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Adventures of Dusty Yote

Chapter 9 - The Coyote and the Rat King

7241 words

The next day was a Sunday, and Dusty went off to chapel and attended service. He felt oddly dirty after his counter with Conrad and the looks he got in Whitewater and was thankful it was a communion Sunday. Through the offering of bread and wine, in spirit of the meals the Creator had with her followers when She had come to earth after the ascension, he would cleanse himself and become renewed, and perhaps seek direction for what to do next.

The preacher for the service was Deacon Haven, and today's message was on the dangers of corruption. Which seemed to be a big thing lately, Dusty thought to himself. But as the sermon went on, Dusty noted her language was far easier than Reverend Hale's ever was.

"Our readings today focus on a parable that the Creator told during her ministry. In the parable, a young buck, certain of his life and fortune, asked for his portion of inheritance from his mother to make his own way and left his brother as the primary inheritor. He headed for the nearby city, where he squandered his wealth in hedonism: fine food, fine clothing, personal assistants, women with whom he wasn't attached to. Eventually, the young buck loses his wealth, becomes poor and kicked onto the streets, and now has neither fortune nor inheritance.

"Frequently, corruptive influences in life look like things that are fine, but we overindulge in such extravagances. Instead of prudent budgeting or thinking long-term, we find ourselves thinking of the now, how can we appease ourselves and our appetites now instead of how we're going to support ourselves or our families in the future. I'm not saying that it's bad to indulge ourselves a little bit, that's fine. Its nice to have a day of rest, or a special meal, something new for the home. The problem is when this becomes the every-day behavior. We find ourselves spiraling into bad habits because instead of appreciating what we're able to get, we become addicted to things that are out of our range. It's fine to want better, but we can't just coast by on what we have now; we need to make things better first.

"But there is hope. In the second part of the parable, the buck realizes there is one place he can go: his mother. He hopes to apologize and be accepted back not as part of the family but as a servant, to make up for his misspent youth. But he comes back and is accepted with open arms, and the mother calls for the best fruits to be gathered, and new wine to be poured, and to clothe the buck in new linens, because he has come back. The buck's brother is mad because the young buck forfeited the inheritance and squandered it all while he stayed and helped out the family. The mother goes outside and says that while his good work is also appreciated, the young buck's return is still a cause for celebration, because he's seen the error of his ways and came back.

"This is a problem I see too often with views of the corrupted among us: that there is no hope for them. We keep thinking of that spiral of bad habits and think that they are just lost to us. That's not the case. In fact, when we realize what we've lost, that is the perfect time to accept that corruptive influences have taken a hold on us and that we want to come back. And this is the perfect time to realize that the Creator is happy to have us back. The Creator welcomes us when we accept our honest mistake and come back from the brink, asking for forgiveness and a return to good habits and feelings. We don't have to give up the finer things; the Creator can provide us with enough, and more than enough, to satisfy our needs and our wants within reason. When the family pulls together for a nice meal with wine for celebration of a birthday or new fortune, when the daughter is about to be married and needs fresh wedding clothes and new outfits for a new life, when the worker finds that he is exhausted and needs some extra time to recuperate - in all these, the Creator will find and give them what they need: nice food, new linens, an extra day of rest, without needing to fall into corruptive spirals of overindulgence.

"But too many times have I seen even within this congregation a certain level of spite from people about those who have listened to those hedonistic or darker urges. Let me tell you: the one who remained faithful but is spiteful at those who have left is just as prone to those urges as the one who squandered it all in hedonism. We shouldn't be irritated or annoyed or hateful towards those who have parted from us for a while. We should treat it as a learning experience and be joyful that they have accepted the path of light again. Those who are hateful are just as open to corruption as those who are overindulging. It might not seem that way - they may even frame it as righteousness - but it is an overindulgence of hate, of spite, of fear. In the desire to protect ourselves, we may overprotect and so treat anything as a source of corruptive influence, including those who have cleansed themselves anew. Ours is not to judge them, for just as the mother welcomes back the lost ones among us, so we too must forgive and accept their return with open arms. We need to do less chastising and more celebrating, less dismissing and more learning, less looking down on them with hatred and more being open to what they might have learned from their time apart, and the things that brought them back."

