Chapter 26

Day lead to dusk which then faded into night. Night slid away as dawn brought forth the baby rays of sunshine and thus their travels slowly continued. The dwarves were not the best horse riders, they constantly complained that human saddles were too hard on their rumps or that horses moved too jarringly compared to their Thunder-Birds. Talia's patience for their complaints had worn thin on the first day, currently they were on the fifteenth.

A fortnight of riding with the dwarves had proven difficult. They were nosy little creatures with nothing more to do than ride beside her and ask questions all night. Bromyr had taken pity on Lotus who had complained of Talia's hard riding and allowed her to ride behind him on his steed which he had named Dickey. The horse was a high-quality gray show-horse which had come from jumping lines. It was a mutt, if she wanted to get technical. The gelding was fast however and had a powerful and muscular build on long stilt-like legs. She couldn't complain of his breeding, though she had been tempted when she first noticed his mixed heritage.

The other mounts she had managed to procure were similar, mixed blood breeds used in mounted patrols, show-rings, or as hunting mounts. They were seasoned, fast, and most of all used to hard work and long hours. She wondered why these horses had not been bought considering their strong fortitude and willingness to work. Was it because they were mixed? She didn't often sell mixed lines to her knowledge, she'd have to look into that later.

"So you're telling me you own a stables near the city of Arboros?" Floki sounded as skeptical as ever as he raised a bushy brow. He rode next to her on another gray gelding with a roached mane and a mule-cut tail. Talia rolled her eye, how many times would she have to repeat it? Was it so outlandish to learn of her outside business? She wasn't chained down to Hephatus's order, she did have a life of her own on the outside despite Nazir's best efforts. It wasn't much of a life, but it existed.

"It's a few days ride outside the city so calling it 'near' may be a stretch but yes. I do own a stables under the surname Ermyrra." She knew the next question that would come, and she knew exactly who it would come from.

"So where did someone like you end up with a surname like that? It's not from this land." Bromyr asked for what she could swear was the thousandth time. Their conversation had always gone the same, and she always denied them the information they so desperately desired. They were like children with candy dangling in front of them, they'd never stop grasping for it. Damn Lotus and her fat mouth...

"You've said this many a time, it is no longer news to me." She drawled. True, the first time he had said it she was amazed. If it wasn't from this land then where was it from? Overseas was the answer she got.

"Yes, but you have never been overseas so how did you come across such an interesting name? More than that how did you gain the title of 'Lady' with that name?" Talia was cursing Lotus internally as Bromyr continued. Just a few nights ago they had been asking the girl her story when she told them that she had been saved by 'Lady Ermyrra'. This of course caught the dwarves off guard. It caught her off guard too. It wasn't like Lotus didn't know her name was Talia.

"It's not a story I am willing to share with you lot." She spat at them, how many times would she have to ward them off the topic before they got the hint? It wasn't as if they would become best friends or as if she'd be spending years and years with them.

"Where would we go if not for the dwarven kingdom? There we can learn, we will be safe behind their mountains and their armies." Reezara was always trying to be her voice of reason. Though that reason was starting to wear on her nerves.

"I'll not be a servant to a tiny man or his royal family's wills. They will want my services in exchange for my safety. I can keep us safe alone, when this is done we can learn what we must before moving on." She wanted to see the elves, to know if they could truly heal what had happened to her. If they could scrub the growing darkness form her body, mind, and soul. The dwarves had no answers for her condition that much she was certain of.

"Just give it up already Talia I'm tired of them asking." Nico fell from the skies to land perfectly on Jax's rump, legs crossed, arms holding him up, and perfectly content to ride along with her. Jax startled briefly before pinning his ears in annoyance. If Talia could pin her ears she would have done the same. Little eavesdropping... Her thoughts were swirling in a mess of annoyance. Nico had been there when Lotus dropped the hammer on her little secret but she was able to convince Nico that Lotus didn't know any other nasty little secrets.

"Why should I explain what happened?" She didn't want to dig up the past. She had assumed he'd have been just as eager to drop the subject. It hadn't been an easy time for either of them. Even remembering it could bring a slough of pain across her body as she remembered the scars. Ghost knives cut through her, she wished the pain could have been a little more ghost like.

"Because, it's not... A bad thing." He sighed as he looked to the stars above their heads. Not a bad thing? She remembered differently then.

"He's right you know..." Reezara's voice was an unwelcome interjection in that moment. Talia wished she could shut her out sometimes, but the little dragon was all too adept at sneaking her way in. She reached up to stroke her scales as she rode on her shoulders. Even if she was a little annoyed the presence of her was enough to calm her nerves.

"I'll start then, it's just as much my story to tell as it is yours." He readjusted his seat on Jax's rear before coughing slightly,

"This was a lot of years ago so just keep that in mind. One day we were assigned a job far away from our home in the plains past Arboros. It was a bit farther than we were used to going and it took weeks of travel on foot. This was one of our first jobs far from the caves, back before things had gotten so chaotic." He started with a distant look in his eyes. Talia's stomach twisted at the implications of the story. At the memories threatening to swallow her.

"The job was an older woman, the reason why she was a target was never discovered. She had silvery hair threaded through caramel brown, kindly honey eyes... She was kind." He swung his legs as he recalled the memories himself.

"I don't want to hear this." Talia growled. She didn't want to give in to nosy dwarves, they didn't deserve to hear about it. They didn't have the right.

