The Questing Game

"I know that you are anxious to begin," Dola

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

Dola

"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 u

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, Dola

Dola

"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 u

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

"Yup," she gri

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 Dola

"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 fu

"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.