"You have to listen to me, Lindrel is planning something." Alera sat across from lord Sunroh of Tormunn. "There was a company of Dindran knights crossing the Tarn a few moons back. Said they were coming to repair your gate."

The Lord of Tormunn glanced up from his brisket. "And how do you know that?" He chewed while he spoke, not caring to wipe the pieces of fat landing in his beard. "Where have you-" He washed down the brisket with a swig of wine. "Where have you been off to girl?"

"I am a woman father, I go where I please."

Lord Sunroh snorted. Wine dribbled down his chin to join the pieces of fat in his beard. "You go where you please because you are my daughter. Now tell me the truth Alexandra."

"I already did. Dindran knights are crossing the Tarn and no one in this castle seems to care." Alera scratched at a hangnail on her left thumb.

"I know where you've been Allie. Just tell me the truth."

"I don't understand." The hang nail was gone now, but her finger kept scratching.

Lord Sunroh sighed. He took a massive gulp of wine, then stood up and paced with a wobbling gait. "Listen, I tried with you Allie. I really did. I might've sent you off after your mother died, might've handed off parenting to someone else, but I didn't. I decided to be your father. Then you went and got yourself with child, an' it just about broke me, but I kept going. We had a hard time with that but we got over it." He kept looking at the floor and the walls, anywhere but at Alera. "But this? This I jus'... I don't know what to do anymore." He turned to her with tears in his eyes. "This kingdom is on the edge Allie, an' I need you to be a lady... not givin' yourself a different name an' role-playing with a bunch of lowlifes."

While he was speaking Alera felt as if the walls of the room were shrinking while her father got bigger and bigger. His face was all she could see, stained with wine and tears and sweat. She knew he was on a tightrope now, a word could set him off. "How did you find out?" She said in a small voice.

"Doesn't matter how I found out Allie, just that you stop. You can see that can't you? You've got to be a proper lady, jus' like your mother."

"My mother." Alera looked down at her hands. Her thumb was bloody now, but her finger didn't stop. She watched it scratch and scratch, independent of her thoughts. It had a personal vendetta against her thumb, wanted to expose it and hurt it and make it smaller and less important than it was. She grabbed her hand and stopped it, stood up and faced her father. "My mother?" She said, in a bigger voice. "You want to talk about mother?"

The right side of Lord Sunroh's face twitched. A little piece of boar fell from his beard. "Allie don't-"

"Don't call me that!" Alera shouted. "She died because of you! I'm not going to listen to this." She turned to leave the room but he grabbed her and pulled her close so she could smell the meat and alcohol.

"You will listen to me!" He screamed and slapped her with a rough, meaty hand. "You will do as I say. You are my daughter!" He raised his hand to slap her again, but she kneed him in the stomach and ran. He roared after her. "You will listen!"

Alera was shaking when she made it to her solar. I need to leave. How did he find out about the cloaks? I need to leave. She thought, stuffing her things into a sack and changing her clothes at the same time. She donned a black gambeson and black trousers. Then there was a knock at the door. Alera froze.

"Allie- Alera, Alexandra. Whatever you want to be called." Her father said from the other side. "I'm sorry. I... Shouldn't a done that. You're right about Dindra. Trust me I know they're up to somethin' but my hands are tied. They've got the finest steel in the realm. I've got to deal above board with them or my boys will be wielding sticks." He waited for an answer. Alera didn't move. "Listen, you come talk when you're ready. We'll sort this out like a family should. You hear? Jus'... come find me when you're ready."

Alera stayed silent until his footsteps faded away, then belted on her saber and eased open the door. Her shadow stretched down the hallway as she peered down it. Empty. When she was a girl her father would sometimes play with her. Those were her best memories of him. They played "cat and rat," a game where each person went to opposite ends of the castle and sneaked back, trying to catch their opponent by surprise. Alera always won, most likely because he let her, but the game gave her practice. She eased a foot out, holding her boots in her hand, and crept towards the stairs.

