"I know that you are anxious to begin," Dolanna announced, "but there are some things you should know, and some changes." She picked up one of the amulets. "The first is that Camara Tal is going to accompany Dar. Dar may be able to take care of himself, but his youth may get him into trouble. Camara Tal is going to help keep Dar out of that kind of trouble, and cover for him if he must break into a home."

"I'd rather go with Tarrin to keep an eye on him, but I think he'll just leave me behind," the Amazon grunted.

Dolanna smiled slightly and nodded. "On the table are maps. Each of you should take a map, and use it to mark off where you have already been. I will study the maps each day, and ensure that we are covering all of the available areas. Renoit expects the three of you to perform," she said in a strong tone, "so do not stay out until dawn. Leave that to Tarrin and Sarraya.

"And to you two," she turned on them, "I expect you to do this quietly. There will be no bringing down houses, no pausing to torture residents with pranks, and no unnecessary killing. I do hope I am making myself clear." She gave them a flinty look. "And above all, you must keep yourselves hidden. Rich Arakites would spend an absolute fortune attempting to capture either of you as a showpiece to use to impress their friends. This applies to you as well, Allia. Be very careful, and remember that your swords do not have to extricate you from every situation. You are a Sorcerer. You tend to forget or overlook that fact. Do not abandon your power when it can help you escape a bad situation."

Allia nodded soberly as the two drakes landed on the table with Tarrin and Sarraya. "Phandebrass, have you instructed your drakes?"

"I say, they're ready, Dolanna," he replied. "Turnkey will go with Dar, and Chopstick will go with Allia. If you need their help, just point to the door in your way, point to an open window, and tell them to unlock the door," he instructed the others. "They will enter the house, find the door, and unlock it from the inside. I also told them to keep a nose out to keep any brigands from sneaking up on you. If you need them for defense, simply point at your agressor and tell them to attack."

Dolanna nodded. "This is a huge city, my friends," she warned. "This first night, I do not expect you to go out. Use this night to familiarize yourselves with the maps and the major streets. Save your searching for tomorrow."

"Just show us where to start," Sarraya said in a voice that was uncharacteristically serious for her.

Phandebrass unrolled one of the maps, then pointed to a large circle near the middle of the large page. "Right here," he said. "I say, this place is called the Fountain of Life. It's nearly the exact center of the city. Just take the Street of Sand to the Street of Gold, turn left, and that will take you right to the fountain," he guided, tracing a finger along the route that led from the tents to the fountain. "I say, you should be ready for traffic. Dala Yar Arak never sleeps. You'll see many merchants, nobles, and well-to-dos out on the street. Many of them only come out at night, when it's cool, they do. Especially this early. The streets get taken over by the nightstalkers well after midnight."

Tarrin studied the map, but found his cat eyes had trouble making out the fine details written onto it. His cat eyes sacrificed some clarity and focus for enhanced ability to see light. In cat form, he couldn't read or make out fine detail, but he could see in the dark as well as any human could see at noon. He jumped down off the table. He shapeshifted directly into his human form, feeling the all-too-familiar nagging ache settle into his bones at holding the unnatural shape, and reached down and picked up one of the medallions. Then he looked at the map again, seeing exactly where Phandebrass was indicating on the map. He picked up one of the other maps silently and stuck it in his belt pouch after folding it down, and then put the medallion in his pouch as well.

His face an emotionless mask, he looked down at Sarraya. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Yup," she grinned and nodded. "Let's go."

Without a single word to anyone else, Tarrin stalked out of the tent, with Sarraya buzzing along behind him. He felt no real anticipation at finally getting started, no excitement, no happiness. There was only the mission in his mind, and it overwhelmed any emotion he may be feeling. He didn't want to get emotional right now. With all the things wrong with Dala Yar Arak, if he got emotional, he may go on a moralistic rampage and kill a whole lot of people he felt had no right to live. Focus on the job, ignore how the city made him feel. He had to find the Book of Ages, and that was what he was going to do.

No matter what it took.

The streets of Dala Yar Arak were alive.

Not literally, but more than any other city he had seen, the streets of this city were busy, well into the night. And they weren't just homeless vagabonds and street urchins, either. They were wealthy merchants with their bodyguards, slaves, and entourages. They were singing sailors staggering down streets, they were shady thieves stalking a target. There were a good share of homeless and the hopeless, wandering along the Street of Sand looking for anything of value. Some sat under lit lanterns hung at regular intervals along the street and pandered to those who passed by, begging for whatever they could get.

Tarrin moved through them boldly, almost imperiously, keeping his chin high and his eyes firmly in front of him. He wore no hood or cape or cloak to hide his difference from them. His blond hair stood out like a beacon, his wrist-thick braid swaggeringly like his tail would have if he had it, attracting eyes to him as easily as if he were a Troll. He was keenly aware of their eyes, of the attention, but there was nothing to be done for it. So long as they didn't get in his way, they wouldn't get hurt. It was that simple. He still wore the simple leather vest over the half-sleeved white shirt that Dolanna had given to him, a shirt ripped a little bit around the forearms from where he would cross his arms, and his claws would snag on the material. He also wore leather breeches that were tattered around his shins, breeches that were getting a little worn in the seat and knees. He'd had them for a long time. He looked something like a street urchin, but only to the casual observer. His shirt and trousers may be a bit ragged, but his vest was clean and well made, and he was bathed and had clean, well kept hair.

"Did you know that there's a hole in the back of your pants?" Sarraya asked playfully. "When you move the right way, I can see all sorts of interesting things."

That was the slit he'd cut for his tail. Unfortunately, he either had to make a neat, controlled slit for the tail, or have it rip a hole when he shapeshifted.

"Then stop looking," Tarrin said bluntly, reaching another major avenue. That had to be the Street of Gold. He knew to turn left there, so he did, with Sarraya's invisible wings buzzing slightly as she changed her direction to keep at his side.

"Come on, Tarrin, give us a smile," the Faerie bantered. "I know you're itching to get going, but you're being way too morose. I haven't seen you smile in days."

"There's nothing to smile about, Sarraya," he said in an emotionless tone. "Not anymore."

"Being gloomy's not going to help your state of mind," she warned. "Come on. As a friend, humor me. Think of something funny, and tell me what it is."

"Drop it," he warned, glancing in her direction, even though he couldn't see her. "When we do what we came here to do, I'll have a reason to smile. Not until then."

They moved on in silence for several minutes, until they found themselves staring at the Fountain of Life. As fountains go, it wasn't very impressive. The Fountain of Swans in Suld was breathtaking. This was nothing more than a pool of tepid water, with a small egg-like stone formation in the center, from which poured a trickle of water. But in the arid climate of southern Yar Arak, Tarrin could understand how it got its name. Water was life in the arid lands, and this simple pool of water represented a place where people could drink. It probably supported a large number of homeless people and street urchins. There was nobody around the fountain, the pedestrians all walked around it, and there were alot of them. The Fountain of Life was the intersection of two major avenues through the huge city, according to the map, and a goodly number of people moved around the fountain as they went on their way.