined with my skills in chemical analysis may give us some more clues."

"Vanlo, if you learn that this was the work of Gronnus, I need to know immediately."

"I should warn you, your Lordship, that it is possible we may not pin it down to a specific person. It is also possible that the hair belonged to Yanna, as it was found in the Jonalla."

Roquan looked surprised. "The Jonalla? You still have it?"

"Indeed, I do."

Roquan's face darkened. "I would have thought it more appropriate to destroy it."

"With all due respect, your Lordship, your anger is misdirected. Jonalla is merely an herb, an ingredient. It is not inherently evil. It is also very expensive. It would be foolish to discard it. And, as you can see, it has served a purpose."

Vanlo avoided mentioning the fact that had he not kept the Jonalla, the perpetrator might never have been able to create the potion in the first place. It was obvious that he had not thoroughly planned the action, for he had used whatever ingredients he had happened to find. Vanlo himself had calculated what would have been needed to make a proper potion to still his Portal sense, and Jonalla was not among the ingredients. Instead, he was convinced that it had been used in place of some ingredients that Vanlo did not have on hand.

Roquan sighed. "Very well. It is not for me to question your judgment on Healer matters."

Vanlo took this as an indirect compliment and smiled slightly.

"So if you cannot say that this will tell me who did it, what can it tell me?"

"It can tell you who did not do it. Circumstance may then allow you to reduce the number of suspects to a scant few."

"Very well, Vanlo. As always, whatever resources you need, you will have."

Vanlo nodded and started to turn away. He paused a moment and faced the Overlord again. "If I may ask one more thing of you, your Lordship?"

"Certainly."

"I would like to keep this quiet. I do not believe we should tell anyone. And I do mean anyone, your Lordship."

"You are afraid that word will get back to the perpetrator before you have a chance to expose him?"

"Yes, that is a concern. Or that he will attempt to stop me again, and this time in a more permanent fashion."

Roquan's eyes widened slightly. "Vanlo, are you in fear of your life?"

Vanlo gave the Overlord a tiny smile. "'Fear' is such a harsh word, and perhaps my ego is not up to dealing with it. Let us just say that I am concerned. An adversary that would feel no qualms with damaging another's mind may also feel the same callous disregard for the body as well."

Roquan nodded. "Understood. I will keep this in confidence until we both decide otherwise."

"Thank you, your Lordship. I bid you good day."

"Good day, Vanlo. At least as much as it can be now."

Vanlo took a slow stroll back to his office. He forced himself not to hurry, or to change his routine in any way. He had low-keyed his troubles to the Overlord. He was indeed very fearful for his life. In all his years, he had never been attacked in such a clear and organized manner. He had never been the target of someone's machinations.

In the past, on the rare occasions where he failed to save a patient, friends and relatives needed someone to blame. They would invariably seek Vanlo as a target for their grief-driven rage. Thus he was used to people confronting him in anger, but the idea of someone actually conspiring against him was a new and frightening experience for him. But to give into the fear was tantamount to surrender to his unknown adversary.

Vanlo hoped that it had been an Overlord. That would make it a little easier to deal with, knowing that most of them were far from the Manor.

Vanlo returned to his office to find Lanno sitting in the back room near Vanlo's apparatus. In his hand was the small glass vial in which the hair had been sealed until they were ready for Vanlo to perform his experiments upon it.

"Have you gleaned anything from it, Lanno?" Vanlo asked as he stepped into the room.

Lanno turned the vial around in his fingers a few times before finally lowering it and looking towards Vanlo. "A few things. Unfortunately, none of it really narrows it down."

"Oh?" Vanlo said unconcernedly as he pulled up a chair. "Please, do tell me what you have found."

"Well, I can safely say this is from someone young. No more than thirty years, likely less."

Vanlo nodded. "That rules out most of the Overlords. What else?"

Lanno raised an eyebrow. "Surely you don't think an Overlord would..."

Vanlo waved a hand quickly in dismissal. "Please, do not belabor the point. Continue."

