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The Angst and the Analyst IV


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#1 Guest_MorningGlory_*

Posted 18 March 2004 - 04:56 AM

THE ANGST AND THE ANALYST

From the Journals and Papers of Dr. MorningGlory Gaeston

Rated PG-13: Adult themes, mild language, mild violence, brief nudity

CHAPTER IV

Anomen Delryn walked into my office for the second time of the tenday. He was much more relaxed than before and actually greeted me with a smile.

“I understand that best wishes are in order, Madam, on your upcoming marriage,” he said. There was a sense of sincere joy in his voice as he bent to kiss my hand in greeting. “Hendak is, indeed, a lucky man.” Delryn was charming, but his flattery lacked a certain sense of timing to be taken too seriously.

“Thank you, Anomen. That is very sweet of you.” I smiled and motioned him to sit down. I noticed the chair was winning, as he sat back and almost relaxed -- just as I predicted.

“Yes, I have known Hendak since we first assisted him in freeing the slaves here in Athkatla. That was almost three years ago. We have regarded him as our friend since.”

“’Our’ friend, Anomen?”

“Yes, ‘our little band,’ if you will. At least it was a little group then. There were six of us, headed up by Riona.” He smiled at saying her name.

This was starting better than I could have ever expected – he was openly touching upon events that occurred around the time when the murders happened. I had to keep him going. I had to keep him talking about what was going on then.

“Riona…, hmmm, yes, that name rings a bell,” I lied. Of course I knew who Riona was, though I had never met her. Hendak had told me the story of how she and her brave group had risked all to free him and others, and how they had joined in later breaking the local faction of the slave cartel. He had never mentioned the others in her group, however, and I had not known Anomen was a part of it. It gave me more reason to help him as I realized I indirectly owed him a debt of gratitude.

“As Hendak is your love, Riona is my true love,” he said softly, and for the first time since meeting him, Delryn’s eyes were full of life. He did not know it, but he had just given me a key.

“Tell, me, Anomen. Tell me about Riona.” I prepared to listen as I sat back in my chair and relaxed.


“My Riona…” he sighed. Every emotion of a man in love flooded his face. I was hoping Ki didn’t overload trying to record all of this.

“We met not long before the slave rebellion, and ironically at the Copper Coronet. I was standing on the far side of the main room when in walked the most exquisite creature I had ever laid my eyes upon. She had the most beautiful hair of dark, luminous Chastain copper and the way it loosely flowed over her armor, it cast reflections rivaling the beauty of a late summer’s sunset. She looked straight at me and began to walk toward me. As she neared I could see she had skin of fine alabaster with but a hint of pale rose in her cheek. Then I saw her eyes. By the gods…those eyes….” He was momentarily lost in his recollection. “Her eyes were the color of fine amber but there were flecks of gold dancing in them, taunting me from the very beginning. They shimmered, they teased.

“’Anomen Delryn?’ she said. I nodded, as I did not trust my voice. I had never spoken to one as beautiful as she and I was overwhelmed with fear that I would only confirm what a fool I thought myself to be if I attempted to do so. ‘I understand you are looking for, shall we say, temporary employment in the field of adventuring and righting wrongs?’ She said to me and smiled. I was instantly smitten. Totally and unabashedly smitten. But I was so naive I did not even know I had walked into the tender trap without ever taking a single step!” He laughed at himself. “By the Gods! I had never been around anyone such as she, and the teachers at the Academy certainly did not include any instruction in the defense against the beauty of a woman as she possessed!” He laughed again.

He was animated. He was alive. This was the real Delryn I was observing. I wanted desperately to reach in and grab him, shake him, and pull him out even more.

“And you fell in love with her at that moment?” I smiled at him fully understanding what he was saying.

“Oh, yes, Glory, but I did not know. I did not know!”

He did not stumble over my name. Good. He was becoming comfortable. This honest sharing of his first meeting with his Riona had planted our first seeds of trust. I had to exploit this opportunity and urged him on.

“I accepted her offer to join and we began the first of our many journeys to Trademeet. From the beginning, I had this growing, deep yearning down in the very pit of my being and for many weeks as we traveled together I tried to deny it, I argued against it. Then other members of our party told me of her, er, heritage.” He stopped abruptly. “I was shocked at first.”

“What do you mean, ‘her heritage’?” I interjected. This had an ironically familiar ring to it, I thought.

