Lord of Dawn Lathander seemed to have expected this answer long ago, yet he still solemnly said to Tyr:
"Thank you—for everything you have done. I will preserve your portfolio of justice for you. I hope you return soon."
Tyr smiled and nodded, calmly accepting his thanks before saying:
"Take the portfolio. I have no use for it anymore. The stone slab has been stolen. In the days to come, I fear the peace of old is gone for good."
"Very well." Lathander slowly nodded.
Helm, standing nearby, gave a disdainful snort, seemingly deeply displeased by the other's hypocrisy.
Lathander turned his gaze to Helm and, after a long silence, said:
"I know that because of the Dawn Cataclysm and Nalie, you have always borne a grudge against me. For that, I am sorry. But I still have an even more important mission to complete, so for the foreseeable future, I will be unable to give you an explanation."
At this point, he added inwardly:
'Because before that, I must stay alive.
'Stay alive by any means necessary.'
Seeing that Helm still wore a look of utter disdain, he did not explain further. Instead, he bowed to Tyr, then turned and vanished into a faint gleam like the dawn.
As the Lord of Dawn departed, the rain that had seemed frozen in midair began to fall once more, landing on Tyr's grizzled, disheveled hair, on his resolute yet weathered face, and on his plate armor, which now looked somewhat worn without its Golden Glory.
At the same time, the Luskan people who had likewise turned into statue-like figures because of Lathander's arrival regained their animation.
From beginning to end, they seemed not to have noticed the Lord of Dawn's arrival at all. They had merely come to investigate out of