Lanno made a face, but resumed. "I also spotted a very tiny flake of what appears to be dried skin near the base of the hair. A piece of dandruff, most likely."

"And that rules out the slaves of the Manor."

Lanno chuckled. "Not that they could be suspected in any case."

"Did you not hear me when I had told you about the agent impersonating a slave?"

Lanno had found that claim to be a bit unbelievable once he had a chance to think about it. When he saw how easily he had managed to tell how different Amanda was from the other slaves, he had trouble believing that someone could play the role that convincingly. "Yes, I remember. But slaves are subject to dandruff as well, regardless."

"His Lordship takes great pride in the hygiene of his slaves," Vanlo explained. "He purchases nothing but the best in terms of soaps and other personal grooming items. You will be very hard pressed to find a single flake of dandruff on any slave here."

Lanno considered this. "You know, I did think that the slaves here had rather lustrous hair. Much more so than I thought they would. You may be right. But would this agent have been as meticulous as well?"

Vanlo considered. "She did have dark hair herself. But that will be borne out in the chemical analysis, as I still recall the results the time that I had analyzed her blood."

"Analyzed her blood?"

"Yes. I had suspected something different about her for some time, though physiologically speaking rather than behavioral. I had proven that she was of Narlassi descent rather than from offworld."

Lanno's eyebrows shot up. "Really? You can do that? I'm impressed."

Vanlo allowed himself a small smile. "It is not easy work, and can be easily disrupted."

Lanno nodded. "So if we have already eliminated the Overlords and the slaves, who does that leave us with?"

"The merchants at the Manor at the time of the Conclave."

"Oh yes, you had mentioned that one of them had tried to assassinate Roquan."

"Yes, the very same one from whom Amanda took a crossbow bolt in her leg."

"He would be a prime suspect, then."

"Except that he did not have hair this dark, and I sincerely doubt he had the expertise to mix such a potion."

Lanno sighed. "Then that leaves us the merchants that are long since gone."

"Yes. Only one of them remained behind, though he was not affiliated with the merchant clan."

"Would that be that Jollis fellow that I met my first day here?"

"Yes."

There was a pause. Lanno lifted the vial briefly. "He has very dark hair, doesn't he?"

Vanlo looked thoughtful. "Yes, he does."

Lanno made a face. "But he hardly struck me as the kind that would do something like this."

"Admittedly, I know little of the man," said Vanlo. "But his Lordship trusts him implicitly. And I see no motivation on his part."

"Then that doesn't leave us with much, Vanlo."

Vanlo stood up. "On the contrary, it has done much to limit the number of potential suspects. I did not promise his Lordship that we would pinpoint the exact person. If you can glean nothing more from this hair, it is best that I start my analysis, as it will take some time for it to complete."

Lanno looked over the hair one last time before handing the vial to the older Healer. "So what will you be able to tell us?"

"For one thing, I can confirm whether the hair belongs to slave or to a Narlassi. If his Lordship is concerned about another spy in his midst, we can take a hair sample from every dark-haired girl in the Manor and confirm that they are non-Narlassi. That would thus leave us with the merchants."

"And then?"

"And then it will be for the Overlord to decide what to do next."

The clouds in the west glowed with crimson fire as the sun sank below the horizon, casting a dusky blood color upon the rippling surface of the lake. The wind that blew across the waters was sharply cooler than the afternoon sun had been. The bare skin of the two slave girls prickled as the cold touched them, but they did not break stride as they walked ahead of their Overlord.

If either of the two slaves thought this an unusual means of exchange for their services, it was not apparent in their faces or their mannerisms, save perhaps for an occasional glance between them. Indeed, Gronnus had told them little beyond being given to another client. He had told them nothing about being outright sold.

Just where the narrow strip of sandy beach was about to curve back towards a path through the trees, two figures appeared ahead of them.

"Hold," Gronnus barked. The two slave girls came to an immediate stop. The Overlord stepped forward between them, the two men ahead responding in kind. They wore simple robes over peasant attire, hoods covering their heads. At the Overlord's approach, they lowered their hoods as one.

