Rendezvous

[Dianelopa]

Dianelopa stared at Benjamin as if she had never really seen him before. What it really was though, was that for the first time she actually had an inkling that she'd walked into something far more complicated and compromising than she'd ever suspected. Yes, she'd been too much of a country girl. She still was a country girl and this all seemed beyond her, something she couldn't fathom. But it was also going through her mind that this was maybe something she had to try to fathom.
All the while she merely stood in front of Benjamin with a blank look on her face and said nothing.
The chairs were still there, the table they'd recently eaten at was still there, but the room itself seemed darker. Dianelopa sat down and took a deep breathe. "Where's Puck?" she said finally. After another short pause, the words started tumbling out. "There?" she pointed at the door to the sewers. "Is that where the illegal things happen? What is it you do that's illegal? Is it thievery like Thad? Why is it that everyone in this city does things that are illegal? Is no one honest here? What would my mother and father say about all of this? What does subservient mean? What is it you really want me to do? Who is watching us?"
Seeing that Benjamin was not reacting in a particularly friendly way to all of this she stopped talking, took a breathe and then said, "I suppose you can't tell me. Is that it? I didn't know those people Maeve and Chezak were clients. I thought they were your friends and they weren't very nice. But for clients it doesn't matter. I understand that. I didn't have to like the people I served in the pub either. I can do my job. But," she whispered, "it would help if I knew what I was really doing."

[Anja]

Benjamin smiled at all of this. The good thing about being asked a dozen questions at once was that it became socially acceptable to ignore some of them, which is what he did.

"Subservient, my dear, means acting as a servant would. And our watchers are everywhere, ever vigilant. Thad himself is a perfect example. As for the illegality of what we do, well, I cannot be sure, but I suspect there is a good deal of illegality surrounding you yourself, madam. It is easy to be illegal when the laws of your home contradict your very nature."

But," she whispered, "it would help if I knew what I was really doing."

Benjamin sighed, as though weighing something inwardly. After a moment, with pursed lips and adjoined fingertips, he fixed his heavy brow in Dianelopa's direction, and spoke. "We craft weaponry. Very powerful weaponry, created especially for those with a need for power. Sandwheel needs those gauntlets he's wearing in order to drought a rival badger clan into submission. He is chief of his clan, which has been at war with the clan across the gorge from his burrow for some time. Those gloves will allow him to drain the soils of his enemy, eroding it and killing plant life, causing trees to fall and burrows to collapse. An underhanded move, to be sure, but such is the way of badgers, honest and forthright though they may seem at times. The enemy must fall, by any means necessary."

Sandwheel sat in the corner of the Parlour, in a high-backed chair with its shoulder to the torchlight, profiled in its flickering blaze. Now, as he contemplated his enemy, he seemed more than grumpy. His face bore a new aspect, one of a vengeful warrior. He did not look at them, but stared straight ahead, envisioning the burrows of his opponent collapsing as he thrust his fist into the earth, under the cover of night.

Benjamin continued to speak. "Now you know. And now, are you bound to secrecy like never before."

[Dianelopa]

Dianelopa tried to put her mind around the words Benjamin was saying. Those words were like little shocks of electricity hitting her. Strange, slightly painful, not so easy to bear.
Thad being a spy watching them seemed far fetched to her. She didn't want to believe it.
But Benjamin's words that there was a good deal of illegality surrounding herself, made no sense at all. What had she ever done that was illegal at least up to this point?
The weapons? Had the birds she'd supplied been used to make powerful weapons? Was that the illegal thing she'd done? But Benjamin was talking about her own very nature as if she were born being illegal. How could that be? She'd never thought much about whether she was a good person, but nonetheless, she was sure she wasn't bad. She'd always obeyed her parents, most of the time anyway. She'd done her best to make sure they had enough to eat. To eat, yes, she'd had to kill occasionally. Maybe that was it. It wasn't her nature to kill and feel good about it. But it was a necessity in order to live. In order to live some other living being has to die. It's normal. She thought. So how can that be illegal?
While all these thoughts went through her head she stood silently with a frown on her face. But since she couldn't answer the questions, she stopped puzzling and said, "You put me in a hard place, Benjamin. I see that now. It's too late for me to go and there's too much I don't know and too much I know. But tell me two things, do you have proof that Thad is spying on us? And what is my illegal nature?"

[Anja]

Benjamin's somewhat patronizing smile could, perhaps be excused. He was, after all, her elder by a good century, and her questions betrayed a rather stark ignorance of the surroundings in which she had apparently grown up. Of course, Benjamin could not have known just how sheltered she was, held to the farm by the innocuous little figurine for so long. So he fixed her with that rather patronizing smile, and despite his best efforts, his voice was laced with the distinct timbre of one that has grown weary of the conversation. Perhaps it's just been too much excitement for one day... These old bones can't keep up.

