As they were walking back towards the great gate Judeau sidled up beside Steelwing and offered him his silver Crown back, but the tall elf only made a vague, dismissive gesture.

�I said keep it and I meant it. I have no need for it.�

Judeau let the coin slip back into his purse.

�All right... Thanks.�

Steelwing gave a small, indifferent shrug and kept looking ahead, but after a short silence he spoke again, very quietly.

�I knew he was going to pay you back. I know dwarves very well. I just wanted to �remind him� so that his self-pity does not overshadow his sense of honour. I do not mind paying for an opportunity like that.�

Judeau felt certain that there was some hidden meaning in that, but with Steelwing�s indifferent intonation, he couldn�t find it. He tried to read the elf�s expression, but it was flawless in its neutrality.

Steelwing noticed his gaze, though, and met it.

�So you know that it is payment and not charity. I know some humans have a problem with that.�

�Oh, okay.� That was not the hidden meaning, though, was it?

�There they go�� The deep rumble of Taskkarr�s voice carried a tone of suspicion. ��Elves and manlings, always mumbling. Can�t speak up properly. And they wonder why we think they�re so unreliable.�

�Indeed,� Thirgynn snorted, �One can�t help but feel like they�re hiding something��

�Ah, here we are!� Samina interrupted, a little bit too cheerfully, as they arrived at the gate. She turned to one of the guards with a polite smile, �Good evening, sir, I�d like to retrieve my weapons now.�

�Certainly, Miss. Do you have your receipt?�

That�s when Judeau realised that Taskkarr and Steelwing both carried weapons. Taskkarr had a two-handed war hammer strapped to his back and a vicious-looking battle-axe in his belt. Steelwing carried two slender swords in odd, rune-engraved sheaths, one on each hip. Judeau silently scolded himself for not noticing this before.

I am too used to see armed men. I thought I was more observant�

Samina presented the soldier with a folded piece of paper and he immediately left through a small door next to the big gate.

�How come you wear weapons in the city?� Judeau asked Taskkarr. �I thought it was forbidden.�

The dwarf grunted something inarticulate, but Samina turned back to them and replied:

�Well, of course nobody would dare to try to take the weapons away from an elven Crusader, and Taskkarr here is ro-KHUFF!�

Judeau was as shocked as Samina when her sentence was abruptly cut off by Taskkarr�s meaty fist, thrust into her stomach. She doubled over and gasped, tears welling up in her eyes:

�Wha� wha�dehell whassat for?�

Taskkarr scowled angrily at her and gestured at the guards. �It�s bad enough that these ten manlings know. I don�t want you to tell everybody! Not while I�m beardless! It is horribly embarrassing, and not only to me!�

�Yuh� you told those guys� not me��

Judeau shook off his shocked paralysis.

�You hit her?! That was the best way you could stop her from saying something? By punching her in the guts?�

Taskkarr glared up at Judeau and began turning red again.

�What�s your problem, manling? This is between me and her, not you!�

�You don�t hit women!�

�Why? She can take it!�

�What kind of an excuse is that?!�

�It�s not an excuse at all! Why should I be excusing myself?!�

Their voices were getting louder and louder and the people nearby was stopping to look at the man and the bald dwarf, but at the same time taking care to keep a safe distance.

�You should at least apologise to her!�

�WHAT?!! She�s the one who should be apologising to me!�

�And just how the hell do you figure that?!!�

�All right, ENOUGH!� Thirgynn�s voice boomed, resounding in the great hallway as if it had been shouted into an enormous copper cauldron. The two combatants were effectively shut up, and as he continued - albeit with his normal voice - they just stared at him in dumbstruck silence:

�Mr Judeau, please understand that Taskkarr reacted without thinking. Allow me to explain: First of all, dwarves don�t differentiate between men and women; we don�t have a �weaker sex� that needs protecting. Secondly, he has been very stressed - for perfectly good reasons - so he acted instinctively and did to Samina what he would have done to any dwarf in this situation. Now, you don�t know much about dwarves, I�ve realised that, so I understand that you couldn�t be supposed to know this beforehand.

