Tymora's Luck - Kate Novak [18]
"Yes, so you should," the factol replied. "Walinda is a Sensate now and entitled to the rights and respect deserving of her position. I expect you to welcome her as you would any other member."
"Lady, she is not just any other member. If you keep this woman among us, you will regret it one day. You know that I have done my best to get along with persons whose greed or jealousy or hatred or lust for power has poisoned their souls. But Walinda's evil is different. Walinda takes pleasure in the pain of others. Walinda takes pleasure in inflicting that pain."
"That was obvious from the recordings she made for us," Montgomery replied. "You should consider experiencing one of them. Perhaps you would understand her better."
"I would prefer to understand sickness from a distance, lady. The sensation of putrefying my soul does not intrigue me in the least," Bors said coolly. Montgomery's eyes flashed angrily. Da'nanin set his hand down gently on the factol's and said, "Bors is entitled to his repulsion. Walinda's feelings could not, after all, coexist with Bors's specific specialization."
The paladin gave the half-elf a grateful look. Montgomery calmed down somewhat. Like many of the more powerful Sensates, Bors specialized in a particularly esoteric range of sensations. The paladin was exploring all the aspects of purity of the heart. Da'nanin knew well that the factol was more than pleased with the paladin's work in the field. She enjoyed the recordings he made and collected from others.
The factol sighed. "You may be right. What was the second matter you wished to discuss?" she asked the paladin "I thought you might be interested to know the identities of the two persons Ayryn scried when she was misdirected," Bors said.
"Yes," Montgomery agreed. "They are friends of Holly Harrowslough, the ones that were seeking the Hand of Bane. The winged woman's name is Jasmine, a spelljammer sailor, and the red-haired man is a bard named Joel. Joel is also a priest of a god named Finder."
"Finder? I don't recall any god called Finder. Is he a god of Toril?" Montgomery asked.
"A very minor new power," Da'nanin interjected. There's a book about him making the rounds, as I recall."
Bors nodded. "It's a tale Joel told to a bookseller named Dits. To get to the heart of the matter, Tymora, the goddess of luck, is an ally of this god Finder. Apparently Lady Luck had a hand in seeing that Finder obtained godhood when he destroyed another evil god. When I asked Ayryn, she said she was indeed trying to scry for Tymora when she was misdirected to the two mortals."
"That's interesting," Da'nanin said. "Tymora's spell misdirected us to her ally's priest. Could there be meaning in that, do you think?"
Bors shrugged.
"Can you find these people, Joel and Jas, so we can speak with them?" Montgomery asked. "Perhaps Holly knows their location."
"Holly left for Elysium this morning," Da'nanin reminded her.
"Oh, yes. Called hence by her god. Now, there's an experience!"
Bors nodded in agreement. "Joel is still in Sigil. He's been staying with the bookseller I mentioned before, a bariaur named Dits."
The door to the private reception hall opened suddenly. Annali Webspinner poked her head in and whispered excitedly, "They're here! The man and the winged woman that Ayryn scried tonight. They've come to speak to Bors."
"Very efficient, Bors," Da'nanin teased. "How did you do that? Mirrors? Time travel?"
"Please show them in, Annali," Montgomery requested.
A few moments later, Joel, Jas, and Emilo found themselves ushered into a private reception hall. Joel looked slightly surprised. He had expected to speak with Bors alone. The presence of the half-elf and the lovely Montgomery left him momentarily speechless. He was agonizingly aware of how dirty and disheveled he must look after his combat with the priest of Xvim.
Fortunately the paladin seemed to recognize the bard's discomfort. Bors stepped forward. "Lady, allow me to introduce Joel of Finder.