"...do you have proof that Thad is spying on us? And what is my illegal nature?"

"The question is not whether I have proof of Thad spying on us. The question is whether I have proof that he isn't. Trust nobody, Dianelopa, and reveal the nature of our operations to nobody. Thad is guilty until proven innocent, just like everybody else in Marn. That takes me to your illegal nature. Are you telling me that you've grown up in these lands without knowing the government's policy on magic? Shifters, though not usually locked up on sight, are viewed with distrust, and you have, shall we say... a smattering of the lupine about you, Miss. We can keep you safe. We can protect you."

As he spoke, the iron door leading further into the sewers slid open, and Puck came back into the Parlour. Benjamin fixed him with a quizzical look, and was rewarded with a curt shake of the head. She is not to meet Anja for some time yet.

As Puck sat down, he placed on the table a simple golden ring, and looked at Dianelopa. "This, my dear, will repress your more... bestial attributes, at least on the surface. Wear it when you are amongst large groups of people. You will find that they treat you with a touch more respect. I know, it's awful to be persecuted so. That's why we're here to help you."

[Dianelopa]

Dianelopa picked up the ring, turned it about a few times watching the lights reflected on it. Then she put it on her finger. She held her hand out, spreading her fingers and said, "it looks nice."
She leaned back in her chair, sighed and whispered, "you say things, so many things and I don't understand. I never went to school. I can't read. So what does it mean, lupine, shifter?" She paused and then spoke even softer, "why would anyone want to hurt me? No one persecutes me. I was always able to take care of myself on the farm. Maybe I still could go back there."

[Anja]

Benjamin felt a rush of shame over his impatience, and his brow knitted up in consternation. This girl is dead set on breaking my heart, he thought. He wasn't sure if he could bring himself to arrange her death, should the eventuality prove necessary. "You could return to the farm, but our superiors would no doubt require that we keep tabs on you. Nothing too encroaching or unpleasant, mind you. Perhaps if your parents were to invite me over for lunch now and then. I'm sure we could keep such an arrangement friendly, but you must understand that you are still sworn to secrecy in all matters concerning my associates and I."

Puck nodded gravely at this, and then leaned forward and interjected. "I don't think you want to walk away from this though, Dianelopa. Rather, I think you should consider who is capable of offering you the most protection. The wolf in your eyes, until you put that ring on, was as clear as could be. Tell me, do you ever feel the need to howl at the moon, or hunt live prey? Do you attract fleas, or does your nose curl up like a dog's when you're angry? There are people in Marn, and even in Shim, that would judge you for this. You, Dianelopa, are part wolf."

[Dianelopa]

Dianelopa listened to Puck's words in disbelief. For a moment the shock paralyzed her and then she simply burst into tears. Who knows how long she cried. It seemed to her like an eternity. She couldn't stop. Benjamin and Puck sat there, a silent background. Until she couldn't any more. And then between gasps and snivels she said, "I knew I was different. But I thought everyone is different, aren't they? I like to hunt, especially at night. My parents thought it was strange. Sometimes they were a little afraid of me. I didn't know why. But fleas?" She started to laugh between snivels. "Everyone has fleas, the girls where I live, the men in the pub, Thad... AND I don't howl... BUT when I heard the wolves howl at night, I always liked it. It reminded me of something. I don't know what. Something nice."

She took the sleeve of her dress and wiped the tears off her face. "I haven't told anyone about this place except the ones you told me to. I didn't tell Thad about it. I tried to chase him away. I think his interest is me and not this place, unless he thinks there is something to steal here. But I don't think so, it's not a new place for him. He attacks boats down here by the river to rob them. He's always done that. He's a bad man." She started to giggle at the thought, then stopped abruptly. "I guess we're all bad," she said and shrugged. "So I'll stay. If what you say is true. What else can I do?" She paused wiped off a few more stray tears and said, "Will you teach me to read?"

[Anja]

Benjamin and Puck fell into varying states of gentlemanly reserve and poise for the duration of Dianelopa's crying session, Benjamin offering a handkerchief, and Puck simply averting his eyes and letting her get on with it. When she asked to be taught to read, Benjamin allowed Puck to interject. "That just so happens to be my specialty, miss. We can begin immediately, if you wish it."

The venerable elf stood up and made his way to the chest of drawers in the corner. The top drawer creaked as he drew it open, and creaked a lower, softer tone as he pushed it shut after removing a somewhat dusty and discoloured, rather large and flat, hardcover book. "This contains everything one needs to know about letters and how to use them."