�And Taskkarr, you overreacted. A simple �no� would have sufficed; Samina would have understood� And you know how protective human males can be - had Mr Judeau not said anything, someone else most likely would. Pull yourself together and end this pointless argument, before it goes dishonourably far.�

To Judeau�s surprise, Taskkarr took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and said, in a completely different tone of voice, tired and apologetic:

�You are right, Master miracle-worker Thirgynn.� He turned to Judeau and gave the human a short but distinct nod. �I apologise for losing my temper, that was very unworthy of me. You only did what you felt was right, and I was rude.� Then he turned to the nearly recovered Samina and bowed his head a slight bit further. �I�m sorry I hit you, Samina, It�s just that� sometimes I forget that you are not... as durable as a dwarf.�

She straightened up, still keeping one hand on her stomach, and wiped the tears away from her eyes with an agreeable smile.

�It�s okay�� Her voice sounded only a little strained, ��I accept your apology, Taskkarr, and wish to apologise to you. I should have been a little more thoughtful.� Taskkarr bowed his head again, even more deeply this time, then turned away and grumpily trudged out through the massive gate.

Judeau felt a little relieved that he had not been asked to apologise to anyone, since he didn�t feel like saying that he had been wrong when he knew he�d done the right thing. He walked over to Samina and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

�Are you really okay?�

She took a deep breath and let her hand fall away from her midsection. When she spoke there was no longer any strain in her voice, and she gave him a reassuring smile.

�Yeah, I�m tough.� She then tilted her head to the side and her expression turned into one of slight wonder. ��But that was very sweet of you, sticking up for me like that� Sweet, or foolish.�

He raised one eyebrow. �You�re welcome.�

She laughed at that. �No, no, what I mean is that you defended a woman you don�t know, against a heavily armoured, armed and easily angered man, when you yourself have neither weapon nor armour to defend yourself.�

Judeau scratched the back of his neck and smiled a little sheepishly.

�I� actually didn�t think of that. I just reacted.�

�Well, it doesn�t matter, I am grateful �and a little impressed.�

�Miss Falcon?� The soldier had returned, carrying a sword and a morningstar.

�Oh, yes, thank you, sir.� She took the weapons and expertly fastened them to her sides.

�Impressed at how irresponsibly unthinking I am?� Judeau joked self-consciously.

�No, Mr Judeau,� she replied seriously, �I am impressed that your first impulse was to help.�

*
As former commander of the Hawks' reconnaissance troops, Judeau had no problem at all in finding his way back to Shammael�s tent. On the way there, he tried chatting a little with Samina, since both dwarves seemed to have withdrawn into sulking introspection and Steelwing was about as talkative as a statue.

�So� why did that soldier call you �Miss Falcon�?�

She seemed a little thoughtful, and when she looked up at him it was with a distant look on her face. �Hm? Oh, that. Well, I�m common-born so I don�t have a family name. When people ask me to sign anything official I use �Falcon� instead. It�s my epithet, like Taskkarr has �Orcslayer�.�

�I see. So why Falcon?�

She shrugged �I have very good eyesight, and a knack for finding hidden things� or people �or truths�� The last was said with a strange glance at his face, that was gone almost as soon as it appeared. ��So it felt appropriate.�

Judeau suddenly felt a little more wary of this woman.

�That must be useful in your line of work.�

�It sure is. And it�s nicely complimented by well-trained instincts. See, us bounty hunters have to go through rigorous training to learn to enhance and trust our instincts.�

Judeau recognised that - it was the same thing as scout training; sometimes you would have to rely on your gut-feelings, and when it came to that you�d better be confident enough to trust them.

She gave him a curious look, �What about you? what do you do for a living?�

�I�m a mercenary, a scout.� The thought to stick to his previous lie back at the inn didn�t occur to him until it was too late, but the chagrin over the slip-up lasted for just a fraction of a second - then he remembered the glance she�d given him only a moment ago.

�No, if she is as good at telling lies from truth as she implied, I should try to stay as close to the truth as possible� only without making myself seem like a complete madman, if possible.

Or I could try to change the subject, that would work nicely, too.

�Really?� Samina said, surprised, �I would not have taken you for a mercenary. You seem too� good-natured.�

�Thank you.� He smiled at her. �But one doesn�t necessarily have to be a brute, just because one�s a mercenary.�

She smiled back, a little sheepishly. �Yeah, I guess not.�

�But if it makes you feel any better, I have also worked as a travelling performer.�

�Now, that is easier to believe, somehow.�

He chuckled, and they walked for a while in comfortable silence.

