A wise man collects wisdom and holds on to it with greed. A fool collects all other things and is equally enthralled with hording them.

Dwarven Proverb

"All right. You got something to say? Let's hear it?" With a firm casualness, Reane reclined against the coarse bark of an elderly oak tree deep in the woods and far off the nearest well traveled road.

"Is all dis really necessary?" A tight, protective formation of Fimmirran soldiers surrounded her and Civn, swords at the ready. Remaining beyond the armored wall, Ittan, Sayra, Brentai, Anthony, and Sheala were only observers to the conversation.

"Considering you're working with the Imperials?" Reane folded her arms. "Yes."

"OK, OK," Civn put his hands up, accepting her perception as a reasonable objection to her not outright trusting him. "Look, cap'in, Civn know we've had our differences in da past. But Civn don't care one bit about de Empire. You know dat. Civn just want back what belong ta Civn."

"I don't know what you're talking about. We certainly don't have anything that belongs to you."

"Ya do. Ya just don't know it." He motioned in what seemed like a general and non-descriptive way. "Dat right dere."

Using only that general statement wasn't enough for clarification. Reane needed to pick up on some unspoken clues and grab some additional insight from his thoughts in order to piece together what he was referring to. "This?" She held up the finger upon which was nestled the emerald band, the one she had acquired during their previous encounter at the Red Moose. "You're serious? All this for a ring? Last I remember, you lost this in our game of Banar."

"Civn's mistake. Civn got greedy. Civn ask that ya please give it back ta Civn."

It was at that point when Reane was able to start piecing together the thoughts from her counterpart's mind that would help fill in the blanks. The ring was special to him, and to someone else; someone who had passed on. A woman, and one Civn cared about deeply. More deeply than anything, in fact.

"Who did it belong to?" Reane asked. When she noticed how Civn balked at answering, she added, "If you want it back, the first thing you'll do is tell me."

The next breath out of Civn exited as little more than a snort. "Serrah. Civn's wife. Serrah died nine years ago."

Reane removed the ring from her finger out of respect and now understanding its significance, but still held on to it. Focused on the gemstone band, the seer searched the memories imprinted upon it, gathering up what further information she could. Objects, especially those of a personal nature, were often repositories for the emotions of those they once belonged to. What she sensed was love, deep and abiding.

"It was a violent death?" Reane didn't actually need the answer; she already comprehended the basics.

"Serrah did not die comfortably, nor peacefully. And Civn barely escaped." Civn held up his sleeved arm with the fisted glove. Drawing off the covering, he revealed a hand that resembled something more like a lump of the same emerald the ring was made of than flesh and blood. Slowly, to astonished gasps, he flexed the fingers to show everyone present that they could indeed move. "Please, Reane, it all Civn have left of Serrah."

"One condition."

"Equitable?"

"I think so," Reane said, tossing the ring to Civn before even stating her request or getting his approval. "Stop following us. Stop helping the Empire find us."

Civn held the band in his normal hand lovingly and with a care that seemed completely out of his character. "Done." He looked up with his acceptance. "But know dis. De Empire will not stop lookin' fer ya."

"I'm sure of that, considering all that we've done."

"No, not because of dat alone. But because of who she is." Civn pointed to Sheala with his crystalline hand.

"Yeah, yeah," Sheala dismissed his statements with a wave. "Child of the Storm. Fimmirran Ambassador. We get all—"

"No," Civn cut her flippant response short. "Because of who yer sista is."

"Wait? What? My sister?" She started forward, Brentai reaching to hold her back. "Don't touch me!" Swatting him away, Sheala then returned to addressing Civn. "What do you know about my sister?"

Now it was Reane's turn to try and interject herself into the conversation, sensing the direction this was going. "This might not be—"

"Shut up, Reane! I knew you knew something you weren't telling me. So I want to hear what Civn has to say."

With calmness, he started returning the glove to his deformed hand one finger at a time. "Yer sista sent Civn ta search fer ya. Ta bring ya back."

"Back where?"

"Ta her, ta da Empire, and ta Lord Hedric."

"Wait, are you saying my sister is part of the Empire?"

"Dat exactly what Civn sayin'. And not just some small part of da Empire, but da leader of de army. General Nightwing... General Cassandra Nightwing."

"What? No." Legs weakening, Sheala initially accepted Brentai's help to remain standing. But, once she realized what was happening, she again pushed him away and recovered from her moment of weakness. "You're lying." She leveled those words at Civn with the force of the storm itself, her blade from the cuff of her sleeve out and ready as she stormed towards him. "Tell me you're lying, and I might just not kill you."

