Chapter Fifty-one Felix and Foster window shop the afternoon away. Foster picks up a few books. He wants someone to sharpen his sled runners, so he can beat Rinaldo the next time they race. Felix suggests using the Logrus to cheat. Foster tries to think of a way to do so without Rinaldo noticing. They discuss Murine. Foster observes that she's a lot calmer now, and she seems a lot happier. And she's alive, which is always a plus. Felix admits there are some things he would have liked to discuss with her, but it would be rather pointless now. They talk about shadow Earth, and Felix says he never should have taken him there. Foster mentions he wants to return, since he misses playing Sonic. Felix suggests he find a way to make it work in Amber. Big mistake. The idea of electricity in Amber intrigues Foster. Felix tells him all he needs is batteries. Foster gives him an odd look and says he thought the bachelor party would have satisfied that. Felix asks if it satisfied Foster. Foster claims it did. Foster plans to get Rinaldo's help, and maybe Emer's, in dealing with Felix's challenge. Felix thinks they should tell Random of their intentions first. Heather prepares for her trip to Bedlam. She spends the remaining time until dinner "marking" Mandor. Alex spends the afternoon having sex with Mebd. Ahab spends the afternoon jogging. Ariana spends the afternoon dealing with Riftvan's fever. He's pretty delirious, but she manages to calm him down psychically. She gives Jalana to Kira to manage. At dinner, Lord Rein slips Felix the lyrics to a song making fun of Rinaldo. Foster and Rinaldo put their heads together during the meal and they leave together, along with Emer and Eris. Ahab tells Felix that nothing good can come of this. Felix explains what they're trying to do. Ahab's opinion is confirmed. Alex takes Mebd back to his quarters for dessert. Mebd asks what the whipped cream has to do with ambassadorial duties. Alex demonstrates. Driscoll tells Heather he's ready to leave, but he seems to have misplaced Eris. Heather tells him the children seem to be getting along, a fact they both find dangerous. Heather Trumps Emer to tell her they are going on ahead. She gives Emer a Trump of the apartment and tells her to use it when she and Eris are ready. She also instructs Emer to leave some parts of the castle standing. Emer tells Heather that it's just good, harmless fun. Heather is not convinced. Emer tells Heather not to break him and breaks the contact. Heather thinks that's quaint, and tells Driscoll that Emer is giving them time. Driscoll looks nervous. Ahab takes Kimdyl up to their quarters and warns her to listen for crashing sounds from the infirmary. Kimdyl warns him that Ariana fights better than he does. He says that normally he'd expect some support from his wife, but he knows better. He goes to the infirmary. He is stopped by Ariana's guards, who tell her he's there. After some back and forth about what he wants, Ariana Trumps him. Ahab says he's decided to see if he can cow Vetch instead of killing him. Ariana tells him Riftvan's in no condition to talk right now. Ahab asks her to tell him when Riftvan is. He reminds her that if she doesn't, he can always go back to his original plan and kill Riftvan. Ariana psychically smacks him. She says she'll discuss the matter with Riftvan when he recovers, and breaks the contact, hard. Ahab wanders back to his quarters to nurse his headache. He hears children's voices coming from one of the sitting rooms as he passes by, but he opts not to investigate. Felix tries tracking down the kids. He eventually finds them on the top floor of the castle, standing around a green, glowing pattern on the floor. They are chanting something, but when Rinaldo spots Felix, he cuts the spell and the glow fades. Felix asks if they want some hot cider. Rinaldo says that would be great and makes sure to smudge the chalk marks as he walks over. Foster has a caught look on his face. They head downstairs. Felix says he's glad they're keeping themselves entertained. He does warn them that "if you break it, you buy it." Ariana starts crying after Ahab leaves. Riftvan wakes up and asks what's wrong. She tells him about Ahab's visit. Riftvan figures he wasn't going to get off scott free. He tries to get Ariana to go to sleep. She's afraid something will happen again if she does. He tells her there's a method to his madness. He also tries to cast a sleep spell on her, but she uses Magic Disrupt to stop this. He points out that will only work a few more times. She tells him that Ahab will kill him. Riftvan points out this will end the vendetta. Ariana says she doesn't care. She tells Riftvan that if Ahab kills him, she'll have to kill Ahab in revenge. Riftvan thinks that's rather poor. She thinks the same of Ahab's actions. Riftvan points out she has a daughter to think of. Ariana thinks Jalana will be better off with