The settlement on the Isle of Dusk seemed to have no name at all, or was referred to simply as Dusk. Ren was given a simple guest room in one of the buildings, along with most of his loyal warriors. When he awoke each morning, it was because the sun had risen over the edge of the hill and set a glow across his bed. He rose from the hammock, and strung it out of the way. His room was small, and a trunk with his belongings had been placed beneath the sleeping sack. He pulled on a tunic and dabbed his hands into a small basin of water.
Lerran and Tassina had been given a larger suite in the adjacent building, but Ren had suggested a capable warrior join them. Karsef had volunteered for posting as that sentry, and slept on a small cushioned couch that had been already been present.
It was only a half dozen steps, but Renado’s path from the front door of the dormitory to their suite was still long enough to be interrupted by Telan. The magician seemed to be a spokesperson for the populace of the Island, but also a middleman in whatever organization Ren’s Family had now become embroiled.
“Renado,” Telan said, approaching quietly from behind. “How did you rest?”
“Soundly,” Ren said. “Though I am sore still, of course. Your training regime is rigorous.”
Telan bowed his head, grinning. While Lerran’s primary task was recovering, Renado and the other warriors and smugglers were given several hours of combat practice each day. “Nothing is the matter though?”
Renado shrugged. “The first time I came here, I nearly died. I guess I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“Times change,” Telan said, with a smirk. By now, all of the sailors and even the wounded had taken the Vows. Lerran’s healing was progressing quickly, and the master healer, Onarish, had even taken one day to offer a checkup for Tassina. He described it as a rejuvenating magic that would ensure the unborn child’s health. Telan paused before they reached the suite’s front door, and looked around the settlement. “Next week, my master will be arriving. He will discuss, with you and with your brother, what tasks will be assigned to you.”
“I see,” Ren said. “And your master is?”
“He will introduce himself,” Telan said. “It is not my place. In the meantime, your training will continue.”
Ren tipped his head. “Now, tell me again how the herbal beer is the only alcohol?”
“The only one you may have,” Telan said, “As Mistress Kloro produces such an excess of the ingredients in her garden.”
As Ren saw it, there were only about fifty inhabitants on the Isle of Dusk, and he had only met a handful of them. He excused himself from Telan’s company and entered his brother’s suite, while trying to think of all the names he had heard but not met. He would have to insist on meeting Telan’s boss, when the time came.
Tassina was awake already, and knitting some clothes out of flaxen string provided by the magicians. She sat in the living chamber of the quarters, on the short couch where Karsef often slept. The guard had already excused himself, Ren noticed. He smiled to her and took a seat on a wooden armchair nearby.
“You look well,” he said to her. Tass’s face looked fuller—instead of rings around her eyes, there was a glow to her skin. She wore a folded robe around her swollen torso, but the clothes she was knitting were smaller—baby clothes.
She smiled. “I feel well,” she said. “I feel as though I’ve awaken from a nightmare. I know it was real, I know our home is gone… But it all feels like it was just a truly awful, bad dream.”
A shadow was cast across the floor as someone appeared in the doorframe. “Is that my little brother?” Lerran asked, leaning a few feet away. His arms and legs were wiry, and he trembled when he stood, but at least he could stand.
Renado stood up. “Bigger than you, right now,” Ren said, chuckled. His arms and legs were muscular, albeit decorated with bruises from sparring swords.
Lerran smiled. He walked into the room and sat next to Tass. They kissed, but then Lerran regarded Ren speculatively. “They have me drinking this horrid tea, but I’m getting stronger every day. Have the magicians been treating you well?”
“Yes,” Ren said. “We eat as well as you, and some of the men were even provided new clothes when their worn ones were deemed too far gone.”
“Has there been any news from Sheld?” Tass asked.
With a shake of his head, Ren told her, “None.”
“Nor will there be,” Lerran said. “They will not want us going after our lost home. Tass, it is truly lost to us. We left it in chaos, but that chaos will not accept us back. The Grey Brethren will return, or the gangs will rise again.”
“I was born there,” Tass said. “What of our child?”
“I cannot say. Perhaps he’ll be born here, an island of transitions,” Lerran said.
Ren bowed his head when Tass stood up, torn by the realization they had all faced already. She spoke quietly, to Lerran, “This is not how it should be. We had a home for him, and I thought we had protection. You were supposed—”
Nearly coming to his defence, Ren was silenced by his older brother’s raised hand. “I must bear this,” he said, quietly. Ren would have told him that it was not his fault, but he knew that they would bear it nonetheless. Lerran waved for him to leave, and Ren started to walk away. He glanced back, when he got to the door, to see Lerran taking his weeping wife in his arms.
In the field of grass between all the buildings of Dusk, Woodro and a still-limping Asar were sparring aggressively. Karsef was in attendance, watching their bout and calling out tips. He glimpsed Renado and waved. The fight would go on, for them. Ren grabbed a sparring sword, leaned against the well, and clenched his jaw. For them, the fight would endure.