I had spent a few hours yesterday shopping among the grocers close to the marketplace in the lower city, and I eventually found what I needed. The Arboreans of Havanalil had little use for money, so I needed to find something they did value if I wanted to pay for goods and services from that fair city. I had a backpack full of those things now, and I left it sitting next to the Throne. It was morning, and I watched from the Throne as my family ate breakfast. I wished I could be there myself, but I didn’t want to risk an attack. Maybe they employed human assassins that could detect me, but that Bran wouldn’t sense coming. It wasn’t worth the risk to my family.

  My mom loaded a plate with all the things she knew I liked, and I waited patiently as they finished their meal and Mira picked up the plate and a cup of milk to take it upstairs to my old room. I opened a portal to the bedroom as soon as she closed the bedroom door, and Mira and Bandit stepped through to join me in the throne room. As soon as I closed the portal, Bandit changed into her natural pixie shape, then flew around the room a couple of times just for the sheer joy of flying. Mira handed me the plate.

  “Your breakfast is served, my Most High Lord of All Things Arcane,” Mira said with obvious sarcasm.

  “Very kind of you, oh Most Devious and Tricky Purloiner of Sandwiches,” I replied. I looked carefully around the edge of the plate and made a show of checking under the bottom of it as well. “This isn’t going to blow up in my face or anything, will it?”

  “Before you take me to an Arborean city? Not likely. We’ll see how this trip goes, though. If it’s boring, that may possibly influence the frequency and severity of practical jokes performed upon your person in the future,” Mira retorted.

  “All right, then,” I said as I began eating. “I should be in the clear for the rest of the year in that case. How’s your Arborean?”

  “Terrible. I know how to say, ‘thank you,’ ‘please,’ and ‘where’s the chamber pot.’ That’s about it.”

  I snorted. “That’s probably all you really need for now. I’d start learning more if I were you, though. I’ve been thinking about the future, assuming we live long enough, and I thought some time spent as traders would be a good idea,” I said between bites.

  Mira considered it. “I’d thought about that some, too. We do have a ship, after all. It’s just impossibly dangerous right now. The Church of the Overgod and the Executors must be drooling for your blood at the moment.”

  “I intend to do something about that soon. I think you should consider how valuable Arborean commodities are for trade. They have silks and wooden goods that are beyond compare. Granted, the wood items are all made from deadwood found on the forest floor, so supply is a problem, but the things they can make are very fine. I also think we need a cover identity and a reason to be in coastal cities if we want to seek out and destroy the Xerith’s influence over our world,” I said.

  “You’re one step ahead of me. I was focused on our immediate concerns. It’s a good thought,” Mira said.

  I ate the rest of my breakfast as quickly as I could, then sat the empty plate and cup on the little table I’d set up next to the Throne. A cleaning spell worked its magic with a thought. I’d send the dishes back to the house when Mira left for the day, but for now, I hefted my backpack with its contents into my lap and checked to be sure I was wearing the gold ring the Chief Spellsinger had given me.

  “Are you two ready?” I asked.

  “I thought you’d never finish eating,” Mira said excitedly.

  “I can’t wait! This is going to be so much fun!” Bandit said as she swooped down to land on Mira’s shoulder.

  “Now, Bandit, if you fly off on your own, we’ll plan to meet up at dinnertime at the city’s eastern forest gate, all right?” I said.

  “All right, all right! Let’s go already!” Bandit exclaimed as she bounced on Mira’s shoulder.

  I used the Throne to gain a picture of Havanalil from a bird’s view of where I was last time, but the city was gone. I scratched my head for a second, then moved the viewpoint lower and saw the ancient wall. The biggest trees, indeed, the entire city, had disappeared!

  “It’s just a meadow,” Bandit said dejectedly. “You sure you know how to use that thing?”

  “It was right here,” I said.

  I brought the viewpoint higher and scanned all around in widening spiral patterns, and finally found it again about a hundred miles to the east, much closer to the ocean. “They can move the city. I’ll be darned.”

