Chapter 5 Part 5

Marlena came to with a start. "Samson," she gasped.

Armegon placed a cool wet cloth across her forehead. "It is just me, Marlena." She tried to raise up to a sitting position, but Armegon held her down. "No," he warned, "you need to lay still and rest until your strength returns."

Marlena grasped his arm. "My baby," she started.

"It was too weak to survive. It died before I cut the umbilical cord," Armegon said gravely. "I am truly sorry."

"Couldn't Avery save it?"

Armegon looked away. "No," he answered. Even weakened, Marlena heard the stress in his voice.

"What has happened?" She demanded an answer from him.

Armegon just shook his head. "He is gone," he said quietly.

"Avery, dead?" Marlena could not believe her own words. "Are you sure? What happened? Did you see a body?"

Armegon reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Sleep," he commanded. Marlena went limp as the spell overcame her weakened psyche. Armegon covered her with a blanket and checked her pulse. He should not have told her about Avery being blown overboard during the storm until she was stronger.

When Marlena awoke again, she noticed that she was no longer on the ship. She was in a bed with clean linen and a window through which the light of a bright day shone through. Sitting at a table with his back to her was Armegon. He appeared to be studying a book.

Suddenly in a rush, the events of the storm came back to her. Her baby had died at birth. She felt sorrow, but it had not been a wanted pregnancy. The Oracle had said that the child would be great, apparently even it was fallible. The girl servant did say that it was one of many possible futures. But Avery's death was a different story.

"Armegon," she called softly. When he didn't answer, she got out of the bed. Her legs were still weak, but the rest of her body had recovered well enough to be up and around. Marlena suspected that Armegon had worked some of his own healing arts on her.

Marlena used the bed as a brace as she made her way to the table. Her legs grew stronger with every step. When she got to the desk, she smiled. Armegon was asleep. He had fallen asleep with his head propped up as he had been reading. The dark circles under his eyes and the hint of a beard indicated that a very long time had gone by since the storm.

Though still too weak to try to carry her caretaker to bed, Marlena settled for placing a pillow on the desk before him and placing his head on the pillow. Then, she draped a blanket across him and pulled a curtain across the window to keep the sunlight out. Finally, she dressed herself rummaged through Armegon's cloak, extracting a modest amount of money. "I will be back soon," she whispered to the sleeping halfelf as she closed the door gently behind her.

She discovered that Armegon had procured a room in a medium income tavern. As Marlena descended the stairs to the main floor, she passed several other patrons who paid her little notice. A large heavyset man wearing a leather apron approached her from the desk near the door.

"Well Mrs. Jaxon," he said with a smile. It is good to see you up and around.

Marlena stared at him blankly for a moment. Apparently, Armegon had made up a cover story. "Thank you, sir," she replied graciously. She may as well keep the act up. "Though I am still not feeling too well."

"Well I wouldn't imagine so," the eager innkeeper babbled. He made his hands busy by twisting a polishing cloth. "When your husband carried you in here he said that you had been injured in a storm out there on the desert. Now you mind what I am saying. I know halfelves make fine husbands and excellent navigators, but the glass desert is no place for a lady. You tell that husband of yours that he can't have his cake and eat it too. He can give up his sailing days on the desert and settle down like any respectable husband with a pretty young thing like you, if you don't mind my saying so. Either that or if you insist on sailing with him then I suggest you drag him to the north and hire him onto an ice boat. At least in the frozen oceans, there are not so many storms and they don't come up on you without warning."

Marlena listened to the innkeeper for a few minutes until the one-sided conversation moved on to the weather in the forest then to the lumber industry that was strong in Seron and how Seron was under the thumb of House Blackheart. It was pretty obvious that the innkeeper was not really talking to any one person but to anyone who would listen and about any subject he tended to drift unto.

Leaving the innkeeper with a friendly smile, Marlena stepped out of the inn to be greeted by a warm day. The two suns shone almost directly overhead and she could tell there had recently been a rainstorm. The ground was still wet, but the humidity was quite low. So, in spite of the heat, there was no hint of a muggy day to be felt.

Marlena noted the buildings and got her bearings so that she could find a way back to the inn, then she crossed the street and began looking into shop windows. After her recent adventure, she was badly in need of new clothing. She was thankful for Avery and Keeneye's efforts to alter her clothing as her condition required, but the constant ripping and reseaming had taken its toll and now her clothes looked a mess. Even if it put them in the poor house, she was not going to wear a set of maternity clothes a single day more.

Armegon awoke to the smell of cooked meat and flowers. He lifted his head and looked around to see Marlena tending to a potted plant. She was whispering to it in a language that sounded like a gentle breeze in the trees. Armegon stood and stretched his cramped legs. He had been sleeping at the table for a long time and his feet hurt miserably but other than that he felt much better.

"Good morning," Marlena called over her shoulder. "You slept all night long."

"When did you get up?" Armegon walked over to the window where Marlena was sitting.

"About noon yesterday." She placed the plant on the window sill. "You were asleep so I took some cash and got some supplies. There is breakfast on the counter."

Armegon walked over and inspected the food with genuine interest. "Where did you get the flower?"

"Oh, down the street. A store owner was going to throw it out because it was dying. It just needed a little caring for and sunshine."

"I suppose it told you so itself?"

Marlena smiled at him, "of course."

Armegon sampled the food and suddenly realized he was ravenously hungry. "How do you feel?" he asked between bites.

Marlena paused. "About what?"

"About your condition, the baby, the others."

"My condition is still a little shaky but I am getting better. My baby died. That is the way of nature. Like you said, it was too weak to survive."

"And the others?"

Marlena shut her eyes and swallowed. "They will be along eventually. All of them that is except Scarlet and Tyson."

"And Avery," Armegon added. It was better that this get dealt with now while they were somewhat safe.

"I had hoped that was just a dream," Marlena said distantly. "I am truly sorry," she said at last. "I know that he was a close friend of yours."

"He was a close friend to everyone," Armegon said quietly. He still had his doubts. Avery was a tough person. There was a good possibility that he survived the storm, but they could not wait for him. Time was against them and it may be necessary to leave him behind. It would be better if everyone thought he was dead. Who knew, he could very well be dead.

"Of course he was," Marlena said at last. "We must get on with our lives, though. We have lost almost half our number. We must not lose anymore." On a thought, she looked around briefly. "Where is Seymore?"

"In storage. There simply isn't enough room in here for us all and in his state nothing can harm him. Captain Zailya was so thankful for our saving her ship, she cut her price in half. That is why we are in this room instead of in the streets."