Not one of the guards tried to stop her, the fury in her eyes holding them at bay.

Civn did not move either, not so much as even a flinch as she drew it up and prepared to strike at him and his smug, impassive expression. "Killin' Civn won't chage da truth."

"Liar!" Yet, when Sheala went to push the blade home, it would not move. Nothing would. She was frozen in place; a statue of living and breathing flesh.

"That's enough." Reane's admonishment drew all eyes away from the confrontation and onto her. All except for Sheala's, which couldn't turn if she'd have wanted them to.

Reaching out, Civn poked at Sheala in her current state of incapacitation. "Dat a good trick too," he said with a smile. "Even betta than yer disappearin' trick back in Yuval."

"Well," Reane shrugged. "Not one I wanted you to get wise too, I assure you. But since you didn't seem interested in defending yourself, I figured I had to."

"Yer one of dem seers, aren't ya?"

"My mother was a seer." With a dismissive shake of her head, the next words came out of Reane's mouth with a bit of reluctance attached to them. "I'm just a pirate and a smuggler; someone trying to navigate as best I can through this life I've been given." Then she wedged her way between Sheala and Civn to address her friend while looking her square in the eyes. *If I let you go, will you put that knife down?*

*Reane, I'll kill him* Sheala shot back without her lips moving. *He's not going to sit there and tell lies about my sister.*

*They're not lies, Sheala. It's the truth. Your sister? She's not a good person. And she is the general of Lord Hedric's armies. I can confirm that much.*

The growl emanating from Sheala's throat was the only worldly sound the thief could muster. *You knew? And you didn't think to tell me?*

Reane looked off. No one was moving to halt their now private conversation. *I only realized it that day on the Oracle when she came looking for Anthony. Before that, I always thought the visions were of you falling to darkness, dooming the world. I learned differently once I was close enough to touch Cassandra's mind.*

*Why didn't you tell me?* The tone in her mental voice was spiked through with a combination of sorrow and rage. *You knew, and you didn't tell me?*

*I didn't know how, or even if, I should.*

*Don't play these games with me!* Sheala's arm flinched a bit, but remained otherwise still, struggling fruitlessly against the hold Reane maintained on her. This wasn't the first time, but never-the-less, Sheala felt certain she could muster the will to break free of it by harnessing the rage swelling inside her.

*I'm not playing games, Sheala. In my visions, I saw that if you were to learn of your sister and what became of her, that you would go with her. You would join with her.*

*You know I would never do that. I'm not a monster. I don't care about the Empire. Especially now that I know the truth about them murdering our parents. Cassandra must be told the truth.*

*No, but you do care about your sister. Sheala, your temper and your emotions have always ruled you. You need to trust me when I say that, if I had told you, or allowed your sister even the opportunity to tempt you, it would have been bad for the world.*

With another attempt, Sheala's arm wavered a bit further, but still she failed to end the paralysis draped over her. *I need to be allowed to make my own decisions, Reane. You keep preventing me from having the right to be free to choose.*

*Do you want to know what your choice would have led to? Do you really?* When Sheala's voice didn't reply in Reane's mind, the seer continued. *Do you really want to know that Brentai would be dead right now, and that you were the one that would have killed him for trying to come between you and your sister?* Reane clearly saw how Sheala attempted to strain her eyes to lay them upon her first mate and the man that she was busy trying to convince everyone, including herself, she didn't still love. *And that's not the worst of it.*

*I can't believe you did this to me.*

*Look, Sheala, realize that with a thought of my own, I could wipe the memory of this entire conversation from your mind. Like it never even happened.*

*Don't you dare.* The threatening tone of Sheala's ethereal voice was not something to be downplayed. *Don't you dare take this from me. Not now that I know where my sister is.*

*I'm not planning on it. But I am concerned about what you're going to do with this knowledge.*

*I have to go after my sister, that's what I'm going to do.*

*And if you do that? The world dies. The only hope to avoid that fate is to continue on this current path. Find the Mount of Carnak, the shrine, and the Tear.*

The pleading of Sheala's thoughts was so intense, Reane could see it in her eyes even without needing to feel the hurt as her friend's response came to her. *You're asking me to abandon my sister?*

*No. I'm asking you for patience, Sheala. Do you want your sister back?*

*More than anything.*

*Then your best chance to achieve that goal is to play this whole story out. Cassandra has to be at the Mount of Carnak for the Tear to be recovered. So, that's where we go. And she'll be waiting for you.*

*I swear, Reane, if you're lying to me.*

*I'm not lying to you.*

*How do I know?*

*You have to trust me.*