4978/To Meet the Wizard

To Meet the Wizard
Date of Scene:	03 January 2017
Location:	The Great Ocean
Synopsis:	Now no longer on opposite sides of the battle lines, Sarah invites Loros for a cup of tea and a chat.
Cast of Characters:	316, 303

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Sarah (316) has posed:
  Although the multiverse has recently seen a catastrophic degree of upheaval, there are some areas that are either largely untouched by the reality quakes, or those that have recovered and picked themselves back up quickly.

  There is a timelessness about the ocean. From water came life, in so many worlds; to water, some say, it will return. There is a cyclical quality to the oceans, shown in the ebb and flow of the tide and the wax and wane of the moon.

  Islands dot the expanse, many home to different civilisations, but it's one here that looks as though it could have been at home in the Grasslands that Sarah has chosen. Buildings have been raised in stone or hide tents, with thatch roofs and beaten earth paths. The people here are dressed in the variegated manner of the Six Clans, and they seem openly accepting of visitors.

  There is a small cafe off the main avenue, sprawling along the shore, with a magnificent view of the ocean. Moonlight plays off the waves, which rush the strand in roaring foam.

  It's not difficult to find Sarah. The woman is abnormally pale, coming close enough to albinism that she stands out wherever she goes. Even if that weren't enough to pick her out, there is a preternatural calm about her.

  To those that sense magic, she might as well be an industrial-strength floodlamp among candles. 'All the Water of the World,' Loros once described her, and it is as true today as it was then. More, perhaps. There is a self-assurance and confidence about her that was perhaps more act than truth, then; it is more truth, than act, now.

  Her pale blue, almost colourless eyes are fixed on the distant ocean, as though she were listening to something. Slim hands are folded in her lap, and sitting before her is a cup of tea, a streamer of steam curling up from its surface. A plate of various local delicacies are spread on the table, and the second chair pulled out, as though she were awaiting a guest.

  She is.

Loros (303) has posed:
That guest sticks out among the more colorful locals, dressed as he is in his usual dark suit and hat. Taking a long slow draw off one of his cigarettes, Loros exhales a lungful of wispy dark smoke shot through with small points of light.

Much less pale, his coloration fits in a bit more with the locals, as might the faint scar on his face. Making his way down the pathways to the cafe, he arrives to settle in the chair.

Regarding the young woman across the table, he inclines his head deeply. "You seem a touch more settled in yourself."

Reaching up, he plucks his cigarette from his lips and vanishes it... elsewhere. "It is good to see."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  The pale woman doesn't so much as look up, although her eyes slide briefly toward the side as the Wizard seats himself. This was expected; she does not do herself the indignity of jumping or startling. Once upon a time, she might have been so skittish, but those days are long past.

  Sarah glances over when spoken to, arching one delicate, pale brow.

  "Time has that effect on people, or so one would hope." Something flickers across her expression that might be the ghost of a smile. There is still that aura of calm, and that aura of closely-restrained, and absolutely monstrous, power.

  Yet where Loros seems to draw on the things that live in the space that binds the stars, Sarah's is no different from the waves that rasp the shore. She /is/ the ocean, as much as she is the fog, the rain, the snow, the mist; the dew settled on the leaves at the break of day.

  She reaches for her cup, cradling delicate china in even more delicate hands. Despite that aura of monstrous power, physically, she looks as though a stiff breeze could break her in half. Deceptive appearances. "Mm. Thank you. Indeed, it is good to know the battle lines are not drawn tonight."

  "Order what you like. Consider it my treat, tonight."

Loros (303) has posed:
"In my experience, you are correct about time. Even madness fades against it's relentless march." Loros regards Sarah for a long silent moment, watching that ebb and flow of water within her, the deep reserve of the power that's associated itself with her.

His own smile isn't so faint, geniune and cheerful. "Even if they should be, we now find ourselves together upon a single side of it. Not that I think things will be quite so... rigid now. Flicking his fingers he suddenly holds a small slip of parchment that is handed to the nearby server with his order for a nice strong black tea 'surprise me'.

Relaxing in the chair, his own magic unfolds a bit within him to the sight of those with the sense for it. Deeply complex and interwoven patterns of knowledge, blood and starlight flicker behind his eyes and upon his skin before he tucks them back away.

