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Rohan sat at a table in the library, since he had no desk in his own room. He finished writing a letter to his sister Margaret. The one for Johanna was already folded and ready to be closed with wax. He didn't have his own seal, but surely the priests could do it for him.
Then he only needed to find a peddler headed for the coast who could take the letters to his sisters. Margaret had married a merchant of the closest town, Saltmire, Johanna a castle lord who had lands in the forest at the foot of the mountains, Redford Castle.
While Margaret was close enough to visit, and she probably already knew what had befallen their father's castle, Johanna was much farther away, and probably needed more words of explanation of what had happened.
Rohan had decided to put the letter for Johanna inside the letter for Margaret, so his sister could forward it to their other sister. It would be easier from Saltmire than from Rainbow City.
Sybil and Margaret had been very close, so Rohan spent some time trying to find the right words to express how he felt, how he missed his wife and wished he could go back in time, to before Uncle Thiebaud attacked the castle and ruined everything.
Then he proceeded to tell her how he had found a new home, although his single room felt very empty at night, and new friends and mentors. He didn't talk about his magic or his mount, and said only that he was now part of an elite force who would be ready to help anyone in distress.
He also mentioned the fact that their mother was well-remembered here, and added some anecdotes he had heard from the people who had met Jasmine in what he considered her previous life as a member of the Teeth.
Mael came to call him. It was lunchtime and the long refectory awaited them. Rohan finished his letter and asked the librarian, Priestess Merwian, for a seal. She promptly sealed the letters and gave them back to him.
"Do you know any peddler who could take this to Saltmire?" Rohan asked as he went downstairs with Mael.
"I'm sure we'll find someone," Mael answered with a smile. "We'll go to town immediately after lunch, and we might even have time to visit Foulque."
"Thank you!" Rohan brightened.
His mentor had moved out of the temple less than a week ago, and he already missed him, but he was scared of the big city beyond the temple compound, even if Foulque had assured him he wasn't hard to find.
They sat with other team members at the huge table, and ate as quickly as possible so they would have time to come and go before the afternoon training started. Beatrisia and Christelle didn't even ask them where they were going when they left, which made Rohan wonder.
"The girls know we need some man-time," Mael said with a wink as they crossed the external courtyard. "And yes, the red district is operative also during the day. But don't worry, I won't take you there unless you ask me to."
"I appreciate it, but I'm not ready," he replied, gulping down the sudden lump in his throat. "I need a courier first."
"And we'll find a peddler headed that way," Mael promised. "Then I'll show you how easy it is to get to Foulque's, so you won't need me next time you want to see him."
"Thanks."
As they went down the temple mound, Mael mentioned his mother, Ysemay, was Jasmine's best friend, hence it was nice that they were quickly becoming friends.
"So your mother was a member of the Teeth too?" Rohan asked, impressed.
"Yes, but she fell in love with a handsome merchant, so after her ten years of duty, she left the Teeth and got married." Mael grinned. "I had a pretty normal life, in a nice townhouse, with both parents. They're still alive, by the way, if you want to meet them, that's why her portrait is still in my cell – I inherited it."
It was nice to hear his new friend still had his mother's portrait in his cell. Often Rohan wished he could have kept Jasmine on his wall, since he had to go to the Hall of the Teeth to see her face again.
"Maybe I'll come and meet them, eventually," Rohan said. "Just in case my mother told your mother something about my real father."
"I doubt it, Ysemay left the Teeth long before her, although they might have kept in touch for a few years." Mael shook his head, thoughtful.
"So you have siblings?" Rohan asked.
"Yes, like Beatrisia. Her father, Jehan, was in the Teeth too, and got along fine with Foulque and Waltrand and everybody else, but he fell in love..."
"Beatrisia grew up here too?"
"No, they moved out of Rainbow City and started from scratch elsewhere. She was the most gifted of their children, so eventually she found her way back to the temple."
"What about Christelle?"
"She grew up in the temple." Mael smiled. "She was supposed to become a priestess, like her mother, but when I joined with Beatrisia, she changed her mind."
"You seduced her into joining the Teeth?" Rohan teased.
"You could say that!" Mael winked and chuckled.
They crossed the plaza with the obelisk and Mael headed for another boulevard that led to a marketplace with ten stalls placed in an L around a large fountain at the center of the square. Right next to it was a kiosk with a roof and no walls that sold concealable weapons and axes. The owners were a man, who avoided eye contact, and a woman, aggressive and deeply religious.
