Dinner and a movie

Shallan felt, if anything, more uncomfortable than ever about this whole business. Confronting Darik had only raised more questions than it had answered. As they walked out side-by-side Shallan glanced up at her companion, "I need a bath and a drink, and not necessarily in that order."

Dwight pressed his face into his palm. "I could use both as well. Drink first."

Shallan nodded in agreement, wanting to wash this whole thing away, but a pleasant taste and something other than rations would go down well. As she pushed open the door to the tavern, she nodded at Edwin the barkeep and ordered two meals for them and a pitcher of mead and two cups.

Dwight was silent for several minutes, and finally said, "He tried to kill all of us."

She sat for a few moments in silence and reached for his hand, clasping it gently. "He was not himself. Nothing you told me could make him like that," she told him quietly, "He didn't seriously harm anyone and he can't do anything behind a locked door. We'll figure this out and help him."

"None of this makes sense. What trip was he talking about?"

"Didn't you say Donovan had gone for a trip to the East?" Shallan nodded her thanks to Edwin as he delivered their order. Shallan poured a liberal amount of mead for the two of them.

"Yes, but it was nothing extraordinary. He was going to talk about trade. Still, that was years ago."

She shook her head. "We have several problems here. One is the stability of the guild. Two is if we are going to find out what happened to your brother, we will either need to go East or to Joven. Third, how do we convince the others to come with us." She glanced up at him to gauge his reaction.

At that second, Dwight was draining the drink from his cup at an alarming rate. He set it down hard.

She knew this was difficult for him, though she couldn't imagine what was running through his head. She pushed his plate of food in front of him, hoping he would eat something to cushion the mead. Humans didn’t have the tolerance for alcohol that elves did. She sipped her own and was grateful of not having to eat those ration bars. "They can care for your brother at the Guild for as long as needed. He will be safe there and cannot hurt anything while locked up."

He saw his plate and took a bite of food, chewed it and swallowed. "I need to go home."

Shallan understood his reluctance to do so; she felt the exact same way about her homeland. "If you need me, I will come," she told him quietly.

He lowered his head. "We'll see."

He finished up the food on his plate and poured another glass.

She went back to her meal, eating slowly and enjoying every bite. Food always tasted better after a long time on the trail, especially when someone else cooked.

Dwight mumbled to himself a bit, gradually getting louder, until he was just audible. "Who is the blood queen?"

Shallan thought for a while and considered her own suspicions. "Perhaps someone of importance in the East."

Dwight sat up, looking a bit more like himself again. "Perhaps, though it is no noble that I have ever heard of. It is possible, then, that I may have to cross the sea to unravel this mystery."

"Cross the sea? For what reason?" Ghost puzzled.

"Well, as far as I know, Donovan is the only one of my brothers who has ever left the continent. He voyaged across the sea to the east. It's where he was when I... left home."

She nodded. "Do you think Darik lied about your other brothers being corrupted too?"

He paused. "I... do not know. However, speaking with them may answer my questions, despite my inhibitions.” Dwight inhaled deeply, then stopped, then inhaled again. "Wow, I do need a bath."

Shallan laughed. "You and me both." She finished off the last of the mead and stood. "I'll meet you afterwards if you like, I'll be in my room cleaning the road stench off myself and my armor." She smiled at him carefully. "We will get to the bottom of this."