Koe closed his eyes, and against those silly shades of flesh he could see something else entirely. The glory of the dragon god descending upon him. None of them saw what he'd seen, witnessed what he'd witnessed. And perhaps they were all out there leading lives of which a good soul could be proud. Meanwhile here he was, talking of dueling princes, resting safe and comfortable in the arms of a goddess given the form of a dragon, not so long after Taereme had perished. And not so long after the Deadlands had ruined the lives of all those with whom they traveled. Was there any place in the world that was safe? Would Faustben be any better for these people than nothingness? A bleak question, but if the whole world was to be consumed because Koe could not see, then better to end it now, was it not? Better that than a life of fear and loathing? He could not answer that question but to tell himself that all would be well in the end.
He had to believe that.
Iluq was waiting for an answer, but she did not want to know. He remembered meeting Ilyien on a road that was more than likely no longer there, a shifting thing of sand and gravel. There were bandits about, Koe thought, and distantly he remembered swordplay. Only against one. The rest had surrendered, begged for their lives. And despite all the stories he'd written to that effect he could not recall ever seeing it happen in person, before his very eyes. One man's honor and skill with a blade forcing a band of hardened thieves to yield. Koe had to know more, and see more, and Ilyien had obliged. Well, Ilyien had allowed Koe to take advantage of his unwavering manners and his unflinching honor. And for a time, Koe thought, their friendship had been mostly on the end of the dragon. Ilyien had not seemed interested in what a bard could do or say. At least, not at first.
Now, he would have wagered that Ilyien would do anything for him.
So here they were. Koe was taking advantage of his friend again. To what purpose? Except greed?
"We met on the road," Koe told her with a gentle smile. "Is that really what you wanted to ask?"
His hands caught her wrists, as gently as one could do such a thing, and she froze in place. There was nothing of ice in her, and yet he was convinced that the cold winds would not blow and the snow would not come if she had gone from this world. Her eyes were two frozen lakes - and beyond them remembered warmth from the summer, long ago. She knew what she wanted to ask him but did not know how. And Koe in turn did not now how to tell her. What he felt, or what he wanted. There were no promises to be made between them. Not now, and not ever. The best he could do was tell her the truth.
"You must know... that I care for you, Iluq. Putting aside... the glib tongue of a bard. Where you go, I follow. For now that is the most I could say, or would want to say."
And now a great cry rose in the distance. One that he could not ignore. She'd opened her mouth, but closed it again when he sat up.