113 – Karen tells the truth, somewhat

  They set up camp for the evening. Caspian sat on a log putting his thoughts and reagents together. Karen had waited in good humor through out the day, and now helped Rox put up the Caplan’s tent. Steven was preparing their dinner a bit aside. Cyrril was on the ground, helping Caspian set up a magic circle. This had a triangle circumscribed by a circle circumscribed by an octagon. Finally he was ready. Cyrril hopped up onto the log next to Caspian and sat next to where Caspian’s staff lay. Caspian turned to where the ladies waited. Karen stepped over, careful not to step on the drawn lines, and sat in the triangle.

  Caspian used the language from the north to cast his magic. Rox paid attention as first Caspian turned on his safeties, cleared and neutralized the mana in the area, and then he set up a ward against outside interference, a ward against inside interference, and then a requirement that only what Karen believed true could be spoken. He bound the output of this to a pair of stones he held. Caspian finished, and then turned his attention from his casting to Karen.

  “This setup does not constrain you in any way. It will only respond if what you say is not true. Tell me as much of your name, as you are willing to tell us.” Caspian started simple.

  “Lady Dannakarena Konsalva Olegsdottor.” Karen composed her face to neutral.

  “Tell me something that is untrue.” Caspian held up is pair of pebbles.

  “I am a horse.”

  The pebbles vibrated against each other then stopped.

  Caspian and Karen both nodded.

  “Give me an example of a subject that should I ask about it, you would react violently.”

  “My sister.” Karen snapped this out, without having to consider it.

  “Care to say why?” Caspian was slightly curious.

  “No. I don’t.” Karen’s face had hardened slightly.

  The pebbles did not vibrate.

  “To business. Will you tell us now who has commissioned you?” Caspian began.

  Karen did not have to consider this. “No I will not.”

  “Why?”

  “Guild policy.” Karen answered. The pebbles were still.

  “Will you please tell us why you are helping us?” Rox overran Caspian and cut to the chase.

  Karen looked up to Rox, then back to Caspian, glancing briefly at Cyrril. “Because I chose to. There are issues involved that you are not aware of; some you cannot be aware of, some I choose not to tell you about. Suffice to say I have my reasons and they are my own.”

  They waited for her to continue. Karen being a bit taciturn, held her silence. Cyrril shuffled his wings.

  Caspian got to his first issue. “Are any of us in danger in your presence, and whom?”

  Karen countered. “Define ‘Danger.’”

  The pebbles did not move.

  “Do you intend to kill any of us?” Caspian clarified.

  “If need be. I haven’t fully decided.” Karen answered. She was a bit surprised at herself as she said this.

  The pebbles vibrated a little, but not so strong as earlier.

  Caspian said what was really troubling him. “You have already admitted that I am a target. Do you intend to kill me?”

  “If I need to. There is more going on than you are aware of.” Karen had pulled herself back to neutral, squelching her own surprise at her previous answer.

  Steven, watching meal on the fire behind Caspian, grabbed the pieces of information floating around and put them together. “Will you tell us your time table? What order events are supposed to happen in?”

  Karen looked over at him, and paused, then back at Caspian, thinking. That she did not get up actually was comforting to all but her.

  Karen took a breath. “First, I need to get you to the caves, and send you in after your kids. Then after you return with them, things happen.”

  Steven kept up the asking, wondering if the others had picked up on this, or remembered what the Nidaer Elves had impressed on him about this. “Involving the monarchs of this land, and Diana and Alex interacting with them?”

  Karen felt trapped. Her guild training told her not to even be doing this, talking about her assignment. Her professionalism was impressed that the Caplan’s were capable people. She felt she should be slightly resentful of Caspian for doing this truth or consequences test, but was instead a bit put off of herself due to what she realized was some attraction to him. Cyrril was looking at her as intently as Caspian was.

  “I cannot say,” Karen finally answered.

  The pebbles vibrated loudly. Cyrril perked at this.

  “That is I will not at this time if at all,” Karen corrected.

  The pebbles quieted down.

  “I need you to trust me, and not worry about why until later. I cannot say exactly when. Part of the plan is Caspian’s death, but the details have been left to my discretion. Things need to happen, and we all have our parts to play. I will not say more on that.” Karen focused into her professionalism to keep from saying more.

  Rox asked the next question. “Will you be going with us into the caves to the villages?”

  Karen answered this a bit too quick. “No. I will not. I don’t like caves.”

  The pebbles were still. Cyrril stepped up onto Caspian’s lap, putting his nose on the level of Karen’s.

  Caspian let her down on this. “Care to say why?”

  Karen non-verbally responded negatively. Rox picked it up, remembering from the night in city, just after their swim.

  “You didn’t like the sewers after the river. Fine. Is there more information that you have, that you need to tell us right now?”

  Karen looked at Rox, and dissected the question. Then answered with a bit of relief. “No, not right now.”

  Rox looked at Caspian. Cyrril was reaching out from Caspian’s lap looking closely at Karen’s face. “Are you satisfied? It appears to be as Steven said at the Bloody Daggers. There is more going on that we are lesser players in. We play our roll, and learn what we can along the way. And wait for things to happen. Kind of like how you were with Steven versus the elves before getting me. Judging by Karen’s reactions and behavior here, I think she is breaking some of her own rules by telling us anything. But I gather being a trail guide is not a usual task for an assassin.”

