Chapter 15

Rennis had fallen into a stunned silence.

Roquan sometimes had trouble reading people over Farview. In his eyes, even the best pearls degraded the representation enough to lose subtle nuances upon which he relied. Thus the true intent of the silence was lost to him, and he had to guess.

"Yes, it was rather a shock to myself as well when I had first heard it," said Roquan in a somber voice. "To learn that the very thing that I relied upon for so long was also the potential instrument of destruction of the primary quality that I sought..."

"How close is Vanlo, Roquan?" Rennis suddenly demanded. "Is he making any headway at all?"

"I have not received a detailed account for some time. I suspect he did not wish to interrupt these delicate negotiations with..."

"But can he do anything at all? Can he even begin to understand how it all works?"

Roquan perceived the edge of nervous desperation to Rennis' voice, but failed to understand it. "He did tell me that he had been stymied in his attempts for some time, but he has since made a breakthrough. He believes it is only a matter of time."

Rennis looked alarmed, but he recovered and nodded quickly. "Is this the only thing he is working on?"

Roquan gave his friend a puzzled look. "I do not understand."

"Is it the only thing?" Rennis repeated with growing impatience. "I cannot make my question any more clear than that!"

"If you mean he is working only on countering this particular side-effect, yes, I believe that is the case. It is the original task I had assigned to him, at any rate. Is something the matter, Rennis?"

"Not if he is confining himself to the task you assigned to him."

"Why would this be a concern?"

Rennis appeared to search for words. "I simply believe the Draught was not meant to be tampered with."

"That is an odd statement coming from you, since you have told me on numerous occasions that you have tweaked your version of it."

"I have done such a thing only a few times, and those times were few and far between. And nothing so radical as you are planning."

Roquan was nonplussed by Rennis' reaction. "Granted. But you have altered the formula. All Overlords are granted the right to..."

"I just want Vanlo to be careful, that's all. He is not an Overlord. If he were to make a mistake and make an alteration that is too extreme..."

"Vanlo is better at chemistry than any extant Overlord. He is perhaps the best at this discipline in all of Oceanus. If anyone can do this properly, Rennis, it is him. If you are nervous due to what is being said about Freya..."

"No, this has nothing to do with that," said Rennis, and from his tone it was clear that Roquan could accept this as truth. "And to be honest, I am not sure I believe half of what I am hearing about her."

"Admittedly, all we have is speculation."

Rennis nodded. He looked lost, as if he wanted to say something, but the words were not coming to him.

"Rennis, is there something you need to discuss? I wish to reassure you as much as possible. I have only the slaves' best interests at heart, even those I have not yet acquired."

"Not yet acquired," Rennis repeated softly to himself, as if taking solace in it. "Yes, of course. This would be going forward only."

Roquan tilted his head curiously. "Of course. A Draught cannot be administered -- or re-administered -- after the fact."

"Of course not! It's a silly idea."

"Which is why I am curious as to why you even entertained the thought in the first place."

Rennis hesitated. "Well, I remember how you would complain about Amanda and how intractable she was. I thought, if things were different about the Draught, you would consider..."

"No," Roquan said firmly. "Even if such a thing were possible, and even if it would protect her intelligence, I would do no such thing to her."

Now it was Rennis' who appeared surprised. Where he had not received a recent update about Amanda, he did not know how far Roquan's feelings had swung in her favor.

"Speaking of whom, Amanda is being brought to me this morning. I must end this Farview soon."

"Understood. I will likely visit you very soon."

"I thought you were looking to stay in your own Manor for awhile. You always did complain about the trip here."

Rennis gave his friend a wan smile. "Perhaps I continue to miss Sirinna. How is she, Roquan? Is she okay? Is she doing well?"

Roquan sensed some urgency in Rennis' voice. "Yes, of course. She is happy to have Amanda back. I fear that I will be unable to separate the two of them any more."

"That may be for the best, Roquan. They can keep an eye on each other."

Roquan paused. "In what way would you see this as an advantage?"

Rennis appeared to search for words again. "Well, you see how Amanda helped thwart that attempt to take Sirinna from you."

Roquan frowned. "You suspect such an attempt to be repeated?"

"No, I was merely using it as an example. Hellfire, Roquan, let me fret over Sirinna now and then without it having some broader implication."

Roquan slowly nodded. "I would look forward to your visit as always, Rennis."

Rennis smiled, looking less flustered. "I will arrange it soon as I am able. I suspect you will be making more business for me quite soon."

There was a soft knock at the door. "One moment," Roquan called out. "I must go, Rennis."

Rennis nodded. "Good luck to you, and good day."

"Good day."