someone else, anyway. She asks what happened to Morgan's body. Riftvan tells her it was torn to shreds. Ariana blames herself for what happened to Morgan. Riftvan tries to get her to blame the Hendrakes instead, but she isn't convinced. He drifts off to sleep. She eventually does so as well, but doesn't sleep very well. Kimdyl asks Ahab how it went. Ahab says it went poorly. He discusses his options with her. She tells him Vetch shouldn't be able to shapeshift for several months. Ahab wonders if Ariana is going to get over her current state. Kimdyl points out it will take her a while to get over the death of her son. Ahab wonders if the experience has changed Vetch's attitude at all. He doesn't see any point in talking to Vetch if he still has this patronizing, I'm better than you attitude. Kimdyl tells him that she thinks he does need to talk to Vetch, for his own sake, if nothing else. She mentions that he tends to have a one- track mind. He denies this, and tells her to lie down. Kimdyl isn't amused. She suggests that maybe she can talk to Ariana and arrange an audience. Ahab thinks that's a bad idea, given their past relationship. Kimdyl figures it's up to him. Ahab has to do some eloquent foreplay to get her forgiveness for the "lie down" crack. Felix wakes up in the middle of the night to check if the kids are fooling around upstairs again. He spots the door to the hallway closing but sees no one in the hallway. Then he notices the ring on Foster's finger. A Spikard, to be exact. Felix is most upset. Still no sign of anyone in the hallway, so he Trumps Ahab. Ahab is woken out of a sound sleep, and observes that Felix looks worried. Felix explains the problem, including the spell he interrupted earlier. Ahab asks if he's tried pulling the ring off. Felix doesn't want to do that while Foster's sleeping. Ahab points out that if it's what they think it is, they won't be able to take it from Foster when he's awake. Ahab tells Kimdyl the situation. Kimdyl doesn't know anything useful. Felix asks if she knows anything about the spell he interrupted. Ahab doesn't think she will. He promises to come by in the morning. Felix goes back into his quarters. Foster has rolled over so the ring isn't visible. Felix checks out the fourth floor, but no one is up there. He returns to his quarters, sits down next to Foster and wakes him up. He claims Foster was talking in his sleep about green fire. Foster tells him that was pretty unsubtle, but explains it was a summoning spell. The idea was to summon something like a generator. Felix asks why they stopped. Foster reminds Felix that he has a tendency to overreact, so they thought it would be best to pretend nothing had happened. Felix asks if he's sure they were summoning a generator. Foster is sure. Felix lets him go back to sleep. Felix himself sleeps rather poorly after that. Foster looks pretty worried in the morning and keeps his hands behind his back. Felix explains what happened last night. Foster is upset that Felix didn't see who it was and says this really isn't good. He tells Felix that it's a Spikard, and they're really powerful. Felix says the red-heads have them. Foster says he can't get the Spikard off, even using shapeshifting. Felix decides to talk to Merlin before he tells any of the red-heads about this. Foster explains that this whole mess might have something to do with some of his training, which he hasn't exactly explained to Felix. Felix asks if he thought this would happen. Foster said he knew something might happen, but he didn't know it would be this, and he doesn't want to do it anymore. Felix asks what he's talking about. Foster won't tell him unless he promises not to tell anyone. Felix tells him it won't get any better if he doesn't talk about it. Foster says he wants to try a few things first. He looks like he's about to cry, so Felix holds him and asks what's wrong again. Foster explains that he's supposed to play a small role in changing the balance of power in Amber. At least those were the lessons he got from Nanna. Felix asks if he's supposed to kill someone. Foster looks pained and says he knows Amber isn't the way he was taught, but he needs to think. Felix warns him that the red-heads will notice the Spikard. Foster says they won't if the Spikard doesn't want to be noticed. Felix asks if Vetch was involved. Foster says he got the impression that Vetch didn't know about this. He also doesn't think Nanna was from Chaos. Unfortunately, all he remembers about her is her long, straight hair. His memories of her appearance are scrambled. Foster goes into the other room and uses the Logrus to find some gloves. Felix suggests he bundle up and claim he's feeling cold. Foster asks Felix to knock him out if he gets glassy eyed, since he's not sure about the power of the Spikard. Felix tells him to go ahead and think, and he'll send some breakfast up for him. He runs