“She…, she is a daughter of Bhaal.” There was a pause. “I told myself that even though she was beautiful, she was still the daughter of the God of Murder. I was angry that I had these feelings and longings for this woman who was, by birth, the very antithesis of every righteous belief I held dear in my heart. I even questioned what I was doing in her party! In my mind I believed that even if the goodness in her heart belied her heritage, the blood of that murderous beast still coursed through her veins and it could never be abated.” He stopped and looked down at his hands.

“Did you speak with her about her heritage?”

“Yes, we spoke of it several times as we were traveling to Umar Hills,” he said. “She..Her feeling was she was not controlled by her blood, that she had a choice in how she would conduct her life.” He stopped.

“Why do you pause, Anomen? Is there more to the memory that you wish to share with me?” It was a bold question on my part and a gamble. He could either proceed or completely stonewall me. There was a tense moment and his eyes were still rooted to his hands in his lap.

“I..I must confess to having been quite boorish and judgmental when we talked. I…I think it was part of the anger I felt toward her for making me fall in love with her.” It was a petulant little boy’s confession.

“And how did she react to you?” I asked.

“She didn’t. I mean, she wasn’t angry with me and my despicable display of behavior -- and she should have been.”

“Were you anticipating some type of retribution from her?”

“I..I think I may have been unknowingly provoking her simply to prove to myself I was right.”

“Right about…..” I hoped he would finish the sentence for me.

“Right about my belief she was inherently evil and if she reacted badly towards me, then her father’s black blood could not be denied.”

I let him think about what he had just said for a moment.

“Being ‘right’ all of the time carries an onerous burden of responsibility, Anomen,” I said and allowed a moment for my comment to sink in. “Now tell me, how did you get past this hurdle of her person versus her parentage?” I was fairly successful with the last bold inquiry; I thought I would try another. He breathed deeply and finally raised his head.

“One night not long after our numerous conversations, we were camped outside of Trademeet. I heard her cry out in her sleep. I bounded instinctively from my own bedroll and ran to her. No one else stirred. I dropped to my knees beside her as she tossed fitfully in her sleep. It was as if she were being chased by the most dreaded of demons. She looked so vulnerable and beautiful in the moonlight and I gently brushed her hair from her face. I… I had never touched such beauty before..” He was deep in the memory and his voice lowered and softened to a near whisper.

“Being very careful not to startle her, I gently reached for her hand and took it into mine. It seemed so small and frail by comparison, and hard to imagine it was the hand of the offspring of something so heinous. As I watched her, I could not bear to see her so anguished and I felt so helpless. I desperately hoped that just by being there I could somehow help her in her horrid world of dreams. I sat with her until the moon slipped over the horizon and the visions had calmed. She never awoke. I then quietly slipped back to my own bedroll, my vigil totally undetected.” He paused.

“As I lay there thinking, I realized she was not of Bhaal. The dark blood in her veins was hers to do with as she chose in this life. She constantly fought her own demons for that right of choice. The decision of good or evil was hers and hers alone to make, and, as she had tried to tell me, she had made that decision on the side of right.”

“And this revelation changed how you felt about Riona?” I asked. There was a long silence.

“No, Glory, it simply allowed me to acknowledge how I already felt about her.” He had a momentary look of surprise at his own admission then leaned toward me almost gripping the arms of the chair. “I loved her madly.”

Very, very good, young Delryn, I thought. You are a very quick study indeed.

“Did you share these feelings with Riona?” I asked.

“No, not until much later. Not being versed in the wooing of a woman such as she, I. I was much too timid and unsure of myself. And she had given me no indication of any similar feelings in return. The shame of my earlier, unacceptable behavior was still with me as well, and I felt.., I felt unworthy of her attentions. I.... I could not, in my wildest visions, ever imagine this exquisite woman wanting me the way I wanted her, of ever feeling the way I felt about her. I… I resigned myself to anguishing in my unrequited love.” A flash of remembered pain briefly washed his face.

“It is very difficult to share intense feelings with someone when trust is in its developing stages between that person and us. We are acutely aware of our own vulnerability and feel we are exposing our innermost feelings to ridicule, and worse, rejection. It usually is a very risky proposition for us and on the side of caution, we weigh the potential gains against such risk.” I paused. “What made you take that leap of faith?”

He looked down and did not speak. He seemed to know where I wanted us to go with this.

