"What did you do to her?" Allia asked.

"I didn't tell you?" She shook her head. "Huh. I threw her into the bathing pool."

"So? That doesn't seem so frightening."

"He threw me into the hot end," she shuddered. "And threatened to kill me if I bothered him again."

Allia laughed. "Yes, I can see how that would be memorable. That water gets hot towards the far end."

"I think it boiled some of the fur off my tail," she said absently, bringing her tail around and stroking the fur meticulously. "Anyway, let's concentrate on ideas about how to solve these problems. And I think we should start making plans for leaving."

"Why?"

"A wise person always plans for the worst," she told them. "If the answers we get upset us that much, or we find out that they just wanted us to sacrifice us on some altar or something, we may decide that we like it better somewhere else. One thing that we should keep in mind is that, when we leave, the Tower will come after us. So we should learn everything we can about Sorcery. It may be useful."

"So, you're saying that for now, we should concentrate on Sorcery."

"More or less," she agreed. "We still have the problems to solve, though, so keep part of your mind on that problem. I have to go," she said quickly. "They'll be looking for me, and probably for you two as well. Give me about ten minutes, then you may want to drift out yourselves. I think we can set up another meeting relatively easily," she smiled.

He nodded. "Be careful, shaida," Allia told her.

"I'm always careful," she said quickly, then she flashed Allia and Tarrin that toothy grin. "Can I leave on my own, or do you want to boot me over the top this time?" she asked Tarrin.

Tarrin laughed. "I think you can find the way out," he told her.

"I'm so glad," she grinned, then she turned and threaded her way through the choking branches. Tarrin noticed that she did so without so much as shivering the leaves.

"An interesting woman," Allia said after she was gone. "She has a great deal of anger, and pain."

"I can imagine, growing up being afraid of your own sisters," he sighed. "I couldn't imagine Jenna trying to kill me."

"She's strong, though," Allia said, tapping her cheek with a long, delicate finger. "And full of surprises. She had me totally fooled."

"Yes, but I think she fools everyone, deshida. She had me fooled, until she slipped up."

"I think we're lucky that she trusts us with her secret, and that she agrees about what you had to say."

"I'm sorry I didn't discuss it with you first, my sister-"

"You didn't have time, my brother," she cut him off, putting her hand on his arm. "I realized that this is what you wanted to talk to me about. Well, you did so, with Keritanima here too."

Tarrin chuckled. "She certainly took us in hand," he said ruefully. "I almost feel used."

Allia laughed. "She was just taking command of a situation she could easily understand," she told him. "That, and no matter what she says, she is a Princess. Even the intelligent Keritanima is used to being obeyed. We may have to break her of that."

"Now that, I'll pay to see," Tarrin grinned at Allia.

"You may be doing the breaking," she pointed out.

"Then it won't cost me that much," he said. They waited in silence for a few moments. "Go ahead and drift out, my sister. I'm going to sneak out the other way."

"Alright. Be careful, deshaida."

"You too, deshida." Tarrin changed form, looked up at his now-gigantic friend, then slinked through the choking wall of branches and then wormed through a small hole in the shrub wall on the far side of the verdant passageway.

The night was a long one, surprisingly cold for so early in autumn, as Tarrin mulled over what Keritanima had to say. It was brief, but it made alot of sense. So did her request to slow things down. She had just gotten here, after all, and needed some time to settle in and get comfortable, but just knowing that she was going to be there to help was a tremendous relief. He felt much better about what he needed to do, knowing that she was very, very good at this kind of thing. After he woke up, some goodly time before dawn, he realized that nobody had told him what he was supposed to do. His injury the day before had cut him out of the rest of Sevren's lecture and tour, and had probably ended it outright, but he hadn't been told where to be today. He decided that asking Master Brel where he was supposed to go at sunrise.

He and Allia were up well before dawn, and after a long bath, they handled breakfast. Allia didn't know where he was supposed to go either, for she was supposed to meet a Mistress Jandi at a tutoring room in the main Tower, one of the places that Tarrin didn't see. They parted in the Initiate's dining room, and Tarrin returned to the North Tower to ask Master Brel what he was supposed to do.

As he reached the door of the Master of Initiates, a familiar scent touched his nose. It was Dolanna, and it was only minutes old. He quickly followed the trail, turned a corner, and found the diminutive, dark-haired woman standing calmly in front of his door. She wore a simple blue dress of heavy silk, protection against the biting chill of the morning, and a wool cloak of a similar blue. Her hair was done up in a series of curling loops that hung from the back of her head, from a silver coronet-like adornment. Her dark eyes were warm and friendly as she saw him turn the corner, and she raised a hand to him with a smile. "Tarrin," she said warmly as Tarrin smiled and took her small hand. "I heard about your battle yesterday. Are you well?"

"I'm fine, Dolanna," he told her. "Are you here to see me?"

She nodded with a smile. "Yes, today is your first day of instruction," she told him. "For obvious reasons, they decided that I would be the best to begin your education."

"Well, I'm so glad that they worry about my well being," he said dryly. "Would you like to come in?"

"No, we will go to the tutoring rooms," she told him. "Come with me."

They spoke in low tones as they travelled from his room to the main Tower, as Dolanna inquired about his time away from the Tower, and how he felt after his fight the day before. She didn't speak of anything important, but the calm, cool looks she gave him, which were somewhat out of her character, convinced him that she knew that they were being watched. He played along with her, being polite and using the proper terms of respect, even though his warm smile told her that he didn't feel any differently to her than he did before he got to the Tower. In many ways, Dolanna had saved his life, over and over. He had a very special affection for the small dark-haired woman, thinking of her almost as a mother, and he was one of only three people in the Tower he trusted with his life.

The room she led him to was a very small one, that was not illuminated with a glowglobe. Instead, three candles burned in a small candelabra that stood on a small table on the far side of the room. Before it stood a small table and two chairs, each facing the other. The dim confines of the room were a stark contrast to most of the rest of the Tower, which was known for its bright glowglobes and large rooms. There was no carpet on the stone floor, nor were there any decorations covering the slate-gray stone of the walls. "Sit down," she told him as she closed the door. He did so, and she took the seat on the far side of the table. She affixed him with a warm smile. "Now then, I am certain that you are wondering why you will learn in a room like this," she smiled.

"I did notice that this place is a bit different," he said.

"There are reasons. The glowglobes tend to distract Initiates as they practice, and the room has nothing in it other than what needs to be here. That prevents accidents. Remember when I declined to teach you about Sorcery as we travelled?" He nodded. "I did that because it was necessary. We do not allow those with the Gift to come here with any sort of prior knowledge, because your first impressions of your power are very, very important. You must be allowed to explore your connection to the Weave in a way that lets you form your own opinions, else you will always be shackled by your own preconceptions."