"Again, I have to thank you for the invitation. I really do need to get out of the castle more."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "It is, as some have said, the great equaliser." Sarah sips at her tea, letting its steam curl past as she lowers her face to it. Even if she weren't so intimately connected to the power of water, that would feel good. It's a crisp night, almost cold, and the heat is welcome. "Time is many things. It all depends upon one's perspective. As a Runebearer, there is a distinct possibility that I will have all of eternity to contemplate its nature, although I am not so arrogant as to think that will be so. Even the most long-lived of my kind have not held their runes past a few millennia."

  Perhaps Loros might notice the whisper of power and light from the True Water Rune at her right hand. The steam from her tea cup curls a little further, enough so to suggest that there is more than mere physics at work. The shape is faintly reminiscent of a serpentine dragon, complete with tiny, steam-tendril whiskers, and as its tiny maw opens, it gives a tiny puff of steam-smoke.

  Her eyes hood as she regards the steam, absently adjusting details this way or that in idle exercise. She's still listening, though, and only a fool would assume she isn't paying close attention. Meeting with Loros is still a gamble; there is enough of him that is still an unknown factor, to her.

  There is still a connection between them, though, and she is much too wise to call it mere enmity. She feels no loathing over him or what he may be; he simply is, much as the True Runes are, and it was only the battle lines of the war between the Union and the Confederacy that had dictated her own opposition.

  Some part of her is still a little miffed about Manakoshi -- she had paid a heavy toll for exercising her power, in those days before the True Water Rune, and had spent the next week or two all but crippled -- but on the whole she bears him no remorse.

  Why would she? There would be no gain in that, for her, and everything to lose. He could be a powerful ally, but only if she plays her cards wisely. In the meantime, Sarah sips at her tea. Those colourless eyes reveal passing little of her thoughts.

  Despite the power he likewise indulges in, she senses little of it. She can sense him, the waters that form his being, though it is a strange and twisted form of it. Maybe that's just an effect of the things he's learned, and the ways he's shaped himself over the aeons.

  "There is nothing to thank. In all honesty, my reasons were somewhat selfish." She cocks a pale eye at him, raising a delicate brow once again. "I have something of a proposition for you. How familiar are you with the situation in the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia?"

Loros (303) has posed:
"Mm. Perhaps, but there is a danger for me in that inwards turning." Loros regards the woman across from him and nods slowly. "A piece of advice from one who has existed for so long to another who might. Don't withdraw too much from the world."

He pauses as his tea arrives in its own delicate cup. Picking it up, he breathes in the steam and aroma together before shaking his head slightly. "Very little. Mostly rumor and speculation, hearsay and third hand accounts."

The Wizard regards the Runebearer with a slight tilt of his head and then he smirks before asking, "Why do you ask?"

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "I have spent enough time looking inward, and that was well before I was ever introduced to the True Water Rune." Sarah holds up her hand to indicate the mark at her right hand, which even now flickers softly; keeping time with the beat of her heart. "I spent fifteen years locked in the premiere library of Crystal Valley, Harmonia. My days of withdrawal have been over for many years."

  She may withdraw at times, but she can't remain aloof from the world for too long. There's no reason for her to. Silence is not always a comfort for her.

  Sarah's jewelled earrings clink softly as she tilts her head, regarding Loros thoughtfully. Her eyes are slightly hooded, the fingers of one hand absently drumming softly against her teacup. "Hm. Do not forget that Master Luc and I are of a kind, in this, and we will not allow ourselves to fall too far without attempting to intervene."

  It's a mystery what she sees in the apathetic and antisocial Runebearer, but her actions over the years have spoken of her determination to support him. She has sacrificed herself for him on at least one occasion, without any expectation of resurrection.

  A faint half-smile flickers across delicate features. The expression is restrained, but still a shade more genuine than most of her smiles. "Why do you think, Wizard? Before I make any revelations, I am curious as to what you might believe."

Loros (303) has posed:
Loros chuckles softly. "Because you want my help. Beyond that, I suspect it has something to do with those fifteen years locked away from the world and the powers responsible."

Lifting his teacup up again, he takes a careful, savored sip before setting it back down on the table with a soft clink.

Settling his hands in his lap, he laces his fingers together as he leans back in his chair slightly, watching each little move she makes.

