The Questing Game

by James Galloway

  He also met Jale, the next eldest of the females. Jale was alot like Triana, tall and very intimidating, but her face was much more open and expressive than his stone-faced bond-mother's was. She was a gentle, kind woman, considerate and thoughtful, almost like a mother to everyone around her. Where Mist represented the worst a Were-cat could be, Jale represented the best. Everyone loved her and respected her, and Tarrin had to admit that she had a way about her that made even him feel a warm spot for her. Where Triana intimidated with bullying, Jale intimidated with subtlety. It was scary how she could make anyone do anything just by giving them the slightest of frowns.

  As the days passed, the inn's patronage changed. Out of enemies to hunt down, Shirazi lost interest in staying. Her eternal burning desire to hunt was just too powerful, and she and Singer left Shoran's Fork and returned to the Frontier. Rahnee found Thean a more willing playmate than Tarrin, so after indulging herself a few times with him, she too drifted away. Shayle and Nikki remained behind to catch up with their mother, but Tarrin's absolute intolerance for Laren forced the smaller Were-cat out of the inn, and eventually out of the city. Just the scent of Laren was enough to work Tarrin up to a near fever pitch. Jale only stopped in for a couple of days, long enough to get a look at Tarrin, and then she too was gone. That left only Triana, Thean, Nikki, and Shayle, Triana's family of sorts. Triana wasn't married to Thean, but it was obvious to anyone looking at them just where Thean's loyalties lay. Thean adored Triana, and given his choice of partners, he would always choose her. For her own part, Triana was very comfortable with the elder male, and when they were together, they looked like a pair of grandparents in how they acted towards each other. That deep familiarity existed between them, just like a couple who had been together for a very, very long time. Her stony mask and utter control of everything never wavered--Thean was clearly the submissive in their relationship--but it was also clear that she had deep feelings for the red-haired male.

  The day had dawned hot and cloudless, as summer grabbed the land in a fierce grip and squeezed. The lands of Arkis were used to the brutal heat, for Arkis laid far south of his village home. Tarrin could deal with the heat, but the stifling humidity was another matter. The air was so heavy, it felt like he was breathing through wet cotton, and it pressed on him like a soggy blanket. That too, he discovered, was normal. Tarrin sat in the inn's dining room, enjoying a meal of thick slices of bacon, fresh bread, and a meat pie made from the leftovers of the night before. Nikki sat with him, as did Allia. Nikki was somewhat fascinated by the lithe Selani, and they had spent a good deal of time talking with one another. Allia seemed to like Nikki, for she was bright, intelligent, and curious about all things. Her desire to learn was sincere and infectious, and Allia often found herself telling the young Were-cat female more than she really meant to say.

  "If the brands are the marks of adulthood, then why does Tarrin have them?" Nikki asked in her chiming voice. Nikki had a lovely voice, a rich, clear soprano voice, a voice that could make music cry if she ever used it in song.

  "Tarrin is my brother, Nikki," Allia said simply. "You know that."

  "I've heard you call him that. I thought it was a Selani custom."

  "No. Tarrin is my deshida, my brother in all but blood. When he accepted me as his sister, he also accepted the brands as proof of his devotion to our bond. I cannot have a brother who is not a recognized member of my people. The brands give him that recognition."

  "It must have hurt," she said insightfully.

  "It wasn't pleasant, but the pain is part of the rite," Tarrin replied. "You have to be willing to endure it, to prove you're worthy of them."

  "Ouch."

  "I screamed," Tarrin admitted. "They hurt for days afterward."

  "Admitting to pain is acceptable. Flinching under it is taboo," Allia told Nikki. "Part of the rite calls for the one branded to hold completely still while the iron is applied. If one moves, he takes a bad brand, and is dishonored."

  "I thought he was cast out."

  "There is no law that forces it, but one who takes a bad brand often leaves, rather than bring dishonor to the rest of the clan."

  "That sounds nearly cruel. To be punished for the rest of your life for one moment of weakness."

  "The desert is a harsh land, Nikki. If some of our customs seem barbaric, consider the lands in which we live. We are the soul of our land."