"Greetings, Overlord," said one, bowing his head slightly. The other inclined his head as well but said nothing. Physically, both were similar to Jollis. They were lean of build and dark-haired, with slightly almond-shaped eyes. "We have been sent by the Wanderer Jollis."

Gronnus raised an eyebrow, having never heard the merchant addressed by that title before. "I have what he wants," he said in a gruff voice. "But you do not get it until I have what I want."

The two men exchanged a look. The silent one gave a single, slow nod to the first. "Very well," said the first as he turned to face the Overlord again. "But be advised that if you refuse to give us your slaves, there will be consequences."

Gronnus bristled, even though inwardly he felt a twinge of fear. "Are you threatening me?"

"Not at all, Overlord. I state a certainty."

"I do not take kindly to dealing at the point of a sword or an arrow."

The man smiled. "Oh no, Overlord, you misunderstand. We are unarmed. But it is my understanding that reneging on a deal with the Wanderer can be very bad for you without the need to kill you. In fact, it can be worse."

The statement was delivered with such calm certainty that it sent an icy tendril up Gronnus' spine. "Enough prattle. What do you have for me?"

By this time, the two slaves realized that something unusual was going on. Where both had experience with clients in the past, they knew this was radically different from any other time they had been contracted. They did not understand everything that was being said, but they were intelligent enough to figure out that some sort of strange deal was taking place.

"Your chief adversary among the Overlords conspires with the Nobility," said the merchant. "He has allied himself with the Governor of Keyas. They are united in their stand against the Emperor. Jollis believes they will make some sort of move against him."

Gronnus frowned deeply as he absorbed this information. "A military move?"

The man shook his head. "I know no more. That is all I have for you."

"And you expect two slaves for that?!"

"That is what was agreed upon, Overlord. We have lived up to the Wanderer's end of the bargain. It is up to you to live up to yours."

"I need more than that! I need names and places and dates!"

"Perhaps that will be forthcoming with the next deal. But that is all we have now."

"You mean that is all you are willing to tell me!" Gronnus huffed. He paused and sighed. "I will conclude the deal as agreed. But I will be speaking with your Master, and I will make absolutely sure that you have told me everything he wanted me to know."

"Why would we hold anything back from you, Overlord? It would make little sense."

"I do not know. I no longer profess to know anyone's motivations any longer!"

Gronnus whipped around and marched back over to his slaves, glowering. The two slaves looked at their Overlord with concern, partially for him and partially for themselves. Without realizing it, they had taken hold of each other's hand as if in mutual support.

The Overlord stepped behind his slaves, ignoring their silent plea. He motioned for them to move forward.

The two slaves hesitated, most likely the first time they had ever done such a thing. Nevertheless, they remembered their place, being too experienced and too indoctrinated to do anything else. They each stepped before the two men and bowed their heads, casting their eyes downward, and folded their hands demurely before them.

Gronnus took a deep breath. "These are your new slaves," he intoned. "Owned by... uh... bound to you and to your bidding. Use them as you see fit. May they bring you great pleasure. Treat them well."

As one, they lowered themselves to their knees, spreading them apart, and lay their hands palms-up atop their thighs and waited.

The slightest of shivers passed through the more experienced of the two. She was the first to realize that there had been a departure from the normal Presenting to a new client. The Overlord had stopped in mid-phrase, and then left a significant portion of it out. The complete phrase should have been "owned by myself, Overlord Gronnus D'yoran, but bound to you and to your bidding." It was a gentle reminder that the client did not own the slave but that the slave was nevertheless bound to the client's desires.

It was not until there was the sound of Gronnus turning and leaving before seeing if the new client had accepted his contracted slaves that both now realized something was very wrong. Yet neither broke protocol or made their concerns obvious. They remained still, waiting for their first command.

The first man looked down at the two girls with a mixture of desire and sympathy. He had been warned that they would be tempting to the senses. He had also been reminded to keep to his original task.

