Meagan continues on her way home, stopping at the dwarven city of Lufhtuoy for a quick respite.


Lufhtuoy- Yet Another Phone Call- Whisperings

Meagan lost track of time. It might have been hours, it might have been days, she didn't know, but she finally reached Lufhtuoy. A bustling city full of dwarves, it was like a miniature version of Lewis. “Okay, here's the plan,” Meagan said as they stood near the outskirts. “Noah will look for an inn that will let us wash dishes or something to pay-”
“We should have brought the pearls,” Tristan muttered.
“Shut it,” Meagan retorted. “Anyway, Noah will go inn-hunting, and I'll inquire about Azia. If we're here, we might as well do some research. Tristan can hide- I really don't want people to think there's a haunting about. We'll meet back here in several hours, okay?”
They had just split up when Meagan bumped into a heavily cloaked man. “Sorry,” she apologized. “Um... you wouldn't know anything about Azia, would you?”
“I know nothing of herbs,” the man replied, “but I know much about poisons.”
“Poison isn't exactly what I was looking for, but thank you.” Meagan felt his gaze on hers and began to feel very embarrassed. “Sorry,” she added meekly, feeling as if she was shrinking under his gaze.
The man nodded, and he continued on his way. He whispered something to one of his companions, a veela, and she took to the skies. Meagan was momentarily struck by a fit of jealousy as she watched the veela's strong wings catch the wind and whisk her away. I wish I could fly like that, she thought.
Pushing all ideas of flightlessness out of her head, Meagan continued on her way. No one she asked seem to know what Azia was. Remembering that it was expensive, she asked several that appeared to be big-shots or extremely rich, but they were just as clueless. Hours passed and all she had learned was that several years ago, a man had been arrested for illegal production and distribution of Azia. “What was his name?” Meagan asked.
The stranger shrugged. “Umbra, I think. Yes, that was it.”
“So, is Azia illegal here?”
“No, you just need a government permit. Umbra wanted to avoid the hassle of paperwork, so he skipped out.”
“May I speak with him?”
The stranger said no. “Umbra was released from federal prison several weeks ago, on the first day of summer. He just up and went after that. No one's seen him since.”
“Thank you.” First day of summer... that's the day Annalise died.
“Do you need anything else?”
“Do you know where I could find a ferry across Laurel Bay?”
“Try D'nal,” he suggested. “It's at the shore of the Bay. It has cheap ferries and good food. Not a bad place- took my wife there on vacation once.”
           “Thank you.” Meagan took her leave and headed back to the rendezvous point, sitting down on the steps of a library. She was hungry, but she ignored her stomach's protests and stared at her shoes to get her mind off of it. The boots were getting scuffed, especially at the toes. She'd have to buy new ones soon; once she found Bella and Jenni, maybe her mother would take her shopping. Meagan looked up at the sky and squinted, then averted her gaze when she accidentally stared into the sun. There was a legend about the ancient valkyries. It was said that they lived only on moonbeams. Meagan knew this wasn't true- her family spent a huge amount of the monthly budget on food- but she wished it were. It would have been terribly convenient.
Noah appeared several minutes later. “Any luck?”
She shook her head. “Not on Azia.” Meagan sighed. “We can try D'nal for a ferry.”
“Why a ferry?”
“It's faster than walking. We'd have to go around the Laurel Bay.”
“Ah.” He pointed down a wide cobbled lane. “There's an inn close by. It's the only one in town. It's huge, but they say that they don't want guests who work but don't pay.”
“Oh.”
“But-” Noah grinned. “There's more. There's some rich dwarf who is a good friend of Annalise's and the previous queen's. He said he'd take us in for free.”
Meagan smiled in relief. “Good. That's good. Where's Tristan?”
“Behind you,” the obambo's voice said.
Meagan turned but saw nothing. “What?”
“I'm invisible,” answered the air. “It's not that hard.”
“You can turn invisible?”
“You can't? I thought it was a simple spell taught in school,” Noah said.
Meagan turned red. Her lack of magical skills was also a sore spot. “Whatever. Noah, where's this dwarf's house?”
“I'll show you,” the midget replied. “This way.”
* * *
Your heart is meant to remain broken... Arya remembered Lynn's forbidding words. Alone in Carmen's attic, Arya fingered her silver chain, at the end of which was a silver half-heart. It's not my heart, she thought. Lynn said it was a path no mortal should tread... well, that is true, but then again, are elves truly mortal? And I’m not really an elf. I’m definitely not a mortal.
The phone rang. Downstairs, Ayana looked up from the book she was reading. “Carmen!” she called. “Phone!” Then she turned back to the pages. Carmen had closed the shades on her windows and given her study up to the young scholar, who was busily researching all she could on forbidden methods, Dark Tomes, and other fields that might have made some lose their lunch.
Carmen burst into the study and answered it, breathless. “Hello? Who are you and how did you get my number?”
“Meagan and phone book,” the answer came. “Listen, um, I don't have enough money to pay for a long call, so...”
“Make it quick, I get it. What's up?”