  "That's a strange thought," Nikki mused. "It makes sense, though. Mother told me you have another sister, like Tarrin."

  "Not like Tarrin," Allia chuckled. "Keritanima is nothing like Tarrin."

  "Kerri is definitely unique," Tarrin agreed. "She's got as much will as Triana, she's a very determined woman. She's the smartest woman I think I've ever known, and what makes her so special is that she knows how to use her brains. She's never without a plan."

  "If she can stick with them," Allia smiled. "Keritanima gets impulsive when things get crazy."

  "Things always seem to work out, though. I like that about her," Tarrin told his sister.

  "As do I," she agreed. "Keritanima is my sister, the same way Tarrin is my brother. And they are brother and sister to each other. We are something of a family, Nikki, a very tight-knit family."

  "She's branded too?"

  They both nodded. "She took it alot better than I did, but at least I didn't complain for a ride afterward," Tarrin said.

  "How did you meet?"

  "We were all students in the Tower, in Suld," Allia replied. "We met there. Tarrin was the only reason I did not go mad there, and Keritanima's incredible mind was what got us out of the Tower alive. We have been through a great deal together."

  "We didn't do it alone, though," Tarrin said. "If it hadn't been for Dolanna and Faalken, Miranda and Zak, Dar and the Vendari, Darvon, Ulger, Sevren and Tomas, we'd probably still be there."

  "All are worth great honor," Allia said seriously.

  "I've talked to Dolanna. She seems like a very wise woman."

  "You have no idea," Tarrin said fervently. "She's one of my best friends, and the only reason I didn't go crazy after Jesmind bit me."

  "Dolanna is the soul of our group, Nikki," Allia told her. "Without her, we would all be lost."

  "Where is Dolanna?" Tarrin asked curiously.

  "She, Faalken, and Dar are with Renoit," she replied. "The circus is going to end tomorrow. Triana still has not said if you are ready to go, so I think she is there making sure he can hold over for us."

  "He's ready," Triana said from the doorway. "More or less, anyway."

  "Mother," Nikki greeted with a smile.

  "Good morning, mother," Tarrin greeted.

  "Cubs, Allia," Triana acknowledged. "Tarrin, we need to talk about something."

  "What? In private?"

  "No, this will do. I have someone I want you to meet."

  There was a calm, hesitant quality to her voice that told him that this wasn't just someone that he should meet. This was someone important. He stood up hesitantly as a strange buzzing sound reached his ears, and the strangest scent touched his nose. It was something like cypress and cedar, mixed with the smell of flesh tinted with cinammon. A very earthy, spicy smell. The buzzing sound got louder, until it seemed to be coming from right in front of him. A strange wavering appeared in the air in front of him, and then it faded away.

  It left in its wake the most exotic creature Tarrin had ever seen. It was an exceptionally tiny female being, human-like in shape and form, but she couldn't stand more than a span tall. Her skin was a bluish color, and her hair was auburn. Her face was cherubic, very pretty, with wide cheeks and pert lips, her features tiny yet proportioned to her tiny body. Her small eyes were an amber color not too much unlike the yellow of Keritanima's eyes, and she wore a simple halter over her tiny breasts and a skirt, both looking to be made out of spun spider's silk. Her form was like a doll, but she was most definitely a mature female of her species. She had the feminine body shape, with breasts and wide hips. If she wer
e Tarrin's size, she would be rather voluptuous. The buzzing sound came from behind her, from a pair of dragonfly-like wings that were on her back, wings that beat the air to create that buzzing sound, and keep her aloft.

  It was a Faerie! Tarrin stared at her in astonishment, then Triana's teachings managed to reach though his surprise. He offered both his paws to her quickly, cupping them together and offering her a place to land. She did so without a word, her wings slowing to a stop behind her, and she looked up at him quietly. Those wings caught his attention. They looked like a dragonfly's wing, and their chitinous length was a riot of conflicting pools and dabs of color. The wings were opaque, and every time they moved, they caused scillinting reflections of light to dance along their lengths. He'd seen a wing like that before, sitting in the box of private things that was now in Jenna's care.

