FSE

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Truly fast travel was something that only governments could afford. The amount of resources required to get the materials to the proper places was astronomical, especially if it was to a place ruled by a different government. On top of that, in most cases, the transportation was "single use only."

All things considered, Vharkylia (and Farnsbeck for that matter) was lucky that there was such a setup in Bahadhra. There'd once been a vykati embassy there, but like most diplomatic edifices in that country, it'd been abandoned shortly after the battle of Altaza.

Farnsbeck took a moment to dust himself off. The alley the transport had placed him in was filthy and dusty. It reeked of industrial waste. Taking a moment to look around, he noticed that most of the barrels around him were marked as chemical waste... that would put him just outside the Almarada Chemical Plant. The clerk in charge of arranging his transportation had no clue exactly where he'd be once he came through. The exact location was lost when the embassy closed.

First things first, however. He pulled a small blue mask from his vest pocket and carefully placed it over his eyes. He tied it behind the back of his head. It looked like the mask was designed for a human, but the wolf ears did a good job of holding it in place. Once he was sure it was secure, the secretary raised both arms straight out to his side with his palms facing downward. He closed his eyes. As he did so a brief crackle of arcane energy flowed over the mask. For the next few seconds clumps of darkness gathered around him and obscured him from view. Slowly the light returned to the area around his body and in place of the black wolf there was a human with light hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. He was wearing the exact same clothes the vykati had been.

Part of him wanted to quickly find an inn and get settled, but the practical, business side of himself realized he needed to let his contacts know he was here. He started with one of the chemical barrels next him. Placing a single gloved finger on the side of it, he drew a quick picture: a K with a horizontal line through the middle.

Tightening his gloves, he straightened his hat to adjust for the difference between wolf and human ears and started out to the street that crossed the alley. It was early afternoon and the grimy city was covered with a thick layer of smog. When would humans bother to control that better? It wasn't that Vharkylia was smog-free, but they at least made _some_effort. A brick on the corner of the building at the edge of the alley received his next mark. It might be days before someone noticed it and figured out where to find him, but maybe if he was lucky...

The secretary continued down the sidewalk, occasionally stopping to examine some oddity around him: a shop sign, lamp post, or a notice on a public bulletin board. He didn't see the small Rhidayan in gray pants, a loose white shirt, and sandals a few blocks behind him carefully stopping to trace over his marks and then continuing on quickly.

It was when he'd made about his tenth mark that the wolf decided that should be enough for the day. He stopped and prepared to cross the street. There was a hotel that looked presentable enough to house him. As we waited to cross, however, he became aware of something in his peripheral vision and aborted that idea. Instead he dabbed at his cheek with a handkerchief and then continued slowly down the sidewalk. His pursuit wasn't even trying, it seemed, and it wasn't long before the small man was only a few steps behind the wolf.

Farnsbeck turned quickly and grabbed the person following him by the arm. The faux human was about to say something nasty when his face suddenly lit up and he nearly shouted, "Oh, it's great to see you! I almost didn't recognize you!"

"Shush you, Cyan," the Rhidayan hissed. "You always were the loud one."

"Good to see you too, Orange." Farnsbeck returned amiably. "We'll have to find somewhere we can catch up."

Orange motioned him to follow and led him to an alley just a couple of blocks away. A large dumpster was at the entrance and the two quickly ducked behind it. The Rhidayan pressed a hand to a brick and arcane energy surrounded an area at the base of the wall. The light from the magic was very faint and faded rather quickly, but once it was done the bricks and cobblestones began to rearrange themselves. They eventually formed a doorway that the two men stepped through. The bricks and stones quietly rearranged themselves back to their original positions.

Inside was a small brick room with a cement floor. The only light came from a small lantern in the far-left corner.

"We don't have much time," the shorter man said quickly. "The room fades after five minutes."

"It won't take long, I need you to gather some information for me..."