“Actually, she did…by being my friend and confidant. And it was more like an infant’s first steps, not a ‘leap’. I began by telling her about my family, and my upbringing, and sharing my fears and sorrows from my early childhood. I did not seek her pity, but she listened and she cared. And in my petty insolence and many outbursts, she did not judge me like..like I had judged her. She consoled me. And in return, I tried to console her. We shared many joys, and many demons.” He looked up at me and I was deeply moved.

“The building of trust is a primary component of real love, Anomen,” I said trying to soothe his mind. “Can you tell me what you spoke about?” I did not expect his brutally honest, or extended, response.

“I… I told her of my childhood – before the Academy. I told her of my Mother and how when I was a little boy I could hear her screams of anguish at the hands of my drunken Father in the middle of the night. That the only peace we garnered was when he journeyed to the South to buy goods. Wherever he traveled, he would revel with the whores in the taverns all the night then return home days later stinking of their putrid sweat and cheap ale. Then he would expect my Mother to lay with him, the filthy whoring dog.”

He was trembling. His seething rage had swiftly emerged and overtaken him. His breathing was immediately labored and his face grew deep crimson. He was unleashing the under lords of his own personal hell, whether he consciously wanted to, or not.

Smouldering, grotesque memories overtook him and came pouring from his mind’s hiding places. A litany of the cruelest acts ever perpetrated by an adult mortal on a defenseless child came in a mad rush. Did he realize he had ceased recalling his conversations with Riona and had begun to relate these directly to me?

I heard of drunken frenzies ending in bloody beatings for no reason. Of being physically bound to the table for not eating all of his dinner. There was the constant berating and being told he was worthless and that he would never be anything more than a guttersnipe. His father sneered at him; his father spat at him. He was told he was stupid. He was told he was the most evil, foul thing that ever walked the face of Toril. This young man had suffered the most devastating cruelties at the hands of the man who should have loved him and protected him the most – his father.

I had never heard behavior so heinous, and as I sat intently listening, I thought I might be physically ill. He, too, was getting to a point of being overwhelmed as he paused briefly to catch his breath. His face was still dark crimson.

“What happened, Anomen? Tell me what brought you from your home to the Academy,” I said. I knew there had to be a triggering event and he needed to tell me now. He clinched his jaw and his eyes darkened and narrowed. He was going to answer me and he proceeded in a low voice.

“It happened one day when I was ten, and almost a year, that my Father in one of his drunken rages began to beat my Mother with his quarterstaff. I sensed this time was worse than usual. I knew if I did nothing, he was going to kill my Mother as my Father’s rage was of a man possessed.

“I stepped between them. The staff came crashing down on my shoulder and I heard the sound of bone cracking and blood immediately soaked through my shirt. I felt the most severe pain I could ever imagine but I could not move. I knew that my Mother’s life depended upon me remaining there, steadfast, regardless of what he did to me. I decided he would have to kill me to get to her. It gave her enough time to grab the carving knife from the sideboard and as the staff came down again on my arm, she yelled at him.” He inhaled deeply and rubbed his arm, unconsciously recalling the blow.

“’You will halt, Lord Cor, and lay down your staff,’ she said in a voice that was not her own. ‘Or, by the Gods, I will gut you from your throat to your groin.’ He stopped in mid-air knowing full well she was good to her word. As she held him at knifepoint, she instructed me to gather a few things in a pack -- that we were going to leave. My shoulder and arm throbbed with searing pain, but my fear was greater than my pain and only the adrenaline coursing through me kept me alert and conscious. I ran to my room and gathered a few belongings. I managed to get the pack up on my good shoulder and quickly returned to the dining room where in the silence she still held him at bay -- she, unflinching and ashen-faced, and he, motionless and frozen in his wild anger.

“‘Get your sister from her bed and go outside and await me on the walk, Anomen,’ she said calmly but firmly. ‘I will be with you shortly.’ I backed out of the room and ran to Moira’s bedroom. I shook her violently to awaken her. ‘Come on Moira….wake up! We have to go! Now!’ She rubbed her eyes and started to whine. ‘Come on… now!’ I slipped her cloak over her nightdress, helped with her slippers and herded her to the front door and out to the walkway. ‘What is it Ano? Why did you wake me? Where is Mother? Where are we going?’ she asked. ‘I want Mother.’ Then she saw the blood on my shirt and started to cry. ‘Oh, Ano! You’re hurt! I want Mother… I’m scared…’

“‘She will be here shortly, Moira,’ I said and tried to comfort her with my good arm. I was breathless and my heart was pounding. My other arm lay at an unnatural angle at my side and I was becoming light-headed and dizzy from the pain. A few moments later Mother appeared at the door.

