Tom, Healing Shrine, Planting Season, 5th rot., 10th day

Half-asleep, I gathered my girl in my arms and hugged her to my chest, only to get a mouthful of hair. I opened my eyes and pushed the huge cat, Eskurt, away from me. It was not a great way to wake up. Wondering where Emily had gone, I got up, pulled on some pants, and put a housecoat over my sleeping tunic.

I noted how strange it was to own a garment just to sleep in. It hammered home the differences in how Cosm and Coyn lived. Then, I went in search of someone who could tell me where Emily had run off to. I didn't need to go far. As soon as I stepped into the High Priestess' bedroom, I was greeted by the sight of a healer reading in an armchair in the bedroom's reading nook. When she saw me, she got to her feet and performed a bowing obeisance. When we completed that nonsense, she offered to heat the hot water tank.

"Which one are you?" I asked the healer. She looked about my age.

"I am Kibbilpos, Revered One."

"Where is Emily?"

"She is across the river in the Coyn portion of the temporary housing, playing her divine with the musicians from the Singing Shrine. They arrived earlier this morning to help provide music for singing and dancing among those who are homeless and not currently working."

"Oh. Is morn repast already over?"

"Revered One, it's currently half past the third bell. Emily said to let you sleep because you didn't sleep the night before."

"What a fu..." I caught myself. "What a mess. Healer Kibbilpos, would you please heat the hot water tank for me?"

"Certainly, Revered One. I will tell Lord Irhessa you are awake. He's been waiting for you so he can catch you up on everything that has happened here in Aybhas. Also, the High Priestess has food for you in the dining room when you are ready."

After washing up in that amazing waterfall-like shower, I realized I had forgotten my shaving kit. I ventured out to find Usruldes, reminding myself to use his other name. Kibbilpos was waiting for me in the reading nook and opened the heavy door into the dining room. As soon as I walked in, Usruldes entered from the study to meet me. Kibbilpos bowed her way out, leaving the two of us alone. As soon as she closed the door to the study, Usruldes got on his knees to talk with me.

"Hey there, little man. How's the swamp doing down there?"

"Pretty dry right now. How's the weather up there, big guy?"

"Cold, no breeze, and overcast. My mother has some sandwiches and fruit for you on the sideboard. We weren't sure when you'd wake up. I didn't wake up until the third bell myself."

Usruldes was the first real Cosm friend I had ever made. It was easy for me to forget he was this huge guy with incredible magic. He felt like a good fishing and hunting buddy. He was comfortable to be with, especially when he dropped all the formal speech and manners. When we chummed around together, like in Is'syal and again in Sils'chk, I almost expected him to pull out a Bud to go with the fishing gear. The only kind of fishing he knew before I met him was with a spongewood bobber; however, that's the kind of fishing most conducive to kicking back and chewing the fat with your buddies while downing a six.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

When I thought about it, I freaked out that the mysterious assassin and spy, Usruldes the Wraith, was someone I considered a pal and a fishing buddy. Who would have ever guessed that under that black mask was a family man, a good daddy, and a nice guy? Ever since Galt did that blessing thing, my life had definitely gone weird.

"Want a hand up into a chair?" asked the most feared covert agent on the planet.

"Nope, I got this," I said as I took a running jump into the seat of one of the chairs modified for Coyn. I barely made it. I can't imagine that Emily liked being lifted into these things. She hated anything she couldn't do herself. Apparently, the Princess High Priestess disapproved of Emily climbing the furniture.

In the old princess's defense, it was lovely furniture: hand-carved and upholstered in tapestry fabric that matched the gorgeous wool rugs on the floor. The only other place I had seen such rich stuff was the Queen's house at the Villa.

As soon as I was comfortable, Usruldes slid the chair closer to the table so I could reach. Then he put a plate in front of me with too much food. I had noticed that the folks at the Healing Shrine had a hard time estimating what a Coyn could eat. I think it was because Coyn didn't reside here normally. The people here didn't know how to scale down for a smaller person's appetite.

"Too much food, isn't it?" Usruldes laughed at the look on my face.

"That's mid repast, dinner, and morning repast tomorrow, all on one plate," I explained.

"It's hard not to overestimate," he shook his head. "It's unbelievable that a Coyn can thrive on how little you eat, especially when you don't live with one—or you live with Emily, who I swear survives on air; she eats so little."

"She doesn't eat enough," I pronounced. "I can see all her ribs. There's no meat there. It worries me. She's too thin."

"You should have seen her when she first got here," Usruldes was suddenly serious. "She was even thinner, and her cheeks were hollow. She's filled out some since then."

"Yeah, I heard about that. I'm not sure I like that all you folks kept her confined inside this silverhair-scaled shrine, but at least she got fed too much food every day."

"She was ill for much of that time, Tom. She couldn't even talk before my mother and the Queen fixed the head injury she received as a girl. The injury destroyed her ability to speak, so she had to learn how to talk all over again. And it took a year for her to recover her health after the incident with the Queen."

"Wait, she had to relearn how to speak?" This was new to me. "She had forgotten how?"

"It was more like she had never learned in the first place. The part of her brain that controls the muscles for speech was damaged. The healing replaced what was harmed. It's almost as if she were an infant learning to speak for the first time. Mother spent a half year teaching Emily how to talk again."

"Your mother took a half a year?" Emily had told me that the High Priestess helped her to talk again, but she downplayed it. I had no idea it had been as bad as Usruldes described. No wonder Emily talked more like a silverhair snob than a Coyn. "So what's with the stutter?"

"Emily has problems with W and U sounds. She used to stutter all the time. Now, she only does it when she's exhausted or stressed. That speech defect may never entirely go away, I'm afraid. That's the risk of healing the kind of head injury Emily received, but impaired speech is better than no speech at all."

"I guess," I was struck once again by how badly I had underestimated Emily's hardships.

"So, to change the subject, what's with the stubble on the chin, little man?"

"Forgot my shaving gear when we packed up in a hurry," I admitted.

"I have some small obsidian scrapers that you could probably handle," Usruldes remarked. "You could try one of them to see if they would work. Otherwise, we could try the Coyn outfitters in the souk by the south gate."

"Let me take a look at your scraper first," I said. "I don't like the feel of stubble on my face."

"Alternatively, I could grow your beard out for you," Usruldes grinned like a kid. "I think it would be a good look for you, and just think of how Emily would react."

"Huh, let me think about that, but I still want to check out your scrapers or buy some new ones in the right size. Can you fill me in on everything that happened here while I try to eat the three meals in front of me?"