24

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr sat taking in the cool evening air in the gardens of the House of Healing. He had found, since Lyrena left, that he could move about without getting dizzy, albeit he continued to be cautious about exerting himself too much. But the note from the King meant that the time for rest was over. There was only a narrow window now and he could not afford to miss it. He looked out at the Bay of Viir'Nais sparkling in the moonlight and tried to enjoy the tranquillity of the garden. But the need to act was too urgent now. He needed to speak to Silmariel and then to move.

:: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith was rather serendipitously here for the same reason, though it was entirely possible he hadn't noticed. The Lady could be spookily quiet when she wanted to be. So it may have been a surprise when he heard her voice behind him. "It is good to see you up and about, Iskrin."

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr was drawn out of his thoughts by a familiar voice. He turned, knowing who he would see and smiled. "Lady Silmariel," he said warmly. "Sometimes I believe you may in fact be prescient." He gestured to the bench next to him, suppressing much of the urgency and excitement he felt, aware that the Lady's mood might yet be bitter, given that she too had been inconvenienced by his actions relating to Ke'ntor. "Won't you sit? There is much to discuss."

:: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith nodded, though before she could move to the bench, she heard rustling behind her, of the decidedly less sneaky Master An'Dorel crossing the lawn, no doubt wanting to check on his patient. She fixed him with a look; a firmness in her voice. "Leave us; I would have privacy. We won't be long."

The healer hesitated, though the Lady's expression brooked no protest, and he simply bowed slightly and withdrew for now. With that she moved to the bench. "You and your sword have caused me no end of irritation of late, I will note. Lyrena gave it to Malekith, and Malekith presumably wants to send it back to the High King, and both of them have been very annoying. Wanting to be informed of things and this and that." She sighed, and it was pretty clear she had little patience for much of this - a sentiment the AmranKai could probably sympathize with.

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr chuckled. "Isn't it always so when the children have a little bit of power to play with?" he asked, a wry smile on his lips. "You will accept, I am sure, my sincere apologies for the irritation to you. And yet, a window has still opened for us that I now seek your help with. I confess that my own pride - perhaps with some stroking from Ke'ntor - kept me from seeking you out sooner. And yet here we are." He met her glowing eyes with his own grey ones, earnestness shining in them. "The King will lend me the sword for 24 hours. In that time, if you can make it safe for me to wield, I may keep it. If not, it will be returned to the High King." He smiled. "I'm told you had some sort of deal with Skolvor? If we can rescue that too, so much the better."

:: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith looked incredulous. "He's going to give it -back- to you? What fresh sorcery did you work on him? When we spoke, he was positively enraged by the whole affair."

She pondered this news a moment. "That timeline will... complicate things. Considerably. But I may be able to work with it. I suppose I can catch up on sleep later."

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr gave a humble smile. "I said nothing to him. He sent me a note." He tapped the pocket of his dressing gown. "I do not know why he has changed his mind, but I will not question good fortune when she comes knocking." He looked out at the bay in thought. "As to sleep - I have had far to much of it these past days. So you and I will balance out in the end. The question is, can you do it? I am aware that Ezri must have spoken to you and primed you for me asking for your aid. Well, here I am, somewhat belatedly, asking for it. I am aware it is a great boon I seek of you, and yet I hope our long history, mutual regard and useful alliance may sway your graciousness in my favour."

:: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith shrugged. "Well I have the arrangement with Skolvor still, and fulfilling that will be of considerable benefit to me, especially if the plan plays out in full as I hope. Obviously I cannot give both you and him the Sword of Askamran," she said. "But I have a solution for that, I believe. And Ezri and I spoke, yes, and our friendship goes back even further." He had figured that out, of course, clever boy; Silmariel made no mention of the boon promised her by the old Seeker, though, as Ezri had asked. "Plus it'll also be nice to make sure that our king is not murdered by a demon wearing you as a skinsuit. I believe I can render Ke'ntor.... well, Ke'ntor will never be -safe-, but I can make him effectively harmless."