  The wing he'd marvelled at for years was a Faerie's wing!

  "Done staring?" she asked in a very high-pitched, piping voice.

  "I'm--I'm sorry, but I was looking at your wings," he told her. "I have one of them."

  "You have one of them? It must be my size, then, and I doubt it can get you off the ground," she winked.

  "No, I have just the wing," he elaborated. "I found it in the forest, and kept it."

  "Really? You'll have to show it to me some day."

  "Tarrin, I'd like you to meet Sarraya. Sarraya, this is Tarrin."

  "Pleased to meet you," Tarrin said, staring down at the exquisitely tiny thing he was holding in his paws. He could easily crush her, she was so small. He couldn't get over how tiny, how delicate she was.

  "You don't look as ferocious as they said you would," she grinned.

  "Sarraya is here as a representative of Fae-da'Nar, Tarrin," Triana said soberly. "She's going to test you on what I've taught you. Answer her questions, and treat her with respect."

  "I understand, mother," he said calmly. That meant that the time had come. He had to satisfy Sarraya that he understood the laws and the customs, that he wouldn't endanger the Woodkin. If he could convince her of that, he would be accepted. If he couldn't, he would be branded Rogue, and his mother, Nikki, and the rest of Fae-da'Nar would then have to kill him. His very life was now in the Faerie's tiny blue-skinned hands.

  "Carry me somewhere private, Tarrin," Sarraya ordered. "I don't want to have to do this with an audience. It annoys me, and it probably won't do you much good either."

  "Of course," he answered her.

  Tarrin carried her carefully into one of the private dining rooms, and sat down. She jumped down from his paws to the table, standing there and staring up at him with a very serious look. "I'm sure you understand why I'm here, and what it means," she began. "I want to tell you right now not to be nervous. Alot of my judgement comes from Triana, not from you. She says you're fit to stand among us. I just want to get to know you, and see if she's finally going to be wrong for once in her life."

  "It sounds like you want me to fail."

  "No, I just want you to relax," she replied cooly.

  "That's not the thing to say to do it."

  "No, but it let me see how you'd react when faced with unfavorable information," she winked. "I'm going to say and do things that you may think odd, Tarrin. Don't worry, I'm just trying to get a feeling for your state of mind. I have nothing personal against you. And on the other hand, I have no personal favoritism for you either. I'm simply here to assess you. Nothing more, nothing less."

  "Oh. Alright."

  And so it began. Sarraya grilled him on all the things he'd learned from Triana, from the four laws of Fae-da'Nar to the myriad customs he was expected to know. Him holding out his paws for Sarraya had been one of those customs, allowing her to land somewhere so she could see his face. That, he realized, had been his first test. He answered her quickly and correctly at all times, so quickly that it looked to begin to irritate the tiny creature. Her questions began getting more and more complicated, more abstract, hypothetical questions about what he should do in certain situations. Some of them confused him, because Triana made no mention of creatures call Worgs, nor did she discuss what he was supposed to do if he found himself standing face to face with a Centaur arguing with a Dryad. He relied on his common sense for those questions, things that he thought should be done to avoid fighting.

  "And what are these for?" she asked, pointing to his manacles.

  "They make sure I don't forget," he said with narrowing eyes.

  "Forget what?"

  "Forget what trusting people can bring me," he answered honestly.

  "Sounds like you don't like people."

  "I don't," he replied bluntly. "I placed my trust in the Sorcerers, and then I found out they ordered this done to me," he said, holding out his paws. "I placed my trust in a human woman I thought was a friend, and she repaid me by capturing me and holding me prisoner with magic. I--" he closed his eyes. "I killed alot of people getting out of there." No matter how hard he felt towards that act, it never ceased to bring him a stab of pain. But when they opened again, they were full of steely resolve. "I don't trust humans anymore, Sarraya. It's just that simple, and I'm not going to change. So don't try."

  "Why would I try? You are who you are, cub," she replied calmly. "I'm not here to be your friend. I'm here to make sure you can obey our laws. Do you ever want to kill the humans?"

