Eraina glared after him for a long time, then started down the road leading out of the rail station. She kept her distance behind him, looking pointedly away when he glanced back. Zed stopped and looked back, waiting for her. She moved toward the far side of the road and kept walking.
“I going into town on purely personal business, Arthen,” she said. “I do not require your company.”
“We’re both going into town, Eraina,” Zed said, limping quickly after her. “We may as well walk together.”
“Go with one of the others,” Eraina said. “I have no desire for your company.”
“Nobody else is going but you and me,” he said. “Pherris is too tired. Gerith is still depressed about the Ghost Talon massacre. Tristam is studying Kiris’s journals, so that means Seren isn’t wandering too far away either. Omax knows better.”
“Knows better?” she asked archly.
“Your people treat his like slaves,” Zed said. “Omax could pretend that he belongs to Tristam, but he’d still get treated like a mindless machine here. Karrnath isn’t a place where a free warforged feels welcome.”
Eraina grimaced uncomfortably. “The law stands for a reason,” she said. “Not all warforged are as kind and contemplative as Omax. Karrnath endured many injuries at the hands of warforged soldiers. Many believe that they are better off kept in check.”
“Do you believe that?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “I believe they would not have been given life without purpose, and to ignore such a miracle is to squander that purpose. The gods smile upon the warforged, even if they did not create them. Yet I serve the law.”
Zed chuckled. “You do a good job of juggling all of that ridiculous dogma and still coming out of it a decent person, but I don’t envy you one bit, Marshal.”
“The others remained behind,” she said, changing the subject. “But you did not. What business do you have here?”
“Nothing in particular. I couldn’t stand it in that ship any longer.” Zed looked up at Vulyar’s rough walls, removing the pipe from his mouth for a moment. “I need to be around people. Find a tavern, restaurant, someplace to just sit for the night.”
“Odd,” she said. “You don’t seem like a particularly social person.”
“I’m not,” he said. “I can’t stand talking to people, but I like to watch them, listen to them, to figure out what makes them think the way they do-but from a distance.” He tapped his temple. “I like to get into their heads. It’s strange, but hey, you asked.”
“No, I understand,” she said. “I sometimes find myself doing the same thing. It sharpens one’s investigative skills.”
“That’s part of it, sure,” he said, nodding rapidly and popping the pipe back into his mouth. “You can’t do that on a little ship like Karia Naille. Everyone knows each other. Everyone’s too easy to read. Except Dalan, and he’s too much trouble.”
“True,” Eraina said with a small laugh.
“And you,” Zed said. “I don’t quite have a handle on you, yet.”
She looked at him. “Why do you require a handle on me?”
“I reckon I don’t,” he said. “I just like knowing which way people are likely to swing when trouble hits, and with you I really can’t tell. One day you’re threatening to muster allies and bring the law down on us, the next day you’re cleaning out the cargo bay and healing our wounds.”
“What is your point?” she asked.
“I’ve known more than my share of paladins, Marshal,” Zed said. “You’re a fair shade more complex than most of them, to put it gently. Most of them are a lot more blunt. They see evil, they smite it. They see a foe, they pursue. You’re a lot more subtle. Flexible.”
“Faith is not a symptom of ignorance, Arthen,” she said. “A mortal can champion the gods without setting her brain aside.”
“Fair enough,” he said, “but to be fair, faith and ignorance are usually bunkmates, even if they’re unrelated. You may be the exception, Marshal. Like I said-I don’t envy you.”
She laughed. “Because I am a paladin, but I am no fool?”
“Maybe,” he said. “You remind me too much of myself.”
They walked deeper into the sleeping city. Though Vulyar was a center of commerce between Karrnath and the Talenta Plains, few of the locals were abroad in the streets. It was too early and too hot to be working. Those who were about took the time to pause and stare at the two strangers who had entered the city. They cast nervous looks at Zed but seemed reassured by Eraina’s presence. One man even whispered a brief prayer to Boldrei before hurrying away. Zed watched the man go, a sad, bitter look in his eyes. Then it all made sense.
Eraina looked at Zed intently. “You were not merely a Knight of Thrane, were you?” she asked. “You were touched by the Flame. You were a paladin.”
“I never said anything like that,” he said.
“But you were,” she said. “Weren’t you?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, scowling at her.
“Yes or no,” she said. “That’s all you need to say.”
“Why, so you can tell if I’m lying?” Zed said. “You need to drop this, Eraina. Is that clear? It’s not something I like to talk about.”
Eraina looked away. “Fine,” she said softly. “Then let us speak of something else.”
“How about something useful, then?” he asked. “We’re both investigators. Why don’t we try to figure out how Marth keeps following us?”
“He can’t follow us now,” she said. “His flagship is demolished.”
“Until he repairs the Seventh Moon, you mean,” Zed said. “Tristam is sure that’s only a matter of time. So let’s use the breather we have to figure out what’s going on. Ever since Wroat, Marth has known where the Karia Naille was going to be as soon as we did. We still don’t know how.”
“He is a powerful artificer,” Eraina said. “Could he not use magic to find us?”
Zed sighed. “You’re smart enough to know what a lazy answer that is,” he said. “Magic isn’t all-powerful. It isn’t infallible. Most important, magic is on our side too. If there was some way that Marth could predict our course with magic, don’t you think Tristam would have found some way to block it? Or at least warn us about it?”
Eraina nodded thoughtfully. “What other explanation could there be?” she asked. “A traitor?”
Zed sneered. “It has to be,” he said. “There’s a leak of information somewhere, that’s for certain. I can only think of one significant thing that has changed for the Karia Naille since she left Wroat, and that’s Seren.”
“No,” Eraina said, predicting Zed’s line of thought. “Seren Morisse is not responsible. My father would not have adopted a traitor. I have seen no deceit within her.”
“I don’t really believe she would do it, either,” Zed admitted. “I’m grasping at anything here. Maybe it’s Dalan? He’s worked with them before.”
“Whatever Dalan’s faults may be,” Eraina said, “I believe he is sincere in his desire to stop Marth. It is only his methods that I find suspect.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Zed said. “Dragonmark heirs are expected to send regular reports while on missions abroad, right? Just so their house knows that they’re safe. We already know Baron Zorlan d’Cannith has some sort of unusual interest in our mission. Maybe he’s been keeping tabs on Dalan and feeding information to Marth?”
“A bold leap of assumptions,” Eraina said. “Too many maybes, and Dalan is no fool. His ship does not even bear his House’s crest. I would be surprised if any other member of House Cannith knew where he was.”
“True,” Zed said. “It’s a terrible theory, but it’s the only one I could think of. The other members of the crew are trustworthy. You’ve vouched for Seren, and you …”
“I am an idiot paladin, incapable of betrayal,” Eraina said.
“I didn’t say that,” Zed said.
“Of course you did not,” she said with a small grin.