He turned to the second, who also had his attention riveted to the two nude young women. "Farview your Master," he said softly. "Inform him that we are ready."

"Where will he open the Portal?" asked the second.

"Most likely right where you are standing. One of the merchants we have knows this area very well."

As the second man walked off a short distance to perform the Farview, the first turned to the two slaves. He sighed through his nose as he saw they remained as still as they had been a few moments ago. He slowly shook his head. Some of their appeal was wearing off. He preferred a woman that had more of her own will. Sex was not everything.

"You may both rise."

The two slaves rose to their feet and lifted their eyes. As much as there was obedience in them, there was also uncertainty.

"I imagine this will be quite different than what you are used to," he continued. "But I assure you there is no need to be frightened."

Neither slave knew quite how to respond, and each looked to the other for guidance, but received none. Finally, the more experienced of them spoke, "We will do whatever you bid of us, Master."

"Yes, I am sure you will. But that does not mean you do not have emotions."

Before either slave could respond to this, the second man returned. "It is done. The Portal will open shortly."

"Portal, Master?" the slave asked suddenly.

The first man smiled at her. That was much better. There was indeed a mind there, but it had been trained into submission. "Yes. We live a great distance from here. The Portal is a faster means of getting there."

The slave glanced over towards the second man for a moment, then back to the first. Something was odd about this. She had seen a Portal opened before her only twice in her life, and something about those two times had been subtly different.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck down from the skies with a strangely muted clap of thunder. It reflected from the ground and curved itself into the rough shape of sphere. Taken by surprise, both slaves gasped in fear until the older one realized it was just the Portal opening. She squeezed the other's hand reassuringly.

As a ball of energy formed and then folded in on itself before opening an apparently infinite tunnel into the distance, the older slave realized what it was that had been different. No one was holding a glowing blue pearl. In each of the two times before, someone had held a pearl in his outstretched hand, and it had glowed almost blindingly bright just before the Portal opened.

The first man turned to the slaves. "Please, if you would step through ahead of us..."

The younger slave was frightened and did not move at first. The older one smiled gently at her and squeezed her hand again. Something unspoken passed between the two of them, as the younger one finally swallowed and nodded. Slowly, the two of them approached the Portal, paused, and then stepped into it.

After passing through the membrane of the sphere that marked the entrance of the Portal, their shadowy forms seemed frozen a moment before zooming off into the distance at an impossible speed and vanishing from sight.

The two men made no attempt to follow. Instead, they waited patiently. Moments later, the Portal closed with a low, resonating boom that shook the ground, the remaining energies dissipating into nothingness.

"Should we check to insure that they arrived safely?" asked the second man.

The first man shook his head. "No need. It has worked every time. There is no reason to think this was any different. The Portal had formed strong and sure. They quite obviously had a very clear picture of the area."

"I do hope they are able to adapt to their new life. I would hate to think..."

"We have no time for such things. The Wanderer Jollis has much to accomplish in a short period of time. It is not our place to question."

The second man sighed. "I suppose you are right."

The first started back into the forest, the second coming along behind him. "Come. There is much to be done yet."

The two disappeared into the shadowy depths of the forest as the clouds over the lake turned dark.

Night banished the twilight from the skies, darkness settling over the D'ronstaq Manor and drifting into Jollis' quarters, until only the low, flickering flame of the small oil lamp on his night table held it at bay.

Amanda barely noticed the growing dimness, her eyes already closed as her pleasure slowly rose to an intensity that made her body tremble in her growing need for release. Yet it was only herself that held her back. She willingly tensed her muscles to slow her rise so she could enjoy this time with him as long as possible.

At first she had felt a twinge of anxiety, as Jollis had begun to make love to her with a fire in his eyes and an urgency to his movements that made her briefly flash back to Lanno. Quickly, her fears dissolved. His thrusts into her were quick and firm, but not brutal. He had embraced her reassuringly, holding her close as his hips rocked against her.