"Your beginning is the one that matters, lad." Thean laughed. "It doesn't seem right calling you that anymore," he admitted.
"I surely don't feel that young anymore," Tarrin agreed, settling Jasana into his lap and composing himself. "It all started right here. Strange that I'd come back here, that this would be the place that I'd tell this story, but this was where I grew up, this was the place I left behind when Dolanna and Faalken arrived in Aldreth."
And so he told the story. He was relatively thorough about it, not leaving out things he would usually leave out, mainly because of the company. They would understand those parts of it, unlike humans. He didn't delve too deeply into any one part of it, relating the story in a calm, swift manner that related the details yet didn't concentrate on any one part. There were interruptions, however. Jeri broke in when he was describing the intrigue at the Tower. "Why did you bother with that?" he asked. "I would have marched right into the Keeper's office and dragged the truth out of her. Or just left, for that matter."
"I very nearly did that, more than once," Tarrin told him. "But Allia and Keritanima were also there, and I didn't want to put them in any danger. If it would have just been me, I would have been gone long before it got serious."
Thean got involved with it when Tarrin described what happened in Dala Yar Arak, grilling him on the Cambisi and his short interlude with Shiika, and when she drained him. "She should have known that she couldn't kill you, lad," Thean objected.
"No, it certainly seemed to surprise her, Thean," Tarrin replied. "I wondered at first why it didn't, but I think I've figured it out."
"And what's your solution?"
"We regenerate," he shrugged. "That power stems from the Were magical condition, and that magic is drawn from Druidic power. She couldn't kill me because the energy of nature replaced what she took fast enough to prevent it from killing me. Not even a Demon could drain the All."
"That's a logical reason," Thean said after a moment. "Our powers are at least partially Druidic in nature. It's why Were-cats all have Druidic ability."
"At least some of us," Jesmind said shortly.
"You have talent, my dear, it's just never been realized," Thean told her with a smile.
Tarrin then told them about the desert, and about the Selani and the desert creatures. Ariana looked a little uncomfortable when he told them the story of the Cloud Spire, but didn't try to stop him. Then he finished the story quickly. "And here we are," he said in conclusion.
"Here we are," Thean mirrored, taking a drink of the apple wine. "My, this is really good, Tarrin. Where did you get it?"
"My father brews it," Tarrin answered. "It's one of the few casks left."
"Then we should savor it, instead of inhaling it," he said, giving Rahnee a glance.
"You savor your way, I'll savor mine," she replied flippantly, taking another long swallow.
"Hello, the farm!" a voice called from across the meadow. Tarrin looked and saw three horses, all three fidgeting nervously, at the edge of the treeline where the cart track to Aldreth pierced it. The Were-cats were upwind, and so many predatory scents on the wind were upsetting the horses. The men riding them were Garyth, Jak, and Karn.
"Picket your horses where they are and come on, Garyth!" Tarrin shouted. "The horses will get spooked if you bring them any closer!"
They did so, leaving them cautiously grazing on the grass at the edge of the meadow and coming over. Jak and Karn looked a little nervous to be coming into the company of seven Were-cats and a winged creature they had never seen before, but Garyth managed to smile. "Well, some of these faces are familiar," Garyth said grandly, pointing at Rahnee first. "I remember selling you a satchel about two years ago, madam. And I've seen you in the village any number of times, good master," he said, looking at Thean.
"That smith of yours makes some of the most popular tools in the Heartwood, Master Garyth," Thean said politely, nodding towards Karn. "We've been in despair since he closed down his forge."
"Give me a month, and I'll be open again," Karn said in his gravelly voice.
"And we'll help make sure that happens," Jeri said strongly.
"It feels, weird, coming to help humans," Singer laughed. "But we all miss Aldreth. The Woodkin have been in arms since the Dals took over the village. Much of the human goods the Woodkin use here in the north came from here. They're getting tired of having to get things from Arkis."
"You should have said something sooner, madam," Garyth told her. "If you'd have been willing to help, we would have pushed them out long ago."
"We're usually not permitted to interfere in human affairs, Master Garyth," Thean said patiently. "It's a part of our laws. But this is a special case, so the laws about that have been suspended."
"Well, Tarrin, I came to tell you that everything's ready," Garyth said, looking at him. "The Rangers know we're coming, and they're going to gather outside Torrian. We have runners going to tell the men of Watch Hill to quietly get ready. We're going to have to take the garrison there, but once we do, they'll join us on the way to Torrian. We'll be leaving tomorrow at dawn."
Tarrin nodded. "How many men do we have?"
"About fifty," he replied.
"And us," Jeri said in a strong voice.
"We're very happy to have our Frontier neighbors helping us, good master," Garyth said with quiet dignity, nodding to Jeri.
"Neighbor. That's a very good word," Thean laughed. "Aldreth has always been a good neighbor. We should have intervened long ago. Sometimes our laws are too strict, I think."
There was another scent drifting in on the breeze, and it made all seven Were-cats turn towards the treeline. A human wearing a plain brown robe stepped from the treeline, his hair white and his features curiously ageless. He was being accompanied by a Centaur and a flitting Faerie. The Centaur was very big and very nasty looking, with a horse body that had a human torso attached where the horse's head would be. The horse body was huge, with brown coat and shaggy white fetlocks around the hooves. The human body was large and muscular, with a face that had curiously wide, almost equine features. He wore nothing but a bandolier about his chest, but his horse's back had a packsaddle attached to it that held a large bow, quivers of arrows, and a large, formidable-looking battle axe. The Faerie looked as all Faeries do, a tiny being with bluish skin. This one had blond hair, and wore a tiny little gossamer shirt with a pair of knicker-like pants. This one was a male Faerie, though it was hard to see that until he got very close. The three of them marched across the meadow, through the stream, and reached the gathering of Were-cats, Aeradalla, and humans quickly. "Laws are laws for a reason, Thean," the man said patiently.
"Sathon," Thean said in surprise, as all of them came to their feet respectfully. "I'm surprised to see you here, good Druid."
" Fae-da'Nar is getting tired of your meddling, boy," Sathon said with an amused look at Tarrin. "Having Triana annoy us is bad enough. But to tell Sarraya and Haley to do it as well? Have you idea how angry the Druids are with you at the moment?"
Tarrin gave the small man a surprised look.
"We know all about what's going on, Tarrin," the druid Sathon said calmly. " Fae-da'Nar has met and discussed the problem. We've decided that it's a problem so serious that we must supsend the laws of isolation and help. If the ki'zadun succeed in their plan, they will destabilize the entire world. We cannot permit that."
"What are you talking about, honored one?" Singer asked.
"When the Aldreth humans march south, they won't just have the Were-cats with them," Sathon said. "The Centaurs and some of your Were cousins are gathering in the village, and others are moving this way as we speak. When the humans go, Fae-da'Nar goes with them."