Though there was the taking of communion, Dusty didn't need to pray and see what the Creator would decree. The answer was there for him. For starters, he remembered it was Deacon Haven who had sponsored and eventually commissioned Dusty to go and apply for the Hunters' Guild as their envoy. Perhaps her reasoning was much the same then as he heard now: not to blindly lash out against this new magic but to understand why it was people learned and made use of it.

Furthermore, he was beating about the bush too much. He was denying himself the chance he had at finding answers from one who knew the difference between actual corruption and this new strain of magic. By learning what was behind this magic, perhaps he could see what the Creator's own intentions were in letting it go and the purpose of its sudden appearance in Irilian. He attended communion now not to ask for guidance, but to steady himself and make sure his route was blessed.

Dusty rose with the others in the pew and ascended to the altar, where they knelt around the banister. Reverend Hale came around with the communion wafer and Deacon Haven with the communal cup of wine. As soon as the cup touched his lips, Dusty felt a warmth of relief and of assurance, and he knew his prayer had been answered.

---

Dusty left the church, but unlike his usual, he did not wait for Brother Thomas to see what could be done to help clean up after service. Instead he left Riverwood to the east, passed over the hills until he found a small road emerging through them and came down to it. He followed the road up through the plains until he found the old stone fortress.

The gates were closed but the fortress was filled with activity. Rats were scurrying all around and sorting out various boxes and bags. It appeared that the horde had taken a provisions run recently and with a surprisingly coordinated effort the rats were sorting the various items to their respective sections. Only two in particular seemed to not do anything, one on either side of the gate, guarding and keeping watch.

As soon as the first saw Dusty approached he whispered something to the guard on the inside gate. Less than a minute later the sound of a bell rang out. A few steps later Dusty came within earshot of the guard outside shouting "STOP, STOP!" The bell stopped, the rats kept looking warily towards the coyote approaching the gate, and the one outside came forward and suddenly bowed.

"Master Yote, forgive us," he said. "We saw your Order clothing and thought it was someone from Whitewater having come to try and exact revenge on Master Reeve."

"Having spent a few days there recently on Guild business, I do not blame you," Dusty replied. "I myself did not like the looks I gained in the town. But if you don't mind me asking, where is Master Reeve?"

"He has been keeping himself sequestered lately," the rat guard said. "I cannot fully explain the situation well, but he's been away from prying eyes more often of late. Let one of us go and inform him that you are here. I am sure he will be glad to see you and would accept your audience."

"Tell him that Master Dusty Yote has a favor to ask of him regarding his abilities," Dusty said. "And that it might not be the question he expects it to be."

"Very well."

The rat guard relayed the information to one of the rats inside the gate, who nodded and quickly scurried off to the main building. The rest went back to work, apparently satisfied that the intruder was at least relatively harmless. The rat guard turned back around and bowed against to Dusty.

"You'll have to forgive us," he said. "Even though you are known here, Master Reeve has placed explicit orders that no one outside of the horde is to enter without his permission."

"I am sure I will learn more about it from Reeve himself," Dusty said. "You have no need to apologize for his discretion. Your orders are your orders, your home is your home, and this is where your rules and regulations are to be kept."

"Gracious you are, sir! At least let us bring you some water, since you appear to have traveled from further than just Whitewater."

Dusty did accept the drink, which came from a well installed in the central compound. He drank from the cup that was offered him and returned it with his thanks, then stood just outside the gates so that he could be easily seen, watching the rats go about their business. Their number seemed to have increased slightly, as Dusty thought he could count an extra half-dozen.

