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Before the meeting concluded, Roland reiterated how time was of the essence. He wasn't sure how soon he needed to return to find the Rhone forces at the agreed-upon rendezvous point; They might be nearing the city any day.

The Council decided that it would be best for Roland to stay in Klain only one day longer, hoping to find any clues before that time which might help him convince Rhone to stall their attack until more information could be found.

Roland was nervous about his role in everything, and felt the heavy burden of being depended upon to save many lives.

The meeting concluded in time for the Council to file into the main chamber for their normal public meeting. They had prepared a unified statement informing the public of the events, explaining their actions, and describing the strategy moving forward.

Those under the Provider's employ were all to be questioned in relation to whether they observed or participated in any treasonous behavior. The Council was convinced he could not have done everything entirely alone and needed to know whether the help he got was intentional or incidental.

The Treasurer reassigned some of his record keepers to re-evaluate the restored emergency supplies, since the fake Provider's accounting was now highly suspect. Some of the Judge's were sent to re-establish supply lines with the surrounding towns and begin bringing supplies and people into the city in earnest as the Rhone army was closing in. No one branch of the government fulfilled all of the Provider's functions so that it was neatly balanced.

There was no time just now to choose a qualified placeholder, but the Judge posted inquiries for Swordbearers to submit their applications to the Council. An interim Provider would be an excellent way to fill the gap in the governmental functions if a trustworthy person could be found for the office.

Roland departed from the back door of the building, staying out of the sight of the crowd gathering to observe the meeting. He made his way to the library for another day of researching, but wondered if he should have asked to explore the tunnels instead.

It was a very interesting point, about the mountain's keep. Something being underneath the mountain was not necessarily a reason to destroy the entire city if the thing could be tunneled to or found within the existing catacombs. He would have to emphasize that point to Duncan at the earliest opportunity.

As he entered the library, he stopped for a moment to watch Finn. She sat completely alone in the large room at her table with a pile of books in front of her, the largest one opened to the middle. The large pages dwarfed her small hands as she turned them. Her brow was furrowed in concentration and she stood, her lips moving as she silently read in an apparent attempt to decipher whatever peculiar thing she was seeing.

She moved around the table, still looking down, to leaf through a second book, running her finger down a page to compare the words in the two volumes. Her back was to him now, her head down in concentration.

Despite the serious meeting he'd just departed, having her utterly engrossed in her reading awoke a streak of mischief in him. Walking softly up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear.

"Working hard, I see."

She squeaked, startled, and spun to face him, ready to give him a piece of mind for scaring her. However, finding his face so close to hers, she was suddenly without words to throw at him.

"You... um, hello," Her voice faltered in step with her heartbeat.

"Hello, Serafina," His smile warmed her soul, and he dipped his head to gently kiss her in greeting. Her arms found their way around his waist and they stood together in a loose embrace. "How is your research going?"

Her head spun a little, dazed that he could so casually kiss her and then continue his thought as if it did not disappear from his head when their lips touched.

"Is this going to be an every-time thing? The kissing, I mean?" She asked a little breathlessly.

"Would you prefer it not be?" He frowned slightly.

"It's not that at all," Finn blinked, "I just... it's a bit disorienting, still. I was in the middle of thinking and now it's all gone."

"As long as it's only your thoughts that flee and not you," The corners of his mouth tilted up.

"Never again," She smiled back, and he tilted her chin up for a longer, deeper kiss.

"Shouldn't we... you have things to learn..." She pushed him away slightly, trying to concentrate, and he sighed.

"You're right, I apologize. It was just decided I should leave tomorrow to go back to the Rhone, and I didn't want to waste this moment alone with you. I don't know how long it will be before I can come back." He released her and stepped back.

"You're right, however." He continued, "I need your mind more than your kisses, at least for the moment." His wink sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. "So what has the loveliest researcher in Klain discovered today?"

"Um, not very much, unfortunately," Finn admitted. "I had continued to look into the Sorcerer and his will, but I'm unable to find definitive proof that the ancient sorcerer is the same one who drove the Rhone out of Klain or did the other great deeds attributed to sorcerers.

"I think that it might be wise to pay Jimmy a visit before the Rhone trap us inside the city walls. I'm not sure what reaction he will have to the news of the imminent attack, but he's been such a help that it would feel wrong not to warn him. He may even have ideas about what to do." Finn also needed to thank the quarter-halfling for his wolf repellant.

"You think that's the best way for us to spend my last day here?" Roland tilted his head. He had pictured spending his time in the library looking through all the texts they could manage, but if Finn had exhausted those resources, it was likely nothing further could be found.

"You don't have to come," Finn replied, "Mayra should be finishing up some butter tarts to take to him." Finn shrugged. Roland probably had far more pressing matters to handle during his short time left.

"You're planning on going alone, just you two?" Roland's voice tightened.

Finn nodded, confused by the question. The two women had traversed a mountain range for weeks on their own. An outing just around the lake was nothing at all.

"We've gone by ourselves several times before. We're practically certified adventurers after almost freezing to death in the mountains and sleeping inside a giant's skull."

"I will go with you," Roland said in exasperation. It occasionally eluded his memory that the woman he loved tended to run straight at danger without regard for her own self-preservation. If that would continue to be the case, he would just have to preserve her himself.

"We would love to have you. Mayra has a way with Jimmy, and the weather is pleasant for a ride." Autumn was creeping into Klain, and the mornings and evenings now held an invigorating chill that was tempered by the sun's warmth during midday.

"Then by all means, let's be off." He could think of worse ways to spend his time.

_____________________

Jimmy was utterly nonplussed by the news of the attack, to the point where the others weren't sure he'd understood.

"Jimmy, I said a large army with an evil magical queen will be here within days." Mayra repeated.

"So? What's that got to do with me? Wanting my help, are ya?" He spat at the ground. "women's nothing but trouble. Woman with power's ten times worse."

"We thought maybe you would want to take shelter in the city or something?" Mayra was clearly more concerned about the little man than he was about himself.

"You ain't makin' any sense, girl. Why would I hide in the place they're attacking?" He shook his head slowly. "Gettin' a bit addled. Mountain air's thin, I imagine you breathed a little too long there." Mayra huffed as Finn interrupted.

"In that case, is there any help or advice you could offer? We have this prophecy about breaking a curse we could use some help with," Finn held out the paper.

"Well, I figured you needed somethin'. You couldn't be bothered to come visit just to tell me you're alive or nothin. Be too much bother." Jimmy looked down at the paper.

Finn felt properly chagrined at the rebuke. He had helped them survive and she supposed they could have stopped to talk to him before going to Klain and being thrown in jail.

"We're sorry about that." Finn said sincerely, "You helped keep us alive and we have not expressed how grateful we are. You are wonderful and we appreciate you. Now, is there anything you know about the Prophecy or about how we can defend Klain?"