  I brought the viewpoint close to a place at the edge of the grove and opened a portal behind a thick trunk, then Mira and I stepped through together. The cool shade of the forest floor was always welcome to me, and the absence of undergrowth here made walking easy as we approached the noticeably larger trees of Havanalil. We could hear the sound of distant music I couldn’t identify, and the sound was beautiful. Mira took in the sights and sounds around her as we walked. The trees here were all more vibrant now than they had been when I first came here. They even had an almost luminous quality to them that counteracted the shadows of the dense forest. Butterflies flitted here and there among the boles. Bandit took off from Mira’s shoulder and flew in circles around us as we neared a staircase.

  “[We have very few codpieces or cabbages for you to plunder, High Mage,]” one of the sentries called down. I could hear the musical laughter of the sentries I couldn’t see.

  “[I will never hear the end of that, will I?]” I called up to him. I finally spotted him standing on a narrow ledge above a root. The sentry blended into the bark of the gigantic tree effortlessly.

  “[Not in this lifetime,]” he called back.

  I laughed along with them, as they weren’t insulting me. It was the kind of good-natured kidding my family had engaged in for years beyond count. “[Would you mind telling me where the best weavers are?]”

  “[Just look for the webs. Spellweavers are always close by,]” he called to me.

  “[Thank you,]” I said.

  “[Your Arborean has gotten better. You honor us with your effort.]”

  “[Well, I can’t have everyone thinking that I’m a pirate of codpieces, now, can I?]” I laughingly called up.

  “[Indeed not. May you enjoy your visit, High Mage,]” he said with a bow as we passed through the gate. Bandit, true to form, immediately flew off into the trees.

  “What were they calling you? [High Mage?]” Mira asked.

  “High Mage. That was one of the sentries I questioned about where to find a codpiece on my first visit here,” I said, trying to change the subject. I wasn’t used to the thought of people treating me like royalty of some kind yet.

  “You asked for a codpiece?” Mira asked, laughing.

  “Yeah. I thought I was saying ‘robe,’ but I was badly mistaken.”

  “Jeron, this is beautiful. I’ve never seen anyplace like it,” Mira said as she craned her neck to look at the branches above her.

  “There were a lot more farmers working the ground in the last place the city was,” I said. “It makes me wonder how they grow their food.”

  We continued walking between the boles through the grove, and still we didn’t see anyone.

  “Let’s look for the closest way up. I really don’t know the city at all, so we’ll have to explore together,” I said. Mira took my hand and smiled.

  We found a wide ramp going up the side of a massive root and decided to take that one. As we climbed higher, we saw more and more signs of habitation and we began seeing more Arboreans going through their daily tasks as they sang or hummed to themselves. They all wore silken clothing of bright colors, and they looked a lot like the butterflies that constantly flew about. They each had a smile for us as we passed in and out of view around the trunk of the great tree we were climbing.

  “What do you know?” I asked as I pointed to some vegetation. “They grafted their plants into the trunks and branches of each tree. No wonder they don’t farm on the ground anymore.”

  Everywhere I looked there were Arboreans pruning and gathering fruits and vegetables on the wide pathways that were grown from the sides of trunks and along the enormous branches that ran from tree to tree. I noticed that in many cases the branches that had marks of thick ropes binding two oppositely growing branches together were now fused together in a much more natural and inseparable way. They must have used the Lendoriathil to accomplish all this in so short a time.

  We passed by many dwellings, the entrances of which were covered by silken drapes instead of the heavy wooden doors we were used to. At one of those doorways a small child ran out, spotted us, then ran towards us. He was a very cute little youth with long, light green hair and with ears and eyes that looked far too big for his head. I wasn’t sure how old he was, but he looked like a human three-year-old, if he’d been partially turned into a tree. He held out a carved wooden eagle towards me with one of its wings broken off, and he had a very wide-eyed, vulnerable look on his little face.

  “[You fix bird?]” the youth asked me.

  “[Sure,]” I said, accepting the two pieces.