  Cyrril turned and jumped to Caspian’s shoulder. Caspian dropped the pebbles, picked up his staff, and planted the point in front of Karen, than dragged it across the three symbols diffusing and dismissing the spells. “I’m satisfied for now. I know of the ‘sense of death’ that you mention some magic users having. It is not as common as you appear to think. But I do not sense my death in the close future.”

  Cyrril clung to Caspian’s shoulder as he stood up, and offered his hand. Karen took his hand and stood up. This was the first time they had actually touched. She felt the warmth of his hand, and sensed his apprehension with her psi-senses. But Cyrril was not visibly upset.

  Karen dusted her rump off. “Well, tomorrow we cross the Ring Road. We head south along it to the east highway to the caves entrance. With any luck we should not encounter any traffic. But there is always traffic, so don’t be upset if we see any.”

  As she turned, Caspian’s eyes flicked past her rump, and then he went on to his other business of the evening. But either his or Cyrril’s eyes never quite left her the rest of the night; whether it was watching a potential target, or male-female appreciation, Karen could not decide.

  That evening, Karen stayed up, practicing some of her fighting drills. Rox watched. Karen cast about and sensed that Steven was rapidly falling asleep, and Caspian was likewise dozing. Cyrril was asleep curled up on Caspian’s shoulder. As Rox turned to go to bed, Karen though she had a brief opportunity to implant the information in Rox. But she passed, not wanting to stir up trouble.

  As the night before, she waited until Rox and Steven got up in the night and then took the opportunity to implant the knowledge then.

  Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 141

  Communication can do wonders for a relationship.

  Cyrril woke Karen up the next morning. He had a fresh killed critter for her. Karen quickly had it slaughtered and rendered for food for the dragon, the critter being too small for herself or the other three humans. Rox and Steven were quietly enjoying each others morning company; Caspian was still asleep in his tent, so Karen moved a ways off and ran through her exercises again. She noticed Cyrril watching her intently.

  Karen stopped, and looked right at him. All she could tell for sure was the dragon was interested in her. “Well?”

  As nothing further happened, she went back to her drills.

  Rox got up and went to the near by stream where she gave herself a sponge bath. Steven came over toward where Karen was, and ran through his own morning exercises. This was the first time Karen had seen this, as Steven seemed to prefer to spend his time while walking doing his exercises.

  Steven and Rox traded places, evidently having one set of washing things. Rox was a bit different in her exercises. There were the typical grace versus power differences of male to female, but Rox turned her grace toward speed where Steven preferred economy and accuracy.

  Caspian finally roused as breakfast was cooked, by Rox this time.

  As they traveled, Karen made a point of walking with each of the three, and discussing their fighting ability and mindset. She observed that Steven had a military mindset to battle, Rox was pragmatic, and Caspian was a brawler. They lunched as they walked along. After finishing, while walking behind the wagon and Karen’s horse, Karen asked how Rox would handle magic in a fight.

  Rox first outlined what she had done in her fight in Skarg.

  This was not what Karen wanted to know. So she asked “What about fighting a deamon?”

  “I would get a priest,” Rox replied.

  “None’s available,” Karen countered.

  “Use the Nun’s, then,” Rox joked then moved back to seriousness. “I suppose you are suggesting I use magic against the hypothetical deamon. I remember something about ‘bell, book, and candle’ but beyond that am so new to practical magic, that I don’t have a realistic guess.”

  Karen was a bit pleased to hear Rox admit her ignorance. The Society in Skarg had generally developed an inability to admit inability and ignorance. “’Bell, book, and candle’ is also passed around a bit in our literature, but I have never seen it in action. The method recommended in The Guild is ‘silver and fire.’ But that can be a bit hard to arrange. I suppose the source is the scriptures that God will refine the worlds as a silversmith does sliver, by heating until it reflects his image. As such for some reason, evil spirits do not like burning silver.”

  “How do you light silver on fire?” Rox asked. “I understand you can do it with enough magnesium. As you say silver can be smelted, but ignited?”

  “Magic. Or concentrated psi-energy, but that takes some doing. If you are going to look to nature, lightening will do.” Karen answered.

  “Why do I need to know this? Is this some of your ‘further information’?” Rox wondered how much was really going on, and what Karen was apparently priming her to fight.

  Karen though for a moment. “Yes it is. There are things you will need to do, that I need to prepare you for. I don’t know how much more I can tell you, without causing everyone more trouble than is already in store.”

  Rox took up the conversation, partly to let Karen think, partly to clear her own thoughts. “Before I came to this world, I won a few fights in my life that were ‘for keeps.’ Since arriving, I have knowingly killed on two occasioning. The first was in a battle, that I foolishly ran head long into. The second was at the ball, and that mage who I gather was trying to take me back to his place. Now, I get the feeling that you are trying to prime me to be able to win in some fight that I do not as I stand right now have the ability to win. I do not cherish the idea of taking life. Perhaps I come from a world that has grown too soft, or that is so religious or advanced that some of us respect even the life of our enemy.”