It seemed as though the "quarter," as the main gate guard had described it, that lay just across the bridge from the main body of Westgate had been lifted directly from Kara-Tur itself. It didn't take the traveler very long to discover the last tavern on his list. True to its name, the large place sported a radiant blue shock of cloth that hung over its outside lintel. The color was reminiscent of that which the traveler saw commonly at home, and at once, his longing for the sweeping architecture, spicy smells, and familiar tones nearly choked him.
"But that means," he thought sadly, "that I still have attachments."
The displeasure, and the frown that went with it, wasn't wiped away by the gaiety he found once he stepped inside the door. There indeed were people whose well-toned High Shou made them sound as though they could have been raised no more than a few feet from the monastery that had become his home. In fact, the suspiciously strong looking Human behind the bar nodded at the entering monk with nothing short of familiarity, just before trundling off to take care of the demands of other customers.
The traveler surveyed the area before him. Two or three conversations were brewing between the clusters of people at the bar, politely but firmly interrupted by the bartender, taking orders before moving away from them. In the large sitting area, there were only a few tables that had seats open, and they all had such lively words zinging the air, that one would have to holler to be heard by someone more than two feet away. There wasn't any music playing, but it sounded as though a few people somewhere around were singing anyway, and even though they were all singing different songs, at least they could all carry a tune.
The faces throughout the place seemed too similar to his own to boast the clearly Elven name 'Anaeriel.' It seemed silly to even ask for anyone who might know an Elf anywhere nearby. Crestfallen, the traveler decided to make this trip- the fourth tavern in an hour- worth its trouble.
"Sir," he asked, approaching the bar tentatively just as a gale of laughter from one of the three conversations washed over his own calm tone. "May I have a bowl of broth and a bit of bread?"
"There's no profit in making merit," a warm voice interrupted from somewhere behind the traveler, before the bartender could answer for himself. A gentle, rasping lilt made it decidedly non-Shou- and non-Human, to top that. "You'll have to pay for your order."
Although the knowledge had been easily come by in all three of the other taverns, the traveler still hated to receive the confirmation of his fear.
"Well?" the bartender asked encouragingly, crossing strong arms over a wide chest. "That what you've asked for is only ten pence, and I can be convinced to make it even cheaper."
"Tell you what," the owner of the voice said as he stepped into the traveler's full view. His skin was a much harsher, browner tan than that of the high-colored bartender, his hair was a deep coppery-brown, and his eyes a fascinatingly sharp green. "Add me a sake, if you still have any left-"
"We don't," the bartender interrupted with a vague smirk that concerned the traveler slightly.
"Then some Ny's Wild, hmm?"
"We got that, yeah," the muscular Human replied with crossed arms. "And what else?"
"Just what the brother ordered, and a room for him. And warm some bath water for him, in the morning- he'll need it."
The bartender walked off with a knowing chuckle, and the traveler found himself being offered a seat at the bar. At last, he noticed the length of the ears, which were nearly covered by the mostly-loose hair.
"I am Li Hama," he began uncertainly as he slid himself onto the wooden stool. "I have... been searching for the sons of Teng Kwai... if you've heard of him?"
"You will have a difficult time of it," the Elven male replied with an apologetic nod of his head. "Yet, water in a still pond will seek the ocean, if sufficient stones are thrown into it."
"Are you not a son of Kwai?" Li Hama asked at once. "You speak with his words."
The Elf laughed gently, and although Li Hama could tell that there must have been some sort of knowledge behind the levity, he was not sure of how to ask about it- or if it would even be appropriate to do so.
"When trees produce fruit," he answered at last, "each fruit from every tree is brother to the others. Tell me, Li Hama, what has produced this search?"
"It could be called the fruit of a tree indeed," Li Hama marveled. "My teacher is Kwan Yung, of the Standing Tree Monastery. He met Teng Kwai as he traveled through Mulhorand, and the two worked together for as long as he remained in the area. Yet, when my master asked Kwai to travel with him, he was refused."
The Elf and Li Hama both watched as the bartender returned with a generous clay bowl full of steaming soup, a half loaf of bread, and a flagon full of something that made Hama's nose tingle. The Elf rooted around in the purse that hung beside him for a moment, then produced eight gold coins. The bartender nodded and walked toward the other side of the bar, still abuzz with joyful talk, as the Elf turned his attentions back to Li Hama.
