"Kath launched a wild haymaker at Ess, but the smaller girl just sidestepped, and Kath lost her footing. When she righted herself, Ess tossed her the globe of anger as if it were a ball. Surprised and puzzled, Kath caught it. 'Wha-' she started to say, but the orb exploded without Ess's will to bind it. It blew Kath back into a wall, and I heard the crack of her ribs over her piercing scream. Ess didn't move, didn't even smile.
"She said, quietly, 'You are still breathing because the First made me promise not to kill anyone. You can thank him at his next lecture.' And she walked away. I wasn't the only one gawking, and one of my friends said, 'I'll marry that one.'
"Kath spent the next several days in the infirmary, and she never touched Ess again," Agrathor grinned at the memory.
"Naturally I thought it my duty to take the girl under my wing," he said.
Pierce smirked. "Oh, I'm sure that it wasn't that you wanted to be on her good side."
Agrathor glanced away and said, "Certainly not. It was... the right thing to do. So I trotted up after her, told her I was impressed. 'I'm not looking for a suitor,' she said. I laughed, but I'll admit a part of me deflated. No matter, I thought, they're never caught on the first try."
"I'll have to remember that," said Pierce.
"Or the second, in many cases," said Agrathor. Pierce frowned.
He almost asked Agrathor about Scythia's sister Flaila, but caught himself. The old warrior might not want to dredge up those memories just now.
"So I abandoned my initial plan," Agrathor continued, "and instead of offering dinner away from the Temple grounds, I said I would pay for some new clothes. I remember that she eyed me for several moments, fingering the tails of her ratty men's shirt. Later on, when I realized the First had sent her to study in that state, I could hardly believe it. In that moment, I like to think I truly wanted to help a girl in need, not that I was just looking for an ally."
"I'm sure you were being quite philanthropic, sir," Pierce said.
Agrathor scoffed. "That's a big word... Not much schooling, you said? Keeping secrets on us, kid."
Pierce laughed.
"Anyhow, she agreed, and with some prodding she let me fill her wardrobe to the brim. Naturally, all the shopping left us with an appetite, so we ended up having dinner anyway."
"Noted, sir," said Pierce.
"Noted?" said Agrathor.
"If they won't have dinner with you, take them shopping. You're certain to get two for one."
"Now, kid," Agrathor started, then he saw Pierce hiding a chuckle and echoed it lowly. Pierce thought he would have smiled if he could.
Agrathor laughed to himself. "I let myself think the days would always be like that, a little work, a little lecture, a half-day of play. Of course, when studies began, I found I was in for a rude awakening."
A lone bird chirped in a tree as they passed, and one of the raptorions filled the silence with a grunt. It was probably getting hungry.
"I still can't believe it's gone," said Pierce.
"The Temple? Neither can I," said Agrathor. His green eyes dimmed.
"I only just discovered the place. Did I tell you I'd decided to go and study after all, after we've beaten Kash?"
Agrathor looked at Pierce closely.
"You are just full of presumption, aren't you, kid?" He asked. "What makes you think we'll win? What makes you think they'd let you in?"
Pierce didn't have an easy answer. Despite his bad luck, he never considered failure - what good would it do? Having a bright outlook served him much better.
"But you would get in, I suppose," said Agrathor. "Luck or talent, I still haven't decided."
Pierce made no comment. He was afraid if he said something, he'd ruin the civil conversation with Agrathor.
"Well, if we don't all die, it'll get rebuilt," Agrathor said. "Beyond that, Pierce, a grand old temple isn't the only place you can learn - you should know that by now."
"I do," said Pierce. "It just seemed like..."
"A good adventure?" Agrathor guessed.
"You got me, sir."
"Well come on, we're almost there," said Agrathor. "The beasts hunger. Let's push them once more and wrap up this little errand."
"Right behind you, sir."
If they made good time, they could be back to Chasmverge by nightfall.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Cliff-dangling
Pierce had never dangled before.
He was surprised at himself to note that, actually. He'd lived near the rim for a time, and most people tried it at least once. For recreation, it was a terrible choice. Neither was it a good job. Yet it was a fundamental part of life on Overland, and he felt he would gain greater appreciation for the professional dangler after today.
Pierce now hung from a mage-woven rope of carbon fibers that was anchored on a boulder up above. Every dangler had a spotter up on top of the plateau, as well as a horn player watching for banshees. He could already hear the awful things in the distance, shrieking dissonant songs into the void. When they noticed the danglers by Chasmverge, the banshees would come to harass them, and slay them if allowed. Gorgonbane hoped to get as much work done as possible before danger set upon them.
Pierce didn't know a lot of songs by heart, but he did have a naturally strident tenor that he thought would come in handy here. He could probably make up a melody on the spot if he needed to.
He began