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "Hm." Sarah tilts her head the other way, jewelled earrings clinking softly. The sound is faintly musical, as one would expect of a very expensive accessory, though the shine of its silver is faded slightly, suggesting age. "A bit less subtle than I would have expected you to guess, but I suppose everyone is a bit less given to subtlety in the wake of the multiversal incident."

  The Runebearer allows herself an unhurried sip of tea before she continues. As expected, every motion is calm and controlled, every nuance of her voice one of peace. Sarah has always been a person of masterful self-control, but the True Water Rune had all but demanded it. A Runebearer who cannot control their True Rune does not live for very long.

  And usually, they tend to self-destruct in the most spectacular of ways. There is a crater in the Grasslands that still stands as a testament to this, and a lake without water in it in the Queendom of Falena that suggests much the same. Sarah has no wish to leave her mark on the landscape, no matter what the True Water Rune might yearn for.

  Delicately, the pale woman clears her throat.

  "You are correct, dear Wizard, but you are not wholly correct. Allow me to explain myself." Sarah fixes her eyes on him, that hint of a half-smile still lingering about her features. "I do indeed require your help, but it is not for the reasons that you may think. At least, not entirely."

  "The Holy Kingdom of Harmonia has existed for nearly five hundred years, when its leader, High Priest Hikusaak, overthrew the ashes of the Kingdom of Aronia that had existed before it. As all kingdoms are wont to do, Aronia had presumably fallen into a state of disrepair, and it did not take much effort for Hikusaak, then deemed 'the Hero,' to dispatch it and begin anew."

  Sarah raises a hand in sinuous gesture, and the True Water Rune stirs again, this time in the form of a tiny, intricate illusion that paints her narrative in imagery.

  "Two years later, the Solar Calendar was adopted in commemoration of Hikusaak's victory, and he installed himself as High Priest of this new nation, which he would then go on to call the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia." The illusion paints the picture of a triumphant Hikusaak before his people, hooded and robed, but his face is never visible. What little of his hair is visible is not unlike Luc's.

  Sensible enough, considering they had to clone Luc's genetic material from /some/where. Sarah has always assumed it logical that they look alike.

  "Originally," she continues, "Harmonia was located in the furthest northern reaches of our world." The view of a triumphant Hikusaak fades, to instead show a small map of Harmonia, panning out to show the entirety of her world and its continents. Harmonia, painted in blue, soon spreads out to the south. "From there, Harmonia proceeded to conquer and expand in the centuries following Hikusaak's rule."

  "In all of my research, I do not know where or how Hikusaak acquired it, but it was not long before he laid hands on the Circle Rune. That is one of the twenty-seven True Runes of my world that you show such familiarity with, and it is my belief that it has become a driving force of Hikusaak's rule." Sarah looks up, meeting Loros' eye, suddenly cold and serious as sleet. Her hand flicks, and the illusory map seems to evapourate. "Centuries have gone by without any public appearances. No one has heard any direct orders or statements from Hikusaak in at least two hundred years, and it may be closer to three."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "During that time, Harmonia has continued its aggressive expansion. Its most recent 'acquisition' is the territories of the Grasslands, some of whose residents are the people you see here in this village. I suppose those closest to Harmonia chose to leave, finding the unknown preferable to life under a Harmonian boot pressed against their throats."

  Sarah pauses to sip at her tea, eyes hooding as she holds the cup near her face, steam obscuring her features for a fleeting instant.

  "All that to say, it has become evidently obvious to me that it is debatable whether Hikusaak even lives any longer. Harmonia is on the path to self-destruction which, as you have already pointed out in part, I do not feel any particular remorse over. I do not care; there are those responsible for what was done to me, and much more, who will face immediate consequences if that is to be the case."

  She looks Loros in the eye, steady. "What matters to me is this. It is not my imprisonment that I cannot forgive. Such things have happened to greater individuals than I, who have borne their fates with greater strength. No; mere imprisonment is not the extent of Hikusaak's, or the Harmonian government's, meddling."

  "I have partial evidence and reason to believe that either Hikusaak or one of his sympathisers with authority in the Harmonian government had initiated a project, many generations ago, to... /breed back/ the lost tribe of the Sindar." It is rare for Sarah to trail off mid-thought, and even rarer for her to show emotion so openly, but there is a flash of disgust and something approaching real anger, for just a brief instant.

  There is ice forming over her teacup, which probably speaks to why she is so forcibly calm most of the time.