The market wasn't very busy at that time of the day and there were some guards keeping an eye on the very many beggars. Mael warned there were also pickpockets, but they probably wouldn't try to grab the purse of two members of the Teeth. Still, Rohan made sure to put one hand on his purse and the other on his sword hilt, just in case.
There was also a small sculpture of a dragon in the square and Mael looked around at the various vendors. Mael approached a stall made of tables and wheelbarrows that sold gloves, robes and cloaks. Rohan checked the merchandise while Mael spoke to the two female owners. One was angry and used a strange slang, the other looked distressed and spoke with a strong accent. They were peddlers, but weren't headed in the direction of Saltmire.
A large cart with goods piled haphazardly sold religious icons, blessings and herbs. Rohan had seen the owners also in the temple bazaar – a cheerful, unusually tall man and his cheerful, very dark-skinned partner. Mael didn't stop to speak with them, and Rohan followed.
The next stall had goods piled on the ground – vests, earrings and underclothes – and the owners were a man, aggressive, who avoided eye contact, and a woman, optimistic and very dark-skinned. They came from Saltmire and wouldn't go back that way anytime soon.
Mael skipped the several tables with goods arranged on them – musical instruments, adventuring supplies and rations, as well as the permanent structure of dogs and riding equipment.
Rohan observed with curiosity the two women who dealt with metalworking on a small table with goods piled haphazardly. One was mischievious and very short, the other apathetic and spoke slowly. But the fact that they were women was what made him look, although Mael ignored them.
A semi-permanent makeshift structure sold spell wands, and the owner was spiteful. She used a strange slang and again Mael ignored her, as he did with the several connected stalls that sold textiles, jewelry and precious metals.
He stopped at the last one, a large cart with goods piled haphazardly that sold spell scrolls. The owners were a man who stared suspiciously at them at first, but then bowed and made courtly gestures, and a woman, rather mournful, who paced behind the large cart impatiently.
But they were headed towards Saltmire, so they agreed to take the letter, for a fee. They knew better than to offer a spell scroll to Teeth members who could do real magic and probably didn't need those scrolls.
"Are they all fake?" Rohan asked as they headed back for the plaza and the obelisk.
"Some are probably genuine, but they're not spells we can use," Mael answered with a shrug. "And we have the best library in the world, I'm sure we can find anything we need in there, without using copied stuff. Just imagine if they copied one word wrong..."
Waltrand's accident immediately came to mind. Just because Waltrand had survived didn't mean anyone could. He had probably said the wrong word in a spell and almost killed himself and the sorcerer who was training him.
Foulque's house was indeed easy to find. He had rented two rooms in a long-stay inn that also provided meals, and he took his clothes to a washerwoman next door. He kind of missed the free services he'd had at the temple, but he had enough of a pension to afford anything he needed. And he was seeing someone, which might mean he would finally get married.
He might be sixty, but he wasn't too old to have more children, and his youthful looks and red hair could attract much younger women who could give him a family.
"And how are you boys doing?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Mael helped me find someone who would take a letter to my sisters," Rohan said. "He was also telling me how he has siblings, and I was wondering why only he got into the Teeth."
"I'm the most gifted in magic, like Beatrisia is in her family," Mael answered, amused. "We who have only a quarter of Immortal blood aren't as strong as half-bloods, so only one of us will inherit our parent's position – if he or she passes the final exam, of course."
"Beatrisia's older brother failed," Foulque added, amused. "And apparently Jehan knew it, but Alfio insisted he had the right to try before his sister, so Jehan let him come."
"Why did Jehan leave Rainbow City?" Rohan asked.
"Because he fell in love with a prostitute." Foulque smiled. "So they moved away, to a place where nobody knew of Tilla's past, only that Jehan was a former member of the Teeth, and lived happily ever after. Now, not even Beatrisia knows about her mother's past, so I trust you gentlemen can keep a secret."
"Of course," Rohan and Mael promised at the same time.
"Although maybe she does know," Mael added, thoughtful. "One more reason for her to show she could be a member of the Teeth even if her mother was of a lower class."
"I would just avoid the topic if I were you," Foulque replied. "We usually talk about our half-blood parent, not the other half of the couple."
"Absolutely!" Mael grinned. "Do you think Jasmine confided in Ysemay before leaving Rainbow City?"
"Who knows?" Foulque shrugged. "They were close... ask your mother, maybe she does know something."
"Not today." Mael sighed. "It's time to go back for afternoon training. Rohan, I'll take you to meet my family next time!"