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Unexpected Reunion
The next day everyone slept late, except for the old man who had set out before sunrise attending to various tasks after precious little hours of sleep. He didn’t mind that for his life long training allowed him to function way beyond the normal span of time before he had to give in and grant his body rest. He’d decided to treat his housemates to a day of rest before they would commence training, but declined himself such pleasures. Instead he had a meeting with the High Council arranging for Lendears course schedule. Groonhark Minh himself had insisted on conducting the lessons, his disposition to actively take part in the education of the young Messenger pleasing Thealdi enormously. He knew that this arrangement would speed up things appreciably. The skills of Groonhark Minh were not only phenomenal in the eye of the ordinary citizen, but Thealdi himself thought them to be unearthly. Not that he himself was without skills, but what the High Archmage had demonstrated on numerous occasions never ceased to impress the old man. If Lendear was indeed nominated to receive training directly from the hands of Groonhark Minh, the doubts Thealdi still had began to fade.
Equipped with new hopes his next stop was at the library where he set out to scan the endless corridors in search of Khozo Mas. They had first met in his young days when Thealdi was assigned to explore the lands in search of new tribes in between the five year spans he was busy training the messengers. Her general knowledge on all matters of history was only exceeded by her legendary skills as cartographer if not by her spectacular looks.
He still caught himself quite frequently lingering in the recollection of the brief romance they once had. It didn’t work out though and it was many years before they found the grounds for a relationship they both found agreeable. Gradually they reached what they now had - a deep friendship based on mutual respect and unconditional trust.
Contrary to the old man, Khozo Mas hadn’t aged noticeable. One of the many advantages of belonging to the Order of the Gemstone, so much Thealdi knew. When he finally got sight of her, his heart leaped and hearing her name being called by the all too familiar voice, Khozo Mas turned, her face all smiles. And what a smile that was, the perfect proportions of her face, dark green eyes sparkling, emitting warmth, yet an underlying mock of a mind, always at the ready for a little intellectual slugfest, her full lips instantly triggering off fantasies in the minds of the manly, yet unaware observer for an advance on her, motivated in such an area would probably leave the aspirant bleeding. Or depending on her mood, she would use the weapons of her mind, causing dents in ones ego that would need a long time to heal.
She had almost the height of Thealdi, her silhouette giving away her daily training, muscular, yet perfectly feminine. Her red hair was quite rare amongst the Gemlats and that alone earned her many curious looks. In her younger days she used to hide her hair behind a hood as she had felt quite uneasy at attracting such interest in the public, but with becoming a member of the Order things changed and she soon found not only the courage but a self esteem that radiated through every motion and people ceased their open stares. Of course they would still shoot secret glances at her, but no longer out of pure curiosity. She was angel-like in her entire appearance, her overall beauty simply a head-turner.
A brief cordial exchange was soon replaced by more earnest topics and Thealdi explained what he had planned for the boy. All too soon he had to part as there were still things to attend to and he was pressed to get through the preparations for Lendears training.
On his way to the bow master Miglim Mot, Thealdi stopped at one of the many public kitchens. When he had left the house in the early morning, his mind was so focused on the tasks at hand that he neglected the needs of some nutritious intake. The collywobbles he now felt reminded him of the fact and so he gave in and entered the kitchen. Apart from satisfying his bodily needs however, Thealdi had another reason for this stop. Since he had left the house in the morning, he had been trailed. He was aware that whoever was following him today, had started his assumed undetected stunt the previous night. Being rather tired and calculating on the relative safety of Brougoth, Thealdi had decided not to investigate further. The house was safe, that he was sure of for some of the installed security installations were his own doing, whereas most originated directly from the hands of Groonhark Minh. But now he was determined to find out about the identity of his uninvited escort. Upon strolling seemingly unaware into the kitchen, Thealdi scanned the room for a backdoor. As soon as the door closed behind him, momentarily blocking him from view, he sprinted to the rear, went through the other door and positioned himself right behind it so he would not be seen by his follower. He deliberately left the door open, anticipating the opponents conclusion that he had made a bolt for it. And rightly so, the figure approaching the kitchen got sight of the open door in the rear and started a sprint which came to an all too sudden halt by and outstretched fist, finding its home right between the chasers eyes. Head stopped in mid-air, but the momentum carrying the body onwards, momentarily put the stranger in a vertical position from which he dropped hard to the ground with a loud thud. In a swift motion, Thealdi was on him, his sword drawn and pointing at the pursuers Adam’s apple.
“You?”, Thealdi looked bewildered.
“Ouch! Yes, me”, the stranger panted, “now would you please let go of me?”.
“Man, you could have gotten yourself killed, doing such a stunt on me.” Thealdi got up, sheathed his sword and helped the man back into a horizontal position.
“Whatever devil rode you making you play this little game, my friend?”, demanded Thealdi. The stranger wiped off the dust he had collected upon his sudden and painful contact with the backyards ground.
“I guess I wanted to test my skills. Thought I was better than that”, he replied and reached out for a bear hug.
“Good to see you, old man”, he added, “it has been way too long since we last met. When news reached me that you were out to find a new messenger, I set off straight away to Brougoth. My plan to make a nice appearance apparently worked quite different from what I had anticipated. Well, shouldn’t have underestimated you, Master To. When did you spot me? Already at the library?”
“Turglind To, my dear cousin. I’m afraid you are still selling me short. I was aware of your presence at all time since yesterday. Of course I had no idea it was you, but let us go back to the kitchen, I’m starving! There is a lot we have to catch up with.”
And so the two re-entered the kitchen, earning bewildered looks from the customers and a disapproving glance from the chef. Ignoring their audience, the two got themselves seated and were soon engaged in spirited conversation, catching up with each others lives.
Eventually Thealdi had to put an end to their exchange remembering his business awaiting completion. They agreed to meet at Thealdis house after sunset and while the old man got up to continue his trip, Turglind stayed in the kitchen and helped himself to another mug.
“Master To”, Miglim announced when he opened the door, seemingly pleased at the sight of the old man, but being a man of few words didn’t elaborate on it. Thealdi quickly arranged a schedule for Lendear and once more thanked the bow master for his willingness to assist in the boys education he had asked for while they were still aboard the Red Dragon. Regardless of his distaste for the life in the city, for he preferred the wilderness of the Thari Cees, Miglim being aware of what was at stake, had given his assent to train the new messenger.
After he had seen a few more people making further arrangements, Thealdi set out to the market, the black smith, followed by a carpenter, an appearance at a bookstore and finally, heavily laden he returned home.