  It only took a second or two to mend his toy with my spell. I handed it back to him in its unbroken state, and his face lit up with joy. He immediately ran back into his home, laughing and holding up his toy to the open air, obviously imagining it flying on its own.

  Mira and I continued on. We wandered about the city at different elevations, taking in the sights and smells of normal Arborean life. Human cities could smell like a dung heap for obvious reasons, but there was none of that here. There was a strong scent in the air from the flowers that grew on the branches and on vines attached to the trunks that was very pleasant. Hummingbirds flew from flower to flower just as the butterflies did. I could see Mira was really enjoying herself as we walked, and I looked for a tree with more than the usual amount of sparkling caterpillar webs in it.

  From time to time, other Arboreans came to us and asked how we were feeling today. I always responded politely that we were well, then called attention to whatever broken items they happened to be holding. They didn’t pretend to be unaware of these broken things, but they were politely waiting for me to notice that they needed help. I always mended their possessions, and they often gave us some fruit or a snack of some sort. It was a good arrangement, and neither Mira nor I even felt hungry when the sun directly overhead told us it was lunchtime.

  As well as looking for a good tree with lots of webs, I couldn’t help but get a feel for the kind of natural magic the Arboreans were using. There was a coaxing nature to it, like it was asking for results rather than demanding them. As a consequence of the peaceful magic, it felt really good to be here. Mira and I were still steadily working our way upwards. Looking down, I could see we were at least five hundred feet up, and even though I’d recently learned flying magic, I still wished that the Arboreans used railings in their cities. When I got too close to the edge of the paths, I could feel my stomach drop out from beneath me as I got a good view of the ground far below.

  At last, I spied a likely tree close by, and I led Mira towards it without trying to be too obvious about it. I hoped that the contents of my pack would be helpful and of value to one of the weavers there. I began asking the passersby for a weaver as we got closer.

  “What are you looking for?” Mira asked me, a bit suspiciously.

  “You’ll see. It’s a surprise,” I said, a bit mysteriously.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Eventually we climbed high enough that we were near the top, and butterflies flitted from the richly fragrant patches of flowers grafted into the tree everywhere. Branches both large and small had lots of webs and rich, green leaves. We neared a dwelling that had a different sort of singing coming from it, and I could feel we were in the right spot. As we approached the door, the singing faded and ceased. Mira and I waited patiently outside. The silk drape that functioned as the door was held aside as an elderly Arborean woman peered out at us. She was still beautiful, and she had pure silver hair now, with only a hint of wrinkles at her eyes and mouth. She wore an orange robe with elaborate yellow embroidery at the hem and sleeves, and it was tied closed with a ropelike silken belt.

  “[Welcome!]” she said. “[How are you feeling today?]”

  “[We are very well, thank you,]” I said. “[How are you?]”

  “[I am well. May I offer you refreshment, perhaps?]” she asked as she held the drape open for us.

  “[We would be very grateful,]” I said as I entered. “[My name is Jeron Smith, and this is Mira, um, Smith.]” I stumbled over Mira’s last name as we were officially married, though not in her mind. I didn’t want to needle Mira, but the truth was the truth.

  “[I am Belimara. Won’t you please sit down?]” she offered as she gestured toward a small table with four wooden chairs around it.

  “[Thank you very much,]” I said as we sat.

  I had a look around her small home. It consisted of only this one room and had woven branches above to keep the elements out. There was a small couch with pillows on it in the corner that she must also sleep in. Near the center of the room was a spinning wheel for making thread and a loom was situated against another part of the rounded walls. Next to the loom sat twelve large rolls of differently colored thread in hues of green, blue, yellow, orange and red. We were definitely in the right spot, I thought. I set my pack down next to my chair as Belimara poured three crystal glasses of lemonade from a crystal decanter. We each took a sip. This lemonade was sweet and delicious, not at all what I was used to.

  “[This is very good juice. Thank you,]” I said.

  “[Yes, thank you,]” Mira said politely.

  “[You are welcome,]” Belimara said graciously. The polite formalities out of the way, we were free to discuss other things. “[This must be the object of your love quest. She is very charming.]”