Benjamin stood up as well, the weariness evident in his every feature. "The hour is late, and I have been through quite the ordeal today. I think it is best I retire until the morrow. Dianelopa, I am so very glad we have reached a comfortable arrangement. I look forward to our next meeting."

Without further ado, he hobbled off down towards the sewer grate, packing his pipe with one hand as he walked. Puck, in the meantime, had seated himself, book in hand. "Where were you planning to rest your head tonight, young lady?"

[Dianelopa]

Dianelopa looked at Puck's worn book with a flash of yearning in her eyes. The weariness that had been pressing on her after the long and difficult day past seemed to dissolve for the moment at least. "Yes, now," she said. "Let's start with the letters. I'll go home when we're done. Home to my bed in the hay shed. Of course." She looked at Puck in puzzlement. He knew where she lived, she thought. Why was he asking where she'd spend the night?

"Once I can read," she said. "I'll be a real city girl, won't I? Even with a little wolf in me. A wolf that can read." She started to laugh. The idea seemed ridiculous to her. But then she was also having difficulty thinking of herself as part wolf. She'd seen wolves, of course, when she'd been out hunting at night. Sometimes they'd even seemed to follow her, always at a distance though. Their presence had somehow been comforting. There had never been competition for food, on the contrary, when she thought more about it, it almost seemed as if on occasion they'd sent prey in her direction. At that time, she just thought she was imagining it. While these thoughts were going through her head, she said nothing and Puck didn't know what she was thinking, but to sum up, she said out loud. "I think they really like me."

[Anja]

I'll go home when we're done. Home to my bed in the hay shed. Of course."

Puck nodded as he opened up the book to the first page. "If that is where you are comfortable. I ask because we have one or two guest houses in Marn at our disposal, if this interests you."

When she spoke of the wolves liking her, Puck nodded, and seemed to know what she was talking about, even though she had kept most of her train of thought to herself. "I can imagine they do, wolves are pack animals."

The first page had the Phoenician alphabet laid out in large letters, and each letter had an inviting glow to it... "Now, I think you'll find the enchantments on this book rather interesting. You can touch things, and they will read themselves out to you. Useful, no?"

[Dianelopa]

"Wheee," said Dianelopa as she gingerly put her finger on the first glowing letter. "Aleph: ah" said the book. She touched the second letter. "Bait: beh, gimmel: geh, daleth: deh, he: heh", and so on. She brushed over them again and repeated the words and sounds, totally engrossed. She forgot how tired she was. She tried some short sentences and the book spoke them too, "see house. Sing song. Bird flies."

She had no idea how long she played this game before exhaustion finally overcame her and her eyes closed, her head swayed to the side finding a resting place on the back of the chair and she was fast asleep, the book still on her lap.

Outside the sun was shining brightly, but down in the sewers there was no way to know that.

When she finally woke up, the room was dark, the book had tumbled to the floor and at first Dianelopa didn't know where she was. There was a crick in her neck from sleeping in such an odd position. She rolled her head around to readjust her neck and by then her eyes had gotten used to the dark. "Ah," she said realizing where she was. She saw the book on the floor and picked it up. Let me see if I remember she thought and said the alphabet through from aleph to tsade. She opened the book in the middle somewhere and ran her finger over a sentence. It said, "Werewolf - human with ability to shift shape into wolf. Transformation often associated with full moon. Werewolves often granted extra-human strength and senses, far beyond those of both wolves or humans."

Dianelopa frowned when she heard it. "I am not a wolf," she said. "Not even with full moon. I don't like a full moon." She put the book down and shouted, "Puck, where are you?"

[Anja]

Puck, for his part, had left Dianelopa in the Parlor room with the book, after an hour or so of helpful instruction, and retired to his bedchambers, several floors below. Having slept rather awkwardly, he woke up with a terribly stiff back, and was rued the walk up to the business district that would be necessary in order to get some breakfast. He was therefore pleasantly surprised when, intent on exiting through the Parlour, he found Dianelopa, awake, and sitting where he had left her. She was kind enough to fetch them some breakfast from the morning markets, and then they hit the books again.

In this manner, days passed, and then weeks. Puck found himself continuously surprised at Dianelopa's single-minded drive to learn, and after three weeks' time, working from breakfast until her head hit the back of the chair, her vocabulary had expanded considerably, and she could read and write reasonably well.

These meetings served another purpose, and this was the building of trust. Puck and Dianelopa shared many conversations, and Anja had a habit of listening in to their little sessions from the adjoining room. After three weeks, she decided that it would be safe to meet this Dianelopa face to face. The meeting was arranged for after lunch.