“We're in Lufhtuoy right now. We're on our way to D'nal to ferry back. I wanted to tell you what Lynn said. I'm supposed to find Bella.”
“I know. The second Solaris got out of the border, she used all the magic she had at her disposal to get home. I got a report. She was irked. Something about 'losing years of preparation at the Academy and being bested by a little brat still in grade school.' She must like you- no expletives.”
“Nice... um, we have a lead. It's called Azia. It’s some type of herb, and we think Bella was administered some. Could you trace buyers and sellers? I'm not sure it'll help much, but it's something.”
          “That's right, it's something,” Carmen said. “Good work.”
“There's one other thing. Could you check up the discoverer of Azia's properties for me?”
“Sure.” She covered the mouthpiece and ordered Ayana to do the quick look-up.
“It says here, 'Discoverer unknown,'” Ayana said. “According to the Herbalists' Almanac. Why do you have a monthly subscription to that? It’s practically useless in your line of work and your house doesn’t look like it’s had much gardening…”
Ignoring her, Carmen returned to the phone conversation. “No one knows.”
“Oh. I met some lady named Marian who claimed she did. I wanted to verify.”
“Hmm... the name doesn't ring a bell. Hey, Meagan, if you can barely afford a phone call, do you have money for the trip?”
“What? No, but we'll figure something out.”
“Like I'd let you do that. How much do you need?”
“Twenty gold. Why?”
“Twenty gold? Wow, prices are rising. I'll send them via pigeon. You'll have to wait a while for it to get there- pigeons aren't great long-distance. Where you at?”
          “Fallbrook Estate.”
“Oh, I know the guy.”
“Carmen, I can't let you do this. I'll have to pay you back.”
“Nonsense!” Carmen laughed. “That's ridiculous. Finding Bella isn't enough? Anyway, if you're taking the D'nal ferry, that'll get you to... Einai.”
“Yeah.”
“I'll pick you up.”
“Isn't it far?”
“Not really. I'll bring a horse this time. The three of us should fit.”
“There's one more- his name's Tristan. He's an obambo.”
“Obambos can fly,” Carmen replied curtly. “If he claims he can't, then he's lazy.” Tristan? The name sounds familiar…
“Oh…” Meagan stopped. “Passports. I didn’t need one in Dryadales, but to get into Regnum…”
“I’ll fix it. Extra gold. It’s amazing how far bribes can go.”
“Thanks, Carmen. I'll make it up to you.”
          “You have been for the past thirteen years,” Carmen replied. “Thanks for the lead. Anything else?”
Ignoring the response that Meagan wasn’t quite sure how to address, she said, “I met Prince Frolickalot.”
“Did you now?” Carmen sighed. “He's a pitiable sight, to be sure. Poor man.”
“Okay, well, I gotta go. I won't be able to pay the phone call if I talk much longer...”
“I'll pay it. See you in Einai.”
           “See you.”
           Carmen hung up and raced up the stairs to the attic. “Arya!” she said. “I couldn't figure out what she knows. Do we explain everything when she gets here?”
          “I don't know, I'd like to put it off a bit longer, but it seems we're running out of time.” The queen sighed. “About Ascella too?”
“No. We don't need to explain that much. She'll find out on her own; she's a smart girl.”
Arya frowned. “You're very trusting in this girl,” she said. “Did you tell her about the phone calls?”
“No. Would you?” Carmen sat down on the mattress next to her.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly that: would you? Would you offer her the vain hope of finding her sister, with no hint of where she is- just that she's been randomly calling me at night- so that she'll do something crazy? Do you want me to entice her with false prospects of getting her home? If I find out where she is, or better yet, get her myself, of course I'd tell her, but now... it's just too early.”
           Arya shook her head. “I think you're cruel.”
Carmen frowned. “I'm the cruel one here? Maybe we should take a trip down memory lane.”
Arya scowled. “That wasn't my fault!”
Carmen tapped her steel arm thoughtfully. “Mm-hmm. Sure.”
         “Okay,” Arya relented. “Maybe a little; but I was young, Carmen, and foolish. It wasn't my fault she got taken like that!”
“If you'd been playing by the books, she wouldn't have been involved anyway, and one could hardly call you young at that age.”
“Don't talk like that! You know my people’s lifespan! Besides… she was the best thing that ever happened to me!”
           Carmen shrugged. “I thought of several people that way, Arya, and you know what? They're all either dead or the exact opposite of what I thought.” She glanced out the window. “They were false hopes that I had been enticed with. Everything is.”
“Either you are dead wrong,” Arya said, “or this world is a terrible place to live in.”
“Sooo,” Ayana whispered as they sat huddled around the journal in the attic. Since she and Arya had taken residence there, they'd dusted, cleaned, and reorganized. Everything was spotless, and all the junk (there was very little) had been shoved to the side. Ayana and Arya sat on the lone mattress, reading by candlelight. “It says, Dreams are tangible? What of their physical properties? I believe... and then it's in another alphabet.”
           Arya nodded. “It's Victuran.”
         “That's what Annalise is- a Victura.”
“Me too.”
“You too?”
“Well, yes, but I'd rather not explain everything now.”
“Can you read it?”
