sense of humor, my friend, he thought with a smile.
He bent over the little man's bed and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Despite the perspiration, Jak's skin felt ice cold. Gale fluffed the feather pillow and pulled the coarse wool blanket up under the little man's whiskered chin. There was nothing else he could do here.
This is one more debt I'm going to make you account for, Yrsillar, he vowed.
He stood, but placed a hand on Jak's clammy forehead before leaving. 'Get well, my friend.' With that, he turned to leave. Brelgin grabbed him gently by the bicep.
'What now?' asked the Harper leader.
Gale almost laughed aloud. 'Now,' he replied grimly, I'm going back to the guildhouse and collecting on a debt.'
'Alone?'
'Alone. I've got no one else.' And nothing more to lose, he thought.
He had a brief flash of hope when he thought Brelgin might change his mind and offer him Harper aid. After a brief inner struggle that Gale could see written on his stern face, the Harper leader merely nodded. He did not meet Gale's eyes. •
Tymora favoryou,' Brelgin said, obviously uncomfortable.
Gale chuckled mirthlessly. Til be looking for the blessings of darker gods than Lady Luck, Brelgin. I appreciate the thought, though.' He turned and strode for the door.
A weak, hoarse voice stopped him.
'Gale.'
Jak! He whirled around to see the halfling's eyes flutter open, Jak struggled to blink away a tenday of sleep from his eyes and focus on Gale.
'Little man!' Gale exclaimed.
'Fleet!' Brelgin shouted. Both rushed to Jak's bedside.
Seeing the surprising sight of Brelgin standing beside Gale, Jak gave a weak smile. 'The room doesn't seem big enough for both of you at once.' His green eyes fixed laughingly on Gale. 'You become a Harper while I was out?' He chuckled, but his laughter turned into a fit of wet coughing. Alarmed, Gale shoved Brelgin toward the door.
'Get the priest librarian, man!'
'Right,' the Harper leader agreed, and shot out of the room.
After the coughing fit had passed, Jak's hand came out from under the blanket and fumbled for Gale's wrist. The skin of his hand already felt warmer. 'There was a shadow, Erevis' he croaked. 'It… t-t-touched m-me.' Jak began to shudder, uncontrollable trembles that shook his small body from head to toe.
'Easy Jak, easy,' Gale tucked the blankets tighter about the hauling. He placed a comforting hand on Jak's shoulder and waited for the shuddering fit to pass. When it did, Gale looked his friend in the face.
'I've seen the shadow too, Jak,' he said. 'It attacked Stormweather last night. And it touched me too.'
He had been prepared to leave it at that, but Jak's eyebrows rose with an unspoken question.
'It was bad,' Gale acknowledged with a nod and a sigh. 'Right in the middle of a celebration. No weapons allowed, the house guard ill prepared, lots of drink. The demon came with a pack of ghouls and swarmed the house. Lots of people were killed…'
He trailed off, remembering. Jak squeezed his hand to bring him back to himself. 'But none of the Uskevren, thankfully. Thazienne was hurt by the demon, like you. But she's going to be all right. And so are you.' By saying it aloud, he hoped he made it more likely.
'Dark,' Jak breathed. 'I'm sorry, Gale. I know how you feel about her.' He patted Gale's hand sympathetically.
'I know where the demon is. I'm putting an end to it tonight.'
Jak's tired eyes went wide at that, but before he could say anything, Brelgin and Priest Librarian Elaena ran into the room.
Surprised, Elaena stopped halfway to the bed. The Scribe's quill,' she oathed. 'It truly is a miracle. Even the High Scrivener's prayers have been unable to help. What did you do?' she asked Gale.
'Nothing,' he replied. Cale looked at his hand, the hand he had touched Jak with and wished him to be well. 'Nothing…'
'A miracle then,' she said perfunctorily. Her hand went to the golden holy symbol of Deneir that hung about her neck. She caressed it lightly, mouthed a prayer under her breath, and approached the bed.
Stepping in front of Gale, she began immediately to fuss with Jak like a mother hen tending her chick-she felt his forehead, held his wrist, put her ear to his chest, pulled up his eyelid'Hey!'
Cale smiled. Jak would recover fine.
After a few more prods and protesting squeals, Priest Librarian Elaena stood, placed a finger to her lips, and cocked her head thoughtfully. 'I can't explain it,' she said with a smile. 'But he is recovered. He still needs rest but-don't sit up, young man,' she ordered Jak, who had kicked off the blankets and was trying to sit upright.
Stubborn as always, Jak ignored her and sat up. His green eyes found Gale. I'm with you, Cale. When you go after this thing, I want to be with you.'
Gale started to deny him but stopped before the words reached his tongue. If their situation had been reversed-if he had been wounded but knew that Jak was going into danger alone-Cale would have made the same offer. That's what friends did for one another. He would not diminish their relationship with a refusal.
Besides, deep in his heart, he wanted Jak with him.
I'm with you,' Jak insisted again.
Cale looked to Brelgin. The Harper leader did not meet his eye and kept his stern face expressionless. Cale looked back to Jak.
'All right,' he said with a grateful smile. 'You're with me.'
Instantly, he felt lighter. He would not have to face Yrsillar alone. Jak would stand with him.
Jak smiled and hopped to the floor. His legs wobbled but he steadied himself with the bed and kept his feet beneath him.
'Stop right there,''commanded Elaena in the stern tone of a person used to being obeyed. She shot a glare at Gala 'I will not allow him to leave here and go running about the city doing gods-only-knows with you. He is still not well.' She turned and pushed a protesting Jak back into the bed. 'You still need rest, young man.'
'Priest*-' Jak objected.
'Enough, woman,' Cale said firmly, and interposed himself between them. 'Enough. He's not a boy.'
That's right,' Jak piped.
Jak's high-pitched, indignant tone brought a smile to both Cale and Elaena. 'Well wait until tomorrow,' Gale assured her, 'but we've got business after that. All right?'
She must have seen the resolve in his face. 'All right,' she reluctantly agreed.
Brelgin, too, must have seen Gale's resolve. Without a word, he walked from the room.
Now dressed in his street clothes and equipped with his gear, Jak stopped talking in order to shovel in more of the bread, cheese, and dried meat the Deneirrath acolytes had set before him on a small table. Famished, Gale helped himself to some of the board as well. Brelgin had considerately left them alone.
'You know,' Jak said around a mouthful of goat cheese, 'I could use a spell to summon up a better meal than this.'
Cale shook his head while tearing into a piece of peppered jerky. 'This is fine. Save your strength.'
Jak nodded agreement and continued to eat. When only crumbs remained, he eased back in his chair, pulled his pipe from a belt pouch, tamped, and lit up. Cale found the smell of the little man's tobacco comfortingly familiar.
'Yrsfllar,' Jak said thoughtfully. He pronounced the name as though it left a bad taste in his mouth. 'And he's in the Night Knife guildhouse? With another demon?'
Cale nodded and the little man let out a low whistle.
'It'll be a hard go,' Jak said softly.,Cale nodded again. 'Harder than you think, even.' He related to Jak the details of his experience in the warped guildhouse-the gore, the stink, the palpable evil that polluted the place like a vile fog.
'Dark,' Jak oathed, and blew out a smoke ring. 'Dark.'