“’Where will we go, Mother?’ I asked, my eyes beginning to fill with mist from the throbbing in my body.

“’We are going to have your shoulder and your armed healed,’ she answered calmly, ‘at the Church of Helm. But we must first stop at the Order of the Radiant Heart. Be strong, Anomen. Be strong for Mother.’ She summoned a carriage and the three of us climbed up into it. Mother calmed Moira and a short time later, we arrived at the great doors of the Order. ‘Wait here in the carriage, Anomen, as I will only be a moment. Watch your sister and try to calm her.’ She returned a moment later and hastily gave instructions to the driver to proceed to the Church of Helm. In a few moments we were there.

“We were greeted by a high Priest and a Knight of the Order. She introduced me to the Knight, Sir Ryan Trawl. It was as if they were expecting us.

“Then the Priest kindly took me with him to heal my broken shoulder and arm. My Mother took Moira and talked to Sir Ryan. I could not hear what was being said, but I could see from Sir Ryan’s face he was visibly upset at what my Mother was telling him. Suddenly the searing pain was gone. The nausea left me. ‘Good as new,’ the Priest smiled and patted my head.

“I walked over to my Mother. She looked down at me and smiled. ‘All better?’ she asked.

“’Yes, Mother. The Priest said good as new!’ I was happy to be mended and whole again, and I moved my shoulder and arm to show her all was well.

“’Very good, Anomen,’ and she brushed back my hair with her small hand. ‘Anomen, we are all going to stay here tonight and give your Father a chance to gather himself.’ I was relieved to know I did not have to return to that demon-infested house that night, and for the first time in memory, I slept without terror. I awoke the next morning with my Mother sitting on the edge of my small bed.

“’Anomen, I have a wonderful surprise for you,’ she told me. ‘You are going with Sir Ryan to the Academy today. He feels you will do very well in the service of Helm and has agreed to arrange for your enrollment. It is a wonderful place and you will be very happy there.’

“’But, Mother,’ I began to protest. ‘Who will take care of you, Mother? Who will keep Father from hurting you? Who will look after Moira?’ I was confused and bewildered. I did not understand why my Mother was sending me away. I could only think that I…I must have been as truly evil as Father told me.” His rage had ebbed and his face filled with great sorrow. “My Mother did not want me anymore.” He looked at me and I could see tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Did she ever explain to you why she sent you to the Academy?” I asked him. He shook his head.

“No, it was much later that Moira told me it was so I would be safe. I didn’t believe her at the time. She was just a little girl. I always believed I was sent away because I was bad. And I had tried to be so good, but this ‘evil’ inside me stirred Father’s furious rages against us….I.., I always felt that it was all my fault,” his voice trailed off.

“Anomen, do you believe a little boy can be ‘evil?’” I asked. He hung his head and did not answer.

“Anomen, do you believe a little boy can be ‘evil?’” I repeated myself pressing him for an answer. “Think, Anomen. In all of your travels, have you ever met a little boy, or a little girl, for that matter, who was ‘evil?’” I was bordering on badgering. I had to be careful.

Dead silence for a small eternity.

“No, Madam,” he looked up directly into my eyes. “I have never met an ‘evil’ child.”

“So let me ask you the obvious,” I paused. “Other than your father’s verbal assaults, is there any reason for you to believe you were an ‘evil’ little boy?” Well, this was badgering and generally not a readily acceptable method of therapy, but I was running on my instincts.

“No, Glory,” he slowly shook his head. “Other than my Father, there was no reason to believe I was an ‘evil’ little boy. It is just that he always told me…”

“Anomen, do you think he could have fabricated this lie, that he would not have to take responsibility for his own unacceptable and cruel behavior?” I asked softly.

“It…it is possible.” He was at least contemplating the premise.

“Anomen, little boys are naughty -- not evil.” I forged ahead. “Little boys do not instigate violent behavior in adults. The violent abuse dispensed by your father had nothing to do with anything you did, or didn’t do. Your father alone is responsible for his reprehensible acts against your family. His rages were rooted deeply within him -- and you, your mother, and your sister were the unfortunate objects of it.” I paused.