After a while, the doors to the main building opened and a large rat emerged from it. He had broad shoulders easily wider than any of the smaller rats and his gut slightly peeking out from his clothes. He had bluish-gray fur with a lighter front and something of a fuzzy chest, and wore little except for a white shirt, a black leather jacket, and a set of black leather pants. He was adorned in small trinkets of rings on his fingers and earrings on his ears, and a golden amulet around his neck.

"Open the gate and let him in!" Reeve called.

He waited as the rats opened the harsh metal grate to allow Dusty inside. When the gate was opened he held out an almost fur-less hand as though to shake his paw. When Dusty accepted the gesture, he was surprised by Reeve instead grasping the paw and bringing him close for a hug, gently pinning the coyote to his chest for a moment.

"I had been wondering if I would see you again, Master Yote," Reeve said. "Truth be told, I'm quite grateful you've come." He released the coyote and smiled at him.

Dusty had to cough to prevent himself from saying something incriminating. "It was admittedly not an easy decision," he replied. "I did not wish to disturb or upset you. But it seems, according to your guard, that the upset might be warranted."

Reeve's smile softened and his face turned grim, but his voice remained cordial and warm. "It is not an issue I wish to talk about here, but still I am glad you came. Come, we were about to prepare for the evening meal, and I would like you to be my guest for the evening. Quite apart from your own questions, I have much I want to tell you."

Dusty was brought back to the main building and into the central area by Reeve's private quarters. Little had changed since the last time the coyote was back here aside from the more warm demeanor. The rest of the rats were also cordial and welcoming, preparing a seat next to Reeve at his table, and supplying him with more water and a small glass of wine.

"First, I wish to thank you again for our encounter last time," Reeve said once they had both been supplied with drink. "My reputation as something of a handsome scourge of Whitewater remains firm despite heading out that way less often. I still make sure only to target absolutely disruptive or heinous individuals. There are criminals enough in Whitewater that we still remain comfortable here and a great deal of heat has been taken off me."

"To be truthful," Dusty replied, "if you had said this to me a few days ago, I might have been less approving of it. But I have recently been to Whitewater and very well see what you mean; even someone of my own stature in the Order was looked down upon as an outsider. Please forgive me; I took it upon myself to look up your files with the Whitewater town guard. If anything, my Guildmaster who sent me to talk to you managed to downplay your victimization."

"Good, good," Reeve said, "then you understand more the essence of why I became this. I had some opportunities through my mother and father, but the people of Whitewater detested me when I tried to raise even slightly above that. Though I was born and raised among them, I was still an outsider by virtue of my family and my position. Perhaps also through my species, but that is something that could last a while to explain. In any case, they left me no openings to advance myself, and so this was the only route I could take."

"I may need you to explain the full thing quite soon. But I will not pressure you right away. Instead, I noticed your horde has grown a bit of late. Are they more outcasts from Whitewater?"

"On the whole," Reeve said. "There are some from Whitewater and some from Riverwood. One or two come from even farther away, Irilian capital. The outsider is not welcomed as much as the kingdom would like to display itself as a land of opportunity, and my horde here could very well attest to that fact."

"Quite," Dusty replied.

Reeve pressed Dusty for his own exploits since leaving. He had heard something of the encounter with Zemeya from his ears in the town and wanted to hear the whole thing for himself. Dusty obliged him, including his talks with Kuroga and the skunk Bernard. Reeve listened with great interest, and seemed happy to have something to take his mind off his current situation.

Yet the clouds in the air still hung as Dusty finished his story. Instead of going out to see to the rest of the horde, Reeve had informants who explained what the horde was doing outside and how preparations were going. Reeve himself even had orders for an extra guard at the gate come nightfall and wished for his evening meal to be taken inside instead of out as he had previously. Some of this he explained to the rats as having a guest that he wanted to treat well, but Dusty could sense hesitation and a noticeable re-wording of one or two of the statements.

