No resolution came so quickly to Ehlissa as she quietly followed
Tenser about town on errands that left him excited and her puzzled.
Tenser was an engaging friend, long of speech and short on breaks.
Animated, lively – Ehlissa felt she was following her own personal
minstrel show about town. But the closer she came to subjects of
magic, such as what these components specifically did, the more he
evaded the subject. They had been from one side of the Artisan's
Quarter to the other when Tenser stopped them and said, "I really
can't tell you more, you know. Mystical secrets and all that. But
I'll ask my contact what I can share with you."
"Your contact? I thought he was your tutor."
"Well, it's complicated," was all Tenser would say to explain it.
Then he said bye and left Ehlissa all alone.
Day became night for all, but some went to their beds more content
than others did. Ehlissa went to her bed with a strange mixture of
both contention and wanting that only those who had known young love
would recognize, though she did not yet recognize it as such and would
soon deny it when Joyhdee suggested as much.
The next days were a welcome return to normalcy for Ehlissa, attending
cl*****, running errands, and entertaining friends. She came and went
quickly to and from the guildhall, encouraging her friends to study
with her elsewhere, but she did linger slightly each time with her
eyes and ears strained for some hint of Tenser. Only once she
encountered Gleed again, but in a crowded hall where Gleed did not
dare or have interest in confronting her. Outwardly, she betrayed
little of her preoccupation and she was able to conceal it so well
because another labored for her in secret. That night, after her last
encounter with Tenser, she had told all to her sister Joyhdee. It
became Joyhdee's secret mission to find Hertha and befriend her.
"I can't do it," Ehlissa had said. "If I approached Hertha and my
friends knew about it, they would never speak to me again."
"Who cares what they think?" Joyhdee had asked with childlike
innocence. "It's not like one of them knows any real spells."
Ehlissa pleaded to sway Joyhdee to her side, Joyhdee consented at
last, and their alliance was sealed. Each day, Ehlissa waited for
news from her sister of Hertha. At first, all Joyhdee could produce
was fresh gossip, to which Ehlissa listened without complaint. But
when two days had passed and Joyhdee had not yet even met Hertha
personally, Ehlissa begged her to redouble her efforts.
"If you love me, you would meet with Hertha right away," Ehlissa argued.
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