downstairs and arranges this. Ahab looks in on Foster with a Pattern lens. The lens reveals that Foster is in possession of a rather substantial power source. Ahab files this away under "things that are dangerous" and goes down to breakfast with his family. Heather and Driscoll for dinner in Bedlam. They go over recording business while eating Chinese. Heather's fortune reads "Sympathy is always appreciated, but lending a hand is better." There's no sign of Emer when Heather returns to her apartment, but there is a note telling her that Emer and Eris will be there in the morning. Heather phones Mary, who sounds out of breath when she answers. Mary asks where the Hell Heather has been for the past three months. Heather explains it's been 13 years for her. She wasn't sure when Driscoll was going to get Bedlam running again, you see. Mary asks if Heather is alone, and when she learns Heather is, she says she'll be over in ten minutes. She arrives on schedule, runs her hands through Heather's hair, and says she likes it. Heather is rather hesitant. She says that Emer doesn't know about them. Mary doesn't think that's a problem, since Emer's not showing up until tomorrow. She sets up her camera. Eris, Emer and Rinaldo discuss the absence of Foster at breakfast. Alex tries to find out what's going on, but doesn't learn anything. Emer asks how he's faring in Amber and wants to know if he's gotten used to the thing in the basement. Alex claims that's not the dangerous thing. She asks what is. He tells her with her mother gone, she can take her pick. Emer smiles. Felix makes a brief appearance to grab some food. Alex asks if Felix is feeling extra hungry. Emer observes Felix's expression and whispers something to Rinaldo. Felix looks like he's going to say something, and then leaves. Emer keeps whispering to Rinaldo, who has a smile on his face. Eris tries unsuccessfully to figure out what's going on. Alex knocks on Felix's door. Felix motions for Foster to hide in the other room before answering. Alex says he's sorry for poking fun at him this morning. Felix accepts the apology, but don't let me keep you. Alex isn't fooled. Felix keeps trying to get rid of him. Alex observes that he has things well in hand, emphasizing the last word. Felix asks what he means by that. Alex says he meant nothing out of the ordinary, and asks if he should have. Felix says no, nothing's out of the ordinary. Alex leaves and goes to his quarters. He uses the Logrus to check out Felix's quarters, and notices the Spikard. Foster tells Felix that Alex is scoping him out with the Logrus. Unfortunately there's nothing he can do to stop it without looking guilty. They hear a knock on the door. Felix thinks Alex has returned until he hears Ahab's voice. Felix lets him in and explains to Foster that Ahab knows about the Spikard, but not anything else Foster has told him. Foster holds his head in his hands. Felix asks if Alex knows. Foster is sure he does. Ahab points out that it kind of stands out, so the red-heads will know as well. Foster says they're not in the castle. Felix mentions that the ring won't come off. Foster says he doesn't want to lose any parts of himself. Ahab points out that while Foster has the Spikard, no one can take any of his parts. Foster admits this is true, especially since he's been trained in its use. Ahab assumes he was never trained in removing it. Foster says that was never part of the plan. Felix says he'd like to know what this plan is, and soon. Foster explains that he was supposed to kill the King, then beat a hasty retreat. Ahab suggests Foster get help in removing the Spikard soon. Especially since it probably doesn't need Foster's permission to work. Foster claims he was hoping Nanna would have forgotten about it. Ahab asks what he's going to do about it and suggests getting help from one of the experts. Felix wants to ask Alex, since he already knows about it. Ahab points out that Alex has never been very helpful. He thinks Merlin might be able to help, since he dabbles in a lot of things, although he's not very good at it. Felix asks if Nanna figured Foster would be in Amber. Foster says that was part of the plan. He admits he has no idea what else the Spikard may be programmed to do. Ahab asks what he wants them to do. Foster thinks for a moment, then says he wants the ring off, no matter what it takes. Ahab Trumps Ghostwheel and asks to speak to Merlin. Ghostwheel suggests he just get a Trump of Merlin. Ahab figures Merlin could have done that if he wanted to, so he must prefer this way. He doesn't want to go to Merlin, so Ghostwheel brings Merlin to them. He's wearing nothing but a towel. Felix hands him a robe. Ahab says Merlin seems to have a user interface problem on his hands. Merlin figures it's nothing some reprogramming won't fix. Ahab gets Foster to take the gloves off. Merlin's eyes grow wide when he sees the Spikard. He