Thilos no longer looked quite as stunned. In fact, he was starting to look determined. “I will do it, Pleneth, especially since you made it sound like Imprid, Dirk and Padral will also be returning to Ansdron. With their help, I believe I can do what is needed.”

Pleneth let out the breath he had been holding in while he waited for Thilos’ answer. “That is a great relief. As you know, we have not had word from Ansdron’s warders in over two months. I will be sending a sizeable contingent with you to help you ensure that Ansdron falls neither to the followers of Drantor, the Destroyer, or the Kathaldi.” Drantor the Destroyer. It sounds like a name a gladiator uses to intimidate his opponents. Enik used ‘Enik the Bloodthirsty.’ Good old Enik.

Pleneth took a small sip of his newly delivered tea before turning to Padral. “Young man, as one of the few human mages we can trust are not Kathaldi, you will have your own set of tasks. I will be sending a group of elvish mages with you, including several apprentices. Your main job will be to help protect Ansdron from the drants, but your less public role will be to assist in rooting out as many Kathaldi as possible… and then destroying them.” Padral nodded somberly but seemed to like the idea of killing himself some Kathaldi. He obviously hadn’t forgotten that they had killed his brother. He’s kind of a grudge holder.

“Imprid, you will be helping each of your friends accomplish their own goals, both as their friend and as a liaison with your new elvish companions. Your goals will be to keep all of your company, both old and new, alive, and to see them succeed in as many of their endeavors as is possible. I hope you will not be offended at a role in the background, but I am hoping our enemies will severely underestimate you.”

She nodded. “After all, I am just Thilos’ girlfriend.” Her fake besotted smile was kind of unsettling, having seen her fight.

Not to Thilos, of course. “The perfect cover!” he said, and gave a big hug. Sickening, those two.

After another sip of tea, Pleneth finally turned to me. “And now it comes to you, Dirk. I have given much thought to you this morning. At first, I thought your tasks would be similar to those of Imprid. Support the group and keep everyone else alive. Well, at least as many as you could. I have no illusions about how deadly our enemies are. However, I have decided upon an additional job for you.” I may have squirmed a little bit because it didn’t sound like I was going to like this new job. Pleneth sounded just a little too… Plenethy.

“You will become the spymaster of Ansdron, reporting to Lord Tarin.”

“What?” I said, just to gain myself a little time.

Pleneth smiled before taking a last sip of tea and motioning a servant to take it away. “The last word we heard from Ansdron, was that their spymaster was assassinated. You obviously must have a lot of contacts with the somewhat,” he paused for a moment, “hidden parts of Ansdron. We will put them to good use in the service of the city, and of the fight against the Kathaldi.”

“But I don’t want a government job. Can’t I just do my spy work and let Thilos pass it on to Lord Tarin?”

“You will need a staff, and money to spend on acquiring information. It will be far more effective, and far more efficient, if you are the city’s spymaster, on Lord Tarin’s payroll and with his authority.”

“Whatever. Fine.” I did not like this one bit, but I decided to wriggle out of it later.

Pleneth smiled broadly. “Then it is decided. I am very relieved that you have all agreed to your roles. You leave in two days, so we all have a lot to do in the meantime. I will with meet with each of you tomorrow morning so please have a list of anything you will need by then. I am also hoping you will dine with me tonight, and I will be happy to answer any questions you have come up with by then.” We all nodded so he nodded and rose from the table, with a bow, of course. “Until then and thank you to all of you.” We all rose and bowed a bunch, too.

With Pleneth gone I figured we would be discussing our plans for returning home to Ansdron but Thilos invited Imprid to take a walk with him. As they walked away from the table, he looked back at me and winked, patting one of his pockets.

My eyes widened as I realized he was going to propose to her on the walk. I mouthed the words ‘good luck’ to him before he turned away. Man, I had been hoping that was just the shock of almost being crushed by a collapsing building last night. You know, a near death experience can really cause some people to make rash decisions, then they often rethink them in the light of day. No rethinking for my buddy, Thilos, though. No thinking at all.