Chapter 4

Morgan's Return Home

Selected scenes from the Morgan's Return Home episode:

Morgan, Urgah and Talia were sitting around the campfire one evening after dinner when Morgan brought a scroll out of his saddlebag and unrolled it. As he read the glowing letters he said in a low, reverent voice, "By the Goddess."

Talia asked, "What is that? You write on it once or twice a moon and then put it back."

"It's a message scroll from my father."

"I can see that it's a scroll. I don't understand what's different about it."

Morgan looked at her in some confusion then his expression cleared. "Oh. It's a magic message scroll attuned to one my father has back in Koltor. He writes something on his and it shows up on this one."

Urgah asked, "Good news or bad?"

"Oh, good news. The best. My exile's been lifted and I can go home again."

Urgah broke out into a large happy smile. Talia's smile was tentative and strained. Urgah asked, "So, where we headed? The Caravanserai?"

"Yep, closest place to the border."

"We leave at first light, then."

The three of them were standing at one end of a wooden bridge. It was obviously a border crossing by the number of guards at the other end. Morgan was leading his horse. He took the message scroll out of his saddlebag and handed it to Talia. He said, "Talia, please take this. I'll be able to activate it from the other end about every half moon. I can read what you've written and you can read what I've written. This won't be like a conversation but it'll let us keep in touch."

Talia was very embarrassed. "Morgan, you know that I can't read or write very well."

"This will give you practice. Please do it."

"Well, okay," she replied reluctantly.

"And one more thing, will you forgive me for wanting to sell you? It still bothers me, that I treated you like a thing and not a person."

"It's okay. You didn't know me then and you don't come from a slave holding family. Just remember, slaves are people, too." Talia gathered her courage and pecked him on the cheek.

"I'll remember. Goodbye, Talia. Goodbye, Urgah."

"Goodbye."

"Take care, Morgan."

Morgan turned and walked across the bridge without looking back. His eyes were damp.

An older man was sitting by a fireplace reading a book. He had a short grey beard and was dressed in a rich red doublet with a gold chain around his neck. A grinning servant entered and announced, "Sir, Lord Morgan is here."

The man put down the book and rose, a wide grin on his face. "Morgan! You made good time from the border. We weren't expecting you for a couple of days. By the Goddess, it's good to see you. Welcome back." The two embraced. "Come, sit and tell me about what you've been doing." He looked at the servant, "Bring a couple of bottles of the best wine we have in the cellar. And a glass for yourself."

"Yes, sir!" The servant left, still grinning.

Morgan said, "Thanks, Father, I haven't had any good wine since I left. First things first, tell me what happened here."

"Well, he-whose-name-we-don't-mention was eaten by a demon he conjured up and all his spells evaporated. Now, your turn."

"Oh, how appropriate. Well, since the last time I wrote Urgah and I helped out a man named Zoltan. He's the head man of a village out in the borderlands. Knows what he's doing, too. Urgah, Talia and I fought off a mob and once we got rid of the leaders Zoltan let any slaves and farmers with families join him. One of these days he'll be Lord Zoltan."

"Who is this Talia? You didn't mention her. I assume it's a woman."

"Talia is a slave girl we picked up. A stupid optimist was trying to cheat Urgah at dice. Urgah caught him at it and we took his clothes, money and Talia."

His father grinned at Morgan. "Handy to have somebody to keep you warm at night, even though it's another mouth to feed?"

Morgan looked at him with a serious expression. "Father, she was chained to the wall with a black eye and split lip. Slavers got her at about twelve and she'd been beaten and abused ever since. She has scars on her back. She flinched from us when we took her along when we left. She had this dull resignation that we could have sex with her if we wanted to and it took a week for her to accept that we'd keep her even if we didn't. No, she didn't keep us warm at night. I haven't done too many things that I'm ashamed of but one of them was thinking about selling her in the next market we came to."

"You sound like you have feelings for her."

Morgan looked down at his hands. "Yes," he said. He looked at his father. "Yes, Father, I do. I don't know if it's pity because of how she was treated. I don't know if it's pride because Urgah and I taught an ignorant and fearful young woman to read and write and use a sword. I know I feel loyalty to her because she's fought and worked at our sides to the best of her ability without complaint. She's a comrade, a compatriot, a good traveler on the road. The one thing she's not is a lover. She doesn't flinch anymore but she doesn't like being touched. She still cries herself to sleep at times. Urgah can hold her in his arms and calm her down when she has a nightmare but if she wakes up she's like a wild bird trying to get away. She gave me a kiss on the cheek when I said goodbye and I know how hard that was for her. I treasure that more than any other kiss I've ever received."

"I understand."