  "I cannot forgive a man or an establishment who would so brazenly play God with the lives of his people, let alone the other transgressions he and his ilk are responsible for. It would be doing the world itself a favour to remove him from power, and see to it that such opportunity is not presented to them again. If that means I must assume responsibility of Harmonia's ashes, then so be it. It will not be easy, nor will it be such a simple matter; Hikusaak is a complicated topic within Crystal Valley, and Harmonian politics are a convoluted nightmare."

  She regards Loros calmly, although if he looks closely, he might note that there's a hint of wariness in that regard. "What do you think, Wizard?"

Loros (303) has posed:
Loros picks up his tea and leans back in his chair as Sarah beging to lay out the long past history of Harmonia. Shifting slightly, he cradles his right elbow in his left hand while he sips from the teacup held in his right. As she finishes the founding tale, he gestures for her continue, his eyes intent upon hers as she speaks, his head tilted slightly to the side.

As the little illusion of Hikusaak appears, he leans forwards to inspect it. Then she mentions the True Circle Rune and his eyebrows go up. "Hm." The description of the drawing back, and the accusing it of being the force behind Harmonia gets a small nod and another gesture to continue as he sets his tea aside.

Much to his regret a few moment later as it freezes over a few moments later as she outlines her true outrage with Harmonia - although his expression is hardly one of loss. Fingertips steeple as he gazes at her over them, and then he nods once. "And I suppose the most recent fruit of that experiment... well. They'd want to keep them close for a while. See if they'd succeeded."

Making a gesture of casting something away, he continues. "Although I suppose that is not of immediate importance. What do I think? I think that what you propose will come to war, or perhaps revolution. Those nations swallowed up, and who fear to be next."

Rising from his chair, he begins to pace slowly back and forth, pulling a cigarette out of thin air. "Misrule is misrule. There is only so long before a failing empire will either collapse upon itself, or rush to consume everything. But with a True Rune involved... hm. Opportunity..." Pausing to exhale, he watches as the smoke drifts into the starry sky up above and half-freezes.

"...stars." Upon which he begins to laugh softly. "Well now. I think this might be a cause of interest. I -do- suggest finding someone to take over when you're finished. I don't see you being happy upon an imperial throne."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  Sarah does not lean back in her chair. She sits upright, prim and proper, and she keeps her fingers wrapped around her teacup. Every so often she sips from it, watching Loros almost languidly through a veil of steam.

  She doesn't respond to him immediately, instead taking a few moments to savour her tea, and mull over the things he had said.

  "I have reason to believe that whoever had been managing the particular 'project' of my village must have died, or the project fallen into disfavour. When I was taken from my village by a travelling Harmonian clergyman, no mention of such things were ever made that I can recall, and there was no recognition." Sarah shakes her head, jewelled earrings clinking softly. "They did not know who or what I was, at the time. It was only in generations-old research and notes that I had discovered any of this. Control was abandoned, for whatever reason."

  "Yet it does not lessen my disgust that it happened at all, or convince me any less that such appalling things have no place in the hands of what is one of the two most powerful nations of my homeworld. That does not even take into account the other dehumanising things that Harmonia does to its conquered territories." Sarah looks down at her tea, considering. "And there are many of those. Holy Harmonia has a penchant for devouring whatever territories lie on its borders."

  The water mage sighs, although she looks up as Loros pushes off from his chair to pace. Her eyes linger on the smoke he exhales, star-spangled and strange. It smells like nothing she can think of or put a name to.

  "Yes. The broken vassals of Harmonia would support me, and so too would those who fear to be its newest additions. However, I do not think that an open war would be efficient. I believe a quiet assassination would be best; to offer those loyal to Hikusaak no opportunity to retaliate. Then, once control has been wrested, to establish a new system, as the rulership of Harmonia is currently tied directly to Hikusaak himself; he has established himself as its central, and only, priest-king."

  Her fingers tap thoughtfully on the table, distant as she considers. "Once that is done, I can begin to elect officials, and establish a government that requires no direct input from myself, so long as it is understood that it is my authority that those officials follow. I had no real desire to involve myself in statecraft, but Harmonia is a potential threat, particularly if it continues sniffing about for True Runes."

