Ideas

Roland's eyes shined as he looked at Finn. He couldn't get his fill of gazing at her, and she was especially fascinating as her mind worked on a problem. He could almost see the thoughts behind her expressions.

"The Sorcerer's Will," She mused, "There are a couple of mentions of sorcerers I've come across. One was mentioned in a myth about how the different nonhuman races were formed, which so far has been entirely accurate, and another was in the history volume detailing how Klain was founded. He helped drive out the Rhone by gathering herbs and making the city disappear, then reappear on top of the rubble."

"Were they the same sorcerer?" Mayra asked.

"I'm not sure. Jimmy mentioned something about a sorcerer or sorcerers, didn't he?" Finn turned to her friend, hoping she'd retained that information.

"Yes, he did. When we get out of here we should go ask him about it," Mayra looked pointedly at Roland, who threw her a half-smile as a reply.

"The Sorcerer's Will is what the Fae seek. It was mentioned in the myth and Gwen alluded to it as well. The best way to find out what that will is might be to ask her? But she doesn't like answering direct questions about truly important things. Something about interfering with the will." Finn continued thinking out loud as if Mayra hadn't spoken.

"Can you talk to her?" Roland's eyebrows rose.

"She's supposed to meet us here," Finn sighed. "At least, that was the plan. She said to go ahead of her and get to the city and she would come later with everything. Gwen! Fae! If you're listening, which I strongly suspect you are, please speed it up a little bit, if you can!"

Roland opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. Maybe Finn had been in jail a little too long. She seemed a bit scattered.

"What is it she's going to meet you for?" He asked.

"It won't matter if she doesn't get here," Mayra threw her hands up in exasperation.

"I realize patience is not your strong suit, my dear, but you could try to work on that if you wanted," The grey-haired subject of their conversation stepped through a doorway of light into the jail cell with them. "Hello again, Roland. Or do you prefer Derek?"

The question gave Finn momentary pause, and she looked at the man she loved, waiting for his response.

"Please call me Roland," He said.

"Where have you been? We've been jailed here for days!" Mayra complained.

"Good things come to those who wait," Gwen chastised the girl.

"We have waited," Finn said slowly, "Were you able to get everything?"

"What is 'everything'?" Roland interjected.

"Finn asked the Fae to make something magic just for her," Mayra explained as Gwen handed a satchel to Finn. "It took them a while to get the ingredients and make it, hence the delay. Apparently it's not something they keep in stock at the Fae general store."

"We do not have need of stores, or stock," Gwen gave Mayra a longsuffering look. "But we have gotten this for you. Is there anything else you need help with?"

"What is the sorcerer's will?" Mayra asked abruptly, causing Gwen to stare at her as one might stare at a child who asks a philosophical question far beyond their capability to comprehend the answer.

"The Fae seek it. The Sorcerer's Will is the way the world should, and does, move." Gwen gave a perfectly succinct truthful non-answer.

Finn handed Gwen the piece of paper Roland had written the prophecy on. "Gwen, if you would be so kind, we are having some trouble properly interpreting this prophecy. As you probably know, the Rhone are ready to completely destroy this city to break their curse, and we would like to help them find a better way."

She gave a winsome smile, hoping that the talk of helping others and saving lives would be enough to convince the Fae that help was not only needed, but mandatory.

"I see." Gwen said. "The prophecy speaks for itself. They must destroy what keeps them from seeking the Sorcerer's will."

"Which is...?" Mayra led in impatience.

"Many things can inhibit someone from seeking what is right. The human heart is the biggest obstacle in that regard, but there are others."

"They have to destroy their hearts?" Mayra asked in alarm.

"Child." Gwen closed her eyes. "It is a metaphor. The heart holds many things. Hatred, trauma, sadness, darkness, ties to the past that must be let go. It is the negative things the heart clings to that must be destroyed for a curse to be left behind."

