Ten Arrows

Chapter 19

When I first spied the dark brown lines on the note Talia held, my mind began putting together all of the things I'd suddenly find myself needing to do, as well as recollecting everything I'd just done, and I found myself torn. On the one hand, I knew I'd need to act quickly if I was going to integrate this new development with my existing plans, which already had quite a few time-sensitive things that were still in motion.

But on the other hand, part of me wanted to forget everything I'd been doing these past several months and barricade the doors to this room shut, just so Talia and I could stay this way forever.

About three years ago, I found myself invited to two banquets that were being held on the exact same evening, and at precisely the same time. One invitation had been sent by Lord Dundeer, which got my attention right away, because I'd heard it whispered that he'd recently stolen something significant from Lord Tallstone, who was someone I desperately wished to see humiliated at the time. I knew there wasn't going to be much of a feast at this particular banquet, given the fact that Lord Dundeer was a devout follower of Eshandism. Part of their faith required that they adhere to a very strict, very bland diet, a fact that Dundeer enjoyed inflicting upon his dinner guests at every opportunity.

The second banquet was being thrown by Lady Gildewren to celebrate her brother's return from a five-year diplomatic mission to Garmuth, and promised to feature some truly astounding and decadent dishes. Indeed, once Mosond had learned I'd been invited, he'd emerged from the shadowy recesses of his kitchen to meekly ask if I might be so kind as to write down the names of the courses they served at that particular gathering, as well as the order they were presented in. Given how rare it was for Mosond to do anything but lord over his kitchen staff and yell epithets at the top of his lungs, I figured he must have wanted this information rather badly, which meant the food being served at that banquet was probably going to be spectacular.

I ended up attending the first banquet, a decision that ended up being thoroughly disappointing. Tallstone, suspecting he was going to be hung out to dry by Dundeer, opted not to show up at all. Most of the evening was spent either attempting to eat, or patiently listening to ponderous speeches being delivered by Dundeer, most of which espoused the virtues of Eshandism and the ascetic nature of that particular religion. The kindest thing I could say about the food would be nothing at all. The salad course featured small circles of thinly sliced turnip marinated in linseed oil, if that's any indication.

The point to all of this is that whenever I'm faced with two things that are desperately vying for my attention at the same time, I get this feeling that no matter which I end up choosing, I'll have chosen the wrong one.

Of course, I've since learned that there's something worse than having to make a choice like that. It's when someone else takes it upon themselves to make your choice for you . . .

Talia's demeanor changed a minute or so after the discovery of the invisible message, and she immediately began insisting (in her 'keepmistress voice') that, as a Lord, decoding the meaning behind a secret message penned by Tenarreau himself took priority over pretty much anything else she could possibly think of, and that I should get about it right away.

I attempted to argue against it, but as I did, Talia seemed to retreat further and further into her role of keepmistress, informing me that I had very important matters that needed attending suddenly, just as she had duties that needed taking care of, and that we could both discuss things once I'd spent some time looking into the various details concerning this new information that had come to light. After a couple more attempts to protest, she began referring to me as 'Milord' for extra emphasis, which pretty much told me that she'd made up her mind to return to work anyway, and I had no say in the matter.