Rennis faded from sight.

Roquan sighed. It was one thing to feel the tension and the stress in himself, but to witness it in so many of those he called friends was a burden in and of itself. For a moment he wished that he could be with Duric and know what he was planning, how he was intending to bring the war to a close, reunite Oceanus, and bring sanity to his life once more.

Roquan frowned. Leave the soldiering to the soldiers, he thought, half in chastisement and half in lament. He turned towards the door and lifted his head. "Enter."

The door opened, and Amanda slipped quietly into the room.

Roquan noted immediately that she was alone. Though her higher status afforded her the privilege to go about the Manor unattended, it was still traditional to allow the Trainer to escort her to the Overlord when he commanded her services. The fact that she had elected against escort was a way of flaunting her few freedoms.

The dark eyes that regarded him under bangs of lustrous raven hair showed no trace of defiance in them. Nor did they show the absolute devotion he would expect from a "normal" slave. Instead, he saw a delicate loyalty, a willful submission in the moment, a tacit promise of obedience born out of her own desire to please and be rewarded rather than the compunctions of duty.

Amanda stepped over to him. In that simple move, it was as if Roquan were seeing her for the first time in over a moon. She carried herself with the confidence of a mature young woman. Yet as she lowered her eyes and dropped to her knees, he could see a very slight tremble in her movements, momentarily dispelling the illusion.

Roquan watched as Amanda spread her knees and settled back on her feet. She lay her hands palm-up against her thighs and hung her head in quiet submission. She continued to quiver, barely noticeable.

Roquan understood. She was nervous. She knew that he rarely called her to his service at this hour of the day. You want something of me, her stance shouted at him. Something important that I might not like.

He had the urge to apologize and to simply tell her what he wanted of her. Certainly he was not prepared to engage her sexually. He had already fully dressed himself for the day, and did not intend to undo it all, despite the temptation.

Roquan crouched beside his Draughtless slave. His eyes slid over the soft, perfect curves of her feminine form. He lay one hand gently against her back and let it slip downward until his fingers pressed softly into the flesh of her rear. He heard the slow intake of breath and felt the tiny shiver.

With his other hand, he cupped one of her breasts. He did not squeeze or fondle it, he simply held it, as if weighing it in his hand. She let out a soft sigh, closing her eyes. Her thighs twitched. He was rewarded with the scent of her arousal.

Roquan still marveled at the girl's sensuality. Despite her Draughtless state, a few simple touches could arouse her.

His hand dropped from her breast. She left her eyes closed, her lips parted. She let out another husky sigh as warm and willing folds enveloped his probing finger.

"Stand with me," said the Overlord.

Amanda slowly rose to her feet. Roquan kept his finger pressed to her sex, slowly rubbing her engorged womanhood. His other hand squeezed her buttocks. Amanda uttered a tiny gasp and quivered in anticipation, her eyes closing again in preparation for the first blow.

He let out a slow sigh through his nose. As much as he wanted to, as much as he adored how it made Amanda intensely aroused, it felt somehow inappropriate.

Roquan let his hand drop from her rear. Amanda slowly opened her eyes and looked at the Overlord, eyes a mix of puzzlement and desire.

"Spread your feet apart."

Amanda did so, eagerly. She moaned as two of his strong fingers squished into her slick tunnel. She panted as he thrusted.

"Allow yourself to cum as you wish."

Amanda relaxed her muscles. Her eyes slid closed again. She clutched at the Overlord as her pleasure rose. She pushed her sex against his hand, driving his fingers into her in an escalating frenzy. Finally she let out a loud moan, squeezing his fingers tightly out of reflex rather than slave training.

He let her play against his fingers until she was spent, then withdrew.

Amanda's sex ached pleasantly in the afterglow. "Thank you, Master," she said, her voice soft and breathless.

"It is the least you deserve, Amanda, for all that you have done for me."

Amanda stared. "Oh! Um ... thank you." Her lips curled into a smile.

Roquan secretly loved that smile. It was refreshing to see one that did not come from the Draught. "I must again ask a task of you. One that you may find difficult."

Some of Amanda's smile faded, but her gaze did not waver. "Will you be sending me away again, Master?"

Roquan detected the fear in her voice, even as hard as she tried to suppress it. "No. You will not be leaving the Manor for the foreseeable future."

"What is you wish of me then, Master? Do you wish to make me available for the visiting merchants?"

"I wish you to make yourself available for one man. The visiting Ambassador from the Urisi."

Amanda's eyes widened, but she said not a word. She simply watched and waited.

"He has requested you. You are to be his personal slave for at least part of his remaining time at the Manor."