  I understood that this was their polite way of saying she wasn’t very beautiful. Maybe she was speaking from an Arborean standard. “[Her beauty shines from within,]” I replied. “[I was hoping that I could find someone who would be willing to weave three garments for us.]”

  Belimara had a way of fidgeting with her fingers as she thought. She looked like she was already weaving something in her mind.

  “[I could never refuse a request from you, High Mage. What do you require?]”

  “[I want to provide a nice dress for Mira and a slip or something to wear underneath. I also need a dark blue cape to clasp onto a cuirass for myself.]” I touched my shoulders where I wanted the clasps. “[I don’t presume to know what Mira would like, but I do know that though she denies it firmly, within her is a little princess that likes to come out when no one is looking.]”

  Belimara smiled with empathy. “[I can certainly help.]” She pointedly looked at my backpack.

  Knowing this was a way to inquire about what I had to trade, I picked up the pack and sat it on my lap. I opened the lid and began taking out the rough spun bags and placing them on the table. Belimara looked very pleased, and I hadn’t even told her what they contained yet.

  “[I noticed that there were a few varieties of squash and beans that were absent from Havanalil on my last visit. I also brought corn seed and cherry pits. I hope you will like the fruit you can grow from these seeds.]”

  Mira looked quizzically at the bags at first but then caught on. She couldn’t understand what we were saying exactly, but she understood I was bargaining for something. When Belimara smiled, Mira smiled along with her, though she didn’t know precisely what she was smiling about.

  “[A great many people will enjoy the gifts you give us today. We will help each other,]” Belimara said with a smile as she stood up from the table. “Your husband has arranged for a beautiful dress to be made for you, Mira,” Belimara said in an only slightly accented common trade tongue.

  “He did?” Mira asked. She seemed surprised. Whether it was surprise at our host’s ability to speak our language or the fact that I did something nice for her, I didn’t know.

  “He certainly did. He must love you a great deal. Why don’t you tell me what kind of garment you prefer?” Belimara said.

  A smile blossomed on Mira’s face as she got up from her chair. She was already thinking hard about what she wanted when I got the “shooing” hand motion from Belimara that told me my presence was no longer required. I brought my glass of lemonade with me as I walked outside the house. Sitting down on the edge of the pathway, I sipped at my drink for a while and gazed at the busy Arborean city. My legs dangled over the edge, and I let my mind wander.

  I had previously noticed that certain Arboreans seemed to specialize in cultivating certain foods they grew near their homes, and I began to notice places where they went for certain items other than food. I tried to get a closer look at some places, but they were too far away. It was then that I had an idea. I remembered the feel of the magic of the Throne and tried to recreate that magic here. It took me a couple of tries, but I eventually found that I could amplify my sight and hearing to see a place as if I was standing there. It only seemed to work for places up to a mile away, and it was tiring, but I was happy to have learned a new trick. I used my newfound ability to peer above the trees and I was surprised to see that there were giant brown hawks patrolling above and around the city, each with two Arborean bowmen riding on them. I’d wondered how they kept the stroks from snatching their children from the branches, and now I knew. I watched the hawks for a time until my head started to hurt, and I had to release the magic.

  My headache eventually faded as I simply sat and thought about how we should handle the Xerith in Aerie. It was a city that was probably full of shapeshifters and was certainly ruled by them. The citizens of Aerie may not know it, but they were a captive population. How would we be able to get rid of the Xerith without burning the city or killing any of the innocent people in it? They weren’t going to leave just because someone asked them nicely. There was no doubt that they would fight with everything they had to keep their power. This would require careful thought.