“But, my Mother sent me away..” The sorrow on his face deepened and the tears grew heavy and waiting to stream down into his beard.

“You were just a little boy, Anomen. Your mother knew all of this and she also knew that if she kept you at home, there would be disastrous consequences for you. She could not bear the risk of you being hurt again -- or worse.” I stopped briefly and gauged my voice.

“Anomen, for your Mother to send you away for your own safety and in the hopes you would have a happier life was a tremendous sacrifice on her part. She was giving up her wonderful little boy -- and a great portion of the real joy in her life.” I paused. “It is only the greatest and purest love that precipitates such a selfless act of sacrifice.

“Do you understand this?” I asked softly.

“My..my Mother..? She..she really didn’t just give me away?” The tears ran in two finite rivulets down his cheeks and into his beard.

“No, Anomen, your Mother loved you and Moira more than she loved anything in this life. Let there never be a doubt in your heart, or mind, of that fact,” I said. I thought I sensed him slowly release a long-held sigh of relief. I would have to remember to ask Ki later.

At Anomen’s request, Charona delivered two glasses of chowderberry juice and we took a short break from our session. It had been, so far, more than I could have hoped for. He had achieved his first major realization in near record time and although he had many other hurdles to overcome, I knew he was going to succeed. He had to.

“Ki, how much time do we have left?” I asked.

“46 minutes, Mistress,” he replied in Lord Phade’s voice.

“Haaa!” said Anomen. “He’s wonderful!” He had recognized the celebrity impersonation of sorts. “I really must secure a Kirani bird for Riona. She would find him most entertaining!”

Ki ruffled his feathers in a gesture I knew to be his annoyance at young Delryn’s unintentional slight. A Kirani bird being sought for nothing more than mere amusement bruised Ki’s ego ever so slightly.

A few more minutes passed and we returned to our session.

“Anomen, were you able to see your mother and Moira after you entered the Academy?” I asked. The official record was very clear on this, but I wanted to discover what had been told to him as to why he had no family visitations. His answer surprised me.

“Yes, they would come to the gate once a week and the Priests would let me go and talk with them in the Courtyard,” he nodded. “My Mother and Moira were there every week and then, after.., after Mother died, Moira would come by herself.”

This was interesting, I thought. There was certainly no record of these visits in the Academy Records I had reviewed.

“Did your father ever come to visit?” I asked.

“No, he was not allowed to enter the Academy as long as I was in residence, or so I was told by the Priests.”

That, too, had been omitted by the Record Keeper.

“Did you visit home during holidays or special occasions?” Ordinarily I wouldn’t be so inquisitive about inconsequential details, but it seemed there were unexplained contradictions between the Record and Anomen’s recollections.

“No, I was strictly forbidden to go home for any reason,” he replied.

This was, indeed, bizarre. The Record simply recorded that there were no home visitations, not that he was forbidden to go. Why would the Church seek to change or omit such minor details about one little boy? I would have to shelve that in the back of my mind for later contemplation.

The remainder of our session was spent with Anomen telling me more in depth about the Academy, his best friend Jason, and more of the everyday activities. These were more joyous memories for him and he relaxed as he shared them with me.

“Did you miss ‘home?’” I asked.

“I missed my Mother and Moira, but I did not miss ‘home,’” he replied. “The Academy and the Church of Helm became my home.”

A very successful session, I thought when Anomen Delryn left my office. I plopped down in my chair near exhausted from the morning. The greater restoration that Seer Marybeth had gifted me before her departure was enough to compensate for the toll taken by her revelations, but Delryn had a few that had drained me as well. I would have time to recuperate before his return the next week. I glanced at the afternoon schedule. Lord Leslie, yes, rescheduled from earlier in the week. Egads, I just was not up to hearing his whining today about how bad the world was and that was why he chose not to go out into it.

“Charona,” I called. “Send a messenger to Lord Leslie and return his triple coin from his missed session. Tell him I am feeling generous and he not only gets his coin returned, but he doesn’t have to see me until next week.”

“Yes, Mistress.” I could hear her chuckling.

I began sorting my notes and putting them into their folders. No, I would resist the temptation to dive in review of Delryn until later when my mind was clearer.

“Madam, might I interest you in a small mid-day meal?”

I looked up and saw Hendak, son of the Goddess Waukeen.