asks where Foster found it. Foster says it found him. Merlin assumes they want it off and concentrates for about 20 minutes. There is a magical explosion and he winds up in the back wall. He says he won't be able to remove it as long as it's defending itself like that. Alex feels the explosion and investigates. He notes that the magical explosion didn't do much damage. Ahab remarks that at least no one's head exploded this time. Felix plays innocent and asks what explosion Alex is referring to. Merlin points out that any sorcerer within two miles will have felt that. Ahab asks if Foster wants him to expedite matters and Trump Fiona. Foster looks nervous, especially after Alex mentions that Fiona chopped the finger off of the last person to have this problem. Just as the Trump animates, Foster uses a Power Word to break the contact. He says he doesn't want to lose a finger. Ahab explains that it was Brand Fiona was dealing with, and her attitude towards Foster will be different. Alex suggests Trumping Bleys, since he's closer to the source. Felix tries, but the card won't animate. Alex has no better luck. Fiona Trumps Ahab and asks what that was about. Ahab asks her to come through. She does so, much to Felix's chagrin. She notes that by the look on Foster's face, someone's already explained how she dealt with Brand. She also notes that Merlin has already tried and failed to remove the thing. Since conventional magics have failed, Fiona tries using her Spikard to get Foster's off. After a while, she starts toying with her hair. Felix says she's not supposed to look like that. She tells him his faith in her is remarkable. Then she says that she'll be back and disappears. Alex recalls that there's rumored to be a key Spikard, one which controls the others. Ahab and Merlin leave to find Merlin some better fitting clothes. Alex asks to examine Foster's Spikard. He notices that it has a stone in the center of the wheel. As a matter of fact, it looks like the one his father was wearing. He asks who gave it to Foster. Foster explains that he doesn't know. Alex asks if he has any guesses. Foster figures it was his teacher. He only knows her as Nanna, though. He says Vetch might know who she really is. Alex asks if this is part of Vetch's plan. Foster doesn't think Vetch knew about it. Alex figures that if that's the case, Vetch will be happy to help them. Foster says Emer told him a few things to try if Vetch is uncooperative. Apparently she gave him a few hints on Faerie weaknesses. Ahab returns as they are leaving and asks where they're going. They explain they're going to see Vetch, since he may know Nanna's identity. Felix suggests that Ahab probably shouldn't come with them. Ahab asks them to wait while he gets his iron band. He gives it to Foster to use if they need to convince Vetch to help them. Felix, Alex and Foster head for the infirmary. Ahab and Merlin use Ghostwheel to spy on the scene. Ariana's guards tell her of the approaching trio. She tells the guard not to let them in unless it's an emergency. They all troop in shortly afterward. Foster has his hands behind his back. Ariana finds this suspicious and asks to see them. Foster stuffs the band into a pocket and reluctantly holds out his hands. Ariana's eyes widen when she sees the Spikard. She asks what they want. Felix says they want to ask Riftvan who Nanna is. She does so psychically. Riftvan asks why they want to know. She tells him Foster has a Spikard. This completely wakes Riftvan up. He asks Ariana to prop him up, then calls Foster over and looks at the Spikard. His eyes narrow, and he mumbles "The bitch double-crossed me." He looks at Alex and notes that his father won't survive long without it. Ariana shoots a glance at Riftvan and asks if "she" is the one responsible. Riftvan smiles. Felix demands to know what's going on. Riftvan explains that Nanna is Sand. He also tells Foster to give that bracelet back to Ahab. Foster looks embarrassed. Felix tells of the failed attempts so far, and their inability to reach Bleys. Ariana offers to help. Alex, Ariana, Felix and Foster gang Trump Bleys, who says conference calls aren't fair. Alex argues that he wasn't answering. Bleys says there's usually a reason for that. Felix explains the situation. Bleys comes through and examines the Spikard. He observes that Fiona probably left in a huff. He says there are some things he needs to prepare first, and that Foster will need to sleep until then. He asks Ariana to medicate him and keep him out. More difficult than it sounds, since Foster doesn't like the idea of needles and Felix is worried about using anything addicting. Riftvan casts a spell to put Foster to sleep. Then he asks the others to leave, as he's exhausted his energy. He falls asleep soon afterwards. Heather wakes up to find Emer standing over her. Emer comments that Heather seems to have tired her partner out. Mary