"We arrived late one night. Talia always enjoys casing her targets for several days before moving in, learning their habits, their schedules, their lives. But this time we didn't see anything damning. We just saw an older woman tending her horses. Usually you'll see people sneaking around, abusing their staff, abusing their animals... There's always this hint that they are indeed guilty of some sort of terrible sin. But this woman was..."

"Innocent." Talia cut in sharply as her throat closed up. She could remember watching the woman from afar, her fear, her hesitation. But a job was a job and if she had returned empty handed it would have been far worse than what she had done.

"Yes. And I fear she was innocent. Whatever her crimes were we could not say. And if she had none then who ordered her death? It was not Hephatus because she has an agreement with Talia. The only jobs we take are ones with genuinely guilty people. So things seemed wrong from the start. But we had work to do so we had to proceed. As usual I kept an eye on things from the skies while she moved in. She was always careful to close in at the darkest point of night when any sane human would be asleep, though we didn't anticipate the work involved with horses.

"Talia was moving in past the stables when she noticed something. A mare had given birth to a beautiful baby stallion. This baby had a unique color, rusty red mixed in with creamy white... Red legs, a red face, a beautiful boy. She was mesmerized by him, this was the first time she had ever seen such a thing happen. Neither had I. While we were marveling at the miracle of birth we both came to realize that this baby wasn't moving... It was blinking and its ears would twitch occasionally but you didn't have to be a scholar to realize it wasn't long for this world." Talia patted Jax affectionately as she recalled the first time she had ever seen him. Even to that day he was an impressive specimen. She would never regret what she had done next.

"When she realized that he was dying she leapt into action. I had never before seen her do such a thing, in fact I was quite unaware she was capable of doing it. She crawled into the pen startling the mare, I thought that the beast would crush her beneath her iron clad hooves but Talia calmed in into a sleepy stupor. As the mother stood in the corner Talia reached out to the colt and a great golden light erupted from the stall. I hadn't realized that the woman was coming outside until she was already at the stall door shouting out to Talia. She demanded that she exit the stall or face the consequences but Talia refused to leave until the job was done." He shuffled slightly as he too patted Jax in remembrance.

"What were you doing?" Bromyr asked in tandem with Lotus and Grimor. Talia winced at their eagerness. Couldn't they tell this was going to be a sad story? Of course not, they were only just getting into it.

"I was healing him, giving him... A piece of myself. He was dying and too far beyond my reach. Perhaps even beyond the reach of the most skilled mages. And why would any wizard look to heal a beast such as this? Their magics are for grander purposes. So I did the only thing I could think of to save him. I couldn't look away as he died, I couldn't allow something so new to the world fade away before he even had a chance to live." She could recall clearly the look in his eyes, the question. Why was he born only to die soon after? She had never been so motivated to save a life. And nothing had ever changed hers more than that action. Not until recently that was.

"As she was saving him the woman watched in amazement. She had been coming out to check on her mare only to find Talia rescuing it. That was the beginning of the change in our lives. As it turns out this woman's name was Amber Ermyrra, Lady Amber Ermyrra. Her origins are unknown even to this day. But she had the legal title and she had the name." Nico spoke quickly as they rode. The rays of dawn were nearing and he didn't want to have to cut the story short when the time came to sleep for the day.

"So she was the beginning..." Lotus mumbled. Bromyr stroked his beard as he waited for the story to continue. It would seem they were all eager to hear the end of it as well. So Nico continued,

"Amber waited until Talia was done. When she saw the colt on his feet she knew that there was something more to our story. She invited Talia in for tea and I made myself known in that moment. She invited me along too. We found out later that she knew there was a price on her head. She was actually very willing to die. But Talia couldn't do it." She frowned as she recalled Amber and her beautiful voice.

"So you're finally here to kill me eh? I'nt never seen a killer save an animal's life afore' though." She had such a terrible and thick accent but even to the day she could recall it clearly. She could still see the smirk on the old girls' face, her shining honey eyes. The pipe that was always stuck between her teeth as she'd puff on the smoke of pain numbing drugs. She was already dying.

"I made the pact with Hephatus the day I accepted her mark upon my soul that I would only kill the damned. The sinners. I found nothing to warrant killing her. It was the first time my morals had come into question. I didn't want to do it. She was already dying and I could tell plain as day that she wasn't long for the world. I couldn't stomach killing her so I offered her something in exchange, life. I was willing to attempt to heal her too. Then I would help her fake her death so that she could slip away into the shadows of obscurity." It was a huge mark against her under Nazir's careful watch however and had she done such a thing she would likely have never been permitted to leave the caves again. As it was the punishment for her actions had been severe.

"You were really willing to go against your own order to save her?" Grimor sounded all too curious. She sighed,

"I was. I wouldn't corrupt my values just to appease Nazir. But she was unwilling. She had a history that was dark and smattered with a lot of pain and misery. She didn't want to prolong a life that would be spent on the run. She had established herself over the years as the best horse breeder in the nine kingdoms and was unwilling to relinquish such a title for survival alone. I accepted that but I couldn't leave until she died, Nazir would punish us for such a thing." That was where the trouble started, staying had been both the biggest mistake she had ever made and the most incredible. It had changed her forever, for better or for worse. Yet the consequences still haunted her.

"Go on!" The dwarves all shouted impatiently. She eyed Nico but he merely shrugged. The rest of the story was up to her now. She looked to the skies in exasperation. She didn't want to tell it to begin with but now that she had started she may as well finish. So she recalled the events carefully before preparing to continue.