There would be inquiries into his death, with Elspethe the most likely suspect. Even if she was not found guilty of murder, there was the matter of the Turlach estate to settle—the estate of her family that would never pass to her without litigation because she was female and without a mate. The Ikedrians were nothing if not traditional. Elspethe stood in the hallway of the dwelling she had called home since birth and saw it with new eyes. There was nothing here that she needed anymore. She had long since outgrown material things. With Kamendar’s death, her ties to her home and to her race were effectively broken. Would Taeben take her in as an apprentice? No, probably not, as the penalties of that action would be grave for him.
Cursik had family, but Elspethe knew nothing of them. The thought of appearing as her sister to beg their forgiveness and sympathy had crossed her mind after Cursik’s murder, but she had long since abandoned that notion. Even if Mae had been a treasured member of their family, they couldn’t take her into their home in the tree city. It just was not done – and in truth, Elspethe was not sure she had wholly forgiven Cursik for the loss of her twin.
“Looks like I’m on my own,” she muttered as she closed the door on her brother’s corpse. Things would be so much easier if she were born into one of the merchant class families! She could just live out her days there in the dwelling, and no one would bother her or come sniffing around after a tapestry or other artifact. No one would care. But as it was, an abandoned noble house would be the first stop for any with thoughts of nefarious purpose. An idea suddenly dawned on Elspethe, and she grinned as she dashed out the door, barely grabbing her cloak as she ran. She could navigate her home city with her eyes closed, and before she knew it, she was standing at the door to the central bank of Ikedria, her chest heaving as she drew in sharp breaths. She straightened her hair and entered the bank.
“Mistress Turlach,” the banker behind the counter said brusquely. “Has your brother sent you on business related to your account?” Everyone knew of Kamendar the hermit, and even though she had been the public face of House Turlach for a long time, it was still expected that he was the one in charge of the family.
“Yes, in fact,” she said, pulling herself up to her full height and looking the banker in the eye. He looked away quickly, clearly uncomfortable. Her eyes did that to some. “He has sent me to withdraw most of our family’s savings from this bank. He no longer deems it to be a safe place for our money but wishes to leave a small amount intact in the event your security improves.”
“But, Mistress, I fear I cannot.…”
“Do not end that sentence with ‘give you your money,’ sir, or it will be the last sentence you utter,” she responded. Her eyes blazed as sparks shot from her fingers to form an electric aura around each of her hands.
“But Mistress, it is just that.…”
“Right. I warned you,” Elspethe said, holding out her right hand with the palm open toward the floor. Her staff, suspended by magic on her back, swung into her palm as though a part of her hand. She leveled the business end of it in between the banker’s eyes, grinning wickedly as a memory of Taeben teaching her how to do that flashed through her mind. “Would you like to try again? Or shall I just…” She tried not to show the surprise at how easy that had been – both the move with the staff and the apparent terror in the banker’s eyes. Taeben would be so proud…
“One moment!” The banker spun on his heels and ran like a scared animal. Soon he returned with two overstuffed bags of gold and platinum pieces. It was all Elspethe could do to keep her jaw from dropping. She knew that her family was wealthy, but not that wealthy!
“Have you left enough to hold the account in good standing?” she asked. The banker nodded as he slid the bags toward her across the counter. “Good. My brother and I will be away for a time and would appreciate it if any and all transactions on our account are held until we return. Is that understood?” Again the banker nodded, and Elspethe took the two bags from the counter, turned on her heel, and left the bank.
Elspethe returned to her dwelling just as fast as she had left it and began packing a few things – with that much money, she could buy what she did not already have. She had not planned to take her oversized rucksack but decided to check it at the last moment before she left. Inside was a worn brown leather bridle – a gift from Taeben that would summon a magical pony for her to ride—and she added it into the small pack.
Once she had
