"I was blessed at just thirteen. All my life, they looked upon me with honor in their eyes and fear in their hearts. But now, they see not a savior, but a traitor."
---------------
Did he know the wanderer? The reaction suggested they'd met before, but his expression had been more worried than angry. If he'd wanted the wanderer's location, he could have pressed her for it. Instead, he'd fled the moment she mentioned a king's blessed. Bad blood between them? Some old grudge or betrayal? Or was it something else entirely?
As the door closed behind the mysterious stranger, Nisheena found herself staring at the spot where he'd been sitting. The conversation had lasted mere minutes, but it had changed everything. Another player had entered the game, one whose motives and allegiances were completely unknown. She looked around the common room, noting how conversations had resumed their normal volume now that the stranger was gone. But at the table by the window, Kael and his companions were still debating what to do about the wanderer, their voices rising with passion and frustration.
An idea began to form in Nisheena's mind dangerous, possibly stupid, but potentially profitable if played correctly. She'd spent years watching the currents of power flow through Baelur, learning to read the signs that preceded major changes. Tonight felt like one of those moments when everything balanced on a knife's edge, when a single decision could reshape the entire town's future.
She walked over to where Kael sat, his young face flushed with anger and determination. Around him, his companions. other farmers and laborers who'd grown tired of being pawns in the families' games. looked up as she approached.
"You want to save the wanderer?" she asked quietly.
Kael nodded eagerly. "You've changed your mind?"
"Maybe," Nisheena said. "But not for the reasons you think."
She pulled out a chair and sat down, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper.
"That man who just left he knew our wanderer. Recognized him the moment I mentioned king's blessed. And he ran."
"So?"
"So ask yourself what kind of person makes a king's blessed warrior run? What kind of power does someone need to have to frighten a man who can cut down four armed soldiers without breaking a sweat?"
The table fell silent as the implications sank in. Kael's face paled slightly, but his jaw remained set with determination.
"You think they're connected somehow," he said. "The wanderer and the stranger."
"I think," Nisheena said carefully, "that there are forces at work in this town that none of us understand. Big forces. The kind that reshape kingdoms and decide the fate of kings." She leaned back in her chair, studying their faces.
"The wanderer might be the key to understanding what's happening here. If we're going to survive what's coming, we need to know what he knows."
"And if Tarkun kills him?"
"Then we're all flying blind into whatever storm is heading our way."
Kael looked around the table, meeting the eyes of each of his companions. Nisheena could see the moment when their resolve hardened, when fear transformed into determination.
"What do you need us to do?" he asked.
Nisheena smiled the first genuine expression she'd worn all evening.
"Get your friends. We're going to need every able body we can find."
"For what?"
"To remind Tarkun that he doesn't own this town. And to make sure our
wanderer lives long enough to answer some very important questions."
As the young men began to disperse, gathering allies and making plans, Nisheena remained at the table, her mind already working through the possibilities. She was taking a enormous risk. crossing both the Urartu family and whatever forces had sent the mysterious stranger. But risk and opportunity were often the same thing, and she'd built her life on knowing when to fold and when to bet everything on a single hand. Tonight felt like a betting night. Outside, Baelur's perpetual twilight pressed against the windows, and somewhere in the darkness, powerful forces moved according to plans laid long before any of them had been born. But for the first time since the wanderer had arrived, Nisheena felt like she might have a chance to influence the outcome.
The game was far from over, and she intended to make sure she was still standing when the final hand was played.