  Sarah holds up her right hand, the mark of the True Water Rune lighting faintly in time to the beat of her heart. "After all, I have one, and often two, in my immediate vicinity at any time. They know of Master Luc's, but they do not know of mine. If I secure his assistance, that would be two against one. Three, if I can convince Bishop Sasarai that this would be in his best interest; he is a man whose emotions can be exploited, in certain situations."

  "Yet those odds are still not comfortable to me, and I cannot depend on Sasarai.

  "Hm." In anyone else, the soft sound would be a chuckle. "I suppose I should count myself lucky that you've learned something of me over the years, then, when you make that observation. No, Wizard, I would not be comfortable upon an imperial throne. There are passing few people whom I will actively seek attention from. One of them lives with me, and I have not seen the other for many years."

  "Even so." She tilts her head, regarding Loros with faint amusement. "Are you certain I would not be content in Imperial silks, ruling over the masses; securing my rule with the absolute power of Water?"

  ...Now she's just messing with him.

Loros (303) has posed:
Loros pauses as he considers Sarah's words, and he smirks right back at her when she delivers her parting volley. "In truth, I think Imperial silks would suit you just fine."

A curl of his fingers captures a swirl of cigarette smoke, shaping it into a simulacrum of Sarah. Subtle shifts of fingers bleed color into the image, even as the clothing reshapes itself into a sweeping robe of state, shimmering satin in deep blue with hints of green and white flashing in the layers. Hanging silver chains drape lightly across it, embedded with glimmering aquamarines, sapphires and moonstones. "But for the rest of it... no. It would not suit." A wave of his hand disperses the image back into smoke.

"As for your intent... one must ask. How do you assassinate a man dead for three hundred years or more?" Dark eyes meet hers for a moment before he settles back into his chair. "I am not so certain those who have grasped power in the absence of the central figure will be quite so willing to relinquish it, but I admit you have the greater familiarity." One raised hand makes a back and forth gesture. "You may still end up with war when others see their opportunity and seize upon it - this Sasarai seems a possible figure, if not likely in your estimation of the man."

A final sigh gusts out another cloud of smoke - despite him not pulling off the cigarette first. "In either case. I'm willing to provide my assistance with your plan. And I swear to you, I have absolutely no designs upon the Circle Rune. From what I gather, it and I would be an... unfortunate pairing."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "What finery I do possess is simply a matter of station, and not of personal preference. I could not be seen in Crystal Valley without clothing and bearing appropriate to the station of a Harmonian Bishop." Sarah pauses long enough for a sip of tea, cradling the cup in her hands. It's difficult to say whether the china or her fingers is more inherently fragile. "I suppose I would not mind, but it would not be my immediate preference, no. These earrings are perhaps the most extravagant possession I own, excepting perhaps my greatstaff."

  "In both cases, they were presented to me as gifts. I did not choose them."

  She exhales softly, what might have been a snorted laugh in anyone else, at the show of Loros' own hypothetical illusion. "Well played, Wizard. You have an eye for colour. However, such extravagance for its own sake does not suit me. I was born and lived for many years with nothing to call my own. I suppose I had gotten accustomed to that."

  Setting her teacup down, Sarah steeples her fingers before her, fixing those colourless eyes on the Wizard.

  "You seize his True Rune by force, and then you finish him in whatever way is most efficient without being overkill. Or, perhaps in this case, by whatever efficient means /is/ overkill, because you can never be too cautious when one involves a True Rune." The water mage considers for a moment, earrings clinking softly as she tilts her head to one side. "Especially something as dangerous as the Circle Rune. Oh, yes, perhaps it does not seem so bad, on the outset. A defining force of sameness, of stagiation. But that is as horrifying to me as the awe-inspiring destruction of the Sun Rune."

  She shrugs one narrow, delicate shoulder. "I expect he will fight it with everything in his being, because the Circle Rune would not like to let go of a suitable bearer. It would be the same if someone were to attempt to wrest the True Water Rune from me by force. We would fight it. It would perhaps Incarnate if I were pushed beyond my physical threshold. Things would end badly."

  That happened, once. It was exceedingly unpleasant.

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "As to Hikusaak's followers and lackeys, they will be the first to be excised from a new form of government. It is their ilk who originated such disgusting projects as to establish breeding and bloodlines in the remote regions, where no one would discover them, and where their careful planning would not have so many variables to throw it off." She lowers her head, something unpleasant flickering across her expression. There is a matching roll of power from the True Water Rune as Sarah lets slip just a hint of her displeasure -- but easily and deftly controlled.

