She did not wait for a reply and made for her room. A bath was in order, but knowing it would prove a distraction, she first sat with Síocháin and Inney.
“We have time.” Rianaire slumped in the chair she had chosen, spreading her legs to stretch them. “We cannot know how much, but we must use it. I will no doubt be swarmed by insufferably pious complaints from the temple best. Údar.” She scoffed and stood. Síocháin came to undress her. “The word used to mean more than who best knelt at an altar and begged for favor. Or so the histories say. But to my point. There are things to be done. Síocháin, I would have you see to the roads. We are spread wide compared to the river elves, and we cannot afford to have supply move as slowly across neglected roadways. It will be considered service to the realm. All able-bodied will take shifts at the work and they will be fed with coin from the Regent.” Síocháin pulled her dress away and Rianaire stood naked but for shoes and stockings in the room. She sat and Síocháin went about removing those. “Inney, you will learn what you can from Gadaí. I have no doubt she destroyed those camps, and with undisciplined fighters at that. We must know what she knows. As much of it as possible.”
Inney nodded. “I will learn everything I can.”
Rianaire could not help but stare. There was something alluring about the color of Inney’s skin and the shape of her scar. She blushed before standing and moving herself to the bath, leaving Rianaire alone with Síocháin. The Treorai undressed her lover and kissed her from her lips to her neck. Síocháin put her arms around Rianaire and they stood pressed against each other for a quiet moment. Síocháin pulled back and took her hand to join Inney in the bath.
The bath had been the gleeful distraction Rianaire had hoped but she somehow woke frustrated and uneasy. It had passed when breakfast was done. Shortly after, they left for the Bastion City. It was a slow ride that saw Gadaí and her group left behind, though only by half a day or so. She had given them instructions for when they arrived and had sent word ahead so as to keep panic to a minimum. It was past midday by only an hour or so when they saw the wall around the Outer Crescent peek over a hill. There was little traffic to work past as word of the gates closing had spread and the cold was beginning to be too much besides. The guards were quick to open passage for them and Rianaire made sure the driver informed them of Gadaí’s coming, in case the word had not been spread properly. They, happily, replied that she was expected and Rianaire calmed a bit. There was much information to be got from Gadaí and, until they had it, a skittish guard could do more harm to the province than near anything else.
When they came to the Bastion, Rianaire immediately set about avoiding anyone who wanted something of her. There were notes waiting in large stacks, no doubt, but she had more pressing issues. First, she saw to quarters for Eala. The girl had hardly said two words the whole of the trip, but stared out through the window of the carriage without blinking from the moment the city walls were visible. An attendant was assigned and Eala was sent off. Síocháin had left to busy herself with something or other and Inney kept to Rianaire’s side as she always did.
An idea occurred to Rianaire. She had word sent to the inn where Gadaí would stay to have the satyr sent to the Bastion as soon as she arrived. It was only a few minutes spent avoiding serious-looking faces before Rianaire decided she would need something more to pass the hours until Gadaí arrived. There was one place none would think to look and so she went to Eala’s quarters.
Eala chirped in surprise when Rianaire knocked at the open door. She spun and bowed, apologizing.
“Treorai, my apologies. I did not expect you.” She wore simple clothes that she had brought. Tan linens that fit somewhat poorly. They were a far cry from the uniform she had worn during the ride north.
“Apologies?” Rianaire looked around the room. “Whatever for?”
“For… for…” Eala lacked for an answer until she looked down at her attire. “For being so unsightly.”
Rianaire laughed. “I had expected it to be for calling me a title rather than my name.”
Eala’s lips tightened and she blushed a bit. “I did… I… I am sorry. I was not thinking, there is simply so much—”
Rianaire held up a hand and the girl cut her justifications short. “Eala, you will learn to appreciate humor in time, I am sure of it.”
Eala exhaled, flustered and not sure of what to do. Rianaire stepped into the room.
“We have some time to waste. I have arranged a small skills assessment for you. Until then, I would love to hear about you.”
Rianaire moved to a chair and pulled it out, taking a seat with Inney stood beside her. Eala shifted around idly until she was invited to have a seat as well.
“You needn’t be scared of me, you know. I understand you are young, but I will be relying on you for many things and if you worry over my mood, you will likely die of stress before the seasons change.”
Eala took her chair and settled. It took a few stiff, formal sentences before Rianaire coaxed an easy answer out. She found that Eala’s parents had died not long before, a few years prior in an accident aboard her father’s boat. Wreckage was found but no bodies. They had wished for her to be a fisherman as their family had been for so many generations before,