She descended them and emerged into the empty main hall. Alera pulled on her boots and stepped towards the exit, breaking shafts of red sunlight with her silhouette. The moon was sleeping, thankfully, so the yard was empty. She hurried across it to the stables. Henry snorted a greeting. "Hey boy." Alera said, flinging a saddle over his back. "Let's get out of here."

She led him across the yard and paused in the middle to look at the castle. It's stone walls protested in vain against the rays turning them red. Behind her the gate beckoned. She patted Henry and started towards it. "Let's go boy."

"You're out awful late, lady Alexandra." The guard on moonset duty said.

"Yeah Frynn, couldn't sleep." She smiled at him.

He put a hand over his eyes to shield the sun and squinted at her. "I heard shouting."

Alera frowned and pulled a stray hair behind her ear. "You know how Lord Sunroh gets."

He matched her frown. "Alright." He dropped his hand and opened the gate. "I ain't gonna pry, but Lord Sunroh comes down on you I ain't helping. He asks me I'll jus' say you snuck passed."

"Thanks Frynn." She smiled at him and spurred Henry. "Appreciate your honesty."

She rode at a comfortable pace west. Her father would not know she was gone until the moon rose, if he was able to remember anything when he woke up.

The ubiquitous red sky stretched out before her like an inverted sea, dripping color on everything underneath. The mountains, the trees, her horse - all were soaked in its glow. When Alera finally reached The Gelding, the last inn on the western road to Dawn Castle, she was sick of it.

She dismounted and tied Henry to the post, took a few deep breaths, then entered the inn. When she opened the door she was no longer Alexandra Sunroh, daughter of the Lord of Tormunn, she was Alera of the Black Cloaks. The inn greeted her with the smell of floorboards that had soaked up decades of wine and ale. The innkeeper's wife tried to burn incense to hide it, but the sweet cinnamon only sharpened the decaying alcohol. The innkeeper himself, a thin, short man with a face like a rat smelled her the moment she entered. He scurried over and offered her their finest wine.

"No thanks Thén, saving my coin for something more important."

Thén's eyes narrowed until they were two slits. His nose twitched. "And what business would that be, lady Alera?"

"None of your business Thén, where are the Cloaks?" He pointed to the stairs that led below ground. "Thanks!" Alera said, smiling. Thén glared while she walked passed.

The Cloaks were singing:

"Lost me love on the field of red.

Rode her day and night for tens of days.

Til I fell off and bumped me 'ed.

I still miss her lovely neighs!"

Alera frowned at the awful pitch of fifteen drunk men singing mediocre rhymes. She waited for them to finish before approaching. Trill was dancing on the table. At the last verse, he imitated neighing and slipped on a puddle of ale, careening backwards and landing on the ground with a thud. The crowd laughed. Trill rubbed his head and managed to get to a sitting position. "Hey boys!" He said when he saw Alera. "Alera's here!" he tried to stand up and stumbled. "Stand at attention!" The Cloaks scrambled. Trill fell down twice more before managing to get to his feet and stay there.

Alera grinned. "Enjoying the latest score I see."

"Aye m'lady, I mean capn'." Trill said.

"And how much of it is left?"

"Well uhh." The cloaks looked at each other. Trill stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled out a few gold pieces. "Not quite as much as we had."

"Right. Well what if I told you boys about a new score in mind. Its a risky one, but the payoff could be big, biggern' we've ever seen." They perked up.

"How risky?" Trill asked.

"Rather not get into the details here boys." Alera glanced around the room. Most of the people were too drunk to remember anything they overheard, but it was better to be safe. "Finish your cups and meet me outside."

When she was back under the sky, Alera considered returning to the castle. In spite of her bluster this plan was really nothing more than an excuse to get away from Tormunn. Yet... what her father had said about the Dindran steel gave her an idea. If she could steal some for him, maybe help him gain some independence from Lindrel - he might realize that she was more than a prop to secure alliances with. If he didn't accept her then, well, she could just sell it to someone else. It was a long shot, but it might work. Alera patted Henry, admiring the way his silky black pelt reflected the red sky. The door opened behind her.

"So what's the plan Capn'?" Trill asked.

She faced the Cloaks and smiled. "We're going to steal Dindra's steel."