/2/me smiled, but hid the incredible amount of relief he felt. He liked to imagine the relief was because it meant he could wield the sword and the city would be safer for it. But deep down, he knew the relief was because it meant he could wield the sword. Period. He assumed that Silmariel had an idea about the addiction of Ke'ntor and that she was well aware she would be enabling him. But he was not going to speak it out loud and knew her well enough to know she wouldn't either. Though he did know she'd file the knowledge away in her vault for safe keeping. "Good," he said simply. "That is very good news." He tapped the pocket again. "I am to retrieve Ke'ntor before the moon sets. Where shall I meet you, Lady Silmariel?"

:: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith pondered this. "Come out to Summerhall once you have it. I will need to prepare. Unfortunately the sword you'll ultimately be getting will not be quite up to my usual aesthetic standards of craftsmanship, given the tight deadline, but it will be functional, and the enchantments will be safe."

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr nodded. "I have not been to Summerhall in many years," he said. "But I recall the way." He shrugged at her mention of the hilt. "You know my tastes tend toward the functional, Lady Silmariel. I appreciate the concession you are making against your own high sense of aesthetic though - thank you. I will be with you before the dawn."

:: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith nodded. "Before you go, I will need to know all of the command words relating to the sword, and what you want the new ones to be, if different. Otherwise I'm liable to make you shout 'Glory to the mighty Lady Silmariel, Light of Lights' every time you ignite the blade." She grinned at him.

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr took a deep breath. The sword placed a strong resistance in its wielders to sharing the words that commanded it, preferring to disclose them personally to its next victim. "The word to dismiss the blade is Veshz," he said, finding that one easier to tell her. Then, after a moment of deep breathing, he said: "Hashk... that's the word that summons the blade." He collapsed a little onto the bench, panting slightly. Once he'd recovered himself a little, he looked up and smiled. "I think for the new words, perhaps something similar, mighty Lady Silmariel, don't you think? My preference would be two words from my family's motto: Vitum - to summon the blade, and Ashin, to dismiss it. Would that work?"

:: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith smiled. "I think them very appropriate. So shall it be. And I appreciate your trust, Iskrin. I know it was difficult to disclose the words; that is an important step. And would be needed in any case to do what needs be done."

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr nodded. "I have placed myself in your hands, Lady Silmariel," he said gravely. "I know you know what that means for me. And I know you know that there are only three people in the world whose hands I would place myself in. I am grateful to you beyond measure for your aid this night."

:: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith pondered a moment, then continued. "There is one other thing," she said. "Like I said, Ke'ntor cannot be made -safe-, I can only minimize the harm. There will always be an addictive quality to this weapon no matter what I do with it. Therefore before I proceed I need to know that you will use it only at direst need. And should you lose yourself to it as you did the other day, I will take it from you myself, and destroy it. That is my promise to you, and you know well that I keep my promises."

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr "I know this," he said. "Getting the sword back... I was like a drunkard finding himself swimming in a pool of mead. I have drunk my fill now, Silmariel. Ke'ntor - or whatever he will be once you are done - will be kept safely and used only when giant fucking suns threaten our city. Or their equivalent, if you get my meaning." He smiled. "You have both faced and can imagine the other sorts of threats I have in mind. I will not carry the sword from day to day. And if you see me wearing it and no demi-God is present to feel its bite, then I ask you to take it from me by force and..." he couldn't quite bring himself to say destroy it, so he finished: "put things right."

: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith nodded. "Good. I will do exactly that. And it warms my heart that you are -asking- me to do it, rather than simply nodding reluctantly." She rose from the bench. "I will prepare the new hilts," she answered, "I'll see you in the morning."

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr stood with her, pleased to find his legs were still reliable. "I will go and dress," he said. "Thank you and see you soon."

:: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith nodded. "And please convey my apologies to Master An'dorel. The way he scuttled off I think I may have made him wet his robes."

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr laughed. "I think he will be extremely grateful when I am gone. I will pass on your apologies, of course."

:: Lady Silmariel Quel'silith laughed with him. "Have a lovely evening, First Estril," she said, before gliding off again through the grass, and over the bridge.