"And you wish me to act as a normal slave? You do not want him know that I am Draughtless. Is that it, Master?"

"No. He already knows you have not had the Draught."

Amanda looked faintly shocked. "He does? But how did... ?"

"It is quite involved, Amanda," said Roquan. "And I give you my word that I will explain it all to you when these negotiations are completed."

The Overlords cast an earnest gaze into Amanda's questioning one. The latter turned to one of resignation. "Yes, Master, I understand."

Roquan could read Amanda's eyes so well, and now they said I trust you. Roquan did not understand why he was so taken with that. "You are not obligated to tell him the exact circumstances of your Draughtless state. You may refuse to give that information with impunity. But you must do what he tells you."

"Yes, Master, of course. I will please him the best I can."

Roquan was relieved. It was amazing. With just the little freedom he had given her, she was now totally willing to do what he wished. He did not question her loyalty for even a moment.

"Master, will I have to give up my work at the Healer office?"

"Ambassador Norlan will be spending much of his time during the day tending to business. You will likely be needed for only the evenings and the mornings."

"Thank you, Master."

"Master Vanlo mentioned you the other day," said Roquan in a softer voice. "He is very pleased with your work."

"I'm quite enjoying it, Master. More so than I thought I would."

"Very good. I will recommend you continue for the foreseeable future. Now, I must attend to the business of the day. You will go to the Ambassador's quarters at twilight this evening."

"Yes, Master. May I go? Master Vanlo wanted me to work on inventory this morning."

Roquan nodded once. Amanda smiled and headed out.

The Healer office was unusually quiet when Lanno arrived. Thus it was with some surprise that he beheld Vanlo sitting before his apparatus in the back room. He stared morosely at the flask holding its latest product.

Lanno watched the fluid that continued to drip slowly from the end of the glass pipe poised over the neck of the flask. It was crimson with a touch of amber. What had gathered in the flask was so pristine it seemed to glow. "Has something gone wrong?"

Vanlo jerked and nearly fell out of his chair. A hand fluttered to his chest. "Heavens, Lanno..."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Vanlo took a deep breath, his hand dropping to his lap. "Yes, something is indeed wrong. I have failed the Overlord in the task he had given me."

Lanno raised an eyebrow. His gaze again shifted to the flask.

Vanlo shook his head. "Not that task, Master Lanno." He leaned forward and twisted a valve closed with a faint squeak. He let the last drop fall from the end of the pipe before lifting the flask. "In fact, I am almost there. I am astonished by the rapid rate of my progress."

"Then what in Narlass are you talking about?"

Vanlo studied the fluid for an inordinate amount of time. "He had asked me to find more information on what Healer Evella may be doing for Overlord Freya," he said finally. "I have been utterly unsuccessful in this endeavor."

Lanno slapped his forehead. "Hellfire. I was so wrapped up in my work that I forgot all about that."

"I fear it was something else other than work that was distracting you, Lanno."

Lanno rolled his eyes. "I am not that obsessed with Amanda!"

"Note your choice of words: you are not that obsessed, which implies..."

"Look, enough about my sex life, okay?" Lanno snapped. "So Roquan is that concerned about Freya?"

Vanlo stood and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I believe he has a right to be." He gestured towards the apparatus. "We have already seen what a determined Healer with knowledge in chemistry can do to the Draught. While I doubt that her experience rivals mine, what I have been able to learn about Evella is that she is exceptionally intelligent and clever. She has the ability to think beyond conventional wisdom."

"You don't think she might figure out the same thing that you did? That the effects of the Draught can be reversed?"

"It is sheer speculation, of course, but yes, it is within the realm of possibility."

Lanno looked thoughtful, then shrugged. "Okay, so? From what I've gleaned about Overlord Freya, she's not exactly as generous towards her slaves as Roquan. I doubt she will have use for reversing the effects of the Draught."

Vanlo picked up the flask. "You have missed an important point, Lanno."

Lanno gave Vanlo a sour look. "Yes, it seems I always do. But pretend for a moment that I do not have decades of chemistry experience and humor me."

"The fact that the effects of the Draught can potentially be reversed by the application of a second Draught has a very critical corollary. It means that the original Draught could possibly be modified to no longer require the mind to be in a state of Portal-shock."

"That doesn't make any sense! You have to give the Draught to someone in Portal-shock. It's the only way the mind is open enough to accept it. It's what the Healer Guild Elders tell us."

"The same Elders that claimed the effects of the Draught to be permanent in the first place?"

Lanno opened his mouth to retort, then closed it without a word.