�But� If you�re a mercenary�� Samina suddenly inquired, �how come you don�t have any equipment?� He was unprepared for that question and hesitated, prompting her to add, �Your weapons? Armour?�

�I� I lost them.�

She frowned. �Gambling?�

�No. I� was in a fight� I got very seriously wounded, and when I woke up in the Healer�s house, my weapons were gone.�

�Ah, stolen. Well, that�s the way of the battlefield. I'm surprised they didn't slit your throat while they were at it, though.�

Judeau made a vaguely affirmative noise, and almost sighed out of relief as they arrived at Shammael�s tent.

The three dogs were lying outside of it, but the Healer himself was nowhere to be seen.

�Hey, boys! Where�s your master?� At the sound of Judeau�s voice, Tail jumped up and greeted him with exuberant joy, wagging his tail so hard that he couldn�t put his paws on Judeau�s chest, no matter how many times he tried.

At Tail�s excited yipping, Muzzle lifted his head and began growling - a low, ominous sound that made Samina take a step back, but Paw quickly surveyed the newcomers and lazily kicked Muzzle in the ribs with one hind paw - without getting up from his comfortable position on the ground. Muzzle yelped, looked at Paw, looked again at Judeau and the others, and uncertainly began wagging his tail instead.

Judeau laughed and knelt down so that Tail could greet him properly. After petting the happy dog for a moment, he took Tail�s head in his hands and held it still.

�Good boy, Tail, good boy! Go get Shammael! Go find!�

Tail gave him a couple more licks in the face before setting off through the crowd, pausing only briefly to lick Samina and Steelwing�s hands on the way past.

�He should be here shortly,� Judeau said and wiped his face with a corner of his borrowed cloak. �In the meantime, allow me to introduce Paw and Muzzle.� He gestured at the two remaining dogs. �The one who ran off was Tail.�

�Charmed, I�m sure�� Samina muttered while drying her hand off on her black jacket. Steelwing pulled out a piece of cloth from a pocket and wiped his hand with it, pointedly ignoring the suddenly chuckling dwarves.

*
They didn�t have to wait for long. Tail returned triumphantly after only about ten minutes, soon trailed by Shammael. The Healer gave Judeau a surprised look.

�Are you back already, boy?�

�Sort of, yes. I ran into some people who needed your help.� Judeau turned to introduce the group, but Taskkarr interrupted him.

�We need a weed, and this boy told us you�d know about it.�

Shammael�s glance at the dwarf quickly turned into a shocked, incredulous stare.

�Wait� Are you� a dwarf?�

Taskkarr�s teeth audibly ground against each other. �Yes.�

�By all the gods, man, what has happened to your beard?!�

Taskkarr�s jaw clenched and unclenched a few times as his face began to turn familiarly red, but before he could explode, Samina intervened:

�Well, sir, that is what we seek your help about. We need to remove magical resonance from these three people, and we�ve heard of an herb called �Dusklily�� would you by any chance happen to know anything about it?�

Shammael tore his eyes away from the bald dwarves and turned to the scar-faced woman.

�Hm? Dusklily?� He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment before answering, �Yeah. I know about it. I know how to prepare it, and where to find it. But I don�t have any right now.�

�If you could get some for us, and prepare it, we would pay you handsomely.� Taskkarr pointedly cleared his throat and Samina added, while surreptitiously rolling her eyes, �Within reasonable limits, of course.�

Shammael looked the party up and down, thoughtfully sucking the inside of his cheek, before turning back to the scar-faced woman.

�Miss, I don�t think you understand just how rare Dusklily is, or how hard it is to find; for three people, it will cost you handsomely.�

She didn�t seem at all disturbed. �It�s a matter of dwarf honour. Don't worry, there's definitely money to be gained here, for you.�

Shammael made an angry gesture and snorted, �I don�t care about money. Money�s no good when you live like a hermit in the forest. I need equipment. Stuff. Things.�

Taskkarr sighed.

�What kind of stuff?�

The Healer suddenly got a very sly look on his face.

�Now, you wouldn�t happen to be a dwarf smith, would you?�

Taskkarr met his eyes with a look that meant he knew exactly what was going on in the Healer�s head, and that he didn�t like it much. �I am an accomplished smith.�

�By dwarf or human standards?�

�Dwarf, of course.�

Shammael rubbed his hands together in satisfaction.

