She smiled.

"It's been a long time, Camara Tal," she said easily. Tarrin stared at his bond-mother in total shock. How did she know an Amazon? How did the Amazon that Triana knew end up here?

This had the Goddess' hands all over it. He was positive.

"It certainly has, Triana," the Amazon replied. "I didn't know he was yours."

"You know about him?"

"My Mistress sent me here to protect him," she told the Were-cat elder.

"How do you know her?" Tarrin blurted.

"I met Camara about ten years ago," Triana replied calmly. "In Dayise. It was a chance meeting, but we managed to get along well enough."

"I didn't know she was Were until the day before I left," Camara Tal finished. "I thought she was human."

"Why did you come all the way up here over him?" Triana inquired.

"He's got the attention of alot of people on him, Triana," she replied. "He's not just a Mi'Shara, he's the Mi'Shara. Anyone who hasn't figured that out yet is so far behind that they don't matter anymore."

" Tarrin is the Mi'Shara?" Triana asked in surprise.

Camara Tal simply nodded.

He had heard that term only a few times before, but he couldn't remember exactly when and where, or what it meant. "What does that mean?" he asked in concern.

"It means, cub, that your life is in serious danger," Triana said gruffly. " Mi'Shara is a term in the langauge of the Ancients that's used to describe non-human Sorcerers. Its literal meaning is he who once was or she who once was, depending on how it's used by the speaker. There's an old legend that says that a Mi'Shara has the best chance of passing the Guardian that protect the Firestaff. In other words, of all the people that may try, you have the best chance of succeeding. Half the world wants you dead because of that, and the other half probably wants to follow you, so they can take the Firestaff from you once you do get your paws on it."

That wasn't new information. The Goddess had told him that as well, back when she had originally pressed him into this crazy mission. He still remembered her exact words: But of all those who seek the Firestaff, you, Tarrin Kael, Mi'Shara, you have the best chance to succeed. But to hear it from them, to realize that they understood alot more than he did, it was frightening.

"You knew about that?" he asked Triana.

She nodded. "It's an old myth," she replied. "I never held much water to it. I guess I was wrong."

"He is the Mi'Shara, Triana," Camara Tal said. "My Mistress told me what the Goddess of the Sorcerers told him to do with it, and she supports it. So she sent me to aid in his quest."

"What did she tell you to do with it?" she asked him intently.

"To keep it away from everyone else," he replied honestly. "To make sure it isn't used."

"I can agree to that," Triana grunted. "And I think I'd better make some arrangements."

"Why?" Tarrin asked.

"I knew about what you were doing, but I honestly thought that you wouldn't pull it off. I figured to see you drag your tail home in about a year with empty paws. I didn't realize that you were one of the big players, that you really have a good chance to pull this off. I think Fae-da'Nar probably wants to have a say in who gets their paws on that old relic."

Tarrin's head was spinning. He sat down heavily on a chair near the table in the private dining room, sitting on his own tail. The pressure caused his mind to focus. Camara Tal, he could deal with. It was obvious that the Goddess had arranged her appearance to help him, so he felt he could give her the benefit of the doubt. She'd still have to prove she was worthy of his trust, however. But to find out that Camara Tal knew his bond-mother! That Triana knew as much as she did about the Firestaff. He had never told her much about it, and she had never asked. She was more interested in teaching him than learning more about what he was doing. She knew what he was doing, but as she said, she didn't realize that he was as serious about it as he was.

"I think you'd better have Allia go get Dolanna and the others, cub," Triana said after a moment. "I have some people to talk to. Do not leave the inn unless I directly tell you that you can. I think we all need to sit down and have a long talk."

"Don't worry about him, Triana," Camara Tal said confidently. "Tarrin's safety is my responsibility now. I won't let him do anything stupid."

"Good," Triana said with a nod, then she turned and left without another word.

Tarrin glared a bit at Camara Tal. He wasn't a fool, nor was he an idiot. That she felt he needed a babysitter was insulting. "I don't need someone watching me at all times," he warned her.

"That's not your decision, Tarrin," she said directly. "It's my responsibility to keep you alive and whole. How I do that is not up for debate. You will do what I tell you to do, because I told you to do it. Not because I like bossing you around, not because you're capable of taking care of yourself, but because it's my duty to protect you. I take my duties seriously. You don't want to find out how seriously I take them," she warned.

Tarrin developed both a seething resentment of this demanding Amazon, and a strange respect. Her manner and her words were very similar to the stoic duty he'd seen from Binter and Sisska, the quiet, ever-present bodyguards for Keritanima and Miranda. They had taken their duties just as seriously as Camara Tal seemed to be over him. He'd respected them for their quiet devotion, and he found he could respect Camara Tal in the same manner. Camara Tal was putting her life on hold to come and do her goddess' bidding, to protect a complete stranger from harm who would probably be a pain in her butt. At least in that way, he found respect and a little admiration for the intimidating Amazon warrior.

And the Goddess was right. She reminded him a great deal of his mother, Elke. She also had that same no-nonsense aire as Triana. This was a woman he found he could respect, because of her strength. Tarrin could appreciate strength. He realized that he wouldn't take a "normal" human woman, a submissive mewling female with no more will than livestock, seriously. Any female-anyone, for that matter-that wanted to deal with him had to be willing to stand up to him, and it seemed that Camara Tal was more than willing to do just that. He didn't scare her, he didn't intimidate her, and he respected her a great deal for that.

"I can respect that," he told her seriously, standing up and looking down at her, "but you have to respect me. I don't need someone to hold my paw, Amazon. I'm more than capable of fighting for myself. I just need someone to help watch my back."

"We'll see," she said calmly. "For now, let's talk to your other friends, so they can get to know me, and I can find out who runs this circus of fools."

Allia went to go get Dolanna, and Tarrin found himself spending that waiting time with Camara Tal. She was a quiet woman, alot like Binter and Sisska, perfectly willing to stand by the door in complete silence. She simply crossed her arms, leaned against the wall, and waited. She unnerved Tarrin, more than a little bit. She was a stranger, but that wasn't what worried him. It was the fact that he felt she was going to cause him some serious trouble. Azakar had also been told to protect him, but Tarrin had managed to browbeat and intimidate the Mahuut into giving up on that idea. This woman, he would not be able to push around so easily. She wasn't afraid of him, and since she was an unknown, he wasn't sure if it was bravado or confidence that was making her so fearless.

He noticed something about her, something that seemed strange. She was obviously a warrior, but she didn't have a mark anywhere on her. Just that scar on her cheek. Allia had scars, as did he, and Faalken's arms and legs were crisscrossed with them. But her skin was as smooth as a milkmaid's. She looked at him as he studied her form, and her expression didn't change. "You want me to lift my skirt so you can sniff under it?" she asked directly.