They were served that evening pieces of roasted chicken along with a corn and mashed potato mixture seasoned with wild herbs. The wines were not refilled for this but they did receive half-tankards of ale that remained from a previous escapade. Once they were eating, Dusty finally felt comfortable to voice his own reason for coming.

"Master Reeve, I would like to ask you a favor."

The large rat dabbed at his face with a napkin. "If it is about the pardon, I still do not want it. You must understand that, too, would ruin my reputation."

"I do not ask for you to come for a pardon. My favor is more personal than it is public."

Reeve grinned. "And yet you said to the messenger that you were not here for another session. Then what, pray tell, are you here for?"

Dusty swallowed heavily and prepared himself. "Master Reeve, I have gained intelligence that you have been to the kingdom of Domasis. Given that I am a member of the Order, I cannot gain entry into the kingdom without the escort of one who has. I have also been told that Domasis is the center of a new branch of magic called 'emotive sorcery'. I want to go and learn about it, both to increase my resistance towards it and find out why it's becoming so prolific around here."

Reeve's grin lessened and he stopped eating. He fixed Dusty with a hard stare.

"Master Reeve... if at all possible, I would like you to be my escort to the kingdom of Domasis."

---

The words hung in the air for a long while in silence.

For a moment, Dusty wondered if the rat considered this a betrayal of his words. He became quite afraid of either the rat calling out for his associates or else being kicked out of the fortress without another word. He realized it was probably a bold request to make and started to formulate an apology.

Before he could, Reeve leaned back in his chair. The slight grin appeared on his face again. He drummed his fingers and Dusty could see his brow furrow in thought. He stopped his own words from coming up again and waited for the rat to speak.

"We both have had questions we wanted to ask the other, it seems," the rat said with a twitch of his whiskers. "and you were the first to say yours. At least the air is clear now, and there can be no hiding it anymore." Reeve knocked on the table. All the rats around stood at attention. "I want no one in here except for Bradley and Jeremiah. The rest of you wait outside until they give the signal." Four rats left immediately, the other two remained at the door.

"I assume this is the matter you did not want to speak of at the gate," Dusty replied.

"Very much so." Reeve took a long drink of his ale and did not stop until the tankard was emptied. "You see, while you have salvaged my reputation, I have now had more people attempt to enter the fortress like you did. Mercifully, we have been able to fend off their attacks, but for now the defenses are getting thin."

"But what happened?" Dusty asked. "I was told that the tail required would give proof enough to the people of Whitewater that the contract had been fulfilled. They have their token and you keep your line."

"You have read the guards' reports of me," Reeve said, "and yet even they leave out some details. As you read in Whitewater, I was not usually the aggressor but responding to aggression. Nobles and people of status often tried to take things from me or my friends because they believed we should not have it. No matter if we had the money; our status and upbringing and demeanor meant it was wrong for us to have it. And then the church would force us to repent when we had legally acquired our goods and the others wanted to have it taken away."

Dusty leaned back in his own chair. "This is not the church I know. We are there to help the persecuted or those in needs. It is one of our primary tenants to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and take pity on those who cannot fend for themselves. And the Order is part of the way to uphold justice and equality among the people."

"Perhaps you uphold those well enough," Reeve said. "And if I had met just one more within your Order who was like that, I may be inclined to believe you. As such you are the only member of the church I have run across who has not looked at me like dredge to be thrown aside. In my case - and with many of my status in Whitewater - the church more often took the side of the nobility. Because, you see, sometimes faith and justice and equality are determined by money. Whoever can give the wealth to sustain can make arrangements for things like justice and equality to go a little more in their favor, justified by some portion of faith taken out of context."

Dusty's eyes narrowed. "Then the whole of the church would be founded on hypocrisy."