  "I don't go out of my way to do it, no," he replied. "I won't let them get very close to me, though. As long as they don't pressure me or bother me, I can tolerate them."

  "And if they do bother you?"

  "They don't," he said ominously.

  "Ah. You have that stare thing down, I see," she said with a sudden grin. "I thought you Were-cats practiced it. I think now it's an instinct." Her wings started up, and she buzzed up off the table and landed on his shoulder. He felt her slight weight as she seated herself. "Now take me to Triana," she ordered.

  "That's it?"

  "That's all I need to hear," she replied.

  Tarrin wasn't sure what to make of her abrupt ending of their conversation. That she ended it with the manacles, and his aversion to humans, didn't seem to be a very good sign. Either way, he would go on after she made her decision. He had too much to do to die now, and he doubted that Triana would try to kill him seconds after Sarraya's judgement. If worse came to worst, he could get away from his kin, get back on the ship and flee to Arak before it came to blows. Regardless of his confidence, he was still very nervous as he entered the room and stared at the occupants. Triana sat with her two daughters in the main dining room, with Allia. Triana looked decidedly uneasy, but that was clamped down when Tarrin entered the room. She stood immediately as Sarraya flitted off his shoulder, then landed in her cupped paws. "Well?" Triana demanded.

  "He's got some rough edges," she said. "Very rough edges. But I think he can manage to live by our laws. Congratulations, Triana, you can keep him."

  Triana blew out her breath, and Nikki unclasped her paws from where she'd been wringing them. Shayle grinned at him brightly. Allia rose and took Tarrin's paw fondly, and he put his arm around her.

  "A Selani," Sarraya said in interest, turning to look at her. "Your wife?"

  "My sister," Tarrin replied.

  "You have exotic tastes in friends, Tarrin," Sarraya winked. "I haven't seen a Selani in decades. How fares your people, Selani?"

  "They prosper, as always, small one," Allia replied evenly. That she was talking to a being that few people ever saw didn't seem to faze her in the slightest. "Our land shelters us, and the Holy Mother Goddess watches over us."

  "Lucky you," Sarraya winked. "Have any sweet rolls around here, Triana? I've been dying for a pastry since I left home."

  "I'll have the cooks make you one, Sarraya," Triana promised.

  "A small one. I don't want to weigh myself down with a full belly."

  "They can't make one small enough for you, sprite," Triana challenged. "Just break off what you want."

  "I hate waste," Sarraya grun
ted.

  "You have four other mouths in here. I'm sure one of them will finish it for you."

  "I don't like sharing either."

  "Suffer," Triana said, putting her down on the table, and then walking back to the kitchen.

  Sarraya turned to the two sister Were-cats easily. "You're getting tall, Nikki," she noted. "Last time I saw you, you were still wearing diapers."

  "If I still did, people would talk, Sarraya," Nikki replied.

  "Aren't you pregnant yet, Shayle?" Sarraya asked.

  "I've been trying, but Thean won't look at me with Triana here, and Tarrin won't cooperate."

  "Shame on you, cub," Sarraya turned on him and winked. "Making Shayle go without."

  "She didn't ask nicely," Tarrin drawled.

  "I'm starting to think that it takes a large club to get Tarrin's attention," Shayle complained. "He won't tell me how Mist managed--"

  "Mist? You were jumped by Mist?" Sarraya asked in surpise.

  "There's a story behind it, but the short answer is yes," Tarrin replied.

  "Have a seat, boy. You have some talking to do," she said, pointing at a chair by the table where she stood.

  "I thought Triana would tell you about that."

  "She just told me you healed Mist's scars. She never said anything about that."

  Tarrin sat down, as did the others, and Tarrin calmly repeated the circumstances around his relationship with Mist. He didn't feel very embarassed to talk about it in front of four females, at least until he got around to the conceiving part. He glossed over that, focusing more on the fact that she was pregnant than how it happened.

  "Well," Sarraya said after he finished, "I'm certainly glad I decided you fit. If I'd have known about this, I'd have accepted you no matter what."