The pillars of creation

"But, you're an important man. I'm a nobody."

"Oh, you're somebody, Jennsen Daggett. The Lord Rahl himself does not hunt nobodies."

Jennsen felt an odd and unexpected sense of uneasiness. She harbored no love for D'Hara, of course, but she still felt somewhat uncomfortable to know that Sebastian was there to help bring about the defeat of her land.

The twinge of loyalty confused her. After all, the Lord Rahl had sent the men who had murdered her mother. The Lord Rahl hunted Jennsen, wanted her dead.

But it was the Lord Rahl who wanted her dead, not necessarily the people of her land. The mountains, the rivers, the vast plains, the trees and plant life had always all sheltered and nurtured her. She'd never really thought it through in that way before-that she could love her homeland, yet hate those who ruled it.

If this Jagang the Just succeeded, though, she would be freed from her pursuer. If D'Hara was defeated, Lord Rahl would be defeated-the rule of evil men would be ended. She would at last be free to live her own life.

In light of how open he was with her, she also felt foolish, even ashamed, for not telling Sebastian who she was and why Lord Rahl hunted her. She didn't know it all, herself, but she knew enough to know that Sebastian would share the same fate as she if they caught him with her.

As she thought about it, it began to make sense why he might not object to going to the People's Palace, why he might be willing to risk such a dangerous journey. As a strategist for the emperor Jagang, perhaps Sebastian would like nothing better than to sneak a look into the enemy's lair.

"Here we are," he said.

She looked up and saw the white clapboard face of the inn. A metal mug hanging from a bracket overhead squeaked as it swung to and fro in the wind. The sounds of singing and dancing spilled out onto the snowcovered silence of the night. With an arm around her shoulders, Sebastian sheltered her as they made their way through the great room, shielded her from the prying eyes, and led her to the stairs at the far side. If possible, the place was even more crowded and noisy than before.

Without pause, the two of them quickly ascended the stairs. Partway down the dim hall, he unlocked a door to the right. Inside, Sebastian turned the wick up on the oil lamp sitting on a small table. Alongside the lamp was a pitcher and washbasin and near the table a bench. Looming to the side of the room sat a high bed covered crookedly with a dark brown blanket.

The room was better than the home she had left, but Jennsen didn't like it. One wall was overlaid with drab, painted linen. The plastered walls were stained and flyblown. Since the room was on the second floor, the only way down was back through the inn. She hated the stink of the room a sour mixture of pipe smoke and urine. The chamber pot beneath the bed hadn't been emptied.

As Jennsen pulled a few things from her pack and went to the table to wash her face, Sebastian left her to it and went back downstairs. By the time she had finished washing and had brushed her hair, he returned with two bowls of lamb stew. He had brown bread, too, and mugs of ale. They ate sitting close together on the short bench, hunched over the table, close to the wavering light of the oil lamp.

The stew didn't taste as good as it looked. She picked out the chunks of meat but left the colorless, tasteless, soft vegetables. She sopped up some of the juice with the hard bread. She gave her ale to Sebastian and drank water instead. She wasn't used to drinking ale. To her the ale smelled as unpleasant as the lamp oil. Sebastian seemed to like it.

When she had finished eating, Jennsen paced in the confining room the way Betty paced in her pen. Sebastian threw a leg to each side of the bench and leaned back against the wall. His blue eyes followed her from the bed to the wall hung with linen and back again, as she began wearing a path in the plank floor.

"Why don't you lie down and get some sleep," he said in a soft voice. "I'll watch over you."

She felt like a trapped animal. She watched him take a long draft of ale from his mug. "And what will we do tomorrow?"

It wasn't only her dislike of the inn, of the room. Her conscience was eating at her. She didn't let him answer.

"Sebastian, I have to tell you who I am. You were honest with me. I can't stay with you and endanger your mission. I don't know anything about the important things you do, but being with me will only put you at great risk. You've already helped me more than I could have hoped, more than I ever could have asked."

"Jennsen, I'm already at risk being here. I am in the land of my enemy."

"And you're someone of high rank. An important man." She rubbed her hands together, trying to bring some warmth to her icy fingers. "If they captured you because you were with me… well, I couldn't bear it."

"I took the risk of coming here."