"I do not say the teachings of the church are wrong," Reeve cut in before Dusty could say anymore. "I only say there are far too many people who would rather use them as a bludgeon. In Whitewater especially, wealth combines with faith, and they have tangled themselves up so inextricably that the church does what the nobility thinks it should do. So if the nobility thinks it is wronged and the church is forced to make one do penance and the other be pardoned, more often the nobility will be pardoned. Because the church does not want to lose their patronage."

"Then someone needs to look into how the church in Whitewater is run, if they will disavow their oaths to the Creator and the teachings like that. There are strict guidelines for how the church is supposed to operate, both within texts and among the church leadership, and such would be a gross violation of anything I've read in Riverwood's own texts."

"Indeed, someone should. But who? I can guarantee you it won't be from within the church itself. In fact, I would bet you that other churches across the kingdom work the same way, if you were to spend time enough there. The distinctions don't happen as often in Riverwood because I would hardly call anyone there of 'noble' status; Whitewater was founded to get away from Riverwood. And to admit they are wrong would cause an uproar within the populace as to whether or not anything else they've been teaching is true. No, they won't stop so easily."

"But then what does the kingdom of Domasis have against the church that a member of the Order will not be allowed through alone?"

"Two things. First is that the Irilian church knows more than it lets on about Domasis and emotive sorcery, they just have declared them heretics and against the doctrine, upending the peace there through harassment. The second is they do not like the militaristic presence of the Order there, seeing it used down here far too often in cases like Whitewater. I have heard the Order's influence spreads pretty far and even into the east, but I have only heard rumors on that end."1

"But you have been to Domasis, and I assume that's where most of the rumors come from."

"True, and Domasis does have its own laws regarding that. And it is not all harsh. The church and the Order can do no more than set up a chapel in each major city and have a few Order members for the protection and service of the chapel. But a majority serving must come from Domasis, and they must adhere to their laws and structure their services equitably."

"So then it is only an outsider of the Order who is treated this way. They are not so far from my own perception of Whitewater if that is the case."

"I did not say they were perfect on it. And once again, you do not realize that the Order is less the victim but the aggressor. Once the kingdom of Domasis is assured you are not there to disturb the peace and sanctity of its people and laws, I have no trouble thinking you would be allowed to roam freely. But on a first visit, yes, someone like me who has gone before would have to come with you and act as a witness."

---

"Which brings us back around to where we started," Dusty commented. "I am looking for an escort to the kingdom of Domasis, and would like you to be that escort."

Reeve's smile turned almost sad. "While I am appreciative of your coming, my place is here, with the rest of the rats, and I cannot go. Furthermore, since you've come here, the attacks on my life are getting more desperate instead of less, and I cannot be wandering around outside for too long. I am sorry, but I am afraid I must decline."

"Where do the attacks come from?"

"I assume the common people of Whitewater are quite fine with me now that I have lessened my pursuits. According to my ears in town, most of the calls for my being taken down are few and far between lately. But as the town guard can do nothing about it due to me catching legitimate criminals, and the Guild wiping their hands of it - thanks in part to you, and it is something I do appreciate greatly - they go to that even meaner aspect of town: the freelance mercenary."

"I learned something of that when I was in Whitewater. They do not consider the freelance mercenary as mean as the Guild. Perhaps that opinion has changed recently but the Guild is the one they consider mean, and they pay good money to freelancers to take care both of supposed 'beasts' and people like you that they would consider troublemakers."

"The Hunters Guild walks a fine line between peacemakers and freelancers. As you have said: even your own Guildmaster is thankful for people like you joining who are more willing to talk and negotiate rather than purely fight and destroy. But they go to the mercenary because they want it fulfilled without question, the order obeyed to the full extent of their reading, not your interpretation. They just don't want to get their own hands dirty or have it traced back to them as easily."

"What have you done with those who have tried to enter?"

"The first my associates were able to subjugate before he could reach me, and I bound him magically almost as I did with you before sending him back. I have not seen him since and think he is dealt with. But the second I had to defend myself properly and injured him. I had my men take him back to town to get medical attention. I am not so unmerciful even to those that attack me."