Orange didn't allow him to finish. "You think I've no idea why Gray is sending an agent this way? I've been waiting here for someone to show up. You'll need this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object. Once it was in view it began to expand until it became a file folder. There were only a few sheets of paper in it. "I'll admit, I'm surprised Gray sent you. Rumor was you'd been caught and killed."

"That rumor was less than accurate. Caught, but..." he started looking through the folder. Its contents made no sense to him. "I think you grabbed the wrong folder. This dossier is for a vykati named Gregor. I need your current report on Sajani."

Orange was nonplussed. "No, Cyan. You're the one barking up the wrong tree." He was speaking very quickly. "There's no way possible for Brown to care less about what happens to your copper wolf. She can go back to Vharkylia if she wants. But Brown is convinced that if that indentured servant with her gets back to your country, Gray will have all he needs to get Oil and Water to let him go to war. Brown has no desire to have his rear handed to him twice in five years."

Farnsbeck was a little disappointed to hear Orange say that, but he didn't show it. "Gray won't sacrifice his people. What he threatened before was done in a rare moment of anger."

"I know!" Orange hissed.

That statement redeemed him in the vykati's eyes. It was good to know the man wasn't that out of touch with what was happening in Vharkylia.

"But Brown won't believe that. Whatever information that slave has is a closely guarded secret. Brown's even hired a few foreign bounty hunters. He wants that pup dead and if your copper wolf happens to get in the way of that, she'll be going with him."

* * *

The warmth from Gregor's comment soon faded. There was something about being told that he considered her a friend that bothered her. Her friends from before she came to school in Rhidayar, she'd just learned, had all betrayed her. Was he trying to encourage her by saying he was her friend?

Thinking about the type of people she'd used that word to describe made her realize: Gregor couldn't mean it the same way she did.

What other friends did she have? There was Westa. The ballet dancer turned priestess was a lot older than she. At first, Westa had been no more than a babysitter, but for a while, a very short while, they'd enjoyed doing things together.

And that was exactly how her relationship with Gregor would go, she knew-- staying a friend. Outside of being the daughter of someone important, she had nothing to offer--unless he needed lessons in being self-centered or how to shoplift without getting caught.

Her pity party was progressing nicely when the weather decided to throw gasoline on the fire. It started to rain. It brought her out of her reflection. She removed the blanket from her pack and wrapped it around her.

Gregor turned to face her. Just before he spoke, thunder rolled across the mountainside. "I wish we could find a cave or something, but I haven't been that lucky so far. At least it's a warm rain."

Sajani didn't see his last statement the same way he did. To her it was indifferent, not positive. As they continued down, they checked every rock cropping to see if it could at least shelter them from the rising wind. About evening near the base of the mountain, where it started to even out to meet the plain below, they decide that continuing to look for shelter was pointless. Instead, they made their way to one of the last ledges and opened their packs.

Sajani took a very long drink from one of the waterskins. She handed it to Gregor who also took a long drink. Dinner that night was served immediately after. There was something to be said about a cold meal served on a cold and wet night and none of it was complimentary.

Maybe there was a way to get her mind off the cold and dampness. Discussing fashion and shopping was out, so she went to her usual standby with Gregor: books. "It's a little like the time in book four when Yanebel is on his way to confront the bandit king and it starts raining and there's nowhere for him to go."

Her companion smiled, "It is, but we're missing a few things, like a bedroll..."

"And an ax!" Sajani finished enthusiastically. "But it's the same in that we're all braving the elements."

Gregor smiled broadly, "I think of myself as pretty faithful, but I doubt I can stop rain with a prayer like he did."

Sajani rolled her eyes. "Oh please, like there's some easily tapped magical force out there that can change the weather to match our whims."

Those words seemed to almost physically strike Gregor. "You don't believe in Ahj or the Aspects? I didn't know that."