"Oh, yes, my love. But what say you to a private luncheon for two in our suite at the Copper Coronet?” I extended the suggestive invitation. “I have a totally clear afternoon.”

“Even better!” his smile widened. Yes, restoration spells were great, but there was nothing that could replace raw, indulgent passion in the middle of the afternoon for restoring one’s soul. It was a great prescription.

We left Charona to a mound of paperwork and since it was a beautiful day, decided to walk to the Coronet. Hendak stopped at one of the vendors at the edge of the Promenade to buy flowers for me. The ruddy-faced vendor smiled a near-toothless smile at us as he graciously bowed and handed a dozen red roses to me.

“No charge, Hendak,” said Medoc. “These are for Madam Glory. An engagement present from me and the missus here!” His little wife stood nearby nodding happily.

I thanked the short round man and kissed him on his grimy cheek. His face grew even more red. “Oh, Madam….,” he blushed.

We continued our walk.

“Well, my love, I had an interesting visitor this morning,” I said.

“Oh really?” he smiled knowingly.

“You already know, don’t you!” I said in surprise.

“I must confess, my love, Seer Marybeth did come to see me after her visit with you. Seeing me was a part of her mission to see you.” He chuckled knowingly. Why did I have the feeling he wasn’t telling me something? Whatever it was, I would find out later. His Mother might be a God, but he was still half-mortal, and I could get whatever it was out of him. After all, I was a mortal woman, and I knew how.

The balance of the day was taken from a storybook. We ate, we made love, and we slept in each other’s arms. We awoke long enough to have dinner served and then continued with a repetition of the afternoon’s schedule.

It was blissful to awaken the next morning after a full night’s uninterrupted rest. I bounded from our bed feeling full of life. I was going to pick my wedding dress this day, I thought to myself.

“You have that little secret smile of yours upon your lips,” Hendak came up to me and slid his arms around me.

“It’s not a secret, my love. I was just remembering that my dressmaker is coming to my office this afternoon so that we can begin designing my wedding dress,” I said coyly.

“Ah…,”he said. “I see. So what I am seeing is the smile of a bride-to-be as she is thinking of things to come.”

“Yes, I suppose you could say that,” I smiled. “But first, I have a new patient to whom I must attend.”

“And, just when is this new patient arriving,” he nuzzled into my neck.

“Mid-morning, and I fear I don’t have time to indulge in your unspoken invitation here and still arrive in time to greet him,” I chuckled.

“Alas, my wants and needs are to be shunned and set aside until this eve?” He was teasing me as he so often did.

“Yes, my love. Godspawn, or no godspawn, you’ll just have to wait.” And I kissed him on his cheek.

I quickly readied myself for my work morning. A quick bath, new silk dress, fresh braids, and I was out the door. Thankfully, Charona would be there when I arrived. I really had to give her an increase in her coin for all the extra things she did for me. I made a mental note.

I barely arrived before Sir Ryan Trawl.

“Sir Ryan, how lovely to see you again,” I said as Charona escorted the handsome Knight into my office.

“And you, my Lady,” he smiled warmly and bent to kiss my hand. Such chivalry was so seductive, I thought.

“Please do sit down. May I entice you with a latte, perhaps, or a cup of chowderberry juice?”

“No, thank you, Glory. I am quite fine as is.” He was so impressively gracious.

“Very well, then shall we begin?” I motioned to Charona and she closed the door.

I delivered my brief litany of Ki and the recording of the session and, yes, he understood, and the formalities were out of the way.

“Now, Sir Ryan, how can I possibly be of service to you?” I asked. I had almost forgotten about his purloined note in my desk drawer.

“Glory, forgive me, but I must ask… We are now under the cloak of ‘privilege’ now that the session has begun?” he asked. What a strange question, I thought. It was the same thing he had asked me the night of the party.

“Of course, Sir Ryan. I am ethically bound to keep our sessions in strict confidence. I can not speak directly of anything discussed here.”

“Ah..,”he smiled. “Very good.”

Another short eternity. What was it with these knights and near-knights. Couldn’t they just spit it out?!

“Sir Ryan?”

“Yes, Glory. Well, let me tell you why I am here and how I need your help.” He paused again, leaned forward and smiled.

“You see…., I am Anomen Delryn’s real father,” he began.

Well, well, well. Life was just full of surprises lately, I thought. After what I had seen and heard over the past few days, this didn’t surprise me one bit. No, not one bit.


TO BE CONTINUED......




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