"Would not taking time out of here and getting to Domasis take some more heat away from you?"

"It would, but I cannot leave my men here alone." Reeve sighed and shook his head. "They depend on me for things outside of strategy. Confidence and assurance are part of leadership, too; I am their rock when all other places have failed them. I cannot drop everything to leave simply because one requests it. Your logic is commendable and I would take it if circumstances were different. But I won't leave you empty-handed."

"What can you do?"

"There is another from Domasis who could take you up there. I will have one of my men go scout them out and return to your home with a meeting place and time, and you will decide then if you wish to go with them."

"Against my previous judgments, I would likely do so anyways. I do not know if that judgment comes from the Order or my own thoughts, but it would not be the first time. Who is it?"

"Another member of the Guild. I have made arrangements with him occasionally and he has proven to be a trustworthy source. He has stopped by sometimes with warnings of true beasts in the nearby region, knowing they might be a credible threat to my men if ever they head out to be my ears or scouts."

"Then we shall get along well enough. I might well want to leave soon after we meet. What do I need to know about the trip?"

"It is a five or six-day march from here to the capital city, where the major academy is. Two days to the border, one day to cross the pass, and another two or three to the city itself. There are small towns along the way and once you get to the pass it is a well-trodden road, but I would still pack plenty of provisions. You may also need some money for inns and shelter once you get to the capital, but they will also have ways they can help you if the journey goes in fair favor. Domasis can be quite friendly if your purpose is benign."

"Thank you for everything. I will inform Guildmaster Radan to try and keep an extra eye out on you in my absence. If nothing else, he will want to keep you around as a source. Pragmatic, but the easiest way to explain the use."

"Then perhaps I could use the Guild hall as a meeting spot for you. It will simply be a matter of time." Dinner was finished. Reeve called over his two guards and told them the others could enter now and to clean their plates. "I must have you head out now, as we have plans for the morning, but I am appreciative of your coming today. It is good to talk, and I hope we get the chance to do so again soon under even more comfortable circumstances."

"And I should owe you another favor when I get back," Dusty said, standing up to go. "You have given me much more honestly than I could have hoped."

"The protection of the Guild would pay for that favor twice over. If you are in need of anything, my men and I are at your command, Master Yote. Take that with high honor - the only one of the Order I would swear fealty to."

"If you would come to my aid, then I swear to come to yours. Let me make an oath with you, such that we will come to the other's aid in times of need."

"I make no oaths," Reeve said. "But a pact I can. I don't want to swear you into service to fulfill as each thinks fit. I would rather make an alliance, wherein you help me in need and I help you, without being beholden to the other."

"Then that would work out for me." Dusty held out a paw. "I may come to you with more questions, and you call me if a beast has been harassing your men."

Reeve extended his own hand. "It is settled. I shall get your Guild member to take you to Domasis, you inform your Guildmaster about the extra watch on my fortress, and our pact shall begin."

---

It did not take very long for Dusty to be informed that the contact had been successful. Two evenings later, a rat appeared bearing a message that Reeve's other associate had agreed to meet with Dusty and see about taking him on. The meeting was to take place just outside the Riverwood Guild hall just before the church bell struck midday the next day.

Dusty took his time beforehand and went early. Not to wait but to make good on his promise to Reeve. He went to speak with Guildmaster Radan and found the bull waiting for someone else. However, they weren't expected until after lunch, and Radan took Dusty into the backroom without much explanation on the coyote's part.

"You haven't gone and done what I asked already?" Radan asked.

"To a certain extent, I have," Dusty said. "But to gain a full understanding, I will be leaving for a while and may be beyond contact."

"Ominous," Radan replied. "Where are you going? Are you at least allowed to tell me?"

