and Caer'alfar."
"Then why does she need the company of Belli'mar Juraviel?"
The Touel'alfar took a deep breath and considered the question, and considered how much he should reveal to Eltiraaz and the others. He had already spoken the name of his valley, his Lady, and his city, and sensed that he should trust these kin somewhat, but how might they feel about a human heading through their lands on her way to begin a war?
"Brynn Dharielle was selected among the To-gai-ru of the wild steppes south of the great mountains," he explained.
"We know of the To-gai-ru," Eltiraaz replied.
"Then you know that they are not like their kinfolk," Juraviel said. ?They are more attuned to the land and to - "
"A few of our soldiers are of To-gai-ru descent," Cazzira said, and her grim tone reminded Juraviel of the type of ?soldier" to which she was refer-ring. He looked at her, wondering how deep her enmity truly ran, and was taken in again by those exotic eyes of hers, shining icy orbs layered in emo-tion and thought.
e shook off his revulsion and focused on an interesting question: how had any To-gai-ru come to the land of the Doc'alfar? And how did the c alfar know of Brynn's people? True, the To-gai-ru settled the land only lundred miles or so south of this region, but on the other side of suppos-c% impassable mountains. Or perhaps, not so impassable?
t how to bring the conversation to that point, to where he could even i to hope that these captors would allow him and Brynn to go free at alone tell them of a possible way through the mountains?
"Have you found no redeeming qualities in the To-gai-ru?" he dared to ask. ?Are they no more than the other humans to you?"
"Should we look, Belli'mar Juraviel?" King Eltiraaz asked. ?Is it your word to us that the To-gai-ru can be better trusted by our people? Do you believe, perhaps, that we have erred in judging them so harshly?"
Juraviel saw the potential trap, particularly in that last question, but he knew that he had to hold fast to his principles, both for his own heart and for any chance that he might find in getting past those fierce people. ?I be-lieve that you should look, if that is what you desire," he said. ?It is my word to you that the To-gai-ru are more attuned to the ways of both the Tyl-wyn Tou and Tylwyn Doc, if the Tylwyn Doc hold at all to the old ways of our people."
"More, perhaps, than the Tylwyn Tou, Belli'mar Juraviel," King Eltiraaz replied, ?if the Tylwyn Tou have come to befriend the humans."
Juraviel conceded the point without any countering statement at all, for indeed, during the old times when the races of elves were united, they had no contact with anyone who was not of the People.
"I would not say that you have erred, King Eltiraaz. That is not a judg-ment for me to make. In my own land, we preserve our secrecy with equal ferocity; a human who cannot be trusted is treated in the same manner in which we would deal with a goblin who wandered onto our land. Well, per-haps not as harshly as that - we would kill the human more quickly and mercifully.
"But not a To-gai-ru," he quickly added, though he had no idea if he was speaking the truth or not, since no To-gai-ru had ever wandered anywhere near to Andur'Blough Inninness, except for those taken in as rangers-in-training, of course. He felt that his reasoning was sound, though, and so he continued. ?My Lady Dasslerond would hold back on the killing blow against a To-gai-ru until the intruder's intent could be discerned."
"By then, it is often too late," Cazzira remarked.
"Too late for what? We fear no threat from anything short of an invading army."
That set all three of the Doc'alfar back on their heels a bit, Juraviel noted.
"Perhaps your clan is more numerous than our own," King Eltiraaz said after a short pause and a glance at his two kinfolk. ?We are not numerous, and thus we take threats against our land more seriously."
"Or you are more quick to judge intrusion as threat," Juraviel dared to say, and Cazzira at his side sucked in her breath sharply. Juraviel started to mod-ify the statement, to make it seem less an accusation, but he stopped himself short, letting King Eltiraaz weigh the words.
"Perhaps we must be," the king said a short while later. ?And I