"The premise that the mind must be rendered completely open and defenseless by Portal-shock is based on the assumption that the Draught inflicts permanent damage to memory." He handed the flask to Lanno. "That, Master Lanno, is proof that this assumption is wrong. But one must be willing to ignore conventional wisdom to achieve any success. Otherwise, one will instead see repeated failure as I initially did before Amanda suggested a different approach."

Lanno smirked and handed the flask back. "Well, good thing then that Amanda is here instead of at Freya's Manor."

"Really, this is not the time for your flippancy. Such an alteration to the Draught is not to be taken lightly. It could be abused in too many ways to count."

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

"It is my understanding that his Lordship does not trust Overlord Freya. Thus it cannot be assumed that her intentions are honorable."

"With all due respect, Master Vanlo, that's a rather strong accusation. I mean, Evella never struck me as the kind of girl to do something like this."

Vanlo drew himself up. "I certainly hope not, Lanno. It would be against every ethic that a Healer lives by. Hence my frustration. I have not been able to obtain information on what ingredients Evella has ordered. It would have helped me determine if she were indeed engaging in research along these lines. Now the Guild will not speak to me at all on the matter."

Lanno sighed. If anything, Vanlo's probing likely made the Healer Guild even more suspicious of Vanlo's activities. Worse, they may refuse Vanlo any further ingredients.

Vanlo's voice grew taut. "I had the intense displeasure of speaking to Evella's father."

Lanno's eyebrows rose. "Master G'slan?"

"He refuses to even attempt to contact his daughter again. He seems content to wash his hands of her. I find such an attitude..." Vanlo paused, looking uncomfortable. " ... most abhorrent."

Lanno was stunned. He had never heard Vanlo speak of someone in such blatantly ill tones.

"There is no point in belaboring this," said Vanlo. "I do not wish to be talking about this when Amanda arrives. I will speak with his Lordship on the matter this evening. It is best we get to work."

Lanno nodded absently. Vanlo turned away and sank into his chair. Lanno's gaze lingered on the older Healer for a moment before he finally walked into the treatment room and paused.

For a moment, he wasn't in the Healer office of Roquan's Manor, but standing in the empty classroom at the Guild Hall. He could still remember Evella standing before him, holding out her hand, giving him an annoyed look. And very soon after that, she had walked off in a huff.

It had been the last time he had ever seen her.

Lanno frowned and shook his head. He just had a stupid idea. It would cause more trouble than it was worth and would likely gain him nothing.

He set about his morning tasks, and tried to forget he had ever thought about it in the first place.

"You wanted to see me, Uridon?"

Uridon passed a goblet to the Overlord and took a drink from his own. "Something is up at the Imperial Palace. The Emperor is entertaining the Urisi Ambassador Mandas again."

"I thought Z'haas had sent him back because the trade deal fell through."

Uridon gave the Overlord a humorless smile. "Yes, interesting, isn't it?"

Roquan raised his own goblet towards his lips. "It could mean that the Emperor is growing desperate. That the merchants' actions against him are working if he is attempting to broker a deal again."

Uridon fingered the stem of his goblet idly. His gaze dropped as he slowly swirled the amber liquor.

Roquan paused and lowered his goblet. "What is it?"

Uridon stepped past the Overlord, stopping at the opposite end of the tent. "Roquan, no information travels faster among merchants than news of other merchants. Also, no information is considered as sacrosanct. I am about to violate that."

Roquan said nothing. He continued to cast a level gaze at the Clan Leader's back.

Uridon took a long drink of his brandy as he turned. His voice was thick. "Roquan, I believe it was the Urisi that sent the Ambassador back."

Roquan frowned. "The Urisi? Why?"

"I am basing this on what I have heard come out of the merchant guilds of the Urisi Nation. They have been approached by the Council of Lords to handle trade between the Urisi and Oceanus."

"I beg your pardon?"

Uridon let out a sigh and spoke in low, urgent tones. "Roquan, you are to tell no one where you got this information. No one. I am taking a huge risk."

Roquan nodded quickly. "I understand, and I appreciate it. But I have questions I need answered. Can Z'haas do this? Can he actually call in foreign merchants to..."

"There is no such thing as 'foreign merchants'. Merchants are merchants, no matter where they hail from, what clan they are part of, or what Guild Hall they are aligned with."

"But surely this would be considered poor form to say the least."

Uridon started nodding halfway through the Overlord's statement. "Yes, yes, true, but merchants are also interested in making a living. And if the Council offers enough platinum..."

"But your Guild will protest."

"Oh yes! They will make a grand stink about it!" He drained the remainder of the brandy in his goblet. His eyes grew hazy. "And then platinum will be exchanged, and the Guild will say no more about it."

Roquan's eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to comment, but caught himself and remained silent.