  -----

  Mira put her arms down. It was a little uncomfortable for her to be measured in such a familiar way by a complete stranger. Belimara had even measured her feet for some reason. It seemed like Belimara had been doing this for a long, long time, however, and she didn’t think anything of it. She made a lot of suggestions to Mira about different shapes and lengths and colors and such, and it made Mira’s head swim after a while. She was determined not to waste such a thoughtful gift, though. There was even a part of her, though she detested admitting it, that relished the thought of looking beautiful. The other men she knew could take a hike for all she cared, but she came to realize that I went far out of my way to keep her safe, to watch over her, and to provide for her future. No one else had ever done any of those things for her before, and Mira wasn’t very good at dealing with the feelings that such devotion provoked. But then she thought about the aura of power surrounding him. That kind of power scared her. Mira also thought about the way powerful and evil beings seemed to be attracted to me. It seemed to her like I was a force that pulled evil things towards me. Every day was dangerous.

  Finally, Belimara ran out of questions to ask, and she told Mira that it would be ready in two days and to come back then. Mira took a final sip of her lemonade and moved to the door.

  “Thank you for your patience with me, Belimara,” Mira said.

  “You’re always welcome, Mira,” Belimara said. “Now let an old flute sing her song.”

  Belimara started moving the rolls of thread around and fiddling with the loom as Mira looked out the door. I was off to the left side of the house sitting on the edge of the little wooden street with my legs dangling over empty space still. Ever the troublemaker, it gave Mira an idea. She slipped silently out of the door and went to the right, to the opposite side of the house. Mira then took a step into empty space where Jeron wouldn’t see her and her G.A.S.P. activated, causing her to walk upside down under the pathway. She tiptoed under the street to where my legs dangled, then threw herself into a dive straight between his feet, guided by a finger brushing the underside of the pathway. The result was that she shot up and out from under the street and tackled me with complete surprise, especially effective considering my gaze was focused a long way away.

  “Whoa!” I yelled out in surprise as Mira hit me.

  She really enjoyed the look on my face as she collided with me. Taking further advantage, Mira pinned me down with her weight as she straddled my chest, and I was happy to let her. She knew how strong I was and that I must have been letting her win this surprise wrestling match, but she laughed anyway when she pinned my shoulders down to the floor.

  “Gotcha!” Mira exclaimed in triumph.

  I just laughed as I lay back helplessly. “I see that. Nice one.” The moment lingered a bit as we looked into each others’ eyes, but then Mira drew back, and sat to the side of me. “Did you make up your mind on what you wanted?”

  “Indeed, I did,” Mira said. She may not have been talking only about the dress. “Belimara said it would be ready in two days.”

  “There’s a large stream over that way that has a great variety of flowers growing on its banks,” Jeron suggested. “Would you like to see it?”

  “That sounds really nice,” Mira said.

  I got up, then offered Mira my hand and helped her up. I used a cleaning spell on my empty glass, then used some telekinetic magic to make the glass float through the open window and back onto Belimara’s table. Mira felt a stab of jealousy at the magic I could use. She had to work very hard to master even the simplest things where magic was concerned, and she couldn’t help but be envious that such things came so easily to me.

  She confided to me later what she was thinking as we strolled down to the stream. Mira was troubled. If she knew me, and she knew me well, she thought I could probably already do everything she ever learned to do, and I was just keeping that knowledge to myself so she wouldn’t feel that her skills were so trivial. She could feel the magical strength in me anytime I was near. It was powerfully intense, and I wore it like a mantle. If she didn’t know what kind of person I was, Mira would have avoided me at all costs. She knew better than to even try to measure up to me in terms of magical ability. It definitely wasn’t a competition as far as I was concerned, and she admired me for that. Mira couldn’t compete with much of anyone in her mind, and she felt small because of it. She was very common in regard to her looks when compared to Elle, miniscule in her magical talent compared to me, and she didn’t have the cleverness and skill that Whizzbang had. The destiny she felt hanging over my head was very weighty, and she didn’t really know how to handle that, much less make a life with me. Mira didn’t feel like she fit in anywhere, but for some reason the Smiths had taken her under our wing anyway. No one had been more accepting of her than me, despite all the abuse she had heaped on me over the years. She couldn’t figure that out. All she could do was appreciate what she was given, and try to reconcile her feelings as she went, so that’s what she did.

