The Sword of Truth

“We’ll be passing by several temples where you would be much safer.”

“Nonsense,” she replied. “My years in this world are nearly done. I would rather them spent making a difference. You may think me just a worthless old woman, but I am not without skills.”

“And what might those be?” Millet asked sourly.

Maybell shot Millet an angry glance. “For one, I know the laws and customs of every city and town from here to the abyss. For another, I have connections with temples everywhere and can gather information we will need.”

“Still, it’s a long journey,” Lee warned. “And conditions will be harsh.”

“I’m tougher than I look,” she countered. “I may have been locked away in a temple for many years, but I’m no stranger to hardship.”

Suddenly, her expression became desperate. “Please. Let me go with you. I need to go with you. I thought I would spend the rest of my days watching the decay of the temples. Now I have a chance to be useful again.”

Lee looked at Gewey and shrugged his shoulders. “I leave it up to you.”

Gewey thought for a moment. “I would be very happy if you accompanied us,” he declared.

Millet sighed loudly.

“You just mind your manners,” Maybell said to Millet. “Or I’ll teach you why novices fear my name in every temple from here to the northwestern steppes.”

Lee laughed loudly. “Millet my old friend, I think you may have finally met your match.”

“Indeed,” Millet grumbled.

“So, where to now?” Gewey asked.

“With such a large group, we might try to find a caravan headed west,” Lee suggested. “Delhammer is four days from here. It’s large enough for us to go unnoticed, and we might be able to hitch onto a caravan there.”

Dina thought for a moment. “While we’re there, we should see what information can be found at the temples. Maybell, you can help there.”

“Won’t Salmitaya be expecting that? She might have sent word ahead,” Gewey noted.

“She has more pressing issues,” Maybell replied. “She may have been a High Priestess, but I have been in the Order since before she was born-certainly long enough to have my voice heard. If she were going to move against me, she would have done it in Kaltinor. Now that I’m out of her reach, she wouldn’t dare show her face in another temple.”

“Still, we should be cautious,” Lee advised. “Even if she can’t hinder us through the temples, she may have sent word to other agents of Angraal.”

“I’ll be discreet,” Maybell assured him. “But that is something that can be discussed later. For now, I would like to clean up.”

Dina brought Maybell to her room so she could wash and change. This time she did not complain about the lack of a proper bathtub.

Lee told Kaylia to gather her things, and had Gewey check the wagon.

It was nearly dark before they were all ready to leave. Minnie scolded them for leaving at such a late hour and insisted that they eat before they left; she even packed them each a meal for the road. Lee gave the woman five silvers, enough for them to have stayed for an entire week. Minnie thanked him and, despite Lee’s objections, gave him a case of their best wine.

“You seem like a man who can appreciate it,” she said as her husband loaded it into the wagon. “Most of the folks that pass through here wouldn’t know good wine from well water.”

Lee bowed graciously and climbed onto the back of the wagon.

Millet and Maybell took the front; should they run into any curious strangers, they would say that Millet was her younger brother and they were headed west to resettle. Lee jokingly suggested that Gewey and Dina maintain the guise of a married couple, but Gewey fiercely refused.

They continued down the Old Road of Santismal through the night, stopping a few hours before dawn to make camp. Kaylia told Gewey it was time they continued with their lessons and took him into an area of tree- covered hills. By the end of the lesson, he was able to find Kaylia in the shadows, and he even managed to avoid being found for more than five minutes. The lessons with the knife advanced to include more complicated tactics and maneuvers, which Gewey took to right away.

“You’ve improved,” Kaylia noted. “Soon you’ll be ready to start actual elven training.”

Gewey’s heart swelled with pride. “I practiced in the Spirit Hills.”

“Those hills are dangerous,” she warned. “As is the hermit who lives there.”

“He didn’t seem dangerous. A bit crazy maybe, but not dangerous.”

“He speaks to the spirits that live there,” she said. “And not all spirits are harmless. We elves have ventured there many times to speak to Felsafell and gain his knowledge, but we knew our peril.”

“What peril?”

“It is said Felsafell feels all that the spirits feel,” she answered.

“Their joy, their fear, their anger, but mostly their loneliness. They yearn for the souls of man and elf to join them. Should you have stayed too long, they might have trapped you there forever.”

“Is that what happened to Felsafell?”

“No one really knows who or what he is. He’s old, though-some say older than the elves. Some say he’s really a spirit in human form. No one knows for sure, but what is known is that seeking his wisdom means risking being lost in the hills forever.”

Gewey shuddered at the thought that he had spent the night in the old man’s house, and eaten at his table.

“I wonder why he let me go,” Gewey said, almost inaudibly.

“I’ve never heard of anyone who has seen where he lives, save you. Whatever he had to tell you must have been important. But beware of his words. They aren’t always what they seem.”

Gewey nodded, thinking about what he had been told about his own death and the death of a friend, hoping he had merely misinterpreted Felsafell’s words. “Believe me,” he said. “I hope I find more meanings than what I have now.”

Kaylia took Gewey’s hands and looked into his eyes. “I know you value the council of the half-man,” she said sincerely. “You trust his judgment. But he is not all knowing and cannot give you all the answers. I would help you if you let me. If you trust me with what you were told, I will help you decipher its meaning, if I can.”

Gewey thought for moment. “Yes, I would welcome it,” he said. “But not tonight. I’m too tired.”

Kaylia placed her hand on his cheek. “Of course,” she said softly.

“When you’re ready, I will help if I can.”

Gewey felt more at ease when they returned to camp. For some reason, the thought of being able to confide in Kaylia made him feel as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He noticed her watching him with a look of compassion as he lay down to sleep.

They had only slept for a few hours before they packed up camp and started out again. Gewey was concerned that Maybell hadn’t rested enough, but she seemed full of energy and eager to get going.

The noon lesson with Lee was Gewey’s best showing thus far. He found himself using the moves he’d learned from Kaylia to slip through Lee’s grasp. On his third attempt, he sent Lee to the ground.

“Excellent!” Lee shouted enthusiastically. “Tomorrow we start teaching you the sword. I see that your lessons with the elf have done you good.”

“Thank you,” said Gewey. “Her lessons have been helpful.”

“I envy that you get to train with an elf. I’ve always wanted to learn their ways of combat and stealth.”

“I’m sure Kaylia would teach you, if you asked,” Gewey asserted. “It might be good if you spent some time with her.”

“I may do just that,” Lee acknowledged. “When we have time.”

He looked thoughtfully at Gewey. “If you want to ask her about what Felsafell told you, you can.”

Gewey looked up at Lee, shocked. “Did she tell you about our conversation?”

“No,” Lee said, smiling. “But I noticed that she recognized his name when you told us about him, and I thought she might offer you her counsel. I would warn you to be careful, though. It’s obvious she’s taken a keen