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THAT ALL PROBABLY SEEMED a bit hasty to you, taking Sid into our confidence that way. Well, I didn’t hesitate because Trey did not. The Alvehn was more than a thousand years old at that point, and though he had that blind spot regarding his cousin, he was an otherwise impeccable judge of character. He accepted her, and I trusted his judgment. For my own part, I took an immediate liking to Sid. Sure, I found her attractive, but I tried not to be obvious about that, and it truly didn’t affect my judgment in the matter. That kind of sloppiness gets people killed in a hurry, and I wouldn’t still be here if I couldn’t make that kind of call and get it right.
We went to our respective rooms and spent a quiet, comfortable night. I half expected some sort of trouble, but apparently the ease with which we dispatched the thugs had made an impression. Early the next morning we had a hearty breakfast after cleaning up. Our attempt to pay the bill for our food and lodging was refused, though I knew Trey had left money behind in the room in anticipation of this. “There are broken chairs to replace,” he’d said with a shrug, and I gave him no argument. The three of us rode off well after sunrise, headed for the capital city of Morvain. The road was wide and had little traffic, and was crossed by tree shadows cast by the morning sun. There’d been some chit-chat when Sid came down to join us, dressed as she had been the night before. If she wore a shirt of lightweight Wuldean finstel mail under it all, and most traveling Islanders do so, it wasn’t visible. I mentioned before that Trey and I wore the Alvehn equivalent, a sort of second-skin body armor that would stop just about any blade or bullet that hit me, though I’d feel it and wear a welt — or broken ribs, as happened the last time we’d seen actual combat. Ours didn’t show, either.
On the road we traveled three abreast, with Trey on my left and Sid on my right, mostly in companionable silence. Sid broke the silence after about an hour.
“Tell me again why you do not age between your adventures here?” she asked with a sidelong look.
“But I do age,” I replied. “Just like everyone else. I’m thirty-one years old. It’s time that’s different, between this world and mine. When I’m home, time slips by here at a different rate, compared with my world. A year on my world is a generation of time here.”
“So that tale is true, then?”
“Which one?”
“They sing of a woman left behind, many years ago,” Sid replied in an even tone. “Do I guess rightly that this difference in time was not known to you, back then?”
“You’re not wrong,” I muttered.
“Do they sing as well of the Outworlder’s grief?” Trey asked.
“No, just hers.” She was looking at me again. “It’s one of the saddest tales I learned as a girl.”
“It wasn’t exactly a joy to live through it.” Of course that was the tale she would bring up. There really was no escaping it.
“They tell other tales of your adventures, as well,” she went on.
“That’s a relief.” My sarcasm didn’t go unnoticed.
“I’ve reopened an old wound,” she said with a grimace. “Forgive me. I too often speak my thoughts without considering what my words might do.”
I sighed and shook my head, saying, “It’s okay, Sid. It’s a sad thing, but it happened and it’s done. There’s nothing to do now but carry it and remember her.”
“You really are Daffyd Outworlder,” she said.
“Just now believing it?” I asked.
She looked at me and smiled. “In the night, when I should have been sleeping, I came to doubt my good fortune. This is a chance beyond anything I could have hoped for, in my travels.”
I smiled back, and that was easy enough to do. There was something about her that just felt right, as if we’d already known each other for some time. She rode with the ease of one who grew up traveling on horseback, relaxed and graceful, thick brown braid hanging down her back. My initial impression was correct — Sid wasn’t a small woman; standing up, I hardly needed to lower my eyes to meet hers. Those eyes showed her spirit, and there was that smile that transformed her. Everything about her spoke of strength and confidence. I was strongly attracted right from the start, but I kept my smile casual. You don’t flirt with a woman of the Isles who carries a sword if you plan on dying of old age. I’d heard stories, and the safe bet was to believe them. You waited for her to show interest, according to what I’d been told. So far, she was just behaving in a comradely fashion, which was good enough for me. I hadn’t come there to start another painful ballad.
“And I am most grateful for your trust,” she added. “It is not said the Alvehn give it easily.”
“I’ve known an Islander or two,” Trey said, in what was likely an understatement, “and adding an Island blade to our quest can only improve our chances.”
“I am flattered,” she replied.
“No flattery,” Trey assured her. “We saw your skill last night. I’d decided to ask you to join us before the fight was over.”
“So perhaps this is what the God and Goddess intended for me.” Her expression was almost grave, and she made the sign of the Two.
“Could be,” I said with a shrug, having no such beliefs. “Either way, you don’t survive in my line of work very long if you aren’t a good judge of character. And Trey has been doing this a very long time.”
“Indeed, you would not.” We rode along in silence for a while. “I saw you read those men in the inn, as you entered.”