�Great! I need a new hand-axe for chopping wood, a firing mechanism for a light crossbow, and a good battle-axe��

�Hold on a minute! Just how much can this weed really be worth? That�s dwarf-quality stuff you�re talking about!�

Shammael halted the recital of his wish list and gave the dwarf a serious look.

�Master dwarf, Dusklily grows only here in Ducarron and, as a matter of fact, has not been found in any other place than in my forest. That forest is very big, and I�m the only one who knows where to look for the plant, since it grows only in special places. And then there are other creatures in that forest who think of it as their home, and some of them are pretty darn territorial and aggressive. The Dusklily may well grow in one of their back yards,� he leaned forward until he was almost eye-to-eye with the dwarf, �So it is not only rare, but can be dangerous to collect, too� and I have monopoly on it. It�s worth a lot.�

Taskkarr returned the glare, �I�ll accept the monopoly part, but you can deduct the danger cost, �cause I�m going with you, and I�ll take care of any �danger�.�

�Nice try, master dwarf, but it�s still going to cost you.�

�How much? Give me the price in real money!�

�For three people, the cost is three thousand��

�Hah! Three thousand? And that�s supposed to get you dwarf-forged weapons?�

��Heads. Golden Kings� Heads.�

Taskkarr�s jaw dropped and after the briefest of astonished pauses, he yelled at the smug-looking healer at the top of his lungs: �THREE THOUSAND KINGS� HEADS? Do you think I am a complete idiot? No bloody weed can be worth three thousand Kings� Heads!�

�That�s true," Shammael calmly replied, "But then Dusklily is an herb and not a weed, so it's worth a bit more.�

Taskkarr turned to his comrades: �That�s it, there�s got to be a better, or at least cheaper way of getting the bloody flower!�

�Oh, get real, Taskkarr!� Samina exploded and crossed her arms over her chest, speaking harshly, �You are not going to get cheap about this! I haven�t come all this way, listening to your incessant whining, and finally � through an incredible stroke of luck � found a man who can not only find the herb, but also prepare it correctly, to have you throw it all away because he has the good sense to demand payment for it!�

�By Vontar�s hammer, woman, we�re talking about three thousand Kings� Heads! I�d rather search for the weed myself, than be cheated in such a way by this �manling!�

�No. No hopping way! I will not let this take any more time than it absolutely has to! If you won�t pay this man, then I will!�

�What? Three thousand must be your entire life savings! You will do no such thing! That is out of the question!�

The scar-faced woman gave the dwarf a smouldering glare, and hissed: �Watch me, then! I am so sick and tired of your and Thirgynn�s sulking, self-pitying, testy attitudes! Do you really think that you�re the only ones who have suffered because of your curse? I�ll happily pay to get my old friends back, and I honestly couldn�t care less about how much it would cost!�

�But he�s trying to rip us off!�

Suddenly Thirgynn spoke up, gazing unwaveringly at the Healer with something almost respectful in his eyes:

�Yes, I believe that our Mr Healer is doing to us precisely what we would have done to him, had the tables been turned. He has a good sense of business� and if he is the only one who can find and prepare the herb, then we really do not have a choice in this question.�

�So what you�re saying,� Samina commented with something not-so-subtly sadistic in her voice, �is that he�s acting like a dwarf?�

Thirgynn frowned at Samina, and Taskkarr growled angrily at them both until Steelwing�s calm voice unexpectedly cut through the tension like a well-honed blade:

�He is not ripping you off.�

Taskkarr turned his glare-of-death on the tall elf instead. �Say again?�

�He is not ripping you off, he is telling you what the herb is worth.�

�And just what would you know about that, Mr deep-elf Crusader?�

Steelwing shrugged slightly. �No more than you, master dwarf, but I have the benefit of objective thinking, since money has no value to me. Think about it yourself: In the entire known world, Dusklily can only be found in one place. One. That is why we are here, remember?�

Taskkarr was growling again, �What�s your point, elf?�

�Starsteel.�

Whatever analogy that was, it was not lost on the dwarves. Both stared with stunned expressions at the unruffled elf.