“Um, no. I can't read anything.”
“What?!” Ayana exclaimed. “Yet you're queen of a nation? How's that work?”
          “I never learned. I can tell some words, and the difference between this alphabet and that, but that's about it.”
“Wouldn't your royal tutor have taught you as a princess?”
“I never was a princess,” Arya shook her head. “It doesn't work like that. Once the previous sovereign dies, the elders and Lynn choose the next one. You don't even have to be an elf- they chose a mortal, once, before the borders closed. The potential candidates are informed and spend a year in the palace under strict observation before one is chosen.”
“And they chose you?”
“Yes. I was the candidate with the highest potential to reach the tangibility of the goals of the elven nation. Or so they told me, anyway. It didn't matter much since I had servants read to me.”
“Well, that stinks. I was hoping you could help me read this.”
“Ask Carmen,” Arya suggested. “I think she can read it.”
“No!” Ayana frowned. “I couldn't possibly; she’s so busy.”
“She has books in the Victuran language. If you look in that trunk, you'll see she has a bunch, along with a little Latin, some ancient Greek, and a bit of Delmos… That’s a strange choice, Delmos. Its own people abandoned the use of it. Carmen has an interest in lost languages, apparently. That trunk is a treasure trove for the linguistic scholar.”
           Suddenly, the door slammed open. “No one touches my trunk!” Carmen exploded. “Just because you're a guest in my house does not mean you can go through my personal belongings, Arya!”
          “Welcome back!” Arya said cheerfully.
“Oh, can it,” Carmen snapped. She gestured behind her where a rather distressed Meagan stood wide-eyed. “Meagan'll be spending some time with you before dinner.”
        Ayana smiled. “On a Friday! My goodness, Meagan, I was joking! Perfect timing, but I can't take you to that movie. I'm kind of a fugitive.”
        Meagan laughed. “That's okay. Wait...” A look of puzzlement crossed her face. “Fugitive?”
“Long story,” Ayana shrugged. “Hey, have you met-”
“Arya?!” Meagan exclaimed. “What...? Why are you here?”
“Also a long story,” Arya dismissed.
“To sum up,” Ayana said, “I sneaked into the Dark Tomes, found Annalise's journal, and discovered that she's some sort of immortal being from a race of people called the Victura. They dispersed after their country was destroyed.”
“I know a bit about them,” Meagan said. “I met one. Marian.”
          “That's probably not her real name,” Arya pointed out. “A lot of the Victura changed their names so as to hide their identities.”
“Others had theirs stolen,” Carmen added. “They had no choice in the matter. It didn’t matter. They all died in the end anyway.”
“In any case, Annalise's real name was Esilanna, and mine is really Ariana,” Arya finished.
“So you were there when...”
“Actually, I wasn't,” Arya answered. “How do you think I survived? In any case, this...” She pulled out her silver chain, at the end of which was half a silver heart. “... can stop whatever is trying to repeat history. It can completely and catastrophically destroy any plans to do the same thing, but it's incomplete. The gold half is missing.”
“What plans?” Meagan asked.
“We’ll explain,” Arya said. “You should know, though, that if they work, everyone will be dead.”
Carmen frowned. “I thought I saw Morgan wear something like it. She told me it was a replica. I think she can point us out to the seller, and he might tell us where the original is.”
“Sounds like a long shot to me,” Arya said, incredulous. “Besides, I can't go. Seizures and all that.”
          “Nonsense. You got all the way here.”
Arya winced. “After passing out a few million times!” She sighed. “They've been afflicting me... I don't know where they came from. It might be a side effect.”
        “Have you been using it?”
“Not that I'm aware of, but then again, that's the hazard with my people. We always use it subconsciously because...”
“You're linked to it,” Carmen nodded. “A sad state of affairs, to be sure. All right. I'll send Noah; he needs to find something useful to do anyway.”
          “Speaking of Noah,” Ayana said. “Where is he?”
Carmen winked. “With a friend; but he is going to his house soon (he does own one, and I heard Donny needs to pay the rent). It'd be suspicious if I had Meagan and Noah and some ghosty boy come into my house all at once. Meagan has to go home too, right, little valkyrie? Your mother misses you.”
Meagan nodded. “Yeah. I do.”
“What friend is he with?” Ayana asked.
“Her name's Emma. She's a faerie.”
“Fairy? Like Bella?”
“No, faerie. They're separate races,” Carmen responded. “Not sure what the difference is, but don't insult them by mixing them up. Anyway, I have to go and buy dinner- you two sure eat a lot!”
Ayana grinned sheepishly. “I'm in a growth spurt.”
“Meagan, pigeon your mom, okay?”
“Sure.”
“All righty, then. Noah will track Morgan down, and I need to have some errands done. I'll be back by supper. Have fun, don't open the door to anyone, be good, all that jazz. Are you guys in the mood for teriyaki?”

Dragonlord Stephi : Great and excellent writng as expected . Good use of adjectives and more compliments . So I am guessing that Carmen is a part of the same race as Arya or Arianan and Marian ? I bet she is . I'd win that bet wouldn't I ? I bet I would . I'd win that bet too