"The most I can say for right now is somewhere north of the mountains. I don't want to say more because it seems a series of clearances have gone through that make this a special circumstance. I'm sorry," Dusty said, ears going flat, "but I fear it must be vague so I don't burn the source too early."

"If its a lead that helps with the removal of beasts or countering the strange magics around here," Radan said, "you do what you need to do. You're sensible and level-headed to have completed three tasks already. I trust that you know what you're doing with this."

"I should hope," Dusty said. He coughed. "However, I wonder if I might ask a favor."

"It's not usual for a guild member to ask a favor," Radan said. "Do explain."

"The source that directed me there and gained those clearances is none other than one of my previous targets: Master Reeve Thomas, the highwayman rat. Aside from even Whitewater admitting that Reeve's strain has slowed lately, he seems to be the target of mercenary assassins. He... well, at the risk of someone else burning the source that got us this far, I would like a watch to be kept to see what the activity levels are."

Radan frowned. "This is... a heavy favor. Normally the Guild is contracted to stop magic; I don't exactly have the power or resources available to dedicate protection services."

"The Guild has paid me for each of my successful quarries," Dusty said. "If necessary, take some off my pay and use them to pay it back. Perhaps a tenth, as the church normally decrees should be given for tithes and offerings. This is my tithe: to make sure the one who has helped me gets fair repayment."

Radan looked down and picked at a nail on his hand a bit. He sighed. "I can't exactly promise a constant watch, Master Yote. I might be able to do some tracking work but there's little that I can do otherwise. If a beast comes up, then that is my priority and I will dedicate resources to the task as needed. If Master Reeve becomes corrupted again... then that, also, will take priority."

"The scent of Miss Hill might be well-known to them," Dusty said. "Should she look onto it and report any suspicious activity every couple of days, she would be disguised by her familiarity. That plus an inquiry made as to the effects and doings of a mercenary guild in Whitewater should suffice. I will sort through the rest when I get back if you have nothing available."

Radan reached a hand to scratch the back of his head. "Master Yote, the primary reason I am having trouble is not because I am disregarding Master Thomas' worth. My problem is I do not know how extrajudicial it is. The Guild could get in trouble if it starts meddling in the affairs of mercenaries."

"Let it satisfy you that the problem of Reeve is fulfilled," Dusty reasoned, "- per the terms of the official contract that you gave me, might I add - and these people are acting like it isn't. Should it not have been fulfilled, then they need to launch an official inquiry with the Beast Hunters' Guild or else they, too, would be acting in an extrajudicial manner and warrant investigation. Why should the accused be put on trial for that which they have already been acquitted?"

"While it is not my place to step on others' toes," Radan said, "you make a good point that they are not exactly acting according to contract, either. I also cannot overstep my bounds and take over a Whitewater case, but I can investigate on the basis of it concerning a beast that is already taken care of. That is within my power. I cannot do much more than what I said already, but I will at least follow through on it."

"That would be more than enough," Dusty said.

The distant peel of the church bell could be heard from outside. "Well, did you have any more business or was that all?" Radan asked. "I really should be expecting my other contact in by now and don't want to delay them if possible."

"I am waiting for someone, as well," Dusty said. "I should get going; our own meeting was at the noontime bell."

"Your contact for getting over the mountains, I presume?"

"Yes. I promise to give more information when I come back down."

"Go with speed and safety, Master Yote. I am sure we'll be fine until you get back, but all the same I hope you don't stay away for too long."

"I shall try not to."

---

The weather was warm but mild in the early summer. Stepping out of the guild hall, Dusty reflected that it would be a good time to head out on a journey north, where the air might be cooler and the weather more mild. Irilian was not an altogether terrible climate, but heat waves could easily scorch the ground and make summer nigh unbearable for the coyote. Not to mention the obscene amount of shedding.

