long as I think of you going in with somebody, the bad feeling goes away. That sound dumb?'
'No, that sounds eminently sensible.' Vanyel sat down beside him on the bed. Medren picked up the patched and worn canvas lute case and slid the instrument into it. 'I want you to keep an eye on Tashir for me; a Bardic eye, if you will.'
The boy contemplated that statement for a moment, whistling between his teeth a little. 'You mean keep him calmed down? He's as jumpy as a deer hearing dogs. I been trying to do a little of that. I - ' He blushed. 'I remembered what you told me, about misusing the Gift. I thought this might be what you meant about using it right. He likes music well enough, so I just - sort of make it soothing.'
Vanyel ruffled his hair approvingly, and Medren gave him an urchinlike grin. 'Good lad, that is exactly what I meant about using it properly. When you aren't enhancing a performance, proper use is to the benefit of your audience, or to the King's orders. And poor Tashir could certainly benefit by a little soothing. So keep him soothed, hmm? There's one other thing, and this is a bit more delicate. He may tell you things, things about himself. I hesitate to ask you to betray confidences, but we just don't know anything about him.'
Medren thought that over. 'Seems to me that the awfuller the thing he'd tell me, and the less he'd want it known, the more you'd want to know it.' He chewed his lip. 'That's a hard one. That's awful close to telling secrets I've been asked to keep. And if I've been making him feel like he could trust me, it doesn't seem fair.'
'I know. But I remind you that he's been accused of murdering fifty or sixty people. What he tells you might be a clue to whether or not he actually did it.' Vanyel forestalled Medren's protests with an uplifted hand. 'I know what you're going to say, and if he did it, I don't believe he did it on purpose. But if - say - you found out where it was that his father wanted to send him, and why it frightened him so, we could have mitigating circumstances. I doubt the Lineans would totally accept it, but we would, and he could make a very pleasant home here with the Valdemar Heralds, even if he could never return to Lineas. That's not exactly a handicap.'
Medren nodded so vigorously that his forelock fell into his eyes. 'Makes sense. Fine, then if he tells me stuff, I'll tell it to you.'
The boy stuffed a handful of the little coils of spare lute strings into a pocket on the back of the case and handed the whole to Vanyel. Vanyel stood, and pulled the carry strap over his shoulder. 'Do I look the proper scruffy minstrel?' he asked, grinning.
Medren snorted. 'You're never going to look scruffy, Van. You do look underfed, which is good. And if you didn't shave for a couple of days, that would be better.
Then, again - ' He contemplated Vanyel with his head tilted to one side. 'If you didn't shave you'd look like a bandit, and people don't tell things to bandits. Better just stick to looking clean, starving, and pathetic. That way women'll feed you and tell you everything while they're feeding you. Hey, don't worry about that lute - if you gotta leave it, leave it. If you feel bad about leaving it, replace it.'
Vanyel placed his right hand over his heart and bowed slightly. 'I defer to your judgment. Clean and starving it is, and if speed requires I leave the instrument, I shall. And I shall replace it. It's a good thing to have one old instrument that you needn't worry about, you never know when you'll want to take one - oh, on a picnic or something. Thank you, Medren. For everything.' He glanced out the window. 'I want to get to Highjorune by nightfall, so we'd better get on it. Remember, I'm supposed to be on a side trip to see Liss. I sent her a message by one of Savil's birds, so Liss knows to cover for me.'
Medren nodded. 'Right. And I'll keep a tight eye on Tashir for you, best I can.'
'That's all I can ask of anyone.'
Sunset was a thing of subdued colors, muted under a pall of gray clouds. Vanyel slipped off Yfandes' back, and uncinched the strap holding the folded blanket he'd used as a makeshift riding pad. Bareback for most of a day would not have been comfortable for either of them, but he had no place to hide her harness. No problem; they'd solved this little quandary the first time he became minstrel Valdir. She wore no halter at all, and only the blanket that he would use if he had to sleep in stables or on the floor of some inn. Nothing to hide, and nothing to explain. Yfandes would keep herself fed by filching from farms and free- grazing. If she got too hungry, he'd buy or steal some grain and toss it out over the wall to her at night.
:Be careful,: she said, nuzzling his cheek. :I love you. I'll be staying with you as much as I can, but this is awfully settled land. I may have to pull off quite a ways to keep from getting caught.:
:I have all that current-energy to pull on if I have to call you,: he reminded her. :It's not the node, but it wouldn't surprise me to find out I could boost most of the way back to Forst Reach with it. I'm planning on recharging while I'm here, anyway.:
:If Vedric is still here, that could be dangerous.:
:Only if he detects it.: He cupped his hand under her chin and gazed into those bottomless blue eyes. :I'll be careful, I promise. This isn't Karse, but I'm going to behave as if it was. Enemy territory, and full drill.:
