Day 80 of the siege. Ardis' outskirts.

After a demanding week (exactly the length of time that Resna had predicted earlier), and having successfully eluded or dealt with virtually all of Arenda's persistent mounted scouts, the unlikely pair had finally found their way out of the dense Mirdas Forest--hoping that their provisions would be replenished in the town they were headed to. That, or a quick and secret demise at the hands of those they would pledge to protect.

"Oi, Resna..." Senna panted from the sweltering day despite the forest's canopies, "got any water left?"

She snatched the last of their shared provisions, a tied satchel of water, out of the air; feeling its lightness. In all likelihood, it was already half-empty if not less.

"Sure you don't want some? You're the agent after all."

"Take it," he replied airily. "You can always find another agent should I fail, now, can't you, dear?"

Senna didn't find it in her to banter, mumbled a thank-you, and after a prayer took three small sips before allowing the satchel to slide down to the ground, trampled by her steed's hind-legs and soon forgotten.

That was all.

"Great," the agent commented. "Now let's hope the Ardisians still hold true to their oaths."

"They must," came the grunt, "or we can forget about a united Hospodia."

"You know, Senna, sometimes I find it in me to be surprised at your determination--or stubbornness--to continue fighting for that House's cause, even at the risk of your very life. As if there is something more... personal at stake here."

"What do you know, spy?" She urged her mount to a brisk trot. "I am an officer in its army. Soldiers obey, not argue... quite unlike your lot who flirt, bribe and sometimes shed blood for information, not to mention pay lip-service to the winning side."

He reined to keep up. "And yet without the considerable aid of my lot, if it's that, military campaigns--in some of which you took part--would arguably be harder to conclude. Wouldn't you say?"

"I suppose I could thank you for that much."

"Now, now, is this how you regard me having come this far, when there's very slim chance of turning back? Is this what your friendship amounts to?"

"Don't get me wrong!" Senna snapped. "I only want to have somewhere peaceful, united and prosperous to settle in, wed, have children... and if I have to struggle for it, so darn well be it!"

"Oft-times the sole thought of every agent on duty, do you know?" Resna murmured in so stoic a tone that his companion turned to look at him. "We spies, much like you soldiers, are sent to enemy territories with our own resources. We, like you, have to contend with the weather, the places, the feelings... but while you'll be buried with honor the moment you fall, or soon after it, we would in all likelihood be shrugged off, denied as even existing, earning less than a footnote in the mention of your 'glorious' history of a House; our intricate labors be damned. For that much you can only offer us thanks, you said, and yet you dare accuse me of paying lip-service?! Open the heck up, wench!"

Senna sighed heavily after reining for a halt. "Alright... my bad. Let's not make the task ahead more difficult, shall we?"

Resna kept his glowering silence.

"We can rest here, if you want," she tried again.

"To what point? It's not like we can hunt anything here."

"Then we must continue... but are you coming with me?"

At length, he nodded. "Got a family waiting in the beasts' lair, what can I say?"

Senna followed him in apologetic silence up to Ardis' entrance. Due to its being a town, it had no gate but with a pair of guards who, at their sight, judged them to be weary travelers and simply waved them in.

"Tough ride, lady?" one of them shouted in Senna's direction.

"Empty purses, empty satchels, empty bellies. What do you call it?"

The pair decided to drop by at the nearest inn, known locally as the 'Three Streaks'. It appeared to be frequented by the sullen type of visitors. The bartender, a girl in simple farm clothes, was quick to approach them.

"Welcome. What would you have?"

"Anything you'd provide to ones with zero coin," Senna responded glumly.

"Oh my. Another set of raid victims?"

"Are you going to give us refreshments now?"

The girl smiled sheepishly. "A thousand pardons, lady. Travels around here are regrettably likely to result in moods such as yours. We could feed and clean your mounts, provide you with some wheat bread just to stave off hunger... but not rooms. Sorry."

Resna blinked. "You provide bread for no cost?"

"Why not? It's the custom here, if you like. A moment please." The girl started to go back to see to their needs.

"Can we go see the mayor?" Senna inquired.

"Why, yes. Do you have something to petition? His working hours are until after the afternoon prayer. I can show you the way if you like."

It was scarcely midday. "Many thanks."

"Glad to help."

"So?" Resna asked his companion with a raised eyebrow when the bartender was well out of earshot. "First impressions of Ardis. Like it?"

"So-so. The girl seems friendly enough. Now to see the mayor and see what he has to offer."

"Sort-of striking that she didn't bother to ask why strangers like us would head to the mayor's place just like that, don't you think?"

"Oh, now that you said it... she even asked if we have anything to petition like it was nothing. Are they that blind to whatever's happening to their north... or is there something fishy here?"

"To know that, you'd want to ask someone higher than a bartender. A woodcutter, say. That's their primary occupation, if your information back then is reliable."

"Hope it still is," Senna sighed. "It's been days since that meeting. Things change."

***

Considerably refreshed after their simple meal and the prayer--for despite its modest size the tavern had a separate place for such needs--and while waiting for their mounts to be scrubbed clean of the long journey's dusts, the pair proceeded with their next move: gauge the mayor's loyalty.

True to her promise, the bartender--Ruwaida--showed the way by guiding them there herself, reasoning that she could do with a short break and fresh outside air for a change. On the way she went so far as to tell the strangers the mayor's name, Rahman; who, true to the meaning of his name, had shown considerable fairness and compassion throughout his term.

As it happened, the mayor did not have too many visitors for that day. The new guests, mistaken by the mayoral guards to be a married couple, were told to enter through separate paths and wait in separate anterooms. To this Senna grumbled but dared not protest, and her 'spouse' chuckled.

She even managed to throw a deadly 'Enjoying this?' glare in his direction.

The anteroom in which she waited, Senna noted mentally, was painted in white and not very spacious. Only long oaken benches decorated it, with torch-niches at regular intervals. A slim red-veiled female attendant with a staff beneath cupped palms stared impassively at her and three other petitioners; Senna somehow got the impression that talking to her, even to chat, would mean going against the rules.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Senna rose to the attendant's staff gesturing at her, and soon found herself in Rahman's presence. Resna too was there and, rather ominously, had lost his earlier casual smile.

***

Ardis' mayor, a well-built man with a profuse black beard and kindly hazel eyes, looked up at them and appeared to smile beneath his equally black moustache.

"Welcome to our humble abode," he commenced, standing up. "I am told you are travelers currently low on provisions wishing to lodge complaints. As mayor of this town, it is part of my responsibility to accept and consider them. How may I be of assistance?"

The pair kept their silence for some time, unsure of who may or may not speak first.

"Ah," Rahman continued, "that reminds me. Is it true that you are man and wife?"

"No, sir," Resna spoke up. "Sadly, our present relations have not reached that degree yet."

The mayor frowned. "You are not man and wife? Then, are you siblings, perchance?"

"No, sir," this time it was Senna who replied, somewhat disdainfully.

"Neither man and wife, nor siblings," Rahman returned somberly. "How, then, are you related, to allow your traveling together with no other escorts to speak of?"

Senna looked up. Go big or go back, so be it... and there's no going back. "Have you perchance heard about a House, sir, named Hospodia?"

"Yes," came the cautious reply, "a House in distress, many say. Might I ask, what relations do this have with your present visit?"

Thus prompted, Senna narrated her flight from Elbar through the Sarsan Strait to Balaras to reunite with her 'friend'. From there, having learned that Balaras too was subject to incessant raids, they fled again all the way to Rahman's 'abode'.

"So yes, in a sense, we are travelers in distress," she concluded, "but more than that, I was an active officer in that House's army and this 'friend' is an agent, also in its service. That, Mayor, is the kind of justice we hope you'd be kind enough to help accomplish: return us to Hospodia. Please?"

It took some time for Rahman to take in the implied message. At length, he nodded.

"Very well." He resumed his seat. "In that case, lady, I'm afraid this is not something we can discuss during my working hours. Formally, I shall regard you as having come to seek compensation for your lost provisions, which shall be immediately seen to. For the other aspect... you both are invited to my residence tomorrow. Please undertake to come separately in half-an-hour intervals. If asked, play the compensation card."

Having given his residential address in a scrap of paper to Senna, instructions on how to signal their arrivals, and some money to get by for the present, Rahman sent the peculiar petitioners on their way with thanks.