Lady Ussi of the Light could feel the weight of her Oath about her shoulders as she strolled through the foundations of Colubrinus. Her people needer her, but she had little practical knowledge or experience that was of use in the construction effort. Tents and lean-tos were still tucked into corners, but walls and roofs were going up at a rapid pace. The lumber felled for construction was also clearing space for garden plots that would grow into full-fledged farms in a season or so. Her only remaining son Utsszi followed a respectful half-step behind. "As you can see the construction is well underway. The tools and supplies Lord Trebor gifted us are more than sufficient to meet our needs, and the last of the Branded have been... removed. Families are beginning to rebuild their lives once more, free of oppression, but..."

Lady Ussi flicked her tongue, "I can taste it too. The stink of fear in the air, worry that I have led them from one set of tyrants to another. Lord Trebor is no such tyrant, and Queen Shallahai has demanded nothing that we would not freely give. You would know better than I, have any of the old lore-keepers survived? the ones who remember the stories from before the Fall and the War?"

Utsszi shook his head, "If any of the old stories did survive, they did so by going so far underground that the Overlords and their Branded could not find them. Why do you ask?"

Lady Ussi shook her head, "I was just remembering the songs we used to hear on the wind. We used to have songs of our own, and I was wondering if there were any others who still remembered them as they were before the Fall."

Utsszi stared at his mother's back, "any others?"

"Remember the song at the end of the day, just before we sent the first letter to Lord Trebor? The one with the haunting melody?"

"Yes..."

"That was The Islander, sung as it used to be, in the Old Tongue."

Utsszi stopped in his tracks. "The Islander? In the Old Tongue? With the original lyrics?"

Lady Ussi turned to look back at her son, "yes. Sung live by one who has seen the Reef, walked its shore, and seen the destruction writ into its stones. And he learned it from one who saw the sky fall at the end of the War, who learned it and more as a child."

Utsszi rubbed his scaled chin, "midsummer is coming up soon. I wonder if Lord Trebor will allow us to have the dances again, if he allows the old songs to be sung..."

Lady Ussi gave an impish grin, "I think I can talk him into it."

Aflia Cencin stood in the doorway, string out at the road. She didn't want to leave, but Aris had sent her, so she must go. It was her duty, like it or not, to obey.

Mul tapped her on the shoulder, "I couldn't help but overhear. Did he send you to do something that you don't want to do, or did he give you all the aid he could to do what you wanted to do anyway?"

Aflia's tail gave a slight twitch and her eyes began to leak, "I don't know... I've been sent away so many times before, and this time... I thought I had more than a surface connection. I thought he cared."

Mul eased Aflia back inside and shut the door softly, "He does care about you. Deeply. I knew him from the Westmarch War, and Lady SiDabolo knew him from before that. He has scars, way down deep, from growing up much too fast. If you don't want to go, talk to him about it, and I'll go in your stead instead of at your side."

Aflia wiped her eyes, "thank you Mul. Let's go talk to him."

Status Report:

Treasury: 215

Income: +105 gold per day

Amount & Source

+5 Semi-retired Agent of Altheim

+100 Food sold from Ikin

Equipment: In good condition.

Estates:

Ikin: Village: Fishing Docks, Farms Under Construction Trebor Convent: Under Construction Colubrinus: Village: Under Construction Three Empty Holdings (may be improved later) One Old Temple (occupied by undead, traps, and animated statues)

The Ring: obsidian band with one carbuncle gem and two empty settings

Total Deaths: 1