Elfborn: The Quest

Unexpected Resistance

However, the young de Lukas didn't find Gillian to be that receptive to the idea when she spoke with her a short time later.

"What??" the young blonde woman shrieked as she bolted upright out of her chair. "You're getting ready to leave? Just when I was about to get comfortable in a place of obvious wealth and money? You must be mad!"

Kira grimaced from the doorway, where she had been standing when she told Gillian of their plans to prepare to leave the city. It wasn't hard to see why the former noblewoman refused to leave: already the Elfborn were given close to celebrity status by the Ruling Council by virtue of being Lord Astor's primary targets. And with that status had come nice clothing, jewelry, and the opportunity to bathe regularly as well as other things. Things a pampered young woman like Gillian would find very hard to give up, especially in light of what they had already endured.

Even now the young blonde woman tugged fitfully at the sleeve of a beautiful dress of Ibisian make, crafted with Cathay silk and the finest wools, the colors skillfully woven into the fabric itself to yield a garment of exceedingly fine workmanship and fit. Truly Gillian looked every centimetre the noblewoman when she wore such dresses. And, combined with the gold, silver and gemstone jewelry that were gifts from this bishop and that, she now definitely gave off the air of one accustomed to great riches.

"But Gillian, the basilica library was filled to the brim with Dark Companions and Mist men. Surely you can't deny the danger they represent to us!"

"Only if Jase wasn't seeing things in the depths of his poison-induced stupor," Gillian fired back tightly, not even bothering to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "Frankly I would doubt every word that came out of his mouth, now. Who knows what damage the poison actually did to him?"

Kira's face darkened. 'Foolish woman! She's going to be the death of us all!' she thought darkly. 'Burn me to ash, but I wish Jase was here to talk some sense into this mule-brained slug. With that new honey-coated tongue of his, he would have her packing her dresses in a matter on minutes!'

The slender Hesivan, however, was having as much success with Brice as Kira was having with Gillian. The lean Elfborn was in one of the reading rooms in the novices' quarters when Jase and Heather found him, curled up in a large chair. There, comfortable as a dog in front of a fire, Brice poured over several massive books, a couple of them with their leather covers worn to the point where the labels were no longer legible, their pages covered with dust to attest to their age.

"Well, well. Risen from the dead, have we?" Brice said sarcastically when he looked up at the sound of footfalls to find Heather and Jase walking towards him after stepping through the reading room's doorway.

"And better than new to boot!" Jase replied with a gentle smile, which immediately drew a snort from the thin Elfborn before he returned to his book. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you, Brice."

"Depends," the other replied. "What do you want to talk about?" he then said without looking up.

"About our company leaving Romis," Jase quickly returned, earning him another snort.

"Without Kira having had the chance to peruse her precious Vestican library? How unthoughtful of you, Jase," Brice slowly and deliberately turned the page. "I don't think so."

"Surely you can't be saying you care about Kira and her quest for knowledge, Brice. For the last two months you've done nothing but mock her desire. This is the perfect opportunity to thwart her."

That was enough to bring Brice's eyes back up onto him, but only for a moment. With a sniff he returned to his examination of the pages in front of him.