�But� surely�� Thirgynn said weakly, ��that is not a fair comparison� herbs re-grow all the time��

�Shows how much you know,� Shammael huffed. �Once you�ve picked a Dusklily, it takes up to five years for the root to send up flowers again.�

With a soft, metallic hiss, Steelwing unsheathed one of his rune-engraved swords and held the dark grey blade out in front of himself. Judeau had never seen such an exquisite weapon before; there was not a dent in the razor-sharp edge, nor any other trace that this sword had ever been used, or even sharpened. It gleamed dully � almost menacingly � in the afternoon light. Steelwing studied the weapon in his hand, as if to ascertain its qualities, and spoke softly:

�No, you are right, master miracle-worker Thirgynn� it is not a fair comparison. They are both as rare as the other, but Starsteel could technically be found anywhere� and right now you have much more need for the flower.�

�All right, all right,� Taskkarr grumbled in defeat and turned away from the elf. �You�ve made your point.�

He turned back to Shammael, who had to make a visible effort to tear his eyes away from the grey blade as Steelwing sheathed it again. With a scowl, the dwarf addressed the Healer:

�Fine. A hand axe, a battle-axe, a firing mechanism for a light crossbow. What else?�

�Um�� Shammael hesitated for a moment, then gave a quick shake of his head and returned to the business at hand. �Two knives. One large, double-edged, and one small.�

The dwarf ground his teeth. �And�?�

�Hmmm� that�s all I need that a smith can make. I need boots and clothes and some supplies, but the day after tomorrow I should have enough money to buy that myself, so�� he suddenly caught Judeau�s eyes and winked at him. �I want you to forge an armour for my friend here.�

�Shammael�!� Judeau gasped in surprise.

�Hush, boy. This is business. You need a new armour, right?�

�Well, yeah, but��

�Then no buts. You�d better take this chance, one doesn�t get dwarf-forged stuff for free very often.�

�Try never!� Taskkarr scoffed, but spread his hands in defeat and continued grimly, �I certainly can�t understand why you would do that, but you�re the man who calls the deal. If you want to give away a piece of dwarf-forged armour, I guess that�s your business.� The bald dwarf then turned to Judeau. �What kind of armour?�

Judeau helplessly shook his head. �You have got to stop giving me things, Shammael. I am up to my neck in debt to you.�

The Healer gave him his trademark snort. �Pish-tosh, boy. I told you already: I enjoyed your company, I find that rare in a human, and I want to thank you for being good company to a lonely old man for almost two months. Now stop complaining and tell the dwarf what you want.�

With a sigh and a shrug, Judeau gave in and turned to Taskkarr.

�Full metal cuirass with pauldrons, helmet with face and neck protection, and a pair of light gauntlets then, thank you.�

�Don�t thank me�� the dwarf grumbled. �What kind of quality do you two want for these things? They�ll be very high-grade now if you don�t want anything else.�

�That�ll be fine, as far as I�m concerned,� Judeau hastily replied and Shammael nodded, looking very pleased with himself.

�Great. Perfect.� Taskkarr turned to Steelwing and Samina, growling, �Well, I hope you two are happy now. I�ll need a week in a smithy.�

Steelwing just looked at the dwarf, but Samina lifted an eyebrow and icily replied:

�Then I guess I�ll just go and turn my weapons back in.�

�You do know you forced me to do this, right?�

�Oh, I do,� Samina replied, but Steelwing merely looked away, as if the conversation was boring him.

Taskkarr glared at them for a short while longer, before turning back to Judeau.

�I need to go find a smithy to hire, but you�re coming with me, manling; I�ll need your measurements so I can make the armour the right size.�

�I understand. Perhaps you could use my old armour as a template, it fit quite well.� Judeau opened his sack and let the shredded piece of equipment fall to the ground. Taskkarr gave it a disdainful look.

�You�re joking, right? That thing is good only as scrap metal. I won�t even try to take measurements on that.�

Samina gave a low whistle. �I hope you weren�t in that thing when that happened� I could fit my head through those holes!�

Okay, showing the armour had probably not been the smartest thing to do, after all. Damnit, what happened to thinking before I act?

Judeau still didn't dare to lie outright and smiled a little uncertainly at the scar-faced woman. �I told you I got seriously injured��

She gave him an incredulous stare. �No way� I was just joking� you mean you really were in it?! Man! You should be dead!�

Not really willing to go into the details on that subject, Judeau�s tone was a bit short when he replied, �Shammael found me in time, and saved me. He's very skilled.�

The Healer nodded proudly in agreement.

�You are not joking!� Taskkarr said, a little stunned, and Thirgynn gave the Healer an even more respectful look. Steelwing actually gave the old man a slight bow, but Samina said nothing, only watched Judeau with a small, thoughtful frown.

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