Kern came into the room. "Are you alright, lad?" he asked in his gravelly voice.

"I'm fine, captain," he said.

"I wanted to, apologize, for picking you up like that," he said.

"It was a good idea, captain," Tarrin replied. "I don't mind being held by people when they have a good reason. Don't worry about it."

"Alright. I just wanted to make sure you understood things. By the way, thanks for watching my back. Jameson said Sheba pointed a gun at me."

"Any time."

Kern nodded, then quickly and quietly left the small cabin, which was filled with several very large people.

"I see you are feeling better, brother," Allia said, stepping up to him as Tarrin moved away from the door.

"Aside from being stuck in here, more or less," he replied. "I want to get moving again."

"I do not like being stuck in here either," Allia said. "Every time I take a step, I have to make sure there is not a tail in my path."

"Well excuse us for being more blessed than you," Keritanima said with a wink.

"You do not weigh much, Allia," Binter said dismissively. "It would not bother me to have you step on my tail. Azakar is another matter."

"I only did it once," the large man protested.

"And I will only pay you back for it once," Binter replied calmly.

Azakar winced.

Dolanna and the others returned just at sunset, and the Sorceress did not look happy. There was a tightness about her eyes, and she kept glaring at Miranda. The mink Wikuni seemed completely oblivious to the hot looks, removing a full cloak that she had used to hide her appearance to other eyes. Miranda was nondescript as a Wikuni, but her blond hair, her insufferable cuteness, and her mink lineage made her very identifiable as Keritanima's maid. "What did she do?" Keritanima asked with a sigh.

"She left us not long after we left the ship," Dolanna said tightly. "I dared not send anyone to look for her."

"Miranda!" Keritanima barked. "I ordered you to stay with Dolanna!"

"And you expected me to obey you?" Miranda asked innocently. "My goodness, your Highness, you've been associating with these humans too long."

" Miranda!"

"I had a good reason," she said in a dismissive tone. "I'll explain later. After we set sail."

"It's too late and too dark-"

"No, your Highness, now," Miranda said in a very steady tone, staring directly into Keritanima's eyes.

"Now?" Miranda nodded. "Alright, but if you're wrong-"

"Posh," Miranda sniffed.

"I take it that I should go speak with Kern?" Dolanna said in a curious voice, all hostility gone from it.

"It would be a very good idea, Dolanna," Miranda said calmly. "Kern does not want to be in Roulet right now. It would be very unhealthy."

"There is little wind, and no tide," Dolanna said. "To move the ship will require our assistance. Dar, Allia, come with me. Allia, wear the cloak that Miranda was using to hide herself, that will protect you from straying eyes. Tarrin, you and her Highness remain below. There is little we can do to conceal the two of you."

"Tarrin's already been out, Dolanna," Keritanima told her. "We need to talk to you about that after we get out to sea."

"Alright, Miranda, talk," Keritanima said immediately after Dolanna led Dar and Allia out, Faalken fell in behind them silently, and the door was closed.

"I know a few names of people willing to sell information in Roulet," she said simply. "I asked around, spread some coins about, and learned quite a bit."

"What?"

"Where do you want me to start?" she asked, sitting sedately on the bed.

"Just pick a place," Keritanima said in a voice near exasperation.

"Well, now it's official," she began. "Damon Eram has sent the entire fleet out to look for you. He doesn't know which ship you're on, but Wikuni ships are scouring the Sea of Storms looking for us. They're stopping and searching every ship they cross on the high seas."

"Well, I more or less expected that," Keritanima grunted. "What else did you learn?"

"Tarrin isn't exactly a nobody anymore," Miranda said, looking right at him. "I heard of a man hiring thugs, mercenaries, and cutthroats to look for him. He described you very accurately, my friend," she told him. "He wants you dead. He even passed out silver-gilded daggers and swords to his hires, so it's apparent that he knows what you are."

"Did you find him?" Keritanima asked.

She shook her head. "I didn't have the time. Oh, yes, there's a good chance that there's a war in Sulasia."

" What?" Keritanima, Tarrin, and Azakar gasped in unison.

Miranda nodded. "It was just rumor, but many of them say the same thing. That the army of Daltochan came down out of the mountains and invaded eastern Sulasia. That's about all I managed to find out about that. I also heard that three Ungardt clans have invaded Draconia, probably over some kind of border atrocity. You know how the Draconians are. I also heard that the seas are absolutely crawling with Zakkite triads. Every ship captain and sailor I talked to grumbled about having to run from triads, but for some reason, the triads didn't pursue anyone. That's not like them. It seems like they're looking for something specific."

"But it's winter," Azakar protested. "Why would armies move in the winter? It's crazy."

"You forget the prize, Zak," Miranda said. "It's a good bet that we're not the only ones that know about the Firestaff. The chaos surrounding it seems to have already started. There are probably a few kings that would be willing to throw away half their armies for the chance to be a god."

"Their whole armies," Keritanima agreed. "What else did you hear?"

"Not a whole lot," she replied. "I talked to a Wikuni priestess, who told me that things at home are getting tense. It seems that the nobility isn't too thrilled that your father is wasting so many resources in trying to track you down. Most of them feel that your running away was something that shouldn't be stopped."

"Why can't my father ever listen to other people?" Keritanima sighed.

Tarrin moved away from the others, their voices fading away as he thought about what she said. Why would people look for him? That was an obvious question. Kravon knew who he was, it seemed, and the man had already proved that he had considerable resources. He probably knew Tarrin was looking for the Firestaff, but did he know that Tarrin was on a boat? Were there agents of the ki'zadun in every city, or just the port cities? He didn't know, and he wondered if there had been such men in Den Gauche. If so, then the Were-cat female, Triana, may have saved his life by heading him off before one of them managed to get close enough to find him.

That was ironic enough to make him chuckle ruefully.

Another thought, and another worry, was this talk of war. If Daltochan did invade, they would have moved through Aldreth. The lives of those he knew in his home village were not guaranteed if something like that happened. That worried him. Though he'd never been popular in the village, he had many friends there. What would become of them if Daltochan sent troops to occupy the northeastern marches of Sulasia? Was Torrian a besieged city, the friendly, compassionate Duke Arren now walled up inside his famed fortress, facing off against Dal attackers? Had they marched down the very roads that Tarrin and the others had travelled, claiming the land of his home for their own? Sulasia probably had not been prepared for war. Sulasia was not a very militant nation, depending on the Knights, the Sorcerers, and the famed Rangers to curb any aggression. And they probably had never expected Daltochan to be the aggressor. Sulasia and Daltochan had been very close trading partners for many years. Most of the metal and stone the famed Sulasian craftsmen used came from Daltochan.

It was concerning, but there was nothing that he could do about it. If all this mess was over the Firestaff, then Tarrin did feel a little bit better about being stuck in this mission to find it. If kings would destroy good relationships with other kings over it, send men to their deaths and cause untold destruction and chaos, then perhaps something like the Firestaff wasn't meant for them.