He was still reflecting on this as he walked outside of the Guild hall and looked around. It was still shortly after the bell rang and he was quite sure his contact should be patient enough to wait if they had arrived early. But no one approached the coyote and no one showed any signs of even paying attention to the Guild hall. Not far away was a small plaza with a well, and Dusty figured that was an obvious spot to wait in case the contact were running late. He began walking over.

"Master Yote! It's good to see you again."

Dusty had nearly continued on even after hearing his name, but on the word "again" he had to turn around and see who it was. Standing not too far away was a large cat the color of dry grass, a larger mane of reddish-brown fur, and honey-gold eyes, dressed in green clothes with brown leather armor. It took a while for Dusty to recognize the lion, though the warm smile on Kuroga Asteran's face was unmistakable.

"Master Asteran." Dusty turned around and headed over to shake the lion's paw. This was good enough spot to meet the contact. "I thought you were heading out again after seeing Bernard."

"I thought so, too." The lion grasped the coyote's paw warmly and bowed as they shook hands. "After leaving Bernard's and making sure he was alright, I took a quick run through Whitewater before I was pulled back."

"Not another beast, I should hope," Dusty said. "Zemeya was quite the handful and I would have hoped everything would have been dealt with in that section."

"Thankfully not," Kuroga laughed. "You see, I met an associate of another colleague of mine that I sometimes use to determine if a beast is active around here. There are lots of them in strange places between here and the mountains and I like to have a few. But what are you doing here? Are you not already on the hunt for another beast?"

"No," Dusty said. "Should things go according to plan, I will be leaving over a few days to head out over the mountains as part of a..." Dusty's head tilted. "...why are you staring at me like that?"

The coyote had good cause for asking that. As soon as he had said "over the mountains", Kuroga's eyes had suddenly widened and the smile had dropped from his face leaving his mouth very slightly open. If Dusty didn't know better, he might have assumed he'd actually taken the lion by surprise.

"...are you the one I'm taking to Domasis?"

...hold on a minute... "Do you know one Master Reeve Thomas?" Dusty asked.

The lion's eyes brightened. "Why, yes. It was actually one of his associates that pulled me back with the request that a friend of his needed an escort up to Domasis. He said he liked the fellow despite his background and thought it would do us both good."

A strange feeling began to dawn on Dusty. "Master Reeve told me that I needed someone to take me up to Domasis because I need someone to help cross over the border. Apparently, Domasis doesn't like people from the Order coming over and someone might need to go with to convince them."

The smile was back on Kuroga's face and he bowed again. "A good stroke of luck for you that you saw Reeve when you did! A day or two later and I might have been at the border town and out of reach. But fear not; should you accept me, I will take you up to Domasis."

"You don't even know why I'm going."

"I don't," Kuroga said as he rose. He put a finger to his head. "But I can take a guess. You've had encounters now with Bernard, Reeve, Zemeya, and I'm guessing another smaller one that nevertheless illustrated a pattern. You need someone who can reliably take you up to the one place that might know who they are and why they know what they know."

"Your guess is accurate in more ways than one," Dusty conceded.

"Well, then let me give you enough reason to trust that I can do this: it was through the Hunters' Guild of Domasis that I was working for when I came down to hunt Zemeya." Kuroga held out a paw. "Let me be your guide, Master Yote. I can show you where Bernard and Reeve's own powers came from, and how Zemeya both gained his powers and lost their favor. It shall also give us time to get to know each other, should we end up working on things more often together."

Dusty looked at the paw, then up to Kuroga's face. The smile was warm, but he could sense something else behind the handsome face that the lion was not saying. He searched the honey-gold eyes and found nothing but honest and open eagerness. Perhaps muting his own excitement a bit in his asking but clearly waiting to see how Dusty would respond before proceeding. At least he seemed benign enough, and there were few others who would do so as reliably nor whom Dusty would trust so much, if only because of what happened with Zemeya.

"Do you consent?" Kuroga asked.

Dusty looked between the lion's eyes and paw a few more times. He made up his mind and reached out. "I... consent."

To be continued...