It was more complicated than that, and normally she didn't have any desire to justify her beliefs, but now...He'd understand wouldn't he? He wouldn't think less of her? Part of her wanted to lie and tell him that she did believe: that the only reason she'd said that was because it seemed like a major case of deo ex machina in a book. Just a few days ago, she'd have lied. A week before that, she wouldn't have cared what he thought. The truth was best. "I believe in Ahj and the Aspects, but I don't believe They care about me. I don't understand how an all-powerful Being can have the time or inclination to oversee the wants of the whole population, let alone take care of those that have gone before. They certainly didn't do anything to answer my father's and my prayers about keeping my mother safe."

There was a look of consternation on Gregor's face as she said that, like he was trying to decide between two choices he didn't want to make.

"What?" Sajani asked.

"Can I call on a promise you made previously?"

What was that supposed to mean? Rolling through her prior conversations, she couldn't think of anything that she would have promised, especially anything important. "Sure," she said with half-conviction.

"Good. So no laughing at me or thinking that I'm just saying it to flirt with you?"

Oh,that promise. The copper wolf wished there was a way to back out and save them both whatever embarrassing thing Gregor wanted to say. A small part of her, however, wanted to hear something that he seemed to think would woo her. "I promise," she said, hoping she didn't end up regretting it.

As soon as she said that, Gregor began, like he wanted to get the words out before he could reconsider. "As far as this whole trip goes, I don't think that the Aspects do care much about what happens to me, but from what I've seen They care a lot about what happens to you. On my own, I can't possibly hope to live up to what's been expected of me so far. Not that I'm incompetent, but there's so much working against us." He let out a sigh and said, "I'm not sure how to say this and not feel totally awkward...My original plans had fallen apart before I'd even set foot out the door (or window) many times before you showed up. Looking back on it, I'm sure that it was because I wasn't supposed to go unless you were going with me."

So, I'm some kind of lucky talisman, she thought cynically. I just happened to show up in time for a real plan to surface. Luck. It all came down to luck.

"A couple of months after you showed up, I decided that you'd probably want out too. That's when Manfred came across Redrose. Through him, we were able to talk back and forth about arranging the hotel." He paused again, looking shyly down at his feet. "Once I decided that you might want to be in on what was happening, everything changed. I went from constantly being blocked, to everything falling into place. Somehow, though you might not think so, you're a very special person. Some power, Ahj or the Aspects, thinks you're important."

His cynical companion wasn't convinced. "So you managed to arrange the hotel to hide out in. By adding me to the mix you also halved what you could afford to do. Also, I'd hardly brag about how well everything's gone so far."

"And yet, we're here..."

"In the rain..." As soon as she said it, she realized that the rain had stopped at some point in the discussion.

"The setbacks we've had are way beyond the ability of either of us to handle, but somehow, like Yanebel, we keep coming through. That has to mean something to you."

Oh, it meant something to her. It meant that they'd been using up all their luck and it was bound to run out any time. That's not what she said though. "Maybe someday I'll be able to see it like you do."

"I hope you do. I hope someday you'll see how really important you are." He immediately got flustered, "To the Aspects that is," he stammered. "How...how important you are to Them."

Well, if that was flirting, I should be safe for quite a while, she thought sarcastically. A change of topic seemed to be in order. "Did we want to camp out here or should we see if we can go a little further? There's a nice sandy spot over there. It might not be too soggy if we sleep on our blankets."

A very worried expression crossed Gregor's face and he looked around frantically. "There's not much space to it."

From where she was standing, it looked like it was about four meters square, but she knew what he meant. She was confident that he'd continue to be the gentleman he'd been so far. Was it her that he worried about? Gentleman didn't describe her and it wasn't just the generative that was the problem. She tried to quell his worries. "We'll sleep on opposite sides with our backs to each other. Will that work?"

He nodded. His face straight and not showing any emotion.

The thought came unbidden, and by the time Sajani started to suppress it, it had already completed its message. Whoever he marries will be so lucky to have someone that loyal and dedicated.