  She settles for taking up her teacup again, wrapping her hands around it and letting the heat seep into her fingers. "Mm. I do not expect Sasarai to rebel, when matters come down to the proverbial wire. Sasarai is a coward, and has always been. I expect when he sees that Hikusaak will be on the inevitable losing side of this affair, he will reluctantly side with his brother, and his brother's aide." Sarah shows a smile, but the expression is as cold and without mercy as an arctic ocean. "I would prefer more diplomatic means, of course, because if I can win his support organically, it would be much less wasted effort. If not, though, I am not afraid to secure his cooperation via other avenues."

  Wind and Water would overpower Earth, easily; but she would rather things not come down to that. Forcing her will over another in such an inelegant manner is thrice the amount of work that coercion is, and while not necessarily lazy, Sarah is nonetheless fond of efficiency.

  The smile fades, and she regards Loros more coolly.

  "If we are being honest with one another, Wizard, I do not trust your reassurances, and I will have contingencies in place to prevent you from making a grab for the Circle Rune." Sarah sips her tea, calmly. "I intend to seal the True Rune, if it does not remove itself from the area."

  "This is, of course, assuming that Hikusaak does not actually slaughter the lot of us. I will not pretend that this is without inherent, and extreme, risk. One does not meddle in the affairs of True Runes lightly."

Loros (303) has posed:
The smile vanishes from Loros face, as does most of his relaxed manner. The smoke behind him goes utterly still, the points of light in it burning brighter and brighter as he locks gazes with Sarah. "One does not meddle in the affairs of any Power lightly." A sussurrance builds behind him, between and from those now blazing points of light. "For me to take up -any- True Rune would put at risk far more important and binding Pacts. Make your contingencies, for such is wise. But do not doubt my word once given."

A single blink and a slight breeze swirls the smoke of a sudden, dispersing it as though it never was. The burnt out husk of a cigarette is tossed aside and teacup taken back up. "I will, of course, require some form of payment. Your assistance with a task you do not find objectionable, or a choice bit of lore or knowledge." A slow and careful sip of tea is taken before he reachs out and picks up one of the biscuits.

"Try not to corner the coward. They react badly when there is nowhere to run." He bites the biscuit completely in half and chews meditatively before taking a sip of tea to wash it down. "Still. The stars are interested in this, and thus so am I."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "No, Wizard, I do not meddle in such affairs lightly. Indeed, I would prefer to avoid them, and may in fact do so for some time before I choose to act. Perhaps I may even decide not to follow through with such a plan." Sarah lifts her teacup, sipping from it. She may appear calm outwardly, but the cup is trembling, ever so slightly; the only visible sign of her fear.

  Sarah is not someone who shows fear often, or lightly. She knows the things that Loros is capable of doing; brave as this small, fragile woman is, she is not stupid.

  The True Water Rune stirs restlessly as though sensing a threat, but she soothes it with an effort of will.

  Yet Sarah does not flinch, or shy away.

  "I will make my contingencies, because you are by no means the only thing that I would consider a threat to the stability of the True Runes. I do not know what would happen if an offworlder were chosen by such. What that would portend for the True Runes, or the Stars of Destiny, I do not know." Her lips curl in the faintest of bitter smiles. "And I do not like not knowing things, Wizard."

  She tilts her head again, regarding him with a slow, measured look when he seems to return to himself, and speaks of prices.

  "Payment? Of course. I would not dream of consulting your services, or the services of any other, for free. But I will not offer that payment until Hikusaak is dead, and the Circle Palace lies empty. That day will be a long ways off, yet, if it should even come to pass." Sarah shakes her head, jewelled earrings clinking softly. "I do not have a preference, however. Favour or knowledge, it makes little difference to me. However, I will choose the knowledge, if it should come to that."

  Cornered? "It will be a defensive battle out of necessity, for we will be approaching him on his territory. Hikusaak has not been sighted leaving the Circle Palace for some several hundred years." She shrugs one shoulder, draining her teacup and setting it aside. "In fact, it is not known if he is even alive. All of this planning may well be for nothing."

  "I suppose I would not mind that. I am not a woman who enjoys surprises, most days, but there are some that I believe I can live with."