Puck sat in his usual chair in the Parlour, and wiped his mouth with a serviette. "Lopa, my superior has offered to meet you. It would mean heightened responsibilities for you. More knowledge to keep to yourself, more sensitive duties, and... more money. I feel obliged to warn you, she is a rather fearsome-looking lady. She has the lower body of a giant spider, and the upper body of a dwarf. She is extremely old, crafty, and very good at what she does. Do you feel you are ready for this?"

[Dianelopa]

Perhaps three weeks earlier Dianelopa would have found this shocking. In the meantime she had faced the fact that there were all sorts of diverse and strange creatures in the world. She had digested the truth of her own dual nature and the knowledge of the world she had gained through reading had opened wide horizons she'd never dreamed of. So a giant spider/dwarf creature was just another bit in a long chain. She opened the magic book which she'd grown attached to and in its question box which she'd found near the end of the book, she wrote, what is giant spider/dwarf called?

Since she'd learned that there was such a thing as a werewolf and that she herself had werewolf blood in her veins, she'd done what research she could about them (using Puck's library) and now she figured she could do the same with Puck's superior, who was also about to become her own superior.

Usually when she wrote a question a short answer would appear which allowed Dianelopa to find more information. This time, however, the book began to quiver, then shake and finally to emit a spray of static electric sparks. Dianelopa dropped it to the floor where it bounced a few times and then lay still. "Oh my," she said turning to Puck in surprise. "Why did it do that?"

Puck's amused look calmed whatever misgivings she might have had, so she said, "Your superior must be very powerful, and I suppose the only way I can know anything about her is to meet her. I am ready."

[Anja]

This guarded reply elicited a curt nod from Puck, and for the first time, Dianelopa was allowed to follow Puck through the great iron door that separated the Parlour from the rest of the sewer complex. They did not, however, have far to go. Anja was in the centre of the adjoining room, crouched in absolute stillness, her whole body cocooned in her gossamer hair, and her crumpled features made strong by her bulging, blood-rattled eye. She seemed to focus on a singular point on the cobblestone floor, and Puck could tell only by experience that she had even noticed their approach.

The room was bare, with the exception of a labyrinthine array of copper pipes, which met against one wall, only to sprawl out into various dark corners to vanish behind the slime-wracked stonework. Puck pointed to the pipes and spoke to Dianelopa.

"Anja uses these pipes to eavesdrop on different rooms throughout the sewers. Weeks ago, you were correct when you thought you heard a voice speaking to me. Your excellent hearing is, in fact, one of the things that made us decide to keep you."

There was no sense telling her that Anja had far better, more covert means of plumbing the sewers for signs of life. No matter how trusted one was, there were still higher secrets to be kept. Even Puck, who had been in Anja's service for nearly a century, half-suspected the old hag of keeping him in the dark now and then.

A strong-looking hand parted the sea of grayish white hair to the side, and Anja tilted her head up to look at Dianelopa. It was a baleful gaze, the kind that sought to drain its object of colour and pick apart its blackest secrets from the pale remains. She gurgled and growled in the Greatweaver tongue, and Puck translated.

"Anja wishes you welcome into her fold. She wants you to step closer."

[Dianelopa]

The first thing Dianelopa's eyes settled on was the misshapen pile of hair in the center of the room. She was a little surprised as she had expected to see some kind of huge spidery monster. With no immediate visual shock she allowed her eyes to wander over the trimmings of the room. That too seemed to be the sort of thing that wouldn't be surprising in a sewer. For a moment Dianelopa was even beginning to relax. It wasn't going to be so bad.

Then as a thick veined ancient sinewy hand reached out to part the hair, the creatures face came into view. Dianelopa stared at the bulging blood-rattled eye and gasped. The eye seemed to pierce her, to drain all her strength and Dianelopa felt as if her legs might collapse under her.

The creature made a peculiar noise which Puck seemed to understand. He said something which sounded unbelievably far away. What was he saying? Welcome? Come closer? Dianelopa couldn't move. Her legs were like rubber and she had no control over them. But there was also some innate feeling that maybe this creature was dangerous, that she should flee. But she couldn't do that either. Instead some words came out of her mouth that like everything else happening at the moment she had no control over. She said, "Diana Lucina Diana Aventinensis Diana Caelistis Diana Nemorensis Diana Omnivaga Diana Opifera Diana Venatrix Follow them They will protect you Amen."

Upon saying these words, Dianalopa felt so weak that her shakey legs finally did give in and she fell down in front of Anja who seemed suddenly to swirl around, the silvery hair like a whirlpool above her head and the eye glaring in the middle. With that Dianelopa lost consciousness.