"And the rejoining roots of old, under the mountain's keep, is that a metaphor too?" Roland asked, "Titania has taken it rather literally."

Gwen smiled patiently. "It is part metaphor, part literal. I'm afraid much of this is for you to work out yourselves, as people. Fae are not to overly interfere in large matters such as these. Our branch of the family tree was detached long ago."

"So were the halflings, but they're very much involved and interfering." Mayra put in. "Also, can you help us get out of jail?"

Finn gestured for Mayra to calm down a little bit, but the younger woman ignored her. Gwen took Mayra's hand in one of hers and patted her on the head.

"What would you do if I did?" She asked in the face of Mayra's petulant stare. "Ah, I see. And you think that would be a good use of my power, and your efforts?" Mayra's face scrunched further.

"Fine," Mayra finally said. "We'll stay here until Riley can free us the old fashioned way."

"We're hoping that can be tomorrow," Roland said. "The General intends to confront the Provider in the Council meeting. He's been preparing for this for days, so Hopefully will be successful in the quest. He's using Riley as a reporting agent on Lysander's treachery, with me in the background only to reveal myself if absolutely necessary to prove he's a traitor. Not that it's entirely true, but the truth is a bit too strange to be believable."

"What does that mean?" Finn asked. Everything he'd said made total sense and lined up with everything she had learned. Why would he say it wasn't true?

Roland quickly explained the relevant parts of his discovery of Titania's powers and the Provider's history of treachery, ending with his replacement by one of the queen's spies. He left out some of the parts he was a little fuzzy on. He wanted to be cut and dry on his statements, with nothing left up to interpretation, so far as that was in his control.

Finn absorbed this information and spun on Gwen, "Would this work?" she gestured at the satchel.

Gwen pursed her lips, considering Finn's thoughts as they occurred to her.

"As we discussed, the effect would be temporary for your design. It would not last... well, yes, you could do that instead, but then you would not have enough left for your other purposes." She paused as Finn thought again at her, "Yes, I think so, but I'm not sure how long that would take."

"Excellent, thank you Gwen."

Roland's eyes darted between the two. Their half-spoken, half-thought conversation was beyond what he could easily follow.

"Do you have a little bag, maybe a coin purse?" Finn asked. Roland produced one from inside his sandy-colored uniform.

Finn took it and quickly filled it with a small amount of the mixture from her satchel.

"The guard would definitely notice if you left in the morning with a large pack you didn't come in with, but this won't raise any suspicions." Finn relayed what the mixture was and its purpose, then confirmed with Gwen its usage in the way she planned. "Don't use it unless you absolutely have to. It's important that we have enough."

"You had the chance to ask the Fae for anything, and you asked for this?" Roland was not condemning, just a bit curious about Finn's logic.

"It's the best possible thing for Klain to have. Not at all dangerous, but helpful in the extreme." She explained.

"I suppose there's no argument with those points," Roland conceded, but he still would have liked some sort of very flashy power, like the ability to throw fireballs, or strike people unconscious, or make giant, defensive spikes grow out of the ground.

"I must go soon," Gwen said suddenly, a faraway look on her face. Finn wondered what seemed to be calling her away. "Good luck, and I'm listening. I will work on more, but I cannot guarantee I can acquire it in time." She clapped her hands and stepped through the portal to her own world.

"I wish we could go," Mayra whined. "Faeland is a million times better than this dank jail."

"Get some sleep, Mayra, you're tired." Finn smiled. The younger girl's voice had a tendency to range into shrill tones when she was lacking in rest. It was doing so now.

"Fine, Mother, I'll get right on that." Mayra rolled her eyes, but went to her bunk and climbed under the thin blanket that had been provided. After laying still a few moments, she turned on her side so that her back was to the remaining people, and curled in on herself like a young infant. Finn looked on her with a little pity and some sisterly affection.

Finn turned back to Roland, still smiling about Mayra's childlike attitude, when his very serious blue eyes drove out every thought that had ever entered her head.