is still sleeping soundly next to her. Heather is rather embarrassed. She tries to explain, and has trouble handling the fact that Emer doesn't seem fazed. Emer figures that if it bothered Mandor, he would have killed Mary by now. Mary wakes up and joins them. She observes that Heather isn't handling this well. Ariana Trumps Driscoll and asks what he knows about Sand. Driscoll says Sand was coordinating an attack against Brand, but he doesn't know the details. Mirelle might know more. She asks him to come through and explains what's happened. Driscoll mentions that he could probably find Sand's shadow, if they needed to go there. He goes to warn Random and talk to Mirelle. Ahab stops spying on the room and thanks Ghostwheel for its help. He observes to Merlin that Ghostwheel definitely doesn't like him using that Trump. Merlin figures it won't be happy to learn that Random wants it shut down. Ahab thanks Merlin for his help. Merlin teleports out. Gerard pays a visit to Felix. He tells him that Bleys has more than his usual air of assurance, so that indicates he's pretty confident he can pull this off. Felix is upset that he can't do anything for Foster. Gerard tells him that every parent faces this. Alex is Trumped by Bleys, who asks him to step through and give him a hand. Alex does so, and Bleys hands him Delwin. Alex asks if Sand is pursuing. Bleys says she is, which is why he needs his hands free. His Spikard pulses, and he says that will slow her down. He comments that Sand made a mistake in giving away her biggest toy. Delwin is fading fast. Bleys brings them to Felix's quarters and tells Gerard that now is not the time. Gerard does not look happy to see Delwin. He tells Felix he'll be around, and leaves. Bleys Trumps Fiona. He tells her not to be pissy, and that she should have known better. He asks her to come through and help now, and points out that he has witnesses. She comes through, and they unite the power of both of their Spikards. Both of them have broken a sweat by the time they manage to slip the Spikard off Foster's finger and place in on Delwin's. Bleys dusts his hands off and says, "Well, that's that." Fiona slips an arm in his and says she has something she wants to discuss with him. They disappear. Alex uses the Logrus to move Delwin to his quarters. He then proceeds to seal them up as tight as he can. Merlin and Ahab decide everything's taken care of. Merlin teleports out. Ahab returns to his quarters. Kimdyl asks what happened. Ahab tells her that his two problems merged into one, and given that Ariana can hardly say his name now without wanting to throw something at the wall, he's calling it a day. Kimdyl hands him Nicholas, suggesting that his son hardly knows who he is. Ahab spends the rest of the afternoon playing with the baby. Rinaldo knocks on Felix's door and asks if Foster's all right. Felix asks what he knows about it. Rinaldo says he knows something big is going on, and asks if they got the ring off. Felix asks how he knew. Rinaldo reminds Felix who trained him. Felix says he thinks things will be OK and thanks Rinaldo for stopping by. Felix goes up to the infirmary. Ariana asks how Foster is doing. He tells her what happened, and asks if Riftvan can remove the spell now. She says she'll ask him when he wakes up. Felix asks who Alex's father is, but she says that's Alex's story to tell. She tells him she's glad Foster is OK. Random is not present at lunch. Felix asks Gerard what the problem was earlier. Gerard says it's not a topic to be discussed at the table. He does mention that Alex's father's name is Delwin. Felix figures he shouldn't leave Foster alone for long. Isabeux offers to come with him. Ahab says he hopes everything's OK. Felix says it will be, once Foster wakes up. Alex leaves his quarters and Trumps Lucretia. He tells her what's happened. He's concerned that Sand may come after her, in order to get to him. Lucretia says she'll be careful. Alex suggests she'll be safer in Amber, so she comes through to him. He brings her into the relative safety of his quarters. Heather Trumps Merlin, and catches him in the process of changing. He's rather startled to see her and ask what she wants. She says she was just following up on their previous discussion. He asks her to refresh his memory. She won't do so over Trump. He asks for a moment, so she breaks the contact and gives him time to change. Then she Trumps him again, pulls him through and offers him a drink. She reminds him that they were discussing alternate means of locomotion through shadow, in the event that normal means of locomotion were cut off. Merlin doesn't know of any, outside of Pattern, Trump, Logrus or magic. He asks why she's interested. She theorizes that if things are held together, they can be torn apart, so there must be contingencies. He asks if she's assuming the total destruction of shadow. She says she's just