Kaaleel rolled the four stones in her hand as Tikk broke his fast with fresh bread and a cup of quash.
"Do you know anything of the god, Gaal?"
His mouth full, Tikk shook his head.
"Few do, today. But before TaMer, the Great Fish, crawled from the sea, Gaal was the god of Mûta, which then was called Ædann, the Favored Land. Gaal watched TaMer climb upon the land, for Gaal had a thousand eyes and could see everything. Gaal should have killed TaMer then as the Great Fish lay panting on the shore, but Gaal was a pastoral god and did not. Then it was too late, and the two gods clashed. When gods fight, people die. So Ædann became Mûta. TaMer blinded and all but destroyed Gaal. Yet beyond Hag's Back there are those who worship and who would restore Gaal to his rightful place."
"No one lives beyond Hag's Back. It's nothing but desert waste and poisoned fens. Everyone knows that."
Kaaleel smiled. "It's true that beyond that spiny ridge is desolation. When TaMer defeated Gaal, he laid waste that land and raised the ridge as both a protection from the fiercest storms and as a wall to deter the seeking of Gaal. Then TaMer dropped the shores into the depths leaving shear precipices that none should come by sea. Still, at the farthest edge of Mûta, in a temple barely more than ruins, believers plan Gaal's recovery. And to do that, they seek these."
Kaaleel held out the two sets of stones. "TaMer gouged out Gaal's eyes and scattered them to the winds like seeds or a handful of stones. Gaal's worshipers are searching for and gathering the god's lost eyes. These are four of them. A god's eyes hold a god's power. This," Kaaleel indicated the gray-eyed chalcedony, "led me to its mate, and to you. These," she rolled the golden-eyed chrysoberyls, "these caused the changes that added spice to our night."
Tikk drank some of his quash. "That's why you came to me last night, to get these 'eyes' back. Now you want my help to return them to Gaal?"
Kaaleel laughed. "Hardly that. I want you to help me steal the rest."
