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of this quest was almost a certainty, leaving her with the question: how does one give more than they have?
    “Captain Bahr says to get ready. We’re coming up on the spot,” Skuld announced to each of them as he made his way from stern to bow. The young street thief was steadily growing into a Man before their eyes. He’d snuck aboard the Dragon’s Bane thinking to find treasures in the Murdes Mountains. What he got was much more.
    Skuld was the definition of confused. He wanted to be a great warrior like Boen, a wise Man like Bahr, and Anienam was convinced he’d make a fine wizard. He often grinned himself to sleep, thinking that his life had nowhere to go but up. Perhaps with a little time he might grow to be all three. He’d put on muscle since leaving Delranan to rescue the princess. His hair, already unkempt, now hung past his shoulders. His clothes were starting to fray and he generally smelled bad from the inability to take a bath but he didn’t care. He was more alive than ever, even if he didn’t know which direction to take his life. He paused when he found Princess Maleela listening to the twisted, broken Ionascu close to the bow.
    “Princess, you must think of your people,” Harnin’s former spy cooed. “Delranan is dying and your family has lost power.”
    Her face brightened in the pale moonlight. “My family abandoned Delranan long before Harnin stole power, Ionascu. You were one of his puppets. You know more than anyone how foul his deeds have become.”
    He nodded too eagerly. “True. True, but there is always hope that he can be removed. Would you see your father back upon the throne or…yourself? Perhaps it is time for the kingdom to have a queen.”
    He smiled wickedly. Once a trusted spy for Harnin One Eye, Ionascu was betrayed and tortured until his body was broken. Harnin discarded him after the mission to rescue Maleela from Rogscroft. He dreamed of the day when he’d be able to exact his revenge on the One Eye, falling deeper into dementia as the days fled. The visions didn’t come until their time in the Dwarven kingdom of Drimmen Delf. Nightmarish figures came to him in the cold night and whispered promises of power, and more. He quickly fell under their sway even while knowing they were the servants of great evil. They promised to restore his former glory. All he had to do was deliver Maleela to them.
    “Why are you so interested? You didn’t seem to mind working for my father and his band of thugs,” she replied tersely. Yet despite her rough tone, he managed to plant the seeds of doubt and worse, the desire to be more than the limitations of herself.
    He shrugged nonchalantly. “Harnin abandoned me and your father never cared. I am alone in the world, Princess. All of my men were murdered before your very eyes. What else can I do but try to change what is?”
    “We have all made sacrifices, Ionascu. Don’t try to make me believe yours is more than any other on this ship. Go back to your hiding and leave me be.”
    Properly scolded, the broken Man snickered. “Delranan is going to need new leadership when this is said and done. Why not the daughter of the king?”
    He took up his walking stick and hobbled off, whistling under his breath. Maleela let out the breath of anger she’d been holding and wiped her face with her palms. Men like Ionascu were part of a greater problem she hadn’t come up with a solution for. Closing her eyes, Maleela tried to think of a time when her life wasn’t so arduous. She couldn’t. Badron blamed her for the death of his wife, her mother. The queen died giving life to Maleela, leaving a permanent scar on the relationship between father and daughter. She didn’t know why, but her thoughts suddenly veered down the direction of Ionascu’s urging. Questions sprang to life. Why couldn’t she be queen? The ruler Delranan deserved. Ideations of grandeur sprinkled through her mind, making it hard to focus on the task at hand.
    “Excuse me,