thinking of a division. No interaction between poles, but shadows are mostly intact. Merlin says that's kind of vague, but he assumes Ghostwheel would still function, as long as it's shadow. She asks what Ghostwheel is powered by. He replies "A few wires." Heather doesn't think that would suffice. He disagrees. She thinks Ghostwheel could function among the Patterns, but that's it. Merlin tells her that Ghost isn't dependent on the Patterns, and can function without them. He's still curious as to why it interests her. She tells him not to give it a second thought, and asks if he's heard from Despil recently. He figures Despil's keeping himself occupied. Heather observes he's been spending more time in the armory and shadow then in the Courts. She suggests it would do Jurt good to get out of the Courts as well. Merlin doesn't really want to discuss Jurt. He finishes his drink and leaves. Felix and Isabeux sit and watch Foster. Felix asks Isabeux about the bad feelings between Gerard and Delwin. She's know of it for a while, but doesn't know what the cause is. Gerard refuses to talk about it. Foster wakes up at around 5:00. He's rather relieved that the Spikard is gone, although Felix has to wave Foster's hand in front of his face before he notices. Felix is worried that Sand may try again. Ahab goes to the infirmary. Ariana frisks him to make sure he's unarmed. She comments that he's left his bracelet behind. Ahab explains that he only gave it to Foster because he thought it might be necessary. Ariana asks what he wants. He asks if they're still friends. She says they are currently. Whether that remains the case depends on his actions. She asks again what he wants. He says he wants to talk to Vetch. He understands that she'll want to keep an eye on him, but would like her to stand out of hearing range. She is willing to do this after he promises that he won't harm Riftvan today. She does load a crossbow, though. Just in case. Ahab walks over to Vetch. Vetch comments that Ariana's loyalty is rather touching. Ahab says he'll discuss her taste in loyalty later. He apologizes for the incident with the bracelet and asks why Vetch kidnapped his son. Vetch admits he owes him that, and explains that he wanted to make sure Nicholas' education proceeded as it should. Ahab wants to know why he didn't just ask. Vetch points out that Ahab wouldn't have allowed him access to Nicholas' mind. Ahab agrees, but doesn't think it was Vetch's choice to make. Vetch admits this, but says he can't seem to keep his hands out of things. Besides, Nicholas is of his line. Ahab asks if keeping his hand in things has ever gotten him anywhere. Vetch admits it hasn't yet, so he's beginning to lose faith. Ahab asks if he intends to continue his ways. Vetch says he's tired, so a change of pace may help. Ahab says that if Vetch had told him straight out what he wanted to do, he would have allowed it. Vetch admits he made an error in judgment. He also admits that half of him wouldn't mind if Ahab killed him, except he'd have to place a block in Ariana's mind to prevent her from killing Ahab. Ahab thinks that would be tacky. Vetch points out that's his modus operandi. Ahab thinks that at fifty-something Ariana has the right to make up her own mind. Vetch asks how well he knows Ariana. Ahab says they were close. Vetch thinks fifty is rather young. He mentions Ahab has a unique spin on things. Ahab says it comes from early brain damage. Vetch admits he knows of Ahab's parentage. Ahab asks how he knows. He replies that to someone of his abilities it's very plain. Ahab figures that when someone is old enough to cut their own food, they're old enough to make up their own mind. If you mind control them then you're betraying their trust. Vetch admits this, but says it's more efficient. He asks when Ahab is going to kill him. Ahab says the point of this conversation was to decide that. Vetch asks if he's failed yet. Ahab admits Vetch is actually less creepy in person. And besides Ariana's little foibles, he also doesn't want to deal with the Hendrakes. He asks how Rygat was related to Vetch. Vetch says it's not important, and tells Ahab she's his sister. Ahab asks if Vetch wants him to bring Nicholas by on father's day. Vetch says he wouldn't mind seeing the boy again. Ahab finds the card he left earlier and signs it, which causes Vetch to burst out laughing. He tells Ahab that he'll be the death of him, and asks him to leave. Ariana intercepts Ahab on the way out and asks if he's still wants to kill Riftvan. Ahab mentions that her loyalty is indeed touching. She gives him a quizzical look. He explains that he and Vetch were discussing it. He tells her he's decided to leave Vetch alone, but if Vetch ever bothers his family again, he won't warn Ariana before he kills the bastard. Ariana says she understands and thanks him. He wishes her the best of luck and goes back to his family.