Trey laughed abruptly. “Little fools! They might as well have sent us a written invitation, they were so obvious.”
“They were that,” Sid agreed, with a short laugh. Then her face darkened with a frown. “I did not know they held the innkeeper’s wife.”
“Nothing you could have done about it,” I replied.
She gave me that sidelong, speculative look again. “Would you truly have carried out your threat?”
I laughed. “That was pretty lurid, wasn’t it?” And shook my head. “No, it was a scare tactic, to make it clear that there was no way he could win. If he had hurt her, I would merely have killed him.”
“It would have been a just killing,” she said with a nod of approval. “But you were able to resolve the matter otherwise. You have some wisdom in you, it seems.”
“He is capable of that, from time to time,” Trey said.
“Thanks for the endorsement.” And to that, Trey gave me a wink.
Sid laughed aloud, a bright and unaffected laugh. “Ah yes, you two have traveled some. That much is very clear.”
Trey smiled and didn’t argue the point. “And just as clear is the need to tighten up our plan,” he said. “We won’t come within reach of Morvain until almost nightfall. I dare not approach the city too closely — Edren will be watching for me. So tomorrow the two of you will go on, and I will ride half a day back toward Kalerain, then wait in the woodlands out of sight. You’ll need the University library. Prince Parick was an avid reader, among other things, and the assistant head librarian became a close friend and mentor. He specializes in cartography and is one of the few scholars at the University to have traveled to your land. So it would make a certain amount of sense for you to seek him out.”
“His name?” Sid asked.
“Grevin Kulain,” Trey replied.
“And she’s seeking him out why, exactly?” I asked.
“We’ll work with the fact that you’re relatively new here. You’re planning a trip to the city of Daylis on the Daylin Plains. You need to see maps of the region. Librarian Kulain is, if I recall correctly, in charge of the map collection.”
“That is certainly convenient,” said Sid.
“And I’ll be...?” and I paused.
“With me,” said Sidraytha. Then she smirked and added, “We will let everyone make up their own conclusions on that matter.”
“Won’t have to guess much on what those conclusions are likely to be,” I said, trying for a poker face.
“Concerned for your reputation?” Trey asked with one eyebrow raised.
I just laughed at that, but then Sidraytha said, “If they come to that obvious conclusion, I will at least be seen as a woman of good sense.”
“Why, thank you, m’lady.”
“Am I safe turning the two of you loose unchaperoned?” Both of Trey’s pale eyebrows now arched over violet eyes.
“We will see to business,” Sid assured him.
I let it go at that.
We camped a few miles short of the city, in a country of shallow hills and open woodland. Traffic had increased as we neared the city, and not wanting to attract attention by suddenly cutting cross country, we simply stopped at a well-used, stone-lined spring and didn’t move on right away after watering the horses. Toward late afternoon we found ourselves temporarily the only occupants, and chose that moment to leave the main road unseen, and find shelter away from prying eyes.
No small task, this being a land long-settled and populous, but we found a small unclaimed grassy dell sheltered by a chestnut tree, and stopped there. This was land held in common by the folk of the Kingdom of Morva, so there were no property rights to be concerned with. We lit a cook fire and otherwise made no attempt to actually hide, which would only have aroused suspicion, and settled down for a quiet evening meal using the food the innkeeper’s wife had insisted we take. The bread was still quite fresh, and the beef stew, when reheated, was delicious. The bottle of wine the innkeeper had included was a bit on the sweet side for my taste, but went rather well with the stew.
As we ate, a thoughtful frown settled over Sid’s face.
“Something bothering you?” I asked.
“While we will surely not refer to you by name,” she said, “there may be some, at the University at least, who have the wit to see you for who you are. That could be a problem.”
I shook my head. “Don’t think so. You needed to see my sword, with an Alvehn beside me, to be sure of what Trey told you. Trey won’t be with us, and I won’t draw my sword unless absolutely necessary. We’re not looking for a fight.”
“Indeed, not,” she agreed. Sid picked up her cup, sipped the wine, and leaned back against her saddle and bedroll.
“So you’ll be an Islander traveling the mainland, and I’ll just be some fellow lucky enough to be accepted into your company,” I said with a shrug. “There’s nothing there to excite curiosity.”
“Your ‘luck’ will certainly not excite much envy,” she said with a rueful laugh.
“Oh, now,” I objected. “Don’t underestimate yourself.”
Sid looked at me over the top of her cup for a moment, then grinned and gave me a wink.
Okay, so I flirted just a little there, but it was a compliment and she’d taken it as such. I’d gotten a wink and still had my head on my shoulders. I didn’t want to start any more tragic ballads, but I knew about the time slip, and now, so did she. Surely we could come to some sort of understanding. And if so...
Why the hell not? So I grinned back and saluted her with my cup. Trey pretended not to notice.