  We eventually made it to the ground again next to the little river that ran through Havanalil. There were flowers of every conceivable color, shape and hue growing on its banks and in the surrounding floodplain. Mira paused to take it in. There were paths leading to the river and through the flowers so the Arboreans could enjoy them without trampling anything, and we used those as we paused frequently to admire flowers we’d never seen or smelled before. Butterflies, hummingbirds and honeybees flew from flower to flower in a constantly shifting dance. There was a sense of peace and beauty in this place that neither of us had ever experienced, and we both tried to put thoughts and worries out of our minds as we spent the afternoon there surrounded by the beautiful sights and smells.

  At the time, I was feeling really good. Not only was I in an extremely peaceful place with the sun on my skin, but I was there with my wife, and it actually felt like we were happily married. It seemed like we were getting closer, like the official marriage was taking root in our minds.

  Mira didn’t feel that way, though. Not exactly. In her mind, this was like a trial run, a time when she could see how she felt about being with me. She wanted to know how I really felt. She wanted to know if I really wanted her for who she was, or if I felt I had to be with her from a sense of duty because of the marriage that had been forced on us both. She appreciated my effort, but her mind wasn’t truly made up. She felt a lot of unease, even if she was good at hiding it.

  After finding a good spot, we reclined side by side on a grassy bank in the afternoon sun with the water from the stream making its relaxing melody. Mira thought it must be getting close to dinnertime, but she was so content as she lay there that she put thoughts of going back out of her mind. Then Mira heard the distinct sound of Bandit’s wings and opened her eyes.

  “You two look comfortable,” Bandit said happily.

  “We are, thanks. How was your day?” Mira asked.

  “It was really wonderful,” Bandit replied as she landed on Mira’s knee. “I found some other pixies living here, in fact, and I made some new friends. This place feels like home to me in a way that I really can’t define.”

  Mira paused for a moment, then realized what Bandit was really saying. “You want to stay here, don’t you?” Mira asked.

  Bandit paused for some time before answering. “Yeah, I really do want to stay here, Mira. I love you and we’re kindred spirits and all that, but this place calls to me. I really enjoyed my time with you in Stonekeep, but I feel that my place is here now.”

  Mira’s breath caught, and she had to clear her throat gently. “I’m really going to miss you, Bandit,” Mira said as her eyes started to tear up.

  “I’ll miss you too, Mira.” Bandit climbed a little higher on Mira and hugged her waist the best her little arms could. Mira softly hugged Bandit back. Bandit pulled away a little bit. “I’ll tell you this, though. I’m not going to miss all those shapeshifters ambushing us, or the demons, or the undead attacking in swarms.” Bandit shivered. “They scare me to death.”

  “It won’t always be that way if I have anything to say about it,” I asserted.

  “I believe you, but I still don’t want to be around for all of that rubbish,” Bandit said. Mira thought that Bandit had a point. “Please visit me from time to time, will you?”

  “Of course, I will,” Mira said. Her eyes narrowed a bit. “You found a strapping young pixie to keep you company, didn’t you?”

  Bandit looked a little embarrassed. “Well, maybe.”

  Mira laughed lightly. “I should’ve known. You little imp, you.”

  “I wouldn’t leave you, but you have Jeron now,” Bandit said. “Look how comfortable you two are together. He wouldn’t abandon you in a thousand years. I just know it.”

  “I don’t think he would, either,” Mira admitted.

  “That says a lot for my intellect,” I said. “You two are such troublemakers.”

  Mira elbowed me in the stomach and got a deep grunt in response. Bandit laughed delightedly as I pretended to be horribly wounded, holding my stomach and groaning pitifully. Mira wore that impish half-smile that I liked so much. Bandit hugged Mira one more time, then sprang into the air to hover above her two friends.

  “Take care, you two,” Bandit said.

  “Bye, Bandit,” Mira and I said together.

  With a last wave, Bandit flew away trailing her sparkling dust and crossed the river. We watched her go. Mira shifted a little bit to hug me and buried her face into my shirt, and I stroked her back in silence. Bandit had been a constant companion for many years, and this hurt Mira deeply. Mira already felt her loss.

  A part of her blamed me for it.