"A tree will walk before Kwai will," he noted calmly, taking a swig from the flagon.
"As the master tells it," Hama frowned, "that is exactly what Kwai said to him. The two parted, and many years passed. A great challenge is now arising, one that will require great strength, cunning, and perseverance. Kwan Yung wondered if perhaps the time had softened Kwai's spirit, so that he might aid we of the Standing Tree Monastery."
The Elf, who had taken two more sips of the substance in the flagon as Hama continued talking, nodded in the direction of the soup once he'd stopped. "Take it," he encouraged, "and may neither your heart nor your belly go empty."
"The matter first," Li Hama pressed. "My need is not immediate."
"Oh, I know," the Elf countered without a moment's pause. "That is why I suggest you eat your meal."
Li Hama opened his mouth to speak again, then closed it. Removing the bowl and the plate of bread from the platter on which they'd been brought, he broke the bread and began to sop at the soup with it. He found himself more hungry than he'd realized, and half the meal was finished before the soup could cool to lukewarm. As he ate, he noticed that the Elf, whose name he still didn't know, seemed to be unusually focused on the liquid in his flagon- as though there were something in it that wasn't supposed to be there, or perhaps he were concerned that it were poisoned. Hama decided to take care of one question before the other.
"May I know your name?" he asked carefully.
The Elf looked up sharply, as though he had been surprised, but his face was not displeased. In fact, an amused sparkle leaped into his eyes almost before Hama had noticed it had been absent.
"Anaeriel. What other knowledge would make greater your comfort?"
The way the question was phrased was concerning and welcoming at the same time. Li Hama dipped another piece of potato out of the soup with the bread and put both into his mouth so that he would have time to think of the best way to phrase the questions that he hadn't yet asked. Anaeriel, who seemed comfortable enough with both elbows on the bar, refrained from looking back into his flagon again, opting instead to turn his sights toward the other conversations at the other side of the bar to allow Hama the opportunity to chew without being watched.
"The way in which you choose your words reminds me greatly of my master, and those who walk with us," Li Hama managed at last, when the soup bowl was three fourths of the way gone. "You must follow the wisdom of some order."
Anaeriel turned back to Li Hama with a strange, bittersweet smile. "When you can tell the whole body of Teng Kwai apart from the body of Kwan Yung, you will know it."
Li Hama nodded once, slowly, knowing that this answer- which didn't seem much like an answer at all- would not only be all he would receive, but also all he should have needed. Anaeriel turned all the way around to watch a woman who had decided to begin dancing to someone's impromptu drumming on a table, and Li Hama finished his meal. It was not until the song and dance had collapsed into exhausted laughter and grateful applause that Hama looked to gain Anaeriel's attention again.
"Teng Kwai had indeed not moved, it seems, and I found him in a Mulhorandi ruin. I asked him to return with me, and he told me that he was waiting for his son. I offered to find that son, that he too may join us, so he sent me to do just that. Are you not a son of Kwai?"
Anaeriel thought for a few moments, turning around and taking another slow, contemplative drink. "It is interesting that Kwai sent you to Westgate," he finally answered. "Thesk is much closer."
"It is," Hama admitted. "But when I was there, I was sent on. In fact, I have been sent on three times- from the monastery to a nearby inn by my master, then to Phent by Lo Yuan, then to the former southern Mulhorandi border by Lunpazk. I was surprised by him, and now by you- how is it that an Orc and an Elf might join a Shou order?"
Anaeriel finished his drink, but held on to the empty flagon. "The clouds and the birds are just as much a part of any tree as the roots and leaves." he asked.
Li Hama raised an eyebrow. "That parable is puzzling," he said quietly, the admission nearly overtaken by the waves of sound from the other parts of the tavern. "I'm afraid I cannot reach it."
"It is not to be reached, but instead to be bent down to," Anaeriel encouraged. "Where is the body of your master?"
"In Phsant," Li Hama replied simply, wondering if the Elf were inviting him repeat himself for a specific reason. "He first sent me to an inn to seek Lo Yuan, who said he would be much surprised if his brother had moved two steps from the day he left him fifteen years ago. Why he did not then send me directly to the southern rivers of High Imaskar, as Lunpazk did, I do not understand."
