"No one would know Nelek better than Aislyn, right? But I wish that wouldn't require bringing him all the way to the keep for her to see him." Wulfsen shoved his hair back. "Maybe after he has bathed and gotten a meal in you can question him, Shawn. You've interrogated people before, and you know Nelek."

"I will give it a try, but I agree with Sileas. He's got the answers, it's the way he expressing himself, like it's all memorized information. I'm not sure there's going to  be away..." his voice trailed off as Sileas tugged at his sleeve.

"The potion. When he goes to take his bath, we shake out his borrowed clothing to make sure nothing is in it and his rags are destroyed. I don't know how long this potion holds, but surely  he would need a boost before a week is over."

"That's what happened with the other one." Wulfsen mused. "Ila smashed the jug of potion so he was forced to change back. If this is a merman using potion hopefully it will wear off before we get back to the keep."

"Even finding a jar on him would be a good clue but he could say that was planted. This might be our only way of knowing," Shawn agreed.

Wulfsen nodded. "Has a bath been made ready for him yet?"

"No, I was just going to ask Juniper about where he could bathe when we spotted you."

"There is probably somewhere he can bathe, even if it's just a barrel of saltwater." Wulfsen said.

"Oh, I'm sure. I just don't know where the men's areas are on the ship. We pretty much stayed in Juniper's quarters the entire trip, unless we were in the scullery or on deck. Oh that reminds me, I never want to be on a ship again once I get home."

"Seasick?" Wulfsen asked gently.

"I suppose so. Who would have expected it?"

"You've never been out to sea before?" Wulfsen asked. "You should be used to the sea by now, the weather has been calm."

"I've not," Sileas said, shaking her head. "I've been feeling somewhat better, but still a bit nauseous from time to time."

"People usually get over seasickness in less than a week... We can't all be sailors I guess." Wulfsen said.

"I suppose not. At least I know it's a limitation now."

"Bigger boats don't rock as much." Wulfsen pointed out. "You might be more comfortable on a larger boat... At least you won't have to be sailing much longer."

"It's been manageable when sitting on Juniper's couch in her quarters. Oh and I need to speak you about one of your knights. He went wild on the docks and started beating some sailor senseless. He claimed the man looked at me oddly, but he'd made no move, heck, I didn't even notice him. The guard was probably called in...others were attacking him to get him to back off."

"Sir Excessive Force?" Wulfsen asked. "He has always been justified before..."

"Like I said, I didn't see what the man did. But if all he did was look at me wrong, it should have been ignored. At most, a warning issued. Certainly not the beat down he gave him. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's in the guard jail."

Wulfsen sighed. "I thought they were men I could trust... I should have gone with you."

"Though I did understand your reasons, I wish you had. You would have been able to keep Lek on plan and we could have taken the information back and your men could have gone on this journey."

"At least you're all right... I was so afraid that you were taken by slavers." Wulfsen said. "Now that I've found you..."

Her gaze met his. "Yes, Wulfsen?"

"I..." Wulfsen turned a little red, he had just told her that he would not force Sileas into a marriage she did not want, he could not force her to be with him if she ever wanted to leave either. "Maybe we should discuss what we were talking about earlier... in private."

"We can ask Juniper if there's somewhere private we can use and Papa can take...Uncle Nelek...for his bath."