by Duke Kittle
Chapter 22
“What now, Lady van Schtoffen?” Governor Keldo looked down at the wizard. Tina was standing on the bunk in Idori’s quarters. Next to her was the unconscious captain of the guard.
Tina looked up as she drew her hands away from Idori's head. She gave Luna an even smile and nodded at the mink, then turned her head and looked up at Harkon Keldo. “Governor, do you realize what your reckless decision has cost you and your people?”
Keldo lowered his head and closed his eyes. “I do. But you must understand, Lady van Schtoffen, I was trying to protect my people.” He turned with his hands folded against his stomach. “I am not ashamed of going to the lengths I did in hiring a wizard.” The fox's ears lay back against his head as he spoke quietly. “The Council of Stars would not help us, and because of the High Theorist's decision, the king could not help us either. My people have been struggling to survive.”
“Much of which was caused by your town being placed so close to the Maldavian Monolith, Governor.” Tina adjusted her glasses, and then folded her arms. “I have discovered many things since coming here, Keldo. I know about the aetherium mine, I know that you refused to move this colony from between the graves of Kaelus and Malidath, and I know that you are the one who 'hired' Narash Advonar to summon the Dragon Eaters as leverage against the Maldavians so you could force them to allow you to keep the colony here. But what I don't understand is how you could have not known the person you were hiring was one of the most powerful wizards in all of Idassia.”
Tina let her tail sweep behind her in agitation. “Even you must have known who he was and that the Mage Lord of Kylith would have an ulterior motive. How could you possibly have met with a 'rogue' wizard who was an Idassian, especially one of such high renown as Narash, and not have known something was amiss?”
Governor Keldo considered Tina for a few moments, but she could see his tongue was failing him. She finally sighed. “Governor, if you can offer me no answer, I will have no choice but to bring you back to Kerovnia to face a tribunal. Please do not make that necessary. I admit we have not been on the best of terms since I came here, but I truly believe you were working for the benefit of your people.”
Governor Keldo finally sighed. “I did not find him. He approached me. I do not know how he knew of what was troubling my people in Likonia, but he did. And as hard as it may be to believe, Lady van Schtoffen, I had never before met Narash Advonar. As the Mage Lord of Kylith, he is spoken for by the ambassador to the Idassian War Council, Elbus Keledore. I knew him only under the name he gave me – Ashnar Ravodan. I realize now it's an anagram. But I had no reason to suspect he was not who he said.”
Tina sighed. “And because he was an Idassian, you thought he wouldn't be tied to the Council of Stars either, didn't you?”
Keldo nodded. “Yes.”
Tina turned to one side with her arms folded and looked down at Idori. She took long moments to consider. There was much to weigh in one direction or the other, but when it came down to it, the Council of Stars was not entirely blameless. As the investigating wizard, Tina would be the one to recommend the next course of action involving Likonia and Governor Keldo.
“I'm not going to chastise you like a child, Governor,” Tina finally looked up at Keldo, “and as far as I am concerned, I do not believe there is a reason to hold you responsible for the decisions the wizard made. But,” she pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her muzzle, “I also cannot in good conscience withhold from Methystra who is responsible for bringing Narash to this place. His monsters killed her mate and are responsible for the death of Shalizan's Albatross, Angelica. Because of your actions, should the Maldavians decide to act on that, the Council of Stars will not intercede on your behalf.”
Governor Keldo started to speak, but a groan from Idori brought their attention to the wolverine. Luna put her hand on Idori's brow and looked down into his eyes as they opened. The wolverine jerked in surprise at first, but when he tried to sit up, he groaned again and lay back down with one hand on his head. “Nrg. Who tried to break my head?”
“Me.” Tina climbed onto Idori's chest so she could look at his face. “But to be fair, you were trying to eat me.”
Idori grunted, but simply laid his head back. He brought his hand up and put it on his forehead. But when he opened his eyes again, Tina could see something was different. The wolverine moved his hand away, and wrinkled his forehead. Tina climbed off his chest as he slowly moved up to a sitting position. His ears were swiveling for a few seconds before he looked down at Tina. “They're... they're gone.”
Tina adjusted her glasses. “What's gone?”
“Those voices...” Idori put his hands on the sides of his head and pushed his claws through the fur. “Those... endless voices.” He looked down at Tina again. “What happened to me?”
“You were afflicted with the presence of a demon of magic, Idori. But the demon is gone now, sent back to wherever it came from by a pair of Maldavian brothers to whom you should be thankful.”
Idori had turned his head to look at Tina a little too quickly and put his hand on the back of it. He lay back down. “Wizard, I'd owe you for nearly cracking my skull,” he put his hand down, “but I can't imagine Maldavians would have raised a hand to help me unless you had something to do with it.”
Tina pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. “The only part I played in it was releasing them from imprisonment. In truth, Idori, the only person you owe anything to is Luna. You earned the respect of Kaelus and Malidath on your own, and Luna's devotion to you earned you both their compassion.”
Idori looked up at Luna with his ears swiveled forward. He closed his eyes, and while he did sigh in a small measure of exasperation, Tina saw something on Idori's face she hadn't witnessed since she came to Likonia. He was smiling. “Secret's out, huh?”
Luna returned the smile, and as if it were a matter of dire urgency, she pressed her lips to Idori's and gave him an affectionate kiss.
Tina blushed at the sight and turned away to clear her throat. “Governor, I think we should leave these two alone. I imagine they've been missing each other for a long time now.”