Anaeriel nodded with the first trace of either sadness or disappointment that Hama had seen out of him. "To the north of here, less than a day's boat ride, then two day's walk, there is a land wrested away from the nation of Sembia, through which you will have to travel to get to it. It is called Daerlun. Look for one there who will answer to the name Hai Shui. Whether or not he has seen any of Teng Kwai's sons or not, I do not know, but perhaps when he hears his brother's name, he will be helpful."
Li Hama thought for a few moments. "Hai Shui and Lo Yuan are both brothers of Teng Kwai, and Lo Yuan claimed that Lunpazk is his son. You do not claim to be a son of Teng Kwai, yet you know this 'family' very well. Are you, perhaps, the son of Hai Shui?"
"I am," Anaeriel smirked, turning and knocking on the bar to get the bartender's attention. "And for the great love I have for the hands of my father, I will tell you this- there are three bears with him. Make sure you have with you no fewer than that, or you will go away with nothing at all."
The bartender returned and looked at both empty vessels with weariness. "What do you want?"
Anaeriel looked at Li Hama, then down to the actual wood of the bar in front of him for a moment. When he spoke, he did not lift his gaze. "Another Ny's for me, and a flagon of water and Ny's for my cousin. Let it be two parts more water than you usually give commoners."
"You got another four gold pieces for me?" the bartender asked, eyebrows raised.
"I could fetch you some more sake," Anaeriel offered slyly.
"You'd drink most of it before it got to me," the bartender replied with a knowing look on his face.
The Elf didn't deny the accusation, or even blush at it. With a simple shrug, he said, "Then send a bottle keeper with me, so that I behave myself."
"Oh no," the bartender huffed in a tone that made Li Hama unsure of whether or not he was joking. "Then you'd only carry on with him like if he were a woman."
At that, Li Hama stared at Anaeriel as though he were from some other plane of existence.
"You're only jealous since I won't 'carry on' with you," Anaeriel purred, lacing his fingers over his empty flagon and laying his chin on top of them. On the other side of the bar, one conversation hushed completely, and the others quieted as the participants paused to notice the scene.
Li Hama noticed that some of his fingers on Anaeriel's right hand were calloused, and- remembering that both Lo Yuan and Lunzpak had calluses in the palms of their hands from staff fighting- figured that he wielded whatever weapon he claimed mastery of with that hand.
Meanwhile, somebody on the far side began a pitchy "ooooh," while others began a low rumble of "geu kiseu, geu kiseu, geu kiseu." Hama found some unrecognized portion of himself, indignant and fully armed in self-righteousness, objecting to any such idea. Worse, there was some other wholly surprising part of his spirit that couldn't imagine that the Elf had any idea of what was being requested, meaning that his own people, these misplaced and poorly reared Shou, were making the suggestion solely to the man who had just denounced the Elf for "carrying on" with a man as if that man were a woman.
"I'll... be right back with the Ny's," the bartender mumbled, blushing furiously as he turned away.
"And I'll get you that sake- most of it, anyway," Anaeriel chuckled. When the bartender had moved out of earshot, the Elf returned his attentions to Li Hama. "Now tell me, Friend Hama, what called you to your tree?"
Li Hama watched the bartender amble back, shyness fitting strangely in his muscular frame, and check the flagon contents before he put them down in front of their respective drinkers. Anaeriel waited until the man had put the empty bowl and flagon back onto the platter, then made a single, quiet kissing noise. The man blushed all the way up to the roots of his coal black hair and departed much faster than he'd come.
"The strengthening of the mind," Hama finally answered, deciding to deal with the conflicting waves of confusion, revulsion, and fear at the next opportunity for meditation. "I was a child of nobility, but was not given to ruling over others. I preferred instead the solitary, careful gathering of knowledge and wisdom- for this, my father sent me to the monastery. I am very grateful to him; it has become my home."
"Take that, Friend Tree," Anaeriel smiled with a strain of another, deeper emotion just beneath, "and see if it will allow you to bend a bit. I shall say again that the fruit you seek is not above you, though you must indeed be careful when you gather it."
And Li Hama looked at the flagon before him very suspiciously indeed.
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