I was relieved that the whole subject had been dropped however and thought nothing more of it. There was much to do to make the hut ready for a long absence and a long line of patients had began to come calling with gifts and requests for medicine.
It was only on the evening of the next day, the evening before we were to leave that I discovered just what the few drinks had lead too.
We were going over my disguise.
"This stuff is a bit nice for a maid servant, isn't it? And this scarf. This is Borgonese, not Gallian."
"Yes," said Tomas. "We had a bit of change of plan. We thought it might be better for you to pass as the wife of a Borgonese merchant. A married woman will attract less suspicion. Here, I got you a wedding ring."
Something was up. Hamel was looking nervous. Tomas on the other hand had the same bland look on his face that he'd had the day before when we'd been talking about Parrus.
"Why Borgonese?" I asked.
Tomas shrugged.
"Actually, it was your friend Parrus' idea," said Hamel suddenly.
"Hamel!" said Tomas in warning tones, but it was too late.
"You see he wants to come with us and we thought he'd be very useful and he could be a Borgonese merchant because being Gallian wouldn't be a good idea in Moria at the moment and he speaks very good Borgonese and so he could be your husband and you could be ... Look I know we should have discussed it with you Dion, but you were busy and ..."
"You what ...? Take Parrus into Moria! Are you insane? You'll get us all killed."
"It could be very useful to have two mages, Dion," said Tomas. "Parrus really wanted to come. He could be very useful to us."
"No! It's crazy. I don't want Parrus tagging along. It won't work Tomas. They'll know he's not Morian. They'll throw him into jail just for being a Gallian."
"Well I judged it would be well," said Tomas as if there was no point in this discussion. "And so I decided he should come."
"You ... Well, I think it's a stupid idea. I ..."
"What do you know about it anyway? I'm not interested in your opinion. You know nothing of Moria and what will work and not work. For God's sake, Dion. Stop wasting my time with things that aren't your concern. Do I tell you how to perform healing?"
I just gaped at him.
Tomas rounded on Hamel. "You said you'd back me up on this. Thanks very much Hamel."
"We should have discussed it with her. It just wasn't right."
"What else haven't you told me," I said. Anger came blasting through my shock.
"Nothing," snapped Tomas. "Stop fussing. It will be all right"
The way he spoke, that long suffering tone of a man dealing with a fool; that was the last straw. This insane plan, the fact that they hadn't even asked me, they'd just assumed they could force it on me - the whole thing went off like a firework in my brain.
"That's it," I shouted. "If Parrus goes, I'm not."
"Oh that's just wonderful," shouted Tomas. "Stay then. We'll take Parrus."
"Fine!"
"Dion don't be like that. Tomas ..."
"And you shut up," snapped Tomas. "You've done quite enough, Hamel."
Silence in the room. The fire crackled in the hearth.
"Tomas you'd be angry too, if someone just sprung something on you like this. Let's just talk it over."
Tomas snorted.
"Listen Tomas, women have just as much mind for reasonable discussion as men, no matter what you think."
"Oh listen to Mr Expert," sneered Tomas. "You know all about how to handle women."
"Well I handle my wife well enough, don't I?" said Hamel levelly.
"You ... You shit!" shouted Tomas. He spun round and in a madness of anger made as if to hit Hamel.
"No! Stop!" A surge of panicky power came out of me and Tomas froze mid-punch. A second thought and I made his arm come down and stick to the tabletop so that Tomas had to crouch beside it.
"Sweet Tansa's mother!" said Tomas, wonderingly.
Hamel blinked, then turned away suppressing a smile.
"That was well done, little sister," said Tomas admiringly.
"Don't little sister me. It won't work." I turned to Hamel. "I don't think we should take Parrus. It's too dangerous."
"It's dangerous whether we take him or not Dion. But a married woman with a husband there with her. They're less likely to be looking for a healer in those circumstances."
"But two mages, that's pushing our luck. And one of them a Gallian. Moria is at war with Gallia now."
"Well I said so too and that's when Parrus said he could pass for a Borgonese. Do you think he's lying?"
No he probably wasn't lying. Parrus had been five years in Borgon and he was good at languages. His knowledge and fluency in the Borgonese tongue was no doubt very good.
"He just has to pass for three days," said Tomas. "Until we get home."
I scowled at him.
"You could let me go," he said, politely nodding at his wrist which was still stuck to the table.
I turned pointedly back to Hamel.
"Are you allowed to do this? Use magic on helpless people like that," said Hamel, doubtfully. "Doesn't the White College forbid it?"
"Tomas Holyhands isn't a helpless person. He's ... He's a dammed snake."
Tomas grinned.
"Two mages would be very useful in Moria," said Hamel. "It's likely that Tasha has got herself mixed up in something very bad. We might need a mage to help get her back. And you'll be in hiding after doing the searching spell."
They had a point here. It was something I had thought of myself.
"You'd be better to take me South than Parrus," I said.
"Oh Dion, it doesn't sound like the South is any place for a woman."
"Dion is the stronger mage," said Tomas. "We would be better to take her. But we'll see how the land lies in Annac before we make any decisions. But you can see the point of our plan can't you Dion."
I looked at him and sighed. Curse Tomas. I was already considering Parrus' coming as a possibility.
"But can it be done safely?"
"I really do not think it will be any more dangerous than just taking you alone," said Tomas. "I've done this before. Many times. You must trust me to know, Dion. Now be fair. I don't tell you how to do healing, do I?"
"Why on earth would Parrus want to go into Moria?" I wondered, though part of me knew the answer already. It was not much of a life for a well trained young mage to be hanging round on the family estates, overseeing the farm work. And possibly Tomas had worked on him a little. My respect for Tomas' powers of persuasion was rapidly growing.
"You just don't want him to find out about you," said Tomas. "You're afraid he'll go off you."
At that moment it occurred to me that Tomas might be match-making. No. That was too insane.
"You shut up Tomas," I said briefly.
"Look he knows about our mother now. We told him. He seemed more amused than anything else."
That sounded like Parrus.
"But we haven't told him about the magery. And we won't either, till you're ready. Not many men take kindly to being outdone by a woman. Come on Dion let me up. My knees are killing me."
"When